News From The Horde – April 2021

It’s Release Day for Christine Morgan’s The Wolf’s Feast, preorders are now open for The Molly Tanzer Collection, and FREE Scratch and Dent Fisherman!

Release Day: The Wolf’s Feast

Happy Freya’s Day and Blessed Walpurgisnacht! Today is release day for Christine Morgan’s newest collection of Viking stories and sagas, The Wolf’s Feast, as well as her redesigned first collection, The Raven’s Table. Both covers feature Elinore Eaton’s amazing artwork depicting a mythic panorama. Publishers Weekly described this collection as “infused with mythology and magic, these dark tales cast a powerful spell.” Order yours today!

Preorder The Molly Tanzer Collection

Preorders are now open on a trio of titles by Vermilion author Molly Tanzer coming May 25, 2021:

  • The Pleasure Merchant: A novel of despair and desire, equal parts psychological thriller and sensual parlor drama.
  • Rumbullion: An unsettling epistolary novella filled with 18th century decadence, weird rituals, and murder.
  • A Pretty Mouth: An interlaced collection detailing the triumphs and misadventures of the decadent Calipash dynasty, a family blessed–and cursed–by cosmic weirdness.

Previously published by Cameron Pierce at Eraserhead Press, these critically acclaimed books have been out of print for some time.

The Molly Tanzer Collection from Word Horde are the Author’s Preferred Editions of these works, each featuring new introductory material and notes, and we are quite pleased to bring them to you. We’ll be showing off new cover artwork by Matthew Revert very soon, so get your order in and stay tuned!

Get a FREE Scratch and Dent copy of The Fisherman

We have an overabundance of Scratch and Dent copies of John Langan’s Stoker Award-winning novel The Fisherman. While supplies last, use the coupon code GOFISH to get a FREE Scratch and Dent copy of The Fisherman. Be sure to add it to your cart with your other items. If you’ve already got a copy, this is a great way to get one for a friend.

Coming Soon from Word Horde

Here’s what’s coming from the Horde later this year.

Two collections from John Langan, the all-new Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies (October), and a new edition of Langan’s out-of-print debut collection, Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters (August). More details coming soon!

News From The Horde – March 2021

Keep reading for news about Christine Morgan’s The Wolf’s Feast and other upcoming titles, an updated Scratch and Dent Sale, and FREE Scratch and Dent Fisherman!

Cover Reveal: The Wolf’s Feast by Christine Morgan

Coming Freya’s day, April 30: The Wolf’s Feast, the newest collection of Christine Morgan’s Viking stories and sagas. Featuring gorgeous artwork depicting Freya and her wolves from the incomparable Elinore Eaton, this collection is “infused with mythology and magic, [and] these dark tales cast a powerful spell.” (Publishers Weekly)

To celebrate the release of The Wolf’s Feast, we’re re-releasing The Raven’s Table with an all-new Elinore Eaton cover featuring Odin and his ravens. Apart, these covers are stunning, but side by side they paint a mythic panorama. Here’s a peek at the covers and your first chance to preorder…

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It’s the About Time It’s the End of the Year Sale

It’s been quite a trip around the sun: Wildfires, upheaval, a global pandemic! But we’ve finally made it to the end of this dumpster fire of a year, and not a moment too soon. Seems like a good excuse to run a sale! So, from now through December 31, take 25% off your order of all Word Horde books (except scratch and dent) with coupon code DUMPSTER. Pick up John Langan’s latest collection, Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies, Scott R. Jones’ novel Stonefish, or any other Word Horde releases… and save!

Children of the Fang and Other GenealogiesStonefish by Scott R. Jones

THE HORROR BUNDLE FROM WORD HORDE

Word Horde is proud to present a collaboration with StoryBundle, curated by Molly Tanzer. Here’s Molly:

We are fortunate enough to be witnessing a lush flowering of horror. From New Weird to throwback splatterpunk, the modes and expressions of the genre these days are as diverse as its writers. Whether you’re intimately familiar with the contemporary horror field, or just looking to dip your toe in a very deep—and monster-infested—pond, this bundle of horror novels and collections from sensational independent publisher Word Horde is not to be missed. You’re sure to find something strange, something scary, something transgressive, something that jumps out at you and demands to be reckoned with.

Word Horde’s list is eclectic, in the best way. Readers will find plenty of cosmic horror here, such as Brian Hauser’s Memento Mori, nestled alongside literary works such as John Langan’s The Fisherman, and lighter fare such as my own weird western Vermilion. You’ll also find a lot of music-inspired horror such as David Peak’s Corpsepaint, Tony McMillen’s An Augmented Fourth, and Carrie Laben’s A Hawk in the Woods. If you like your horror shorter, if not necessarily sweeter, we have a few stand-out collections, too. Orrin Grey’s Guignol & Other Sardonic Tales will dazzle you, Nadia Bulkin’s She Said Destroy will rebuke you, and Livia Llewellyn’s Furnace will incinerate you from within. As you can see, every book in this bundle has been selected because it’s essential reading for the up-to-date reader of modern horror fiction.

Like all speculative fiction, horror serves as a lens; as a mirror, really. When we read horror, we read about ourselves. That’s why it makes us shiver and squirm. So, enjoy seeing yourself reflected throughout the Horror Bundle from Word Horde. Only you’ll know if you’re seeing yourself in the heroes—or the monsters.

–Molly Tanzer

For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you’re feeling generous), you’ll get the basic bundle of five books in any ebook format—WORLDWIDE.
• Corpsepaint by David Peak
• A Sick Gray Laugh by Nicole Cushing
• A Hawk in the Woods by Carrie Laben
• The Fisherman by John Langan
• She Said Destroy by Nadia Bulkin

If you pay at least the bonus price of just $15, you get all five of the regular books, plus TEN more books, for a total of fifteen!
• Beneath by Kristi DeMeester
• An Augmented Fourth by Tony McMillen
• Memento Mori – The Fathomless Shadows by Brian Hauser
• Stonefish by Scott R. Jones
• Furnace by Livia Llewellyn
• Guignol & Other Sardonic Tales by Orrin Grey
• The Human Alchemy by Michael Griffin
• The Raven’s Table by Christine Morgan
• The Unnamed Country by Jeffrey Thomas
• Vermilion by Molly Tanzer

This bundle is available only for a limited time via http://www.storybundle.com

Preorder John Langan’s Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies

John Langan, author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning novel The Fisherman, returns August 18, 2020 with a new book of stories: Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies

Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies

An aspiring actress goes to an audition with a mysterious director. An editor receives the last manuscript of his murdered friend. A young lawyer learns the terrible connection between her grandfather and an ancient race of creatures. A bodyguard drives her employer across a frozen road toward an immense hole in the earth. In these stories and others, John Langan maps the branches of his literary family tree, tracing his connections to the writers whose dark fictions have inspired his own.

Introduction by Stephen Graham Jones

Cover Art by Matthew Jaffe
Cover Design by Scott R. Jones

Pub Date: August 18, 2020

Preorder your copy today!

Stonefish streets, Scratch & Dent, and Word Horde’s Class of 2019 hits Apple Books

Scott R. Jones’s Stonefish hits the streets today. Look for it where better books are sold.

Stonefish by Scott R. Jones

A missing tech mogul…
…a jaded reporter…
…a damaged AI returned from a horrifying reality…
…and something lurking in the woods.

When journalist Den Secord is tasked with locating enigmatic tech guru Gregor Makarios, he soon finds his understanding of reality under threat. At the edge of the world, surrounded by primeval forests, in the paradisiacal environs of Gregor’s hi-tech hermitage, Den learns of the true nature of our Universe.

This is the way the world ends.

Heart of Darkness meets The Magus meets bleeding-edge psychedelic gnosticism in Stonefish, the debut novel from Scott R. Jones (When Stars Are Right, Shout Kill Revel Repeat).

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Some recent returns means lots of new arrivals in our Scratch & Dent section. And while the condition of these books is less than perfect, we’d still love to find good homes for them. Perhaps your home. Novels, collections, and anthologies at great prices! Help us make room for more.

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Word Horde books are now available on the Apple Books ebook platform. Look for our Class of 2019: Carrie Laben’s A Hawk in the Woods, Brian Hauser’s Memento Mori: The Fathomless Shadows, Craig Laurance Gidney’s A Spectral Hue, Nicole Cushing’s A Sick Gray Laugh, Jeffrey Thomas’s The Unnamed Country, and more (including Scott R. Jones’s Stonefish). And we’re still uploading, so if you don’t spot your favorite Word Horde titles at Apple Books now, you will soon!

Scott R. Jones’ Stonefish cover reveal

Coming this February is Stonefish, the debut novel from Scott R. Jones. Here’s a peek at the cover and your first chance to preorder…

Stonefish by Scott R. Jones

A missing tech mogul…
…a jaded reporter…
…a damaged AI returned from a horrifying reality…
…and something lurking in the woods.

When journalist Den Secord is tasked with locating enigmatic tech guru Gregor Makarios, he soon finds his understanding of reality under threat. At the edge of the world, surrounded by primeval forests, in the paradisaical environs of Gregor’s hi-tech hermitage, Den learns of the true nature of our Universe.

This is the way the world ends.

Heart of Darkness meets The Magus meets bleeding-edge psychedelic gnosticism in Stonefish, the debut novel from Scott R. Jones (When Stars Are Right, Shout Kill Revel Repeat).

Cover Art & Design by Matthew Revert

Pub Date: February 25, 2020

Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-939905-56-7

Format: eBook
ISBN-13: 978-1-939905-57-4

Preorder your copy today!

It’s not too late to read the best books of 2019!

Here at Word Horde, we think we put out some of the best books of the year. Every year. And we’re not alone in thinking this. Here’s a round-up of some of the praise Word Horde books received as we moved into 2020.

Max Booth III said the following of Carrie Laben’s A Hawk in the Woods, “Consider this book the Geek Love of witchcraft. […] This is the best debut novel you’ll read all year.” And Max also names Carrie Laben’s A Hawk in the Woods one of the best weird and dark books of 2019 for the San Antonio Current, saying, “Laben’s novel is a gloomy celebration of black magic and everything that comes with it.”

NPR and Vernacular Books both picked Craig Laurance Gidney’s A Spectral Hue as one of the best books of 2019, as did Rosanne Rabinowitz and Bogi Takács.

LitReactor called Nicole Cushing’s A Sick Gray Laugh and John Langan’s The Fisherman two of the best books of the decade!

Signal Horizon‘s Carson Winter picked Nicole Cushing’s A Sick Gray Laugh and Brian Hauser’s Memento Mori: The Fathomless Shadows as two of the best books of 2019

TBN Weekly recommended Jeffrey Thomas’ The Unnamed Country, as did Paul StJohn Mackintosh of Grey Dog Tales, who writes, ““This is a modern classic of writing about another country or culture on the level of Lafcadio Hearn or ltalo Calvino.”

And we had a nice write-up in the Petaluma Argus-Courier, too!

Holiday Sale!

It’s the holiday season and 2020 is right around the corner. So in the interest of both hindsight and foresight, we’re running a sale!

Save 20% off any new book order (Scratch and Dent books not included), now through the end of the year! You don’t even need a coupon code. Just place your order and your discount will be applied on checkout.

Save on books like A Hawk in the Woods, Memento Mori: The Fathomless Shadows, A Spectral Hue, A Sick Gray Laugh, The Unnamed Country, and so much more!

Help spread the weird — tell your friends!

Cover Reveal: The Unnamed Country, by Jeffrey Thomas

COMING IN NOVEMBER – PREORDER NOW!

The Unnamed Country by Jeffrey Thomas

“Other countries have conquered us over our long history, and sometimes they changed our name. Hundreds of years ago, our Emperor Tho tried to think of ways to protect his country from being attacked again, after he managed to drive out the last invaders. And he knew he had to change the name his enemies had given to his country. Then Tho had an idea… a way to keep other people from wanting to come here and steal his empire. He would hide it from their eyes, and their minds, and the eyes and minds of any demon lords who might try to bring more bad luck to his empire. So he gave our land the name it has to this day.”

“And what name is that?”

“The Unnamed Country.”

From Jeffrey Thomas, creator of Punktown, comes The Unnamed Country, a mosaic novel weaving tales of a land and people poised between the ancient traditions of the past and the burgeoning technology of the future. Where devils, gods, and ghosts still haunt the land, and where you may just discover a unicorn.

“Jeffrey Thomas has built a temple for you to visit, but he does not stop at the temple or even the gods for whom the temple stands. He has also realized for you the people who worship there, and the people who refuse to worship there, and the people who play video games of their gods’ adventures, and the people who sell lottery tickets and unicorn horn smoothies to tourists in the shadow of that temple. You might be one of those tourists when you enter, but as with all powerful temples you won’t be one by the time you leave.” –Brian Hauser, author of Memento Mori: The Fathomless Shadows

Cover art by Long Pham. Cover design by Scott R Jones.

Preorder your copy today.