Tag Archives: cover reveal

Cover Reveal: Craig Laurance Gidney’s A Spectral Hue

Coming this June: Craig Laurance Gidney’s A Spectral Hue. Here’s a peek at Matthew Revert’s stunning cover art:

A Spectral Hue by Craig Laurance Gidney

For generations, the marsh-surrounded town of Shimmer, Maryland has played host to a loose movement of African-American artists, all working in different media, but all utilizing the same haunting color. Landscape paintings, trompe l’oeil quilts, decorated dolls, mixed-media assemblages, and more, all featuring the same peculiar hue, a shifting pigment somewhere between purple and pink, the color of the saltmarsh orchid, a rare and indigenous flower.

Graduate student Xavier Wentworth has been drawn to Shimmer, hoping to study the work of artists like quilter Hazel Whitby and landscape painter Shadrach Grayson in detail, having experienced something akin to an epiphany when viewing a Hazel Whitby tapestry as a child. Xavier will find that others, too, have been drawn to Shimmer, called by something more than art, something in the marsh itself, a mysterious, spectral hue.

From Lambda Literary Award-nominated author Craig Laurance Gidney (Sea, Swallow Me & Other Stories, Skin Deep Magic) comes A Spectral Hue, a novel of art, obsession, and the ghosts that haunt us all.

“A Spectral Hue is a subtly disturbing hymn to the joy and terror of working with a muse, to queer passion and creation, and to the power of art to channel both ancestral voices and personal journeys with equal intensity.” –Ruthanna Emrys, author of Winter Tide

“This is the book we have been waiting for. One of our best short fiction writers finally brings his edgy scary sexy gifts to bear on a novel. A brilliant concept, gorgeously executed. Haunting and unforgettable. Go ahead and give it all the awards right now.” –Sam J. Miller, Nebula Award-winning author of Blackfish City

Cover by Matthew Revert

Pub Date: June 18, 2019

Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-939905-50-5

Format: eBook
ISBN-13: 978-1-939905-51-2

 

Preorder today!

Cover Reveal: Memento Mori: The Fathomless Shadows, by Brian Hauser

Here’s your first peek at Matthew Revert’s cover art for Brian Hauser’s debut novel Memento Mori: The Fathomless Shadows. Coming May 28, 2019. Preorder your copy today!

Memento Mori: The Fathomless Shadows by Brian Hauser

Underground filmmaker Tina Mori became a legend in the late 1970s with a stolen camera, a series of visionary Super 8 shorts (The Eye, The Stairs, The Imperial Dynasty of America) and a single feature film, heralded as her masterpiece, Dragon’s Teeth. Then she disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Was it foul play, or did Tina Mori go somewhere else? And if so, where? Could it have been the otherworldly Carcosa so often referenced in her films?

Through many layers, including letters, a ‘zine made by a teenage horror film fan, and a memoir written by Mori’s college roommate and muse, film historian and debut novelist Brian Hauser delves deep into Tina Mori’s life and legacy, exploring the strange depths and fathomless shadows situated between truth, fiction, fantasy, and the uncanny.

Here’s what Publishers Weekly has to say about Memento Mori: The Fathomless Shadows: “Hauser delivers an engrossing, baffling horror debut that veers hard into the weird, its disturbing aspects enhanced by its faux-nonfictional structure. Hauser’s in-depth study of underground horror film visionary Tina Mori—[…] is so realistic that readers may start looking for the fictional Mori’s Wikipedia entry. […] Fans of the uncanny (and especially of Robert W. Chambers’s The King in Yellow, to which this work alludes) will find much to love and laud.”

Preorder your copy today!

Preorder Michael Griffin’s new collection, The Human Alchemy

Heralded as one of the leading voices in contemporary weird fiction, Michael Griffin returns with his second collection, The Human Alchemy. Here you will find eleven magnificent tales of the strange and sublime, the familiar and the disquieting, where dreamlike beauty and breathtaking horror intertwine. Featuring an introduction by S.P. Miskowski.

Cover art by Jarek Kubicki. Cover Design by Scott R Jones.

The Human Alchemy by Michael Griffin

“Every story in The Human Alchemy is a finely-wrought tapestry, containing many shades of darkness and light. Michael Griffin deftly weaves together threads of loss, mysticism, and creeping fear to create a truly remarkable collection. His tales usher the reader through the familiar world, then reveals to them the infinite.” –Richard Gavin, author of Sylvan Dread

“Griffin’s characters often live in the aftermath of loss and, deeply wounded, they search for something to make them whole or to make them feel the world is not an arbitrary place. From cult followers awaiting enlightenment, to believers in mystical texts, to a mathematician who tries to formulate the structure of the world, to a woman who thinks she’s entering a threesome but ends up getting (and losing) so much more, Griffin’s characters pursue the lure of enlightenment into places that are very dark indeed–and once they’re inside, chances are they won’t be able to get out. A strong collection that makes us understand the weird in a powerful new way.” –Brian Evenson, author of A Collapse of Horses

“Michael Griffin’s The Human Alchemy is fine art dripping slime from another dimension. This is cool, strange, creepy, elegant fiction. Think Iceberg Slim in a tailor-made Italian suit channeling the best of Lovecraft while dragging it, kicking and screaming, into our time. Throw in crackling dialogue and an Escher-like ability to bend time and space while forging new realities and what you have is a collection that cements Griffin as one of the most stylish, unique, and entertaining voices in contemporary weird fiction.” –Gabino Iglesias, author of Zero Saints

“Michael Griffin’s The Human Alchemy reveals a multifoliatedly arcane world hidden beneath the surface of our own mundane one, riddling it with hell-holes, quicksand and potential ecstatic ruin. His stories snag and drown readers by degrees, fast or slow, every sequence a new section of reef lying in wait for unwary navigators, especially those trained to expect the usual horror tropes. In other words, damn this stuff is Weird.” –Gemma Files, author of Experimental Film

Preorder your copy of The Human Alchemy today.

Fright Into Flight coming this fall, an open call, and Corpsepaint is unleashed upon an unsuspecting world…

This fall, Word Horde will be releasing Fright Into Flight, an anthology of horror stories by women themed around the idea of flight, edited by Amber Fallon. Whether you’re flying the unfriendly skies or safe on the ground, we think you’re going to enjoy this turbulent ride. Here’s a peek at the cover…

From the earliest depictions of winged goddesses to the delicate, paper-winged fairies of the Victorians, from valiant Valkyries to cliff-dwelling harpies, from record-setting pilots to fearless astronauts, women have long since claimed their place in the skies, among the clouds and beyond.

Word Horde presents Fright Into Flight, the debut anthology from Amber Fallon (The Terminal, The Warblers), in which women take wing. In these stories connected by the unifying thread of flight, authors including Damien Angelica Walters, Christine Morgan, and Nadia Bulkin have spread their wings and created terrifying visions of real life angels, mystical journeys, and the demons that lurk inside us all. Whether you like your horror quiet and chilling or more in-your-face and terrifying, there’s something here for every horror fan to enjoy.

You’re in for a bumpy ride..So fasten your seatbelt, take note of the emergency exits, hold on to your airsick bag, and remember that this book may be used as a flotation device in the event of a crash landing.

—

Amber Fallon has picked a great lineup of stories for Fright Into Flight so far, and we’ll be opening up preorders soon, but for now, we’re looking for a few more stories to fill in the gaps. As Amber says, “I want stories with wings and teeth, I want fear, I want heartbreak, I want depravity and darkness. I want to read things that will make me afraid to look up into the sky. The interpretation of the theme ‘flight’ is really up to you. You can go more traditional and give me stories of airports, airplanes, and demons on the wing or you could stretch it and offer tales of winged harpies, space crafts, flying beasts, angels, demons, or anything in between. The ideal story would be between 2,000 and 5,000 words in length.” If you’re a woman who has the right stuff, reprint or original, please drop Amber a line at amber[at]amberfallon[dot]net. This open call closes Monday, May 14, 2018, so move with the speed of Nike if you want your story to be considered.

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We’ve also just released David Peak’s black metal horror novel Corpsepaint onto the world. Here’s just some of the press Corpsepaint has received so far…

“If you live and breathe both black metal and literary horror, this book is a gift.” –CVLT Nation

“An icy hymn to apocalypses both cosmic and personal, David Peak’s novel is as savage and grim as the music of Darkthrone, but also as intricate and otherworldly as that of Emperor. A black metal masterpiece…” –Ginger Nuts of Horror

“I loved Corpsepaint. I love black metal, I love cosmic horror. This book is a match made in heaven (or should that be Hell?!) for me.” –The Grim Reader

“Cosmic-pessimism is Peak’s speciality, and when you combine that with the brutal aggression of a black metal band recording an album with a strange cult act, you know things are going to get pretty weird.” –This Is Horror

Corpsepaint is best read at maximum volume. Ask for Corpsepaint wherever better books are sold, or order direct from Word Horde today.

Cover Reveal/Preorder Tales from a Talking Board

Today we reveal the cover to our newest anthology (out October 24), Tales from a Talking Board, in conjunction with this profile on Word Horde and publisher/editor Ross E. Lockhart in the Petaluma Argus-Courier. Check ’em out and order your copy today!

Tales from a Talking Board edited by Ross E. Lockhart

Can we speak with the spirits of the dead? Is it possible to know the future? Are our dreams harbingers of things to come? Do auspicious omens and cautionary portents effect our lives?

Edited by Ross E. Lockhart, Tales from a Talking Board examines these questions–and more–with tales of auguries, divination, and fortune telling, through devices like Ouija boards, tarot cards, and stranger things.

So dim the lights, place your hands upon the planchette, and ask the spirits to guide you as we present fourteen stories of the strange and supernatural by Matthew M. Bartlett, Nadia Bulkin, Nathan Carson, Kristi DeMeester, Orrin Grey, Scott R. Jones, David James Keaton, Anya Martin, J. M. McDermott, S. P. Miskowski, Amber-Rose Reed, Tiffany Scandal, David Templeton, and Wendy N. Wagner.

Edited by Ross E. Lockhart
Cover Design by Yves Tourigny

Order your copy today!

Cover Reveal! Preorder She Said Destroy, by Nadia Bulkin

She Said Destroy by Nadia Bulkin

Coming August 20, 2017

Word Horde presents the debut collection from critically-acclaimed Weird Fiction author Nadia Bulkin. Dreamlike, poignant, and unabashedly socio-political, She Said Destroy includes three stories nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award, four included in Year’s Best anthologies, and one original tale. Plus, an introduction by Paul Tremblay.

“Weird fiction has been stuck in the era of new-fangled radio sets and fifteen-cent pulp magazines for ninety years. Finally, Nadia Bulkin has come to drag us kicking and screaming into the horrors of The Endless Now with a collection of hip, ultracontemporary, politically astute, and chilling stories.” –Nick Mamatas, author of I Am Providence and The Last Weekend

“Bulkin delivers a dose of delicious darkness with her debut collection.” –World Fantasy Award-winning editor Silvia Moreno-Garcia

“An expert balance of the fantastic and horrific, She Said Destroy is a prime example of how modern fabulism continues to reinvigorate and reinvent all modes of speculative fiction. This book is inventive, insightful, and inspiring, not to mention unnerving. The stories inside deftly blend the horrors of the cosmic with those of the personal, evoking awe both terrifying and sublime. Nadia Bulkin’s writing is beautiful, exciting, and a stellar contribution to the field of fantastic literature.” –Simon Strantzas, author of Burnt Black Suns

Cover Art by Kathrin Longhurst
Cover Design by Scott R Jones

Preorder She Said Destroy today!

Cover Reveal: Eternal Frankenstein

Two hundred years ago, a young woman staying in a chalet in Switzerland, after an evening of ghost stories shared with friends and lovers, had a frightening dream. That dream became the seed that inspired Mary Shelley to write Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, a tale of galvanism, philosophy, and the re-animated dead. Today, Frankenstein has become a modern myth without rival, influencing countless works of fiction, music, and film. We all know Frankenstein. But how much do we really know about Frankenstein?

This October, Word Horde will be publishing Eternal Frankenstein, an anthology edited by Ross E. Lockhart, paying tribute to Mary, her Monster, and exploring their entwined legacy.

Today, on the bicentennial anniversary of Mary Shelley’s dream, we reveal the cover to Eternal Frankenstein (Cover Design by Matthew Revert):

Eternal Frankenstein edited by Ross E. Lockhart

Table of Contents:

Amber-Rose Reed – Torso Heart Head
Siobhan Carroll – Thermidor
Autumn Christian – Sewn Into Her Fingers
Rios de la Luz – Orchids by the Sea
Edward Morris – Frankenstein Triptych
Michael Griffin – The Human Alchemy
Betty Rocksteady – Postpartum
Scott R. Jones – Living
Tiffany Scandal – They Call Me Monster
Damien Angelica Walters – Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice
Orrin Grey – Baron von Werewolf Presents: Frankenstein Against the Phantom Planet
Nathan Carson – Wither on the Vine, or Strickfadden’s Monster
Anya Martin – The Un-Bride, or No Gods and Marxists
G. D. Falksen – The New Soviet Man
Kristi DeMeester – The Beautiful Thing We Will Become
David Templeton – Mary Shelley’s Body

Preorder Eternal Frankenstein today! Pub Date: October 9, 2016. And for more about Eternal Frankenstein and the cinematic history of Frankenstein, check out this Pacific Sun interview with editor Ross E. Lockhart.

Cover Reveal/Now Available to Preorder: John Langan’s The Fisherman

Coming June 30, 2016: John Langan’s long-awaited second novel, The Fisherman. We think you’re going to enjoy the hell out of this one. Here’s your first look at the cover:

tf_cover_sm

Here’s the teaser:

In upstate New York, in the woods around Woodstock, Dutchman’s Creek flows out of the Ashokan Reservoir. Steep-banked, fast-moving, it offers the promise of fine fishing, and of something more, a possibility too fantastic to be true. When Abe and Dan, two widowers who have found solace in each other’s company and a shared passion for fishing, hear rumors of the Creek, and what might be found there, the remedy to both their losses, they dismiss it as just another fish story. Soon, though, the men find themselves drawn into a tale as deep and old as the Reservoir. It’s a tale of dark pacts, of long-buried secrets, and of a mysterious figure known as Der Fisher: the Fisherman. It will bring Abe and Dan face to face with all that they have lost, and with the price they must pay to regain it.

And here are just a couple of the blurbs The Fisherman has picked up so far:

“John Langan’s The Fisherman is literary horror at its sharpest and most imaginative. It’s at turns a quiet and powerfully melancholy story about loss and grief; the impossibility of going on in same manner as you had before. It’s also a rollicking, kick-ass, white-knuckle charge into the winding, wild, raging river of redemption. Illusory, frightening, and deeply moving, The Fisherman is a modern horror epic. And it’s simply a must read.”
–Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and Disappearance at Devil’s Rock.

“For some fishing is a therapeutic, a way to clear one’s head, to chase away the noise of a busy world and focus on one single thing. On good days it can heal the worst pains, even help develop a sense of solace. John Langan’s The Fisherman isn’t about the good day fishing, it isn’t even about a bad day fishing, its about the day that you shouldn’t have even left the house, let alone waded chest deep into a swollen stream of churning water. Langan tells you that up front, warns you this isn’t going to be that story, but you ignore the signs, lured in by the faint smell of masculine adventure, hooked by tragedy and the chance of redemption, and reeled in by a nesting tale of ever growing horrors. By the time you realize what has happened it’s already too late, you’re caught in an unavoidable net of terror that can end in only one way. It doesn’t matter how strong you are or how prepared, John Langan has you hook, line and sinker, and he doesn’t let go until the very last page.”
–Pete Rawlik, author of Reanimatrix

“The Fisherman is an epic, yet intimate, horror novel. Langan channels M. R. James, Robert E. Howard, and Norman Maclean. What you get is A River Runs through It…Straight to hell.”
–Laird Barron, author of X’s for Eyes

Preorder your copy of The Fisherman today!

Cover Reveal: The Lure of Devouring Light

We are pleased to reveal the cover to Michael Griffin‘s The Lure of Devouring Light, which Word Horde will be publishing in April. This cover features artwork by Jarek Kubicki and design by Scott R Jones, and if you like what you see on the outside, just wait until you have a chance to dig in to the inside. Preorders are now open.

LoDL_frontcover_004

Over the last few years, Michael Griffin has been heralded by critics as an author of breathtaking skill, melding the aesthetics of quiet horror, dreamlike wonder, and the strangeness inherent in the classical weird. Readers have sought his stories, scattered throughout prestigious anthologies, magazines, and limited-edition chapbooks, hoping to assemble their own collections of Griffin’s ferocious, poetic fiction.

Now, Word Horde presents Michael Griffin’s debut collection, The Lure of Devouring Light. Here you will find strange and luminous tales, character-driven, emotionally resonant, and grappling with horrors both everyday and supernatural.

Experience for yourself The Lure of Devouring Light.

Livia Llewellyn’s Furnace cover reveal, preorders now open on two 2016 Word Horde books

We are pleased to reveal the cover to Livia Llewellyn’s collection Furnace, which we will be publishing in February. We are now accepting preorders for Furnace.

Furnace by Livia Llewellyn

Horror fiction has long celebrated and explored the twin engines driving human existence. Call them what you like: Sex and Death, Love and Destruction, Temptation and Terror. While many may strive to reach the extremes, few authors manage to find the beauty that rests in the liminal space between these polar forces, the shuddering ecstasy encased within the shock. And then there’s Livia Llewellyn, an author praised for her dark, stirring, evocative prose and disturbing, personal narratives.

Lush, layered, multifaceted, and elegant, the thirteen tales comprising Furnace showcase why Livia Llewellyn has been lauded by scholars and fans of weird fiction alike, and why she has been nominated multiple times for the Shirley Jackson Award and included in year’s best anthologies. These are exquisite stories, of beauty and cruelty, of pleasure and pain, of hunger, and of sharp teeth sinking into tender flesh.

Also now available for preorder (though the cover isn’t quite ready to show off yet) is Michael Griffin’s The Lure of Devouring Light, which we will be publishing in April. If you love short fiction like we love short fiction, 2016 is going to be your year!

Over the last few years, Michael Griffin has been heralded by critics as an author of breathtaking skill, melding the aesthetics of quiet horror, dreamlike wonder, and the strangeness inherent in the classical weird. Readers have sought his stories, scattered throughout prestigious anthologies, magazines, and limited-edition chapbooks, hoping to assemble their own collections of Griffin’s ferocious, poetic fiction.

Now, Word Horde presents Michael Griffin’s debut collection, The Lure of Devouring Light. Here you will find strange and luminous tales, character-driven, emotionally resonant, and grappling with horrors both everyday and supernatural.

Experience for yourself The Lure of Devouring Light.