Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: ‘Embers: A Collection of Dark Fiction’ by Kenneth W. Cain 
Embers: A Collection of Dark Fiction edited by Kenneth W. Cain
Crystal Lake Publishing (March 2017)
217 pages; $13.99 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
Embers: A Collection of Dark Fiction features twenty-five stories. In any collection of this size, there are bound to be some hits and some misses along the way. Fortunately, there are more of the former, leading me to suggest this work be added to your personal TBR list.Continue Reading
We’re pleased to report the SIGNED EDITIONS of our new Deluxe Special Limited Edition of Sleeping Beauties are both SOLD OUT, but we do still have copies of the unsigned Oversized Slipcased Hardcover Gift Edition, which is limited to a ONE-TIME printing of 1,750 illustrated copies!
This Gift Edition will be printed in two colors with two-color hot foil stamping, a fine binding, epic wrap-around cover artwork, nearly a dozen interior color paintings by Jana Heidersdorf, and it will be housed in a custom-made slipcase.
This marks one of the scarcest print runs for any of our Stephen King special editions and more than 50% of the available copies have already been reserved!
READ MORE OR RESERVE YOUR COPY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!
Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!
Cemetery Dance Publications is very pleased to announce our Deluxe Special Limited Edition of Stephen King and Owen King’s first collaborative novel, Sleeping Beauties!
We have a very limited supply remaining to offer of the Traycased Oversized Hardcover Signed Limited Edition, which will be printed in two colors with two-color hot foil stamping, a satin ribbon page marker and embossed endpapers, epic wrap-around cover artwork, nearly a dozen interior color paintings by Jana Heidersdorf, a signature sheet signed by Stephen King, Owen King, and Jana Heidersdorf, and the book will be housed in a custom-made traycase exclusive to this edition.
There is also an unsigned Oversized Slipcased Hardcover Gift Edition of only 1,750 illustrated copies that will be printed in two colors with two-color hot foil stamping, a fine binding, epic wrap-around cover artwork, nearly a dozen interior color paintings by Jana Heidersdorf, and it will be housed in a custom-made slipcase. This marks one of the scarcest print runs for any of our Stephen King special editions and we do not expect our supplies to last long!
READ MORE OR RESERVE YOUR COPY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!
Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories Reviews2 Comments on Review: “The Fiddle is the Devil’s Instrument” by Brett J. Talley 
The Fiddle is the Devil’s Instrument by Brett J. Talley
JournalStone (April 2017)
247 pages; $25.95 hardcover; $8.20 paperback; $3.95 e-book
Reviewed by Chad Lutzke
I am no Lovecraft connoisseur. There’s a lot by him I haven’t read. My knowledge in all things Lovecraft—other than reading “The Call of Cthulhu” and the Herbert West stories—is probably just par for the course. Maybe below par, as my familiarity does extend beyond pop culture references, which has taken second only to zombies this modern day. And I suspect that most who share the Cthulhu memes and sport the elder god swag haven’t read anything past the title. Maybe it’s because Lovecraft isn’t an easy read. Maybe it’s because smart phones and video games have taken the place of brittle paperbacks and warped hardbacks. And maybe that’s where books like The Fiddle is the Devil’s Instrument fit in best.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories RevelationsLeave a comment on Al Sarrantonio: The Weird King of Halloween 
I first encountered Al Sarrantonio the same way others most likely did; in his Orangefield Cycle, which regales the tale of the strange Pumpkin Capitol of Orangefield, New York, through the novels Halloweenland, Hallows Eve, Horrorween and the novellas The Pumpkin Boy and Hornets. In Orangefield, strange things happen around Halloween. People die mysteriously, create suicide pacts, conduct pagan rituals, and see strange things from other worlds. Like the mythical Pumpkin Boy, a robot with a pumpkin for a head. Or Samhain himself, trying to take advantage of Halloween’s thin dimensional walls in his repeated attempts to sneak into our world as the advance scout of an unholy army lead by something far worse. Continue Reading
Richard Chizmar and Brian James Freeman have once again joined forces with the cutting edge team at Hydra, a division of Random House, to produce five more volumes in their acclaimed Dark Screams horror eBook anthology series!
Each volume collects stories by the best authors working in the business, and the newest addition to this landmark series is Dark Screams: Volume Six, which is now available for immediate download!
(Read more about Dark Screams: Volume One, Dark Screams: Volume Two, Dark Screams: Volume Three, Dark Screams: Volume Four, and Dark Screams: Volume Five on their pages.)
Dark Screams Volume Six features…
THE OLD DUDE’S TICKER by Stephen King
Richard Drogan has been spooked ever since he came back from ‘Nam, but he’s no head case, dig? He just knows the old dude needs to die.
THE RICH ARE DIFFERENT by Lisa Morton
Even though she made her name revealing the private lives of the rich and famous, Sara Peck has no idea how deep their secrets really go… or the price they’ll pay to get what they desire.
THE MANICURE by Nell Quinn-Gibney
A trip to the nail salon is supposed to be relaxing. But as the demons of the past creep closer with every clip, even the most serene day of pampering can become a nightmare.
THE COMFORTING VOICE by Norman Prentiss
It’s a little strange how baby Lydia can only be soothed by her grandfather’s unnatural voice, ravaged by throat cancer. The weirdest part? What he’s saying is more disturbing than how he says it.
THE SITUATIONS by Joyce Carol Oates
There are certain lessons children must learn, rules they must follow, scars they must bear. No lesson is more important than this: Never question Daddy. Or else.
THE CORPSE KING by Tim Curran
Grave robbers Kearney and Clow keep one step ahead of the law as they ply their ghoulish trade, but there’s no outrunning a far more frightening enemy that hungers for the dead.
Purchase the eBook:
Amazon.com • Amazon.ca • Amazon.co.uk • Barnes & Noble • iBookstore • Kobo
Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!
A Field Guide to Kentucky Kaiju by Justin Stewart, Tressina Bowling and Shawn Pryor
Apex Book Company (October 2016)
104 pages; $14.95 paperback
Reviewed by Anton Cancre
Any amateur naturalist worth their salt knows that Kentucky is one of the finest states in this dear union. Those great, sprawling acres of wilderness call to us, filled as they are with some of the more interesting species of both man and beast. Given this, it really is surprising it took this long for someone to put together a loose guide to the more unusual of its native fauna.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories Breaking NewsLeave a comment on Gwendy’s Button Box LOW STOCK WARNING!!! Yep, it’s true! 95% of the First Edition, First Printings of Gwendy’s Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar have been reserved and we’re going back to press pre-publication for a second printing! The ONLY WAY to guarantee a First Edition, First Printing is to order through our the product page. None of the major booksellers are guaranteed specific printings, just FYI.
We also thought this is a good time to answer some frequently asked questions about the book, so here we go:
Q: Any chance Richard will sign more copies? I missed out on ordering during that promotion.
A: We’ve gone rogue here and put the SIGNED BY RICHARD CHIZMAR (no extra cost!) option back on the product page, but you’d better hurry before Richard notices and asks us to remove it!
Q: Any news about the Audiobook?
A: Yes! The awesome audiobook team at Simon & Schuster announced that Maggie Siff from Billions, Mad Men, and Sons of Anarchy is the narrator and there are two bonus features: a bonus story called “The Music Room” by King and an exclusive interview between Stephen and Richard! You can learn more here: Amazon * Audible on Amazon * Audible.com * Cemetery Dance Online Store
Q: Can I still order the Gwendy’s Button Box t-shirt?
A: Yes, we put that one back on the site, too, but seriously, we need to get our order rolling with our shirt guy this week, so PLEASE order today if you want one! Read more on the Cemetery Dance Limited Edition T-Shirt product page.
Q: Any movie news to share?
A: No comment.
Q: Didn’t JJ Abrams have some kind words to share about Gwendy’s Button Box?
A: “Man, I love this story! The whole thing just races and feels so right-sized and so scarily and sadly relevant. Loved the characters… and the sense of one little girl’s connection to the whole world through this weird device. It all just sang.” — JJ Abrams
Q: Are you just messing with us with those last two Q&As?
A: I have no idea what you’re talking about…
Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: ‘Feral’ by James DeMonaco & B.K. Evenson 
Feral by James DeMonaco & B.K. Evenson
Anchor/Blumhouse Books (April 2017)
320 pages; $9.57 paperback; $11.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
Ever read a book with all the right ingredients, one that’s well written, has characters you care about, tells a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end, yet leaves you feeling disappointed?
That’s exactly how I feel about Feral, the new novel from the powerhouse team of James DeMonaco and B.K. Evenson. Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories What I Learned from Stephen KingLeave a comment on ‘Thinner’ and the Blame Game 
“There are no curses, only mirrors you hold up to the souls of men and women.” – Stephen King, Thinner
A disclaimer before we begin: As is the case with most of these doo-dads, there are spoilers ahead for those who have not read Thinner. More spoilers than usual in fact, as I found it necessary to employ the book’s end in my final analysis. If you, Constant Reader, should wish to check out now, we will hold no grudge, nor lay the blame. For if there is anything to be learned from Thinner (and I believe there is, or I would not have written said doo-dad), it is that blame is like a spinning wheel. Round and round and round she goes… Continue Reading
The first major review of Gwendy’s Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar has arrived and we’re thrilled to share what Publishers Weekly thinks of this exciting new novella:
“This absorbing novella by horror giants King (End of Watch) and Chizmar (A Long December) revisits one of King’s most popular locales. It’s 1974 when 12-year-old Gwendy Peterson is offered a magic box by a man named Richard Farris, whom she meets at the top of one of the cliffside Suicide Stairs in Castle Rock, Maine. Farris wears a “small neat black hat” and seems to know just who Gwendy is and what she wants. Eight buttons grace the mahogany box he offers to Gwendy, and a lever dispenses silver dollars and intricate chocolates that Farris claims will help Gwendy lose weight and escape being called ‘Goodyear’ by her classmates. Lose weight she does, but that’s not all. Wonderful things keep happening in Gwendy’s life, and she’s happier than she’s ever been. But when she decides to press one of the buttons, the consequences are horrendous. The novella follows Gwendy through high school and beyond, capturing the golden-hued joy of childhood and the wonder of friendship and first love, all under the shadow of temptation. This bite-size gem of a story packs quite a punch, and the only complaint readers will likely have is that it isn’t longer.”
— Publishers Weekly
Trade Hardcover Edition: Cemetery Dance Publications
eBook: Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo * iTunes
Audio: Amazon * Audible on Amazon * Audible.com * Cemetery Dance Online Store
Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: ‘The Girls in the High-Heeled Shoes’ by Michael Kurland 
The Girls in the High-Heeled Shoes by Michael Kurland
Titan Books (February 2016)
320 pages; $12.95 paperback; ebook $7.99
Reviewed by Peter Tomas
Michael Kurland’s sequel to his debut Alexander Brass novel, Too Soon Dead, manifested itself in The Girls in the High-Heeled Shoes: a manifestation which doesn’t disappoint.
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: ‘Norse Mythology’ by Neil Gaiman 
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
W. W. Norton & Company (February 2017)
304 pages; $13.66 hardback; $9.32 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms
Norse mythology has always been a strange beast. Its tenets reach around what most readers know from Greek, Roman, and Christian stories, delving into the darker but wackier side of the tales passed down through our Jungian collective. Whereas most other cultures took themselves a little too seriously for the most part, Norse mythology dances with the devil, tosses him in the air, tosses back a few, and laughs into the great beyond.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories Exhumed5 Comments on “An Island Unto Herself” and “Vicious Cycle” 
Hello again, folks. This is the 6th installment of monthly double reviews studying the structure of great horror fiction published in our beloved Cemetery Dance.
Last time I reviewed two Bentley Little titles: “The Janitor” from Cemetery Dance #1 (1988) and “We” from Cemetery Dance #64 (2010). This marked the 2nd time my little column compared an older and a newer story from the same author. I know I liked it, and readers seemed to as well.
Fortunately, I get to do this again this month with a pair of Barry Hoffman stories. His two pieces were published in Cemetery Dance in 1988 and 1997. And while they may not be separated by the two full decades like we saw with Mr. Little, Mr. Hoffman’s stories nevertheless show both growth over this span of time as well as a certain, unique thematic element.
Let’s see if you can figure it out before I connect those dots…Continue Reading
We’re very pleased to officially announce READING STEPHEN KING edited by Brian James Freeman, a brand new signed Limited Edition hardcover featuring essays about Stephen King and his work from Clive Barker, Stewart O’Nan, Frank Darabont, Stephen Spignesi, Richard Chizmar, Justin Brooks, Tony Magistrale, Michael R. Collings, Rocky Wood, Robin Furth, Kevin Quigley, Hans-Ake Lilja, Billy Chizmar, Jack Ketchum, Bev Vincent, Mick Garris, and Jay Franco!
Read more or place your order while supplies last!
Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!
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