Elegies of Rotting Stars by Tiffany Morris
Nictitating Books (November 15, 2022)
65 pages; $13.99 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Tiffany Morris is a Mi’kmaw/settler writer of speculative fiction and poetry from Kjipuktuk (Halifax), Nova Scotia. Her work has appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, and Apex Magazine, among others. She has an MA in English with a focus on Indigenous Futurisms. She is a member of the Speculative Fiction Poetry Association and the Horror Writers Association, and her work has been nominated for Elgin, Rhysling, and Aurora Awards. Her newest book is Elegies of Rotting Stars, a collection of dark fantasy and speculative poetry that is sure to appeal to any horror reader. Continue Reading
This special edition was lavishly crafted with collectors and readers alike in mind. Dirk Berger provided stunning color artwork for the dust jacket and frontispiece, plus sixteen black and white illustrations for the interior. Jeff Strand contributed an original foreword and Bentley Little wrote a brand new introduction discussing the origins of one of his most popular novels to date.
In the spring of 1912, American writer Arthur Pearce is reeling from the wounds inflicted by a disastrous marriage and the public humiliation that ensued. But his plans to travel abroad, write a new novel, and forget his ex-wife are interrupted by a lovely young woman he encounters on a London-bound train. Her name is Sarah Coyle, and the tale she tells him chills his blood.
According to Sarah, her younger sister Violet has been entranced by a local count, a man whose attractiveness and charisma are rivaled only by his shady reputation. Whispers of bizarre religious rites and experimental medicine surround Count Richard Dunning, though no wrongdoing has ever been proven. Sarah’s family views the Count as a philanthropist and a perfect match for young Violet, but Sarah believes her sister is soon to become a subject in Count Dunning’s hideous ceremonies.
Smitten by Sarah and moved to gallantry by her plight, Arthur agrees to travel to Altarbrook, Sarah’s rural ancestral home, in order to prevent Violet from falling into ruin. He soon learns, however, that his meeting with Sarah on the train was no accident. And his arrival at Altarbrook represents a crucial but ghastly step in the Count’s monstrous plot.
“Fans of the gothic will love how Janz uses well-worn tropes in more modern ways, while at the same time readers of 21st-century horror will gain a new appreciation for the genre’s roots.” — Starred Library Journal Review
Ricardo Delgado grew up obsessed with monsters and has turned his childhood love into a career. He’s worked as a conceptual artist in Hollywood, published The Age of Reptiles graphic novel series, and is coming out with books on Dracula. After the success of his illustrated novel Dracula of Transylvania, his The Art of Dracula of Transylvania was put on Kickstarter where it quickly earned its goal. The Kickstarter continues until November 9, and Delgado spoke to Cemetery Dance about his early interests, his career in conceptual art and graphic novels, and why Dracula has obsessed him for so long.Continue Reading
Horror fans, I have a terrible confession to make. I read Chuck Wendig’s Star Wars books and decided he wasn’t an author for me. The books were good, but I got the sense that Wendig’s writing style didn’t hit the right notes for me to continue with his other stories. So I passed on Wanderers. I passed on The Book of Accidents.
Holy smokes, am I an idiot. I am a giant, foolish idiot who made a horrible mistake.Continue Reading
Ever hear the tale of Erin Hill? She ground her lover into a pill.
Richmond, Virginia, grows each year. Shedding its skin, turning plantations and civil war confederacy points into trendy restaurants and shops. But the dead are always in the room.
When Erin’s lifelong friend and on-and-off boyfriend, Silas, overdoses, life as she knows it caves in all around her. She should’ve helped him more, been more patient with his relapses, his erratic behavior.Continue Reading
Exsanguine Hart is a scribbler with an obnoxiously pretentious pseudonym living somewhere in Canada with two cats, an assemblage of dolls and a number of dragons. Hart can be found online either doodling on instagram @exsanguine_hart
After 19 years working at Cemetery Dance, Brian James Freeman went full-time on his own writing and publishing ventures back in January thanks to the support of his readers over on Patreon. Here is one example of the new short fiction he’s been writing this year.
I’m not going to give my name. You can figure it out from the forty years of articles. Some of them say three other people, but there were four of us with her on The Rebel, the fifty-eight-foot Bristol yacht moored that night near Catalina Island’s Avalon Harbor, just off the California Coast.Continue Reading
If you know anything about Cemetery Dance, you know that the arrival of October…The Spooky Season…is a very special time of year for us. To celebrate, we’ve invited some of our favorite spinners of spooky tales to share their favorite Halloween traditions and memories with us.
Today we’re joined by Cynthia “Cina” Pelayo, the Chicago-based, award-winning author and poet. Apple cider donuts and The Rocky Horror Picture Show are just some of her Halloween traditions — read on to learn more! Continue Reading
LindaAnn LoSchiavo is a dramatist, writer, and poet. A native New Yorker, LoSchiavo has received nominations for the Pushcart Prize, Rhysling Award, Best of the Net, and Dwarf Stars. She is a member of Science Fiction Poetry Assoc., The British Fantasy Society, and The Dramatists Guild. David Davies left Wales under baleful circumstances for The Lone Star State. “Have sonnets, will travel,” announces his business card. His Pushcart- and Bram Stoker-nominated poems and stories have been known to appear in: Granfalloon, Green Lantern Press, MacroMicroCosm, Moon Shadow Sanctuary, Ripples in Space. Together, LoSchiavo and Davies have written the Halloween-themed collection Messengers of the Macabre. Continue Reading
If you know anything about Cemetery Dance, you know that the arrival of October…The Spooky Season…is a very special time of year for us. To celebrate, we’ve invited some of our favorite spinners of spooky tales to share their favorite Halloween traditions and memories with us.
Today we’re joined by Josh Malerman, author of numerous short stories and novels such as Bird Box and its sequel, Malorie, Unbury Carol, Daphne, and many more. He is also the singer/songwriter of the Detroit rock band The High Strung. Continue Reading
Opening an anthology of horror stories is like opening your candy bag after a long night of trick-or-treating: you hope the chocolate treats and peanut butter cups outweigh the licorice and Circus Peanuts.
With Close to Midnight, out this month from Flame Tree Press, editor Mark Morris fills up readers’ bags with king-sized candy bars, proving his is the house to go to on Halloween night.Continue Reading
To celebrate the Spooky Season, the Kindle version of Widow’s Point by Richard Chizmar & Billy Chizmar is on sale for a limited time for only 99 cents! If you’ll help spread the word, you could win a $20 Cemetery Dance Gift Certificate.
All you have to do is use the widget below to tweet about the 99 cent sale. The more you tweet it through this widget, they more points you earn, and the better your chances to win! This special promotion runs until October 28th. Thanks, and good luck!
So, yeah, I have a bigfoot costume in my attic. And I may have donned it during a multi-author book signing at a New Jersey brewery and run amok, startling every day drinker in my path. On Halloween, I quite possibly made some small children cry as I offered them treats from my hairy hand (see the author in his glory below). For shits and giggles, wearing the squatch mask at random doesn’t seem all that strange to me, even as I sit in my belfry and write this column.
Elegies of Rotting Stars by Tiffany Morris
To celebrate the Spooky Season, the Kindle version of Widow’s Point by Richard Chizmar & Billy Chizmar is 
