Monday, October 4, 2010

Fresh Blood: New Releases In the World of Horror

compiled by Nickolas Cook and Steven M. Duarte

















In Book/Publishing News:
Staff writer and Bram Stoker award-winning author Lisa Morton announces the pre-order information for her newest work, THE SAMHANACH (trade paperback edition). This promises to outdo her debut novel, the critically acclaimed THE CASTLE OF LOS ANGELES.

Another exciting bit of news from Lisa is her participation in the upcoming History Channel's original documentary production THE REAL STORY OF HALLOWEEN, which is set to premier October 26th (please check your local listings for times).

Lisa has also been busy writing a piece for the October 20th issue of The Wall Street Journal (her work appears in the 4th section and can be found online as well).


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A heads up to collector's:

ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND by Lewis Carroll and Nickolas Cook Going Out-of-Print. Last chance for a copy.



Alice in Zombieland by Lewis Carroll and Nickolas Cook is going out-of-print very soon to make way for the new Source Books mass market edition. That said, this is your last chance to own the original before the new version--complete with illustrations--comes out.

Like our other first editions of mash-ups going out-of-print, there's a HUGE chance the originals will be worth a great deal in the future.



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COSCOM ENTERTAINMENT announces the release of A.P. Fuchs’ sequel to his hit zombie shoot ‘em up novel, Blood of the Dead, called Possession of the Dead, the 2nd book in his Undead World Trilogy.

















From the backcover:
Angels.
Demons.
Giant Zombies.
Things have changed.
Ever since returning through the Storm of Skulls to the present day, Joe, Billie and August have discovered the world they now inhabit, is not the world they left behind. The zombie threat has evolved to gargantuan proportions. Now aided by giant undead--massive monsters with phenomenal strength and power, with deadly appetites just as vast--the zombie population moves to devour any and all life.
Separated from his friends, Joe learns that not all hope is lost for humanity when he meets, Tracy, a woman who exudes a strength to rival his own. Tracy brings him to the Hub, an underground sanctuary where life continues in a dead world, but his thoughts linger on his missing friends.
August and Billie have problems of their own, and soon learn the same plight that affected a past friend of theirs now affects many: zombies with shapeshifting capability. Now, anyone is suspect. Yet even with this newfound knowledge, more is heaped upon them when the agenda of the undead is revealed and humanity is the one caught in the crossfire.
A war is raging, one between angels and demons, monsters and man.
And it's only escalating.


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Author LISA MANNETTI announces the release of her new book trailer for her acclaimed THE GENTLING BOX, Bram Stoker Award winner for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. Check out the trailer below:




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Our friends at NORTHERN FRIGHTS PUBLISHING announces author Michael Scott Bricker has signed a one book deal with Northern Frights Publishing (NFP). His novel, Symphony for the Quiet Ones, will be released in 2011.
Symphony for the Quiet Ones is a post apocalyptic time travel novel that revolves around a small town in Nevada and a battle between two immortal factions, magicians and monks. Powerful enemies, neither side restricts their fight to the timeline, resulting in an epic battle across time that will decide the fate of the world.
"It's a fun, weird, and exciting book," Michael Scott Bricker said, "full of strange characters and historical oddities. For those who like time travel stories, it's a must. The story starts in the mythical desert town of Garlock, Nevada, and the main characters must flee a group of immortal monks who are hunting them down. They escape into medieval France during the Black Death, then to post-apocalyptic Las Vegas, and then back to Garlock in the year 1913. The medieval historical scenes in this book were especially fun to write."
Jumping across the timeline is nothing new to Bricker, who recently sold a story about the painter, Hieronymous Bosch, to NFP's Fallen: An Anthology of Demonic Horror. The story marks the third appearance by Bricker in an NFP release, and was widely regarded as a highlight of the anthology. The book will also contain tales by Aurora Award winner Douglas Smith, David Tallerman, David Dunwoody, and Steve Vernon, among others.
"If you want an appetizer, then read my novelette The Garden of Earthly Delights, which will be released in the anthology Fallen: An Anthology of Demonic Horror, also from Northern Frights Publishing. That tale is a fictionalized account of the painter Hieronymus Bosch, and while it's a completely different story than Symphony, I think that it encompasses some of the same themes."
Symphony for the Quiet Ones will be released in summer 2011, in hardcover, trade paperback, and digitally, and is part of NFP's move from an anthology-only press in its first year to a more robust product line in its second.
"I've always thought that 2011 would be an important year," Bricker said, "but that had something to do with the end of the Mayan Calendar and the approaching apocalypse. Well, we shall see. I never dreamed that I'd have a book coming out right before this rather inconvenient event. Hopefully everything will turn out okay and the book will continue to sell for years to come. If not, it's a great book to read while fleeing from the locusts or volcanoes or whatever. The zombies will have something to read while waiting for the saucers to arrive."
As for signing on with Northern Frights Publishing, Michael Scott Bricker added:
"I think that the fiction in Northern Frights books is of a very high quality, and the books are visually stunning. It's obvious that these people really care about their products."


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Another great release from one of our favorite genre authors, ERIC S. BROWN, SEASON OF DEATH.
Eric S Brown returns to the zombie genre with this new hardcover collection of novellas which will leave readers knowing that there is no escape from the flesh eating hordes who are about to bring an end to the world as we know it.

Four novellas from Eric S Brown, author of Season of Rot (Permuted Press) and War of the Worlds Plus Blood, Guts and Zombies (Simon and Schuster).

Undead Down Under—Straight after his adventures in Season of Rot, Kyle returns to lead the new British Empire into a head-on war with the crocodile-demons who rule Australia. Will he be victorious against the decaying, undead minions?

Kinberra Down—A sci-fi horrorfest set on a glacier-covered alien planet. The crew of Kinberra emergency lands on a life-sustaining planet in the unchartered wilds of outer space. The icy world is teeming with terrifying creatures desperate for human flesh. Will the unlucky crew of Kinberra survive the arctic planet? Or will the snow-burrowing monsters satisfy their hunger by feasting on the survivors of the starship?

How the West Went to Hell—A bookish editor travels to Reaper's Valley, a small town set in the Wild West, to finish the macabre manuscript of a recently-deceased novelist. He arrives by stagecoach, where he is introduced to a classic bevy of characters who will join in the fight against the yellow-eyed demon bodysnatchers overtaking Reaper's Valley.A gun-toting, six-gun blazing tip of the hat to both the horror and Western genres.

Ragnarock’s Island—In a world ruled by the dead, humans are held captive in breeding programs designed to feed the hungry, zombie masses. Scott survives the sinking of The Queen, a naval vessel, and finds himself caught up in a new war against the dead on the high seas. But one small island outpost, Ragnarock’s Island, may hold the key to final victory over the dead.

Exclusively available from Pill Hill Press. Get your copy before they sell out.


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Author AARON POLSON announces the first of his series of PDF newsletters, SKULL SALAD NEWSLETTER, filled with industry tips and interviews with fellow authors and other fun for his fans.


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And news from one of the godfathers of the Splatterpunk movement, CRAIG SPECTOR, the 25th Anniversary re-release of one of the classic vampire novels of all time, THE LIGHT AT THE END from Crossroad Press.. This is a must own novel from John Skipp and Craig Spector, two horror writers that helped create a whole new sub-genre in horror in the 80s and 90s.




In Movie News:







































Paranormal Activity 2
Release date: Oct 21, 2010
Starring: Katie Featherston
The paranormal activity is starting up again just in time for Halloween. It will be interesting to see if this film can do as well as its brethren. Paranormal Activity director Oren Peli only wrote and executive produced this film as he left the directing duties to Tod Williams. From the trailer we can see they have added a dog and a baby to the mix. We shall see if Oren Peli can make magic a second time.







































The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest
Release date: Oct 29, 2010
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Annika Hallin, Per Oscarsson, Lena Endre, Peter Andersson
The last installment in “The Girl” series of films that started earlier this year with the girl with the dragon tattoo will be released right before Halloween. The film is not receiving a full standard release so check your local theaters to find out if its playing in your area.





































Monsters
Release date: Oct 29, 2010
Starring: Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able
This new flick seems to combine elements from both District 9 and Cloverfield to make for a giant monster movie. The trailer does not show much of the monsters which is a good thing but I’m still hoping we get a Cthulhu type monster to wreak havoc on the big screen.
























Saw VII 3D
Release date: Oct 29, 2010
Starring: Tobin Bell, Cary Elwes, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Sean Patrick Flanery
In a not so surprising move the Saw franchise is going the 3d route by releasing its supposedly last in the series film in 3d. I grew tired of this series about 4 movies ago and really hope this is the last outing of Jigsaw. I mean the guys been dead for like 3 movies yet he’s still coming out in them.



--Steven M. Duarte