Here’s a small selection of the horror and genre news that caught our eye during the last week …
The Wingspan of Severed Hands, the new novel from Joanna Koch and Weirdpunk Books, coming December
A world gone mad. Cities abandoned. Dreams invade waking minds. An invisible threat lures those who oppose its otherworldly violence to become acolytes of a nameless cult. As a teenage girl struggles for autonomy, a female weapons director in a secret research facility develops a living neuro-cognitive device that explodes into self-awareness. Discovering their hidden emotional bonds, all three women unveil a common enemy as their dissonant realities intertwine in a cosmic battle across hallucinatory dreamscapes. Time is the winning predator, and every moment spirals deeper into the heart of the beast. From Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author Joanna Koch and Weirdpunk books, you can pre-order your copy in eBook and paperback, here.
Demain Publishing release six new entries in the Short Sharp Shocks series, including The Lost Girl & Spindleshanks, by Alyson Faye, out today
With the first entries in the second wave of Demain Publishing’s Short Sharp Shocks series getting their release back in September, they are back with six new volumes of bite-sized chills. With cover art and design handled as ever by the talented Adrian Baldwin (such as on Alyson Faye’s The Lost Girl & Spindleshanks, pictured), the new titles are: The Last Rubble Kingby Michael Reyes, Scared of Girls by Liz Tuckwell, The Lost Girl & Spindleshanks by Alyson Faye, The Dolls House & Prison Break by Yvonne Lang and Brood by Mark Anthony Smith. Each release will be available from today in eBook and later in paperback.
Boinking Bizarro, an anthology of bizarro fiction edited by Danger Slater and Brian Asman, coming 1 December from Death’s Head Press
From the demented minds of Bizarro authors Danger Slater and Brian Asman comes Boinking Bizarro, an anthology of weird literary parodies. You’ve never seen the classics quite like this. We’ve taken that old, musty canon and dressed it up in lace, leather, and lipstick. Wowza! In Boinking Bizarro, a glory hole attendant seeks to give his wife the family she deserves, a time-traveling professor gives blind poet John Donne a hand, a slick serial killer gets the tables turned on that ass, a PI delves into the mysterious goings-on at a whorehouse, the forgotten erotic ouevre of Alfred Horsecock is explored, a trip to Mars puts a cloned super-soldier in a seminally sticky situation, and how did they film the infamous orgy scene in that Stephan Kink clown movie, anyway? Dystopian futures, disaffected slang-spewing youth, sexy tortures, and rapidly-growing pubic hair abound! Plus, Pinnochio’s big dick energy. Which is like this whole thing in and of itself. Featuring stories by Danger Slater, Autumn Christian, Brian Asman, Jessica McHugh, Max Booth III, Betty Rocksteady and more, you can pre-order your copy now, here.
Eddie Generous presents Dusk: Stories, coming Monday 30 November from Unnerving
Released through Unnerving Press, Dusk: Stories is the forthcoming collection by writer Eddie Generous. Down the lonely country roads, across the ruddy fields, and through dark sections of suburbia, Eddie Generous delves into the horrors of the heart and soul, physical torments and imagined enemies. 28 stories of worst-case scenarios, overreactions, and nefarious intent. Throw expectations out the window and travel into the unknown with the author of Rawr, Plantation Pan, and Savage Beasts Of The Arctic Circle. Released 30 November in paperback or eBook format, you can pre-order your copy right now, here.
Afterlife, the second book in Duncan Ralston’s Ghostland series, coming 9 December
Six months after the “Ghostland Disaster,” Duck Falls has become a reluctant tourist trap, and a new home to the activist group Ghosts Are People Too. When the Return to Ghostland televised event ends in yet another tragedy, ghosts once again fall under scrutiny… along with the effectiveness of the Recurrence Field. Away at college, survivor Lilian Roth has discovered she’s able to communicate with spirits. She and her best friend, Ben Laramie, use the skills they’ve acquired to free ghosts from their hauntings. But Rex Garrote, the mastermind behind the Ghostland Disaster, is raising an army of ghosts to slaughter every living person on Earth. Left with no choice but to fight, Ben and Lilian must recruit their own army of freed ghosts, and prepare them for war. Will it be enough to save the world? Find out in Afterlife, available for the promotional pre-order only price of 99p/99c, in eBook format, here.
Warnings to the Curious, an online ghost story festival presented by Uncanny Collective, coming 16 – 20 December
Starting on Wednesday 16th December with a free event, featuring a creepy Christmas quiz and a reading of M. R. James’ A Warning To The Curious. The festival will feature a mixture of storytelling, performances and other events designed to bring you a healthy dose of creepy festival cheer. There will be a mixture of brand new writing from a host of talented artists and performers, plus classic stories from legendary writers of the macabre. There will also be a giveaway or two and the chance to vote for your favourite Christmas ghost stories and films. This festival will be a chance for us all to gather together in a safe way and celebrate both the festive season and live performance. The full line up is live on the website, here, along with ticketing details.
KEV HARRISON
