So, to start this new week off, here’s a link to a short review of Simon Kurt Unsworth’s chapbook from David Hebblethwaite’s Follow the Thread blog. To find out what he thought of this latest publication from Spectral Press, just click here (it’ s the third one down).

The chapbook itself will be sent out to subscribers either at the end of this week or the beginning of next (most likely the latter). All that remains to be done now is for the signature sheets to be signed – and that’s being done tomorrow.

And then, it’ll soon be time for the first Spectral Visions novella to be released – there aren’t many copies of the limited hardback version left and it’s very close to being completely sold out. Click the link here to get details on how to order the book.

Onwards and upwards!

Yes, Cate Gardner’s Nowhere Hall has been out for a while now, but the fine reviewer at Black Static magazine, Peter Tennant, has been saving a few things by this excellent writer so he could review them all at once. And so, in the latest issue of the magazine (#27), Peter reviews not just Cate’s chapbook, but also two of her recent novellas, Barbed Wire Hearts (Delirium) and Theatre of Curious Acts (Hadley Rille Books), both of which are eminently worth getting hold of.  As he writes so eloquently of Cate, she is indeed in a “genre of one”.

Getting to the main point here, however, Peter says of Nowhere Hall:

“It’s almost a stream of consciousness ghost story, if there can be such a thing, with events bleeding into each other and surreal imagery (e.g. Death as a man with an umbrella), not a word wasted and imagery laden with meaning, so that you almost instantly want to read the work again and pick up on all the things you missed first time around, and then again after that, with the assurance that there will always be something new waiting to be discovered.”

Further, Peter also says:

“It is a tale that is as unique as it is eminently readable, the ghost story as something strangely beautiful and beautifully strange.”

However, if you want to read what else Peter says about Nowhere Hall, as well as Barbed Wire Hearts  and Theatre of Curious Acts, then you’ll just have to hunt down a copy of Black Static #27, which is published by TTA Press.

More reviews soon!!

So, first up this bright Tuesday morning is a new review of Simon Kurt Unsworth’s Rough Music – this one was written by Walt Hicks and can be found on his Hellbound Times blog. Walt has been a consistent supporter of Spectral Press ever since it opened its doors – so what did he think of the first issue in the imprint’s second year? Find out here.

(Psst – Happy Birthday to Mr. Unsworth, too!!)

Secondly, here’s a review of Paul Finch’s King Death, which appeared in Issue Eight (Winter 2011) of Strange Aeons magazine. I reproduce it here in full with the permission of the magazine:

“In the early 1300’s, rumors of a terrible plague began to spread throughout Europe. Entire regions of China and India had fallen, and it seemed death itself was drifting westward. Rumor became reality in 1307 when a Genoese ship pulled into the port of Messina with a dead and dying crew. The Black Plague had arrived, and by 1350 an estimated 50-70% of England’s population had perished.

In Spectral Press’ fourth offering, Paul Finch transports us back to this slightly exaggerated time where the mortality rate more closely resembles that of Captain Tripps than the actual Plague. It is a world no longer in the thralls of death, but a world which has gasped its last pitiful breath, and lies rotting under an unremorseful sun.

Rodric, a former member of the free-companies, has seen his fair share of destruction. Clad in a suit of black mail with a skull emblazoned upon his helmet and shield, he rides through the silent, fetid countryside (on a pale horse no less) ridding corpses of their riches and the few survivors he encounters of their lives. He is a man without honor or remorse. Hardened by war and having grown increasingly numb to the horrors that surround him, he sets out upon his diabolical crusade with little sympathy.

One day, while Rodric reflects upon his incongruous kingdom, he spies a well-bedecked page-boy, half alive and stumbling through the valley below him. Greed spurs him into action, and after his alter-ego cows the boy into a terrified silence, he presents himself as Death, King Death, and demands to be taken to the wealthy lordship he abandoned. In return, he agrees to grant the boy’s final wish, to join his family in death. But once they arrive, Rodric learns that there is a precipitous price to be paid for masquerading as Death, and realizes, albeit a bit too late, that it’s not always good to be King.

While not my favorite offering from Spectral, Finch certainly has a way with words. Though he paints a dour portrait, his brushstrokes are eloquent and unequaled in their execution. Whether describing a wild land reclaimed by nature, or a procession of the decomposing dead, there is beauty to be found. And it’s because of that beauty, that torrid love affair with morose prose, that this chapbook deserves to sit upon your shelf. A worthy addition to Spectral’s ever-growing library, but limited to their standard 100 signed and numbered editions, finding your own copy might be as hard as finding a lone survivor in a time of plague. But don’t let that stop you from jumping on the unearthly bandwagon. Future releases will sell out quickly, so make sure to stop by their website and subscribe, because the terrors you miss today, will surely turn into tomorrow’s spectral regrets.“

More reviews coming soon!

AN UPDATE: MUSIKS & MYTHOS

This is just to let those interested in purchasing copies of the series of Lovecraft audio-CDs that Temple of Azathoth Records are producing in collaboration with Spectral that the project has been delayed by two months due to a personal bereavement. The first in the series, featuring two stories from the master of cosmic terror himself (The Music of Erich Zann and Nyarlathotep) and a tale from the modern wielder of Lovecraft’s strange legacy, Joe Pulver (The Delirium of a Worm-Wizard), will now be available from May 2012 instead. More information will be brought to you here as the time approaches for release – but rest assured it WILL be unleashed upon an unsuspecting world…

Due to the marvels of modern technology, even though I will be sending Simon Kurt Unsworth’s Spectral chapbook off to the printers this morning, the first reviews have already started to come in. Wonders will never cease, eh? Anyway, the first of these is from Jim McLeod’s Ginger Nuts of Horror blog, wherein he explains that the tale had something of a personal resonance for him – the question is, though, did he like it or loathe it? Find out here.

The second review is from Geoff Nelder and I reproduce it here in full (with his kind permission):

“Rough Music by Simon Kurt Unsworth

Short story that is Volume 5 of Spectral – 24pg A5 print booklet with card covers, signed and numbered, 100 only, a limited edition published in March 2012 by Spectral Press

When Cornish’s slumber was disturbed by a one-man-band beating the hell out of what might have been a saucepan with a heavy spoon, he was irritated, annoyed but not unduly concerned. Alas, the unruly incident, both visual and acoustic, incremented the following night. Was someone out to torment the community or him in person? After another night, he suspected the latter and the reader, reading between both the lines and the sheets is able to suspect why. This tale is more cunning than it first appears, and the resolution of the conflict(s) is sufficiently intriguing for the reader to determine whether the rough music is real or … something else. 

Unsworth has penned a worthy addition to Spectral Press’s unbroken record of fine literary pieces of horror.“

The chapbook will be sent to subscribers and individual purchasers starting at the end of this month.

Meanwhile, Gary Fry’s novella The Respectable Face of Tyranny is, gratifyingly, selling very steadily – in fact two-thirds of the limited edition hardback print run have already been accounted for. If you wish to get your hands on one of these lovely little volumes, featuring full-colour covers (a Neil Williams effort, based on a photograph of Saltwick Bay by Philip Haigh), coloured endpapers and a silk ribbon bookmarker, then I suggest you hop over to here and order one now – they’re sure to do one of Spectral’s patented vanishing tricks very soon!

More news and reviews soon!!

SIMON KURT UNSWORTH’S ROUGH MUSIC

“Rough music: (- n) a loud cacophony created with tin pans, drums, etc,; the cacophonous ringing of bells, hooting, blowing bull’s horns, the banging of frying pans, saucepans, kettles, or other kitchen or barn implements with the intention of creating long-lasting embarrassment

Sometimes, the sounds we hear in the dark have resonances that we cannot foresee…”

 “A writer whose skill is admirably suffused by a thorough grounding in the art of past masters of the macabre” - Stephen Volk

The fifth volume of the Spectral chapbook series of ghostly/supernatural stories, from World Fantasy-Award nominee Simon Kurt Unsworth,  is currently well on its way and will be available at the end of this month/early part of March to subscribers. Sadly, it’s sold out – but we heartily encourage people to take out  a subscription to ensure that you never miss out on these highly sought-after items. Paypal buttons can be found down the right-hand side of this website. There are still some places available starting from Volume VI, The Eyes of Water by Alison Littlewood, author of the bestselling A Cold Season (Jo Fletcher Books).

GARY FRY’S THE RESPECTABLE FACE OF TYRANNY

This novella, due to be published on April 2nd and which will also have the honour of launching the new Spectral Visions line of longer works, is selling extremely well, with copies going very steadily. Gary’s chapbook for Spectral, Abolisher of Roses, sold out in very short order, even before it was officially published, and this looks like it could be going the same way. To order your pre-publication copy, go here - but you’ll need to get in quick to secure this hardback edition, complete with bonus story World Wide Web, full-colour cover designed by Neil Williams and a silk ribbon bookmarker, before it does sell out. The postage is FREE in the UK and there’s also HALF-PRICE airmail shipping for international orders!

SPECTRAL/THIS IS HORROR SHORT STORY COMPETITION

All the entries are now in and this week will see me reading every one of the entries we received – the winner will be announced at the end of the month. Looking forward to seeing what chilling inventiveness people have come up with. Good luck to all those who sent a story in!

SPECTRAL FREELANCE EDITORIAL

Don’t forget, too, that editing and proofreading services are  now being offered by yours truly, for both the seasoned professional author and aspiring writer alike. The Spectral chapbooks have been noted for the excellence of  their editing, so why not take advantage of my services to help you produce a highly-polished piece of work. Details of what’s on offer, as well as my rates, can be found here. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with regard to your writing project to see what I can do for you – I’ll be more than happy to help in any way I can!

From today, you can place a pre-publication order for the limited hardback version of the launch title in the new Spectral Visions line of novellas, The Respectable Face of Tyranny by Gary Fry, which will be published in April (it will also be available in POD Paperback and e-book versions – details will be given out nearer publication date). The limited hardback, in an edition of 100, will be signed and will also feature a full-colour cover (see above) and a silk ribbon bookmarker. The hardback edition will also feature an exclusive: an extensively revised version of Gary’s 2006 novella World Wide Web. Here’s a video trailer, created by Gary himself, to promote his novella:

To launch the Spectral Visions line, you can order the book at special introductory prices which include FREE postage to UK addresses and HALF-PRICE international airmail shipping to everywhere else – £11.99UK/14 Euros EU/$19USA/$19 RoW – we’ve included Paypal buttons below to make ordering even quicker and convenient.

£11.99 UK

14 Euros (+ 2 Euros p+p) EU

$19 (+ $5 s+h)  USA

$19 (+ $5 s+h) RoW

Looking forward to hearing from you all!!

Once again, Mark West has produced a lovely video book-trailer to go with the latest Spectral chapbook, Simon Kurt Unsworth’s Rough Music, which is due to be launched upon the world at the end of February/beginning of March 2012. This one has, unfortunately, sold out already, but you can still get yourself a subscription (for 1, 3 or 5 years) to ensure that you receive every subsequent issue of this critically-acclaimed series of chapbooks – and Paypal buttons have been provided for your convenience down the right-hand side of this blog.

In the meantime, here’s the trailer for Rough Music:

LAST REMINDER!!!!!

The Spectral/This Is Horror Short Story competition closes tonight at midnight GMT (31st January 2012)!! Glide on over to the This Is Horror website for all the details!!

As seems to be traditional around these parts, we’ll start the week with a review. This is the latest write-up on Paul Finch’s King Death, posted on Robert Morrish’s Twilight Ridge blog. To see what the Cemetery Dance columnist thinks about the most recent Spectral chapbook, please click here.

Talking of King Death, as you will most probably have worked out, the picture above is of the front cover of the Paula Guran-edited The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2012, the volume in which Paul’s medieval tale will be featured. And just take a look at some of the illustrious names that will be keeping Paul company!! Stephen King, Joe R Lansdale, Tim Powers, Charles De Lint,  Gene Wolfe…. a heady mix indeed!

COMPETITION REMINDER

Don’t forget, for those of you who want to enter the Spectral/This Is Horror Short Story Competition, you have until midnight GMT on 31st January 2012 (tomorrow) to get your entries in. We’ve already had some cracking stories sent in and there’s still time to enter, so why not add yours to the list? Details of submission guidelines and prizes can be found here.

The Respectable Face of Tyranny © Gary Fry/Spectral Press 2012 - artwork © Neil Williams 2012 based on an original photograph of Saltwick Bay by Philip Haigh © 2012

We here at Spectral don’t normally blog this late in the day, but we just had to show you the absolutely superb job that artist Neil Williams has done for the cover concept for Gary Fry’s The Respectable Face of Tyranny, the debut novella in the Spectral Visions line. It’s based on a wonderfully atmospheric photograph of Saltwick Bay (which plays a central part in the novella’s story) by local photographer Philip Haigh, a member of the Halifax Photographic Society (to whom many many thanks for letting us use it).  There are still a few final details to be worked out and added, but the idea is definitely there. For the moment, please feel free to just wallow in its cold, isolationist beauty….

Talking of Neil Williams, here’s a link to a blog he wrote recently about the inspirations behind some of the covers he’s created, including a couple of the ones he’s done for Spectral – you can read his fascinating insights here. I think Neil has a great future in the field, and I encourage anyone needing cover artwork or graphics to get in contact with him now – he’ll certainly do your work very proud!

In the wake of receiving the news that Paul Finch’s Spectral chapbook would be the imprint’s first reprint in a Year’s Best anthology (Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2012, edited by Paula Guran and published by Prime Books), subscriber Chris Bissette sent me his own review of the story, posted on his website. Want to know what Chris thought of this slice of medieval supernatural horror? Then just click here.

More reviews soon – onwards and upwards!