The first one is of Stephen Volk’s Whitstable, and Peter concludes his write-up by saying:

“At the heart of this novella is a subtle and beautifully realised portrayal of the power of fiction in our lives, for better or worse, and in Cushing himself we see a man who embodies that principle in all its pleasurable ambiguity. With the possible exception of his wonderful story ‘After the Ape’, Whitstable is Stephen Volk’s best work to date, and I loved it.”

Next is his views on Paul Kane’s Creakers, of which he says:

“This is well done, with some nice spectral effects to disturb the reader, such as the invasion of insects and the phantom lovemaking in Ray’s mother’s bedroom. The characters are competently drawn, with Ray’s troubled past put over effectively by suggestion, and his burgeoning romance with amiable neighbour Pam convincingly rendered. “

There are still some reviews to come in, so more soon!

In a change to the scheduled programming, instead of promoting publications from Spectral, we would like to point you in the direction of a charity anthology called The Unspoken. It’s edited by Willie Meikle and has been published by Karoshi Books. In case you’re wondering, it’s an anti-cancer anthology, with proceeds going to cancer research charities. Why are we telling you about this?  Simply because it is full of some of the best writers around, plus Simon Marshall-Jones, the editor of Spectral, has provided the cover painting (image above) – just take a look at this:

“Cancer is a monster. It hides, it lurks, and it pounces when you think it’s down and defeated. In these 17 stories, established horror writers take the attack to the beast, fighting it the only way they know how.

Ramsey Campbell – Introduction
Tim Lebbon – Just Breathe
Simon Kurt Unsworth – Photographs of Boden
Steven Savile & Steve Lockley – The Last Gift
John Shirley – Where the Market’s Hottest
Anna Taborska – Underbelly
Stephen James Price – Pages of Promises
Scott Nicholson – Heal Thyself
Stephen Laws – Harbinger
William Meikle – The Unfinished Basement
Nancy Kilpatrick – Alien Love
David Riley – A Girl, a Toad and a Cask
Barbie Wilde – Polyp
Johnny Mains – The Cure
Guy N Smith – The Big One
Pete Crowther – Cankerman
Steve Duffy – X for Henrietta
Gary McMahon – Bitter Soup

Edited by William Meikle
Cover art by Simon Marshall Jones”

You can buy The Unspoken here.

Chapbooks:

Untitled by Robert Shearman (March)
Smoke Billows, Soot Falls by Lisa Hannett (June)
TBC - Stephen Bacon (September)
Shadows in Paint by Steve Lockley & Paul Lewis (December)

Novellas:

Hammer of Dr. Valentine by John Llewellyn Probert (TBD)
The Bureau of Them by Cate Gardner (TBD)
NSFW (provisional title) by Conrad Williams (September)
Untitled by Mark Morris (TBD)

Novelette:

Within the Wind, Beneath the Snow by Ray Cluley (November)

Anthology:

The 13 Ghosts of Christmas 2014 (December)
The Spectral Book of Horror Stories Volume 1 (TBD)

Be sure to let us know what you think!

Those of you who have followed Spectral’s progress over the years will recognise the atmospheric Daniele Serra cover above, the one that graced Cate Gardner’s superb chapbook Nowhere Hall. So, it is with a huge sense of pride that we can announce that Spectral will be publishing a novella by the lovely Cate in early 2015 called The Bureau of Them. Once again we will be visiting Cate’s slightly twisted and not-quite-right view of things, where the worlds of the living and dead collide, and where hope dangles precariously from the slenderest of threads. Cate has the enviable ability of make the most ordinary absolutely extraordinary, and of investing beautiful colour into the most monochrome of everyday realities. The Bureau of Them is no exception – this is definitely a piece of writing to look forward to!

More details as and when!

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that Alison Littlewood’s Spectral chapbook story, The Eyes of Water, will be reprinted in the Stephen Jones-edited Mammoth Book of best New Horror Volume 24.  This is another milestone in Spectral Press’ quest to conquer the universe. We’re sure that you will all join us in congratulating Alison on her success!

(As an aside, Alison actually has TWO stories in the Best New Horror anthology, the other one being ‘The Discord of Being’ published by Eibonvale Press in the Allen Ashley-edited anthology Where Are We Going? - fantastic news all round!)

We here at Spectral are glad to report that Stephen Volk’s Spectral novella Whitstable has been doing exceptionally well in both the hardback and paperback editions, making it on course to be the most successful Spectral publication yet. If, however, any of you out there have been dithering as to whether to buy the book or not, then maybe this wonderfully atmospheric promo video by Mark West of Rude Dude Films might help you to decide – we think it’s one of Mark’s best productions yet:

And, just to encourage potential customers even further, here’s a link to the latest review of the book – this one’s from the British Fantasy Society website and was written by Dave Brzeski. This one is an especially sweet review – at least we think so. You can find the relevant write-up here.

The limited hardback edition has now SOLD OUT! Paperbacks can be bought from the Spectral Shop (first option on the menu bar above).

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that the limited signed and numbered hardback edition of Stephen Volk’s Whitstable is now SOLD OUT – however, never fear, the paperback edition is freely available and can be purchased below (the book will be here in a couple of weeks and as soon as we have it we’ll send it on). Prices include postage and packing – just click the appropriate Paypal button and leave the rest to us! (If you want to pay by cheque the please contact us first: spectralpress[AT]gmail[DOT]com)

£15 UK

£17.50 EU

$29 USA

$29 RoW

Look forward to hearing from you!

This one is the latest for Stephen Volk’s Whitstable, courtesy of The Zone – thanks to Tom Johnstone for the write-up! You’ll find it right here.

PLEASE NOTE: there are now just THREE copies of the limited signed and numbered hardback left – those wanting a copy should get to the Spectral Shop NOW to secure their copy before they all go. The book will NOT be reprinted in this format again!

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Paul Feeney has been a regular supporter of Spectral Press since its launch nearly 2 1/2 years ago, and he posts mini-reviews on Facebook after reading each publication. The reviews below are of the latest three chapbooks:

“OK, number 7 in the Spectral Press chapbook series.

Mike returns to the town he grew up in through the 70′s and 80′s, hoping to lay some personal ghosts to rest, and finally say goodbye to his childhood friend Geoff.

It’s a well written story, with some nice touches and clear descriptions and dialogue. The structure is essentially the tale from the past, bookended with passages form the present. Whilst it’s pretty clear what is probably going to happen, more so towards the end, and thus slightly robs the story of some of the surprise, the telling is fine. There are also a few nice creepy moments in the finale, that really get the hairs standing up.

However…

There was something I just didn’t engage with in the story and it took me two reads to figure it out. It doesn’t feel long enough. This is an entirely personal thing for me, because I love the sense of nostalgia this sort of story can conjure, especially when it’s well done and I felt this was where the story most came alive.It just should have been more. For me, it needed more immersion in the past, in order to resonate more with the present. But that’s my perception, not a failing of the writing.

As always, the book itself is lovingly created, and is a nice addition to the Spectral line up. I look forward to more from Mark.”

“And on to Spectral chapbook number 8.

Two lonely youngsters, who have become drawn to each other through their similar natures, spend their time exploring the woods around their village. They come upon a barrow (old burial mound) and what happens there sets in chain events that will affect them forever.

Great atmospheric story. It’s extremely well written and the narrative flowed very well. Tallerman has the enviable ability to draw a full canvas from only a few words, to create powerful images with minimal description. I found the setting very evocative and there was something ancient and timeless about it (not just because of the subject).

There’s a strong sense of foreboding throughout, a feeling of sad and tragic inevitability. although it’s not really about scares as such, there is room for a couple of nice little creepy moments, such as when the kids are crawling into the entrance to the barrow, at night, in near dark… However, it’s all about the overall atmosphere, which is maintained throughout the tale.

Another solid entry in the Spectral line-up.”

And finally:

“Number 9 in the Spectral chapbook series (yay, I’m now up to date! ).

What better way to start off the week than with a fantastic in-depth interview with Stephen Volk, the author of Whitstable, conducted by Sean Hogan (Hallowe’en Sessions, Lie Still, The Devil’s Business) and posted to the website of one of the most popular and respected of genre magazines, Fangoria.com. This really is a wonderfully insightful interview, looking at the reasons why Stephen wrote the novella and his approach to the writing process. You can find the interview here.