It’s Hammer time!*

*Apologies, but we just couldn’t resist….

Remember yesterday we mentioned that there was a sequel to the award-winning novella The Nine Deaths of Dr. Valentine in the works? Well, John Llewellyn Probert, the mastermind behind the deadly and dastardly doctor, has been writing furiously for the last few months (in between cackling maniacally and laughing heartily), as well as subjecting his beautiful wife to a complete visual enactment of the entire manuscript, and the result is The Hammer of Dr. Valentine, a brilliant follow-up to the critically-acclaimed first installment of the trilogy (yes, I DID say trilogy). Once again, the limited hardback will not only contain the story but also the films referenced within it in a separate appendix, as per The Nine Deaths. In addition, J D Busch will be gracing it with a wraparound cover, which he is working on at this very moment – expected a glimpse of it as soon as it’s ready!

Although not officially on preorder, nevertheless you can order your copy of the limited hardback ahead of time at a very special price. inclusive of postage and packing (see below). The price will be reverting to normal in mid-March.

But you don’t want to hear me waffling, you want to know what it’s about, don’t you? Well, to whet your appetite, here’s the blurb for it….

Two years ago, a series of horrific murders shocked the city of Bristol. These were killings so elaborate in their planning, and so outrageous in their execution, that they made national headlines for weeks. 

 

Now the journalists who wrote the stories behind those headlines are beginning to die, in ways even more gruesome, even more flamboyant, and even more unbelievable than the murders they themselves wrote about at such length in the national dailies all those months ago.

 

Dr Edward Valentine, brilliant surgeon and the maniac responsible for the Nine Deaths, has not been seen since he escaped the police following a final confrontation.

 

Has he returned? 

 

Is he now intent on punishing the British tabloid press that he feels has misrepresented him?

 

Has he chosen as the most appropriate method of punishment that most British of institutions, the Hammer Horror film?

 

And how many times will the Hammer of Dr Valentine strike before he can be stopped?

 

Of course, there’s only one way to find out…

 

The Hammer of Dr Valentine

 

A new novella by John Llewellyn Probert

 

Currently in pre-production from Spectral Press

THE HAMMER OF DR. VALENTINE (April/May 2014)

£18 UK

£21 EU

$38 US & RoW

More news soon!

The Nine Deaths of Dr. Valentine: the final cover!

“The Nine Deaths of Dr. Valentine” by John L. Probert © 2012 John L. Probert/Spectral Press. Cover image by JD Busch © 2012. Graphics by Neil Williams © 2012.

So, feast your eyes on the graphic gorgeosity of the cover to the limited hardback of John L. Probert’s Spectral Visions novella above (is gorgeosity a real word?Well, if it isn’t, we don’t care, because it fits absolutely perfectly with what we think of the image…), courtesy of the brilliant JD Busch with graphics and type by the immensely talented Neil Williams. We here at Spectral Towers would like to publicly record our thanks to JD and Neil for the fabulous effort – the finished article will look stunning!

The paperback will be on its way very soon – just one or two little details to attend to and it’ll also be unleashed into the wild at FantasyCon in Brighton next month. Keep watching this blog for details of how to purchase a copy soon  – alternatively, if you would like to reserve one, then please let us know by emailing us at spectral[ress[AT]gmail[DOT]com as soon as possible.

Onwards and upwards!

The Nine Deaths of Dr. Valentine: cover reveal

And so, just to brighten up your Monday morning, we present to you the front cover image of the next Spectral Visions novella, The Nine Deaths of Dr. Valentine by John L. Probert. The image, executed by artist JD Busch, perfectly encapsulates the spirit of John’s story, as it’s an affectionately gruesome, blackly humorous and outrageous homage to the films of Vincent Price, in particular Theatre of Blood and The Abominable Dr. Phibes. The book is due out in September and will be launched at this year’s FantasyCon in Brighton. If you’re going to the convention and decide to come to the launch, there will be free wine and also a ‘performance’ reading from the book by John himself (believe me, his readings are definitely NOT to be missed) as well as a signing.

About half of the limited hardback edition have been spoken for already, but if you’re interested in acquiring a copy then please contact us at spectralpress[AT]gmail[DOT]com to reserve one. Pre-orders will begin sometime this month.

Onwards and upwards!

Spectral news 21:05:2012

To start the week off on some positive notes we thought we’d talk about some things going on in the world of Spectral. First, Alison Littlewood’s chapbook The Eyes of Water will be available within the next two to three weeks.  It’s a fantastic little tale, inspired by a trip to Mexico and a visit to the cenotés of the Yucatán. These flooded cave systems are as dangerous as they are beautiful, as Rick is about to discover…

Secondly, the cover to John Llewellyn Probert’s magnum opus, The Nine Deaths of Dr. Valentine, is currently being put together by JD Busch – preliminary sketches should be with us soon and then will come the exciting process of turning it into a fabulous cover image. We can’t wait to see what JD comes up with, but his ideas so far are definitely in tune with what we had in mind.

There’s been another quotable quote sent to us for Gary Fry’s The Respectable Face of Tyranny novella, this time from Laird Barron, author of The Croning, who said of it:

“The Respectable Face of Tyranny is a bleak tale of personal hell set against a canvas of cosmic horror. In revealing the machinery that powers modern civilization, [Gary] Fry’s gaze is pitiless. Almost as pitiless as the dark forces that feed upon hapless humankind.”

There’s also a new Amazon review of the novella courtesy of Gef Fox (Wag The Fox), which you can find here.

Onto other stuff:

In the New Year (yes, we plan that far ahead), the print run of each chapbook will increase to 125 to allow more people to acquaint themselves with both the chapbooks and the imprint, as well as get to know the work of some of the best authors out there. However, subscriptions to the chapbooks will be increasing in January, too, due to increased postage costs: they are still available at the old price, from Volume VIII onwards, until the end of this year – so take advantage by ordering a subscription now to save some money before the price rise (includes resubscribers).

A word about the future: we here at Spectral Towers are mooting the possibility of increasing the number of chapbook issues to six per year, ie from quarterly to one every two months. This is JUST a possibility at present and an idea we’re throwing around: one of the reasons we’re thinking this way, however, is the fact that we have many wonderful authors lined up to appear in chapbooks and this would be one way of reducing the waiting time for them. We are envisaging, however, that it won’t be happening before the March 2014 issue, Volume XIII, at the earliest. Comments are more than welcome upon the subject – nay, are actively encouraged.

There are a couple of other exciting developments in the initial planning stages, but we’re keeping those under wraps for later in the year until we’ve fleshed them out more fully. We here at Spectral are confident that the imprint has a good future ahead of it, and we certainly intend on keeping moving forward, albeit at a comfortable pace and without overstretching things. We sincerely hope that you’ll be here to share that future with us.