The 13 Ghosts of Christmas: Final Table of Contents

We here at Spectral Towers are proud to announce the final complete Table of Contents of Spectral’s first ever Christmas Ghost Story Annual,  aka The 13 Ghosts of Christmas:

Introduction                                                                                 Johnny Mains

1          An Odd Number at Table                                             John Costello

2          Concerning Events at Leinster Gardens               Jan Edwards

3          Carnacki: A Cold Christmas in Chelsea                 William Meikle

4          A Taste of Almonds                                                      Raven Dane

5          Where the Stones Lie                                                   Richard Farren Barber

6          All that is Living                                                            Nicholas Martin

7          And May All your Christmases                               Thana Niveau

8          Now and Then                                                                 Martin Roberts

9          December                                                                         Paul Finch

10        Ritualism                                                                          Gary McMahon

11        We Are a Shadow                                                           Neil Williams

12         The Green Clearing                                                      John Forth

13        Lost Soldiers                                                                   Adrian Tchaikovsky

Publisher’s Acknowledgements                                           Simon Marshall-Jones

BONUS

Whitstable novella preview (May 2013)                         Stephen Volk

This looks set to be a great book, and we think it would be an absolute shame if you missed out on it. The limited, numbered hardback edition is available on pre-order now, featuring all the above wrapped in a gorgeous cover image by Vincent Shaw-Morton, with gold foil stamped titles on front and spine. There will also be coloured endpapers and a silk ribbon bookmarker to set things off nicely. Edition size  100 numbered copies only, of which half have been claimed already – so get ordering now!

All prices are inclusive of p+p.

£27.00 UK

40€ EU

$50.00 US & RoW

PLEASE NOTE: This is a very special edition of the annual, hence the prices, coupled with the rather high postage rates that have been decided by the powers-that-be at Royal Mail.

Spectral Vol. IV: King Death cover design

So, here it is – the stunning artwork pictured below, created by the estimable Neil Williams, will be the cover to Paul Finch’s King Death, due out 5th DECEMBER 2011 (bear in mind that there’s a little extra text to go there as well yet). The chapbook itself will be available to pre-order in October, but as there are only 30 copies left before it sells out let me know if you’re interested in purchasing one by sending an email to spectralpress[ATgmail[DOT]com please and I will reserve you one! (Then I’ll contact you in October re: payment)

In 1348, England is stricken by the Black Death.

The worst pandemic in human history has reached the kingdom of the warlike Edward III, a monarch who in battle against human adversaries cannot imagine defeat.

Two thirds of his subjects now perish. Woods become wild again, farmland goes to rack and ruin, villages, towns and castles are left empty, inhabited only by ghosts.

Little wonder that fear of the supernatural reaches an all-time high. Little wonder stories ignite about witches and demons spreading the plague, about ‘King Death’, an awesome harbinger of doom from whom there is no protection.

Cynical opportunist Rodric doesn’t believe any of these. With reckless indifference, he sets out to enrich himself…

“Paul Finch’s supernatural stories combine a poetic imagination with a sharp eye for the complexities of human evil.” – Joel Lane

New titles added

Some of the sharper-eyed readers of this website may have noticed, in the top right-hand corner of the front page here, that I have added two more titles to the chapbook line.They will be published (tentatively) in the first half of 2013 (but these things are always subject to change). The titles are:

Spectral Volume IX – Cold Havens by Simon Bestwick

Spectral Volume X – Soul Masque by Terry Grimwood

Terry’s will follow the normal single short story format, but Simon’s will offer a first for Spectral – it’ll contain TWO shorter stories, Comfort Your Dead and The Climb, but they’re no less chilling for all that. Further information will become available as time goes on, so please keep checking back.

Yes, I know that their release dates are 18 months away, but it won’t be all that long before Spectral is celebrating its first birthday. Cate Gardner’s Nowhere Hall is in the process of being prepared for publication (due to be printed early next month), and then a month after that I’ll be starting work on Paul Finch’s chapbook, which will round off the first year of Spectral’s career. And that’s just the start of even greater things for the imprint.

Indeed, Spectral’s first year is speeding by very quickly, and it has brought with it not just the imprint, but other things that have arrived in the wake of its unexpected (but very gratefully received) success. I would like to mark that first anniversary in some way, perhaps a competition of some kind, so I’ll put my thinking head on and see what I can come up with. However, please feel free to suggest something yourselves – either leave a comment here or send an email to me at spectralpress[AT]gmail[DOT]com. Whatever transpires, I think it’s always worth celebrating a minor success!! =)

More soon!

A teaser….

… for Spectral Volume IV, due out this December – a little early I know but it may just tickle your fancy or even inspire you to take out a subscription to Spectral (details elsewhere on this site)… =)

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KING DEATH – Paul Finch

In 1348, England is stricken by the Black Death.

The worst pandemic in human history has reached the kingdom of the warlike Edward III, a monarch who in battle against human adversaries cannot imagine defeat.

Two thirds of his subjects now perish. Woods become wild again, farmland goes to rack and ruin, villages, towns and castles are left empty, inhabited only by ghosts.

Little wonder that fear of the supernatural reaches an all-time high. Little wonder stories ignite about witches and demons spreading the plague, about ‘King Death’, an awesome harbinger of doom from whom there is no protection.

Cynical opportunist Rodric doesn’t believe any of these. With reckless indifference, he sets out to enrich himself…

“Paul Finch’s supernatural stories combine a poetic imagination with a sharp eye for the complexities of human evil.” – Joel Lane

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More news soon… =)