News 07:08:2014

We have a great deal of news to report this morning, so without any more pre-amble:

The latest episode, number 8, of Simon Bestwick’s Black Mountain serial, A Lake of Fire, is now available through Amazon. Once again we have to thank the brilliant Neil Williams for the superb cover (above), which we happen to think is one of his best yet.

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Even more good news is that the slipcases for The Christmas Ghost Stories of Lawrence Gordon Clark have at last arrived, and they look lush – see the photos below.

The slipcases will be dispatched to purchasers from this weekend onwards

Next, in getting around to opening some boxes after having been in our new place for seven months, we discovered we have a couple of copies in signed and numbered hardback of the following titles:

The Nine Deaths of Dr. Valentine by John Llewellyn Probert (TWO only)

The Respectable Face of Tyranny by Gary Fry (TWO only)

They can be had for £12 UK/£15 EU/$30 US & RoW each – but only if you hurry. Please contact us first on spectralpress[AT]gmail[DOT]com to secure your copy on a first come first served basis.

Finally, please check out the latest issue of The Spectral Times (unrelated to Spectral Press), where you’ll be able to find an interview with two Spectral stalwarts: Lawrence Gordon Clark and Stephen Volk. Lawrence talks about his involvement with the A Ghost Story for Christmas dramas for the BBC in the seventies and about the Deluxe Edition of the Spectral Book. Meanwhile, Stephen discusses the infamous Ghostwatch, with a mention of Whitstable along the way. The electronic edition of the magazine is FREE, and can be obtained from HERE.

 

News 14:07:2014

First up, notice of a series of interviews with contributors to The Spectral Book of Horror Stories being conducted by award-winning writer and naturally fabulous Australian Angela Slatter, and posted to her blog. The first one, of course, hones in on Mark Morris, the editor of this esteemed volume and is essential reading (as will all the interviews) – you can read it here plus you can pre-order the book on the Paypal buttons below:

£12.50 UK

FOR THOSE ATTENDING FCON 2014 YOU CAN ORDER AT THE SPECIAL PRICE BELOW AND PICK IT UP FROM THE CONVENTION VENUE.

FCon 2014 Special £10

£15 EU

$30 US & RoW

LEYTONSTONE by Stephen Volk

We have just seen the cover artwork by amazing artist Ben Baldwin for this ‘sequel-but-not-sequel’ to Mr. Volk’s Whitstable from last year… and we shall be teasing the whole thing out over the course of the coming months (we’re good like that). It is scheduled for publication in March/April 2015.

THE HAMMER OF DR. VALENTINE by John Llewellyn Probert

Some of you may be wondering what’s happening to this previously announced novella – well, we have decided to shift publication to Hallowe’en, which we think is far more appropriate for the good doctor’s next appearance than in the middle of summer. John and his lovely wife Kate are in the process of creating a video promo for it, and the cover is being produced by Nick Gucker. Look out for more details soon!

News 09:07:2014 – The Quarantined City cover reveal

Europe After the Rain II – Max Ernst 1940-42. © 2014 Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT, USA

As reported on Monday, Spectral will be publishing another monthly serial in the form of James Everington’s The Quarantined City, and we are delighted to announce that we have received permission to use Max Ernst’s glorious evocation of war-torn Europe, Europe After the Rain, as the cover image. However, rather than use the whole image for each episode, we will be using different sections of it for the individual parts. The serial will run from January 2015 to June 2015.

More details of the story will be presented soon!

News 08:07:2014

It is with great pleasure that we can report that we have a major new publishing project, in collaboration with the London Repertory Company,  in the pipeline. Yesterday, Spectral Press met up with the director of the legendary film Mark of the Devil, Michael Armstrong, and Kevin James of the LRC, to discuss issuing paperbacks and eBooks of a collection of Michael’s genre and non-genre screenplays. The LRC is already issuing them in limited numbered hardback, so Spectral is exclusively handling all other formats.

The collection will include screenplays of works which were produced as well as those which remained unfilmed. Each volume will contain anecdotes by Michael on the production history of the screenplay, plus a selection of behind the scenes and production photographs, concept drawings and sketches, and various associated ephemera, many of which have never been seen before. The volumes will, of course, be produced to Spectral renowned high standards, the collection eventually forming an impressive body of work dedicated to one man’s cinematic vision. It is envisaged that there will be around 40 books in all, issued at regular intervals.

Later in the year there will be an official joint/LRC announcement as to which screenplays will be included in the collection. This is an exciting collaboration, of which Spectral Press are very proud to be a part! Keep checking in for further news!

Black Mountain 7: The Master of the House now available

Episode 7 of Simon Bestwick’s Spectral serial Black Mountain, The Master of the House, is now available on Amazon,with artwork supplied once more by Neil Williams.

1988: The farmhouse called Blas Gwynedd, standing in the very shadow of Mynydd Du, is the last human habitation within the ‘Bala Triangle’, home to a teenage boy, his downtrodden mother and his fanatical, tyrannical father.

Now, at last, the story of the farm’s desertion can be told: a tale of strangeness, insanity, violence and death. The tale of one man’s doomed attempt to prove himself the master of the house.

It can be purchased on the following links:

AMAZON UK

AMAZON US

NEWS

Yesterday, the Washington Post published an interview with Lee Harris, ex-Angry Robot Books and now Senior Editor at a new Tor imprint called Imprint, wherein he talked about novellas. One of the novellas he cited as being a great example of the format was Whitstable by Stephen Volk, which really thrilled us here at Chateau Spectrale. You can read the entire interview here.

 

BIG NEWS – 09/05/2014

It’s a warm sunny day here at Chateau Spectrale and, to make it even sunnier, it gives us immense pleasure to be able to announce some really BIG news:

Stephen Volk’s highly-acclaimed novella Whitstable, released to coincide with the centenary of Peter Cushing’s birthday last year on 26th May, has been nominated for a British Fantasy Award in the Best Novella category. We here at Spectral are exceptionally thrilled at this – it’s an exceptional piece of work, one which has won praise from all quarters for its emotional depth and sensitivity, and also acclaimed for its brilliant portrayal of the great man himself. We still have copies available in the Spectral Shop (see menu bar at the top of the home page), so why not buy a copy today and see for yourself why this has become one of Spectral’s bestselling titles.

We are ALSO thrilled and excited to announce that, for the third year running, Spectral Press itself has received a nomination in the Best Small Press category of the same Awards. We couldn’t be more pleased with this nomination – once again, it shows that all the hard work we put in here has been more than worthwhile. We are slowly conquering the universe one step at a time.

Another Spectral connection, which I was reminded about, is that the cover artist of Whitstable, Ben Baldwin, has also been nominated in the Best Artist category. Would be great to have a triple whammy! =)

OTHER NEWS

Talking of Stephen Volk, it was announced last week that there was to be a ‘follow-up’ novella from him, Leytonstone, the second volume in the Dark Masters trilogy, all of which will be published by Spectral. We are greatly pleased that Ben Baldwin, creator of the cover artwork for Whitstable, will be bringing his skills to the cover image for the new work. He will also be doing the same for Mark Morris’ Albion Fay novella.

Both novellas will be available next year.

Whitstable news

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that Stephen Volk’s Spectral novella Whitstable will be reprinted in this year’s The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror anthology, edited by the esteemed Stephen Jones. This is quite a coup, as this will be the longest piece of fiction Stephen has chosen for the anthology ever, so it just goes to show the high regard in which Mr. Volk’s work is held. The anthology will be launched in September at Fantasy Con 2014, to be held in York (Spectral Press will be there as well). Once again, as in previous years, this also highlights the consistent standard of work being published by Spectral.

Congratulations to Stephen Volk, and may we say that we here at Chateau Spectrale are absolutely beaming with pride at its inclusion in such a highly regarded anthology.

News Update 08:05:2014

THE CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES OF LAWRENCE GORDON CLARK: DELUXE EDITION PROGRESS REPORT

Currently, this is at the printers awaiting the signature sheets to be tipped in, after which the slipcases will be made. This means that, at long last, they will be sent out to customers along with an abject and grovelly apology from us here at Chateau Spectrale for the unconscionable delay. Please be assured however, that copies will get to you all next month.

Many thanks for your patience, one and all.

SPECTRAL CHAPBOOK VOLUME XII

The next chapbook to come subscriber’s way will be multi-award winning Robert Shearman’s Christmas in the Time of Ennui, a suitably weird and bittersweet tale published at a suitably weird time of the year – June. Don’t forget you can subscribe to the chapbooks (see previous blog entry) as well as buy individually at £4.50UK/£8.00EU/$20.00US & RoW via Paypal address spectralpress[AT]gmail[DOT]com. Numbers are very limited (125 only, signed) so order your copy today! 

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Christmas Ghost Stories of Lawrence Gordon Clark

Due to a printers error (a software issue in converting PC files to Mac) several pages of the Unsigned Edition of The Christmas Ghost Stories of Lawrence Gordon Clark have been printed in the wrong order. The whole run of the book will be reprinted and free replacement copies will be sent to those customers who have already purchased this edition. All of those customers have already been notified via email of the situation. We have been told that the new copies will be with us on the 11th April. Many thanks for your understanding and patience in this matter.

This is very disappointing for us, however we are also aware that these things do happen from time to time, but we are very grateful for the manner and efficiency with which the printers, Berforts Information Press, have dealt with it.

On a happier note, the files for the Deluxe Edition of the same book have now been sent off to and received by the printers – we will of course let everyone know via our various social media pages (here, Facebook, and Twitter) when they’re expected to arrive into stock. We are very much looking forward to getting this one in our hands.

Onwards and upwards!!

News: Theatrum Mundi logo and deliveries

Logos © Theatrum Mundi Books/Spectral Press 2014. Artwork © John Oakey 2014

First off, here are the front/back/title page and spine logos for the new Theatrum Mundi imprint from Spectral Press, designed by John Oakey, who will be responsible for all design matters for the entire line. We think it nicely represents the ethos behind the imprint, both in terms of the presentation and the range of stories we hope to publish under its name – hope you like it too!

DELIVERIES

Please note that we will be dispatching orders on only ONE or TWO DAYS a week henceforward, as the Post Office is a bit more of a trek from here. We will also be clearing the backlog from Saturday onward.

Unsigned edition of The Christmas Ghost Stories of Lawrence Gordon Clark

Customers will glad to know that the reprinted dustjackets will finally be arriving here today and deliveries will begin on Saturday. The Deluxe edition is still delayed, much to our frustration, but we hope to have better news very soon!

Thank you all for your patience!