Author: Brian James Freeman (Page 2 of 44)

Brian James Freeman is author of The Painted Darkness, Black Fire, Blue November Storms, More Than Midnight, Weak & Wounded, Dreamlike States, and The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book (with Bev Vincent), along with many short stories and many essays. He is also the managing editor of Cemetery Dance Publications and the publisher of Lonely Road Books.

Midnight Under the Big Top anthology has shipped

September 8, 2020 / Brian James Freeman / 0 Comments

I’m pleased to report that Midnight Under the Big Top: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Magic has shipped from Cemetery Dance Publications, and copies are arriving on doorsteps as I write this!

About the Book:
Featuring the world’s grandest tales of murder, madness, and magic set in and around the circus by renowned authors such as Stephen King, Joe Hill, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Neil Gaiman, Kelley Armstrong, Robert McCammon, Tananarive Due, Lisa Morton, Heather Graham, Richard Chizmar, Billy Chizmar, Amanda C. Davis, Nayad Monroe, Jeff Strand, Amanda Downum, and Dominick Cancilla!

Includes the World’s First-Ever Poetry Intermission featuring written works of art by Norman Prentiss, G.O. Clark, Marge Simon, Bruce Boston, Robert Payne Cabeen, David E. Cowen, Alessandro Manzetti, Christina Sng, Stephanie M. Wytovich, K.A. Opperman, and Ashley Dioses!

For the grand finale, read with your own unbelieving eyes as Josh Malerman, author of the New York Timesbestseller Bird Box,introduces you to Dandelion Andrews, a very unusual man who hasn’t seen daylight in three months because he’s digging a hole destined to become a most unusual carnival house of horrors!

These death-defying tales aren’t for the faint of heart, but they are perfect for the long lost child hiding deep inside of you who always instinctively understood you should never trust a circus clown!

Table of Contents:

ACT ONE:
“The Night of the Tiger” by Stephen King
“Twittering from the Circus of the Dead” by Joe Hill
“The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch” by Neil Gaiman
“The Girl in the Carnival Gown” by Kelley Armstrong
“The Great White Way” by Robert McCammon
“Herd Immunity” by Tananarive Due
“Pickled Punks and the Summer of Love” by Lisa Morton
“Courting the Queen of Sheba” by Amanda C. Davis
“The Circus Reborn” by Nayad Monroe
Title To Be Announced by Michael Koryta
“The Black Ferris” by Ray Bradbury

POETRY INTERMISSION FEATURING:
Norman Prentiss
G.O. Clark
Marge Simon
Bruce Boston
Robert Payne Cabeen
David E. Cowen
Alessandro Manzetti
Christina Sng
Stephanie M. Wytovich
K.A. Opperman
Ashley Dioses

ACT TWO:
“Buried Talents” by Richard Matheson
“The Carnival” by Richard Chizmar
“Mr. Bones’ Wild Ride” by Billy Chizmar
“Fair Treats” by Jeff Strand
“Smoke & Mirrors” by Amanda Downum
“Laughable” by Dominick Cancilla
Title To Be Announced by Heather Graham

THE GRAND FINALE:
Dandy, a brand new short novel by Josh Malerman

German editions on the way thanks to Grey Gull Publications!

August 12, 2020 / Brian James Freeman / 0 Comments

I’ve been a little behind on posting these past few weeks due to some impending deadlines with a certain Joe Hill special edition, so I didn’t get a chance to share the very good news that I’ve signed a four book contract with Grey Gull Publications in Germany.

I’ve been a big fan of their work for a while now, and I cannot wait to see what they do with my mini-collections of short stories. If your German is less rusty than mine (and mine is VERY rusty because my high school German classes were a LONG time ago!), you can view their website here: https://www.greygullpublications.de

I’ll share more news as I have it, but one thing I can already confirm is they’re generously providing me with enough contributor copies to take care of all of my supporters on Level 7 and abovewhen the books are published.

More news soon! Thank you, as always, for our continuing support and enthusiasm!

Best,
Brian

General Patreon News From Brian James Freeman!

July 7, 2020 / Brian James Freeman / 0 Comments

For those who are curious about what I’ve been posting on Patreon, you can see the new “Table of Contents” I created a while back. It has links to most of my Patreon posts, which will give you some idea of what I’m doing over there.

As you might know, I don’t “push” my Patreon because I figure readers who are really interested in that sort of thing will sign up without the hard sell, AND because this whole new way of doing things is still weird and uncomfortable to discuss at times.

We’re a long way from the days when authors didn’t discuss “business” in public, but we’re not that far… So asking readers to directly to contribute to the writing and publishing process like this is still strange to an old dog like me. And I am very, very grateful for the response to my Patreon account, and for the work my supporters have made possible.

All of that said, I did want to mention that a couple of slots on various Rewards Levels have become available in recent months.

If signing up appeals to you and fits into your entertainment budget, I would love to see you there! But I really don’t want anyone stretching themselves thin to support my writing. You all have bills to pay and families to take care of, too, and I totally understand that.

Stay safe out there, and be good to one another.

Best,
Brian

The Girl Who Builds Monsters bluelines!

June 25, 2020 / Brian James Freeman / 0 Comments

We received the bluelines (printer’s proof) for The Girl Who Builds Monsters, and the book is even more beautiful than I expected. Here is a very quick photo I snapped:

About the Book:
Emma is quiet, and often lonely, because the birthmark on her face scares the other kids in town. She lives with her kindly grandfather, who owns a factory where he creates the most beautiful dolls in the world.

One day while exploring the factory, Emma discovers a forgotten workbench and some wooden crates. Inside the crates are broken pieces of machinery and rejected doll parts, which Emma begins to assemble into dolls of her own design. They are very different from the dolls her grandfather makes, but Emma says this is what makes them special.

Emma loves her dolls, and she has no idea how much they love her back, but when two burglars sneak into the cottage where Emma and her grandfather are fast asleep, her new monster dolls will prove exactly how special they really are…

Featuring a timeless story by Brian James Freeman and beautiful full-color artwork by Vincent Chong, The Girl Who Builds Monsters is a tale for all ages.

Purchase the trade hardcover edition:
Amazon.com
Amazon.ca
Barnes & Noble
Books-A-Million
Cemetery Dance Publications
IndieBound

The Girl Who Builds Monsters review copy!

May 20, 2020 / Brian James Freeman / 0 Comments

I don’t usually post photos of the review copies for books, but rarely are the review copies this beautiful! Vincent Chong’s incredible artwork somehow looks even better in the finished, printed form!

Featuring a timeless story by Brian James Freeman and beautiful full-color artwork by Vincent Chong, The Girl Who Builds Monsters is a tale for all ages.

Purchase the trade hardcover edition:
Amazon.com
Amazon.ca
Barnes & Noble
Books-A-Million
Cemetery Dance Publications
IndieBound

The Girl Who Builds Monsters: Coming This September From Cemetery Dance Publications!

May 5, 2020 / Brian James Freeman / 0 Comments

Emma is quiet, and often lonely, because the birthmark on her face scares the other kids in town. She lives with her kindly grandfather, who owns a factory where he creates the most beautiful dolls in the world.

Featuring a timeless story by Brian James Freeman and beautiful full-color artwork by Vincent Chong, The Girl Who Builds Monsters is a tale for all ages.

Purchase the trade hardcover edition:
Amazon.com
Amazon.ca
Barnes & Noble
Books-A-Million
Cemetery Dance Publications
IndieBound

First Photos of New Chapbook for Patreon Supporters! “Lost Echoes: Volume One”

April 26, 2020 / Brian James Freeman / 0 Comments

Since trying something different with the last chapbook for my Patreon supporters went really well, I’m trying something different again for the May 2020 chapbook for Patreon supporters who are on Level Two or higher.

In addition to featuring the first in a series of “lost” chapters from my first novel Black Fire, I’m also upgrading these Patreon Supporter Chapbooks to be perfect bound like a trade paperback book! This change really makes the whole production look great. Here are a few early photos of how this chapbook turned out:

More news to come. Thanks so much for all of your support!

Best,
Brian

New Chapbook Coming in May For Patreon Supporters! “Lost Echoes: Volume One”

March 26, 2020 / Brian James Freeman / 0 Comments

Since trying something different with the last chapbook went really well, I’m going to try something different again for the May 2020 chapbook for Patreon supporters who are on Level Two or higher as the end of MARCH. If you’re a Level One supporter or not a supporter yet, this is the perfect time to sign up to qualify for this new chapbook:

Above is the cover for “Lost Echoes: Volume One,” and I’ll share more information as this one moves through production. Right now, my chapbook maker is still up and running, and they don’t think they’ll have to close due to the coronavirus, but we’ll have to see how things go.

More news to come. Thanks so much for all of your support!

Best,
Brian

New trade paperback of LOST AND LONELY shipping soon!

March 25, 2020 / Brian James Freeman / 0 Comments

I’m pleased to report there is a new revised and expanded trade paperback edition of Lost and Lonely, featuring amazing Vincent Chong cover artwork, which will ship next month to Patreon supporters on level Six and above!

Orders can now be placed through Cemetery Dance Publications, and books ordered there will be signed for a limited time only.

Orders via Amazon won’t be signed, but on the other hand they can get a copy of the book into your hands this week, so that’s pretty tempting, eh?

As you might recall, this new edition of Lost and Lonely follows the revised and expanded editions of Dreamlike States, Weak and Wounded, and More Than Midnight, completing the publication process for these new trade paperbacks.

Here are all four trade paperbacks, so you can see what the complete set looks like:

Thank you again for all of your support!

Patreon Stories: Volume Two Lettered Edition

March 23, 2020 / Brian James Freeman / 0 Comments

The first copy of the hand-bound Patreon Stories: Volume Two Lettered Edition has arrived, and I’m really pleased with how this edition turned out. The book features real leather and imported hand-marbled endpapers, with a matching leather traycase. Best of all, this very special edition should ship later this week, assuming the postal system doesn’t shut down!

Here are some photos I took real quick for those who are interested:

Lots more news to come soon. Thank you for all of your support!