Chapbooks – Brian James Freeman

Now that I have a delivery date from the printer, I’m pleased to let you know that the next exclusive chapbook for Patreon supporters is…

“What’s In a Name?” by Bev Vincent, an intriguing essay about the Stephen King titles that might have been. To make this chapbook really special, François Vaillancourt contributed the cover artwork and more than a dozen full-color interiors depicting what these Stephen King books might have looked like if he had used their original titles.

Here’s just one example:

(Can you guess what book this could have been? It’s actually kind of trick question because King tried to use this title twice, according to Bev’s research.)

This chapbook is the result of my fascination with Stephen King’s “working titles” — the title given to a book or story while it is being writing — and how King’s titles have occasionally changed by the time the project is announced… and even one title that changed after the official announcement.

Bev Vincent is one of my “go to” experts for all things King, and he wrote this incredible essay with the behind-the-scenes stories of some titles King had in mind… and why they changed on the road to publication.

Then François Vaillancourt fired up his powerful imagination and conjured his version of what the book cover could have looked like. He even tried to keep some of the details era specific in terms of how book covers were designed at the time the book would have been published.

Bev Vincent and François Vaillancourt have both signed the signature sheets for this chapbook, which is limited to 400 numbered copies.

Also, the stickers for the envelopes have arrived and look awesome:

More news soon! Thanks again for your continuing support and enthusiasm!
Best,
Brian

One Candle Against the Night is a novel I’ve been thinking about for a very long time, so the challenge of writing and publishing the story as a serial chapbook series for my supporters on Patreon seemed like the perfect way to make sure this book finally gets written.

The first installment is “One Candle Against the Night: The River Town” and it was published last month as an exclusive chapbook for my Patreon supporters at the $5 or higher Rewards Levels.

Each chapbook is “housed” in a custom-printed envelope with a fine linen finish and my private press logo printed on it in silver metallic ink. To make these chapbooks a little different from others I’ve seen, the “endpapers” (the inside-covers) feature a printed “faux marble” artwork design. Each chapbook is also signed and hand-numbered.

Here are some photos of how “The River Town” chapbook turned out: