Walking With Ghosts, my first full-length short story collection recently published by the amazing folks at PS Publishing, has now been reviewed by Mario Guslandi over at Hellnotes. Here is a small preview of this very good review:
Brian James Freeman is a well respected author of short stories in the field of dark fiction. His specialty is what we used to call “quiet horror”(the master of which was Charles L. Grant), meaning a type of horror fiction where the reader is disturbed and unsettled in a gentle, but deep fashion, without making use of gore, unnecessary violence, and graphic details. The exact opposite of so-called “splatterpunk” but, in the end, much more effective in producing shivers and fright… [These stories] are very good. So good that it’s hard to pinpoint the more accomplished, being impossible to comment in detail upon each one… A highly recommended collection.
This is just a small taste, and Mario takes the time to comment on many of the stories. If you still haven’t picked up a copy, please check out the review!
Walking With Ghosts, my first full-length short story collection, is being published by the amazing folks at PS Publishing and my first copy arrived this past week. Here are a few photos I took very quickly the other day of this beautiful book they’ve produced:
I’m thrilled to report my first full-length short story collection, which has been more than 20 years in the making, will be published later this summer by the amazing folks at PS Publishing!
Walking With Ghosts will be available as both a signed & slipcased Limited Edition hardcover (limited to just 100 copies) and also as a beautiful trade hardcover. Vincent Chong created the incredible artwork for the cover, slipcase, and endpapers. It’s going to be a great looking book thanks to his efforts!
The next issue of Cemetery Dance magazine isn’t officially announced yet, but here’s a sneak peek at the cover artwork by the always incredible Vincent Chong:
For those of you interested in “behind the scenes” information about how the publishing business works, I highly recommend you click on this Polish cover artwork below for Revival by Stephen King, which will take you to cover artist Vincent Chong’s blog where he discusses how the cover came to be — and where he also shows off the original and totally different cover artwork that didn’t get used:
Hot on the heals of Weak and Wounded, Cemetery Dance Publications has also published my new mini-collection of short stories, Dreamlike States, featuring an exclusive introduction by Ed Gorman, original interior illustrations by Glenn Chadbourne, and another beautiful cover by Vincent Chong. The signed Limited Edition is already sold out, but there are copies of the Deluxe Lettered Edition available for now.
About the Book: This collection by Brian James Freeman features six dark stories that are a little different from his other works. Some focus on unusual characters and some are simply told in unusual ways. The last two are closely linked pieces, although the connection is hidden under the surface.
* When Sam discovers the jogger dying in the middle of the road in “As She Lay There Dying,” he isn’t ready for what she has to tell him:Sammy, we can’t run anymore. He doesn’t know this girl, so why is she talking like his dead wife?
* Assuming Michael manages to escape “The Punishment Room,” he isn’t sure if he’ll be able to go on living with the knowledge of what he did to survive. But then again, that’s a dilemma he wouldn’t mind confronting, given the finality of the alternative…
* “The Gorman Gig” was definitely not going like the others, and Mike and Jimmy had no idea how badly this job was going to end for everyone involved…
* When “One Way Flight” begins, the man in seat 36-B awakens to find everyone else on his plane is dead, including the pilot. Now the clock is ticking and the man doesn’t have much time to figure out who he is, what has happened, and most importantly, how to get off the plane alive…
* In “The Silent Attic” Amy is haunted by the memory of her mother’s last days, but will one last trip to the room where her nightmares were born set her free?
* Daniel Walker is driving to his hometown for the first time in years because his father is dying, but he knows there’s more than a sick patriarch waiting for him in the house where he grew up. Daniel is traveling home with a heart full of questions, and all of his ghosts are patiently waiting with a few questions of their own in ”A Dreamlike State.”
These six thought-provoking stories show why David Morrell has called Freeman’s writing “elegant and haunting” and why Michael Koryta has said Freeman writes “a taut, memorable tale.”
This new collection by Brian James Freeman features characters who are searching for answers to deeply troubling questions.
Cemetery Dance Publications has published my new mini-collection of short stories, Weak and Wounded, featuring an exclusive introduction by Ron McLarty, original interior illustrations by Glenn Chadbourne, and another beautiful cover by Vincent Chong.
About the Book:
This new collection by Brian James Freeman features characters who are searching for answers to deeply troubling questions.
* In “Running Rain,” a devastated husband and wife try to pretend life can somehow be normal again after their son becomes a victim of a serial killer known as The Riverside Strangler… but the dark secrets they’re keeping from each other push their relationship to the brink.
* In “Marking the Passage of Time,” a couple approaches the end of the world in their own ways as the clock ticks down and they try to figure out where all of the time has gone…
* “Where Sunlight Sleeps” is the tale of a grieving father and his young son, both dealing with a shared loss the best they can, who take a trip down a memory lane lined with jagged edges and vicious traps…
* On “The Last Beautiful Day,” a devoted husband returns to the scene of the worst day of his life by volunteering for a job that is both morbid and profound.
* “Walking With the Ghosts of Pier 13” is the story of a young man visiting the beach front amusement park where his brother died during a terrorist attack. He wants to understand why a madman came to this place and blew himself up and killed so many innocent people… but the answer to that question might not be the only thing waiting for the young man when he starts walking with the ghosts.
These five hauntingly beautiful stories show why Publishers Weekly has called Freeman’s writing “skillfully composed prose” and why Tess Gerritsen has said, “Brian James Freeman managed to both scare me and move me to tears.”
The Deluxe Lettered Edition of Doctor Sleep by Stephen King is limited to 52 signed and lettered copies and should be finished at our box maker in April. We received the approval case today and thought our collectors might like a sneak peek. I’ve included the Limited Edition (white traycase) and the Gift Edition (red slipcase) in a few of the shots for reference.
The hand-bound, custom-made book features:
* Three-piece hand-binding featuring Cromwell red leather on spine and Asahi Japanese Blue Mohair Bookcloth for front and back boards
* French Marbled endsheets
* pages edged with hand-dipped silver gilding
* hot-stamped with Light Blue Metallic and Silver Bright foils
* Smyth sewn with cotton thread
* cotton hinge cloth, sewn headbands, and red silk ribbon page marker
* dust jacket with a different design than the other editions
The massive hand-made, custom box features:
* Blue Galuchat covering material
* White Ester Foam With Red Satin Covering
* Two color hot foil stamping
* Heavy-duty premium recycled chipboard
As you might know, the Special Edition of Doctor Sleep by Stephen King from Cemetery Dance Publications was delayed a bit due to an issue with the two full-color artwork foldouts that were to be tipped into the book, but everything was fixed and the books turned out great, as you can see here and here. (Orders are still shipping at the moment, but our warehouse is making a herculean effort to get them all done.)
Our printer shipped us some of the artwork that was printed at the wrong size because we couldn’t stand the thought of them being dumped in the recycle bin, and we were surprised to discover that these are entirely uncut sheets of art. That’s not something people outside the production process normally get to see, so I’ve posted a photo with a copy of the trade hardcover of Doctor Sleep to give you an idea of the size.
You can click on the image for a larger version if you’d like:
