#Journalstone

[geeklyinc]

Small Press-o-Mania!

Small Press-o-Mania!

In our recent podcast I talked about how small Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror presses are really doing some amazing work. And then I totally blanked on the specific recommendations. So here they are, fifteen small presses for you to check out, complete with links and apologies to the publishers I really do love.   Neon …

[finishinglinepress]

NEW FROM FINISHING LINE PRESS: VIEW-MASTER LAND by Matt Bialer

ADVANCE ORDER: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/view-master-land-by-matt-bialer/

The long poem VIEW-MASTER LAND is about the poet’s struggle to come to terms with the #loss of his wife Lenora and the profound changes to his life that her death has brought. It’s also about celebrating #companionship and #hope with his new #love, Mary. It’s about how technology like the BlackBerry, which seemed so wondrous when it was first introduced, is now defunct, a relic of the past. It’s about the act of seeing, and how that evolves and gains depth as we get older. Bialer shares his memories of the View-Master toy he grew up with and how magical it was to view his favorite childhood TV shows in three dimensions on a special-format stereoscope and corresponding “reels,” which are thin cardboard disks. There was even an attempt to bring the View-Master back in cutting-edge VR technology, but that too failed, underscoring its obsolescence. VIEW-MASTER LAND is about how our perception is enhanced as we go through #life, and how the most ordinary can become extraordinary.

Matt Bialer is the author of more than a dozen books of poetry, including MAZE (Finishing Line Press), ALWAYS SAY GOODNIGHT (KYSO Flash),ASCENT (JournalStone) and THE VALLEY OF THE EIGHT and THIRD EYE OF THE INNER LIGHT (Leaky Boot Press). His poems have appeared in many print and online journals. He lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

PRAISE FOR VIEW-MASTER LAND by Matt Bialer

The View-Master was this old gadget that allowed you to see iconic landscapes that had been printed on Kodachrome paper. You slipped that strip of photographs into a slot of those oversized glasses and were transported. Still-life virtual reality. Matt Bialer’s new epic poem View-Master Land is a walking and beautiful reality. The poem will break your heart and make you want to love the people in the world that you know, and the one’s you don’t know you might love, even more. This a love poem to seeing, to how we see, to loss, and new beginnings. It is a love poem to New York and to the wife he lost to cancer, Lenora, and to his new love, Mary. It is a poem about watching the connections, seeing the threads, between a ‘bygone era’ and the current reality. It is a poem that allows us to be in the past and the present at the same time. Through a glorious cadence and generosity of imagistic spirit, Matt Bialer’s View-Master Land will take your hand and your body and walk with you through Central Park on a cold and breezy winter day, every once in a while, nudging you, saying, Look. Look. Look.

—Matthew Lippman, author of Mesmerizingly Sadly Beautiful

Soaked in nostalgia for technology that no longer reliably functions, Bialer shows us ourselves through these lost gadgets. But it’s not all melancholy; love, like life, will find a way. In this long poem, he deftly steps between grief, architecture, potato and leek soup, and hope. And if you ever had a View-Master, the last image of this remarkable poem will give you chills.

–Matthew Rohrer – author of THE SKY CONTAINS THE PLANS

Please share/repost #flpauthor #preorder #AwesomeCoverArt #read #poems #literature #poetry #loss #grief #life #hope

[bookcoverbasics]

Covers for Horror and Mystery Novels From Small Presses

Here are some good examples of covers for horror and mystery novels from three or four small publishers specializing in the genre...

The first are from Journalstone...

These are from Lethe Press...

And from Raw Dog...

From Undertow...

Two from Word Horde...

And one from Omnium...

[thehorrortree]

JournalStone Is Open To Novels, Novellas, and Fiction Collections

JournalStone Is Open To Novels, Novellas, and Fiction Collections

Deadline: December 15th, 2022 Payment: Royalties Theme: Horror in all its forms—from literary to weird, Gothic to psychological, and (almost) everything in between. JournalStone Publishing is a small press focusing in the horror/science fiction/fantasy genres in both the adult and young adult markets. Please read the following guidelines carefully: (more…)

[tlbodine]

Undeath is a manageable condition.

That's what the media says, anyway: With the help of the miracle life-extension drug, Lazarus, the Undead can retain their humanity and live normal, happy lives.

Davin Montoya was eager to believe all of that. Forced to drop out of college to take care of his teenage sister, Zoe, after their father drank himself to death, he was more than happy to sign the no-good alcoholic over to the Lazarus House for treatment. That was one less thing for him to worry about.

Until an accident left him joining the ranks of the freshly deceased himself.

Now, as the only thing standing between Zoe and foster care, Davin is desperate to stay under the government's radar. But to do so, he must venture into the underground society of Unregistered Undead – a dangerous world of drug deals, vigilantes, and a government conspiracy that goes deeper than he could have ever imagined.

Coming this August from Trepidatio Publishing (an imprint of Journalstone). 

[onlythedarkestreads]

4/5 Stars

pub Date: June 24, 2022

It all starts with a knock on the door.

A corpse delivered. Unceremoniously. Her father who left: permanently or for supplies, dead.

A war rages on outside their apartment window, and a war rages within. A mother, heavily pregnant, with child and vitriol. A daughter blanketed with blame for their fetid existence.

Desperate for salvation they let a stranger in. But is their new guest a charlatan or a savior? Can they trust him and his friends to protect them, or have they opened their doors to a new depravity?

This story is very different than any other LaRocca I’ve read so far. Like a Grimm’s fairytale told through the lens of Matthew Barney. While definitely horrifying, this is more a piece of speculative fiction, surrealism oozes from LaRocca’s signature hypnotic prose.

We Can Never Leave This Place comes out June 24th from Journalstone. Thank you Eric for sharing your novella with me.

[raiyine]

GUEST POST: Matthew R. Davis

GUEST POST: Matthew R. Davis

13 Fun Fright Flicks for Halloween Halloween is as much about fun as it is frights, so here’s a list of films to get you cackling through the chaos. I’ve avoided the obvious choices, so no Shaun of the Dead, Scream, Trick ‘r Treat, etc. (even if Shaun is one of the best films of all time, hands down). Here, you’ll find a baker’s dozen of rollicking romps and silly shocks, all dressed in the…

[thebibliothecar]

Ammonia, by William Holloway

Ammonia, by William Holloway

“The Pacific Rim was a wasteland of shattered cities hewn by earthquakes and drowned by tsunamis. The West Coast was in ruins, part of a line of devastation extending from Alaska to Cape Horn. New Zealand and Hawaii had essentially ceased to exist. Yes, the human race was only now beginning to comprehend the scale and power of the earthquake under the Ross Ice Shelf.

“Event.” Bamboo enunciated…

[michaelpatrickhicks]

Review: Sacculina by Philip Fracassi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars ...and just like that, Philip Fracassi has become an author to watch for me. Sacculina is a ridiculously rich thematic horror novella, set in one of my favorite locales for horror dramatics - the ocean. Situated on a rented fishing boat, two brothers, their friend, one friend, and the boat's captain (Captain Ron, which threw me at first, frankly, because all I could imagine was Kurt Russell's goofy antics, and this book is decidedly non-comedic), and stranded in the middle of the sea, the group find their weekend getaway interrupted by some very strange, very bad developments. Fracassi's story kept me utterly engrossed, and the character development was richly done for so slim a story. I could relate, perhaps a bit too easily and a bit too painfully, to Henry and Jim (father and son), who are still recovering, respectively, from the loss of their wife and mother. My mother died suddenly last year, and the grieving process this family is working their way through hit me pretty solidly in a way I wasn't quite prepared for. As far as the story is concerned, death is omnipresent, and this might be one of the best depictions of cancer, cancerous growths, and the solitude of death that I've seen in a horror story. Thematically, this sucker is strong as all get-out. What really caught my attention early on, though, was Fracassi's ability to build a strong sense of creeping dread. He crafts a terrific atmosphere in short order, and you get a terrific tense of isolation right from the outset, even before this family finds their way off the dock and out of the marina. Once they find themselves out in the ocean, the claustrophobia is really well done, and the threats Sacculina promises are deeply baked in. I'm always on the lookout for good aquatic horror, and Sacculina certainly fit the bill. It's short, punchy, and well-crafted. Highly recommended. [Note: I received a copy of this title from the publisher.] View all my reviews

[authorchrisdileo]

https://journalstone.com/bookstore/dead-end/

My new book, DEAD END, available now from JournalStone.

[griffinwords]

The Demons of King Solomon Now Available

I knew this book was coming out at some point, but didn’t know it was coming out TODAY! The Demons of King Solomon is edited by Aaron J. French, published by Journalstone, and includes contributions from the following: Asmodeus (Stephen Graham Jones) Marchosias (Michelle Belanger) Ephippas (Whitley Strieber) Ronove (Ronald Malfi) Amdusias (Philip Fracassi) Hanar (Jonathan Maberry) Ornias (Richard…

[thehorrortree]

Taking Submissions: Azathoth: Ordo ab Chao

Taking Submissions: Azathoth: Ordo ab Chao

Deadline: May 31st, 2022 Payment: 5 cents per word Theme: Lovecraftian gods featured in the wildly successful The Gods of HP Lovecraft OPEN CALL Anthology Title: Azathoth: Ordo ab Chao Edited by Aaron J. French Based on The Gods of HP Lovecraft Publisher: JournalStone Publishing Anthology Theme (more…)

[lisalovecraft]

Red Equinox Audible Review

Red Equinox Audible Review

Red Equinox has received praise as a must-read for Lovecraft fans; and it is! Now you have a chance to listen to it, too. Even though I have already read this book, I was excited to listen to the audio-book. I really enjoyed revisiting the characters in this story, and reading the book beforehand only enhanced the experience of listening to it. (more…)

[tlbodine]

Announcement!

After sitting on this news for a week while I waited on the details to be finalized, I am delighted to be able to announce that River of Souls has been acquired for publication by JournalStone! 

JournalStone is a small press dedicated to horror in all its forms. It’s published a number of Stoker award winners and nominees, and a few names horror fans might recognize. 

We’re getting prepared to go into editing, and we’re aiming for a late 2019 release. I will of course will keep y’all updated, don’t worry :) 

In the meantime, I set up a fan group on Facebook because that seemed like a thing I should probably have: https://www.facebook.com/groups/tlbodine/ 

So come join that and hang out if you’d like! 

[onlythedarkestreads]

review - shelter for the damned

4/5 Stars Pub Date: Feb 26, 2021 2021 Goodreads Goal: 64/150

Mark never seems to do the right thing. He angers quickly. He can't keep his mouth shut. His life is a series of apologies.

Mark is stumbling through life until he comes across the shack. A private sanctuary where he can smoke and relax. A place of his own. All he can think about is going back there. But the more he visits the shack the more it demands of him. Will Mark succumb to its growing needs? How much will he sacrifice for its warm embrace?

Part cosmic horror part coming of age novel, this is a story of a teenager unravelling. Of internalizing rage until it can't help but boil over. Of boys dealing with immense levels of mental and physical abuse, and having no outlet to release their overwhelming emotions. All while maintaining the facade of masculinity. It's about being a total and complete fuckup and outsider. And there's some gnarly gore too if that's your thing.

While a slow burn it's definitely brisk and bingeable, could absolutely have finished this in one sitting.

[madscientistjournal]

Mad Scientist Alum on the Bram Stoker Preliminary List!

The 2018 Bram Stoker Awards Preliminary Ballot has been announced, and three MSJ alum are on it!

Gwendolyn Kiste has been nominated for Superior Achievement in a First Novel for her The Rust Maidens (Journalstone, 2018).

L. Chan and Steve Toase are part of two anthologies that have been nominated for Superior Achievement in an Anthology. L. Chan’s story, “One Last Wayang,” appears in A World of Horror (Dark Moon Books, 2018), while Steve Toase’s “The Jaws of Ouroboros” appears in The Fiends in the Furrows (Nosetouch Press, 2018).

The final ballot for the 2018 Bram Stoker Awards will be announced in February, with the awards given at Stokercon 2019 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Mad Scientist Alum on the Bram Stoker Preliminary List! was originally published on Mad Scientist Journal