THE DEVIL'S COATTAILS

The anthology THE DEVIL'S COATTAILS is now out and available for purchase.

The first anthology edited by Jason Brock and William Nolan and published by Cykatrix Press was THE BLEEDING EDGE. I thought that anthology was a gorgeous hardback, but this one is even more impressive. As a collectible book, it's as beautiful as any I've seen. The printing, binding, and type are as fine as anything being published these days.

Since I'm working on several novels just now, I haven't had time to read the entire anthology, but so far what I have read is excellent fiction. First and foremost was "The Moons" by Ramsey Campbell. At this point in the history of modern horror fiction no one needs to be told who Campbell is. His skills as a writer of short fiction have only become sharper in recent years and this story illustrates that he's creating the kind of story that is unique--his voice, his themes, his way. Over the years I've felt that nobody is as good as Campbell when it comes to this type of thing, and once more we see him writing of children, of families, and weaving a most disturbing tale.

One story that surprised me with its wit and skill was "Dying to Forget" by Sunni Brock. I'd never read anything by Ms. Brock, so if this is the kind of work she produces, I hope to read more of her fiction in the future.

Some of the other authors present in this volume are Richard Christian Matheson, the late Messieurs Norman Corwin and Dan O'Bannon; Melanie Tem, Steve Rasnic Tem, Wilum Pugmire & Maryanne Snyder, Paul Bens, Jr., Earl Hamner, Jr., Scott Zicree, Jason Brock, Bill Nolan, and others (including James Robert Smith).

If you collect fine books, then THE DEVIL'S COATTAILS is one for you. If you just like to read great fantastic fiction, you can't do better than this one.

THE DEVIL'S COATTAILS, a fine limited edition hardback. Containing (among many others) the short story "On the First Day" by James Robert Smith.

DEAD BAIT 2

There's a new short story collection out with one of my stories. DEAD BAIT 2 has just seen print from the publisher of my novel THE LIVING END (Severed Press). I got a huge kick out of writing the story for this one, "The Krang", which I covered in an earlier post. The thing about creating a story for this anthology is it got me interested in the short form again after spending so many years strictly creating novel length work. And, of course, it got me obsessing over new plots for novels.

What can I say?

I am looking forward to getting my contributor's copies of the book. There's a Ramsey Campbell story in this one, and he's probably--to my way of thinking--the greatest living writer of weird fiction. Nobody can create atmosphere the way Campbell can. He seems to actually transport you to the world he's writing about. This can be quite harrowing.

So buy a copy of DEAD BAIT 2.

Kickass cover to DEAD BAIT 2.