In a post discussing 2012 in horror, RA for All was rather gushing about my publisher (Journalstone) and me. You can read the whole article here, but I cherry-picked the best parts (well, in my view at least…)
- But in print, this was a year in which it was easy to find a wide range of horror titles, one for just about every type of reader. I detailed these in Library Journal back in October, and you can use the link to see more, but from this group there are 2 standouts I want to mention:
- Brett Talley’s The Void. Talley is a new writer, only on his second book, but he is already a force to be reckoned with. The Void specifically harkens back to the science fiction tinged horror of H.P. Lovecraft. Enter a world were people can easily travel through space while sleeping. There is a catch however. Travelers are held hostage to their nightmares while in flight; nightmares customized to their own fears; nightmares that have been know to drive people mad. Six travelers, each with a secret encounter an abandoned aircraft, and bad things begin to happen. But is it a dream, their paranoia, or a monster? Talley creates a creeping sense of unease from the start ofThe Void, an anxiety that never lets up, continuously builds, and leaves the reader looking over his or her shoulder while frantically turning the pages to find out how it all ends.
And then this on Journalstone…
The real reason the paperback horror title returned from the dead in 2012 is because of the diligence of independent publishers. Leading the pack is JournalStone. I spent a lot of time talking about JournalStone during my 31 Days of Horror feature here, so click through for more details. But if you just want the short version, what JournalStone has done is to go out and find the best horror to publish and then they promote the heck out of it. In 2012 they got multiple titles in the hand of reviewers for BookList, Library Journal, and PW, with the spectacular Brett Talley leading the way in their catalog.
She’s right about JS. Great people, and I am lucky to be a part of that group.
Beware The Shadows 