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Post by David A. Riley on Jan 7, 2015 14:55:03 GMT
Charles's short story collection, Black Ceremonies, will be available later this month as a trade paperback. 168 pages long, it will cost £6.99 in the UK and $11.00 in the US. There will also be a kindle version for those who prefer that format. The cover is by Paul Mudie. The Collection will include: The Obsession of Percival Cairstairs Call of the Damned The Revelations of Dr Maitland Tourist Trap Face to Face The Coughing Coffin The Madness Out of the Sea Death on the Line The Necronomicon A Bit Tasty A Fistful of Vengeance  At the same time I'll be reissuing my fantasy novel, Goblin Mire, which was originally published by Renaissance eBooks several years ago with one of the worst covers ever used! The revised version, with a new cover by Joe Young, is 318 pages long and will cost £9.99 in the UK and $15.00 in the US. Again, a kindle version will also be available.  Both books, like Craig Herbertson's recent paperback collection, The Heaven Maker and Other Gruesome Tales, are published by Parallel Universe Publications. |
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Post by dem on Jan 8, 2015 14:46:26 GMT
This might seem like a silly question, but are the three paperbacks going to be available through Amazon? Really delighted to see Charlie has a collection under his belt - its about bloody time!
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Jan 8, 2015 20:36:08 GMT
This might seem like a silly question, but are the three paperbacks going to be available through Amazon? Really delighted to see Charlie has a collection under his belt - its about bloody time! Long overdue for Charlie. Excellent news |
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Post by David A. Riley on Jan 8, 2015 22:41:47 GMT
This might seem like a silly question, but are the three paperbacks going to be available through Amazon? Really delighted to see Charlie has a collection under his belt - its about bloody time! Definitely. It shouldn't be more than a few weeks now before they'll all be there. I'm sure you will enjoy Charlie's collection. It's now on Amazon.comAnd amazon.co.uk |
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Post by dem on Jan 15, 2015 20:07:33 GMT
Charles Black - Black Ceremonies (Parallel Universe Publications, Jan. 2015)  Paul Mudie
Call of the Damned
The Revelations of Dr Maitland
Tourist Trap
Face to Face
The Coughing Coffin
The Madness Out of the Sea
Death on the Line
The Necronomicon
A Bit Tasty
A Fistful of Vengeance
To Summon a Flesh-Eating Demon
The Strombolli CollectionBlurb: Those that participate in the thirteen strange dark rites that comprise Black Ceremonies find themselves at the mercy of sinister forces.
Make an invocation to evil.
Witness the horrors of war.
Hear the sound of death.
Feel the hand of vengeance as it reaches out from the grave.
Are you ready to join the doomed and the damned?
“When it comes to dark and twisted tales, they don’t come much darker and more twisted than this. If you have a taste for the macabre, you really will be biting off as much as you can chew with this exciting debut collection from renowned editor and creator of the Black Books of Horror, Charles Black.” - Anna Taborska, author of For Those Who Dream Monsters
‘Charlie’s yarns are very entertaining.” Johnny Mains, editor of Best British Horror Was going to wait a few weeks until I've a hard copy to read from, but could no longer resist a rematch with some old friends. Charles' stories are peopled by book-collectors, sadists, loners, frequenters of gentlemen's clubs and the most breathtakingly ill-equipped dabblers in the Black Arts. As gadfly-about-town turned cadaverous tramp Percival Carstairs confesses on his way to the madhouse. “I have meddled with things I do not understand and done things that no sane man would contemplate doing.” The Revelations of Dr. Maitland: Begins like it means Lovecraftian business (it even references M. Pickman), but we are a very long way from the Cthulhu Mythos. It is 1972, and Dr. Andrew Maitland is experimenting with the powerful drug, Liao. Maitland is quick to reassure an outraged business associate that he's not dropped out, nor has he any intention of leaving Barbara for a hippy chick. Liao is no hallucinogenic, but a portal offering access to one's past and future lives. Maitland has recently witnessed the horrors of the trenches via the eyes of a young conscript, Private George Prendergast, and must share his knowledge or lose his sanity! The Coughing Coffin: A curious episode in the life of Major Guthrie who interrupts his hunting and shooting vacation to pay a visit a detested old regimental colleague, Hadingly-Scott, at Morstan House. Sadly, the old rotter passed away the previous year following an ill-starred African jaunt, during the course of which he upset a powerful witchdoctor. When Guthrie hears a coughing in the vault, he suspects either foul play on the part of Hadingly-Scott's heir, or worse, premature burial .... Tourist Trap: Amiable American tourist Joe Buchowski is getting on just fine with the friendly country folk of Hexhill village - until he innocently lets slip to the Reverend Dobson that his ancestors are reputedly buried in the local churchyard ....
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Post by dem on Jan 16, 2015 11:39:38 GMT
As of now I'm working from what is a not-quite-final proof copy, so have amended the above post to include the full TOC (unless there is an introduction or afterword? There isn't)
To Summon A Flesh Eating Demon: "Do you really think I'm going to plunge my knife into this young girl's heaving bosom?" Greydin snorted. Now who's being all Hammer House Of Horror? "
Prof. Julius Greydin has located a copy of the semi-mythical Book Of Setopholes which, according to him, is an authentic grimoire. His sceptical friend, Dr. Ernest Mellman, is adamant that it is at best a compendium of the usual mumbo jumbo, at worst an elaborate hoax. Their pupil, Tony Zaniger, wonders how they stand each other's company - they're always trying to out-do each other. There's only one way to settle the dispute - perform one of the rituals.
The trial run is a failure but Greydin is not yet ready to concede. For the second attempt some nights later he pulls out all the stops. Skulls, human and animal, are borrowed from the laboratory. He even provides a naked virgin, Michelle Chalmers, no matter that she is drugged and entirely oblivious to her plight. Tony's can't believe it: he's been trying to pull her for ages!
This time, they'll do everything to the letter. But Greydin has made one fatal miscalculation and his world is about to turn all Taste The Blood Of Dracula ...
The Obsession of Percival Cairstairs: Yet another fellow given to poring over tedious ancient grimoires, and a lot of good it does him! To be fair to Percival Carstairs, he wasn't always like that. Once numbered among London's most eligible bachelors, Carstairs scoffed at matters occult as piffle and balderdash - until he came under the spell of Miss Audrey Manning. Alas, Miss Manning made it perfectly clear that she was no subscriber to his fan club, her heart belonged to another, namely Frederic Hyde, the notorious Black Magician! Incensed that the little madam would reject him in favour of a "veritable Rasputin," Percy threw himself into study of the dark arts with such application that he soon gained initiation into Hyde's seriously depraved coven. Only after enduring grisly initiation in a de-consecrated church at Stannard’s Grave did Percy discover just who had been pulling the strings all along ......
Perhaps my absolute pick of the five to date. As is the case with The Revelation of Dr. Maitland, the story builds to a pitch of Lovecraftian hysteria until the original terrible discovery is surpassed by a second, and a third .....
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Post by dem on Jan 16, 2015 19:14:40 GMT
So here's the full biblio. It is not impossible that, over the years, several of the stories have been reworked almost out of all recognition to their original selves. Cover artwork: Tom Melnick Best New Zombies, and Susan McAdam Eldritch BlueThe Obsession of Percival Cairstairs - Kevin L. O'Brien (ed.) Eldritch Blue: Love & Sex in the Cthulhu Mythos (Lindisfarne Press, 2004) Call of the Damned *The Revelations of Dr Maitland - Stuart Tracey (ed.) Fiction #3, 2007: James Roy Daley (ed.) Best New Zombie Tales: Vol 1 ( Books of the Dead, 2010) Tourist Trap - John Cooper (ed.) Forgotten Worlds #4, 2006: Vault Advent Calendar, 2010 Face to Face *The Coughing Coffin - D. F. Lewis (ed.) Zencore, (Nenonymous, 2007). The Madness Out of the Sea *Death on the Line - Chris Fletcher (ed.) Late Late Show (web & audiozine, 2006) : Vault Advent Calendar, 2011 The Necronomicon - Mark Howard Jones (ed.) Cthulhu Cymraeg: Lovecraftian Tales from Wales (Screaming Dreams, 2013) A Bit Tasty - Chris Fletcher (ed.) Late Late Show (web & audiozine, Feb. 2007)) : Vault Advent Calendar, 2011 A Fistful of Vengeance - Ron Shiflet (ed.) Hell's Hangmen: Horror in the Old West (Tenoka Press, 2006) To Summon A Flesh Eating Demon - The Black Book of Horror (Mortbury Press, 2007) The Strombolli Collection ** denotes original to this collection. A Bit Tasty: A slightly saucy groan-inducer in the style of a Robert Bloch or Frederic Brown. Kevin, a lanky, spotty ginger, pays a witch £150 to cast a spell that will make him irresistible to women. The witch is far from confident that she can work a miracle, but, unfortunately for him, she does.  Chrissie Demant is indeed A Bit Tasty |
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Post by dem on Jan 17, 2015 17:09:18 GMT
CC: And what about sex? I mean, is sex an important element to horror stories too?
CB: Again yes, I’d say so. I know not everyone likes reading sex scenes, and I’ve never put in any guidelines that a story featuring sex will stand a better chance of making it into a Black Book. But sex is a pretty important part of real life, so I’m not surprised that I get a fair few stories sent me that feature it.
Maybe it’s because people are vulnerable when having sex. For instance, imagine you’re making love, and you see a face watching you. How do you feel? Turned on? Scared? What if this voyeur has no body; is just a disembodied head floating in mid-air, watching, leering?
CC: Oh dear! I hope we don't leave any readers with that image in their minds at an inappropriate moment!
- The Horror Anthology Rises Again: Charles Black Interviewed by Caroline Callaghan, Pantechicon, 1 July 2008.
Face To Face: A disembodied, semi-formed face haunts hard-drinking young stud Dave Brenner everywhere he goes. Even when he's giving Shirley the barmaid one after a night in The Capering Goat the sneering visage invades his privacy. Its true Dave is no angel, but what has he done to deserve this? Depending on your point of view, possibly not a great deal.
A Fistful Of Vengeance: As the title suggests, a Spicy Horror Western with a hint of the supernatural. 'Crazy' Cal Harper surprises his double-crossing partner Brett Franklin in a Youngerville motel room and shoots him down in cold blood, but not before learning exactly what the lowdown cheatin' varmint did with his loot. Buried it, is the answer to that one. In a grave in Ridge Hill cemetery. A whole coffin full of gold, there for the taking.
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Post by dem on Jan 20, 2015 21:37:54 GMT
Death On The Line: Technophobe Hugh Gifford's friends have nagged him narrow to betray his principles and purchase a mobile phone. Against his better judgement, he finally relents. Travelling into town, Gifford notices an elderly fellow commuter obsessively dialling numbers from a list, muttering a few words to whoever answers, then moving on to the next. What's that all about? Better for Hugh that he doesn't find out.
The Necronomicon: Would that we had 10p for every fictional character ever claimed familiarity with that blasted book! Gwyn Rhys-Morgan is the latest, and to be fair, his is an authentic copy - as you'd expect he went to desperate lengths to obtain it. Our narrator, Quentin Durward, expresses great interest in his story. I really love Mr. Black's authors, bibliophiles and students of arcane lore. While perfectly civil to one another at all times, inwardly they detest the other fellow's guts!
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Post by dem on Jan 21, 2015 21:23:26 GMT
Call Of The Damned: Julian Cavendish, who is researching an exposé of the dark occult, is desperate to consult the unexpurgated edition of Charles Roland's The Grimoire of Esoteric Revelations. When Black Magician Roland Kane flatly refuses to loan his copy or even meet with him, the author waits until Walpurgisnacht, which Kane traditionally celebrates at the sabbat, to break into his mansion and steal it. To put Roland and Kane's credentials to the test, Cavendish foolishly summons Vorosh, the hideous fiend of the pit. Those of delicate sensibilities look away now.
The Madness Out Of The Sea: 'Madness' being the operative word for this delirious pulp horror gem. Patrick Crawford , a sinful old sea dog, staggers into a Catholic church seeking sanctuary for the night. Fearful that they will come for him during the dark hours, he begs kindly Father Michael O’Donnell to hear his confession. The priest rather unsportingly jots down the penitent's story of murder, cannibalism, theft and licentious behaviour in minute detail, not that we're complaining. It transpires that, when the Mary Rose was wrecked during a storm, the three survivors were washed up on a South Sea island inhabited solely by friendly, very subservient women. After several weeks of absolute bliss, Crawford learns from one of the "dusky beauties" of a nearby island and insists on an exploration. Cue a meet-and-greet with the ghastly spawn of Dagon, presided over by a tentacled man-thing with an octopus head. To say any more (there's lots more) would be spoiler too unkind.
I've been fortunate enough to read some of Mr. Black's most recent stories and I think its fair to say they've taken a turn for the grim, a case in point being the closer, written especially for the occasion.
The Strombolli Collection: Of those stories new to me, The Madness Out Of The Sea and this everyday tale of sadism, taxidermy, and misguided public service to womankind are my favourites. A mad slasher is on the loose in Paris, disfiguring beautiful women with blades and acid to save them from "him." Meanwhile, Luigi Strombolli, the celebrated Italian artist, is in town, scouting the best society parties for wife number five, entirely oblivious to the fact that an old foe is on his trail. I'll resist the by now tiresome "would have been at home in the Pan Books of Horror" cliché in favour of "like a crude John Llewellyn Probert" which strikes me as nearer the mark.
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Post by mrhappy on Jan 22, 2015 20:44:28 GMT
I have picked up Black Ceremonies from Amazon.com and will be getting Goblin Mire soon. Any timetable for when the paperback release of The Heaven Maker and Other Stories will pop up there? Been waiting for an affordable copy of that one for a while!
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Post by dem on Jan 22, 2015 21:56:31 GMT
I have picked up Black Ceremonies from Amazon.com and will be getting Goblin Mire soon. Any timetable for when the paperback release of The Heaven Maker and Other Stories will pop up there? Been waiting for an affordable copy of that one for a while! In the absence of Mr. Riley, this from the Parallel Universe Publications blogspot. Craig Herbertson's collection, The Heaven Maker and Other Gruesome Tales is now available to order. The 274 trade paperback is available for £11.99 including UK postage from Parallel Universe Publications (email me at rileybooks ATntlworld.com for a paypal invoice) Overseas orders Europe add £3. Outside Europe add £4. (replace the AT with @) Or you could always leave him a private message. It seems Parallel Universe is going into overdrive just now with these three recently published titles and an anthology, the fetchingly titled Kitchin Sink Gothic in the works. |
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Post by David A. Riley on Jan 23, 2015 12:23:30 GMT
Craig's book will be on Amazon eventually, but the quickest - and cheapest - way to get a copy is as Dev suggests, simply email me at rileybooks@ntlworld.com. The Heaven Maker was produced by a different printer to the other books and I only just discovered there is some additional paperwork I need to send in before it goes onto Amazon.
As well as Kitchen Sink Gothic we'll also be publishing an anthology of older stories, edited by Douglas Draa, Things That Go Bump in the Night, plus another single author collection, details about which will be released soon.
2015 should be a busy year and we're looking out for other projects too.
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Jan 23, 2015 17:10:42 GMT
Craig's book will be on Amazon eventually, but the quickest - and cheapest - way to get a copy is as Dev suggests, simply email me at rileybooks@ntlworld.com. The Heaven Maker was produced by a different printer to the other books and I only just discovered there is some additional paperwork I need to send in before it goes onto Amazon. As well as Kitchen Sink Gothic we'll also be publishing an anthology of older stories, edited by Douglas Draa, Things That Go Bump in the Night, plus another single author collection, details about which will be released soon. 2015 should be a busy year and we're looking out for other projects too. Exciting stuff. The amount of hard work behind the scenes is terrifying. |
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Post by franklinmarsh on Aug 25, 2015 8:24:31 GMT
Many thanks to David and Linden.
Crikey. Another Parallel Universe publication. With a Mudie cover. And endorsements from no less than Anna Taborska and Johnny Mains. This really is high class swanky time.
I've enjoyed some Chas's stories on line, plus his classic from the original Black Book (included here so really looking forward to revisiting) plus his contribution to KSG.
The opener The Obsession of Percival Cairstairs is a riot. Lovecraftian, Black Sorcery, a dash of the Oscar Cooks...our narrator is hassled by a tramp, who is none other than former gentleman Percy. After being taken home, cleaned up and given a snifter of a decent brandy, the wretched Cairstairs begins to relate his descent into the Black Arts, caused by lust for a scarlet woman and a competitive streak engendered by her former paramour, a Rasputin-a-like lupine cove. Mix in a village full of inbreds, a desecrated church and a fully functioning gibbet (in this day and age??!!?) - and if that's not enough, there's a twisty epilogue featuring a character called 'Black.'
We're off!
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