Although he was better known as a writer of whimsical fantasy fiction, The Boss in the Walclass="underline" A Treatise on the House Devil was a genuinely creepy short novel based on a 600-page draft and a dream-inspired novella by the late Avram Davidson, completed by his ex-wife and editor Grania Davis. It came with brief but fascinating introductions by Peter S. Beagle and Michael Swanwick, and was published by San Francisco’s Tachyon Publications in a softcover edition, a 100-copy signed and numbered hardcover, and a boxed and lettered edition of twenty-six copies.
Charlie’s Bones by L. L. Thrasher was the first novel in a proposed series featuring an amateur detective and her ghostly partner, from Colorado’s Write Way Publishing.
After having his overdraft facility withdrawn by a new bank manager in October, British small press publisher Anthony Barker was forced to discontinue all his future publishing plans under the Tanjen imprint. Existing contracts with authors were cancelled and submissions were no longer invited as the remaining stock was sold off.
However, before the axe fell, Tanjen managed to publish Scaremongers 2: Redbrick Eden edited by Steve Saville. An anthology of twenty new and reprint (despite what it said on the copyright page) stories, it included such well-known names as Ramsey Campbell, Christopher Fowler, Stephen Laws, Kim Newman, Peter Crowther, Simon Clark, Nicholas Royle, Mark Morris and Joel Lane, amongst others. All royalties were donated to a charity for the homeless. The other final Tanjen title was Mesmer, a first novel by Tim Lebbon, in which a man who saw his murdered ex-girlfriend found himself in a world where the dead could live again.
From Britain’s RazorBlade Press, Tim Lebbon’s Faith in the Flesh: The First Law/From Bad Flesh collected two original novellas along with an introduction by Peter Crowther, while The Dreaming Pool by Gary Greenwood contained an introduction by Simon Clark.
The first three titles from new publisher The Designlmage Group were The Darkest Thirst, a trade paperback vampire anthology containing “Sixteen Provocative Tales of the Undead” by such authors as Robert Devereaux and Edo van Belkom; the vampire novelNight Prayers by P. D. Cacek, and Carmilla The Return, Kyle Marffin’s contemporary retelling of J. Sheridan LeFanu’s classic novella, set in Chicago. These were followed by another vampire anthology, The Kiss of Death, containing sixteen stories (three reprint) by Don D’Ammassa and others.
Silver Salamander Press published a collection of thirteen stories (five original) by Lucy Taylor entitled Painted in Blood. From the same imprint, Falling Idols by Brian Hodge was a trade paperback collection of seven stories (two original), available in a signed edition of 500 copies, along with a 300-copy hardcover edition and a 50-copy leatherbound version.
The first publication from Britain’s The Alchemy Press was The Paladin Mandates by Mike Chinn, which collected six stories (three original) about eponymous occult adventurer Damian Paladin, expertly illustrated by Bob Covington. Published as a slim hardcover by Airgedlamh Publications and The Alchemy Press, Shadows of Light and Dark collected thirty-two poems (twenty-one original) by Jo Fletcher in an edition of 250 numbered copies signed by the writer, artist Les Edwards, photographer Seamus A. Ryan, designer Michael Marshall Smith, and Neil Gaiman, who contributed the introduction.
From Boneyard Press, Noise & Other Night Terrors contained seven short stories (one original) and a novel extract by Newton E. Streeter, along with an introduction by Cindie Geddes. New Welsh imprint Oneiros Books published David Conway’s debut collection Metal Sushi, with an introduction by Grant Morrison.
The first in a new series of books published by Mythos Books and collectively titled “The Fan Mythos”,Correlated Contents included six Cthulhu Mythos tales (two original) by James Ambuehl, introduced by Robert M. Price and illustrated by Jeffrey Thomas. Price also edited The Innsmouth Cycle for Chaosium, which contained thirteen stories and three poems.
Published by Armitage House,Delta Green: Alien Intelligence edited by Bob Kruger and John Tynes was an anthology of eight Lovecraftian stories based on the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game.
Leviathan 2: The Legacy of Boccaccio,published by The Ministry of Whimsy Press and edited by Jeff VanderMeer and Rose Secrest, contained four novellas by Richard Calder, Rhys Hughes, L. Timmel Duchamp and Stepan Chapman, interviews with the authors, and an essay about novella writing by David Pringle.
A follow-up to the 1997 anthology, More Monsters from Memphis was published in trade paperback by California’s Zapizdat Publications, once again edited by Beecher Smith. It contained thirty-one stories set in the American south by Brent Monahan, Steve Rasnic Tem, Janet Berliner, Tim Waggoner, Tom Piccirilli, Tina Jens and others, including two by the editor.
Published by Space & Time,Going Postal edited by Gerard Daniel Houarner was an original paperback anthology of eighteen stories and one poem about people going crazy by such authors as Bentley Little, Gordon Linzner, Carlee Jacob, Tom Piccarilli, Melanie Tem, Don Webb and James Dorr. Harvest Tales & Midnight Revels edited by Michael Mayhew contained nineteen horror stories to be read aloud on Halloween night and was published by California’s Bald Mountain Books.
Subterranean Press continued its series of signed and numbered chapbooks with Red Right Hand by Norman Partridge, about a bank heist during the 1930s, and Fugue on a G-String by Peter Crowther (introduction by Ed Gorman), continuing the exploits of hardboiled private eye Kokorian Tate. Two more titles in the series released in time for Halloween were The Night in Fog by David B. Silva and The Keys to D’Espérance by Chaz Brenchley (introduced by Peter Crowther). These were each available in an edition of 250 copies and also twenty-six lettered hardcovers.
Also from Subterranean came Testament: The Unpublished Prologues by David Morrell, in which the author examined the writing of his 1975 thriller. It was available in numbered and lettered editions, both signed. Monsters and Other Stories by small press publisher/editor Richard Chizmar collected six recent tales, introduced by Edward Bryant. Subterranean’s lettered edition also added an essay by Hugh B. Cave.
Candles for Elizabeth was an attractive chapbook from Meisha Merlin Publishing that collected three stories (one original) by Caitlin R. Kiernan, with an introduction by Poppy Z. Brite.
Steve Harris’ Challenging the Wolf from The Squane’s Press was limited to 500 copies and contained the original novelette of the title plus the first chapter from the unpublished novel The Switch.
Dark Raptor Press released chapbooks of Expiry Date by Scottish author Carol Anne Davis, the werewolf tale The Case of the Police Officer’s Cock Ring and the Piano Player Who Had No Fingers by Ed Lee and John Pelan, The Adventures of Threadwell the Tailor or Alterations Made While You Wait by P. D. Cacek, and Yours Truly, Jackie the Stripper by Edo van Belkom. Each was limited to 333 signed copies.
Writhing in Darkness: Part I and Part II were a brace of chapbooks from California’s Dark Regions Press which collected, respectively, nineteen and seventeen pieces of “horrific verse” by Michael Arnzen, with introductions by Wayne Edwards and John Grey. Dark Tales & Light by Bruce Boston was a collection of ten stories from Dark Regions, while Poking the Gun: The Selected Poetry of John Grey contained twenty-eight poems (seven original) along with an introduction by Michael Arnzen and illustrations by Dale L. Sproule. Each was limited to 125 signed copies.