| In
This Issue: |
January
2,
2020
|
.
Many
Updates for .
. .
E HOPE THAT
2020 is
off to a good
start for each
and every one
of you. Sadly,
we came out of
2019 without
releasing a
single title.
If you've read
our previous
newsletters,
you know that
our prime
bindery went
bankrupt and
it took us a
while to find
a new printer
who makes our
kind of book.
That said,
we're back in
the saddle and
THE
VAMPIRE
STORIES OF
ROBERT BLOCH
will soon be
hitting our
wintry steps,
and thence
onto yours.
In the
meantime,
today we're
announcing
some BIG news
on THE
COMPLETE
JOHN THE
BALLADEER!
I hope your
mind is truly
blown with
what's going
down with this
title.
Speaking of
which, all of
this goodness
doesn't come
cheap and
effective
January 31,
2020 the preorder price is moving from $90 to $100 for the
two-volume
set.
And, yes, the
retail price
will more
than $100 on
publication.
So, the early
bird gets the
worm, and the
straggler gets
the
you-know-what.
So, read on,
enjoy and . .
. Keep
Watching the
Skies!
|
Tim
Kirk
|
HAVE LONG
BEEN a
fan of the
work of Tim
Kirk. My
first exposure
that I can
remember would
be his
decorative
interiors to David
Gerrold's
1973
non-fiction
book, The
Trouble with Tribbles.
Flash forward
to 2018 and
I'm putting
(what I
thought were)
the finishing
touches to the
Haffner Press
edition of THE
COMPLETE JOHN
THE BALLADEER.
Now, remember
that everyone
who prepays
for their copy
of our
two-volume
edition will
receive the
exclusive
chapbook: NOT
ALL A DREAM
by Manly
Wade Wellman.
"Not All a
Dream" is an
all-new story
originally
commissioned
for the
never-published
The
Last Dangerous
Visions.
When I reached
out to Tim to
provide the
cover art to NOT
ALL A DREAM,
he informed
me:
"...As you
might know, I
also provided
11 b&w
illustrations
for the Dell
Fantasy Series
version of WHO FEARS THE
DEVIL?
back in 1978."
Well—believe
it or not—yer
humble Poobah
did NOT know
about these
illustrations!
So, one $25
splurge on a
copy of the
Dell paperback
edition of WHO
FEARS...
later and I am
EXTREMELY
pleased to
announce the
following:
Coming Spring
2020, the
Haffner Press
edition of THE
COMPLETE JOHN
THE BALLADEER
will feature
the interior
artwork of Tim
Kirk:
I.
The eleven
illustrations
from the Dell
edition of WHO
FEARS THE
DEVIL?
with . . .
II.
The eleven
start-letter
(aka drop
caps) images
re-drawn for
this edition.
III.
Twelve NEW
illustrations
(one for each
"John" story
or novel
written since
1980) and . .
.
IV.
Twelve new
drop caps (aka
start-letters)
for these post
1980 texts,
and . . .
V.
Oh yeah, the
cover image
for NOT
ALL A DREAM,
the whim that
sent me down
this wonderful
rabbit-hole!
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Pat
LoBrutto
|
OR
OVER 30 YEARS
Patrick
LoBrutto
has been an
editor,
author and
anthologist specializing
in Science
Fiction,
Fantasy and
Horror,
Thrillers,
Historical
Fiction,
Westerns,
Military
History and
Mysteries.
He has held
the position
of Editor,
Senior Editor
and
Editor-in-Chief,
working with
authors like
Isaac Asimov,
Stephen King,
Eric Van
Lustbader,
Paul Wilson,
and Joe R.
Lansdale. He
has received
the World
Fantasy Award
for editing.
He has worked
for Ace Books,
Doubleday,
Random House,
Kensington,
and Bantam
among others.
It was at
Doubleday
where Pat
shepherded
Wellman's five
John the
Balladeer
novels:
The Old Gods
Waken (1979)
After
Dark (1980)
The
Lost and the
Lurking (1981)
The
Hanging Stones
(1982)
The
Voice of the
Mountain (1984)
Pat joins
British anthologist
Stephen
Jones in
providing
heretofore
unknown
details and
insights into
the work of Manly
Wade Wellman
in general,
and the
novel-length
tales of
John the
Balladeer
in particular.
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Karl
Edward Wagner
|
AGNER. KARL
EDWARD WAGNER.
A
giant—and much
missed—talent
in the world
of literary
horror and
fantasy,
Wagner is an
equally
immense figure
in the realm
of small press
publishing. A
co-founder of
Carcosa
(with David
Drake and Jim
Groce), Wagner
helped bring
into existence
two huge
volumes of
Manly Wade
Wellman's
stories: WORSE
THINGS WAITING
(1973) and LONELY
VIGILS
(1981).
Carcosa's
editions are
prized not
only for their
story content,
but for the
quality of
binding
materials as
well as the
excellence of
the interior
artwork by Lee
Browne Coye
and George
Evans.
I
am proud to
share that
this
illustrated
edition of THE
COMPLETE JOHN
THE BALLADEER
will feature a
mid-70s
interview with
Manly Wade
Wellman
conducted by
Karl Edward
Wagner.
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 |
T WILL BE
WELL WORTH THE
WAIT!"—Josh
Annis.
We
teased some of
this news on
our Facebook
page
earlier this
week and the
feedback has
been great.
Now that full
details have
been released,
we hope to
have even more
of you on
board.
Tim
Kirk's
interiors, Pat
LoBrutto's
unique
memories, and
Karl Edward
Wagner's
Wellman
interview join
an already
impressive
edition with Stephen
Jones's
erudite
introduction
and Raymond
Swanland's
two
world-class
cover images.
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