Rumours about Rumours... #5

Two very generous reviews of Rumours of the Marvellous have just appeared in print in the UK. Neither are online yet, so I can't link to them, but here are some kind words from the illustrious gentlemen responsible:

David V Barrett, in Fortean Times #294, said

"A superb collection of short stories that fall in the borderland between science fiction, fantasy, horror and the supernatural ... every story is a gem"

And, in Black Static #30, Peter Tennant said

"A fine collection ... a unique and beguiling voice ... the stories [are] remarkable for their combination of a light touch with the weightier emotional freight they sometimes carry ... a real delight to read"

Hey, nothing to do with me, but isn't that cover art fantastic? It's the work of the great Ben Baldwin and you can (and should) see more of his stuff at www.benbaldwin.co.uk

My grateful thanks to Messrs. Barrett and Tennant for the warmth and thoughtfulness of their reviews. Both magazines are great, by the way, and, if you've heretofore been unfamiliar with either or both, you should seek to put that right before your friends start to shun you for being culturally incomplete.

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In other news, there's another mob-handed signing coming up at Dark Delicacies in Burbank. Sunday November 4th will see Tamara Thorne, Glen Hirshberg, Lisa Morton and me gathered behind the DD picnic tables ready and willing to scribble in whatever you choose to lay before us.

Glen's launching Motherless Child, a novel about which I've already raved in these e-pages, and Tamara is showing the rest of us up by presenting 3[!] new paperbacks. Lisa and I are there as contributors to Zombie Apocalypse: Fightback (on editor/creator Steve Jones's birthday, as it happens), and I'll also be signing Best New Horror 23 and Ghosts: Recent Hauntings (which Glen is in too).





Go to www.darkdel.com for details and directions. Please come and say hello if you can. DD signings are always fun. Del and Sue make everyone welcome, and there are usually cookies and soft drinks (beer, too, if you know the secret handshake, or if Del likes the cut of your jib).


Finally, the Rolling Darkness Revue's 2012 show now has its own facebook page, courtesy of the enigmatic and delightful Dr. Miller: www.facebook.com/RollingDarknessRevue Apparently, you may 'like' it if you, um, like.

Rumours about Rumours... #4

When it comes to places to hang your hat, I hold with the poet-philosopher Katy Perry: You can travel the world/But nothing comes close to the golden coast. California. Where it's at, baby. It's just the way God planned it. And one of the many advantages to living in California (or L.A. if you want to be specific) is that you're within driving distance of Dark Delicacies, a specialty store for us wackjobs who dig all things crepuscular.

Open now for twenty years and counting, the "home of horror" -- as it proudly describes itself on its answering machine -- is a treasure trove of books, DVDs, posters, T-shirts, magazines, and other items of a curious and dark persuasion, all overseen by the husband and wife team of Del and Sue Howison (Del's the one with the beard).

DD's well worth a visit at any time, but if you'd like to say hello to your Uncle Pete why not swing by on Sunday July 1st at 2.00pm, when I'll be signing copies of Rumours of the Marvellous in the company of fellow bookslingers Eric Red and Alexander Beresford, who each have their latest novel to hawk. No obligation to purchase (though Del & Sue will doubtless look on you more fondly if you do), and I'll be happy to sign your old Hellraiser swag or any other crap-with-my-name-on that you've foolishly accrued over the years.

The store's at 3512 W. Magnolia Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91505, and a fine time is guaranteed for all.

"Why, Pete," I hear you enquire, "What on earth is that delightful button and what is it doing on your blog?" So glad you asked. That, my sweet excrescence, is the official thumbs-up badge from the British Fantasy Society that confirms that -- due no doubt to some clerical error -- Rumours has been nominated for the British Fantasy Award for best collection of 2011.

Kidding aside, I'm deeply honoured by the nomination and truly grateful to all those members of the BFS who voted for the book.

My fellow nominees in the Best Collection category are Reggie Oliver, Robert Shearman, and Liz Williams -- all of whom are alarmingly talented enough to have me practicing my not-a-sore-loser expression in the mirror while rehearsing the phrase "No, no. It was an honour just to be nominated" until it sparkles with an irridescent and impressive air of jaunty good-sportsmanship. 


In Non-Rumours News: Further to the three anthology appearances I detailed in the last post, I'm thrilled to say that the great Mike Chinn has accepted my new story, "The Return of Boy Justice", for his forthcoming anthology, The Alchemy Press Book of Pulp Heroes. Trade paperback coming in September of this year, to be followed at some not-yet-specified date by an e-book edition. Here's the cover, designed by Alchemy head honcho Peter Coleborn around a fabulous illustration by the wonderful Bob Covington:

Not too shabby. Thoroughly modern in execution but beautifully old-school in its in-your-face pulp spirit, it -- as I believe the kids say -- fucking rocks. Proud to be lurking behind it.