Gothic Classics: The Castle of Otranto and The Old English Baron is the next volume from the Horror Writer Association’s Haunted Library of Horror Classics. The introduction to the book was written by Robert McCammon. It will be released on January 11, 2022. The book is edited by Leslie S. Klinger and Eric J. Guignard and published by Poisoned Pen Press.

Purchase from Amazon: Paperback Ebook

Purchase from Barnes & Noble: Paperback Ebook

Russian publisher Azbooka has released the cover art for their upcoming translation of Stinger. This will be the seventh time Stinger has been published in Russia.

I have not seen a release date yet, but I expect the book will be published by May 2022, based on their previous releases.

Azbooka released Boy’s Life, Swan Song, The Listener, Speaks the Nightbird, and The Border in 2021. Their translation of The Queen of Bedlam will be released at the end of January 2022. They currently also hold the translation rights to They Thirst and Mister Slaughter. Azbooka had previously announced that They Thirst will also be published in 2022.

Betsy Blondin

Reader Betsy Blondin posted a poem she wrote to the Robert McCammon Group on Facebook. Mr. McCammon enjoyed it and asked that I post it here, too.

Poem for RM – Unworthy Invasion

If I could shrink to the miniscule, invisible,
and sneak up a ladder
to your brain

I would crawl in and through,
dodging thought storms
and idea explosions

I would sniff for the lairs
of demons and monsters
ready to pounce into words

I would seek the path to the Imagi Nation
where creatures and characters lurk
waiting to frighten or fascinate me

I would sneak in to ringside
to watch in horror
the war of good v evil

I would stalk the gruesome and macabre
but also the human insights, love, joy and compassion
that breathe in your stories

I would explore every crevice
for the creative sparks
that ignite your magic

Then, exhausted, I would realize
that to discover these secrets

I must climb back down the ladder

and find your soul

 

–Betsy Blondin, December 2021