Deadline has reported the news that a TV adaptation of Robert McCammon’s Swan Song is in the works! The show will be produced by Monarch Media, and Greg Nicotero will serve as Executive Producer and director for the pilot episode.
Brian James Freeman, owner of Lividian Publications, has a Patreon page with different tiers that have different rewards for each level. One of the tiers, the Guest Author Chapbooks tier, is $10/month. Patrons of that tier, and higher tiers, will receive two chapbooks each year by guest authors, as well as two chapbooks per year written by Brian James Freeman (tier 1).
The next Guest Author Chapbook is Robert McCammon’s “Children of the Bedtime Machine,” featuring fantastic art by François Vaillancourt. The chapbook will be signed by Robert McCammon and François Vaillancourt. It will ship in January or February.
“Children of the Bedtime Machine” originally appeared in Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury. It was also included in the Subterranean Press edition of Blue World.
It’s not too late to become a patron of the Brian James Freeman Patreon and receive this chapbook. Becoming a patron is the only way to get the chapbook, though I expect copies will show up on eBay when some patrons decide to sell theirs.
1934. Businesses went under by the hundreds, debt and foreclosures boomed, and breadlines grew in many American cities.
In the midst of this misery, some folks explored unscrupulous ways to make money. Angel-faced John Partlow and carnival huckster Ginger LaFrance are among the worst of this lot. Joining together they leave their small time confidence scams behind to attempt an elaborate kidnapping-for-ransom scheme in New Orleans.
In a different part of town, Curtis Mayhew, a young black man who works as a redcap for the Union Railroad Station, has a reputation for mending quarrels and misunderstandings among his friends. What those friends don’t know is that Curtis has a special talent for listening… and he can sometimes hear things that aren’t spoken aloud.
One day, Curtis Mayhew’s special talent allows him to overhear a child’s cry for help (THIS MAN IN THE CAR HE’S GOT A GUN), which draws him into the dangerous world of Partlow and LaFrance.
This gritty depression-era crime thriller is a complex tale enriched by powerfully observed social commentary and hints of the supernatural, and it represents Robert McCammon writing at the very top of his game. Read more or order your copy today!
Audible’s audiobook edition of Seven Shades of Evil, once again narrated by the amazing Edoardo Ballerini, will be released on Tuesday, December 5, 2023! The audiobook is available for pre-orders now, and, for today, December 1, it’s on sale for only $14.95 for Audible members (or one credit).
Italian publisher Cut-Up Publishing will release Il Grande Spettacolo delle Ombre, an Italian translation of Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury, edited by Mort Castle and Sam Weller and originally published in 2012. The collection includes 26 stories by various authors, including Robert McCammon’s “Children of the Bedtime Machine.”
The book will be available on January 12, 2024, in hardcover and ebook formats. For more details, visit the Cut-Up Publishing page for the book.
Tom Mayer of The Cullman Times has written a great, spoiler-free review/preview of Seven Shades of Evil. You can read it on the website of The Cullman Times.
Here is video of Robert McCammon’s presentation at the book launch for Seven Shades of Evil, which took place at Alabama Booksmith on Saturday, October 28, 2023.
During the presentation, Robert McCammon read a new Matthew Corbett short story called “Robber’s Roost.” The short story will not be published anywhere, and at the end of the presentation, the story was given away in a random drawing.
I hadn’t planned to record the presentation, so I simply held my phone, and it shows. Sorry about that. After the short story reading, I stopped recording video and switched to audio. At around the half-hour mark, the image switches to a static image, but you can listen to the other half hour of questions and answers.