• “The Infrastructure of the Gods: 11 Signposts for Going all the Way” by Brian Hodge
• “The Writer’s Purgatory: Between Finishing the First Draft and Submitting the Manuscript” by Monique Snyman
• “Why Rejection is Still Important” by Kevin Lucia
• “Real Writers Steal Time” by Mercedes M. Yardley
• “What Right Do I Have to Write” by Jasper Bark
• “Go Pace Yourself” by Jack Ketchum
• “A Little Infusion of Magic” by Dave-Brendon de Burgh
• “Never Look Away: Confronting Your Fears in Fiction” by Todd Keisling
• “Once More With Feeling” by Tim Waggoner

Writers On Writing give young authors the guidance they need, but has advice for all authors, from the interested newbie to the seasoned veteran (sounds delicious, right?).

Are you ready to be an author?

Proudly brought to you by Crystal Lake Publishing - Tales from The Darkest Depths

Interview with the Authors:

So what makes Writers on Writing so special?
Todd Keisling: Writers On Writing is unique in that it provides a collection of essays from both newcomers and established professionals, providing a wide range of perspectives on the art and craft of writing.

Tell us more about you essay in Writers on Writing.
Todd Keisling: My essay “Never Look Away: Confront Your Fears in Fiction” is an anecdotal look at an important lesson I learned early on in my writing career: That you shouldn’t look away from your subject matter, no matter how disturbing it is to you. Looking away does a disservice to your story, and by proxy, your reader.

Why should authors read Writers on Writing?
Jack Ketchum: It's rich in the variety of subjects discussed, written by people who know whereof they speak.

Todd Keisling: There are decades of experience contained within the book’s pages, covering multiple genres. I can’t think of a more diverse collection for the established—or aspiring—writing professional.

Do you have other non-fiction books authors should try out?
Jack Ketchum: Stephen King's ON WRITING and DANSE MACABRE. William Goldman's ADVENTURES IN THE SCREEN TRADE. Syd Field's SCREENPLAY.

Todd Keisling: A few come to mind: Stephen King’s On Writing, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, and Ariel Gore’s How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead.

HWA Poetry Showcase Volume VIII

Edited by Stephanie M. Wytovich

The Horror Writers Associations presents their eighth annual Poetry Showcase, featuring the best in never-before-published dark verse. Edited by Stephanie M. Wytovich with judges Angela Yurkio Smith and Sara Tantlinger, this year features the first Crystal Lake Poetry Contest winner, poems from Cynthia Pelayo, Lindy Ryan, Sarah Reed, Alicia Hilon,Corrinne DeWinter, Sumiko Saulson, Querus Abuttu, Carina Bissett, Lee Murray and many more poems from the talented members of the Horror Writers Association. Cover artwork by Robert Cabeen

Book one in Crystal Lake Publishing’s The Dream Weaver series...
Where Nightmares Come From focuses on the art of storytelling in the Horror genre, taking an idea from conception to reality—whether you prefer short stories, novels, films, or comics.

Featuring in-depth articles and interviews by Joe R. Lansdale (Hap & Leonard series), Clive Barker (Books of Blood), John Connolly (Charlie Parker series), Ramsey Campbell, Stephen King (IT), Christopher Golden (Ararat), Charlaine Harris (Midnight, Texas), Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger series), Kevin J. Anderson (Tales of Dune), Craig Engler (Z Nation), and many more.

The full non-fiction anthology lineup includes:

• Introduction by William F. Nolan
• IT’S THE STORY TELLER by Joe R. Lansdale
• A-Z OF HORROR of Clive Barker
• WHY HORROR? by Mark Alan Miller
• PIXELATED SHADOWS by Michael Paul Gonzalez
• LIKE CURSES by Ray Garton
• HOW TO GET YOUR SCARE ON by S.G. Browne
• STORYTELLING TECHNIQUES by Richard Thomas
• HORROR IS A STATE OF MIND by Tim Waggoner
• BRINGING AN IDEA TO LIFE by Mercedes M. Yardley
• THE PROCESS OF A TALE by Ramsey Campbell
• GREAT HORROR IS SOMETHING ALIEN by Michael Bailey
• A HORRIFICALLY HAPPY MEDIUM by Taylor Grant
• INTERVIEW WITH JOHN CONNOLLY by Marie O’Regan
• THE STORY OF A STORY by Mort Castle
• WRITING ROUNDTABLE INTERVIEW with Christopher Golden, Kevin J. Anderson, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• HOW I SPENT MY CHILDHOOD LOOKING FOR MONSTERS AND FOUND POETRY INSTEAD by Stephanie M. Wytovich
• BITS AND PIECES INTERVIEW WITH JONATHAN MABERRY by Eugene Johnson
• THE REEL CREEPS by Lisa Morton
• THE MONSTER SQUAD by Jess Landry
• WHAT SCARES YOU by Marv Wolfman
• PLAYING IN SOMEONE ELSE’S HAUNTED HOUSE by Elizabeth Massie
• CREATING MAGIC FROM A BLANK PIECE OF PAPER: Del Howison interviews Tom Holland, Amber Benson, Fred Dekker, and Kevin Tenney
• Z NATION: HOW SYFY’S HIT SHOW CAME TO LIFE by Craig Engler
• LIFE IMITATING ART IMITATING LIFE: FILM AND ITS INFLUENCE ON REALITY by Jason V Brock
• WHERE NIGHTMARES COME FROM by Paul Moore
• STEPHEN KING AND RICHARD CHIZMAR DISCUSS COLLABORATING by Bev Vincent
• CHARLAINE HARRIS DISCUSSES STORYTELLING by Eugene Johnson
• WHAT NOW? by John Palisano

This collection is perfect for…

• writers of all genres
• authors looking for motivation and/or inspiration
• authors seeking guidance
• struggling authors searching for career advice
• authors interested in improving their craft
• writers interested in comics
• authors looking into screenwriting and films
• horror fans in general
• those looking to better understand the different story formats
• authors planning on infiltrating a different field in horror writing
• artists trying to establish a name brand
• authors looking to get published

Discover the lost supernatural stories behind some of the most famous people and events in history.

These Fantastic Tales explore the secret history that has been hidden in the shadows of the world, and even alternative histories from other worlds. Tales such as a young man seeking the secret of immortality from none other than Bela Lugosi. The tragic story of how the Titanic really sank. The horrifying lengths the people of New York city would go to raise above the Great Depression, rather in seeking fame or trying to feed the city. And many more Fantastic Tales of Terror.

Lineup:

• Introduction by Tony Todd
• “The Deep Delight of Blood” by Tim Waggoner
• “Unpretty Monster” by Mercedes Yardley
• “The Tell-Tale Mind” by Kevin J. Anderson
• “Topsy-Turvy” by Elizabeth Massie
• “Ray and the Martian” by Bev Vincent
• “The Girl with the Death Mask” by Stephanie M. Wytovich
• “On a Train Bound for Home” by Christopher Golden
• “The Custer Files” by Richard Chizmar
• “Red Moon” by Michael Paul Gonzalez
• “The Prince of Darkness and the Showgirl” by John Palisano
• “The Secret Engravings” by Lisa Morton
• “Mutter” by Jess Landry
• “La Llorona” by Cullen Bunn
• “The London Encounter” by Vince Liaguno
• “Bubba Ho-Tep” by Joe R. Lansdale
• “Gorilla my Dreams” by Jonathan Maberry
• “Articles of Teleforce” by Michael Bailey
• “Sic Olim Tyrannis” by David Wellington
• “The Washingtonians” by Bentley Little
• “Scent of Flesh” by Jessica Marie Baumgartner
• “Rotoscoping Toodies” by Mort Castle
• “Lone Wolves” by Paul Moore
• “The Great Stone Face vs. the Gargoyles” by Jeff Strand
• “The Return of the Thin White Duke” by Neil Gaiman

Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.

Categories:

• Horror Anthology
• Historical Fantasy
• Horror Short Stories
• Dark Fiction
• Anthologies & Collections
• Horror books
• Weird Tales
• Weird Fiction
• Alternative history
• Monsters
• Aliens
• Supernatural

Bram Stoker Award-winner for Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction!

Nightmares come to life in this comprehensive how-to guide for new and established authors…

Book two in Crystal Lake Publishing’s The Dream Weaver series picks up where the Bram Stoker Award-nominated Where Nightmares Come From left off.

It’s Alive focuses on learning the craft in order to take your story from concept to completion.

With an introduction by Richard Chizmar and cover art by Luke Spooner. Featuring interior artwork from horror master Clive Barker!

Table of Contents:

• Introduction by Richard Chizmar
• Confessions of a Professional Day Dreamer by Jonathan Maberry
• What is Writing and Why Write Horror by John Skipp
• Tribal Layers by Gene O’Neill
• Bake That Cake: One Writer’s Method by Joe R. Lansdale and Kasey Lansdale
• Ah-Ha: Beginning to End with Chuck Palahniuk and Michael Bailey (Discussing the Spark of Creativity)
• They Grow in the Shadows: Exploring the Roots of a Horror Story by Todd Keisling
• Sell Your Script, Keep Your Soul and Beware of Sheep in Wolves' Clothing by Paul Moore
• The Cult of Constraint (or To Outline or Not) by Yvonne Navarro
• Zombies, Ghosts and Vampires─Oh My! by Kelli Owen
• The Many Faces of Horror: Craft Techniques by Richard Thomas
• Giving Meaning to the Macabre by Rachel Autumn Deering
• The Horror Writer’s Ultimate Toolbox by Tim Waggoner
• Sarah Pinborough Interview by Marie O’Regan
• Conveying Character by F. Paul Wilson
• Sympathetic Characters Taste Better: Creating Empathy in Horror Fiction by Brian Kirk
• Virtue & Villainy: The Importance of Character by Kealan Patrick Burke
• How to write Descriptions in a story by Mercedes Yardley
• “Don’t Look Now, There’s a Head in That Box!” She Ejaculated Loudly (or Creating Effective Dialogue in Horror Fiction) by Elizabeth Massie
• Point of View by Lisa Mannetti
• What Came First the Monster or the Plot? In Conversation with Stephen Graham Jones by Vince A. Liaguno
• Building Suspense by David Wellington
• Conveying Horror by Ramsey Campbell
• Unveiling Theme Through Plot: An Analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” by Stephanie M. Wytovich
• Interview with Clive Barker by Tim Chizmar
• World Building (Building a terrifying world) by Kevin J. Anderson
• Speak Up: The Writer’s Voice by Robert Ford
• Writing for a Better World by Christopher Golden
• Shaping the Ideas: Getting Things from Your Head to the Paper or on Screen. Interview with Steve Niles, Mick Garris, Heather Graham, Mark Savage, and Maria Alexander by Del Howison
• On Research by Bev Vincent
• Editing Through Fear: Cutting and Stitching Stories by Jessica Marie Baumgartner
• Leaping into the Abyss by Greg Chapman
• Edit Your Anthology in Your Basement for Fun and Profit! . . . or Not by Tom Monteleone
• When It’s Their World: Writing for the Themed Anthology by Lisa Morton
• Roundtable Interview by John Palisano
• The Tale of the Perfect Submissions by Jess Landry
• Turning the Next Page: Getting Started with the Business of Writing by James Chambe

A disturbing journey into the beauty that rests inside the very heart of darkness.

From the Bram Stoker Award-winning Crystal Lake Publishing and the editing duo who brought you the critically acclaimed small-town Lovecraftian horror anthology Shadows Over Main Street, comes Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories.

Fifteen short stories and one poem span nearly every twisted corner of the horror and dark fiction genres:

• A woman experiences an emotional reckoning inside a haunted house.
• A father sees his daughter rescued after a cold case is solved, only to learn the tragic limits of his love.
• A man awakens a vengeful spirit and learns the terrible price of settling scores.
• A boy comes of age into awareness of a secret universe of Lovecraftian scale.
• A young woman confronts the deathly price of existence inside a German concentration camp during the Holocaust.
• And much, much more…

Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories features the most celebrated voices in dark fiction, as well as a number of exciting new talents:

Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Paul Tremblay, John F.D. Taff, Lisa Mannetti, Damien Angelica Walters, Josh Malerman, Christopher Coake, Mercedes M. Yardley, Brian Kirk, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Amanda Gowin, Richard Thomas, Maria Alexander and Kevin Lucia. Edited by Doug Murano and D. Alexander Ward.

With a foreword from Cemetery Dance magazine founder Richard Chizmar.

Proudly brought to you by Crystal Lake Publishing – Tales from the Darkest Depths

Interview with the Authors:

So what makes Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories so special?

John F.D. Taff: Usually, horror stories tell us the dark side of dark stories, the bad stuff that happens during bad times. It's expected that there will be horrors in the kinds of stories horror generally tells. But Gutted explores the other side of things, the darkness that's there in moments you might not otherwise expect; those moments that touch our hearts or resonate more strongly with our other emotions. It's that beauty—that unexpected emotional resonance that can reside comfortably, side by side with fear, in a good horror story—that separates the stories in Gutted and makes them quite unique.

Tell us more about your story.

Ramsey Campbell: Occasionally I try to repay my debt to specific writers. Midnight Sun was my attempt to scale the awesome peak of Algernon Blackwood’s achievement, while The Darkest Part of the Woods clambered the Lovecraftian. “The Place of Revelation” goes for another giant of the field. If anybody guesses which one, I’ll count the tale some kind of a success. The naïve voice can be a highly effective way to tell a tale of terror, creating a tension between what’s told and how.

John F.D. Taff: My story is a distillation of my childhood. I grew up in the '70s, and I wanted to capture that time period as much as anything else. I also wanted to explore one moment during my childhood, when I got my first 10-speed bike—the freedom that bought a kid like me. It opened so many doors, the ability to go out on my own, far beyond my neighborhood. To explore the world, to discover new things.

Includes:

• The Infrastructure of the Gods by Brian Hodge
• The Writer’s Purgatory by Monique Snyman
• Why Rejection is Still Important by Kevin Lucia
• Real Writers Steal Time by Mercedes M. Yardley
• What Right Do I Have to Write by Jasper Bark
• Go Pace Yourself by Jack Ketchum
• A Little Infusion of Magic by Dave-Brendon de Burgh
• Confronting Your Fears in Fiction by Todd Keisling
• Once More with Feeling by Tim Waggoner
• Embracing Your Inner Shitness by James Everington
• The Forgotten Art of Short Story by Mark Allan Gunnells
• Adventures in Teaching Creative Writing by Lucy A. Snyder
• Submit (to psychology) for Acceptance by Daniel I. Russell
• Character Building by Theresa Derwin
• Heroes and Villains by Paul Kane
• Do Your Worst by Jonathan Winn
• Creating Effective Characters by Hal Bodner
• Fictional Emotions; Emotional Fictions by James Everington
• Home Sweet Home by Ben Eads
• You by Kealan Patrick Burke
• The art of becoming a book reviewer by Nerine Dorman
• Treating Fiction like a Relationship by Jonathan Janz
• How to Write Killer Poetry by Stephanie M. Wytovich
• Happy Little Trees by Michael Knost
• In Lieu of Patience Bring Diversity by Kenneth W. Cain
• Networking is Scary, but Essential by Doug Murano
• Are You In The Mood? by Sheldon Higdon
• What if Every Novel is a Horror Novel? by Steve Diamond
• Description by Patrick Freivald
• A First-time Novelist's Odyssey by William Gorman
• I Am Setting by J.S. Breukelaar
• Finding Your Voice by Lynda E. Rucker

Are you ready to unleash the author in you?

Proudly brought to you by Crystal Lake Publishing – Tales from the Darkest Depths

Interview with the authors:

So what makes Writers on Writing so special?

Stephanie M. Wytovich: I think what makes Writers on Writing a standout craft book is that Crystal Lake Publishing pulled writers from different genres and different mediums to give readers a massive insight into the industry in regards to film, screenwriting, poetry, prose, etc. It’s a meaty collection of advice that speaks to everyone at any point in their career, and I think readers will be wildly excited about the essays inside.

Tell us more about your essay.

Jack Ketchum: Mine's about pacing, crucial to grabbing and holding the reader's attention, and music to the reader's ear. Both, I think, important things to consider.

Kenneth W. Cain: I speak of using diversity in your fiction, of pulling from the known world to create more realistic characters without relying on stereotypes and generalizations. It’s much a reflection of myself, of course, but I fully believe in letting characters breathe, allowing them to become what they will, good or bad, male or female, deviant or prude.

A story collection that proves less is more.

Have you seen the Yellow Sign?

Cassilda’s Song is a collection of weird fiction and horror stories based on the King in Yellow Mythos created by Robert W. Chambers—entirely authored by women. There are no pretenders here. The Daughters of the Yellow Sign, each a titan of unmasked fire in their own right, have parted the curtains. From Hali’s deeps and Carcosa’s gloomy balconies and Styx-black towers, come their lamentations and rage and the consequences of intrigues and follies born in Oblivion. Run into their embrace. Their carriages wait to take you from shadowed rooms and cobblestones to The Place Where the Black Stars Hang.

The 1895 release of Chambers’ best-remembered work of weird fiction was salted with nihilism and ennui, and ripe with derangement, haunting beauty, and eerie torments. Poe’s influence was present in the core tales and one could easily argue Chambers may have been influenced by the French Decadents and the disquieting transfigurations of the Symbolists. All this and more can be said of the works collected in this anthology. Carcosa, accursed and ancient, and cloud-misted Lake of Hali are here. The Hyades sing and the cloud waves break in these tales. The authority of Bierce’s cosmic horror is here. The talismantic Yellow Sign, and the titular ‘hidden’ King, and The Imperial Dynasty of America, will influence and alter you, as they have the accounts by these writers. Cassilda and other unreliable narrators, government-sponsored Lethal Chambers, and the many mysteries of the mythical Play, are boldly represented in these tributes to Chambers.

The contents of this anthology include:

• "Black Stars on Canvas, a Reproduction in Acrylic" by Damien Angelica Walters
• "She Will Be Raised a Queen" by E. Catherine Tobler
• "Yella" by Nicole Cushing
• "Yellow Bird" by Lynda E. Rucker
• "Exposure" by Helen Marshall
• "Just Beyond Her Dreaming" by Mercedes M. Yardley
• "In the Quad of Project 327" by Chesya Burke
• "Stones, Maybe" by Ursula Pflug
• "Les Fleurs Du Mal" by Allyson Bird
• "While The Black Stars Burn" by Lucy A. Snyder
• "Old Tsah-Hov" by Anya Martin
• "The Neurastheniac" by Selena Chambers
• "Dancing The Mask" by Ann K. Schwader
• "Family" by Maura McHugh
• "Pro Patria!" by Nadia Bulkin
• "Her Beginning is Her End is Her Beginning" by E. Catherine Tobler & Damien Angelica Walters
• "Grave-Worms" by Molly Tanzer
• "Strange is the Night" by S.P. Miskowski