Richard Gavin's Blog, page 26

Harry O. Morris

It's official: The cover art for my collection, AT FEAR'S ALTAR, coming this fall from Hippocampus Press, will be fashioned by none other than Harry O. Morris. 
I've had the honour of working with Harry before on my books OMENS and THE DARKLY SPLENDID REALM. I'm thrilled to be pairing up with him again. He is a legend in the realm of the weird. Our collaborations are always so simpatico and fruitful that I truly believe we both exist on the same wavelength. I cannot wait to see what Harry's chimerical mind conjures...

BLACK WINGS III & FUNGI

I'm pleased to report the sale of two new tales of arcane horror:

When Orrin Grey and his co-editor Silvia Moreno-Garcia invited me to submit a tale to an anthology of fungus-themed horror stories they were editing for Innsmouth Free Press, naturally I couldn't resist, being such a fan of fungus...I'm pleased to announce that my story "Goatsbride" will be appearing in FUNGI, an anthology with an absolutely stellar lineup of weird and dark authors. FUNGI will be contaminating brains and bookshelves this autumn.

S.T. Joshi continues to fan the flames of contemporary cosmic horror with, among many other projects, his anthology series BLACK WINGS: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror. The inaugural volume was published in 2010 to well-deserved acclaim. BLACK WINGS II will soon be released by PS Publishing. This second volume includes my story "The Abject".

I'm very proud to say that S.T. has also accepted my tale "The Hag Stone" for BLACK WINGS III, which will be published in 2013. More details on this project in due course.

Work on my collection AT FEAR'S ALTAR continues. I am about to begin the final line edits of the proofs. The font and layout looks absolutely beautiful. Everything is running smoothly towards having this collection out in time for the World Fantasy Convention in Toronto this November.

***
The older I get, the more refined or sharpened my focus becomes in regards to the kind of fiction I wish to write. Perhaps it's a symptom of aging, but I find myself less interested in broadening my work. I am, however, keenly interested in deepening it; conveying my favourite effects with even more heft and precision. Since Day One of my writing career I have been known as a "Lovecraftian writer." I've always been proud to bear this moniker. It has never once boxed me in. Quite the opposite in fact. My "Lovecraftian" reputation has opened more doors for me than I ever thought possible. And so I persevere.

I am a writer of what could be called "arcane horror"; stories that have little or nothing to do with physical violence or the miserablist themes so rampant in postmodern fiction. I am, in this sense, a Traditionalist. I write to convey the numinous and the eerie. I often label my work "nightmarish tales" because I strive to create the otherworldly terror we experience in our nightmares. These are interior horrors, oneiric horrors. I do not want to inventory the woes and cruelties of human existence. Rather I hope to take you to the horizons of the human experience.

So, if you are a reader who enjoys what I've always done, there is plenty more to come. If, however, you a reader who has been waiting for me to reach past the esoteric and into something "fresher", alas, I'm sorry to disappoint.

I'm quite content here in the crooked, cobwebbed attic of literature's house and have absolutely no plans to redecorate...

Interview at Heroic Times

Heroic Times kindly asked me to be interviewed as part of their Monarchs of Mayhem author series. You can read the interview here.

Don Webb on AT FEAR'S ALTAR

Don Webb, one of my favourite people in the world of the weird, had this to say about AT FEAR'S ALTAR:

"If you hear some in Kadath saying, "Numinous," "Terrifying" or "Beautiful," they are either talking about the Northern Lights or the work of Richard Gavin. Canada? They're calling it Canada now? Whatever."
--- Don Webb,
Author of "The Great White Bed"

W.H. Pugmire on AT FEAR'S ALTAR

Wilum Pugmire, one of the finest contemporary writers of Lovecraftian Horror, had the following to say about At Fear's Altar, my forthcoming collection from Hippocampus Press:
"Richard Gavin's new collection has some of the finest weird fiction I have ever read, tales that are unique and effective. His sequel to H. P. Lovecraft's 'The Hound' is especially delicious. This is a wonderful book, highly recommended!"--W. H. Pugmire, author of The Tangled Muse

Grimscribe & Carcosa

2012 is already shaping up to be a weirdly wonderful year, or if you rather, a wonderfully weird year.
I'm very pleased to announce that Joseph S. Pulver Sr. has accepted two new tales by me for his forthcoming projects, both of which are sure to delight you.
The first is A Season in Carcosa. As its title implies, this is an anthology of contemporary stories paying tribute to The King in Yellow, the immortal 1895 weird volume by Robert W. Chambers. My story "The Hymn of the Hyades" will be included in the book, which is due to be published in the spring by Miskatonic River Press.
Also from Miskatonic is The Grimscribe's Puppets; an anthology that is important to me personally as well as to the genre at large. It will feature stories that pay tribute to Thomas Ligotti. My contribution is entitled "After the Final." This book is slated to be released this fall.
With names like Simon Strantzas, Michael Kelly, and Daniel Mills already being added to these books, I think both anthologies are shaping up to be landmark ones.

Announcing AT FEAR'S ALTAR

As some of you might have noticed, 2011 saw relatively few updates concerning my current projects and upcoming publications. The reason for this is simple: I have been completing a major project, which may now be revealed...
I am extremely honoured to announce that my forthcoming collection of supernatural Horror fiction will be entitled At Fear's Altar.
The book, my first new collection since 2009, will be published in autumn 2012 by Hippocampus Press.
At Fear's Altar will be edited and Introduced by none other than S.T. Joshi.
Being a lifelong devotee of visionary and cosmic Horror fiction, I consider working with S.T. and Hippocampus Press an immense privilege and a blessing.
You can expect many exciting details about At Fear's Altar to be unveiled in the months to come.

Maurice Level

My article/interview with the estimable S.T. Joshi about Maurice Level, France's master of the Grand Guignol tale, is included in the December issue of Rue Morgue. Copies are available at fine bookstores everywhere and may also be ordered here.

Starfire Volume II Number 4

Starfire Publishing Ltd. is now accepting pre-orders for the forthcoming edition of Starfire Journal. This volume includes my essay "Sermon From a Haunted Cellar"; an examination of the Typhonian Current and what Kenneth Grant suitably dubbed "the Nightmind." It also includes "Shades of Grey", which is my short story that centres on the Lam entity. This tale was written exclusively for Starfire and shall not be reprinted elsewhere.

The entire Table of Contents is scintillating, as it always is with this journal. I am very proud to be included among such preeminent occult writers.

Pre-order information and other details can be found here.

Vincent Price Halloween

I never turn down an opportunity to discuss Horror, or Vincent Price for that matter. My friend, talented author Orrin Grey, invited me to do both. My thoughts on The Tomb of Ligeia can be found here.