Manuel Arenas's Blog - Posts Tagged "book-of-shadows"

I received news that the third collection of poetry from the Weird Poets Society (edited by founding member and fellow poet Frank Coffman) has finally become available! It is called Speculations III and is available on Lulu.com and Amazon.com, respectively. A corrected version of my poem "Hell-Flower" is featured.
In other news, I also received a PDF of the formatted draft of my Book of Shadows collection from graphic designer Dan Sauer from Jackanapes Press, and it looks amazing! He is still working on the artwork as I write this, and I am so excited to see what he comes up with! Updates to follow...

I have received several communications from Dan Sauer of Jackanapes Press and have seen the prospective cover art for my book of shadows, as well as a PDF of the formatted text replete with several illustrations and flourishes, and let me tell you, it is a beautiful book! I cannot wait for it to be released into the world! We are still in the process of proofreading, with the help of fellow weird poet Scott J. Couturier, but I expect it should be done in time for Halloween, if not sooner! I will of course keep you all posted of any updates.

At long last, my Book of Shadows: Grim Tales and Gothic Fancies is now available for pre-order at https://www.jackanapespress.com/produ...
Reserve your copy today!

Well, I am recently returned from my trip to the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland OR. I had a wonderful time and made a slew of new friends! I also realized that some day I am going to have to move to the Northwest!
Even though I was at a film festival, I only got to watch one film! I saw a full length feature period adaptation of the Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, that was a little different than the original tale, but definitely kept to the spirit of the source material.
The rest of the time I spent at the Jackanapes Press table, selling & signing books, and getting to know my stable mates: Adam Bolivar, Pete Rawlik and John Shirley, and Jackanapes founder/editor/designer, illustrator Dan Sauer. Everyone was supercool and I feel that I now have four new brothers.
Book of Shadows sold well for a first book by an unknown author and I hope to be seeing online reviews in the near future!

Rebecca Buchanan from Eternal Haunted Summer interviewed me about my Book of Shadows for Ev0ke the pagan/witchcraft lifestyle magazine. Check it out:

https://ev0kepublication.com/issues/n...

On Saturday, 02/05/2022, I shall be signing copies of my Book of Shadows at Half Price Books in Mesa, AZ from 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM. So, if you're in town and free to stop by, I'd love to make your acquaintance. For anyone interested in purchasing a copy of the book, I shall be handling sales personally and can do PayPal, Venmo, and I shall try to bring some small bills for cash. I am unfortunately not set up yet for credit card sales, however, one may still purchase a signed copy through the Jackanapes Press webpage:

https://www.jackanapespress.com/produ...

Greetings! Sorry I have been away for so long! Much has happened and I won't be able to catch up on everything right now, but a few things have happened which bear mentioning.

In June I was interviewed by Daniel Braum for his show, Night Time Logic. Joining me was author Brenda Sue Tolian, who talked about her novel Blood Mountain. We both were interviewed and read excerpts from our recent works. I read Morbidezza, and Gothilocks, both from my Book of Shadows. A YouTube video of the show may be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGy-y...

Recently, I was also selected for a written interview by Sumiko Saulson of the Horror Writer's Association for their LatinX Heritage in Horror. The link for that is here: https://horror.org/latinx-heritage-in...

I have also had various pieces see publication recently in Spectral Realms, and Penumbra, both from Hippocampus Press. https://hippocampuspress.com/

I am presently working on both a chapbook and a collection of poetry & prose for Jackanapes Press. The chapbook will feature diabolical illustrations by UK artist Mutartis Boswell, who has done work for both Jackanapes Press and Hippocampus Press in the past. Boswell and I are collaborating with a friend of mine on a book trailer, which I hope to unveil in the coming weeks.

Speaking of Jackanapes Press, I have also written blurbs for two recent releases of fantastic poetry by my colleagues Scott J. Couturier, and Rebecca Buchanan, respectively. They are both available here: https://www.jackanapespress.com/

Well, that's about all I have for the moment. I promise there will be more to come before the end of the year, and I shall keep you all in the loop as things develop. In the interim, have a safe and Happy Hallowe'en!

Jackanapes Press is having a Halloween sale. All their titles are 30% off, including my Book of Shadows! Check it out: https://www.jackanapespress.com/