Philip Fracassi's Blog: PHILIP FRACASSI BLOG, page 10

Authors to Read (Part I)

Appreciate the mention here from Laird Barron. Some very talented writers / books to check out.

Laird Barron

Here are a few books published by small and independent presses that deserve the time and attention of weird fiction/horror fans.

A Collapse of Horses Brian Evenson  (great American horror surrealist)

Furnace Livia Llewellyn (sex, lies, and body horror)

At Fear’s Altar Richard Gavin (master occultist)

Ghost Summer Tananarive Due (unsung master fabulist)

Skein and Bone V.H. Leslie (successor of Shirley Jackson and Angela Carter)

Knock, Knock S.P. Miskowski (contemporary gothic storyteller)

Behold the Void Philip Fracassi (from the lineage of McCammon and Matheson)

The Lure of Devouring Light Michael Griffin (ice cold and cerebral horrorist)

Jagannath Karin Tidbeck (weird fiction done with elegance)

Will the Sun Ever Come Out Again? Nate Southard (blue collar, hard bitten)

All images via Amazon.com

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“Murder Ballads” Arrives; Limited Edition Anthology from Egaeus Press

As of today you can pre-order the limited edition, deluxe anthology, MURDER BALLADS, from Egaeus Press.

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MURDER BALLADS includes my novelette, THE BABY FARMER, as well as 16 other tales of “blood-drenched mythology.”

About the book:

A collection of seventeen dark tales & novellas, in which some of today’s finest weird story writers provide previously unpublished work inspired by traditional murder ballads. The results are sometimes enigmatic, sometimes witty, sometimes desperately grim; just like the songs they often appear to belong outside — either before or after — recorded time, in some malleable epoch of blood-drenched mythology. They channel not only these ballads, but also that certain brand of outmoded publication which once revelled so joyfully in all manner of luridness; publications such as The Newgate Calendar, The Illustrated Police News and of course the Victorian Penny Dreadful.

It is sumptuously illustrated with reclaimed images from these glorious sources.

The full contents are as follows….

Prelude

Twa Sisters, Ane Swan by Avalon Brantley

The Ballad Box by Alison Littlewood

And Yet Speaketh by Timothy J. Jarvis

Heaven’s Nightblooming Garden by Helen Marshall

The Baby Farmer by Philip Fracassi

The Sweet Princess Prized by Brendan Connell

Black Wedding: A Footnote by Louis Marvick

The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners by Angela Slatter

The Vampyre Trap by Reggie Oliver

The Kink of Human Mildness by Rhys Hughes

In Scarlet Town by Rosanne Rabinowitz

“We’ll Never Know” by Daniel Mills

Something Close to Grace by Lisa L. Hannett

Out of Bounds by Stephen J. Clark

Old Maid by Colin Insole

os cithara by Charles Schneider

Through Flame and Fume by Albert Power

Edited by Mark Beech

The book has 385 pages; is a lithographically printed, sewn hardback with colour endpapers. It is limited to just 375 copies.

ISBN 978-0-993527845.

It can be pre-ordered HERE for £35.00, inclusive of postage worldwide.

Ordered copies will be despatched on, or slightly before 20th Feb 2017.

Upcoming collection, BEHOLD THE VOID, to be translated, published in Spain by Dilatando Mentes

I’m incredibly pleased to announce that my upcoming collection of stories, BEHOLD THE VOID, coming from JournalStone in March, 2017, has been licensed for translation into Spanish and will be released in Spain, as a deluxe limited edition, by Dilatando Mentes Editorial, run by the publishing team of Jose Angel De Dios Garcia and Maite Aranda.

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Having one’s work translated is one of the greater compliments, I think, a writer can receive. Beyond the publishing of the book itself – which will include custom covers and interior illustrations as part of a fine, collectable edition – it’s also the time and effort to translate 100,000 words of content, a task of passion which is truly mind-bending to me. It is incredibly humbling to find someone invested enough in my stories to be willing to take on this process.

I couldn’t be more thrilled to be joining the catalogue at Dilatando Mentes, and working with Angel and Maite on this edition, which is currently slated to be released in Winter 2018. Please be sure to visit their Facebook page to stay up-to-date on their other releases and news.

Lastly, and this is my favorite part, I’ll be joining an amazing group of writers chosen for publication under the Dilatando Mentes banner – including Ted E. Grau (“The Nameless Dark”), Michael Wehunt (“Greener Pastures”), Gabino Iglesias (“Zero Saints”) among others.

I want to give special, warm thank-you’s to Angel, Maite, and Christopher Payne for pulling this deal together. I look forward, with great eagerness, to this edition and share my dark stories to a whole new part of the world. Amazing.

In the meantime, you can pre-order your electronic, paperback or hardcover English edition of BEHOLD THE VOID from the JournalStone website.

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2016 Review, Upcoming in 2017, and an Announcement

Safe to say that 2016 exceeded every expectation for me. The support and generosity of readers, publishers and authors for my work has been staggering, surreal, and totally unforeseen. I got my first print interview (Dark Discoveries Magazine), was able to chat about writing on the Lovecraft ezine and This is Horror (#123) podcasts, and most importantly, made a lot of awesome friends. Thanks to each and every one of you.

2016 kicked off with a little chapbook called ALTAR, which was published by Jordan Krall at Dunhams Manor Press as a follow-up to my previous chapbook, MOTHER, which saw it’s own wide release in early 2016.

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ALTAR got a great response and filled me with the courage to try my hand at a few more stories, including the sale of my first novella, FRAGILE DREAMS, to JournalStone.

I ended up selling the following pieces that either came out in 2016 or will be coming out in early 2017. Sold stories include:

“Eleven One” & “The Taker” — Ravenwood Quarterly (Issue 2  – Oct 2016 & Issue 3 – early 2017)
“Fragile Dreams” an original novella — (JournalStone, Nov, 2016)
“The Rejects” — Giraffes on the Moon? (Dunhams Manor Press, 2016)
“Soda Jerk” — Lovecraft eZine (early 2017)
“The Baby Farmer” — Murder Ballads, Egaeus Press (limited edition anthology – Feb, 2017)
“Ateuchus” — Dark Discoveries Magazine (Issue 38 – early 2017)
“Coffin”  — Strange Aeons Magazine (early 2017)
“Sacculina” an original novella — (JournalStone, May, 2017)
“Angel Glow” an original novella — (Bizarro Pulp Press, 2017)

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Of course, the biggest news was the sale of my debut collection, BEHOLD THE VOID, which will be coming from JournalStone on March 10, 2017. Nine stories and 100,000 words of content, most of it original to the collection. I can’t wait for you to see it.

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Now the announcement.

For 2017, in addition to the stories above and a few other not-yet-announcable items, I’ve decided to do something… a little different.

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Working with Christopher Payne at JournalStone, I will be writing a 4-novella serial. The series of novellas will tentatively be titled: SABBATH.

The Sabbath stories will all take place in a small town of the same name, set in the 1950’s. The first novella will hit sometime in early 2017, and I hope you come visit my little town.

Just don’t stay too long.

About SABBATH: The town of Sabbath surrounds a great, deep lake, and is known for good schools, clean-cut kids, and a Main Street to die for. The fact that everyone who lives there seem to share a secret is beside the point, because outsiders never stick around long enough to find out what that secret might be. And if they do stick around and find out? They’ll never want to leave, of course. Why would they? When the milkshakes taste so good and the water in the lake is so welcoming… except in the middle, where it’s deep. Abyssal, even.

The keeper of the gateways is down there, and its bile pollutes the water with godly molecules that the townspeople drink up hungrily, and, in doing so, all share the ever-expansive possibilities of their existence, gripping a slippery, taut tether to the knowledge of infinite worlds, where anything goes. Anything at all.

Sometimes those worlds collide – overlap – and strange things can happen. Even to the best of them. But even the most horrible, bizarre, deadly circumstances would never be enough to make one flee this sweet little town, not ever. Because of their secret. The one I mentioned. The one they share with you only if you decide you’ll never leave again.

Let me whisper it to you now…

There are monsters here.

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! — SEE YOU IN 2017!

–PF

 

PS — Special thanks to Laird Barron, Christopher Payne, Jordan Krall, Aaron French, Mike Davis, Kelly Young, Mark Beech, Justin Steele, Vincenzo Bilof, Chuck Killorin, Matthew Revert, Joe Zanetti, Christopher Slatsky, Michael Wehunt, John Boden, Ted Grau, Christopher Ropes, Travis Neisler, my agent Jason Yarn and so many others for making this past year an absolute dream come true.

Behold the Void – Cover Reveal/Pre-Order

It’s fun to say these words.

My debut collection of stories, BEHOLD THE VOID, is now available for pre-order. It is currently available as a paperback or hardcover edition. Both editions come with a free electronic version, as well.

I want to thank Christopher Payne at JournalStone for not only agreeing to publish the work, but for being excited about the work, which makes it that much more fun to work with him. Huge thanks also to artist Chuck Killorin for the amazing design.

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About the book:

BEHOLD THE VOID is nine stories of terror that huddle in the dark space between cosmic horror and the modern weird, between old-school hard-edged horror of the 1980’s and the stylistic prose of today’s literary giants.

Revenge takes a monstrous form when a scorned lover acquires bizarre, telekinetic powers; a community swimming pool on a bright summer day becomes the setting for a ghastly nightmare of sacrifice and loss; a thief does bloody battle with a Yakuza for the soul of a horse god; a priest must solve the mystery of a century-old serial killer or risk the apocalypse; a newly-married couple discover that relationships-gone-bad can be poisonous, and deadly; a child is forced to make an ultimate choice between letting his parents die or living with the monsters they may become; and when a boy is trapped on a beach at low tide, he must face death in many forms – that of the rising water coming to consume him and the ghost of his dead mother who wants him back, reaching for him with dark, longing arms…

The Table of Contents:

Soft Construction of a Sunset
Altar
The Horse Thief
Coffin
The Baby Farmer
Surfer Girl
Mother
Fail-Safe
Mandala

With an Introduction by Laird Barron.

Available March 10, 2017

To pre-order click here.

More news to come…

Fragile Dreams

Sharing this post from Laird Barron with much appreciation. Please check out This is Horror’s excellent reviews of all the newest releases.

Laird Barron

Philip Fracassi’s latest novella, Fragile Dreams, is reviewed over at This Is Horror. This story is a great example of how the modern weird can permeate conventional tropes and destabilize them to fascinating effect.

Watch this space for news of Phil’s debut collection, due in early 2017.

image via Amazon

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Dark Discoveries Interview

I’m very excited to have a feature interview in this month’s issue of DARK DISCOVERIES MAGAZINE (Issue #36).

In the interview I discuss my past, present and future work, as well as my work in film and TV. I hope you check it out!

In addition to my interview, this issue will feature all new Fiction by: Nisi Shawl, Lauren Beukes, Nancy Palmer, Kathryn Ptacek, R.A. MacAvoy and Christopher Golden

Interviews with: Christopher Golden, Richard Smoley, myself, and more!

Articles on: The Subtle Spaces of Heresy by Craig Williams, and Featured Film Reviews by Colleen Wanglund

Columns from Mike Davis, Laird Barron, Robert Morrish, Donald Tyson and Richard Dansky!

And Dark Poetry from Michael Collings

BUY DARK DISCOVERIES #36 HERE.

Publication Day for FRAGILE DREAMS

TODAY is the official publication day for my newest novella, Fragile Dreams, now available from Amazon and direct from the publisher.

FRAGILE DREAMS came from the idea: “What would it feel like to be trapped in the dark; essentially buried alive beneath a mountain of steel and chaos, and to know, without a doubt, that you were going to die? What would you think? What would you remember? At what point would your mind start slipping away?”



Then, “And what if there were things in the dark…”


EARLY REVIEWS:


“…a tour-de-force of storytelling…“– Risingshadow.net



“…heart-stopping…heartbreaking…he never lets the suspense slacken, even as his narrative rockets to its harrowing conclusion.” — John Langan, author of The Fisherman





“...claustrophobic as hell.” — Jack Ketchum, author of The Secret Life of Souls





“…Disturbing, frightening, unnerving…nail biting pleasure.” — Mark Booth, author of The Secret History of the World



Visit my website for more information, or purchase via Amazon.com or the JournalStone website.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy it.

FRAGILE DREAMS Now Available for Pre-order

I am excited to reveal the cover and announce that my upcoming novella, FRAGILE DREAMS, is now available for pre-order through the JournalStone Publishing website.

The novella will be officially released November 18 as a paperback and as an eBook.

“Fracassi mixes scenes of intense physical drama with deftly-drawn moments from a life lived in the shadow of a heartbreaking absence.  Along the way, he never lets the suspense slacken, even as his narrative rockets to its harrowing conclusion.”

— John Langan, author of The Fisherman

About FRAGILE DREAMS:

When a savage earthquake rocks Los Angeles, buildings crumble and highways fall apart. Matthew Calvert, a young family man on the job interview of his life, finds himself at ground zero of the destruction – his building collapses beneath him and he wakes to find himself buried under a mountain of rubble, badly injured, trapped in the dark.

As his injuries worsen with each passing hour, he clings to memories to fight off the fear of impending death, the hope for salvation. Soon, however, the memories turn morbid and his terror escalates.

There are things with him in the dark.

Trying desperately to hold onto his sanity, Matthew clings to the barrier between this life and the next, his mind flipping between reality and delusion, before confronting a final horrifying truth:

Sometimes the hallucinations are real.

To pre-order your copy, click HERE.

For press, reviews or other inquiries please contact Christopher Payne at JournalStone.

christophercpayne@journalstone.com.

Joining Forces with Bizarro Pulp Press

Proud and excited to announce that I’ll be releasing a new novella under the Bizarro Pulp Press banner in early 2017.

Bizarro Pulp Press and publisher Vincenzo Bilof have published many amazing writers, such as Laird Barron, Seb Doubinsky, MP Johnson, Chris Kelso, Rhys Hughes and so many others.

More details to come — but I’ll say this about the story: It’s a bloody Civil War drama in which some of the soldiers may or may not glow.