Here are the new releases from Crossroad Press for November and December 2023. Unless noted otherwise, you can purchase any of them at Amazon, B&N, Apple, Google Play, Smashwords, or Kobo.
by Brian Lumley
(release date 11/11/2023)
From the Introduction:
This pretty much is what the title says. Many of the stories/novellas here will have only been done in limited print runs, such as in fanzines, magazines, pamphlets, special editions or online magazines.
It’s a mixed genre of stories and these are what Brian considers the best of the rest of the stories in his body of work. We’ve got 111,000+ words in this collection so that means lots of enjoyment in what is likely the last collection coming from Brian.
“The Challenge” As some fools do. But do you dare? Yes? Well, don’t!
“The Man Who Photographed Beardsley” They should have been pictures from life – or was he simply impatient?
“The Cyprus Shell” There are some you can eat, while others have their own pick-me-ups.
“Clean Slate” If you’re in debt to the Devil, don’t mess with look-a-like sisters.
“The Deep-Sea Conch” Some species build nests; while others are much like the cuckoo….
“The Ugly Act” But what’s a pimple or two – if there’s only you?
“Irving’s Story” Her downstairs knew best, every time.
“The Running Man” It may be true you can run – but as for finding a place to hide…?
“Somebody Calling” The only way she could. He simply had to listen harder.
“Vanessa’s Voice” Both beautiful … and deadly!
“The Vehicle” Some might think of him that way, others as a dyadic personality?
“Mandraki” Take care who you lie down with … and where!
“Two Stone Tom” Yes, except he was an entire science heavier than that!
“The Long Last Night” Was it just a myth – or a Mythos?
“The Weird Wines of Naxas Niss” A wizard’s stolen potion is another man’s gateway to Nirvana…maybe!
“Stealer of Dreams” Always remember, once they’re gone they might stay gone!
by Thom Carnell
(release date 11/7/2023)
In this, the tenth book by Fangoria/Dread Central contributor Thom Carnell, we present nineteen brand new tales, compiled in the order in which they were completed, all written during the first years of the Coronavirus Pandemic. These stories range from the poignant to the paranoid, from the heartbreaking to the heart-pounding, all designed to transport the reader away from our mundane world to the wild frontiers of the imagination. Stories that are meant to be read over and over again.
Stories included in this collection:
Advent
I Double-Dog Dare Ya
Lealtà
Hitting the Spot
Secuestrados
The Mumble
Real Estate
Paw-Fly
Burying the Bone
Ablution
Stuck
The Somnambulist
Carrion
Ijheyojin
The Atttestant
Alias: Smith and Jones
Kiru
Willow, Weep for Me
Man’s Best Friend
Salamat!
by Adam Stemple
(Release date – 11/7/2023)
Pallasoldi. The crossroad of kingdoms. Center of commerce, of trade. While empires rise and fall, the city remains. For trade is the lifeblood of all who would rule, and Pallasoldi is its beating heart.
Most nights in Pallasoldi were the same for Alda: dress in black, go to the nicer parts of town, and steal everything that’s not nailed down. It’s not the greatest life—she risks losing a hand to the law or her head to her murderous boss, Heron, if she screws up—but she’s good at her job, has her own place, and even has a little bit of silver stashed away.
But this night is different. Because whatever she stole has the whole city looking for her. They all want what she has and are willing to kill anybody and everybody to get it from her.
And Alda doesn’t even know what it is.
**************
“There is no one on earth who writes the kind of dirtbags, scoundrels, cutthroats and rotters quite like Adam Stemple, always with equal portions of compassion and exasperation, with the occasional well-deserved scorn. This book is a complex, knotty, and cliff-hanging yarn. I enjoyed it immensely.” — Kelly Barnhill, Newbery and World Fantasy award winner, and NYT best selling author
“Everything I’ve loved about Stemple’s work comes together in this. Three characters, each a delight to follow, spiral in to a meeting with all the fireworks you’d hoped for. I can’t wait for the next one.” — NYT best-selling author, Steven Brust