7/22/26
Great time at Brooklyn Brewery last night! Thanks to everyone who came out, particularly readers Dustin, Steve, LTJ, Tuba, dude from Wilkes-Barre, dude from the axe-throwing bar, and Brandon who’s flight was delayed.
Was great to get to spend some actual time in conversation with old friends like Chris, Nick, John, and Tony, new friends like CJ, Clay, Nat, Tanya, and Nicky, and talk shop and sign books. Only person I didn’t get to catch up with much was Victor LaValle, who got there while I was already on a panel, and then his panel started while I was taking a leak, and then afterward we were all signing books, and then the bar was kicking us out, and the me and Mary’s Uber arrived. Anyway, Victor — good seeing you for all of five minutes.
Publisher Christoph Paul of Clash books stopped in, too, and he and I discussed many Top Secret things that you’ll find out about later.
Lot’s of photos were taken, but none by me. I’m sure they’ll pop up on socials later today. In the meantime, here’s one of me and Chris that I’m stealing from Clay.
Thanks to the Twisted Spine for putting this together (what an awesome store), and Brooklyn Brewery for hosting us.
Chris’s new book can be found here.
~
Next public appearance will be July 30 to August 2 at GenCon in Indianapolis. My schedule for that is as follows:
Thursday 11am - Noon: Panel Discussion — How To Put Together An Anthology
Friday 11am - Noon: Panel Discussion — How To Build A Long Term Career
Saturday 10am - 11am — The Role of Nonfiction In Your Career
Saturday 1pm - 2pm — Signing
Strangely, this convention limits authors to bringing a maximum of 20 books (which, had I know about beforehand I probably would have opted not to do the show) so the only books on sale there by me will be 5 copies each of JACK’S MAGIC BEANS, TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME, THE LASY ZOMBIE omnibus, and THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT: NEW TALES OF STEPHEN KINGS THE STAND. If there’s something else you’d like to have signed, you’ll need to bring it from home.
~
Women In Horror Year: Day 88
The Ghost Book edited by Cynthia Asquith
Widely considered as the first collection of non-traditional ghost stories, The Ghost Book combines twisted tales from some of the literary greats of the early 1900s: Algernon Blackwood, D.H. Lawrence, Oliver Onions, Enid Bagnold, and Arthur Machen. Settle in by the fire for these classic, influential tales, where ghosts roam the woods, the roads, and possibly the room where you sleep. Some ghosts want redemption, some revenge, and some simply want peace and quiet. Some aren't real ghosts after all. A woman comes face to face with the terrifying killer of her fiancé's first bride. A young boy learns the names of winning race horses in an unexpected way. A man's vast wealth can't save him from his past sins. When a lost play is discovered, the ghost of Shakespeare will do anything to keep it forgotten. Settle in, settle in. And discover which ghost is creeping up the stairs.
Lady Cynthia Asquith is a name you don’t hear discussed much anymore, in relation to Horror, but she had a huge impact on the genre. One of seven children born to the 11th Earl of Wemyss (whatever the hell that is) and his wife, Lady Cynthia was a socialite and prolific writer, editor, and journalist. While she is probably best remembered these days for her novel The Spring House, the majority of her work was horror and fantasy, particularly ghost stories. Her short story collection This Mortal Coil was one of the best of Arkham House’s late 1940’s output (later reprinted with slightly altered contents as What Dreams May Come).
First published in 1926, The Ghost Book is acknowledged to be the first anthologized collection of non-traditional ghost stories. Two follow-ups followed in the 1950s, near the end of Asquith’s life. The reason for the several decades delay is that even back in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, publishers were under the impression that horror anthologies didn’t sell — something we’ve been unable to dissuade them from in all the decades since (with the occasional exception f something like Dark Forces, Hot Blood, Whispers, Year’s Best Horror, Book of the Dead, 999, or the one Chris and I just put out). At the time of its publication, The Ghost Book was considered a landmark — a thick doorstop of an anthology, published in hardcover, and featuring all-new stories by folks like Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, and more.
This new edition contain a foreword by Kevin J. Anderson, and is available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook from WordFire Press.
