Of the Dreaded 13...

Dark Regions Press posted the following update regarding the thirteen Deluxe Editions of The Darkly Splendid Realm:

"Richard Gavin has just informed Dark Regions that he is writing thirteen individual vignettes in long hand with a fountain pen and on a sheet of very fine (and suitably creepy) stationary which will be signed and numbered by the author and then rolled up scroll style with a black ribbon. One scroll will be included with each of the Deluxe thirteen editions of The Darkly Splendid Realm. The Deluxe Edition is almost sold out. If you want a copy, you had better order now!"

I should add that none of these vignettes will be republished in any other form. It was my intention to make the Deluxes true collectors items by giving the readers an artefact that I felt was both unique and personal.

To the thirteen souls who either have or are about to order one of these editions, I hope you find this addition to your liking.

Word on the Street

Burning Effigy Press will be present at this year's Word on the Street literary festival at Queen's Park in Toronto. The event takes place on Sunday, September 27th from 11am to 6pm.

I will be on hand to sign copies of Primeval Wood from noon until 1pm, and I'm happy to report that my friend Ian Rogers will be signing his brand new horror chapbook Temporary Monsters tomorrow as well, along with a number of other B.E. authors. If you're attending WotS, be sure to stop by the Burning Effigy booth and say hello.

Now available through Horror Mall

Horror Mall, your one-stop online shop for all things creepy, is also now accepting pre-orders for The Darkly Splendid Realm.

If you've not shopped with HM before, they are the best in the biz; swift and professional. They also have the best selection of horror books on 'net, so I encourage you to browse while you're there.

You can pre-order the limited edition hardcover editions here

You can pre-order the Deluxe leather-bound editions here

THE DARKLY SPLENDID REALM: NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!!!

The Darkly Splendid Realm is now available for pre-order, courtesy of Dark Regions Press.

The book is available in two editions:

Thirteen copies of the Deluxe edition, which is leather bound, slipcased, and signed.

One-hundred limited hardcover editions.

If you're quick you can take advantage of the special sale price. The Deluxe is now being offered for $79.97 (marked down from $99), and the hardcover is only $32.97 (marked down from $40).

You can give the book a gander and place your orders here.

I must confess that this collection contains the strongest work I've written to date. I thank each of you for expressing an interest and for supporting both myself and Dark Regions Press.

Let the Hellraising begin!

THE DARKLY SPLENDID REALM cover art

Feast your eyes on the astonishing cover for The Darkly Splendid Realm!

My heartfelt thanks to the legendary Harry O. Morris, who created the art, and to David G. Barnett of Fat Cat Design for doing such a fantastic job on the design and text.

Pre-order information is just around the corner, kids. Stay tuned...

Out of the Barrens

Robert Knowlton is a respected book collector/restorer and one of the world's leading authorities on dark literature. Tesseracts Thirteen, a new anthology of Canadian horror and dark fantasy, has recently been released by EDGE Publishing. Although the book does not include any of my stories, it does feature Mr. Knowlton's essay "Out of the Barrens: Two Centuries of Canadian Dark Fantasy & Horror," which is a fascinating and comprehensive survey.

I'm chuffed by what Robert Knowlton had to say about my work. For example:

"The promise of Richard Gavin's first collection, Charnel Wine (2000)* is more than fulfilled by his second Omens (2008)**, containing affectionate homages to Robert Aickman and Jonathan Carroll, among others, yet stepping out from the masters' shadows to cast his own, like a tenebrous star "who do ray out darkness upon the earth as the sun doth light."

"Beneath the House of Life" explores arcane Qabalah lore unknowingly embedded in a children's book which, if read aright, opens the Gates of Death to "the dreaded abyss of the false creation… where all our nightmares come from." This tale also references, more obliquely, Kenneth Grant's peculiar theories regarding the "hidden truth" of Lovecraft's visions, so we know the protagonists who descends through the gateway in the cellar will ascend much altered, and not for the better. At his best, Gavin's stylish prose and striking imagery effectively convey, in his own words, "a terrible rush of awe-tinged dread," an aspiration well met."

I can think of no higher praise than to have such a distinguished figure refer to me as "tenebrous star who do ray darkness upon the earth..."! His reference to Kenneth Grant also proves to me just how keen Mr. Knowlton's insights into dark literature truly are.

Primeval Wood is also given a very favourable mention:

"Burning Effigy, founded in 2003 by Monica Kuebler has produced a series of horror chapbooks, both prose and poetry, notably Gemma Files' fine Wendigo tale Words Written Backwards (2007) and Richard Gavin's daemonic Primeval Wood (2009)…"

In addition to this essay, Tesseracts Thirteen also features an impressive roster of authors, including Gord Rollo, Mike Kelly, and Jason Ridler.

Soo goo buy 'er and get scared, eh.

* = actual release date: 2004
** = actual release date: 2007