Acclaimed indie publisher Creeping Hemlock Press, publisher of the Stoker-nominated anthology Corpse Blossoms, announces PRINT IS DEAD, a new imprint devoted to the best in original zombie fiction.

"These guys know more about the undead than I do... and that's saying something, because I've been hanging out with zombies for as long as I can remember."

-George A. Romero


"This is the best of modern zombie fiction. If you want the best, you need to read the stuff these guys are putting out at PRINT IS DEAD. It doesn't get any better than this."

-Joe McKinney, author of FLESH EATERS and DEAD CITY


?"PRINT IS DEAD is the terrifying new voice of zombie fiction. They're coming to get you..."

-Jonathan ... (more…)

"Monstermatt," responsible for such creations as The Johnny Gruesome Death Mask, is embarking on a new career. This October, May December Publications will unleash on the world MONSTERMATT's BAD MONSTER JOKES VOL.1, illustrated by indie comic artist Kyle. J. Kazmarzcyk.

"I've always been a fan of jokes, comedians, and periodicals like MAD MAGAZINE, CRACKED, and so on," says Monstermatt. "Being a part of horror in some way, I felt that the genre was missing something: someone to playfully make fun of it! The fun of deconstructing a phrase or idiom, or film, and rearranging it into something corny, is a thrill! Even unexpected mash ups are fun! My first gig doing my material (Buffalo ... (more…)

CHASING THE DRAGON is a new novella by Nicholas Kaufmann, author of the novelette GENERAL SLOCUM'S GOLD, the short story collection WALK IN SHADOWS, and the recent pulp adventure novel GABRIEL HUNT AT WORLD'S END. Kaufmann used to write "The State of the Genre" column here at Fear Zone, and before that I posted his video reading of an excerpt from SLOCUM, which you can still find if you dig around the site. I've also spent a considerable amount of time trapped at the U.S./Canadian border with him; in fact, he first describes this novella to me during one such excursion.

CHASING THE DRAGON is the story of Georgia Quincey, descendant of the dragon slayer St. George, fated to face the same ... (more…)

Behold the cover for the upcoming Dark Scribe publication, BUTCHER KNIVES AND BODY COUNTS: ESSAYS ON THE FORMULA, FRIGHTS AND FUN OF THE SLASHER FILM, edited by Vince Liaguno.

BUTCHER KNIVES & BODY COUNTS features essays from over 70 contributors (including myself) on slasher films. My essays are on SUSPIRIA and the original BLACK CHRISTMAS. It's great to share a ToC with so many sick, twisted and deranged stalwarts, literally too many to list here. I'll hazard a guess this will be the nonfiction horror book of the year!

For a complete list of contributors, an overview of the project, and publication news, visit the Butcher Knives & Body Counts blog . (more…)

Medallion Press publishes my werewolf novel, THE FRENZY WAY, as a trade paperback on June 1st. It's been a long road for this particular tale to reach the public, but I'll get into that later. First I want to discuss werewolves, and why they've had such a big impact on me.

It all started with Dan Curtis, when I was a 4 year old living in Dunkirk, New York, an hour south of Buffalo. This was during the Stone Age, before cable TV, and our rabbit ears only received the big three networks, PBS, Channel 29 from Grand Island (since gobbled up by the FOX TV monster), and occasionally some Canadian stations. My mother, a single parent, was in the process of getting her Master's Degree in English.... (more…)

The legendary Arkham House is alive and well, with several new publishing projects on the horizon:

MISSION STATEMENT 2010

Sapientiant Astutiantque

In 1939, two successful authors, August Derleth and Donald Wandrei, decided to publish a hardcover collection of short stories by their late friend and mentor, H.P. Lovecraft. Love-craft, who had died in 1937, was considered by many to be the finest horror writer of the 20th century, yet no mainstream publisher was willing to take a chance on a volume of his short fiction. Derleth and Wandrei named their new press, Arkham House, after the eerie New England village where most of Lovecraft's stories took place. Over the next seven decades, Arkham ... (more…)

As promised (or threatened), I will continue to pop in over here from time to time with updates on my own projects. It's a shame to let such a gorgeous site go to waste...

James Tampa at Medallion Press sent me the cover art by the talented Tommy Castillo for my October, 2010 novel, DESPERATE SOULS, the second volume in my action/horror/noir series "The Jake Helman Files," which started with PERSONAL DEMONS. Castillo also did the cover for my upcoming werewolf novel, THE FRENZY WAY, which Medallion publishes in June.

In DESPERATE SOULS, Jake Helman takes on drug lords who use a new street drug called Black Magic to create an army of zombie soldiers. It's my best novel to date, and I'm ... (more…)

Medallion Press has made Tommy Castillo's amazing wraparound cover for my upcoming horror novel THE FRENZY WAY available as a free, downloadable wallpaper.

THE FRENZY WAY will be published as a trade paerback in June, 2010. It's an action packed story about cops battling werewolves in the streets of New York City, sort of THE FRENCH CONNECTION smashed with THE HOWLING. The novel features big action set pieces that I could never attempt in a low budget (or even medium budget) film.

Blurbs for THE FRENZY WAY:

"THE FRENZY WAY is an awesome blend of police procedural and bloody werewolf action. It's easily Lamberson's best novel--and I loved his first two!"

- Jeff Strand


"A werewolf serial killer ... (more…)

Still the King. The Return of the King. The once and Future King. King-dom Come. Everything is coming up King. There are so many potential headlines for this piece. Since his "retirement" several years ago, Stephen King has been turning out one best seller after another, and he's collected at least three Bram Stoker Awards. Some retirement, eh? Last month, the Sci-Fi Channel - er, SyFy - aired a not bad, if overly padded, remake of CHILDREN OF THE CORN, which is now available on DVD. Two days ago, J.J. Abrams announced he was giving up on his plans to adapt THE DARK TOWER series - and King revealed that he will write one more book in the career stretching tales of Roland. I find ... (more…)

They say that lightning doesn't strike twice, but I beg to differ when it comes to jazzy Jeff Strand. His outstanding, hilarious, morbid and gruesome short story collection, GLEEFULLY MACABRE TALES, which was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award and sold out its Delirium limited edition - is now available as an affordable trade paperback from Dark Regions Press. I typically read four or five stories in single author collections and multi-author anthologies then put them down, but I burned through GLEEFULLY MACABRE TALES cover to cover and in record time. And look at that cover: the center kid looks just like the author! I'd recognize those empty, soulless eye sockets and bloody cheeks ... (more…)