Today’s mail brought a copy of the April 2010 issue of Locus, and with it Tim Pratt’s review of my PS Publishing zombie collection What Will Come After, which launched last weekend at the World Horror Convention in Brighton.

I’ve already told you about the three positive reviews (and because I believe in full disclosure, one negative review, too) my collection already received, but this one was so complimentary as to astonish even me.

The review, which occupied a column and a half of real estate, began with:

What Will Come After is “the complete zombie stories” of Scott Edelman, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a more literary and literate collection of tales about the living dead.

And ended with:

In the hands of a lesser writer, a book of nothing but zombie stories could risk becoming repetitive, but Edelman’s audacity regarding style and form, along with his brilliant unpacking of the themes inherent in zombie fiction, make this instead a compendium of singular treasures.

And between that first and last sentence were such phrases as:

… a heartbreaking and beautiful literary tour-de-force …

… it’s heartwrenching and not a bit tongue in cheek …

… audacious blend of science fiction and supernatural zombie fiction …

(Can you tell that I’m blushing?)

If those words of praise intrigue you enough to make you want to check out the book for yourself, who am I to stop you?

What Will Come After, my zombie collection from PS Publishing, was just reviewed by Publishers Weekly, and the anonymous reviewer absolutely hated, hated, hated the book, as can see below.

I don’t present it here to argue with the opinion—those of you who attended my presentation “How to Respond to a Critique of Your Writing” at the Montreal Worldcon know I believe a writer should never do that, because after all, there’s no such thing as bad publicity—but rather in the interests of full disclosure.

After all, if I share my glowing reviews, shouldn’t I also let you know when I get slammed?

In any case, here’s PW‘s verdict:

SF news industry veteran Edelman collects nine zombie-themed short stories, but the content falls short of its promise. Les Edwards’s cover illustration, which depicts the author as one of the undead, hints at Edelman’s fondness for self-insertion; alas, the title story, in which he narrates his own rise from the grave and rampage through suburbia, goes on rather longer than the thousand words that might match the picture. Even the Stoker-nominated “A Plague on Both Your Houses” and “Almost the Last Story by Almost the Last Man” fall a little flat. Edelman’s prose is strong, but each story, regardless of perspective, seems to have been written in the same voice, creating a monotony that undermines any excitement.

Luckily, even if I didn’t find negative reviews as interesting as positive ones, the piece appears when my spirit is at its most impervious, because I head for the airport later today for the World Horror Convention in Brighton, where I’ll a) get to hold the final book in my hands for the first time, and b) possibly win a Stoker Award.

How can anyone possibly be down when facing that?

I already told you about the first review my upcoming zombie collection, What Will Come After, received—over at Gnostalgia, Barry Huddleston called three of the stories “must reads,” and gave the book as a whole “4 out of 5 stars.” (Sorry—but I couldn’t resist repeating that!)

Today, two more glowing reviews popped up online.

Seregil of Rhiminee had this to say over at Rising Shadow:

What Will Come After: The Complete Zombie Stories of Scott Edelman is a fascinating short story collection. I’ve always liked zombie stories, so I was very interested in this collection. …

The first story, “What Will Come After,” is a surprisingly tender, but shocking story about love, life, death and life after death as a zombie. It’s a fine example of what a good writer [can] do with words. The other stories are also well written, but I especially liked the Bram Stoker Award nominated stories (“Almost the Last Story by Almost the Last Man” and “A Plague on Both Your Houses”). They’re perfect zombie stories for zombie fans.

I can recommend What Will Come After: The Complete Zombie Stories of Scott Edelman to all horror readers, because it’s worth reading. If you like good zombie stories, these stories will charm you.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

And at Mass Movement, Jim Dodge, Jr. wrote:

The stories collected here are sad. They’re full of tragedy and despair. Though these tales are chock-full of survivors they still manage to be really, completely … well … sad. I can’t say I’ve enjoyed anything zombie-related as much as Scott Edelman’s newest PS Publishing release but I will say I needed to make sure I got some sunshine when I was finished. He really pulled the old heartstrings with this book and I loved every minute of it!

If you’d like to get your own copy of What Will Come After to see what these three reviewers are talking about, head here for the jacketed hardcover or here for the signed limited traycased edition. As an added incentive, Pete Crowther of PS Publishing has agreed to ship all pre-orders postage free through the end of February.

The Horror Writers Association today announced the nominees for the 2009 Stoker Awards, and I’m extremely happy to say that my novella, The Hunger of Empty Vessels, has made the final ballot in the category of Superior Achievement in Long Fiction.

Since so many people have already posted the entire ballot, I’ll save pixels by sending you elsewhere for the complete list of categories.

But here are the four finalists in mine:

Dreaming Robot Monster by Mort Castle (MIGHTY UNCLEAN)
The Hunger of Empty Vessels by Scott Edelman (Bad Moon Books)
The Lucid Dreaming by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)
Doc Good’s Traveling Show by Gene O’Neill (Bad Moon Books)

Note that whatever happens, there’s already a clear winner here—Bad Moon Books, which published three of the four finalists.

As much as I’m pleased to be on a ballot with three very worthy writers, I must admit that there’s one who pleases me more than the rest—Gene O’Neill, with whom I attended Clarion in 1979. If you’d told us back then that this would happen down the road someday, I don’t think either one of us would have believed you. (more…)

I learned this week that master anthologist and perspicacious editor Stephen Jones has accepted a story of mine for an upcoming project of his, Zombie Apocalypse, which you can read more about here.

And I learned today that there’ll be two different cover treatments for the book. On the left is the cover to the UK edition, which will be brought out by Constable & Robinson. On the right is the cover to the U.S. edition, which will be published by Running Press.

Each has its charms. If zombies can be said to have charms. Which I think that they do.

In other zombie news, my upcoming collection What Will Come After received its first review today, in which three of the stories are called “must reads,” and the book as a whole is given “4 out of 5 stars.”

Nice way to start off!

Back before I abandoned the comic-book business, I wrote many short stories for the horror mags put out by DC Comics, including House of Mystery, House of Secrets, The Unexpected, and Secrets of Haunted House. (And even some for the science fiction and war titles, such as Time Warp and Weird War Tales.) This being Valentine’s Day, I thought I share a horrific romance with you.

The story below, “To Master a Mummy,” was published in House of Secrets #154, the October/November 1978 issue. I had a second spooky story in that issue, “The Knight in the Gilded Cage,” drawn by the magnificent Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, but alas … no romance.

This story was pencilled by Charles Nicholas and inked by Romeo Tanghal. But that doesn’t really tell the whole story. Because three different artists have used the pseudonym of Charles Nicholas over the years. I’m fairly certain, however, that the artist who drew my story was this one, not this one. And most definitely not this one.

But none of that minutiae has to do with Valentine’s Day, so—Happy Valentine’s Day.

And may your romances not end up as horrifically as this one!

(more…)

I woke this morning to discover that my novella The Hunger of Empty Vessels was one of 10 stories to have made the preliminary Stoker Awards ballot in the category of Superior Achievement in Long Fiction.

Those with long memories may recognize one of the other names on the ballot, Gene O’Neill, as that of a Clarion classmate of mine from 1979. Back then, did we dare dream we’d get this far? And even if we did, who ever dreamed we’d get this far together?

Whatever happens next, the one real winner today is Bad Moon Books, which published five of the 10 semi-finalists. In honor of that event, Bad Moon is having a sale on all of its nominated titles. If you don’t yet own a copy of The Hunger of Empty Vessels, here’s your chance to get one at a 20% discount.

So what happens now? HWA members will vote over the next two weeks, and on 2/15, the five titles (unless a tie adds a sixth) which make up the final ballot will be unveiled. After another round of voting, the winners will be announced at the Stoker Awards banquet to be held on 3/27 at the World Horror Convention in Brighton.

MAMA FISH by Rio Youers (Shroud Publishing)
THE HUNGER OF EMPTY VESSELS by Scott Edelman (Bad Moon Books)
DIANA AND THE GOONG-SI by Lisa Morton (MIDNIGHT WALK)
DOC GOOD’S TRAVELING SHOW by Gene O’Neill (Bad Moon Books)
THE GRAY ZONE by John R. Little (Bad Moon Books)
THE LUCID DREAMING by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)
DREAMING ROBOT MONSTER by Mort Castle (MIGHTY UNCLEAN)
LITTLE GRAVEYARD ON THE PRAIRIE by Steven E. Wedel (Bad Moon Books)
ROT by Michelle Lee (Skullvines Press)
BLACK BUTTERFLIES by Kurt Newton (Sideshow Press)

Gene has also been nominated in the category of Superior Achievement in a Collection for A Taste of Tenderloin from Apex Books. Good luck to him and all my other nominated friends!

Scott Andrew Hutchins, who seems to be the world’s number-one fan of The Scarecrow, a comic I wrote for Marvel in the mid-’70s, has sent along this ad which offered subscriptions to the book, and to other comics which were never published. (I explained the on-again off-again nature of the character’s publication history here.)

Though the title had appeared on Marvel’s internal calendar, I’d forgotten that a public solicitation had actually appeared before the horror implosion occurred and killed the series. Click on the scan below to check it out.

I wonder how many people bothered to send in the $3.50? And when the comic they wanted became a stillborn, which title they chose instead?

I don’t know what Santa gave you for Christmas, but whatever you got, I’m happier than you!

I’ve been nattering on endlessly about my collection of zombie stories due to be launched by PS Publishing at the World Horror Convention in Brighton next year, and already shared the wonderful Les Edwards illo of my zombified self.

Well, here’s what designer Robert Wexler whipped up for the jacket. (Click through several times to view at a larger size.)

This didn’t arrive gift-wrapped, but it’s the best Christmas present I could have gotten!

As for what you’ll find beneath that cover, here are the nine zombie stories included (three of which were Stoker finalists):

“What Will Come After” is original to this collection

“Live People Don’t Understand” first appeared in The Book of All Flesh, 2001

“The Man He Had Been Before” first appeared in The Mammoth Book of Monsters, 2007

“Almost the Last Story by Almost the Last Man” first appeared in PostScripts, 2007

“Goobers” first appeared in The Book of More Flesh, 2002

“Tell Me Like You Done Before” first appeared in The Dead That Walk, 2009

“A Plague on Both Your Houses” first appeared in The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, 1997

“The Human Race” first appeared in Space and Time, 2009

“The Last Supper” first appeared in The Book of Final Flesh, 2003

Why not buy yourself one as a Christmas present today?

Les Edwards, who will be one of the Artist Guests of Honor at the 2010 World Horror Convention in Brighton, was commissioned by PS Publishing to zombify me for the cover of my upcoming collection which will launch there.

I have no idea what the drawing will look like once incorporated into a cover design, but here’s the raw image in all its gory glory.

I don’t know about you, but I creep me out!

More info on the book—which will incorporate all of my existing zombie stories and include an original tale written specially for the collection—will be forthcoming.