Saturday 30 December 2017

Fractious Fairy Tales by Jessica Palmer due early 2018

The first book to be published by Parallel Universe Publications in 2018 will be Jessica Palmer's follow-up to Other Visions of Heaven and Hell, Fractious Fairy Tales. 

Wednesday 27 December 2017

The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter - updates

As well as having yet two more excellent reviews, Erik Hofstatter's The Crabian Heart is now also available in paperback, price £9.99/$12.99.

amazon.co.uk  £9.99
amazon.com $12.99

"The Crabian Heart protects from inevitable heartaches.  It's a story of young love and perhaps, more importantly, an immigrant's tale.

It is a story well-told with beautiful prose...

In addition to the main novella, there's a bonus short story from Erik, called Fountain of Drowned Memories.

Erik Hofstatter is not afraid to tackle the difficult subjects.  Between the stories in this brief collection, he takes on both immigration and dementia with aplomb.

Recommended." Frank Michaels Errington

"It’s as easy getting settled into this story as your favorite chair, but don’t count on it being nearly as comfortable. Erik Hofstatter quickly sets a tone of unease, uncertainty and struggle for young boy in a new country... This was a great read with great characters and it was so well told." The Scary Reviews

Monday 4 December 2017

Erik Hofstatter and one of his copies of The Crabian Heart



"When I started writing seven years ago and rejections piled up, people told me that I was wasting my time, that I should give up. Today I'm proving them wrong with my first hardback. Don't listen to anyone but yourself." Erik Hofstatter

Saturday 2 December 2017

Haunted Grave & Other Stories by Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso reviewed by the British Fantasy Society


"If you would like something fresh to read with a different perspective to the usual stories that sit on a fantasy shelf then this collection might just be for you." To read the full review by Alex S. Bradshaw, click on this link: BFS review

Friday 1 December 2017

Edge-Lit 7 - 14th July 2018


Parallel Universe has already booked a dealers table for Edge-Lit 7, which will be held at the Quad, Derby on Saturday the 14th July next year.

Sunday 26 November 2017

Parallel Universe Publications' Author Johnny Mains is Guest of Honour at the Edinburgh Horror Convention


It is with great pleasure that we can announce that Johnny Mains, one of Parallel Universe Publications' writers - author of two collections of short stories - will be one of the Guests of Honour at the Edinburgh Horror Convention in May next year.
http://www.edinburghhorrorcon.com/


Just over a month to go to buy The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts at its Introductory Price of only £35


There's just over a month to go to buy The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts at its introductory price of £35 plus postage and packing. From January 1st next year this will rise to £40 plus postage and packing.



The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts

Sledge-Lit November 25th - & Parallel Universe Publications

David A. Riley and Jim Pitts went to Sledge-Lit yesterday, with a 5.30 am start off and a journey beset with roadworks and sleet! Still we got there on time and set up our stand for Parallel Universe Publications. Like every other dealer there it was, unfortunately, a very poor day for sales, but, on the plus side, it was a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and new, including Mike Chinn, Eric Ian Steele, CC Adams, Alex Davis, and Ash Hartwell, whose new novel, Tip of the Iceberg, I'm reading at the moment.


Saturday 18 November 2017

One week today we'll be at Sledge-Lit in Derby


One week today David Riley and Jim Pitts will be manning the stand for Parallel Universe Publications at Sledge-Lit in Derby.

All of PUP's books will be available, plus signed prints of Jim Pitts artwork.

Below is a copy of the ad we have booked in the event programme.


2018 - projects so far

We just have four projects scheduled so far for 2018.

One is a commemorative illustrated book to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the tragic death at forty-three of the great horror/fantasy writer William Hope Hodgson, killed in the First World War.

Another is a collection by one of the great short story writers of the early twentieth century, Barry Pain, none of which has been reprinted before, edited and introduced by award-winning anthologist Johnny Mains.

We also have a further collection of stories by Jessica Palmer, whose Other Visions of Heaven and Hell Parallel Universe published in 2016. This collection is to be called Fractious Fairy Tales.

Below is a copy of the cover.




The remaining project will be announced towards the end of December and will be published on the 1st January.

Friday 17 November 2017

2017 - our new books this year

2017 has been a good year for Parallel Universe Publications, with five new collections of short stories, our first collection of poems, and our first art book. Many thanks to the authors and artists who have helped to make 2017 as good as it has been for us: Joseph Rubas, Mike Chinn, Benjamin Blake, Eric Ian Steele, Carl Barker, Erik Hofstatter, Jim Pitts, Luke Spooner.

Latest addition to the Parallel Universe bookshelf: The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter


Just received today, the latest addition to the Parallel Universe bookshelf, Erik Hofstatter's The Crabian Heart.
The Crabian Heart - hardcover

Another amazing review for Erik Hofstatter's The Crabian Heart - The Grim Reader Reviews



In Grim Reader Reviews:

"The Crabian Heart is yet another great read from Erik Hofstatter, continuing his fine form from after last years excellent novella, Rare Breeds. Hofstatter tugs at the heart-strings in a quite unusual way with this tale of love that features an organic couple of characters in mother, Irena and son, Ales-both refugees living an unstable life, drifting helplessly from one place to the next..."

To read the full review follow this link

kindle:
amazon.co.uk £2.74
amazon.com $3.61

hardback:
amazon.co.uk £16.00
amazon.com $22.00

Wednesday 15 November 2017

Parallel Universe Publications Group created on facebook

We have now created a group for Parallel Universe Publications on facebook. This is on top of pages devoted to Parallel Universe Publications, The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts and Kitchen Sink Gothic.

Please note that Mike Chinn and Jessica Palmer have also created pages for their PUP books, Radix Omnium Malum & Other Incursions and Other Visions of Heaven and Hell.


As The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter comes out in hardback, another great review on Hellnotes

Hot and fast on the recent review in Starburst, yet another glowing review appears on hellnotes for Erik Hofstatter's coming-of-age horror story, The Crabian Heart, coinciding with its publication in hardback.

"I like this little collection a lot. Definitely a case of bigger not always being better. Hofstatter could have watered this down with more words, but that would have taken the impact out of the stories. I also like how he slips a lot of important messages into his work. For example “people are scared of what they don’t know…or understand,” says Enola, as she and Ales walk along the beach. Zsofia tells him that life is a gamble and his mother points out that the powers that be make the rules that govern us and we have to go where they tell us to. Ultimately, the decisions of what we do are ours, but I’d like to suggest that you try a copy of The Crabian Heart.   That forward is going to be the icing on the cake!"  Read the full review on hellnotes

Brian James Lewis, hellnotes

kindle:
amazon.co.uk £2.74
amazon.com $3.61

hardback:
amazon.co.uk £16.00
amazon.com $22.00


Monday 13 November 2017

The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter now available as an ebook



The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter is now available as an ebook, several days before the hardcover version is published.

amazon.co.uk £2.74
amazon.com $3.61

"By the end of its 100 pages you will find yourself both haunted and moved by Hofstatter’s evocative writing." Starburst

The Crabian Heart: A Synopsis

Irena and her thirteen-year-old son AleÅ¡ are refugees living in a lonely seaside town of Dover, England. AleÅ¡ has never seen an ocean, let alone one that glows purple when he’s nearby. On a local beach, he befriends the ostensible Mother of Crabs, an amputee with rigid demeanour and unequivocal warnings. Soon, purple crustaceans crawl behind his every step and women with pincers threaten to recondition his sensitive heart.

Erik Hofstatter is a dark fiction writer and a member of the Horror Writers Association. Born in the wild lands of the Czech Republic, he roamed Europe before subsequently settling on English shores, studying creative writing at the London School of Journalism. He now dwells in Kent, where he can be encountered consuming copious amounts of mead and tyrannizing local peasantry. His work appeared in various magazines and podcasts around the world such as Morpheus Tales, Crystal Lake Publishing, The Literary Hatchet, Sanitarium Magazine, Wicked Library, Tales to Terrify and Manor House Show. Other works include The Pariahs, Amaranthine and Other Stories, Katerina, Moribund Tales and Rare Breeds.

Saturday 11 November 2017

Pre-publication review of Erik Hofstatter's The Crabian Heart in Starburst


Erik Hofstatter's The Crabian Heart will be published within the next week, but already it has received a great review online in Starburst magazine by Jon Towlson.

"...the emotional tug that The Crabian Heart exerts on the reader is palpable. The Crabian Heart is also a coming-of-age tale, one that resonates with the pangs of unrequited love. And as such, it concludes, like all great coming-of-age stories, with a very difficult and painful realisation for the love-struck main character. By the end of its 100 pages you will find yourself both haunted and moved by Hofstatter’s evocative writing."



Thursday 9 November 2017

The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts - signed editions by Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Jones, Peter Coleborn, Jon M. Harvey, David A. Riley, Jim Pitts


There are a limited number of editions signed by most of the contributors to the book at Fantasycon left: Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Jones, Peter Coleborn, Jon M. Harvey, David A. Riley, and of course Jim himself. If you would like one, you'll need to order one soon before these run out.



Monday 6 November 2017

Saturday 4 November 2017

Online version of The Lancashire Telegraph article on Jim Pitts and The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts

There's now an online version of The Lancashire Telegraph's article on Jim Pitts and The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts, with an extended photo gallery. Click onto this link here.


Friday 3 November 2017

The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter


The next book out from Parallel Universe Publications will be The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter. This is the first draft of the proposed cover.

Lancashire Telegraph article about The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts

The Lancashire Telegraph published a half-page story about The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts in today's edition.



Original photograph taken by Tim Bradley


Thursday 2 November 2017

New ebooks from Parallel Universe Publications

Ebook versions of three previously published books from PUP should be available to order via amazon, etc., within the next few days.

These are:

Standing on the Threshold of Madness - a collection of weird poems by Benjamin Blake

amazon.co.uk £2.76
amazon.com $3.65

Nightscape - a collection of stories by Eric Ian Steele

amazon.co.uk £2.76
amazon.com $3.65

Parlour Tricks - a collection of stories by Carl Barker

amazon.co.uk £2.76
amazon.com $3.61





The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter

The next book to be published by Parallel Universe Publications will be The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter. No cover design yet, but it is hoped to bring this book out in hardcoiver initially either December this year or in January 2018.

Further details soon.



Erik Hofstatter is a dark fiction writer and a member of the Horror Writers Association. Born in the wild lands of the Czech Republic, he roamed Europe before subsequently settling on English shores, studying creative writing at the London School of Journalism. He now dwells in Kent, where he can be encountered consuming copious amounts of mead and tyrannizing local peasantry. His work appeared in various magazines and podcasts around the world such as Morpheus Tales, Crystal Lake Publishing, The Literary HatchetSanitarium Magazine, Wicked Library, Tales to Terrify and Manor House Show. Other works include The Pariahs, Amaranthine and Other Stories, Katerina, Moribund Tales and Rare Breeds.




Monday 30 October 2017

First review of Nightscape on amazon.com

Eric Ian Steele's Nightscape got an excellent first review on amazon.com by David W. Thompson:

"Eric Ian Steele’s “Nightscape” is a horror anthology well worth your attention. The tales run the gamut from pure conventional horror (City of the Dead) to flirting with science fiction (After the Fall). One, The Musical Box, had a welcome Hitchcock vibe, and Vincent Price absolutely must return to us for a part in “Charlie!” This one starts the reader off with a bang, and leads to an unusual surprise ending.
“Black Annis,” a tale of an ancient witch seeking revenge for the injustices heaped upon her is a personal favorite, but “Indian Summer” is my pick of the litter and is alone worth the price of admission. Mr. Steele does an excellent job with character development and world building, not an easy task for a short story, and his descriptive prose sets the mood for the terror to come!
Many other macabre accounts fill these pages, and if this is your passion, Mr. Steele will not fail to delight."

Next big project: Centenary Book on William Hope Hodgson

The next big project for Parallel Universe Publications will be a centenary volume commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of William Hope Hodgson in April 1918 in the First World War. The book will be 11.5 x 8.5 inches in size, and be a mixture of artricles, stories and artwork, put together by Jim Pitts, Nick Caffrey and David A. Riley. 

In the early years of the twentieth century Hodgson lived in Blackburn, Lancashire where both Jim and Nick now live and only three miles from where David lives. During his time in Blackburn Hodgson ran a body-building gym and had a newsworthy encounter with Houdini at the town's Palace Theatre. It was also where he wrote his first published stories: The Terror of the Water-Tank and The Goddess of Death, which were inspired by the water-tank on Revidge Road in Blackburn and by a statue of Flora in the town's Corporation Park. The book will include photos of the places associated to Hodgson's years spent in Blackburn. More details later. 

One of the pieces of artwork by Jim Pitts that will be included in the book

Friday 27 October 2017

Sledge-Lit Derby 25th November - we'll be there!


Parallel Universe Publications will have a stand at Sledge-Lit in Derby on the 25th November, where all of our books will be available, plus signed prints of artwork by Jim Pitts.

For the first time we will also be able to accept credit/debit card payments.

Below is a copy of the advert we have booked for the event programme book. 


Tuesday 24 October 2017

Only two months of shopping left before Christmas

There are only two months left to do your shopping for Christmas presents. Which is why, if you know someone who loves great fantasy/horror artwork, you couldn't do better than take a look at The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts.

212 pages of some of the greatest fantasy/horror art of the past forty years. It's a numbered, limited edition of only 250 copies, all of which are signed by the artist. Cost: £35.00 plus postage and packing. Order soon and, while stocks last, you could have a copy that was also signed by these contributors: Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Jones, Jon M. Harvey (of Spectre Press), Peter Coleborn (of Alchemy Press), and David A. Riley (of Parallel Universe Publications).







The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts