Roll Call

The thirty-nine steps books

 

Two new novellas

Two novellas are now available from The Alchemy Press:

A Small Thing for Yolanda by Jan Edwards

The Métro Murder is one of the most famous unsolved crimes of the 1930s. Who was Laetitia Toureaux? What were her links within the murky world of spies and secret political movements? All of those things remain shrouded in mystery, despite the fact that her movements on her final day are well documented. How was she stabbed to death in an apparently empty Métro carriage? And by whom? A Small Thing for Yolanda offers one potential solution.

Les Vacances by Phil Sloman

Monasteries rising and falling. Heretics and stakes and fire. There were rebellions and revolution and tales of abundance and happiness and new beginnings. Within the book there were also lies and omissions and fallacies all designed to gloss over a dark past many had long forgotten. Many but not all. The vacation of a lifetime.

Both novellas are available in print and eBook formats (Kindle, Kobo, Apple).

Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic there appears to be issues with the books appearing as in-stock on sites such as Amazon. Also, the prices may be incorrect. Both should be £5.99 each (print) and 99p as an eBook.

 

Two new books launched tonight

Tonight at 7.00 p.m. (UK time) we launch two new books, Talking to Strangers and Other Warnings by Tina Rath and The Alchemy Press Book of Horrors 2 edited by Peter Coleborn and Jan Edwards. Because of the covid-19 lock-down it is an online launch on Facebook.

Tina Rath’s twenty-plus tales exhibit an innate sense of structure that allows for a satisfying conclusion – and often a sting in the tail. These are unashamedly entertaining stories, dark fantasy with a touch of humour, that display a deftness of touch inviting us to enjoy the words on the page. They don’t outstay their welcome or labour their points because they don’t need to – Tina Rath knows how a story works. And they work well. Very well indeed. With an introduction by Gail-Nina Anderson.

Strange stories and weird tales and all of the creeping horrors in between. Horrors 2 features seventeen fabulous writers, including Sarah Ash, Paul Finch, John Grant, Nancy Kilpatrick, Garry Kilworth, Samantha Lee … to lead you on a spine-tingling tour from seaside towns to grimy cities, to the lonely and secret places, from the fourteenth precinct to Namibia … and so many places in between.

We’ll also be showcasing two novellas due at the end of April: Les Vacances by Phil Sloman and A Small Thing for Yolanda by Jan Edwards.

Join us on Facebook here for the event and quiz — there will be prizes!

 

eLaunch for Alchemy Press books

Talking to Strangers and Other Warnings by Tina Rath

The Alchemy Press Book of Horrors 2 edited by Peter Coleborn and Jan Edwards

The Alchemy Press was intending to launch a couple of titles at this year’s Stokercon later this month. But it is not to be. Alas, Stokercon has been postponed — it’s that cursed covid-19 virus to blame.

And so it’s IT to the rescue. If you are on Facebook pop along to the online launch event and say hello to some of the books’ contributors. There will even be a prize or two…

Visit the Facebook events page for details.

Les Vacances

The Alchemy Press is delighted to publish Les Vacances by Phil Sloman, as a stand-alone novella. Due at the end of April.

Monasteries rising and falling. Heretics and stakes and fire. There were rebellions and revolution and tales of abundance and happiness and new beginnings. Within the book there were also lies and omissions and fallacies all designed to gloss over a dark past many had long forgotten. Many but not all. The vacation of a lifetime.

Talking to Strangers

Talking to Strangers and Other Warnings

The new collection from Tina Rath due on 16th April.

Tina Rath’s twenty-plus tales exhibit an innate sense of structure that allows for a satisfying conclusion – and often a sting in the tail. These are unashamedly entertaining stories, dark fantasy with a touch of humour, that display a deftness of touch inviting us to enjoy the words on the page. They don’t outstay their welcome or labour their points because they don’t need to – Tina Rath knows how a story works. And they work well. Very well indeed.

With an introduction by Gail-Nina Anderson

Available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk and other stores.

Horrors 2 reviewed

THE ALCHEMY PRESS BOOK OF HORRORS 2: STRANGE STORIES & WEIRD TALES Edited by Peter Coleborn and Jan Edwards

The short fiction market continues to be a tough sell. Few of the magazines that took submissions in the golden ages of genre fiction now exist and those that do are inundated by new authors who believe that writing a short story is easy and quicker than penning a novel. In fact, the short story is no easier to write than a novel or poem and writing a good one demands talent as well as perseverance.

Fortunately, the market for genre short fiction still thrives in the professional publishing arena with publishers such as Jo Fletcher Books, Titan and PS Publishing holding the torch aloft, but it is often in the independent/small press field through which the very life blood of the horror and fantasy genres flows. The writers who appear in small press collections may not have the PR power of Stephen King but their fiction is no less honed and polished for eager readers.

The Alchemy Press Book of Horrors 2 continues this tradition…

Read the full review here.