My short story, “Ave Satani,” will be featured in the Reel Dark anthology.   Described as a “sojourn into apocalyptic soundscapes”, “Ave Satani” tells the story of a legendary film composer’s unused final score, one that should have remained lost forever.

Here is the official press release:

Seventh Star Press is proud to reveal the cover art by Aaron Drown of Aaron Drown Design for the new edition of the Reel Dark anthology from editors L. Andrew Cooper and Pamela Turner.  With a cinema theme and a mix of speculative fiction tales that include suspense, horror, science fiction, fantasy, and even poetry, readers will find this anthology a unique and captivating reading experience.

This edition features 2 brand new stories, one from bestselling horror author Michael West and one from acclaimed author and editor Alexander S. Brown.  eBook and print editions are set for release in the first week of May.

Synopsis of Reel Dark:
Welcome to a macabre cinema for the imagination, to twisted tales projected not on a movie screen but on the page. In Reel Dark you’ll find suspense, horror, science fiction, and fantasy in fiction and poetry by authors ranging from new voices to bestsellers. From the battle for recognition between a child actress and a vengeful, long-forgotten film star in “Whatever Happened to Peggy…Who?” to a hapless artist whose talent propels him into a nightmare of jealousy and revenge in “The Dreamist,” the authors have created worlds filled with madness and twisted desires. Where the lines between reality and fantasy blur, where films flicker at 24 frames per second, we catch a glimpse of strangers’ dreams and nightmares. As David Lynch puts it, “This whole world is wild at heart and weird on top.” As Karen Head writes in her poem “Amnesia,” responding to Lynch, “In the movies / everything is illusion.” But with cameras everywhere, how do you know whether you’re in a movie? 

Seventh Star Press is proud to unveil the new cover art by Natasha Alterici for Michael West’s new short-story collection, Straightjacket Memories!

Featuring 10 tales of horror, including both previously published stories and brand new ones,Straightjacket Memories will be released Friday in eBook format with a print version in trade paperback to follow one week after. Straightjacket Memories is Michael’s second collection of short fiction, following the critically-acclaimed Skull Full of Kisses.

On the new release, Michael said, “I am just so crazy about this collection! Gathered from various magazines, anthologies, and eBooks–some in print for the very first time–these stories represent some of my best work to date. I’m very happy with the way in which Seventh Star Press has put them all together, and excited that my faithful readers will be able to share in more of my nightmares and slightly twisted imaginings!”

Straightjacket Memories includes the following stories:

“Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite”

“Flowers in Winter”

“The Grove”

“Sandwalkers”

“In Vino Veritas” (Written with Tim Waggoner)

“For the River is Wide”

“Masako’s Tale”

“Hell’s Hollow”

“Inner Goddess”

“Unknown Caller”

The new release continues a banner year for Michael that saw his novel Cinema of Shadowsbecome a national bestseller in horror on Amazon.com and his Legacy of the Gods series take the next step with the recently-released Hades Disciples. For further information on Michael and his work, please visit his site at www.bymichaelwest.com

Synopsis of Straightjacket Memories:

There is a fine line between love and madness, between insanity and pure evil.

This is Michael West at his terrifying best! From heart-stopping horror to the strangest of fantasies — these are tales from the darkest regions of his twisted imagination! All the usual tropes are here — vampires and shapeshifters, ghosts and witches, gods and monsters, mummies and zombies — but none of them are exactly what you would expect…

A dream vacation takes a nightmarish turn when a couple finds they did not come home alone…

A man agrees to a meeting with his estranged wife and learns the horrible, obscene truth of the old saying: “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…”

An American platoon, cut off from the outside world, discovers an unbelievable enemy they were never trained to fight…

And a man struggling with depression and grief receives text messages from beyond the grave, messages that push him to the edge of sanity…and beyond…

Ten more reasons to say your prayers.

Ten more reasons to check beneath your bed.

Ten more reasons why you may never want to close your eyes again.

About Michael West:

Michael West is the bestselling author of Cinema of Shadows, The Wide Game, Spook House, Skull Full of Kisses, and the critically-acclaimed Legacy of the Gods series. He lives and works in the Indianapolis area with his wife, their two children, their turtle, Gamera, and their dog, King Seesar.

Writing keeps him sane.

Seventh Star Press is proud to reveal the cover art from award-winning artist Matthew Perry forHades’ Disciples, the 2nd Book in the acclaimed Legacy of the Gods series from best-selling author Michael West! Hades’ Disciples takes you on the urban/dark fantasy journey that began in Poseidon’s Children.

Terrifying creatures exist all around us, hiding in plain sight. Ancient. Deadly. They gather in secret, conspiring, dreaming of nothing less than humanity’s destruction, and their numbers are growing.

Earl Preston knows the danger all too well. After tangling with a horde of mythological sea monsters in Colonial Bay, he has been tasked with finding these beasts and exposing their plans whatever they may be. But Earl is not the only one with a mystery on their hands. At the very top of the world, Carol Miyagi has stumbled onto an artifact from Earth’s past, something magnificent held captive in a prison of ice and snow. Now, Carol and Earl must work quickly to decipher the will of the gods–a plot that defies imagination–and to stop their followers from carrying it out.

They thought the nightmare was over, but they are about to discover that the horror has only just begun.

Regarding the upcoming release of Hades’ Disciples, Michael West commented, “Whenever I write a story, I hope it appeals to people, that the characters will feel real and connect with my readers, and I am so pleased that readers all around the world have fallen in love with Carol, Earl, and the rest of my diverse cast. With Hades’ Disciples, I get the chance to dive more deeply into the mythology introduced in Poseidon’s Children, and the stakes are much higher now. Fans who thrilled at all the action, excitement and twisted weirdness of Book One will not be disappointed.”

Hades’ Disciples will be released in late April in trade paperback and all eBook formats, including Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and for the iBookstore. The book will feature new interior illustrations from Matthew Perry and also brings back Poseidon’s Children editor Amanda DeBord. For further information on The Legacy of the Gods series or Michael West, please visit the author’s site atwww.bymichaelwest.com or Seventh Star Press at www.seventhstarpress.com

About the Author: Michael West is the bestselling author of Cinema of Shadows, Skull Full of Kisses,The Wide Game, Spook House, and the critically acclaimed Legacy of the Gods series. He lives and works in the Indianapolis area with his wife, their two children, their turtle, Gamera, and their dog, King Seesar.

West avoids manhole covers and sidewalk grates whenever possible. He just doesn’t know what’s down there, and he’s not sure he wants to find out.

Start the series today!  Pick up your very own copy of The Legacy of the Gods Book One: Poseidon’s Children!

Download it for Kindle here!
Download it for Kobo here!
Download it for Nook here!

Here it is, faithful readers, the cover artwork for my first anthology as editor, Vampires Don’t Sparkle!  Created by Matthew Perry, who has done the artwork for my last three novels (Poseidon’s Children, Cinema of Shadows, and Spook House), I think it captures the animalistic demon that is the true “vampyre.”

Here is another look at the amazing table of contents:

Edited by Michael West
Foreword by Michael West
“A New Life” by J. F. Gonzalez
“What Once was Flesh” by Tim Waggoner
“The Darkton Circus Mystery” by Elizabeth Massie
“Robot Vampire” by R. J. Sullivan
“Beneath a Templar Cross” by Gord Rollo
“The Weapon of Memory” by Kyle S. Johnson
“The Excavation” by Stephen Zimmer
“Skraeling” by Joel A. Sutherland
“Dreams of Winter” by Bob Freeman
“Dracula’s Winkee: Bloodsucker Blues” by Gregory L. Hall
“I F*** Your Sunshine” by Lucy A. Snyder
“A Soldier’s Story” by Maurice Broaddus
“Rattenkönig” by Douglas F. Warrick
“Vampire Nation” by Jerry Gordon
“Curtain Call” by Gary A. Braunbeck

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to cancer research institutions to fight the real horrors of Cancer.

Pre-order your copy of Vampires Don’t Sparkle! today!

Seventh Star Press is proud to unveil the brand new cover art by Matthew
Perry created for Michael West’s Cinema of Shadows, which will make
Harmony, Indiana a household name with horror readers everywhere.

A pre-ordering window is now open for readers interested in a limited
edition hardcover of Cinema of Shadows, which features a Matthew Perry
illustration not included in the regular editon.  Only 75 numbered copies
of the limited edition will be issued, at a price of just $34.95.

There is also a special pre-order offer for the regular trade paperback
edition.  Both of the pre-order offers include an array of Cinema of
Shadows collectibles, including a beautiful 14X20 poster of one of the
interior illustrations (also by Matthew Perry), a set of 5X7 glossy art
cards, bookmarks, a pair of buttons, and a magnet.  Copies can be
pre-ordered in the online store at www.seventhstarpress.com and will be
shipped August 1st, to ensure arrival before the book’s August 7th street
date.

Cinema of Shadows welcomes you to the Woodfield Movie Palace. 
 
The night the Titanic sank, it opened for business…and its builder died
in his chair.   In the 1950s, there was a  fire; a balcony full of people
burned to death.  And years later, when it became the scene of one of
Harmony, Indiana’s most notorious murders, it closed for good. 
Abandoned, sealed, locked up tight…until now.
 
Tonight, Professor Geoffrey Burke and his Parapsychology students have
come to the Woodfield in search of evidence, hoping to find irrefutable
proof of a haunting.  Instead, they will discover that, in this theater,
the terrors are not confined to the screen. 

Cinema of Shadows will ultimately be available in trade paperback,
hardcover, and a variety of eBook editions.

Spook House, the next Harmony, Indiana novel from Michael West, is slated
for 2012 release, with another title coming in 2013.
 
Updates and additional information can be obtained at the official site
for Seventh Star Press, at www.seventhstarpress.com , or at the author’s
site at bymichaelwest.com

Hello faithful readers!   Fellow author and artist Bob Freeman, who created the amazing cover art for my short story collection, Skull Full of Kisses, has done it again!  Behold the artwork for my first novel, The Wide Game: 

Full Cover Wrap Below:

(Click on artwork to see full size!)

The Wide Game will be released by Gravside Tales Books on February 15th, 2011!