Our first anthology has just been published (by Carroll and Graf), and we're darn proud of it! It's available in either trade paperback ($15.95) or hardback ($26.00). Although the book is available everywhere, the hardback is now out of print but we still have a few left, and you can get yours signed by co-editor Del Howison! Here's what's in the book:
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"...I’m happy to say the end result is worth the wait. There are only one or two weak entries in the entire 274-page collection, and even those are better than your average short fiction fare...Del and Jeff did a great job compiling the kind of work that is indicative of it’s author, while at the same time giving some new voices a chance to shine among the big boys. There should be little to no hesitation on your part as to whether or not to pick this up, but just in case there is I’ll tell you now: Do it. Who knows how long it’ll take for another collection of this caliber to be put together!" - DreadCentral.com
"Serves up a collection of tales by some of the genre’s most revered writers...What’s good in here is damned good and worth a second, third and even tenth read." – Rue Morgue Magazine
"Indispensable for both horror fans and, of course, Dark Delicacies' patrons." - Booklist
"...vividly conveyed narratives of terror, bloodletting and grisly death...[Fans] should find this collection sufficiently repulsive, spooky and chilling." - Los Angeles Times
"...using top-notch names in the horror field, you should take notice...stories so sinister that it nudges Dark Delicacies into must-have territory." - Bookgasm
"Libraries with a strong horror following should add this dark gem to their collections...the 19 original stories commissioned especially for this collection revel in the macabre...features contributions by.distinguished writers in the genre" - Library Journal
"As the creator and proprietor of the only Horror bookstore in the U.S., editor Del Howison should know what he's talking about. As the editor of the long running series of Hot Blood anthologies, Jeff Gelb should be right on the money - and they are...Like any good anthology, DARK DELICACIES weaves all over - and through - the world of Horror. Here you will find everything from ghosts, zombies, maniac killers, vampires, and more." - FeoAmante.com
"Vampires, zombies, werewolves, necromancers all get their due." - Kirkus Reviews
"...this anthology of 20 new tales of the macabre is an all-star concert whose performers work haunting riffs on gutbucket themes...a formidable lineup of horror's top creative talents." - Publishers Weekly
"...a stellar cast of authors...a collection of stories which for the most part live up to even the grandest expectations...a collective embarrassment of riches contained in Dark Delicacies." - The Book Report
"...a good anthology, with impressive highs." - Locus Magazine
"The inaugural volume of Dark Delicacies could easily have been subtitled "The State of the Horror Genre, 2005...Highly Recommended" - The Book Report
"Howison was clearly successful in delivering his goal: a diverse assortment focused solely on "total horror". To illustrate the variety he chose to bookend the anthology with two vastly different luminaries - Ray Bradbury and Clive Barker." - Fangoria
Ray Bradbury: "...(a) langurous meditation on death and what comes after." - Library Journal
"...a poetic reverie on death and loss." - Publishers Weekly
"...sets the tone of quality that permeates Dark Delicacies collectively...it is a fine, bittersweet tale of loss and yearning with a classic supernatural tone." - The Book Report
"Ray Bradbury's "The Reincarnate" is an emotional tale about a dead man’s burning desire to live again." - Emerald City
"...a zombie story unlike any you've ever read before. Filled with Bradbury's trademark inquisitiveness into the human condition...It'll defiantly make you think twice before saying the zombie sub-genre has been (pardon the pun) done to death." - DreadCentral.com
Lisa Morton: "Two standouts, Lisa Morton's story of a solitary abalone forager stumbling across a mass murderer, and Playboy cartoonist Gahan Wilson's about a macabre artist whose grim subjects may be all too real, sell the volume all on their own." - Booklist
"...Lisa Morton contributes "Black Mill Cove", a tense tale of terror set in the wilderness with a load of poison in its tail." - Emerald City
"The primary mission for Del and Jeff with their Horror anthology is make it genuinely horrifying. Several of the writers within push themselves to the task admirably. Lisa Morton goes all out with the harrowing tale, BLACK MILL COVE, which is one of the standouts for me." - FeoAmante.com
"...a dark, gruesome turn..." - Fangoria
"...a horrific story of "things" in the water." - Library Journal
Whitley Strieber: "...a great piece of speculative fiction." - Bookgasm
"Strieber's "Kaddish" has a Gothic grandeur that would surely make Flannery O'Connor proud, a story replete with Southerners, Bible-thumpers and comeuppances." - Los Angeles Times
"...portrays a grim near-future where horror and politics go hand in hand" - Library Journal
"...Strieber contributes the most chilling...a compelling vision of extremism in all its forms." - Locus
Robert Steven Rhine: "Robert Steven Rhine's "The Seer" is one of the most haunting tales of the book. His name may not be as household as Barker's or Bradbury's, but the man's got some serious skill for evoking dread...Depressing as hell and laden with atmosphere, I have to say it was really the only story of the collection that honestly creeped me out." - DreadCentral.com
D. Lynn Smith: "...delves into familial violence and gore...suspense is established from the start, with a staccato drumbeat of foreshadowing..." - Los Angeles Times
F. Paul Wilson: "...reads like a sadly never-made script for Tales From the Crypt...an understated, old-school story." - The Book Report
"...a suspenseful Asian crime/horror thriller." - Fangoria
Brian Lumley: "particularly gripping...full-on science fiction." - Fangoria
Nancy Holder: "...exceptional...full of wit and shine and wacky surprises...it's a funny tale of cannibalism." - Kirkus Reviews
"Another, even more hilarious tale, is Nancy Holder's OUT TWELVE STEPPIN' - SUMMER OF AA. In this story, Nancy admittedly channels Joe R. Lansdale and has a great time doing it. Believe me, its not Joe Lansdale at all. This is clearly Nancy's voice having fun and its a joy to live through." - FeoAmante.com
John Farris: "Supernatural and psychological horror interweave seamlessly.a tale of modern horror with a classic Ambrose Bierce-style twist." - Publishers Weekly
"...(an author) criminally under appreciated" - The Book Report
"With "Bloody Mary Morning", set in the luxurious world of Manhattan’s magnates, John Farris demonstrates that it is possible to successfully blend true horror and humour." - Emerald City
Ramsey Campbell: "...fiercely funny." - Publishers Weekly
Gahan Wilson: "Two standouts, Lisa Morton's story of a solitary abalone forager stumbling across a mass murderer, and Playboy cartoonist Gahan Wilson's about a macabre artist whose grim subjects may be all too real, sell the volume all on their own." - Booklist
"... a twisted love story that is precisely my cup of tea..." - FeoAmante.comFeoAmante.com
"...a sweet and funny twist on Lovecraft's "Pickman's Model"." - Locus Magazine
William F. Nolan: "...may well be his best work." - The Book Report
"Veteran William Nolan provides an effective portrait of an actor obsessed with death and of his equally restless ex-wife ("De Pompa")." - Emerald City
David J. Schow "...great.(gives) whole new meaning to the term "dream book"." - The Book Report
"...worthwhile." - Locus Magazine
"...so good that it deserves to be expanded into longer form." - Bookgasm
"...well above average.manages to haunt." - Kirkus Reviews
Steve Niles: "...a gruesomely Grand Guignol mystery that's more than hard-boiled - it's scrambled." - Bookgasm
"Steve Niles' "All My Bloody Things", a delightfully horrific story of cannibalism, represents my first personal encounter with horror detective Cal McDonald. I hope to meet him again." - Emerald City
"..."All My Bloody Things", a story from the world of hardened detective Cal McDonald, just brought smile after smile to my face. For my money nothing gets the blood pumping and the monster bashing rolling like a good McDonald story, and its inclusion is a welcome breath of light-hearted air after some of the heavier pieces of the book...It’s great fun, just like all of Cal’s adventures, and a great introduction to Niles’ work if you’ve never read any of the numerous comics he’s penned." - DreadCentral.com
Richard Laymon "...as haunting a work as one is likely to encounter. This is a tale that deserves to be read, and read again." - The Book Report
"The tale is pure Laymon and in his best tradition, doesn't end until the very - last - sentence." - FeoAmante.com
"...is a concrete reminder of how great a hole in the horror world his absence has left." - Bookgasm
"...a small and effective tale." - Locus Magazine
"...eerie eroticism." - Fangoria
Clive Barker "...smart, sexual, off-putting and fearless." - Locus Magazine
"...hardcore where it counts.he has never failed to shock, and this one is no exception.envelope-pushing." - Bookgasm
"Barker's "Haeckel's Tale" is nearly Poe-worthy...vivid and terrifying..." - Los Angeles Times
"... a superb piece that marks the glorious return of this gifted writer to the short horror story after so many digressions into the field of fantasy novels. The story, a ghoulish feast of horror and sex not for the squeamish, could have easily found room in one of Barker's legendary collections Books of Blood." - Emerald City
"...(Barker's) own skewed vision of a dark sexual tryst...nicely recalls the flavor of his classic Books of Blood stories." - Fangoria
"...grotesque story of sex after death." - Locus Magazine
"...Barker's best work in years." - The Book Report
"...serves up a pastiche of the antique penny dreadful, but with the traditional subtexts of sex and death unapologetically exposed to view." - Publishers Weekly
"...you, as the reader, will walk away feeling really good about horror in general, and Clive Barker in specific..."Tale" has all the eroticism mixed with flesh-crawling horror of a young, Books of Blood era Clive Barker, so the fact that he penned the tale in the last few years is a good sign that he truly is in touch with his dark side again." - DreadCentral.com