For Immediate Release
May 24, 2013

Cover Reveal for the Re-Issue of Michael West Novel The Wide Game!

Seventh Star Press is proud to reveal the new cover art from the award-winning Matthew Perry for the re-issue of Michael West’s The Wide Game, a Harmony, Indiana Novel!

The 2nd edition of The Wide Game was edited by Amanda DeBord and joins other novels from West such as Cinema of Shadows and Spook House in taking horror fans into the fascinating and often dangerous realm of Harmony, Indiana.

In The Wide Game, Paul Rice, on the advice of his wife, is making plans to attend his 10th year High School reunion.  Returning to his boyhood home of Harmony, Indiana, he finds that he is still haunted by memories of that time–memories of Deidra, his first love, and memories of the Wide Game.  It was ten years ago that Paul and his friends watched their day of fun become a race for their lives, a fight for their very souls.

Now, as he meets the survivors of that day once more, Paul makes a chilling discovery: the incomprehensible forces that toyed with them have yet to finish playing their own game.

Originally published in trade paperback by Graveside Tales, The Wide Game was the first Harmony, Indiana novel released, but has never before been made available in hardcover and eBook formats.  Michael recently commented on the re-release, and the expanded availability in more formats.

“The Wide Game was my first novel, and it holds a special place in my heart and the hearts of all my faithful readers everywhere.  This is something they have been requesting for years!  Not a day goes by without messages and emails asking me when The Wide Game would be available as an eBook.  Still others have asked if it would ever be available in hardcover.  I am thrilled that Seventh Star Press will now be offering the work in both formats, and I hope that even more readers will now get to see how the Harmony, Indiana series all began.”

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

He has made certain there are no cornfields near his home.

The Wide Game will be released in trade paperback and eBook formats during the beginning of June, with a limited edition hardcover to follow. For further information on The Wide Game and Michael West’s other releases, please visit the author’s site at www.bymichaelwest.com or Seventh Star Press at www.seventhstarpress.com

Contact: C.C. James
Public Relations, Seventh Star Press
ccjames (at) seventhstarpress.com

Seventh Star Press is a small press publisher of speculative fiction located in Lexington Kentucky

Bitten by Books has posted a great new four star…er, tombstone review of my latest Harmony, Indiana novel, Spook House.  Here’s an excerpt:

“Spook House gets four tombstones for its familiar landmarks: urban legends, Old Ones, obsessive Celts and the wise old man who turns the hunter into the hunted, a la Captain Quint. These tried-and-true horror elements are tied together with unrelenting action and flowing exposition. Realistic dialogue is a common problem in horror fiction, but West makes his characters’ speech believable, relying on neither strings of curse words nor hokey expressions. While Spook House is certainly a stand-alone story, I will definitely check out West’s Wide Game; I desperately need to know what happened in the corn.”

Read the full review here!

And get your very own copy of Spook House here!

MikesFilmTalk just posted a wonderful new review for my first Harmony, Indiana novel, The Wide Game.   Here’s an excerpt:

“There is not a doubt in my mind that Michael West will become as popular and as renown as Stephen King…He definitely has that same ‘cinematic’ touch that KIng has perfected over the years and Michael is the only other writer who can startle me so much.  He is that good…Michael West has once again taken us to Harmony, Indiana and scared the bejeezus out of his faithful readers. The action moves with all the deadly purpose of a runaway steam train. A train that is full of menace, death, demons, and fear. Like his other books, I could not stop reading this tale and at times I gripped the edges of the book with white knuckles while my eyes raced down the page. I can also attest to the fact that this book actually instigated a nightmare while I was reading about Paul and his classmates.  If you have not encountered Mr West’s superior horror fiction, I implore you to do so. Right now.  This is a full 5 star stunner of a book.”

Read the full review here!

Mike at MikesFilmTalk has become my newest faithful reader, burning through all my novels at a break-neck speed, and according to him, that’s just the way it feels to read my latest Harmony, Indiana novel, Spook House.  He gives the novel 5 Stars (and wishes he could give it a 6th)!  Here’s an excerpt:

“Spook House reached a G-force of speed that took me right back to that white-knuckled runaway train in the (Six Flags) park of my youth…The action was so fast paced that I felt like my hair was going to fly back from my e-book (similar to the old Memorex commercial with the stereo speakers) and that if I didn’t hold tightly to the arms of my chair, I would be flung off.  By the time I’d reached the story’s climax, I felt almost as weak and wobbly as I did all those years ago at the end of that runaway mine train ride.  A full 5 star book that I’d give a 6th star to just for the neck and neck race between good and evil.  Brilliant.”

Read the full review here!

And get your very own copy of Spook House here!

Mike’s Film Talk just posted a glowing new review of my Harmony, Indiana novel, Cinema of Shadows, giving it 5 Stars!  Here is an excerpt:

“Stephen King, James Herbert, Richard Laymon, Ramsey Campbell, Peter Straub, and maybe one or two more make up my ‘horror stable.’ I’ve now added Michael West to this small very talented group of writers who have the ability to entertain the hell out of me…The book is fast paced and the story made me think of Straub’s ‘possessed’ movie theatre in Ghost Story but more in-depth and a damn sight scarier…With a minimum of muss and fuss West has come up with characters that I liked.  More importantly, I believed their assorted back stories and I could empathise with all of them.  He also does a brilliant job with the dialogue of each character.  Very few authors have the knack for making the people in their stories sound real.  Michael West has a ‘good ear’ and he has the knack of making their speeches and conversation sound natural and real.  Cinema of Shadows was an excellent introduction to a new author and he is now a member of my small stable of writers who can deliver not only scares but stories that carry you away.”

Read the full review here!

And get your very own copy of Cinema of Shadows here!

Today’s stop on the big Spook House Blog Tour…a fantastic review from The Independent Review! Here’s an excerpt:

“Spook House very neatly interweaves other West stories and plots. Fans of his will enjoy the crossovers and in-references, whilst these in no way detract from (what) can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.  This is my third Michael West novel, and I have noticed one key thing: he is a consistently rewarding author with his own distinctive style and flourishes. The title may seem generic and by the numbers but the content within is anything but. This author can make the seemingly mundane scary and fantastical. I am eagerly anticipating the next effort!”

You can read the full review here!

And get your very own copy of Spook House here!

Our next stop…Fictional Candy!

For Immediate Release

October 8, 2012

Cover Art Reveal, Limited Hardcover Offer, and Blog Tour Announcement for Michael West’s Spook House!

Seventh Star Press is proud to unveil the cover art and illustrations created by Matthew Perry for Spook House by Michael West, as well as announce sites and dates for the book’s upcoming blog tour.  A pre-order window for a limited edition hardcover is also open in advance of the book’s official release.

The latest Harmony, Indiana novel following 2011’s Cinema of Shadows arrives just in time for Halloween, exploring the places in this world that go far beyond any normal definition of “haunted.” These places are so evil, so diabolical, that they become gateways to Hell itself. The Fuller Farm is one such place.

It is said that old man Fuller conducted unspeakable acts, blood rituals and human sacrifices, all in an attempt to gain the ultimate knowledge, the ultimate power. And then, he was killed–horribly murdered on his own lands, leaving the house to stand as a vacant monument to his wickedness. But once a door is opened, it can never really be closed.

Now, the stars are right. The gateway is ready to once more unleash unspeakable horror upon the town of Harmony, Indiana. And this will be one Halloween that they will never forget!

The softcover and eBook versions will be released following the launch event for the novel at That Book Place in Madison, Indiana on October 27th. 

Spook House is now available for pre-order in a beautiful hardcover edition that is strictly limited to 75 copies.  The limited hardcover edition will be signed and numbered by Michael West and includes a bonus illustration from Matthew Perry not included in other editions. It will be accompanied by an assortment of collectibles, including a set of glossy art cards and bookmarks. Those interested in securing one of the 75 copies can place a pre-order now at: http://www.seventhstarpress.com/pre-orders/

The Spook House Blog Tour will feature 33 events, beginning October 25th and running through November 27th. The tour will feature a number of activities, including reviews, interviews, podcasts, guest blog posts, and contests/giveaways.

The dates and sites for the Spook House Blog Tour are as follows:

10/25     Great Minds Think Aloud

10/26     Bookishly Me

10/27     Red Headed Bookworm

10/28     Book and Movie Dimension

10/29     Azure Dwarf Horde of Science Fiction & Fantasy

10/30     Reading Aways the Days

10/31     Ginger Nuts of Horror

11/1       WTF Are You Reading?

11/2       Darlenes Book Nook

11/3       JeanzBookReadNReview

11/4       The Independent Review

11/5       Fictional Candy

11/6       Book Den

11/7       Vilutheril Reviews

11/8       Beauty in Ruins

11/9       Beagle Book Space

11/10     Bunny’s Review

11/11     Splash of Our Worlds

11/12     A Book Vacation

11/13     A Daydreamer’s Thoughts

11/14     Crossroads Reviews

11/15     Bee’s Knees Reviews

11/16     From the Bootheel Cotton Patch

11/17     Sheila Deeth

11/18     Kayla’s Reads and Reviews

11/19     The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

11/20     I Smell Sheep

11/21     Ali’s Bookshelf

11/22     Full Moon Bites

11/23     The Cabin Goddess

11/24     Stuck in Books

11/26     The Rabid Fox

11/27     Jess Resides Here

For further information on Michael West, Seventh Star Press, and its titles, please visit www.seventhstarpress.com, or the author’s site at www.bymichaelwest.com

Contact: C.C. James

Public Relations, Seventh Star Press

ccjames@seventhstarpress.com

Seventh Star Press is a small press publisher of speculative fiction located in Lexington Kentucky

I’ve just confirmed that I will be doing a book signing at That Book Place in Madison, Indiana on Saturday, October 27th…just in time for Halloween!  I will have copies of all my novels, including the new edition to my Harmony, Indiana series, Spook House!    Now, while I hope to have copies of Spook House in time for September’s HorrorHound Weekend in Indianapolis, this will be the first time that we will have a proper launch for the novel.   What better way to kick off Halloween week?

The information for the book store is below, along with all the info we currently have for the signing, but things do change, so please check the Schedule section of the website for more information as the date approaches.  Hope to see you all there!

That Book Place    337 Clifty Drive, Madison IN 47250 / Store telephone: (812)574-4113 /  Date: October 27/ Time: TBA / Book Launch for Spook House!

My Harmony, Indiana novel Cinema of Shadows just became the most downloaded Horror title for Amazon’s Kindle (Yes, it takes more units to top the free charts).

As someone who has loved Horror for as long as they can remember, I must admit that this took my breath away.  When I was in the 8th grade, I read my first Stephen King novel: The Shining.  If you had told me back then that I would one day go on to write about a haunting of my own, and that said novel would then go on to top the charts, I would have said that you were crazy.  But here it is, a reality.

I want to thank all my faithful readers, and my publisher, Seventh Star Press, for making this a reality.  Your support means the world to me!

Now, off to make myself some coffee to celebrate, and then right back to work on more horrific tales!

Darlene’s Book Nook just posted a wonderful review of my last Harmony, Indiana novel, Cinema of Shadows.  Here’s an excerpt:

“4 stars! Cinema of Shadows is delightfully creepy, and West has a way of writing that makes the hair stand up at the back of your neck. At a particularly eerie part in the story, I flipped the page and was faced with a ghastly illustration (courtesy of Matthew Perry) that startled me into dropping the book! Some horror books are pretty gruesome and gory, but this book falls more into the ‘scary’ category. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a book that gives you the creeps while reading!” 

Read the full review here!