MikesFilmTalk just posted a new review for my short story collection, Skull Full of Kisses. Here’s an excerpt:
“A real 5 out of 5 for creative and non-repetitive horror. If this collection was a musical instrument, it would be the Stradivarius of its peers; playing with a deeper and more resonant sound than other stories in the genre.”
Today’s stop on the ongoing terror train that is the big Spook House Blog Tour…a wonderful new 4-Star review from Splash of Our Worlds! Here’s an excerpt:
“Woohoo!!! It spooks you literally from the first moment and keeps you at the edge of your seat the whole time. It’s creepy, violent (monster violence that is), excited and full of mystery. It’s exactly what that kind of stories need, written or live action, and as a result you have a really great read at your hands…gave me the chills and made me wanna try more of the both the genre and the author.”
We also have a guest post on A Book Vacation. Read it here!
And get your very own copy of Spook House here!
Tomorrow’s stop…A Daydreamer’s Thoughts!
The Ginger Nuts of Horror just posted an in-depth interview with me that covers my entire career up to this point, including my short fiction, my book trailers; my collection,Skull Full of Kisses; and all three of my novels: The Wide Game, Cinema of Shadows, and the just released Poseidon’s Children.
For Immediate Release
February 15, 2012
Illustrations and Limited Hardcover/eBook Pre-Order Offer Unveiled for Michael West’s Urban Fantasy Novel Poseidon’s Children.
Seventh Star Press is proud to unveil 2 new Matthew Perry illustrations and the start of pre-orders for Michael West’s Urban Fantasy novel Poseidon’s Children, Book One of The Legacy of the Gods series.
The new Urban Fantasy series is Michael’s second with Seventh Star Press, following the extremely successful release of Cinema of Shadows, his latest Harmony, Indiana novel, in 2011. The Legacy of the Gods series is set to build rapidly upon Michael’s horror readership, introducing his well-crafted storytelling to Urban Fantasy audiences everywhere.
Increasingly recognized for the high quality of its limited hardcover editions, Seventh Star Press is making available a new pre-order offer that allows readers and collectors to secure both a collectible, signed hardcover of Poseidon’s Children (out of a run of just 75 copies), as well as an eBook version suited for their particular eReaders (Kindle or Nook editions will be “gifted” by Seventh Star Press on the day of release).
The bundle of a hardcover and eBook edition is accompanied by a sharp set of glossy 5X7 art cards, featuring the interior illustrations found in Poseidon’s Children, as well as bookmarks from the novel and a set of thee collectible magnets. The price for the hardcover/eBook bundle andexrras is one readers will find very attractive at just $32.95. The hardcovers (and pre-ordered softcovers) will be signed and numbered by Michael on Saturday, March 17 and shipped out on the 19th.
The illustrations for Poseidon’s Children were created by highly acclaimed fantasy/horror artist Matthew Perry, who also does the artwork for Michael’s Harmony Indiana Novels with Seventh Star Press. The Poseidon’s Children project also reunited Michael with his Cinema of Shadows editor, Amanda DeBord.
In Poseidon’s Children, man no longer worships the old gods; forgotten and forsaken, they have become nothing more than myth and legend. But all that is about to change. After the ruins of a vast, ancient civilization are discovered on the ocean floor, Coast Guard officers find a series of derelict ships drifting in the current–high-priced yachts and leaking fishing boats, all ransacked, splattered in blood, their crews missing and presumed dead.
And that’s just the beginning.
Vacationing artist Larry Neuhaus has just witnessed a gruesome shark attack, a young couple torn apart right before his eyes … at least, he thinks it was a shark. And when one of these victims turns out to be the only son of Roger Hays, the most powerful man in the country, things go from bad to worse. Now, to stop the carnage,Larry and his new-found friends must work together to unravel a mystery as old as time, and face an enemy as dark as the ocean depths.
Michael West is fresh from a great reception of his first Seventh Star Press release, the Harmony, Indiana novel Cinema of Shadows. His other works include novels such as The Wide Game (Graveside Tales) and a single author collection, Skull Full of Kisses (Graveside Tales). He also has an array of short fiction published, spanning many magazines and anthologies, including appearances in Shroud Magazine, and the Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest.
Poseidon’s Children will be released in limited hardcover, trade paperback, and several eBook formats, such Kindle, iPad, the Nook, and Sony/Sony compatible eBookreading devices. The second novel in the series is slated for the spring of 2013, with the other two planned titles to follow on an annual basis.
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, 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.
Michael West joins the Seventh Star Press Seventh Star Singles line of $0.99 eBooks with “Goodnight,” the first short story in his Tales from Harmony collection for the Seventh Star Singles line. Michael West’s Tales from Harmony collection features stories with ties to Harmony, Indiana, a location synonymous with horror and the site of many of his tales, including his novels The Wide Game and Cinema of Shadows.
In this Tales from Harmony short story, a frightened child, in a rural Indiana farmhouse, attempts to fool the Angel of Death.
“Goodnight” was voted Best Horror Short Story of the Year in a 2005 P&E Readers Poll. First featured in the magazine Wicked Karnival #6, it was also included in Skull Full of Kisses, a single author collection from Michael West published by Graveside Tales. Now, it debuts Michael’s Tales from Harmony eBook short story collection.
Click here to download the story to your Kindle for just $0.99!
Click here to download the story to your Nook for just $0.99!
Michael West will be a guest at HorrorHound Weekend Cincinnati 2011, November 11-13th at the Crowne Plaza Cincinnati North. He will be signing copies of his novels, The Wide Game and Cinema of Shadows, as well as his short story collection, Skull Full of Kisses, and other works. Other guests include the casts of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, Ghostbusters, and the hit AMC series The Walking Dead.
The Crowne Plaza is located at 11320 Chester Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246. Look for more information as the event draws near. Michael West hopes to see all his faithful readers there!
My new novel, Cinema of Shadows, has been available to order for less than a day, but the Sci-Fi Guys Book Review site has already read it and posted a glowing notice! Here’s a snippet:
“9 out of 10! West effortlessly chills you to your very marrow. I highly recommend snagging a copy of Cinema of Shadows as soon as humanly possible…one hell of a good story.”
Greetings, faithful readers!
Another month has come and gone. Hard to believe that a fourth of the year is already in the history books. Guess the old saying about “time flies when you’re having fun” is true after all. March, 2011, was full of interviews, signings, and work, work, work. So without further ado, here’s a quick recap / status update…
The month began with not one but two glowing reviews of my debut novel, The Wide Game. The first was from Sheri Jenkins White at Xomba Horror:
The second was from Horror-Web :
“4.5 out of 5 Stars…The Wide Game got me right in the fear center of my lizard brain. Michael West’s story telling style takes me back to the glory days when horror spoke in the voice of the boy next door and had me looking over my shoulder when I went out in the dark. His low-key, unobtrusive style lulls you into a comfort zone and then he zaps you with big-time scary.”
In addition to reviews by critics, I continued to get emails, messages, and Amazon reviews from you, the readers. Nothing is more rewarding for me than to know that you enjoy my work. Thank you for taking the time to write me and Amazon, and keep those messages and reviews coming!
Then on Thursday, March 10th, I signed copies of The Wide Game and my short story collection, Skull Full of Kisses, at the IUPUI Campus Center Barnes & Noble. This was my first in-store book signing, and I was pleased to see so many of my faithful readers from Indianapolis there!
Thank you all for making it such a success!
I did two interviews in March and both were published online. The first was with Ambrotos Press, the new Horror imprint of Dark Quest Books (Read all about it here), and the second was with Ryan Thomason of Watch Play Read ( Read it here). We discussed The Wide Game, my deal with Seventh Star Press, my upcoming novel, Cinema of Shadows, and other projects.
With convention season starting up this month, Fast Custom Shirts created a couple of T-shirt designs featuring my work for my table. Style A features “Jiki” from Skull Full of Kisses, and Style B (above) is Bob Freeman’s cover art for The Wide Game. Be the envy of Horror fans everywhere! Check out the Schedule section of the website for details on where I (and these awesome shirts) will be.
The month wrapped up with a trip to HorrorHound Weekend, where I signed copies of The Wide Game and Skull Full of Kisses at the Darkrider Studios table. It was great meeting new people and catching up with old friends. The place was wall-to-wall people, and I ended up selling out of everything I had. First time that’s ever happened! I will have to stock up and make sure I bring even more to InConJuction, FandomFest, and all the other shows I’m doing this year.
If you came by on Sunday after I sold out, or if you had to miss out on the signings, you can still order your copies now from Graveside Tales Books!
In other news, March saw author Brian Keene call for a boycott of Dorchester Publishing. Once upon a time, Dorchester was highly respected, and most Horror authors (myself included) would have given their first born child (sorry, son) for the privledge of joining their stable. But oh…how the mighty have fallen! As of this post, Dorchester has not paid royalties due to their authors, and to make matters worse, they have continued to electronically publish works that they no longer hold any rights to! (Get more information here.)
So join me, the Indiana Horror Writers, the Horror Writers Association, and a growing legion of writers and readers as we make our stand against unfair and unscrupulous business practices. Boycott Dorchester!
So what am I working on now? What do you all have to look forward to in the coming weeks and months?
Well, I was interviewed by Michael Knost for issue #11 of Shroud Magazine, and you can look forward to a new short story to appear in the same issue. The tale is called “Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite,” and Danny Evarts completed the lovely illustration above to go with it. So prepare for many a sleepless night when the magazine hits newstands everywhere!
My short story “Blood and Silk” has undergone a title change. It is now called “Masako’s Tale,” but you will still find it in The Beast Within 2 anthology, due out later this year from Graveside Tales Books.
And last, but certainly not least, l am hard at work on my Harmony, Indiana series for Seventh Star Press. The first title, Cinema of Shadows, is being edited as we speak, and I am currently writing the second novel, Spook House, due out in 2012.
Look for more updates on these and other works throughout the coming months. 
And that’s about it for March. But stay tuned, faithful readers…the year is just getting started!
I will be signing copies of my novel, The Wide Game, and my short story collection, Skull Full of Kisses, and the IUPUI Campus Center Barnes & Noble on Thursday, March 10th. Here is the store info: 420 University Boulevard Indianapolis, IN 46202 / Store telephone: (317)278-2665 / Date: March 10th / Time: 11 am-1 pm
Hope to see all my faithful readers from Indianapolis there!
Hello again, faithful readers! 
Well, the old saying about time flying by when you’re having fun could not be more true. These are truly exciting times at West Manor, full of new releases and more big announcements. So without further ado, here’s a quick recap / status update…
The month began with the release of the book trailer for my debut novel, The Wide Game. Produced by Darkrider Studios, who also did the trailer for Skull Full of Kisses, the clip perfectly captures the atmosphere and terror of the book. I could not have been happier with it!
I was then lucky enough to be Greg Hall’s guest on The Funky Werepig. It was such a fun time! We talked about the novel and I was able to hint for the first time at a big announcement. (More on that in a minute.)
Then, on Tuesday, February 15th, The Wide Game was released by Graveside Tales Books. As if that wasn’t wonderful enough, the Sci-Fi Guys gave the novel a glowing review. You can now order the book here!
That same week, Dark Quest Books put the Fell Beasts anthology, featuring my short story “Sandwalkers,” up for presale. I’m very proud of this story, and happy that my faithful readers can now order it here.
And then I got the word that another of my short stories, Blood and Silk, had been accepted for the upcoming The Beast Within 2 anthology, due out later this Summer from Graveside Tales Books!
And last, but certainly not least, I was only able to hint at it on The Funky Werepig, but late this month it was announced that I signed a three book deal with the good folks at Seventh Star Press! The novels will all be set in the fictional town of Harmony, Indiana, and the first of them, Cinema of Shadows, will be released later this Summer. The second novel, Spook House, will come out in 2012, and a third yet-to-be-titled book will be released in 2013.
The novels will be available in hardcover, trade paperback, and E-book formats, and because they are all set in Harmony, Indiana, faithful readers can look for many of their favorite settings and characters from The Wide Game, and several stories in Skull Full of Kisses, to make an appearance.
Look for more updates throughout the coming months.
And that’s about it. February 2011 now slips into history. But looking ahead to March, it is clear that there is much more excitement ahead!
Stay tuned, faithful readers…
