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.” 

Read the full review here!

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:

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!

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…

For Immediate Release
February 22, 2011

Seventh Star Press Proudly Announces the Addition of Award-Winning Author
Michael West in a Three Book Deal

Seventh Star Press is proud to announce the addition of award-winning
horror author Michael West to its family of writers, with the acquisition
of the novel Cinema of Shadows, and two more titles that will all have a
thematic connection with the town of Harmony, Indiana.

Building upon the recent additions of Jackie Gamber, with her YA Fantasy
Leland Dragon Series, and Steven Shrewsbury, with his dark-edged, heroic
fantasy novel Thrall, Michael West’s Cinema of Shadows continues to
demonstrate the range and quality of writing that is finding a home at
Seventh Star Press.

“Seventh Star Press clearly loves its authors and has great respect for
their work,” Michael said.  “Not to mention the fact that they put out
some of the most exciting and beautifully crafted books in the industry.
I am thrilled to be a part of the family, and hope readers will be equally
thrilled by what we have in store for them with these Harmony, Indiana
novels.”

Cinema of Shadows welcomes readers 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 the present day.

One momentous night, Professor Geoffrey Burke and his Parapsychology
students go to the Woodfield in search of evidence, hoping to find
irrefutable proof of a haunting.  Instead, they discover that, in this
theater, the terrors are not confined to the screen.

Michael West is a fast rising force in the horror world.  His work
includes 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.

Amanda DeBord, who is also the editor of Stephen Zimmer’s epic urban
fantasy Rising Dawn Saga, will be handling editing duties on Cinema of
Shadows.

“I was so excited to learn that Michael was going to be a part of the
Seventh Star family,” Amanda commented.  “It’s been about five years since
I read my first Michael West story, but I haven’t forgotten the name.
He’s a fellow Midwestern writer, and really captures the atmosphere of
where I grew up.  This book was creepy from the get-go, and I think
everyone is going to love it.”

The first edition of the book will feature cover art and additional
illustrations from acclaimed fantasy/horror artist Matthew Perry.

The projected release date window for  Cinema of Shadows is late summer of
2011, with versions released in hardcover, trade paperback, and several
eBook formats, covering owners of the Kindle, the iPad, the Nook, Sony
eReaders, and other compatible electronic reading devices.

The second novel, Spook House, is being planned for a summer release in
2012, with a third novel to be released in 2013.  Both titles will involve
the town of Harmony, Indiana, as the location grows to become synonymous
with terror in the literary world.

Updates and additional information can be obtained at the official site
for Seventh Star Press, at http://www.seventhstarpress.com/, or at the author’s
site at www.bymichaelwest.com

Prepare to spend unequaled quality time with perhaps the most powerful man in horror fiction, MICHAEL WEST. Critically acclaimed and a fan favorite, Michael has long been werepig friendly. And now he’s back not just because of his new release THE WIDE GAME but because he needs an excuse not to wear pants. You all have been warned.

The Wide Game by Michael West is available for Pre-Order Reg. $14.95 Sale $11.96

 Stick a fork in 2010.  It’s over.  Done.  Finito.  Finished. 

Despite some personal struggles, 2010 was the best year of my professional career thus far. My first short story collection, Skull Full of Kisses, was released to amazing feedback and reviews. My first novel, The Wide Game, was picked up by Graveside Tales Books for release in 2011. I got to work with the good people at Dark Rider Studios on the book trailers for both. I received invitations to write new stories for various magazines and anthologies. And, most amazing of all, I got to tour the Midwest and meet faithful readers from all over the country.

So where do I go from here?

 Well, 2011 will see the release of the Fell Beasts anthology, featuring my short story “Sandwalkers,” sometime in January. The winter issue of Shroud magazine will feature my short story “Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite.” And, as previously mentioned, my first novel, The Wide Game, will be released on February 15th. Also coming are stories in The Beast Within 2  anthology and Appalachian Folklore: Dark Tales of Superstition and Old Wives’ Tales.  And that’s just the stuff I’ve already written. New projects for the new year include work on my first Sci-fi / Horror novel, Echoes of Aurora, continued work on my epic Urban Fantasy series, The Legacy of the Gods, and a few new short tales, including a zombie Western. And, of course, I will be out on tour in support of all my work. Look for me at Horror Hound Weekend, Mo*Con, Fandomfest, Context, and Scarefest, just to name a few (check the Schedule page for all the details as they become available).

 So thanks to you, all my faithful readers, for your kind words and encouragement in the past, and for your continued support in 2011 and beyond.  Happy New Year!  May the future be a bright one for us all!

You can now place your order for Shroud Magazine: Volume Three Issues 9-12 by clicking here.  Issue 9 has a review of my short fiction collection, Skull Full of Kisses, and the January issue…well, let’s just say faithful readers will want the January issue.