On their Live Journal yesterday, Dreamhaven Books and Comics announced they were closing their physical store, but continuing to do business by mail order. Here's what owner Greg Ketter had to say: Yes, it's true. DreamHaven is closing as a physical bookstore. At the end of January, 2012 I'll no longer have regular hours and will concentrate on the mail order business and conventions. I'm not planning to move so it's conceivable that I'll open the doors once in a while and have a sale or even host some sort of event. But I won't maintain any regular hours. Things were going quite well until the end of 2010. From January 2011 to mid April, nearly 50% of the walk-in business just disappeared. While business has picked up slightly since then, it's still way off. I blame A) The Economy B) Changing Dynamics of Retail (online shopping) C) E-Books. Each one of these could make quite a difference on their own but all together they spell disaster for many retailers. I've been hedging my bets for some time and I've been buying good used and rare books and collectibles and I'm doing well with them. Ironically, the store is better stocked than ever and I'm more pleased with the overall store "experience" than I've ever been. I will boast of one of the greatest selections of used and rare SF/Fantasy/Horror anywhere, also possibly the largest selection of rare and unusual SF and Horror Film books in existence. While my collectible comics selection is weak (but after this past week it's very much stronger) I have more comics-related material (fanzines, graphic novels, art books, posters, prints, etc) than anyone in this area. So, all-in-all, the store looks great. Too bad so few people come in to enjoy it. Sadly, some of those who do come in to enjoy it, abuse it terribly. Theft is up so far it's almost off the charts. Again, I blame the economy for the rise, but it doesn't really explain the fact that people seem to not care who gets hurt as long as they get the things they want. I lose in the neighborhood of 5 - 20 THOUSAND dollars a year to theft and have for the last three decades. I'm very excited about this next phase in my bookselling career. I started selling books 40 years ago and opened my store 35 years ago. I'm too young to retire; even if I had the means to do so, I don't think I could. But I can slow down and maybe take more time to enjoy myself. And that's what I plan to do. Thanks everybody. I hope everyone can stop in between now and the end of january 2012, if for no other reason that to help me clear out some of the amazing (amounts of junk) stuff I have to offer. Greg

On Friday October 21st at a special time of 7:00p.m. Dark Delicacies will hold a signing for the book Aloha From Hell which is the latest Sandman Sam novel from author Richard Kadrey. He will be joined by actors Abigail Schrader, Samantha Lester and Everett Walin along with Director Dale Fabrigar signing and giving away the poster to the upcoming film Tape 407: The Mesa Reserve Incident. Saturday October 22nd will be a very special day at the bookstore. At 1:00p.m. composer Brad Fiedel will be signing the Fright Night CD soundtrack for one hour only. Then at a very special time of 7:p.m. Dark Delicacies will be hosting an art show and sale featuring art inspired by The Return of the Living Dead. All the proceeds from the sale will go to benefit actress Jewel Shepard with her ongoing health concerns. Dark Delicacies is located at 3512 West Magnolia Blvd in Burbank, CA 91505 and can be reached for more information at (818) 556-6660 or via the website at Dark Delicacies.

On Saturday October 15th at 2:00p.m. Dark Delicacies will host a signing for three authors. F. Paul Wilson will be signing his new Repairman Jack novel Dark at the End. Fred Wiehe will be signing his latest book Aleric: Monster Hunter and Matt Mogk rounds out the signing with his book Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Zombies. On Thursday October 20th at 7:00p.m. Dark Delicacies heralds the arrival of a new horror film. Directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman will be on hand to sign and hand out for free posters for the upcoming terror tale Paranormal Activity 3. Dark Delicacies is located at 3512 West Magnolia Blvd in Burbank, CA 91505 and can be reached for more information at (818) 556-6660 or via the website at Dark Delicacies

Borderlands Books (866 Valencia St., San Francisco CA 94110), a specialty bookstore with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, and horror books, puts together its monthly best seller list and distributes it through their newsletter. We thought you'd like to see what's hot and what's not ... Hardcovers 1. Reamde by Neal Stephenson 2. A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin 3. Legacy of Kings by C.S. Friedman 4. Tears of the Sun by S.M. Stirling 5. Departure by Neal Asher 6. Rule 34 by Charles Stross 7. Embassytown by China Mieville 8. Magician King by Lev Grossman 9. Ghost Ship by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller 10. How Firm a Foundation by David Weber Mass Market Paperbacks 1. One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire 2. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin 3. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin 4. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin 5. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin 6. Black Prism by Brent Weeks 7. Truth of Valor by Tanya Huff 8. The High King of Montival by S.M. Stirling 9. Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey 10. Ghost of a Smile by Simon R. Green Trade Paperbacks 1. Zero History by William Gibson 2. The Panama Laugh by Thomas Roche 3. World War Z by Max Brooks 4. The Urban Fantasy Anthology edited by Peter S. Beagle and Joe R. Lansdale 5. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

On Sunday October 9th at 2:00p.m. Dark Delicacies will host a signing for an entire group of talented writers. Editor Jeff Gelb will be signing Dark Passions XIII along with writers Debbie Smith, Cody Goodfellow, Lisa Morton and Roberta Lannes. They will be joined by horror poet Maria Alexander who will be signing her new collection At Louche Ends: Poetry for the Decadent, The Damned & the Absinthe-Minded. Rounding out the signing will be horror authors Eric Shapiro, Amy Wallace, Scott Bradley, Will Huston and Zak Jarvis signing the horror anthology Help Wanted: Tales of On-The-Job Terror. On Tuesday October 11th at 7:00p.m. Dark Delicacies will host a signing for two DVD releases. Wasteland DVD will be signed by Director Kantz, Writer Lucas Culshaw and Actors Garret T. Sato, Derrel Flynn and Janelle Velasquez. They will be joined by the fine folks from the DVD George: A Zombie Intervention including Director JT Seaton, Writer Brad Hodson along with Actors Peter Stickles, Michelle Tomlinson, Carlos Larkin, Shannon Neil, Eric Dean Turic, Adam Fox, Vince Cusimano and John Karyus. Dark Delicacies is located at 3512 West Magnolia Blvd in Burbank, CA 91505 and can be reached for more information at (818) 556-6660 or via the website at Dark Delicacies

On Tuesday October 4th at 7:00p.m. Dark Delicacies will host a DVD signing for two new horror films. Actors Felissa Rose, Sean Cain, Lew Temple and Vernon Wells will be signing the DVD release of Silent Night, Zombie Night. They will be joined by Michelle Tomlinson, Brad Hodson, Peter Stickles, Lynn Lowry, Victoria DeMare and Tom Devlin. On Wednesday October 5th at 7:00p.m. the bookstore will host a signing for one of modern horror’s biggest names. Director John Landis will be signing his new book Monsters in the Movies: 100 Years of Cinematic Nightmares. "This celebrates the greatest monsters to ever creep, fly, slither, stalk or rampage across the Silver Screen." On Saturday October 8th at 2:00p.m. Dark Delicacies will host a signing for four very unique authors. David Del Valle will be signing his glimpse behind the Hollywood façade with Lost Horizons: Beneath the Hollywood Sign, Pat Jankiewicz will be signing You Wouldn’t Like Me When I’m Angry!: A Hulk Companion, Josh Pryor will be signing his zombie novel Fade to Black, and Peter H. Brothers will be signing his books Devil Bat Diary: The Journal of Johnny Layton plus Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda. Dark Delicacies is located at 3512 West Magnolia Blvd in Burbank, CA 91505 and can be reached for more information at (818) 556-6660 or via the website at Dark Delicacies

On Friday September 30th at a special time of 7:00p.m. Dark Delicacies will host a charity event for breast cancer awareness. On hand signing and selling their photo with all the proceeds going to the Busted Foundation will be the Bowling for Boobies Horror Team! Featuring Scream Queens Ashlynn Yennie (Human Centipede), Gabby West (Saw 3D), Allison Kyler (Chromeskull, Prom Night), Carlee Baker (Wicked Lake), Brooke Lewis (iMurders), Tracy Coogan (Zombie Honeymoon), and FX artist Jacky Belle. On Saturday October 1st at 2:00p.m. the bookstore will host a signing with actor Bruce Boxleitner. Bruce will be on hand signing copies of the DVD release of Area 51. He will sign other items also but for a fee. Dark Delicacies is located at 3512 West Magnolia Blvd in Burbank, CA 91505 and can be reached for more information at (818) 556-6660 or via the website at Dark Delicacies