Dark Blood Comes from the Feet
by Emma J. Gibbon
Debut Short Fiction from Horror Author and Rhysling-nominated Poet:
A STRANGE AND ECLECTIC COLLECTION OF SEVENTEEN DARK AND GLITTERING
STORIES
“Careful, or you might cut yourself on these stories—little gems with sharp edges which deserve to be treasured
alongside the jewels of Shirley Jackson and Sylvia Townsend Warner—in the tradition of the illuminating
dark.”
—M. Rickert, World Fantasy Award-winning author of You Have Never Been Here
For fans of the strange and usual, dark tales in the vein of Shirley Jackson, Kelly Link and Neil Gaiman, Dark
Blood Comes from the Feet is being release by Trepidatio Publishing on May 22, 2020. Within its pages, you
will meet secret societies who contract deadly diseases on purpose, dancers helping each other avoid “below,”
monstrous children who must be loved before they return to the sea, a taxidermy-obsessed mother, small blue
devils in the Maine woods, a black cat that retrieves the dying, the last witch in Florida, and “a huge dog of
potentially supernatural origin.” Visit haunted houses, a Hollywood nightclub, limbo, Whitechapel, and other
stops on a death tour, and a childhood hangout that spells destruction for kids and dogs alike. Listen to a punk
rock sermon in a post-apocalyptic matriarchal society, witness crustaceans that have trouble staying dead, a
cannibalistic romance, a gothic love story to tuberculosis and a downtrodden wife’s transformation.
“Visceral, searing, and whimsical all at once, Emma J. Gibbon’s work somehow combines and carries on
the bloodlines of Shirley Jackson, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, and Johnny Rotten. Dark Blood Comes from
the Feet is a perfect rainy-day read. The Mary Poppins of Horror has arrived!”
—Morgan Sylvia, author of Abode
About the Author:
Emma J. Gibbon is a horror writer, speculative poet and librarian. Her stories have appeared in various
anthologies including Wicked Weird, Wicked Haunted, and The Muse & the Flame and on the Toasted Cake
podcast. She also has a story upcoming in Would but Time Await: An Anthology of New England Folk Horror
from Haverhill Publishing. This year, she has been nominated twice for the Rhysling Award for her poems
“Fune-RL” (Strange Horizons) and “Consumption” (Eye to the Telescope). Her poetry has also been published
in Liminality, Pedestal Magazine and is upcoming in Kaleidotrope. Emma is originally from Yorkshire
and now lives in Maine in a spooky little house in the woods with her husband, Steve, and three exceptional
animals: Odin, Mothra, and M. Bison (also known as Grim). She is a member of the New England Horror
Writers, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, the Angela Carter Society, and the Tuesday
Mayhem Society. Her website is emmajgibbon.com.
“Gibbon invites us to macabre destinations, including a strip club in Purgatory, a Lovecraftian orphanage,
and a day at the beach that would make Cronenberg proud. In this collection of short stories, we meet
relatable characters in horrific situations, and may even recognize ourselves among the pages.”
—Michelle Renee Lane, Bram Stoker Award®-nominated author of Invisible Chains
Dark Blood Comes from the Feet will be available wherever books are sold on May 22,
2020 and is available for preorder now at https://journalstone.com/bookstore/dark-blood-comes-from-the-feet/
REVIEW E-COPIES OF DARK BLOOD COMES FROM THE FEET AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
