Legendary cover artist Keith Birdsong has painted the cover for Weird Horror Tales, an homage to pulp magazines from the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘40s Weird Tales and Horror Stories. The collection was written by Michael Vance, and is now available.
Birdsong is famous for his extremely realistic covers for Star Trek novels, featuring the actors from the movies and television series. He has also done work for Star Wars, the cyberpunk role-playing game Shadowrun, and children’s books like The Halloween Hex. In addition, Birdsong’s work has been featured in films, on Hamilton Collection collectors’ plates, and on U.S. Postage stamps.
“Vance offers up thirteen tales of Lovecraftian horror with a deft sense of suspense and heart-pumping terror,” said Ron Fortier, editor of the title. “Earl Geier’s art for these stories is as stark and brutal as a cold knife’s edge. His grasp of terror is second to none, and delivers nightmarish scenes with incredible, horrific feelings. Whereas Keith Birdsong’s cover is simply creepy to the max. It is a work of intense imagination that will pull you into this collection like a twisted siren’s song.”
“My stories are founded on the premise that there is something larger than our narrow view of reality,” said Vance. “Each interconnected story shares setting, history, prominent families, and a macro plot. The stories also focus on the Azrealites, a religious cult that works tirelessly to reinstate that ‘Other’ on Earth through science and the occult.”
These stories about the fictional town of “Light’s End” in Maine have been published in dozens of magazines in three countries, including Dark Corridor, and have also been recorded by renowned actor William (Murder She Wrote) Windom. Vance’s influences on these stories are H. P. Lovecraft, William Faulkner, Alfred Hitchock movies, and The Twilight Zone television series.
The interior illustrations are by artist Earl Geier who is best known for his horror, fantasy and science fiction artwork. In the role playing game industry, his work includes art for Battletech, Call of Cthulhu, and many others. He has illustrated books for Cemetery Dance Magazine, Chaosium, Gryphon and Subterranean Press. For comic book, he’s had work published by Dark Horse Comics, Comiczone, Now, Innovation and DC Comics Paradox.
The publisher of Weird Horror Tales, Cornerstone Book Publishers also publishes Masonic and esoteric books, selected pulp fiction, art literature, limited children’s books, and poetry collections.
