Seventh Star Press has announced 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,” West 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,” DeBord 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.
