We’re in the process of shipping out the 175 copy limited edition of Charles de Lint’s Promises to Keep, a 175 page novel about the early years of series favorite Jilly Coppercorn, and we have about 20 copies of the $125 slipcased edition, which we thought was sold out. We’re unsure if we’ll be reprinting the $35 trade edition, so you might want to snag a copy before the secondary market has its effect and pushes prices into the stratosphere, as it did with Seven Wild Sisters, which now regularly fetches $200 a copy.

As you might expect, with three strong selling titles all coming out in little more than a week’s span, we’re still working hard to ship all preordered copies of Red Seas Under Red Skies (Scott Lynch); The God of the Razor (Joe R. Lansdale); and Brian Lumley (The Taint and Other Novellas). We expect to have all copies of the trade editions shipped later this week, with the deluxe lettered taking a few months more, as we wait for our traycase supplier to get up to speed. Thanks to everyone for their patience as we get out from under this shipping marathon. All three of these books are over 75% sold out, with more distributor and online retailer orders arriving on an almost daily basis.

If you have a spare second or three, head over to Subterranean Online, where we’ve posted a long supernatural tale by Stephen Gallagher — his new collection Plots and Misadventures is just out, you know. In addition, you can take to the blackest of seas for an extended excerpt of Kage Baker’s pirate novel, Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key. So what’s keeping you. Subterranean Online awaits, with these newer features, and recent fiction by Jay Lake, Chris Robertson, Mike Resnick, Livia Llewellyn, and many more.

We’re about a week away from the release of Allen Steele’s Coyote novella, The River Horses, and already have far more orders than books to fill them. What this means is that we won’t be able to supply our regular wholesalers or large online retailers all of the copies they requested. If you’d like to be sure you’re going to get a copy of The River Horses, your best bet is to order direct this week, as we’ll be pulling it from the site soon.

The second volume of Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastard sequence, Red Seas Under Red Skies, is in stock and shipping. Check out conmen Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen’s travails as they attempt to rip off the ultimate casino, take to the high seas as pirates, are kidnapped multiple times, poisoned, and find themselves trailed by the Bondsmagi of Karthain, still a bit miffed over the horrors the intrepid duo visited upon one of their number in The Lies of Locke Lamora.

Limited HC:

$75

Volume one of Brian Lumley’s Best Mythos Tales, The Taint and Other Novellas, is in stock and shipping. So if things that slither and haunt dreams are up your alley, Brian’s among the best in continuing the pulp tradition of Lovecraftian tales. According to Booklist, “Lumley is not only the subgenre’s most prolific practitioner but also arguably its most imaginative… Lumley’s knack for nightmarish scenarios and chilling language puts his writings at the forefront of contemporary horror fiction.”

Signed HC:

$40

We’re more than pleased to announce that we’ve just signed an agreement with Random House to pubish a signed limited edition of one of the seminal sf novels of this decade, ALTERED CARBON by Richard Morgan. Be on the lookout in coming weeks as we confer with the author to decide on an artist and get the ball rolling.

The end of this year’s no different than any other, as we work to get those last titles to the printer and work steadily on books we’ll be publishing throughout next year. With the release this week of Brian Lumley’s The Taint and Other Novellas, it’s time to announce the second and concluding volume of his Best Mythos Tales. Haggopian and Other Stories contains the best of the best of Brian’s shorter Lovecraftian tales, and surprisingly enough, is a full 140+ pages longer than the novella collection. We should have the dust jacket by Bob Eggleton posted soon.

We’ve got Yanni Kuznia, our new Director of Production, hard at work doing the OCRing of the two just announced Charles de Lint titles, What the Mouse Found, and Woods and Waters Wild, so these vintage stories can be sent to the author for a final polish before the book is designed. Look for regular updates as we fast track these titles for publication.

All of the interior art for Naomi Novik’s Her Majesty’s Dragon is in house, and the book is roughly 80% proofed. Dominic Harman should be sending us a rough of the dust jacket in the next few weeks, and final art by the end of November. Dragon is right on schedule for publication just after the year turns.

Kage Baker has turned in her 45,000 word (just shy of 200 pages) pirate novel, Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key, and Gail Cross, our regular designer, has taken this tale of the high seas and double-crosses set in the 1600s and given it a very distinct piratical appearance.

Finally, for this update at least, Caitlin R. Kiernan has completed the signature pages for the definitive edition of Tales of Pain and Wonder, and is due to turn in the exclusive chapbook in the coming weeks.

Michael Komark has just turned in the first rough illustration for Steven Erikson’s Gardens of the Moon, which drew this remark from the delighted author: “Now that was a great reminder of why I wanted this artist in the first place. Fabulous. Nothing untoward in the gear they’re wearing, or in the atmosphere of the scene. It’s great stuff. Any chance of getting larger versions for framing when the series is done?”

We’re quite pleased ourselves, and looking forward to more art as Michael turns it in in the coming weeks. Look for more samples as we have them.

Also in hand, and headed to the printer are the cover and interior for Jack Vance’s rare novella, The Kragen. Tomislav Tikulin has done his usual fine job in bringing Vance’s exotic landscape to life. At only 500 copies (priced $35) this novella is a bargain for those who collect signed Vance material.

Finally, on the art front, we have J.K. Potter’s wonderful cover for Connie Willis’s new novella, All Seated on the Ground. The dust jacket is a wraparound, but we’re teasing you with just a look at the front cover. J. K. also contributed a few pieces of incidental art to the interior. Seated is already at the printer and due back in just a few short weeks, sure to be a quick sell out.

Brian Lumley’s newest, the first volume of his Best Mythos Tales, arrives in our offices today and will begin shipping late this week or early next.

The Taint and Other Novellas gathers the best of Brian’s long Mythos tales, and is the companion of the soon to be announced — and already deep into production — Haggopian and Other Stories.

Here’s a taste of how Brian’s latest is being received:

From Publishers Weekly:
“Lumley fans will welcome this collection of seven longer Cthulhu Mythos tales from the prolific British author (Necroscope), on whom H.P. Lovecraft was an important influence… Perhaps most memorable is the 2005 title story, which, despite being set in Lovecraft’s haunted seaport of Innsmouth, avoids Mythos cliches and comes across as distinctly the author’s own.”

From Booklist:
“Lumley is not only the subgenre’s most prolific practitioner but also arguably its most imaginative… Lumley’s knack for nightmarish scenarios and chilling language puts his writings at the forefront of contemporary horror fiction.”