We’re doing final proofreading on Ray Bradbury’s A Pleasure to Burn, the collection of stories that led up to his seminal novel, Fahrenheit 451, and have found the perfect cover art for it. Many Bradbury fans are familiar with Joseph Mugnaini’s iconic image of a man made of newspaper, standing in a fire, that has graced many editions of the novel. For our collection, appropriately enough, we’ve secured the rights to reproduce one of the color roughs that Mr. Mugnaini painted for a later version of the novel. We’d like to extend our thanks to his estate for helping us find the image that sums up and brings this project together so well.

While on the topic of Mr. B, our printer is making progress on our edition The Martian Chronicles: the Complete Edition. They’ve had the files for a bit, and have been waiting for the last of the hand-made imported paper which in which we’ll bind the book. We’ve been told that the last of the paper is due in the first week of January, meaning that we should have finished copies of the book by the end of January. After that, we’ll have our new slipcase manufacturer on the job, with an eye toward meeting our February ship date. We’ll keep everyone posted on the book’s progress.

We’ve just finished shipping all orders for Joe R. Lansdale’s new collection, Unchained and Unhinged, which shows some of Joe’s more series side (essays) and some of the stranger concoctions that originate in his brainpan (stories). We think it’s a wild, weird enough mix to delight Joe’s many fans. As an added bonus, each tale features a full-page black and white illustration by Glenn Chadbourne.

Update: We’ve just sold out of the limited edition of Patrick Rothfuss’ The Adventure of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle. We still have plenty of copies of the trade hardcover for customers to preorder, but the limited sold out in under 24 hours.

We’ve been running preorder specials on the reprints of the ultra-rare novella, The Kragen, and This is Me, Jack Vance! the SF Grandmaster’s autobiography.

The special offers are good until the end of the day, Friday, December 11, 2009, so don’t be late getting your order in.

As readers who order The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle will quickly learn, Patrick Rothfuss is not a nice man. Sure, he’s written a best-selling fantasy novel (The Name of the Wind) with the sequel (Wise Man’s Fear) not far off. Sure, he’s running a fundraiser — Worldbuilders — which we’re helping to sponsor.

But, like we said he’s not a nice man. Beneath that bushy beard and kindly visage is a black brain that would do Edward Gorey and Gahan Wilson proud.

Without further ado, here’s the word on the side project he’s done with us:

This is not a book for children.

It looks like a children’s book. It has pictures. It has a saccharine-sweet title. The main characters are a little girl and her teddy bear. But all of that is just protective coloration. The truth is, this is a book for adults with a dark sense of humor and an appreciation of old-school faerie tales.

There are three separate endings to the book. Depending on where you stop, you are left with an entirely different story. One ending is sweet, another is horrible. The last one is the true ending, the one with teeth in it.

The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle is a dark twist on the classic children’s picture-book. I think of it as Calvin and Hobbes meets Coraline, with some Edward Gorey mixed in.

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One final word. Pat has a veritable legion of readers, so we expect the limited edition of this title to sell out quickly. Please get your order in early if you’re interested.

As we’ve mentioned previously, we’ve secured the rights to the limited edition of Dan Simmons’ next novel, Black Hills. Once again, John Picacio, who created the standout covers for Drood and The Terror, will essay the cover, under Dan’s direction.

Here are the details:

Black Hills is an important and revelatory novel, the most singular accomplishment to date by the always unpredictable Dan Simmons. With empathy and great narrative power, it illuminates a significant chapter in the nation’s history, and takes us deep into the heart of an extraordinary American life.

The story begins at the Battle of Little Big Horn in June of 1876. Eleven-year-old Paha Sapa (whose name, in the Lakota dialect, means “Black Hills”), is present at the precise moment of Custer’s death, a moment that will have enormous ramifications. The narrative that follows encompasses eighty years of highly charged history and ranges from the eponymous (and sacred) Black Hills of South Dakota to the Dust Bowls of the Great Depression to the emerging face of Mount Rushmore, where an astonishing revelation awaits.

On one level, Black Hills is a story of profound and inescapable loss: of family, of cultural heritage, of the ancient gods that once dominated the Lakota’s world. On another, it is a visionary account of love, hope, and unexpected discovery, and a meditation on the Mystery that lies “at the heart of the heart of the universe.” Absorbing, moving, and constantly surprising, Black Hills is, by any standard, a major novel, another landmark achievement in a constantly evolving career.