Ten indie authors and game designers are currently offering a collection of ten full-length ebook novels in the ‘Bundle of Holding‘ story bundle.

For any price you like, you get six of these in multi-format, DRM-free ebook versions: Irregular Creatures by Chuck Wendig, Fable of the Swan by Jenna Moran, Hexcommunicated by Rafael Chandler, Hero Worship by Derek Pearcy, Birth of the Dread Remora by Aaron Rosenberg and Tournament of Death by Stephen D. Sullivan.

If you pay more than the average purchase price (currently hovering around $16), you get 4 bonus books added into the deal: Hard Times in Dragon City by Matt Forbeck, Mindjammer by Sarah Newton, Playing For Keeps by Mur Lafferty, and Stay Alert by Allen Varney.

You can divide your payment for the bundle as you like between indie authors, the bundle people, and two worthy charities – Child’s Play and Reading is Fundamental (RIF), promoting books and reading to kids. That’s stacks of fantastic genre fiction, in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats, at whatever price you want to pay.

The deal runs until the 11th March 2013 – get in while you can! For more info click HERE

1971. A middle-aged man, wracked with grief, walks along the beach at Whitstable in Kent.

A boy walks approaches him and, taking him for the famous vampire-hunter Doctor Van Helsing from the Hammer movies, asks for his help. Because he believes his stepfather really is a vampire…

So begins the moving and evocative new novella by Stephen Volk, published by the British Fantasy Award-nominated Spectral Press in May 2013 to coincide with the centenary of the most celebrated and beloved of Hammer’s stars, Peter Cushing.

In Whitstable—which deftly mixes fact with fiction—the actor, devastated after the recent death of his wife and soul mate Helen, is an inconsolable recluse. In that vulnerable state he is forced to face an evil far more real and terrifying than any of the make-believe monsters he tackled on the big screen. And here he is not a crusader or expert with crucifixes to hand—merely a man. A man who in some ways craves death himself, but cannot ignore the pleas of an innocent child…

Stephen Volk is a life-long fan of Cushing and grew up sneaking into cinemas underage in his home town to see Hammer’s gruesome and uncanny fare. A love affair with the macabre and the gothic was kindled, and this book is very much intended as a way of repaying the debt he owes to his favourite actor and the star known universally as “The Gentle Man of Horror”.

The author was aided in his extensive research by film historians and critics, those who have met Cushing, residents of Whitstable, and even Whitstable Museum itself.

“This will engross and enthrall all Hammer fans and those who adore and revere Cushing. It brings his screen persona vividly to life in a modern context when the monsters are all too real.” - Tony Earnshaw, author of An Actor and a Rare One: Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes and Beating the Devil: The Making of ‘Night of the Demon’

“Peter Cushing was my first hero, and in my opinion Stephen Volk has done something heroic by putting the man who fought onscreen monsters at the heart of a very human drama. Sad, tinged with a palpable sense of loss, beautifully written, and blessed with an unerring eye for crucial detail, Whitstable is a story to savour. If I may be so bold, I’m convinced that Peter Cushing would have approved” - novelist Gary McMahon

“A wonderful piece” – David Pirie, author of A Heritage of Horror: The English Gothic Cinema

“I loved Whitstable! It’s a beautiful love letter to a man, a genre, and an era that means so much to those of us of a certain age” - Mick Garris, director of The Stand, Bag of Bones, producer, Masters of Horror

Accompanied by a heartfelt Afterword by horror novelist and fellow Hammer devotee Mark Morris, Whitstable is the third in the series, Spectral Visions. The first two novellas (Gary Fry’s The Respectable Face of Tyranny and John L. Probert’s The Nine Deaths of Dr. Valentine) have garnered wide acclaim from readers, reviewers and bloggers alike.

The ePub editions of The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders and The Alchemy Press Book of Pulp Heroes are now available from Weightless Books:

http://weightlessbooks.com/genre/fiction/horror/the-alchemy-press-book-of-ancient-wonders/

http://weightlessbooks.com/genre/fiction/fantasy/the-alchemy-press-book-of-pulp-heroes/

In The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders, edited by Jan Edwards and Jenny Barber, discover standing stones, burial mounds, ruined castles or sunken cities: the ancient sites that litter our landscapes; the ancient wonders that possess a mysterious appeal that cannot be denied.

In The Alchemy Press Book of Pulp Heroes, editor Mike Chinn has collected seventeen stories that explore the world of pulp fiction with tall tales of daring do, of heroes and heroines and their villains.

Writer, Guy Adams and artist Jimmy Broxton have launched a new project on Kickstarter, unveiling the most controversial sixties newspaper strip that never was: Goldtiger.

“I’ve wanted to do something that hearkened back to the great British newspaper strips for years,” says Broxton, “and admitted as much to Guy who was as enthusiastic about the idea as I was.”

“There’s something really magical about the form,” agrees Adams, “three panels of rich, mad storytelling, slapped into the eyes of people who probably didn’t usually read comics outside their daily newspapers. They were mad, engaging and subversive.”

Adams and Broxton have been working together for the last year on THE ENGINE, a digital book released by the innovative new company, Madefire.

“Obviously,” says Adams, “Jimmy was already a solid name in comics after his work on books like KNIGHT & SQUIRE and SAUCER COUNTRY but Madefire gave me a chance to finally break into a medium I’ve loved for years. Working with Jimmy on THE ENGINE has been such fun that it was always going to be just a matter of time before we came up with something else we wanted to do together.

Adams is mainly known as a novelist, his books THE WORLD HOUSE and its sequel RESTORATION having been followed by brand new Sherlock Holmes novels for Titan Books, adaptations of classic movies for Hammer Books, weird westerns THE HEAVENS GATE CHRONICLES for Solaris and THE CLOWN SERVICE, a horror/espionage series forthcoming from Del Rey UK.

“It’s such a relief to only be doing half the work now I’m collaborating with Jimmy,” he jokes. “He suggested we come up with a ‘lost’ strip, something that had been devised as competition for MODESTY BLAISE but cancelled due to its content. Originally we were going to present it completely anonymously, the story of the strip’s creators, Antonio Barreti and Louis Schaeffer being as much a part of the overall effect as the newspaper strip itself. Having decided to go the Kickstarter route we’ve had to be a bit more open about it though…”

“God knows what the repercussions would have been otherwise,” agrees Broxton, “when people realised there never was a Goldtiger strip.”

“It’s a shame in a way,” says Adams, “it would have been fun to maintain the illusion. But the background to the strip’s creation, and the way it sent its artist mad is a major part of the overall story. We hope to do a series of these books and readers will realise that the fiction and ‘non-fiction’ elements will soon begin to blur, it’s all part of the one big story.”

Of course, if the Kickstarter project isn’t successful, life may imitate art. Could Goldtiger become ‘lost’ once more?

“We’re really hopeful,” says Broxton, “people have been amazing in their enthusiasm for the idea. But yeah, it’s all a bit nerve-wracking until the funding’s in place.”

To find out more about the project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/152141928/goldtiger-by-guy-adams-and-jimmy-broxton

Now That I’ve Lost You, the latest collection by Paul Edwards, is now available as a paperback or Kindle edition from Amazon. Find out more here:

http://www.screamingdreams.com/nowthativelostyou.html

A man seeks a cure for his loneliness in the squalid back streets of Goa. A couple find solace in each other as the world comes apart at the seams. Sinister creatures besiege a small American town buried in fog. And as the dead rise from rent, yawning graves, a girl is holed up in a farmhouse with one of their own…

In these nineteen tales of love and loss, sex and death, you will brave witches, warlocks and the living dead; traverse uncharted, hypnotic highways; and you will meet up with green-eyed losers who inhabit small spaces: whether it’s graveyards, old churches, or their own echoing heads.

Paul Edwards was born and raised in Bristol, but now lives in the Somerset market town of Frome. To date he’s had over 40 publications in a wide range of magazines, anthologies and webzines, and has had 2 honourable mentions in the Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. One of his stories, A Place the Night Can’t Touch, was made into a short film by students at The Surrey Institute of Art and Design. His debut collection Black Mirrors was published by Rainfall in May 2012 and he’s currently hard at work on a novel and a third collection. When he’s not writing, he enjoys drinking local cider, spending time with his family and watching horror movies late into the night…

Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot Books, is delighted to announce the signing of Amalie Howard, in a two-book World English Rights deal concluded by Strange Chemistry’s editor Amanda Rutter and Liza Fleissig of the Liza Royce Agency.

The first book, YA Science Fiction novel The Almost Girl, will be published in Spring 2014, with a sequel to follow towards the end of 2014.

Seventeen-year-old Riven is as tough as they come. Coming from a world ravaged by a devastating android war, she has to be. There’s no room for softness, no room for emotion, no room for mistakes. A Legion General, she is the right hand of the young Prince of Neospes, a parallel universe to Earth. In Neospes, she has everything: rank, responsibility and respect. But when Prince Cale sends her away to find his long-lost brother, Caden, who has been spirited back to modern day Earth, Riven finds herself in uncharted territory.

Thrown out of her comfort zone but with the mindset of a soldier, Riven has to learn how to be a girl in a realm that is the opposite of what she knows.  Riven isn’t prepared for the beauty of a world that is unlike her own in so many ways. Nor is she prepared to feel something more than indifference for the very target she seeks. Caden is nothing like Cale, but he makes something in her come alive, igniting a spark deep down that goes against every cell in her body. For the first time in her life, Riven isn’t sure about her purpose, about her calling. Torn between duty and desire, she must decide whether Caden is simply a target or whether he is something more.

Faced with hideous reanimated Vector soldiers from her own world with agendas of their own, as well as an unexpected reunion with a sister who despises her, it is a race against time to bring Caden back to Neospes. But things aren’t always as they seem, and Riven will have to search for truth. Family betrayals and royal coups are only the tip of the iceberg. Will Riven be able to find the strength to defy her very nature? Or will she become the monstrous soldier she was designed to be?

The Almost Girl is a richly imagined story of defiance, courage, and heart. It is the tale of a girl who finds her own way on her own terms, a girl who won’t let what she is define her, and a girl who will sacrifice everything she is for the ones she loves. It is a story of someone who eclipses her predestined fate to become something more … something extraordinary.

Seventeen Magazine Summer Club author Amalie Howard grew up on a small Caribbean island where she spent most of her childhood with her nose buried in a book or being a tomboy running around barefoot, shimmying up mango trees and dreaming of adventure.

She received a bachelor’s degree from Colby College in Maine in International Studies and French, and a certificate in French Literature from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. Travelling the globe, she has worked as a research assistant, marketing representative, teen speaker and global sales executive. She currently resides in New York with her husband and three children.

Visit her website at www.amaliehoward.com or follow her on Twitter (@AmalieHoward).

British publisher Modiphius, is taking to crowd-sourcing platform Kickstarter.com to bring its dark vision of a secret World War Two to life.

Inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos of HP Lovecraft, Modiphius Entertainment is launching the Keeper’s and the Investigator’s Guides to the Secret War for use in the terrifying World War Two roleplaying game setting, Achtung! Cthulhu. After twelve months working on Achtung! Cthulhu for the popular Call of Cthulhu and Savage Worlds roleplaying games, Chris Birch, founder of Modiphius decided to launch the brand on Kickstarter. Why? “We have three Achtung! Cthulhu wartime campaigns in the works, with the amazing Zero Point by Sarah Newton already on release. There have been so many people asking when we’ll release the main sourcebooks that we decided to bring them forward and hope that by launching them on Kickstarter it will allow us to create a much bigger and higher quality product for everyone.”

Achtung! Cthulhu – Keeper’s Guide to the Secret War features a fantastic cover by Dim Martin, already well known to Achtung! Cthulhu fans for his inspiring cover and interior art for the Achtung! Cthulhu – Zero Point campaign. This is a full blown tome of dark knowledge that will detail secret Nazi plots, Allied & Nazi special forces & intelligence agencies, mystical missions and wonder weapon development, mythical organisations, campaign and plot ideas, key characters, vile creatures, and new rules for World War Two combat and equipment. All this and a whole shoggoth’s worth of Cthulhu villainy, enough for any Keeper to have his investigators dead, insane, or running for their lives! The Keeper’s Guide to the Secret War will be the essential wartime reference for any Keeper or fan of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Achtung! Cthulhu – Investigator’s Guide to the Secret War features a stunning cover by the legendary Spanish artist Pinturero which will be accompanied by amazing interior illustrations from Dim Martin. The Investigator’s Guide is the definitive guide to the late 30s and 1940s for use by players and Keepers alike. Inside you’ll find a whole kit bag stuffed with cool new occupations, skills, equipment, and backgrounds from all over Europe and the British Commonwealth. Find out how you can play as part of the Allied war effort, or risk everything within the ranks of the partisans or Nazi forces as one of the many brave heroes who fought to bring down the regime from within the borders of the Reich!

As Modiphius meets stretch goals, you will discover the danger, terror, and insanity to be found on the shores of Europe, across the steppes of mother Russia and the sands of North Africa, down the streets of America, and deep in the jungles of Asia. A setting briefing will tell you about how people thought, acted, and lived during the war – information that you can use to bring your characters and NPCs to life. You’ll discover what life was like serving with the different military forces and on the Homefront, and to help you create both player characters and NPCs, you will find an array of both historically correct and fictional backgrounds, or alternatively you can run through the background generator to find out what dark secrets your past contains.

The Achtung! Cthulhu books also try to highlight the real heroes who fought and died, and so at the end of both books there will be a short section on the World War Two memorials and museums you can visit across the battlefields of Europe to learn more about this period.

The Kickstarter is live now at:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/modiphius/achtung-cthulhu-the-ww2-keepers-and-investigators

Ben Smith, Publishing Manager of Solaris Books, has acquired rights to three backlist titles by fantasy novelist Paul Kearney: THE WAY TO BABYLON, RIDING THE UNICORN and A DIFFERENT KINGDOM. They will be published as an omnibus early in 2014. The agent was John Jarrold, and the deal was for UK/US rights.

Solaris have previously published Kearney’s MONARCHIES OF GOD series in two omnibuses, and his Macht fantasy series – THE TEN THOUSAND, CORVUS and KINGS OF MORNING.

Jessica Purdue, Rights Manager at Orion, has sold Romanian rights to highly-praised SF debut THE QUANTUM THIEF by Finnish science fiction novelist resident in Scotland, Hannu Rajaniemi, to Nemira.

World rights in THE QUANTUM THIEF, plus two further books, were acquired pre-emptively by Simon Spanton of Gollancz from agent John Jarrold for a high five-figure sum in pounds sterling, on the basis of one chapter. Gollancz have published it, and the first sequel, THE FRACTAL PRINCE, to great success and acclaim. Rights have also been sold in the USA, Japan and across Europe.

Angry Robot, publisher of cutting-edge SF, F and WTF?! fiction, is delighted to announce the forthcoming publication of a new two-book Urban Fantasy series by Tim Waggoner, author of the hugely popular Nekropolis saga.

The deal was brokered between Tim’s agent Cherry Weiner of the Cherry Weiner Literary Agency and Angry Robot’s Senior Editor, Lee Harris for worldwide English, translation and audio rights.

It’s Men In Black meets The Sandman. Meet the fine men and women of the NightWatch: a supernatural agency dedicated to hunting down rogue nightmares that escape from other realms when people dream about them, while ensuring that other dream-folk are allowed to live among the regular, human population… as long as they play by the rules.

The first book in the series - Night Terrors - will be published in the summer of 2014, with a follow-up volume scheduled for early 2015.

Tim Waggoner said: “One of the many wonderful things about Angry Robot is that they don’t publish cookie-cutter fiction. They seek out the different, the unusual, and – in my case – the downright weird. It’s a joy to be working with these mad geniuses again.”

Angry Robot Senior Editor Lee Harris said: “Tim’s Nekropolis was one of the first books we published when we launched Angry Robot, and it has been popular with our readers ever since. I’m hugely looking forward to our working with him again more than 100 books later!”

Find more about Tim Waggoner at www.timwaggoner.com or @TimWaggoner.