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Okay, kids—here we are again. Another Friday and another Newsletter.

You know, it’s kinda nice to have something that’s really extra special to show you. I know, I know . . . calm down, will ya. We know ALL of our stuff is extra special but you know what I mean.

And the stuff that means the most to us—that’s all about what we are and what we do—is stories. And, of course, we share those stories with all you fab PS folks and we tell you about ‘em every Friday—that’s our business after all. But it’s a two-way thing, this “telling stories” lark—telling and listening, with visiting chums and wordsmiths galore stopping by and recounting THEIR stories or listening attentively to yours. One such, being truly an awesome experience.

I’ll get around to it in just a minute or two.

Some of the yarns that we have ‘received’ over the months and years here at PS—and which we have dutifully passed along to you this past twenty-some years—are often scribbled on red ruled-line notebooks whose back covers are resplendent with once familiar times tables from ancient pre cellphone days, or still more ancient even than that, on crinkled pieces of worn parchment, letters faded and still others are spoken in hushed tones to anxious audiences, the tellers and listeners alike propped against the groynes here in the lee of Hornsea church’s tower or huddled against the walls buttressing the Towers’ ancient greensward.

We get a whole load of folks who share a story or two with us which we make up into a book.

And every now and again, we get one that just blows our collective socks off!

And that is the story I mentioned above . . . a story brought generously to us by one Robert Shearman—hereafter to be known as Rob—which is, in truth, 101 stories all of which start and/or end in different places and with changing sensibilities, different tones, either amidst laughter or tears, horror or excitement, wonder and awe. Listen while I tell you. What I say next may be the start or the finish or, indeed, any part thereafter or there-before. And the story that follows THAT will depend fully and entirely on your mood and on the mood of the person who follows you and so on. Thus we are all of us part-responsible of not only what comes next but what comes before.

So, walk with me as we take a look inside:

Once upon a time there was a man who lost his wife, and tried to find her by reading all the books in the world.

An old woman sits in the dark. She has 101 stories to tell you—six hundred and forty-three thousand words, in fact—the last stories in existence. But the route through them won't be a simple one. At the end of each tale, the old woman will ask you five questions about your reaction to the tale you have just read, prompting you to choose which of five offered stories you read next.



It's a literal 'choose your own adventure' book, as the reader navigates their way through a labyrinth of colliding and contrasting tales. A modern-day Arabian Nights—except this time Scheherazade isn't spinning yarns to save her own life; if our hero follows the right path, and reads all the stories in the correct order (though defining ‘correct’ may be the most difficult part), he will win back his wife from the dead.



Herein lie fairy tales and myths, adventure stories, horror stories. Here rest comedies and tragedies, fantasy and fables and realist emotional tales of modern life. Some of the stories are funny, and some are moving. Some of them are frightening. Most of them are very, very strange . . . and they’re all of them from the wonderful mind of Rob Shearman.


We think WE ALL HEAR STORIES IN THE DARK, tales gathered from the benches and grass alongside the old worn stocks, is something very special indeed.

Nothing quite like this book has ever been attempted before. The premise is that stories always change their meaning dependent upon the order in which you read them—and as you work your way through the peculiar tunnels of WE ALL HEAR STORIES IN THE DARK it’s against the odds that anyone else will ever tread the same path you will. Bluntly, every reader's journey through the book will be entirely unique. You will be the only person who ever reads your version of WE ALL HEAR STORIES IN THE DARK.

You don’t need for me to tell you how big a project this really is. It’s mammoth, ten years in the writing. With a word count larger than WAR AND PEACE (and with, Rob insists, substantially more jokes and even talking pigs), it'll be a lavish book, with each story individually illustrated by Reggie Oliver—we think it'll be something quite spectacular. A book about loss and grief, and how we deal with them. About love, and history, and art, and about the consolations they offer. A book about the nature of storytelling itself.


Rob’s previous collections of stories have won the World Fantasy Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and three British Fantasy Awards. He was one of the original writers for the revival of DOCTOR WHO and his interactive radio drama series for the BBC, 'THE CHAIN GANG', has won two Sony awards. We feel this is his most ambitious, maddening, extraordinary project yet.

The book is to be divided into three (around 215,000 words apiece) or four volumes (160,000 words each), all released simultaneously, and we intend that each volume comes with an introduction by a writer Rob has been inspired by.

So when will this monster be ready?

Well, it’ll be ready in all its wonder for StokerCon next year. But hey, don’t despair. We’re launching the project at FantasyCon in Glasgow . . . with a series of five chapbooks featuring stories lifted from the entire project ie. five pamphlet chapbooks . . . so five of the 101 stories to give you a flavour, each one of them costing £3 or all five for £12. And we’re sure that Rob will sign copies if you ask him really nicely. Be there or be square, funsters—2:30pm on Saturday afternoon.

And now here’s a quick catch-up on what else is happening here in the labyrinthine corridors of PS Towers courtesy of Nicky who stores all this info like a pack-rat. Take it away, Nicky.

I do my best . . .

After all that exciting news it’s hard to come back to earth and talk about things like signing sheets and book arrivals.

Not too much news this week. The signing sheets for TEN-WORD TRAGEDIES edited by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon continue to travel around and gather signatures, so too the sheets for THE UNQUIET DREAMER edited by Preston Grassmann and MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS REVEALED edited by Darrell Schweitzer.

On the same note, we have just sent out the signing sheets for a few titles that you have already pre-ordered. They are SOMETHING FROM BELOW by S. T. Joshi and sheets for THE STAND by Stephen King which will be going to Don Maitz.

We will be taking Ramsey Campbell’s signing sheets for THE COMPANION & OTHER PHANTASMAGORICAL STORIES up to Glasgow with us for Ramsey to sign at the British Fantasy Convention next week.

NEW ARRIVALS

In the last 10 minutes we have just taken delivery of the two books involving T. M. Wright and Steven Savile. THE BEST OF T. M. WRIGHT and MALLAM CROSS which means we will be posting out the single editions of these two next week. The signed edition of MALLAM CROSS will be having Steven Savile’s signature sheet tipped in and then it will be ready to go into a slipcase with copies of THE BEST OF T. M. WRIGHT for the deluxe edition.

A COLLECTION of SUPERNATURAL HORROR / FANTASY - Unsigned Jacketed Hardcover. £25

SUPERNATURAL HORROR / FANTASY Novella - Unsigned Jacketed Hardcover. £18

That’s all for now so over to Pete for his usual sign off.

Thanks, Nicky. And thanks, too, to all you folks out there in PS Land. We loves ya, big time. It’s throwing it down here so Nicky and I will be soaked going across by the stocks to Crafty Coffee. But, hey, it’s only water, right? Have a fab weekend, look after each other and happy reading.
Hugs from the coffee bar


Pete

And finally we bid farewell to a couple of lovely folks who have moved on to celestial excitement on the road ahead. 

First off Ros Selwood who, after a long stint battling illness, finally succumbed. Ros was our first contact at TJ International when we moved our print business across to them several years ago. She was a delightful lady and, although we haven’t been working with her for a couple of years, she’ll be missed. Our sympathies go to husband Wayne.

And a fond farewell to Ginger Baker, one of the most rambunctious musicians on the planet. Paul and I saw Cream perform a couple of times at Leeds University when Baker was delayed joining band-mates Clapton and Bruce because he was waiting for the roadies to nail his drum kit to the stage. Ah, those were the days. Pressed Rat and Warthog indeed. Well, I know what we’ll be listening tonight.

Happy trails to both of you.

PS Publishing

Grosvenor House, 1 New Road, Hornsea
United Kingdom

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