From the dark hills of America to detective stories from the dawn of time, spring 2014 is looking good!

From the dark hills of America to detective stories from the dawn of time, the cutting edge publisher of science-fiction, horror and fantasy, Solaris, has bolstered its Spring 2014 schedule with intriguing acquisitions from two exceptional talents.

Blood Kin by Steve Rasnic Tem will be published in March 2014 and follows last year’s critically-acclaimed novel for Solaris, Deadfall Hotel.

Set in the southern Appalachians of the US, alternating between the 1930s and the present day, Blood Kin is a dark Southern Gothic vision of ghosts, witchcraft, secret powers, snake-handling, Kudzu, Melungeons, and the Great Depression. Michael Gibson returns home following a suicide attempt and now takes care of his sickly grandmother. In a field not far from the Gibson family home lies an iron-bound crate within a small shack buried four feet deep under kudzu vine. Michael somehow understands that hidden inside that crate is potentially his own death, his grandmother's death, and perhaps the deaths of everyone in the valley if he does not understand her story well enough.

Editor-in-chief of Solaris, Jonathan Oliver, said: “Steve’s Deadfall Hotel was one the highlights of 2012 for Solaris: a moving, powerful and haunting horror novel. Blood Kin, likewise, promises to be something extraordinary. Steve walks in the traditions of such great writers as Ray Bradbury, Theodore Sturgeon and Flannery O’Connor, while enriching the field with his own unique take on genre.”

Talus and the Frozen King by Graham Edwards will be published in April next year and tells the story of Talus – the world’s first detective.

A dead warrior king frozen in winter ice. Six grieving sons, each with his own reason to kill. Two weary travellers caught up in a web of suspicion and deceit. In a distant time long before our own, wandering bard Talus and his companion Bran journey to the island realm of Creyak, where the king has been murdered. From clues scattered among the island’s mysterious barrows and stone circles, they begin their search for his killer. Creyak is place of secrets and spirits, mystery and myth. It will take a clever man indeed to unravel the truth. The kind of man this ancient world has not seen before.

Jon said: “Graham’s novel is a murder mystery like no other. A richly evoked past draws you into this unusual thriller and the characters of Talus and Bran have to be one of the most entertaining crime-fighting duos ever. A startlingly innovative book and a corking good read!”


About the Authors

Steve Rasnic Tem was born and raised in Lee County, Virginia, in the heart of Appalachia. He is the author of over 350 published short stories and is a past winner of the Bram Stoker, International Horror Guild, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy Awards. Following the publication last year of his Solaris novel Deadfall Hotel, Steve has published two short story collections – Ugly Behavior (New Pulp Press) and Onion Songs (Chomu) – soon to be joined by Celestial Inventories (ChiZine) and Twember (Newcon).  In 2014 PS Publishing will bring out his standalone novella In the Lovecraft Museum.

Graham Edwards was born in England near Glastonbury Tor and now lives in Nottingham. His formative years were spent on the UK’s Jurassic Coast making disturbing movies on Super-8 film. Since then he’s worked as a graphic designer and animator. He’s also written and produced multimedia shows for theme parks and visitor centres.

Graham’s first novel Dragoncharm was inspired by Watership Down – if Richard Adams could write an epic adventure about rabbits, why not do the same for dragons? His later novels include Stone & Sky, in which he explored the dizzying heights of a world-sized wall, travelled in time and played with fairies.

There’s short fiction in the form of The String City Mysteries, a series of ebooks about a detective working in a town where the dimensions are really messed-up. Graham’s also ghostwritten several books in collaboration with book packagers Working Partners.