Kids, can I just say how exciting it is to be revisiting King's past as we've been doing? "Weeds," in this format, has never been collected in a King volume (if it's an oversight, like "The Cat From Hell" was, I would welcome it in a volume with "Morality" and other new tales!) This, coming close on the heels of King finally publishing Blaze and making a mountain out of Under the Dome's molehill. Great stuff, Mr. King, and thank you!

Now, if only he'd go back to The Plant...

I've heard back from Scribner regarding the TimesTalk appearance. There will be a total of 350 tickets available but they have already sold over 200 so if you're considering this event, you may want to act quickly. They are on a first come, first served basis but they feel that all seats have excellent sight lines and that the theater is small enough to give an intimate feel.

The ticket price is not including the purchase of a book and nothing has been set in stone yet about there being signed copies available at this event.

More information and tickets can be found here. Go! Now!

Summer is short and entertainment is vital. Therefore, make sure you take advantage of this June's suggestions. Would I steer you wrong? Hell, no! So here they are:

1. Fangoria's anniversary issue, on sale now.
2. Bruce Springsteen's Seeger Sessions.
3. James McMurtry's Just Us Kids. Real alt-country rock and roll.
4. Apple pies from Checkers. They come rolled in cinnamon. Yum!
5. Waffles and eggs at Waffle House. Hash browns loaded with cheese optional.
6. Monster Truck Jam (as long as you root for The Gravedigger to lose.)
7. Ride the Boulder Dash wooden roller coaster in Bristol, CT.
8. Listen to the entire Metallica catalogue. Then get your ears checked. You know you've been meaning to do it.
9. Go to the beach on a motorcycle with your honey.
10. Read Nobody Move, by Denis Johnson.
11. Read Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child.
12. Read Look Again, by Lisa Scottoline.
13. Read The Way Home, by George Pelecanos.
14. See Drag Me to Hell, directed by the incomparable Sam Raimi.
15. Play AC/DC in your car with the windows rolled down and the volume all the way up.
16. Root for the Red Sox to bury the Yankees.
17. Pray for Big Papi (David Ortiz).
18. Wear your sunglasses at night.
19. Watch for an excerpt from Under the Dome in Entertainment Weekly.

VERY excited about the excerpt news here! And I can personally vouch for Seeger Sessions, which kicks so much butt, as well as its live counterpart, Live in Dublin. Get em both!

(Jun 02) ALSO from King's official site, the message board mod had THIS to say:

It may be a while before he gets to the third book of The Talisman but he has been working on a new novel for a while now. And, as always, I can't say anything about the plot yet.

You know, I always think King is going to take some sort of break in between books. I mean, Under the Dome is, what? A thousand pages plus? And now he's working on a brandy-NEW book? And that's BEFORE Talisman 3? Okay, this is just cause to jump and shimmy, I think!

Chad, an aspiring writer who is teaching school until he lands a publishing contract, and his wife, Nora, who is working as a home nurse for a retired minister, are like most people these days struggling financially. Nora is approached by her employer with a proposition that could make their dream of a home in Vermont a reality. But will it be worth the moral consequences?

Sounds pretty exciting! Keep a watch out here for a review upcoming!

"Riding the Bullet," by Stephen King has been described as a "ghost story in the grand manner" and the story of "a young man who hitches a ride with a driver from the other side," but in this special edition only available from Lonely Road Books, we're going to show you King's classic novella in a way you've never seen it before: alongside the feature film screenplay adaptation by director Mick Garris.

The road from print to the silver screen is often a bumpy one and much has been written about how a story is sometimes transformed to make it work in moving pictures. This is your chance to experience Riding the Bullet in a way only those close to the production of the film ever have. Start with King's original novella, then flip the book over and read the original script by Mick Garris. Compare what he kept, what he had to change, and even the storytelling flourishes he added to round out the tale.

This highly collectible special edition will be published in the same manner as our acclaimed edition of The Arthur Darknell Double — in the tradition of the old Ace Doubles. This is the very first Stephen King Limited Edition to be published in this manner, and we're certain it'll be a huge hit with the collectors.

Complete with stunning cover artwork and beautiful interior artwork by Bernie Wrightson, this exclusive Lonely Road Books special edition is going to be one of the most discussed small press books of the year.

Click here to view just a few of the sample photos, diagrams, script pages, storyboards, etc.

About the Special Features:

With an oversized page size and an extremely low print run, Riding the Bullet by Stephen King and Mick Garris is being designed with the ultimate collectors in mind. Each edition will feature a deluxe binding selected from the finest materials available. And like the previous Lonely Road Books releases, all of the signed copies are expected to be reserved right away, so don't wait to place your order!

Limitation Information: • Collector's Gift Edition: limited to just 3000 copies bound in a deluxe material and housed in a special slipcase ($75)

• Limited Edition: 500 deluxe copies signed by Mick Garris and Bernie Wrightson on a specially illustrated signature page, featuring the complete text of the Collector's Gift Edition but bound in a different deluxe material and housed in a custom-made traycase ($250)

• Lettered Edition: 52 deluxe copies signed by Mick Garris, Stephen King, and Bernie Wrightson on a specially illustrated signature page; with all the special features of the Limited Edition, plus a different type of high quality binding and a color frontispiece unique to this edition; all housed in a custom hand-made deluxe traycase ($750)

At current, the lettered edition is SOLD OUT, but the good news is, you can be put on a waiting list if any copies become available. In addition, you can order copies of the Gift and the Limited right from Cemetery Dance! Our favorite publisher ever!

You guys, this book is a treasure. We haven't seen a King story/screenplay combination sinceSilver Bullet in 1985. Snatch it up now, before they disappear!

For over a decade now, Lilja has been one of the leading voices on the Internet when it comes to covering and reporting on Stephen King's books and movies. His website, Lilja's Library, is the die-hard fan's source for information about new King projects and breaking news, but Lilja has also featured his own in-depth interviews with the most important people in King's world, including Stephen King himself.

Lilja's Library: The World of Stephen King is a brand new massive collection of over 150 of those reviews, over 40 of those interviews, and other special features of interest to King readers everywhere. If you've never been to the website, you're in for a real treat as you catch-up with over 500 pages of articles and features that are sure to please any kind of Stephen King fan, from the general reader to the die-hard collector. And for Lilja's constant readers, there's original material in this special volume that has never appeared anywhere on his website before, and every article and review has been updated and revised for this release.

You have to see the table of contents to understand just how much great material is in this massive book, but just a few of the interviews include: Stephen King (twice!), Frank Darabont, Marsha DeFilippo, Mick Garris, Peter Straub, and many other people who have been involved in King's prolific career. The reviews include detailed commentary on well-known works by and about Stephen King, along with details about the rare works you might not have heard of, including the original scripts for Hearts in Atlantis, Stud City, and dozens of others; the original pilot for The Dead Zone that never aired on TV; Walking The Mile: The Making Of (a book that has never been released); the Pet Sematary and Secret Window, Secret Garden UK dramatizations; the dozens of Dollar Babies, and more!

There are also dozens of brand new features written exclusively for this volume, including interviews with Lilja himself and Glenn Chadbourne; reviews of short films such as "Here There Be Tygers," "Boogeyman," "Walking Ghost," "The Secret Transit Codes of America's Highways," "Night Surf," "Stephen King's Gotham Café," "Sorry, Right Number," "Night of the Living Dead," and others; reviews of the script for "The Mist" and scripts that are currently in development (including Black House and From a Buick 8); reviews of books such as Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography, Stephen King: The Non-Fiction, and others; and much, much more!

If you're new to the world of Lilja's Library or already a constant reader, this special volume is a must-have for your collection! An exclusive Cemetery Dance Publications release, there are no other editions planned anywhere in the world for this incredible book.

You can order this terrific new book from Cemetery Dance directly, by following this link. I highly, HIGHLY recommend this for everyone who is interested in Stephen King. Lilja's been among the best King interviewers/biographers/reviewers ever since coming onto the scene over a decade ago, and I can't praise him highly enough. Pre-order your copy today!

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mills, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener’s hand is severed as “the dome” comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if—it will go away.

Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens—town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician’s assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing—even murder—to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn’t just short. It’s running out.

Check out http://www.centipedepress.com/skart.html for more awesome details. This is going to be MAJOR!

In addition to the wealth of previously published artwork, new works of art have been commissioned especially for this book: Michael Whelan leads the way with a magnificent front cover, and a new interior piece illustrating The Dark Tower. The newly commissioned interior pieces include art illustrating "One for the Road" (Stephen Gervais), It (Bob Eggleton), The Shining (Douglas Smith), 'Salem's Lot (John Picacio), Hearts in Atlantis (Les Edwards), Duma Key (Don Maitz), "The Lawnmower Man" (Jason Eckhardt), The Tommyknockers (Alex McVey), Black House and Cell (Zach McCain), "Weeds" and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (David Ho), and others.

Shot from the originals or the artist's original color-corrected computer scans, free of distracting type or design, the artwork in this book is printed on heavy matte paper and varnished for protection. Every artistic medium is represented: scratchboard, oils, watercolors, pencils, collage, photographs, and digital art. The text, written by King critic George Beahm, looks back at 34 years of King in print. It provides a detailed look at the writer and his life, supplemented with interviews with Michael Whelan, Bernie Wrightson, Drew Struzan, John Cayea, Dave Christiansen, and many others.

This idea has been floating around for awhile, and in the wake of Duma Key - a book focused at least partially on the importance of art - it's the perfect time for something like this. Plus, what I've seen so far is BEAUTIFUL! But don't take my word for it!

Head to the Centipede Press Website, check out samples, find out more, and place those preorders. The book will be published in three collectible editions: deluxe, slipcased, and traycased. Centipede has done some knockout books in the past, and this looks to be one of their very best. With both this and Under the Dome coming the same month, I can hardly wait for November!

Edited by Brian Freeman (founder of StephenKingNews.com and co-editor of The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book with Bev Vincent), Hans-Åke Lilja (founder of Lilja's Library, the premiere site for Stephen King news and related interviews), and Kevin Quigley (founder of Charnel House, one of the original Stephen King news websites and a source for thought provoking reviews of King's work!), this amazing new trivia collection will also feature artwork by Glenn Chadbourne (the artist behind The Secretary of Dreams by Stephen King and The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book) and an afterword by special guest who knows all about King movies first-hand.

The editors can't announce more publication details just yet, but this book will have many features in common with The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book, plus a couple of great new twists to make it unique. The editors are working on the manuscript right now, working with their own questions and questions submitted by Stephen King's biggest fans. You can view some samples of Glenn Chadbourne's interior artwork on the "Artwork Sneak Peek" page.

THAT IS RIGHT, FOLKS!!! Your kindly Charnel House webmaster is working on an actual, honest-to-gosh BOOK ABOUT STEPHEN KING! Through Cemetery Dance! We LOVE Cemetery Dance!

I can't give any more details out right now, but rest assured - as soon as I can let you know more, you'll know more. Until then, keep reading! This has been a very, VERY exciting time for your buddy Kev!

I'm not quite sure how to feel about this. The buzz is that this movie is going to be set entirely in the present day ... which, um. I'm not quite sure about. The best parts of both the book and the mini-series were those that focused on the kids. The very structure of the project sort of depends on both timelines.

I was actually kind of hoping It would be the next comic-book adaptation. While the Dark Tower series isn't really for me, I am absolutely loving The Stand (Issue One of Part Two: American Nightmares, out on stands [ha!] now) and I'm very much looking forward to The Talisman. Why not It, whose structure seems tailor-made for the comic-book format?

Ah well. I remain hopeful. While It worked well as a miniseries, it had a lot of flaws (the Spider at the end chief among them). More news on this development as it comes!

Big things are coming to the House in 2009, and I can't WAIT to share them with you. But I have to, due to a non-disclosure agreement. You'll see! And thanks, Constant Readers. Your continued interest in this little site makes my heart proud.

Since his first novel was published in 1974, Stephen King has stretched the boundaries of the storyteller as a writer who constantly redefines his readers' experience by working in various genres and formats. Whether in an epic horror novel, like THE STAND, a serial-novel like THE GREEN MILE, or a novella like SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, King is able to deliver a reading experience like no one else can. As quickly as a spider spins its web, King reminds us why he's the master of the novella - a format which, up until now that is, one might have thought is fast disappearing. In his new novella, UR, King is at his unsettling best as he examines the future of the written word - for better or worse. Following a nasty break-up, lovelorn college English instructor Wesley Smith can't seem to get his ex-girlfriend's parting shot out of his head: "Why can't you just read off the computer like the rest of us?" Egged on by her question and piqued by a student's suggestion, Wesley places an order for Amazon.com's Kindle eReader. The [pink?] device that arrives in a box stamped with the smile logo -via one-day delivery that he hadn't requested - unlocks a literary world that even the most avid of book lovers could never imagine. But once the door is open, there are those things that one hopes we'll never read or live through. Firm, gripping, and deftly written by a craftsman at the top of his game, this is King at his crisp, clear, page-turning best. Download and read "UR" only on Kindle.

Read more about "UR" and place your order here.

While this is exciting news, I'm a little put off by the fact that it will only be available if you're a Kindle owner. King has been extremely supportive of this new technology, rhapsodizing about it in his Entertainment Weekly column, so this seems like a good fit for him (the story is even about a Kindle, it seems) ... but what happens to readers who don't own a Kindle? My hope is that the novella will appear later in a collection. Thanks to Constant Reader Paul C. for the heads-up!

I mean, I AM a drooling sycophant, but it's an objective review anyway.

now taking orders

There is also a deluxe edition of 1,250 copies signed by both King and Whelan, which comes in a clamshell case. From the Grant website:

As usual there is a much greater demand for our Limited Editions than copies available, so in keeping with our policy of supporting our long time customers the S&N Deluxe Edition can be ordered only by those who have a S&N The Dark Tower VII (you must still own it when we ship The Little Sisters of Eluria or your order will be cancelled). We will then do a lottery drawing for remaining available copies but as we expect there to be very few copies available the lottery will be restricted to owners of Numbered DT VII above 1250.

For more information about both these editions, or to order, go to the Donald Grant website. Terrific news!

SO EXCITING! NEW KING!

You can purchase the Bag Of Bones: Tenth Anniversary Edition here!

Stephen King. Scribner, $28 (384p) ISBN 978-1-4165-8408-7
In the introduction to his first collection of short fiction since Everything’s Eventual (2002), King credits editing Best American Short Stories (2007) with reigniting his interest in the short form and inducing some of this volume’s contents. Most of these 13 tales show him at the top of his game, molding the themes and set pieces of horror and suspense fiction into richly nuanced blends of fantasy and psychological realism. “The Things They Left Behind,” a powerful study of survivor guilt, is one of several supernatural disaster stories that evoke the horrors of 9/11. Like the crime thrillers “The Gingerbread Girl” and “A Very Tight Place,” both of which feature protagonists struggling with apparently insuperable threats to life, it is laced with moving ruminations on mortality that King attributes to his own well-publicized near-death experience. Even the smattering of genre-oriented works shows King trying out provocative new vehicles for his trademark thrills, notably “N.,” a creepy character study of an obsessive-compulsive that subtly blossoms into a tale of cosmic terror in the tradition of Arthur Machen and H.P. Lovecraft. Culled almost entirely from leading mainstream periodicals, these stories are a testament to the literary merits of the well-told macabre tale. (Nov.)

MAN, I can't wait for this. I've been busily buying the stories as they come out, but for the most part, I've avoided reading them, so I can experience the whole shebang in Just After Sunset. I couldn't wait on "A Very Tight Place" or "The Gingerbread Girl," though. They were just too good to stay away from.

November's not coming soon enough!

Today, Scribner/Simon & Schuster and Marvel Comics announced that they have partnered with Stephen King to produce a ground-breaking series of graphic video episodes based on “N.”, a previously unpublished short story that will appear in his forthcoming collection Just After Sunset (Scribner, On Sale: 11/11/08).

The 25 original episodes are presented in a highly designed “pan and scan” format, complete with comic book style graphics, an original score, sound effects, and a full cast of voiceovers.

Visit www.NisHere.com to watch an exclusive preview and learn more about the series.

Folks, this is SUPER NEAT news. Not only is King's partnership with Marvel getting more and more interesting (I am very much looking forward to the adaptation of The Stand), here we have a preview of a brand-new short story, AND it's drawn by one of my favorite Marvel artists, Michael Gaydos (who used to illustrate the brilliant Alias.) This is THRILLING, you guys!

Below, check out the preview! And then check back every weekday until August 29th for new episodes!

"[In Stephen King Goes to the Movies, t]he #1 bestselling author reflects on the filming of five of his most popular short stories. Those movies are The Shawshank Redemption, 1408, Children of the Corn, The Mangler, and Hearts in Atlantis. The 400 page paperback book includes an introduction, his personal commentary, and behind-the-scenes insights by Stephen King."

This is fascinating, especially given the choices of films King has selected. Why The Mangler, say, over Christine? Or Hearts In Atlantis instead of Stand By Me? I'm very intrigued.

No news on a hardcover version yet. More news as I get it!

So much for King's statement, in regards to It, that he'd never write a novel larger than his own head again. And thank GOD! I am hyped for this!

I've also made a correction or two over at my Short Fiction page. Enjoy!

For the longest time, I wanted an area of the site that listed all of King's short fiction (including poetry and short plays/screenplays), whether they were collected, uncollected, unpublished, or unfinished. I thought it always sounded like a neat idea to have an accessible list, all in one place, with additional information on harder-to-find stuff.

So now you will find, via the Short Fiction link above, a full list of ALL of King's short fiction, and where to find it. I've even included information on the new collection, Just After Sunset, which is coming out this autumn.

I have also changed the name of my "Bibliography" section to "King on the Charts," which I think explains the purpose of the section a little better. Many changes here in the House lately! Stay tuned for more! Coming soon: a full page devoted to King's "Lost Novels," as well as a page of his Plays and Screenplays. Soon!

Weighing in at over 560 pages, Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World's Most Popular Author is by far the most comprehensive Stephen King Bibliography ever produced, with 958 separate entries, each with a short description and full source data, from publication information right down to page numbers!

Author Justin Brooks spent five years compiling this outstanding reference work, with the assistance of many of the leading King researchers, collectors and 'super-collectors'. Covering all King's published and known unpublished works from 1959 to the end of 2005 (and, for a limited time only while supplies last, supplemented with two chapbooks for the years 2006 and 2007) it reveals for the first time dozens of works and appearances previously unknown to King researchers.

Every known English language appearance of the nearly one thousand pieces of fiction and non-fiction (along with screenplays, plays, poems and even recipes and puzzles) are listed, some 100 of which were also previously unknown in the King community.

Working from original sources Brooks has identified and corrected numerous errors in the previous reporting of material--incorrect titles, dates, pagination and even publication information.

If you've ever wanted to build your King collection to ensure you have every piece it is possible to collect, in all their forms, this is the reference work you must have.

Kids, I'm going to go so far as to say this is the type of book that belongs in any King fan's library, no matter what level you're at. If you're a collector, this is invaluable. If you're a more casual fan, this can help you locate some of the less-obvious (but still easier-to-find) works out there. (And if you're a webmaster, you can use it to spruce up your useful-but-far-from-complete "uncollected" page. Just a thought.)

Throughout my many, many years as a King fan, I've learned a thing or two. One of them is that Justin Brooks is a genius. The other is that Cemetery Dance is a quality publisher. This book is a terrific addition to your "books about King" collection; don't let it pass you by. You can find out more about the content and order it here!

For those of you not familiar with this long-gestating work, Under the Dome was originally written as a shortish book at one point called The Cannibals, 450 pages and unfinished. King wrote the initial draft between July and December of 1981 and attempted a second draft after finishing the novel It. According to King, he finished it neither time.

The fact that the book is being discussed now, twenty-five years after King last discussed it as a viable novel, is thrilling. I have to say, I am fascinated by this new trend in King, starting with the unexpected publication of Blaze and continuing through the inclusion of "The Cat From Hell" in Just After Sunset. My April 1st postings were jokes, but maybe this is going to turn into a real trend with King. I tell you, I wouldn't mind seeing "Squad D" in print.

According to King, Under the Dome's length will rival that of such titanic volumes as It and The Stand. For more, check out Book TV on C-SPAN 2, Saturday, May 17th at 8:00 AM. King will read the first few pages of this exciting "new" work. Thanks, Lilja!

Just After Sunset, barring any last-minute additions (which King's people confirm it might), now features this table of contents:

Coming February 2009

Just say the name and the memories come flooding back -- Somewhere in Time, Duel, The Shrinking Man, I Am Legend, and countless more. He's one of the greatest storytellers of our time -- or any time.

Now Gauntlet Press has assembled He Is Legend: Celebrating Richard Matheson, a spectacular anthology of original, never-before published stories by today's best writers -- stories set in Richard Matheson's own fictional universes, and published with Mr. Matheson's complete cooperation!

And, among the many contributions to the book is the first collaboration ever between Stephen King and his son Joe Hill, the novella "Throttle" their take on Matheson's classic "Duel." This is, obviously, a once-in-a-lifetime publishing event as its father and sons first collaboration. Both Stephen King and Joe Hill will be signing both the numbered and lettered editions.

Other contributors to this anthology, edited by Christopher Conlon, include F. Paul Wilson, Joe Lansdale, Whitley Strieber, Richard Christian Matheson, William F. Nolan, Gary Braunbeck, Thomas Monteleone, John Shirley and an introduction by Ramsey Campbell (additional contributors will be announced at a later date).

And, as an added bonus, He Is Legend features the original full-length screenplay "Conjure Wife" -- over 20,000 never-before published words by Richard Matheson himself, in collaboration with the late-Charles Beaumont that was filmed at "Burn, Witch Burn."

Cover art and six interior illustrations by Matheson's favorite artist Harry O. Morris.

Needless to say, this is thrilling news. King has often cited Matheson as his main influence on writing, and Matheson's best stuff - The Incredible Shrinking Man, I Am Legend and the vastly underrated Now You See It... rank among some of the best speculative fiction ever written. I'm recommending this book sight-unseen.

Gauntlet is taking orders now, but not charging cards until January 2009. I highly recommend placing an order. This is super duper kick-ass news!

It’s true that at the moment I’m knee-deep in a novel that I didn’t expect to be writing, and having a hell of a good time with it, thanks. And until I turn in the new book, I won’t have a lot of time for short fiction. But I recently collaborated on a novella with my Paw, so that’s coming down the pike. I also promised a short story to a couple friends for their upcoming anthology, and although I don’t keep all of my promises, I plan to fulfill that one.

To which I can only reply: AWESOME! Not only new fiction of all lengths from the younger King, but also an as-yet-unheard of collaborative work. WOW! Title, length, publication, and all other news to come the second we know about it.

What would you do if your everyday world were turned upside down in an instant? Here are twelve riveting stories about relationships with unexpected twists. Be very careful what you wish for. Read about the acts of kindness from strangers: 'workmen' who intervene in the obsessive exercise regime of a middle aged artist in Stationary Bike; the unexpected visitor, a blind girl, whose kiss saves a dying man; a mute hitchhiker who helps a driver get over his wife's affair.There are tales of obsession and fights for power: The Gingerbread Girl runs and runs to ease her pain; two neighbours contesting for a piece of land get into A Very Tight Place and a man who witnesses an act of domestic violence in a Rest Stop needs to step into his identity as a crime writer if he's to intervene.Then there are the unexpected outside events which turn people's world's upside down or the right way up: a young couple, David and Willa who are derailed on a train find themselves seeking the bright lights in a nearby town -- and playing the jukebox, for eternity; an older couple want to punctuate the banal humdrum with something unusual -- until it happens.

I'm intrigued by the contesting neighbors in "A Very Tight Place" - a detail left out of King's descriptions. And you know, the whole lead-up to Just Past Sunset is so exciting, I'm thinking about revisiting my story collection reviews en masse. My original goal was to write reviews of every story, but I'm thinking it might be cleaner and more cohesive to write a review of the books as a whole. And I'd finally get my Skeleton Crew review back up (it's been missing since my site was hacked six years ago.)

All of which is to say, hooray for new King fiction! Hooray!

You also may have noticed that we have a new sponsor here at the House. Please do yourself a favor and check out Cemetery Dance, which is not only the premier publisher of the best horror fiction out there, it also features a lot of King exclusives, such as Secretary of Dreams and The Stephen King Primary Bibliography. Visit the site and see what they have to offer; you won't be disappointed!

The Gingerbread Girl
Harvey’s Dream
Rest Stop
Stationary Bike
The Things They Left Behind
Willa
Graduation Afternoon
N
The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates
Mute
Ayana
A Very Tight Place

All right, let me just take a second to say how much I approve of the order of the stories here. The one thing that worked against the strong selection in Everything's Eventual was the order of the stories - King chose the order randomly to the detriment of the collection. Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, and to some extent Nightmares & Dreamscapes read as well as they did because they followed some specific rules:

1. Choose a full-throttle opener. "Jerusalem's Lot" was a bizarre experiment that culminated in screaming horrors; "The Mist" is one of King's most electrifying tales; and even "Dolan's Cadillac" opened things up nicely as a dark Poe pastiche. Everything's Eventual would have worked far better with the title story in the pole position. "The Gingerbread Girl" is the perfect story to go here.

2. Pair like stories together. "Night Surf" into "I Am the Doorway" is a brilliant pairing, two SF tales about the beach. Ditto "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut" into "The Jaunt" and "Rainy Season" following "Home Delivery." Smart pairings like this make the collection flow better, attaining, as Michael Collings has indicated, the intensity of a novel. I like the idea of the "quiet story/big reveal" tales "Graduation Afternoon" and "Willa" coming together, and "Harvey's Dream" and "Rest Stop" make an appropriately weird pairing.

3. Close with a whisper. "The Reach." "The Woman In the Room." The poem "Brooklyn August." Quiet, thoughtful pieces that finish off each volume. Everything's Eventual had a tale all set up for this purpose - "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" - and chose instead to hide it in the middle. I'm unsure of how "A Very Tight Place" will work into the scheme of things - King has indicated that it's very much a horror story - but I'm intrigued.

Some notes: nothing is known about the story "N," apparently making its first appearance here (unless it's going to be placed elsewhere soon). Also, King's site makes mention of a "bonus story" perhaps showing up here, but no word on that. Keep your eyes on this site for more news to come!!!

The title for King's new collection of short pieces has been finalized! No longer Pocket Rockets or Unnatural Acts of Intercourse, the story collection is called Just Past Sunset. According to King's site, a fall 2008 "is a possibility."

In addition to this news comes the thrilling news that the "very long story" King spoke of late last year entitled "A Very Tight Place" will be published in McSweeny's 27. King described the story on Nightline:

There's a story that's written, it's been accepted for publication by a magazine. It's called "A Very Tight Place." And we live part of the year down in Florida, and I have a walk that I go on every day, that's fairly isolated. Which is good, because people don't bother me or anything. I get a chance to read a little bit, to think a little bit. And one day while I was on that walk, I saw one of these Porta-Potties. You know what I mean? They stand up, and I thought you know what? There's nobody around ... the house that it belonged to was under construction, and the workers had all gone home for the day, and I still had a mile to go to get home, and I thought, you know what? I'm going to go in there and I'm going to take a leak. That'll be good. Why not? It's there. I'll get comfortable.

And I did. I went in, and the thing had been undercut, not a lot, just the tiniest little bit. So that when I stepped into the Porta-Pottie, I could feel this thing rock a little bit on its base. And I thought to myself, you know, if ... if one of those things fell over on its door, and a person was inside, that person would be in trouble. And immediately I'm thinking Poe, The Premature Burial, I'm thinking about all the buried alive stories that I've ever read, and I'm thinking, but I've never read a story about anyone trapped in a Porta-Pottie. And there are so many interesting things that you can do with people who are in tight places, people's feelings of claustrophobia are easy to bring out. I'm not a particularly claustrophobic person myself, but I thought, "Oh, my God, this is wonderful!"

Can I just state for a second that King's version of "wonderful" is disturbing and warped, and I love him for it?

Both of these bits of news are a pretty big deal, and because I am feeling prognosticat-y, I've decided to speculate on what stories might make Just Past Sunset (which, as a title, I think is a rock-solid improvement over both Pocket Rockets and Unnatural Acts of Intercourse, even though I liked the latter's subversiveness. The title recalls Four Past Midnight, and that's a plus in my book. Or, um, on my site.) Please take a look at my Just Past Sunset page for my thoughts, and share your own!

In contrast, the paperback printing of Blaze had a relatively meager showing at #13 on that chart. I'm going to go ahead and say it has something to do with the size of it. Lately, King's "mass market" books have been published in these mutant "tall" paperbacks that are sort of an amalgam of mass market and trade. They're supposed to be for "easy reading," but they make for much harder reading. Plus, they're more expensive. I'm not quite sure who these are appealing to. Blaze is a short book, and would have fit nicely - both physically and in theme - in a regular mass market paperback. Ah well.

Both showings can now be found on my super cool bibliography page!

But the big news! The new title of King's upcoming collection (due out this fall or next spring) is Unnatural Acts of Intercourse ... which I think is a few steps up from the weird Pocket Rockets. Yey King! This news, just four days before Duma Key is released ... plus, BIG NEWS: King is currently working on a "novel that's going to be very long." TERRIFIC NEWS!

DUMA KEY is the story of Freemantle, a man who loses an arm in a freak accident and relocates to Duma Key, off the West Coast of Florida, to start a new life. In this wild, barren place, inspired by the sunsets he watches from his new home, Freemantle discovers a unique talent for painting. But his art becomes predictive, even dangerous, and his only option is to unlock the secrets that haunt Duma Key...

Every entry will be judged by a panel containing Stephen King's editor and members of Hodder & Stoughton's Stephen King team. The ten best entries will be forwarded to the author, who will pick the overall winner. The winning design will be the poster we use to advertise DUMA KEY in January 2008, and will be seen on the London Underground and at outdoor sites throughout the UK. The designers of the top ten entries will each receive an exclusive bound proof of DUMA KEY with their name printed on the front cover, and the winner will also receive a copy of the finished poster based on their design.

This is a unique opportunity to be directly involved with the publication of one of the most anticipated novels of 2008, by one of the biggest authors in the world.

What are you waiting for?

TO download everything you need and enter the contest, go visit King's UK Website at http://www.stephenking.co.uk/ Have fun and good luck!

For awhile now, I've been compiling data to make such a chart for Charnel House. It's not entirely done yet, but I think it's close enough. My objective is to provide key information about the chart life of every book-length work King has ever published - fiction, nonfiction, collections ... and the occasional "otherwise." As with the Wiki charts I so admire, this bibliography will attempt to pinpoint exact publication dates (a more difficult task the further back I get), as well as the peak chart performance of both the hardcover and paperback editions of every book listed. Every title is a hyperlink to each bookIn addition, I've decided to compile a fun list of facts and trivia about the books' chart life: addenda that wouldn't fit elsewhere. I think you'll find it neat.

So, without further ado, my Stephen King Bibliography! In addition, it has its own place among my "main links" at the top of this page.

I want to take a second to thank Paul Chapman, without whose help this chart couldn't have gotten made. And for Mark, Tom, and Donald: thank you for the use of your computers and your passwords. It's been such a huge help.

It's been sort of a quiet year for King, with only one book (Blaze) published ... and that under the Bachman name. All that's about to change, though: not only did King re-release The Mist as its own novel, seperate from Skeleton Crew (look for my review over the next couple of days), but the hardcover edition of The Colorado Kid has finally been shipped, the King-edited (and forewarded) Best American Short Stories is now on shelves, and a flurry of new short stories - as well as word of a short story collection (tentatively titled Pocket Rockets) - are setting the king world (and me) abuzz. A quick rundown on what's happening over the next few months:

So that's what's in the pipeline. As I stated above, look for my full-length review of The Mist, and updates to my "Uncollected" page. Which will probably be rendered moot once the new collection comes out, but whatever!

It's good to be back!

The novella "The Gingerbread Girl" has been published - in the July Esquire magazine, the one with Angelina Jolie on the cover - and I have to say, it's an absurdly strong piece of work. It's different from a lot of King's more recent, thoughtful shorter work. It's not to say this doesn't have thoughtfulness in it, but it's far more down and dirty than anything I've read by King in awhile. It's violent and nasty and dark. I highly, highly recommend it.

And a tantalizing tidbit: a new short story, called "I, Anna," described on Lilja's Library as "a personal and moving story," has been delivered to his publisher. No word on how long the story is, or when it will be published ... but it's kind of exciting that King's writing more and more short fiction. I don't think a collection can be far behind.

More soon! Blaze soon! It's all good!

1. Blaze, will of course be released on June 12th, with a new intro by King. All sorts of exciting! And a full-length review to follow on this very site.
2. A new short story, "The Gingerbread Girl," will be released just three days later, on June 15th. This will appear in Esquire magazine's July issue. King's site states:

A long story entitled “The Gingerbread Girl” will be the centerpiece of Esquire Magazine’s July issue, on stands June 15.

In the emotional aftermath of her baby’s sudden death, Em starts running. Soon she runs from her husband, to the airport, down to the Florida Gulf and out to the loneliest stretch of Vermillion Key, where her father has offered the use of a conch shack he has kept there for years. Em keeps up her running—barefoot on the beach, sneakers on the road—and sees virtually no one. This is doing her all kinds of good, until one day she makes the mistake of looking into the driveway of a man named Pickering. Pickering also enjoys the privacy of Vermillion Key, but the young women he brings there suffer the consequences...

One wonders if this Pickering has anything to do with Charlie Pickering in Insomnia. *shudder*

3. Some odd news: in anticipation of the Frank Darabont film, The Mist is being re-released as its own book. At 130 pages (going by the paperback), it will be the shortest "book" King will have ever released - shorter than both Carrie and The Colorado Kid. I'm debating re-reading it as a seperate piece and reviewing it here as its own entity; as part of Skeleton Crew, it sets the tone and pace for the whole collection. It'll be interesting to see how it stands alone. (That's coming October 2nd.)

4. And finally: an update of those old Underwood/Miller books, Feast of Fear and Bare Bones: a new book of collected interviews with King absurdly titled Stephen King Spills the Beans promises to feature interviews from 1973 to the present day. I'm all for the book itself - it fills a gap in current nonfiction about King - but jeez, could they change that title? (Being released September 28th.)

More info as it becomes available! Thanks for your continued patronage. And yes, the ads are going away as of payday!

But even bigger news? You can now read the first two chapters of Blaze right now!!! How cool is that!?

Also according to King, all proceeds of the novel will go to benefit the Haven Foundation, which is super duper awesome. Thank you, King, for this embarassment of riches!

However, the lore around Blaze has been swirling ever since fans first learned of King's early unpublished novels (The Aftermath and Sword in the Darkness among them.) As Blaze stood, it was deemed unworthy ... but that doesn't mean that King (with Bachman's help) hasn't tinkered with it. It's obviously not lost his thoughts in all this time, and now to hear news of it ... this is just amazing.

The plot is well-known amongst Stephen King experts, but a refresher: Blaze is the story of a giant, mentally challenged man (Claiborne Blaisdell, Jr.) who decides to kidnap a baby and hold it for a $1 million ransom. The novel flips back and forth between the current story of Blaze's kidnapping and flight from the law to stories of his abusive past. There's another character named George, Blaze's best friend; it is George who actually convinces Blaze to kidnap the baby. The only problem is, George may or may not be dead, and thus be a psychological manifestation ... or perhaps a ghost.

Interestingly enough, Stephen Spignesi described Blaze in his terrific book The Lost Work of Stephen King as "...more of a Richard Bachman-like crime novel than a Stephen Kingish tale of vampires and other demonic creatures."

Nothing at all is known about the publication of this old and much sought-after novel. King made the announcement that the book had been "discovered" at the recent reading of Lisey's Story at Battersea Park, in the UK. Whether it will be published, and when, and under what circumstances, is right now entirely speculation. Still, one can't help but be thrilled at this. If Blaze really is going to make an appearance as a Bachman book, who's to say Sword in the Darkness won't? Or, perhaps, George D.X. McCardle? Or, please please please, Steel Machine, first excerpted in The Dark Half and discussed as a possible Bachman novel in 1989 with W*B, the Waldenbooks newsletter. Maybe? Please? Can you tell I'm excited? (Note: I wonder if this is why Michael Collings's Stephen King is Richard Bachman has been delayed...?)

The Fall 2006 issue of The Paris Review (www.theparisreview.org), official publication date 9/15/06, contains an interview with Stephen (pages 66-101) including information about the book he's currently working on titled Duma Key. Stephen describes it as being about a guy named Edgar Freemantle who has an accident and loses an arm and has paranormal symptomatology relating to phantom limb sensations.

The word "duma" apparently comes from Jewish mythology, meaning "silence." Very intriguing stuff! Also interesting is that the book is set in Florida, which is a whole new setting for King novels! HOLY YEY!

I'm at 45 pages, and boy HOWDY is it awesome. Review to come, MUCH quicker than anticipated. Now, back to reading...

King has chosen to publish this brand-new short story in the literary magazine TinHouse. You can attempt to rummage in the more literary bookstores for a copy, or simply order right off the TinHouse website. Either way, it's a brand new, eighteen-page story that seems to pave the way for the literary writing style in this fall's Lisey's Story. Buy it, enjoy it, and tell em Kev sent you!

You might be able to tell I'm a little jazzed by this. For those of you, like me, who ordered Storm of the Century from the Book of the Month Club, and who whined incessantly until The Green Mile came out in hardcover, this news is for you. w00t!!! Go here to order your copy!

In other news, the masterful book Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished, by Rocky Wood is now out, and it's really amazing. A full review coming, but trust me, it's worth every penny. You can also order this one through CD by clicking here. You won't be sorry!

A few years back, Frank was in a debilitating motorcycle accident and now needs constant care. Here's a letter written by Frank's family I thought everyone should see:

As most of you have already heard, on November 5, 2001, award winning audio books narrator Frank Muller was about to leave on a week-long motorcycle trip with a close relative, when his wife Erika surprised him with the news that she was expecting their second child. They celebrated together at this exciting prospect, and off he went on his trip. Two hours later, Frank lost control of his motorcycle on the freeway when he accidentally clipped a construction barrel and was sent skidding into a median barrier at about 65 miles per hour. Frank flew off the bike, landing on his head on the concrete. He sustained multiple fractures, lacerations and abrasions, and went into cardiac arrest three times. He also suffered severe head trauma, which was subsequently diagnosed as Diffuse Axonal Injury. He beat all odds and survived.

After two years in a rehabilitation center in Los Angeles, Frank, his wife Erika, his daughter, Diana, and his son, Morgan moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. Frank is now a resident of Learning Services Neurobehavioral Institute (LSNI), where he receives 24-hour assisted care. As one of the few facilities in the country specifically geared towards the long term care and continuing rehabilitation of brain injured individuals, LSNI has become our port in a storm.

The staff and management have welcomed Frank with open arms. They have created a highly supportive environment promoting progress and growth for him. They have also welcomed and engaged Frank's family in his daily life. A corner room in the residence has been set aside as a special place where they are able to enjoy quality time together as a family.

Urgent Need: We have just learned that the remaining funds available for Frank's care will be insufficient to cover his ongoing medical expenses as of October 31, 2006. This seriously threatens his current living situation at LSNI, and may result in sending him into long-term institutionalization. This outcome would take Frank away from his wife and young children, who recently moved to a house just up the street from LSNI, allowing for daily visits home. This small change resulted in significant positive changes for Frank and is rarely possible in cases like his. Moving him to an institution will also likely result in the use of heavy sedation ("snowing") of Frank.

At LSNI the focus for medications is designed to give Frank just the right combinations of medicines to enable him to communicate with others, to focus on tasks, and to give him an optimal chance to be "present" in his world. "Snowing", on the other hand, is a term used for sedation which is prescribed in facilities with larger turnover and higher staff-to-patient ratios in order to enable the non-specialized staff to "maintain" him. Frank's quality of life will decrease dramatically. He would lose the ability to communicate, to focus on or perform any tasks, and forfeit his "presence" in this world. He will be alone most of the time. He would likely die prematurely.

Please help us avoid this disastrous outcome with your immediate support. The costs of Frank's care are extremely high, and require ongoing financial support from many sources. To assist with this immense financial burden, a new fund-raising campaign has been initiated for Frank through the Catastrophic Injury Program of the National Transplant Assistance Fund (NTAF). The NTAF provides both tax-deductibility and fiscal accountability to contributors. They are a highly regarded nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization which has been providing fund-raising assistance services since 1983. They were referred to us by the Christopher Reeve Foundation. For more information about NTAF, go to www.transplantfund.org.

If you want to make a donation, check out the hospital site for Frank: NTAF Contribution Page for Frank Muller. Thanks for reading. You guys ROCK!

And how do I know this? BECAUSE I MET STEPHEN KING YESTERDAY AND HE TOLD ME HIMSELF!!!!

Okay, now that I have composure (sorta), go read my essay about meeting King, and revel in the lunacy. But yey, cool news about the short story collection! Sign me up!

That being said, it's unfair to let my loyal readers fall by the wayside, so here's my proposition to you all: this site gets updated at LEAST once a week (Friday seems most likely), no matter if there's news or not. The updates will include stuff like modernizing past book pages, or adding links or features. Of course, if there's any breaking news, I won't wait, I'll just post.

Anyway, sorry for the delay. Thanks for the continued support, and thanks for always reading. - Kev

"I had seven minutes permanently burned out of my memory (when the van hit)," King said. "I did get one back of the guy coming over the hill heading toward me. It's like a coral islet in the sea. ... I have no idea if (the story) is any good, but what the h--l, I like it."

No news yet when or if "Memory" will be published anywhere. I hope so; November and Lisey's Story aren't getting here soon enough. (You can read the entire article here!!!)

In other news, the upcoming Dark Tower comic book series from Marvel is only the first of a series of miniseries - five of them, to be exact. The first, due next year, will feature seven issues, followed by one of five, and three more of six. All this news (and more) can be found on the amazing Lilja's Library. Yey! More Dark Tower!

Now, back to my convalescence...

Also check out Stephen King's Interview on Amazon.com's Fishbowl with Bill Maher. It's nine minutes of a rockin' good time!

1. At the Eckerd College An Evening WIth Stephen King, King read a brand-new 7,500 word short story called "Willa." According to Lilja, the story

is the story of a man's search for his wife after they get off a train. King said that he wrote the story based on the final image he would read in the story, and then worked from there. Much more then that can't be told without giving it all away, but there are some very vivid and well-defined characters, and the story has a great mood and very poetic tone to it. No word on when it'll be released yet though...

SO AWESOME!!!!

2. King discussed not one but two novels that may be in the works: a novel set in Florida, his "adopted home" (and where he's been spending about half of each year since 1998), and another hard-boiled detective story. Knowing King, it will be wildly different from The Colorado Kid. VERY exciting news!!!

3. Cell comes the DAY AFTER TOMORROW! And it's so dang AWESOME!!! You're going to LOVE THIS BOOK! WAHOO!

In other news, my review of The Stand (1990) is now up. Enjoy!

"...the first part of Sword in the Darkness which was online this past Saturday appeared in error and has now been removed from the newspaper's website. The second part of the excerpt from [Rocky Wood's] upcoming book, Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished will appear only in the hard copy newspaper and not online.

This is sad! Ah well. In good news: I have seen Cell. And it is GOOD.

(EDIT!!!: I left out some links because I'm a dumbass. To order the US version of Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished [due January 31st], please rush over to Cemetery Dance and tell em Kev sent you. And since this is an Australian-based update, if you'd like to order the Australian edition of SK: UU [due January 26th], please visit Kanrock Publishing to order and enjoy! This book is big, it's worldwide!)

My hope is that, with the interest in this early work, King will now not only opt to publish Sword in its entirety (perhaps online?), but he will also allow some of his other unpublished stuff to see the light of day via unconventional means. I, for one, would love to read more of Blaze (and not just for the historical context), and getting more people in on the magnificence that is "Squad D" can't do anything but good. Anyway, that's Kev's Thought of the Day.

In other news: King's official message board recently confirmed that he was working on a new novel after Cell and Lisey's Story. So, big-time YEY all around!

And King's latest colum in Entertainment Weekly (Issue #859 / January 20, 2006) is out. It's called "Just Askin'" and it's pretty hilarious. I haven't always - to my surprise - agreed with King in his columns (his take on DVD extras seemed odd and his dismissal of the Kill Bill films rankled me), but this is a good, funny one that I quite enjoyed. Something to tide me over.

CELL in TEN DAYS!!!

Also fun is this profile of artist Glenn Chadbourne, the man responsible for the art portion of Secretary of Dreams. Very neat! (Thanks for the info, Bev!)

1) Jeffrey Born
2) Andrew Williams
3) Jeffrey Fisher
4) Robin Bruner
5) Lynn Martin

For a full list of winners, please click here. Didn't I tell you this year was going to be exciting!?

Thanks to all of you for helping make Charnel House one of the best Stephen King sites on the internet. I'd especially like to thank Mike Paglia, Steve Spignesi, George Beahm, Stu and Penny Tinker, Rich DeMars, Bob Ireland, Michelle Revelle, DiAnne Vandevender, Sarah Hinman, Tomas Krynsky, Brian Freeman, Hans-Ake Lilja, Bev Vincent, Dr. Michael Collings, Rocky Wood, Shawn Hill and especially Stephen King himself, without whom none of this (or my extended literary happiness) would have ever been possible. Thanks everyone!

This tenth year is going to be super exciting, you guys. I'm glad everyone's along for the ride!

But the biggest addition to the site is my update to The Plant page. Now it's all pretty and has the cool cover on it, but I also wrote a short essay discussing the hiatus between Part One and the promised Part Two. Let me know what you think!

Maybe this isn't really "news" per se, but it is information. Plus, I got a sweet new banner out of it. Bully for Kev!

Also: don't forget! If you're ordering Secretary of Dreams from cemeterydance.com, mention Charnel House in the comments field to be entered for a chance to win a free Advanced Readers Copy of the book! How cool is THAT!?

Finally, more work going on behind the scenes: the book review pages for Insomnia, It, The Long Walk, Misery, Needful Things and Nighmares and Dreamscapes have all been brought up to code. In addition, I fixed up the Links section and got rid of outdated stuff and bad connections, plus added some neat stuff I thought you'd like. All in a webmaster's day!

World Fantasy Award winner Cemetery Dance Publications, critically acclaimed artist Glenn Chadbourne, and New York Times bestselling author Stephen King are proud to announce The Secretary of Dreams, the master of horror's first unabridged graphic short story collection!

Featuring a half-dozen classic tales of terror personally selected by King, this collection presents his stories for the first time in the tradition of the pulp horror comics. Spanning close to 250 oversized pages, the hundreds of illustrations and full comic panels from acclaimed Maine artist Glenn Chadbourne transform The Secretary of Dreams into a work of art. Not one word from King's stories has been left out, but now they've been brought to life by hundreds of pen and ink drawings by Chadbourne! The featured stories are: "The Road Virus Heads North," "Uncle Otto's Truck," "The Rainy Season," "The Reach," "Jerusalem's Lot," and "Home Delivery."

This exclusive Cemetery Dance title will feature an oversized deluxe trim-size and is available in three editions: a slipcased Gift Edition limited to 5,000 copies, a traycased deluxe Limited Edition limited to 750 copies signed by King and Chadbourne, and a deluxe Lettered Edition limited to 52 copies signed by King and Chadbourne and housed in a hand-made hinged box.

There are no other editions planned of this title, but King has already selected six more stories for a second volume that will be announced in 2006, and Chadbourne is hard at work on the illustrations!

Okay! Now that you know, go order! All the pertinent details are available at http://www.cemeterydance.com/, so don't delay! SO COOL!!!

Hi Folks!

After a great many discussions about the best way to announce The Secretary of Dreams by Stephen King, we've decided to let everyone know right now WHEN and WHERE the announcement will be made!

If your schedule won't allow you to be in a position to place an order at the time of the announcement, now you can plan ahead and have a friend or family member place an order for you.

So, without further delay, we cordially invite you to join us for the official announcement of The Secretary of Dreams by Stephen King!

WHEN: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 (late morning / early afternoon)

WHERE: The front page of the official Cemetery Dance website, http://www.cemeterydance.com

If you're interested in this new Stephen King book, please make sure you're watching the front page of the website on Wednesday for the big update!

Two Additional Notes For Stephen King Fans:

As always, thanks for your continued support and enthusiasm!

A summary of Cell from Simon & Schuster:

On January 24, 2006 we publish Cell. A guilty pleasure in the tradition of Carrie, 'Salem's Lot and The Shining, Cell asks what happens when cell phones become transmitters of a signal that drive people instantly mad and violent. King's plot gallops as a few phoneless heroes try to escape the mayhem everywhere and save the world.

Stephen King does not have a cell phone.

Sounds cooler by the second (though I wouldn't really call King's first three books "guilty pleasures," but whatever.)! A slightly more detailed description of Cell comes from King's British publishers, Hodder & Stoughton:

Civilization slipped into its second dark age on an unsurprising track of blood but with a speed that could not have been foreseen by even the most pessimistic futurist. By Halloween, every major city from New York to Moscow stank to the empty heavens and the world as it had been was a memory.' The event became known as The Pulse. The virus was carried by every cell phone operating within the entire world. Within ten hours, most people would be dead or insane.

A young artist Clayton Riddell realises what is happening. And together with Tom McCourt and a teenage girl called Alice, he flees the devastation of explosive, burning Boston, desperate to reach his son before his son switches on his little red mobile phone�

Okay, now I'm REALLY excited!!!

And finally, this far-too-intriguing description of Lisey's Story, from S&S:

On October 24, 2006 we publish Lisey's Story. Possibly King's most ambitious and accomplished book ever, it's a profoundly moving and disturbing novel about a widow coping with the loss of her writer husband. It's a grand, ambitious and layered book, with unrelenting emotional power. It's a book for the ages - exploring the dark secrets of the ones we love, and the very wellsprings of creativity.

Okay, so Cell sounds very much like a gritty, no-holds barred horror novel - nope, nothing wrong here - but Lisey's Story seems far more like stuff like Bag of Bones and that type of thing, which makes me almost trembly with happiness. 2006 is going to be a VERY good year for King. (And for me!)

"Given the size of the project and all the creative talent involved, I want to give the Marvel series all the room to breathe it needs and deserves," said Stephen. "I've got so much else going on in 2006 - two novels coming out, Cell and Lisey's Story, and the work with John Mellencamp on 'Ghost Brothers of Darkland County.' The Marvel series is going to be a blast, and I want to have the time to enjoy it."

The new publication date is February-July of 2007, with a hardcover compilation being released in October 2007. Thanks to Lilja's Library for the scoop. Dang!

Sometime in the next couple of weeks, Cemetery Dance Publications (http://www.cemeterydance.com) will be announcing a new Stephen King book called The Secretary of Dreams. Although they can't share more information about the book just yet, they have prepared a special offer for Charnel House visitors to take advantage of when the announcement is made! Here are the details:

When The Secretary of Dreams is announced, order a copy from Cemetery Dance and mention "Charnel House" in the COMMENTS section of the checkout form. If you do, you'll automatically be entered into a random drawing for a FREE Advanced Readers Copy of The Secretary of Dreams!

Cemetery Dance has reserved FIVE review copies for Charnel House visitors, which means five of you will be among the first people in the world to experience The Secretary of Dreams! But this contest will only run for ONE week after the announcement so you'll want to get your order in fast so you don't miss out!

(For those who don't know, review copies are printed in trade paperback form exclusively for reviewers and they ship BEFORE the book is actually published! This is so the reviews can be written before a book's publication date.)

If you forget to mention this website on your order form, you will NOT be entered into the drawing! Unfortunately, due to the number of orders they'll be processing, Cemetery Dance cannot add the contest entry notation to your order after it is placed. You must mention this website in the COMMENTS section when you checkout. Sorry, no exceptions.

(This offer is also being made to a few other groups so if you see it somewhere else, make sure to note the name of that website! Every participating website is getting FIVE review copies for their visitors, which means every site you mention in the COMMENTS section when you place your order will increase your odds of winning! Odds of winning will depend on the number of qualifying entries for each website. Winners will be selected by Cemetery Dance sometime between the end of the contest and when the review copies are printed. Winners will be notified by email. All decisions of Cemetery Dance Publications are final.)

Good luck, and keep watching for the The Secretary of Dreams announcement in the next few weeks!

So, keep watching! More info as I have it! WHEEE!!!!

• The moderator on King's message board stated yesterday that King will indeed be writing more after Lisey's Story. He apparently plans on beginning a new book (no word on whether it's a novel or nonfiction) in January 2006. Wow!

• Cemetery Dance, one of the very coolest places in the King community, had this to say on its Breaking News page:

  "[...W]e've signed contracts for an amazing list of new titles for 2006 -- more than a dozen books (including one or two more from Stephen King) that will floor even the most jaded reader/collector."

  ONE OR TWO MORE FROM STEPHEN KING!?!? Holy cats! The second we get info, you get info!

• To commemorate all this way giant news, I have created a Secretary of Dreams book page, for your perusal. Enjoy!!!

And now some odd news. Cemetery Dance, who have long been hinting about a "big Stephen King announcement," began very mysteriously today wih an intriguing announcement. A new project, known only as The Secretary of Dreams is in the works. States the official site:

A new project unlike anything you've seen before from the master of horror...

Now, by this point, King has put out e-books, serialized novels, comic-book spin-offs of his popular fantasy epic, two interlocked novels on the same day, an oversized comic book in the EC tradition, a novella that started out as a calendar idea, a reissue of his most popular book with old and new material infused into the text, a reissue of another of his books with excised material added after the text, a pulp-fiction paperback original, a serialized novel for the internet, a screenplay and a teleplay ... and that's just the weird stuff!!! I honestly have no idea what King has planned for us this time. It looks as though we're all going to have a bit of a better understanding in a couple of weeks!

Surf on over to thesecretaryofdreams.com/ for more info. Add your email to the list and keep watching your inbox. (And keep watching here, too, for all the breaking news!)

Civilization doesn't end with a bang or a whimper. It ends with a call on your cell phone.

What happens on the afternoon of October 1 came to be known as the Pulse, a signal sent though every operating cell phone that turns its user into something...well, something less than human. Savage, murderous, unthinking-and on a wanton rampage. Terrorist act? Cyber prank gone haywire? It really doesn't matter, not to the people who avoided the technological attack. What matters to them is surviving the aftermath. Before long a band of them-"normies" is how they think of themselves-have gathered on the grounds of Gaiten Academy, where the headmaster and one remaining student have something awesome and terrifying to show them on the school's moonlit soccer field. Clearly there can be no escape. The only option is to take them on.

CELL is classic Stephen King, a story of gory horror and white-knuckling suspense that makes the unimaginable entirely plausible and totally fascinating.

Is anyone else thinking The Stand crossed with "Home Delivery" (with a heady dose of social commentary tossed in)? I sure am, and I'm all for it. Why is January not here yet!?!?

Also, Peter Straub has recently stated that he and King both want to do "Talisman 3" (or whatever it will be called), and that it might happen in four to five years. (We're stressing might.) So, exciting news all around!!!

Also, further cosmetic changes on the book pages: Hearts in Atlantis and Insomnia have been brought up to code. And now there's a King-centric biography of me (Kev) up, too, accessible through the main links above. Yey!

1. The Writer's Survival Guide, (published by The Writer Magazine), no date on cover or inside, however it states "Display until January 31, 2006" on cover. It contains King's 6 page non-fiction piece "All The Writing Advice You Need, In 10 Minutes".

2. Mad Classics #3, Nov. 2005, contains a 7 page parody on "The Shining" movie ("The Shiner").

Thanks to Jonathan Reitan for the info!!!

1. The 'Salem's Lot Illustrated Edition is now out in hardcover. Why is this important? Well, not only are the illustrations beautiful and the release well-presented, but the book also contains deleted scenes (including the infamous rat scene) that King excised from the original text, along with a fab new introduction. Highly, highly recommended!!!

2. The Dark Tower [book 7] is now out in paperback! It's exactly the same as the hardcover, except for the thickness of the covers. Stores are flooded with this, so pick up your copy today!

3. There's an interview with Jim Lee over at Newsarama, talking about the upcoming Dark Tower comic book project. Lots of interesting ideas and perspectives! Check it out!

Okay, that's it outta me. I'm pooped!