Hopedale Press Presents The Ice Wedding: A Chilling Gothic Fairytale

The Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna was famous for her cruel practical jokes and capricious nature towards those she considered beneath her. Neither peasant nor prince, was safe from her wrath. Prince Mikhail, the scion of a noble and powerful family, found himself forced to become her court jester on the day his wife died. Later, he was forced to marry her chambermaid in an elaborate mock wedding. When the Czarina offers the newlyweds their freedom if they agree to spend their wedding night in the cottage she has had built for them, they eagerly agree, even though it is made of solid ice. Award-winning author Nancy A. Collins crafts a chilling Gothic fairytale based on an amazing historical event.

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Sonja Blue's DNA Part 4

The last major 'donors' to the creative DNA that resulted in Sonja Blue are millionaire socialite & kidnapping victims Patty Hearst and John Paul Getty III. The stories of these two scions of America's super-class--only slightly older than myself--who were snatched off the street and subjected to torture, rape and mutilation, before being returned to their families forever changed--had a deep impact on me at the time (1973-1974). The fact Getty's family refused to negotiate for his release until the kidnappers sent them his ear was particularly shocking, as it was the first time I realized that some families place more value on their money than their children. Even more disgusting/shocking was how the boy's grandfather, billionaire J. Paul Getty, shunned him following his release and blamed him for what happened. Its not too hard to see the paralells between the real-life Hearst famiily & Getty clan, and Denise Thorne's family in Sunglasses After Dark.

 While Patty Hearst has seemed to be able to put the horror of what was done to her by the Symbionese Liberation Army behind her, Getty III was swallowed alive by his own version of The Other, spending the rest of his life as an alcoholic junkie. He was paralyzed and partially blinded by a stroke in 1981 after ingesting a cocktail of drugs.He died in 2011 at the age of 54.

Patty Hearst circa 1974

                              John Paul Getty III circa 1973    

Patty Hearst circa 2008                                         John Paul Getty III prior to his death in 2011

Hopedale Press Presents Aphra: A Tale of Erotic Horror

A married man develops a bizarre fascination with a medical skeleton he buys at a garage sale. Award-winning horror writer Nancy A. Collins, author of Sunglasses After Dark, presents a macabre tale of sexual obsession and erotic horror. Originally published in Shudder Again (NAL, 1993)

From the Publisher's Weekly review of SHUDDER AGAIN:

"Aphra," by Nancy Collins, wittily follows the evolution of the narrator's boyhood fascination with X-Ray Specs into a spooky adult fetish.

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Hopedale Press Presents THE THING FROM LOVER'S LANE

“Ia! Ia! Shubb-Niggurath fhtagn!”

 

 

It's the 1950s and Misty Valley is just another sleepy, All-American town, nestled along the Miskatonic River. Unlike sister cities Arkham and Dunwich, Misty Valley has managed to avoid the peculiar occurrences that have plagued the region since the days of the colonial witch trials. That is, until the night Carol Anne Fairweather and her boyfriend, Billy Mahan, parked too far down on Lover's Lane. On that old, foggy night Billy was attacked and knocked unconscious, while Carol Anne was brutally raped by someone--or something--that came out of the woods. Now, in order to clear his name, Billy must discover what really happened that horrible night. But can his mind withstand the awful truth he uncovers? Or will he end up as mad as Old Gooney, the crazed hermit who claims to keep watch against the dark forces that would make Misty Valley their own? Inspired by the work of H.P.Lovecraft, award-winning horror writer Nancy A. Collins adds another tale of terror to the never-ending Cthulhu Mythos.

First published in 1995, The Thing From Lover's Lane was a finalist for the Horror Writers Association's prestigious Bram Stoker Award for Best Novelette.

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Hopedale Press Presents THE TORTUGA HILL GANG'S LAST RIDE

The Tortuga Hill Gang, lead by "Black Hat" Johnson, was one of the Old West's more colorful, and mysterious, outlaw groups. Rumored to be able to float safes like toy balloons and walk though bank walls, the six desperadoes--Johnson, the twin Chandler Brothers, Horseflesh Donnegan, Coyote Pete and the giant known as "Little Red"--disappeared without a trace in the 1890s. What really happened to the notorious Tortuga Hill Gang? Some say they met their fate at the hands of the Federalis. Others say the Devil came and dragged them to Hell. The only person who claims to know for sure is an old man who says he's the sole surviving member of the gang. This is his story of living the outlaw life in the Weird, Weird West.

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Sonja Blue's DNA Part 3

Marvel's Tomb of Dracula was one of my favorite comics, and one of the few books, along with Howard the Duck and The Defenders, where I owned the entire original run. (Do I still have them? No, of course not.) The character of Blade made a huge impression on me at the time, and provided a sizable chunk of the DNA that would result, years later, in Sonja Blue. While the Wesley Snipes version of the character was entertaining, I still yearn to see the funky-jive-soul-brother vampire hunter from my misspent youth.

Hopedale Press present JUDGMENT NIGHT

 

 Four bored teens break into a house on Halloween in order to vandalize it, only to find the trick is on them. Can they survive night, or will they fall victim, one by one, to the blood lust of a depraved serial killer? Hopedale Press is pleased to present yet another tale of heart-pounding terror and suspense from Nancy A. Collins, one of the masters of modern horrors. Based on the real-life crimes of Dean "The Candyman" Corrl and Jack Walls III. (Originally published as "The Eighth Devil" in 2001.)

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