Indie Bookshelf Releases 02/24/2023

A new year means a new Charity Shelf! If you want to check out those from 2022, you can still do so by clicking on the image (left) and a pdf catalogue appears.

Terrified, desperate, and rebellious—before 1973, those were routine reactions for anyone trapped and in trouble. Access to reproductive health care has been chipped away for decades until a single decision once again mired a new generation in historic trauma and modern repression.

The voices of In Trouble explore the fantastic and ordinary ways lives are overturned by unplanned or unexpected arrivals.

This collection aims forward, delivering stories of radical agency and fierce self-direction, challenging the world of legally imposed vulnerability, exploited futures, and oppressive structures that have become so painfully real.

In Trouble is a vivid examination of power and self-determination.

The editors will donate 100% of net proceeds to benefit the National Network of Abortion Funds.

Yes, 2022 has passed but any charity books out in December which were missed are included in the 2023 shelves for fairness’ sake.

‘Twas the fright before Christmas,
nightmares fill my head,
the creatures, they’re a-prowling
’til everyone is dead…

Welcome back to Deathlehem, where…

…a stranger grants a grieving father’s Christmas wish…
…charitable acts are purely self-serving…
…a man plans his last Christmas in a post-apocalyptic world…
…a serial killer targets the wrong victim…
…sometimes it’s better not to go home for the holidays…
…and more!

Seventeen more tales of holiday horrors to benefit The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

Bodily transformation. Possession of the body. Forced disembodiment. A baby consumes its mother in utero. Unrealistic postpartum expectations turn deadly. A witch avenges the voiceless. These 16 original horror stories explore the ownership and control—or lack thereof—that we have over our bodies.

All profits from this anthology go to National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) to support reproductive freedom, access to birth control and abortion care, paid parental leave, and protection from pregnancy discrimination.

A moment in time… insignificant and fleeting for most, but for Nicole, Mark, and Eric, it is life-altering. Three strangers meet in a town they don’t know in a place they hadn’t expected to end up only to find that they are exactly where they were supposed to be… again. Love always finds a way. Through space and time, past and future, through lifetimes and storylines, they were destined to find each other, love each other, lose each other— coordinates and weapons, scenarios and demographics be damned. A malfunction, to be sure. But when Ryan tries to tinker with his project, a weapon the likes of which has never been seen in all of the Galactic Collaborative, he finds out just how inexorable their link is… and how insidious. The beginning of an experimental series that will challenge the way you think about love, life, connection, and purpose, The Tryst will catch you in its whirlwind and never let you go. Each book in the Affinity series will combine of mixture of mystery, thriller, psychological horror, action, suspense, science fiction elements in differing measures, always with romance as an undercurrent. Love always finds a way. But sometimes that way is paved with bones.

‘Robotic Ambitions: Tales of Mechanical Sentience is an anthology of genre short stories that highlights the many aspects of emerging consciousness, artificial intelligence, and the mobilization of human-created entities.

From the minds of Apex Magazine overlords Lesley Conner and Jason Sizemore, Robotic Ambitions: Tales of Mechanical Sentience is an original anthology centered on the theme of artificially created consciousness from a diverse group of both well-known and emerging genre writers.

Whether striving to protect the family they’ve chosen, searching for meaning amid the chaos of the world, or questioning what it is that makes one alive, robotic ambition can mean many different things. This anthology will explore the nuance of sentience manufactured and evolved within mechanical beings.’

‘If you love …

Stories that fall between genres, blending fantasy, myth, and literary storytelling …

Stories about surviving, even if that survival looks nothing like what you imagined …

Stories about darkness, and finding the light within …

then you will love my award-winning first collection, Vacui Magia, now in an exclusive, deluxe hardcover edition.

Want to try one of the stories? Read the first story, “Little Men with Knives,” for free!

Features of This Edition

• new cover art by Jana Heidersdorf
• extended story notes describing the seeds and influences behind each story
• new interior design
• textured cloth and endpapers

The hardcover specs are 5.5″ x 8.5″, 204 pages. This is a standalone short story collection. This deluxe hardcover will only be available via this Kickstarter or direct from me. ‘

‘Childhood is a time of innate curiosity, growth and the horrifying realization that terror is bound by no medium. Kindertrauma: We Know What Scared You is a feature-length peer into the void of juvenile anxieties across form and format, in order to learn both the meaning of Kindertrauma and how the phenomenon has refracted cultural and social anxieties throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Utilizing examples from movies, tv, animation, commercials, posters, box art, books, and comics, Kindertrauma: We Know What Scared You aims to provide an insightful retrospective on the things that terrified us as children, along with observations from creatives who foment the bad dreams of the current generation through art.

For anyone who grew up with films, books or comics, this is a topic you most likely discussed: media that horrified you when you were a kid. Kindertrauma: We Know What Scared You is a full-length documentary directed by Diandra Lazer produced by Blair Hawkins, Brad Henderson, Claudia Charriez, Emma Buntrock-Muller, Janine Pipe, Anya Stanley, and Justin Powell edited by Michael Keene with art direction by Jason Kauzlarich and motion graphics by Timothy Weidelman.

Kindertrauma: We Know What Scared You features commentary from filmmakers, entertainment luminaries, and movie lovers alike to tackle the complexities of what gave us nightmares growing up and paralyzed us with fear. We will also hear from theorists and mental health providers with insights on the traumas commonly carried into adulthood, how, and why they stick.’

‘WHAT IS SWORD & SORCERY?

A unique fantasy sub-genre known for short, episodic tales with historical inspiration and horror elements, featuring outsider protagonists with personal motivations, often facing dark and dangerous magic!

WHAT IS NEW EDGE SWORD & SORCERY?

A brand new magazine featuring over 45,000 words per issue of exciting stories paired with original art, essays, in-depth interviews, literary profiles, and book reviews.  Made with love for the classics, and an inclusive, boundary-pushing approach to storytelling!

In the summer of 2022 we made a prototype “Issue #0”, an unpaid passion project for all involved. We put it out in the world and…people liked it! People want more! So this Kickstarter will fund the print publication of issues #1 & #2, paying contributors as much as possible this time.

Available in gorgeous electronic, softcover, and highly collectible hardcover formats.’

Happy reading.

Steph

 on behalf of Stuart and the Horror Tree Team