You’re hiking through the darker, haunted part of the woods that your parents had always forbidden you to explore. A few miles in, the fog is much thicker and you are tempted to crawl onto a layer and take a nap.

You continue, though, and eventually come across some castle ruins. All that stand are moldy brick walls marking the perimeter.

You step closer and find a single skull protruding from the soft earth. Vines have sprouted from its eyes and nose; from between the teeth and the cracks in its cranium. Each one looks a little bit different: some are beautiful, some grotesque, some humorous. Some are green and thriving with blossoms, while others appear dead, but are still strong.

You kneel for a closer look, and you can hear them whispering to you. They are each eager to share a story. You listen awhile, entertained but feeling your sanity slip away.

Realizing this, you try to stand but rotted hands reach from the soil and pull you back.  You aren’t going anywhere.

Welcome to Skullvines Press.

While you’re here, check out our Blog Contest where you could win Skullvines books for a year!

Unless you’ll be at CONvergence, that is.  Expect a delay in email response times and orders just until Tuesday, July 7th.  Until then, have a safe and happy 4th!

That’s right!  Now you can get Mark McLaughlin’s Twisted Tales for Sick Puppies in digital format exclusively at Horror Mall’s Darkside Digital!

Pick it up at the low price of $3.95!

We sent Jeff Strand an arc copy of Michele Lee’s Rot, our next release.  HERE is what he said about it!

Thanks, Jeff!

Roy C. Booth’s Theater of the Macabre is now available at our Bookstore!

Welcome to the Theatre!

Got your popcorn and soft drink? Good! Have you turned your cell phones off? Splendid!

Pay no attention to the orderlies strapping you in. It’s more for our pleasure than your safety. What you are about to experience will make you squeal, cringe, and by the end, laugh maniacally!

Roy C. Booth, the internationally award-winning playwright who brought us Brian Keene’s Terminal: The Play, offers this trilogy of one-act plays to chill your bones, kicked off by a brilliant introduction from Dr. David Beard.

In “Death Under the Gaslights,” follow three robbers into a house filled with terror. Learn a valuable lesson in “Smoking Will Kill You.” And in “He Who Gets Laughed At Last,” see what happens when some people just can’t take a joke.

Before the lights dim, we want to thank you for coming. The price was your sanity, but the screams are free.

Cover art by Mark McLaughlin

We’re excited to be guests at CONvergence for the second year in a row, and hope some of you will be able to come by and visit.  It will take place from July 2nd to the 5th in St. Paul, MN.  Please visit their WEBSITE for all the event details, but here is the current schedule for panels, etc, for those associated with Skullvines Press, as well as our friends (it is subject to change, but it’s pretty much final at the moment):

* Note that Rich Ristow will also be there.  He’s not scheduled for panels but will definitely be stirring trouble with the rest of us.

Thursday, July 2nd

5pm – Brian Keene and Roy C. Booth will be in Atrium 2 at the panel, “Brian Keene’s Adventures in the Comic Industry.”

9pm – Brian Keene will be in Atrium 6 at the panel, “Insert Quarter for SMACKDOWN!”  Other panelists include Tim Wick, Christopher Jones, Joseph Scrimshaw, Melissa Kaercher, Kelvin Hatle, C. Robert Cargill, Tim Uren

Friday, July 3rd

9:30am – Roy C. Booth and R. Scott McCoy will be in the Bloomington room at the panel, “Writing Craft: Creatures and Character.”  Other panelists include Jeannie Holmes, Andre Guirard, Catherine Lundoff, and John Shea.

9:30am – Cynthia Booth will be in Plaza 1 at the panel, “Voice and Body Actors.”  Other panelists include Jennifer Menken, David Potter, and Gordon Smuder

11am – Brian Keene and Mark McLaughlin will be at the signing table for autographs

12:30pm – Brian Keene will be in Atrium 8 for “Brian Keene’s Misspent Youth.”

2pm – Brian Keene and Roy C. Booth will be in Atrium 3 for “Adapting ‘The Terminal.’”

2pm – Mark McLaughlin with be in Cabana 118 at the panel, “Great Authors You’ve Never Heard Of.”  Other panelists include Jody Wurl and Hilary Moon Murphy

3:30pm – Brian Keene, S.D. Hintz, and Jerrod Balzer will be in the Bloomington room at the panel, “Inserting Humor Into Your Writing.”  Other panelists include Kelly McCullough, M. K. Melin, and Patrick Rothfuss.

5pm – Brian Keene will be in Atrium 7 for the “MISFITS Writing Contest Reception.”  Others include Charlotte Nickerson, Joel Arnold, and Jodie Gustafson.

7pm – Mark McLaughlin will be in Atrium 8 at the panel, “Tricks of the Trade: How to Publish and Not Perish.”  Other panelists include Patrick Rothfuss, Catherine Lundoff, Scott Lynch, and Lyda Morehouse.

11:30pm – Mark McLaughlin will be in the Bloomington room at the panel, “The Lighter Side of Lovecraft.”  Other panelists include Craig A. Finseth, David Gustafson, and Melissa Kaercher.

11:30pm – Brian Keene will be in Atrium 4 at the panel “What Scares Us?”  Other panelists include Tim Lieder, Windy Bowlsby, Taylor Kent, and Joel Arnold.

Saturday, July 4th

11am – Mark McLaughlin will be in the Bloomington room at the panel, “The Collaborative Process.”  Other panelists include Rob Callahan, Shad Petosky, Adam Stemple, and Hilary Moon Murphy.

12pm – Brian Keene, Roy C. Booth, and Cynthia Booth will hold a reading of “Terminal: The Play” at Stevie Ray’s.

2pm – S.D. Hintz and Jerrod Balzer will be in the Bloomington room at the panel, “Genre Blender.”  Other panelists include Kelly McCullough, Jeannie Holmes, Matthew Davis, and Dana Baird.

3:30pm – Brian Keene, R. Scott McCoy, Mark McLaughlin, Jerrod Balzer, and S.D. Hintz will be in the Bloomington room at the panel, “Writing Horror in the Era of ‘Saw.’”

11:30pm – Brian Keene will be kicking ass in the Guest of Honor Cage Match

Sunday, July 5th

2pm – S.D. Hintz and Jerrod Balzer will be in the Bloomington room at the panel “Self Publication.”  Other panelists include T.K. Hall, Joan Marie Verba, and Bob Lipski.

2pm – Brian Keene, Roy C. Booth, and Cynthia Booth with be joining Dwayne McDuffie at the signing table for autographs.

We’re very excited to be publishing this beautiful book of poetry later this year.

Grave Bits combines 24 dark, deep poems by Todd Hanks with the gorgeous artwork of Juan McGowan.

Among vampires, scarecrows, and other creatures from various cultures, the reader will experience ritual sacrifice, intimacy, and madness.

Juan’s artwork accompanies each, bringing the imagery to life with fantastic detail.

More reviews are up for Skullvines titles!  Check out the one for Paul Kane’s RED at Horror Bound.  And at Horror World, scroll down to see one for RED as well as Hallam Heathcoat’s Necrotica!

Thank you!

Woohoo!  Here are two great reviews of our titles:

Nick Cato tackles Mark McLaughlin’s Twisted Tales for Sick Puppies HERE,

and Sheila Merritt digs into Paul Kane’s RED at Hellnotes!

Thanks Nick and Sheila!  We’re thrilled that you enjoyed them.

And folks, don’t forget to pick up your copies at the Bookstore and use them to enter our Blog Contest.

Check out Nick Cato’s review HERE.

And there are still some copies available that are signed by Paul Kane, Tim Lebbon, and artist Dave McKean (also the artist for Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard Book).  So hurry up and ORDER to increase your chances of getting one!