gary mcmahon

May 31, 2016

Get Ellen Datlow’s outstanding anthology THE CUTTING ROOM for $1.99!

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized /film, a c wise, anthology, david morrell, dennis etchison, douglas e. winter, ed bryant, Ellen Datlow, f. paul wilson, garry kilworth, gary a. braunbeck, gary mcmahon, Gemma Files, genevieve valentine, horror, howard waldrop, ian watson, joel lane, kdd, kindle daily deal, lucy a. snyder, movies, nicholas royle, peter straub, robert sherman, short stories, stephen j. barringer, steve nagy, the cutting room, the cutting room: dark reflections of the silver screen

Ellen Datlow’s acclaimed anthology THE CUTTING ROOM: DARK REFLECTIONS OF THE SILVER SCREEN is a Kindle Daily Deal for Tuesday, May 31st.

For today only, the ebook is available for just $1.99!

A Kirkus Excellent Horror Read for October

“This themed anthology revolves around the idea that the separation between what is real and what we see on film is not as clear as we’d like to think it is. What if, for example, the Wicked Witch of the West didn’t stay in Oz? What if James Dean got a second chance at life? These are just some of the weird-but-cool ideas explored in this tempting volume of stories from renowned editor Ellen Datlow, who collects 23 scary tales by the likes of Peter Straub, Genevieve Valentine, Robert Shearman, Laird Barron and more.”
—Kirkus

A Publishers Weekly Book of the Week

STARRED REVIEW “Superstar editor Datlow makes no missteps in this reprint collection of dark tales involving movies and moviemaking. The one original piece, Stephen Graham Jones’s “Tenderizer,” is a haunting exploration of tragedy on both a personal and national level. A.C. Wise’s “Final Girl Theory,” about a cult film that’s an “infection, whispered from mouth to mouth in the dark,” is disturbing and gory without fetishizing its horrors. Kim Newman’s brilliant “Illimitable Dominion” tells an alternate history of Edgar Allen Poe, Roger Corman, and American International Pictures that’s particularly suited to film buffs who will probably spot the (initially) subtle changes to the time line. Film critic and author Genevieve Valentine provides both an entertaining story (“She Drives the Men to Crimes of Passion!”) and an enlightening introduction, while even Douglas E. Winter’s “Bright Lights, Big Zombie”—the literary target of which has long faded—still holds up reasonably well. Strong stories by Gary McMahon and Gary A. Braunbeck, as well as poems by Lucy A. Snyder and Daphne Gottlieb, are also worth noting, but really, the entire volume is outstanding.”
—Publishers Weekly

The credits have rolled, but the lights are still off. Something is lurking on the other side of the screen. There are dark secrets, starving monsters, and haunted survivors who refuse to be left on the cutting room floor. But that’s okay, right? After all, everybody loves the movies…. Here are twenty-three terrifying tales, dark reflections of the silver screen from both sides of the camera. James Dean gets a second chance at life—and death. The Wicked Witch is out of Oz and she’s made some unlucky friends. When God decides reality needs an editor, what—and who—gets cut? These award-winning, bestselling authors will take you to the darkest depths of the theater and beyond.

“This collection of 23 stories should appeal to fans of horror and SF primarily, though noir and hard-boiled-mystery readers should feel welcome too…. Definitely worth checking out.”
—Booklist

“It’s pretty much a given that an Ellen Datlow anthology will at least be good, if not great… ‘The Cutting Room’ is no exception.”
—Bookshots

“Horror cinephiles and bibliophiles will have extra cause to rejoice this Halloween: The Cutting Room, a literary anthology, is an October treat.”
—Diabolique

Introduction by Genevieve Valentine
Preface by Ellen Datlow
“The Cutter” by Edward Bryant
“The Hanged Man of Oz” by Steve Nagy
“Deadspace” by Dennis Etchison
“Cuts” by F. Paul Wilson
“Final Girl Theory” by A. C. Wise
“Lapland, or Film Noir” by Peter Straub
“The Thousand Cuts” by Ian Watson
“Occam’s Ducks” by Howard Waldrop
“Dead Image” by David Morrell
“The Constantinople Archives” by Robert Shearman
“each thing I show you is a piece of my death” by Gemma Files & Stephen J. Barringer
“Cinder Images” by Gary McMahon
“The Pied Piper of Hammersmith” by Nicholas Royle
“Filming the Making of the Film of the Making of Fitzcarraldo” by Garry Kilworth
“Onlookers” by Gary A. Braunbeck
“Recreation” by Lucy A. Snyder
“Bright Lights, Big Zombie” by Douglas E. Winter
“She Drives the Men to Crimes of Passion!” by Genevieve Valentine
“Even the Pawn” by Joel Lane
“Tenderizer” by Stephen Graham Jones
“Ardor” by Laird Barron
“Final Girl II: the Frame” by Daphne Gottlieb
“Illimitable Dominion” by Kim Newman

“I personally feel that short fiction is the ideal format for horror and dark fantasy literature and the theme of film/film-making is absolutely brilliant and Datlow collects a very nice assortment. This collection is highly recommended.”
—Looking for a Good Book

“The Cutting Room is a ton of fun….”
—LitReactor

“Horror stories about the cinema in some capacity. There was no way I wouldn’t like this book, regardless of whether I was a horror and film buff or not. Datlow’s pretty much the master of the anthology, and it shows here.” —LitReactor‘s favorite reads of 2014

For more info about THE CUTTING ROOM: DARK REFLECTIONS OF THE SILVER SCREEN, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Josh Beatman

October 29, 2014

THE CUTTING ROOM coming attraction: “Cinder Images” by Gary McMahon

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized /film, cinder images, Ellen Datlow, excerpt, gary mcmahon, Halloween, horror, josh beatman, movies, short story, the cutting room, the cutting room: dark reflections of the silver screen

Over the next two weeks, in celebration of Halloween and the new anthology The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen, Tachyon and editor Ellen Datlow present excerpts from a selection of the volume’s horrifying tales.

Today’s selection comes from “Cinder Images” by Gary McMahon.

Fade in. Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony Number 6, slow and sweet. No title bar or opening credits.

It starts with a little girl, running.

She is young—perhaps eight or nine years old—and she is pumping her arms and her legs as she runs along a dirt road. Behind her, fire burns a line along the horizon. Around her, there is scorched and blackened earth and the burnt-out ruins of red brick buildings. The girl is partially naked; her upper body is bare, her lower body is clad in torn rags. Her face is dirty, her cheeks are burnt. Flaps of ruined skin hang off her arms and legs, revealing pale pink patches beneath.

This could be Vietnam, it could be Cambodia; it might be Serbia, Afghanistan, or the West Bank. It could be anywhere, at any time.

But it is England.

It is now.

The girl keeps on running even though the soles of her feet are worn away and bleeding. She feels no pain; she is beyond simple feelings. Her mother and father are dead. Her brothers and sisters have been blown apart by the bombs and bullets of an unknown enemy.

A single gunshot rings out and a bullet takes her down. The hair at the right side of her head puffs out, blood and brain and bone spatters in a vivid arc, spraying the grey ground red.

She falls, limp.

Dead.

The audience leans forward, trying to catch the girl; or they are just desperate to get a better view, a closer look at the blood and the carnage?

The music on the soundtrack soars, triumphant.

You try to close your eyes but you cannot. You have to see—you need to see this. There are things that must be endured, sights that cannot be ignored. You owe it to the girl; her lonely death must not go unwitnessed. So you sit there with your eyes forced open, taking it all in.

The screen goes dark. The lights come up.

“And that, ladies and gentlemen,” says a low, cultured voice through a hidden speaker, “is our little war project.”

A ripple of polite applause.

You grit your teeth.

When you glance down, at your hands, you see that you are clapping too, but you don’t know why, or for whom the applause is intended. The lights turn red and it looks like blood on your hands. You start to rub them together, but the stains remain.

When the lights flicker a signal for the end of the performance and the rest of the audience members start to leave, you pick up your bag from underneath your seat, stand, and walk out with them. You feel numb. Your skin is cold.

Out in the foyer a fat man in a black suit and John Lennon spectacles is shaking people’s hands, answering questions, and posing to have his photograph taken. He is the director, the creative mind behind the brief decontextualised images you have just seen.

“Thank you, thank you,” he says, soaking up the kudos, filling up with misplaced pride.

“When will the finished film be available to screen in full?” A local reporter jabs a digital tape recorder into the director’s fat face.

“Soon,” says the director. “Very soon.”

“What will it be called?”

The director opens his arms, lifts his head. “Cinder Images,” he says in a loud voice, making sure that everyone can hear. His eyes are bright behind the lenses of his glasses.

You consider approaching him to ask why you were invited to the screening, but then think better of such a rash move. It might draw attention to your discomfort. They might stare at you and see the fear that lies beneath your shell.

For information on The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Josh Beatman.

October 14, 2014

THE CUTTING ROOM is outstanding

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized /film, anthology, daphne gottlieb, Ellen Datlow, gary a. braunbeck, gary mcmahon, horror, josh beatman, lucy a. snyder, movies, Publishers Weekly, review, short story, stephen graham jones, the cutting room, the cutting room: dark reflections of the silver screen

In a starred review, Publishers Weekly praises The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen, the new anthology from the award-winning, superstar editor Ellen Datlow.

Superstar editor Datlow makes no missteps in this reprint collection of dark tales involving movies and moviemaking. The one original piece, Stephen Graham Jones’s “Tenderizer,” is a haunting exploration of tragedy on both a personal and national level.

<snip>

Strong stories by Gary McMahon and Gary A. Braunbeck, as well as poems by Lucy A. Snyder and Daphne Gottlieb, are also worth noting, but really, the entire volume is outstanding.

Read the rest of the review at Publishers Weekly.

For information on The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Josh Beatman.

October 3, 2014

We’re celebrating Halloween by giving away Ellen Datlow’s new anthology THE CUTTING ROOM

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized /film, a c wise, anthology, david morrell, dennis etchison, douglas e. winter, edward bryant, Ellen Datlow, f. paul wilson, garry kilworth, gary a. braunbeck, gary mcmahon, Gemma Files, genevieve valentine, giveaway, goodreads, horror, howard waldrop, ian watson, joel lane, lucy a. snyder, movies, nicholas royle, peter straub, robert shearman, short stories, stephen graham jones, stephen j. barringer, steve nagy, the cutting room

With the help of the fine folks over at Goodreads, we’re celebrating Halloween with a giveaway of an ARC of The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen, the new anthology from the award-winning, superstar editor Ellen Datlow.

Visit Goodreads for the full details and to enter.

The credits have rolled, but the lights are still off. Something is lurking on the other side of the screen. There are dark secrets, starving monsters, and haunted survivors who refuse to be left on the cutting room floor. But that’s okay, right? After all, everybody loves the movies…. Here are twenty-three terrifying tales, dark reflections of the silver screen from both sides of the camera. James Dean gets a second chance at life—and death. The Wicked Witch is out of Oz and she’s made some unlucky friends. When God decides reality needs an editor, what—and who—gets cut? These award-winning, bestselling authors will take you to the darkest depths of the theater and beyond.

STARRED REVIEW “Superstar editor Datlow makes no missteps in this reprint collection of dark tales involving movies and moviemaking. The one original piece, Stephen Graham Jones’s “Tenderizer,” is a haunting exploration of tragedy on both a personal and national level. A.C. Wise’s “Final Girl Theory,” about a cult film that’s an “infection, whispered from mouth to mouth in the dark,” is disturbing and gory without fetishizing its horrors. Kim Newman’s brilliant “Illimitable Dominion” tells an alternate history of Edgar Allen Poe, Roger Corman, and American International Pictures that’s particularly suited to film buffs who will probably spot the (initially) subtle changes to the time line. Film critic and author Genevieve Valentine provides both an entertaining story (“She Drives the Men to Crimes of Passion!”) and an enlightening introduction, while even Douglas E. Winter’s “Bright Lights, Big Zombie”—the literary target of which has long faded—still holds up reasonably well. Strong stories by Gary McMahon and Gary A. Braunbeck, as well as poems by Lucy A. Snyder and Daphne Gottlieb, are also worth noting, but really, the entire volume is outstanding.”
—Publishers Weekly

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction by Genevieve Valentine
Preface by Ellen Datlow

“The Cutter” by Edward Bryant
“The Hanged Man of Oz” by Steve Nagy
“Deadspace” by Dennis Etchison
“Cuts” by F. Paul Wilson
“Final Girl Theory” by A. C. Wise
“Lapland, or Film Noir” by Peter Straub
“The Thousand Cuts” by Ian Watson
“Occam’s Ducks” by Howard Waldrop
“Dead Image” by David Morrell
“The Constantinople Archives” by Robert Shearman
“each thing I show you is a piece of my death” by Gemma Files & Stephen J. Barringer
“Cinder Images” by Gary McMahon
“The Pied Piper of Hammersmith” by Nicholas Royle
“Filming the Making of the Film of the Making of Fitzcarraldo” by Garry Kilworth
“Onlookers” by Gary A. Braunbeck
“Recreation” by Lucy A. Snyder
“Bright Lights, Big Zombie” by Douglas E. Winter
“She Drives the Men to Crimes of Passion!” by Genevieve Valentine
“Even the Pawn” by Joel Lane
“Tenderizer” by Stephen Graham Jones
“Ardor” by Laird Barron
“Final Girl II: the Frame” by Daphne Gottlieb
“Illimitable Dominion” by Kim Newman

For information on The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Josh Beatman.

February 27, 2014

Tachyon 2014 Fall Preview: THE CUTTING ROOM

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized a c wise, anthology, cutting room, daphne gottlieb, david morrell, dennis etchison, douglas e. winter, edward bryant, Ellen Datlow, f. paul wilson, garry kilworth, gary a. braunbeck, gary mcmahon, Gemma Files, genevieve valentine, howard waldrop, ian watson, joel lane, josh beatman, Kim Newman, Laird Barron, Lucy Snyder, movies, peter straub, preview, robert shearman, short stories, stephen graham jones, stephen j. barringer, steve nagy

This week, we’re previewing the Tachyon publications scheduled for Fall, 2014.

The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen

Edited by Ellen Datlow

What happens after the closing credits and before the lights go out? When you turn off your TV, but still aren’t able to sleep? Cancel your Netflix. Sometimes only the written word will do.

These twenty-two terrifying tales are a chilling homage to the silver screen. Discover that James Dean may well have lived beyond the grave, a trip to Oz is a one-way ticket, and zombies were behind the corporate greed of the 1980s. Learn how reality is edited (and found overly long) and how the Final Girl, a horror film’s sole survivor, emerges victorious and with a captive audience. Join award-winning and bestselling authors from Neil Gaiman to Peter Straub in a journey to the darkest depths of the theater.

Table of Contents

Introduction by Genevieve Valentine
Preface by Ellen Datlow

“The Cutter” by Edward Bryant
“The Hanged Man of Oz” by Steve Nagy
“Deadspace” by Dennis Etchison
“Cuts” by F. Paul Wilson
“Final Girl Theory” by A. C. Wise
“Lapland, or Film Noir” by Peter Straub
“The Thousand Cuts” by Ian Watson
“Occam’s Ducks” by Howard Waldrop
“Dead Image” by David Morrell
“The Constantinople Archives” by Robert Shearman
“each thing I show you is a piece of my death” by Gemma Files & Stephen J. Barringer
“Cinder Images” by Gary McMahon
“The Pied Piper of Hammersmith” by Nicholas Royle
“Filming the Making of the Film of the Making of Fitzcarraldo” by Garry Kilworth
“Onlookers” by Gary A. Braunbeck
“Recreation” by Lucy Snyder
“Bright Lights, Big Zombie” by Douglas E. Winter
“She Drives the Men to Crimes of Passion!” by Genevieve Valentine
“Even the Pawn” by Joel Lane
“Tenderizer” by Stephen Graham Jones
“Ardor” by Laird Barron
“Final Girl II: the Frame” by Daphne Gottlieb
“Illimitable Dominion” by Kim Newman

Trade paperback/ebook * $16.95/$9.99 * October 2014 * 978-1-61696-167-1

Cover by Josh Beatman

Tachyon Publications

gary mcmahon

tachyonpub