Michael West sold three novels, including Cinema of Shadows, to editor Amanda DeBord at small-press publisher Seventh Star Press. The three books “will all have a thematic connection with the town of Harmony, Indiana.”
West said “Seventh Star Press clearly loves its authors and has great respect for their work. Not to mention the fact that they put out some of the most exciting and beautifully crafted books in the industry. I am thrilled to be a part of the family, and hope readers will be equally thrilled by what we have in store for them with these Harmony, Indiana novels.”
Cinema of Shadows welcomes readers to the Woodfield Movie Palace. “The night the Titanic sank, it opened for business… and its builder died in his chair. In the 1950s, there was a fire; a balcony full of people burned to death. And years later, when it became the scene of one of Harmony, Indiana’s, most notorious murders, it closed for good. Abandoned, sealed, locked up tight… until the present day.
“One momentous night, Professor Geoffrey Burke and his Parapsychology students go to the Woodfield in search of evidence, hoping to find irrefutable proof of a haunting. Instead, they discover that, in this theater, the terrors are not confined to the screen.”
Editor DeBord said “I was so excited to learn that Michael was going to be a part of the Seventh Star family. It’s been about five years since I read my first Michael West story, but I haven’t forgotten the name. He’s a fellow Midwestern writer, and really captures the atmosphere of where I grew up. This book was creepy from the get-go, and I think everyone is going to love it.”
The first edition of the book will feature cover art and additional illustrations from acclaimed fantasy/horror artist Matthew Perry.
Cinema of Shadows is scheduled to be published this summer, in hardcover, trade paperback, and several eBook formats. It will be followed by Spook House in summer 2012, and the third, as-yet-untitled, novel in 2013.