Monthly Archives: February 2016

Advance Praise for ‘Echoes of Darkness’

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Echoes of Darkness by Rob Smales, to be released at the end of February by Books & Boos Press, is already garnering advance praise.

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“Reading Rob Smales’s collection Echoes of Darkness is a lot like munching on barbeque potato chips—once you’ve dived into the first story, it’s almost impossible not to keep reading until the end. Smales has a refreshing, clean prose style that is accessible and engaging. In particular, I recommend this book to readers who are new to the genre, as Smales comes up with some nifty and clever riffs on some traditional horror tropes,” says Bram Stoker Award nominated writer Hal Bodner. Bodner  is the author of The Trouble With Hairy and Bite Club.

“The writing of Rob Smales hits you like a whip cracking against a spine. Your flesh tears with each whack, yet you keep asking for more, and no matter how bloody and painful the night becomes, you pray it never ends,” Max Booth III, author of How to Successfully Kidnap Strangers, said.

Alex Scully recently reviewed Echoes of Darkness for The Horror Review. “Smales tosses the traditions of genre by taking classic tropes like zombies, and giving his readers a wicked twist in the end. We all know how zombie stories end, right? Think again. ‘A Night at the Show,’ the second tale in this collection, illustrates the Smales touch wonderfully. A werewolf story. Nicely done. Well written. Fantastic characters, and then . . . the end. Woah! Was that what I expected? Not in the least.” (To read Scully’s full review, please visit http://www.horrorreview.com/echoes-of-darkness-book-review/.)

Readers will be able to purchase Echoes of Darkness on Feb. 28 from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and select retail stores. Smales will be signing copies of his book at Queen City Kamikaze in Manchester, NH on March 12, and at Super MegaFest in Marlborough, MA on April 8–10.

‘Echoes’ Cover Release

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Books & Boos Press is proud to reveal the cover for our upcoming release, Echoes of Darkness by Rob Smales.2016-01-10 16.12.33

The artwork was done by renowned artist Mikio Murakami of Silent Q Design. His latest works include the design for Chains Over Razors’ debut album, Crown the Villain, and the cover art for Robert Essig’s book, In Black.
For Echoes of Darkness, Murakami used a theme of a repeating mirror and an ominous, deathlike figure, underscoring the theme of the collection. “Mikio’s work is always evocative and chilling,” said managing editor Stacey Harris about the cover. “His work on the Echoes cover is brilliant. It perfectly captures the haunting essence of the stories within.”
Echoes of Darkness will be released on February 28, 2016.
Smales is the author of Dead of Winter, which won the Superior Achievement in Dark Fiction award from Firbolg Publishing’s Gothic Library in 2014. His short stories have been published in two dozen anthologies and magazines, including the recently released Insanity Tales II: The Sense of Fear.