Advance Praise for ‘The Shadows Behind’

Advance Praise for The Shadows Behind

Kristi Petersen Schoonover’s upcoming collection, The Shadows Behind, is already garnering early praise from notable authors.


John Palisano, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Ghost Heart and vice president of the Horror Writers Association, writes, “Kristi Petersen Schoonover’s The Shadows Behind explores the uncanny, strange, and underlying darkness behind white picket fences. The stories that make up The Shadows Behind are curated as perfectly as a rose garden, only one will need to watch out for the thorns . . . and the bodies buried below, nourishing their roots.”

Palisano is not the only award-winning author talking about The Shadows Behind. Lauren Baratz-Logsted, author of Zombie Abbey, recently wrote: “Kristi Petersen Schoonover does it again with this original collection of observant and haunting stories that will leave readers turning pages long into the night as they tell themselves: Just one more story . . . just one more . . .

The collection, which features an introduction by Stacy Horn (Damnation Island, Perfect Harmony), will be released April 30 from Books & Boos Press.

Award-winning Author’s New Book Arrives Next Year

Books & Boos Press is proud to announce we will be publishing award-winning author Kristi Petersen Schoonover’s short story collection, The Shadows Behind.

Schoonover is the author of Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole: Tales from Haunted Disney World (Admit One Literary Theme Park Press, 2010), a collection of ghost stories set in Disney Parks; the novel Bad Apple (Vagabondage Press Books, 2012); and the Poe-esque novelette This Poisoned Ground. Her novella “Splendid Chyna” appears in Three on a Match; most recently, she curated the Ink Stains anthology Volume 7, published in January of 2018, focusing on the nature of decay. Schoonover is a prolific short story writer, a four-time winner of the Toasted Cheese Literary Journal’s Dead of Winter short story contest, and has been the recipient of Norman Mailer Writers Colony residencies three times, among other accolades.

“We’re excited to have signed Kristi Petersen Schoonover,” said managing editor Stacey Harris. “She’s a professional talent of the highest caliber, and the stories in this collection blew me away.”

The Shadows Behind is slated for release in April 2019.

The Horrific Humor Anthology, ‘A Sharp Stick in the Eye (and Other Funny Stories),’ Eyes an August Release Date

We’re all excited here at Books & Boos Press for our upcoming release, A Sharp Stick in the Eye (and Other Funny Stories). This anthology of horrific humor features fourteen talented authors, including the king of darkly funny fiction, Jeff Strand. The full lineup is:

Brian Asman

John McIlveen

Roy Bryan Bishop

J.C. Raye

Martin Zeigler

Daniel Becker

David Price

Wayne Faust

James FW Thompson

Jim Horlock

Eric Cline

A.P. Sessler

Renee Miller

Jeff Strand

The collection was edited by award-winning editor Rob Smales, and is scheduled for release on Aug. 14.

Your ‘Three A.M. Wake-Up Call’ is Available

We have released the final installment of the Terror Project series, THREE A.M. WAKE-UP CALL, this past Tuesday (June 5).

In coordination with our new release, we’re putting the first two books in the Terror Project on sale:

TRIPLICITY and THREE ON A MATCH will be $9.99 (30% off) for the paperback and $1.99 for the e-book (50% off) from June 4–10.

TRIPLICITY will also be coming out on audiobook any day now (I received an email from ACX on Wednesday saying it was “heading to retail,” but no indication of when it will be available). Tony and Rob, I’ll update you when it’s available.

THREE ON A MATCH is heading into audio production now, with an anticipated October release date for the audiobook. Then our narrator will move on to the final book.

Terror Starts at ‘Three A.M.’ in June

Books & Boos Press is pleased to reveal the cover for our upcoming release, Three A.M. Wake-Up Call. The third and final installment in the Terror Project series, the collection features three novellas: “Chew Toys” by Nick Cato, “Clinton Road” by Rob Watts, and “Roons” by David Daniel. 

The cover was created by artist A.L. Cortez, who designed the covers for Triplicity and Three on a Match, the other two books in the series. “I wanted each book to share elements that tied them together—the recurring central figure, whom I’ve come to think of as a ‘terror muse’—and repeating illustrations forming a pattern in the background. But I also strived to make each cover uniquely its own.”

The stories in Three A.M. Wake-Up Call bring the series to an end by returning to more traditional, haunting horror. Cato’s “Chew Toys” answers the question, What if Son of Sam killer David Berkowitz wasn’t lying about his neighbor’s dog ordering him to kill? with entertainingly gruesome glee. Watts’s “Clinton Road” follows the path of a woman struggling with the disintegration of her marriage who takes up residence on a road steeped in urban legend and rumored paranormal activity. The collection ends with Daniel’s “Roons,” in which a man in his middle years returns home to find a haunting mystery that has waited decades to be unearthed.

Three A.M. Wake-Up Call is scheduled for release the first week of June.

‘Three on a Match’ Book Release Party

This past Saturday, a book release party for Three on a Match was held.

Three on a Match is the second installment of the Terror Project, and features novellas from talented authors Melissa Crandall, g. Elmer Munson, and Kristi Petersen Schoonover.

The release party was put on by Schoonover, who did an awesome job from the food to the decorations. She even got a cake showcasing the book cover.

Crandall and Munson joined Schoonover for over four hours to celebrate the release of Three on a Match, the newest book from Books & Boos Press.

Authors Melissa Crandall, g. Elmer Munson, and Kristi Petersen Schoonover.

Authors Melissa Crandall, g. Elmer Munson, and Kristi Petersen Schoonover.

Three on a Match will be released on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017.

New Release Brings Sale Prices

We are celebrating the release of Insanity Tales III: Seasons of Shadow by placing Insanity Tales and Insanity Tales II: The Sense of Fear on sale for a limited time.

Don’t miss these sale prices of 20% and 25% off.

Connecticut Author Continues Support for National Multiple Sclerosis Society with New Book: Available Now

Farmer’s Daughter Press, an imprint of Books & Boos Press, is proud to announce the release of My Mom, MS, and a Sixth-Grade Mess by Stacey Longo.

You can find the book at Amazon here.

The book tells the tale of Patrick Holder, who first appeared in the children’s book My Mom Has MS (2015, Farmer’s Daughter Press), now in middle school. Patrick has problems: he has an English project due and he hasn’t read the book yet; he and his best friend like the same girl; he suspects he might have a unibrow. Oh yeah—and his mom has multiple sclerosis.

Longo wrote the book to help kids deal with their parent’s MS diagnosis, and a portion of every sale of this book is donated to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. She also raises money for National Multiple Sclerosis Society and walks in a yearly MS Walk.

The book’s cover art and interior images were also illustrated by Longo, and the subject matter is personal. “My friend Renee was diagnosed with MS in 2008, and the way she and her family rallied to make the best of her situation was amazing.” The protagonist of the books—Patrick Holder—is based on Renee’s youngest son, and many members of her family make appearances in the latest book.

A trailer for the book can be viewed on YouTube here.

Longo, who resides in Connecticut, is the author of Ordinary Boy and the short story collection Secret Things. For more information about her and her books, check out her website, http://www.staceylongo.com.

Submissions Are Now Open

Books & Boos Press is accepting novella submissions through January 31, 2017 (or until the manuscript we’re looking for is delightfully accepted). We are looking for one novella to complete our Terror Project series. This project is a series of three collections offering three fabulous horror novellas per book. The first entry, Triplicity, was published in November 2016. The second installment is scheduled for release in September 2017, and the third is tentatively scheduled for early summer 2018.

What we’re looking for: Overall, we want a really good story, and are open to dark fiction, paranormal, occult, monsters . . . the only subject matter we will not accept is pedophilia. We’d prefer an original story, but will consider a reprint if it is no longer available for purchase in another book.

Books & Boos Press is committed to publishing well-written horror. We are less concerned with how well known or established you are, and more concerned with the quality of the writing submitted.

Before submitting, please read this article, “Five Things Every Publisher Wants You to Know.” We hold strong to these tenets, though in this case, knowing us may work against you. We’d strongly prefer to work with someone we haven’t previously published.

Please do not submit a rough or unpolished draft.

Submission guidelines:

  • Length: 20,000 – 35,000 words
  • Format: Times New Roman, 12-point font, double line spacing. Use indents, NOT tabs. Only one space after each period. Use italics, not underlines. Please include your name, contact information, and word count at the top of the title page.
  • Submit your manuscript as a .docx, .doc, or .rtf attachment to booksandbooseditor@gmail.com. Please include a brief cover letter stating who you are, any recent publications, and a brief summary of the story. The cover letter can be the body of the email. Manuscripts submitted in the body of the email instead of as an attachment will be automatically rejected.

Contract Details:

We’re asking for exclusive worldwide English rights, electronic and printed format, for three years. We’re offering 25% of the net profits of the sales. (We do not deduct things like the cost of the ISBN, the cover art, or any other such nonsense from the net profits—we pay for those things ourselves, and don’t expect you to cover any of it.) You’ll also get five contributor copies and can purchase additional copies at our cost plus 25%, plus shipping. If you would like to see a copy of the full contract prior to submitting, please email booksandbooseditor@gmail.com.

Turnaround Time:

If you haven’t received a response from us within ninety days after the submission period closes, please email booksandbooseditor@gmail.com.

Halloween-themed Anthology comprised of all Connecticut Authors Debuts this Fall.

Books & Boos Press will be releasing a Halloween-themed anthology comprised of all Connecticut authors this fall.

Tricks and Treats: A Collection of Spooky Stories by Connecticut Authors features a mix of both classic and contemporary authors from the Constitution State. The lineup includes famous residents such as Mark Twain, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, John G. C. Brainard, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, as well as modern-day authors Melissa Crandall, G. Elmer Munson, Ryanne Strong, Stacey Longo, John Valeri, Dan Foley, and Kristi Petersen Schoonover. Some, though not all, of the stories are set in Connecticut.

Tricks and Treats will be released in September.