  The Sinister Horror Company are proud to reveal the cover of our forthcoming title My Dead and Blackened Heart by Andrew Freudenberg which will be released on the 25th October 2019, with an early release at FCON in Glasgow over the weekend of 18th – 20th October 2019. Andrew Freudenberg has long since been a regular feature in anthologies over the last five years, including our very own The Black Room Manuscripts Volume Three and the Sinister Horror Company Annual. With My Dead and Blackened Heart, Freudenberg marks his debut solo collection, featuring 14 short stories. His work is characterised with a wry smile that permeates a bleakness in settings as far removed as World War 2 and the outer reaches of space. Freud (as he is commonly referred to) is a well known face in the horror community, and it is with pride and pleasure that Sinister Horror Company present this collection. The cover is a rather striking and unusual image, and the author will explain more.  Andrew Freudenberg has this to say about the new release:  “I’m very excited to join the Sinister Horror Company in revealing the cover to my forthcoming collection, ‘My Dead and Blackened Heart’. Some years ago, when he was four or five, Xavier, the youngest of my three sons, was asked to draw a self-portrait at school. This work in charcoal was the finished result. To me it contained an unwitting, I hope, glimpse into the void, an individual seeing the darkness staring back from the shadows. I immediately thought that this striking image would make a good book cover. Fast forwards to recent times, and I find myself being asked by the good folk of Sinister whether I would be interested in publishing a collection with them. I’ve always liked The Sinister Horror Company press, both as publishers and people, and watching them expand their horizons over the years has been a total pleasure. In addition, on the occasions that they’ve asked if I would like to contribute to various projects, they’ve always been huge supporters of my writing and fantastic to work with. So… of course I bit their figurative hands off and jumped at the chance. I had several possibilities in mind for a cover, and working with Justin Park, came up with several more. In the end though, it was this, Xavier’s self-portrait, that called the loudest. One of the basic concepts for this collection was variety. I like to write in an abundance of tones and settings, and Mr Park was keen to highlight this. With this in mind, we assembled the stories, some old, some new, into ‘My Dead and Blackened Heart’. It quickly became clear that childhood and parenting were emergent themes throughout many of the chosen tales. Obviously raising three boys had made their mark on my imagination, so it seemed doubly appropriate to use this image, and another which you’ll find within. Synchronicity! Inside you’ll find stories that waste no time in rolling in the dirt, weirder tales that encourage you to step inside the madness of my protagonists, and deceptively inviting yarns, that take you by the hand before dragging you into their grim realities. I hope that the different hues of horror bind together, making a collection that will leave the reader feeling like the cover art.” My Dead and Blackened Heart blurb: 14 stories of terror, dread and fatherhood. From the isolation of space, to the ever-watchful eyes in a darkening wood, Andrew Freudenberg takes us on a journey exploring the themes of friendship, fatherhood and loss, as we pick through the remains of his dead and blackened heart. “Overhead the lighting operator switched everything to green, just as two enormous mortars fired shredded silver paper in a plume over the crowd. Sarge blinked, attempting to clear the salt lacing his eyes. For a moment he thought he saw paratroopers descending from above, but shook off the hallucination and turned his attention to the stalls. A group of youngsters were caught by Doc’s spotlight for a split second, their eyes wide with wonderment and a touch of fear. It was enough to send Sarge back to the jungle, back to the children in the village. Their eyes had been the same, gazing up at him intently, even after he had slaughtered them with his bayonet and laid them all out in a row. At the time it had seemed the kind thing to do, a mercy killing of sorts. After all they had executed everyone else, so who would have looked after them? There was something complete about leaving them lying peacefully amongst the burning buildings. It had been a Zen moment.” Featuring the stories: Something Akin To Despair, A Bitter Parliament, Charlie’s Turn, Pater in Tenebris, Milkshake, Nose to the Window, The Cardiac Ordeal, Meat Sweets, Scorch, The Teppenyaki of Truth, Before The Meat Time, Hope Eternal, The Last Patrol & Beyond The Book. My Dead and Blackened Heart will be available on Kindle, Paperback and Hardback from Amazon and the Sinister Horror Company website from the 25th October 2019. An early release launch party will be happening at FCON in Glasgow between 18th – 20th October 2019. A hardback edition with additional stories and bonus features will also be available (more details on its contents to be announced). Pre-orders to go live on Amazon and the Sinister website in due course. Cover art by Xavier Freudenberg. For any enquiries or further information visit: SinisterHorrorCompany.com    Comments are closed.
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