I continue to work for Start Publishing doing, more-or-less, whatever needs to be done except editing: cover design, proofreading, ebook cleanup, etc.

Also still reviewing for Locus doing the column on short fiction every other month along with an occasional book review. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to do much of the latter.

I did attend Stokercon this year as a guest-of-honor. It was kind of them to honor me. Very nicely organized gathering. The hotel was a bit disappointing, but that was certainly not the con’s fault.

Personally, I don’t have time for much beyond family. My grandchildren keep me from getting too old. I hope.

All pretty dull and, as one can see, nothing much to post about.

So here’s hoping anyone reading has a happy, healthy, productive, safe new year!

More info!
Contents (below)

• “The Crease”, Simon Avery (Black Static 82/83)
• “Miz Boudreaux’s Last Ride”, Christopher Caldwell (Uncanny #50)
• “All the Things I Know About Ghosts, By Ofelia, Age 10”, Isabel Cañas (The Deadlands #30)
• “Resurrection Highway”, A. R. Capetta (The Sunday Morning Transport 9/3/2023)
• “Return to Bear Creek Lodge”, Tananarive Due (Christmas and Other Horrors: An Anthology of Solstice Horror, ed. E. Datlow)
• “The Demon Lord of Broken Concrete”, Alex Irvine (Bourbon Penn #30)
• “The Witch Is Not the Monster”, Alaya Dawn Johnson (The Book of Witches, ed. J. Strahan)
• “Interstate Mohinis”, M.L. Krishnan (Diabolical Plots #100B)
• “Those Hitchhiking Kids”, Darcie Little Badger (The Sunday Morning Transport 4/2/23)
• “If Someone You Love Has Become a Vurdalak”, Sam J. Miller (The Dark #98)
• “Midnight in Moscow”, Tobi Ogundiran (Jackal, Jackal: Tales of the Dark and Fantastic)
• “Kudzu Boy Dreaming”, SJ Powell (FIYAH #26)
• “A Geography of Innocence”, M. Rickert (Weird Horror #7)
• “Till the Greenteeth Draw Us Down”, Josh Rountree (The Deadlands #27)
• “Jack O’Dander”, Priya Sharma (Tor.com 10/4/23)
• “The Tissot Family Circus”, Angela Slatter (Twice Cursed, eds. M. O’Regan & P. Kane)
• “Significant Disruption”, R.L Summerling (Interzone 295)
• “The Ghasts”, Lavie Tidhar (Uncanny #53)
• The Dark House”, A. C. Wise (Tor.com 3/15/2023)

This is the fifteenth in the series. First ten were titled with the year. Most recent five by volume number.

“Mr. Catt”, Eleanor Arnason (F&SF March/April 23)
“The God of Minor Troubles”, Megan Chee, (Strange Horizons 5.5.23)
“What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata”, P. Djèlí Clark (The Book of Witches, ed. Jonathan Strahan)
“The Spirit of Bois”, Karyn Díaz (FIYAH #27)
“John Hollowback and the Witch”, Amal El-Mohtar (The Book of Witches, ed. Jonathan Strahan)
“Mid-Earth Removals Limited”, R.S.A. Garcia (The Sunday Morning Transport 11.5.23)
“How to Stay Married to Baba Yaga”, S.M. Hallow (Baffling #11)
“The Big Glass Box and the Boys Inside”, Isabel J. Kim (Apex #135) 6185 $125
“The Passing of the Dragon”, Ken Liu (Tor.com 9.13.23)
“A Princess with a Nose Three Ells Long”, Malda Marlys (Fantasy #88)
“Spinning Shadow”, Margaret Ronald (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #384)
“Remembered Salt”, E. Catherine Tobler (F&SF March/April 23)
“Always Be Returning”, Eugenia Triantafyllou (The Sunday Morning Transport 7.6.23)
“Can You Hear Me Now?”, Catherynne M. Valente (Uncanny #54)
“On the Fox Roads”, Nghi Vo (Tor.com 10.31.23)
“The Rain Remembers What the Sky Forgets”, Fran Wilde (Uncanny #52)
“The Cat’s Tale”, E. Lily Yu (Jewel Box)

From paranormal plots to stories of the supernatural, tales of the unfamiliar have always fascinated us humans. To keep the tradition alive, fantasy aficionado Paula Guran has gathered the most delightfully disturbing work from some of today’s finest writers of the fantastique!

No two mysterious shadows are alike, and the same can be said for the books in this series. The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 4 contains more than three hundred pages of mystical fiction. Reader beware and indulge if you dare, because these chilling tales are sure to spook and surprise!

• Simon & Schuster site with links to stores
• List of Contributors

Reviews:
“Recommended for readers who love stories guaranteed to send a frisson of wonder or fear, or both, up their spines. — Library Journal (behind paywall)

“It…felt like these stories made up an important collection, one that should be read and shivered over, not just in the run up to this Halloween, but for Halloweens to come, whenever readers are looking for a wide-ranging collection of stories that go bump in the night…If you’re looking for something appropriately spooky and scary to read this Halloween season, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror: Volume 4—and all of the previous volumes in this series! —are sure to give you just what you’re looking for. Especially if you’re looking for stories that HAVE to be read with the lights on. (With the reviewer’s story by story comments) — Reading Reality

Prepare to embark on yet another fantastic adventure with award-winning fantasy editor Paula Guran.

Delve into realms that exceed the limits of your imagination and embrace the surreal! Enjoy over 400 pages of tales ranging from wonderful to wicked. From lore and legends to myths and fables of alternative realities, you will discover bewitchment with the turn of every page.

The Year’s Best Fantasy, Volume 2 has something for every fantasy lover, representing a diverse array of accomplished talent from around the world, and perhaps beyond.

The Year’s Best Fantasy, Volume 2
ISBN-13:9781645060499
Publisher: Pyr
Pages: 406

Why is there a new cover? Because it was discovered the art for the other cover was AI generated. When the image was selected many months ago from licensable stock art, there was no indication anywhere it was generated by AI. We had no idea. When I “revealed” the cover on 23 July (the cover has been public for a few months on Amazon and elsewhere) it was noted on social media it was AI generated. Thanks to Ellen Datlow, who saw posts online and related the controversy to me, and to Michael Kelly, the ONLY person to actually email me about this, I became aware of the problem. Despite being up against a print deadline, my editor Rene Sears and Pyr art director Jennifer Do immediately took the steps necessary to rectify the situation. Pyr never intended to use AI art. Thus the new cover. Going forward, we will be checking any art more closely.