Ex Occidente Press

[Joel]

I rarely buy books on the basis of reviews, but life's too short to wait for friends to tell me what to buy. I mostly buy new books based on what I've already read in magazines and anthologies, or where I already appreciate past books by the same author. But in recent years I've prioritised work from the past rather than the present, to fill gaps in my reading. Ars longa vita brevis.

It's my personal belief that a time will come when attributing the success of Joe Hill's books to his father's status is recognised to be as daft as assuming that Robert Aickman was only well-regarded because his grandfather was Richard Marsh. People who knew Joe Hill in the past knew that he wanted to keep his parentage quiet so that his work could be judged on its own merits, therefore they respected his wishes in that regard.

I was knocked out by Joe Hill's stories, especially 'Twentieth-Century Ghost' and 'The Black Phone', for years before I knew who who his father is. I think he's arguably a better writer than his father, and he's certainly more literary and less commercial. His recent story 'Thumbprint' is a particularly brave foray into political allegory. I look forward to his future work. Being the sons of famous authors did nothing for Justin Leiber and Richard Christian Matheson (though the latter's work has achieved some limited recognition, that has not been in excess of its own merits). I'd rather read a new Joe Hill story than a new Stephen King story, these days.

In self-mitigation I have no gripe with JH; I've previously expressed sympathy with his having a famous father, which must obvious create problems. No, my concern was that the reviewer in question failed to decline to review JH's book, or to declare his conflict of interest.

Obviously JH's work will be judged on its own merits over time. Frank Lampard may have a famous footballing father, but he's proved that despite having started from a position of priviledge, he is a brilliant footballer in his own right.

I have a vested interest in believing Reggie Oliver to be a better writer than JH, which I've always been happy to openly acknowledge. However, I think it's fair to say that JH has received more attention because of of who he is than RO has (or indeed, many other talented Brit writers). Yes, JH is a very good writer, but he has undoubtedly received greater attention than he would otherwise have done because of who he is.

I take on board your comments re Aickman and Marsh (which could also apply to RO and Stella Gibbons), but the influential multi-millionaire Mr King Snr is very much alive and well and writing, and review praisers may have one eye on this important difference.

JK

[G. S. Carnivals]

Quote Originally Posted by Joel

I rarely buy books on the basis of reviews, but life's too short to wait for friends to tell me what to buy. I mostly buy new books based on what I've already read in magazines and anthologies, or where I already appreciate past books by the same author. But in recent years I've prioritised work from the past rather than the present, to fill gaps in my reading. Ars longa vita brevis.

I have always embraced this attitude, but I would never have taken a chance on Thomas Ligotti if it were not for the roar of a small crowd in a big room.

[Evans]

Quote Originally Posted by G. S. Carnivals

Quote Originally Posted by Joel I rarely buy books on the basis of reviews, but life's too short to wait for friends to tell me what to buy. I mostly buy new books based on what I've already read in magazines and anthologies, or where I already appreciate past books by the same author. But in recent years I've prioritised work from the past rather than the present, to fill gaps in my reading. Ars longa vita brevis. I have always embraced this attitude, but I would never have taken a chance on Thomas Ligotti if it were not for the roar of a small crowd in a big room.

For what it matters I looked into Ligotti because a few of my friends spoke highly of him. I knew he was well liked critically but I didn't take that as an indicator of whether I would like his fiction or not.

[DocGriffinStone]

Has anyone had trouble getting their books?

I was thrilled about the new press, so I figured that I would start with the Reggie Oliver collection and the Jean Ray.I placed an order for both at the end of March, and asked that they be sent together in a box (I asked this before I placed the order). In May, I get a padded envelope with a somewhat banged up Jean Ray, but no Reggie Oliver. I wrote to Dan and explained the situation, and he said that he would send out replacements within 2 days. Wonderful!

Well, a month has passed, and no books. I wrote to Dan on Friday and again on Monday (when I read that the Reggie Oliver collection was down to a few copies), and no response.

So now I am more than a little frustrated about the situation (and not to mention that the Ray Russell and the Mark Valentine collections have sold out in the meantime, which is a shame).

Am I being too impatient? Should it take a month for the books to arrive to New York from Bucharest? Is Dan away on holiday?

Best

DocGriffinStone

[qcrisp]

Quote Originally Posted by DocGriffinStone

Has anyone had trouble getting their books? I was thrilled about the new press, so I figured that I would start with the Reggie Oliver collection and the Jean Ray.I placed an order for both at the end of March, and asked that they be sent together in a box (I asked this before I placed the order). In May, I get a padded envelope with a somewhat banged up Jean Ray, but no Reggie Oliver. I wrote to Dan and explained the situation, and he said that he would send out replacements within 2 days. Wonderful! Well, a month has passed, and no books. I wrote to Dan on Friday and again on Monday (when I read that the Reggie Oliver collection was down to a few copies), and no response. So now I am more than a little frustrated about the situation (and not to mention that the Ray Russell and the Mark Valentine collections have sold out in the meantime, which is a shame). Am I being too impatient? Should it take a month for the books to arrive to New York from Bucharest? Is Dan away on holiday? Best DocGriffinStone

It's always worth enquriing again, if it's taken a whole month, I'd say.

[Evans]

Out of interest are the covers of All God's Angels Beware, Trenumborus Tales (apologies to Julian for very probably spelling his collection wrong) and The Man Who Collected Machen definately the same as those on the site? I just though it best to ask since some of them had cover art not yet finalized and I wanted to unleash positive plague of those images on the Horror Cover thread.

[Spotbowserfido2]

Quote Originally Posted by Evans

Trenumborus Tales (apologies to Julian for very probably spelling his collection wrong)

This should not be mistaken for "The Trembler on the Tenebris Malgraph Axis" by Peter Crowther, James Lovegrove, and Tanith Lee. I am always happy to help when I can.

Quote Originally Posted by Evans

Out of interest are the covers of All God's Angels Beware, Trenumborus Tales (apologies to Julian for very probably spelling his collection wrong) and The Man Who Collected Machen definately the same as those on the site? I just though it best to ask since some of them had cover art not yet finalized and I wanted to unleash positive plague of those images on the Horror Cover thread.

Well, 'Tenebrous Tales' certainly is. They'll be a different illustration by the same artist (Kerry Buck) by way of a frontispiece. KB has created illustrations for mainstream books in the past.

The book title derives from Barry Humphries' introduction to Robert Aickman's 'Night Voices'. BH and I share a similar interest in weird fiction; I just hopes he likes the artwork as much as I do. I'm currently working on another project that BH may be involved in after he's finished his US tour.

I understand that Dan Ghetu spends a lot of time travelling across Romania from his home to consult with his printer re his various projects, and that the complexities of artwork are just one of the issues discussed. Bearing in mind that he is also raising a young family and undertakes most of the publishing work himself, I am surprised that he manages to achieve as much as he does.

People often don't realise that small press publishers scratch by on very modest incomes which in turn keeps the cost down. The average new badly- and cheaply-made hardback in Waterstones usually costs circa £15 - 20 but probably only costs £2-3 to produce. In contrast, you pay a tenner more for a sewn limited edition book printed in small runs because it costs £10 more to produce.

The small presses that have been going for a few years are obviously more efficient at despatching their books but every new small business experiences teething problems in the early stages. Anyone who thinks they can do better should give it a try.

I'm sorry if it offends those who have been waiting X number of weeks for this or that book, but I think that new small presses should be cut quite a lot of slack. People who are prepared to work so hard for so very little return, ostensibly because of passion for the subject, deserve some patience and forbearance.

Having said that, I would clearly differentiate between the delays experienced by the Ex Occ Presses of this world, and the out-and-out fraud committed by vanity presses who deliberately dupe both writer and customer, or the antics of certain publishers formerly based in Seattle, who still refuse to pay writers or refund customers several years down the line whilst maintaining a lucrative sideline in book sales on Ebay. Dan Ghetu is no John Pelan, he is simply someone struggling to cope with a very large workload (and coping very well, on the whole).

JK

[Evans]

Right thats Mr Samuels book ordered.

Quote Originally Posted by Julian Karswell

Well, 'Tenebrous Tales' certainly is. They'll be a different illustration by the same artist (Kerry Buck) by way of a frontispiece. KB has created illustrations for mainstream books in the past. The book title derives from Barry Humphries' introduction to Robert Aickman's 'Night Voices'. BH and I share a similar interest in weird fiction; I just hopes he likes the artwork as much as I do. I'm currently working on another project that BH may be involved in after he's finished his US tour.

Apologies, I only looked at the Tenebrous Tales page a while ago and miss read it. I allways assumed it was derived from Tenebrarum (again; not sure of spelling) so it would be read as "Dark Tales". I've never read any of Robert Aikman's stories so I didn't get the referance.