OCCASIONAL UPDATES ONLY. Former editorial page editor/arts columnist/beat reporter for @RoanokeTimes—also chaired @TimeslandGuild a short while.
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ALT Spring 2026 Fiction & Nonfiction Preview: SF, Fantasy & Horror Fairy-tale elements dominate this season’s fantasies, gothic atmosphere pervades the horror novels, and tech-based anxiety animates the sci-fi outings. Mythic Delirium The Language of Knives: Stories by Haralambi Markov (July 7, $17.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-956522-05-1). This debut collection, featuring an introduction by Ann VanderMeer, brings together speculative stories ranging from second-world fantasies and riffs on folklore to hard science fiction.
![MYTHIC DELIRIUM returns with new in 2026
At least that’s the goal! And the first phase is underway, with the forthcoming publication of Haralambi Markov’s debut collection of horror & Weird fiction, THE LANGUAGE OF KNIVES. (Introduction by Ann VanderMeer!)
In a celebration of Mythic Delirium-enabled debuts, we’ve made C.S.E. Cooney’s BONE SWANS—which turned 10 years old this year—Barbara Krasnoff’s THE HISTORY OF SOUL 2065, and Yukimi Ogawa’s LIKE SMOKE, LIKE LIGHT available at HUGE discounts [US Only] in e-book AND paperback editions, WITH pre-orders of LANGUAGE OF KNIVES + shipping costs included in the prices!
Please check it out & spread the word—all found here: https://bit.ly/BoneSwans10th](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G5-tgprXYAABngA.jpg?name=orig)
ALT MYTHIC DELIRIUM returns with new in 2026 At least that’s the goal! And the first phase is underway, with the forthcoming publication of Haralambi Markov’s debut collection of horror & Weird fiction, THE LANGUAGE OF KNIVES. (Introduction by Ann VanderMeer!) In a celebration of Mythic Delirium-enabled debuts, we’ve made C.S.E. Cooney’s BONE SWANS—which turned 10 years old this year—Barbara Krasnoff’s THE HISTORY OF SOUL 2065, and Yukimi Ogawa’s LIKE SMOKE, LIKE LIGHT available at HUGE discounts [US Only] in e-book AND paperback editions, WITH pre-orders of LANGUAGE OF KNIVES + shipping costs included in the prices! Please check it out & spread the word—all found here: https://bit.ly/BoneSwans10th
ALT The full wraparound cover for the trade paperback edition of my novel trail of shadows, featuring a creature that’s part woman and part spider hanging upside down in a strange blue gray void
ALT Trade paperback and audiobook copies of CSE Cooney’s World Fantasy Award winning collection BONE SWANS, depicting an opulently-clad noble playing a flute and looking up at the stars as a stream of birds pour down from the sky in response to his music.
ALT The cover of THE BLACK FIRE CONCERTO audiobook, narrated by C. S. E. Cooney, depicting a young girl holding a skull from which an eerie glowing smoke is rising, while a glowing-eyed antlered figure looms behind her in the nighttime woods.
ALT The cover art for THE BLACK FIRE CONCERTO and TRAIL OF SHADOWS side-by-side, showing how they both are colored a deep twilight blue…
ALT A being that is part titanic spider and part woman emerges from the shadows on the cover of my forthcoming novel TRAIL OF SHADOWS, scheduled for release October 7 from Broken Eye Books!
ALT A graphic featuring a dark purple background on the top half and a smoky background on the bottom half. A border of a flowering vine twines around the perimeter, accented with treble clefs. Text across the top reads “Mike Allen” then features his author photo and the cover of The Black Fire Concerto (with the Ruadán fox logo). Text reading “The Black Fire Concerto” spans the center, with an underlining element of musical notes. Then it reads “in conversation with C.S.E. Cooney, 30 May 2025, 8 PM EST. twitch.tv/csecooney.”
ALT A graphic with me and Claire wearing fancy fantasy headgear that gives the URL of the event, twitch.tv/csecooney and the time/date, Friday May 30 8 pm EST
ALT Join authors C. S. E. Cooney and Mike Allen for a book talk about their new 2025 releases: Saint Death's Daughter and Black Fire Concerto! Authors C. S. E. Cooney and Mike Allen are longtime friends, with an adventurous history in publishing. Now they're in conversation about their latest novels: C. S. E. Cooney's Saint Death's Herald (Solaris Books) and Mike Allen's Black Fire Concerto (Ruadán Books). Years ago, Cooney was editor of a much earlier edition of Black Fire Concerto, and this year, she was honored to narrate Mike's deeply revised, and wildly macabre Ruadan edition. In this book talk, Cooney and Allen will be interviewing each other about process, plot, and publishing. (And probably more!) (Not necessarily in that order!) Stream us live at twitch.tv/csecooney on May 30th, 8 PM Eastern-and join us in the chat, if you happen to have a Twitch account. This event is free.
ALT A graphic featuring a smoky background on the top half and a dark purple background on the bottom half. A border of a flowering vine twines around the perimeter, accented with treble clefs. Text across the top reads “Mike Allen” then features his author photo and the cover of The Black Fire Concerto (with the Ruadán fox logo). Text reading “The Black Fire Concerto” spans the center, with an underlining element of musical notes. Then it reads “in conversation with C.S.E. Cooney, 30 May 2025, 8 PM EST. twitch.tv/csecooney.”
ALT A banner showing pictures of myself and C. S. E. Cooney and the covers of our books THE BLACK FIRE CONCERTO and SAINT DEATH’S HERALD; we will be on Twitch.TV/CSECOONEY at 8 PM on May 30
ALT A dark background features white text sharing a blurb from Tanith Lee about Mike Allen's The Black Fire Concerto, available now. The blurb reads “Two unusual female heroes, a deceptively musical quest, and some very black magic indeed, should make this a prize for the multitude of fans who relish strong Grand Guignol with their sword and sorcery.” A decorative swirl of musical notes is in white below the book cover image and blurb. The Ruadán Books logo is in the lower right corner.
ALT A graphic with white text reading "Independent Bookstore Day" featuring a collage of photos from Mike Allen's event at Book No Further in Roanoke, VA. The Ruadán Books logo is in the upper right.
ALT screenshotted and superimposed over an eerie forest scene…
ALT A deep orange background with some black mottling around the edges displays the words "World Book Day Giveaway" above two paperbacks: 120 Murders, edited by Nick Mamatas, and The Black Fire Concerto by Mike Allen. Underneath this, it reads, "See Instagram for a chance to win." The Ruadán Books logo is in the upper left corner.
ALT A purple flower matches the book cover of THE BLACK FIRE CONCERTO
ALT A lovely view inside a bookstore with a polished hardwood floor, in which poet and reviewer Jessica Wick is holding up a copy of my horror novel THE BLACK FIRE CONCERTO