Today we’re excited to bring you a cover reveal for Gary A. Braunbeck’s upcoming collection, There Comes a Midnight Hour, which promises to be a must-read collection for horror fans. A huge thank you to Erin Al-Mehairi and Raw Dog Screaming Press for letting us share this stunning, kickass cover from Lynne Hansen! Below you can check out the cover, learn more about the collection, and find a pre-order link to snag your copy.

Raw Dog Screaming Press (RDSP) is thrilled to reveal the spectacular cover art created by artist Lynne Hansen for There Comes a Midnight Hour, a collection of stories by legendary dark fiction writer Gary Braunbeck. The collection is scheduled to release in February 2021. 

One of the most respected voices of contemporary dark fiction, Gary Braunbeck, returns with all the gravity of an imploding star to chronicle the inescapable grimness of our human condition with There Comes a Midnight Hour. The collection illustrates not only how profound an impact genre fiction can have on a reader, but also why Braunbeck’s work has influenced the next generation of horror authors.

RDSP is pleased to again work with Hansen as the cover artist because her covers are engaging, and she takes the time to make the art representative of the work each book contains. For Hansen as well, it seems the feeling is mutual. 

“I was so excited when RDSP asked me to create the cover for There Comes A Midnight Hour, cover artist Lynne Hansen said. “Gary Braunbeck’s writing is so lyrical that I was flooded with ideas. In the end, I was inspired by the Kierkegaard quote that opens the collection. It speaks of the unmasking each person must face in their darkest hour, a perfect analogy for the terror and torment Gary releases in each gorgeous tale!”

Amazing, right? Here’s how you can get your copy now!

The book collects some of Braunbeck’s more whimsical and weird stories but maintains his trademark—artfully told dark stories. Pre-order There Comes a Midnight Hour here – http://rawdogscreaming.com/books/there-comes-a-midnight-hour/

According to Braunbeck, “The purpose of There Comes a Midnight Hour was to collect a series of stories that were not only firmly within the horror genre, but also also contained elements of fantasy, mystery, science fiction and (gasp!) even romance.  I’ve never adhered much to traditional horror tropes, and as a result a lot of my fiction — especially recently — has been difficult to categorize and therefore place. There Comes a Midnight Hour  is a collection I’m quite proud of, because it shows (mehopes) that I can be just as outright weird as the other lunatics who share my love of the horror field.”

About the Artist

For more info about Hansen, head over to LynneHansenArt.com and make sure to browse her gallery of prints or cover art. Be sure to sign-up for her newsletter and receive a free digital calendar each month.

“I have over fifteen years of experience in marketing and promotions including art and design. I started creating book covers when my husband Jeff Strand decided to make his humorous horror novel The Sinister Mr. Corpse available as an e-book. Once people saw Jeff’s next e-book Wolf Hunt, I started to receive requests to design covers for other authors. Now I get to tell other people’s stories through the art of the book cover, and I love every minute of it.” 

Have more questions about There Comes a Midnight Hour? Here is a lengthier detailed description of what you’ll find within its pages:

One of the most respected voices of contemporary dark fiction, Gary Braunbeck, returns with all the gravity of an imploding star to chronicle the inescapable grimness of our human condition with There Comes a Midnight Hour. The full moon portending mysterious occurrences and nocturnal creatures as it illuminates your surroundings has had a shroud pulled over it by the author’s deft hand. In this midnight hour, there is no light to guide you, no matter how dim, as each story pulls you inexorably deeper into a desolate world paved with terror and smothered by an atmosphere of doom. Those fragile things ground into dust underfoot by your progress here are not twigs or dead leaves but your illusions of safety. 

While others map beaten paths on the literary landscape Braunbeck explores a veritable Marianas Trench where the sun never rises and toxic currents drag you through the bones of primitive things half-remembered—order, complacency, hope—making for a searing journey you’ll never forget.

This collection brings together some of the author’s most hard-hitting stories published over his celebrated quarter-century career, those with such a resounding emotional core you are left contemplating them long afterward. There Comes a Midnight Hour illustrates not only how profound an impact genre fiction can have on a reader, but also why Braunbeck’s work has influenced the next generation of horror authors. Discerning lovers of all things dark who have become jaded and are counting down the seconds for a volume of stories to distinguish their shelves…look no further. Your time has run out.

About the Author

Gary A. Braunbeck is a prolific author who writes mysteries, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mainstream literature. He is the author of 19 books; his fiction has been translated into Japanese, French, Italian, Russian and German. Nearly 200 of his short stories have appeared in various publications. Some of his most popular stories are mysteries that have appeared in the Cat Crimes anthology series.

He was born in Newark, Ohio; this city that serves as the model for the fictitious Cedar Hill in many of his stories. The Cedar Hill stories are collected in Graveyard People and Home Before Dark.

His fiction has received several awards, including the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction in 2003 for “Duty” and in 2005 for “We Now Pause for Station Identification”; his collection Destinations Unknown won a Stoker in 2006. His novella “Kiss of the Mudman” received the International Horror Guild Award for Long Fiction in 2005.

As an editor, Gary completed the latest installment of the Masques anthology series created by Jerry Williamson, Masques V, after Jerry became too ill to continue. He also served a term as president of the Horror Writers Association. He is married to Lucy A. Snyder, a science fiction/fantasy writer, and they reside together in Columbus, Ohio.

His non-fiction writing book To Each Their Darkness has been used as a text by several college writing classes. Gary has taught writing seminars and workshops around the country on topics such as short story writing, characterization, and dialogue.

Working with Braunbeck at RDSP – 

Braunbeck has a long back catalog and many awards to his name. While he leant his support to RDSP from the beginning with blurbs and words of encouragement, this is the first joint venture for the two. Editor Jennifer Barnes says, “Braunbeck’s work has always run deep and it’s just the type of thing our readers love, dark and recognizably genre but with roots that reach hidden layers.”

About RDSP

RDSP has been publishing “fiction that foams at the mouth” for over 15 years and was awarded the Specialty Press Award by the Horror Writers Association. With releases that combine and cross genres including horror, literary, science-fiction, experimental, and bizarro RDSP continues to bring you the best that fringe fiction has to offer. 

Their imprints include Dog Star Books which focuses on science fiction adventure, Guide Dog Books for cultural studies and criticism, Anti-Oedipus Press for avant garde works, and Imaginary Books for young readers. 

Go to www.rawdogscreamingpress.com for more info or to order books and follow them on all the usual social media. Also, sign up for the newsletter at the site to receive updates and news and the occasional giveaway to your inbox each month!