Lush, Brutal.
Beautiful, Visceral.
Crystal Lake Publishing proudly presents Arterial Bloom an artful juxtaposition of the magnificence and macabre that exist within mankind. Each tale in this collection is resplendent with beauty, teeth, and heart.
Edited by the Bram Stoker Award-winning writer Mercedes M. Yardley, Arterial Bloom is a literary experience featuring 16 stories from some of the most compelling dark authors writing today.
Arterial Bloom boasts a foreword by HWA Lifetime Achievement Recipient Linda D. Addison. You are invited to step inside and let the grim flowers wind themselves comfortably around your bones.
The line-up includes:
The Stone Door by Jimmy Bernard
Dog (Does Not) Eat Dog by Grant Longstaff
Kudzu Stories by Linda J. Marshall
Dead Letters by Christopher Barzak
The Darker Side of Grief by Naching T. Kassa
Welcome to My Autumn by Daniel Crow
Still Life by Kelli Owen
Three Masks by Armand Rosamilia
Doodlebug by John Boden
Happy Pills by Todd Keisling
What Remained of Her by Jennifer Loring
Blue Was Her Favorite Color by Dino Parenti
In the Loop by Ken Liu
The Making of Mary by Steven Pirie
Mouths Filled with Sea Water by Jonathan Cosgrove
Rotten by Carina Bissett
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.
“Yardley’s debut anthology floored me. An incredible cocktail of poetic darkness, fueled by some of the best names working today. A must-have for any horror fan.”–Matt Hayward, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of What Do Monsters Fear? and A Penny For Your Thoughts
“The stories in Arterial Bloom work in tandem, enticing the reader into rapturous melancholia. The end result is both comforting and unsettling, my favorite way to feel.“–Sadie Hartmann, Cemetery Dance
“For a horror anthology that represents back-to-back literary prowess and diversity, filled with stories that are brooding and beautiful, Arterial Bloom more than fits the bill.”—D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review.
“It starts with the title, Arterial Bloom–a release of crimson power, turning into something else entirely–blossoming and expanding, changing shape. These stories are transformative, mixing horror and wonder, in equal amounts. Mercedes Yardley, and Crystal Lake, have an aesthetic that haunts the reader, getting under your skin, burrowing in, and calling you home. Always lyrical, always powerful, this anthology will shine some light into the darkness, but beware the moment the beam starts to flicker.”—Richard Thomas, author of Disintegration and Breaker, past Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, and Thriller award nominee
“Arterial Bloom is an anthology which is hard to pick flaws in. Each of its sixteen stories contributes to the whole, in both subject matter and depth of feeling. The way the table of contents has been crafted together delivers an ideal ebb and flow of pace, length and tone. Following on from Crystal Lake Publishing’s hugely successful Tales From The Lake series, Arterial Bloom will sit proudly alongside those tomes and, undoubtedly, the best anthologies that 2020 has to offer.”––This Is Horror“
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