Earlier this century, I was editor/publisher of Dark Highway Press, a specialty press that created limited-edition hardcovers. It was a very rewarding endeavor that began with my friendship with local author Robert Devereaux, author of such excellent Dell Abyss titles as Deadweight and Walking Wounded. We began by collaborating on a self-published collection of Robert’s short stories called Inside the Human Glue Factory (a true rarity!). He appreciated the results so much that we moved on to a more weighty undertaking: publishing his thus-far-unpublished and controversial Santa Steps Out.
With the help of Robert and his industry pals—including David Hartwell, Patrick LoBrutto, and Alan Clark—we finally printed a gorgeous limited-to-1000-copies edition of his naughty fairy tale in 1998, thus jumpstarting Dark Highway Press. The book debuted to critical and popular acclaim, and the book has gone on to see publication in a number of formats. Santa Steps Out is still in print today. It hasn’t been without its controversy along the way, though, stirring up passions among its readership (as well as those who haven’t read it). It is a ribald read, and some might say it crosses some boundaries. But not this editor/publisher! Santa Steps Out remains one of the most enjoyable reads of my life. I love returning to it now and then, and it never fails to bring a lascivious grin to my face.
In 2000, I enlisted the talents of Kirk Whitham (now the creator of SimpleBind) to help edit and publish the weird western anthology Skull Full of Spurs. This was a dream project of ours: to enlist the authorial skills of our favorite genre writers and produce a collection of stories reminiscent of Joe R. Lansdale’s tall tales. These would be western stories tinged with the supernatural and the monstrous. We attracted such horror heavyweights as Robert Devereaux, Yvonne Navarro, Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, Richard Lee Byers, M. Christian, Nancy A. Collins, Rick Hautala, Adam-Troy Castro, Brian Hodge, and the late Richard Laymon. The book—also a limited-to-1000-copies edition—featured a cover painting by Allen Douglas, and was designed/illustrated by Darin Sanders and Christopher Nowell. It sold out and is now a rare item.
I have a few copies of the limited Santa Steps Out left for sale at a bargain price. Contact me via the Follow Me links in the upper right of this page.