www.maynard-sims.com   Collections   Novellas   Novels   Bibliography   Biography  
Contact   Reading   Buying   Trying   Interviews   Editing   Essays    


Darkness Rising
Darkness Rising has ceased.

***

***

REVIEW

http://trashotron.com/agony/reviews/2005/maynard_sims-darkness_2005.htm

***
Darkness Rising 2005 features 20 authors and runs to 155,000 words.
We received over 450 submissions.

The successful authors received payment upon publication,
as well as a copy of the anthology.

The book was published as a limited edition 250 copy hardcover.

Publication date was March 2005.

Orders welcome to the publishers -
Prime Books, P O Box 301, Holicong, PA 18928-0301, USA
 prime@prime-books.com
 
Table of contents

  1. Yvonne Pronovost / The Thing In The Closet               3000   
  2. Steve Duffy / Secrets Of The Beehive                        14000 
  3. Richard Gavin  / Strange Advances                            6400   
  4. Anthony Armstrong / The Legacy                              3000   
  5. William P Simmons / Cleaned                                     2800   
  6. Jaleigh Johnson / The House Rules                             5000   
  7. William Jones / Rawhide and Bloodybones                    8300   
  8. Cyril Simsa / Imbibing History                                    14500
  9. Erik Tomblin / Before I Wake                                     5000   
  10. Mark McLaughlin / Eye Dew                                      1800   
  11. Ralph Robert Moore / The Woman In The Walls             7000   
  12. Peter Tennant  / Waiting For Seasons To Change         10500 
  13. Steve Redwood / Epiphany in the Sun                        4600   
  14. Scott Emerson Bull / The Dust Settles                        4100   
  15. Paul Finch / The Keeper’s Gibbet                               9900   
  16. Tim Groome / The Hollow Heart                                 7400   
  17. Kevin Anderson / Puzzle                                           3600   
  18. John Kiel Alexander / Burning Man In the House Of Lies  4500   
  19. M Louis Dixon / A Cure For Baldness                           8700   
  20. Athena Workman / Winter’s Dark Memory                    33700

***
 
DARKNESS RISING began in June 2001 and initially ran – between 2001 and 2003 - as 7 sub-titled volumes each of about 160/200 pages long, around 70,000/80,000 words of fiction each issue.
Trade paperback, colour covers.

Darkness Rising 1, 2, 3 4, 5, 6 and 7 all available.

Then in summer 2003 Darkness Rising was published as an annual anthology. Darkness Rising 2003 is available at 300 pages and 130,000 words.

The series ended with the mammoth 400 page hardcover 2005 volume.

Both annual volumes are available.

"Fans of horror fiction have come to trust the judgement of Maynard and Sims, and with good reason. This team has been editing some of the best anthologies and novellas in the genre for several years now. If we’re very lucky, they’ll continue to bring us this quality work for many years to come." Lisa DuMond.

DARK1.JPG (10111 bytes) DARK2.JPG (9767 bytes)

DARK3.JPG (12104 bytes)

contents
 Secrets Of Shadows

contents
 Caresses of Nightmare

Darkness Rising 2 was nominated for an
International Horror Guild Award
under the anthology category 2002.

7 stories from the first two volumes gained
Honorable Mentions in 2002 from Ellen Datlow
The Years Best Fantasy & Horror anthology.

A story from Volume one was selected for 2002
Best New Horror by Stephen Jones.

14 stories from Darkness Rising volumes 3, 4, and 5
have gained Honorable Mentions
in The Years Best Fantasy & Horror annual collection 2003.
This brings the total for the five volumes
published to the end of 2002 to 21.

Another 12 stories from volumes 6 and 7 gained
Honorable Mentions from their 2003 publication
taking the total to 33 from the first seven sub titled volumes.

7 stories from Darkness Rising 2003 gained Honorable Mentions
in the 2004 volume of The Years Best Fantasy and Horror.

2005?

*

“Like the old Pan collections of horror stories, this will probably grow into the essential anthology series for writers and readers alike. So get on board now, because the darkness is sure to keep on rising and rising.” Paul Kane, Terror Tales

 “All this reflecting on the reliable taste of the two editors, Maynard and Sims.” Gene O’Neill.

 “Overall it is a challenging and entertaining anthology. Maynard and Sims know what makes a Horror story tick and their choices here are to be praised. It reminded me a lot of the old Pan books of Horror.”
David Howe, Shivers.

 “And one must mention, of course, the industrious work of the Duo in reading and selecting all these stories!” Steve Redwood, Spain

                               
   DARKNESS RISING 5  published October 2002 cover by Amanda Sutton

                               

                                                     contents Black Shroud Of Fear

  1. Looks                                                 Mark Siegel              
  2. Toad                                                  Geza Csath              
  3. Jackie                                                Gene O’Neill            
  4. You Pay For The Room                      Horace Dusendschon              
  5. Prisoners Before The First Horizon     David Rawson                                 
  6. Where The Bodies Are Buried            Peter Tennant                       
  7. Daguerreotype                                      Andrew Roberts                       
  8. Gazelles In Babylon                              Cyril Simsa              
  9. Hide And Seek                                      John Paul Catton 
  10. Cerebral Demons And The Split               Rachel P Kendall                       
  11. Invisible Dust                                           Mary Williams          
  12. Brightness                                               Sean McFadden      
  13. The Master’s Call                                   Philip Robinson                   
  14. The Spectre                                          Rick Hudson                       
  15. The Scavenger                                     Alison L R Davies 
  16. The Storm Children                             Cullen Bunn               
  17. Means Of Deliverance                        Simon Bestwick         
  18. Little Death                                        Lauren Halkon
  19. Echoes                                               William P Simmons        
  20. Feeding The Beast                                Ken Goldman
  21. The Servant                                          Beth Lewis              
  22. Pearls For Tears                                    Ian Harding                                   
  23. The Venetian Blind                                 Pierre Louys       

                                    DARKNESS RISING 6   June 2003 cover Amanda Sutton

 

        contents Evil Smiles

  1. Ha Ha                                                       G R Sims/Hugh Lamb
  2. Cry Havoc                                                  Paul Finch               
  3. At The Mercy Of The Metal Dragonfly         Andrew Roberts           
  4. Just Another Carnival Story                           Jeremy C Shipp  
  5. Whisky On The Grave                                   Justin Stanchfield       
  6. Unrequited Love                                           Robert Swartwood     
  7. Playing The Odds                                          Stuart Young             
  8. Subterranean Voices                                      Kevin L Donihe
  9. Davy                                                            William P Simmons        
  10. Take It Off – Take It All Off                               Mark R Kehl                
  11. A Landing From The Roadstead of Nemours           Pierre Louys                     
  12. Harris House                                                    G Durant Haire   
  13. Alternative Night                                             Charlie Williams          
  14. Hunger                                                          Spencer Allen             
  15. The Tree Farm                                                 Kurt Newton                     
  16. The Tongues Of Men, The Voices Of Angels        Jason Brannon                     
  17. Those Who Scheme Throughout the Night   Michael Kaufman & Mark McLaughlin
  18. A Place That The Night Can’t Touch                  Paul Edwards                      
  19. Eyes Of Hazel, Kiss The Earth                            Darren Speegle           
  20. Rag Dolls                                                        Christian Westerlund      
  21. The Procession                                                 Paul Kane               
  22. Lord Of Hosts                                                   David Robertson
  23. Tonight I Sing My Blues For You                          J Newman         
  24. Father, Son                                                      Geza Csath

     
       DARKNESS RISING 7   July 2003 with Pia Hall cover  

contents SCREAMING IN COLOURS

   1.      The Cleaning               William P Simmons         
   2.       Heart And Soul           Philip Robinson       
   3.       Kindred Spirits           Paul Kane               
   4.       A Stirring                   Mark West                
   5.       Miss Grant                  Andrew Roberts          
   6.       Red Hands                 Terry Gates-Grimwood     
   7.       Making Love               John Rosenman         
   8.     All In                                      Patrick Lestewka       
   9.    Danbury Copse                         Iain Rowan                
   10.  Costa de Malo Muerte                 Christopher Stires        
   11.  The Folly                                  Richard Gavin             
   12.  The Little Demon Doubt              Allan Gilbreath       
   13.  Shadows At Echo Lake               Tim Curran             
   14.  Shadows On The Snow               Phil Locascio                
   15.  Gathering Ghosts                       Sheryl K Lindsay          
   16.  Retribution                               Paul Melniczek           
   17. A Bushman’s Story                      Frances Faucett/James Doig            

"Dear Mr Maynard & Mr Sims,  

I just wanted to write a short note to express my appreciation for your anthology ‘Darkness Rising Volume 7’ which I (perhaps inadvisably) started reading at 10pm this Friday evening and have just finished at some unmentionable hour the following Saturday morning (2nd August). 

I grew up reading the dear old Pan & Fontana series of horror books and I have to say that it’s a long, long time since I’ve been able to read a collection straight through with such tremendous eagerness to see what’s going to happen in the next story. 

I have enjoyed reading this wonderful collection of scary churches, nasty monsters and mad old ladies more than any other this year so far - Dark Terrors 6, Keep Out the Night, & Children of Cthulhu included. 

Thanks ever so much. I really didn’t think they wrote them like this any more. Now I just have to hunt out the other 6 volumes

 In case you’re wondering, I heard about the anthology through Ralan Conley’s website. In fact I've just ordered Volumes 1-6 through Amazon.

With best wishes, John L Probert."

                reviews of 2003   HorrorWorld

    DARKNESS RISING 2003 the first of the annual anthologies
    August 2003 with Pia Hall cover
    contents - a collection of 130,000 words.

Blue                                                    James Burr                   18500
Lost                                                    Jennifer Rachel Baumer  3500
The Gift                                              Iain Rowan                        1100
Enough To Share                             Barbara Malenky              4100   
Of Their Own                                       Charlie Williams              9400
Fruitful                                                  Loren MacLeod             3600
Bounty                                                   Justin Gustainis           4300
The Weeping In The Witch Hours            Paul Finch                   29000
Chaos War Engine                                  Joseph D Lacey           5000
The Right Size                                       William P Simmons   3500
Backseat Driver                                   David Simms                  4000
Grandpa’s Orchard                              Brian Ames                       5200
The Rise And Fall Of Baby Choggles        Tim Groome                4000
 Splatter                                                    Paul Dee Fecteau   2700
Bucket Brigade                                     Trent Walters                 800
The Dust Corpse                                Beth Lewis                      6000
Girl In The Snow                              Sally Holt                            1300
Bendable Rulers                              Phil Locascio                          3100
 Lie-Down-Johnny                                Andrew Roberts                 6000
Ménage A Beaucoup                             James Burr                    12700

*

Darkness Rising is available from:

Shocklines
 The Publishers
 www.booksamillion.com
 www.bn.com
 www.amazon.co.uk
www.amazon.com

                                                                       *

 When Enigmatic Tales closed we were inundated with messages of sympathy from people who had enjoyed the mixture of styles – the horror, the ghosts, the pychological - and the unique blend of the debut stories, the stories from more established names and the rare stories from the past.

We were delighted therefore when Sean Wallace of Cosmos Books (and later also prime Books) in the USA suggested we might like to edit for him a regular series of anthologies.
Discussions took place and we were pleased to be able to announce a new anthology called
DARKNESS RISING.

*

"British editors L.H. Maynard and M.P.N. Sims exhibit a sensibility I like. Old-fashioned yet not blind to contemporary trends, they have a gift for selecting timeless tales that range across the map of creepiness. Their books do not pander, insult or outrage, but instead simply deliver subtle chills and shivers." Asimovs.


 Home