04/25/06 TUE:
---Word from Golden Gryphon:

Greetings from the Gryphon:

SLEEPING POLICEMEN, by Dale Bailey and Jack Slay Jr. is now available!

High in the Smoky Mountains, in an instant of gut-wrenching horror,
five lives are about to change forever.
For Nick Laymon, that night begins like any other evening during his
four years at Ransom College—with cold beer in the company of his closest
friends, Finney Durant and Reed Tucker, followed by the sweet midnight
promise of the girl he’s always dreamed of, Sue Thompson. It will end nine
hours later, when Nick and his friends run down a lone pedestrian on a stretch
of deserted mountain highway.
In the folds of the dead man's coat, Nick finds two items: a sheaf of
hundred dollar bills and a mysterious key. The cash ignites ambitions Nick has
barely dared admit before this moment. The key will lead him to a bus station
locker and the homemade video tape that waits inside it.
And the video tape, with its graphic depiction of the rape and murder
of a missing teenage girl, will plunge them all into a nightmare.
In the hours that follow, Nick Laymon and his friends will find
themselves under pressure from all quarters. From the private detective who
claims to represent the father of the missing girl. From the state trooper who
knows about the man they left for dead along that stretch of fog-shrouded
pavement. And from a shadowy underworld figure known as the Pachyderm,
who wants his money and his video back--and who is willing to go to any
length to get them.
Most of all, however, these hours will bring Nick and his companions
face to face with the limits of friendship. As his life unravels around him, Nick
Laymon will be forced to reckon with his own dark potential. And in the
explosive climax, he will face the most crucial choices of his life:
What kind of man does he want to be? And what kind of price is he
willing to pay?

Tell your librarian that they'll like this one; the college student that likes libraries is
still alive on the last page! Maybe they should order two?

SLEEPING POLICEMEN, by Dale Bailey and Jack Slay Jr.
Cover art by John Picacio
ISBN 1-930846-40-1 / $24.95 (Trade hardcover)
198 pages
Golden Gryphon Press

---I do have my pre-order in for this, I know, but am unsure if it is enough to trigger an actual shipment (fulfilling minimum invoice requirement).

---Word from Borderlands:

Many moons ago Charlie and Tom co-wrote a novelette entitled "When Dark Descends." They sent a copy of the manuscript to their agent at the time (Kirby McCauley) who lost the manuscript. It was never published, and both Charlie and Tom could not find any copies of the original—which had been written on typewriters. (remember those???)

In cleaning out some old files, Tom found the only remaining CARBON of the manuscript.

Tom assures me that "the people they gonna love-a this tale" so Borderlands Press will publish a limited edition in hardcover signed by both authors.

$35.00 Retail
$75.00 Lettered

When Dark Descends
by Charles L. Grant & Thomas F. Monteleone

An intriguing tale of mystery and apocalyptic vision.
Pub date: June 10, 2006