The Merry Blacksmith Press

Books on hand being guarded by our faithful Merry Blacksmith hound.

A Giant in the House & Other Excesses

Daniel Pearlman is a master of the literary fantastic. His stories expand the imagination as he explores the boundaries of our world and enters the hazy penumbra of perception. These twelve stories are like no funhouse mirror you’ve ever seen before.

We’re very pleased to be able to offer this to you and we are now accepting orders. Any orders placed through this website before November 12 will receive FREE domestic shipping or reduced international shipping. Visit the book’s webpage for more details.

Our first foray into the wonderful world of Arts and Crafts Festivals was a very positive one. We met a lot of great people and had a great time. Kudos to the organizers of the Pawtucket Arts & Crafts Festival. We hope to be there again next year, and at many other events around southern New England when the season starts up again.

Special thanks, too, to Rose Sipperley who joined us. Rose is the illustrator for the upcoming book, Child-Eyes, by Sarah DeSimone. She’s a fantastic artist and it was a pleasure to hang out with her all weekend.

We’ll be making prints available for order here within the next week or so. Check back often. Some of the paintings may also become available either here or on Etsy. Details to come.

And as usual, all of the books we showed are available for order here or on Amazon.

Cheers!

Arriving by the beginning of October, a superb collection of a dozen stories of the literary fantastic, A Giant in the House & Other Excesses, by Daniel Pearlman. Stories in this collection have previously appeared in such publications as Spectrum, The MacGuffin, and Nemonymous. You don’t want to miss out.

“When I first read Daniel Pearlman in 2000 my mind itself positively ‘outstretched’ —  his work has a genuinely unique and indefinable imaginative flavour that only he can bring off.”

— Des Lewis, editor Nemonymous

Check back for more details as they develop. We’ll get a page set up for orders as we get closer to press time.

Illustration by Rose Sipperley

In poetry news… we have two volumes that should be released in September. First, look for the much-anticipated Child-Eyes by Sarah DeSimone with illustrations by Rose Sipperley. Sarah and Rose are the people behind Polished Pages, a freelance editing and illustration team. In this collection, Sarah shares some of her best poetry filled with charming wonder. Rose’s illustrations complement the work perfectly.

Also look for a second Merry Blacksmith collection of poetry by noted Rhode Island poet and ranconteur, Jay Walker. His first collection with us, where I’m coming from, was an astounding (but not surprising) success, and we’re very pleased to be bringing you his next collection entitled Flower.

Stay tuned for more news on each of these incredible collections as they develop.

Cover art by Jenn Reese.

We are very pleased to announce that we will be publishing the upcoming sixth Marla Mason novel, Grim Tides, by TA Pratt. This is the second time we’ve published a Marla Mason novel. Our first was Broken Mirrors which was also the first original fiction offering from The Merry Blacksmith Press.

As with Broken Mirrors, Grim Tides will begin as an online serial. After the online version has been completely uploaded, the printed version will immediately become available for order. The serial should begin in January, and the book available by early spring.

Don’t worry… I’ll make some noise about this again as we get closer.

Not photographed: some tossed herb chicken and pasta I just made for later.

NOW AVAILABLE FOR ORDER!

We’re very happy to be publishing a new and expanded edition of Bud Webster’s The Joy of Booking. What’s more, we’ve not changed the price. It’s the same as the original edition, only $10, but with more content.

Within these pages, you’ll learn all of the basics behind bookselling for the part-time, convention bookseller from stock selection and setup to pricing and shipping. With Bud’s many years of experience behind the dealer’s table, he is in a unique position to guide the newbie bookseller with his insights into the business, and to offer his personal thoughts as a life-long bibliophile.

Order before Sept 1 and get FREE domestic shipping or greatly reduced international shipping.

Red Sky Radio by Matt Howarth has been handed over to the printer, so we should be holding copies in our hot little hands within the next couple of weeks. We are now accepting pre-orders for this book which contains 256 pages of pure awesome set in space and featuring the original “Diver” comic by the author which inspired the full-length novel.

“Using a converted space hotel as their base, Peri Fairchild and the other freelancers dive into the clouds of Baltuss to mine gases. Their activities are challenged by the extreme capitalists of Harvest Corporation who view them as pirates. With the illegal radio station Red Sky Radio providing free entertainment, follow Peri, her boyfriend Taz, and the other miners as the final showdown with Harvest Corporation leads to irrevocable changes, both for the miners and Harvest.”

This is a truly stunning space adventure you don’t want to miss!

Currently in the works is a book tentatively titled On Facebook, Everybody Knows You’re a Dog, a collection by award-winning cartoonist Timothy Lockley whose immediately-recognizable work has appeared in such places as Funny Times, The Mole, The Biloxi Sun Herald, and hundreds of websites and textbooks. This is the first time his Ods-Bodkins cartoons have been collected into a single volume. while we’re at a very early stage with this book’s production, you can certainly expect to see it well before Christmas.

Stay tuned for details as they develop.