The Deixis Press Occasionally - Issue #62
do you think they’re still here?
- i’m sure they are
do you think they want to know what’s going on?
- i mean, you can tell them, and they can read if they want
ok but it’s been like 6 months? 7? i haven’t written anything at all
- yeah true. maybe they think you’re dead
i should probably fix that
HI BOOK PEOPLE!
Do you wonder what I’ve been doing? Yeah, I get that. I kind of went into book hibernation. But now spring has sprung, and there’s a lot happening that you might be interested in.
Most importantly, I have FIVE books coming out in 2025! that’s f-i-v-e, five. You can pre-order them all right now! Here are some bullet points:
Parallels by James Kinsley, out 22 May. That’s in 16 short days!
Is Jeff a restless young man just scraping by, or is he Jezz, a desperate soldier risking everything for humanity’s survival? As identities collide, one question rips through his fractured psyche:
What is reality?
This one is a project James brought to me a while ago, long before Greyskin. In our structural discussions we talked a lot about the story, its underlying mystery, how to flesh out an overall philosophy, how to twist expectation, how not to answer all the questions, how to trust readers to bring themselves to it. James did a lot of work and came back with a banger of a draft. We put it together and … well, the first two reviewers didn’t like it.
Now, I am prohibited by law from saying readers are wrong! As I said, readers bring themselves to stories. But I like this book; I think it’s smart, funny, touching, and asks big questions. It spoonfeeds you nothing (and that in itself seems to have touched a nerve with a couple of folks). The terms of my release do not allow me tell you to ignore reviewers, but I can say definitively that I cannot find some of the issues that one reviewer has highlighted. In short, this book simply needs
bettermore reviewers. Netgalley has a couple of nice comments which have unfortunately not been migrated out to Goodreads. Frustrating.
The Youngster by Bibi Berki, out 17 July
Georgie and her mother Cherry have had their ups and downs. But now they're devoted to each other – and when Cherry learns that she’s in the early stages of dementia, Georgie is with her every step of the way…
…Until she can't be. And that's when he steps into her mother's life. The one who's been waiting, watching, whispering.
This is a hard one to categorize. It is a quiet, literary, domestic thriller, which isn’t really a thing. And that’s probably why I like it. Bibi’s writing is phenomenal, exactly the sort of thing I often find myself five-starring when I read for pleasure.
Reviewers who may have been expecting a fast-paced thriller (because there is no such category as “quiet literary domestic thriller,” but one does have to categorize books when one puts them out for review, for better or worse) haven’t liked the subtlety of this book. Others don’t like reading about that weird time we experienced as a collective about 5 years ago—I get that, I do, but that’s the least important thing about this story. But yeah, again, some interesting thoughts available on NetGalley.
The Grieving Eye by Lena Atoug, out 14 August
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LOSE A FATHER AND THEN A COUNTRY?
Lena Atoug's memoir is the story of a carefree childhood doubly fractured – first by a father's death, then by war. It charts her journey as a migrant through a world of new languages and customs, navigating adolescence, loneliness and lack of belonging.
This is Deixis Press’s first non-fiction book (though we have had some autofiction in The Last Doorbell by William Parker. I sob through the last few chapters of this book every time I look at it. Again, this is a book that just needs more readers/more reviewers to convey a real sense of its beauty and importance.
It’s Hard to Tell You This by James Kinsley, a novella, out 25 September
Michael’s father didn’t leave much behind. A handful of battered paperbacks, a few family photos, and an ancient tape recorder - the scattered remains of an old man’s empty life. But that tape recorder sparks something in Michael, a need to take stock of his own thoughts. His memories. His regrets.
Turning the recorder on, Michael begins to speak. About the loves he lost. The girls who slipped away. The women he hurt. Each memory spools out of him and onto the tape, raw and unedited.
This is Deixis Press’s first novella, but our third book from James, and I’m delighted to put it out there. It was a surprise book for 2025—another potential novella got moved to next year (more on that later, maybe). It tells the story of one short period in Michael’s life, interspersed with tape-recorded monologues to all the girls he’s loved before.
I think there are some Important Themes here around boys, men, the epidemic of male loneliness, you know, all the Stuff in the atmosphere right now.
The House of All Sorrows by Richard Gadz, out 23 October
Jekyll is a man with a horrible, guilty secret. The results of the sinister experiments he conducts in the basement of Westwych House, the Jekylls' country home in Somerset, are known only to a handful of people. All his family ever see is a dedicated scientist. All his servants ever hear are screams in the dead of night.
As guests gather for a genteel weekend, a web of events entangles a young historian in local legends of monsters and werewolves, and Frederick Jekyll's nightmare past prepares to wreak bloody revenge on everyone present at Westwych House.
Hell yes, this is the third in Richard’s “Gothics Undead” collection, his retellings of classic horror stories. This time we’ve got Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde (with a light sprinkling of Dr Moreau). This collection is so much bloody fun.
If you liked The Workshop of Filthy Creation and The Eater of Flies, you’re in for yet another treat. And of course, it goes without saying that each of these books stands alone. Read these books in any order at any time (just make sure you don’t do it alone in the dark).
So apart from putting books together and bemoaning the general lack of reviewers, what else have I been doing? Well,
YOU CAN NOW ORDER PAPERBACKS DIRECT FROM THE PRESS AT A DISCOUNT!
That’s right—previously I only had hardbacks available, but I now have the ability to give you a fantastic discount on paperbacks as well (US and UK customers only). Each and every book currently in production now has links to both formats. For the five books currently in pre-order, the paperback links will appear after the book is released.
PLUS, A REWARD FOR READING THIS FAR: THE £10 HARDBACK SALE IS NOW ON!
I have a fair bit of stock I need to sell to make room for FIVE new books! You can now nab six of my books in hardback format for £10 each. This is the lowest you’ve probably seen it (I think I saw a few on Amazon at this price). Go to the book’s page, scroll alllllll the way to the bottom, and click the “£10 stock sale” button for a treat. This sale lasts only as long as stock remains.
Please note! These are all prize-winners or have been nominated for prizes. That is, these are seriously good books.
Blue Hawk by Chloe Turner
The Cartoon Life and Loves of a Stupid Man by Marc Joan
The Burn Street Haunting by Richard Gadz
Greyskin by James Kinsley
Hangdog Souls by Marc Joan
The Workshop of Filthy Creation (original cover) by Richard Gadz
Please, pass this on to anyone who likes their books awesome, hardback, and cost-effective.
Yours,
Angel
“quiet, literary, domestic thriller” beautifully sums up the book I’m writing! Maybe it’s the beginning of a new genre…!