The Master in Café Morphine lands in the Empire State!

My contributor's copy of Ex Occidente's mighty The Master in Café Morphine has arrived at last! More Romanian stamps than usual were required to get this tome of over 360 pages safely to the United States. Publisher Dan Ghetu, his unnamed designers and printers, and artists Santiago Caruso, C.C. Askew, and Sanya Glisic have produced a book of outstanding beauty. The stories within pay tribute to Mikhail Bulgakov, author of the classic The Master and Margarita.

My contribution is entitled "Only for the Crossed-Out." In it you will find miserable Soviet censors, dire secret police, discarded, forgotten and forbidden books by the roomful, strange dreams, and just deserts. The title comes from Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky's story The Bookmark.

The Master in Café Morphine, a limited edition of just 100 copies, is available to order directly from the publisher, and should be in stock soon at the usual dealers.

Short Story "Only For the Crossed-Out" in The Master in Cafe Morphine

My short story "Only For the Crossed-Out" appears in the forthcoming anthology The Master in Café Morphine: A Homage to Mikhail Bulgakov (ed. Dan T. Ghetu, Ex Occidente Press Bucharest 2011). (At left is a handsome Bulgakov-themed illustration by C.C. Askew.) This long-awaited volume will see publication in March 2011. Available to pre-order from the publisher: http://exoccidente.com/morphine.html Once again, I am stunned to see my work appear between hard covers alongside stories by Mark Valentine, R.B. Russell, Reggie Oliver, and other gifted practitioners. UPDATE: Now it looks like this book will emerge sometime in June/July. I have done final corrections on my story and had a peek at the interior layout- it's another triumph of book design by Dan and team. Collectors and aesthetes rejoice!