Notable New Book Releases [Dec. 4 - Dec. 10]

What a great week! J.E. Medrick released all of the current volumes of her YA series into one massive volume. I totally dig the cover, too.

Lee Thompson's latest Division novel got the surprise Kindle pre-release treatment much to my excitement.

Another total surprise ebook release was Robert McCammon's The Hunter from the Woods.

In other news, I also want to point out all issues of Shock Totem are now just $.99 and Glen Krisch's collection Commitment and Other Tales of Madness is free at Smashwords. UPDATE: Shock Totem #4 is free today on Amazon. RUN!

Here are the new releases that caught my eye last week. What did I miss? What books were you excited about?

The Safety Expert by Doug Richardson
Publication Date: December 5, 2011

[Written by the screenwriter of Die Hard 2 and Bad Boys.]

Ben Keller lives life by one simple rule. Safety first. Ben is keenly aware of life’s hidden dangers. Ben never smokes. Ben always uses the crosswalk. Ben always drives within the speed limit. He has to because safety is his business. From his home in Simi Valley, California, one of the safest cities in the United States, Ben works hard at living a perfectly normal, perfectly uneventful, perfectly safe life. And life is good until the past reaches into the present. In the dark of the night, a man crosses a lonely intersection and is struck by a car, setting events in motion that will unravel the finely stitched strands of Ben’s cocoon, from a recently retired porn actress who is desperate to be a mother to the butch cop determined to shield her young son from the whisperings of the queen bee moms at his private school to the addict who is clawing to hold onto the sobriety that cages the violence within him. A long dismissed demon has resurfaced, presenting Ben with a most unsafe dilemma: preserve the haven he has carefully built for himself or confront the evildoer who decimated his carefree young life all those years ago. Ben is in danger. Ben’s world is unsafe. Ben’s life will be changed forever. Again.

---

Emergence (Icarus Helix #1-5) by J.E. Medrick 
Publication Date: December 6, 2011

[Read my reviews of the Icarus Helix series here.]

The first five episodes of the "Icarus Helix" series have been collected here, in one volume. Enjoy an almost 40% discount from buying them individually when you pick up this collection!

"Emergence" includes:

"Cheat"
How far would you go for money? For Marcus Tiller, gambling debt was an overwhelming shadow on his life. As a neonatal attendant at St. Mercy Four Cities Hospital in need of cash, he became CGT-Inc's ideal pawn. The contract: secretly inject newborns with an experimental compound - for $1,000 a head. But, three years after he began, he disappeared.

Now, 14 years later, the effects of the compound are starting to show. 17-year old Ian Reynolds, an aspiring varsity football player, suddenly finds he can control things with the power of his thoughts. Footballs miraculously end up in his hands, girls' skirts catch sudden drafts and life is good. But the gift comes with a price, both physical and mental.

As Ian tries to understand his power, the big rivalry against the Waredo Firehawks looms. But when a stranger who may know his secret begins leaving him cryptic notes, will Ian decide his power is best left... undiscovered?

"Liar"
Marcus Tiller gambled away all of his money to the Bad Men. No sweat - they gave him more. But when his new bets went sour, he became desperate. He signed on with Icarus Consulting to inject newborns with an experimental compound.

Fourteen years later, Ellen discovers a startling ability - she can tell if people are lying. Not only that, but when they do, she can hear their true thoughts.

When a smooth-talking stranger hints at her powers, paranoia starts. Ellen finds herself drawn into best friend drama, tip-toeing around boys and fearing a divorce.

With the masks of people around her shattering, will Ellen learn to live with her power... or be struck down by it?

"Coward"
David West is a normal, nerdy boy. His parents are never home, he is small for his age and he can't get up the courage to get a girlfriend.

But when he accidentally absorbs a shower handle, he realizes he might not be so average, after all.

His freshman year heads quickly for disaster as he crosses paths with the football team. Now with stress building and nowhere to turn, David's power may be his last road out of mediocrity. At the moment of truth, will he decide it's easier to be brave... or wicked?

"Thief"
Single parent household. One friend in the world. Father in jail for double homicide. Poor. Mute.

What would YOU do if you suddenly turned invisible?

15-year old Mason is dealing with just these problems. When he uncovers a crippling family secret that he blames on himself, he knows things need to change. He needs them to change. Not just for himself - but for his mother.

The ability to become a ghost just may be his answer...

"Thug"
Anthony Leeman is an over-sized, twice-flunked, nineteen-year-old senior with a history of misunderstood violence. His whole world revolves around his sister, Anna. He would do and give anything to see her succeed.

When he witnesses an unbelievable event, his life is rocked out of its familiar groove. Anthony searches for answers as Anna falls mysteriously ill. With his family, health and very sanity on the line, how can he save them all?

---

The Dampness of Mourning by Lee Thompson
Pre-Release Date [Kindle Edition]: December 8, 2011

[One of my most anticipated 2012 releases!  It's available exclusively for Kindle 90 days early. I could not be more excited.]

A ringleader of phantoms and collector of souls, he played rhythms on bare flesh, hellish melodies on bone. Fifty years ago he disappeared as quickly as he came and the town of Division gladly swept his tortured acts from memory.

But John McDonnell and Michael Johnston have drawn him home—he hears their names in his sleep, tastes their blood on his tongue, and fantasizes about the rapture birthed of their mourning.

---

The Hunter from the Woods by Robert McCammon
Publication Date: December 8, 2011

[This is the ebook release, but I did notice the hardcover is back in stock.]

The Hunter from the Woods marks the much-anticipated return of Michael Gallatin, the lycanthropic hero of Robert McCammon's 1989 classic, The Wolf's Hour. These all-new, interlinked stories offer a full measure of McCammon's trademark narrative excitement, and comprise a fascinating composite portrait of a unique fictional creation.

The volume opens with a pair of brief glimpses into Michael's early life in Russia and his initial recruitment into the British Secret Service. It ends with a haunting vision of the werewolf at twilight. In between, McCammon gives us three stellar novellas depicting different phases of Michael's long, brutal war against Nazi Germany. 'Sea Chase' is a nautical tale about the hazards of transporting a defecting German scientist to a place of sanctuary in England. 'The Wolf and the Eagle' is the account of an unlikely friendship between rival 'men of action' and a harrowing portrayal of a lethal forced march through the North African desert. 'The Room at the Bottom of the Stairs' tells of an impossible, ultimately tragic love affair set in the embattled city of Berlin during the latter stages of the war.

Erotic, visceral, and filled with moments of desolating horror and unexpected warmth, The Hunter from the Woods is a triumph of imaginative storytelling. Like the best of McCammon's earlier work, it offers intelligent, world-class entertainment. In the process, it shines a welcome new light on one of the most uncommon heroes in contemporary fiction.