Books published by Written Backwards

Michael Bailey returns to the strange town of Brenden, Washington to expand the events of Palindrome Hannah. A family is torn apart after a horse foaling goes terribly wrong; a sickly man recounts getting mauled by his neighbor's dog; an undead priest is reborn into the world over a hundred years after his untimely death; two brothers run for their lives through a dead field of wheat. Holding all this together is a young boy named Todd, whose survival pivots on the balance of life and death, and a deranged mental patient with a burnt rose tattoo, whose reality is paradoxical. While his previous novel may have left you questioning coincidence, Phoenix Rose will leave you questioning your very own existence.

The sick imagination of Michael Bailey brings you thirteen dark poems and thirteen tales of the macabre [ and some bonus content ] that will make you think twice before turning your room dark for the night. A young woman chews her fingernails raw, unable to stop; a television set dangles from an apartment complex window; a large chest is found containing only a banded bouquet of wilted flowers; a stitched bear named Thatch bleeds at the neck, his stuffing torn out; a man wakes up duct-taped to a mammoth wooden chair. Between writing the novels PALINDROME HANNAH and PHOENIX ROSE, Michael Bailey penned and published a number of short fiction and poetry pieces, some of which can be found in literary magazines and anthologies around the world. A few of these fallen dragon scales and flower petals are reprinted here, while others are completely original to this collection, Once you crack the spine, there's no going back. This second edition contains a bonus script and graphic adaptation of "Plasty," a collaboration with artist L.A. Spooner, and three previously unpublished flash fiction pieces.

A small collection of dark science fiction by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Michael Bailey. Includes "Darkroom" and "SAD Face" (novelettes), and "Fade to Black" (short story).DARKROOM: After living most of her life blindfolded, for fear of what she might see, Grace shifts though time in a series of strange experiments involving old-fashioned black-and-white photography in order to create a flipbook of her father aging in reverse. Near completion of her project, and no longer able to go through with it on her own, she brings along her likewise blindfolded and temporarily deafened sister, for fear of what they might also hear in their travels, and together they take snapshots, wandering their childhood home, hand-in-hand, albeit with added disabilities to protect them from that which doesn't hide so well in the past. The undeveloped, they soon discover, what they'd forgotten of their troubled youth, is perhaps more frightening than what they later develop in the darkroom. SAD FACE: Yuliya dons a prosthetic face designed to help her cope with Social Anxiety Disorder, the essential oil infused mask not only disguising her expression, but the wet city stench as it soothes. Time, it can only stop when someone takes a photo, and that's what they did, whoever made it; they took her picture and made her a mask to hide behind whenever social phobia bullied her. A dead-face: expressionless, eyes only visible through open sockets, mouth slightly parted; the way she imagined she'd look the day she died. And now, whenever someone sees her, or stares at her, wearing her Yuliya mask, they are looking at her past. Yet behind her SAD face, she sometimes finds confidence, until she takes it off to uncover the woman hiding beneath. FADE TO BLACK: A bonus short story that explores optophobia, the fear of opening one's eyes.

From the mind of award-winning author and editor Michael Bailey comes Inkblots and Blood Spots, a painfully beautiful collection of short stories and poetry that reaches deep into the imagination, breaking hearts and boundaries along the way...In a lyrical and uninterrupted dance, Bailey entwines evocative literary short fiction with rhythmic poetry and comes full circle in one seamless collection. His stellar performance is accompanied by the stunning artwork of Daniele Serra, winner of the British Fantasy Award, and an Introduction by the legendary Douglas E. Winter. Stories include the Bram Stoker nominated "Fireman / Primal Tongue," which also received an Honorable Mention for Year's Best Horror; "Dandelion Clocks," a haunting, melodic tribute to the tragedy of 9/11; "I Wanted Black," where a young boy's birthday is anything but cause to celebrate; "Mum," a tale of two sisters unfolding like the bandages on their mother's badly burned body... Take a surreal stroll through a carnival in "Underwater Ferris Wheel," where the biggest attraction may be your last ride; witness a pregnant woman's harrowing encounter with soul-stealing faerie in "Not the Child"; and find out why it gets cold in a little girl's room at night when she sees "A Light in the Closet."

The future of humankind as an ever-changing organism is a subject of much debate. Where is our evolutionary path leading? Will the next rung take the form of mental transcendence, will it set humankind on a course toward divinity, or will this uncertain path involve a dark and terrible reversion? Co-editors Michael Bailey and Darren Speegle present eighteen tales of dark science fiction that explore the course of evolution, written by some of the best literary minds in the fields of science fiction and horror.

Chiral Mad 2 is an anthology of psychological horror containing twenty-eight short stories by established authors and newcomers from around the world. All profit from sales of this anthology go directly to Down syndrome charities. Featuring the imaginations of David Morrell, Ramsey Campbell, Jack Ketchum, John Skipp, Gary A. Braunbeck, Mort Castle, Gene O'Neill, Gary McMahon, Lucy A. Snyder, Thomas F. Monteleone, and many others, with an introduction by Michael Bailey.

The third act in the critically-acclaimed series by Written Backwards, is a symmetrically-structured anthology of psychological horror by Bram Stoker Award nominated editor Michael Bailey, whose previous anthologies include The Library of the Dead, Qualia Nous and Pellucid Lunacy. The anthology contains 45 illustrations by Glenn Chadbourne, over 20 stories by the likes of Stephen King, Jack Ketchum, Ramsey Campbell, Gary A. Braunbeck, Mort Castle, Josh Malerman, Scott Edelman, Richard Thomas, Richard Chizmar and Gene O'Neill, and with 20 intertwined poems by the likes of Elizabeth Massie, Marge Simon, Bruce Boston, Erik T. Johnson, Stephanie M. Wytovich, and also includes an introduction by the extraordinary Chuck Palahniuk.

Pellucid Lunacy was the first anthology by Written Backwards, and the recipient of both the International Book Award and USA News "Best Book" Award. This second edition contains twenty tales of psychological horror, with new cover and interior design by Michael Bailey, editor of the original edition.

The Library of the Dead is an anthology of literary fiction inspired by Chapel of the Chimes, a crematory and columbarium founded in 1909 in Oakland, California, and one of the area's most beautiful historic buildings. Thousands are entombed in golden books (urns) shelved from floor to ceiling in a glowing labyrinth of nearly countless rooms. The stories within The Library of the Dead represent a few of those golden books, and when opened, reveal the stories of those inside.

Chiral Mad is an anthology of psychological horror containing twenty-eight short stories by established authors and newcomers from around the world. All profit from sales of this anthology go directly to Down syndrome charities. Featuring the imaginations of Jack Ketchum, Gary Braunbeck, Gene O'Neill, Gary McMahon, Gord Rollo, Jeff Strand, Michael Bailey, and many others, with an introduction by Thomas F. Monteleone.

A literary blend of science fiction and horror, Qualia Nous contains short stories, novelettes, and poetry from established authors and newcomers from around the world. Featuring the imaginations of Stephen King, Gene O'Neill, William F. Nolan, John Everson, Lucy A. Snyder, Thomas F. Monteleone, Elizabeth Massie, Gary A. Braunbeck, and many others.