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- Or for photos from signings and Stoker Events click here
- Have you read "Black Mill Cove" from Dark Delicacies and want to know about the inspiration behind it? Then click here
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NOVELS
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THE CASTLE OF LOS ANGELES, Gray Friar Press. Introduction by Gary A. Braunbeck. Available in trade paperback. From Gary's extraordinary introduction: "The Castle of Los Angeles is, quite simply, a superlative piece of storytelling, one that will echo in your mind long after the lights have gone out..." And from Dennis Etchison: "She makes the familiar new, the commonplace fresh and more interesting than I had thought it was, and nourishing in unexpected ways. That she may not yet recognize this aspect of her work is no surprise, since it is the result of a creative process she performs as a matter of course. But she deserves my special thanks for digesting our particular world and giving it back to me in another form, colored by an intelligence that is, whether she knows it or not, as unique as a fingerprint."
Famous Monsters says: "Haunted places and ghost stories are some of my most favorite reads and Castle of Los Angeles ranks up with there with some of my all time favorites like Ghost Story and The Shining. If you are looking for a well written, page turner of a ghost story you would be hard pressed to find anything published in the last few years as good as this."
Dark Scribe Magazine on Castle: "With the precision of master dark scribes boasting far more titles in their back catalogs, Morton deftly crafts a genuinely spine-tingling spooker, an homage to the haunted house tale that shrewdly never falls prey to the clichéd trappings of this familiar sub-genre....The Castle of Los Angeles is a sterling example of a classic framework successfully updated, bringing it forward from the relegation of throwback into the realm of relevance. With flawed, interesting characters and a multi-layered narrative that will keep even the most jaded dark fiction reader from seeing around every corner, Morton’s debut easily stands out as one of the best new books of the year."
At Chizine.com, W. D. Gagliani says: "...The Castle of Los Angeles is, like a contemporary play, an effective use of great storytelling to entertain us while telling us something we didn't know about ourselves."
From David Agranoff at Monster Librarian: "The Castle of Los Angeles is her first novel, and I think Morton is due for another well deserved Stoker award nomination...Bravo Lisa Morton, I'd like to start the standing ovation right now. The Castle of Los Angeles is a wonderful short horror novel."
And Rhonda Wilson, also at Monster Librarian, says: "Last year, one of my favorite reads was Morton’s Stoker-winning novella, The Lucid Dreaming. This year, The Castle of Los Angeles may very well be one of my favorites. This novel has a little bit of everything and is written beautifully...The strong casting and realistically creepy haunting scenes sprinkled throughout make this a powerful novel."
From a review by James Beach at Dark Discoveries: "The characterization is strong and Lisa keeps the chapters short and tight to keep the suspense going...A strong first novel by a writer to watch."
Horror Drive-In says it "...shines in numerous ways...a good debut novel...enough twists to keep you guessing until the end."
Read an excerpt at FearZone
Watch the book trailer at YouTube.
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NOVELLAS
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THE LUCID DREAMING, Bad Moon Books. Art by Zach McCain. Trade paperback limited to 150 copies. Dark Scribe says: "In her new novella, The Lucid Dreaming, Lisa Morton takes an apocalyptic theme and doses it with psychotics until the usual notion of the apocalypse is a mere fever dream. Inject a searing-dry wit and cynical, post-punk protagonist, and you’ve got a night terror of a tale...The Lucid Dreaming is one candy-coated pill you should swallow willingly." From Bookgasm: "...an intriguing take...sharply written...an odd but appealing energy...a pleasantly twisted kicker of an ending...". Monster Librarian says "The Lucid Dreaming is one of the best novellas I have ever read...Morton gives the reader a bit of everything within less than 100 pages... action, suspense, thrills, romance, and of course, horror! She's definitely an author to keep an eye out for in the future. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!" Horror Fiction Review says: "Morton's novella is a fresh take on the apocalyptic thing, complete with interesting social commentary, a cult of brainwashed rednecks, and much food for thought. And with a satisfyingly eerie conclusion, you can't go wrong with this LUCID DREAM." And this from Fright.com: "I appreciated Spike’s sassy, world-weary point of view, which lends the perversely ironic culmination of her odyssey a satisfying resonance...with one of the most memorable final lines I’ve encountered in some time." The Lucid Dreaming has been named one of the best books of 2009 by Dead Lines.
The Lucid Dreaming won the 2009 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction.
The Lucid Dreaming received an Honorable Mention in Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year 2009
The original, never-before-published short story that provided the basis for The Lucid Dreaming is on view at Scribd.com.
The "Lucid Dreaming" short story is also available in Portuguese.
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CHAPBOOKS
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THE FREE WAY, Fool's Press. Illustrated by Rick Pickman. Trade paperback limited to 250 copies signed by Lisa Morton and Rick Pickman.
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ANTHOLOGIES (as editor)
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MIDNIGHT WALK, Darkhouse Publishing. Trade paperback. 14 original stories. Famous Monsters of Filmland raved "If you love well written, spine tingling short stories, Midnight Walk is a must for your collection," and Hellnotes said, "Midnight Walk is a cornucopia of wonderful works." Read more great reviews and snag your own copy at Darkhouse Publishing.
Midnight Walk was nominated for the 2009 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in an Anthology.
Midnight Walk won the Black Quill Award for Best Dark Genre Anthology.
Two stories from Midnight Walk ("The Bear Who Swallowed the Sky" by Jason M. Light and "The Svancara Supper Society" by Joey O'Bryan) received Honorable Mentions in Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year 2009.
Read Jodi Kaplan Lester's Midnight Walk story "The Guixi Sisters" at scribd.com
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SHORT FICTION IN BOOK ANTHOLOGIES
- "The Leap", Legends of the Mountain State 4, Woodland Press *
- "GirlWorld", Zombiality, Library of the Living Dead *
- "St. Thomas of El Paso", Dead West, Bandersnatch *
- "They're Coming to Get You", Zombie Apocalypse!, Running Press/Robinson *
- "Silk City", THE BLEEDING EDGE, Cycatrix Press
- "Joe and Abel in the Field of Rest", THE DEAD THAT WALK, Ulysses Press
- "The End", CINEMA SPEC: TALES OF HOLLYWOOD AND FANTASY, Raven Electrick Ink
- "Diana and the Goong-si", MIDNIGHT WALK, Darkhouse Books
- "Double Walker", UNSPEAKABLE HORROR: FROM THE SHADOWS OF THE CLOSET, Dark Scribe Press
- "Golden Eyes", HORROR LIBRARY VOLUME 3, Cutting Block Press
- "The Last Resort", DARK PASSIONS: HOT BLOOD XIII, Kensington
- "Forces of Evil, Starring Robert Fields" (with Richard Grove), MIDNIGHT PREMIERE, Cemetery Dance
- "The Maenads", THE VAULT OF PUNK HORROR, Vault of Punk Horror
- "Cold Duty", ROLLING DARKNESS REVUE 2006, Earthling Publications
- "Sparks Fly Upward", MONDO ZOMBIE, Cemetery Dance; reprinted in THE LIVING DEAD, Night Shade; and ZOMBIES, Black Dog and Levinthal
- "Black Mill Cove", DARK DELICACIES: ORIGINAL TALES OF TERROR AND THE MACABRE, Carroll and Graf
- "Home Intrusion", HELL HATH NO FURY, CyberPulp
- "Growing Man", FRAMED: A GALLERY OF DARK DELICACIES, Dark Delicacies
- "The Death of Splatter", DARK TERRORS 6, Gollancz; reprinted in Deadly Dolls
- "Blind-Stamped", SHELF LIFE: FANTASTIC STORIES CELEBRATING BOOKSTORES, Dream Haven
- "The Call of Cthulhu: The Motion Picture", DEAD BUT DREAMING, Dark Tales Publications; reprinted by Miskatonic River Press)
- "Pound Rots in Fragrant Harbour", THE MUSEUM OF HORRORS, Leisure/Dorchester
- "El Cazador", AFTER SHOCKS, fREAk pRESs
- "A New Force of Nature", WHITE OF THE MOON, Pumpkin Books
- "Nikola, Moonstruck", HORRORS! 365 SCARY STORIES, Barnes & Noble
- "The Fear of Eight Legs", HORRORS! 365 SCARY STORIES
- "The Proof in the Picture", HORRORS! 365 SCARY STORIES
- "Ghost Writer", HORRORS! 365 SCARY STORIES
- "Children of the Long Night", THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF DRACULA, Carroll & Graf
- "Love Eats", DARK TERRORS, Gollancz; reprinted in Dead Lines #1
- "Poppi's Monster", THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF FRANKENSTEIN, Carroll & Graf
- "Sane Reaction", DARK VOICES 6, Pan Books; reprinted in Borderline magazine #6 (French translation), reprinted and available in audio format at Wily Writers
SHORT FICTION IN MAGAZINES/WEBZINES
- "San Diablo", Inhuman #5 *
- "True Crime", Dark Discoveries Newsletter
- "Black Friday", Horror Drive-In August '09
- "The Devil Came to Mamie's on Hallowe'en", Cemetery Dance #60
- "Giallo", Horror World March '09
- "Unlucky", Crimewave #10
- "Tested", Cemetery Dance #55
- "Horrors!", L.A. Times special Halloween supplement 1998
- "Sensitive", After Hours Winter '95
- "Virus Verses", Dreamforge May '95
Titles in green won the Bram Stoker Award for Short Fiction
Titles in blue received "Honorable Mention" in THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR
*=Forthcoming
THE LIVING DEAD was nominated for the 2008 World Fantasy Award
UNSPEAKABLE HORROR won the 2008 Stoker Award for Best Anthology
HORROR LIBRARY VOLUME 3 was nominated for the 2008 Stoker Award for Best Anthology
MIDNIGHT PREMIERE was nominated for the 2007 Stoker Award for Best Anthology
MONDO ZOMBIE won the 2006 Stoker Award for Best Anthology
DARK DELICACIES won the 2005 Stoker Award for Best Anthology
DARK TERRORS 6 won the 2003 International Horror Guild Award for Best Anthology, and was nominated for the British Fantasy Award for Anthology
THE MUSEUM OF HORRORS won the 2002 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology
HORRORS! 365 SCARY STORIES won the 1998 Stoker Award for Best Anthology
WHITE OF THE MOON was nominated for the 1999 International Horror Guild Award for Best Anthology, and for the 1999 British Fantasy Award for Best Anthology
DARK TERRORS was nominated for the 1996 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology, and for the 1995 British Fantasy Award for Best Anthology
Many of the books listed above can be found at the Advanced Book Exchange
SHORT FICTION REVIEWS:
For "Silk City" from THE BLEEDING EDGE: "... other authors provide excellent, praiseworthy stories...Lisa Morton's Silk City is a terrifying journey into the bowels of a dilapidated hotel, now inhabited by malevolent and venomous, giant spiders." - The Zone
For "Diana and the Goong-si" from MIDNIGHT WALK: "'Diana and the Goong-si', my favorite of the book, (as everyone who knows me can tell you, vampires in all their guises are my favorite) is a tale of a woman traveling a great distance at great risk and peril to try and find her missing husband. She arrives in a strange world and finds herself engaged in a battle with a local legend, a vampiric creature that is intent on fulfilling its unholy thirst for blood, but not in the way you think. This is a great take on the vampire mythos that is fresh, scary and very well written." - Famous Monsters of Filmland
"I loved the strong female character in this story, as well as the location and time in which the story was set. The Goong-Si is also a very different type of vampire than the creatures from our Western world, making it an even more exciting read." - Fatally Yours
"Lisa Morton's 'Diana and the Goong-Si' centers around a British woman who is trying to find her missing husband, and the rumored creature who may have killed him. Set in 19th century Britain and China, the tale weaves history with horror, and will leave you with a smile on your face by the time it's all over. Also, the story leaves itself open to a sequel, one I'm hoping we'll see sometime down the road (if it isn't out there already)." - Horror Drive-In
For "The Devil Came to Mamie's on Hallowe'en" from Cemetery Dance #60:
"Morton excels at creating a rich setting for her characters to take root. She carefully weaves superstitions and folktales into the narrative, all the while creating a new story from their ashes". - Dark Scribe Magazine
For "Sparks Fly Upward" from MONDO ZOMBIE, reprinted in THE LIVING DEAD: "Recently prolific anthologist Adams (Seeds of Change) delivers a superb reprint anthology that runs the gamut of zombie stories. There's plenty of gore, highlighted by Stephen King's “Home Delivery” and David Schow's classic “Blossom.” Less traditional but equally satisfying are Lisa Morton's “Sparks Fly Upward,” which analyzes abortion politics in a zombified world, and Douglas Winter's literary pastiche “Less than Zombie.” - Publisher's Weekly
For "Forces of Evil, Starring Robert Fields" from MIDNIGHT PREMIERE: "'Forces of Evil, Starring Robert Fields' is the name of the story written by Lisa Morton and Richard Grove. It's one of the more provocative stories in the anthology. Most should know Morton as a veteran screenwriter and short story writer. She's a Shocklines regular. Grove is a thespian that is best known for his memorable portrayal of Henry the Red, from Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness. The story deals with some uncomfortable doings on the set of a movie that looks suspiciously like Army of Darkness. It also gives some insight into high school violence and the persecution of outsiders that love genre cinema." - Horror Drive-In
For "Black Mill Cove" from DARK DELICACIES: "Two standouts, Lisa Morton's story of a solitary abalone forager stumbling across a mass murderer, and Playboy cartoonist Gahan Wilson's about a macabre artist whose grim subjects may be all too real, sell the volume all on their own." - Booklist
"...Lisa Morton contributes 'Black Mill Cove', a tense tale of terror set in the wilderness with a load of poison in its tail." - Emerald City
"The primary mission for Del and Jeff with their Horror anthology is make it genuinely horrifying. Several of the writers within push themselves to the task admirably. Lisa Morton goes all out with the harrowing tale, 'Black Mill Cove', which is one of the standouts for me." - FeoAmante.com
"...a dark, gruesome turn..." - Fangoria
"...a horrific story of "things" in the water." - Library Journal
From SHIVERS magazine #14 review of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF FRANKENSTEIN: "There are a few stories which affected me deeply. Lisa Morton's 'Poppi's Monster' brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye. The story follows the life of Stacey, daughter of Poppi, her drunken and violent father. The piece has great depth and beauty in its simplicity, and I felt for the child trapped in a world not of her making."
From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY March 26, 2001 review of AFTER SHOCKS: "Lisa Morton's 'El Cazador'... decode[s] dark truths encrypted in the tags of Los Angeles graffiti artists...all well written, the stories... suggest that their horror is more a universal idiom than a regional dialect."
From Gothic.net, July 23, 2001 review of WHITE OF THE MOON: "Lisa Morton's 'A New Force of Nature' handles suicide, a topic which I find entirely terrifying on its own, in such a way as to inflate it from private holocaust to widespread infection. The whole anthology is excellent..." (Mehitobel Wilson)
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