Down a long country road that rolls through scenic Forest Hill, Maryland, lies a seemingly quiet industrial park. Behind the walls of one of these buildings rest monsters of unspeakable horrors. This is the home of Cemetery Dance Publishing. Founded in 1988 by international bestselling author Richard Chizmar, this horror house has grown into one of the world’s leading specialty press publishers of genre fiction. Already an iconic industry brand with their flagship magazine and coveted Limited Edition novels, Cemetery Dance is growing by leaps and bounds with their trade paperback line. Leading the charge into the future are new co-editors, Dan Franklin and Lisa Lebel. Horror-Nation gets the honor of interviewing these talented editors as they embark on a new journey, ushering in the next generation of great horror books.
HN: Where did your love for genre literature begin?
DF: I grew up reading Poe and King and avoiding life before I knew that was a thing! I remember my dad talking about reading Salem’s Lot on a bus home after work, missing his stop, and having to walk home in the dark and how spooked it got him. That’s a helluva draw for a kid. And for an adult. That’s magic. That magic never went away.
LL: I have always loved reading, and continually spent all my free time with my nose in a book when other kids were outside playing. “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” and “Goosebumps” were some of my early favorites. I feel like those are the standard gateway drug to King fandom for millennials. I find horror to be a very comforting genre, my dad has always been a huge fan of Sci Fi and I was introduced to it at an early age. The truth is certainly out there, but I would rather not think too hard about it!
HN: What are your goals for the trade paperback line?
DF: To make fantastic books, to support fantastic authors, and to make accessible the books that would otherwise have only been available as higher priced limited editions.
LL: I absolutely love indie horror. There is such a wide and wonderful world of fiction that is largely unknown. I’m hoping to spread the word, generate discussions, and build some excitement for the written word!
HN: As social media has become a primary marketing source, what strategies will Cemetery Dance be using to stand out from the modern saturated market?
DF: It’s really all about supporting each other. Books can no longer rely on people picking them up on a whim at the grocery store. As an author and as a publisher, if we don’t support each other and help each other find readers who would like our product, we all lose. So, ARC reader groups who are willing to give honest assessments, book clubs, occasional giveaways, and community support through the already established groups of readers who can recognize that the CD label stamped on the spine means something about the quality of the book. Also, encouraging authors to support each other and engaging in the community!
LL: I’m really excited to have been able to help get the ball running on the social media front. My biggest goal is to be engaged with our readers and support our authors. I’m hoping to be able to run some contests and giveaways, have a reliable network of ARC readers, and have some authors to interview!
HN: What are you looking for from a perspective author that would help them to land a contract?
DF: The book must be exceptional, and the author should be engaged in caring about the success of their book! As for the contents…I’m pretty open minded about what we publish, so long as it checks those two boxes.
LL: In any book that comes across my path, I’m looking for engaging content and quality writing. Many books have one without the other! Bonus points if the narrative gives me the shivers!
HN: What is the biggest advantage for working for such an iconic industry brand? What is the biggest disadvantage?
DF: The name comes with the weight. The company means something. It started one month after I was born. It has published countless masters of the genre. With that background comes a level of experience and opportunity that is simply incredible. I work with giants like Richard Chizmar. I can reach out to some of the best designers-Brian James Freeman, etc.-in the industry for help. ARCs arrive every day, and I can reach out to authors regarding upcoming projects. I get to make beautiful books that I never would be able to otherwise make. It is literally my dream job. I love my coworkers, I love my company, I love our readers, and I hope Cemetery Dance runs strong long after I’m gone. Not many people can say that about their job. It is truly an honor to work for this iconic brand.
Disadvantage is pretty much the other side of that coin.
The name comes with weight. A company that is 35 years old has a history that has to be upheld and improved. There’s no margin for error in quality, I stand in the footprints of giants. Not only do I have to feverishly attempt to match what came before, I have to try to improve the company’s shortcomings to make it better fit the world of today. And, uh, yikes. That’s a lot for someone who grew up intensely familiar with the taste of paste.
LL: I’ll have to second what Dan says here. It is such a dream and an honor to be working for Cemetery Dance, and I am very new to the team. I am still in awe and can’t quite believe I am here. I count myself so incredibly lucky to be in a position where I am quite literally living my dream. To love and look forward to the work I do every day and find it endlessly fulfilling and interesting is more than I could have hoped for in a career. The advantage, to me, is to find myself in a place where I can make something better and bring my excitement and love of the genre to the table.
The disadvantage is the highly public nature of this position. Not every is a fan or friend of Cemetery Dance, and it’s hard not to take the negativity personally. Being a collector of rare King is something that was a joy for me, but it is hard to exist amidst the malcontent. I am a people pleaser, and there is just never a way to make everyone happy. It will take some adjustment on my own part.
HN: Will there be any open calls for new paperback anthologies in the future?
DF: I would love to! It may be a little while before then, as we have a pretty jam-packed schedule at the moment, but we have an anthology series shaping up that we hope to regularly produce, in the spirit of the old Shivers series! It’s called Dread. I’ve seen the Table of Contents for the first one, and it is a fantastic mix.
LL: I would love to see them! We are not accepting submissions at this time, but I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the future!
HN: Audiobooks are becoming more and more popular each year. Will this be a format that the paperback line will seek to integrate into?
DF: We don’t have the wherewithal to directly produce them, but at some point in the near future we are hoping to couple up with established audiobook publishers so that we can make our books more accessible-and we do have books from our 2024 schedule planned so as to test the waters!
LL: I would love to see this happen! Audiobooks are my favorite format (I love to multitask!) and I am really hoping to see this become a regular part of the paperback line.
HN: What has been the biggest hurdle to jump during this transition period?
DF: I am going to veer right into the big uglies, because that’s why people read interviews!
One: Cemetery Dance has a bit of a reputation for missing deadlines. The trade line exists separate from the limited line. We have a chance, if we’re careful, to avoid the pitfalls and production delays that have accrued in our limited side. So far, we have been successful with the trade paperbacks. It needs to stay that way.
Two: The recent editorial shift was accompanied by some cutbacks in our production schedule. This was not done as a “new editors don’t like the old books” routine, nor was it handled lightly. There were simply far too many books contracted for what the company can support. If we cannot support a book fully and in a timely manner, then we must not produce the book. Failures in production and releasing are bad for a publisher, but they’re nightmarish for an author and disrespectful to readers. It’s expensive and embarrassing to let a contract go, but the alternative is far worse. We aim to never end up in that sort of situation again.
HN: Why was there one editor and now there are two?
LL: Dan Franklin has been with Cemetery Dance for many years. He is local to the headquarters in Maryland, and his main roles include his work on the limited line as well as managing things over at the Cave of Wonders (aka Cemetery Dance warehouse). He is also an amazing author, editor, and human being, and his roles required his full-time attention before the trade paperback line switchover, not to mention training a new employee.
He has been absolutely instrumental in managing the trade paperback line and showing me the ropes for this position. While I have been proofreading for Cemetery Dance for over two years, I am new to the team here. We are in a transitional period, and we want to make sure that all your emails and messages are getting answered or being directed to the correct person. My first order of business has been reviving our Facebook profile, as well as our other social media accounts.
Everyone at Horror-Nation wishes Dan Franklin and Lisa Lebel a successful and prosperous journey at Cemetery Dance.
Keep up with the latest releases and news from this fantastic fright house at:
www.cemeterydance.com