Schaffner Press Rescues Two Late 20th Century Paranormal Classics from Obscurity
Schaffner Press -- , 07/01/2011
TUCSON, AZ, May 3: With ZombieBooklist.com featuring more than 1,200 titles on its “Ultimate Zombie Book list” and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies boasting more than 1 million copies in print, the current craze for zombies shows no sign of abating. Where did it all start? According to Schaffner Press Publisher Tim Schaffner, this phenomenon was presaged in the 1990s by critically acclaimed author Todd Grimson.
So when Schaffner discovered that the Grimson classics BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR and STAINLESS were out-of-print, he jumped at the chance to bring them back. The new editions will be published by Schaffner Press in October 2011 and February 2012, respectively.
“Originally published in the late 1990’s, these overlooked classics predate the current zombie and vampire thrillers by fifteen years,” said Schaffner. “BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR’s avenging heroine, bedecked with tattoos (jaguars, not dragons), had the jump on
Lisbeth Salander several years before the Millennium Trilogy.”
BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR, in its neo-noir excursion into the zombie horror genre, puts a satirical spin on the sex, drugs and rock n’ roll world of Los Angeles. With fin de siècle excesses and vanities, it at the same time plunges the reader into a timeless novel of ancient cults and mythology of Lovecraftian proportions. The book’s heroine, Lisa Nova, a struggling actress and director of independent films, turns to the occult to enact revenge on a manipulative producer. She finds herself an unwitting accomplice to Boro, the messianic leader of a zombie biker gang, and must undertake a surreal and horrific journey to regain possession of her very soul.
STAINLESS, a darkly romantic vampire novel set in a similar milieu, features another strong female protagonist. Justine, a vampire living a reclusive
life in punk-glam LA, takes a physically and emotionally battered rock guitarist under her wing. As he struggles to overcome drug addiction and restore his sanity he finds they are under siege from supernatural forces that have reawakened to reclaim Justine, proof indeed that “love never dies!”
These novels, upon their original publication, received widespread critical praise, both in the United States and in the UK. Noir master James Ellroy anointed Grimson as “the hippest writer in America today!” The New York Times Book Review dubbed STAINLESS “a satanic ‘ Less Than Zero’” and the The Oregonian proclaimed: “BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR is, hands-down, one of the most spectacular novelistic events of the 90’s!” And,, the online review platform, HTML Giant proclaimed BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR the Novel of the Year for 2009, further proof that good literature never dies!
Todd Grimson is also the author of the novel, Within Normal Limits (Vintage), a paperback original released in the 1980’s as part of the Vintage Contemporaries series. A former student of Paul Bowles, Grimson spent many years in Europe, New York, and Los Angeles before resettling in his native Portland, where he is currently at work on a new novel.
About Schaffner Press
Founded by former literary agent Tim Schaffner in 2000, Tucson, Arizona-based Schaffner Press is an independent publisher of general trade books in the area of fiction, and non-fiction with a particular focus on mysteries, literary fiction, memoir, biography and autobiography. Its mission is to provide the general reader with works of quality that address major social issues of our time, and to inspire and challenge audiences with new thoughts, ideas and perspectives on the world.
So when Schaffner discovered that the Grimson classics BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR and STAINLESS were out-of-print, he jumped at the chance to bring them back. The new editions will be published by Schaffner Press in October 2011 and February 2012, respectively.
“Originally published in the late 1990’s, these overlooked classics predate the current zombie and vampire thrillers by fifteen years,” said Schaffner. “BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR’s avenging heroine, bedecked with tattoos (jaguars, not dragons), had the jump on
Lisbeth Salander several years before the Millennium Trilogy.”
BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR, in its neo-noir excursion into the zombie horror genre, puts a satirical spin on the sex, drugs and rock n’ roll world of Los Angeles. With fin de siècle excesses and vanities, it at the same time plunges the reader into a timeless novel of ancient cults and mythology of Lovecraftian proportions. The book’s heroine, Lisa Nova, a struggling actress and director of independent films, turns to the occult to enact revenge on a manipulative producer. She finds herself an unwitting accomplice to Boro, the messianic leader of a zombie biker gang, and must undertake a surreal and horrific journey to regain possession of her very soul.
STAINLESS, a darkly romantic vampire novel set in a similar milieu, features another strong female protagonist. Justine, a vampire living a reclusive
life in punk-glam LA, takes a physically and emotionally battered rock guitarist under her wing. As he struggles to overcome drug addiction and restore his sanity he finds they are under siege from supernatural forces that have reawakened to reclaim Justine, proof indeed that “love never dies!”
These novels, upon their original publication, received widespread critical praise, both in the United States and in the UK. Noir master James Ellroy anointed Grimson as “the hippest writer in America today!” The New York Times Book Review dubbed STAINLESS “a satanic ‘ Less Than Zero’” and the The Oregonian proclaimed: “BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR is, hands-down, one of the most spectacular novelistic events of the 90’s!” And,, the online review platform, HTML Giant proclaimed BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR the Novel of the Year for 2009, further proof that good literature never dies!
Todd Grimson is also the author of the novel, Within Normal Limits (Vintage), a paperback original released in the 1980’s as part of the Vintage Contemporaries series. A former student of Paul Bowles, Grimson spent many years in Europe, New York, and Los Angeles before resettling in his native Portland, where he is currently at work on a new novel.
About Schaffner Press
Founded by former literary agent Tim Schaffner in 2000, Tucson, Arizona-based Schaffner Press is an independent publisher of general trade books in the area of fiction, and non-fiction with a particular focus on mysteries, literary fiction, memoir, biography and autobiography. Its mission is to provide the general reader with works of quality that address major social issues of our time, and to inspire and challenge audiences with new thoughts, ideas and perspectives on the world.
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