An Ideal Retreat (Michael Griffin)

‘An Ideal Retreat,’ is a novella by Michael Griffin (THE LURE OF DEVOURING LIGHT, FAR FROM STREETS) with art by Mikio Murakami. The story:

Noone goes to check on an old rundown cabin belonging to her husband’s family and finds instead a beautiful vacation home filled with elegant furniture and a fully stocked gourmet kitchen. Seeing a respite from her troubled marriage, Noone decides to stay for a little while despite some unease. Are strange things really happening in the impossible house or is it just all the wine and pills?

Mikio did the full wrap-around cover design and three beautiful interior illustrations. Includes a 6" x 9" high-quality print of the cover art and a random Dim Shores Artist Series sticker. 112 pages. Limited to 200 copies.

Michael Griffin's collection The Lure of Devouring Light was published by Word Horde in 2016, and his debut novel Hieroglyphs of Blood and Bone will be released by JournalStone in 2017. His short stories have appeared in magazines like Apex, Black Static, Lovecraft eZine and Strange Aeons, and such anthologies as The Madness of Dr. Caligari, Autumn Cthulhu, the Shirley Jackson Award winner The Grimscribe's Puppets, The Children of Old Leech, and Eternal Frankenstein. Upcoming stories will appear in the Ramsey Campbell tribute Darker Companions and Leaves of Necronomicon. He's an ambient musician and founder of Hypnos Recordings, an ambient record label he operates with his wife in Portland, Oregon. Michael blogs at griffinwords.com. On Twitter, he posts as @mgsoundvisions.

Mikio Murakami is a Japanese-Canadian graphic designer. He specializes in cover art, T-shirts, logos and drinking bad coffee. His design company, SILENT Q DESIGN was founded in Montreal in 2006. Melding together the use of both realistic templates and surreal imagery, SILENT Q DESIGN's artistry proves, at first glance, that a passion for art still is alive, and that no musician, magazine, or venue should suffer from the same bland designs that have been re-hashed over and over. The evolution of artwork ranges both locally and internationally. SILENT Q DESIGN has commissioned work for Montreal and surrounding area bands such as Synastry, Epocholypse and Redemption. Likewise, SILENT Q DESIGN also boasts work for international musician Bob Katsionis (Toshiba-EMI / Lion Music / Century Media) as well as Montreal Radio station 90.3 FM's Sounds of Steel music program. Their works go beyond fantasy landscapes and surreal imagery, offering their customers personalised service. SILENT Q DESIGN prides itself on being a multi-faceted entity that can serve even the contemporary business world.

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