Stephen King loves horror. He also loves baseball. The author’s two passions are united in BLOCKADE BILLY, a brand new, never-before-published original novella.

Cemetery Dance has announced that the exclusive $25 trade hardcover will be released April 20. The book features cover artwork by Glen Orbik and eight pieces of interior art by Alex McVey. BLOCKADE BILLY is the “true story” of William “Blockade Billy” Blakely, who may have been the greatest player the game has ever seen, but today no one remembers his name. He was the first (and only) baseballer to have his existence completely removed from the record books. Even his team is long forgotten, barely a footnote in sports history. Every effort was made to erase any evidence that William Blakely played professional ball, and with good reason. Blockade Billy had a secret darker than any pill or injection that might cause a scandal in sports today. His secret was much, much worse…

King says of this latest work, “I love old-school baseball, and I also love the way people who’ve spent a lifetime in the game talk about the game. I tried to combine those things in a story of suspense. People have asked me for years when I was going to write a baseball story. Ask no more; this is it.”

If you order through the Cemetery Dance website, you’ll get a special bonus: For a very limited time, they’ll be including an authentic William “Blockade Billy” Blakely baseball card with every copy of the trade hardcover edition. The novella isn’t scheduled to be reprinted in King’s next fiction collection, due out this fall, and Cemetery Dance is only printing a small number of first-edition copies. They’ll be filling direct orders first, and then any remaining copies will be available via outside distributors, on-line stores and the chains. Additionally, Lonely Road Books will be publishing a deluxe signed edition of BLOCKADE BILLY, but official details won’t be announced until closer to the publication date.

 

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