Ross E. Lockhart (Fiction) | Petaluma, CA

Ross E. Lockhart is an author, anthologist, bookseller, editor, and publisher. A lifelong fan of supernatural, fantastic, speculative, and weird fiction, Lockhart is a veteran of small-press publishing, having edited scores of well-regarded novels of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. Lockhart edited the anthologies The Book of Cthulhu I and II, Tales of Jack the Ripper, The Children of Old Leech: A Tribute to the Carnivorous Cosmos of Laird Barron (with Justin Steele), Giallo Fantastique, Cthulhu Fhtagn!, and Eternal Frankenstein. He is the author of Chick Bassist. Lockhart lives in a state of quantum flux in Petaluma, California, with his wife Jennifer, hundreds of books (currently residing in boxes), and Elinor Phantom, a Shih Tzu moonlighting as his editorial assistant.

Books

Anthologies (Edited)

Blurbs, Press & Reviews

“Chick Bassist is utterly savage. Lockhart’s style waxes poetic as a modern Beat giving us a glimpse into Rock & Roll hell.”
—Laird Barron, Shirley Jackson Award-winning author of Occultation and The Croning

Chick Bassist follows the stories of three musicians and the disparate paths they take after their band breaks up. A short novel, it packs a lot into its slim frame. The novel is uncomfortably well observed. While it trades in a few clichés about the rock ‘n’ roll life, it doesn’t pull any punches, either. Author Ross E. Lockhart gets narcissistic loser musicians. Like, he really understands them. The three protagonists embody different archetypes perfectly. There’s Christian: pathetic, passive, heading for a nervous breakdown. Then Robbie: stupid and reckless, an absolute disaster, but still remorseful. Finally there’s Erin: “the queen of rock,” a detached, egotistical songwriter, out for herself. They blame each other for problems they all share.

Lockhart’s characters are frustrating, but they find moments of goodness. Their complicated psychologies come to life with very simple observations and details. One of the most problematic aspects of writing about musicians is creating fake lyrics and songs, but Lockhart invents vivid and interesting ones. Most impressive is how much thoughtful material shows up without being forced on the reader. The simplicity of the story is deceptive, leaving the reader with a lot to chew on.
—The Portland Mercury

“This impressive compendium contains a rich array of short stories inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. […] All of the writing is high quality, all the stories are suspenseful, and though most involve reanimation of the dead, the perspectives all differ, as do the historical time periods.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Eternal Frankenstein

“Lockhart translates giallo fantastique as weird crime, and each story, while very different in style and tone, melds crime and supernatural horror with panache and verve. […] The stories’ conclusions are never definitive, leaving the reader with a delicious sense of lingering unease.”
—Publishers Weekly on Giallo Fantastique

“Lockhart and Steele collect 17 original stories from some of the shining stars of modern horror, constructing a worm-riddled literary playground from elements of the fiction of horror maestro Laird Barron. The results come across with a coherent feeling of dread, without feeling derivative of the source.”
–Publishers Weekly on The Children of Old Leech

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