By chance (per my normal book buying methods) I saw a listing in early March, 2025 advertising for sale a new James P. Blaylock book. This book was The Invisible Woman, published by PS Publishing in December 2024. With no wallet on hand, I decided to return to that site the following day. The original listing that spurred my interest had by then vanished, so likely another Blaylock fan swooped in and got that book.

I immediately went to the web site of PS Publishing and placed my order, fretting that I’d again waited too long. Blaylock is one of those writers (along with Jack Vance, Tim Powers, Michael Shea, F. Paul Wilson, and Charles de Lint) whose books I won’t hesitate to buy. Vance and Shea now have passed beyond the veil, and Wilson’s stroke means no more new fiction. There are still a few de Lint books that I don’t own, and I hope Blaylock (and Powers) continue to write and publish fiction.

The hardcover edition of The Invisible Woman is limited to 200 copies. A trade paperback edition also exists, for those not fortunate enough to grab one of the hardcovers. I still cannot fathom why Blaylock doesn’t garner more mainstream publications – he used to publish books with Ace, and then Subterranean Press. Has the market for Blaylock’s fiction shrunk so much that a hardcover edition of a new novel now comes down to just 200 copies by a UK publisher? What has happened to the US fantasy market for this to happen? Has the market changed that much, or the fans just up and vanished? I remember reading a comment from another fantasy writer, Charles de Lint, about the changing modern fantasy market a few years ago, so maybe that’s what’s happening here. Their loss, my gain.

I ordered The Invisible Woman on March 5th. Joseph Stalin died on March 5th, something all sane people can celebrate. Other than that date, there is no correlation between Stalin’s death and Blaylock’s book. I received it on March 23rd. The Invisible Woman features the same two main characters from Pennies from Heaven (PS Publishing, 2022), Jane and Jerry Larkin. Jane runs a co-op in Southern California. Jerry now is busy fixing up an inn, having restored their own house. I’m still in the middle of reading the book, savoring every moment. Will this turn into a trilogy, or remain as two books? Not sure. Don’t care. I’ll keep buying anything Blaylock puts out there.