I ordered and paid for The Wish and Other Stories, as well as The Dog and The Red Bandana about a year ago from Hill House Books. The last I heard, "Wish" had a June release date and "Bandana" would follow before "Martian Chronicles."

I got The Cat's Pajamas with no problems, so I'm not worried about the company, just their inability to communicate with their customers (see below).

In looking at their newly designed website for the past 4 updates, I don't see The Wish, or The Red Bandana even listed as books they will publish. I have been trying for 3 months to get someone to respond to my emails concerning this, but that went nowhere. I spoke with Jennifer Wile: sales@hillhousepublishers.com via 5 emails, and she couldn't get in touch with Ray Smith (sales director) or owner: Peter Schneider. The emails I sent to the owner, Peter, peterschneider@hillhousepublishers.com, have also gone unanswered.

Does anyone have any info on these projects since Hill House refuses to communicate with its clients? "The Martian Chronicles" seems to be on schedule, but there is no information if these other books will be published.

Thank you in advance for a response from anybody.

As I recall, there were some problems with this company and their distribution - or lack of! If you do a search within this site, I am sure you will dig up some very helpful information. Maybe some other regulars can jump in to offers some insights.

fjp451,

Thanks for your fast response. Hill House changed their website to a newsletter style in May of 2005. While cleaner, it lacks some of the information contained on the old site. There is no mention of either Bradbury book listed anywhere on the new site. As for checking this site, I have. The most recent mention of this topic was about a year ago.

That one post concerned delays from Hill House, but nothing else. 7-8 months, and no word on their site makes me wonder what's going on.

I know Hill House had some problems with distribution and importing because the books were made in Asia (I think), and there have been hold ups with the material used for the books and cases. I also know they are a reputable company, but the lack of communication is driving me nuts.

Thank you again. I appreciate your input.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Cashews,

I know this topic is a bit old, but I thought I'd give you the info I have. Hill House had originally planned to publish a series of several Bradbury books. It was The Cat's Pajamas, Bandana, The Wish etc. The series was sold for one big lump sum. After the initial purchases were made, no one received any books or any word from Hill House for over a year.

Finally, an e-mail was sent out explaining the situation. Aside from The Cat's Pajama's, none of the other books were going to be published. Members who had purchased the series previously were given several options concerning the money that had already been spent. I opted to receive the ltd/signed/numbered The Cat's Pajama's, the VERY limited Trivial Pursuits Transporter as well as the upcoming Martian Chronicles. All told, I was coming up about $100 ahead since The Martian Chronicles is a pretty expensive book. I also received a numbered, uncorrected proof (I think that's what it's called) of The Cat's Pajama's for free.

I was disappointed by this whole mess, but I feel Hill House did a decent job at making it up to me & the other members of the series.

Andrew,

Thanks for the reply. I did a little search of the board and found what you said to be pretty constant with others. The problem I'm having is no communication at all. After a 4 month email exchange with Jennifer in sales, I was bumped up to the owner, Peter Schneider, who never even returned my emails.

By the way, Jennifer seemed like a nice person, but if you are in sales, I'd expect you to know your product. I'm in insurance and have about 40 different products to understand, not to mention the laws and regulations that apply to them. Jennifer has 10 books and she has no clue about Hill House cancelling "The Wish" or "Bandana"? What kind of sales staff is that?

I never received any information on the status of the books, or what you could do because the books were delayed/cancelled. After reading a few weeks back that I could ask for a refund, I did just that. Guess what?..... Wait for it..... Two weeks later and I still haven't heard from Hill House. Not suprising really from what I've read elsewhere about them.

I buy books from the biggest houses to the smallest: Cemetary Dance, Grant, Bloodletting, Gauntlet, Easton, just to name a few. But I have never been so thoughroughly disappointed in a company as I am with Hill House. And I say that as someone who has been waiting over 5 years for Cemetery Dance to publish "Legacies." The real difference is communication. CD books have been open with their delays, and even offered additional compensation such as free books.

I do know this: Whether I hear from Hill House again or not, I will never purchase a book from them again, and I will make sure others know how displeased I am with being left in the dark for almost three years. They lost me for good no matter what they do.
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Follow up 01/24/2006:

I just received an email from Jennifer at Hill House:

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I'm sorry that you didn't receive my reply to your email. I have
forwarded your email to Peter Schneider so that he can process your
refund. (I spoke to him as well, so he knows to expect your email)

Please contact me if you have any other questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Wile
Director of Communications
Hill House, Publishers
-------------------------

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Final update: 01/26/2006



I finally heard from Peter Schneider today. It appears everything will be fine. The original payment will be mailed back to me.

All is right with the world again. I just wish there was information on the Hill House website to answer these questions.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Cashews,