In Search of Perdition

It's been about a month since Broken on the Inside , my micro-collection from Black Shuck Books, was released. There's always a nervous feeling when you launch a new book, your baby out there in the world. Will people like it? Will they hate it? Will they even read it? With Broken on the Inside I lined up a number of reviews with different sites in the genre and I've opened each review as they've been published with excitement and trepidation. I needn't have been apprehensive. Suffice to say I have been blown away with the love being shown. And thank you to all the reviewers for taking the time to read Broken on the Inside and give their thoughts. Here's a few links to show what people have been saying: Jim McLeod, Ginger Nuts of Horror : "Broken on the Inside, is a magnificent collection of stories. Writing about mental health issues is never easy, it can result in some clumsy, heavy-handed writing that does nothing to address the issues that the ...

As usual, have been a bit quiet on here. Perhaps one day I will get good at this blogging lark! Anyway, it is with good reason as I have been busy on the writing front and with something to show for it. Over the next two months I have three writing related ventures out in the wider world. To start with I have my first solo collection out with Black Shuck Books. Steve Shaw approached me at FantasyCon 2017 to ask what my plans were for the next year and offer me a deal to pull together a mini-collection. Naturally I jumped at the chance. Steve has been doing some great work and building a respected name under the banner of Black Shuck Books. My collection, Broken on the Inside, will be the sixth in the Shadow Series which has featured such names as Paul Kane, Joseph D'Lacey and Thana Niveau among others. What a line up to be alongside! Broken on the Inside features previously published stories Discomfort Food, The Man who fed the Foxes, There was an Old Man and Virtually Famo...

Onwards into the unknown! Okay, that was a mildly more exciting title than it needed to be but I've had a multitude of food, booze and cheer and so it was the best I could do in these trying circumstances. What I wanted to say was 'here is what I am up to in 2018' but it's less snappy and filled with wonder and unknownness. 2018 is one of those years where I'll look quite busy (and I invariably will be) but a lot of the initial legwork has been done in 2017. Plans for writing work to come out are: La Vacation - this is a novella length French folk horror story as part of a small anthology being edited by Dean M Drinkel who has published a number of my stories previously. It follows Frank and Elizabeth, a middle-aged English couple, as they take a trip to France the latter half of the last century. Think Hammer horror with a touch of Gallic flare. My first dip into folk horror so will be interesting to see what people think. I've about three charity antho...

Next weekend sees me at SledgeLit where I shall be doing a reading from a great anthology I am in entitled Imposter Syndrome published by Dark Minds Press and edited by James Everington and Dan Howarth. Here's the blurb: What if you thought your family had been replaced by identical copies?  What if you could no longer trust the faces of people you met?  What if you saw someone who looked exactly like you?  Dark Minds Press brings you an anthology of doppelgängers, clones, changelings, Capgras-delusion and pod-people, featuring stories from some of the best writers of horror and speculative fiction around.  And the line up of authors is amazing! Just check out the TOC below: INTRODUCTION James Everington & Dan Howarth I KNOW WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE Gary McMahon IN THE MARROW Laura Mauro WHO IS THAT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF YOU? Timothy J Jarvis WHAT’S YOURS IS MINE Holly Ice THE INSIDER Neil Williamson OTHER PEOPLE’S DREAMS Stephe...

Before the magazine was no more, I did a bit of film reviewing for John Gilbert' Fear Magazine. One of the articles I wrote had a look at animation in horror films. Below, with the permission of John, is the article in full. Hopefully some new films for people to discover and old favourites to be reacquainted with. Ever since I was a kid I have loved animated films. And it’s not just me. You simply need to look at the money taken by smash hits such as the Toy Story, Shrek, Despicable Me, and Madagascar franchises as well as the likes of Frozen, Cars, A Bug’s Life, Antz, The Lego Movie and so on and on and on. Going back into the history of cinema we have a dominance of Disney in the box office from Bambi, Pinocchio and Cinderella through to the Lion King, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid alongside other animated films from Europe such as a spate of Asterix films and Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin.     Millions and millions spent to entertain us. The target audience...

So I didn't win the BFS Award for Best Newcomer but, you know what, I'm not doing too bad. Now being up for the award got me reflecting on where I was a few years back. I remember one particular night in bits and pieces, a whole host of people who I barely knew chatting away in a downstairs bar near Tottenham Court Road called The Phoenix. The gathering was a British Fantasy Society Open Night at some point in 2013 and I was attending my first one with little more than one short story and some flash fiction smatterings behind me combined with a willingness to chat to most folks. This was me testing the waters, seeing if I could work out how to progress in this writing game. Now that evening was a bit of a first and last throw of the dice for me. I was in a slump, sending out short stories to different places and seeing what stuck (which was not a lot back then). During the evening I met Allen Ashley who is a regular feature at these events and a very nice person too. We g...

Okay, so I was a little bit blown away a few days ago - so much so that I forgot to put anything here on the blog (note to self - get better at this blogging malarkey). I went out for an afternoon visit to the cinema with my wife on Friday. Had a great time watching War for the Planet of the Apes. Got back home and checked into Facebook. A load of PMs and notifications. Turns out Becoming David had been shortlisted in the British Fantasy Society's awards for Best Newcomer. Holy crap. A book which I wrote up for such an amazing award. Huge thanks to everyone who voted for me and for all the kind words since. You've made a still vaguely youngish bloke really happy. And do go check out the talent listed for the awards across all the categories. Such a great time to be a reader: http://www.britishfantasysociety.org/awards/british-fantasy-awards-2017-shortlists/