Cover for The Lurkers in the Abyss by Paul Mudie

This is the cover as it will probably appear on my short story collection when it's published in October this year by Shadow Publishing.  All of the stories, which start with my very first professional sale, appear in chronological order and should show how my writing has developed over the years.

Dark Discoveries No 23, Spring 2013

Dark Discoveries issue 23, Spring 2013

This is the biggest issue yet, with over 100 A4 pages, most in colour. It’s a special dark fantasy issue, with related articles on Game of Thrones, Robert E. Howard, Dark Horse Comics, Karl Edward Wagner, Sword & Sorcery films, and an interview with Boris Vallejo, one of the most iconic fantasy artists. It also includes a Solomon Kane story started by Robert E. Howard and finished by Ramsey Campbell. The dark fantasy continues with a sword and sorcery story from Angeline Hawkes. The remaining four stories range from urban fantasy to out and out horror: Like Part of the Family by Jonathan Maberry, The Catastrophist by Weston Ochse, The Woman Who Collected McMannon by Joe McKinney, and The Sleeping Ute by Steve Rasnic Tem. Not a poor story amongst them, and a couple that are quite simply outstanding.

Other features include tributes to the late David B. Silva, who died recently, “Why I Hate Women Writers” by Yvonne Navarro, an interview with Jonathan Maberry, and the usual book reviews. 

As well as being the biggest issue yet there is without doubt a lot of meat in it, and even with a large part given over to dark fantasy there is enough variety to suit most tastes. Dark Discoveries had already been going from strength to strength under the able skills of James R. Beach. Since being taken over by JournalStone, with Beach at the helm as Editor-in-Chief, it has become even better. It is a lively, uptodate and fascinating magazine.

The Lurkers in the Abyss And Other Tales of Terror

 

This is the superb cover that Paul Mudie has painted for my collection based on my Lovecraftian horror story Fish Eye. 

Dark Visions from Grey Matter Press

For details of the two volumes of Dark Visions from Grey Matter Press please click on the link.


Dark Visions 1 - Contributing Authors:

The Troll - Jonathan Balog
Collage - Jay Caselberg
Delicate Spaces - Brian Fatah Steele
What Do You Need? - Milo James Fowler
Second Opinion - Ray Garton
The Weight of Paradise - Jeff Hemenway
Three Minutes - Sarah L. Johnson
Raining Stones - Sean Logan
Mister Pockets: A Pine Deep Story - Jonathan Maberry
Thanatos Park - Charles Austin Muir
The Last Ice Cream Kiss - Jason S. Ridler
Scrap - David A. Riley
Show Me - John F.D. Taff

Here's another short extract from my story, Scrap, from volume 1:

"It was barely dawn when the boys were wrenched awake by hysterical screams from their mother’s bedroom.

His heart thumping, Gary threw aside his duvet and leapt out of bed, bare feet skidding on the thin carpet. The door into their mother’s room was already open. In it, lit by a single bedside lamp, he could see his mother. She was sat up in bed, hands clamped to the sides of her head as she screamed and screamed. Other than this she seemed unable to move. Her eyes were transfixed on the other side of the bed. Bumping into each other in confusion, the brothers jammed the doorway. Karl’s side of the bed was dark and wet. There was a narrow lump where he lay beneath the duvet."

Ginger Nuts of Horror - Interview

I have just had a five-minute interview published on the Ginger Nuts of Horror site.

Dark Visions edited by Anthony Rivera and Sharon Lawson

Grey Matter Press have announced details of their anthology Dark Visions volumes 1 and 2.

This includes my story Scrap, set in Edgebottom, concerning the activities of two brothers who set out to make some money for themselves by scrounging scrap metal and make the mistake of breaking into derelict houses in the notorious slums of Grudge End.

This is a short extract from it:

"Which was when he caught sight over Eddie’s shoulder of the body curled beneath the kitchen sink. It looked bloated, its utilitarian feminine clothes straining against swollen, elephantine limbs; something wet had spread across the linoleum from under the body like rancid syrup that had dried into dark brown, yellowish crusts at the edges.

Gary turned away from it, felt his stomach begin to cramp, before he threw up against the wall. Whatever he had eaten all day was heaved onto it, splashing his jeans. Abandoning the pram, Eddie blundered into him. His face looked bleached and scared. He could barely speak, gesturing at Gary to get out of the house while making inarticulate sounds at the back of his throat like a strangled hen. At any other time Gary would have laughed at him, but now he turned and scrambled onto the street. Rain showered his face as he stared up at it, gasping for breath. Drops of it washed away some of the vomit from his lips, but not enough. He could still taste its acidic bite.

He saw Eddie staring at him, his eyes grown huge and frightened.

“It had no head.” His brother’s voice barely more than a whisper..."