Tuesday 31 March 2015

Gingernuts of Horror - Attacked for publishing honest reviews!

http://gingernutsofhorror.com/index.html

Oh bloody hell, this is terrible. When will people grow up? A review is one person's opinion - and they are entitled to it. How can anyone write honest reviews if this is the consequence?

Writers who send in their books to be reviewed can blame no one but themselves if what they have written and had published isn't up to standard. Either man-up and accept what someone's opinion of your book is or stop hawking it around in the wild hope of getting a sycophantic and probably unrealistic review. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It's a disgrace that an author either encourages or fails to curb the activities of their so-called fans in having a vendetta against any reviewer.

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Dead Water by David A. Sutton and Leinster Gardens by Jan Edwards, Alchemy Press

Two lovely looking books arrived in the post today from The Alchemy Press: Dead Water and Other Weird Tales by David Sutton and Leinster Gardens and Other Subtleties by Jan Edwards. I did the introduction for Dead Water, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to review that, but I do intend to read and review Leinster Gardens.

Tuesday 17 March 2015

Kitchen Sink Gothic - Table of Contents so far

1964 by Franklin Marsh
Derek and the Sun-Spots by Andrew Darlington
Daddy Giggles by Stephen Bacon
Black Sheep by Gary Fry
Jamal Comes Home by Benedict J. Jones
Waiting by Kate Farrell
Lilly Finds a Place to Stay by Charles Black
The Mutant's Cry by David A. Sutton
The Sanitation Solution by Walter Gascoigne
Up and Out of Here by Mark Patrick Lynch
Late Shift by Adrian Cole






               

Room at the Top, Zombies and Kitchen Sink Gothic

In between reading submissions for Kitchen Sink Gothic I've also been rereading a number of key kitchen sink novels. Imagine my surprise to come across this opening paragraph from one of the most famous:

I came to Warley on a wet September morning with the sky the grey of Guiseley sandstone. I was alone in the compartment. I remember saying to myself: "No more zombies, Joe, no more zombies".

It's not the last reference to zombies either which, in John Braine's novel, Room at the Top, long before George Romero used them as a metaphor for consumerism, are referenced by Joe Lampton for the kind of people he utterly despises. Curiously, it was John Braine's second and far less well known novel, The Vodi, recently reprinted by Valancourt Books, that helped to give me the inspiration for Kitchen Sink Gothic.


Friday 6 March 2015

Youtube trailer for Black Ceremonies by Charles Black


This is a great youtube trailer for Charles Black's collection of short stories from Parallel Universe Publications, Black Ceremonies.

 Trailer by Anna Taborska. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Artwork by Paul Alexander Mudie

trade paperback: 

Amazon.co.uk (£6.91)
Amazon.com ($9.88)

ebook:

Amazon.co.uk  (£1.99)
Amazon.com ($3.01)

Wednesday 4 March 2015

Pandaemonian - Scribbles on the Pan Book of Horror Stories Collection


For anyone interested in the Pan Books of Horror I have just come across a great site, which covers all of the books, their stories and covers: Pandaemonian - Scribbles on the Pan Book of Horror Stories Collection.

I particularly liked the write-up of the Eleventh Pan Book of Horror Stories, since I had a story in that one:



THE LURKERS IN THE ABYSS
By David A. Riley

Ian Redford is making his way home from the library after dark when he encounters a group of youths looking for trouble.  Following a brief but violent struggle he breaks free, but is chased into a graveyard.  Taking refuge in a disused building, he soon discovers there are worse things in the world than fist-wielding thugs. 

A quality piece of writing this one, with Riley effortlessly creating a threateningly sinister town, Pire, set in a dystopian not too distant future.  Marvelously evocative descriptive prose abounds with much of the narrative a remember-to-breathe-when-reading roller-coaster ride. 

The Lurkers, when they finally put in an appearance are a truly loathsome bunch, and I should not be surprised if they turned up in some of the author’s subsequent writing.  Indeed, I think may actively go seeking them out. 

If I do have a criticism of the story, it is that old chestnut: characterisation.  For although the author does attempt to imbue Redford with some character – he reads “Escapist fiction” to help escape the monotony of his daytime job, and we learn he is saving hard for a car – ultimately I found it difficult to engage with the running man.

But this is a minor quibble with a really rather memorable yarn.


Tuesday 3 March 2015

Goblin Mire reviewed by Simon Ives on the British Fantasy Society website


There's an excellent review of Goblin Mire by Simon Ives on the British Fantasy Society website.

"Had enough of trying to get your brain round the latest sci-fi epic, chockfull of phantasmagoria?  The sort that leaves you, well, frankly confused about what you have just read?  Then jump aboard this roller coaster of a tale, firmly grounded in old style fantasy and primarily told from the viewpoint of goblins and elves."

Click on this - review - to read the full version.

 Trade paperback

Amazon.co.uk  £8.99

Amazon.com   $12.00

Kindle:

Amazon.co.uk £2.97

Amazon.com $4.50

Monday 2 March 2015

Kitchen Sink Gothic - first acceptances

Linden and I have made our first nine acceptances for Kitchen Sink Gothic, filling 113 pages. We won't be making the rest till after the end of May, which is the deadline for submissions.

So far we have stories by Franklin Marsh, Andrew Darlington, Stephen Bacon, Gary Fry, Benedict J. Jones, Kate Farrell, Charles Black, David A. Sutton and Walter Gascoigne.