ReaderCon ... finally!

Hey, I don't know if you knew this, but I'll be at ReaderCon this coming weekend! What? You did know? You say I won't shut up about it? Hm. That's strange. I don't recall that at all. Regardless, I'm in the last stages of preparation for the trip. This Friday, July 10th, I'll be driving to Massachusetts, along with my friends and fellow writers Richard Gavin and Ian Rogers. While there we are looking forward to meeting many old and new friends. If anyone reading this is planning to attend, please say hi. I'd be thrilled to meet you in person.

It's a good time for the trip for me, too. Not only because I have the new book on the way and am feeling particularly excited about it, but also because in the days leading up to the convention I've managed to finished another tale and am using the rest of time to do preliminary work on a few other projects. Now is the perfect time to take a break.

Alas, I won't have any copies of my new book with me. I'd hoped I could finagle it, but copies have not returned from the printers in time. A bit disappointing, but not the end of the world, I suppose. After all, I'm there to socialise, not pimp my wares. That said, I'll be taking part in a small unofficial signing session for the book BOUND FOR EVIL, so if you have a copy, why not stop by? And, if you don't, you have even more reason to come as you'll then be able to grab a copy.

I do hope to see many of you there.

Big wheel keeps on turnin' . . .

Not really a fair thing to post, but I just wanted to express how excited I am about the story I'm currently working on. Not only is it going swimmingly, but it's the most fun I've had writing in a long time. I don't know what the final product will be like, but I'm hoping for universal love. I'm certainly pouring that in, at any rate.

The last few weeks have been good. Not only because of my book's impending release, and my nomination for a BFA, and my selling a tale to STRANGE TALES III, but also because I finished said story, then went on to take a tale I'd half-written a year ago and finish that, too. And now I'm already a good way into another. All this, plus there are only two more Saturdays between today and ReaderCon. Things are really moving right now and I'm hoping I can keep the momentum up until September. If so, I might actually have earned the right to take a bit of time off to read again.

Nominated for a British Fantasy Award

The news today just keeps on coming . . .

I'm quite excited by the news that my short story "Pinholes in Black Muslin" (available to read for free here) has been short-listed for a British Fantasy Award. The tale will be on the final ballot, so I suppose ought to remind anyone eligible to vote (that would be any member of the British Fantasy Society, or attendee of FantasyCon '08) that they ought to do so before August 1st ... even if it's not for my tale. For those curious, the award ceremony will be September 19th during FantasyCon '09.

For those of you who demand to read the story in print, more good news! Tartarus Press has announced the official date for the release of COLD TO THE TOUCH: July 29th, 2009. You can't preorder it yet, but keep an eye open here for more info.

Strange Tales, Volume III

It's my pleasure to announce my short story, "Her Father's Daughter", will be published in STRANGE TALES, VOLUME III, due this Christmas from Tartarus Press.

The previous volume in the Strange Tales series, if you recall, was published at the end of 2007 and contained my tale, "The Other Village" — a tale which went on to appear in the following year's BEST NEW HORROR anthology. Let's hope lightning strikes twice!

Review/Rant — "Primeval Wood" by Richard Gavin

Just finished PRIMEVAL WOOD (Burning Effigy Press, 2009) today. Marvellous. I don't know how familiar everyone is with Richard's work in the past, but he's been known (to me at least) as writing a style a bit more Baroque than most of his peers. A bit antiquated at times. This style is one I love reading, but I've always worried it was a bit of an acquired taste. I suspect Richard may have worried about this as well as this novella represents (I think) the first sojourn into a different style, a style similar on the surface to what many people are comfortable with, yet still retaining some of the striking prose, imagery, and themes of his previous work. It's not often I get jealous of my peers while reading their work but I feel jealous reading Richard's work. If I felt his fiction hasn't been given exposure enough before, I certainly feel double about it now. There is a Machenesque sense of mysticism in the work, but unlike that of others (like me, for instance) the mystical world operating in Richard's fiction seems wholly formed and complete, even if it's only hinted at. There is a strange beauty in what he writes, in the messages he conveys, that floors me. Richard's going to explode, I think, in the coming year, and this is the first sign of it. If you haven't, I urge you to buy PRIMEVAL WOOD now.

(I should take this opportunity to launch off on a blog post about changing styles, or rather the metamorphosis of a writer over time as he refines his craft, but I don't have the energy at the moment. Perhaps soon. Too bad, as it would have fit nicely with the above.)

Cold to the Touch: contents

In what is quickly becoming an annual event, I'd like to reveal a few secrets about my upcoming book, COLD TO THE TOUCH, now that the contracts have been signed and delivered and the proofs are being poured over.

It's with extreme pride and pleasure to announce that the book will be published by Tartarus Press as part of their new "contemporary fiction" line. Tartarus has a strong reputation in the field for high quality volumes, and I can only imagine what they have in store for this new imprint. I don't have a date as of yet for the release, nor is there cover artwork to show (what you see above is a placeholder, photographed by my good friend and fellow scribe, Ian Rogers), but these things are being hashed out right now and I'm hopeful there will be something to reveal very soon.

CTTT differs from my previous book in some significant ways. BENEATH THE SURFACE was tremendously influenced by ontological horrors — the world that is out to get us; the things from beyond that plot against us. This volume foregos much of that for a more internal and psychological look at the world. Where the first took place in the cities, this takes place in the world around the cities — in the suburbs, in the fields and in the woods. It also takes place in the hearts and the souls of its characters. I think if one has more of an affinity to spectres than tentacles then reading this second book, COLD TO THE TOUCH, will be a rewarding experience. At least, I hope it will.

Enough prattle. On to what you all came here for: the table of contents. Like last time, nearly half of these tales have not seen publication before. Those that have I think many people will be familiar with as they have appeared in some high-profile places such as THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST NEW HORROR or have been recommended for British Fantasy Awards. In many ways, I consider these the best of my work over the past seven years.

Contents:

Under the Overpass (originally appeared in Shades of Darkness)
The Other Village (originally appeared in Strange Tales II)
The Uninvited Guest (originally appeared in Dark Doorways)
A Seed on Barren Ground (previously unpublished)
Writing on the Wall (previously unpublished)
A Chorus of Yesterdays (originally appeared in All Hallows)
The Sweetest Song (previously unpublished)
Pinholes in Black Muslin (originally appeared in The Second Humdrumming Book of Horror Stories)
Fading Light (originally appeared in Bernie Herrmann's Manic Sextet)
Poor Stephanie (originally appeared in Supernatural Tales)
Like Falling Snow (previously unpublished)
Here’s to the Good Life (previously unpublished)
Cold to the Touch (previously unpublished)
author's afterword

Please, keep watching here or Tartarus Press for updates and announcements regarding release dates. I'll of course be updating this site when more information becomes available. I must admit, I'm very excited to see what this book's reaction will be, and trust no one will come away disappointed. (Nevertheless, work has already begun on a third volume ... just in case).