Where I’ll Be: FantasyCon 2018

I thought I’d better make one of these posts explaining where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing in Chester at FantasyCon this weekend, just in case anyone has any interest. I’m on three panels with absolutely lovely folk, all of which I’m very much looking forward to, and I have a reading with some […]

Basically the best news ever! The little book that could.

Where do I begin? Perhaps with a blog post I wrote a few years ago, about how a book I loved went out on sub and got many nibbles but no offers and how it broke my heart a little bit? Yeah, we’ll start there. Reader, Coil was that book. Is the message here ‘never […]

Shirley Jackson Marathon – Final Week: The Bird’s Nest

This week, the last week of my Shirley Jackson marathon, we’re going to be looking at The Bird’s Nest. This is my all time favourite Jackson book, it’s the scariest, both in terms of psychology and bone chilling horror. Let me explain, as there are those who heartily disagree with that statement. Elizabeth is having […]

2015 Reading Challenge, Book 30: Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami

This is a book of short stories by Murakami and possesses all of his usual magic in the every day and some of the usual supernatural touches he handles so very well. There were some stories I didn’t gel with but I still enjoyed the writing of course. Most of these stories were excellent and […]

2015 Reading Challenge, Book 18: The Three by Sarah Lotz

So I picked this book up as my Book With A Number In The Title because I was intrigued. Everyone’s been raving about it. It’s a paranormal thriller I suppose, though for me the payoff was a little underwhelming. Not that I was expecting massive creepy stuffs, just a little more meat to the ending […]

2015 Reading Challenge, Book 16: The Death House by Sarah Pinborough

I bought this book on my kindle as I’ve heard many many good things about both the author and the book. It’s a near future tale of kids held in isolation on an island because they possess a defective gene that will eventually cause a condition that will kill them. The arrival of a new […]

2015 Reading Challenge, Book 5: Ack Ack Macaque by Gareth L. Powell

I’m two books ahead of this, so I’m feeling pretty smug right now. Of course, these vlogs are getting less and less views, so I’m pretty sure no one else is as delighted as I am of this swathe of reading. Anyhow, my aim is to get these vlogs shorter, punchier and more fun, especially as the […]

2015 Reading Challenge, book one: Dust by Arthur Slade

This is the first of my reading challenge vlogs. Sorry it’s a bit of a patchwork, I had extreme cat interference. Been crazy for cats this months, some kind of January madness has infected them. Either way, the drama llamas are out in force. I keep meaning to film their various battles in slow-mo and […]

Behind The Lonely Dark: Part 2

Apparently, we’re supposed to let themes bubble away beneath story and character, carrying through in a strong yet subtle tide that does not interfere with the narrative thrust. I don’t think it’s part of my particular skill set, as my themes always tend to end up fairly high in the mix. In other words, thanks […]

Umwelt: Darkness Flows Like A River Episode 41: In the Belly of Darkness

In the belly of darkness, Margo struggles along, searching. Rolf’s in here somewhere, heart and breath reduced to whispers, but still holding on, still waiting for her to find him, still waiting for his Moe. His agony rings in her like bells, resounding in the marrow of her. She wraps herself in it, taking as […]

Word Bullets

A spew of mental debris.

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