No book covers to post this time so instead here I am at a Guy N Smith - themed lunch.

It's almost time for FantasyCon, which is once again being held in the now very familar confines of the Britannia Hotel in Nottingham. Here's what I'll be up to:

Saturday 18th September

1 pm - Signing of the Solaris anthology The End of the Line

3 pm - Signing of the Robinson anthology Zombie Apocalypse

11-15pm - Late Night Reading - 'His Beautiful Hands' by Oscar Cook.

Yes, as part of the launch of MacMillan books' republication of the very first Pan Book of Horror stories I will be reading one of the very best (and certainly one of the nastiest) stories from it in the no doubt subdued late night atmosphere of the Britannia Hotel ballroom.

For those of you who can't make the Solaris signing there's also going to be an official launch on Tuesday 16th November at Foyle's bookshop in London's Oxford Street with many of the contributing authors (including me) planning to be present.

My story 'Ring Around the Roses' will be appearing in the above mass market anthology which is due out around November this year. For more information, including a complete list of contributors, go here

And another good review for Wicked Delights! This time from the nice chaps at Horror World:

John Llewellyn Probert is a unique man.  Upon meeting him, one can tell that he is not the most “normal” individual.  Then again, that can be a wonderful thing for a writer of the fantastic.  His funny, charming, and odd personality reeks throughout every sentence of his writing – finding a voice that is like no other. Readers may compare his short fiction to Neil Gaiman, Jeremy Shipp, or Clive Barker (on helium). 

Wicked Delights, his 5th collection has sold out printing both in the UK & USA already, giving Atomic Fez another feather in its… fez.

How would one describe Probert’s stories?  Weird but frightening comes close but like those authors noted above, one must read and truly digest his stories first before beginning to understand what this man is capable of – and how to describe (rather, how description fails to capture their essence).   Asylums run wild (of course) but twist in unique ways.  Books which drink blood from children?  A television station which takes care of one’s financial burdens?  A corporation breaking apart not only departments, but humans themselves?  Yeah, he’s odd but the stories work and his sparse prose allow the ideas and humor to ring the way they should. 

Recently, Atomic Fez and Probert held a contest where the winner won a “Wickedly Delightful” champagne breakfast with the author to help market the collection.  With these 18 tales, not much is needed to celebrate the writing within these pages.  Another winner from a unique press.

-- Dave Simms

My story 'The Girl in the Glass' will be appearing in the forthcoming mass-market anthology from Solaris The End of the Line which should be in the shops in November.

My story 'Forgive Us Not Our Trespasses' will be appearing in an anthology forthcoming from Pendragon Press next year.

My story 'It Begins at Home' will be appearing in The Seventh Black Book of Horror which should be out in time for FantasyCon, where I understand editor Charlie Black is hoping to stage another mass signing similar to that at World Horror earlier this year.

The latest Black Static (Issue 17) which is just starting to be mailed out to subscribers has a review feature by Pete Tennant entitled 'Nasty But Nice - John Llewellyn Probert' in which he covers the stories in both Against the Darkness and Wicked Delights in depth. It's a very good review and I'm very pleased indeed that Mr Tennant thought so highly of both volumes

Tales From the Black Abyss has also done a review of Against the Darkness which you can read here

There's another great review of Wicked Delights in the American Library publication Booklist, which reads as follows:

When he’s not penning gruesomely amusing horror tales, Probert writes essays online reviewing some of his favorite slasher flicks, both obscure and famous. In his fifth story collection, his cinematic appetite often manifests in stray movie references and crisp, screenplay-ready narration laced with vivid imagery. The opening story, “At Midnight I Will Steal Your Soul,” for instance, shares its title with a little-known 1964 Brazilian movie and follows a fearful woman’s visit to a psychiatric hospital, where an evil presence waits to claim her soul and body. “Ophelia” recounts the fate of a young woman kidnapped expressly to become a model corpse for a group of unprincipled artists bent on reproducing great paintings. In “Your Help Needed Urgently!,” a deceitful businessman is forced to watch video clips of torture scenes to avoid being exposed. More than once Probert goes absurdly over the top with his story arcs, but his penchant for wily humor and odd narrative twists just as often yields a genre gem.

–Carl Hays, Booklist

Finally, Coffin Nails has received a very favourable review in the latest issue of David Longhorn's Supernatural Tales (Issue 17).

Here I am post World Horror berating a life cast of Anthony Gormley on a chilly Saturday morning in Liverpool while Jenny Campbell (wife of Ramsey) wonders where her head's gone. I thought it might make a good author pic but seeing as it'll be a while before the next book here it is anyway.

As for writing news - it's Honourable Mentions time again, and I'm delighted to report that the following stories of mine have appeared on Ellen Datlow's longlist:

A Dance to the Music of Insanity from The Catacombs of Fear.
At First Sight from The Catacombs of Fear.
Catacomb Interludes from The Catacombs of Fear.
Mors Gratia Artis from The Catacombs of Fear.
The Markovski Quartet from The Catacombs of Fear.
The Neighborhood Watch from The Catacombs of Fear.
De Vermis Infestis from The Fifth Black Book of Horror.

For those of you fancying to dip into Against the Darkness to see what it's like there's now a pdf sampler available here. 

If you prefer flip-books, then you can read Against the Darkness that way here.   

The Sixth Black Book of Horror is out and features my story 'Six of the Best'.

I'm typing these words just after the 2010 World Horror Convention in Brighton and I'm still recovering from one of the most exhausting and exhilarating weekends I can remember. Huge thanks to everyone who came to see my reading of 'Two for Dinner', the Friday night play, and my interview with Ingrid Pitt.

It was also splendid to meet so many people, and I think I signed my name more times in four days than I have all year.

I'll put up news of the (many) projects I'm getting involved with soon, but for now it's back to the typewriter...

And it's time to mention Wicked Delights again, mainly because I've had a very pleasing review of the book from Publishers' Weekly:

SF/Fantasy/Horror

Wicked Delights John Llewellyn Probert. Atomic Fez (www.atomicfez.com), $39.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-9811597-2-0

Prolific horror writer Probert (The Faculty of Terror) offers up 18 gruesome, unsettling, and often unnervingly funny tales in his wide-ranging fifth short story collection. In “At Midnight, I Will Steal Your Soul,” a terrifying choir rehearsal in a haunted asylum leads an anxiety-plagued woman to a profound realization. “Two for Dinner” is a heart-pounding tribute to revenge horror films with a gleefully disturbing punch line. “The Mirror of Tears” is a haunting family drama about childhood terror and the sometimes damaging power of love. Vividly creepy images—the pages of a cookbook sucking on a child like leeches, an entire company being reduced to a sculpture of body parts as part of a corporate takeover—are all the more compelling when rendered in Probert’s breezy style. An illuminating and frequently hilarious afterword ends the collection on a gentle note. (Apr.)

The little red star next to the title is also a very good sign as it means the book has achieved 'recommended' status.

And if that isn't good news enough Ramsey Campbell has also read the book and has the following rather lovely things to say about it (and me):

The delightfully wicked Mr Probert wields his prose like a scalpel.

His imagination is impressively warped and gruesome, and yet his tales have an unrepentantly English reticence. There's dark humour here, and unexpected

poignancy - indeed, the book is as full of surprises as the man himself.

Horror is lucky to have him.

You can pre-order the book here or alternatively pick one up at World Horror in March & I'll sign it for you.

Here's Against the Darkness again, which has had a slightly confusing publishing history. For reasons too complicated to go into here the paperback was brought out last October in time for FantasyCon and since then it has been available only through Amazon.

In March there's going to be a hardcover edition available, which can be ordered through the Screaming Dreams website here, and which will be launched at World Horror as I mentioned on the last news posting. I'll be signing copies of the hardcover there but if you already have the paperback bring it along and I'll be happy to sign that too.

I shall be interviewing Ingrid Pitt (pictured above in Hammer's The Vampire Lovers) on stage at World Horror 2010 in Brighton this March.

It's also where Atomic Fez will launching my new collection, Wicked Delights. I've now added a page to this website detailing the contents. There won't be an official signing session so please feel free to waylay me to get your copy signed. And for one lucky individual who buys their copy from the Atomic Fez stall there my publisher is planning a big novelty surprise...

It looks as if I'm going to be quite busy at the event. Here's the complete programme of what I'll be doing:

Friday March 26th:      

          10-00am - 11-00am   Monster Movie Memories Panel Discussion

           4-00pm -  5-00pm    Black Book of Horror Volume 6 Mass Signing

           5-30pm -  6-00pm    JLP in the Reading Cafe (I've yet to decide which story)

          10-30pm - 00-00am   'Corruption' in Ten Minutes (During this session)

Saturday March 27th:

           4-00pm -  5-00pm     JLP Interviews Ingrid Pitt Live On Stage

Sunday March 28th:

           2-00pm -  3-00pm     Against the Darkness Hardcover (Re) Launch

In other news there's a new review of The Catacombs of Fear at the Tales from the Black Abyss website here.

A Happy New Year to All!

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting details of what I'm going to be getting up to at World Horror this year in Brighton. First up, I've just been collaborating on the script for 'Ten Minute Terror Theatre', a little project that will see my first stage performance for nearly 20 years. I shall be playing all the male parts in a special condensed version of the 1967 Robert Hartford-Davis shocker 'Corruption'. The movie originally starred Peter Cushing and is currently unavailable on DVD. The performance will be taking place on the Friday night of the convention at around 10-30pm & I'll be posting more details as they are finalised.

Christmas is nearly upon us and so as a special treat here's the utterly delicious cover of my next short story collection. It's going to be unleashed upon the world at World Horror in Brighton in March 2010 and is coming out under the Atomic Fez banner. I'll be putting up a page devoted to the book and its contents shortly but for now you can find out all about it, including how to pre-order a copy here.

In other news, I was recently invited to become a Full Member of Academi, which is the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Society for Authors. A quick check of their website reveals that not only have they listed me on their Welsh writers database but that full membership is by invitation only, so I accepted as, apart from it being rather nice of them, it's good to see academic institutions embracing horror writers and such an attitude should be heartily encouraged.

Coffin Nails has a nice little write up in Best New Horror 20 where Stephen Jones calls it 'an enjoyable collection of eighteen often amusing horror stories that owe much of their inspiration to the work of R Chetwynd-Hayes and the Amicus anthology movies'.

Ellen Datlow also devotes a paragraph to Coffin Nails in her introduction to Night Shade Books' Best Horror of the Year where amongst other things she says 'Probert is excellent at creating tension'.

My review of the quite incredible 1981 Spanish movie 'Pieces' directed by J-P Simon is now up on the Allthingshorror website here .

My story 'Six of the Best' will be in the forthcoming 'Sixth Black Book of Horror'

And talking of Black Book, there's a review of my story 'De Vermis Infestis' on the In the Gloaming website here .

Here's Paul Mudie's rather unnerving cover for the latest volume of the Black Book of Horror, which is now available from Charlie Black's Mortbury Press. In it you can find my story 'Two for Dinner', which was read to standing room only at FantasyCon the other week (thanks everyone!).

Apart from my reading, I also took part in the August Derleth panel at the same event. Thanks are due to Ramsey Campbell & Joel Lane for keeping things relevant, to Reggie Oliver for taking the 'making it up as you go along' approach with me, and to Ray Russell for keeping us all under control at 11pm on a Friday evening. Otherwise FantasyCon 2009 was the usual exhilarating, exhausting affair and if I didn't get a chance to say hello to anyone I'll do my best to remedy that at World Horror next year.

Talking of World Horror, I've just written a piece about ingrid Pitt (the convention's 'Special Media Guest') that's going to be published in the hardcover souvenir book that will be included in every member's registration pack.

And finally - it's Honourable Mention time! The following JLP stories have been given Honourable Mentions by Ellen Datlow for 2008:

Don't Look Back from Coffin Nails

Final Act from Coffin Nails

Of Music & Mayhem from Coffin Nails

The Sacrifices We Make from Coffin Nails

Recipe for Disaster from Bound for Evil

Because of space only the top 50 stories of the year will be listed in Ms Datlow's 'Best Horror of the Year' book and so the winner out of that lot is 'Don't Look Back'. As well as the stories above three others from Coffin Nails - 'Maleficarum', 'The Moving Image' and 'Between the Pipes' have received HMs in the past so that makes seven from the book altogether.

Here I am feeling right at home with a church organ to my right and an operating table to my left. While I would love to say that this is one of the more spacious rooms at Probert Towers it is in fact the Glenside Hospital Museum, which boasts a rather marvellous collection of strait-jackets, old ECT machines, and antiquated instruments for performing brain surgery. Needless to say I had a lovely morning there and you can too if you manage to visit it during one of the rare times when it’s open.

Anyway – the news. There’s an interview with me that's going to be on the Black Glove website in a bit, but before it goes on there it's available on the rather elegant website of the gentleman who interviewed me, Steve Jensen.

There will be two brand new JLP stories in The Fifth Black Book of Horror. Charlie Black has now revealed the list of contributors and I’m delighted to see that my tales will be appearing alongside work from such talented authors and all round splendid chaps (and friends of mine) as Reggie Oliver, David A Riley and Paul Finch, as well as Pan Horror alumni David Williamson, Marcus Gold and Ian C Strachan, who wrote one of my favourite stories in the entire Pan Horror series (A Smell of Fresh Paint by ‘Carl Schiffman’ in Pan 20). I’ll post more details when I get them but for now the best place for BB5 news is probably here.

I’ve just joined the Friends of Arthur Machen for a number of reasons, not the least of which are that he was a very fine writer of macabre fiction and that I chaired a panel discussion on his work at the BFS annual meeting a couple of years ago which meant that I got to meet some of the society's learned members. In fact you can access the audio recordings of the ramblings of myself, Ramsey Campbell, Mark Samuels, Gwilym Games and Simon Clark in the 'Panels' section, where I've added the audio files as downloads. If nothing else I'm sure a certain amount of fun can be had spotting the various "celebrity" voices.

Machen was also a candidate for the examinations to be made a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, which makes me feel even closer to him than his South Wales connections, but I have to admit that another reason I have decided to join FOAM at this time (as it’s quite frothily called) is because the annual meeting is due to be held in my home town of Abergavenny, in a hotel owned by a man whose daughter was allegedly chased by the younger JLP underneath a posh dining table during Sunday Lunch. Or so my mother informs me, seeing as we were only five years old at the time, but I see no reason for that little detail to diminish the rumour of the (very) young but obviously gentleman-about-town-in-the-making JLP getting to grips, as it were, with the opposite sex..

I could go on about Abergavenny for hours, and probably will at the Friends meeting in March, but suffice to say it has featured in a number of my stories. If you ever visit Abergavenny Museum, go down into the basement and you will find the setting for one of the scenes (as well as the reconstructed shop) from ‘Nefarious Assortment’ in Coffin Nails. Another story from that collection, ‘Taking Over’, was based on some of the houses I used to cycle past as a youngster. Stories such as ‘The Moving Image’, ‘The Sacrifices We Make’, and ‘Between the Pipes’ have all benefited from the fact that I lived in this rather strange town until the age of fifteen, and I don’t doubt it will continue to inform my work well into the future.

FantasyCon 2009 is almost upon us and for at least part of the time I shall be standing next to what will hopefully be a swiftly diminishing pile of copies of Against the Darkness. As well as intending to read one of my latest stories on Saturday 19^th September it turns out that I shall also be participating in a panel discussion at the Britannia Hotel in Nottingham on Friday the 18th at about 10-30pm. The subject will be ‘August Derleth and the Legacy of Arkham House’ so come along and add to what should be a lively discussion about classic horror fiction.

Finally, the World Horror Convention will be taking place in the UK for the first time next year. Take a look at the website and you’ll see that there’s already a strong British presence registered, and if that’s not a good enough reason to pop along to Brighton for some sand, sea and shocks, with any luck I should be launching collection number five, the title of which apparently has to remain a secret at present until my publisher says I can tell you what it is. I’m also going to be involved in the convention in a number of other ways, all of which should prove entertaining if certain plans come to fruition.

My next book will be 'Against the Darkness', a collection of supernatural adventures featuring the detective pairing of Samantha Jephcott and Mr Massene Henderson. They previously appeared in the 'States of the Art' episode of my first book 'The Faculty of Terror', and have also featured in a few short stories over the years published in magazines now long out of print. The 300 page plus book is due out from Screaming Dreams hopefully in time for FantasyCon in September. I've added a page to the Books section listing the contents, the blurb, and everything else you need to know about it.

I appear to be have garnered mentions in a few magazines this time:

First off, Black Static Issue 12 has Pete Tennant's lengthy and very complimentary review of The Catacombs of Fear. Pete reviewed my very first story (The Trendelenberg Concerto) for 'The Fix' magazine a few years ago and I'm delighted he's included my latest book for review here.

Rue Morgue Issue 92 has an article on Ash-Tree Press that mentions Coffin Nails, interestingly enough calling it 'John Llewellyn Probert's homage to Amicus films' when it's the only book of mine currently in print that isn't! I'll forgive them though as the article is illustrated by the covers of three Ash-Tree books by MR James, Reggie Oliver and me!

Cemetery Dance Issue 62 is apparently about to come out and I understand it also has a review of The Catacombs of Fear.

No picture this time, although I've recently been busy supervising the photography for the cover of my next short story collection, details of which I'll be posting here as soon as I'm allowed. Apart from finishing the book, here's what else I've been up to:

My essay 'Corruption & The Fiend - The Slasher Movies of Robert Hartford-Davis' will be appearing in the Dark Scribe Press book Butcher Knives and Body Counts:  Essays on the Formula, Frights, and Fun of the Slasher Film, where it will also be possible to find my essay on Pete Walker's 1976 movie 'Schizo'

My review of Juan-Piquer Simon's quite incredibly silly slasher movie 'Pieces' will be appearing, appropriately enough, in the first issue of the newly resurrected magazine Pieces of Mary.

My story 'Two for Dinner' will be appearing in the Fifth Black Book of Horror.

My review of the UK DVD release of the 1978 ITV version of 'Casting the Runes' by M R James will be appearing in a future issue of All Hallows.

The Catacombs of Fear is now out and looks lovely. Order your copy now from Gray Friar Press, and if you haven't yet got The Faculty of Terror then they can do you a deal on the two. Shall I post the cover again? You know I think I will:

I've also started a regular film review column at the Gray Friar website. Click here to get to 'The Catacombs of Film'. The introductory page is self-explanatory but essentially it's an opportunity for me to wax lyrical about any film I feel like passing comment on. A list of all the films I've reviewed can be accessed via the drop down menu under Non-Fiction on the sidebar.

I have already mentioned it on various message boards but if there any movies you would like to see reviewed on there, either so you can chuckle merrily at how I've misinterpreted some important work of cinema or more likely scratch your head at how I've managed to find some merit in yet another piece of low-budget nonsense, then get in touch with me via the 'Contact' button and I'll see what I can do. I've already had requests for 'Corruption', 'Sting of Death' and 'Carnival of Souls' which will all be reviewed in due course, which is more than I can say for 'Confessions of a Shopaholic', the request for which I suspect wasn't serious anyway, although who knows?

The sequel to 'The Faculty of Terror' should be coming out around mid-February. There are no returning characters or creatures and the location is different as well. In fact the only way that 'The Catacombs of Fear' resembles its predecessor is that it retains the same structure, and the cover has a similar design. Oh, and there's another picture of me on the reverse, this time taken round the back of Bristol Cathedral. This time there are five stories linked by a framework and the book is a little longer than Faculty. I have added all the details to a separate page which can be accessed via the book menu.

Anyone interested in reading my comments on page 69 of Coffin Nails (I know - I thought it was rather a weird concept when I was asked to contribute but if you go to the website it makes sense) should click here.

I've also added some reviews and comments to the Coffin Nails page.

Another Fantasy Con has been and gone, and here is a gratuitous Guinness-filled group shot taken early on in the proceedings to give those who were unable to attend some general idea of the atmosphere at this most convivial of occasions.

Thanks go to everyone who bought a copy of Coffin Nails over the weekend, and extra special thanks are due to those who bought copies from me even after I ran out early on the Saturday. As soon as I have some more from Ash Tree Press I'll be forwarding them, signed and inscribed as requested.

More thanks go to all those who made my reading of 'Guided Tour' (from Supernatural Tales 12 and reprinted in Coffin Nails) such a success that it was standing room only. At the same meeting I also chaired a discussion panel on the works of William Hope Hodgson and Mark Samuels, Stuart Young, Ray Russell and Gwilym Games all helped to keep the conversation lively. My thanks to them and all those who attended.

I've been busy writing a couple of articles for John Mains' forthcoming book on that most lauded / despised of British horror institutions The Pan Book of Horror Stories. Having been a fan of the series since I was very young I was delighted when John asked me to supply him with a list of my ten favourite stories, which you can find on his website devoted to the series here.

Also on the website you can find my essay on J P Dixon's story The Surgeon's Tale from The 29th Pan Book of Horror Stories here. The finished book will also contain my essay on R Chetwynd-Hayes' It Came to Dinner from Volume 14.

The Vault of Evil is an excellent resource for all kinds of supernatural fiction. It was conceived and is still managed by the inexhaustible Kev Demant, and recently I was delighted to see that a thread has been started for Coffin Nails in the 'Favourite Authors' section, which can be accessed here.

My story 'Between the Pipes' published in All Hallows 42 and reprinted in Coffin Nails has received an Honourable Mention in Volume 21 of the Year's Best Fantasy & Horror.

Finally, there's plenty more fiction on the way. I am just putting the finishing touches to a couple of books which I should hopefully be able to announce more about soon.

Coffin Nails has arrived!

My latest short story collection is now available. Ash-Tree Press have done their usual superb job of producing a book that is as much a collectors' item as it is a literary endeavour. Needless to say I am absolutely delighted with the result. 18 stories, just over 100 000 words, all contained within this limited hardcover edition. And yes I did say limited so get a copy while you can.

For those of you who may still be undecided this promotional video may help you to make up your mind:

Those of a delicate nature (I can't believe anyone who visits this site is of such a disposition but there you go, here's a warning especially for you) who may find the gratuitous nudity a little too much are advised to stop the film once it gets to the cover image

Those of an even more delicate disposition who may find my attempts at a cross between Roald Dahl & Sir Donald Wolfit as being just a little too much are advised to stop the film as soon as it starts.

Everyone is of course heartily encouraged to buy this rather splendid volume of horror stories and thus allow me to continue with a lifestyle that will ensure that various Milan fashion designers, the distillers of Hendricks Gin, and all those who work in the Savoy chain of hotels are kept in gainful employment.

Go on - you know you want to. There's even a picture of me in a rather fine navy cheesecloth pinstripe on the back cover.

Click Here to Order from Ash-Tree Press

In other news my story 'At Midnight I Will Steal Your Soul' will be seeing print in the GAP anthology 'Another House Another Hill'.

I will be attending this year's FantasyCon in Nottingham in September where I shall be chairing a discussion panel on the works of William Hope Hodgson.

Finally, as predicted below, The Third Black Book of Horror is indeed now on sale in Waterstone's in Bristol's Broadmead Centre.

The Third Black Book of Horror is now out, with the kind of marvellously outrageous cover that hasn't graced a British horror anthology for a few decades now. It contains, amongst others, my story 'John & Jenny and the Lump' - a story written in the style of the Ladybird 'Peter & Jane' books of our youth but definitely not for the little ones. Copies are obtainable from Mortbury Press at http://www.freewebs.com/mortburypress/, and will probably be available from Waterstones in Bristol's Broadmead Centre at some point seeing as the other two volumes can be bought from there. Buy a copy and encourage Mr Black to continue with his sterling work of resurrecting the great British horror anthology tradition.

It’s been a quite a while since the last update, mainly because I’ve needed to sort out getting the website overhauled. I hope everyone considers this new version to be an improvement over the old. Separate pages will be added for each book I have published as they come out (accessible via the menu) and there’s also now a section covering my non-fiction work and the interview panels I’ve been involved with which will also be updated as necessary. In the meantime below is a quick round up of what’s been happening since the last time I posted:

I was absolutely delighted to receive the Dracula Society’s Children of the Night Award for best work of gothic fiction 2006 for ‘The Faculty of Terror’, which also received two honourable mentions in the Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror’ Volume 20 for ‘The States of the Art’ and ‘The Kreutzenberg Sonata’. I was presented with the beautifully designed award at the society’s annual dinner in Holborn, where my charming and convivial hosts were kind enough to allow me to ramble on in the way that I usually tend to when given the opportunity to address a captive audience once dinner was over. Go to http://www.grayfriarpress.com/events.html to see some pictures.

The Second Black Book of Horror has been published by Charles Black’s Mortbury Press and contains my story ‘In Sickness And…’, about a marital guidance counsellor with rather extreme methods. The best place to get it is direct from the publisher at http://www.freewebs.com/mortburypress/ .

My story ‘Recipe for Disaster’ can be found in Bound for Evil, a handsome, hardcover volume nearly 800 pages in length available from Dead Letter Press through their website at www.deadletterpress.com

Just out in time for Christmas 2007 was the Gray Friar Christmas Book, a limited edition possible start to an annual series featuring stories by author published by that imprint. My story ‘Last Christmas’ rounded off a volume containing festive tales by Nicholas Royle, Paul Finch, Gary Fry, Gary McMahon, Simon Strantzas and Conrad Williams.

In September 2007 Mark Samuels was kind enough to invite me to moderate a panel discussion on the works of one of the all-time great authors of the macabre. ‘Arthur Machen - Master of Holy Horrors’ took place during Sunday lunchtime at FantasyCon at the Britannia Hotel in Nottingham, and the individuals to whom I put my questions were Ramsey Campbell, Simon Clark, Gwilym Games and Mark Samuels himself. The event was such a success that a similar panel is planned for 2008, this time discussing the works of William Hope Hodgson, author of ‘The House on the Borderland’ and the ‘Carnacki’ stories amongst others.

Issue 12 of David Longhorn’s splendid journal ‘Supernatural Tales’ also came out last year and included my story ‘Guided Tour’, which I wrote in the restaurant at Blenheim Palace. Copies can be obtained from www.chico.nildram.co.uk/SupernaturalTales.html

Before that The Black Book of Horror saw print from Charles Black’s Mortbury Press. Aiming to be the new Herbert van Thal (of ‘Pan Horror’ fame amongst others) Charlie was kind enough to include my story ‘Size Matters’, a version of which some will remember I read aloud as part of an after dinner speech, the rather more disturbing bits edited out on that occasion so as not to offend the sensibilities (and stomachs) of those unacquainted with my fiction. The story itself is in the style of Pan authors such as Harry E Turner and MartinWaddell. It can be ordered from Mortbury Press through the following link: http://www.freewebs.com/mortburypress/, or you can buy it from online stores such as Tesco & Amazon. Copies are also on sale in Waterstones in Bristol’s Galleries shopping centre.

One of my very early stories, ‘In the Dining Hall of the Damned’ was published in Lighthouse Volume VII. Check on www.lighthousemediaone.co.uk/ for availability.

I am delighted to announce that Ash-Tree Press have agreed to publish ‘Coffin Nails’, a collection of my short supernatural fiction. The book, with a word count of around the 110 000 mark, is planned to be available in both hardcover and paperback editions. It will include a few reprints of what I consider to be my best fiction that has already seen print in small press magazines, but the majority of the volume will be made up of new material, including an introduction and notes on the writing of all the stories.

The Ash-Tree Press hardcover anthology ‘At Ease with the Dead’ is now available and contains my story ‘The Brook’. Contents and ordering details can be found at http://www.ash-tree.bc.ca/atp126At%20Ease%20with%20the%20Dead.htm

The latest edition of ‘All Hallows’ (issue 42, the cover of which is reproduced opposite) is a hefty volume that features another of my music-based horror stories entitled ‘Between the Pipes’. Go to www.ash-tree.bc.ca/GSS.html for details of how to purchase a copy. My story ‘The Brook’, a macabre interpretation of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem of the same name, which had originally been accepted for ‘All Hallows’ is now going to be published in the new Ash-Tree Press hardcover anthology ‘At Ease with the Dead’.

Response to ‘The Faculty of Terror’ has been terrific, and I understand that it has been nominated for the Children of the Night Award for best work of gothic literature for 2006. The limited signed edition has sold out but unsigned copies are still available. All reviews and comments regarding the book, including details of how to order it, are on a separate page of this website which can be accessed here.

My next book will be ‘Against the Darkness’, a collection of stories featuring my recurring supernatural detective characters Massene Henderson and Samantha Jephcott, who most recently appeared in the story ‘States of the Art’ in ‘The Faculty of Terror’. The book is coming out through Screaming Dreams press and you can find more details at www.screamingdreams.com/darkness.htm.

Two of my stories received ‘Honourable Mentions’ in the most recent edition of ‘The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror’ - ‘The Volkendorf Exhibition’ and ‘The Moving Image’.

My story ‘Daughter of the City’ has been accepted for the anthology ‘Dead Ends’ from Screaming Dreams press, which should see publication in both hardcover and paperback in time for FantasyCon 2007.

Finally, those who enjoyed my recent after dinner performance of my story ‘Size Matters’, a tale of an ill-advised foray into body augmentation, will I am sure be delighted to learn that it has now been accepted for the ‘Black Book of Horror’ anthology.
 

The Faculty of Terror had a very successful launch (along with many other new titles, in fact the number of books on display was exceeded only by the number of pints of beer to be seen at any one time in the publisher’s / dealers room – on the Gray Friar Press stall at least) at the BFS meeting at Nottingham’s Britannia hotel (which used to be the Albany for those who may remember having attended certain university events there in the dim and distant past). The book is selling well and the comments I have had so far have been very encouraging. Alison LR Davies has written a review which will probably see print in Prism magazine & I’ll be posting it on here once it has been published.

My interview with Ramsey Campbell (pictured), and our subsequent readings of ‘Over Time’ from ‘The Faculty of Terror’ by me and ‘Just Behind You’ from the anthology ‘Poe’s Progeny’ by him meant that between us Friday 22 nd September from 9-30pm to just after twelve was FrightNight. My everlasting gratitude to everyone who attended, to the gentleman who turned the lights down and put the blue filter on for the readings, and especially to the individual who wishes to remain anonymous who kept Ramsey and me topped up with drinks during the proceedings. Extra special thanks are due to Martin Roberts of Purple Rage Film Productions who filmed the whole evening, and to Steve Mellings who took some pictures that I hope to post somewhere on this site in the fullness of time.

Another book to be launched at the meeting was Sean Wright’s anthology ‘When Graveyards Yawn’ which contains my short story ‘The Comeback Kid’. It’s available from Crowswing Books at www.crowswingbooks.co.uk

The Faculty of Terror is now ready for pre-ordering from the following link: http://www.grayfriarpress.com/catalogue/faculty.html.  As mentioned previously, I will be reading the first of the stories in the book, ‘Overtime’, before an audience at the annual meeting of the British Fantasy Society at the Britannia Hotel in Nottingham . The reading will take place at 10-30pm on Friday 22 nd September, after my hour long interview with author Ramsey Campbell. Purple Rage Productions are going to be on hand to film the event.

In other news, ‘Some Must Suffer’ – a 9300 word story written in homage to the work of producer-director Pete Walker and other great low-budget British independent horror film-makers of the nineteen seventies, has been accepted for the new Gray Friar press anthology ‘Paging Mr Hitchcock’. ‘Poe’s Progeny’ the previous anthology from this publisher (which also happens to contain one of my stories) has made the shortlist for the British Fantasy Society award for best anthology. Finally, my story ‘Horror in the Heavens’ has seen publication in issue 6 of Paul Calvin Wilson’s ‘Lighthouse’ magazine.
 

My story ‘Special Offer’, inspired by watching late-night television in search of inspiration, and in particular the plethora of adverts for low-cost loans that seem to take up more airtime that actual programming, has been published in the anthology ‘Read by Dawn’, Volume 1. It can be ordered through www.amazon.co.uk or from the Beautiful Books website at www.beautifulbooks.co.uk .

‘The Faculty of Terror’ is to be my first book, and should be available from Gray Friar Press from August. It can best be described as ‘an anthology horror film in prose’ in that it intends to emulate British portmanteau films like the classic Ealing ‘Dead of Night’ and Amicus pictures like ‘Asylum’ and ‘From Beyond the Grave’. The book consists of six stories set within a framework narrative that ties them all together and both opens and concludes the proceedings. The official launch will be at FantasyCon 2006, the annual meeting of the British Fantasy Society, which will be taking place in September in Nottingham. I shall be reading the first of the stories in the book at one of the ‘Midnight Reading’ sessions, and fans of good old fashioned British horror will hopefully not be disappointed, either with the story or the way in which I tell it. For more information about the book go to the Gray Friar Press website at http://www.grayfriarpress.com/catalogue/faculty.html
 

My story ‘Born in the Valley’ has just been published in issue two of ‘Nocturne’ magazine. For ordering details go to www.lighthousemediaone.co.uk/

‘The Volkendorf Exhibition’, featured in the anthology ‘Poe’s Progeny’, has been garnering some very nice reviews, and I was recently informed that it is going to be included in the list of ‘Honourable Mentions’ in the next Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror (Volume 19). The hardback of Poe’s Progeny is sold out but the paperback is still available from www.grayfriarpress.com.

Finally, as well as interviewing Ramsey Campbell at the 30 th annual BFS convention in September, I may well be taking part in the ‘Midnight Readings’ session on either the Friday or Saturday night. If that’s the case, it will be the first time I will be reading one of my stories to an audience. It’s bound to be a memorable occasion and I intend to do my utmost to ensure that no-one who comes along will leave disappointed.

My story ‘Your Help Needed Urgently!’ about a sinister charity organisation can be found in issue 5 of Fusing Horizons. It’s just been published and can be ordered from www.grayfriarpress.com. The magazine also contains one of my very short pieces -‘Get a Life’ – which I wrote in collaboration with editor Gary Fry.

My story ‘Special Offer’, a rather bleak and bitter offering about the perils of borrowing too much money, has been selected for inclusion in the anthology ‘Read by Dawn’ which will also feature a story and an introduction by Ramsey Campbell. The plan is for it to be published alongside Edinburgh’s international festival of film horror ‘Dead by Dawn’. Ordering details can be found at www.beautifulbooks.co.uk/Read_By_Dawn.111.0.html

'Nefarious Assortment' - my sexy, scary, ultimately repulsive tale of a bored housewife and a box of chocolates can be found in the anthology 'Goremet Cuisine' from editor Nancy Jackson (who was also responsible for ‘Trip the Light Horrific). You can be order it from www.lulu.com/content/215228.

Once again I find myself the theatre critic for ‘All Hallows’, the journal of the Ghost Story Society. My review of the pantomime ‘The League of Gentlemen are Behind You’ can be found in the latest issue (Number 40). You can order it from www.ash-tree.bc.ca/GSS.html.

“All is Safely Gathered In”, my 3000 word tale of Harvest Festival unpleasantries, has just been published in Paul Calvin Wilson’s book ‘Lunar Harvest’ (70 pps, available from Lighthouse Media One). My first comedy short story (although some would say that is debatable) is due to be published next year in the British magazine ‘SciFantastic’. Entitled ‘The Giant Tropical Fresh Fruit Invasion of Old London Town’ it’s a science fiction detective adventure featuring man-eating trees, a giant canary attacking Westminster and plenty of custard, as well as various outsized lemons, kumquats, grapefruits and other tropical produce.

My review of issue five of Des Lewis’ revolutionary magazine ‘Nemonymous’ is now up on his website. Go to http://augusthog.tripod.com/ to take a look. It’s the second review on there.

Always keen to keep myself busy, I was recently very pleased to accept Gary Fry’s offer to become part of the team at Gray Friar Press. I’m going to be taking care of the company’s public relations, so future developments in that area should be entertaining to say the least.

Finally, it gives me tremendous pleasure to announce that I have been asked to conduct the live on stage interview with the man the Oxford Companion to English Literature has called “Britain’s most respected living horror writer”, Ramsey Campbell, at the annual convention of the BFS at Nottingham in September 2006. As many of you will know, this was where I attended university, and so after all formalities have been dispensed with I intend to take the willing and the reckless on a tour of establishments I used to frequent in the city centre on the Saturday night, which may well extend into Sunday morning.
 

My story ‘Best Man’s Speech’, which was written when I was trying to come up with something amusing to say at my brother’s wedding, has just been published in issue 5 of Marc Shemmans’ very smart magazine ‘The Horror Express’. It’s accompanied by a very evocative full page illustration that hearkens back to the cover of the Eleventh Pan Book of Horror Stories. Go to www.horrorexpress.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk for details of how to order. Marc is planning to publish a further tale of mine - ‘Another Quiet Night on the Welsh Borders’ - in issue 6.

Poe’s Progeny is now on sale. This hugely impressive collection of homages to great horror writers and macabre styles of writing can be ordered from Gary Fry of Gray Friar Press at www.grayfriarpress.com. My contribution to this volume is entitled ‘The Volkendorf Exhibition’ and is a tribute to what is known as the conte cruele, a writing style as silken as it is nasty, popularised by authors such as Maurice Level and Sir Charles Birkin. Peter Tennant of ‘The Third Alternative’ magazine has already said a few nice words about it (see my review section). To find out more get the book.

I am the theatre critic for the latest issue of All Hallows magazine which for those of you who don’t know is the beautifully produced journal of the Ghost Story Society. Issue number 39 contains my two-page review of the stage version of one of my favourite films, ‘Theatre of Blood’, performed at the Royal National Theatre & starring Jim Broadbent in the lead role of Edward Lionheart with Rachel Stirling as his daughter. Go to the Ash-Tree press website for detail of how to order at www.ash-tree.bc.ca/GSS.html
 

My story ‘A Matter of Urgency’, a tale of bladder problems, dangerous old ladies, and the perils of listening to fortune-tellers, can be found rounding out ‘Trip the Light Horrific’, a collection of humorous horror stories which after a last-minute change of publisher is now available. Go to www.lulu.com/content/159245 to order a copy. In other news, my story ‘Guided Tour’, a decidedly more downbeat little piece inspired by a trip to Blenheim Palace, will be seeing publication in a future issue of David Longhorn’s ‘Supernatural Tales’. ‘Horror in the Heavens’ is another light-hearted detective adventure which reveals the real reason why people get air-sick, and is due for publication in Lighthouse Volume Six later this year.

Here and Now Issue 5/6 has just come out. Go to www.bradanpress.co.uk to order a copy at the incredibly reasonable price of £3-50. This special A4 double issue is 128 pages long and includes my 8000 word supernatural detective story ‘A Fear of Fitness’, which is the first in a proposed series of adventures featuring the two central characters of Massene Henderson, investigator of the paranormal, and his sidekick Samantha Jephcott. Because of differing publishing schedules, the second adventure, ‘Bloodsucking in Berkshire’, has already seen print in the first Maelstrom anthology from Paul Calvin Wilson’s team at Lighthouse Media One. A very early Henderson adventure, ‘Bother at the Belfry’, can be found in issue 16 of Thriller UK magazine. To perhaps the disappointment of some readers, the titles of any future adventures may not necessarily be alliterative.

Finally, a big thank you to everyone who has contacted me with comments, suggestions and just plain good old-fashioned encouragement as regards what I’m doing here – since the site went up the response has been terrific and I genuinely appreciate it.

Supernatural Tales Issue 9 is out and features my 10000 word novelette ‘The Moving Image’. Copies of this excellent small press magazine tend to sell out quickly so get it while you can.

My story ‘The Comeback Kid’, has been accepted for publication in the new Crowswing Books hardcover anthology ‘When Graveyards Yawn’. The Crowswing website is very slick and worth a visit. Sean Wright, who runs the company, has even put together a section on ‘Crowswing authors’, and if you click on my name you’ll find a page Sean has kindly put together about me, together with a smaller, sepia-tinted version of my photo on this website. The address is www.crowswingbooks.co.uk.

Possibly the shortest collaborative effort to see print for some time, ‘Get a Life’, a 185 word short which began as a rant by Gary Fry on the Ramsey Campbell message board and has been completed by my good self will be seeing print in a future issue of Fusing Horizons.

The website is finally up and running. It’ll probably take a little while for me to get things the way I want them so bear with me, but I would still welcome any comments about what I’m doing here, good or bad.

Stories that should be seeing print soon include:

The Moving Image

David Longhorn tells me that Supernatural Tales 9 should be going to the printer any day now. He’s been kind enough to show me a provisional contents and list and you can look forward to stories by Paul Finch, Michael Chislett, Gary Fry, Barbara Roden and many other fine writers, as well as my contribution.

The Volkendorf Exhibition

Gary Fry is apparently about halfway through the proofreading process of his terrific-looking ‘Poe’s Progeny’ anthology, although with his PhD deadline looming I’m amazed the man has time for anything else at the moment. Planned release date is still May.

Your Help Needed Urgently!

The ubiquitous and indefatigable Mr Fry will have Fusing Horizons issue 5 with us as soon as his laptop is all better. Hopefully a computer doctor is applying a soothing ointment as we speak (to the computer, naturally).