Book of Shadows

My contributor's copy (and a copy I bought for Mum for Chrissie) arrived in the post this week and it looks fantastic.

For those who don't know, Book of Shadows is a compilation of stories published in Shadowed Realms.

After the edition my story, "Ad Infinitum", was published, the editors changed the maximum word count to 1,000, which means most of the stories in BoS are perfect for busy people!

My story sits alongside a host of dark fiction heavy-hitters, including Poppy Z Brite, Terry Dowling, Robert Hood, Stephen Dedman, Kurt Newton, Greg Beatty, Martin Livings, Lee Battersby, Josh Rountree, Mikal Trimm and Melissa Marr.

And for what it's worth to those outside the speculative fiction community, Brimstone is the only Australian publisher dedicated to dark fiction -- so it's worth supporting them.

You can buy it here, so what are you waiting for!

(You can read more about Brimstone Press here).

The day that Christmas died

To get you in the mood for Christmas, here's "No Man's Land" a story I wrote a couple of years back for Cafe Doom.

My great grandad always scared me. He died when I was 10. I’d never known him as a father, or even a grandfather. I’d never seen him in his prime, storming a machine gun post in Ypres. Even my older brothers had seen him when he still had two brain cells to rub together. But to me he was just this scary, smelly thing my parents rolled out for Christmas, Easter and Remembrance Day.

"Go and give Pop a kiss," they’d say, and I’d shudder.

He smelt of death. I didn’t realise it at the time, but that’s what I think of now. He was a man on the verge of death, and a man who had dealt death with his own hands.

Read on...

First Newsvine article!

Just wrote my first Newsvine article, on the Black Christmas kerfuffle.

You can check it out here.

Don't give up on your stories!

Found out yesterday that Espresso Fiction is going to publish my short story, "Pine Coffin, Folded Flag", on January 23.

This has been a long, long journey for this piece. I really care about it, I've always liked it, I stuck with it and I've finally found a home for it.

The story of a tortured Vietnam War draft dodger started life back in 2000 as "Have Spade, Will Travel", became "The Gravedigger's Apprentice" before finally becoming "Pine Coffin, Folded Flag".

Along with the title, the text has gradually been polished over the years, and the end changed slightly.

It was shortlisted for a short story competition (I think the Alan Marshall one), attracted a 'nice' rejection note from Meanjin, made the short-list with Gambara, and now will finally be published.

So if you really care about a story, never give up on it!

Interview with Brimstone Press co-founder

Shane Jiraiya Cummings had this to say when I asked him why Brimstone Press decided to launch with two anthologies...

Leading with these titles is a step to gain wider recognition for the form, the genre, and these writers. Establishing a readership in the wider community requires someone to take that first step and expose the talents of these writers. If Brimstone Press didn't do it, who would? There is a tremendous wealth of ability in the small press speculative genres - horror, fantasy, and science fiction. We're looking to tap into this undercurrent of talent.

Read the full feature here.

Getting out there with Digg and Newsvine

I've recently joined the Digg and Newsvine communities. I've also just started 'Horror on the Vine' -- a horror-themed Newsvine group -- so it will be interesting to see how that pans out.

You can find me at Newsvine here, Digg here, and Horror on the Vine here.