Rage Against the Night hard copy now available

Good news for those of you who wanted to check out Rage Against the Night but don't have an ebook reader - you can now pick up a hard copy.

Rage Against the Night features stories by Stephen King, Peter Straub, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen M Irwin and more (including me).

Profits benefit award-winning writer and HWA President Rocky Wood, who is battling motor neurone disease.

You can pick up a copy from Amazon, B&N and Mysterious Galaxy. You can, of course, still grab a copy of the ebook, for $3.99 from Amazon and Smashwords.

 

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Sneak peek: 'Saturday Night at the Milk Bar'

Here's a sneak peek of my story 'Saturday Night at the Milk Bar', which appears in Midnight Echo 7: the taboo issue.
The edition features stories by Graham Masterton, Andrew J McKiernan, Lee Battersby, G N Braun and more.
You can pre-order a limited edition print copy for $10 (+$2.50 postage) in Australia and $20 for overseas buyers (postage included).
More info here: http://midnightechomagazine.com/news/

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Last-minute gift idea! Rage Against the Night charity anthology

Merry Christmas everyone. If you've forgotten the horror-lover in your life, grab them a copy of the Rage Against the Night anthology. All proceeds go to current Horror Writers Association president Rocky Wood, who is battling motor neurone disease.

Featuring Stephen King, Peter Straub and more. (I also managed to sneak a story in there!)

Here's the official spiel:

Under the onslaught of supernatural evil, the acts of good people can seem insignificant, but a courageous few stand apart. These brave men and women stand up to the darkness, stare it right in the eye, and give it the finger. These are the stories of those who rage against the night, stories of triumph, sacrifice, and bravery in the face of overwhelming evil.

Here's where you get it:

Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006P18LM2/
Smashwords (multi-format ebook): http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/116718

Please support this book. I'm honoured to be a part of it, and Rocky really needs a helping hand.

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Storify: Brisbane Zombie Walk 2011

View the story "Brisbane Zombie Walk 2011" on Storify]

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Brisbane Zombie Walk 2011

I actually wasn't intending to go this year, because every year I try to go, something happens and then I can't go.

But of course, I didn't plan to go, so I found myself not only free this afternoon, but also in the Valley.

Here's some photos...

 

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Macabre: out now on ebook

Just in time for Halloween, the award-winning Macabre is out now in ebook format!

Macabre: A Journey Through Australia's Darkest Fears features a whopping 205,000 words of Aussie horror -- the classics (Henry Lawson, Marcus Clarke), the modern masters (Terry Dowling, Kaaron Warren), and some of the nicest people I know (Stephen M Irwin, Shane Jiraiya Cummings and the rest of you... you know who you are!).

Oh, and if that's not enough for you, my short story about the dark heart of journalism 'Feast or Famine' is in there too.

When I first held Macabre in my hot little hands at WorldCon last year, I remember thinking, 'This is awesome. This is massive. What's the shipping cost going to be on this thing?' So it's awesome that it's now being offered as an ebook, so that this weighty tome can be offered without the weight.

It's currently available at Smashwords and Amazon, and will be available elsewhere before Halloween.

And, if you still decide you want the brick, I'm told POD versions will be coming soon.

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Brimstone Press titles to be pulped on Saturday (updated)

UPDATE: Seems there's a fair bit of confusion surrounding Angela's original email. So much so that she's sent out a clarification. In short, it's only her personal stock she's pulping, since there is no longer a Brimstone Press website and so no avenue for people to buy those titles. Macabre is still available at bookshops, as will be Paul Haines' collection, The Last Days of Kali Yuga. Other titles were being offered to contributors at the prices outlined below. Also, Angela says she's going to look into offering earlier Brimstone titles as ebooks/POD. But still, it's okay to rush out and secure your copy of Macabre! :)

 

It's with heavy heart that I pass on the following email from Angela Challis (Brimstone Press). I've worked with Angela several times, I was 'staff writer' for the well-received but short-lived BLACK magazine, and my stories have appeared in several Brimstone Press anthologies.

If I had the money, I'd buy up some of these titles just to stop them being pulped. Angela and Shane Jiraiya Cummings put so much work into them, they're beautiful books and -- in the case of Macabre -- culturally significant too. Unfortunately, I'm skint at the moment.

So please, if you want any of these books, get in quick...

Via Angela Challis, Brimstone Press:

This is a courtesy email to let you know that all stock of Brimstone Books will be pulped at the end of this week.
 
Should you be interested in additional copies of the title in which you appeared (or indeed, any other title listed below), I am happy to send them to you at the low costs listed below plus PPH  ($10 for <500g parcel and $15 for <3kg parcel – more expensive for O/S postage).
 
Should you be interested in picking up any of these titles, please drop me an email (angela@achallis.com.au), and I’ll provide you with a precise amount due for postage before you make your decision (no polite conversation is required or expected)
 
Again, I will be pulping all my stock on Sat May 8 after which time the following titles will no longer be available ...
 
Shadow Box CD      $5
Black Box CD          $8
Book of Shadows    $5
ADFHv1 (2006)       $8
ADFHv2 (2007)     $13
ADFHv3 (2008)       $8
Macabre                 $25
 
Single Author Titles also available ...
 
Shards     $8    (this title will still be available as an ebook available through Amazon, Smashwords, etc – but due to the format, it does not contain the art work of Andrew McKiernan)
The Last Days of Kali Yuga  $20     (this title will still be available at the Author’s Melbourne Launch to be held at Dymocks Southland on Sat July 2nd at 12 noon)

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'Feast or Famine' to feature in YB Australian Fantasy and Horror

Ticonderoga Publications is walking on sunshine to announce the contents for its inaugural The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror anthology.

Editors Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene have produced a list of 33 excellent tales by some of Australia's biggest names as well as some emerging writers.

The anthology collects 150,000 words of the best stories published last year from the Antipodes.

"We're pleased with the number of fabulous stories that were published in 2010 that we had to choose from.", Liz Grzyb said.

"You could hold this anthology up against any international collection - Australians rock for diverse voices, imagination, and compelling writing," Talie Helene added.

via facebook.com

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Woohoo! Macabre wins Australian Shadows award

Macabre: A Journey Through Australia's Darkest Fears is an important book. Editors Angela Challis and Marty Young set themselves an interesting and uneasy task - to showcase Australia's long history of dark fiction publishing, contrasting that with new output from today's established and emerging writers from the horror genre. They succeeded by avoiding the risk of aiming for whatever might have been popular or attractive in horror's many sub-genre's at the time they selected the included works, while showing deep, nay loving, respect for truly Australian tales from our past.

via australianhorror.com

Big congratulations to Angela and Marty, and everyone who contributed!

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Data visualisation of 'Bug Hunt'

Have been playing around with Many Eyes...

(it should have embedded here, but didn't work, so here's the link to the site... http://www-958.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/manyeyes/visualizations/bug-hunt-...

 

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Interesting interview with Will Elliott

You've now published an acclaimed debut novel (The Pilo Family Circus), a very personal memoir (Strange Places), two books of the Pendulum fantasy series, and you have another novel, Nightfall, waiting in the wings. You've previously said you wouldn't describe it as a 'career', but where do you feel you're at in your journey as a writer?

I'll answer this one bluntly, if I may... I'm tired of doing this for less than half of minimum wage. Working on a book is an endeavour which takes over my life while it's in progress, especially in the rough draft phase. I obsess over it, stay up for long stretches, exclude most other aspects of normal life. It's not an option to do it part-time, especially with this poisonous brain medication I'm required to take. I have ample ideas and if it were feasible I could write 8-10 books over the next decade, maybe more. But circumstance is making it necessary to walk away and do something else. I won't shed too many tears either. Most of my last decade has been spent sitting before a PC screen in a room with no aircon, just chump change to my name. Kind of loses its appeal. There will be booing and hissing from the sidelines for this attitude, I invite them to try it for a decade and see how romatic it feels, especially with brain meds thrown in.

Read more at horrorscope.com.au

It's good to interview authors who aren't afraid to admit it's not all rainbows and unicorns once you 'crack it'.

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Feature: UQ Graduate Contact Magazine

Like most horror fans, Gary Kemble remembers the exact moment he was truly scared by a book; it was while reading Stephen King’s The Shining in high school.

via uq.edu.au

Not sure about the headline... was the year of my graduation really so bad. :)

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New tshirt: Guns don't kill zombies...

You can buy this tshirt at Red Bubble: http://www.redbubble.com/people/garykemble/t-shirts/6298753-1-guns-dont-kill-...

Or, given the design is under a Creative Commons licence (Attribution-Share Alike) you can make your own t-shirt (download the jpg from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/garykemble/5187025370/)

The image in this design is also under a CC licence. You can view the original here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonov/1971164711/

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Interview with Steve Austin on 612 Brisbane

Stephen M Irwin and I were on ABC 612 Brisbane last night, talking about horror, Macabre, Brisbane ghosts and more.

You can check it out here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2010/10/writing-horror-gary-kemble-stephen-irwin.html?site=brisbane&program=612_evenings

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Brisbane Zombie Walk, this Sunday!

I'm going to miss Brisbane Zombie Walk this year due to being double-booked. But if you're at a loose end, get down there.

Last year's was a hell of a lot of fun...

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Like Inception? Try Ad Infinitum

I finally got around to seeing Inception last night. I had to drive half an hour and go and see a late session, which I generally try and avoid on 'school nights', but I'm glad I made the effort.

I loved how Christopher Nolan has taken a well-worn genre - the heist movie - and put a whole new spin on it. I also loved how the film was like four movies in one - each one sitting inside the previous like Russian dolls.

(If you want to have a good old chat about Inception, head on over to 100 Days of Action)

It reminded me of a story I wrote a few years back 'Ad Infinitum', which also plays with the notion of 'what is real?'.

'Ad Infinitum' was the first story I ever sold. Shadowed Realms is now defunct, but the site has been partially preserved thanks to Pandora. If you'd like to read 'Ad Infinitum', go here, then click on 'current issue', then 'Ad Infinitum'.

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Stories tell of brown land's black heart

(Photo: Quest Newspapers - all rights reserved)

The Westside News was kind enough to do a story about me and Stephen M Irwin's appearance in Macabre.

I took the photographer down into the creepy fire escape at work to replicate the setting of my story (a bunker in Afghanistan).

I wonder if he would've been so keen to follow me in there if he knew what happens to the photographer in my story!

via westside-news.whereilive.com.au

 

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Where do you draw the line?

As a horror writer, where do you draw the line?

It's something I've been thinking about since AussieCon 4. I was on a panel with, among others, Paul Haines. I said that I'm interested in horror as escapism (eg zombies, giant cockroaches), and Paul said he's the exact opposite.

My story in 'Feast or Famine' in Macabre is kinda real-world. But editor Angela Challis pushed me on it. I regard it as the most disturbing story I've written, but it's not the most disturbing idea I've had.

I had this vision a few years back. I don't want to reveal it, for reasons that will soon become evident. The image was really strong, but I thought: "I can't write that". I filed it away.

After AussieCon 4 I read a few stories. 'A Positive' by Kaaron Warren (Macabre) and 'I've Seen the Man' by Paul Haines (Scenes From the Second Storey) are the two that jump out. They made me want to push myself, see how far I could go.

Then I was reminded of the call for stories for Ticonderoga's Red Dead Heart anthology. And the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

I got about four-fifths of the way through the story. Then I thought: "I can't write this". I took a break. I had some encouragement. Then I sat down and finished the story. I thought: "I don't have to send this anywhere". I can delete it if I want to!

I haven't re-read the story. It could be a pile of crap. I wrote it pretty quickly, so it probably is!

But I wanted to ask the horror writers out there -- where do you draw the line? Is there a line for you?

For horror readers -- have you ever thought, 'No, s/he's gone too far?'

(PS I'm not saying there's anything wrong with 'fun' stories, more that I'd Iike to extend my range)

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Audio: 612 Brisbane interview

I was planning on tweeting just before we went to air, but was so nervous I forgot.

So, if you missed the interview, and would like to hear me, Stephen M Irwin and Will Elliott talking to Richard Fidler about Macabre, you can listen here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2010/09/macabre-anthology.html?site=brisbane&program=612_afternoons

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Monster sunnies

Yes, I'll take the pair the monster is wearing. I think they'll suit me. (pic by Amelia Kemble)

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