Behold the beauty of Victoria Leslie's artwork. I am totally in love with it. Not only is Victoria an extremely talented writer, writing as V.H.Leslie, and a stunning person, it seems she also has an incredible talent for visual art.

If you're in Portsmouth this weekend you'll find Victoria's artwork on display at venue no. 10 - full details here and here.

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I've finished work for the week and Friday we're up bright and early to head off to the awesomeness that is Fantasycon. This year it's in sunny Scarborough. I've printed out a list of everything I want to attend, which leaves me no time to eat or pee. I've even graded my interest in each panel - haven't resorted to colour coding yet.

The one thing I have to attend is the Snowbooks launch of my novella, The Bureau of Them, which is being launched alongside novellas by Ray Cluley, Andrew Hook, John Llewellyn Probert, Mark Morris, and Gary Fry. We'll be sharing the room with Titan who are releasing books by Mark Morris, Tim Lebbon and Marc Turner. Not an event to be missed.

It's on the Saturday, 2:00 to 3:00 pm in the Main Ballroom of the Grand Hotel.

Oh, and for those attending the launch, there is a limited (about twenty - unless I have another mad creative fit between now and Fantasycon) amount of my handmade cards available. They're awesome. Trust me. Awesome and free.

I'll also be at the British Fantasy Awards on the Sunday where both Bureau and Mark's novella, Albion Fay, are nominated in the novella category. Also my short story, When the Moon Man Knocks, is nominated for Best Short Story - alongside the awesomeness that is Priya Sharma's Fabulous Beasts.

And on Saturday evening (11:30 pm in the Reading Cafe, Royal Hotel), Simon Bestwick will be reading an excerpt from his forthcoming novel, The Feast of All Souls, which has a cracking cover and is released on the 6th December. You can pre-order it on Amazon.


See you there, kids.

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You wait forever for a blog post and then two come along at once. Before you know it this blog will be properly resurrected.

Des Lewis has real-time reviewed my e-collection Shadow Moths and lovely to see the words 'This story affected me deeply'. It's always an honour to be reviewed by Des.

In other exciting news, my story As Cymbals Clash has been accepted by Sean Wallace and Jack Fisher at THE DARK for publication in December. A bucket list moment.

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I've been rather quiet on the publication (and writing) front of late, but like buses I have two books out within the space of a month. First off is this e-chapbook, which contains two of my short stories - We Make Our Own Monsters Here (a tale of puppetry) and Blood Moth Kiss (nuclear war and betrayal). One may be darker than the other. And, it comes complete with an introduction by Simon Bestwick. I have no idea (wink-wink) how I got such an amazing author to write the introduction for me. For those who don't know - reader, I married him.

It's available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Here's a video of the song that inspired one of the stories. I'll leave you to guess which...

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Next month at Fantasycon, the above horror novellas (published by Snowbooks) will be released in sunny Scarborough. For those who can't make it to FCon the books are now available to pre-order from Amazon in both hardback and paperback.



The Nine Deaths of Dr Valentine won the British Fantasy Award in 2013 (and it's a cracking book), while The Bureau of Them and Albion Fay are nominated in the novella category of this year's British Fantasy Awards.

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Happy Monday.

So how was your weekend? Can it top the photo above? Two well-respected horror/crime authors, Paul Finch and Simon Bestwick, rocking it with pink flamingos. I think my stories just exploded and infected the world or I drank too much rum. Well, someone drank too much rum.

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Attended my second Edge-Lit convention this weekend (third if you count Sledge-Lit) and it was the best yet.

We travelled up with the awesome Priya Sharma - it's the fourth convention that we've all attended together and it makes it more fun and a heck of a lot easier for little old shy me. As always, Priya won over everyone she met. It's a skill (it probably helps that she's naturally lovely). We arrived just in time to catch the first panel about horrors, thrillers and chillers, which had (if memory serves me right) Sarah Pinborough, Victoria Leslie, Johnny Mains and Marie O'Regan. I threw away the programme and my memory is atrocious. Then we attended the Boo Books and Exaggerated Press launch. Wine at eleven o'clock in the morning. That's new.

We then escaped to the bar and sat with Jess Jordan and Ray Cluley, Lynda Rucker and Sean Hogan, Gary Couzens, we met the fabulous madness that is Johnny Mains, cue selfie....

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I seem to be a little woeful in keeping this blog up-to-date (not helped by the fact I spend most of my internet time on my phone these days). Yesterday, something wonderful happened. Two of my stories were nominated for British Fantasy Awards. The full list of nominees can be found over at the BFS site but I must mention those I am nominated with.

My novella The Bureau of Them (to be re-released by Snowbooks at FCon) is nominated alongside novellas by Mark Morris, Nnedi Okorafor, Usman T Malik and Paul Cornell. My short story When the Moon Man Knocks (published in Black Static) is nominated alongside stories by Priya Sharma, VH Leslie, Adam Nevill, Ralph Robert Moore & Frances Kay. I am overwhelmed to have stories nominated amongst such fantastic writers.

There was a tinge of sadness mingled with the joy though. I poured all the pain of mum's death into my story When the Moon Man Knocks and, of course, yesterday I so wished I could tell her about the nomination. She'd have been so happy.

Other news - since I've labelled this post Things of the Year - I've had two stories published this year.
The Coyote Corporation's Misplaced Song in The Hyde Hotel, and In the Macabre Theatre of Nightshade Place in the latest Postscripts anthology. Oh, and I finally married my awesome Bestwick.

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I am delighted to announce that my novella The Bureau of Them is to be published by Snowbooks later this year. Many thanks to Emma Barnes for all her hard work in bringing this about and for being generally awesome. Look out for more excitement announcements from other folk across the coming days. I won't reveal who from but there are some fantastic authors bringing out horror novellas through Snowbooks new series.

Isn't the cover beautiful? It fills my heart with dark things.

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So last Friday, at Waterstone's in Liverpool One, this happened. Simon Bestwick (my Bestwick) achieved a dream and his book Hell's Ditch launched at a major UK bookstore.

Not only was the venue terrific (with a zillion thanks to Glyn Morgan who helped organise the event) but Simon was joined by Ramsey Campbell and Conrad Williams. There were readings and a lively question and answer session with the audience. Then afterwards a group of us headed off to a Chinese restaurant.

I am so proud of him. The book is a terrific read and it's dedicated to my little mum.

This time next year he'll be buying me a swimming pool*

*or paddling pool.

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As many of you know, Spectral Press, who published my novella The Bureau of Them last July, are having financial difficulties.

Spectral Press is to become an imprint of Tickety Boo Press who will take over its management while allowing Simon Marshall Jones to continue as editor. Spectral's existing authors will be offered new contracts, for various reasons I've chosen not to go with the new imprint, so the rights to The Bureau of Them have reverted to me.

The book is in the process of being removed from Amazon. To date, I have received no royalties for the book. I have informed Gary Compton of Tickety Boo Press that I would be willing to accept The Bureau of Them paperbacks (up to the amount I'm owned) if any exist in stock. I apologise to anyone who has pre-ordered the hardback - which Spectral Press never got around to printing - and if I do get any paperback copies I will try to send them to those folk who have been let down by this situation.

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The Hyde Hotel, edited by James Everington and Dan Howarth, opened its doors yesterday and it contains my story The Coyote Corporation's Misplaced Song alongside stories by authors such as Simon Bestwick, Alison Littlewood, Ray Cluley, S P Miskowski, Mark West, V H Leslie and others.

Many thanks to James and Dan for inviting me to write for the anthology. You can find it on Amazon.

In other news, there is an interview with one of the contributors, Ray Cluley, over at The Haunted Omnibus.

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Today I discovered I'm a masochist.

It's January and we are all poor (and by we I mean you are too). Of course, some of you might be doing just fine thank you very much, but as my blog readers are mainly writers I'm assuming you're poor too or at least vowing not to spend so much at Christmas again. I've vowed that several times since Boxing Day, but I won't stick to it. I never stick to it.

Anyhow, onto the masochism business. My Bestwick is always spouting advising that we should write a list before we go shopping and stick to a budget per day. Having worked out how much money I had left for January after buying and eating all of the things in December, I figured I had £8 a day to live on. My frown line furrowed so deep that our neighbour parked his car there.

Having built up a massive nest egg of £25, we headed to the supermarket. But I want to pretend I'm playing Supermarket Sweep, my subconscious cried. Then, because I have super powers, I pulled out my list and a pen to mark the price of everything and began to have fun. I appreciate that this makes me a very sad person. Supermarket saver brands were bought (of which there will possibly be forthcoming rants about or exclamations of 'it tastes just the same') and I was eventually unglued from the pricey Eve's Pudding, only to find we returned home with money in our pockets.

I am totally rocking this. Next month I think I'll try £5 a day.

This time next year we'll be millionaires.

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As stated in my previous post, while my to read pile grew and grew, I failed to read even a quarter of what I should (especially with regards to short fiction).

I read fifteen novels this year. These were my favourites (in no particular order):

The Death House by Sarah Pinborough
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
No One Gets Out Alive by Adam Nevill
The Three by Sarah Lotz
Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge
The Invasion by Willie Meikle
The Wolves of London by Mark Morris

I read three novellas and loved them all:

Fabulous Beasts by Priya Sharma
Leytonstone by Stephen Volk
The Night Just Got Darker by Gary McMahon

I read one collection and loved it:

Probably Monsters by Ray Cluley

I'm not certain how many short stories I read, but these were my favourites:

The Grey Men by Laura Mauro (Black Static)
Hungry Ghosts by Emily B Cataneo (Black Static)
Funeral Rites by Helen Marshall (Spectral Book of Horror)
Outside Heavenly by Rio Youers (Spectral Book of Horror)
The Life Inspector by John Llewellyn Probert (Spectral Book of Horror)
This Video Does not Exist by Nicholas Royle (Spectral Book of Horror)
The Cork won't Stay by Nate Southard (Nightmare)
To Sleep in the Dust of the Earth by Kristi DeMeester (Shimmer)

On a brighter note, I still have so many wonderful stories to read and to discover.

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Having allowed life to bite me during 2015 (and the previous year) I neither wrote very much nor read much. I think I'm coming out of the slump now, but I've thought that before. I should glue my fingers to the keyboard during 2016 although that could prove a challenge as my alphabet would be reduced to nine letters if I kept a thumb for the space bar.

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Today, we have a guest blog from Simon Bestwick to celebrate the launch of his novel Hell's Ditch, which is available either from Amazon or direct from the publisher Snowbooks. For the next seven days you can get the hardback or the ebook at a discounted price over at the Snowbooks website.

Anyway, here be the Bestwick's post:


Soldier, Gaunt Soldier: Peter Watkins' The War Game

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Over at Ginger Nuts of Horror, Jim McLeod has started listing his best of the year and he's included my novella The Bureau of Them, which was published by Spectral Press in July.

This make me happy.

The Ginger Nuts of Horror folk are very supportive of the horror community and it's a great honour to appear on the list alongside Simon Bestwick, Adam Nevill, Willie Miekle, Simon Kurt Unsworth, and others.

You can purchase The Bureau of Them in ebook from Amazon or the paperback from Spectral Press.

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The above photograph is my favourite photo from the handful I took last weekend at Fantasycon. It is also the only non-blurry photo. Maybe I was especially nervous or I'm just really crap at taking photographs. Will try better next year. I apologise if I forget to mention you here but the weekend is descending into blur and I'm a bit of a goldfish at times.

Priya Sharma (who is all of the awesome) gave the Bestwick and me a lift up to the convention this year. We stopped off for a sneaky McDonald's on the way. When we got to the convention the first people we saw where Alison Littlewood & Fergus (totally love those guys)... I should add I love everyone else too but I reserved an extra pocket for them. Other wonderful folk in the lobby where James Everington, Phil Sloman and Dean Drinkel (all of whom I got to sign the first book I purchased at the convention), Steve Shaw, Neil Williams, the Marshall-Jones', Sarah Pinborough, and I am certain there were loads more folk. Fret. Fret.

We hurried to the convention centre because they had all off the books. Seriously ALL of the books. I've never had so many freebies. I think the Bestwick only picked up one free book because I snagged all the others and we don't need two of each - well except for Adam Nevill's novel but that's a special case. Then we attended the opening ceremony. After that I had a message from Priya to say she was in the lobby and we found her gabbing to Andrew Hook, Sophie Essex, and Roseanne Rabinowitz (hence the above photo).

And, the above is about as linear as I get with this tale as the rest is a jumble. Attended four panels (which is three more than at my first convention) and was a panel member for one - thank goodness for the gabbiness of my fellow panellists Adam Nevill, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Stephen Jones, Alison Littlewood and Nina Allan and our moderator James Everington.His first time moderating and he did awesome. Also caught a number of readings, the first being Lynda Rucker's and the last James Everington's, and in between my Bestwick's, Ray Cluley, Victoria Leslie, Priya Sharma, Joe Hill, Paul Kane, Ramsey Campbell, Marion Pittman. Attended book launches - Adam Nevill, Mark Morris, Spectral, just caught the end of the Undertow Publications launch.

Spent until way after one gabbing in the corridor by the bar on the first night chatting to Ali & Fergus, Ray Cluley & Jess Jordan, James Everington, Stephen Volk, Steve Shaw, Rosie & Jim (to mere mortals that's Simon Kurt Unsworth), Rob Shearman.

Over the weekend chatted at various times with Carole Johnstone, Laura Mauro, Mark West, Tom Johnstone, Paul Feeney, Victoria Leslie, Adam Nevill, Simon Clark, Trevor Denyer, Lynda Rucker & Shaun Hogan, Rob Shearman, Roy Gray, Pete Coleborn, Gary Couzens, Ellen Gallagher, Deborah Walker, all of the folk listed above. Good to see Nina Allan, Stephen Bacon, Fiona Ni Ealaighthe, to meet Jim McLeod for the first time (such a soppy bugger), Graeme Reynolds (and his new better half), Shaun Hamilton, Marie O'Regan, Paul Kane, Rio Youers, Selina Lock, Jay Eales (who warned against the convention centre noodles), Adele Wearing, Paul Meloy (whose book we forgot to get but that is easily rectified), Chris Teague, Ren Warrom... All of you beautiful people that I've forgotten.

Oh, and thank you to everyone who said they enjoyed my novelette in Black Static (with a special hug to Trevor Denyer).

On the Friday night we had a meal in the con hotel with Priya, Carole Johnstone, and Ali & Fergus. As to Saturday, we had breakfast and then didn't eat again until late evening. On the Saturday night, after running into Jon Oliver of Solaris Books in the lobby we arranged to go for a meal in town - and, as it turned out, the meal was on the Solaris Books tab. A gazillion thanks. So off we went for a Thai meal with a bunch of folk including the insanity that is Robert Shearman. His next book is going to be fecking awesome.

We ended the weekend with the banquet and the awards ceremony and with some awesome nominees at our table. I wouldn't be surprised if they were up for awards again next year.

And have just bought Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge, which won Best Fantasy Novel at the awards this year thanks to Jenny Campbell who turned around to us mid ceremony and said the book was brilliant and that she and Ramsey had bought the author's backlist.

Can I go back now please?

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For those delightful people who have ordered the hardback edition of The Bureau of Them, the publisher of Spectral Press, Simon Marshall Jones, has informed me that, due to unforeseen circumstances* printing has been delayed but it should be with you by the end of November.

Apologies for the delay.

In the meantime, for those who haven't ordered the hardback, The Bureau of Them is available on Kindle over at Amazon or as a paperback from the publisher.


*When holidaying in a caravan park in the 1980's the pool was closed every other day due to unforeseen circumstances and usually when the weather was actually dry. This has absolutely nothing to do with the book, that I am aware of, although perhaps the manager of said holiday park is now disrupting things from a wee corner of Hell.

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Black Static #48, which contains my story, When the Moon Man Knocks, has received a real-time review by the unique Des Lewis. You can check it out here and also here be a snippet...

Humorous, maybe, but essentially heart-rending for the woman who is in denial about her partner's death from cancer.

I should send Des a paper-bird saying thank you.

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So this arrived last week. The latest issue of Black Static and what a thing of beauty it is with fiction by Jeffrey Thomas, Steven J Dines, Andrew Hook and Stephen Bacon, and an interview with Simon Kurt Unsworth.

Oh, and a novelette, When the Moon Man Knocks, by Me.

This publication means so much to me - firstly because it's in Black Static, one of the top horror fiction magazines and secondly, it's a story that deals with grief and was written just after mum died. Many thanks to Andy Cox for taking a chance on the story.

Inside the issue there is also a review by Peter Tennant of my novella, The Bureau of Them. Here be a snippet from the review:

...a surreal variation on the traditional ghost story that is powerful and affecting...

Also reviewed are Stephen Volk's Leytonstone, and Mark Morris' Albion Fay. Both get stonking reviews. you should buy them.

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The delightfully wonderful Priya Sharma tagged me in the 777 challenge.

Priya's story Lebkuchen is out next year in Paula Guran's anthology Beyond the Woods amongst writers such as Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Gardner Dozois, Peter Straub, Jeff Vandermeer, Angela Slatter...

Here be the rules:


This snippet is from my novel, These Eyes are Blind, of which I am currently working on the second draft:






I am going to cheat and tag my Bestwick (who interviewed Priya last month).

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August was a kind month.

She offered me 38,000 words on my new novel, which looks to be heading towards actual novel length. Over the past few years I seem to have stalled at novella length (and been happy with that) but it's good to get back into something longer. For someone who hasn't written much over the past few years, the words have been flying.

Angela Slatter interviewed me over at her blog. Angela is such a generous writer and incredibly talented - but then you all knew that.

There was a review for The Bureau of Them over at Ginger Nuts of Horror. Here be an extract:

The Bureau of Them is a book about mourning and coming to terms with loss, it will tug at your emotional core, without ever straying into schmaltzy territory. A modern ghost story that continues the great tradition of well written spooky stories that this country has such a great history of doing well.

Laura Mauro also reviewed it over at her blog.

...a vivid nightmare of a tale in which the world of the living and the world of the dead begin to bleed at the edges, merging into one but only for those who seek out the blurred lines.

Many thanks to the Ginger Nuts crew and to Laura.

Things I read that you should read:

Fabulous Beasts by Priya Sharma. A wonderful novelette inhabited by human monsters and snakes.
Blow the Moon Out by E. Catherine Tobler. A beautiful weaving of childhood, of growing up and of circuses. As tasty as lemon cake.

Over at his blog, my Bestwick has been interviewing fellow writers including Laura Mauro, Conrad Williams, Alison Littlewood, Jonathan Green, Jonathan Oliver and others.

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My story When the Moon Man Knocks will appear in issue 48 of Black Static, due out this September. The artwork is by the awesome Richard Wagner and is perfect.

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