My Creative Year 2018

Continuing a tradition (now in its sixth year), here's my annual look back at 2018 from a creative standpoint.

During the year, I wrote one short story (Brooks Pond), which Tracy Fahey was kind enough to ask me for (see below for more details), as well as a load of essays for this blog (which is always enjoyable).  On the novel front, I began sending my submission package out in April and, although I had two requests for full ms (which is good), I didn't garner any agency interest (which, obviously, is not good).  I'd already started working on Novel2 by then but, after the agency feedback and responses, I shifted to a new idea, a more high concept one and once again plotted it while walking with David Roberts and Pippa.  Novel3 (as we came to call it) has been a very enjoyable process (I finished the first draft - 138k words in 104 days - just before Christmas) and hopefully I'll have whipped it into shape by early next year so I can start approaching the agencies again.  Wish me luck!

* * *
I had three short stories published.

The first, Chihuahua, appeared in In Dog We Trust, a charity anthology edited by Anthony Cowin from Black Shuck Books.  It was launched at Edge-Lit 7.

The second, The Taste Of Her, appeared in Best British Horror 2018, a NewCon Press anthology edited by Johnny Mains.  Launched at FantasyCon, it featured Johnny's pick of the year and took in my story, which originally appeared in my second collection, Things We Leave Behind.

The third, Brooks Pond, appeared in The Black Room Manuscripts Vol. 4, published by The Sinister Horror Company and edited by Tracy Fahey & J. R. Park.  A charity anthology, in aid of Refuge, it was also launched at FantasyCon.

The NewCon Press Best British Horror signing - Ian is asking us to point out which writers are in it, for signing purposes, not who ordered the fish finger sarnies.
from left - Ian, me, Hal Duncan, Laura Mauro, Ian Watson (he's not in the anthology but wanted to put his hand up), Andy West and James Everington.

The Sinister Horror Press Black Room Manuscripts 4 signing
from left - Phil Sloman, Ben Jones, Terry Grimwood, Marie O'Regan, Jim Mcleod, James Everington, Steve Bacon, me

* * *
My novella, Drive, was re-published by Near To The Knuckle (an imprint of Gritfiction Ltd) on February 5th (following the closure of Pendragon Press), with spanking new cover art.

* * *
Drive was reviewed by Unlawful Acts who called it "a taut pulpy horror novella filled with suburban fears of aimless violence [which] would pair well with a weekend filled with watching ’70s B-movies." (full review can be found here)

Drive was also reviewed by Mixxit Reviews who wrote "There were twists and shocks.  There were lots of things that happened that I was not expecting, that actually made me shout in my head OMG PLOT TWIST!" (full review can be found here)

Kendall Reviews liked The Taste Of Her calling it "a vicious tale of revenge.  Expertly plotted in only a few pages.  Again, not Horror per se, but certainly has the power to shock." (review here)

* * *
In February, Sue Moorcoft & I were guests on Brookes' Brew, on Harborough FM, talking books, writing and music.  I wrote about it here and if you want to listen to it again, you can do so on this link via mixcloud.

me, DJ Phil Brookes and Sue

The Crusty Exterior managed to meet up again, in Leicester this time, in April.  Along with the regulars - James Everington, Phil Sloman, Steve Harris, me, Steve Bacon and John Travis - we welcomed new members Timothy Jarvis, Jay Eales & Linda Nagle.  We had a great day, lovely weather, great conversation, two cracking bookshops and a lovely curry to finish up with.  Even better, plans were made for more meets!  My report on the day is here.

In Victoria Park with, from left, Steve Bacon, Phil Sloman, Jay Eales, John Travis, me, Linda Nagle, Steve Harris, Tim Jarvis and James Everington

In September, along with Sue Moorcroft, Louise Jensen and Darren O'Sullivan (all great people and writers), I was part of the first Meet The Authors Q&A event held at The Core at Corby Cube.  It was a fantastic evening, which I thoroughly enjoyed and our sold-out (sixty plus people) audience seemed to like it a lot too.  I wrote about it here.

from left - Darren O'Sullivan (this writers/audience selfie was his great idea), Louise Jensen, me, Sue and Joe Flavin, our moderator and director of The Core

* * *
I attended 3 great Cons in year.  The first, Edge-Lit 7, was held at The Quad in Derby on 14th July (see my report here), followed by FantasyCon, held at The Queen Hotel, Chester from 19th to 21st October (see my report here) and then Sledge-Lit 4, held at The Quad in Derby on 24th November (see my report here).

At Edge-Lit 7 with, from left, Ross Warren, Steve Harris, John Travis, me, Blaize Harris (seated), Peter Mark May, Lisa Childs, Terry Grimwood, Dion Winton-Polak

At FantasyCon in the Jubilee Room with, from left, Tracy Fahey, Duncan Bradshaw, Peter, Steve Bacon, Penny Jones, me, Neil Williams, Michelle Williams, James Everington

A FantasyCon triple bill - big picture (by Dion Winton-Polak shows Dion, Jim Mcleod & me), 
top right (pic by Ian Whates) is me, Peter Mark May, Kathy Boulton with her back to the camera and Francesca Tristan Barbini
bottom right (pic by Phil Sloman) shows Dion, me, Ross Warren, Steve Harris & James Everington

At Sledge-Lit, with Donna Bond, Peter and Sue Moorcroft

* * *
I'm feeling confident for 2019 too, as I plan to crack on with the novel and have ideas bubbling away for more.  There are no short story appearances planned for the year but if anyone wants to ask me for one, I might be tempted!  Whatever happens, I'll keep you updated as how things go.

As always, thank you so much, dear readers of this blog, for all your support in 2018, especially those who bought, read and liked my work - I really do appreciate it.

The Taste Of Her

I'm thrilled to announce that Best British Horror 2018, the first in a series of annual anthologies from NewCon Press, edited by Johnny Mains, is now available.  Along with a fantastic collection of writers, it contains my story The Taste Of Her which was originally published in my 2017 collection Things We Leave Behind.  The anthology will be officially launched at FantasyCon this coming weekend.

Editor Johnny Mains has scoured anthologies, magazines, and on-line publications to select the very best horror stories written by British authors. From creepingly insidious tales where the fear gathers slowly to the outright terrifying, from musty abandoned buildings to the wilds of an isolated beach, from yarns of yesterday to contemporary horrors of today: Seventeen tales showcasing British horror at its best.

Paymon’s Trio – Colette De Curzon

Love and Death – Reggie Oliver

In the Light of St. Ives – Ray Cluley

The Book of Dreems – Georgina Bruce

The Affair – James Everington

Fragments of a Broken Doll – Cate Gardner

The Lies We Tell – Charlotte Bond

Ting-A-Ling-A-Ling – Daniel McGachey

Tools of the Trade – Paul Finch

Departures – A.K. Benedict

The Taste of Her – Mark West

Sun Dogs – Laura Mauro

Dispossession – Nicholas Royle

Shell Baby – V.H. Leslie

The Unwish – Claire Dean

A Day with the Delusionists – Reggie Oliver

We Who Sing Beneath the Ground – Mark Morris

Available from the NewCon Press website here

Paperback - £12.99

Hardback (signed, limited edition) - £24.99

Also available from Amazon in paperback

This was one of two original pieces in my second collection and started life as some notes I jotted down in 2000, based on an image I had of two men in a plane with the pilot asking his ex-friend how his wife tasted.  That was it, there was no ending or purpose and the story sat for a while until Ross Warren asked if I had anything new for the book.  I went back to this and it all seemed to lay itself out quite nicely, coming together quickly.  The flying business came from when Alison's dad got his pilots licence and took the pair of us up in a Cessna a few times, though each journey was much more enjoyable than the one described in the story and the rest of it, thankfully for me, is invention.

It was a real thrill when Johnny wrote to me, saying he loved the story so much he wanted to include it in his Best Of and I'm thoroughly chuffed to be included.

“So how does my wife taste?”
  Startled, Ian Burgess looked at Keith March, who was piloting the Cessna aircraft they were in.  The plane banked right, high over Gaffney.  “What?”
  Keith turned to face him, his smile tight.  “I asked if you liked the taste of my wife.”
  Turbulence hit the little plane and Ian hoped it covered the guilty panic he knew must be showing in his face.  “I don’t know what you mean.”
   “Yes you do you fucking liar.  I know everything.”
  Ian had played poker with Keith a few times and knew he was a good bluffer.  But was he bluffing now?
  “Ian, you’ve fucked Julie and ruined my life.”  He dipped the nose of the aircraft and checked a couple of gauges.  “So for both our sakes, don’t make it any worse by lying now.”

Things We Leave Behind

I'm pleased to announce that my second collection, Things We Leave Behind, will be published by Dark Minds Press and launched (alongside Laura Mauro's excellent novella Naming The Bones) at Edge-Lit in Derby on Saturday 15th July.

cover art by Neil Williams (Mr Stix is there on the back cover)

This second volume of short stories (following Strange Tales, which was originally published in 2003) features eighteen tales spanning the length of my published career to date (the earliest here, All The Rage, appeared in 1999).

It's been a pleasure working with Anthony Watson & Ross Warren at Dark Minds on this (I approached them back in 2016 to see if they'd be interested and was nicely surprised that they were), though Ross continually mocks my two-spaces-after-the-full-stop technique.  Searching through my back catalogue was fun, the editing process was interesting (re-reading a story that's seventeen years old and having to resist the urge to re-write it all is hard) and the cover (with art by Neil Williams) is perfect (and it's good to see Mr Stix make an appearance).  To top it off, Johnny Mains offered to write the introduction and that was the icing on the cake.

Where I've blogged about the stories before, the link will take you to that post.

ALL THE RAGE

first published in Unhinged Magazine Issue 4, 1999

A QUIET WEEKEND AWAY

first published in The Fourth Book of Terror Tales, 2010

A COTTAGE BY THE SEA

first published in Hauntings, 2004

MR HUXTON GOES CAMPING

first published in AltDead, 2011

COME SEE MY HOUSE IN THE PRETTY TOWN

first published in Ill at Ease, 2011

WHAT WE DO SOMETIMES, WITHOUT THINKING

first published in Shoes, Ships and Cadavers: Tales from North Londonshire, 2010

LAST TRAIN HOME

first published in Fogbound from Five, 2012

LOOKING AT ME, SEEING YOU

first published in Darker Minds, 2012

FOG ON THE OLD COAST ROAD

first published in Hauntings, 2012

WHAT GETS LEFT BEHIND

first published by Spectral Press (Chapbook #7), 2012

THE BUREAU OF LOST CHILDREN

first published in Ill at Ease 2, 2013

THE TASTE OF HER

original to this collection

THE WITCH HOUSE

first published in Urban Occult, 2013

MR STIX

first published in For the Night is Dark, 2013

THE GLAMOUR GIRL MURDERS

first published in Anatomy of Death, 2013

TIME WAITS

first published in Darkest Minds, 2015

THE ZABRISKIE GRIMOIRE

first published in The Grimorium Verum: Volume 3, 2015

ISSUES OF DISRUPTION

original to this collection

"Mark and I have an uncomplicated friendship. We met through Facebook, both probably crowing over ratty old paperbacks, which we both have an affinity for, and met for the first time at Alt-Fiction, Leicester 2012. We had a beer or three, had a great chat, and became firm friends. We always talk about...you guessed it…old ratty paperbacks. I love it when life is simple and you don’t need to talk about anything else except which author wrote what book about bubonic maggots eating spleens from a cabal of cannibal nuns…"

- Johnny Mains, from his introduction

With a range of stories, from quiet horror to gleefully gruesome, I'm very pleased with the collection and I hope - if you take a chance on it - that you are too.

The book will be available as both paperback and ebook editions.

Interviews through 2014

Following on from something I started in 2013 (see here for more details), I've interviewed a few people this year and, once again, enjoyed the process.  Just in case you missed some - or all - of them, here's a round-up.

 An interview with Joe Mynhardt, head honcho of Crystal Lake Publishing

 An interview with Jim Mcleod, the man behind "The Ginger Nuts Of Horror"

 An interview with Jane Isaac, writer of "The Truth Will Out"

An interview with Johnny Mains, genre aficionado and enthusiast

Flashback Friday - friends and conventions (part two)

Back in June (on this post, if you're interested), I made the point that I'm somewhat of a documentarian and love taking photographs and keeping a visual record of family, friends and events that link us.  What kicked the post off was finding a load of old Convention pics, which all spoke volumes of camaraderie and good friends and they seem to have made a lot of people smile.

So in a similar spirit (and because I'm off to FantasyCon next Friday) and as this is Flashback Friday, here are some more Con pics featuring good friends and good times.

from left - Joe Rattigan, John B. Ford, Mark Samuels, me - Stuart Young is in front
Rainfall Writers at the BFS Open Night, the Princess Louise, Holborn, December 2003 

FantasyCon 2008, Britannia Hotel, Nottingham
Three of the "We Fade To Grey" gang - me, Simon Bestwick, Gary McMahon

FantasyCon 2010, Britannia Hotel, Nottingham - me, Simon Marshall-Jones, David Price

FantasyCon 2011, Brighton
Enjoying (or not, as the case may be) a pizza at the end of the pier with Mandy Edwards, Stuart Hughes, Richard Farren Barber and David Price

Alt-Fiction, Leicester, 2012 with Sue Moorcroft

Also at Alt-Fiction, Leicester 2012, with Johnny Mains

FantasyCon 2012, Brighton
enjoying the disco with, amongst others, Peter Mark May, Lee Harris, Laurel Sills, Paul Melhuish, Simon Kurt Unsworth and Robert Spalding

WFC 2013, Brighton
Admiring Neil Bond's autographs with Steven Chapman and Ruth Booth

WFC 2013, Brighton.  Steve Bacon & I in the mirror...

Andromeda One, Birmingham 2013
me, Dave Jeffery, Phil Sloman, James  Everington, Steve Harris

All of my Convention reports can be found at this link

Edge-Lit 3, Derby, 19th July 2014

It was pouring with rain as I parked up at the Assembly Rooms car park in the centre of Derby.  I’d been here once before, almost ten years ago, to celebrate the graduation of my sister but it was to be my first experience of the Edge-Lit festival (now in its third year), held at The Quad.  I got signed in and made my way up to the first floor (the Con was set over the first and second floors), saw Peter Coleborn, Jan Edwards and Mike Chinn, said hello to them and then Jay Eales & Selina Lock arrived, then Andrew Reid came over, his lovely daughter shyly clinging to him.  Steve Harris and John Travis turned up, closely followed by Phil Sloman and James Everington and so that was our Andromeda gang all assembled.  Since we were clogging the stairwell - and Rod Rees passed by, on his way to his panel - we moved and saw Chris Teague setting up the Pendragon Press stall.  My novella “Drive” was supposed to be launching but, as is often the way, there’s a slight delay but he was taking pre-orders (which apparently went well, as the day wore on).  Standing with Chris was Ross Warren, so I introduced him to the rest and we all went down to the ground floor café for both a respite from the heat and a much needed drink.  Crowded around a little table, we then had the kind of writers-together conversation that makes a Con for me, with all of us comparing rejection horror stories (as James points out in his great blog on the event, it was like the scene from “Jaws” when they compare scars).

me, Alison Davies, James Everington, Phil Sloman

We went upstairs to watch Simon Clark mostly shave Theresa Derwin’s hair off (for the Breast Cancer Research Campaign) and I then bumped into Alison Davies, who I haven’t seen in ages (several FCon’s ago, in fact) - she looked well, we caught up with each others lives and it was really good to see her.  By now, it was lunchtime so we rounded up the troops - now with Richard Farren Barber - and headed out for something to eat.  Passing the Acropolis café, which each one of us mentioned without apparently hearing anyone else say it - and working on my decade-old knowledge of the town centre - managed to not find anywhere we wanted to eat.  Wandering back, someone (I don’t know who it was) suggested the Acropolis so - amongst the pensioner specials (and yes, each of us said “I don’t want a pensioner”) - we ate and chatted and laughed and had a nice time.  James and Phil left early, for their reading and we took our time but went to the Knightwatch Press launch and listened to the readings.  It was the first time for both Phil and James and they did really well, the game raised by the wonderful K. T. Davis who is clearly a born performer.

the lunch crew (from left - Richard Farren Barber, Steve Harris, John Travis, me, Ross Warren).
Acropolis cafe not pictured

Back in the foyer, Johnny Mains was at a signing table with Conrad Williams, so we had a chat, grabbed a photo with Peter Coleborn and Pixie Puddin and Johnny showed me a huge stash of paperbacks he’d picked up from a stall in the market.  I left my stuff with Steve (who was sequestered in the café) and followed Johnny through to the Eagle Market, talking about his Pan Book Of Horror Stories Scrapbook (which has since finished successfully) along the way.

left to right - Peter Coleborn, Conrad Williams, me, Pixie Puddin, Johnny Mains

Eagle Books was brilliant - a cube of a stall and filled to bursting with books, Johnny & I were in our element.  I went through the horror box, picked up a load of stuff and then checked out the rest of the place.  Johnny found a Corgi Books shelf sign and bought that - which took the owner by surprise - and it was like standing inside a very well organised, however chaotic it might have looked, treasure trove.  As we were leaving, Johnny asked if we’d been good business - sadly, the old boy told us we mostly were business.  “Since the Kindle,” he said, looking at the filled shelves, “nobody buys books much any more.”  What a sad and sobering situation, from a bloke who clearly loved being a bookseller.  So if you’re in Derby at any time, go to the Eagle Market and support that stall!

Outside Eagle Books (look at those shelves!) with Johnny Mains and his Corgi Books sign

My stash from Eagle Books

On our way back it began to rain, then it began to thunder.  Outside the venue, a carnival was in full swing and nothing - rain, thunder or lightning - put those dancers off.  Johnny was off to a panel, so I showed off my purchases (and met Paul M. Feeney, who’d joined our group) and then headed up to the “What An Editor Really Wants” panel which Conrad Williams was moderating and sat with Richard, who was already in there.  We stayed on for the raffle, Chris Teague joined us and we waited, with bated breath, hoping for another Andromeda-One-style whitewash.  It wasn’t to be, sadly, though I picked up a whole stack of SF Masterworks books and John Travis also exchanged his Hitchikers Hardbacks with me.

The Derby Dhansak Daredevils
(left to right - James Everington, Richard Farren Barber, Ross Warren, Chris Teague, John Travis, me, Paul M. Feeney, Steve Harris)

By now it was getting on for seven and thoughts turned to dinner.  Following the Brum Balti Balls-up (at Andromeda One, when the four of us - me, Steve, Phil and James - couldn’t find a curry house in Birmingham), James had already located a venue and so, after saying goodbye to Phil who had to go and catch his train, we set off.  The venue wasn’t close, it wasn’t really even nearby but it did give us a chance to chat as we walked (and James & I discovered that Paul, who we’d badgered to come along, wasn’t as close to the Con as we’d thought but, in fact, lived in Berwick On Tweed!  Oops, sorry Paul).  The restaurant was nice but pricey, upstairs was decadently decorated and highly air-conditioned and we took over a table for eight and had a fine old time.  We discussed writing, books, films, gave away spoilers (I was talking about NOS4R2 and Richard, sitting next to me, hadn’t read it so I got him to look away but he still saw the move I made pertaining to one characters fate - a gesture that re-appeared several times during the meal) and it was perfect, just what a curry run at a Con should be, a bunch of like-minded mates talking about what they love.

We finally got away for about 9.30 and discovered we’d all parked in the Assembly Rooms car park, so we paid for our tickets (all different prices), tried to finish conversations, made plans for FCon and said our goodbyes.

It was a good Con (I’m definitely up for Edge-Lit 4), in a good location and the day was helped by great company.  Brilliant fun.

The Pan Book Of Horror Stories Scrapbook

In general, I like the idea of Kickstarter and I've contributed to a few causes in the past - the last being the successful Morph one - and here's another I'm supporting, which has less than three days to go.

As a kid, in an experience shared by many of my horror loving friends, myr first experience of this wonderful genre was finding old Pan paperbacks on Dad's bookshelves and looking at the cheerfully gruesome covers, daring myself to read what lay inside.  As the years went by, I moved on to Stephen King and Clive Barker et al and left the Pan books behind, though I did pick up the revamp of the series that Stephen Jones and David Sutton edited.

My friend Johnny Mains is an authority on the Pan series and he's set up a Kickstarter fund to create the "Pan Book Of Horror Stories Scrapbook".  He's passionate about the subject and a dogged and determined researcher, so I'm convinced he'll do an excellent job of this.

Here's the press/Kickstarter release...

A complete history of The Pan Book of Horror Stories, the infamous anthology series which ran from 1959-1989.

THE PAN BOOK OF HORROR STORIES SCRAPBOOK will be the result of 5 years in-depth research into this series which has haunted and thrilled me since I was thirteen years old.

The funds collected for this book will be put towards the following things:
* There is still some more research needed and people to interview
* Getting a high quality artist to do the book cover and illustrations.
* Paying for a professional proof reader.
* High-res scanning of artwork, photos, letters etc.

Printing of the actual books which will be to the highest standards available.

The cult of the Pan Horrors continues to fascinate, more than 55 years after they were first published and 25 years after the last volume hit the shelves. This book aims to publish the definitive history of the series, its editors, its authors - with as much information and paperwork that I've been able to gather together since 2009.

I've still got a lot of work to do on it, so have given myself the publication date of December 2015. It's a bit of a wait, but I'm working on this on my own, and have a full time job plus editing the Best British Horror series for Salt Publishing.

I'm the only person I know of bonkers enough to attempt a book such as this, and the main reason I want to do it is so I can be the first person to read it!

This will be a book for any fan of horror, its authors, the history of publishing, social history in a wider context and how a gentleman called Herbert van Thal created a series of books which has been ingrained into the national psyche.

If you'd like to support the project, all the details can be found on the Kickstarter site here


ADDENDUM:
The project was fully funded on the evening of Thursday 17th July, though Johnny has said that all additional funds will go into making the final book "even better!"  This is, clearly, great news.

Interview with Johnny Mains

Johnny Mains is a force to be reckoned with in the horror genre and that is only going to increase with his editorship of Salt Publishing’s new flagship anthology series, “Best British Horror”.  Passionate, enthusiastic and vocal, he helped bring back the Pan Books Of Horrors (including providing the facsimile of the cover art), he’s a supporter of new and old talent (and shares my love for the older, sleazier extremes) and his knowledge of the genre is extensive.  Generous, amusing, cutting, he doesn’t suffer fools gladly but he’s a genuinely nice bloke and he’s agreed to answer some questions.

So to start with, can you give us a little of your history?

photo courtesy Peter Coleborn

JM:   I have been a fan of horror since I was small, crossing over to reading adult horror anthologies and novels when I was thirteen. Remained a fan ever since; was completely and utterly ignorant of a UK horror scene as I was growing up because I spent many years going to the best and most highly illegal raves that the country had to offer. You wouldn’t find out where the location was until about an hour or so before it started, you dashed to a warehouse or field in the middle of nowhere, consumed vast amount of mind-bending substances and then danced your little hearts out until either the sun rose or the police came. Not that I raved forever, I knocked it on the head when I was 25 or 26 then consumed hundreds and thousands of another mind-bending substance. Books. In 2008 I had my first short story sale in The Third Black Book of Horror and then burst onto the scene proper in 2010 with my first anthology, Back From The Dead: The Legacy of the Pan Book of Horror Stories which won the British Fantasy Award the year after and project editing the 2010 re-launch of the very first volume of The Pan Book of Horror Stories.

MW:   What can you tell us of Best British Horror?

JM:   I was offered the gig in July of last year, so was already seven months behind in the terms of the reading I had to do. But the publishers and authors soon sent their stories in and I spent many hours locked away in the office, books and a notepad all over the floor and would aim to read an anthology in two days, a collection in one. Collections are the easiest, because sometimes there are only two or three original stories and the rest are reprints; that cut the workload down. Some books proved to be a real struggle because there were one or two stories that were so awful that it would utterly disrupt the rest of the book because you were on tenterhooks that the rest of the anthology would be awful.

We have 22 strange, and eclectic stories. Some really gruesome ones; some that will stay with you for a long time to come. Some I’ve chosen because I believe that the authors have written out of their skin and they deserve a wider audience than the small press affords. At the end of the day, these types of books are subjective and there will be people who will disagree with my selection – but I came at this to simply be entertained. If it didn’t entertain me, then it wasn’t going in. I did the book for me first, you lot second. As it should be. Same as when you write something. You write for yourself first, your audience, if you’re lucky to have one, second.

The book will also be honouring Joel Lane. His passing has deeply affected many people and it’s only right that his incredible legacy be honoured. We’ve actually used a story that was published in 2012 – the reason being is that I think the story shows Joel at his absolute best. And in following volumes I will be using a story from a fallen author from any given decade – to honour those authors that made a marked impression on me when I was growing up.

MW:   How did the deal with Salt come about?

JM:   They approached me, which is always lovely. I accepted and then the hard work began.

MW:   What is your plan for Best British Horror?  How do you see it sitting alongside the other ‘best of’ anthologies, such as those from Steve Jones and Ellen Datlow?

JM:   As BBH only focuses on homegrown talent it has nothing to do with the other best of anthologies, so they can continue to fight it out for themselves as to which one is the best. In my mind it has to be Steve Jones’ Best New Horror. Year after year he shows why he is the very best in the field

Paula Guran is another editor who has her finger on the pulse, and I really enjoy reading her selections They offer so much and I’m really looking forward to this year’s volume. She truly is at the top of her game.

MW:   Charlie Higson is quoted as saying that you have “extraordinary energy and [are] fighting a one man battle to preserve and revitalise the noble tradition of the horror anthology”.  What is it that draws you to anthologies?

JM:   They let me snack little and often.

MW:   You have a deep affection for “old horrors”, from writers to publishers and have certainly steered me well with recommendations of both books and second hand shops.  What is it about this strain of the genre that appeals to you?

I think the older horrors are more honest. More entertaining. Written with style and fun and always done with tongue in cheek. You think Conrad Hill ever sat down at a typewriter and that every word was wrenched from the deepest parts of his soul and a little bit of him died with every story he finished? Did he fuck. In goes the paper, here comes the smile, let’s be entertaining. Let’s have fun. Why on earth would you ever want to write if you didn’t enjoy it?  Please note I'm not saying that writing isn't hard, because it is - incredibly so at times.

MW:   In addition to your editing (five anthologies to date and counting), you’ve also written two collections - With Deepest Sympathy and Frightfully Cosy and Mild Stories For Nervous Types.  First of all, how do you find the time and secondly, what did you hope to capture with those books?  And do you think you succeeded?

JM:   In the early days of me jumping into the small press pool I had more time. Now I have an occasional understanding wife.  I do a lot at the weekends from around 4pm onwards. When I get down to it though, I can type really fast. Once I have the story mapped out in my head, I’ll just go for it until the missus wants me to do something or I’m exhausted.

The collections – the first was a bit of a mess, in truth I wasn’t ready for it, even though there are a couple of really strong stories in it. The second collection (Frightfully Cosy) I had a lot of fun writing, it does stand up to repeated readings and it doesn’t take itself too seriously, even though there are some rather disturbing stories in there (‘The Cure’ and ‘Dead Forest Air’). The reviews have been kind too, with everyone citing 'Aldeburgh', a sequel to M.R. James' 'A Warning to the Curious' as being worthy.

MW:   What is your preferred writing style (I ask this purely because of 'The Cannibal Whores of Effingham')?

JM:   I prefer writing with my tongue firmly in cheek, and love to go down the black humour route in my writing – but certainly a couple of people have said that my best stuff is when I play it straight down the middle and more firmly grounded in the everyday.

MW:   “Back From the Dead: The Legacy of the Pan Book of Horror”, which was published through your Noose & Gibbet imprint, won the Best Anthology Award at the 2011 British Fantasy Society Awards.  I was there and it was a very well received win.  Did you take that as vindication of the hard work you’d been doing to get to that point?  What did the award mean to you?

JM: The award has meant a great deal, it’s opened up a lot of doors. I was worried that getting an award so early (first book, first win) would mean that my career was over before it began! Since then I’ve always stayed true to myself, have published the books that I want to see published and not because they are popular, etc. Same as the editing – I take it very seriously, am not swayed by anyone – the books are my vision, I know what I like and I’m only ever doing books that I want to read.

As to vindication etc… Let’s look at it this way: I am working hard to become a name in the mainstream. I’m willing to put the hours in, make the sacrifices needed and I will not take no for an answer. I am a firm believer that if you constantly push yourself and be the best that you can be then good things will happen. Take every opportunity that’s given and wring every last drop out of it. Throw a grenade and blow the fucker wide open. Make your own luck. I’ve got this far because nobody told me that I couldn’t do it. I have drive, passion and no shame.

MW:   You've recently announced REMAINS, a imprint of Salt Publishing that you are heading.  How did this come about?

JM:   Again, the head’s at Salt, Chris and Jen asked if I would be setting up my own horror novella e-book imprint. Whilst it was lovely to be asked, e-books are not really my thing. I’m a traditional book man, I know that many of my friends who are authors prefer ‘real’ books and convincing them to write an e-book only would be a tough sell. So we agreed to have a joint e-book and POD (print on demand) structure, giving us the best of both worlds. I have some great names lined up – Laura Mauro, Nathan Ballingrud, Lynda E Rucker, V.H. Leslie, Stephen Volk, Mark Morris, John Llewellyn Probert, D.P. Watt and others!

We will also be doing a Remains Classics line where I will be reprinting (in e-book only unless it’s something really special, then it will be released as a POD) novels from the 1700s till the 1970s. First up we have Frank Walford’s TWISTED CLAY, a 1930s ‘lesbian horror shocker’! And as it’s the first release, it will be published as a paperback, with some never before unearthed facts about the author.

MW:   That sounds right up my street!  So what are your aims for the imprint?

JM:   My aims for remains is to have a brilliant list of contemporary horror novellas, a much maligned area in the bookshop, I feel. I just want to give horror a bit more of a footing in the market.

MW:   I'm really looking forward to what you come up with through REMAINS.  But in the meantime, what can we expect next from you, beyond Best British Horror?

JM:  What day is it?

Next up is the Robert Aickman tribute anthology. Reprinting Frank Walford’s Twisted Clay. Some articles in Illustrator’s Quarterly. Back From the Dead being reprinted. A novella called The Gamekeeper being published. The launch of BBH in May. Co-editing Dead Funny with Robin Ince. Publishing Sarah Pinborough’s debut collection. Possibly a third collection. Might even get some sleep.

MW:   Thanks very much Johnny!

Welcome To The New Home Of Horror

Edited by the British Fantasy Award winning editor Johnny Mains, Salt’s ‘Best’ series takes a journey into the bottomless depths of horror. You will find no ‘pleasing terrors’ here.

‘Mercy stands before her, wielding a mud-caked pickaxe in both hands…’ 

—When Charlie Sleeps, Laura Mauro

‘Too much Semtex was an obvious, beginners mistake, and I noted I needed to remove more brain in future…’ 

—Exploding Raphaelesque Heads, Ian Hunter

‘There isn’t much time. Blood is already spattering the paper on which I am writing…’ 

—The Secondary Host, John Probert

‘It appeared to be an insect of some kind, perhaps a beetle or a spider with a bloated body…’ 

—Come Into My Parlour, Reggie Oliver

Best British Horror is a new anthology series dedicated to showcasing and proving without doubt, that when it comes to horror and supernatural fiction, Britain is its obvious and natural home.

“Johnny Mains is the go to man for horror in the UK. His extensive knowledge of and unbound passion for the genre is amazing. If there was a government ministry of horror (which there should be) Johnny would be in charge. He is the Minister For Horror. He has extraordinary energy and is fighting a one man battle to preserve and revitalise the noble tradition of the horror anthology. Oh, and he is a nice bloke as well.” 

—CHARLIE HIGSON

From Salt Publishing, Best British Horror is available from all good bookshops for £9.99

You can buy it from Amazon on this link

For more information on Johnny, check out his website.

Anatomy of Death (still getting noticed)

It's coming to that time of year when bloggers and reviewers are putting together yearly round-ups (mine is due later in the month).

I'm really pleased with how Anatomy of Death (in five sleazy pieces) turned out - from my initial concept a couple of years ago, to pulling together the stories through 2012, to publication this year, it's been great fun.  I chose my contributors well, read some terrific tales, had fun with the cover art and it's been well received - for my editorial debut, I couldn't really ask for more, could I?

Jim Mcleod at Ginger Nuts of Horror has posted his anthology round-up for the year and there's AoD, holding its own, with my story "The Glamour Girl Murders" ('tense and brilliant [it] captures perfectly the sights smell and sounds of the era') and "The Arse Licker" by Stephen Volk highlighted.  The full round-up and comments can be read at this link.

Anthony Watson, whose review can be seen below, also included the anthology in his round-up of the year.  You can read the full article at this link.

Ross Warren, whose review can be seen below, has also included the anthology in his round-up.  The full list can be found at this link.

Here's a sample of some of the reviews it's already received:

Anthony Watson, at Dark Musings - "Anatomy of Murder is fine addition to the Hersham back catalogue. Horror is indeed a broad church as Mark says in his introduction. Tastes may change, the genre will evolve (as it has to) but at the end of the day you can’t beat a bit of pulp."

Walt Hicks, at Hellbound Times - "Anatomy of Death is a ruthless, doleful (and yet often playfully satirical) paean to those glorious days of the 70’s and 80’s when horror was campy, bloody, violent, gory and gratuitously sexual.  The selections are certainly well-written, provocative and extremely diverse, which may be problematic to some: the Mains and Volk stories are brutally graphic; Bacon and Probert wield a slightly less gory scalpel, while West's tale occupies more of a middle ground.  Readers may find this wide range of styles and intensity slightly jarring, but then again, that's what horror is supposed to do. The easily unsettled or offended will probably want to go elsewhere, because this ain’t no ‘quiet’ horror anthology."

Matthew Fryer, at Welcome To The Hellforge - "I really enjoyed Anatomy of Death; in fact I demolished it in one sitting. “Just one more, then I’ll get up and do stuff…” was the repeated cry, but this slim, well-ordered volume had other plans. It’s deftly edited, the genre tropes are handled with affection, and there’s plenty of variation despite the specific theme. The stories shine with the quirks and particular strengths of each author, and if you’re not familiar, you could do worse than getting acquainted here."

Paul Holmes, at The Eloquent Page, - "This collection is a wonderful homage to all the horror it pays tribute to. Sometimes violent, often gory and in-your-face, this can be unforgiving stuff. You can rest assured Anatomy of Death is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. I have no doubt that some will consider it politically incorrect or perhaps even potentially offensive. Personally, I think it does quite an impressive job of dancing right up to the boundaries of good taste but never actually crosses the line. I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys his or her horror unashamedly raw."

Adam Millard, at This Is Horror - "Back in the 1970s, thanks to Hammer, Amicus, NEL, Futura et al, the horror genre evolved into something altogether more exploitative and sleazy. Book covers were filled with lurid and often gory images, and movie posters contained visuals that would give the BBFC dreadful nightmares. The films themselves contained more breasts than scares; it was, for fans of the genre, a truly wonderful and sordid time. With Anatomy of Death: In Five Sleazy Pieces, the essence of that remarkable era is fully restored in the guise of five entirely divergent short stories."

Graeme Reynolds, at Goodreads - Anatomy of Death won't be to everyone's taste, but despite the slight missteps of the first two stories, manages to successfully reproduce the sort of low budget, over the top shock-horror that was so prevalent in the 1970's.  Recommended reading if you have a strong stomach.

Ross Warren, at Goodreads - To paraphrase the advertising slogan of a well known brand of varnish, Anatomy of Death does exactly what it says on the cover.  All in all it is a strong collection of five stories with no bad entries and a couple of superb ones.

If you're intrigued, the book is available from the following sources:

Amazon UK - print and Kindle  /  Amazon US - print and Kindle

Support the small press!

Year round-ups by others

It's that time of the year, when people start putting together blog posts proclaiming their favourite reads/films/songs of the year.  It's always nice to get a mention and, already, I'm in two.

First up with we have Jim Mcleod who runs The Ginger Nuts of Horror website, which is a great resource for genre fans and writers alike.  A long-standing supporter of my work, I'm always chuffed to see myself mentioned anywhere at all on the blog (Jim picked "The Mill" as 'one to read' last year) and this year I get two mentions.  One means a great deal to me indeed, the other I am equally thrilled with though I won it with what my mother gave me!

First up is "THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE" (which can be found at this link).

In the "FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THEIR HORROR WITH AN EMOTIONAL PUNCH" sub-section, he's chosen "Conjure" along with "Where You Live", by my friend Gary McMahon.  Really chuffed to see my book in there, really glad it worked for Jim and it's a thrill to be listed alongside Gary.  Great stuff!

Read the full list here

Secondly (and in a decidedly lighter mood), Jim presents "THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR AWARDS 2013" (which can be found at this link)

Amongst various awards (including Willie Meikle winning for best beard, Gary for best ginger, the elegant John Llewellyn Probert picking up best use of a smoking jacket, in addition to sharing best couple with Thana Niveau, Simon Marshall-Jones (of Spectral Press) winning best bald head Best and Johnny Mains walking away with Genre Scotsman), I picked up "Best Legs in the genre".

Brilliant!

(this is the picture that clinched it - me, at Rushden transport museum in 2012, picture by Dude)




The next blog is James Everington's Scattershot Writing who, again, has been a great supporter of my work (and I got to spend a day hanging out with him this year at the Andromeda One convention (which I blogged about here)).

James is presenting his "Best Short Stories of 2013 (Somewhat Biased & Woefully Uncomprehensive)" list and includes my "The Bureau Of Lost Children", from "ill at ease 2".  I'm thrilled to be in such great company (including my "ill2" cohort Shaun Hamilton) and chuffed to be included.

Thanks Jim and James!