S.J.Budd

Our Cornish drolls are dead, each one; The fairies from their haunts have gone; There's scarce a witch in all the land, The world has grown so learn'd and grand. Poem by Henry Quick You might think that it's just the Irish who have a rich history of spinning tales around the fire, but the Cornish  too have their own wealth of celtic tales that have been passed down through the centuries. By reading Cornish Folk Tales by Mike O'Connor you'll discover the true history of Cornwall, of piskies, giants, trolls mermaids and unruly demons and how they once ruled the land. In these pages you'll learn how places really got their name and why it is that Cornwall has so many saints. You can find out all Lyonesse; the lost city. Learn of the strange ties between King Arthur, his birthplace, the location of his last battle and the lake in which went the sword Excalibar. The book is written about  an old droll, a story teller, Anthony James who was a re

In the tale of Pseudotooth we find Aisling Selkirk,a young girl stuck in that strange period of our lives where we all endure the transition from adolescence to adulthood. It's something we've all been through, being deeply unsure of what it is we're supposed to do with our lives and just what is laying in wait around the corner. But Aisling is what you would call - extremely farsighted - and can see beyond the sphere that everyone sees. As a result she suffers mental trauma which presents itself in the physical manifestations of strange blackouts and seizures which no doctor can explain. Beverly, her mother soon tires of her daughter's condition being deeply embarrassed that her daughter is a social pariah and hampering her own efforts with fitting in. After a brief stint in a psychiatric ward which has done nothing to sort out her condition, Aisling is sent to deep rural Suffolk to stay in a grand old house with her great aunt Edythe. Aisling's mother mo

I came across this novelette completely by chance after the author kindly giving it away for a limited period on twitter. A free book? How could I resist? I'm so glad I saw that tweet as this little story was simply exquisite, a real treat to read from beginning to end.It is deeply atmospheric despite having an unknown setting and as the title says, it is truly macabre. I have to admit it took me a while to figure out what was going on but I didn't mind being led down the rabbit hole as I was too busy enjoying the ride. The tale centres around a young child who's innocence is in start contrast with Him, and that's all I can say. I don't really want to delve too deeply in the plot and risk spoilers for those who haven't read the story. It is a really well crafted and thought out story which offers something really different. Each word earns it place in this tale and I love all the really clever clues scattered around. Once I had finished reading this, I

In this latest instalment of Calvin Demmer's Dark Celebrations series, a young woman, Maiko Hayashi is left puzzled by the sudden disappearance of her beloved uncle, a highly respected professor who's dedicated his life to collecting strange and wonderful artefacts. Despite it being Christmas Eve she is feeling alone and rather lost. She feels like she has no place in the world. Despite going off to college she is lonely finding it hard to make even friends, finding a boyfriend seems impossibly hard. Often she comes round to visit her uncle as a means to escape from her parents resentment and bitter disappointment in her. She wonders if she had been born a boy they might have felt differently towards her. However when she arrives at her uncle's house on the very edge of town, all is dark and there is no sign of him. On closer inspection Maiko finds his car parked in the garage and inside someone has recently been bring lavender incense. She decides to go looking f