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Showing posts from November, 2017

Far From Home: Author Interview with Chris Martin

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To celebrate the launch of Aphotic Realms second issue; Banished I 'm talking to Chris Martin one of the many uber talented authors featured in this magazine. Aphotic Realm  is the new home for dark and sinister fiction and are really going places. Their first issue,  Apparitions   was released in July with really positive reviews and now they're back with their second installment which features ten stories of people forced to fight for their survival after being betrayed or banished. Banished is out now from  Amazon 1) Hi Chris thanks for joining us today, tell me how long have you been writing for? I have been writing off and on for almost 10 years. Only recently have I focused my attention and declared a goal for myself. 2) What draws you to horror? Do you remember the first horror story or film that you first encountered? I can't say anything particularly draws  me to horror. I enjoy any story that allows me to escape to another place and time. Experie

Geminus: Interview with Mandi Jourdan

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To celebrate the launch of Aphotic Realms second issue; Banished I 'm talking to Mandi Jourdan one of the many uber talented authors featured in this magazine. Aphotic Realm  is the new home for dark and sinister fiction and are really going places. Their first issue,  Apparitions   was released in July with really positive reviews and now they're back with their second installment which features ten stories of people forced to fight for their survival after being betrayed or banished. Banished is out now from  Amazon 1) Hi Mandi, thanks for joining us, tell me how long have you been writing? I've been writing in some form for as long as I can remember. When I was in grade school, I used to write little stories and illustrate them, and when I was in about fifth graded, I started a fanfiction that opened up a lot of doors for me even though I never really showed it to many people. It made me realise how much I love to write and how much I wanted to start someth

Drained: Interview with Jonathan Boon

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To celebrate the launch of Aphotic Realms second issue; Banished I 'm talking to Jonathan Boon one of the many uber talented authors featured in this magazine. Aphotic Realm  is the new home for dark and sinister fiction and are really going places. Their first issue,  Apparitions   was released in July with really positive reviews and now they're back with their second installment which features ten stories of people forced to fight for their survival after being betrayed or banished. Banished is out now from  Amazon 1) Tell me Jonathan, who are your favourite authors? My all time favourite author is Stephin King, I love how diverse and unique his stories can be. I am also a huge fan of Edgar Allen Poe, HP Lovecraft and Junji Ito. True titans of the horror industry. 2) What draws you to horror? Can you remember the first horror book/film you saw? The first horror film I saw was Child's Play, I caught my parents watching it when I was about 7 or 8 when I

Upon Reflections; Interview with William Marchese

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To celebrate the launch of Aphotic Realms second issue; Banished I 'm talking to William Marchese one of the many uber talented authors featured in this magazine. Aphotic Realm  is the new home for dark and sinister fiction and are really going places. Their first issue,  Apparitions   was released in July with really positive reviews and now they're back with their second installment which features ten stories of people forced to fight for their survival after being betrayed or banished. Banished is out now from  Amazon 1) Thanks Will for joining us, tell me how long have you been writing for? As far back as elementary school, when I wrote a story about a dragon that only came around every so-many-odd years. I don't remember all of the details. When assigned this project I got excited, thinking I was going to go "Spielberg" on it. And after the stories were read, at the end classmates were coming up to me with serious faces, saying "Th

The Other Man; Interview with Gary Buller

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To celebrate the launch of Aphotic Realms second issue; Banished I 'm talking to Gary Buller one of the many uber talented authors featured in this magazine. Aphotic Realm is the new home for dark and sinister fiction and are really going places. Their first issue, Apparitions   was released in July with really positive reviews and now they're back with their second installment which features ten stories of people forced to fight for their survival after being betrayed or banished. Banished is out now from Amazon 1) Hi Gary thanks for joining us, tell me how long have you been writing for? I started writing for submissions at the beginning of 2016. One of the items on my bucket list was to have a story published so I thought I would give it  a blast. I hadn't put pen to paper since college (and I was 33 at the time) so it was a bit of a gamble. Deadman's Tome   was the first to publish me with the story The Way Out  a story that was accepted (and subseq

Everything That's Underneath by Kristi DeMeester

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Everything's That's Underneath is the debut short story collection from Kristi DeMeester, and about time too. For years she has been gracing the pages of all the top horror magazines such as Black Static, Apex, Shimmer, Jamais Vu, Nightscript, Lamplight, Shock Totem, Gamut Three Lobed Burning Eye and many, many more. "There's so much more. Underneath our skin. Living and breathing and drinking what it can. Waiting to be born. Waiting for us to gobble it up ." From Daughters of Hecate. I would describe this as quiet unsettling, sometimes beautiful horror that is very skillfully executed. These are stories about dark desires, of broken people and relationships. In this book you enter a dark world of seeing everything that is beneath the cheery constructed veneer of our society. In these tales you'll come across broken people with broken dreams trying to gravitate towards a brighter future. Kristi DeMeester has a great style of writing, her stories a

Tales From the Lake Vol 4, Crystal Lake Publishing

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Tales from the Lake is the latest volume of dark speculative and horror fiction from Crystal Lake Publishing which is going from strength to strength. I received this title as part of a special offer where for just $11 dollars you receive five Crystal Lake Anthologies! More details here For those who don't know Crystal Lake Publishing produces really high quality horror! Do check them out. This anthology is a real treat for horror fans, with 24 stories you're in for a bumper ride. I almost didn't want to finish reading it as I enjoyed it so much. Tales From the Lake Volume Four edited by Ben Eads is a bumper issue of 24 short tales. It took me a long time to read this issue as I wanted to savour each tale. There's a real range of stories here, so there's something for everyone. I really liked the range of stories here, you have the really cool monster based horror stories, as well as building dread of pschyological horror as well as really unu

Yours to Tell: Dialogues on the Art and Practice of Writing by Steve and Melanie Tem

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You may yawn at yet another how-to-write coming out but this one is different. For a start it's written by two authors who really know how to write and have been in the industry for years and years. They have written many short stories and novels. Between them they have two Bram Stoker awards, two World Fantasy Awards, two British Fantasy Awards, one International Horror Guild award amongst others. The authors I'm talking about are husband and wife, Steve and Melanie Tem. I really felt whilst reading this book is that the reader gets a really intimate and rare insight into how two very prolific and successful authors go about their craft. Yours to Tell is divided into chapters which cover all aspects of writing, such as plot, characters, setting, point of view, structure as well as chapters that deal with engaging their readers. So, in short it covers a lot of ground and pretty hefty 227 pages long. The book is written in a conversational tone which is easy to read a

Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan

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I was sold on reading this book from the first two sentences of the blurb on the back cover; "England flourishes under the hand of Elizabeth 1, last of the Tudor monarchs. But a great light casts  great shadow. In hidden catacombs beneath London, a second queen holds court: Invidiana, ruler of faerie England, and a dark mirror to the glory above." This is a tale of two regal courts living side by side in uneasy peace, the court of Elizabeth 1 the last of the infamous Tudor dynasty and Queen of faerie England Invidiana who resides secretly beneath the streets of Elizabethan London in the Onyx Court. Lady Lune, after falling out of favour with Invidiana after failing to negotiable agreeable terms with the sea people, is sent to Elizabeth's court to spy on Elizabeth 1 spymaster, Walsingham. She disguises herself as a mortal when she ventures above ground and soon catches th eye of Michael Devin an agent of Walsingham. They become bound to one another in a wa