S.J.Budd

Originally published by The British Fantasy Society Hallie has enough of her life and during a gap year at university she moves to Paris, there she meets a set of bohemians when she finds work at Millie’s bar located next door to the Moulin Rouge. At first she is daunted by these exotic people but soon enough they feel like family. Just when life is getting comfortable for Hallie she discovers the anomaly, a time portal in the keg room of where she works. I have to admit I'm not a fan of science fiction but this book has truly converted me and I can’t wait to get stuck into E.J.Swift’s Osiris Project Trilogy. This was a really gripping book that was also really thought provoking and moving. Paris Adrift is a really cool, it’s Skins meet time travel. I really liked Hallie, she’s struggling to find herself like most people her age but she’s also kick ass and puts her life on the line many times to help complete strangers. It's really refreshing to fi...

Hardened Hearts is an anthology of love gone wrong, or weird!!! Before we find love for ourselves we grow up dreaming that love is a magic wand that will put everything right once we find it. However what love can give you, it can also take away. It can ruin you as much as heal. Here's the line up for Hardened Hearts, and for those who love short horror fiction you'll find some pretty big names in here; It Breaks My Heart to Watch  You Rot by Somer Canon What is Love? by Calvin Demmer Heirloom by Theresa Braun The Recluse by John Boden 40 Ways to Leave Your Monster Lover by Gwendolyn Kiste Dog Tired by Eddie Generous The Pink Balloon by Tom Deady It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To by J.L.Knight Burning Samantha by Scott Hallam Consumed by Madhvi Ramani Class of 2000 by Robert Dean Learning to Love by Jennifer Williams Brothers by Leo X.Robertson Porcelain Skin by Laura Blackwell The Heart of the Orchard by Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi Meeting the P...

Recently I wrote a post about why us writers should omit certain words from our writing if we want to progress in our craft. ( Read it here ) It really opened my eyes and should me so many ways of how I could improve my writing. One of the tips I came across courtesy of Professor Google was that writers should also avoid using dialogue tags. To me this sounded like madness but the more I looked into the matter the more it made sense. Using excessive dialogue tags can really slow the pacing of your story. Quite frankly I find dialogue tags really boring to write so readers must find them as equally dull to read. By getting creative with your dialogue tags you can use conversations more effectively to improve characterisation by employing unique mannerisms and conveying the tone of the conversation through your characters actions. Here's an example taken From the Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. "Isn't it awful! It's getting a little better ...

A few days ago I was having a conversation with my fellow author mates and we got onto discussing the loathsome joyless task of editing our writing. We lamented just how painful it is when you read over a first draft of a story that you had thought was the best thing you'd ever written only to find it turning to ash when you next read it. But there is a fail safe way to really tighten up your writing and make it look much better. It's not  your amazing subject matter and plot creating the problem, rather your choice of words. This will help to create a great fluid flow of words making it easier for your authors to read. It will also help improve your rhythm which is very important too. A friend of mine, William Marchese, told me that there are certain words you must never use when writing. They are words we're all guilty of  using in our work, words deeply embedded in our dialogue however they look terrible in written prose. This really got me thinking and after a...

I really loved the premise of this book in which an old manuscript of ghost stories is found in the abandoned London Criterion Club once popular with the glitterati of the stage and literary world as well as prominent members of parliament. The manuscript contains ghost stories from many well know writers from the illustrious Victorian Age. It was here where Henry James formed his exclusive ghost club. Membership could be bought by telling a ghost story. This book contains these very stories expertly retold by William Meikle; Wee Davie Makes a Friend - Robert Louis Stevenson The High Bungalow - Rudyard Kipling The Immortal Memory- Leo Tolstoy The House of the Dead - Bram Stoker Once a Jackass - Mark Twain Farside - Herbert George Wells To the Manor Born - Margaret Oliphant The Angry Ghost - Oscar Wilde The Black Ziggurat - Henry Rider Haggard Born of Ether - Helena P Blavatsky The Scrimshaw Set - Henry James At the Molenzki Junction - Anton Checkov To the Moon ...

Today I'm joined by the editors of Aphotic Realm a new and exciting magazine for dark and sinister fiction. They've just launched their second issue Banished after their very well received premiere Apparitions S.J. Budd: What motivated you guys to start your own magazine? A.A. Medina: Personally (I believe Dustin will share the majority of these), I wanted to immerse myself into the writing community right out of college. Dustin and I befriended each other in school, and since then, have always worked together. Whether that was trading stories to edit, bouncing ideas off each other, or the occasional venting about the assignments at hand. As we neared graduation, Dustin and I knew that we wanted to continue working together, but we weren’t sure how or on what. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but we mutually agreed on starting a fiction publication/website. Another big factor was the continuation of my education and routine. In school, we had at...

To celebrate the launch of Aphotic Realms second issue; Banished I 'm talking to Richie Brown 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 Richie thanks for joining us tell me, who are your favourite authors? For horror and dark fiction it's Stephen King and Chuck Palaniuk, for sheer talent, Tom Wolfe. As a new discovery (for me) Ayn Rand author of Atlas Shrugged. My old favourites include George Orwell, E.F.Benson, and H.P.Lovecraft. 2) What draws you to horror? Can you remember the first horror book or film that you encountered? I like the imagination of horror...