S.J.Budd

I've been reading this magazine since it launched in December 2016 and with each issue it has really grown. I bought a years subscription for just $10 and so far it's been a really good investment. Issue 5 is brilliant and features some really great authors. Unnerving's Issue 5 contains nine stories which are all really varied but united with their dark cores of horror. Its also really cool to see lots of female horror writers featured too. Stand out stories for me include, Porcelain Skin, this was just so creepy and I loved how the tension was built up throughout the story and the ending was really cool too! I've been reading his stories for a few years and now and they never fail to disappoint. I also really liked Ghoul by John C Foster and The Weight of Her Smile by Jake Marlow. Glug Glug by Aaron J Housholder A great tale to start off the magazine, its playful and creepy and leaves you wondering and worrying about what's lurking in your house.

Seasons of Insanity is a short story collection featuring twelve tales themed around the four seasons; Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. It is co-authored by award winning writers Gill Ainsworth and Frank W.Haubold. Unlike most horror I am used to reading, this leans more towards psychological horror rather than supernatural so was quite a different read for me. It focuses more on humans coming apart crashing into insanity to the darkest depths and never coming out again. It's not monsters and dark spirits we should be afraid of but ourselves and what our own darkness is capable of. I liked that each author had their own distinct voice and they work well in this anthology which keeps you in its grip right to the end. There's something in here for everyone. Stand out tale for me was, Fighting the Flab by Gill Ainsworth. This really resonated with me and was incredibly shocking. I also really enjoyed The End of the Line about an older woman coming to terms wit

To celebrate the launch of Aphotic Realms second issue; Banished I 'm talking to Jocelyn Baxter 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 instalment 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 Jocelyn thanks for joining us, how long have you been writing for? Since I was a kid I guess. I'm one of those Millennials who read Harry Potter and fell in love with storytelling. But officially I would say since high school. I was lucky enough to have a high school English teacher who is a Canadian author (Leo Brent Robillard). He created a Creative Writing class and I fell immediately in love (taking it three times!). Before I graduated,

A few weeks ago I was the very lucky winner of a book give-away hosted by Deviant Dolls . I won the entire back catalogue of Unnerving Starting off my Unnerving foray is Church by Renee Miller. I've been hearing lots of good things about this book. This tale is about a young man, Ray, a devout Christian who is over the moon with meeting Carol, the love of his life. She's perfect in every way except for one thing. She belongs to a looney cult, known only as Church. At Church they follow the alien god Zabir who speaks through the Prophet. But Ray is open to this, he thinks he can save her and turn her to his church and marry her making her the perfect wife. He goes along to this strange church not to seek permission from the Prophet for Carol's hand in marriage but to steal the churches devout followers. He believes doing this will save their souls. But of course in all good tales, things don't go to plan. The Prophet wants to convert Ray, but can Ray hold

"Life is a matter of death. Death is a matter of fact." "Micah DeAtta learns this as he awakens with Death seated across from him, whetting his sickle. Micah has no choice but to converse with Death in order to figure out his own demise. As their conversations become a battle of wits, Micah is forced to relive prominent deaths of family and friends before learning of his own. Each death happens in real time, each correlating with the nine levels of the Aztec underworld. Before it is said and done, Micah will have been forced to face his fears, his losses, and the fact that although life may be too short, death is forever." I was really suprised by this book. I've read many stories by the excellent M.R.Tapia and was expecting some hardcore horror! But this is very different, yes there are elements of horror but it is extremely thought provoking and really interesting.  I've always been fascinated with what happens to us after we pass on. I like to t

In Irish lore, when children go under the hill, they don't come out again. Ever. When children go under the hill, they stay where they're put. Forever. When children go under the hill, parents, though they pray and search, don't truly think to see them anymore. Never. Angela Slatter is the author of one of my favourite books of all time (ALL TIME)  Of Sorrow and Such which just blew me away the first time I've read it and its a book I re-read all the time. Since them I've been making it my mission to read everything she's written starting off with Finnegan's Field, a novelette which I think I purchased for just 88p on kindle! Ooh I do love a bargain! A young child goes missing in Finnegan's Field, a small town in southern Australia of mostly Irish ancestry, a town where over the years many a small child has gone missing, nome come back. Never. Until Madrigal Barker returns after been missing for three years. Everyone is over the moo

Call Drops by John F.Leonard is a simmering short horror story full of intrigue and horror. Vincent Preece a hard grafting self made millionaire but his life is empty and everything and everyone he has ever loved is gone leaving him with too much time in his huge mansion set on the edge of the woods. To take his mind off his current state of affairs he loves nothing more than to rummage around junk shops in search of old forgotten treasure. At a car boot sale he finds an odd phone that seemingly doesn't work. It will change his life forever. I thoroughly enjoyed this tale it was dark with lots of mystery and intrigue piled on top. Its really creepy and  creepier!  The story will stay with you long after you have stopped reading. It seems in this tale that everyone is in possession of a secret they would rather keep buried in this world of shady characters. Call Drops was unlike anything I've ever read before which was great it kept me on my toes and I had no idea what

"Inside each grief is a lonely ghost of silence, and inside each silence are the words we didn't say." Damien Angelica Walters can often be found gracing the pages of every fiction magazine other writers dream of appearing in; Black Static, Apex, Interzone, Shimmer, Nightmare Magazine, Lightspeed Magazine, Strange Horizons, Daily Science Fiction and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Sing Me Your Scars is Damien Angelica Walter's debut short story collection. Composed of three parts it contains 20 stories of suffering and sorrow, of misfits and damaged people. These are the stories of a dark underworld that we have all glimpsed upon for a few brief moments but for some unlucky souls it is their home. I loved the range of stories here, there are no two alike and whilst reading this starling collection I read slowly to enjoy every line. These are dark magnificent tales that you will want to read again and again. What's really magical about these tales is with h