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A Seed in a Soil of Sorrow by Keith Anthony Baird

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  When the death cult calls ... what are you running from? The path to the Viridian Chapter is paved with many sorrows. It's a sect which sits on the site of a brutal atrocity, and one which harbours numerous dark secrets. Leader, Hans Lehmann, is a visionary bestowed with remarkable abilities, with followers who are prepared to offer their lives in exchange for his promise of a utopia. On the cusp of autumn, a lone seeker arrives to discard his former life and embrace his rebirth as a chapter disciple. Stark lessons within a strict regime are the lure for those who have been traumatised by their uncaring past. The promise of a doomsday ascension through the waste of flesh proves at odds with a union between two souls who must flee the confines of the commune, if their love is to stand a chance of being fully realised. But will the inner circle elite discover this betrayal and exact a terrible retribution, or will they escape the clutches of the sect's unstable originator and l

Interview with Dan Coxon, author of Only the Broken Remain

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  Today I’m chatting with Dan Coxon, an author I greatly admire. He’s been a part of the British horror/strange fiction scene for many years. He’s been at the helm of the legendary Tales From The Shadow Booth anthologies as well as the multi award winning anthology, This Dreaming Isle, and now he has his debut short fiction collection Only The Broken Remain coming out with Black Shuck Books 1)    Tell us a bit about yourself I’m a writer and editor based on the outskirts of London, probably best known for editing the anthology This Dreaming Isle (shortlisted for the Shirley Jackson Awards and the British Fantasy Awards). I’m also editor for Unsung Stories (Best Independent Press, British Fantasy Awards 2018 & 2019), and a freelance editor at Momus Editorial. My short fiction has appeared in Black Static , Nightscript and Not One of Us , and the anthologies Nox Pareidolia and Humanagerie , among many other places. Earlier this year I had a mini-collection, Green Fingers , publis

Only The Broken Remain by Dan Coxon

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  I could see into the room well enough, but there was nothing there. No furniture, no ornaments. A rusted sink streaked with black and grey. An empty light fitting. Nothing more than a thick layer of dust on tired linoleum, forming a furred carpet that stretched undisturbed into the empty room beyond… There was no neighbour. It occurred to me for the first time that I might be going mad. A young man joins a circus where the mysterious ringmaster is more interested in watching him fail. An immigrant worker forms an unlikely alliance with his housing estate’s foxes. A fraudulent accountant goes on the run, but loses herself in the dry heat of Australia. This debut collection from Dan Coxon unearths the no man’s land between dreams and nightmares, a place where the strange is constantly threatening to seep through into our everyday reality. Populated by the lost and the downtrodden, the forgotten and the estranged, these stories follow in the tradition of Thomas Ligotti, Robert Aickman a

Double Barrel Horror Vol. 3 edited by Matthew Weber

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Brace yourself for another two-barrel blast of unrelenting horror and suspense. Volume 3 of the 'Double Barrel Horror' anthology series delivers two chilling tales from each of six talented authors for a 12-story onslaught that will blow you out of your sneakers. This time around, your fate lies in the hands of Christine Morgan, Mark Matthews, Theresa Braun, Calvin Demmer, Glenn Rolfe, and Robert Essig. This is quite a unique horror anthology, it features six super talented authors who each contribute two tales of darkness rather than one. I really liked this concept as I felt you got to see more of the author. This technique could have failed badly if they could only produce one great tale and one not so great but each tale was fantastic. There wasn't one story that I didn't like which is rare for me.  The first author featured is Christine Morgan with her two tales; Eye See You and Sharp Obsidian. Eye See You is a thrilling tale that descends into madness. A you

The Third Corona Book of Horror Stories

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I finally got round to reading this one and I'm so glad I did, this is a superb collection of 18 diverse horror tales. I liked every one of these and there were a few that I thought were really outstanding. What I liked about this collection were that the stories all stood out, each one's an individual. There's a huge range of horror from straight up splatter punk to folk horror and deep psychological all united by a dark thread. There's something in here for everyone. I really enjoyed this collection and actually felt a bit sad when I realised I had gotten to the end! Can't wait for the next instalment! Suds and Monsters by Christopher Stanley   Beware the wrath of an evil step-mother. This tale will leave you terrified of everything, including the kitchen sink. A great story to start off this amazing collection of horror tales. The Debt  by John Haas When Gary Jones wakes up he doesn't know where he is. He has no recollectio

Green Fingers by Dan Coxon

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"A series of micro-collections featuring a selection of peculiar tales from the best in horror and speculative fiction. From Black Shuck Books and Dan Coxon comes  Green Fingers , the nineteenth in the Black Shuck SHADOWS series." This short story collection immediately intrigued me by the cover! I love it! Also the name of the publishers- Black Shuck Books. For many years I have been drawn to British folklore and when you twin it with horror you have a winning combination such as Green Fingers by Dan Coxon. Dan Coxon is also the editor of Enter The ShadowBooth, many of the tales included in here made their way into Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year volume 11. So far there have been four volumes and if you like creepy horror you must check them out. He is also the editor of This Dreaming Isle and has had many of his own stories published in magazines such as Black Static, Unsung Stories, Hinnom and Neon Literary Magazine to name but a few. Since reading Ci

Unbecoming Me, & Other Interruptions by Christopher Stanley

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  A chilling new short story collection from the author of  The Forest is Hungry   and  The Lamppost Huggers and Other Wretched Tales . In 'Devil's Reach', a frantic father boards a ferry, hoping to save his daughter and escape his wife. But nothing is as it seems as the ferry sails into darkness, and there are forces at work he won’t begin to understand until it’s too late. In 'Hell's Teeth', a young girl enlists the help of supernatural forces to exact revenge on the school bully, only to find she can’t live with guilt. And in the final story, 'Unbecoming Me', a young man’s desperate search for love takes an unexpected turn after he’s rejected by the woman of his dreams. Dark, sinister and unforgiving –  Unbecoming Me & Other Interruptions  will make you want to sleep with the lights on. Demain Publishing is back and I couldn't be happier! I've just finished reading Curfew by Kev Harrison and now Unbecoming Me, & Other Interruptions b

Curfew by Kev Harrison

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  When Jamie takes his girlfriend for a summer anniversary getaway by the sea, he thinks only the great British weather can ruin his plans. But he hasn’t accounted for Mrs Heinz, the bizarre proprietor of The Sailor’s Rest, and her obsessive fixation on midnight and curfew... I'm so excited that Demain Publishing is back with another onslaught of horror! Seriously this series is really addictive!  Over the years I've read a lot of Kev Harrison's work. They're all great fun and of course very dark. I loved his previous tale in the series - Cinders of a Bind Man Who Could See. This was an excellent serving of folk horror set in a small community in Northern England. The last tale I read by Kev was his folk horror novella,  The Balance , which I absolutely loved. It's a great reinterpretation of the legendary Baba Yaga folk tale with a modern twist. It's gone on to receive great praise and now's he's back with Curfew. Curfew is about a fun romantic weekend

Boneset and Feathers by Gwendolyn Kiste

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You don't know their fire is coming until it's too late. That's exactly the way the witchfinders like it. As an isolated enchantress, Odette knows this too well--she lost nearly her whole family to the last round of executions, barely escaping with her own life. All the magic she could conjure wasn't enough to protect her mother and sister, a burden that leaves a despondent Odette practically wishing she'd burned with the rest. Now it's five years later, and as the last witch left from her village, Odette has exiled herself to the nearby woods where she's sworn off all magic, hoping instead for quiet and for safety. But no witch has ever been permitted a peaceful life. It starts with crows tumbling out of the clouds and spectral voices on the wind that won't leave her alone. Then there are those midnight visits to the graveyard that she can't quite remember in the morning and the strange children following her everywhere she goes. Odette wants to for

Snake Charmer Blues by Keith Anthony Baird

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I'm not your average, everyday American. By the time you've finished listening to what I have to say you're going to get that. Sure, I do average, everyday things, but only to go unnoticed while I'm planning and doing the things that aren't. Y'see, I've killed people - for good reasons though. I mean, it'd be plain wrong to just murder someone who didn't deserve it - I'm not a psychopath y'know. In fact, I fit right in really. If you looked at me, you wouldn't think for a minute I'd bashed in the head of a frail old lady, watched people die in the house fire I lit, or made sure a jumped-up motorhead got crushed to death in the tin can on wheels I 'fixed'. There are others too, but you'll have buy this little look inside my head to find out the rest of it. Don't want to? Really? Let me just make a note of that ... Our unnamed character's life changes forever when a carnival comes to their town, bringing the magical

Lyrics and Curses by Candace Robinson

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Stranger Things meets Pretty in Pink: Lark Espinoza could get lost in her music—and she’s not so sure anyone in her family would even care to find her. Her trendy, party-loving twin sister and her mother-come-lately Beth, who’s suddenly sworn off men and onto homemaking, don’t understand her love of cassette tapes, her loathing of the pop scene, or her standoffish personality. For outcast Lark, nothing feels as much like a real home as working at Bubble’s Oddities store and trying to attract the attention of the cute guy who works at the Vinyl shop next door—the same one she traded lyrical notes with in class. Auden Ellis silences the incessant questions in his own head with a steady stream of beats. Despite the unconditional love of his aunt-turned-mother, he can’t quit thinking about the loss of his parents—or the possibility he might end up afflicted with his father’s issues. Despite his connection with lyric-loving Lark, Auden keeps her at arm’s length because letting her in might