Hi again everybody. I hope you're all well! I can't believe it's already the end of May. At least the sun has decided to show it's face...at last.
So, after months of prep, HorrorCon 2023 finally happened. It was a great event, and I got to meet so many fantastic people, including some really talented authors, a couple of which are featured in the pic. Some of the costumes were out of this world. The amount of time and dedication that people put into the event and into their outfits was pretty awesome. For me, almost having my ankles broken by Annie Wilkes was a particular highlight. We had two great days, came away pretty exhausted, but equally elated. Having so many people come to the stand to talk about my books was such a great experience. I enjoyed the event so much, I instantly booked to exhibit at the Comic Con and Gaming Festival that's due to be held in Maidstone in October. Hopefully I'll see some of you there. If you want to see more pics from HorrorCon 2023, check out my Instagram or Facebook page.
Also, after many months of anticipation, Scare Street have released their Night Terrors #26 anthology. The collection features my nautical horror, 'An Ocean Black'. If you want to get hold of a copy, either head to Amazon or to the Scare Street website (The Author Helper Suite - Books by Scare Street (readerlinks.com)) and look for the Night Terrors series. My story is within the 26th instalment. The fact that these guys have been going for so long is a real testament to the wealth of talent they're able to bring together for each of their releases.
My creepy Christmas story, 'The Saint and The Seraph', has also been accepted into Knight Writing Press's 'Closed for the Season' collection, and should be released by the end of the year. Again, I'm really pleased to be included with such esteemed company. I'll keep you posted as that one progresses.
My next novel, 'The Faraway People', is at the editing stage, and is due back in a couple of weeks. I'm working with my publisher to pull the press release together right now. I'm really looking forward to release day and getting this horror-fantasy out into the world. It feels like I completed the first draft such a long time ago. I had a real blast writing it.
On the reading front, I've almost completed 'The Ritual' by Adam Nevill. I wasn't sure of it at first - not sure why - but as I've read on, I've gradually been hooked by the characters and the dark, twisting narrative. Can't wait to see how it ends, and I'll definitely be reading more of Adam's work. Be sure to check him out. I also recently learned that the book has been made into a film, so once I finish it, my wife and I plan to take a look at that. I checked the trailer out and it looks pretty cool.
Lastly, I've put the second instalment of 'Prize Crop' up on the Free Reads part of this website. There will be a few more parts to come yet, but hopefully you'll enjoy finding out what happens to Linus Porter and his creepy cabbage patch next. If you're interested in the full story, let me know. If there's enough interested readers, I might even consider sending it out as a freebie to everyone on my mailing list. If that's not a reason to sign up, I don't know what is :)
Anyway, I think that's all I have for now. I'll put another blog up next month, but in the meantime, have a great bank holiday!!
Speak soon,
SD