Read 2020 - 23 - Terror Tales of Northwest England

I have a story in this book.

I've read this book.

I'm all about this book.

The anthology is a series of short stories by various authors interspersed with folklore, written by Paul Finch. Paul also edited the anthology and it is published by Telos. My story, The Mute Swan, is set in Wallasey, and is about a girl who can't find her voice and a deranged and narcissistic ballet teacher.

I'm going to cheat and highlight my favourite story in the anthology - it's by Simon Bestwick, who just happens to be my husband, and yes, I may be a little biased.

And sometimes - sometimes it's what's down there that finds a way out. Below is set in lost streets and tunnels below Manchester, and it's absolutely fantastic. It's an atmospheric, terrifying, character-driven piece.

You can pick it up at Amazon.

Read 2020 - 19 - Dead Funny Encore

I purchased Dead Funny Encore (along with the original volume, which I read a couple of years ago) at an Edge Lit or Sledge Lit in Derby when Johnny Mains was a guest. My brain and my Google-fu is struggling with the year. Edited by Robin Ince and Johnny Mains it contains horror stories written by well-known comedians.

The anthology opens with Date Night by Rufus Hound. The timeline confused/lost me several times, leading me to think I didn't quite understand the story. Starring role goes to a little broken chair. Actually, I'm mentioning the story because of the chair.

Carnival by Alice Lowe (who I think is an utter genius* - watch Sightseers and Prevenge) was by far my favourite story. The fat purple-haired shopkeeper was reading Bella really slowly and clutching a Lucozade, unmoving. Like a melting Madame Tussaud's. A gripping and rich story about a small-town girl who wants to be nothing more than the Carnival Queen in Squalid-town.

Other stories I enjoyed included, the disturbing Under my Skin by Isy Suttie, a story of domestic violence. The haunting A Ghost Story by Josie Long, in which your ghost is brought back by your music being played. I'd hate to be Frank Sinatra in this scenario. The dark and twisted Harry by John Robertson, my 2nd favourite story in the anthology. A son is born, only he many not be altogether human. Twisted, funny and very wrong. Finally I really enjoyed The Basement Conversion by Natalie Haynes, a tale of a love-less marriage and of revenge.

This anthology is well worth your time.

*Despite loving Alice Lowe's stuff, I didn't read the final story in the anthology, also by her, called Paedo. I just couldn't take myself there. My bad.

Infant Whack Jobs

While browsing the internet - procrastinating - I came upon a forum discussing Paul Finch's Terror Tales series, and absolutely loved this description of my characters - How will a public performance of Swan Lake by infant "whack jobs" play out? A Tutu terror dark fantasy.

Read more: http://vaultofevil.proboards.com/thread/6918/finch-terror-tales-northwest-england#ixzz65oNLiPfu

Thanks, Dem Bones.

You can buy the anthology over at Amazon in kindle or paperback format.

Concrete Review

On Amazon, there's a wee review for the above Snowbooks anthology of Industrial Horror, Thread of the Infinite, which contains my story In the City of Concrete Dandelions (gosh, that's a lot of italics).

Here be a snippet: (incl. more italics)

Entertaining and thought provoking stories painting bleak post apocalyptic landscapes and some more personal intimate takes with children as the protagonists. Cate Gardner's 'In the City of Concrete Dandelions' was heartbreaking, powerful and drew me right in.

If you...

The Hersham Horror Books anthology 'The Woods' was released last weekend at Edge Lit - Yay! - and contains my story 'The Iron Curve of Thorns'. I'm going to be doing a serious of small reviews on my blog to entice you to buy the anthology because it totally rocks. Trust me! I'm in it. :)

James Everington’s ‘A Short Walk Round The Woods’

“…the movement of hunting bats became visible, scouting the border where the turf ended and the shadows began.”

The woods are getting bigger.

New to the village, our protagonist, a man haunted by loss, develops a nightly routine of visiting the local pub and talking with a man who is obsessed with the woods.

An unnerving tale tinged with sadness and of how sorrow can trap us in many ways.

Check it out in The Woods, a new anthology from Hersham Horror Books.

16 Days...

...that's how long there is until an anthology I want to write something for closes to submissions. I have a germ of an idea and three thousand words in notes (I actually thought I only had a thousand words until I checked the word count) most of which I'll throw away because they're thoughts in progress and things keep evolving.

I like that things are evolving. I just wish they'd evolve a little quicker. I also need to stop looking at my desk calendar and then twirling in my chair, eyes wide in fright.

Back in the heady summer of 2008, I wrote 4 flash stories and 6 short stories in my holiday from work (I assume it rained) - that is over 16 days - and although some were trunked (I shouldn't attempt tentacles or coffee) others sold to places such as Fantasy Magazine and Postscripts.

Thus, one story in sixteen days... Simple.

Okay, I need to check my calendar again.

Coulrophobics Beware

Behold the freaky cover for the forthcoming anthology 'Attic Toys', edited by Jeremy C Shipp, published by Evil Jester Press, and which will be available from March 2012. It includes my story Dreams of a Ragged Doll along with stories by Jeff Strand, Piers Anthony, Gary McMahon, Kate Jonez, Mae Empson, Lisa Morton, SS Michaels, Joe McKinney and others... You should click on the cover to see it in all its splendour.

WIP Wednesday - A Hint of Blue Sky

My laptop is switched on, there are words on the screen and up until a few minutes ago, I was writing - honest. I'm midway through a rewrite of Dead Sharp Tail (kind offer to allow me to fix the story and try again received this morning), I'm 900 words into the first draft of When Orange Lanterns Lit the World (a dystopian short), and panicking that I won't have any ideas/time to write something for 'Retro Spec' which will close to submissions in about a week. Cue palpitations.

And despite God forgetting to send the memo re the permanent change of the sky from blue to grey, there was a quick flash of sunlight from my inbox this afternoon. The Tangled Bank have accepted my short, The Sound of Sharp Voices, for their anthology. Nice.

Shadows of the Emerald City

I swear the world is intent on keeping me from working on my book/s. Having sworn off short stories for the time being, I stumble across guidelines for a Wizard of Oz based anthology - The Terrible Wizard of Oz: Shadows of the Emerald City.

They are looking for stories up to 10,000 words and the deadline is July 31st 2009.

Willpower, Mermen and Vikings

Oh my! I'm researching about frost giants and a rotting girl named Hel when I should be leading some soldiers around a surreal otherworld. I think I've fallen in love with Norse Mythology.

Dead Sharp Bait was rejected by the Dead Bait anthology today (fabulous eight day response - I do love a quick turnaround), and I've now signed my zombie mermen up for another rejection in about 72 hours - I've sent it to Clarkesworld.

My abstinence from writing short stories only lasted a week. Though that's possibly a record.

BlogEnvy

Some of you will have already guessed that I'm a BlogWhore TM. Well on one of my daily travels around the internet I discovered the blog of Brandon Bell. Go check it out. Oh, and try not to get BlogEnvy TM because it's one of the best looking blogs I've stumbled across.

I've broken my 'write one short story a month in 2009' rule and my wrists have been duly slapped. I've submitted Shiny Black Hearts to 'Weird Tales' and Dead Sharp Tail to the 'Dead Bait' anthology. I was working on something for 'Space Cops', but it began wandering further and further away from the guidelines so I've put it aside and declared I'm not going to write another short story during January. We'll see how long that lasts.

And Google fact of the day - someone found my blogspot blog by typing 'i hate cate .com'. I'm assuming they mean Miss. Blanchett and not me. Gulp!

Phew!

The folks at Sand: A Journal of Strange Tales have accepted my story 'Sneakers on Asphalt' for issue 4 due out in May 2009. I can now cease having panic attacks that I'll never get another acceptance - well for a week at least.

*Picture to the left is of their 2008 anthology, which includes my story 'Through the Warped Eye of Death'.

Tainted

YAY! Aaron Polson ran a competition a couple of weeks back to win a copy of TAINTED: Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, which he edited. The anthology arrived today and it includes stories from some familiar names, such as HG Wells and Edgar Allan Poe, alongside some familiar watch-this-space writers: Natalie L Sin, Jodi Lee, and Camille Alexa.

Check out this cool trailer:

And here’s my fabulous free copy: (Darn dark days and the need for the flash).

You know that guy Bradley Sands, well he's...

Bust Down the Door and Eat all the Chickens, has an interesting anthology looking for submissions.

Here are the guidelines for: Bradley Sands is a **** (word removed due to the fact the blogger also writes for children).

Just because the anthology is entitled BRADLEY SANDS IS A **** does not mean that every story must feature Bradley Sands.

- Titling your story is futile as all stories will be called "Bradley Sands is a ****."
- The story need not be about the evisceration/ridicule/humiliation of Bradley Sands.
- The story should be bizarro/irreal/surreal. If you don't know what that means you should probably do some research.
- If I reject you, it doesn't mean I don't like you or your writing. It means the story wasn't correct for this anthology. No hard feelings.
- Send your story as an attachment. Include your authorial name and email address with the story. If this isn't included, you will not get a response. Sorry.

Here are some more guidelines:

BRADLEY SANDS IS A **** strives to be the most ill-conceived, poorly planned e-anthology out there. Please send your stories to me, Andersen Prunty, at andersenprunty@yahoo.com. Include "Bradley Sands is a ****" in the subject line. I will send you an email letting you know it has been received. I will kind of edit the anthology. Every story will be titled "Bradley Sands is a ****." I should come away from your submissions feeling that Bradley Sands is a ****. How you make me feel this way is entirely up to you.

Submissions should be 1000 words or less.

They should be bizarro, weird, funny, angry, or a combination.

You are welcome to submit them to me whenever but I will not begin reading them until September 1, 2008 (This is a lie. Please see above.) I will stop reading them December 1, 2008 (This is still true). In January 2009, the selected stories will appear as a free .pdf e-anthology published by BUST DOWN THE DOOR AND EAT ALL THE CHICKENS and co-edited by Bradley Sands. Readers will vote on the selected stories (I don't actually have any idea how we'll do this. Send me an email if you would like to help or have any ideas). The author of the winning story will be paid 100 American dollars and the much sought after title of Bradley Sands' arch-nemesis.

How can you not send something to this? :) And if I've left any **** words un-**** - oops!

When I Sing I Howl

YAY!

The Graveyard of Dead Vehicles has sold to the WolfSongs Volume 1 anthology edited by Margaret H Bonham. I've spent the last few months gnawing my fingernails over this story and stalking the editors livejournal posts for news. Woot! Not a bad way to start my holiday and the third acceptance in three weeks. Adding those three to the bunch of rejections I've recently received it seems that Editors are hard at work this August.

Again, YAY!

The anthology is due for release at the end of this month/early September.

Here's a blurb of the story:

In a grey world where people are press-ganged into working in offices and coffee is a drug hawked by dodgy men on street corners, Juliet seeks escape after the murder of her wolf, Bella.

Dead Jesters

Another market folks. Novello Publishers have announced the following submission guidelines for an anthology titled Dark Jesters, to be edited by Nick Cato and L.L. Soares.


DARK JESTERS:
AN ANTHOLOGY OF HUMOROUS HORROR

Release Date: Fall 2009

General Info: Novello Publishers is seeking 10 hysterical stories to fill their first trade paperback humorous horror anthology.

Word count is not to exceed 2,000, NO EXCEPTIONS. The shortest accepted piece will be 1,500, but closer to the 2,000 mark is ideal for this project.

Stories must be horror-oriented-no scifi unless in the vein of "Alien." Stories will be selected (mainly) on their humor content: the harder you make the editors laugh the better chance your story will be picked. Any story that insults the horror genre will not be selected; "humorous horror" does not mean we want to "make fun" of the genre. We want to see "real" horror stories with a humorous angle. Whether your story deals with classic monsters (such as vampires), the apocalypse, serial killers, ghosts, or (you fill in the blank), we want the readers to laugh 'till it hurts.

Stories that rely on profanity will probably not make the cut. Make us laugh without dropping F-bombs and your chances of acceptance skyrocket.

Format: Send your story double-spaced in a Times New Roman or Courier font as a .doc or .rtf attachment, NO EXCEPTIONS. Please underline any italicized words.

Payment: $40.00 and one contributor copy. WOW! Is it just me, but - WOW!

Note: NO REPRINTS. This will be an all-original anthology. If your story is selected you will be asked to give Novello Publishers 1 year's exclusive rights.

Reading Period: August 1st through November 30th

Send submissions to: NickYak@aol.com with DJ SUBMISSION in the subject heading. Hard copy submissions may be sent to NOVELLO PUBLISHERS/ Box 060382 / Staten Island, NY / 10306. Hard copies must be post-dated NO LATER than November 10th, 2008.

The table of contents will be announced in early December, 2008.

From the Asylum News

For those of you who have submitted something to Things Aren't What They Seem, the anthology from the guys over at 'From the Asylum'. I just checked out their site and it seems things are delayed due to a death in the family. They should be back up and running in August.

A Chill Wind...

I've sent off a second story to Shroud's 'Northern Chill' anthology.

For my second attempt I knew that I wanted to write a story set at the beach. I played with a few ideas, trawled the internet for info on beaches in New England until I stumbled upon the Sand Sculpting competition that takes place each June at Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. From then on I knew my story would be set around sand sculptures, and when I found the above picture (if you click on the picture it takes you direct to the site and more fabulous temporary art) everything came together.

Crawling out of the graveyard...

Woo-Hoo! According to a posting on the SF Reader Forum, the anthology Strange Worlds of Lunacy is 100% finished and should be available to buy on Amazon really, really soon. I'm so excited. I feel as if this is my first publication. I stopped submitting/writing short stories about 7 years ago to concentrate on writing novels and then about two/three years ago my writing came to an almost stop (with no more than 20,000 words a year, written in half-hearted dribs and drabs). All these years later I feel like a different (hopefully improved) writer and hence the feeling as if this is publication number one. Wow, how long winded can one person be to simply say - WOO-HOO, I'm excited.

In other news. Did a little tidying up of 'The Poisoned Apple' (for the uninitated - my children's novel) over the weekend and added about 2,500 words. All I need to do now is finish that darn synopsis, write the query letter and send it out there... Wherever there may be.

I have completed the first draft of my story, The Graveyard of Dead Vehicles, which I intend to submit to the Wolfsong Anthology. It needs the usual tidying up and the reference to 'blood' toned down. A note of what the publisher doesn't want from their submission guidelines: "Really bloody horror. Violence is ok if it is necessary for the plot, but splatter and gore isn’t." I need to find a way to reference the death of the MC's wolf without smearing it's blood all over the manuscript.

Ghosts in the Machine Anthology Market

I thought the below may be of interest to many of you.

Phoenix Imprints Presents are looking for submissions for their anthology Ghosts in the Machine. The theme - I love writing stories for themed anthologies - is supernatural stories as relates to technology, in particular the internet and computers, but other areas of technology will be considered. Stories should be between 1,000 to 7,000 words, and they pay $20 per accepted story.

Another one to add to my to do list... Good luck.