My Soul Ain't Dead

I may have squealed in work today when I got a phone call to say that there was a delivery of books waiting for me. The word may is an absolute lie. How beautiful are the below specimens...

Dead Souls, edited by Mark Deniz, contains my story When the Cloak Falls, along with stories by Michael Stone, Ramsey Campbell, T A Moore, Paul Finch, Gary McMahon, Bernie Mojzes, Carole Johnstone, and Bill Ward. And Mark had my contributor copy signed for me at FantasyCon by himself, Gary McMahon, Paul Finch, Ramsey Campbell, Rebecca Lloyd and Carole Johnstone. Carol also signed my copy of Grants Pass, which alas I'm not in, but the wonderful Katey Taylor is.

And I know I've shown this before, but how can you resist buying this book after watching the trailer:

Bright Shiny Things

Being stuck in Novelville and thinking I'll never write another short story again - you know the drill - I visited Aaron Polson's blog yesterday and at the sight of the most wonderful cover of the 'Dead Bait' anthology I had pangs of I-want-to-be-in-an-anthology. Okay, so Dead Souls is launching at FantasyCon this weekend, but I was beyond reason.

Anyhow, this morning I received an email from the aforementioned Mr. Polson, who when he's not warping inspiring children, and writing creepsome stories is also an editor, who informed me (and many others) that the Fifty-Two Stitches anthology is now available to buy. And there I was all woe-is-me only a day before. Check out the Amazon listing and see my bright, shiny name.

Dead Souls

The anthology 'Dead Souls', containing my story 'When the Cloak Falls', is now available to pre-order from Morrigan Books.

Peter Stubbe, a 16th century German man who was known as the Werewolf of Bedburg, is the inspiration behind When the Cloak Falls with dashes of red added to spin it into a dark fairy tale.




Bernie Mojzes - The Collector
T. A. Moore - Licwiglunga
Carole Johnstone - The Blind Man
Tom English - Dry Places
Sharon Irwin - Begin with Water
Robert Holt - In the Name
William Ward - When they Come to Murder Me
Chris Johnstone - The Unbedreamed
Elizabeth Barrette - Goldenthread
Catherine J. Gardner - When the Cloak Falls
Anna M. Lowther - The Price of Peace
James R. Stratton - Your Duty to your Lord
Kenneth C. Goldman - Mercy Hathaway is a Witch
Lisa Kessler - Immortal Beloved
Lisa Kessler - Subito Piano
Michael Stone - The Migrant
Robert Hood - Sandcrawlers
Reece Notley - Tatsu
L. J. Hayward - Wayang Kulit
Rebecca Lloyd - Contaminator
Ramsey Campbell - The Dead Must Die
Stephanie Campisi - The Ringing Sound of Death on the Water Tank
Paul Finch - June
Gary McMahon - A Shade of Yellow
Kaaron Warren - The Blue Stream


And don't forget, you can also pre-order Grants Pass. And here's a hint to wet your appetite (or not if you're a vegetarian), one of the Grants Pass authors is the victim of tomorrow's Somebody Else Saturday.

The Anthology That Wouldn't Die

It's beginning to feel like TOC week - apologies for one Table of Contents following another, but this one was far too cool to ignore. The TOC for Dead Souls has been announced and it features two Scousers (aka people from Liverpool) - that is me and Mr. Ramsey Campbell.

Okay can someone please pick me up off the floor.

Now, Mr. Campbell doesn't realise it but I think I may have been in his head for some time. Apparently his novel The Face That Must Die features a main character called Cathy Gardner who just so happens to live in Liverpool. Someone (an Editor about ten years back) told me that not only does the character live in Liverpool but in the same suburb as me. I've checked that bit out on the internet (will you just buy the book already) and that part seems to be a no (apparently she lives in Cantril Farm, I don't), though he has written stories based in my suburb (concealed for fear of fans stalking my home - ahem!).

Anyway, here's the TOC (in alphabetical order):

Elizabeth Barrette - Goldenthread
Ramsey Campbell - The Dead Must Die
Stephanie Campisi - The Ringing Sound of Death on the Water Tank
Michael Colangelo - Poseidon’s Claw
Brendan Connell - Black Tiger
Tom English - Dry Places
Paul Finch - June
Catherine J. Gardner - When the Cloak Falls
Ken Goldman - Mercy Hathaway is a Witch
Robert Holt - In the Name
Robert Hood - Sandcrawlers
Sharon Irwin - Begin with Water
Carole Johnstone - The Blind Man
Christopher Johnstone - The Unbedreamed
Lisa Kessler - Immortal Beloved
Lisa Kessler - Subito, Piano
Rebecca Lloyd - Contaminator
Anna M. Lowther - The Price of Peace
Gary McMahon - A Shade of Yellow
Bernie Mojzes - The Collector
T. A. Moore - Genus Loci
Reece Notley - Tatsu
James R. Stratton - Your Duty to your Lord
Michael Stone - The Migrant
Simon Strantzas - More to Learn
Ben Thomas - The Pagans
Bill Ward - When they Come to Murder Me
Kaaron Warren - The Blue Stream
Ron Yungul - The Lords of Chickamauga

Who invited the spider?

The Age of Blood & Snow is dead (or halved at least), long live Dead Souls!

YAY!

Morrigan Books have announced the replacement anthology for The Age of Blood & Snow. Or one of them at least as the original TOC is being divided into 2 separate anthologies. Dead Souls contains my story 'When the Cloak Falls', plus stories from Michael Stone, Gary McMahon, & Simon Stranzas, among others. Full TOC will be announced soon.

It will be available in March 2009.

Oh, and I am a wee bit excited - I mean, check out that cover.