The Silence of the Heart

As a huge admirer of the work Rebecca Parfitt does on her 'modern day penny dreadful, The Ghastling, it's a real honour for me to have my work appear in it's pages.  'The Silence of the Heart' is another story about those shape-shifters that inhabit the Yorkshire Moors (more info here).Always beautifully designed and illustrated, with carefully chosen stories, The Ghastling is a wonderful thing to have plop through your letterbox, so why not visit their online shop and grab yourself a copy? Or two?

 

Conversation with Michael Wertenberg

Me and fellow Manta Press author, Michael Wertenberg, recently had a Zoom conversation about my novella Holburn, our writing processes, inspirations, and Michael's own books.  The video, which is part of Michael's 'Author's Talking Shop' series on his Youtube channel, can be viewed below.  It was a pleasure chatting with Michael.

  

The Secrecy of the Heart

Very happy to receive the news that my story The Secrecy of the Heart has been published in the latest issue of Supernatural Tales.  I'm doubly happy to be sharing the table of contents with some great writers such as Charles Wilkinson and Steve Ransic Tem.

The Secrecy of the Heart concerns a confused young man named Benjamin whose car breaks down on the Yorkshire Moors, forcing him to seek refuge at an isolated house.  Things at the house are not as they appear, but his time there will eventually lead him to an important revelation about himself.  This story is linked to two stories I've previously written, The Shape of the Heart and The Lies of the Heart, as well as an as yet unpublished novel called The False Ones.

Two stories long-listed for Best Horror of the Year #14

Writing fiction means getting used to taking disappointment on the chin.  But sometimes a writer  gets a glimmer of recognition when it appears all the hard work, and all those metaphorical uppercuts, might actually be paying off.  And so, I was very pleased to see that two of my short stories made Ellen Datlow's longlist for Best Horror of the Year #14.  First was my creepy costume head story 'Here Comes Mister Herribone!' which was published in Supernatural Tales 46.  Also getting a mention was my folk-horror story, 'The Daughters' which appeared in The Alchemy Press Book of Horrors 3.

I ain't lying.  See it with your own eyes here.