FCon Minus Two...

Tomorrow I shall be setting off for the distant land of Brighton. Fantasycon doesn't actually start till Friday, but given the Con is at the opposite end of the country, I'm heading down the day before. Coming back on Sunday, probably with a badly pounded wallet.

See you on the flipside...

My Fantasycon Schedule

Just over a week now to Fantasycon 2011 down in Brighton, which will be cool- a chance to meet up with various writing friends and quite probably getting a tad trolleyed with them.

So, here's my schedule. No, I won't be spending the whole time in the bar...

Friday 30th September
9pm- PS Book Launch. Among other things this will include Conrad Williams' Weird Western anthology Gutshot, which I'm, somewhere...

Saturday 1st October
9.30pm- Reading in Room 134. Possibly an excerpt from The Faceless, if you fancy a sneak preview...

The rest of the time- if I'm not in the dealer's room or the curry house- I probably will be in the bar.

So now you know.

Terror Tales Of The Lake District

Paul Finch is, as anyone who's read his fiction can testify, one of the finest British writers currently working in the field. And the emphasis is on the British here- his writing is rooted solidly not only in the landscape and terrain of the British Isles and in modern everyday life there, but also in its rich and varied traditions and folklore. If you don't believe me, just hunt down one of his many fine collections (just go on Amazon and stick his name in; I'm not doing everything for you here.)

He's also now a very fine editor, with his first anthology, TERROR TALES OF THE LAKE DISTRICT, coming out from those nice folks at Gray Friar Press. It's the first in (hopefully) a series of regionally-themed horror stories, and has (as you can see) some very fine artwork from Steve Upham of Screaming Dreams. Numerous stories by both well-established and up-and-coming names are interspersed with accounts of the region's various eerie legends. Among other tales, you'll find my story, 'The Moraine'.

Just to whet your appetite a bit more, here's the TOC in full:

Little Mag’s Barrow by Adam L.G. Nevill
The Mad Clown of Muncaster
The Coniston Star Mystery by Simon Clark
The Croglin Vampire
Devils of Lakeland by Paul Finch
The Mumps Hall Murders
The Moraine by Simon Bestwick
The Tawny Boy
The Claife Crier by Carole Johnstone
The Monster of Renwick
Jewels in the Dust by Peter Crowther
The Devil’s Hole
Above the World by Ramsey Campbell
Nightmares of Burnmoor
The Jilted Bride of Windermere by Gary Fry
The Horror at Carlisle Castle
Walk the Last Mile by Steven Savile
The Poltergeist of Walla Crag
Framed by Peter Bell
Fiend’s Fell
Night of the Crone by Anna Taborska
The Tortured Souls of Lord’s Rake
Along Life’s Trail by Gary McMahon
The Black Hound of Shap
Striding Edge by Reggie Oliver

As you can see, there's a really stellar line-up here, and I'm delighted to be included. TERROR TALES OF THE LAKE DISTRICT is now available to pre-order from Gray Friar Press

Namechecked by a Legend!

The great Ramsey Campbell is interviewed by Adam Nevill right about here. It's a substantial and insightful interview and well worth a look, but also my name pops briefly up in it (in a good way.)

Ramsey's a writer I admire greatly; I can't think of another living author (and precious few dead ones) who've done as much as he has to promote horror as a branch of literature, worthy of seriousw consideration. Getting namechecked alongside the likes of Joel Lane and that disreputable Gary McMahon fellow is a boost- coming from this particular writer, it's already made my week.

Gawddamnit, pardner... I been Gutshot!

Conrad Williams' editorial debut, Gutshot, an anthology of Weird Western stories, is now available for pre-order from PS Publishing.

The anthology will be launched at Fantasycon at the end of this month, and features cover art by Caniglia as well as fantastic stories by.... well, check out the TOC below.

Oh, and I'm in it too, with a story called Kiss The Wolf. But don't let that put you off.

That TOC in full:

Paul Meloy Carrion Cowboy

Alan Ryan Passage

James Lovegrove The Black Rider

Zander Shaw Blue Norther

Joel Lane Those Who Remember

Mark Morris Waiting for the Bullet

Gary McMahon El Camino de Rojo

Joe R. Lansdale The Bones that Walk

Peter Crowther & Rio Youers Splinters

Christopher Fowler The Boy Thug

Amanda Hemingway Ghosts

Simon Bestwick Kiss the Wolf

Stephen Volk White Butterflies

Gemma Files Some Kind of Light Shines from Your Face

Cat Sparks The Alabaster Child

Michael Moorcock The Ghost Warriors

Sarah Langan Beasts of Burden

Peter Atkins All Our Hearts are Ghosts

Thomas Tessier In the Sand Hills

Adam Nevill What God Hath Wrought?

Loving Angels 2: No Exaggeration

More love for Angels of the Silences has been found, this time over at Terry Gates-Grimwood's website The Exaggerated Press.

Terry says: 'Angels of the Silences is short, sharp and for me, immensely touching. The two girls are complete, three-dimensional, recognisable... A compelling, intelligent and affecting story... Angels of the Silences is one of those brief but startling works that we stumble upon very now and then. Read it and I dare you not to be moved.'

That's certainly brightened up my day, anyway. Incidentally, did I mention that as well as the chapbook (for a mere three of your English pounds), you can also buy Angels as an ebook for one pound only? Well, now I have.

I wish I could claim credit for the title, but sadly I cannot tell a lie: it's from a Counting Crows song. This one, to be precise. Rock on!

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