The End Of The Line- The Guardian Review!

Wotcher folks. Just a quick one, this. The End Of The Line has been reviewed for today's Guardian by Eric Brown . It's a short review, in which only four stories are name-checked. These are Stephen Volk's 'In The Colosseum' (one of the most savage and disturbing stories I've read this year), Nicholas Royle's 'The Lure' (a subtle and elliptical psycholoigical... chiller? Thriller? I don't know what to call it, but it's great), Paul Meloy's magnificent 'Bullroarer' (further proof, were it needed, that Meloy is one of the finest, most original and idiosyncratic short story writers working in the field right now)... and 'The Sons Of The City'.

To say that I am delighted would be a dramatic understatement. But I won't say it... no, I won't...

Must... hold... back...

No, it's no use:

SQUEE!

Ahem. Sorry about that.

We now return you to what is laughingly called reality. Unfortunately this includes David C*ntmoron being Prime Minister and Simon Cowell existing. Sorry. It's not my fault.

Where The Heart Is Reviewed

The first review of Where The Heart Is is now up. It's reviewed by the inimitable Des Lewis here. He has good things to say about the anthology, including 'Winter's End.' At least, I think so... Des has such an idiosyncratic view of the world it's sometimes hard to tell! 'Winter's End' is reviewed on the second 'page', for anyone who wants to see.

Shameless Pluggage #2: The End Of The Line

Back again, this time to let you know about The End Of The Line, another anthology I'll be popping up in down the line (as it were). This one comes to you courtesy of those fine people at Solaris Books and discerning editor Jonathan Oliver.

An anthology of Underground horror.

In deep tunnels something stirs, borne on a warm breath of wind, reeking of diesel and blood. The spaces between stations hold secrets too terrible for the upper world to comprehend and the steel lines sing with the songs of the dead.

Jonathan Oliver has collected together some of the very best in new horror writing in an themed anthology of stories set on, and around, the Underground, the Metro and other places deep below.

My story 'The Sons Of The City' will be in there alongside stories from Gary McMahon, Adam Nevill, Joel Lane, Mark Morris, Christopher Fowler, Stephen Volk, Al Ewing and many more besides, including the great Ramsey Campbell.

Due for release November 15th 2010, and all for £7.99. What else can you get for that kind of money that'll give you that much pleasure? Er... don't answer that. (Especially not with 'the new Dan Brown book', or I'll have to hunt you down and kill you.)

Available for pre-order here.

Shameless Pluggage #1: Where The Heart Is

First up is this nice little anthology from Gray Friar Press, those lovely people who also brought you Pictures Of The Dark. Hint hint.

Take an alternative tour of Great Britain . . .

Writers are often told to write about what they know best . . . and what do they know better than their own homes? In this anthology, 19 fine authors of dark fiction reveal some of the less palatable elements of their native environments.

My story 'Winter's End' appears herein, alongside work by Stephen Volk, Rhys Hughes, Gary McMahon, Joel Lane, Paul Finch, Gary Fry, D F Lewis, Andrew Hook, Allen Ashley, Stuart Young, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Carole Johnstone, Michelle James, Stephen Bacon, John Travis, Mark Patrick Lynch, Mark West, Mike O'Driscoll

Edited by that very nice chap, Gary Fry.

In stock and shipping now.

Where The Heart Is is available to buy here.

Awards, Awards, Awards...

Sorry, chaps and chapesses- more shameless self-promotion awaits!

Two of my pieces- The Narrows and The School House- have been nominated for the British Fantasy Awards for Best Novella.

Very, very happy about this of course.

For anyone wanting to save money, We Fade To Grey is available as a free PDF download here until such time as voting closes. So if you want to read The Narrows, you know where to click. I'll see if I can sort out something similar for The School House.

Next post needs to be a) sooner, and b) about something other than giving my ego an outing. Hm. Better get my thinking cap on.

More Nice Things, And Some Shameless Self-Promotion

Just as I start getting interested in the world outside my front door again, there's more work- a back-jacket blurb for my story collection, plus pitches for radio plays to be produced at Dark Smile Productions' board meeting on Sunday (go check them out, you blog readers!) And soon I'll be having to put the finishing touches on the collection itself. And I was hoping to dash off a few short stories before getting down to the business of starting a second novel. There are times when I wish the day was 36 hours long instead of 24. But then again, as my ex-housemate used to say, it's better to be busy, so I've really no complaints.

Especially not since reading this review at GoodReads.com, by Richard Wright, of the anthology We Fade To Grey. Of course, if you don't want to check out the whole thing (modern life is so hectic, after all), here's the bit that's really brightened my day:

'Rounding it off, and worth buying the whole book for, is Simon Bestwick's The Narrows, a claustrophobic, unrelenting nightmare, bleak but compelling, that raises questions, and leaves you to answer them. Brilliant stuff, by any objective measure...'

For some reason, that story really seems to have struck home for a lot of readers. If you're wondering why- well, of course, you'll just have to buy the book, won't you?

Cough. Please excuse the shameless self-promotion above. But buy the book anyway.