Just a quick heads-up to let you all know that my story 'The Witch of November' is the lead tale in the latest edition of Tom English's excellent journal Nightmare Abbey!
'The Witch of November' is another of my tales of Bone Street, that strange little corner of Manchester that appears on no maps of the city, which also featured in my story in the previous issue of Nightmare Abbey, 'The Hadrian Hornpipe.'
It sits alongside stories and articles by John Llewellyn Probert, Stephen Volk, Steve Duffy, Helen Grant, Gary McMahon and many many more.
So, another week ends, and the lockdown rolls on. Hope you've all been keeping well.
Meanwhile, at Castle Bestwick, a few little victories have been scored:
I've had my third story acceptance of the year, from those wonderful people at Horrified magazine! 'Low Over Water' will appear there in the near future.
I completed a novella, which I started having hit a brick wall with the novel I'd been working on. It was written purely for fun, so now I need to find it a home. More news on that story (see what I did there) as it comes...
And finally (drum roll), speaking of novellas, I have one now available for pre-order! A Different Kind Of Light will be released by Black Shuck Books on 25th February. If you like stories about haunted films, this is one for you...
I think it's the kind of thing that ought to be celebrated - say, with a party. An online party, of course, but let's face it - where else have we got to go? Details/invites to be posted in the next week.
In the meantime, here's a hint of what to expect:
“I first read about the 1955 Le Mans Disaster over twenty years ago, but I knew at once there was a story to tell. When I learned there’d been newsreel footage of the aftermath, footage so appalling it never saw daylight, I also knew what kind of story: a story about how many of us want to see things we aren’t supposed to, even when we insist we don’t. What I didn’tknow was who would tell that story. It took me two decades to realise that it was also the story of two lovers who weren’t lovers, in a world that was falling apart. So finally I began to write, following Ash and Danie into a shadow land of grief, obsession and things worse than death. Now the story’s written. Open this book, and I’ll tell it to you.
And the film will start to play.”
And a few words from Gary McMahon:
"A
Different Kind of Light is a fast, headlong race along a dark track
towards the pitiless heart of Bestwick's darkness."
Have a good weekend, people. And stay safe. One day this will be over, and we'll be able to hang out with friends or spend an afternoon chilling in a coffee shop again. Or whatever it is that floats your boat.
Gary McMahon writes stories. Some of them have been published and received
favourable reviews. He is also the author of several novels, and hope
to write another one soon. He holds a black belt in shotokan karate
and watches way too many horror movies for his own good.
1.
Tell us three things about yourself.
I'm
a black belt in shotokan karate. I have a torn meniscus. Legally, my
middle name is Zed.
2.
Many writers have said the COVID-19 outbreak and the lockdown have
made it harder for them to create. Have you found this? Has the
outbreak affected you as a writer and if so, how?
The
lockdown has put me into a kind of creative paralysis. I can't write.
I can't even read. I think it's more to do with issues I'm having
with my day job than anything else – I moved companies last summer
and it's proven to be the biggest mistake of my career. Because of
the COVID crisis, I'm now stuck there.
3.
What was the first thing you had published?
A
short story in a small press 'zine called Nasty Piece of Work.
No things of the week on Friday, for the simple reason that we were having guests around for dinner and the day turned into one long blurred round of cooking and cleaning for yours truly. (Yes, Cate actually has me house-trained. Sort of.)
A few nice things have come along. First up, you can now pre-order both Devil's Highway and The Feast Of All Souls from Amazon. Devil's Highway is released on 17th October (still - despite my handing in the MS three weeks late) and The Feast Of All Souls will be out on 6th December. Two very different novels, both of which I'm very proud of. So go on, do your bit for my flagging self-esteem. Pretty please? I have neither pride nor shame...
Fear Magazine has risen from its grave: issue 37 includes stuff from Ramsey Campbell, Gary McMahon... and me, in 'Paintings,' collaboration with Johnny Mains. You can buy it here.
The first advance reviews for Ellen Datlow's Nightmares: A New Decade Of Modern Horror are out, from Irene Cole: "...the most groundbreaking horror of the new millennium" and The Book Lover's Boudoir: "Datlow offers another impressive, diverse and hugely enjoyable collection of short fiction... a great collection of horror fiction. I’d highly recommend it."
The anthology includes my story 'Hushabye', alongside work by Mark Samuels, Gene Wolfe, Brian Hodge, Kaaron Warren, Lisa Tuttle, Gemma Files, Nicholas Royle, Margo Lanagan, Steve Duffy, Laird Barron, Stephen Graham Jones, Reggie Oliver, Ray Cluley, M. Rickert, John Langan, Anna Taborska, Livia Llewellyn, Dan Chaon, Robert Shearman, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Garth Nix, Nathan Ballingrud and Richard Kadrey.
Speaking of Livia Llewellyn, she's written a great guest column for Nightmare magazine's 'The H Word', The Mountains, The City, The Void:
"The woman who moved to this tenement building ten years ago, a woman
with a different job, a different body, a different name, is gone. The
actress who lived in a sprawling Inwood block apartment sixteen years
ago, who stood on a subway platform in complete silence with ten
thousand other New Yorkers, all of us smelling of smoke and ash, has
vanished. The seamstress who spent a summer in a small New Jersey town
in the early nineties, sewing costumes for Shakespearean actors by day
and constructing conjure circles and sex magic rituals in the old growth
forests by night has been left far behind in the night, so far I cannot
see her anymore. And there are other, older permutations of myself,
whole years that are little more than dark smudges in my mind, layers of
geologic strata that are now so alien to me that I would not know these
women if they were to appear in front of me this second. And all the
people who once knew me, friends and relatives and lovers, are gone. No
one who knew those versions of myself exists anymore. My life is a
Frankensteinian patchwork of lost moments and experiences. The joys, the
triumphs, the silences, the assaults, the love, the violence, the
shame, the struggles, the pleasures, the pain, the beauty, the
monstrosities: the act of working my way through life toward death has
erased it all, year by methodical year. I know nothing.
Some years ago, when I was working in a call centre, (shudders) I became friends with Sinead Parker, who left to study Drama at Manchester Met University. She emerged three years later with a degree and a partner in crime called Katie Norris, with whom she started writing and performing songs and sketches that were chock full of black comedy and absolute filth.
Norris and Parker's first show was All Our Friends Are Dead, and was screamingly funny. Their second show, See You At The Gallows, is currently on at the Edinburgh Fringe until 28th August and hasbeengettinga successionofravereviews, so if you're in the neighbourhood it's worth checking out. And watch out for Norris and Parker, because they are going to be huge.
Well, I'm back. Sorry the blog's been a tad quiet, and for the absence of The Lowdown. It returns tomorrow, all being well.
Still, there's a pretty good excuse for the long hush: Cate and I finally got married on Saturday 7th May this year. The following Monday we were off on our honeymoon to Barmouth, which we got back from a couple of days ago.
Cate mentioned a friend of hers saying 'I needed a holiday to get over the holiday!' and in the best possible way, I think I know what they meant. Returning to normality is a slow process after a week or so like that.
We were told to enjoy every moment of our wedding day, as it all went by so fast. And it did. And at the same time, it seemed to last forever - again, in the nicest possible way. My face hurt from all the smiling. Family and friends were there, and a lot of writers. God knows how many horror stories we've inspired. One day I'll have to write about it myself - make sure it's all immortalised in prose.
We took a moment, too, to remember Cate's Mum Pauline, and Joel Lane, who would have been our
best man: special thanks to Bernard, who did that job on the day, and to the one and only John Llewellyn Probert for reading a short extract from one of Joel's works. I could go on and on about all the different people who made the day so special, like our bridesmaids Amy and Becky, or... but I'm going to stop there now, because I'll end up leaving someone off! But thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who came. It was a special day.
The honeymoon was lovely too - on past trips to Barmouth we've been cursed with some grotty weather, but that week was glorious. I'm tanned several shades darker than I was before - or at least my face and forearms are! So we walked along the beach, spent a lot of times in the beautiful cafes on the Quay, like Davy Jones' Locker and The Anchor, spent even more time in various gift shops (Cate) and second hand bookshops (both of us), and spent most evenings in the restaurants - The Captain's Table and (again) The Anchor being two particular standouts. If you're ever in Barmouth, those are both great places to eat.
They're even naming drinks after my stuff now....
We made a couple of day trips, to Porthmadog and Bala, and on the second actually found a bottle of liqueur called Black Mountain, aka Mynydd Du!
The day before we left, we went to St Mary's Church at Llanaber, where my gran is buried, to pay our respects and put some flowers on the grave. Daft, I know, but I find myself talking to her, even though she isn't there. She worried, I think, in her last years, that I was never going to get married or settle down with anyone. I wish she and Cate could have met - they'd have loved one another to bits.
We walked back from Llanaber, over the railway tracks and down the full length of the prom, which, be assured, is a bloody long way, especially in hot weather. Luckily, the Quay also boasts an ice-cream parlour called Knickerbocker's, which was a pretty good motivator. On the way there, we actually bumped into the registrar who'd married us, who was spending the weekend on the coast...!
So, a lovely day and a lovely honeymoon. And I'm a very happy man. Hopefully Cate's an equally happy lady. I love her very much and hope for many happy, healthy and prosperous years with her.
Here's some music, because for some bizarre reason this seems to be the song that sums up the whole thing for me. (Cate will probably think otherwise, but even the happiest marriage has the odd disagreement.) ;)
Gary McMahon was born in Sunderland in 1969 and has a lifelong
love of genre fiction. His critically acclaimed short fiction has
appeared in many magazines and anthologies. His first mass market novel
was Hungry Hearts, which was then followed by the Thomas Usher books
(Pretty Little Dead Things and Dead Bad Things) and the "Concrete
Grove" series of horror/urban fantasy novels. His latest books are The End and The Bones Of You.
His work has been
nominated for the British Fantasy Award on seven seperate occassions.
When reminded that he is still to win one of these, he gives a wry
smile.
1. Tell us three things about yourself.
I’m a first kyu in Shotokan karate. My
legal middle name is Zed. I have no super powers.
2. What was the first thing you had published?
The first published piece I got paid for
was short story called 'Neighbours'. It was published in a little small press
magazine called Nasty Piece of Work back in the early 90s, I think…and it was
inspired by a story called 'Coffee' by Simon Bestwick. Before that, I had a poem
published in a school magazine. I won a carrier-bag full of sweets because it
was voted the best thing published in the magazine that year.
A number of my early short stories – some
of which even saw print!
5. What’s a normal writing day like?
I get up. I cycle to work. I spend 8.5
hours in the office doing my day job. I cycle home and spend a little time with
my family. I go to karate training. I come home and have dinner. I think about
writing and end up watching a late-night DVD instead. Sometimes I do write, but
these days it isn’t much.
6. Which piece of writing should someone who’s
never read you before pick up first?
I think the ConcreteGrovetrilogy
(published by Solaris) nicely sums up what I’m trying to get at in my work.
7.What are you working on now?
I’ve just finished a story for a chapbook,
which will be published in October by White Noise Press. That one’s called
'There’s a Bluebird in my Heart'. I’ve been working on a novel called The Quiet
Room for about four years and still have a long way to go before it reaches
even the first draft stage. I’m also thinking about trying to put together a
new short fiction collection, under working title of Blood From Stones.
'The supernatural elements of the book are handled with great aplomb... Another pleasure is the way in which Bestwick handles characterisation and relationships, adding yet further strands and complications to his narrative... a book of true moral dimensions... This is Simon Bestwick's finest work to date, the one in which he harnesses the sense of anger at social injustice that permeates so much of his work and uses it to a greater end, and it is among the very best of what the horror genre in the UK had to offer in 2012.'
Developing from its original incarnation, Read Horror, Michael Wilson's site This Is Horror offers, in the form of reviews, interviews or flash fiction,an excellent web resource for conoisseurs of the macabre. Now, Michael's adding a new string to his bow: This Is Horror's Premium Chapbook Series.
Following in the footsteps of Nightjar and Spectral Press, the series will showcase short fiction from some of the finest contemporary writers of horror fiction (and me and Gary McMahon.) It will kick off with David Moody's Joe and Me, followed by gems from the likes of Conrad Williams and Joseph D'Lacey (and me and Gary McMahon.)
Those of you who were paying attention may remember Gary and I working on a collaboration last year; I'm delighted to announce that our tale, Thin Men With Yellow Faces, will be the second in the Premium Chapbook Series, published this Autumn.
It's the tale of a social worker on the trail of a missing child, who finds herself uncovering grim secrets from Britain's past... and present. It also features a character by the name of Mr Quill, who you definitely wouldn't want to run into down a dark alley. It's also got a belting cover by the ever-excellent Neil Williams, as you can see.
Very, very happy with this, and very proud to be a part of this new venture. Thanks Michael!
My friend Gary McMahon and I are writing a story together!
It be called 'Thin Men with Yellow Faces' and so far there be just over 1,000 words to it. And I be talking like a pirate for no reason. Yaaaarrrr!
Ahem.
Gary suggested the collaboration and came up with the title, plus various notes; we batted ideas back and forth and I roughed out an outline to work from. We've each written a chunk; the ball's back in my court now.
So, last night I was in Liverpool, for another of their Waterstones' Twisted Tales events, this time promoting Conrad Williams' rather excellent anthology Gutshot.
All great fun, not least because I got a chance to hook up with some good friends. First off was Gary McMahon, on his first trip to Liverpool; we repaired to the Caffe Nero opposite the bookshop, where we met Joel Lane and, of course, the Awesomeness that is The Ever-Reigning Cate. Then the event itself, with readings by Joel, Gary and the very nice and very funny Amanda Hemingway. Following which I was invited to join the panel for a Q&A session. I babbled. A lot. Sorry, everyone else.
Very nice Lebanese meal (yum!) with Ramsey and Jenny Campbell among others, before me and Gary ran for the taxi (well, Gary ran- I had to be pushed in a wheelbarrow) to catch the train home.
All in all, a great evening.
On the 'other nice things' front, I've had a couple of recommendations for the HWA Stoker Awards- my stories 'Dermot' from Black Static #25 and 'The Moraine' from Paul Finch's editing debut Terror Tales Of The Lake District have each received one. Of course this doesn't mean they'll make the shortlist- the list of recommendations is very long- but it's still nice.
And finally, following on from Mark West's great teaser trailer, the lovely Anna Taborska has put up the book trailer for The Faceless. I think it's a stunning piece of work and am really chuffed about it, to say the least. So here it is...
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
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.
Teresa Derwin over at Terror-Tree has reviewed Abaddon's new omnibus edition of Tomes of the Dead, which squeezes me between the covers (oo-er missus) with Gary McMahon and Jasper Bark. Or at least packs Tide of Souls together with Gary's novel Hungry Hearts and Jasper's The Way of the Barefoot Zombie.
Of the collection as a whole, Teresa says it 'contains three of the most satisfying zombie novels I’ve seen in a while' and 'represents some of the best horror writers today and indeed, three fine examples of classic zombie fiction. More importantly they are particularly diverse so the reader won’t become bored having three books in one on the same theme as they are so intrinsically different. This collection is a must for zombie fans and is great value for money.'
Of Tide of Souls in particular, she says 'With a great grasp of regional dialogue, Bestwick delivers a genuinely creepy zombie story.'
Which is nice. You can read the full review and check out Teresa's website here.
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