Imposter Syndrome launched!

It’s here! 

Imposter Syndrome is the second anthology edited by myself and Dan Howarth; it's published by Dark Minds Press and the stunning cover artwork was done by Neil Williams. 

The book will be formally launched at this year’s Sledge-Lit on November 25th with the editors and a number of the authors in attendance. Paperback copies will be available at the event but follow the link here to order if you can’t attend. The Kindle version will be released on launch day, just click here to pre-order.

Should further proof be needed that this will be one of the anthologies of the year, just another take a look at the TOC…

INTRODUCTION
James Everington & Dan Howarth

I KNOW WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE
Gary McMahon

IN THE MARROW
Laura Mauro

WHO IS THAT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF YOU?
Timothy J Jarvis

WHAT’S YOURS IS MINE
Holly Ice

THE INSIDER
Neil Williamson

OTHER PEOPLE’S DREAMS
Stephen Bacon

HOLD MY HAND AND I’LL TAKE YOU THERE
Ralph Robert Moore

THE WRONG HOUSE
Tracy Fahey

LITTLE HEART
Georgina Bruce

VIRTUALLY FAMOUS
Phil Sloman

Announcement: Imposter Syndrome

Very pleased today to be able to annonce Imposter Syndrome, a forthcoming anthology edited by myself and Dan Howarth. The book will feature all original stories about doppelgängers, clones, changelings, Capgras-delusion and pod-people.

I'm immensely excited by the authors who are contributing stories:

Laura Mauro
Ralph Robert Moore
Gary McMahon
Tracy Fahey
Holly Ice
Timothy J. Jarvis
Neil Williamson
Stephen Bacon
Georgina Bruce
Phil Sloman

Imposter Syndrome will be released winter 2017 by the wonderful Dark Minds Press.

What Horror Writers Talk About When They Talk About Love: Holly Ice

I thought I'd have some guest pieces to celebrate the release of Trying To Be So Quiet, and I wanted to feature some writers that I've not had on the blog before. The theme came to me when Claire, who works for Boo Books, was interviewing me about TTBSQ and said she thought it was a love story as much as a ghost story. So a plan was born: I'd ask some horror writers who I especially admire to write a piece about their favourite love story. It could be a novel, poem, song; it could be happy, sad or despairing. Today's piece is by...

Holly Ice. The first thing I read by Holly was the story 'Trysting Antlers' in the NewCon Press anthology La Femme. It was one of my favourites in there, and I was surprised to learn it was one of the author's first publications. She's followed it up with further short stories and the novella The Russian Sleep Experiment. 

Take it away, Holly:

What’s in a Love Story?

It’s impossible for me to choose one love story which has stayed with me to shape my writing and my personality. There are simply too many. My parents have been together for over 25 years and rarely argue, and I grew up with an abundance of Mills and Boon books to pilfer and read in the dark. Now, ebooks offer the chance to sneak a romance book onto trains without judging stares and the awkward conversation about what the book is about.  

Love is a great starting point for any story from chick lit to the darkest of horror. It is one of the strongest emotions a human being can feel and it branches from the strongest positivity to the sickest depths of despair, hurt, bitterness, and anger. It’s one of the great building blocks of the world: love, sex and death.

In terms of fiction, the most memorable stories to me are the ‘Merry Gentry’ and ‘Anita Blake’ series by Laurell K Hamilton, and the book ‘Lavender Blue’ by Lorna Read. These sets of books came before my eyes when I was still in secondary school, and I loved both for different reasons. In Read’s, we see the nostalgia of yester-year, and witness a cross-class relationship pay off despite the odds. He’s even a musician to boot! With Hamilton’s series, we see love being worked at day to day and lovers respecting each other beyond all else (at least they are when her characters aren’t up shit creek). As much as I love a great romance, the dark side in me delights in the grey, and Hamilton’s series have this in spades.

If pushed, romance is what I’d talk about if asked about love. I love reading stories where one partner fights for the other and the couple comes out on top, happier than before. I enjoy reading about their struggles, only to have their struggles pay off. The idealist in me enjoys the comfort of a happy ending. 

But if you know me well, I’d tell you I hate endings involving weddings dresses and the cries of children. I’d much rather see love, warts and all, than the cherubic front often paraded before the public, and I’m inclined to think one size does not fit all.