Kids' observations on things sometimes blow my mind. This morning my daughter Ellie - she's 5 - asked me: "Daddy, why when you get old does your face go all bumpy and you get small and have curly hair?" Obviously Ellie has seen lots of little old ladies wandering around our village. Which in itself is something of a spooky image ...
After I'd finished laughing I told her that not everyone who gets old shrinks, but that left the question standing: "So why do some people shrink?" To which ... I have no answer. Stumped by my 5-year-old.
She's obsessed with death at the moment, which can lead to some confusing and awkward conversations. When my wife's grandfather died a year ago we told Ellie he'd died and gone up in the sky (stupid thing to say, we're not religious, but at the time it seemed logical). You can understand the confusion that hits her when she sees a graveyard. I can see her trying to work things out, the cogs in her head turning, and sometimes she almost asks me. Almost. And I figure that trying to work things out is exactly what we're all doing all the time, writers maybe more so than many. It's just that Ellie, and other kids, approach life's mysteries from much purer viewpoints. They're confused, but their solutions have such pure logic it's sometimes hard to argue with them.
Now, I just tell her nobody really knows what happens when we die.
And you know, she's right. Most old ladies I see *are* small, and they *do* have curly hair. I've just never noticed before.
I'm delighted to announce that EXORCISING ANGELS, the novella I wrote with Simon Clark, has been optioned by Stefanie Epstein Productions. It also recently won a Tombstone Award, and has been selected by Stephen Jones for BEST NEW HORROR 15.
Naturally Simon and I are very pleased that this tale - concerning the Arthur Machen story 'The Bowmen', which inspired the Angels of Mons myth - has attracted such welcome attention. This wonderfully produced limited edition volume from Earthling Publications is selling well and looks set to become a real collectible. You can pick up a copy from the publisher at www.earthlingpub.com, or from the usual dealers (see my Links page for a listing).
The hardback of FEARS UNNAMED arrived with me today, and it's stonking. Borderlands Press have done a fantastic job, it really is a damn sexy book. I'm raising a bottle of wine to it this evening to celebrate! If you still haven't picked it up, it's a very limited edition and going very fast. Why wait? Go on, order it. The world might be overrun by zombies tomorrow. What good would a healthy bank account be then, eh?
It's been a while since my last update so this is a biggie, with lots of exciting news. So here goes, in at the deep end:
My novella collection FEARS UNNAMED is available now from Borderlands Press, in very nice numbered and lettered hardcovers. You can pick it up from any of the usual dealers (see the Links page of my site for a list). It's also available in mass market paperback from Leisure Books. It's selling well and I'm having great feedback, so do me a favour: if you buy it and like it, post a quick review on Amazon. I'd be very grateful!
And talking of FEARS UNNAMED, you could win a limited edition hardcover - as well as a few other goodies thrown in - in my new competition. If you've ever fancied casting a movie, this should be fun. Pop along to the COMPETITION thread of my message board for details.
EXORCISING ANGELS, the novella I wrote with the excellent Simon Clark, has been very well received. It won a Tombstone Award recently for Best Collection/Anthology (as well as the novella, the volume contains an original story from each of us, as well as an Introduction and an Afterword). The Tombstones are voted for by the Horror Writers Network, a Yahoo! group, and other winers this year included Graham Masterton and Harry Shannon. Naturally Simon and I are thrilled! The novella itself has also been selected by Stephen Jones for this year's volume of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST NEW HORROR, which is great news. And there's even more exciting news about EXORCISING ANGELS which I can't elaborate on until next time ... watch this space! Meantime, if you haven't already picked up a copy - and they're selling fast - you can get one from the usual dealers (see my Links page).
Don Kaye has interviewed me for FANGORIA magazine. The interview and essay will appear in June's issue #234, their 25th Anniversary Issue, under the title 13 Talents to Watch. A big thanks to Don. So go and buy it!
DEAD MAN'S HAND, my horror western novella from Necessary Evil Press, is at the printers. There was a slight delay because the signature sheets took 6 weeks to reach Don Koish from me (and it was airmail!), but after some fears that they'd gone missing they turned up with Don, the box battered but the sheets safe. If you haven't already ordered this one, there aren't that many left. Lettered Editions are sold out, and the limited paperback is almost gone. It's going to be a beautiful book for the price - $12.95 - with several wonderful illustrations by the incredibly talented Caniglia (prints of which are already gracing the walls in my house). You can get it from the usual dealers (listed on my Links page).
I've had some nice short story sales lately:
'The Body Lies' has been accepted by Joe Lansdale for his RETRO PULP TALES anthology from Subterranean Press.
'Forever', a long story set in my DUSK universe, has sold to Mike Ashley for his MAMMOTH BOOK OF SORCERER'S TALES. I had a lot of fun writing this, and it's given me a lot of ideas for the sequel, DAWN, which I'll be starting soon.
I'm working on a Hellboy story for a Christopher Golden-edited anthology from Dark Horse,which is great fun ... in this story, Hellboy meets the Fire Dogs!
'Fodder' (co-written with Brian Keene) has been bought by Stephen Jones for his new anthology THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF NEW TERROR. The story is also under option with Chesapeake Films in the USA, so it's nice that it's getting noticed.
NEWS updates will be much more regular from now on. There's lots of stuff happening right now, so keep an eye on this page to see what's new. And don't forget to enter the new competition!
Time for a new competition. If you want to win a limited edition hardback of my novella collection FEARS UNNAMED, check out the COMPETITION thread of my Forum now. Details of the competition are there ... if you're a fan of films, you should enjoy this one.
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