Horror Express Publications

Horror Express Publications is after stories and artwork. If you're an artist send a link to your website/page. They want submissions for the ongoing Horror Express Anthologies and also for a Birmingham-themed anthology where ALL stories must be based in Birmingham or the Midlands.

“We are looking for original horror, dark mystery and suspense short stories or novellas (1,000 to maximum of 30,000 words). Please query for longer pieces. We want tales that are powerful and emotional, but that are also creepy, chilling and disturbing. Dark suspense, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery and crime fiction, supernatural and psychological tales are welcome. We are not after just blood and gore. Submissions which promote prejudice or which include violence/abuse towards children will not be considered.”

Submissions from the UK Midlands area are particularly welcome. Email submissions only. Send as an attached file RTF to horrorexpress[@]hotmail.co.uk using a 12pt font. Put the word SUBMISSION in the title. Authors details and email address must be included in the submission as well as a short bio. They state “All submissions that do not follow the submission format will not be considered.”

No information on payment or the format of the publication was provided by HorrorExpress. Email them for details. 

Win Dirk Danger Loves Life

Chris Rothe wants to give away some eBook copies of his “silly little novel Dirk Danger Loves Life … There is a catch of course – I want you to make me laugh.”

To win the eBook send him a tweet, email, Goodreads post, etc. Deadline is May 15th. Check his website to discover how to enter – and make him smile.

The Other Log of Phileas Fogg

Philip Jose Farmer is one of the greatest science-fiction writers of the 20th century. And now Titan Books presents brand-new editions of Farmer's classic Wold Newton and Grandmaster series.

Beginning with The Other Log of Phileas Fogg (published this month) from Farmer's Wold Newton series, each edition will contain bonus material from well-known Farmer experts, as well as new covers, introductions and annotations.

“When a powerful teleportation device falls into enemy hands, secret agent Fogg must embark on a daring global dash to save his once-immortal race from certain annihilation. Fogg encounters his deadly rival, the infamous Captain Nemo, also known as James Moriarty. “

The Maginot Line

The Maginot Line, edited by Rob Redman, is the third volume in the acclaimed series of short story anthologies published by the Fiction Desk.

The anthology contains nine new short stories, from debut authors and returning contributors, including:

Benjamin Johncock, Andrew Jury, Harvey Marcus, Ian Sales and the title story “The Maginot Line” by Matt Plass.

The book costs £9.99 or you can pay around £37 for a four-issue sub.

Morpheus Tales XVI

Morpheus Tales XVI is now available, either via the Morpheus website (£3.50) or through Lulu (£4.50). The latter one is described as “The Large Format Collector's” edition -- in other words it's A4 sized. The regular version is A5 format.

Morpheus Tales XVI features stories from Deborah Walker, Paul Johnson-Jovanovic & James Brooks, Anthony Baynton, Sharon Baillie, Matt Leyshon, Matthew Acheson, Kyle Hemmings, James Gabriel, Gary Budgen and Philip Roberts.

The latest issue of the free Morpheus Tales Supplement is 67 pages of genre reviews, articles, columns, and a preview/review section of the anthology 13: Tales of Dark Fiction. The Supplement includes items on or by Paul Finch, Cyndi Crotts, Alan Spencer, Simon Marshall-Jones and Tim Lebbon. Get your copy from here. 

The Last Policeman

“What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die? Detective Hank Palace has asked this question ever since asteroid 2011L47J hovered into view. Several kilometres wide, it’s on a collision course with planet Earth, with just six precious months until impact.”

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters will be published as an eBook in July (Quirk Books $14.95)

Terror Scribes anthology

Now available: Terror Scribes edited by Adam Lowe and Chris Kelso (Dog HornPublishing – no price given on the cover). This anthology grew from a Terror Scribes gathering in 2009, which resulted in this smart-looking 250-page trade paperback. (Note: the Dog Horn website seems to be bereft of details on this book. I couldn't find any information on a brief visit just now. A mistake, I feel.)

There are 24 tales in this book, with such contributors as: Jay Eales, Jan Edwards, Derek Fox, Paul Kane, Selina Lock, Marie O’Regan, David Price and Mark West. The spooky cover illustration is by Marianna Stelmach.

Recent and forthcoming books

Eric Brown – The Devil’s Nebula (Abaddon £7.99): “Weird space … A new evil threatens the Expansion and the Vetch; the survival of both races may depend on their ability to co-operate.”

John Courtenay Grimwood – The Outcast Blade (Orbit £12.99): “history, politics and dark fantasy in an alternate Venice.” Book two of The Assassini.

N K Jemisin – The Killing Moon (Orbit £7.99): book one of the Dreamblood. “In the ancient city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. [The] priests of the dream-goddess harvest the magic of the sleeping mind and use it to heal … and kill those judged corrupt.”

Stacia Kane – Sacrificial Magic (Harper Voyager £7.99): “The departed have arrived.” Book four of the Downside Ghosts.

Tim Lebbon – The Cabin in the Woods (Titan £7.99): novelisation of the Joss Whedon scripted movie.

Tanith Lee – Killing Violets: Gods' Dogs (Immanion £10.99): not seen.

George R R Martin – The Armageddon Rag (Gollancz £18.99): reprint of the 1983 novel. Murder mystery with a touch of the supernatural, a hurrah to the 60s counter culture.

Daniel Polansky – The Straight Razor Cure (Hodder £7.99): a Low Town novel. “Here, the criminal is king. Here, people can disappear, and the lacklustre efforts of the guard ensure they are never found.”

Kim Stanley Robinson – 2312 (Orbit £18.99): “Earth is no longer our only home – advances have opened gateways to the solar system and new habitats have been created on moons, planets and in between.” But it looks as if human nature remains the same.

John Trevillian – Forever A-Men (Matador £18.99): the conclusion to the A-Men trilogy, a story of “the realisation that nothing is forever.”

Liber Ursi – Caballistic Planetary Rituals (Immanion £10.99): not seen. 

The Wind Through the Keyhole: review

The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King. Hodder & Stoughton £19.99

Reviewed by Mike Chinn

The Wind Through the Keyhole – the latest addition to King’s Dark Tower books – fits between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla and is essentially a story within a story within a story. The gunslinger Roland of Gilead and his band have to wait out a starkblast (think an almost instantaneous ice age that lasts a couple of days). To keep their minds off what’s happening beyond their shelter’s stone walls, Roland tells them a tale of his youth: when he and fellow gunslinger Jamie were dispatched to the mining town of Debaria to kill a shapeshifter that’s been slaughtering the locals. Just as they arrive, news comes that an entire ranch has been attacked; all but obliterated. The lone survivor, a boy named Bill Streeter, might be the key to identifying the killer. That night there’s a wind-storm, and to bolster young Bill’s spirits, Roland tells him the story which supplies the book’s title – effectively a fairytale told to Roland as a boy by his mother (and yes, there is a fairy in it; and a dragon – but I’m prepared to overlook that, just this once).

In his Foreword, King says that readers won’t need any previous knowledge of the Dark Tower sequence and Mid-World (no – not Middle Earth … not at all), but newcomers may find the eclectic mix of Western, Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction and – yes – meta-fiction a tad baffling (if not downright irritating) at times. There are references to a lion by the name of Aslan and an eagle called Garuda; an Arthur and a Maerlyn; whilst the fairy Tim Ross encounters in the title story is pretty clearly Disney’s Tinkerbell gone bad. And although the tale young Roland tells Bill is supposed to be a traditional fable of Mid-World (with widowed mother, evil stepfather, a sinister forest, quest, kindly wizard and a sort of fairy godmother), aspects of the Dark Tower still creep in (such as a villainous tax-collector who signs himself RF/MB; which won’t mean much to anyone not familiar with the author’s universe – but should bring a nod of recognition from regulars).

But don’t let that put you off. I’ve always been in favour of blurring the genre borders – and the Dark Tower series does that in spades. Although I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this to someone unfamiliar with Roland Deschain’s grim quest, it’s still a great read: the 330+ pages fly past with barely a longeur to be found. If anyone can get away with writing a novel that throws in just about every literary genre and sub-genre, it’s King.

The Cabin in the Woods

Joss Whedon and Tim Lebbon: what’s not to love?

By now you’ve probably been to the picture house and seen The Cabin in the Woods. And now you can read the novelisation by Tim Lebbon, based on the screenplay by Whedon and Drew Goddard (Titan Books £6.99).

“Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen. If you think you know the story, think again.” Whedon described the film as a “straight-up, balls-out, really terrifying horror movie.” I imagine the novel is no less…

Joss Whedon is perhaps best know as the man who created Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which in turn created its own shadows. Tim Lebbon is the critically acclaimed writer of Dusk, Fallen and Echo City.