horror | CW Hawes

And, Yes, Yet More Suggested Reads

Below are 5 more suggested reads, just in case you still have no idea what to read next. There are so very many excellent books out there. And so very many adventures we can get in on, just by riding our armchairs!

The Stone Seekers by Jack Tyler

Jack Tyler is one of those writers who just doesn’t write fast enough for me. Doggone it. Nor is he a prolific writer. Double doggone it. He has but four books published and a short story in an anthology. I own them all.

My favorite is his epic fantasy novel The Stone Seekers. It is refreshingly different. No Tolkien pastiche here! And like any epic fantasy novel, it has a quest, high adventure, and larger than life villains. What makes this novel memorable, is the world building and the superb storytelling.

Tyler gives you a good story. A story that will take you places you’ve never been, with fascinating travel companions.

Get this book. Heck, get all of his books. They’re worth it.

Daguerreotype by Ray Zacek

I do not remember when I ran into Ray Zacek. Most likely it was on Twitter or Facebook. I do not know him even though we follow each other on Twitter and are friends on Facebook. We’ve never chatted.

However, what I do know is this: he is one heck of a good writer. I don’t own all of his work — yet. But I’m working on it. He’s that good.

He writes horror, sci-fi, dark comedy, humor, crime, and satire. And it’s all superb.

Daguerreotype is a tale of terror. A tale about greed and its unfortunate consequences. And like all of the Zacek stories I’ve read, it’s riveting.

Very highly recommended.

The Peach Widow by Zara Altair

Zara Altair writes historical mysteries set in Ostrogoth Italy after the fall of Rome. Her sleuth, Argolicus (who was a real person, by the way), is a retired civil servant with a knack for solving murders in a time and place where murder wasn’t a crime!

The Argolicus series of four (and counting) mysteries is well worth your time. A good way to pass a lazy afternoon, or the ride on the bus or train to work.

The research and storytelling bring this little known era to life.

So if you like history, or want to learn some history, and have fun doing so, and like mystery, then pick up these time machines and step into another world.

Good stuff be here!

Off Grid by Simon Osborne

To my knowledge, this is Mr Osborne’s sole offering — and it’s a good one.

Not quite a post-apocalyptic cozy catastrophe, it’s still close enough to get my attention.

Aliens come to earth and take over. The humans that remain are being hunted to extinction. And the pockets of survivors that remain are doing their best to avoid their decreed fate.

The story focuses on truck driver Harry Lennard and his quest to stay off grid, thereby avoiding the aliens, and to try and make a life for himself minus his family, who appear to have been killed in the attack.

The book is told well. Mr Osborne is a natural storyteller.

If post-apocalyptic fiction is your thing, Off Grid is definitely for you. If you like a tale of survival and adventure, then you’ve found your cup of tea in Off Grid. Good reading be here!

A Very English Mystery series by Elizabeth Edmondson

I am a committed indie author/publisher and a dedicated indie author reader. In fact, as a writer, I’m anti-traditional publishing. As a reviewer, I rarely review traditionally published books. As a reader, I very rarely buy new traditionally published books. I will buy them used.

However, the late Elizabeth Edmondson so impressed me with her Very English Mystery series, that even though it’s published by Amazon’s Thomas & Mercer imprint, I though I’d give it a shoutout here.

There are actually four books in the series. The novella, A Youthful Indiscretion, fits into the series between books one and two.

I grew up in the Cold War. The 1950s (the time period of the books) was a time when we tried to carry on life as normal, even though there was the underlying fear an atom bomb was going to blast us into oblivion.

Ozzie and Harriet were on TV, while we practiced hiding under our desks at school and read our civil defense manuals on how to build and stock a bomb shelter in the basement. The Red threat was on everyone’s mind, and we chanted Better Dead than Red.

Ms Edmondson captured the era perfectly in her books.

The series revolves around Hugo and Freya and their involvement with murder in the town of Selchester.

The atmosphere is much like an Agatha Christie or Patricia Wentworth novel, and packs the punch of a good spy thriller.

An excellent series. One well worth your time and money.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

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HP Lovecraft and Robert E Howard

Reading has been a huge part of my life. And quite frankly still is. Long before I developed an interest in music, I was reading.

Don’t get me wrong. I very much enjoy music. But I was a reader long before I was a music aficionado.

When I was a kid I frequently got to spend the whole day at my grandparents’s place. My grandmother used to insist that my brother and I take a nap in the afternoon. I suppose she just wanted us out of her hair for an hour or two.

I’ve never been a napper, and I used that “quiet time” to read. I’d rummage around in my uncle’s books and find something to occupy my time. Some of the books, maybe most of them, weren’t age appropriate. But they were there and nobody said I couldn’t read them.

One of the books I treasured was Groff Conklin’s Omnibus of Science Fiction. The book was published in 1952, the year I was born, and has some absolutely fabulous stories within its covers. And it was in the Omnibus where I discovered HP Lovecraft, through his story “The Color Out Of Space”; an amazing tale of sci-fi horror.

Years later, I picked up the Beagle Books reprinting of the Arkham edition of HPL’s works and discovered HPL in full.

My introduction to Robert E Howard occurred somewhat after my purchase of the Beagle HPL paperbacks in the early 1970s.

A friend of mine at the time mentioned that he thought one of the scariest stories ever written was Howard’s “Pigeons from Hell”.

Intrigued, I went out and bought the Lancer paperback The Dark Man and Others, which contains “Pigeons from Hell” and 14 other fantastic journeys into the weird.

I fell in love with Howard. “Pigeons from Hell” is not only an excellent example of Southern Gothic, it is indeed one of the spookiest stories I’ve ever read.

There is an ongoing debate as to which of the two is the real master of weird fiction. In the circles that I traveled in, Lovecraft was acknowledged as the master. However, being the iconoclast that I am, I held out for REH. My argument was that at their very best the two were equal.

However, of the two, I argued that REH was consistently better than HPL. The overall quality of Howard’s weird fiction is higher than that of Lovecraft.

I realize my position is a minority view. And I think the debate ultimately boils down to one of taste.

When Lovecraft was on top of his game, he was the master of slowburn, atmospheric weird fiction. And there is none finer.

There’s nothing slowburn about Howard. He was the quintessential man of action. His finest weird tales are replete with action.

There’s also the differences in the main characters of the two writers. Lovecraft’s narrators often exist on the edge of sanity. They are not known for their physical prowess, and are often bookish intellectuals. Even their names tend to be unknown, or little mentioned.

Howard, on the other hand, wrote about vibrant characters. Characters that were full of life. Characters, even the women, that were physically and emotionally strong. King Kull, Conan, Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn, Red Sonja. Perhaps this was the case because Howard wrote in series, or at least conceptualized his heroes and heroines as series characters. Lovecraft did not. His main characters for the most part make sole appearances, with the implication that they will not survive. And they don’t. We usually never see them again.

In some ways, my Pierce Mostyn series tips the hat to both of these giants of weird fiction. There is the slowburn, but there is also action. Pierce Mostyn is something of a fusion of HPL and REH. And in that perhaps he’s all CWH.

I owe a lot to HP Lovecraft and Robert E Howard. The two giants of weird fiction. Both have influenced my approach to the genre, and how I think it should be written. And if Pierce Mostyn comes across to readers as a fusion of those two giants, I will be very satisfied.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

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Book Review: Your Arms Around Entropy

Every now and then one encounters an extraordinary author. A writer who’s a magician with his or her pen. Last year, I was very fortunate to find several such authors.

This year, with the fourth of the year over, I’ve discovered one: Brian Fatah Steele.

Thus far, I’ve read his short story collection Your Arms Around Entropy and others stories and his novel There is Darkness in Every Room. I’m currently reading his early novel In Bleed Country.

The first story I read by Steele was “Delicate Spaces”. The story that starts off Your Arms Around Entropy. I was immediately struck by his imagination. Building on the foundation of Lovecraftian cosmic horror, Steele bends the sub-genre into a shape that is uniquely his.

Sometime ago I was at an art fair in Elk River, Minnesota. I looked at what the artists were selling. There were glass artisans, potters, painters, woodworkers, the whole gamut. Out of all those artists, one jumped out at me: a potter.

His work captivated me. The miniatures were subtle in their coloration. The shapes were not exotic, but just a bit off the norm to make them unique. I bought several pieces.

It’s the same with Steele’s storytelling. It’s captivating.

Your Arms Around Entropy is a collection of a dozen stories, four appearing for the first time in the book.

A lot of people don’t like short stories. I happen to love them. The main criticism I see is that they are lacking. Lacking in story. Lacking in characterization. My response is, yes, the bad or mediocre ones are. The good ones are fabulous stories, with characters we love, or hate, or love and hate.

Steele draws superbly lifelike characters, who tell us, show us, their lives, and therein lies the tale.

Your Arms Around Entropy contains a little bit of everything. Some cosmic horror, a bit of the surreal, some straight up supernatural horror, a bit of humor. And plenty of trips to places perhaps even you can’t imagine.

My favorite story in the collection was “Bleak Mathematics”. It is a story I will probably re-read — and I don’t usually re-read books or stories. The tale is replete with interesting characters, suspenseful storytelling, Steele’s unique spin on cosmic horror, a touch of mystery, and an ending that takes a moment or two to sink in before it slaps you in the face with the horror of real reality.

I was so impressed by Your Arms Around Entropy — I bought all of Steele’s books. He really is that good.

You can read my Amazon review before you buy. Or you can just plunk down 99¢ and take twelve trips to where The Twilight Zone didn’t dare to go.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

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My 2018 Reading Recap

Today begins a new year. So I thought I’d recap some of the excellent books and stories I read in 2018.

I’m loathe to rank the books I read, and I definitely don’t like to single one out as the Best of the Year. Mostly because tastes change and what I put on top today, I might put in the middle tomorrow.

That being written, 2018 was a banner year because I discovered many wonderful writers and even more truly fabulous books and stories.

What I thought I’d do is look over the 43 novels and novellas, the 5 short story collections and 37 individual short stories, and the 8 books of non-fiction I read and give some a shoutout. Good reads with which to load up your ereader for 2019.

Quite a few of the books I read in 2018 I’ve already promoted on Twitter, featured as my Book of the Week on Facebook, or written reviews for this blog. The rest are waiting for their turn in the limelight.

As a reader, I don’t usually finish a book that isn’t holding my attention. I’m 66 and there are too many good books out there to waste time on the bad ones. After all the actuarial tables aren’t on my side.

I also don’t bother with books touted as bestsellers or award winners. Mostly because the disappointment factor is very high with those books. I’ve discovered true gems amongst the books that are not bestsellers and amongst those that have garnered no awards.

Success is largely a matter of luck, and generally has nothing to do with talent. In writing, as in life, persistence is the key.

Now on to the books!

Secrets of the World’s Best-Selling Writer by Francis L and Roberta B Fugate. This is the best book on writing I’ve ever read. And I’ve read quite a few. The book is about the writing career of Erle Stanley Gardner, the creator of Perry Mason. The Fugates had access to the vast archive of Gardner’s notebooks, letters, and papers. The writing advice comes straight from Gardner himself — and the book is full of wisdom. Every writer who is serious about selling his or her work should have this book. And readers interested in the creative process, should also have this book. It’s a treasure trove.

I love short stories and short novels. Too often long works are filled with unnecessary padding — stuff that doesn’t contribute much, if anything, to the story.

However, I did read a couple of hefty tomes in 2018. And neither one had any flab. They were:

Church Mouse by RH Hale

Don’t Dream It’s Over by Matthew Cormack

I’ve previously extolled (and will continue to do so) the virtues of Church Mouse. It’s a powerful novel with exceedingly well-drawn characters. A very memorable read. A modern day classic.

Note: Due to Amazon’s anti-small author policies, Church Mouse is not available in the Amazon US store. The links take you to Ms Hale’s website and from there you can purchase the book at the vendor of your choice.

Don’t Dream It’s Over is one of the best post-apocalyptic novels I’ve ever read. Matthew Cormack, with a deft hand, paints us a world that is not nice — but wherein lies much hope. Hope for a better future than what we might have gotten in the old world.

The book is also one of the most in depth character studies I’ve ever read. You have to read Kazuo Ishiguro to find something similar. An excellent, excellent read.

Now on to the shorter stuff!

In 2018 I made the acquaintance of quite a number of new (to me) writers. Some of these were:

Richard Schwindt

Joe Congel

Seabury Quinn

Stephen A Howells

Ernestine Marsh

Ray Zacek

Simon Osborne

Andy Graham

Zara Altair

Mark Carnelley

John Paul Catton

These men and women will provide you with many hours of great reading pleasure. So let’s look a bit further and see what kind of pleasure they will bring.

Richard Schwindt has 10 works of fiction (by my count) and I’ve read 8 of those works. He’s an entertaining writer, who delivers good mysteries and occult detective tales, along with imaginative fantasy and paranormal reads. His books are infused with humor, and always give me food for thought.

To start, check out Herkimer’s Nose and Fifty-Seven Years (written under his Will Swift byline). Great reads by a great author!

Joe Congel writes traditional private detective mysteries. His books and stories give a nod to the Golden Era of the mystery, while at the same time being very modern reads. If you like the old school mystery, you’ll like Joe Congel’s Tony Razzolito!

The late Seabury Quinn was a very prolific writer during the pulp magazine era. His first published story was in 1918 and his last (I believe) was in the early 1950s. He wrote across many genres, but is best known for his stories in Weird Tales magazine. He was that magazine’s most popular author, and I can see why. The occult detective Jules de Grandin is his most well-known character.

Stephen A Howells has one book published to date, and in my opinion it is a big time winner. The Garden of Jane Pengelly is part ghost story, part love story, part fantasy, and part magical realism. And it is all wonderful! Mr Howells can tug at your heart strings, so have the tissue box handy. You will love this book.

Ernestine Marsh is the queen of the bitingly satirical comedy novel. Agonising is a look at our foibles and how ridiculous we as a species are at times. Ms Marsh wades in with no holds barred and pulls no punches. I laughed with every page I read. I can’t wait to read the sequel, In Agony Again. Voltaire move over.

The work of Ray Zacek can be darkly humorous, or satirical, or just plain dark. I like his stories very much. My favorite to date is Daguerreotype. The tale is a haunting exploration of our dark side and the risk of indulging it. Treat yourself to Mr Zacek’s work. You won’t regret it.

Simon Osborne’s post-apocalyptic novel, Off Grid, begins with an alien invasion — and the aliens don’t want us around. The rest of the book is a story of survival, planning for the future, and deciding how to get rid of the aliens so we have a future. Off Grid is well-written and just plain good.

In the two works by Andy Graham that I’ve read, he gives us wonderfully dark tales. Stories that explore the unseemly part of our psyche and of our soul. An Angel Fallen is especially powerful and memorable. Do check out his work. You won’t be sorry.

Zara Altair writes mysteries set in Ostrogoth Italy a couple decades after the fall of the western Roman Empire. Argolicus is a retired Roman bureaucrat who gets involved in solving murders — in a culture where murder is not a crime! Give the Argolicus mysteries a try. Start with The Peach Widow.

Mark Carnelley has written an intriguing post-apocalyptic book, The Omega Chronicles, where only one person survives the disaster. What would you do if the survivor was you? Definitely worth your time.

John Paul Catton’s work is remarkable for its inventiveness. Tales from Beyond Tomorrow, Vol 1 is a short story collection that explores a variety of themes. A writer decidedly outside the norm. Take a read!

Now on to a few authors who are no stranger to this blog.

If you have a penchant for stories that have the qualities of a fairy tale, then Sarah Zama’s The Frozen Maze is for you. Quite good!

Jack Tyler’s work makes a strong contribution to the good old-fashioned adventure yarn. However, the book that has impressed me the most is his epic fantasy novel, The Stone Seekers. Mostly because it isn’t a Tolkien ripoff. It’s fresh and creative. The book breathes new life into a sub-genre that is filled with hack writing. Do check out The Stone Seekers.

Mannegishi by Ben Willoughby is an inventively dark take on a Native American legend. If you like horror, you’ll like Mannegishi. And all of Willoughby’s other horror tales.

It is no secret that I am very fond of the work of Crispian Thurlborn. And his latest story, Exit, does not disappoint. Thurlborn’s work is imaginative and at times difficult to categorize. It’s often darkly humorous, and written in a style that would make Dickens envious.

Exit is a story that would have made a stunning episode on The Twilight Zone. It’s a good example of dreampunk (you know, Alice in Wonderland) — and it is simply fabulous. Can we actually change our lives? Or are we doomed to live them forever on repeat? Read Exit and then try to answer those questions.

So that’s my reading recap for 2018. Now on to 2019. I’m currently reading Frank Belknap Long’s early Cthulhu Mythos novel The Horror from the Hills. And I’m looking for some good writers to explore this year. If you have suggestions, let me know.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

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Seabury Quinn

In March of 1918 a story appeared in the pages of Detective Story Magazine and the author of the story was Seabury Quinn. The title of the story was “Demons of the Night”.

As near as we can tell, “Demons of the Night” was Quinn’s first fiction sale. That sale began a fiction writing career that spanned over half a century, and saw the production of over 500 short stories and 2 novels. And those numbers don’t include his many non-fiction writings.

Seabury Quinn was the quintessential pulp fiction master, along with such greats as H. Bedford-Jones, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Robert E Howard. He knew how to craft a story that would sell and he wasn’t shy about going where the money was to be found.

In his day, Quinn was an exceedingly popular author. A Weird Tales poll of the magazine’s readers put Quinn as their number one favorite author — ahead of such luminaries as HP Lovecraft, Robert E Howard, and August Derleth. More Seabury Quinn stories received cover art than any other writer for Weird Tales. As I noted in another post, it was Quinn and his creation, Jules de Grandin, who saved Weird Tales from folding in the early ‘30s, which would have possibly denied us the best of Lovecraft’s work, and such talents as Robert Bloch.

So why is Seabury Quinn denied his claim to fame and basically relegated to a footnote? The answer lies with the politics of the Lovecraft Circle, specifically the machinations of August Derleth.

In order to elevate Lovecraft, Seabury Quinn became the whipping boy. Quinn was a hack and the epitome of what was bad in pulp magazine fiction. Lovecraft, on the other hand, was a genius and represented the highest ideals and possibilities of the pulp magazines. Derleth’s hero worship put the knife in Quinn’s back. And why Quinn, and not someone else? Probably because Lovecraft didn’t like Quinn’s fiction, making him an easy target.

For a long time I held to the common, albeit unfair, assessment that Quinn was a hack. I held that view until I actually read some of his stories. Much to my surprise, his stories are no worse than Lovecraft’s, or Howard’s, or Frank Belknap Long’s, to name three, and in some cases better.

Seabury Quinn was a decent, prolific, and inventive writer, much like Robert E Howard. Quinn was paid more than the other writers for Weird Tales because the magazine’s readers wanted his stories.

Now, thanks in large part to ebooks, publishers are republishing the work of Seabury Quinn, and I am very pleased to see him regaining the recognition he is due.

Yesterday, for Christmas, I received two volumes of Quinn’s work: Demons of the Night and Other Early Tales, edited by Gene Christie and published by Black Dog Books; and A Rival from the Grave, The Complete Tales of Jules de Grandin, Volume 4, edited by George A Vanderburgh and published by Nightshade Books. Santa was indeed good!

In short order, Seabury Quinn has become one of my favorite authors. His books stand right next to the works of Lovecraft and Howard. He’s easily their equal. Sure, he’s different from them. But that doesn’t make him a lesser writer. Seabury Quinn’s stories have immense entertainment value. What more can one ask from a writer?

As always, comments are welcome; and, until next time, happy reading!

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Daguerreotype

Good Books You Probably Never Heard Of – Part 8

Daguerreotype by Ray Zacek

https://www.amazon.com/Daguerreotype-Ray-Zacek-ebook/dp/B00EN3JJI4

Garth Colby finds among his late brother’s belongings a remarkably preserved early Daguerreotype depicting a Parisian street scene. Because of the remarkable condition of the photograph, Garth realizes he has a small fortune on his hands. And, of course, that’s where the trouble begins.

For the photograph has a long and sordid history. A history of producing hallucinations and insanity. Money-hungry Garth, though, is ignorant of this history. But more importantly, if he did know the history, would he care? Money solves everything, right?

Even though Daguerreotype is a horror or macabre novella, Zacek handles the form in a way that brings as much satisfaction as one would get from a novel. We are treated to well-developed characters. We experience a fully developed storyline, hauntingly told, that holds our attention right to the end. And the suspense, as Zacek weaves the past and present together, is unrelenting.

Some readers balk at the shorter prose forms. If you aren’t especially fond of them, I invite you to think of Daguerreotype as a long lost script for a never produced episode of The Twilight Zone. Yes, Daguerreotype is that good. It is well worth an hour of your time.

The book is only 99¢, and it’s also on Kindle Unlimited.

Very highly recommended!

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

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Ben Willoughby

Good Books You Probably Never Heard Of – Part 7

I’m back with Good Books You Probably Never Heard Of. And today we’re not looking at one book. We’re looking at one remarkable author.

Ben Willoughby and I met on Twitter, and I’m glad we did. His horror books have provided hours of scary, spooky, and at times hilarious entertainment.

He is also the very talented artist who is responsible for the awesome book covers of my Pierce Mostyn series.

In addition to writing horror, Ben has written a high fantasy novel, Gods on the Mountain, and is working on The Zeppelin Lords dieselpunk trilogy.

It is his horror tales, however, I want to highlight in this post, for they are the books I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed. So without further ado, let’s take a look at Ben Willoughby’s Reign of Terror.

Mannegishi is based on a Cree Indian legend. The small people, the Mannegishi, play pranks on people. They’re tricksters. And at first Jonathan Banks wonders if perhaps he hasn’t had the misfortune of drawing the attention of the Little People. But then things start taking an ugly turn, and so does the story. Highly recommended.

Daddy’s Girl is a ghost story you won’t easily forget. Alex never knew her father. He died when she was very young. However, through the stories about him, she learned he was a warm and loving person, and was a devoted father who loved her very much. When she goes off to college she discovers what a father’s love truly means. And woe to those who threaten Daddy’s Girl. You don’t want to miss this story.

The House That Homed is a hilarious dark comedy. And Willoughby handles the comedy and terror with equal aplomb. You just might never want to be home alone again. Thoroughly entertaining.

Raw Head is another tale based on Native American legend. A serial killer is brutally murdering children. And events cause Susie to fear that the child she is carrying may be the next victim. Can the killer be stopped? What if the killer isn’t human? An emotionally powerful tale.

Deadly Whispers is a dark comedy that takes a whole new look at Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, or ASMR. And let me tell you, that look is both chilling, and funny. Very funny, in fact. There’s also a love story. Horror, humor, and love. A combination guaranteed to creep you out and warm your heart at the same time. And the ending? Well, I never saw that one coming! Very highly recommended.

If you are looking for horror tales that are well-written and come from a very fertile imagination, look no further than Willoughby’s books. They’re superb.

If you are a writer in need of a book cover, I highly recommend Ben Willoughby. He understands book covers. You can get in touch with him on Twitter.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

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Interview with RH Hale

Today it is my great pleasure to talk with RH Hale, who is the author of Church Mouse: Memoir of a vampire’s servant. Which is one of the best indie authored novels I’ve read, and is right up there with the best of the traditionally published novels I’ve read.

I think it is unusual for a debut novel to have the gripping power that is in Church Mouse. The book is truly a Gothic tour-de-force.

But I’m sure you all want to learn a bit about the author of this fabulous novel. So without further ado, let’s meet RH Hale!

CW: Tell us a little about yourself.

RH: I was born in Scotland, where I currently reside. I lived in England for a while where I got my science degree from Kingston University in lovely Surrey. I’ve been a ghost tour guide and performed in several small-scale theatre productions including the Edinburgh Fringe. I can’t make up a tune to save my life but love music and have written dozens of lyrics, poems and two screenplays, all unpublished. Church Mouse is my first complete novel, published in October 2017.

CW: Aside from writing, how do you spend your free time?

RH: Reading when I can. I live on the coast near the countryside and love a good walk, especially if someone’s friendly dog says hello, which makes my day! But being an indie author, I’d be lying if I denied a lot of my time is taken up with promoting my book on Twitter. It may be a slow climb but very worth it.

CW: Very much worth it, indeed! What did you read as a child?

RH: I read a lot of Roald Dahl and proudly kept his complete collection on my shelf. I realise he’s a bit controversial now, but I was just a kid. Matilda, Boy and The Witches were my favourites.

CW: Might I just say here that if we were to eliminate all the controversial authors, I doubt there would be much left worth reading. But go on.

RH: Some other childhood favourites were The Queen’s Nose by Dick-King Smith, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis; and I loved Beyond The Firelight, a collection of short tales by Ann Lawrence, which I believe is still on my shelf.

And I was absolutely hooked on a major weekly series called Storyteller: hundreds of illustrated stories and poems, each issue coming with an audio cassette tape (we’re back in the 80s here) narrated by great actors including Derek Jacobi and Miriam Margoyles. Truly terrific stories of infinite variety, old, new, and mythical from all cultures with beautiful illustrations! Some tales very scary for kids.

The Christmas issue was my first introduction to Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, narrated by the great Joss Ackland …I was TERRIFIED! They may currently be stored in boxes but that’s one childhood collection I’m not parting with.

CW: Very much so. Those books of childhood are some of my most cherished possessions. Please tell us about a book that has influenced you as a person.

RH: Oooh, that’s a tricky one to answer without cheating and naming several.

As a child of seven or eight, in school we read What Difference Does It Make Danny? by Helen Young. It’s the story of a young boy, Danny, who is the gym teacher’s pet for being a top swimmer. Swimming is his passion. Unknown to this teacher, Danny is also epileptic. Furious when he finds out, this teacher forbids Danny to swim again. It’s essentially a story about overcoming prejudice and discrimination. I knew next to nothing about epilepsy at that age, and I think it taught me a lot.

More recently, I’d say Quiet Girl in a Noisy World: An Introvert’s Story by Debbie Tung, published last year I think. It’s actually a graphic novel, practically a comic but wonderfully done, about what it’s like growing up different and the bravery of self-acceptance in a world of people braying at you to “fit in”. It’s brilliant, funny and there’s so much I familiarised with it was ridiculous.

At the risk of sounding cliché, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and George Orwell’s Animal Farm (a book everyone needs to read!) and 1984, shocked and really opened my eyes to the ever-present human demon lurking beneath the skin, often too close for comfort.

CW: Yes, 1984 was one of the most terrifying books I’ve ever read. More so than many “horror” novels! Would you tell us how many fiction books you read a year?

RH: It’s a rather boring answer, but I don’t keep count. Into double figures, though not as many as I’d like. One of my dreams is to swing through the double doors of Waterstones bookstore with a small fortune in my pocket. There are also a lot of indie books I want to read on my Kindle, plus a stack of paperbacks on my bedside table. A healthy sight I think. ☺

CW: Yes, indeed. We like those stacks of books waiting to be read! Tell us about a book that’s influenced you as a writer.

RH: Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca whetted my appetite for finally committing to writing properly. Du Maurier’s incredibly atmospheric storytelling is intoxicating, seductive, and just possessed me with an irresistible hunger to do so.

May I cheat again and add another? Or two?

CW: By all means, go ahead.

RH: Well, then, Burning Your Boats: a complete collection of all short stories from one of my all-time favourite authors, Angela Carter. It’s an absolute feast for the eyes.

In terms of writing horror, one of the most terrifying books I ever read was Ghost Story by Peter Straub. I like to consider myself a toughie, but that novel literally had me repeatedly looking over my shoulder whilst reading, alone.

CW: Now I have some books to add to my ever growing list to read! Okay, you are being exiled to a small island in the Pacific. You can take 3 books with you. What books would you take and why?

RH: Only three? Ouch. Well they’d have to be long books to keep me occupied.

Probably something I haven’t read yet, so as I don’t already know what’s coming. Either The Complete Works of Sheridan Le Fanu; or The Necronomicon, a painfully bulky hardback of the complete works of H.P Lovecraft, which I’m still getting through. Short story collections are great because of the variety – Don’t like that story? No problem, here’s another.
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub, one of the greatest books I ever read. Probably three times now and never tired of it.
For practical purposes, non-fiction: SAS Survival Handbook by John Lofty Wiseman. Packed with info about how/what to eat and finding shelter in the wild in all climates, land, sea, desert, etc. Handy and potentially lifesaving material if I’m gonna be stuck on this here island a while…

CW: Those sound like great choices. More to add to my list! Please tell us what was the genesis of Church Mouse?

RH: Two stages really. It started as a slow burner, a drawn-out daydream lingering at the back of my mind. In fact, it was initially going to be set in a house.

Precisely why I started thinking about the protagonist Rona hiding in a church gallery, I honestly can’t remember, except that one day I imagined the initial moments where she sees her immortal employers for the first time – and it played out seamlessly as if I were watching a film, spoken to me word for word. That scene, written exactly as I imagined it, was so uncannily concrete and three-dimensional that I thought, ‘This is ridiculous’, and had to get it down on paper. The rest of the book grew from there. Church Mouse was really born out of a bunch of scenes scribbled in notes that gradually came together.

CW: Very interesting. I always like to hear how writers write. So, how much research did you put into your book?

RH: No excuse for not getting the terminology right, so I did as much research as possible on the nomenclature of Gothic and church architecture, double and triple-checking it, bookmarking glossaries, etc. The same for antique jewellery, arson, old furniture, and medieval weaponry. All fascinating stuff.

Seton Collegiate Church, a small tourist attraction in East Lothian, partly influenced the atmosphere for St Patrick’s in the book. It’s owned by Historic Scotland and bare as a bone, but has a cold, comforting loneliness inside. As for the church vaults, I knew what I was talking about because I was a ghost tour guide in Edinburgh’s underground vaults for over three years. I’ve made people scream in there, filmed in there, changed flashlight batteries, felt my way along walls, and locked them up hundreds of times, often in darkness. The mention of mould in the book is taken from first-hand experience, and it’s no picnic to breathe in.

I haven’t read many vampire novels apart from Stoker’s Dracula and Ann Rice’s Interview With The Vampire many years ago. But whenever I saw them in film, the scientist in me always reared its head and questioned how is it technically possible for hard incisor enamel to spontaneously expand and sharpen like that? I know fiction is fiction, but it just…bugged me. That’s why I made them a little different in Church Mouse, but no less savage or animalistic.

CW: Yes, I wondered about the teeth thing in your book. Now I know! Now, aside from Rona’s saga, who else is clamoring to have his or her story told?

RH: There’s a character in Church Mouse called Dudley Flotterstone who only appears briefly in one scene, but whilst writing it I felt a bud forming. I saw him very clearly and decided I wanted him as the protagonist for another horror story in the works, Krellingsgait, a place also mentioned in the book.

CW: Where we can find your books?

RH: They are currently available as an eBook on Amazon Kindle, Goodreads, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, GooglePlay and other online bookstores worldwide.

Hopefully available in hard copy within the next few months.

CW: Well, this has been delightful! Thank you for taking the time to share with us today a bit about yourself and your writing.

And I encourage you all to buy a copy of Church Mouse. It is a truly fabulous novel. Anne Rice, move over. The book is available at:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

You can get in touch with RH Hale at the following places:

- www.rhhale.co.uk
- Facebook and Instagram: @rhhaleauthor
- Twitter: @RHHaleAuthor
- Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B07CQS3ZFP

R.H.Hale was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. After gaining a first class honours degree in science at Kingston University in Surrey, she went on to explore the arts and has worked in theatre, ghost tours and writing. She currently lives in East Lothian. Church Mouse is her first novel.

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Some Very Good Reads

Last week I talked about being a reader. I love reading and can’t talk enough about the joy of books. They truly are fab friends.

This week, I thought I’d talk a bit about some of the great books and stories I’ve been reading of late. I’m an advocate for the underdog. For those writers who are good and just can’t seem to get any traction for their books. I like to promote those writers whenever possible.

Two of my recent reads I mentioned last week: Mark Carnelley’s The Omega Chronicles and RH Hale’s Church Mouse: Memoir of a vampire’s servant. So let’s take a look at what else I’ve been reading over the past couple months.

Entangled by J. Evan Stuart

This one I’ve started re-reading: Entangled by J. Evan Stuart. The book is part police procedural mystery, part coming of age novel, and partly a YA/NA read.

The novel is Stuart’s debut work and it is a real winner. Exceptionally well-written, with characters you’ll fall in love with (well, there are one or two you won’t; but then you aren’t supposed to), and mucho suspense. I’m very much surprised this one isn’t jumping off the charts. But it isn’t. It’s in Amazon’s sub-basement. Which is too bad.

And Stuart has seemingly disappeared as well, which is also too bad. I hope he returns to bring us more Detective Sonya Reisler adventures. And who knows? Maybe a few sales and reviews would do the trick. I hope so.

Don’t pass this one up. It’s a keeper and exclusive to Amazon, so KU folks read for free.

The Stone Seekers by Jack Tyler

I just finished Tyler’s foray into epic fantasy. And it is amazing. Tyler is normally a steampunk writer, which makes this work a surprise — and a very pleasant one.

There is no hint of Tolkien in The Stone Seekers. And I like that. This work is plowing fresh territory. The Tolkien pastiches put me off of epic fantasy. Tyler, if he writes more, could bring me back.

This one is only 99¢ at Amazon. Snarf it up today!

Off Grid by Simon Osborne

A fabulous post-apocalyptic novel that made me sit up and take notice was Off Grid by Simon Osborne. It’s a great survival story. And aside from the aliens, is very realistic. Harry Lennard survives the initial invasion and now he has to survive day to day. A well-written adventure. Part Earth Abides and part Day of the Triffids.

Given the rising prices of indie authored books, this one is a steal at $2.99 on Amazon. Get it today!

The Anuvi Incident by James Vincett

James Vincett is another writer who’s seemingly disappeared — and that’s too bad for us. Nevertheless, his The Anuvi Incident is excellent. If you like military sci-fi, you don’t want to miss this. And if you don’t, that’s okay because The Anuvi Incident is also about what it means to be human. A fast-paced sci-fi war story that is also a little philosophy. A dynamite combo.

Give The Anuvi Incident a try. Vincett has created a fabulous universe.

Tales of Horror: Macabre Monsters of Michigan by Bryan C Laesch

I like horror. Not the blood and guts, hack and slash, splatter punk kind, but the slow burn psychological kind.

Bryan C Laesch’s Tales of Horror: Macabre Monsters of Michigan is a collection of three stories that are a bit slow burn and a bit on the violent side. But there is no gratuitous violence for the sake of violence. Which for me is good storytelling.

Laesch has succeeded in giving us monster stories (and who doesn’t like monster stories?) that are a touch out of the ordinary, perhaps even a touch unique. There is no reason his book should be gracing Amazon’s sub-basement. It is too good for that.

So do yourself and the author a favor and pick up a copy.

The Argolicus Mystery Series by Zara Altair

Argolicus, that Roman public servant living in Ostrogoth Italy, was a delightful find. Sometime ago I asked in a Facebook group for books to read that were not in the top 300,000 on Amazon. Zara Altair stepped forward and volunteered her mysteries — and I’m glad she did.

If you like mysteries, good ol’ Whodunits and not these repetitively boring thrillers, and you like history — than Argolicus is for you.

The stories are set in Ostrogoth Italy 20 years after the fall of Rome, which is a period of time rather neglected by historians. Argolicus has retired and finds himself involved in solving murder after murder — in a time when murder wasn’t a crime!

These are well-written and interesting books. Take a look at Zara’s Amazon page. All are good. Pick one. Any one! You won’t be disappointed.

Next week I’m going to take a look at the man who saved Weird Tales magazine and what that means for us readers today.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

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Book Review: Daddy’s Girl by Ben Willoughby

Horror tales come in all shapes and sizes. They can be visions of great cosmic terror or they can be the evil wishes of a child. The story can be one of psychological torment, or one of unfathomable gruesomeness. There are some who don’t see horror as a separate genre, but as a particular effect given to a story of dark fantasy, or science fiction, or slice of life.

And whether or not we like to read stories that frighten us, or listen to them told around a campfire, many of us do. Enough so that horror has gotten its own BISAC genre code and is exceedingly profitable to publisher and writer alike.

My first foray into the realm of the horror story was by means of the tales of Edgar Allan Poe. Not much later came the stories of Saki. And then those two gothic adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles and “The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb”. From there I read Dracula and Carmilla and discovered the work of HP Lovecraft and Robert E Howard’s weird fiction.

I’ve even ventured into the realm of the weird and terrible with a few tales of my own. However, there are a few writers today who write doggone good horror stories and unfortunately remain for the most part unseen. One of those writers is Ben Willoughby and I hope this review, and upcoming reviews of his work, will help to bring him a broader audience.

Mr Willoughby has five books out now in the horror genre. I’ve purchased them all and read two. (He’s writing them faster than I can read them!) Today I want to talk a bit about his novella Daddy’s Girl, which is a ghost story that is very well done.

The ghost story is perhaps the most venerable form of the supernatural horror tale. Certainly it is one of the oldest, if not the oldest within this category. The ghost story plays into our beliefs about life after death. Even today, where the Western world has moved beyond Christianity and pretty much any traditional religion, the ghost story still works. Still plays upon our imagination. I think this is because it’s primal. It taps into the core of our hopes and fears surrounding the greatest of all mysteries — death. And no matter how materialistic we’ve become, few of us want to die. Even believing in an afterlife, few of us want to end our existence here. It is what we know. We fear the unknown.

Mr Willoughby’s tale, Daddy’s Girl, plays on our emotions from two directions. The first is the child’s need for and love of his or her parents. We children may dislike our parents telling us what to do, but when they aren’t there we crave for someone to step in and take over that role. Many of us don’t ever grow out of that need for someone to watch over us. Politicians and demagogues use this to gain control. They feel our pain and tell us lies so we feel good. The bond of child to parent is ever with us.

The other bond is that of parent to child. We as parents will do anything to spare our children at the very least the hardest knocks of life. We teach them and guide them and support them. Children a visible form of eternal life. Through them we in a sense live forever.

Mr Willoughby has combined these two powerful bonds into a tale of parent-child love. The parent’s watchful eye, ever present, protecting his little girl.

I don’t want to spoil the story and so I will leave the storyline alone. Do, though, get yourself a copy of Daddy’s Girl. The book will tug your heartstrings and give you something to think about. As well as scare you into the realization your determination may be stronger than you even realize.

What I like about Ben Willoughby’s writing is that he has a simple and straightforward way to tell a story. It unfolds before us on the page and does so without a mass of purple prose. There is an economy of words in his style and to my mind that allows me the reader to participate in the story. He isn’t telling me everything. Just what I need to know. Which means he is able to paint the atmosphere and mood and generate empathy for the characters without excess verbiage. And that is the hallmark of a good writer.

I very much recommend Daddy’s Girl. I also recommend Raw Head, which I hope to review in a future post. And I look forward to reading his other offerings in the realm of terror.

Ben Willoughby is a fine example of the good things the indie revolution has to offer. If only we take a chance and are willing to read widely.

Comments are always welcome! Until next time, happy reading!

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