3.5 stars out of 5 Available from CLASH books, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.com This modern, feminist, short Gothic horror fiction collection will bring you out in goose-bumps. A CREAK IN THE FLOOR, A SLANT OF LIGHT – There were some quirky details that put me in mind of Holly Black’s work. The tale had a delightfully gory legend about three girlsContinue reading “Another Review: Les Femmes Grotesques by Victoria Dalpe”
Tag Archives: monsters
Dracula’s Guests (curated by Dr. Chris McAuley)
Available from HellBound Books, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.com 4 out of 5 stars This collection of vampire horror tales in celebration of Dracula’s 125th birthday will sate your bloodthirst. These are the stories that stood out for me: Dracula in Recovery – Michael Zemecki: I loved this darkly humorous story featuring all the characters from the original Dracula inContinue reading “Dracula’s Guests (curated by Dr. Chris McAuley)”
Review: Bleak Midwinter: The Darkest Night
Edited by Damon Barrett Roe and Cassandra L. Thompson Available from Quill & Crow Publishing, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com 4 out of 5 stars This collection of dark Gothic horror tales will make your skin creep off your flesh and slither under the door to hide somewhere – in a GOOD way. The Utburd, Robyn Dabney – A disgraced nature photographerContinue reading “Review: Bleak Midwinter: The Darkest Night”
Review: Blood Coven (Blood Bound series Book One) by Sabrina Voerman
Available from Quill & Crow Publishing & Barnes & Noble Sabrina Voerman’s stunning novel “Blood Coven” is set in a believable world where we see the story of Red Riding Hood stretched and distorted and grown into something other, both the main characters – Red, an abused child and descendant of a witch, and Matthias, also the son ofContinue reading “Review: Blood Coven (Blood Bound series Book One) by Sabrina Voerman”
The Dark Rider part 16, Arthurian myth, and Thomas Malory
“George strode behind Mr. Peterson’s desk and broke open the drawers, riffling through them and pocketing a couple of items. He moved around the benches, calm and methodical, turning on the gas taps one by one. “Ready?” he said. “But… what…?” “Office now, yes? Let’s take a peek at those filing cabinets.” He shut theContinue reading “The Dark Rider part 16, Arthurian myth, and Thomas Malory”
The Dark Rider part 7 (excerpt) and some good news…
“The storm rumbled on throughout the night until it was directly over the farm, coughing and bellowing and sending vibrations through the furniture. It had pelted with rain hard enough to sound like lead pellets being shot at a tin roof and hail fell in the early hours. All the family were heavy-eyed and irritable,Continue reading “The Dark Rider part 7 (excerpt) and some good news…”
The Dark Rider: Snow, Time, Bones Part 6 (excerpt)
“I know he’s here. He’s bound to have come after us. Where is he?” Warren understood. “He’s the school guidance counsellor now. But what are you going to do? You can’t harm him.” “I can try, look you. He has a blimmin’ body, and bodies have nerve endings!” “YouContinue reading “The Dark Rider: Snow, Time, Bones Part 6 (excerpt)”
The Dark Rider Part 4 (excerpt)
The kitchens were devoid of people awake. A couple of servant-boys lay huddled in blankets near the long fireplace. Not wanting to disturb them, he crept around a large cauldron and hunched in its shadow, wishing he had asked the Duke for something warmer to wear when he had the chance. Warren dozed, woke andContinue reading “The Dark Rider Part 4 (excerpt)”
The Dark Rider: Part 3 (excerpt)
Silence stretched between the man and the boy, punctuated by the sounds of people shouting and moving in the courtyard below. “Are you afraid?” Gorla asked conversationally. “Of what?” “Of pain. Injury. Death.” “Isn’t everybody?” “True. What of the Dark Rider? Does he instil fear in you?” “How can I be afraid of something whenContinue reading “The Dark Rider: Part 3 (excerpt)”
I am still alive… I think.
I am recovering — slowly — from abdominal surgery, which happened at the end of December. Having a connective tissue disorder, this caused problems with having retention and needing to be catheterised, but as I am resistant to local anaesthetics it took them over an hour to get it in and I was screaming. PrettyContinue reading “I am still alive… I think.”
Update: Reading, Reviews, and the Ethics of AI
What has been going on over the past few weeks? In my capacity as main editor (and sole editor, though it hasn’t anything to do with flatfish) of Once Upon A Crocodile e-zine, I have been reading and writing reviews of people’s books (usually anthologies, though I am open to novels / novellas too). UnlikeContinue reading “Update: Reading, Reviews, and the Ethics of AI”
WHO AND WHAT IS ULFRYD SPIRN?
A minor character in “A Dark Heritage: The Nighthunter” who goes on an almost fairytale-style quest and meets an unfortunate end. An apprentice to a travelling merchant, Ulfryd is fourteen years old and having an affair with a girl at an inn when an old song people are singing in the marketplace enters his head,Continue reading “WHO AND WHAT IS ULFRYD SPIRN?”
All About The Kendra
On the continent of Thosea, where magic and the use / teaching of it is still legal, there stands an old, ruined abbey on the banks of the river Eridan. This river is a mysterious remnant of something that poured out of the constellations, and its waters burn like acid, possibly because of its trueContinue reading “All About The Kendra”
All About the Nephisiati
Throughout the lands of Ossyan, Thosea, and Dal-Rhiatah, stories and myths of the Nephisiati echo down the generations. No one has clapped eyes on them and lived to tell the tale, save for a select few who lost their minds and were institutionalised as a result. In some legends, they look like hideous monsters withContinue reading “All About the Nephisiati”
Nightwalks 