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Blood Point Creative writing

Blood Point is in print from today

The print edition of Blood Point is now available in paperback and hardback for all you print-loving horror readers. Blood Point: An Irish Escape becomes a Midsummer Night’s terror A haunting tale of grief, love and the monstrous cost of second chances, Blood Point is the second of my Nightmare Vacations stories. With a heart-stopping […]

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Blood Point Horror

The cone and the gibbet: Blood Point’s cover story

Blood Point is on the way to the printers, so it’s time to reveal how that dramatic cover emerged from my story of an Irish Nightmare Vacation. And what’s going on with that pine cone? Spoiler alert: gibbets and pine cones? Hmmm… You’ll have to read the full story to find out, but there are […]

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Blood Point

Blood Point: pre-orders are open

Blood Point pre-orders are now open as the countdown begins to my second novel’s live date: Midsummer 2025. (FYI that’s June 23rd) Blood Point is a supernatural horror novel of Irish folklore, vengeful banshees, ancient curses and a father’s fight against a deadly legend. An Irish escape becomes a Midsummer Night’s terror in my second […]

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Blood River Creative writing Horror Nightmare Vacations

Blood River’s new cover shows why you need a professional designer

Blood River, my first Nightmare Vacations story, has a new cover to celebrate its second birthday and the imminent arrival of its sibling: Blood Point. With this new cover, Blood River is available in hardcover for the first time and includes a preview of my new story. Although Blood Point is not a sequel, both […]

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Folklore

Light a fire for Litha

June 23 marks Litha, the ancient midsummer’s eve celebration and the night when horror rises in my new novel, Blood Point. The quiet Irish village of Kinnity hides a dark history, from the brutal killing of a young woman in ancient Ireland to the mad 19th-century landlord building a pyramid tomb. When widower Josh and […]

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Blood Point Folklore Horror Nightmare Vacations

Happy Bealtaine! Summer is here?

The weather might not agree yet*, but Lá Bealtaine is the beginning of summer in Ireland’s ancient Celtic calendar. It’s also the beginning of the countdown to launching a new horror story, Blood Point. Sign up to my newsletter for exclusive previews. Sandwiched between the spring equinox and summer solstice, Bealtaine, or “bright fire”, is […]

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book reviews Creative writing

Book vs film: Team Book takes the win

Last week I closed up Book vs Film: a season of reviews comparing eight novels to their big-screen adaptations. The books won, but as the cliché goes, it’s about the journey, not the destination. The working title for this season of The Book Corner was “good book, shit film”. As group-sourced projects often go, not […]

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Creative writing

SF and fantasy genre writers’ organisations: who to join?

I write across two genres — science fiction and horror — and I harbour no ambitions towards literary fiction. Mainstream authors’ organisations are often focused on the literary and mundane genres, so I don’t feel entirely welcome. Fortunately there are SF and fantasy genre writers’ organisations where I’m an easier fit. Genre fiction writers’ organisations […]

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book reviews Creative writing Horror

Book vs film: The Colour Out Of Space by HP Lovecraft

The Book Corner season 5: Book vs film. Episode 7: The Colour Out Of Space by HP Lovecraft. Hold on to your sanity for 1927’s The Colour Out Of Space by HP Lovecraft, and its 2019 adaptation starring Nicolas Cage. The Book Corner The Book Corner is a regular break from critiquing for the writing […]

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Folklore

Happy Halloween: the meme that reinfected Ireland

Happy Halloween, or Oíche Shamhna shona duit. This ancient Celtic pagan festival is a big deal in Ireland, where the Monday before is a bank holiday, houses are decorated and children dress up to trick or treat. Some say Ireland is the home of Halloween, although it’s celebrated as far south as Brittany and there […]