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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Season 5 episode 2: The Dark Tower vol 1 — The Gunslinger, by Stephen King The original concept for this season was “great book, shit film”. The Gunslinger certainly qualifies for the latter half and while The Dark Tower series has a passionate fanbase, “great” has to do a lot of heavy lifting for the […]
Irish folklore is horrible, and I mean that in the best way. Violence, sex and the supernatural entwine in epic tales of ancient history and everyday stories of ghosts, fairies and ordinary folk. Wry humour and dark twists are never far away. Despite Walt Disney’s best efforts, there’s nothing twee about Ireland’s fairies. There are […]
It’s five years since Blood River‘s journey began, from a notebook in the Borneo rainforest to Amazon Kindle ebook. It’s a roller-coaster tale of supernatural survival horror, and you can buy it here. I’ve no idea how Blood River will fare with reviewers and readers, but it’s been an experiment from day one. It’s become […]