Born of darkness, the creatures of myth, legend, and nightmare have long called the shadows home. Now, with the cruel touch of the sun fading into

memory, they’ve returned to claim their rightful place amidst humanity: as its masters.

Fading Light collects 25 monstrous stories by authors new and experienced,in the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, each bringing their own interpretation of what lurks in the dark.

Now available on kindle at amazon.co.uk, amazon.com and paperback at Smashwords.

Table of Contents:

“Parasitic Embrace” by Adam Millard
A volcano erupts, sending an ominous ash-cloud across the ocean.  The ash-cloud is the least of our worries. Contained within the hellish plume are millions of micro-parasites that have been dormant, waiting to find their host.

“The Equivalence Principle” by Nick Cato
Steve Burke is a man suffering from a severe case of agoraphobia.  He treats himself with a homemade cocktail of natural herbs and over the counter pain killers.  But what he has spent most of his life avoiding becomes real in the ways he’d always feared.

“A Withering of Sorts” by Stephen McQuiggan
The author has opted to keep this story a surprise

“Goldilocks Zone” by Gary W. Olson
Amita has had a trying evening––and it’s just getting started.  People are becoming monsters, buildings are slipping into sludge, gravity is turning optional, and assorted parts of her body are mutating. A voice in her head tries to explain, but somehow, understanding only makes it stranger.

“They Wait Below” by Tom Olbert
The world is near dying. An ecological inspector stationed on a deep sea oil rig suspects something is very wrong with the rig’s crew. His investigation into the mystery leads him to an ancient cosmic evil that has slept for eons, waiting for its chance to return.

“Buck” by Mark Pantoja
This is a tale of humans trying to survive on our Earth which has been infected with an extraterrestrial ecology. It isn’t personal, it is just life. This story is about revenge––a sad and hollow revenge.

“Blessed Be the Shadowchildren” by Malon Edwards
The Sun is dying––mortally wounded by an asshole god and his jealousy. There’s hope (and love) in the slow, dark death promised. Hope hangs on fifteen-year-old Levi and Lali reaching the warm arms of the Bright Lady before a horde of pursuing Biloko devour them––intestines first.

“The Beastly Ninth” by Carl Barker
The Sorcerer Napoleon is free, having escaped from his island prison and
returned to France, to begin re-raising Hell. The only man standing in his way is Lord Arthur Wellesley, and this time, the Duke of Wellington has a few tricks of his own.

“Late Night Customer” by David Dalglish
The author has opted to keep this story a surprise

“Rurik’s Frozen Bones” by Jake Elliot
It is Scandinavia, 819AD. The Vikings rule the North Atlantic through both warfare and trade. A beast hunts the cold waters between Sweden and Denmark, a monster unchallenged by the bravest of sailors.

“Wrath” by Lee Mather
Steven hasn’t touched a drink in months and now the time is right to take his son back from his brother’s custody. What he hadn’t counted on was the end of the world. Steven stopped believing in God a long time ago, but seeing is believing––will belief be enough to deter God’s wrath?

“Friends of a Forgotten Man” by Gord Rollo
The author has opted to keep this story a surprise

“Altus” by Georgina Kamsika
The Altus is a free-diving submersible whose helmswoman aims to break depth records. She finds more than she bargained for at the bottom of the sea. Something monstrous lurks in the darkness with her and her submarine.

“Angela’s Garden” by Dorian Dawes
The author has opted to keep this story a surprise

“The Long Death of Day” by Timothy Baker
For John and the love of his life, a terrifying shadow threatens to tear them apart. The world is at its end, and a blanket of darkness has spread between the Sun and Earth, turning day into deep gloom. With it, something monstrous writhes within the unnatural night, intent on devouring our dying planet.

“Out of the Black” by William Meikle
300-years after the great dimming, the energy resources begin to run out. A man is sent from the underground city to the surface to scout for survival-necessary ore. All he finds is a dead world and a great blackness; a blackness that will not be kept out.

“Degenerates” by DL Seymour
The author has opted to keep this story a surprise

“Dust” by Wayne Ligon
The author has opted to keep this story a surprise

“Der Teufel Sie Wissen” by TSP Sweeney
The author has opted to keep this story a surprise

“Born of Darkness” by Stacey Turner
After clouds block out the sun, Jeb struggles to keep his family safe and his faith intact. With his wife’s unexpected pregnancy and two strangers seeking refuge, things go from bad to worse. How do you tell who follows the path of light when you can no longer see who’s immersed themselves in darkness?

“Lottery” by Gene O’Neill
The author has opted to keep this story a surprise

“Where Coyotes Fear to Tread” by Gef Fox
The world is shrouded in darkness and people have started acting strangely. Only two people can save the world from an ancient evil rising out of the Tennessee River––a ne’er-do-well redneck named Lester and his ex-girlfriend, Carla. Carla might be up for the challenge, but all Lester wants to do is get the hell out of Knoxville.

“The Theophany of Nyx” by Edward M. Erdelac
A fissure opens in the moon’s crust and swallows Earth’s first lunar colony whole, resulting in a thick cloud of dark dust that drifts into our planet’s atmosphere, blotting out the sun. Night falls across the entire world and vegetation begins to die. After eons of exile, something driven from the Earth in its primordial past is at last returning…

“Double Walker” by Henry P. Gravelle
Psychoanalyst, Dr. Maria DOBBS has a new client who believes his shadow has murdered his parents and others. She attempts to decipher whether he is a clever killer feigning insanity, an unwilling victim of an electrical storm jolting his senses, or the victim of a lifestyle placing his emotions in turmoil. Will she discover the truth before it is too late?

“Light Save Us” by Ryan Lawler
It has been months since Ted last saw the Sun. Hideous beasts lurk in the darkness outside the compound, waiting for the lights to fail. Ted works hard to keep the lights running, but the longer he fights, the more inviting the darkness becomes.

“Dark Tide” by Mark Lawrence
The author has opted to keep this story a surprise
The following are bonus stories, available only for NOOK and Kindle:

“Roadkill” by CM Saunders
Jimmy and Tito make up one of the freelance ambulance and recovery crews patrolling the notoriously dangerous roads and highways of Brazil. Their job is not to the common man’s taste, but the money is worthy, and they’ve become very good at it. Everything worked great until the night they stumbled across an accident victim who refused to die.

“Torrential” by Regan Campbell
The author has opted to keep this story a surprise

“Night Terrors” by Jonathan Pine
Dr. Mark Jacobs is a well-meaning physician just trying to do his best for his patients. But after a chance encounter, he ends up taking his work home with him in a way he could never imagine. Now he will have to face his own night terrors.

“Final Rights” by Peter Welmerink
The world has been cast into the cold embrace of Nuclear Winter, the Earth withering towards a dreary demise. The once-glorious daylight hours, now a perpetual dusk as the last bastions of humanity hold beneath the brightly-lit, but slowly dying vestiges of the larger cities. On the perimeters of our cloud-cloaked countryside, light succumbs to deep shadow–where a myriad of mutated beasts hungrily await civilization’s light to wink out.

“Evensong” by Alex Marshall
Demons rule the outside––but devils stalk within. These are the hidden halls of Agartha – perhaps the last of Earth’s buried strongholds where, for countless centuries, Morya’s folk have been enslaved. But now, rebel-soul Morya and her lover Seth have a chance to escape the hated Seers; a chance to breathe clean air and see the sun’s fading splendor for themselves…if only they dare…

Its got a great selection of stories and I’m really excited to be part of this.  I’ll share more when a publication date has been set.

Last Saturday I spent the day in Waterstone’s Leeds, signing copies of ‘The Sulphur Diaries’.  I had a fantastic day, met loads of people, some new, some old friends, and even sold a few books!  I really enjoyed it and was thrilled when I was told that I’d be welcome back any time.  The next signing planned is in Bradford, but I’d love to get back to Leeds, perhaps after Clarion.

I love horror – perhaps it’s obvious in some of the stories I write – and I love horror films.  I think Cabin in the Woods is a film for people like me – who’ve seen all the old goodies (Evil Dead, Halloween, Hellraiser etc), and who know every cliché, every trope back to front.

It begins almost like most American horror films, introducing a bunch of dumb college kids.  I say almost, because just before that you’re introduced to some other guys who seem to be running some kind of black op.  I don’t want to say more than that – the first five minutes of the film – because spoilers will ruin this film for you.  I’d even say not to watch the trailer.

The film is scary, for sure, but mostly it’s funny, in a sick, twisted kind of way.  It comments on how formulaic most horror films are (and not just American ones), and teases our expectations of what should happen next. This genre-busting horror-satire-comedy is a real scorcher of a film, that keeps your brain engaged far more than most films.

There are some outstanding scenes, with great acting.  Bradley Whitford stole the show for me as the bored suit, just doing his job

For more on Joss – check out this Guardian piece on him.

Someone said their name, then a company, then congratulations.  I think I heard it, but I sat in silence for a few seconds, before the woman laughed and repeated what she’d said.  It was someone from Clarion West, they’d accepted me for their 2012 session in Seattle.  I managed a surprised ‘buuu?’ noise, and she patiently explained herself in more detail.  I guess she’d had a similar response from one or two other people.

I’d applied to the Clarion West 2012 workshop earlier in the year, with little to no hope of succeeding.  It’s quite a prestigious speculative fiction workshop, one I had looked into every now and then, that runs annually.  I’d always been tempted to go, but this year really grabbed my attention and I applied.  Then promptly forgot all about now.

Then that five minute phone call brought it all back – six weeks in Seattle, doing nothing but writing, with seven experienced and talented instructors.  I was in shock – trying to let it sink in.  Away from six weeks!  InSeattle!  Writing non-stop!

I’ve been dancing around with glee, knowing a huge amount of luck had fallen my way for once.  I feel very honoured to be one of the eighteen but I also hope some of the other fantastic applicants make it into one of the subsequent years.

I’ll post more as I find out more.

Boring! 

What about that other moment?  The one people don’t talk about so much.  The cruel hand of fate nudges us off the cliff, and something that could’ve been – should have been – is only a fleeting memory.  Orbital Hearts tells those stories:  doomed, lost, denied romances – each one tinged by the otherworldly, the macabre, and the fantastic.  An international coterie of ten extraordinary authors bring new voices to the field of fantastic fiction that will move your heart – one way or the other…

 My short story ‘Oracle’ is in here, but there’s 9 other fantastic stories to read, too.  There’s a nice mix of genres, too, from outright horror to a softer fantasy – each tale fits to the theme while taking you to new places.

Buy Orbital Hearts now for your:

UK Kindle

US Kindle

 Nook

There are corpses everywhere, the stench of blood and death assaulting my nose, but it’s still hard to believe any of this is real.  It’s not like I meant to do this, it’s not my fault.  Is it?

Sirens break me out of my daze, the familiar warbling increasing in volume as they get closer.

The police.  They’re coming to Crawemere – with their questions and logic and scepticism.  They’re going to want answers, but they’re not going to like the truth I have for them.  I’m in so much trouble…

The Sulphur Diaries Excerpt:

“There is blood everywhere, on the walls, on the tables; I’m not sure what I just stood in, but it’s slippery.

Johnny! I scream, to be heard over the racket from outside, but there’s no answer and I can’t see him in the dim light. There’s a wet thump against the outer wall, though I daren’t look out of the windows. If I do, I might never be able to look away.

The shrieking outside is like nothing I’ve ever heard, and I freeze. Clenching my hands to stop their trembling, I peer into the gloom. Soft red light from some torches show me nothing but a puppet-show of shadows fighting outside. I recognise some of the locals: Mr Higgins, the Croft twins, their shapes easy to pick out as they struggle against the imps.

There seem to be more of them now. Where are they coming from? I remember calling to Lyle – not even an hour ago, however much it feels like days – but why are these imps attacking, why–”

Read the first three chapters here or buy the novel now.

Amazon.co.uk

Kindle UK

WH Smith

International Links

Kindle USA

Book Depository (Free global delivery)

Add to your Goodreads:

 

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve had two stories accepted late last year that will be published early this year.  The first is ‘Childhood Monsters’ as part of the Behind Locked Doors anthology by Wicked East Press, due out in the first quarter.   Childhood Monsters is a tongue-in-cheek comedy horror story.

The second story is ‘Oracle’ which has been accepted into the ‘Orbital Hearts’ anthology by Escape Collective Publishing, due out February.  Oracle is a fantasy story with  a dash of romance.  I’ll update the site as more news comes out.

For the last day of the ‘Sun Stopped Shining’ blog tour, AudioTim – also know as Timothy C Ward – interviewed the tour instigator Matthew C. Wood and myself.    Matthew is the author of the free Science Fiction Web Series, The Day the Sun Stopped Shining.  It’s free, so I recommend you take a look, right after you listen to the podscasts below.

The first one is Tim and I interviewing Matthew, which you can listen to here.  The second is when they turn the tables and ask me the tough questions – listen to me squirm here.  Tim is also graciously giving away a copy of ‘The Sulphur Diaries – so go enter the competition!

If you haven’t already, click on the blog tour badge below and visit their blogs to browse their sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, and horror stories.

The Five Stop Story Kindle book is now available from Amazon. It features 30 of the best stories from over 1,000 entries to the Five Stop Story’s monthly competitions, including my ‘Mother India’ short. Price: £2.29/$2.99.  Download your copy now - UK kindle store or US kindle store.

Over the last year, Five Stop Story has run 9 competitions and received over 1,000 short stories to review. 30 of the best stories from our competitions are being put together for a Kindle book, which will be available from next week. The stories are grouped into five key sections: Tales of Betrayal, The Journey of Life, A Lighter Touch, Life-Changing Events and A Slice of Life. From extraordinary tales of love, loss and laughter to everyday stories with a twist, there is a short story for everyone in the Five Stop Story collection.

Mother India

Enlightenment was disappointing.

Bella Cooper might have been born into an ordinary white English household, but she always knew in her heart that deep down, she was Indian.

Yet Bella had been in the country for almost three weeks and still not felt that vital spark ignite her spirit. She’d expected something to have moved her as soon as her feet had touched ground – but the airport was all pollution and noise – nothing spiritual about it. She’d chanted at a Buddhist temple, watched the vultures flying above the towers of silence and salaamed towards Mecca more than once – yet nirvana felt as out of reach as always. In fact, she’d been told that swatting a fly in front of a Jain prayer hall had probably ‘moved her soul further away from divine consciousness’. Not that she could take the man seriously – it was just a bloody fly!

Buy the Kindle anthology to read on - UK kindle store or US kindle store.