I’m thrilled to be taking part in this concert with my reimagining of the Arthurian legend of the Lady of Shallot. My story “The Curse of Shallot” is the power of love even in the shadows!
You are invited to The Australian Fairy Tale Society their first-ever storytelling concert – Stories of Light and Love! Come along on February 22nd, …
Australian Fairy Tale Society’s first ever storytelling concert!
I’ll be attending the 17th Conflux Speculative Fiction Convention in Canberra from 29th September – 3rd October, 2023.
I’ll be in the Dealer’s Room – All weekend!!
Book Promo — Cursed Shards edited by Leanbh Pearson with Stephen Herczeg, 29th September, Friday 5.30 pm.
I’ll be on 3 panels:
Entrances to Evil: Doors in Dark Fiction – Leanbh Pearson, Lisa Fuller, Joanne Anderton, Daniel O’Malley. Friday 29th September, 7:30pm.
Ditmar Awards Ceremony, Saturday 30th September, 5pm.
Spirits Abroad – Rebecca Hayward, Leanbh Pearson, Americo Alvarenga, Imogen Cassidy. Sunday 1st October, 12:45pm.
Insatiable – Leanbh Pearson, Zachary Ashford, Aaron Dries (18+), Sunday 1st October, 8pm.
Raganrok : A Witch’s Curse Book Launch – Leanbh Pearson with Zachary Ashford, Monday 2nd October, 1:30pm.
Black Fox and Bitterbind Book Launch – Leanbh Pearson with Louise Peiper, Monday 2nd October, 1:30 pm.
Join me and author of Rarkyn’s Familiar Nikky Lee for a virtual book launch March 9th 19:30-20:30 AEDST (+11:00 UTC) for The Devil and the Loch Ard Gorge. A belated launch due to my extended illness but it’s finally time to celebrate this gothic horror novelette.
The virtual launch will be held live on Facebook and will remain available as a recording on my Facebook page. Nikky and I will discuss all things gothic horror, hauntings, traditional gothic literature and the history behind the ill-fated Loch Ard shipwreck in 1878 off the infamous southern Australian shipwreck coast.
The virtual book launch can be accessed here.
SIGNED copies of the The Devil and the Loch Ard Gorge are available for purchase via my Shop or kindle and paperback on Amazon here. SIGNED bookplates are also available from my Shop for overseas customers where postage from Australia is unfortunately prohibitive.
Hope to see you there and join the online discussion or via the discussion board!
An updated and quality full-colour paperback of the second edition of my illustrated chapbook and ebook Dark Christmas were released on February 15, 2023.
Dark Christmas marks the first in my new chapbook series Quick Bites Chapbooks published under my imprint Quill Lore. These chapbooks are a combination of short stories or microfiction on a theme. And, each reimagining, retelling or story inspired by a specific aspect of the chapbook theme has quality colour illustrations related to the story.
More details on how to purchase Dark Christmas here. You can also buy SIGNED COPIES directly from Shop.
Year Four, an anthology of dark drabbles was published on January 6th by Black Hare Press. Three of my dark folklore drabbles are featured and a flash fiction piece.
If you’re interested in purchasing an ebook or paperback copy of Year Four, more details are available here
Dark Christmas is the first in a series of illustrated chapbooks on various dark fiction themes. All illustrated collection is inspired by Yuletide folklore from Canada, Poland,Iceland, Australia, Germany ang England.
Dark Christmas was released on ebook on 24th December 2022.
If you wish you buy copies of Dark Christmas you can find more information here.
This single charity anthology has donated to the American Suicide Prevention Society. It is a fantastic collection of stories by authors on topics of overcoming the darkness of depression, loss of a loved one, self-harm, self-rejection, societal rejection and chronic pain. Out of the Darkness was published by Wolfsinger Publications on 20th December 2022.
My own story “Tatters” features in the anthology and is a very personal and emotional piece for me, exploring the concepts of chronic pain and psychosis and the emergence into the light at the other end.
If you wish you buy copies of Out of the Darkness and support this wonderful cause, you can find more information here.
My first stories for children and younger readers were published on 26 November 2022 in Wimbledon Common from Black Hare Press.
My children’s story “Grace’s Kingdom” was inspired by classics like Alice in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, The Chronicles of Narnia all featuring protagonists exploring magical worlds hidden to all but them while escaping a harsher realities beyond the borders of the their fantasy world. I also drew on my own personal experiences, crafting a story I hoped would resonate with children experiencing bullying and coping with being different. “Grace’s Kingdom” channels the extremely difficult daily experiences for many children but highlighting how being different is a hidden strength.
My younger readers story “A Bargain of Shadows” was inspired by Swedish fairytale about siblings and the love they share for each other. When one is fatally ill, the brother bargains with a wizard to save her life in exchange for his shadow. Exiled from society for being different and having no shadow, he flees into the Otherworld of magic and becomes enslaved to the wizard. His sister goes in search of him, undergoing many trials to eventually outwit and save her brother. “A Bargain of Shadows” speaks to sibling rivalry and love and the undeniable importance of family.
You can find more details about how to purchase paperback and ebook copies of Wimbledon Common here.
The best 24 authors from the 12 volumes of Australasian speculative fiction in The Zodiac Series feature in a single anthology Wandering Stars: The Best of the Zodiac Series published by Deadset Press on 12th November 2022.
Wandering Stars features my apocalyptic story “The Bull of Heaven” inspired by Mesopotamian mythology and representing the Taurus zodiac sign.
You can find more details on how to purchase ebook and paperback copies of Wandering Stars: The Best of the Zodiac Series here
Recently I have been exploring the concepts behind the Red Riding Hood fairytale. There are two main versions I have used as inspiration for writing a new short story. The version by Charles Perrault called “Little Red Riding Hood” and the version by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm called “Little Red Cap”. Both examine a young girl who is travelling through the woods and meets a charming stranger who tries to lead her astray. Both versions also share a dark undertone, the stranger portrayed as menacing despite his charming words.
When writing my short story, I wanted to delve into the concept of the forest as a dangerous place, sinister and treacherous for those uninitiated. In my recent reimagining of the red riding hood tale, I’ve included the concept of an unwary youth and the historical setting of pre-Napoleonic France. I’ve included some more modern interpretations like the werewolf folklore of the French “loup-garou” and explored sensitives around homosexuality, the sheltered son of a Marquis seduced by an eloquent nobleman. Here, the passage between innocence and experience of the adult world is represented by the transference of the werewolf curse. This was a complex story to write, delving some darker elements, both historical and modern sensitivities of seduction, society and acceptance of LGBTQI individuals throughout history and still today.
You must be logged in to post a comment.