Tag: horror

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Asylumfest Horror Convention

May Day Hills Historic Asylum

AsylumFest 2023 will be held October 27 – 29 in Mayday Hills located within Beechworth, Victoria.

Mayday Hills operated from 1867 to 1995 and was one of the largest mental health facilities in the state, with over 1200 patients and 500 staff at its peak. Today, it is a heritage site that hosts various cultural and artistic activities – including ghost and history tours and of course, AsylumFest!

This Halloween weekend, I’ll be appearing at Asylumfest horror convention held at the historicMayDay Hills Psychiatric Hospital in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia. I’ll be participating as an offical representative of the Australasian Horror Writer’s Association and competing in the live reading and judging for the May Day Hills Ghost story competition.

I’ll also be on a panel talking with Australian dark fiction authors Carol Ryles and Aaron Dries about the importance of diversity in New Horror, the emergence of more diverse characters, writer, actors and directors. The continued growth of diversity and representing traditionally marginalised voices is a strong movement that will hopefully continue to flourish. We’ll be talking our own horror works as well as those published in the past for more recently and where we think the world of New Horror is headed.

Hope to see all horror film and writing fans at the Traders Hall and check out the Australasian Horror Writers trade table. Also check out another exciting horror panel on The New Gothic!

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Peripheral Visions

Publisher’s Description

Peripheral Visions is a unique, award-winning reference collection that includes all of Robert Hood’s 44 ghost stories to date, three of them especially written for this volume. These memorable tales display Hood’s uncanny ability to make the fantastic real, to embrace weirdness and create human characters whose lives – both inner and outer – haunted by mortality, are laid bare and revealed to be our own worst nightmares. Ranging from melancholy reflection on life and death, through disquieting tales of dark humour and vengeance, to chilling visions of ghostly apocalypse.

Hood’s stories are sure to draw you into a terrifying world that in the end is revealed to be irrefutably our own. Though many of these stories draw on the traditions of the past, they are far from traditional in approach.

As you turn each page remember this: not everything here is as it seems. There’s always something more, barely glimpsed, out there on the periphery.

Summary

I recently read the limited edition three volume collection Peripheral Visions: The Collected Ghost Stories by Australian horror author Robert Hood.

This limited edition collection spans forty years of Robert Hood’s ghost story writing with 44 tales covering six different themes of haunting in the horror genre. There are many brilliant stories within each section that focuses on a variety of themes including Haunted Places, Haunted Families, Haunted Minds, Haunted Youth, Haunted Vengeance and Haunted Realities. Some of my favourites included Haunted Places, Haunted Minds, Haunted Youth and Haunted Vengeance. The scope of aspects that Hood delves into in these stories includes the deeply psychological, historical and, at times, what felt like a deeply personal venture in the haunted mind.

Review

Peripheral Visions is a sweeping three volume collection of divided into themes on the horror genre of Haunting. There are some of the most unique, darkly humorous and chilling ghost stories I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. Hood delivers a masterclass in ghost stories with brilliant prose that keeps the pace of this three volume collection moving with a deft storyteller’s hand.

Conclusion

This was a fabulous, wide-ranging collection of ghost stories and hauntings by one of the best horror authors in the business. Highly recommended!

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Diversity Grants & Awards

I’m really excited to announce I’ve been nominated for the Ditmar Awards for Best New Talent and Best Novella for Bluebells – an LGBTQI, disability dystopian alternate history horror.

I’m a recipient of the 2023 Horror Writers Association Diversity Grants to allow me to continue research for my HWA mentorship project with Lee Murray. The final piece will be an alternate history, gothic horror, GBTQI, disability with Fae versus gangsters in 1920s Sydney.

It’s a great time to be writing with my heart, soul and passion. Very excited to see where diversity in horror and dark fantasy can take us!

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Anoka

Publisher’s Description

Welcome to Anoka, Minnesota, a small city just outside of the Twin Cities dubbed “The Halloween Capital of the World” since 1937. Here before you lie several tales involving bone collectors, pagan witches, werewolves, skeletal bison, and cloned children. It is up to you to decipher between fact and fiction as the author has woven historical facts into his narratives. With his debut horror collection, Cheyenne and Arapaho author Shane Hawk explores themes of family, grief, loneliness, and identity through the lens of indigenous life.

Summary

I was recently recommended to read Anoka: A Collection of Indigenous Horror from US author Shane Hawk.

While it is hard to choose favourites from this collection which spans so many real-world themes, societal marginalisation, stigma and indigenous horror themes, there were several stories that really resonated with me.

The opening story ‘Soilborne’ was dark tale that really plunged its claws into me. ‘Wounded’ was a journey into the darkness of a mind and family. ‘Transfigured’ was a striking Halloween story that proved the perfect ending to this collection of the dark, haunting and macabre.

Review

Anoka was a fantastic collection of indigenous horror where Hawk delivered a host of genuine characters, masterful storytelling and a series of dark, weird and haunting horror in a well-written psychological horror collection.

Conclusion

Highly recommended read for fans of horror, dark fiction and psychological horror. A must read!

** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **

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Ditmar Award Nominations!!

I’m thrilled to announce I’m included in the 2022 Ditmar Awards Nominations. There is such a fabulous variety of works nominated this year.

Presentations will be held at Conflux Convention in September/October.

I’m nominated for Best New Talent and my LGBTQI dystopian alternate history novella Bluebells is nominated in Best Novella or Novelette.

Congratulations to all the nominees and can’t wait to celebrate everything Australian speculative fiction at Conflux.

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Don’t Fear the Reaper

Publisher’s Description

Four years after her tumultuous senior year, Jade Daniels is released from prison right before Christmas when her conviction is overturned. But life beyond bars takes a dangerous turn as soon as she returns to Proofrock. Convicted Serial Killer, Dark Mill South, seeking revenge for thirty-eight Dakota men hanged in 1862, escapes from his prison transfer due to a blizzard, just outside of Proofrock, Idaho.

Dark Mill South’s Reunion Tour began on December 12th, 2019, a Thursday.

Thirty-six hours and twenty bodies later, on Friday the 13th, it would be over.

Summary

I’ve recently read Don’t Fear the Reaper (Indian Lake Trilogy, #2) the sequel to My Heart is a Chainsaw by US Horror author Stephen Graham Jones.

Don’t Fear the Reaper returns us to the town of Proofrock and to the protagonist Jade Daniel’s – four years after court trials – she’s changed a lot and finally cleared of the crimes from the Fourth of July Massacre. In the minds of some Proofrock residents, she’s still to blame for the Fourth of July Massacre. Others still, wait for the return of Indian ghost witch, Stacey Graves. But Jade is fairly certain that venegful ghost is finally in her watery grave. She hopes.

Proofrock is gripped in the worst ice storm of a century. The FBI have been busy trying to convict a Native American serial killer by returning to the scenes of his crimes across many states hoping for bodies of the victims still missing. But Dark Mill South has other plans. Once the FBI are inevitably caught in the snowstorm, he makes his escape and heads for…Proofrock. The body count starts piling up quickly and soon Jade and a few former school survivors of the Fourth July Massacre begin to wonder just how many killings are due to Dark Mill South or is someone else taking advantage of his presence?

Review

Graham-Jones writes a compelling and more rigorous sequel as though he’s found his ground, the audience are running with him as we’re led through the icy killing grounds of Proofrock once more. The pace is fast, the killer (or killers) are quick and cunning. Graham-Jones writes a brilliant crime story as well as a horror-infused homage to the slasher form. A steadily building pace is jerked into rapid action with a few gruesome but effective splashes of violence. Graham-Jones is a master of keeping the equilibrium perfectly poised.

Conclusion

A thrilling and suspenseful homage to the slasher genre with genuine characters and masterfully written. Great for fans of dark fiction, horror, slashers, suspense, mystery and thrillers. A highly recommended read!!

** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **

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The Attic Tragedy

Publisher’s Description

Sylvie never called them ghosts, but that’s what they were—not that George ever saw them herself. The new girl, Sylvie, is like a creature from another time, with her old-fashioned leather satchel, her white cotton gloves and her head in the clouds. George watches her drift around the edge of the school playing fields, guided by inaudible voices.

When George stands up for Sylvie, beating back Tommy Payne and his gang of thugs, it brings her close to the ethereal stranger; though not as close as George would have liked. In the attic of Sylvie’s father’s antique shop, George’s scars will sing and her longing will drive them both toward a tragedy as veiled and inevitable as Sylvie’s whispering ghosts.

Summary

I recently read The Attic Tragedy by British-Australian author J. Ashley Smith.

The Attic Tragedy is short but powerful tale exploring coming-of-age and a gender diverse society that is unwilling to accept George, the protagonist for themselves. Only the strange, waif-like Sylvie who’s father owns an antique store befriends George. The allure of Sylvie is her seeming eternal sadness but acceptance of life and especially her claims to hear the voices of ghosts from the antique objects she touches.

Mesmerised by this different and dreamy girl, George’s requited love slowly turns sour as the years pass and Sylvie tries to be less like her true self while George embraces their own gender diversity. A bond forms between Sylvie’s father and George as they mourn the loss of the Sylvie they loved. In the end, George must confront the path Sylvie had chosen and finds themselves more and more of the periphery of her life while she has remained central to theirs.

Review

Ashley-Smith crafts a beautiful, sad but engrossing tale that resonates strongly with honesty and integrity. The eerie supernatural background to The Attic Tragedy brings a quality of otherness and a sense of belonging in a liminal space- the protagonist is neither one thing or the other. The object of their affection is interwoven into the supernatural fabric until – when pulled free from it – there is a sense of loss and especially identity. Slyvie is not the woman her father or the protagonist remember. Ashley-Smith tells a stunning tale of loss, memory, pain and coming-of-age amid a shifting society and as the protagonist finds the transformed Sylvie is more like a faded, ghost of who she was, the sense of loss is profound and far-reaching.

Conclusion

A short but stunning coming-of-age tale, a gothic delight with supernatural themes woven throughout and a profound and powerful read. Highly recommend!!

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The Bridge

Publisher’s Description

Meera and her twin sister Kai are Mades—part human and part not—bred in the Blood Temple cult, which only the teenage Meera will survive. Racked with grief and guilt, she lives in hiding with her mysterious rescuer, Narn—part witch and part not—who has lost a sister too, a connection that follows them to Meera’s enrollment years later in a college Redress Program. There she is recruited by Regulars for a starring role in a notorious reading series and is soon the darling of the lit set, finally whole, finally free of the idea that she should have died so Kai could have lived. Maybe Meera can be re-made after all, her life redressed. But the Regulars are not all they seem and there is a price to pay for belonging to something that you don’t understand. Time is closing in on all Meera holds dear—she stands afraid, not just for but of herself, on the bridge between worlds—fearful of what waits on the other side and of the cost of knowing what she truly is.

Summary

The Bridge by J.S. Breukelaar is an dystopian alternate future – in a world like Australia and not. Similar to the protagonist Meera – part human and not. She is bereaved after the death of her twin sister Kai and suffers survivors guilt. In meeting the mysterious witch figure Narn, who knows more than she says about Meera but shares the loss of her own sister, a strong connection to forged.

Encouraged by the future offered placement in the Redress Program. Meera finally sees this chance to belong to the Regulars as an opportunity to set aside her past, the grief of losing Kai and finally start living her own life. But be careful what you wish for because all transformations come at a cost and this one might be higher than Meera is willing to pay.

Review

In The Bridge, Breukelaar writes a stunning combination of the fantastic, futuristic and the metaphorical. The division between fate and desire, hope and reality are twisted and spun into an elegant futuristic dystopian fairy tale.

Conclusion

For fans of modern and futuristic fairy tale and folklore retellings and reimagining, contemporary dark fantasy and dystopian settings. A highly recommended read!

** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **

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Tide of Stone

** I received an ARC for an honest review **

Publisher’s Description

The Time-Ball Tower of Tempuston houses the worst criminals in history.

Given the option of the death penalty or eternal life, they chose eternal life.

They have a long time to regret that choice.

Summary

Tide of Stone is a dark fiction novel by Australian horror author Karron Warren.

The protagonist of Tide of Stone is a young woman, Phillipa who has lived her entire life in the town which hosts the Time Ball Tower off-shore – a prison for the worst killers and depraved criminals who death was judged too easy to pay for their crimes. Instead, they are granted eternal life and imprisoned in the Time Ball Tower.

The town supplies the keepers (those who attend the prisoners in the Tower for one year) and has produced some of the wealthiest, famous, talented and influential ex-keepers in the history. Phillipa longs to be famous and remembered but is she willingly to do what it takes to join those keepers who have obtained glory? The dark truth of Tempuston and the Time Ball Tower might be too much for her.

Review

Tide of Stone combines first-person narrative and journal entires that work extremely well with Warren’s skilful crafting of a horrifying tale, the naivety of the protagonist for what awaits her as keeper in the Time Ball Tower is pure storytelling magic. The potential for darkness in the hearts of all is laid bare – and the prisoners might not be the worst of them. Warren’s envisaging of the town of Tempuston and all that depend on the evil in humanity locked away in the Time Ball Tower is a morally challenging and thought-provoking read.

Conclusion

A must-read for fans of psychological horror, dark fiction and alternate history. Highly recommend!

** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **

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Bitters

** I received an ARC for an honest review **

Publisher’s Description

The giant metal man has stood for hundreds of years, head tilted back, mouth open. All the dead of the town are disposed of this way, carried up the long, staircase that winds around him and tipped in. At his toe emerges the Bitters, the lifeblood of the town, keeping them healthy and prosperous as the sick and needy come to buy and drink.

McNubbin is a happy man with all he wants in life. He’s carried the bodies up since he was 14, a worthwhile, respected job. But when he notices broken girl after broken girl, he can’t stay quiet, and speaking up will change his perfect life.

Summary

I recently read the dark fiction novella Bitters by Australian horror and dark fiction author Kaaron Warren.

The focus of Bitters is the township that both owe their existence and health to the gold statue of the Man.

After a post-apocalyptic plague hundreds of years before, the dead were thrown into the Man and the putrified liquid called Bitters used as tonic. Over time, scientists removed any sick or drug users from those whose bodies ended up in the Man and the resultant Bitters gave health to the township who benefited from the Man. But a darker secret lurks within the township and the control of those who do a duty in carrying bodies to the top of the statue to deliver them into the Man, those who carry salt and bugs for the quickening the process of decay and those who provide the Bitters into bottles.

Review

Bitters was an expertly crafted dystopian and post-apocalyptic novella that leaves no doubt that Warren is a master storyteller as her tale draws the reader deep into the mindset of the town that hosts the famous strong male statue and to whom they consign the bodies of the dead and reap the benefits of an elixir from the putrefied remains. Despite the darkness and horrifying truth of the Man – Warren focuses on the members of the township who owe their livelihoods and health the grim task they carry out daily. Warren writes without judgement but a sense of compassion for the characters who prosper from the deaths of others. A powerful dystopian novella that haunts you long after the last page has been turned.

Conclusion

A great read for fans of dystopian tales, dark fiction and psychological horror. A highly recommended read!

** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **