Tag: Novellas

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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 **

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Bluebells Book Launch

A very late posting of the offical launch of Bluebells on October 2nd, 2022 at Conflux 16 Convention in Canberra. The book launch which had been delayed due to my health issues and extended hospital stays. So this was time to celebrate!

@Cat Sparks

We kicked off the launch with Zachary Ashford giving a great introduction to my writing career and focus so far: I’m an LGBTQI and disability author of numerous short stories in the horror and dark fantasy genres. Bluebells was my debut novella.

Zachary had a couple of questions on what inspired me to write Bluebells. The answers ranged from climate change, an interest in WWI, vampires and the Black Death and ‘Spanish fever’. Alternate history had always fascinated me and the question in my mind became what if the world had fallen into a post-apocalyptic state during WWI? What if the future we know, never happened?

@Cat Sparks

Zachary invited me to do a quick reading from Bluebells. I chose a passage near the end where the vampire Nicolas confronts and debates his humanity alongside his vampirism.

@Cat Sparks

A book signing and purchase option for copies of Bluebells followed and I had a lovely time meeting new and old friends while I signed copies.

@Cat Sparks
@Cat Sparks
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Braid

Publisher’s Description

Decades after escaping the tower, Zel makes her living as a healer and wise-woman, travelling the lands with her family and the sentient, serpentine braid that still carries a touch of the witch’s magic. Short-haired and happy, Zel prepares for the birth of her first great-grandchild, only to find herself shaken by unexpected news: Mother Gothel is dead.

Memories of the woman who raised her, isolated and imprisoned, unlock within Zel an equal measure of anger and grief, forcing her at last to reckon with the tragic events of that long-ago summer when her own children came of age … a season where implacable death stalked her family across the wild, grassy plains and the world Zel knew split open and soured.

For there are graver threats in Zel’s world than witches, greater sorrows to be borne than the loss of true love, and some dangers from which even the oldest, strongest magic may not be enough to protect her.

Summary

Braid was highly anticipated for me after reading one of the other novellas in the Never Afters series by Australian author Kirstyn McDermott.

Braid follows the protagonist Rapunzel, known as Zel, through her flashback memories of life immediately after the Tower and the rise of anti witchcraft sentiments in the common folk. This lands Zel into trouble that her fierce twin sister ends up paying the costs while they mourn the earlier death of Zel’s younger brother and the other twin.

Despite what should have been a joyous and life-changing arrival of Zel freed from the witch’s tower. But even here, Zel has a complicated friendship and dislike for the witch Gothel s who had raised her from a child to a tormentor.

Review

Braid is a well-written and highly original novella from the Never Afters series. McDermott uses a complex technique of several timelines, which could occasionally be difficult to follow at times. Well-worth reading the imagined life of Rapunzel after fleeing the tower with her prince.

Conclusion

A wonderful read for fans of fairytales and fantasy, literature and history, There’s a bit of everything for the reader and makes you think what prisons we build for ourselves. A great real!!

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Conflux 16 2022 Convention

A very late post on the October 2022 Conflux 16 Speculative Fiction Convention held in Canberra. Aside from being an invited panelist for 4 seperate panels, I ran my first Dealers Table for the four days and officially launched Bluebells.

I was also an invited panellist on 4 panels – each exciting to engage with an audience and discuss the theme in question with other likeminded writers.

“Queering Fiction” was a wonderful discussion about how authors create characters with a LGBTQI identity – or how authors like Sam Hawke create an entire world where sexuality is fluid and accepted.

“Re-imagining Horror in a Pandemic” was a great lineup of panelists discussing how the pandemic affected them as writers but also how the wider public changed perceptions and fear became a driver of society. For horror writers, fear is the driver of a story. Many ideas were exchanged on whether horror writing would become more or less popular and certainly Fantasy seemed to be the main genre read during pandemic lockdowns.

“Including Disability in Fiction” was such an important panel that like the queer community, characters with disabilities are often absent, stereotyped or in the background of a storyline. This panel explored what writers living with disabilities experience and want to see more of in fiction and from their own writing.

“Climate Change: Past and Future” was a fascinating panel exploring the emergence and importance of climate fiction in publishing scene. Discussions ranged from the emergence of man-induced climate change to the reality of how climate change is affecting everyday existence and how that has seen the explosion of dystopian fiction. An important comment by Cat Sparks was that perhaps we should be focusing in our writing of turning the current climate crisis around and sending a message of hope in doing so.

The last event was a live 5 minute reading session with Kaaron Warren. I read an excerpt from Bluebells when Peter first meets Nicolas de Laon on the frontlines in Belgium.

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Curse of Bronze

Publisher’s Description

Bella Hathaway comes from a family of daredevil adventurers — but she’s a a quiet scholar of magical languages who wouldn’t say boo to a goose.

When her curse-breaker aunt is murdered in the Eldritch Library, Bella inherits a house full of dangerous artefacts & talking furniture. As she investigates her aunt’s death, she finds more mysteries: a hoard of gargoyles, a lost language, a family of werewolves… and a tragic family secret.

Review

I recently read the Gaslamp novella Curse of Bronze (The Gargoyle Mysteries, #1) by Australian author Tansy Rayner Roberts.

The protagonist of this Gaslamp fantasy is Bella who inherits her aunt’s house in London in the Lyceum quarter where the Fae live. The inheritance of the house comes with all the cursed objects within from her aunt Charlotte’s very successful career as s curse breaker.

Unfortunately for Bella, she has no skills in curse breaking but id a qualified linguist. The inheritance of the house can only occur with her aunt Charlotte’s death.

Soon, Bella is taken from the comforts of her antiquarian lifestyle and thrust into solving who killed her aunt Charlotte, why and using an unusual method of turning her to bronze.

Final Thoughts

Curse of Bronze was my first book that is read by Robert’s and I really enjoyed the clever mixture of Gaslamp fantasy and murder mystery. The archaeological tomb raiding was an extra bonus of excitement. Well-written, comfortable read and highly enjoyable.

Conclusion

A recommended novel for readers who enjoy Gaslamp fantasy, mystery and humour. The archaeological angle was also well done. A Great read!

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The Haunting of Hill House

Publisher’s Description

Four seekers have arrived at the rambling old pile known as Hill House- Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of psychic phenomena; Theodora, his lovely assistant; Luke, the future inheritor of the estate; and Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman with a dark past. As they begin to cope with horrifying occurrences beyond their control or understanding, they cannot possibly know what lies ahead. For Hill House is gathering its powers – and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

Review

I read this classic psychological thriller The Haunting of Hill House by US author Shirley Jackson as part of a gothic literature course. It’s always been on my to-read list and this was the perfect opportunity to give it a thorough read.

Hill House has a long and strange history of accidents, unexplained deaths and tragedy. There is something disturbing about the lands on which Hill House is built – the uneasy hills the cup the house, wild meadows and forests, overgrown walled gardens. It all adds to the atmosphere of a haunted place.

Final thoughts

The Haunting of Hill House left me thinking about it for weeks to come. The atmosphere of the house itself made it a character – and Jackson was phenomenal to create a twisted, grotesque monstrosity of a house and a haunted character. The writing was something I couldn’t put down but didn’t want to end. Brilliant.

Conclusion

A brilliant read. Perfect for those who enjoy gothic horror at it’s best, a slow-burn psychological thriller and a mystery of a haunted house. And what a haunted house- twisted and insane, a character in itself. Highly recommended!

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1920s Gothic Horror

My current work-in-progress is a gothic horror set in the infamous 1920s Razor Gang era in Sydney, Australia.

Some background on the Razor Gangs of Sydney. The more well-known lawless crime eras of Birmingham, Glasgow and New York had their own gangs and warfare on the streets.

In Australia, it was cities of Melbourne and Sydney that were rife with crime gangs controlling brothels, the ‘sly-grog’ of Prohibition Depression, illegal drugs and police bribery. From the 1920s to the 1940s, Sydney’s harbour-side streets were ruled by two women and their gangs: Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh. Both had their seperate illegal business focuses and things ran smoothly enough until members of the gangs started a bloody war with their weapon of choice: the easily come-by straight razor from any barber shop.

In the years of World War I and World War II saw many immigrants and refugees from war-torn Europe, the multicultural nature of Australian population swelled and my project imagines the supernatural beings that would have fled Europe amid the flow of mortal immigrants.

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Bluebells: Book Trailer & Excerpt

My Australian dystopian horror Bluebells explores queer fiction, alternate history, pandemics, vampires, mental illness, trauma and war. The

There is a post on research background to Bluebells and the folklore of the bluebells flowers which is key to the novella character Anna is here.

A video tour of Bluebells and a reading excerpt is below. Enjoy!

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They Were Here Before Us

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

Publisher’s Description

The less you know going in, the better off you’ll be. If you know, you know.

The only thing more brutal than nature is love.

Review

My most recent read was They Were Here Before Us by Bram Stoker Finalist Eric LaRocca.

I have read two of LaRocca’s other novellas Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and You’ve Lost a Lot of Blood and both explored the depths of dark fiction, social prejudices and queer fiction. They Were Here Before Us is series of stories united by the common theme of otherness – seeing humanity through its darkest and most depraved lenses by those who are other, seperate and different.

Final Thoughts

They Were Here Before Us is a complex, visceral and raw exploration of humanity through the lens of otherness. LaRocca’s writing is skilful and a delight to read even as the subject of each story gets darker, the masterful writing holds your attention until the very end and beyond. Accompanied by richly detailed illustrations that complement the novella, the tales will haunt you well after you’ve turned the final pages.

Conclusion

A highly recommended read for fans of LaRocca’s other work, dark fiction, societal issues, queer fiction and horror.

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Bluebells Book Launch

Conflux 16- Speculative Fiction Conventions from October 1 -3 will be hosting my book launch for Bluebells. After several hospital admission interruptions, I’m looking forward to properly launching my debut novella from Black Hare Press.

Tickets for Conflux 16 are essential. Book here.

Bluebells has its belated official launch on October 2nd at 12:30 pm AEST.