reads, Recent Reads

Braid

Publisherโ€™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… Continue reading Braid

research, Writing

Blathnat: Irish Mythology

Goddess of the Tuatha de Danann Blathnat is an Irish goddess of abundance and tales of her appear in the Ulster Cycle describing her as the beautiful, scheming and unfaithful queen of the sorcerer Cu Roi. The intense love affair between Blathnat and Cuchulainn led to the death of her husband, Cu Roi. A common… Continue reading Blathnat: Irish Mythology

reads, Recent Reads

Into the Forest

Publisherโ€™s Description Deep in the dark forest, in a cottage that spins on birds' legs behind a fence topped with human skulls, lives the Baba Yaga. A guardian of the water of life, she lives with her sisters and takes to the skies in a giant mortar and pestle, creating tempests as she goes. Those… Continue reading Into the Forest

research, Writing

Mirror Folklore

In folklore, a mirror is a doorway or portal through which spirits, including ghosts and demons can gain access to the physical world where demonic infestations and hauntings occur. In prehistory, any shiny surface was regarded as a spirit doorway and used to summon spirits into the world. They also are used for seeing visions… Continue reading Mirror Folklore

research, Writing

Norse Witch: Gullveig

Gullveig is an important female figure mentioned in two stanzas in the Vรถluspรก, one of the poems in the Nordic Poetic Edda. Her prominent role describes the events leading to the Aesir-Vanir War, the war between the two main tribes of deities in Norse mythology, the Aesir and the Vanir and the destruction of the… Continue reading Norse Witch: Gullveig

reads, Recent Reads

Damnation Games

*** I received an ARC in return for an honest review *** Publisherโ€™s Description Alan Baxter, editor of Damnation Games, believes horror is the genre of honesty. โ€˜With horror, thereโ€™s no shying away from brutal reality to supply a happy ending. Even when the evil is overcome, it seldom happens without cost. Survivors are rarely… Continue reading Damnation Games

Short Fiction, stories, Writing

Year Four Release

Year Four 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 youโ€™re interested in purchasing an ebook or paperback copy of Year Four, more details are available here

Long Fiction, Writing

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… Continue reading 1920s Gothic Horror

Long Fiction, Writing

Background to The Devil & Loch Ard Gorge

In my novelette The Devil & the Loch Ard Gorge, I was inspired by Victorian era Gothic literature and the history of the Australian shipwrecks. You can read more about the history of the Loch Ard shipwreck here. My initial inspiration for The Devil & the Loch Ard Gorge was a song โ€œThe Loch Ard… Continue reading Background to The Devil & Loch Ard Gorge

Long Fiction, Writing

Celtic Dark Fantasy

I am in the final stages of editing my draft dark fantasy novel inspired by Celtic mythology and literature (Arthurian, Welsh and Irish Cycles) and LGBTQI themes. In a portal fantasy where the gods, mortals and legendary Fae courts battle for dominance, the last of the sorceress and Fae bloodlines is lost. A struggle between… Continue reading Celtic Dark Fantasy