Things of the Week, 19th December 2016: Pseudpod Podcast Part II, This Is Horror Review The Feast of All Souls

Further nice things have happened. Following on from 'Dermot' getting a truly chilling reading from Alasdair Stuart on the Pseudopod podcast, you can now listen to Lewis Davies' rendition of 'The Moraine' too.

Originally published in Paul Finch's Gray Friar Press anthology Terror Tales of the Lake District, 'The Moraine' follows Steve and Diane, a couple with a troubled marriage, who get lost when an unexpected fog catches them on a Lake District hillside. Trying to find shelter, they instead find themselves on a slope of loose rubble, left behind by the Ice Age glaicers: a moraine.

And they aren't alone there. Something lives under the rocks - and it's hunting them.

'The Moraine' was, along with 'Dermot' reprinted in Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year #4.

Meanwhile, Jake Marley at This Is Horror has reviewed The Feast Of All Souls:

Simon Bestwick has taken what appears on the surface to be a traditional haunted house ghost story, and twisted it into something altogether stranger and unique. Bestwick’s use of language and character, as well as the concrete foundation of his setting... helps to solidify Ramsey Campbell’s statement that Simon Bestwick is “among the most important writers of contemporary British horror.”

You can read the full review here.

Please share far and wide!

Things of the Week, 13th December 2016: Great Jones Street, Pseudpod Podcast, Dark Musings' Feast Of All Souls Review

The last few weeks have been hard work. I've had to get a job in order to pay the bills, and I'm still struggling to fit my writing in around the demands of a day job after three years as a full time author. The job itself is okay, however, although the hours are long, and the people I work with are great. So it could be worse.

Meanwhile, good things have happened.

I'm delighted to announce that my story 'Dermot' is available over at Pseudopod: you can stream or download Alasdair Stuart's excellent reading of the tale here. Another story of mine, 'The Moraine', will be podcast next week.

'Dermot' really is an example of one of those stories that hit a chord - or a nerve - with a lot of people. Along with 'The Narrows', it's the only piece I've written to make an awards shortlist.

So I'm even more delighted to announce that 'Dermot', 'The Narrows' and 'The Moraine' are among five stories that I've sold to Great Jones Street, to be added to the archive of online fiction available through their app. Kelly Abbott and Ken Truesdale are doing great work in trying to popularise short fiction to a general market once more; I wish them every success.

The five tales are:

Dermot
The Narrows
Lex Draconis
Never Say Goodbye
The Moraine

Hugely proud of them all. (I've always had a soft spot for 'Lex Draconis', as it's very different to my usual thing, so it's good to see it reaching a wider audience.)

And finally this week, that excellent chap Anthony Watson has reviewed The Feast Of All Souls over at Dark Musings.

There is, it has to be said, a lot going on in this book, a mixture of themes and genres and in the hands of a lesser writer it could have turned out to be a car crash. This isn’t the case here though, Simon keeps full control over all the themes and ideas, merging them perfectly into a gripping – and horrific – whole.

I really enjoyed The Feast of All Souls, loved the imagination on display. Scary, thrilling but in places also incredibly moving. 

Many thanks, Anthony!

Now I'm off to work...

British Fantasy Awards Shortlist

Well, the BFS has published its Shortlist for the 2012 British Fantasy Awards, and I'm delighted to say that my short story, 'Dermot', originally published in Black Static #24 (and now reprinted in Ellen Datlow's The Best Horror of the Year #4,) has been shortlisted in the Best Short Fiction category, alongside work by some very fine fellow writers.

In addition, Conrad Williams' excellent Weird Western antho Gutshot (which features my tale 'Kiss The Wolf') has been shortlisted in Best Anthology.

The short fiction shortlist in full:

Dermot; Simon Bestwick (Black Static)
Sad, Dark Thing; Michael Marshall Smith (A Book of Horrors, Jo Fletcher Books)
Florrie; Adam Nevill (House of Fear, Solaris Books)
The Coffin-Maker’s Daughter; Angela Slatter (A Book of Horrors, Jo Fletcher Books)
King Death; Paul Finch (Spectral Press)

In other news: I've finished the first draft of Hell's Ditch.

And now I'm off to bed.  See you in the morning.

And A Dizzy New Year

Happy New Year, everybody, and welcome to 2012.

The year has got off to a fairly exciting start. The last few days have brought a blizzard of good things- so many it's actually almost scary.

In a week or so, I should be signing contracts with my new agent (full details after the event.)

I've also been invited to contribute to a couple of new anthologies, including a big one in the US.

Matthew Fryer at Welcome to the Hellforge listed Angels Of The Silences as one of his top 10 genre reads of 2011. Alongside Where The Heart Is and End Of The Line, both of which I appeared in. Which is lovely as I'm very fond of them all, but Angels in particular.

My story 'The Churn' will still be appearing in a forthcoming issue of Black Static magazine.

My author copies of The Faceless still look gorgeous.

But over and above all that...

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from the wonderful Ellen Datlow in New York, informing me that she was taking 'The Moraine' (from Terror Tales of the Lake District) for Best Horror of the Year 4. Alongside stories by Peter Straub and Stephen King.

This was rather good news (Stephen King! STEPHEN FRAKKING KING!!)

Fast forward to earlier this week, when a further email arrived, this time imparting the information that 'Dermot' (from Black Static #24) had also been selected. So I will have two stories in Best Horror of the Year. Alongside Peter Straub. And Stephen frakking King. And many more besides (see the full TOC here.)

In addition, a new novel is underway, and next Monday, all being well, I start the first stage of my training as a counsellor.

In other news, I now have a Kindle. And I rather like it. Much is happening in these early days of 2012, and it's good. I'm hoping this will set the tone for the year. 2011 was a bittersweet affair, a very tough year in places, but out of it, good things have come. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me- online or otherwise- for the journey, and onwards and upwards. Sod the Mayan prophecy; here's hoping 2012 is a great year for all of us.

Me & An American Biohazard...

Gardner Goldsmith of Liberty Conspiracy interviewed me for his podcast back at Fantasycon in Brighton, earlier this month. Here's that interview now- I start gabbing at around 6 minute 30 seconds and finally shut up around the 42 minute mark... When not cackling insanely or gabbling too fast for anyone to understand, I can be heard talking about various things I've written ('Dermot', Angels Of The Silences, Tide Of Souls and The Faceless) and stuff that's influenced me along the way (can't believe I forgot to mention Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson...)

Black Static 24

This was awaiting me when I got home from work the other day. Columns by Stephen Volk, Chris Fowler and Mike O'Driscoll, book reviews by Peter Tennant and fiction! Fiction by Tim Lees (excellent) with more by Simon McCaffery, K Harding Stalter and RAMSEY CAMPBELL! Oh, and me. Yup, I'm in there with a short story called 'Dermot'. It's a bleak, nasty little tale and I like it a lot. Feel free to check it out. The magazine as a whole is, as always, well worth your time.