Get Ready for Tomb Wars!

Leisure cover 2009

It’s that time again. Halloween season. The ghosts are out, the phantoms moan, and what’s making the floorboards creak upstairs…

A long time has passed since my last mailer, but that’s mainly due to writing a whole new batch of short stories and novellas, as well as my regular cycle of novels. You might have already spotted some of these in volumes like Hellbound Hearts and Dark Delicasies 3. And there are more lurking in the wings ;—)

So, what’s coming up? November sees the release of Ghost Monster (hardback from Robert Hale, paperback, Leisure). This story of possession is, in part, a homage to the kind of films I grew up with, especially the Hammer Horror movies that starred the likes of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. There are splashes of humour in this story of revenge from beyond the grave, as well splashes of gore, but it was my intention to create a lurid Technicolor frightfest of the kind that had me hooked in front of the television on Friday nights.

December sees the release of Whitby Vampyrrhic (Severn House). There’ll be more about this in a later mailer, along with a link to a short tie-in film. In a nutshell, however, the novel sees the return of the vampire creatures that featured in Vampyrrhic and Vampyrrhic Rites. Whitby Vampyrrhic is set in World War 2; a film unit travels to the remote coastal town of Whitby with the intention of making a movie… however, something is waiting there with a hellish appetite.

Out now:

This Ghosting Tide. A few years ago I took part in Winter Chills, a series of ghost hunts, which were shown on TV. For a long time I wanted to write a story that featured some of our adventures at haunted castles, mansions, ancient jails, and so on, but I never seemed to get round to it. Then one day I sat down and started writing the novella that would become This Ghosting Tide. A story of a bunch of hapless ghosthunters, hired by an eccentric English aristocrat called Lord ‘Byron’ who is accompanied by his pet monkey, Polidori. There are nuggets of autobiography in the novella, some humour, too, but its has a very dark heart, with some of the most unsettling scenes I’ve ever written. The strapline is GET READY FOR TOMB WARS! And I think that sums up nicely the jist of the story. The book is published by Bad Moon Books

I hope your Halloween is a good one. Remember, strange noises in the house are often caused by plumbing, drafts or roaming pets. But if your pet is some fiery, be-fanged hellborn spawn of Satan… then you’ve only yourself to blame ;—)

All the best,

—Simon