The Frontlist

Among the many ways to try to reach the editor's desk, I've just been informed of a new one: The Frontlist. In their words: 'The Frontlist is, we believe, the first serious online route for an unpublished novelist to get a completed fictional novel considered by a publisher. It allows a new writer to test samples from a completed manuscript within a community, and to have it undergo structured critiques by other writers. All work will move up and down a list within its genre, according to the reviews that have been written. We have an informal agreement with a senior editor at Picador to consider top reviewed work from the site each month. The process is free - no upfront money, and we don't climb into any deals that may subsequently emerge between writer and publisher. To fund the project, we simply ask that if a writer wishes to read the individual reviews on his or her work, then they pay a one-off fee. But if they chose not to, that's fine - it will have absolutely no impact on their chances of being considered by the publisher. So writers are able to use The Frontlist completely and utterly free.'

So far they are only accepting submissions under two genres: Crime and General fiction, but hopefully the list will grow if they get enough support and interest.

Update

It's been a while since I posted here, so I thought I would just give a short update on what I'm up to. On the writing front, I'm working on a new zombie novel. The story's coming along well at the moment and I'm about a quarter of the way through writing it. My agent's had some enquiries about my other novels, so I've got my fingers crossed that something might take off, and a couple of my short stories are due to be published around now; I'll post more when that happens. Anyway, I hear the dead getting restless, so it's back to the writing.

Silent Hill

As I enjoyed playing the game, I had high hopes for Silent Hill the film, but as with many things in life, high expectations only lead to disappointment. It was nicely shot, very atmospheric, with some great scenery that could have been lifted straight from the game. But the storyline was cobbled together to try to make sense of it, and unfortunately, it didn’t work. And then there’s the dialogue. It was so stilted and unnatural, you wanted to grab the scriptwriter and throttle him. As I walked out, I heard comments ranging from 'That was shit' to 'What the hell was that about. Did you understand any of it?' I didn't think it was that bad, and it’s worth seeing on the big screen if only for the impressive scenery, but make sure you switch your brain off upon entering and then remember to turn it on again upon exit. Ultimately, it’s like a nice looking cake, but when you slice it open, there’s nothing inside. And I like my cake to have substance as well as decoration.

MySpace

If anyone is on MySpace and wishes to add me as a friend, feel free.
Find me on MySpace and be my friend!

Scary Moments

As someone who obviously wants to scare his readers, I have a quick question: What scares you? What makes a story scare the bejesus out of you?

Latest News

I've had a group of my short stories accepted for a collection, which will be published by the newly combined force of Wicked Karnival and Grafika Press. The collection will be titled Voyeurs of Death and will include 11 of my tales. I'm very excited about this, and can't wait to see the finished product. Check out the artwork on the Grafika website. You won't be disappointed.

First to be published by the company will be an anthology of short stories by horror author David A. Riley. Other authors with work accepted so far for various projects are: Dan Waters, Jason Brannon and Christopher Fulbright.

Latest News

And another sale to report, this time to Wicked Karnival, with my story, Clockwork, due to apear in issue #7. It looks as though 2006 is shaping up to be a good year.

This issue will feature fiction by:

1. GAST excerpt from the novel Edward Lee is working on.
2. COACH POTATO by Wrath James White
3. FIFTEEN MINUTES by Louise Bohmer
4. SWALLOWED SICKLE by Richard h. Pitaniello
5. CICADAS By Nickolas Cook
6. A GLASSY STARE, AN IDIOT'S GRIN by Patrick G. Rabe
7. EXOTIC FLOWER by John Irvine
8. THE WHITE DEATH By Debbie Kuhn
9. MUSIC FROM THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE by Andersen Prunty
10. THE KEY TO HER HEART By John Everson
11. THE DARKNESS OF EXALTED FLESH (A Tale from the Book of Dark Memory) by Joseph Armstead
12. TIN LIZZE by Cathy Buburuz
13. CLOCKWORK by Shaun Jeffrey
14. DEVIL'S TOY by Liam Davies
15. MADNESS by William Ollie

Non-Fiction by:

1. Greg Lamberson
2. Graham Masterton (and a flash story)
3. Nick Cato

Interviews with:

Ramsey Campbell
Edward Lee
Greg Lamberson

Latest News

Well here I am again with news of a short story sale, Bugs sold to Dark Wisdom, a quarterly publication of Dark Fiction and Lovecraftian horror. No definite date for publication yet, but it’s slated for issue #14, although it may appear sooner.

Free Fiction

I would just like to give a shout out to two free fiction venues. The first is Devil's Work, where if you sign up, you get a free story emailed to you every Friday. And the second is Shadowed Realms, which offers dark online flash fiction. Both are worth checking out, and as it's free admission, you have nothing to lose.

Newsletter update

For those who signed up to my newsletter, the free serialised novel, Dark Seduction, which I stared sending out last halloween, has almost reached its climax (for anyone who signs up now, the complete novel is available in the message archives). From the responses I received, people have enjoyed reading it – even those who didn’t think they would read a serialised novel online have written to say how much they look forward to the weekly chapters. Someone else compared the story to something written by Clive Barker, but not as wordy, which is praise indeed (now if only I could be as successful ;-))

When I have sent the final chapter of the novel out, the newsletter will be used for irregular news, the odd giveaway and anything else relevant, so it’s always worth signing up. Just pay me a visit at Shaun Jeffrey. You never know, you might find something you like.

Peter Benchley - RIP

Peter Benchley, whose novel "Jaws" made millions think twice about stepping into the water even as the author himself became an advocate for the conservation of sharks, has died at age 65, his widow said Sunday. His legacy to me, and probably countless others, will be the fear I have of going into the water in warmer climates.

First draft in the bag (or in this case, computer)

Well one year ago this month, I started writing Fangtooth. What with one thing and another, it took longer than anticipated, but I’m very pleased to report that I’ve just finished the first draft. Woohoo. It always gives me a great feeling of accomplishment to finish a novel. Now even though I’m eager to start rewriting, I’ll put it a way for a month to let the story settle. In the meantime, I’m going to rewrite an earlier novel, tentatively titled, Sacrifice.

With regard what Fangtooth is about, all I will say is this:

In an attempt to 'save' his son from the lifestyle he can see him drifting into in the city, recently widowed father, Bruce Holden and his wayward teenage son, Jack move to the coast. They soon discover that the house they have bought has stood empty for years as the previous occupants mysteriously disappeared. But that's only the start of their problems. Something's stirring in the sea. Something hungry.

I’ve got everything crossed that this novel will find a home.

Al Lewis - RIP

I was sad to hear that Al Lewis, who starred as Grandpa in the 1960s sitcom, The Munsters, has died. Sporting a somewhat cheesy Dracula outfit, he became a pop culture icon playing the temperamental father-in-law to Fred Gwynne's ever-bumbling Herman Munster on the 1964-66 television show. He was also one of the stars of another classic TV comedy, playing Officer Leo Schnauzer on Car 54, Where Are You?

The Munsters was one of the two "creepy" sitcoms that began in 1964. CBS aired The Munsters and ABC aired The Addams Family. Both of them lasted only two years and finished their network run within a week of each other. Although people often call him Grandpa Munster, Grandpa was Lily's father, and their family name was "Dracula".

The first episode of The Munsters aired in September, 1964, 10 months before I was born, but its appeal meant that it continues to be shown to this day. I always used to enjoy watching the Munsters, and although it only lasted a couple of years, it racked up an impressive 70 episodes. Long may it continue to be aired.

Novel update

Well I'm on the home straight with the first draft of my latest novel, Fangtooth. I'm excited about this story, and I hope publishers will like it just as much. Hopefully I'll have the first draft finished by the end of this month. Then I'm going to set it aside while I rewrite a novel that I wrote about 10 years ago, tentatively titled Sacrifice. I liked the original idea for Sacrifice, but it needs rewriting to make the most of it. Basically it's a story about love, revenge and monsters - a winning combination.

I've got plans for further novels filed away, so the only thing I'm short on is time and luck, and I truly believe that luck plays an important part in this thing called life, so I've got fingers, legs and everything else crossed that this is my lucky year.

Latest News

Just a couple of quick snippets of news. First, a new short story of mine entitled The Sin Box has been published in Entertainment Wickedly, a Fanzine specialising in alternative cinema. It's available in pdf format and is free to download. Next up, I've sold a short mystery story to Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine. I hope the rest of the year now continues in the same way.

Scrapbook snippet

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year. I've not posted much lately as I've been busy working on Fangtooth, the first draft of which I expect to finish this month all being well.

Anyway, here's another of those snippets that makes for bizarre reading.

A housewife in Funtua town of Katsina State woke from a night’s sleep to find a mysterious 6-inch nail driven into her head.

The incident was made more bizarre by the fact that she did not know when or how it happened to her.

Mrs. Adama Shuaibu was hale and hearty when she left for her room on Wednesday night, but apparently, while she slept, some cruel person crept into her room and drove the nail into her skull.

A nurse at Funtua General Hospital said the case was horrible and puzzling.
“I don’t know how to explain her situation. The lady could eat but could not talk and her behaviour was abnormal. We cannot rule out the possibility that she was under the influence of a strong charm for her to have been ignorant of a nail being driven into her head”, the nurse said.

Merry Christmas

Well, I've been busy working on my new novel Fangtooth, but now it's time for a couple of days break. Merry Christmas everyone.

Bleach

Shooting of the film, Bleach will begin in January on the UK’s Isle of Wight, with writer/director Jason Bradbury heading up a filmmaking team that is almost entirely in their late teens.

BLEACH is set at an abandoned factory where a group of youths decide to hold an illegal rave—little knowing that the building serves as home to a deformed maniac (Matthew Fuller) who is obsessed with cleanliness and hates anything dirty—including sex.

To show your support for independent films, or if just interested as it does look cool, check it out at: http://www.bleachthemovie.com

AA Independent Press Guide

For anyone in need of markets for illustrations, short stories or poetry to send their work to, then check out the awesome AA Independent Press Guide. A free online guide to 2000+ lit mags and publishers.

Dark Tales

On the news front, my story The Flibbertigibbet is now available to read in Dark Tales, a free to download online anthology available in PDF format from SpecFicWorld. My story originally appeared in the limited print run Hellbound Books anthology, Deathgrip: Legacy of Terror in 2003, so I'm glad to see it now available for a wider audience.

Dark Tales features fiction by James S Dorr, Angeline Hawkes-Craig, Karen Sandler, Rebecca M. Senese, James R. Cain, Mark Justice, Rob Hunter, K.G. McAbee, Shaun Jeffrey, and Carol Hightshoe.

Follow this link to download a copy:

Dark Tales