Sunday, December 23, 2012

Yule Tidings

I just want to make a short post to wish all my readers, fans, followers and friends a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year in 2013. 

2012 has been a slow year due to getting sidetracked by a novel that demanded to be written right there and then. Nasty little novelses. Hopefully 2013 will see at least one more publication for your infinite enjoyment. On the cards is a second short story collection, possibly a third, and hopefully the exciting sequel to said nasty novel. 

In the meantime, I know a lot of you will be expecting shiny new ereaders in your stockings and under your trees this Christmas, and I ask you to remember, in your technological delight, a poor, lonely little ebook that's just longing for a forever home - Red Wine and Words - only $4.91 on Amazon.com and £4.11 on Amazon.co.uk. Treat yourself, and at the same time make a struggling author immeasurably happy.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Next Best Thing

A friend and author of the forthcoming short story collection, Strings, Darren Gallagher asked me to participate in a blog hop that has been cycling around t'interwebs over the last months. You can read Darren's post here.

Of course, being the gobshite I am, I agreed. I've never done one of these things before, so bear with me as I jump in feet and head first (though I'm not certain I'm still limber enough for such a maneuver.)

   What is the working title of your book?
   Red Wine and Words. Not working, but actual!

   Where did the idea come from for the book?
   It’s a collection of sixteen short stories, so the ideas came from many different places at 
   many different times. Some of the stories have already been published in various 
   anthologies, so the ideas for those would have come from the submission call and 
   subsequent brainstorming.
   Usually brainstorming, for me, gets out of control. It’s highly likely that brainstorming for 
   one story will uproot ideas for ten others.
   Dreams, also, form the basis for a lot of my ideas. But mostly, anything that intrigues me, 
   scares me, confuses me, or affects me in any emotion not aforementioned, gets the 
   creative juices flowing. I’m a little strange like that.

   What genre does your book fall under?
   As you might have gathered from the above question, I am, at times, more emotional than 
   a pregnant woman coming down off a lifetime prescription of anti-depressants. So 
   whatever mood takes me, will also take my writing.
   I’m fond of the dark stuff. This is not in reference to Guinness (which, funnily enough, I'm 
   also fond of) but to dark themes – horror, psychological horror, thriller, murder, mystery, 
   love and loss, etc. You will not find many happy endings in my writing, and certainly no 
   chick lit. No siree.

   Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
   All male characters shall be played by Johnny Depp. And I shall call him Johnny. And he 
   shall be mine to cuddle at will.
   All female roles shall be played by Angelina Jolie. I shall call her Angie. And she shall be 
   mine to cuddle when Johnny is broken.

   What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
   Does it count if I write a whole page punctuated only with commas and semi-colons? 
   Okay then, okay:
   'An eclectic collection of tales which blur the line between fantasy and reality, mixing 
   horror, humor, suspense, and tragedy with the all-encompassing theme of love and loss.'

   Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
   'Tis published, and published by Post Mortem Press, based in Cincinnati. The company is 
   owned and run by Eric Beebe and his wife Stephanie Beebe, and they run it like a family. 
   There’s a great bunch of authors represented by Eric and Stephanie, and there's a lot of 
   blaggarding goes on in the group. But, I've gone too far; the first rule of the Post Mortem 
   club is we don't talk about the Post Mortem club.

   How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
   Most of the stories in Red Wine and Words were already written when the brilliant idea 
   came to me to lump them all together in a single collection. All that remained was to 
   gather them up and edit them according to my writerly ego at the time (some were almost 
   a year old. Oh, the shame!) Of course I did write a few extras specifically for the 
   collection, and edit those too.
   I guess in all, from writing the oldest story in the book, to having the book published, took 
   approximately one year.

   What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
   I would never be so boastful, or, for that matter, be able to overcome my self-doubt for 
   long enough to compare myself to any other book or author. Every book has its own 
   unique charm, every author, their own voice. Some may appeal to me in the fiercest 
   possible way, others, not at all.
   So for this, you're going to have to make do with the opinions of others. One review which 
   literally made my jaw drop, was from Dean Cowan of BookPleasures.com. Dean said:
   “On my bookshelf I own collections of stories by the likes of M.R. James, Conan Doyle, and H.P    
   Lovecraft and I hope Emma Ennis would not be insulted if I said that stories of this kind belong beside    these."
   How do you like them apples?

   Who or What inspired you to write this book?
   I've always loved reading, and in school, getting assigned an essay was the highlight of 
   my week. While the rest of the class were groaning in despair, I was dancing inside. It just 
   so happened that I was lucky enough to have a teacher who nurtured both these loves. On 
   the return of one of my essays (I think I was about 13 or 14 years old at the time) she had 
   written: “I loved this one, Emma. So emotional. Perhaps a future as a romance novelist?”
   (or something along those lines.) And from there, the seed was sown; there would be no 
   weeding it out, no matter how many rejections racked up.
   It was for this reason that I dedicated Red Wine and Words to this very teacher.

   What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
   Seriously? Is it not piqued already? You lot are a hard crowd to please. Very well...
   2012 is the year of the apocalypse (I've lost count of how many we've had so far this year) 
   – that's in there. Copycat murders – they're always fascinating aren't they? Well that's in 
   there too. You want to know about Egyptian curses, or what imaginary friends really are? 
   Well I've got some theories for you to bandy about. Ancient Indian spirits, Shadow People,
   mental diseases – yep, you guessed it – all found within the covers of Red Wine and 
   Words.
   Add to all these a generous dollop of the human condition, a sprinkle of conspiracy, a dash 
   of fairytale and a pinch of dark angels, and there really, really is not much else you can ask 
   for. Just go buy the damn thing!

And that, as they say, is a wrap! Next week you can read posts by:
Rebecca Snow,
Brian Dobbins, author of 'Jasmine's Tale,'
Dale Eldon, author of the forthcoming novelette 'Dark Dwellings,'
and
Jason D. Brawn, author of the novelettes 'Stranded' and 'Refuge.'

Tag, you're it!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Give the Gift of a Book

It's that time of year again. The trees are shivering in the woods, the tinsel is preening itself in the attic; you're making a list, you're checking it twice. * Christmas music screeches to a halt*  That dreaded list. We all, every year, have one or two of those annoying b*@%&^ds we just don't know what to buy for. They're not interested in movies or games, they have all the latest gadgets for the home and the most fashionable trimmings for their appendages. Because of their damnable happiness, each year you're getting a little thinner on top.

How about giving the gift of a book?

A book is timeless, traditional, and always appreciated.

Some awkward people complain they never have time to read, so what could be better than a collection of short stories? Not so time consuming, and you can bow out for a few days and still be able to pick up where you left off.

You can guess where I'm going with this...

Red Wine and Words - sixteen short stories of love, loss, horror, tragedy, guaranteed to wipe the smug smile off those pestilent pup's faces and keep them quiet for the season.

Or imagine this: you've already bought that newfangled ebook reader gadgetty thingy for your loved one. Go the extra mile and get them started with Red Wine and Words in ebook format.

Sorted! So that's Christmas in the bag. I'll even provide the links for you:



I'm so eager to share my baby with you lot I even dabbled in a little movie making. It's quite pathetic really, but maybe it will make you all feel sorry for me and encourage you to buy in bulk. You can find it here. Opinions to yourselves please.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Sample Red Wine and Words

That's right. You read it correctly. You can now sample Red Wine and Words right here, right now using the dinky little widget below.

The sample contains excerpts from some of the stories in the book including one full short called 'Friends Forever. Sampled stories include:
  • Dust and Bones
  • Frozen Outpost
  • Come On In
  • The Guardians
  • This is 2012
  • From Hell and Back
  • Taming Beauty
  • Cornflower Blue
If you like what you see there, then trot on over to Amazon and buy the full version in traditional and beautiful paperback or ebook.



Tuesday, November 13, 2012

'THE END'

Those blessed two words - The End. There's just no possible way to describe the effect they have on a poor, struggling author like myself. Indulge me for a moment, while I attempt the impossible...

Imagine if you will, six months of your most emotional, self-doubting days; days filled with uncertainty and pressure, dotted only here and there with small triumphs. Outside the task at hand you are good for nothing because every fiber of your being is telling you that you should be somewhere else, doing something else. Perfectly good conversations grind to a halt as you continuously drift off into your own head or scrabble around for the nearest surface on which to make notes lest you forget.

Six months of waking early and being unable to go back to sleep because your mind has kicked straight into fifth gear. 'I'll get up now and start,' you say. 'I'll be so tired I can sleep early tonight and have a full day tomorrow,' you assure yourself. And it's all going to plan until your head hits that pillow and your brain suddenly finds a sixth gear hitherto unknown.

Alternatively, imagine your pride and joy going from newborn to adult in those six months. You bathe their scraped knees, wipe their tears of teenage heartbreak; you watch, weeping, from the front stoop as they leave your arms to go find themselves. And then, the bittersweet comfort of sitting in the pew watching them tie the knot with their soul mate, happy, secure, whole.

Now, imagine that night, when the guests are gone and the happy couple are off on their honeymoon. Though you will never stop caring, never stop worrying, although you will always get that urge to wrap them under your wing and protect them, you know there is someone else now to help you carry that burden of care. Think of that night, as you lay down to sleep...

...And that still does not cut it, because even before you type those words - 'The End' - something else is already brewing. You know it's there, simmering just below the surface, but the 'd' needs to be down before it can truly boil up. You get seconds, minutes if you're very lucky, to savour that triumph before the next project takes over and the whole process begins again.

The End has been typed, the next project has cooked. But, I hear you yell, what is it? Well, that's a story for another post!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Read the End First - Paving the way to The Stokers

Okay, okay! I admit I may have had my foot a little heavy on the exaggerator with the post title, but it got your attention didn't it? And that's no mean feat at times, nasty little hobbitses you lot. So, let's get back to reality shall we?

I'm proud to announce that Read the End First, a collection of 24 stories by 24 authors, set in 24 time zones and 24 apocalyptic events, which contains my story, Hammered and Nail, has made the Bram Stoker 2012 recommended reading list.

I don't know about you lot, but I'm taking that as pretty prestigious! The book has been read and blurbed by some big names, all of whom are blowing the proverbial trumpet about it. So it would only be right of me to advise you to purchase it, and to provide you with a link below where you can do just that. I swear sometimes my generosity knows no bounds.


Here is what some of said big names are saying about it:
"Read The End First is wonderful collection of devious and inventive tales about the end of the world. The apocalypse has never before been this much fun!" - NY Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry, author of DEAD OF NIGHT and ASSASIN'S CODE. 
"Read The End First is a chilling and utterly unique take -- or rather, 24 different takes -- on the end of the world as we know it. These stories present a fractured prism of apocalypse served up every way imaginable. Open it anywhere and be afraid." - Joe Schreiber, author of STAR WARS: DEATH TROOPERS and CHASING THE DEAD.
But enough about that, you can find all these compliments and more on the link above and in the book itself. For now, I'm going to provide a teensie little excerpt of Hammered and Nail just to wet your whistles...

     “Civilians are urged to stay indoors. The disease is aggressively contagious and can be passed via saliva, skin contact, even through the air. The government is trying to contain the infection, but unconfirmed reports from foreign media indicate that this has reached pandemic proportions. Some fear it is too late, that this is The End.”
     The newsreader stopped mid-stride and glanced to her right. At a signal from someone behind the scenes, her head whipped back to the camera. She opened her mouth to continue, but nothing came out. Her terrified eyes stared out into the waiting world. The studio lights picked out a shiny tear that rolled down her cheek.
     The camera panned in a rapid one-eighty to show one of the crew members on the floor, his back arched so sharply that only his feet and his head touched the ground.
Some of the onlookers in the shop gasped and turned to the arms of those beside them for comfort.
     Lars left the building. There was pandemonium on the streets. People ran, people fell, others hunched over fallen comrades. Lars wanted to scream at them to get indoors like the TV had said.
     His injured foot throbbed and weighed heavy on the end of his leg like a guilty secret. As he turned a corner he was hit with a mental image of kissing Kari on the night he had hurt his foot, and the reporter's statement came back to him like a malevolent spirit that refused to let him be. The disease is aggressively contagious and can be passed via saliva, skin contact, even through the air.
     The footpaths were littered with people. It was like a scene from some bloodless battlefield. He stepped around them and hurried on. Not far now. His brain had shut down, refusing to allow any thought filter in and be churned around. But when he glanced down a side alley and saw a scrawny cat feasting on the fingers of one arched infected, his stomach churned and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. This time it was Kari's words that came back to him. I could see. Feel. And hear everything.
     He let out a roar and the foul animal scarpered...

You know where to go if you want more...

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Keep 'em Coming

Hot on the heels of my last post, and I mean literally as I clicked the publish button, I received an email notification of a new review for Red Wine and Words. And whaddyaknow, it was a fiver again. Not only that, but it came 'highly recommended.'

Some of the highlights of the review for me were having the book described as 'subtle horror at its best,' and the fact that the reviewer found himself thinking of some of the stories days after he had read them. This to me, is one of the best compliments I could have received. I have experienced that myself on a few occasions and have always aimed to recreate that effect in my writing because I feel, as does this reviewer, that it is 'a sign of good writing, and fantastic story-telling.'

This is a really well written review, and in-depth. Give it a read at:


And lads, keep 'em coming!


Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Stars in the Bag

Red Wine and Words has received it's fifth, yes you heard me, fifth five star review on Amazon. I gotta say, I don't think I'll ever get tired of reading reviews. Therefore I invite one and all and any who have purchased Red Wine and Words and read it to throw up an auld review and tell me what you think. Good reviews will be greatly received, bad reviews will be deleted. (Joke.)

You can read the newest review at:


Or you can read all the current reviews at:


Again, anyone who wants to review my book is more than welcome. The more reviews, the more attention I get, and we all know how I revel in that. So, if you've got something to say, say it ;)


Thursday, October 11, 2012

Horror in 20 Words

I remember back in the days of yore, when I first considered myself a writer despite the drivel I produced, I got back in contact with my old English teacher to get her opinion on a 'novel' I had just finished. Bless the poor woman's soul, but she laboured through it, and tried with the kindest possible hints to tell me it was shite. 

Something she said to me then stuck with me (as much of what she said did, seen in the dedication of Red Wine and Words) even though I rejected it at the time. She asked me if I'd ever considered writing short stories to help learn some discipline. Me, with my unquenchable naivety back then said, nope, nope, I want to be a novelist. Stubborn much?

Well, as you may be aware, I did try my hand at some shorts, but only after long, lonely and uncountable years of rejecting my calling because I was sulking over a string of well deserved rejections. And immediately the acceptances began to roll in. Thirty-odd published short stories and a collection of my own later, I've come to appreciate a strict word count and the lessons it breeds. One must learn to conserve words, to be as minimalist as John Pawson's box room. And oftentimes the less word-heavy a piece of writing, the more quality it holds.

Recently I've taken this a step further. Neck deep in a project that I was struggling to drag into the realms of noveldom, I was getting bogged down by words. My writing was getting stale, the pressure was mounting. And lo, on the horizon, a glorious star in the form of a weirdly titled group on Facebook appeared: 20-Word Horror Fiction.

The rules are simple - write a horror fiction, in no more, no less than 20 words. Says I to myself, there's no way, with my waffling tendancies, that I'm going to be able to write a horror in twenty words. Sure, 'tisn't possible. But, being the stubborn fool I mentioned before, I do love myself a challenge. So, without further ado, I set about to write me a twenty word horror story.

The result was somewhat surprising. I found the more I did, the more I could do. When at first I tended to fall a little short or a little over on the word count, as I continued things would just come to me and when I got the chance to type them out, they were bang on the twenty words.

And that's not all. No Siree! When I wound up a quality day of jotting down twenty word stories and started into the real work of writing my novel, I discovered that my writing had turned to poetry. Whereas before each word was like pulling teeth, now they came freely and without coercion, and they were pretty, they complimented each other, they flowed. There's something about trying to pack a beginning, a middle, and an end into just 20 words that pokes that creative gland and encourages it to secrete masses of pure, shining inspiration.

Granted, I doubt any of these mini-gems will win me a Nobel prize for literature or anything, but they sure were fun, and, as it happens, I'm quite proud of some of them. 

And far be it for me to deprive the world of such genius. Therefore I have decided to add a new page to the blog and share these minute horrors as they come. Watch this space...

Monday, September 24, 2012

Teaser Trailer

So I guess it's about time I started to pimp my current work for two equally important reasons:

  • to start a hype and intrigue that will have you guys salivating with curiosity and making me (or rather, my book) totally irresistible when the time comes. And
  • to prove that I haven't been sitting around scratching my arse for the last nine months, or at the very least, that I've been writing whilst sitting around scratching my arse.
It all began on a snowy day in January. There I was, slaving over a hot laptop, typing the closing words and wrapping up the edits on a brand spanking short story. For some months I had been working through all the little ideas backlogged, preparing them for my planned second and third short story collections. Now I was once again faced with the arduous and somewhat exciting task of choosing which little gem I would tackle next.

My hands fell upon an A4 page composed mostly of white space. The top half of one side contained a scribbled excerpt of a phone call. Nothing more, nothing less. Says I, 'Right, let's get this one out of the way.' It had, after all, been sitting around waiting for nigh on one year.

So I got out a pen and a notebook and began to jot down the layout of the story, the character details, the locations, the setting. Two days and a notepad and a half later, and I was still going. That tiny, half A4 page had mutated into something huge, intricate and (I hope) unique.

Let the fun and the heartbreak begin. Without wasting a moment, I delved into the prose. The basic premise of the story was rather overused, so I had dedicated many pages of my notes solely to brainstorming ways to do it so that it could not be labeled as 'done before.' But although the premise may have been cliche, the plot itself was a world apart, the first two chapters delivering the reader a swift slap in the face and dragging them headfirst into the middle of an eerie mystery.

And around the halfway mark, thanks to some random thralling on the web, the plot suddenly exploded once more. Out came the pen and the notepads, and they were soon covered in my feverish chicken scratch that outlined the basic ideas for a sequel and - because why the hell not - a third book in the trilogy.

Now, instead of a simple idea done in a different way, I had on my hands a complex plot that spanned three books; a plot that would tackle links between Christianity and the occult, that would marry Satan with supernatural folklore, that would grab hold of some of the most outlandish speculations on the bible and whisk them up into a jaw-dropping concoction of conspiracy and horror.

The end result would take all those speculations, all those bedtime scare stories, and two of the world's most feared and infamous monsters, place them in the same setting and create a connection between them that is so simple it's almost ingenious... if I do say so myself. 

Book the first - almost complete.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Sleep Deprived Lament

     My trolley was full to overflowing. The wheels were stubborn and cast about         in every direction besides the one I was racing for. Behind me the girl - whose       name I had yet to learn - was hurrying along too, though not to the extent I               would have liked. Every now and then she would pause and peruse                       something on the shelves before either shoveling it into her basket or taking           off once more.

      I was nearing the checkouts when I again missed the sound of her trolley              clacking behind. I turned and saw her inspecting the labels of various drug              packets.

"Leave it," I roar, startling her into action.

She catches up with me and we run together past the checkouts and out into

the empty parking lot where the fumes of the idling four-by-four cast an eerie 
fog into the cold night air.

"Hurry," I shout again, as we begin to toss our wares into the vehicle.

There I was at 6am, enjoying an action packed dream in which, if I do say so myself, I was playing an absolute boss in the midst of a zombie invasion, when I awaken under the sheer weight of the need to write it down. Game over.

My mobile phone is constantly choked up with drafts that make little or no sense to me because I've typed them out while still half asleep and half demented. I have constant headaches over choosing whether to delete snippets of description or dialogue or an unfledged idea because they are simply barmy, or consign them to the steadily growing mess of papers I fear I'll never get around to.

Nothing, no time nor place, is sacred, though the most likely time for an idea to hit is the wrong time. Just this week I was sitting on a plane, preparing to take off when a fragment of prose just popped into my head. Pen and papers are safe in the overhead bin and I can't take off my seatbelt to get them. My phone is in my pocket but I'm not allowed to turn it on. So follows an agonising half hour of repeating the fragment over and over in my head until a time came when I could jot it down. I'm not even allowed the luxury of dropping off to sleep to the rocking of the turbulence.

This post sounds a lot like an elaborate moan, but in truth, I love it. I love the feeling when that perfect piece of prose just flitters into my brain and I know exactly where to put it. I adore waking up before the end of the dream, because it means I can spend many a blissful hour imagining how it could have ended. In short, this is the dream.

(All together now.... awwwwwwwww!)

Thursday, May 24, 2012

The Stars Are Racking Up for Red Wine and Words

Red Wine and Words has received it's fourth, five star review on Amazon.com. Expertly written by a fellow author, this review had me grinning from ear to ear. It does the heart good to read that one writes with 'colourful phrasing and perfect pacing,' and that one creates characters that are 'infinitely believable' in 'gripping and astounding situations.'

I have read some work by the author of the review, Brian Dobbins, and I was truly blown away myself, which, in itself, makes this review all the more special to me.

The review can be found at the link below. Check it out. And while you're over there, take a look at Mr. Dobbins' work. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Useless Information About Me? Why Not?

An old buddy old pal recently asked me to participate in a questionnaire for his movie review blog. Pop on over and take a look, and while you're there, give Kev some love.


In true Emma Ennis style, some of the answers are rather long winded. But I'm a writer. And these are movies. And that's all I have to say on the matter. Good day to you, Sir.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

The End is Here

Finally, the long awaited apocalyptic anthology edited by Suzanne Robb and Adrian Chamberlain, is here. Read the End First is the brainchild of these two brilliant writers and editors, and what a little darling it is too.

Twenty-four authors, twenty-four time zones and twenty-four unique ways in which to end the world. We promise you an apocalypse the likes of which you've never heard of before.

Read the End First contains my story, 'Hammered and Nail.' Set in Norway - GMT+1 - it uses an old, and quite common, disease to bring the world to it's knees.

A fellow author in the anthology, Gregory Norris, gathered together a little background information from the contributors regarding their stories. His post can be found here:



Read the End First

Friday, April 13, 2012

The Hump isn't Always All it's Cracked Up to Be

Just as 'the hump of the week' means feck all to someone who works three weekends out of four, the hump of a piece of writing isn't always the glorious, sunset crest we believe it will be while we're struggling up the cliff face of an overwhelming idea.

As any of you who follow my blog will know, Red Wine and Words is intended as the first of a trilogy of short story collections. The sequel is, as I type, in the making, albeit temporarily on hold. I haven't been submitting short stories for submission calls lately, but spending my time writing up all those little ideas for short stories that have been hanging around since the year dot.

In early January I came across a half a4 page idea that has since blown out of all proportion. The first milestone was passing my current longest word count, which at the time was roughly 12,000 words. This I done with the Murder She Wrote theme tune playing in my head, fingers flying, words flowing.

It was after this milestone that things slowed. The next milestone was the halfway mark, which is a long way from 12,000 words. Achievement of this goal seemed far into the future, and it was rimmed with gold and diamonds.

Imagine my surprise, not a week ago, hitting 37,000 words - my believed halfway - and feeling like the cat that got the cream, only to sit down the next day and be hit with a crushing sense of doubt. Is the story really that good? Is it so very unique after all? Do my characters have as much depth as a cardboard cutout? Can I even write at all? And cue the violins, snot and tears.

A passing phase? Let's hope so. Rest assured I will plug away until it's finished; I'd rather end up with something that's fully useless than half useless. But at this point methinks a few beta readers wouldn't go astray. Come forth my beloved family members, and perform the duty of pandering to my self-confidence as you were destined.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Three in the Pipeline? Maybe, just maybe.

So, I know I've been fairly quiet of late, and my apologies for that. There haven't been many updates besides sales figures and the like, which, to be honest, are just plain boring!

Now, that's not to say I've been idle. Oh no. Far from it. The thing is, I've moved on to bigger projects, which take more time, which in turn leads to less news to gloat about on here. Instead of spending my time racking my poor, jaded brains to come up with an idea for a specific themed call, I've been writing up all those little ideas that have been hanging around in old notebooks, waiting patiently for my undivided writerly attention.

I had hoped that by the end of 2012 we would see a sequel to 'Red Wine and Words,' and the makings of a third. But I stumbled across an idea that began as half an A4 page of scribbles and has since exploded into it's second foolscap.

Last night I hit 26,000 words on said idea, and the story still isn't half told. So stick that in your pipes and smoke it, all you of little faith! And, for the record, the 'Red Wine and Words' sequel is still on the cards for 2012.

Anyway, this post was just to let you, my beloved fans, know that I'm still here, clicking away at the keys, slaving over a hot laptop, to bring you many future hours of entertainment.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Learning Life of a Writer

No day is a boring one these days. With every fucked up story idea that pops into my overactive little mind comes about as much weird images and information to thrall through. It's actually gotten to the point where I have started to align my laptop to protect those poor souls who may potter in behind me and unwittingly catch a glimpse of whatever new horror I'm researching.

I've sat in front of images of intestines. I've been on forums that have told me everything I need to know in order to cook up, shoot up, and anything else heroin related. With shaking fingers, I've clicked through images of the most hideous spiders you could imagine, and read all the horrible facts that go alone with the hairy little creeps.

I have downloaded lists of ship parts, horse parts, images of human (and sometimes otherwise) teeth, even a rather grotesque picture of a fractured penis... "Yes, you read me right," she says as every man in cyberspace crosses his legs.

God alone can help me if anyone official ever gets their hands on my hard drive.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Five Stars for Red Wine and Words

I woke up this morning to my very first review of Red Wine and Words. With beating heart and shaking hand, I opened the link, and read an account that was like a massage for my eyeballs. Expertly reviewed by Dean Cowan at Book Pleasures, this is one that's likely to end up on my sitting room wall.

Every compliment for my writing is always welcome and appreciated, but when it comes from a source that's not obliged to namby pamby me through coercion, or for a cut of the profits, it just has that extra special flavour to it. And this review has a lot of 'extra specials.'

With comparisons to the likes of Stephen King, M.R. James, H.P Lovecraft and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I was a pretty happy camper starting my day. To read that my story telling was 'expert'  and that I write with 'a skill and dedication that is rarely seen these days in modern horror story writing' well, one can imagine that my modestly sized bedroom was finding it difficult to accommodate the size of my not-so-modest head!

The full review can be found at:


Or on the reviews page at Amazon.com


Small print: Absolutely no cheques were exchanged between myself and Dean. Durst you even think it!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Red Wine and Words Gets Technical

For all those weird ones amongst us who like to read books from a screen, this post is for you!

Red Wine and Words is now available in Kindle format. And it's available UK, US, DE, FR, IT and probably a whole bunch of other acronyms I've never heard about.



Alternatively, you could dispense with this newfangled technology thingamabob, and buy a real, hold-in-your-hands copy, also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and BarnesandNoble.com. Go on, do your eyes and my pocket a favour :D