Authorcon 3, Shadow of the Hidden Early Reception And More

Welcome to my April newsletter which I write to you after an amazing week and a half in the USA for Authorcon 3. I can’t really even express how great it was to meet up with readers and writers - many of whom I’ve known online for years - in the flesh. I shared a vendor table with my Brigids Gate Press stablemate and friend Michael Clark, and it was great to spend a few days hanging out with him and meeting other fantastic people. If you’d like to see a bit more of what went on, I’ll be writing a blog later in the week and you can look at my instagram which has many and various pictures and videos from the event, especially under the ‘Author Events’ circle in stories.

As well as my first big author convention, it was also my first trip to the USA in twenty eight years(!) I can happily say that that, too, was a fantastic experience, so if you’re reading this from the US, thanks to you and your countrymen for the warm welcome.

We’re currently just a month and two days from Shadow of the Hidden’s release and it’s fair to say the response has been everything I could’ve wanted and more. Reviews from friends and readers I am not familiar with alike have been overwhelmingly positive about the book. I did feel it was my best work to date, but as the writer, you’re so close to it that it’s hard to judge whether that’s accurate or whether you’ve just succumbed to some form of madness, so it’s great to have that confirmed.

I wrote a blog about the locations in the book over at my website in the last couple weeks, which includes a map of the places Seb and his friends travel to in the book, so click here or on the header image at the top of the newsletter to find out more.

If you have read the book, or if you intend to in the near future (please!), please try to leave a review on Amazon if you have an account, as this helps us authors get picked up in the algorithm. Other venues like Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, Kobo, Bookbub and Goodreads are also fantastic places to leave reviews and I thank you for every one, no matter how short, but Amazon is, alas, the place which has the most power in book sales, so if you can copy and paste any reviews you’ve left there, I will be forever indebted to you.

Speaking of reviews, I was incredibly happy to get an Editor’s Pick review from Publishers’ Weekly this week. This is the first time they’ve covered one of my books, so I’m delighted with it. There’s a snippet below, and you can read the whole review here.

One last thing on Shadow of the Hidden is that, along with Below, I now have a limited number of copies for sale in my Ko-Fi shop, if you would like a signed paperback sent out to you. Take a look at the full range of signed books available here.

And one truly final bit of news is that this week, I sold my story ‘Elixir’ to The Other Stories for their ‘Fame’ theme. The story was originally written for the Inferno Anthology, edited by Stephanie Ellis and Alyson Faye, but I adapted it here, to fit the shorter word limit. I love what the team at The Other Stories do with their audio fiction, so I can’t wait to see how this turns out. I’ll hopefully have a release date next month.

Recommendations

Reading - The Hiding by Alethea Lyons

I’m happy to talk up the work of a fellow Brigids Gate author this month in Alethea Lyons. Her first novel - part mystery, part urban fantasy, and with plenty of horror elements - takes place in an alternative York (a beautiful, historic walled city in England, for those of you who don’t know it). There are fae here, there’s magic, and there are demons (but probably not how you’d imagine them in some cases). It took me a while to read the first couple of chapters as I came to understood the nature of the world but, once the mystery began unravelling, I was in full popcorn, steaming ahead mode. The Hiding is the first in a series, so I’m happy to say we’ll soon be treated to more of this. Check The Hiding out here.

Watching - Dune Part Two - Cinemas

I’m a big fan of Denis Villeneuve’s directing style. I thought his Blade Runner 2049 added to the original film, for example. So, two years ago when Dune came out, I was keen to see what he’d done with it. I really enjoyed it but, thinking about some of the source material which would be needed in Dune Part Two (giant worm riding and more besides), I did wonder if it would be possible to translate effectively to the screen. There have, of course, been some changes from the original story but, having read the director’s reasons for them, I get it. I encourage you to catch this one on the big screen if you can. Check out the trailer here.

Listening - Flamme Jumelle by Alcest

I managed to see Alcest, years ago, on what I think was their first UK tour. Heralding the advent of the new ‘blackgaze’ genre blending shoegaze with black metal elements, there’s a certain whimsical nature about their music, deeply atmospheric, with harmonious vocals complementing the harsh rasping screams in the heavier moments. I still think they’re the best at what they do and, while this release features only two of the tracks from their forthcoming album, these songs leave me feeling very excited for the full length when it drops. Check it out here.

Bargains and Freebies

In this Horror Stories promo from Reader Central, find discounted books from me and other authors like Zachary Ashford’s Polyphemus, Ross Jeffery’s The Devil’s Pocketbook and Yolanda Sfetsos’ Suffer the Darkness, among others. Check out the full list here.  

If you’re looking for new book releases, Book Mojo have got you covered, whatever the genre. They were kind enough to include Shadow of the Hidden this month, but whether you want horror, sci-fi, fantasy, or even romance, you’ll find something here. Check out the full list and bag some brand new eBooks here.

In this FREE book promo from author John Moore, you’ll find horror, action & adventure and mystery & suspense books, all free to download. With thirty titles by more than a dozen authors like me, Marie LeStrange, Steve Hudgins and others, you’ll definitely find something free to read to pique your interest. Click here to check out the full list.

Well, that’s it for this month. If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, subscribe, tell your friends, share on social media or even write the url on the toilet wall in your favourite bar. (I won’t bail you out if you get caught, though).

Likewise, if you love the music I recommended this month, hated Dune 2, or simply want to get in touch, please feel free to leave a comment, or message me [email protected] - I always love hearing from you.

So, until next month, take care and keep reading the dark stuff.

Kev