Burning Hot Praise for Pyres and the Summer Hiatus

Welcome to my June 2025 newsletter. This month, I’m writing to you from the road. Okay, not literally the roadside, but as you read this, I am on my way across Iberia to catch the ferry to the UK for my summer university teaching stint. It’s my third year driving across and it’s bittersweet. I miss home, the missus, the cat friends, but it’s great work, pays for most of my expenses for the year, and allows me a chance to catch up with friends and family from the motherland. I do hope this year will be the last for at least a year or two, though.

The nature and intensity of my summer work also means I’ll be doing very little writing. While I miss that, too, it’s also a great chance to re-evaluate my writing, the projects I have unfinished, what’s next and so on. I’ll also be following through on the publication of Pyres in the background of this year’s summer work. Pre-orders will be arriving soon and you will, of course, be the first to know when they open.

And while we’re on the topic of Pyres, let’s get straight into some more blurbs I’ve received for the book. I’m beyond grateful to everyone who’s taken the time to read the book ahead of release, and this week I have three more to share.

These three, along with the blurbs I’ve shared in other issues of this newsletter, encourage me to believe that Pyres really is the best thing I’ve written. Stay tuned here, next month, for a cover reveal and, I hope, the opening of pre-orders. If you have any questions about the book, or would like to know anything specific about it, you can always reply directly to this email. I love hearing from my readers.

Also on the subject of Pyres, I did a fun interview on the Who’s There podcast with Allison Broder this week. If you’re not familiar with the show, Who’s There is a podcast about horror movies, where Allison aims to discover why people enjoy horror movies, what are their favourites and why they like them. We had a really great conversation about my own loves in the world of horror cinema, as well as chatting a bit about Pyres. As a host, Allison is welcoming, and unassailably calm, which she passes on to her guests for great conversations. My episode will land in September, and I’ll link to it then, but in the meantime, check out the full list of episodes here.  

In last month’s newsletter, I announced that I’m going to be giving away a free audiobook code to listen to Shadow of the Hidden on Spotify to the first five people to buy a signed paperback of the book from my Ko-Fi shop. So far, I’ve only had two takers. So, if you’d like a signed paperback for less than you can buy one in the shops, and to get a Spotify audio copy free, grab them while they’re still available.

Recommendations

Reading - The Haunting of Wounded Birds by Beverley Lee

I’m a self-confessed Beverley Lee fan, as long-time readers may already know. I’ve recommended her books in these pages before but last month, I had the privilege of reading her new (and in my opinion, best) novel, The Haunting of Wounded Birds. It’s small town horror, it’s folk horror, it contains genuine moments of terror, and ties all of this into a story of friendship which results in the book having so much heart. And, as we all know, where there’s heart in horror, the stakes are higher. The reader cares more. Those moments of fear are amped up. Whether you’re a long term fan of Lee’s work like me, or have never heard of her, do yourself a favour and pre-order this book here. 

Listening - Light and Shadow by Amorphis

I was but an annoying teenager when I first got into Amorphis. From their genre defining early album Tales from the Thousand Lakes on, I was hooked on them. They’ve produced so many great records over the years, their sound evolving as they have changed singers twice. Suddenly, from nowhere, a new single dropped ahead of the next album, coming in the autumn. Called Light and Shadow, this track has a slightly fuller sound than the previous album, but still has the unmistakable Amorphis folky Finish metal sound. Give it a spin on your chosen streaming service, here.

Watching - Andor - Season 2 - Disney+

We’re back to the realms of sci-fi this month, though Andor’s second season is not without its moments of human horror. Jumping off from the first season’s end point and taking viewers up to the final moments before the wonderful Rogue One film, there’s so much human intrigue here, so much display of the different ways authoritarianism manifests itself. It’s fair to say I feel Star Wars has been overegged in recent years, with a new series or film or animation arriving every few months, often without any real notion of why, or where it fits in the overarching universe. But if anything is going to make you feel why the rebellion is so important in that world in the way the first trilogy of films from the 70s and 80s did, it’s Andor. I really can’t give a stronger recommendation for this. Check out the trailer, here and see if it might be for you.

Bargains and Freebies

Author Samuel Small has set up this Book Funnel promo in which you can find thirty-five bargain spooky books, including four of mine. You can check out the full list and grab a free spooky read here.

Author Joe Talon has scoured the web for free horror books, and come up with eleven of the best View the full list and grab a freebie here.

So, that’s it for another month. If you want to comment on anything in this month’s newsletter, you can reply to these emails directly, or reach out to me on Bluesky, Xitter, Instagram and all the usual places. I love hearing from you guys.

In the meantime, take care of yourselves, be kind, and I’ll see you with the Pyres cover, and maybe a pre-order link, in late July.

Kev