Less Than Four Weeks To Go - 99c Sale

Welcome to my February newsletter and welcome, also, to a new platform in Beehiiv. My intention is to use this platform for my newsletter going forward. It seems quite similar to Substack, in that my newsletters will be here in a continuous, ongoing archive. But, crucially, Beehiiv’s owners are not friendly with nazis and don’t let them fund their lifestyles through their platform. Let’s hope it stays that way!

And yes, as the title of this newsletter says, there are less than four weeks to go until the release of my first novel, Shadow of the Hidden. Since my last newsletter at the end of February, Shadow has been available to the reviewing community on NetGalley. Remarkably, it’s garnered only 5⭐ reviews so far, and you can see what readers have been saying about the book on Goodreads, here. In even better news, you can pre-order your copy now for just $0.99 or £0.78! This offer is only until the release date, so come 20th March, the price will rocket right back up to $5.99/£4.71. As an added bonus, if you get your pre-orders in early, Shadow will fly up the charts and get more readers’ eyes on it. Thank you in advance to everyone who has pre-ordered, or plans to!

Paperback pre-orders should also be up any day now (the proofs are in-transit to me in Portugal, as we speak). So, please do consider clicking that Goodreads link above and adding the book to your ‘to-read’ pile, or pre-ordering by clicking the image below.

In other news, I discovered that my podcast story, ‘Crawlspace,’ has been shortlisted by Tenebrous Press for their Brave New Weird anthology of the best weird fiction from 2023. Since they arrived on the scene a few years ago, I’ve loved what Tenebrous Press have been doing, so to even reach the final 60 of what was over a thousand submissions is quite something. Do, please, keep your fingers crossed for me to make the final Table of Contents. 🤞🏼

In other writing news, my fiery novella - still untitled - continues apace. The manuscript is currently at around 24,000 words, and I would say the final act is just beginning, so I expect a book of about 30,000 words in the end. It’s quite a politically charged book, even though it’s a folkloric horror. Here’s a quick elevator pitch:

Becky returns to Britain after several years working abroad with refugee support charities in the Mediterranean. Her Sister, Angela, a spirit painter, has begun creating horrifyingly grisly works depicting scenes of people ravaged by fire. Scenes which are now being mirrored in reality. Are these paintings predictions or warnings from the spirit world, or is Angela, in her trance-like state, causing these brutal deaths?

I’m having a great time writing this book. I love my cast (including a character who is going to have his own book(s) in the next couple years), and I’m really enjoying the experience of writing a long form piece set in Britain for the first time. I’m hoping to get this finished in the next few weeks and maybe even to release it this year. Watch this space!

Recommendations

Reading - To Coventry by T.C. Parker

In 2022, my favourite book of the year, hands down, was Hummingbird by the same author. A mosaic novel, ingeniously woven together and utterly horrific, I loved it. To Coventry picks up some time after the events of Hummingbird, and uses the character of Sunny as the protagonist. I can only describe this book as a darkly comic magical realism mystery, with more than a dash of Terry Pratchett in the way it wryly performs social commentary. But with several buckets more blood. I’m reliably informed Sunny will be returning for more of these and I cannot wait! The book is released on 1st March and you can pre-order your copy here.

Watching - True Detective: Night Country - HBO Max

I remember watching the original True Detective on my poky old laptop screen about a decade ago and finding it completely absorbing. Serial killers, cults, cosmic horror elements: yes, please. So, when this new series was announced in the claustrophobic eternal night of an Alaskan winter, I was intrigued. Though many viewers have found it too slow - and it is a really different animal to that first season, playing more on the possible supernatural implications, etc - I have loved it. I thought the character work was great and elements of this were just so intensely creepy. Check out the trailer here.

Listening - Chronicle II - Hypergenesis by Mountain Caller

This one was recommended to me by my podcast partner on All Creatives Now, Paul Stephenson. The sound is hard to describe, really. Mostly instrumental stoner rock, along the lines of bands like Baroness, there’s so much groove in places in this record, I swear I’ve caught my cats headbanging. Check out the album on Spotify here.

Bargains and Freebies

From fellow horror writer Newton Webb, this promo has horror books which are discounted or free on Kindle Unlimited by the likes of me, Briana Morgan, Miranda Kate, Jack Rollins and a bunch of awesome others. Check out the full list and grab a bargain here.

Midnight Whispers is your essential collection of completely FREE horrors for the month of February. With fifty-five free horror reads, you’re somewhat spoilt for choice, but I especially recommend Dan Howarth’s chilling ‘Breed’ and Ross Jeffery’s disturbing take on the ‘Lemmings’ concept. Check out the full list and bag some free eBooks here.

Well, that’s it for this month. If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, please do sign up, share with friends, like the post, and all that jazz.

Likewise, if you want to get in touch, please feel free to leave a comment, or message me [email protected] - I always love hearing from readers.

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

Kev