Shadow of the Hidden wins the Independent Press Award, and Pyres goes out to beta readers

What a great way to start 2025! I’ve won two minor awards for my writing in the past - one for poetry when I was nine years old, and one for a short horror story, ‘Art Imitating Life’ in a youth genre writing contest in Lisbon back in 2016, the catalyst for my starting up writing again.

But now, I’m totally amazed to say that my debut novel, Shadow of the Hidden, has won the 2025 Independent Press Award in the horror category. You can find out more about the award and see the winners in other categories on the award’s page, here. But, what this means for me is that they will be sending out their winners’ list to a huge number of bookshops and libraries, which will hopefully see me find a bunch of new readers. And, in the near future, there will be a winner’s seal added to the cover of Shadow of the Hidden. Thanks to everyone who’s read and/or reviewed the book so far. If you haven’t got around to it yet and want to know what the fuss is about, grab your copy here.

On the topic of Shadow, the audiobook is so close I can almost smell it. I sincerely hope that, come the end of February, I’ll be able to give you a link to check it out, and maybe even a few free codes for some of you to check it out on Spotify gratis! Watch this space.

In other news, my new novel, Pyres, went out to two beta readers this week. I’m excited about this book and can’t wait to find out what they both think about it, what needs tweaking, and to take it to the next stage of readiness to get it into you readers’ hands. Here’s a quick and dirty synopsis:

In case you missed it in December, I’ll give you one last chance to download the free eBook (for subscribers only!) of my classic Christmas ghost tale set here in the Lisbon area, and which I read out at the charity ghost story event last month. At the beginning of February, I’ll mothball the story until next Christmas, where I might do something else with it. Click here or on the image below.

So, now Pyres is done for now at least, what am I working on, writing wise? Well, I have two shorts I want to write.

One is for the third and final season of the brilliant Bleakwood podcast. The final season is about the end. Each author will provide their own interpretation of Bleakwood’s - and indeed the world’s - end. I’ve been so happy to be involved in this fantastic project. If you haven’t already checked it out give it a listen.

The other short story I want to write is for a submission call. It’s one I’ve been holding off while finishing this edit of Pyres, so I really need to get my skates on, and intend to get it drafted this weekend. Wish me luck.

After those shorts are done, I’ll be aiming to finish drafting a black comedy novella, which is a real departure from my usual stuff, which I’ve been playing around with for a few years. Then I’ll be starting my trilogy. More info on all of this soon.

Recommendations

Reading - Sycamore by Ian Rogers

While he’s had several short stories published set in The Black Lands, this is Ian Rogers’ first full length book involving the terrifying parallel world and private detective Felix Renn. The book reads like a classic crime noir detective novel, and Renn is an instantly likeable, funny character, who is totally honest about the fact that his track record of putting down vampires, werecreatures and other monsters from the Black Lands is as much dumb luck as anything. The set up here strongly implies that we’ll be seeing more of both Renn and that terrifying dark other world, and I’m here for it. Check it out here. 

Listening - Second Thoughts by The Old Dead Tree

These guys hadn’t put out an album since 2017. Not even an EP since 2019’s The End, which one imagines may have been intended to be … well … the end. But sometimes itches need to be scratched, and I’m so glad this band of French gothic/progressive metallers scratched theirs. It has a sense of nostlagia about it, but also plugs in enough new ideas to sound fresh. There are aggressive, heavy sections, and more melodic, melancholy parts. Check it out on your chosen streaming service, here.

Watching - Dark Matter - Apple TV +

This one landed in the autumn, but for various reasons, I only got around to watching it very recently, and I was very glad I did. In some ways a companion piece of sorts with another Apple TV + series I’ve recommended here in Constellation, there’s lots of philosophical material to chew on here. Based on the Blake Crouch novel (which I’ve yet to read), it opens with a theoretical physicist being kidnapped and dragged through a portal of sorts to another version of his world. He then has to struggle to find his way back to his own version of the world. I can’t say any more without spoiling it, but you can check out the trailer here.

Bargains and Freebies

Prolific author Steve Hudgins has gathered together 43 completely FREE horror books for you to check out, including my own supernatural novelette, Warding. Check out the full list.  

The BookFunnel promo team have found 40 fantastically thrilling reads, all of which are available at a knock down price. You can view the full list here.

Not satisfied with giving you a huge wealth of free books, Steve Hudgins has also gathered together literally dozens of books available for 99¢ or less, or free on Kindle Unlimited. I’ve got three books in here, alongside 57 others. Pick up your discounted scares here.

And so, we’re a month into 2025 already. How did that happen?! Thanks, as always, for reading, and if you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, please do share it on social media, or with any friends who you think might like it.

On that, if you’ve read any of my stuff and not reviewed it yet, when you get a moment, please do leave a review. It can be as much as a 3-word review, such as ‘I enjoyed this’ or ‘wasn’t for me.’ It helps other readers find my books by convincing the algorithms to push them to people.

Anyways, take care of yourselves, stay safe if you are threatened by the ghastly weather much of the world has been having, and I’ll see you here, next month!

Kev