PANDORA BY JOANNA PARYPINSKI

I first became aware of Joanna Parypinski when we shared space in the anthology INDIANA SCIENCE FICTION 2011. I was impressed by her work, so when I heard her first novel was coming out I picked up a copy. I’m glad I did. PANDORA (2012) is a great read. Joanna has populated her fictional town […]

L.P. HARTLEY

Leslie Poles Hartley (a favorite of mine) was born in Whittlesea, Cambridge in the United Kingdom in 1895. He joined the British Army in 1919, but was sent home after a short stint due to medical problems. He started his writing career as a fiction reviewer for several magazines, continuing at it for thirty years. […]

GUY DE MAUPASSANT

Guy de Maupassant was born in France in 1850. He studied under French novelist Gustave Flaubert before enlisting in the military during The Franco-Prussian War. He wrote numerous short stories during his life and is widely regarded as a master of the form. In his twenties, he began suffering from syphilis. Years of dealing with […]

WILLIAM HOPE HODGSON

William Hope Hodgson was born in Blackmore End, Essex in 1877. He ran away from boarding school at the age of thirteen to work at sea, eventually becoming a lieutenant in the merchant marine. Being a short man, Hodgson began a rigorous workout regiment in order to protect himself from bullying by other sailors. He […]

FRITZ LEIBER HORROR STORIES

Fritz Leiber (1910-1992) was a prolific writer who won multiple prestigious awards during his long career. He was also an actor, poet and champion chess player. His work has been adapted to film (The Girl with the Hungry Eyes 1949, 1967, 1995 as well as a classic Night Gallery television episode in 1972) and radio […]

Matt Cowan Interviewed on Mac’s Podcast

Great Italian musician, Mac of BIOnight, interviewed me about my writing and love of the horror genre on his most recent podcast, along side tracks from his most recent album, THE RIVER AND THE RAILROAD. Check it out at the link below: http://macofbionight.bandcamp.com/album/macs-podcast-episode-06-may-2014“>http://macofbionight.bandcamp.com/album/macs-podcast-episode-06-may-2014”>http://macofbionight.bandcamp.com/album/macs-podcast-episode-06-may-2014

Horror 101: The Way Forward

Just bought this for 99 cents for my Kindle app! It has great horror writing advice from professionals like Ramsey Campbell, Tim Wagonner, Lawrence Santoro, Gary McMahon, Ellen Datlow, Gary Fry and many more. The subjects include editing, what makes editors say yes, reading aloud, comic books, running a website, and just about anything else […]

M.R. James: The Grandmaster of Horror

An antiquary is either an expert on, or collector of antiques, or both. The protagonists in GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY by M.R. James generally hale from this studious bunch, who tend to come into contact with some hideous spectral entity as a result of their antiquarian quests. Montague Rhodes James was born on August […]

THE DEAD SHERIFF BY MARK JUSTICE REVIEW

First off, I have to admit I’m not a big fan of westerns. Once in a while I’ll watch a movie but never a novel or short story in the genre. I have a massive amount of respect for Mark Justice, the author of THE DEAD SHERIFF. I first heard of him through his groundbreaking […]

THE HAUNTED PLANET Review

THE HAUNTED PLANET: By DJ Arneson and Tony Tallarico Published by Watermill Press 1980 I read this book in Elementary School and enjoyed it. The stories are relatively simple, but they each have pretty dark endings for a young adult book. Overall, it’s a fun read. THE STORIES: 1. “The Haunted Gull” – A boy […]