Sinister Reads – May 2013

Posted in Awards Announcements, Book Launches, General Information, New Releases, Sinister Slices with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 9, 2013 by ahwasinisterreads

Sinister Reads

Don’t forget to book your place for the AHWA Creative Retreat at the Mayday Hills Asylum.  All the details are in this month’s Sinister Happenings and make sure you check out the AHWA website and Facebook page.  It promises to be enlightening and TERRORific!

Follow this and start receiving monthly updates of publications.

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Sinister Happenings

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AHWA Creative Retreat

The Australian Horror Writers Association run three-day/two-night stays at haunted locations for writers, editors, artists, photographers, film makers and any other creative-type people.

They involve having the days to create and the nights to investigate how to be scared stiff.

Upcoming Event:

Mayday Hills Asylum Creative Retreat

Beechworth’s Mayday Hills Asylum was one of the largest institutions in Victoria. Opened in 1867 (the same year as Aradale), this building also housed thousands of people described as ‘lunatics’, ‘idiots’ and ‘imbeciles’. Closing in 1995 after 128 years of operation, this site is considered one of the most haunted locations in Australia. At its height, Mayday Hills consisted of 67 buildings and was home to over 1200 patients and 500 staff.

As you spend three days and two nights in the facility, you will be able to explore the cold and deserted buildings of what was once a notorious and feared institution in Victoria . Spend the days writing, drawing, filming or photographing the beautiful architecture, and spend the nights scared stiff in the haunted buildings.

Cost: $345

Keep an eye on the AHWA website and Facebook page for further details as they are arranged.

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Sinister Reads

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TheImpossibleObject-small

The Impossible Object (The Harrison Peel Files Book 1)

David Conyers

Publisher:  David Conyers via Amazon.com

RRP: $US0.99

Release date: 29 April 2013

Available on Amazon US here and Amazon UK here.

In a reboot of the series, Harrison Peel’s first adventures are revised and expanded in a collection in four novellas:

Made of Meat – Terrorists hiding out amongst the hill tribes of Cambodia have accurate intelligence on Western covert operations, and Peel works to break the network before more agents are killed in the line of duty.

Driven Underground – An ancient alien city is unearthed in the deserts of Outback Australia, and Peel leads a team of soldiers into its catacombs where no living thing has existed for millions of years, or so they believe.

Impossible Object – Peel is assigned to a top secret facility studying an alien artifact, an object that cannot be measured or recorded by any means, that promises to offer up the secrets of the universe, or destroy it.

False Containment – After witnessing a mass grave of fused human bones, Peel travels to California to investigate a zero waste technology program using wormholes to dispose of rubbish in alien dimensions.

Reviews:

“For 99 cents folks, a great buy, and perfect for the cautious buyer looking to expand their horizons. Check this out.” – David Anderson, Amazon.com

“Conyers is like some impossibly perfect distillation of Lovecraft, Fleming, Barker and Ludlum. There’s an awful logic to his terror and action.” PETER CLINES, author of the acclaimed 14

Read more reviews here.

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Sinister Slices

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The Family is Gathering

by Jen White

Published in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #57

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Wooden Heartby

Published in Next anthology

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The Lutwyche Carnivore

Published in Fever Dreams #2

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No Good Deed

by Pete Aldin

Published in Out of the Gutter

** Free to Read

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The Ardent Dead

by Anthony Ferguson

Published in Rom Zom Com (UK Anthology)

* Publication late 2013 TBC

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Sinister Superstars

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809 Jacob Street

by Marty Young

Top 10 Finalist: JournalStone’s Horror Writing Competition 2013

Section:  Novels

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Sinister Reads – April 2013

Posted in Awards Announcements, Book Launches, General Information, New Releases, Sinister Slices with tags , , , , , , , , , , on May 7, 2013 by ahwasinisterreads

Sinister Reads

We have a great update for you this month with a plethora of publications plus a Sinister load of Sinister Happenings.  Enjoy!  On a side note… the chill of death has descended on Melbourne.  It could be winter on its way but that’s just a boring explanation!

Follow this and start receiving monthly updates of publications.

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Sinister Happenings

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Real Zombies!

**SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW OPEN!**

The challenge has been set: write an original horror tale based around George Romero-style zombies. No ‘28 Days Later/rage’ sprinting zombies and no ‘Haitian voodoo’ style zombies.  We want ‘dead, and risen from the grave’ style zombies. No runners.  Think Romero’s classic Dead films. Slow moving, moaning, rotten corpses, chowing down on the living.

As the organisers at Melbourne Zombie Convention 2013 put it:  “MelbZomCon will celebrate the conception of the original urban zombie, using the first Romero cult film, Night of the Living Dead as an aesthetic template and thematic landscape. Come along and experience the unsettling terror of the original shambolic reanimated corpse, before the new millennium required it to sprint, mutate and infect to keep pace with the frenetic attention-deficit age. Fog-strewn graveyards; rotting coffins; crumbling tombstones; reignite your appreciation of Romero’s inspired vision of the relentless, classical urban zombie.”

In other words, keep it simple, folks.

For more details:
http://www.australianhorror.com/index.php?view=323

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Join us at Continuum 9

Come and join other AHWA members at continuum 9: contraindicators. Check out this annual Melbourne speculative fiction and pop culture convention celebrating creativity across genre and media.

continuum 9: contraindicators seeks to use speculative fiction and pop culture to challenge assumptions and create surprise endings and new patterns. They delight in hard-edge science, high-flown fantasy, comic books, film noir, high culture and sub-cultures and everything in between.

There will be an AHWA table where you can chat with other members, perhaps man the table and display your wares, or if you aren’t a member already, learn about the benefits of being a member.

The highlight will be a panel discussion with four Australian Shadows Awards finalists where they will discuss their journeys from beginning writers to the heady heights of finalists and winners. All of them are AHWA members and no doubt will be happy to chat with other members about anything writing, and perhaps some other matters too.

If you are interested in manning (or she-manning) on the table, or have any other queries, contact Robert Datson at datsonr@gmail.com.

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AHWA Creative Retreat

The Australian Horror Writers Association run three-day/two-night stays at haunted locations for writers, editors, artists, photographers, film makers and any other creative-type people.

They involve having the days to create and the nights to investigate how to be scared stiff.

Upcoming Event:

Mayday Hills Asylum Creative Retreat

Beechworth’s Mayday Hills Asylum was one of the largest institutions in Victoria. Opened in 1867 (the same year as Aradale), this building also housed thousands of people described as ‘lunatics’, ‘idiots’ and ‘imbeciles’. Closing in 1995 after 128 years of operation, this site is considered one of the most haunted locations in Australia. At its height, Mayday Hills consisted of 67 buildings and was home to over 1200 patients and 500 staff.
As you spend three days and two nights in the facility, you will be able to explore the cold and deserted buildings of what was once a notorious and feared institution in Victoria . Spend the days writing, drawing, filming or photographing the beautiful architecture, and spend the nights scared stiff in the haunted buildings.

Cost: $345

Keep an eye on the AHWA website and Facebook page for further details as they are arranged.

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Sinister Reads

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Song of the Slums

Song of the Slums

Richard Harland

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

ISBN no.: 978-1-74331-005-2

RRP (Please specify currency): $17.99

Release date: 1 May 2013

Available here.

Also available from Booktopia, Bookworld and any Australian online retailer. And, of course, on the shelves of all good bookshops.  Ebooks are available from Kindle, Kobo, Google and other ebook suppliers.

What if they’d invented rock ‘n roll way back in the 19th century?

What if took over the world and changed the course of history?

It’s 1846, in the middle of the Age of Steam—but not quite the real historical steam age. As well as locomotives and factories, there are steam-powered airships and strange velocipedes, all drowning in an endless sea of smog. King George IV is on the throne, the wealthy factory-owners are itching to seize power, and vicious bands of ex-soldiers can’t wait to start another world war.

In this period, young women are supposed to be ladylike, and 17-year-old Astor expects a life of quiet luxury after she marries the handsome magnate Lorrain Swale. Instead, she finds herself abandoned in the Swale household and treated with contempt by the whole family.

Help arrives in the form of the charismatic and mysterious Verrol. Together they escape and plunge into the murky slums of Brummingham, where they fall in with Granny’s Gang. Granny Rouse has a vision of a new kind of music taking the world by storm, and enlists them in her band, the Rowdies.

Suddenly it’s all coming true … the irresistible gang-music rhythm is catching on, and fame is at their fingertips! But the Swale family hasn’t finished with them yet. Arriving in London Town for their greatest-ever performance, the Rowdies get caught up in a diabolical plot to overthrow the government.

Astor has come to a turning-point in history that is also a turning-point in her own life.

Review:

“Imaginative and wildly inventive, a book to stir the spirit. I loved the music, the syncopated rhythm, the dark, smoky atmosphere, the call to arms, the love story … this is gaslight fantasy at its best.”-  Kate Forsyth

Melbourne launch at Continuum Convention

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Child-Living-Dead

The Sins of Mason Thurlow volume 1: ‘Child of the Living Dead’

Adrian Scott

Illustrator: Laura Shinn (Cover)

Publisher: Rebecca J Vickery

ISBN no.: ISBN-13: 978-1484191538 (print only – digital to come)

RRP: US$9.95

Release date: 1 May 2013.

Available here.

The Comte d’Arville is a wealthy plantation owner in Haiti in the late 1790’s during the slave rebellion. His son, Charles, is killed, and the Comte has him brought back to life by a mambo. The child becomes an adult in New Orleans under the guidance of a Satanist, and grows to become Satan’s right-hand man.

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Suburban Jungle

Suburban Jungle

Brett Mc Bean

Illustrator: Steve Crisp, Keith Minnion

Publisher: Tasmaniac Publications

ISBN no.: 978-0-9871949-3-0

RRP: $14.00 USD

Release date: March 2013

Available here.  ** (includes bonus stories by John R Little, Kirstyn McDermott & Daniel I Russell)

Dense jungle reclaimed the Earth four years ago and civilization has been fighting for survival ever since. Without law and order chaos rules the world, and in the struggle between good and bad, good doesn’t always win. Three animalistic tribes have emerged from the initial barbarity: the fiercely territorial lions; the malicious tree dwellers; and the subterranean tunnel dwellers. Having adapted to their strange, new environment, the tribes fight to become the dominant force, fight to be crowned the new kings of the jungle. Still, even with the dawning of this new age, pockets of humanity remain. Vastly outnumbered, they scavenge for food and clothing just to stay alive, clinging to the rumour that salvation lies beyond the jungle. Their only hope is to escape. But hope is in short supply. This is Mother Nature’s domain and she doesn’t give up her subjects easily.

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River_of_Bones2

River of Bones

Jodi Cleghorn

Publisher: Endeavour Press (UK)

ISBN no.:  (ASIN: B00CC481S0)

RRP: US$2.99

Release date: 12th April 2013

Available here (recommended link for Aussie readers) and here.

** Paperback to follow in May—published by eMergent Publishing under the original title of Elyora.

It’s October 1974 and all is not well in the town of Elyora. First the clocks stop. And men in shiny suits turn up offering payment for the inconvenience. Then the phone lines stop working. And finally, the power goes out. The trouble is no one comes to explain that. Fast forward to December 2012. Jo, Benny and Hal, members of the band Faunabate, have no idea what they’re in for when their car breaks down on the outskirts of Elyora on the way to their first interstate gig.

Upon arrival it quickly becomes clear Elyora this is no normal town. The magazines are dated 1974. The clocks don’t work. And where are all the people? Some towns you don’t ever want to visit. And Elyora is one of them. Because not everyone gets out alive… Any reviews relative to the publication.

Reviews:

Read a review by Robert G. Cook here.

Read a review by Sean Wright here.

Awards:

Finalist – 2012 Aurealis Horror Short Story

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Dark Rite

Dark Rite

Alan Baxter and David Wood

Publisher: Gryphonwood Press

ISBN no.:  978-1940095004

RRP: US$7.99 print / US$2.99 ebook

Release date: 19th April 2013

Available from US Amazon here, UK Amazon here and Smashwords here.

A small mountain town hides a dark secret…

When the death of his father brings Grant Shipman to the tiny Appalachian town of Wallen’s Gap, he believes his biggest problem will be dealing with the slow pace and odd townsfolk. But something sinister is at work. A dark power rises, an echo of the town’s bloody past. A book of blood magic offers an unspeakable horror a gateway into the world of the living, and only Grant stands in the way of their Dark Rite.

Reviews: 

“Wood and Baxter have delivered a stunning tale that reminds of an early Stephen King’s talent for the macabre with a pinch of Graham Masterton’s flair for witchcraft and terror. A sinister tale of black magic and horror – not for the faint hearted.” – Greig Beck, bestselling author of Beneath the Dark Ice and Black Mountain

“With mysterious rituals, macabre rites and superb supernatural action scenes, Wood and Baxter deliver a fast-paced horror thriller.” – J.F. Penn, author of the bestselling ARKANE thriller series

“Wood and Baxter have taken on the classic black magic/cult conspiracy subgenre, chucked in a toxic mix of weirdness, creepshow chills and action, and created a tale that reads like a latter-day Hammer Horror thriller. Nice, dark fun.” – Robert Hood, author of Immaterial and Fragments of a Broken Land: Valarl Undead

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Sinister Slices

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Abraham’s Bosom
by M.R. Cosby
Published in Darker Times Vol 3

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Unit 6
by M.R. Cosby
Published in Darker Times Vol 1

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In Transit
by M.R. Cosby
Published in Darker Times Vol 1

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Mud
by Pete Aldin
Published in Horrific History Working

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Father Figure
by Tracie McBride
Published in For the Night is Dark (from Crystal Lake Publishing)

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Late for Eisheth
by Tracie McBride
Published in The Demonologia Biblica (from Western Legends Publishing)

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Sinister Reads – March 2013

Posted in Awards Announcements, Book Launches, General Information, New Releases, Sinister Slices on April 6, 2013 by ahwasinisterreads

Sinister Reads

Hope everyone sunk their teeth into some tender bunnies this Easter.  Ummm… I mean the chocolate kind.  Or do I?

This month we announce the 2012 Australian Shadow Awards Finalists and we have a great new Creative Retreat coming up.

Follow this and start receiving monthly updates of publications.

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Sinister Happenings

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2012 Australian Shadows Awards

The Australian Horror Writers Association is pleased to announce the finalists of the 2012 Australian Shadows Awards. The Shadows are awarded to the stories and collections that best typify the horror genre, delivering a sense of ‘creeping dread’, leaving the reader with chills and a reluctance to turn out the light.

Congratulations to the finalists, selected by a panel of judges, each an authority on the horror genre.

NOVEL
The Corpse Rat King – Lee Battersby
Perfections – Kirstyn McDermott
Blood and Dust – Jason Nahrung

LONG FICTION
Critique – Daniel I Russell
Escena de un Asesinato–Robert Hood
Sky – Kaaron Warren

COLLECTION
Bread and Circuses – Felicity Dowker
Through Splintered Walls- Kaaron Warren

SHORT FICTION
To Wish on a Clockwork Heart – Felicity Dowker
Pigroot Flat – Jason Fischer
Birthday Suit – Martin Livings
They Don’t Know That We Know What They Know – Andrew J McKiernan
Creek – Kaaron Warren
Mountain – Kaaron Warren
Road – Kaaron Warren
A Monstrous Touch – Marty Young

EDITED PUBLICATION
Surviving the End – Craig Bezant
Cthulu Unbound 3 – David Conyers (co-edited Brian M. Sammons)
The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2011 – Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene

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AHWA Creative Retreat

The Australian Horror Writers Association run three-day/two-night stays at haunted locations for writers, editors, artists, photographers, film makers and any other creative-type people.

They involve having the days to create and the nights to investigate how to be scared stiff.

Upcoming Event:

Mayday Hills Asylum Creative Retreat

Beechworth’s Mayday Hills Asylum was one of the largest institutions in Victoria. Opened in 1867 (the same year as Aradale), this building also housed thousands of people described as ‘lunatics’, ‘idiots’ and ‘imbeciles’. Closing in 1995 after 128 years of operation, this site is considered one of the most haunted locations in Australia. At its height, Mayday Hills consisted of 67 buildings and was home to over 1200 patients and 500 staff.

As you spend three days and two nights in the facility, you will be able to explore the cold and deserted buildings of what was once a notorious and feared institution in Victoria . Spend the days writing, drawing, filming or photographing the beautiful architecture, and spend the nights scared stiff in the haunted buildings.

Cost: TBA

Keep an eye on the AHWA website and Facebook page for further details as they are arranged.

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Sinister Reads

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The Marching Dead

The Marching Dead

Lee Battersby

Illustrator:  Cover by Nick Castle, Nick Castle Design

Publisher: Angry Robot Books

ISBN no.: 9780857662897

RRP (Please specify currency):  £8.99

Release date:  4 April 2013

Avalaible here.

Found the dead a King, saves himself, won the love of his life, lived happily ever after. No wonder Marius dos Helles is bored. But now something has stopped the dead from, well, dying. It’s up to Marius, Gerd, and Gerd’s not-dead-enough Granny to journey across the continent and put the dead back in the afterlife where they belong.

Launch party and signing

Stefen’s Books
8 Shafto LanePerth 6000
**2pm, Saturday 6th April**

Read Reviews here and here.

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UNGENRED COVERS FINAL

Ungenred – Graphic Novel (short story collection)

Jason Franks

Illustrator: Bruce Mutard, J. Marc Schmidt, Ed Siemienkowicz, Joe Pimienta, Renan L’Hopsum, Jan Scherpenhuizen, Nicholas Hunter, Bobby N., Jason Franks

Publisher: Black House Comics

ISBN.: 978-1-921872-25-9

RRP: $19.96 AUD

Release date: March 4th 2013

Avalaible here.

UNGENRED collects Jason Franks’ mainstream short comics. Autobiography, comedy, travel, biography, allegory, social realism, tall tales, period drama–you never know what will be on the next page. Might even be some talking robots.

Reviews:
“A perfect example of how different one story can be from the next. The stories vary from simple slice-of-life fare to the kind that leave you deep in thought.” –LO FI  Magazine

“Meat on the bone commentary and enough irreverence to have even the most cynical sit up and take notice.”– Scaryminds

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Sinister Slices

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The Whipping Tree

by Pete Aldin

Published in Niteblade

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Beast

by Amy Cornelius

Published in Voluted Tales 

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Replay

by Brian G Ross

Published in Dark Prints Press – novella series

To be published April 15th.

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Sinister Supremecy

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BloodyWaters_cover.indd

Aurealis Award

Jason Franks nominated for

Bloody Waters

Category: Horror Novel

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Sinister Reads – February 2013

Posted in Awards Announcements, Book Launches, General Information, New Releases, Sinister Slices on March 6, 2013 by ahwasinisterreads

Welcome Back…. again, Sinister Reads

Sinister Reads is back… again!  The poor thing has had a bit of a roller coaster ride of late.  Here’s hoping we’ve hit the straight and it’s a smooth ride here on in.  What am I saying?  We love horror!  Bring on the broken tracks and gouged eyes.  MWAHAHahahaha…

Follow this and start receiving monthly updates of publications.

Australian Shadows Submissions are Closed

Submissions to the Australian Shadows closed at midnight, 28 Feb.  Entries at that point totalled:

Category             Entries
Collected works       5
Edited works           8
Novel                     17
Novella                  19
Short                     81
It’s a great effort from the Australian Horror writing community.

Judges are finalising reading this month, and working on selecting the short lists. To see all the current entries as a reading list, click here.

Midnight Echo 9

Midnight Echo 9 is now available for pre-order.  Go here to read the table of contents and purchase your copy!

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Sinister Happenings

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Aradale Asylum Creative Retreat

web-temporary

Aradale Asylum Creative Retreat was, according to all attendees, a resounding success.

From Friday 22nd until Sunday 24th of February, seventeen lucky people gathered together at the Aradale Mental Hospital just outside of Ararat, Victoria.

IMG_1587The days were a blend of exploration, conversation and creation. Each night, we were taken on tours of the facility by our hosts, Nathaniel and Adam, historians and ghost tour operators.

While I was arranging the retreat, I was told we would be given access to specific areas of the facility for specific time periods, and then they would be IMG_1585locked up again. In reality, once we were there, our hosts were much more lenient. All the main buildings were unlocked upon our arrival, and we were given free access to them day and night for the entire weekend. We were given basic OH&S  (quality footwear and a reliable torch) and set free to explore to our heart’s content. Some brave souls even chose to sleep in the old wards.

AradaleThe buildings were extremely atmospheric and suitably scary.

As a result of the well-run retreat, our hosts have shown a strong interest in further events of a similar nature, so another event, to be run at Aradale’s sister-asylum Beechworth, is currently under planning for around October.

Another Aradale retreat will also be held sometime in February 2014.

Geoff Brown – president, AHWA

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Sinister Reads

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Fragments of a Broken Land: Valarl Undead

Robert Hood

Illustrator:  Bob Eggleton (cover)

Publisher: Borgo Press/Wildside Press, US

ISBN no.: 978-1434445896

RRP (Please specify currency):  US$18.99  |   AUS$35.00

Release date:  February 2013

Avalaible here and Notions Unlimited (Aust.)

In a place where no stars appear in the night sky, a group of strangers whose ancestries reach back to an earlier apocalyptic disaster are brought together to track down a resurrected corpse that might hold the key to the End of the World. Described by science fiction legend Jack Dann as “one of the strangest and most interesting visions to come out of the modern horror/fantasy genres,” acclaimed author Robert Hood’s Fragments of a Broken Land: Valarl Undead is an epic tale of greed, dying magic, strange monsters, and a motley group of heroes, with a strange and breathless climax you won’t easily forget. The dark fantasy novel debut from “Australia’s Wicked Godfather” (Black Magazine).

There will be a signing for the release of the book at Notions Unlimited Bookshop in March, as part of the shop first birthday bash.

Notions Unlimited Bookshop
Shop 9, 426 Nepean Highway, Chelsea
(03) 9773-1102
Sat 23rd March, 5–7pm

**Official Launch date to be announced

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perfections

Perfections

Kirstyn McDermott

Publisher: Xoum

ISBN no.: 9781922057174

RRP:  AU$9.99

Release date:   December 2012

Avalaible here

Two sisters. One wish. Unimaginable consequences. Not all fairytales are for children.

Perfections is the chilling new novel from the author of Madigan Mine.

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Slander Hall Chapman-Tait

Slander Hall

Matthew Tait

Illustrator: Greg Chapman

Publisher:  Dark Continents

ISBN no.:  9780615710150

RRP (Please specify currency): $6.99 (US)

Release date:  26 January 2013

Available here

Fifteen years ago the affluent gated-community of Slander Hall was the setting of the largest mass suicide in U.S history, dozens of men and women committing the ultimate sacrifice and embracing the covenant of their leader to shed their bodies for a life in outer space. Now a modern ghost town, it boasts only the decaying and derelict phantoms of a withered populace. Cedar Jarrell, sole survivor of the holocaust that claimed so many, returns to the dark heart of Slander Hall on a final pilgrimage where not all who take the journey will survive …

Also included in this edition are two more tales – stories that put the reader into a disturbing world of lunacy and paranoia that could be just around the corner for any of us. In Car Crash Weather, childhood trauma will ultimately shape the future of a successful horror novelist. With The Grief School, Matthew Tait evokes unsettling imagery as one man is forced to pay off a debt through a trail by suffering … and discovers a dark saviour in the process.

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The Corpse Rat King

 The Corpse-Rat King

Lee Battersby

Publisher*: Angry Robot Books

ISBN no.: 9780857662873

RRP (Please specify currency): $7.99US

Release date: 1 September 2012

A brief synopsis of the story (The blurb on the back of the book is fine): Marius don Hellespont and his apprentice, Gerd, are professional looters of battlefields. When they stumble upon the corpse of the King of Scorby and Gerd is killed, Marius is mistaken for the monarch by one of the dead soldiers and is transported down to the Kingdom of the Dead. Just like the living citizens, the dead need a King — after all, the King is God’s representative, and someone needs to remind God where they are. And so it comes to pass that Marius is banished to the surface with one message: if he wants to recover his life he must find the dead a King. Which he fully intends to do. Just as soon as he stops running away.

Reviews:

“Wry, absurdist, and pleasantly cynical, Battersby’s debut will appeal to fans of Scott Lynch’sThe Lies of Locke Lamora and Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal.”
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“If you had a wish list every time you read a book – great characters, story, pace, writing – that you ticked off every time you came across one of them, you’d soon wear out your pencil while reading The Corpse-Rat King.”
- Katy O’Dowd, The British Fantasy Society

 “…the last three-fourths of this book are beyond spectacular. Lee Battersby definitely saved the best for last in this unforgettable tale of death, dead things, and more awesome dead stuff.”
- Liam at The Troubled Scribe

 “This was a novel that I thoroughly enjoyed and will gleefully recommend, without reservation.”
- Bob Milne, Beauty in Ruins

 The Corpse Rat King is fast, furious, and Fun. In a genre that can so often take itself far too seriously it’s a hugely refreshing read. Battersby is a wonderfully fresh new voice.”
- Zoe Oliver, Fantasy Bytes

 The Corpse-Rat King is the very definition of a great story; the perfect concoction of old world fantasy, intrigue, adventure and full-bodied characters that sweep you deeper into the story with each turn of the page.”
- Greg Chapman, Thirteen O’Clock

 “This book was outstanding! The author, Lee Battersby should be proud to have written such an amazing masterpiece of imagination, sarcasm and fantastic inventiveness”
- Melinda le Baron, Melinda’s Bibliophile Blog

 The Corpse-Rat King is different enough to appeal to most readers while the engaging, intelligent and wildly different narrative should keep any reader glued to the pages, a brilliant début from a promising talent.”
- Ant, SFBook.com

 “I like my humor like I like my chocolate… dark. The Corpse-Rat King gave me plenty of those laugh out loud moments. I could imagine the main character played by Bruce Campbell. The story marched along at a fast pace with plenty of gags.”
- Barry Huddlestone, Gnostalgia

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buk-and-jimmy-cover-300dpi

Buk and Jimmy Go West

Brett McBean

Illustrator: Pierre Lloga

Publisher: LegumeMan Books

ISBN no.: 978-0-9873028-7-8

RRP: $15.00

Release date: December 2012

Available here

Film obsessed psycho-killer Buk Thompson is on a bloody pilgrimage.  Driving through the American Southwest, murdering his way to Hollywood, home of the stars that have been his only friends since childhood, Buk is having a ball, trimming the extras from this film we call life.

When fate throws him in the path of the innocent Jimmy, Buk decides to take the boy on as a protégé and teach him the killing game.

The script calls for sadism, murder and movie trivia as the pair blaze their way west, but Jimmy is more than some mere supporting actor.
Unexpectedly, old Buk finds he might have a chance at something he’s never considered before. Redemption.

A little bit Badlands, mixed with a small helping of From Dusk Till Dawn, Buk and Jimmy Go West is one road trip that is wild at heart and 100% pure adrenaline.

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Ghost stories and mysteries ernest fravenc

Ghost Stories and Mysteries

Ernest Favenc – (edited with an introduction by James Doig)

Title: Ghost Stories and Mysteries

Publisher: Wildside Press

ISBN no.: 9781434445582

RRP: $15.99

Release date: January 2013

Available here and from the Publisher here

Ernest Favenc (1845-1908) is a neglected master of Australian supernatural and mystery fiction. Best known for his History of Australian Exploration, 1788-1888, he was also a prolific author and journalist, writing for some of the most popular and important literary journals in colonial Australia. His considerable output is now largely forgotten, even among aficionados of weird and mystery fiction. This book collects thirty-one of Favenc’s best stories, many published here for the first time since their original publication; and aims to showcase Favenc’s talent as the most important Australian colonial writer of Gothic and supernatural fiction. The stories span the period 1875-1907, and demonstrate the richness and variety of his art, making this a major publishing event for enthusiasts of nineteenth-century crime and weird fiction.

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b&d-web

Blood and Dust

Jason Nahrung

Publisher: Xoum (digital only, all formats)

ISBN no.: 9781922057181

RRP: AUD$9.99

Release date:  December 2012

Available here

Kevin Matheson works at his family’s service station in the Queensland outback. Life is all about cricket, fishing, the pub, his girlfriend. Then it all gets blown to hell – Kevin is caught up in a hideous, unbelievable world of cops and monsters in which two rival gangs of vampires vie for control, all while maintaining a charade of humanity.

Caught between vicious bikers and their brutal foes from the coast, Kevin fights to save not only those he holds dearest, but his own soul. In a world without rules, only one thing holds true – blood really is thicker than water

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House of Cobwebs COVER

House of Cobwebs

Judith Thomas

Publisher: Really Blue Books

ISBN no.: 978-0-9873736-3-2

RRP: Amazon - $AUD7.30; Really Blue Books - $AUD5.50

Release date:  3rd November 2012

Available from Really Blue Books, Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Sometimes nightmares follow you from sleep and begin to haunt your days.

Neema Harris is eleven years old, and gifted with the ability to invade other people’s minds and discover their deepest, darkest secrets. She is the sole survivor when her whole family is butchered in the night.

Child psychologist, Doctor Winter Fremont is beautiful, successful and outwardly confident. She firmly believes she has left the horrors of her childhood far behind, and now has control of the psychic dreams which disturb her sleep. But when the twinkly-eyed and uniquely wicked Neema Harris becomes her patient, Winter’s ugly past comes back to haunt her, big time.

In his attempts to solve the increasingly baffling Harris murders, the cynical Detective Inspector Len Axton will awkwardly fall in love, and have three psychic experiences that will change him forever.

The first will reveal to him the killer.

The second will lead him to the killer.

The third may not be enough to save his life.

An ideal read for lovers of both supernatural and crime genres, House of Cobwebs packs a serious punch, providing plenty of nail-biting, heart-pounding twists along the way.

Reviews:  8 Reviews – 4.8 stars

  • “A real chiller”
  • “Gripping from the very first page”
  • “Author Judith Thomas delivers thrills mystery and plenty of suspense”
  • “Gripping, eerie – a real page turner”
  • “Horror in Extremis”
  • “Compelling”

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Sinister Slices

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A Moveable Feast

by Jenny Blackford

Published in Bloodstones

Available here

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The Touch of the Taniwha

by Tracie McBride

Published in Fish

What secrets belong only to a fish? Dive in and find out! Explore this genre-bending anthology of 33 delightfully fishy tales. Fantasy, science fiction, retold folklore, new myths, and more await you.

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The Loquacious Cadaver

by Kyla Lee Ward

Published in The Lion and the Aardvark: Aesop’s Modern Fables

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Cursebreaker: The Jikininki and the Japanese Jurist

by Kyla Lee Ward

Published in The New Hero I

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Who Looks Back?

by Kyla Lee Ward

Published in Shotguns vs Cthulhu

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A Rhyme For the Crime Publication

by Brian G Ross

Published in The One That Got Away

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Hard Boiled Publication

by Brian G Ross

Published in Damnation & Dames

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Dom and Gio’s Barber Shop

by Gerry Huntman

Published in Lovecraft eZine

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Gusher

by Anthony Ferguson

Published in MicroHorror webzine

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Sinister Reads – November 2012

Posted in Awards Announcements, Book Launches, General Information, New Releases, Sinister Slices on December 5, 2012 by ahwasinisterreads

Welcome Back, Sinister Reads

Sinister Reads fell into a dark crack, an opening into hell, but with some effort from the AHWA committee, we’ve pulled it out, and here is the first of our new releases.  Follow this and start receiving monthly updates of publications.

Australian Shadows Submissions open

Go here for details.

And to see all the current entries as a reading list, click here.

Midnight Echo Submissions

Midnight Echo submissions open, for ME9.  Go here to understand the theme of Mythical Horror!

Midnight Echo 8

Midnight Echo 8 is now available.  Go here to read the table of contents and purchase your copy!

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Sinister Reads

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The Land of Bad Dreams

Kyla Lee Ward

Publisher: P’rea Press

ISBN no.: 9780980462579

RRP: $18Australian – less 10% for AHWA members, less 15% for
AHWA who purchase 2 or more books, postage not included

Release date: September 2011

The poems of Kyla Lee Ward in her first collection The Land of Bad Dreams propel readers towards old and new vistas of pandemonium. They wage war against age-old human fears and terrors, and sometimes win.

Can be ordered through P’rea Press, http://www.preapress.com, via email directly DannyL58@hotmail.com, via Notions Unlimited Bookshop, http://
notionsunlimitedbookshop.blogspot.com.au/#uds-search-results and other bookshops

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Gateway to Hell

Adrian Scott

Publisher:  Rebecca J Vickery

ISBN-13: 978-1478224655

Release Date: August, 2012

Set in post-Civil War America, Richard and Donna Hanniger purchase an old house and tear it down to have a new house built on the block. But an old tree in the front yard remains, where it is said, an old negro who killed two little boys hung himself fifty years before the war. But there is a dark secret behind the story, a secret involving the whole town in which the Hannigers live. Will removing the tree open the gateway to Hades itself, or will it reveal something far more sinister?

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SALVAGE

Jason Nahrung

Publisher: Twelfth Planet Press

ISBN no.: 978-0-9804841-9-9

RRP: $15

Release Date: June, 2012

Seeking to salvage their foundering marriage, Melanie and Richard retreat to an isolated beach house on a remote Queensland island.  Intrigued by a chance encounter with a stranger, Melanie begins to drift away from her husband and towards Helena, only to discover that Helena has her own demons, ageless and steeped in blood.

As Richard’s world and Helena’s collide, Melanie must choose which future she wants, before the dark tide pulls her under … forever.

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Bloody Waters

Jason Franks

Publisher: Possible Press

ISBN no.: 978-0-9808135-2-4

RRP: $4.99 USD

Release date: October 24, 2012

Available here

“This book is like Scott Pilgrim meeting Spinal Tap and Buffy in a cage match.”  Jason Fischer.

Can the Devil be any less trustworthy than a record executive?

Young guitar virtuoso Clarice Marnier is on the verge of success when she crosses the wrong A&R man.  Suddenly, instead of being signed to the major label that has been courting her, she finds herself blacklisted across the industry.

So Clarice makes a different kind of deal with the Devil; one that will give her a second chance at the expense of the enemy who cost her the first one.

Soon Clarice and her band, Bloody Waters, are on their way to stardom… but it’s not an easy road.  Clarice feuds with a disgruntled diva; busybody Wiccans lay a curse on the band; a has-been guitar hero wants to compete for the ‘Guitar Mojo’; a succubus popstar wants Clarice to play on her record.  And then things really start to get dangerous.

Cracking the Top 10 is one thing; gunfights with the Vatican Mafia and magical duels with a killer DJ are quite another.

Sooner or later Clarice is going to have to confront the Devil himself – the only question is whether she’ll be alive or dead when it happens.

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Beneath a Cold Moon

Keith Williams

Publisher: Equilibrium Books

ISBN no.: 978-1-921456-72-5

RRP: $31.95AU

Release date: July 2012

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Arcadian Genesis

Greig Beck

Publisher: Pan Macmillan – Momentum

ISBN no.: 9781743340820

RRP: $A2.99

Release date: Sep 1, 2012

An aeon ago it crashed into the frozen earth. Millennia later it was removed from the icy
soil, still functioning. They opened it … they shouldn’t have.

No. #1 – Apple iBook Charts for Action/Adventure.
Top #20 – Amazon Action/Adventure List.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading a Greig Beck book yet, I highly recommend you do. He knows how to write a thrilling action/adventure novel and easily holds his own against today’s top writers in the genre.   Speed-of-Write.

“What a delight it is to see top sci-fi / horror coming out of this fair city” — The Daily Telegraph

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A Vampire’s Tale

Society of Vampires Volume I

Adrian Scott

Illustrator: Laura Shinn

Publisher:  Rebecca J Vickery

ISBN no.: 9781301786169

Release date: 2 October 2012

A journalist is sent to investigate the mysterious death of a man in Summer Hill, New South Wales, Australia, meets and falls in love with a female vampire. The story moves to Paris, France, where the couple and their daughter are taken in by the powerful vampire Lord Tarkus, Permanent Overlord of the Society of Vampires, an organization established to oversee the safety and welfare of vampires entering Paris.  The novel sets the scene for a further fifteen novels in the series.

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Vaudeville

Greg Chapman

Publisher: Dark Prints Press

eISBN no.: 9780987197641

RRP: $AUD3.99

Release date: 20/7/2012

Young Anthony Moore is desperate to discover the truth about his father’s death. In Keaton Woods, the truth is waiting for him, held by vengeful demons. “The All-American Travelling Troubadours” have a dark story to perform – all they need is an audience of four young souls. Anthony is about to discover just what he is willing to sacrifice in order to seek answers.

Vaudeville is a coming-of-age horror tale, touching on themes of grief, loneliness and the darkest days of the American Civil War, from one of dark fiction’s rising stars, Greg Chapman.

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ROPE_LIVINGS_PRESS

Rope

Martin Livings

Publisher: Dark Prints Press

ISBN no.: 9780987197658

RRP: AU$3.99

Release date: July 20th 2012

Explore the dark side of history with this mesmerising fictional (yet vividly real) story of Fremantle Prison’s hangman. It all begins with a rope, threads of darkening fibre that soon consume their maker… After 44 lives are taken, there is just one more to claim.

If you are a fan of dark fiction master Martin Livings, you won’t want to miss this emotionally powerful title!

Reviews

http://hellnotes.com/rope-book-review

http://www.thirteenoclock.com.au/rope-by-martin-livings-review/

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LIVING_WITH_THE_DEAD_MARTIN_LIVINGS

          Living with the Dead

Martin Livings

Publisher: Dark Prints Press

ISBN no.: None yet

RRP: AU$24.99

From the twisted mind that brought you the novel Carnies come twenty-three tales to shock, terrify and perhaps even touch your heart.

Celebrate twenty years of horror short fiction from esteemed author Martin Livings, with the very best of his award-winning work and three never-before-published stories.

Find out why Martin Livings is regarded as one of Australia’s best in the genre. But be warned: it won’t take long to become immersed in the tales, and once yyou are, you too will find yourself living with the dead.

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Sinister Slices

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Mornington Ride

by Jason Nahrung

Published in Epilogue

Available from Fablecroft

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Last Boat to Eden

by Jason Nahrung

Published in Surviving the End

Available from Dark Prints Press

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“Be Practical” and “Ted’s Souls”

by Damian Perry

Published in Alfie Books online ebooks.

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Duck Creek Road

by Stacey Larner

Published in Bloody Parchment: Hidden Things, Lost Things and other stories.

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The Weight of Sin

by Gerry Huntman

Published in Blood Moon Rising Magazine

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Old Mabel’s Stray Cat

by Cameron Trost

Published in FEAR: A Modern Anthology of Horror and Terror, vol. 1

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Lucubration

by Kyla Lee Ward

Published in Avatars of Wizardry

It is suggested that one woman’s 1,818 word short story may indeed be another’s epic in unrhymed
iambic pentameter

Sinister Reads – June 2012

Posted in Bloodthirsty Blogs, General Information, New Releases, Sinister Slices, Uncategorized with tags , , , , on June 27, 2012 by ahwasinisterreads

New Website for Midnight Echo!

Midnight Echo, the AHWA’s official magazine, now has a new website, a new subscription service and new payment rates for fiction, poetry, non-fiction and artwork

Have a look around the new website, check out Issue 7 now available!

New increased pay rates as of Issue 8; 3c/word to 5000 words.

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Sinister Reads

Witch Hunts - CoverWitch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times

Rocky Wood, Lisa Morton (authors) and Greg Chapman (illustrator)

Published by: McFarland and Company Incorporated, Publishers
ISBN no.: 978-0786466559
RRP: US$$17.99

Release date: May, 2012

Witch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times

For nearly three centuries, as the Black Death rampaged through Europe and the Reformation tore the Church apart, tens of thousands were arrested as witches and subjected to trial, torture, and execution, including being burned alive. This graphic novel examines the background; the methods of the witch hunters; who stood to profit; the brave few who protested; and how the trials finally faded as Enlightenment replaced fear and superstition with reason and science. The book examines famed witch hunters Heinrich Kramer, architect of the infamous Malleus Maleficarum; Matthew Hopkins, England’s notorious “Witchfinder General”; King James I, supposedly the target of assassination by a Scottish coven; the Salem Witch Trials; and the last witch trials and executions in Europe.

Table of Contents:

  1. Before the Trials
  2. The Trials Begin
  3. The First Witch-hunter
  4. The Contagion Spreads
  5. Joan of Arc
  6. The Trials in Arras
  7. The Hammer of Witches
  8. Witchcraft and the Reformation
  9. The Trials in Wurzberg
  10. King James and the North Berwick Trials
  11. Matthew Hopkins, Witchfinder-General
  12. The Salem Witch Trials
  13. The Frenzy Fades

The book runs 185 pages, and also includes a bibliography.

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Hoffman's Creeper and Other Disturbing TalesHoffman’s Creeper and Other Disturbing Tales

By  Cameron Trost

Publisher: Self Published

ISBN no.: 1468073338   ISBN-13: 978-1468073331

RRP: US$9.95

Release date: 2 May 2012

Buy your copy here: www.trostlibrary.blogspot.com

Hoffman’s Creeper and Other Disturbing Tales…

 A businessman staying in a Scottish manor makes the mistake of deciding to spend the evening in the library. A few unpopular teenage girls use witchcraft to pursue their aims. A rich banking tycoon has forgotten his university days when he and his friends dared to imagine a world ruled by social justice and working class ideals. The estranged family of a deceased aristocrat bicker over their inheritance. A botanist’s love for his plants is unnaturally deep-rooted. “Hoffman’s Creeper and Other Disturbing Tales” is the first short story collection from Cameron Trost. It plunges the reader into a world of mystery, suspense, obsession and greed. From the Scottish highlands and the jagged peaks of the Pyrénées to the streets of Brisbane and the Australian countryside, Cameron Trost provokes the reader by ensnaring recognisable characters in disturbingly plausible situations. His writing seeks to entertain while exploring the absurdities and peculiarities of society and the human mind.

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Sinister Slices

The Long Ago

by Amanda J. Spedding

Published in: Surviving The End Anthology

Available from: Darkprints Press

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Bloodthirsty Blogs – Australian Horror/Writer Resources

Thirteen O’Clock – Australian Dark Fiction News & Reviews

Alan Baxter, Felicity Dowker, Andrew J McKiernan

Thirteen O’Clock is a weblog dedicated to sharing horror and dark fiction news and reviews. The site has an Australian bent, but we also enjoy and discuss work from around the world. Whether you get your kicks from short stories, magazines, poetry, novels, movies, games, or anything else – if it’s dark and weird, you’ll find it at Thirteen O’Clock.


http://www.thirteenoclock.com.au/

OzWriting Plus
An online resource for writers of all genres and fields, covering markets, agents, contracts, publishing, royalty payments, promotion, copyright, professional responsibilities and links to other resources.

Scary Minds
ScaryMinds has a strong committment to the discussion and promotion of local horror literature. We will regularly review novels, short story collections, etc, and interview the writers working in horror in this region.


http://www.scaryminds.com/

From the Pit
From the Pit brings you the latest Australian horror news in books, comics and film.


http://fromthepitnews.blogspot.com/

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Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook!

Sinister Reads – April 2012

Posted in Bloodthirsty Blogs, General Information, New Releases, Sinister Slices, Uncategorized with tags , , , , on April 1, 2012 by ahwasinisterreads

New Website for Midnight Echo!

Midnight Echo, the AHWA’s official magazine, now has a new website, a new subscription service and new payment rates for fiction, poetry, non-fiction and artwork

Have a look around the new website, check out Issue 7 now available for pre-order!

New increased pay rates as of Issue 8; 3c/word to 5000 words.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sinister Reads

Surviving The EndSurviving the End

Edited by Craig Bezant.

Contributors: Jonathan Maberry, Joseph D’Lacey, Jason Nahrung, Martin Livings, Amanda J Spedding, Kathryn Hore, Michael Bailey, and Ashlee Scheuerman

Published by: Dark Prints Press
ISBN no.: 978-0-9871976-1-0
RRP: AUD$24.95
Release date: late April 2012 – Pre-order now

Dark Prints Press presents its first horror anthology:

Imagine the world has ended, that all but a small portion of Earth’s population has been wiped out.

You have never had time to find out why.

Your energy is spent on surviving – skewed weather patterns, crumbling buildings, starving creatures, and humans mercilessly hunting their own kind. You left the confines of your home long ago, alone, searching for remaining shreds of humanity.

Then, one day, you finally stumble upon a small group of survivors who wish you no harm. They have something to share with you. Something to help you survive. Stories, modern fables, of how to avoid the nightmares you hadn’t even considered.

These stories and more, from across the world, are collected within these pages, told by survivors just like you, to help with ‘Surviving the End’.

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The One That Got AwayThe One That Got Away

Edited by Craig Bezant.

Contributors: Lawrence Block, Chris Simms, Will Elliott, Vanessa Skye, Zane Lovitt, Deborah Sheldon, Kathryn Hore, Alan Baxter, Cameron Ashley, Brian G Ross, Andrew Nette, and Brooke Maggs

Publisher: Dark Prints Press 

ISBN no.: 978-0-9871976-0-3

RRP: AUD$24.95

Release date:  OUT NOW

Dark Prints Press presents its first dark crime anthology:

Too often our crime-solving heroes do just that – solve crimes. But what about the ones who get away – the grifters who con and don’t get caught, the criminals who play cat-and-mouse games with the law only to disappear into the unknown? What goes through their minds, or the minds of their victims and pursuers? What legends do they leave behind, both inspirational and terrifying?

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Ian Foster-Adrian Scott_RevengeRevenge
by Adrian Scott

Published by Rebecca J Vickery

Digital ISBN: 9781476176253

Print ISBN-13: 978-1475209372 Print ISBN-10: 1475209371

RRP: $US2.99

Release date: 2.4.2012

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The Collector - coverThe Collector Book 1: Mana Leak
by Daniel I. Russell
Illustrators: James Powell, Druscilla Morgan
Publisher: Dark Continents Publications
ISBN no.: 9780983160380
RRP: $18.99

Release date: 1st May 2012

Penny Crescent. One street. Three houses. Three families. Countless disputes.

Physics teacher Frank Harper educates with his fists behind closed doors. Jenny Dean can barely control her wayward teenage sons and Eleanor McQuire, the old mystic, is happy with her books and visiting grandson.

For one night, the residents of Penny Crescent must put their differences aside. Death is coming.

Some call him the man in black. Others call him the Devil. He is The Collector, and the three families have something he wants…

And he’ll go to any length to get it.

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Sinister Slices

The Flames of Anergos

by Cameron Trost

Published in: Blue Dingo Press, vol. 3 – Horror

Available from: Blue Dingo Press

Sayuri’s Revenge

by Helen Stubbs

Published in: Tales From The Bell Club
Available on Amazon

Autumn as Metaphor

by G. N. Braun

Published in: Horror for Good: A Charitable Anthology

White Lines, White Crosses

by Andrew J McKiernan

White crosses line the roadside, sad reminders of the teenagers who’ve died pushing their cars to the limit in search of excitement and release from small-town boredom. But nothing can prepare the new kid from the city for the twisted hero worship that has grown up around these simple memorials to the dead.

Published in: Night Terrors Anthology, edited by Karen Henderson – Kayelle Press

The Final Degustation of Doctor Ernest Blenheim

by Andrew J McKiernan

Doctor Christopher Evans has been caught out by the Hospital Board and given an ultimatum. Either work with the hospital’s founder and biggest donor, Doctor Ernest Blenheim, or they’ll go to the media with everything they have. But when Evans meets Blenheim and is forced into satisfying the bloated old man’s grusome fetishes, Chris is no longer sure that he’s made the right choice.

Published in: Midnight Echo #7 – The Taboo Issue, edited by Daniel I Russell – AHWA

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Bloodthirsty Blogs – Australian Horror/Writer Resources

Thirteen O’Clock – Australian Dark Fiction News & Reviews

Alan Baxter, Felicity Dowker, Andrew J McKiernan

Thirteen O’Clock is a weblog dedicated to sharing horror and dark fiction news and reviews. The site has an Australian bent, but we also enjoy and discuss work from around the world. Whether you get your kicks from short stories, magazines, poetry, novels, movies, games, or anything else – if it’s dark and weird, you’ll find it at Thirteen O’Clock.


http://www.thirteenoclock.com.au/

OzWriting Plus
An online resource for writers of all genres and fields, covering markets, agents, contracts, publishing, royalty payments, promotion, copyright, professional responsibilities and links to other resources.

Scary Minds
ScaryMinds has a strong committment to the discussion and promotion of local horror literature. We will regularly review novels, short story collections, etc, and interview the writers working in horror in this region.


http://www.scaryminds.com/

From the Pit
From the Pit brings you the latest Australian horror news in books, comics and film.


http://fromthepitnews.blogspot.com/

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Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook!
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