Callum McSorley's Blog, page 11
September 2, 2019
Read The Brothers Oe in The Society of Misfit Stories
[image error]The Society of Misfit Stories Vol 1 Issue 3, featuring my story The Brothers Oe, is now available to read as an ebook!
Sumo wrestler Yogi is due to face off against his brother Matsushima in the grand final of the Honbasho in the great dragon city of Edo. That is until Matsushima is found dead in his bathtub, having apparently committed ritual suicide.
Yogi must navigate the city’s seedy underbelly of ruthless gangsters and slimy politicians to find the truth.
It’s a bit fantasy, a bit noir,...
August 29, 2019
End of Summer Reading
Summer is almost over. The schools are back in session, the Bake Off is on the telly, politicians are taking a break because there’s nothing important going on, and the café I work in is getting the Christmas decorations out of storage (seriously). Time to fight the end of summer blues with a good book. Here are a few I’ve enjoyed recently:
[image error]Daughter of Titan #2 by Richard MooneyAt the beginning of the year I interviewed comic creator and author Richard Mooney about his indie superhero comic...
August 22, 2019
Pre-order Exquisite Aberrations ebook
[image error]The ebook of Exquisite Aberrations, the new Gothic anthology from FunDead Publications, is now available for pre-order, due for release on 13th September.
Featuring my novelette, The Lunatic Song, among other incredible, creepy tales, Exquisite Aberrations is a collection of Gothic horror stories with a modern twist, turning tropes on their heads and featuring characters often side-lined or othered by the traditions of the genre.
The blurb sums this up in a much more elegant way and you can r...
August 4, 2019
Holiday Reading II
A colleague at work recently told me she hates short stories. Not mine specifically (that would have been brutally honest of her) but all of them. All of them ever, because she feels they’re a waste of a good story idea. So, my second round of holiday reading recommendations are all short story collections, in the hope that minds can be changed.
[image error]Grudge Punk by John McNee (Rooster Republic Press)I bought a copy of Grudge Punk from its author, John McNee, at Cymera Festival in June. The premis...
July 31, 2019
DTNT Anthology 001
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At the beginning of the year I read some stories and picked some tunes on Subcity Radio show, Daytime Nightime, hosted by Roslyn Potter.
Now, DTNT is due to publish its very first anthology, featuring stories, poetry and artwork from the show’s guests, including me!
Alongside work from some of Glasgow’s best – including the excellent Samuel Tongue, Michael Rennie, and Jill Lorean (of the awesome bands Sparrow and the Workshop and Bdy Prts) – you can read my short story Raumschach.
Rum Shack...
July 17, 2019
Bella and other top sausage dogs
[image error]What connects literary greats Henry James, Matthew Arnold, and Anton Chekhov?
Answer: Dachshunds. You know, little legs, low tums, long bodies. Better known as sausage or wiener dogs, depending on which side of the Atlantic you’re on. All three of these famous authors owned a dachshund or two. As do I – not that I’m a literary great or anything… yet.
In fact, my precious sausage dog Bella (miniature, long-haired, black and cream – see adorable pics above) turned four years old today. Four yea...
July 10, 2019
Holiday Reading
Packing for your holiday but still got some room in your book suitcase? Here are a few things I’ve really enjoyed reading lately that you might consider:
[image error]The White Road by Sarah Lotz (Hodder & Stoughton)The second mountain climbing ghost story I’ve read in as many months (the other being Thin Air by Michelle Paver), The White Road by Sarah Lotz takes us this time to Everest, in the present day. While Paver’s 1930’s Kangchenjunga is a deadly, untouched and unconquerable demon, Lotz doesn’t sh...
July 2, 2019
The Society of Misfit Stories
I’m really pleased to have found a home for my short story, The Brothers Oe. It will be appearing in The Society of Misfit Stories, published by Bards and Sages Publishing, in September this year.
It seems almost inevitable, as ‘misfit’ is certainly the best way to describe The Brothers Oe. It’s fantasy, sort of. There’s mention of dragons and spirits. It’s historical, kinda. It takes place in an imagined...
June 27, 2019
Aether/Ichor Issue 3: Solstice out now
[image error]Issue 3 of Aether/Ichor is available to read now!
The Solstice edition is crammed with awesome Sword & Sorcery tales, action packed and brimming with magic.
Daemoralis by Laura Gregory considers the impact fighting evil has on the family unit, with horrifying violence juxtaposed with tender scenes of family life. Oh, and there are terrifying, invisible monsters, did I mention that?
Fool’s Wine by Anna K Scott is a tale of assassins and intrigue, while The Pool of Rim by Aaron Emmel examines t...
June 21, 2019
Cymera, Thin Air, and the inner life of Darth Sidious
[image error]A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of travelling down to Edinburgh to go to Cymera Festival, Scotland’s first ever book festival dedicated to sci-fi, fantasy and horror writing.
Held at prominent Fringe venue and labyrinthian maze, The Pleasence, from 7th-9th June, some of the world’s leading SFF and horror authors, including Gareth L. Powell, Adrian Tchaikovsky, V.E. Schwab and more (seriously, it was an insanely good line-up for a festival in its first year) gave talks, readings, and...
