Callum McSorley's Blog, page 14

Christmas horror giveaway

[image error]

One week to go until Christmas! Tired of shopping, Slade, and stuffing your face? Then take a break and curl up in front of the fire with a few of my Christmas ghost stories.

From 21st to 25th my short story collection Something was Stirring will be free to download onto your kindle.

Featuring all your festive favourites – Andy Williams, Krampus, and the pub.

Click here for your free copy.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

[image error]Something was Stirring: Seasonal Tales of Horror

It’s the...

End of Year

[image error]It’s been a busy one! Particularly in recent months I’ve had quite a few short stories published, so I thought I would do an end of year recap.

I’m really grateful to all the publishers and editors who picked up and worked on my stories this year and to anyone who took the time to read them. You’re all the best!

[image error] The Dog Walker, Surreal Nightmares II, James Ward Kirk Publishing (11 Feb 2018)

A man wakes up and finds himself lost in a nightmare version of Queen’s Park. JWK Press kindly gave me...

Read ‘Plant Life’ in Monstrous Regiment Emerald

 

[image error]

Publication day is finally here! Been excited about this one since the acceptance a good few months ago. You can now get your hands on a copy of the new issue of Monstrous Regiment, featuring my short story Plant Life!

The second issue of Monstrous Regiment is subtitled ‘Emerald’, with all stories within inspired in some way by the colour green.

In my tale, Ger begins to plant memories in his back garden with weird and wonderful results.

No wonder holding grudges can make you ill, Ger tho...

Something was Stirring

It’s that time of year again! Trees indoors, presents, mulled wine, and horror stories, of course.

The grand tradition of telling scary stories goes all the way from the Victorian period (Dickens, Blackwood and others) and on down the line to Gremlins.

Last year, in the spirit of the season, I released a small book of short, Christmas-themed horror stories called Something was Stirring.

With a whole bunch of ghosts, Krampus, and Andy Williams, it’s a good place to start if you want to get int...

Read ‘Sherry Sherry’ in Hardboiled

[image error]

The long wait is over and Dead Guns Press have finally returned with their new Hardboiled anthology! Featuring a new short story of mine, Sherry Sherry, alongside some great crime tales from names both familiar and new to followers of the New Mexico-based publisher.

[image error]Hardboiled: Dames & Sin

A couple of years ago, DGP published my short story Queen of Junkyard Dogs in their Dames & Sin anthology then went on hiatus shortly after. It’s good to see them back in action!

The new Hardboiled is avai...

Monstrous Regiment – Emerald

 

[image error]

I’m absolutely stoked to have a short story coming out in the new issue of Monstrous Regiment!

‘Plant Life’ is the tale of Ger, a man who decides to begin planting memories in his back garden with some hit-and-miss results. It will appear alongside some other great stories in the ‘Emerald’ issue of Monstrous Regiment, to be published on 11th December.

Each issue of Monstrous Regiment is themed around a colour, in this case green. Check out the blurb below:

[image error]

Monstrous regiment is an indie p...

My top Scottish Authors, part 3

 

[image error]

For (happy, wonderful) reasons I couldn’t finish my posts on my favourite Scottish authors before the end of Book Week Scotland, so here, belatedly, is the final part.

[image error]Iain Banks – The late, great Iain Banks, or Iain M. Banks if sci-fi is more your thing, was a powerhouse of a novelist, a genre-bending cult hero turned national treasure. He showed a generation of writers that ‘genre’ fiction could be literary and ‘literary’ fiction could have an exciting plot. To pick one book to highlight...

My top Scottish authors, part 2

 

[image error]

Following on from yesterday’s post, here’s the next part of my list of favourite Scottish authors in celebration of Book Week Scotland. (Not in order of preference.)

[image error]Robert Louis Stevenson – Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, name a more iconic duo, I’ll wait. There’s not an English literature student in the land that can’t tell you all about the duality of man and Stevenson’s Strange Case. Borrowed and repurposed many times over, including for a kids’ TV show in the mid-90s called Julia Jekyll and Ha...

My top Scottish authors, part 1

[image error]

As it’s Book Week Scotland, I thought I’d post some words on my favourite Scottish authors. (In no particular order.)

[image error]James Kelman – Kelman’s novel How Late it Was, How Late earned him a Booker Prize in 1994 (the first and only time the prize has been won by a Scottish author) and earned me my first ever ‘1’ on an English lit essay in 2011. I’ve forgotten a lot of what I wrote about Scots dialect, free indirect third person narration and its political connotations, but I do remember just how...

Book Week Scotland ebook giveaway

[image error]

To celebrate Book Week Scotland this year I’m giving away free Kindle copies of my Beaten to a Pulp! series of short stories.

From Monday 19th Nov to Friday 23rd Nov you can get both Beaten to a Pulp! and Beaten to a Pulp 2: Fresh Blood Orange on your Kindle for the low, low price of £Nothing.

Run by the Scottish Book Trust, Book Week Scotland is a yearly celebration of all things literary. You can check out all the wonderful events here.

Starting Monday, you can claim your free books on Ama...