David Turton's Blog, page 4
January 18, 2018
Bestselling author praises ‘The Malaise’
David Beers, author of The Singularity series of novels, has given a big thumbs up to my post-apocalyptic novel The Malaise, which is due to be published towards the end of 2018.
David, who received an advance review copy of the novel, said:
The Malaise is a world I don’t want to enter, but one I think we might be heading to. A techno class that knows how our world should work, and is determined to give us exactly what they think we want. Only, like with all false gods, mistakes are made … and death ensues.
Turton shows a world destroyed, but encapsulates the human spirit in the tiny group that bands together. He writes vivid horror scenes, and touching moments of humanity at its best. The Malaise will keep you turning page after page, racing to get to the ending, and all the while hoping the technology giants of today don’t throw us into his horror of tomorrow.
You can read a special preview of The Malaise as part of a free ebook, which also contains three short horror stories.
David Beers is an Amazon best selling writer, with over 25 novels to his name. He writes thriller, horror, and sci-fi books in Atlanta, Georgia.
Find out more about David and his work on the following channels:
Website
Amazon
January 14, 2018
The Gull: And Other Short Tales of Horror by David Turton — A Gehenna Post Review
Love this review of The Gull and Other Short Tales of Horror: “His ability to transform his style of writing, work within varying genres, be it Lovecraftian fiction or literary horror, separates Turton from the pack. “
Greetings from the Ethereal Plane,
David Turton started his writing career in 2017 and, within a few months, racked up quite a few impressive publications in a short time, including three stories published with Gehenna & Hinnom Books: “Length” in the Year’s Best Body Horror 2017 Anthologyand “Bonjour, Stevie” in Hinnom Magazine Issue 003, and “The Scrap Metal Man” in the Year’s Best Transhuman SF 2017 Anthology. David recently released a three-story collection, for which this review will be based, and on the horizon, his post-apocalyptic novel The Malaise is set for publication from Cosmic Egg Books.
Alas, without further ado, let’s dive into these three haunting stories!
Cover Art of The Gull: And Other Short Tales of Horror
Turton opens up the collection with “The Gull,” a story that hearkens to Stephen King’s work and following a writer who seeks seclusion to pen his next…
View original post 560 more words
January 13, 2018
Author Ed Ahern endorses ‘The Malaise’
The Malaise, my post-apocalyptic novel due for release in late 2018, has been praised by popular author Ed Ahern.
Ed, who received an advanced copy of the manuscript, said:
David Turton’s The Malaise is a smoothly flowing, well thought out dystopian novel that kept me engaged throughout.
You can read an excerpt of The Malaise in the free ebook, The Gull and other short tales of horror.
Ed Ahern has had over one hundred and forty stories, poems and articles published since retiring in 2010. A collection of his fairy and folk tales, The Witch Made Me Do It is published by Gypsy Shadow Press. His novella, The Witches’ Bane, is from World Castle Press, and his collected fantasy/horror stories, Capricious Visions, from Gnome on Pig Press.
You can follow him across various online platforms:
January 5, 2018
Endorsement for ‘The Malaise’ from author Chantal Boudreau
My post-apocalyptic novel The Malaise has received its first endorsement from a fellow horror author.
Chantal Boudreau, a Canadian author based in Nova Scotia, received a copy of the final manuscript and said:
“The Malaise is a cautionary tale with all of the shocking and chilling moments you expect from a proper horror story. Fiction with a futuristic bent, it provides a “what if” that is both fascinating and disturbing. It will have you gripping your chair as you read and provides an ending that leaves you wanting more.”
[image error]Chantal Boudreau
It’s a huge endorsement for a writer of Chantal’s stature to comment on this novel, particularly one who has been successful in a similar science fiction/dystopia genre. Read the first few chapters of The Malaise, which is scheduled for release toward the end of 2018, in my free ebook The Gull and Other Short Tales of Horror.
Chantal and I shared a contents page in the Year’s Best Body Horror 2017 Anthology – her story Wrigglers is suitably disturbing and leaves you with a bit of an itch after reading…
As well as having over 50 short stories published across Britain and North America, Chantal has penned the Fervor series of books, which you can find on Amazon.
You can find out more about Chantal Boudreau on her website , her Facebook page and her Twitter account @chantellyb13.
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December 29, 2017
Evil Podcast features ‘Room of the Mad Nun’
My short horror story ‘The Room of the Mad Nun’ has been published on Dennis Serra’s excellent Evil Podcast.
This is the second episode of the podcast my work has been featured on, following on from The Demon’s Stare.
Dennis’ voice is gravelly and haunting and his interpretation of my stories have been better than I could have hoped for.
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November 28, 2017
Free Ebook download – The Gull and Other Short Tales of Horror
I’ve released an ebook with three short stories, available in various formats as well as via Amazon.
You can download a free copy by signing up to my mailing list.
Free Ebook download – The Gull and other stories
I’ve released an ebook with three short stories, available in various formats as well as via Amazon.
You can download a free copy by signing up to my mailing list.
New Story Published in Dark Fire Fiction
The Room of the Mad Nun, a haunted house story, has been published in Dark Fire Fiction, an online publication.
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November 20, 2017
Evil Podcast features ‘The Demon’s Stare’
An exciting announcement! The Demon’s Stare, originally published in Massacre Magazine in June 2017, has been read aloud by the haunting tones of Dennis Serra in his excellent Evil Podcast.
The podcast also features Rough Draft by G.A. Miller – the second time we have shared a contents page and hopefully not the last!
Image from [image error][image error][image error][image error] [image error]Klaus Toxic (Creative Commons License)
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November 18, 2017
Stephen King’s Night Shift: Five of the Best
Stephen King, The Master of Horror, is arguably the greatest short story writer still plying his trade today.
With around 200 short stories published within fifteen separate anthologies, he’s certainly been prolific over the decades. But it’s his first collection, Night Shift, which still captures the imagination of readers to this day. First published in 1978, Night Shift spawned nine movies out of the 19 short stories in the collection.
But which stories from Night Shift are the best? Which make the skin crawl the most and keep you awake at night?
Here’s my top five stories from King’s first and best anthology. Honourable mentions go to Jerusalem’s Lot and One for the Road for their connections with Salem’s Lot, The Woman in the Room for its poignancy, the fantastic post-apocalyptic tale Night Surf for its loose association with The Stand and its world-changing Captain Trips virus and finally, The Lawnmower Man for being so weird even H.P. Lovecraft would have found it strange (and bizarrely, nothing to do with the film of the same name…).
5. Children of the Corn
Even people who have never read Night Shift will be familiar with this one. A couple run over a child who sprints onto the road through corn fields. But the couple soon realise that all is not what it seems as they explore the bizarre town of Gatlin. A disturbing, atmospheric story, King’s use of frightening children and a disturbing ghost town sticks with you long after you finish reading.
4. I Am the Doorway
Another one that stays with you after you put it down. The story has a more sci-fi setting than most King tales, so much so that I didn’t think I’d enjoy it after the first few paragraphs. But this tale of a man afflicted with an evil alien presence takes body horror to the next level. The last few lines send a chill right through your heart.
3. Strawberry Spring
A short story about murders occurring around a university campus during periods of thick fog. There’s a twist in this one that frightened me to my very core. The academic setting is described with sublime imagery and the narrator’s voice is hauntingly melancholic.
2. Quitters Inc
A clever story about quitting smoking. How far would you go to stop yourself from lighting another cigarette? This story has horror and humour in equal doses and has you turning the page to see how it’s going to unfold. Good fun, and a great read.
1. Trucks
Yes, it was a flop movie, Maximum Overdrive, directed by King himself. But don’t let that detract from how brilliant this story is. The basic premise is that there are several HGVs, driverless, who are hell bent on murdering any human in sight. The narrator and a group of other characters find themselves in a truck stop and the dilemma of how to survive this apocalyptic scenario. Even writing this mini-synopsis makes it sound pretty cheesy and not credible enough to be readable, but King just makes it work, and brilliantly so. As with many of his best short stories, the last line is masterful and leaves you with a cold feeling that lasts.
So, there you have it. My top five Stephen King Night Shift stories. Just my opinion as a fan of him, and a huge fan of the collection, but I could equally be persuaded if anyone has other opinions. Every single one of the stories is worth reading and at least three quarters of them are excellent.
Do you agree? Disagree? Any I’ve missed? Let me know in the comments.
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