David Basnett's Blog
January 24, 2025
Westfield Orphan – Book 2 – Out now
What’s been happening
Just had a look at my last post and it was eight years ago. Surely that can’t be right?! I offer my sincere apologies, but sometimes life takes you in a different direction. Since then I’ve moved to Australia and become a citizen and been exploring my new country. I’ve been practicing my swimming in the Indian Ocean, learning to fish, having a go at paddleboarding, playing cricket for hours in 40°C, watching Aussie Rules Footy, and meeting a whole host of new people.
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February 23, 2017
Coming Soon – The Westfield Orphan
Born to a privileged, upper-class family whom he saw murdered as a boy, the Westfield Orphan has attained a near mythical status in the slums and with the poor of Victorian London. He is drawn back to the streets by the latest fad of upper-class slumming where fellows of good standing dress down to mingle with the less fortunate for entertainment. Following the brutal death of a prostitute outside a gin palace, he sets out to hunt down the white beast that has been unleash...
September 18, 2015
Free Horror Short Story from Dark Chapter Press
Dark Chapter Press
From the blog at Dark Chapter Press
The return of our monthly flash fiction competition attracted much interest and a great response from writers, both familiar to us here at Dark Chapter Press, and new. Such a response is great news for us here in the DCP dungeon, because it means writers like what we’re doing and want to jump onboard, but what if I told you it could be a poisoned chalice, a double-edged sword? Would you believe me?
Allow me to explain. The quality this m...
September 17, 2015
First Review is in for Ravensdowne…
My first adult horror…
Well it’s been a long few months since I released Ravensdowne and I’ve been keeping half an eye on watching for reviews. It’s a weird feeling waiting for that first one. I can only liken it to standing with your exam result in your hands and not wanting to open the envelope to see your results, but on the other hand really wanting to open it!
So when I noticed a review had popped up on US Amazon and on Goodreads, I was torn between clicking the link and reading what had...
September 1, 2015
Wes Craven – A Tribute
David Basnett
Although it was perhaps fitting that he should pass through the night (GMT), Wes Craven’s death brought a profound sadness to those of us who grew up in the eighties and nineties and rose to the news of his passing.
A Nightmare on Elm Street was the first movie I saw that truly terrified me and it has left an indelible impression on my writing. Thank you Wes
I will hand youover to my colleague at Dark Chapter Press, Stuart Keane, who has put his thoughts much more eloquently tha...
August 30, 2015
Greatest Horror-Comedy Movies
Some fantastic movies in this list. I’ve seen most of them but there’s a few I’ll be looking up!
Think I would probably add the fantastic Dog Soldiers to the list – check out the fight scene below (spoilers). Any others that they’ve missed? Let me know in the comments.
August 27, 2015
Chillingham Castle
Chillingham Castle Torture Chamber
This torture chamber has a horrible, oppressive feeling. One of the strangest places I’ve been to… I don’t think there were any rooms in the whole castle that felt rightand don’t get me started on the lake…Hell of a story to the place as you’d expect!
http://www.phenomenalplace.com/2011/03/chillingham-castle-bone-chilling.html
Stephen King Rolling Stone Interview
“We can’t be on a main road because people would find us,” says one of his assistants. “And it’s not people you want to find you. He draws some weird people.”
This interview with the horror master is well worth 5 minutes of your time.
August 26, 2015
Interview with Jack Rollins
Regular readers will know that Jack Rollins and I go back a long, long time but in this in-depth and revealing interview with him, even I learned something new about him. Great read.
Originally posted on Book Reviews by Lisa Ann:
I’d like to introduce you to Jack Rollins, author of some very good books, check them out, you will not be disappointed.
Many thanks, Jack, for a great interview!
Let’s start with getting the formalities out of the way-
Tell me a little about your...
There goes my spare time
Well now… It’s all signed and official. I’m dipping my toes into the world of publishing and I am going to be working with Dark Chapter Press (home of Jack Rollins) as co-editor on at least one project. It’s a Scottish horror anthology called Bloody Heather and I can’t wait to get cracking.
Here’s an intro from Dark Chapter Press:
With great pleasure we’d like to introduce you to the latest member of the Dark Chapter Press editing team. David Basnett and Rob McEwan have been friends for aro...
