C.M. Saunders's Blog, page 37
May 30, 2016
Jessica – Liquid Imagination #29
My short story Jessica is now available in the new edition of Liquid Imagination, the place where reality and fantasy blur.
Jessica, a tale of young love, was fun to write. It was one of those stories that comes virtually full-formed in a dream. Wake up, bang, new story! The only difference is, I dreamed the ending first, then had to fit some kind of story around it. The hardest part was deciding what to call the girl, who is the real star of the show. I wanted something cute-sounding, maybe a little prim, but relatable. I hope the ending kicks you in the nuts.
When I write a new story, it usually sits on my hard drive for a few months, even years. Periodically I dust it off, re-write it, format it differently and just generally play around with it whilst submitting it to different markets. Not Jessica. This was written, edited, subbed and accepted, to the first market I sent it to, all within two weeks. If only everything was that easy.
Anyway, please give it a read, all it will cost you is a little time, and let me know what you think! Diolch!
Liquid Imagination #29 – Jessica
May 20, 2016
Guest Post: “The Wreckers” by C.M. Saunders
Big thanks to the Horror Bookshelf for letting me stop by. Here I discuss one of the dark chapters of British history we seldom like to talk about…
Today’s post on The Horror Bookshelf comes from C.M. Saunders, who is currently promoting his new novel Sker House, which is available now through DeadPixel Publications. I am excited to have Saunders on the site as I loved his novella Out of Time (review) and his riveting story of psychological horror “The Elementals and I” that appeared in Grey Matter Press’ Dark Visions – Volume Two. Saunders’ post takes a look at the practice of “wrecking” and the role it played in the history of the real-life Sker House. I love history, so I really enjoyed this post and learned a lot about the practice of wrecking, which is something I didn’t even know about. Wrecking plays a significant role in the novel and I look forward to reading how Saunders’ incorporates it into what sounds like a truly creepy haunted house story!
The Wreckers
By…
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May 10, 2016
The Literary Hatchet #14
My short story, Never Go Back, can be found in the new edition of The Literary Hatchet (#14). It’s the third in a loosely connected collection of tales about a fictional village called Wood Forge, where some pretty weird shit happens. Ghosts and hauntings, trolls living under bridges, zombies, strange disappearances. You name it, Wood Forge has (or will have) it.
This story was rejected a bunch of times because of a particular scene which one editor called, ‘distasteful.’ He’s not wrong. But hey, I write horror, not pop-up books. I thought it was funny, in a twisted kind of way, so the scene stayed. Credit to The Literary Hatchet for having the balls to go with it and let me do my thing.
Coincidentally, The Literary Hatchet also published another Wood Forge story, What Happened Next, (the sequel to What Happened to Huw Silverthorne) back in 2014. I’ve always been a fan, it’s a great quality mag with a huge reputation, and it’s an honour to be included. This bumper 318-page issue on Pear Tree Press also features fiction by Eugene Hosey, Cody Schroeder, Stanford Allen, Mary King, Molly Richard, Tim Waldron and a whole bunch of others, as well as some cool as fuck artwork. Don’t miss out.
“They always say never go back. I never really understood why, until I went back to Wood Forge, the little village where I grew up.”
You can download the PDF version for free, shell out for a physical copy, or you can be a chump and do neither. Your call.
The Literary Hatchet #14 is available HERE
May 2, 2016
Endings and Beginnings: Something Wicked
Renee Miller’s awesome post on our new band. I stole hers because it saves me writing a new one with all the same stuff in it. And she’s funnier than I am.
Dangling on the Edge of (In)Sanity
So, very soon, DeadPixel Publications will be no more. The band is breaking up. Yep. That’s it, that’s all. It’s a bittersweet development for me, as I did enjoy the sense of community that a collective of authors provides. I’ll miss that and most of the new friends I made because of it. However, it leaves the door open for bigger and better, right? Right. This is what I’m telling myself and I’m running with it.
The decision to dismantle DPP has left me to re-examine my publishing path and the goals I’ve placed along the way. The group was a big part of what I’d planned over the past couple of years, so now I have to remove DPP from the equation, which changes things here and there.
While I gained a lot from DPP in terms of readers and my network, perhaps what I learned about myself and…
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April 22, 2016
Bazar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King (Book Review)
So, the Master’s sixth volume of short fiction, which normally appear in seven-year cycles, dropped late last year to the delight of his rabid army of Constant Readers. As with previous collections, it proved a weighty tome. A total of twenty stories comprise the 495 pages, including a revised version of the recent stand-alone ebook Mile 81, the fictional baseball-based novella Blockade Billy from 2010, two previously unreleased stories, and several assorted rarities. There’s even a poem.
King has championed the novella form for most of his career, and is arguably at least partly responsible for it’s current popularity. It’s no accident that Amazon turned to him when they wanted a big-name author to write something publicizing the then-new fangled Kindle. The result, UR, is one of the highlights in Bazar of Bad Dreams. Of the rarities, the most interesting is probably Bad Little Kid, a twisted little tale about a lawyer defending a child murderer. However, the case is far from straight-forward. Originally published only in French and German, this creepfest appears here for the first time in English, and is vintage King.
In the introduction, King makes the analogy that with this book he is assuming the role of a street vendor, who only sells his wares after midnight. And it proves quite accurate. There are a few absolute gems hidden away here, some bang average items that barely hold your attention, and even a couple of stinkers. Just what you’d expect to find in a dodgy market. Several entries can barely be described as dark fiction, nevermind horror. Perfect Harmony is a study on what makes marriages work, and ‘Morality’ is about the state of affairs that could arise if someone accepts money to do something questionable, a la Indecent Proposal without the sex. But this isn’t really anything new. King has been stereotyped as the creepy bloke who wrote Carrie, ‘Salem’s Lot and The Shining, since the seventies. A victim of his own success. In actual fact, relatively little of his output since those heady days have contained much in the way of extreme horror as we know it today, or even many supernatural elements. Indeed, this summer’s End of Watch will be the third and final book in a series about a retired cop.
One of my personal favourite stories in this collection, The Dune (originally published in high-brow British literary magazine Granta in 2011) is, on the surface, the story of a man on a never-ending treasure hunt. On another level, however, it’s about growing old, and facing up to one’s own mortality. Understandably perhaps, given King’s advanced years (he turns 69 this year), this has been a recurring theme in much of his recent work. The story ‘Afterlife’ goes one step further, and takes us to a place where a recently deceased man is given the option to live his flawed life all over again. Reviewing Bazar of Bad Dreams for the Daily telegraph, Sarah Crown says ‘Death hangs like a dark cloud over Stephen King’s latest collection of short stories,’ and she isn’t wrong. Elsewhere she makes the observation that the book is ‘closer to philosophy than horror.’ True, as King matures, his work not only seems to be developing more layers, but is becoming more intellectually astute. There’s usually still a reasonably high body count, but these days there are less monsters and vampires, and more real-life conundrums and existential crises. Interesting times for fans of the King.
April 18, 2016
Review of Sker House
Nice review of Sker House by Dan Cheely at the Haunted House Project. Cheers, Dan!
What is an epic? When I think of “epics,” I think of kingdoms, knights and warriors. I think of castles and magical caves. I think of a fictional place from a long time ago in a place far away. I think of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. All that said; let me move on to the book under review. There’s something about C.M. Saunder’s novel Sker House that has me classifying it as an epic and yet, it has none of the aforementioned items. I need some help. Let me consult the ever-reliable online dictionary of Merriam-Webster.
Yes! The dictionary came through like a charm! It gave me a definition I can use:
Extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size and scope.
The definition fits. Sker House is a rich tale goes beyond the ordinary.
It’s not that it’s a long book…
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April 6, 2016
BABYMETAL – Metal Resistance (album review)
To steal a phrase from Roger Shackelford of Tainted Reality, ‘Is it weird to like BABYMETAL?*’
The answer is probably a resounding ‘yes.’
For the uninitiated, BABYMETAL are a manufactured J-Pop/thrash metal crossover act group comprising of a trio of teenagers in tutu’s and a backing band wearing corpse make-up and white flowing gowns. At first glance, it’s hard to take them seriously. I never liked Japanese music before. Or Chinese. Or Korean. It’s mostly horrible and you have no idea what they are singing about. But, God forgive me, I do like BABYMETAL. I just can’t put my finger on why. Let’s not beat around the bush. They are weird with a capital W. They have a whole invented mythological back story about a Fox God sending them out into the universe to save heavy metal, and on their last tour they pretended to crucify the singer Su Metal live on stage while the other two girls Moa Metal and Yui Metal danced around inanely. The theatrical element borrows heavily from the likes of Alice Cooper and Kiss, and it certainly adds something extra to their live performances. They’ve been huge in Asia since forming in 2010 and since then have slowly began to make their mark internationally, especially on the summer festival circuit. Last week they played a sold-out Wembley Arena to kick off their 2016 tour in support of album number two, Metal Resistance, released on 1st April which they dubbed, ahem, Fox Day. And no, it wasn’t an April Fool.
Metal Resistance kicks off with the anthemic title track, whch has been a staple in their live set for a while now, before launching into Karate, the first single. Karate is typical BABYMETAL, pop sensibilities laid over a crunching guitar riff. That’s followed by Awadama Fever, which I think is about chewing gum. Don’t let that fool you, though. As with the first album, these songs have depth and creativity, seamlessly veering from speed metal to something akin to dubstep in the blink of an eye. The contrast, and the overall effect, is almost addictive. Whoever writes these songs is truly gifted. As are the backing musicians, the Kami band. Listening to the album you would perhaps think the sound is a result of studio overdubs and fancy knob twiddling. But that’s not the case.
See? How tight is the Kami band? They have to be one of the most technically sound outfits around. The And did you see that pit go off? Dear me. Anyway, back to the album, and another early highlight is Meta Toro, which sounds suspiciously like a nursery rhyme with marching drums and death metal growls. I told you it was weird. The track GJ features some frankly awesome fretwork and yet another killer chorus while Sis Anger is obviously a nod to Metallica. At least somebody liked St Anger. The pace relents toward the end for the lighters-aloft ballads No Rain, No Rainbow and The One, but sandwiched between them is a track called Tales of the Destinies, which sounds a bit like Dragonforce on crack.
At the end of the day, I think if you try to explain to someone what BABYMETAL is all about, they would probably think you’ve lost your mind. But somehow it all fits together, and it works surprisingly well. The musicianship, the image, the choreography, the songs, the message, even the contribution of the Fox God. The whole operation is a finely tuned machine founded on raw talent, and this ‘difficult’ second album at least proves that the success of the debut wasn’t a one-off. If anything, Metal Resistance features a stronger set of songs, with more depth and clarity. Undoubtedly another step on the road to world domination. Bow down, all ye unbelievers. Resistance is futile.
*Just so you know, BABYMETAL is stylised in BLOCK CAPITAL LETTERS. I don’t just get really excitable when I say their name. Although, I kinda do.
March 25, 2016
Review: Sker House by CM Saunders
Nice, well-balanced and articulate review of Sker House…
Description:
Dale and Lucy are two students with a fascination in the supernatural. One weekend, they travel to Sker House, South Wales, a private residence with a macabre history which has recently been converted into a seaside inn. They plan to write an article for their university magazine about a supposed haunting, but when they arrive, they meet a landlord who seems to have a lot to hide. Soon, it becomes apparent that all is not well at Sker House. An air of oppression hangs over it, while misery, tragedy and ill-fortune are commonplace. Gradually, it becomes clear that the true depth of the mystery goes far beyond a mere historical haunting. This is a place where bad things happen, and evil lurks.
Little by little Dale and Lucy fall under Sker’s dark spell, and as they begin to unravel the mysteries of the past, they realize that nothing stays…
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March 18, 2016
Film Review – The Atticus institute (2015)
From the producers of the Conjuring and Annabelle, comes a new addition to the recent fad of possession movies. Scientists involved in a 1970’s research project looking into ESP and related phenomena stumble across Judith (played by Rya Kihlstedt, of Deep Impact fame) whose abilities far transcend anything they have encountered before. They gleefully set about testing her and documenting the results, but it doesn’t take long for them to realise that rather than someone displaying impressive feats of telekinesis, what they are really dealing with is a severe case of demonic possession. The entity makes its presence known in a variety of subtle and non-subtle ways and soon, the military come knocking in an attempt to harness and eventually weaponise the demon’s power. Predictably, that’s when things get really out of hand. Sometimes, guns and bullets just aren’t enough.
Written and directed by Chris Sparling, writer of the 2010 underground (sorry, couldn’t resist) smash hit Buried, the Atticus Institute unfolds through a series of interviews-to-camera interspersed with segments of laboratory footage, giving it a gritty and decidedly intense feel. The result is terrifyingly realistic, and Sparling works the tension impeccably as it builds to an horrific climax. Poor Judith spends the vast majority of the film strapped in a chair squirming around and speaking in tongues, whilst being shouted at and receiving electric shock therapy. By the end you actually end up feeling a bit sorry for her/it and begin questioning who the victim really is in all this. As any news report will tell you, this is kind of unrestrained overkill is typically what happens when western governments come up against an enemy they don’t fully understand.
Though this is one of the few possession movies that doesn’t claim to be based on a actual events, I have a sneaking suspicion the genesis of the story is based on the US government’s Stargate Project and it’s derivatives, operations set up in the 1970’s to investigate psychic phenomena in response to muted Soviet projects of a similar ilk. One of the main focuses of the Stargate Project was remote viewing, something of obvious military significance, which is alluded to several times in the Atticus Institute. Though the Stargate Project was (allegedly) closed down in 1995 amid claims that it wasn’t effective enough to make it viable, the bulk of the data that was collected has never been made available to the public, so who knows what evidence might be gathering dust in a vault somewhere?
The original version of this review is featured in the Morpheus Tales supplement, available HERE:
March 6, 2016
Here is my interview with Christian Saunders
Check out my recent interview with the lovely Fiona McVie here:
Name Christian Saunders.
I use the name C.M. Saunders when I write fiction.
Age 41.
Though I’m lucky enough to look younger, so I often lie about it. Don’t tell anybody.
Where are you from
I live in London now, but I grew up in a little ex-coal mining village called New Tredegar in the South Wales valleys.
A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc
I always had a passion for writing. It was probably the one thing I was good at when I was in school, but I didn’t pursue it until I was much older and had spent nine years working in a local factory learning the nuts and bolts of lfe. I wrote as a hobby in my spare time, and eventually started getting some success. From there, things snowballed. I went to university as a mature student, taught English in China for…
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