Conrad Williams's Blog, page 20

Slitten Gorge

Weird Fiction Review has just posted a short story of mine – Slitten Gorge – originally published in British Invasion and now to be found between the covers of Born with Teeth.

The Fox

Cover by Neil Williams

Coming soon…

They took their daughters to a glamping farm to escape the stresses of the city. There were chickens to feed, logs to chop and a fire to keep stoked. For a day it was fun to reconvene with nature and connect with what it meant to be wild.

But on that first night a blizzard hit and they woke up to a white world. The snow only made the blood easier to see…

Now the chickens have disappeared and there’s a dead little surprise down by the children’s playground. A warning that you can’t just wish all the bad stuff away…

Overheard

Brighton, March 2004

‘I caught the seam under my foot and it was so uncomfortable.’

Head Injuries

Morecambe © Conrad Williams

In 1993 I started the novel that would become Head Injuries. It was called Dust back then. Heavily influenced by M John Harrison, Ramsey Campbell and Clive Barker, it was my attempt at a modern British ghost story. It’s a flawed novel, but one for which I have great fondness. I wrote it on an Amstrad with a 10″ screen bought from Morgans near Manchester Piccadilly train station. As I paid for it (I think it was about fifty pounds), the salesman asked if I wanted to upgrade to a 12″ screen for an extra tenner. I said I couldn’t afford it and he said not to worry. ‘There’s a free set of binoculars comes with with it so you can see what you’re typing.’ Chortle.

The novel is partly set in Morecambe, which is where I stayed while I wrote the novel (I was taking the Creative Writing MA at Lancaster University at the time). Much of what happens in the book happened during my stay, but I’ll leave it to you to decide what is fact and what is fiction because the book, for so many years out of print, is available again, for the Kindle. You’ll find it on Amazon pages in USA and UK as well as the rest of the world.

I pondered for some time about releasing the book in 2013, as it would have been fifteen years since its publication (the novel was published one day before my 29th birthday) but other than me, who really gives a toss? So I thought I’d get it out there now, before Christmas. And just for you, for being such wonderful people, it’s available at a low price for a limited period. Included with the novel is an introduction by me and two related short stories. Bargain.

I hope you like it. Drop by and tell me what you think!

Down, but not out…

Ann and Jeff VanderMeer won the British Fantasy Award for Best Anthology in Brighton at the weekend with their huge book, The Weird. We lock horns again over the World Fantasy Awards in Toronto at the start of next month. The Weird is once more up against Gutshot, but they’ve also got The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities in contention. Also shortlisted are old friends Steve Jones with his A Book of Horrors and Ellen Datlow with Blood and Other Cravings. All good people. So I’ll be (kind of) happy whatever happens… Graham Joyce will be my stand-in for the event and will say a few words on my behalf should I be lucky enough to win.

Bad Language

I’ll be headlining a night of spoken word and poetry at a special Halloween version of Manchester’s highly-regarded Bad Language.

The event takes place on Wednesday, October 31 from 7:30pm until 10:30pm at The Castle Hotel, 66 Oldham Street, M4 1LE.

Open mic slots are available. If you wish to take part you can do so by e-mailing badlanguagemcr@gmail.com from 5TH OCTOBER onwards.

At least five slots are reserved for people who have never performed on the Bad Language stage before and this month they are encouraging, in particular, horror writing.

You can keep up with Bad Language’s events by following their Twitter feed: @BadLanguageMcr

Tales to Terrify

It’s a privilege to be part of a double bill with HP Lovecraft over at Tales to Terrify, a podcast presented by Lawrence Santoro. Lawrence reads Lovecraft’s The Hound, followed by Gareth Stack’s performance of my story Once Seen.