Die Booth's Blog, page 16

Spirit Houses give-away?

Should I do one?

I'm really indecisive. But it does look like it can bring your book to the attention of a lot of readers who'd otherwise maybe not notice it...

A one-penny revolution

I went for a walk this morning and wrote this straight away when I got in, before I had chance to read anything online or become fearful or ashamed or have any second thoughts, while I was still holding onto the wonderful feeling. And now I’m going to post it unedited anyway because every single joyful moment in life is something you should hold in both hands and treasure.

This morning I went to have blood taken for another blood test.

I walked to the doctors’ surgery for my 8.30am appointment....

Spirit Houses inspired song by The Webb

So, it’s always the best part of writing anything when you get a good review for it, but the other day I not only received a wonderful email review from The Webb (a goth band I’m a big fan of since meeting them in Manchester – they are so lovely and friendly!) but they also informed me that Spirit Houses inspired them to write two songs which will appear on their second album. Never did I ever dream that I’d have an awesome band being inspired by my writing, this is just the coolest thing eve...

Win a FREE copy of Re-Vamp for Halloween – and monster savings on Spirit Houses too!

I can’t believe it’s been two years since L.C. Hu and I edited Re-Vamp – an anthology celebrating the good ol’ days of horror, when ghosts were truly spirited and vampires had bite! To celebrate our two year anniversary and Halloween combined, we’re running a competition on Goodreads for one lucky person to win a free paperback copy of Re-Vamp. All you have to do to win is sign in to Goodreads and click on ENTER TO WIN on the Re-Vamp pageto be entered into the prize draw. Entries must be made...

Book review – Dark Bits edited by Jacob Haddon

Dark Bits from Apokrupha Press, is a collection of 52 (+1!) horror flash fictions, including my story ‘Photograph (V)’.

When I started reading this collection, I was keeping note of my particular favourite stories as I went along – until I noticed that I’d quickly filled a page with titles. Because there are so many stories in this anthology, there’s bound to be something to please all readers – it runs the full gamut of horror, from bizarro and body horror through ghost stories to unsettling...

Guest blog at Cutis Anserina – Why I love monsters

To celebrate the run-up to Halloween, M.R. Gott, purveyor of hard-boiled macabre and author of Where the Dead Fear to Tread has been running a Halloween Bash blog tour. I was lucky enough to get to talk about why I love monsters so…

“When I was little, I always liked the villains the best.


Apparently that marked me out quite early on as being ‘odd’ (or at least, a horror author in the making!) but I don’t really think it was odd at all.
Initially, I think it was a typical childish fascination wi...

First review for Spirit Houses!

I think this is the very first review for Spirit Houses – I’m grinning fit to burst!

“It’s difficult to categorise this book – supernatural steampunk adventure romance? – and there’s a lot going on because there’s a huge story to tell and a truly massive, incredible world to build, but nothing about it ever feels crowded or muddled. The author’s got this cleverness with dialogue that feels absolutely real and uncontrived, and the descriptions of the places are so alive that I’ve even dreamed a...

How to make a book trailer – seventh stop: Authors Electric

The final stop of my Lucky 13 blog tour, to celebrate the release of my debut novel Spirit Houses is at Authors Electric. Authors Electric is a collective of28 independent and independently publishing writers of all genres from right around the globe, who blog daily with reviews, opinions, writing tips and much more, so when one of my favourite authors Susan Price asked if I would contribute an article on how I made my book trailers, I was really delighted to oblige with my own little step by...

Why writers should review – sixth stop: The Horror Tree

The penultimate stop of my Spirit Houses blog tour is at The Horror Tree – an absolutely invaluable listings resource for horror writers. If you get chance, stop by and give them some love for providing such a fantastic service for free!

Why writers should review, and how to do it

Writing isn’t a popularity contest. Oh, wait – it kind of is. Oops, there – I said it.

The whole advent of social media and online reviews and ratings on sites like Amazon and Goodreads has resulted in the usual double...

Spirit Houses – the first review!

OK so maybe this is cheating a little as it’s feedback from a friend rather than an official review, but what lovely feedback it is from the very first person I know of to have read the hard copy of Spirit Houses (the whole thing in just one day, no less!)

“I have just emerged from that other plane of being that you enter when you’re reading a really good book…one where your corporeal body ceases to exist, you might say…I think I was gone too long. This book is dangerously submersive.”

Thanks,...