Thomas Brown's Blog, page 12
September 6, 2013
Shared Words, LYNNWOOD Reviews.
“I do very strongly believe that the best sort of fiction is written from personal concern. Those concerns have to be fresh in your head, and if they’re not then they’re dead. I write out of anxiety and obsession, I write out of hope and passion.”
Clive Barker
I would like to post some of the encouraging reviews that have been coming in for LYNNWOOD through Amazon and Waterstones. It is a terrifying thing to share your private words with readers; what means most to you will not necessarily mean the same thing to other people. We are all different, and while it is easy enough to adapt in social situations, to smile and laugh when appropriate, to put on a public face when leaving the house in the morning, this is not possible with fiction. I write from my heart about the things that frighten me most; not goblins and ghouls but everyday fears, social concerns made palatable for hungry readers. This is the nature of the horror that I write. Clive Barker expresses these feelings very well in the above quote.
You can imagine the anxiety, then, which comes with unmasking oneself through the writing in the pages of a book. Your words are in the readers’ hands, and they will interpret them in their own way. Our personal experiences shape our understanding of the world and the language we use to describe it. So it is a wonderful thing to read that some people are appreciating LYNNWOOD for the vein in which it was written; that they understand, if not empathise with, the kind of horror I am exploring. Thank you!
August 19, 2013
Captured on Camera
When it was agreed that I could hold a book launch at my local Waterstones branch, I quickly approached a friend from university, Joseph Madden, to ask whether he would mind covering the event with his camera. Joe currently works as a Video Communications Coordinator for a large UK company and has a passion for photography, film-making and related media. I had worked with him before, when taking photographs for my publisher, and was very keen to enlist his help again. Joe was more than happy to oblige, and drove up on June 29 to photograph the launch.
You can imagine my delight when he went one step further and actually began filming! From the footage gathered, he spent several weeks working on a short video, which can be watched below. It really captures the spirit of the day and I feel incredibly proud watching it back. The featured snapshots are great and I couldn’t have hoped for a better way to treasure and remember the day. I really hope some of you enjoy watching it. A huge thank you to Joe for his time and energy.
See more images from the day at Joe’s blog: http://joesbarbershop.tumblr.com/
August 5, 2013
Celticlady reviews LYNNWOOD
The review today comes from Kathleen over at Celticlady’s Reviews. Kathleen seemed to really enjoy the read and had some encouraging words to say about LYNNWOOD.
“I read this book in two sittings, a fast read, and I found it to be very interesting. A dark gothic type of tale that will have you chilled to the bones…”
Read the full review HERE.
My thanks to her for reading, and taking the time to write her review.
July 30, 2013
Damned Words
One of Pen of the Damned’s most recent features is the addition of Damned Words into our schedule – once a rotation we review an image, photographed and supplied by our own Nina D’arcangela, and each write a one hundred word flash inspired by what we see.
It is wonderful to see the weird places each of our different personalities takes us. I’ve said it before but I will do so again – the world is made up of billions of people, and each of them different. Exercises like this are a pleasure and a treat because they serve to highlight those differences. We are working from the same image, we write with the same dark predilections, but still we produce different stories, exploring different themes, told in different voices and tones… It is this unique opportunity to share another person’s private perspective of the world that makes writing so magical.
I have linked the three Damned Words exercises below for your ease of access – enjoy.
Damned Words 3 NEW
July 22, 2013
Books are my Drug reviews LYNNWOOD
Earlier in the year, C. B. Blanchard of Books are my Drug reviewed a copy of my book, LYNNWOOD. She had some wonderful things to say about my writing and it has occurred to me that if someone has taken the time to read and favourably review something I have written, then the least I can do is help share that review. With this in mind, I would like to link C. B. Blanchard’s review below, in what will be first of a number of blog shares. Hopefully the reviews will help give a better impression of what the book is like. And, of course, I feel proud of them!
“Can we talk about the thing I loved most first? The writing. Oh, my word, the writing. It was the sort of writing that makes you marvel at how good it is, flowing and swirling and building until it’s created whole worlds of dread and fear around you.”
Read the full review HERE.
My thanks to C. B. Blanchard for reviewing my work.
July 9, 2013
Girlwithapen
While my passion lies with the pen, I am a big advocate of cross-media inspiration. Literature, music, painting, sculpture, metalwork, even food, can all inspire each other to new heights of creative flair. They can also tell us things about a theme or concept that might not be so obvious in a different medium. Mostly I appreciate seeing someone’s ideas transform as they are shaped by another artist, in another form of art. I think this is what it is all about, when it comes down to it; the expression of ideas, the sharing of ideas, the interpretation of these ideas, and so forth.
Earlier in the year I approached Tida Bradshaw about interpreting the opening scene of my upcoming book, LYNNWOOD, in a piece of artwork. She did this wonderfully, and the resulting black-and-white drawing, ‘Into The Trees’, can be seen in past blog posts (see ‘Creative Collaboration‘). Around the same time, however, I also commissioned a local artist, Jemma Gorrod (girlwithapen), to explore my story in her own surreal style. The quirky results can be seen below. Jemma was most inspired by two aspects of the book – the Forest and the idea of the human animal masquerading as a creature of society. I think she has done a wonderful job taking these ideas and exploring them in her own distinctive style to create a series of truly striking images.
July 1, 2013
Waterstones Book Launch
On Saturday 29th June I met with friends, family and local readers at Waterstones Witney to talk about my new book, LYNNWOOD, and officially launch it in-store. It was one of the best days of my life and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to talk about reading, writing and horror in a semi-professional capacity. I was at first nervous that no one would turn up, then doubly so when people did start arriving and I realised quite how many people I would be talking to! But I gave it my best shot (a glass of wine helped) and everybody seemed delighted with what I had to say. The store sold out of their copies and I even managed a few signatures!
A lot of being a writer involves sitting on your own, working from thoughts in your own head. It therefore felt very strange to find myself standing in front of a group of people talking about my writing. I was really happy to see so many familiar faces among the crowd and absolutely recommend the experience to anyone with a new release, or something literary to say. I really hope you enjoy the pictures, and hope they tempt you to read into the book.
June 3, 2013
The Nightmare Factory
“We leave this behind in your capable hands, for in the black-foaming gutters and the back alleys of paradise, in the dank windowless gloom of some galactic cellar, in the hollow pearly whorls found in sewerlike seas, in starless cities of insanity, and in their slums … my awe-struck little deer and I have gone frolicking.”
from ‘The Frolic’
Here is a book that lives up to its title as a manufacturer of nightmares. I had read a scattered few of Thomas Ligotti’s stories before, but read back-to-back their power seems almost multiplied, as though you are losing yourself beneath an ocean of demented darkness. We have recognisable horror tropes in serial killers, manikins, monsters and madness, but there is something entirely fresh and carnal about the way they are presented, almost as a cloak, a thin skin below which pulses the real horror, pressing against the world, against reality and rationality and in some small places leaking through, giving rise to the maddening power behind Ligotti’s prose.
Personal favourites include ‘The Frolic’, ‘Dream of a Mannikin’, ‘Drink to Me Only with Labyrinthine Eyes’, ‘Dr. Voke and Mr. Veech’, ‘The Music of the Moon’, ‘The Spectacles in the Drawer’, ‘The Medusa’, ‘Mrs. Rinaldi’s Angel’ and ‘The Voices in the Bones’. The collection is so large, however, that provided you enjoy the writing, there are stories for everyone.
The writing itself is beautiful. There is no other way to describe it. I am sure it will not be to everyone’s taste, befitting Ligotti’s reputation as a cult writer, but for me it represents the pinnacle of literature. Through rich language, surreal sequences, dreams and dark allusions, we are drawn into the worlds of Ligotti’s stories, which so closely resemble our own – and do not. The fact that I only intended to write a few sentences here is a testament to my feelings towards this book.
For aficionados of: Lovecraft, rich description, surreal fiction, Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, and psychological/philosophical/Gothic horror.
May 16, 2013
The Horror Zine
“Since 2009, The Horror Zine has published exceptional horror fiction by emerging talent and today’s leading authors. Editor Jeani Rector selects only the most inventive and captivating tales for each issue. In addition to short fiction, The Horror Zine features horror-themed poetry and artwork. Now The Horror Zine brings you the dark delights from the ezine into a print magazine. This Summer 2013 issue features Mark LaFlamme, Eric LaRocca, Kevin Crisp, Garrett Rowlan, A. D. Vick, Thomas Brown, Andrew Marinus, Kristen Houghton, Thomas Joyce, Ashley Dioses, Jay Wilburn, Cynthia Pelayo, David Landrum, Jean Jones, Joe Meredith, Harjit Singh Sagoo, Norbert Hirschhorn, Christopher Hivner, Kristin Roahrig, Nathan Rock, Mathias Jansson, Nathaniel Arnold, Fred R. Kane, K. A. Opperman, Ghia Vitale, Joseph V. Danoski, Mol Smith, Andrea Astaldo, Jeffrey Oleniacz, Denny E. Marshall, Chasity Colón, Boe and Irony.”
I am delighted to be included in this anthology, in the company of such distinguished writers and artists. There is something for everyone in here. My contribution is ‘The Faceless Brides’, in which a young girl is visited in her sleep by three shapeless harridans. The collection itself is excellent, as is to be expected from The Horror Zine, so if anthologies are your poison of choice then I recommend supporting Jeani and the team by picking this one up.
May 6, 2013
‘A dark and disturbing horror story set in a picturesque village…’
‘…Full of rich description, it depicts the horrifying, ravenous secret lurking beneath the surface of the village. I would recommend this to fans of classic English horror as well as fans of Stephen King.’ Lucy O’Connor, Waterstones
I have fallen woefully behind on updates, so I will try and catch up on these over the next few days. To begin with, I would like to share the news that LYNNWOOD is finally available for digital download. The paperback will be released in June, but if you are the proud owner of a Kindle/tablet and fancy a stroll through digital woods, then you can finally do so. I could talk at length about the book, but I think reader reviews are more relevant, especially those which touch on the book’s identity. Do download a copy, if it sounds like your sort of book.
‘A distinctly chilling read with elegant touches of gothic horror.’ – Teresa Majury, Lovely Treez Reads
‘The author’s writing was very poetic and gave nothing away. This is the type of book to read curled up in front of a fire, just don’t be alone…’ – Kathleen Kelly, CelticLady’s Reviews
‘Brown paints a veritable picture with his words [...]‘ – Julianne Snow, DarkMediaOnline
‘[...] a dark journey not only of the mind, but of the soul.’ – Nina D’Arcangela
