Dave Higgins's Blog, page 57

Rain Prevention Talisman

After an extended quest to obtain materials, determine sacred geometries, and prepare instruments of power, I have crafted an enduring artefact that prevents rain from falling upon my house. Yesterday morning, before my wife and I wrought our work, the weather forecast for my area was thunderstorms with a 100% chance of rain for every … Continue reading Rain Prevention Talisman

Discordant Love Beyond Death Kickstarter Resurrection

The revised Kickstarter for the Discordant Love Beyond Death anthology, featuring a new story by me, starts today. The publisher describes the anthology as a “thought provoking, often horrific, anthology of 22 dark fiction stories featuring the elements of death then love, and in that order.” Find the details here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/... Each of the twenty-two … Continue reading Discordant Love Beyond Death Kickstarter Resurrection

Joe Coffin, Season One by Ken Preston

Preston combines the unpolished horror of Eastern European legends with the brutality of gangland culture to create a tale that provides the purity of classic vampire stories without the simplistic moral binary. Joe Coffin’s second wife and young son were brutally murdered while he was in prison. So, when the fellow member of the Slaughterhouse … Continue reading Joe Coffin, Season One by Ken Preston

The Tidings of Ravens

While I make no claim to those high peaks conquered by Lovecraft, I have not—as is considered modern—foregone correspondence entirely in favour of texts and apps. And it is fortunate I have not, for otherwise I might not have received tidings anent a strange and unusual thing. This weekend past, I received a letter from … Continue reading The Tidings of Ravens

A Plague of Peskies by Jefferson Smith

Smith pairs a curmudgeonly saviour with a world that would turn a saint cynical to create gritty fantasy (literally: deserts are full of blasted sand) that is seasoned with darkly uplifting humour. This novella is part of Smith’s The 13th Advocate series. While each tale is designed to stand alone, it might contain mild spoilers … Continue reading A Plague of Peskies by Jefferson Smith

The Last Family Road Trip by Matthew S. Cox

Cox blends coming-of-age tropes with the unique challenges of ethical vampirism to create a fresh and engaging tale that also evokes the joy of classic 80’s horror. This novel is like totally the fourth in Cox’s Vampire Innocent series. Hashtag Spoilers. The constraints of life as a vampire—even one who can tolerate some exposure to … Continue reading The Last Family Road Trip by Matthew S. Cox

Submission Call: All These Shiny Worlds III

Following the success of All These Shiny Worlds and All These Shiny Worlds II, anthologies showcasing some of the best independent fantasy and science-fiction short stories, Jefferson Smith is compiling a third volume. Unlike the previous two, which were nomination-only, this one will be open to all subscribers to his Liar’s Hearth Newsletter. Further details … Continue reading Submission Call: All These Shiny Worlds III

Tithe by Chani Lynn Feener

Feener merges the traditional myths of the fairy tithe to hell and the power of a willing sacrifice, providing a fresh and plausible reason for that competition between teenagers which defines one subgenre of young adult fiction. One of Arden Archer’s ancestors was cursed to see the Unseelie; a curse that has travelled down through … Continue reading Tithe by Chani Lynn Feener

Literature Lacks Character

While binaries are almost never true, there is a common division in fiction critique between literature (seen as worthy) and genre (seen as second-rate)—or, to reverse it, between literature (seen as pretentious tedium) and genre (seen as genuine entertainment). Many of those who fall into the second perspective go further, claiming that—rather than a division … Continue reading Literature Lacks Character

Bunker Boy by Jordan Elizabeth

Elizabeth shrinks the post-apocalyptic settlement trope down almost to a single family, starkly portraying how close the edge of human control becomes without ubiquitous civilisation. One moment, Zara is wondering whether her uncle will turn his music down enough that she can revise and what the searing flash outside the kitchen window is. The next … Continue reading Bunker Boy by Jordan Elizabeth