Stuart Keane's Blog, page 4
March 9, 2015
Book Review: Dr. Blessing’s Curse, or, The Baby In The Bell-Jar – Jack Rollins
As a horror fan, I like to immerse myself in horror of all forms. However, as I was growing up, the horror that always spooked me the most was Hammer Horror. Gothic tales of the terrible including mummies, vampires, ghosts, monsters and Peter Cushing…amongst other famous English Thespians. The key to the Hammer Horror films is one thing: Subtlety. The gore is sometimes minimal, the chills dripping with tension, the acting hammy but sincere, and the story-telling top notch. Which is why, when...
March 8, 2015
This One Is For Our Readers…
Hello all.
As a writer, I like to keep my hopes on a short leash. For me, getting carried away is not an option. I keep my feet on the ground in respects to my career. When I started last April, I knew nothing would happen overnight, that it was a gradual event. It takes time to write, generate some buzz, find readers who want to read your work. It’s nearly been a year now – some amazing things have happened in that time. In fact, I’m very proud thus far, I couldn’t have dreamt of the first tw...
March 6, 2015
Book Review: Porn – Matt Shaw
Porn. It’s not what it looks like. Or is it?
Ever the enigma, the porn industry has always been a controversial entity in the media world. Once forbidden and shunned by the masses, pornography has found a comfortable home with the birth of the internet and is now one of the biggest industries in the world. Gone are the seedy days of underhanded agents and the potential to be involved in a snuff film (mostly). In are the unions and pensions and healthcare. Porn really is going places…but not in...
March 5, 2015
Book Review: Even Hell has Standards: Pride – Chantal Noordeloos
Some sub-genres of horror, I tend to avoid. It doesn’t mean I won’t read them at all, it just means I have to be in the right mood to engage. Occult horror is one of these – it’s very hit and miss. Some authors are comfortable with it, some not so much. However, one of the best things about being a reader is finding an author who filters their love and respect for the genre into their prose and creates a story to remember. Step forward Chantal Noordeloos.
First, the plot. Adolf Zakerny is a tw...
March 4, 2015
Book Review: Devil’s Day – Kyle M Scott
There comes a time in every readers life – not often, and only rarely – when you read a book that changes your perspective on the genre. Horror, for me, has been my solace, my go-to genre for many a decade, but it’s rare that a book has an impact on you so heavily, so amazingly, that you realise you spent 5 hours on it and realise “holy shit, that was epic.” Devils Day; like Flesh by Laymon, Persuader by Lee Child and The Shining by King – the three other books to do this to me – is one of th...
March 3, 2015
Book Review: Plebs – Jim Goforth
Night of the Living Dead (1968). The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). The Hills Have Eyes (1977). Dawn of the Dead (1978). The Evil Dead (1981). All iconic horror films and inspiration for any die-hard horror fan. The fact I was visualising these movies throughout the novel is testament to Jim Goforth’s work. The whole book had that blockbuster feel.
If the above doesn’t clue you in, I’m a massive horror fanatic, in both books and films, and it’s always a welcome and refreshing experience to fi...
January 29, 2015
Book Blog Tour – Hourglass Heights
Hello all
During December of 2014, I was approached by Ian David Noakes to help participate in his book blog tour for his debut novel, Hourglass Heights. Ian initially asked me to refer or recommend anyone who would be willing to blog or promote the book. However, having read the book myself, and it making my Top 10 list for 2014, I happily offered to promote the book for him on my own blog.
Before we go any further, here is the blurb for Hourglass Heights:
Who is brutally murdering the male res...
January 8, 2015
My Top 10 Independent/Small Press List – 2014
Hello all
Well, it’s 2015, a brand new year. The festivities and holidays are over and everyone is back to the daily grind. For me, 2015 is all about the follow up – I’m working on my second and third novel this year. It also ushers in my second and third anthologies as an editor (Undead Legacy and Under the Bridge, both due from J Ellington Ashton Press, will follow my debut, Carnage: Extreme Horror) and I aim to start my first series of books with The Vector Series. The year stretches out be...
December 4, 2014
All or Nothing – Available Now
Hello all
It’s been a long, rewarding journey, but I can officially confirm that my debut novel, All or Nothing, is now available on Amazon Kindle and Print. Since March, I’ve been a very busy author. 2014 has seen the release of two Kindle novellas (The Customer is Always… and Charlotte) and the publishing of several short stories in several anthologies (see the anthology section for details). However, the pinnacle of my writing career thus far is All or Nothing, my first full novel. A labour...
November 16, 2014
‘Fool Aboard’ – The Podcast
Hello all
Back in June, I was honoured to be published in print for the very first time. My short story, ‘Fool Aboard’, was included in the Terror Train anthology published by James Ward Kirk Publishing. Edited by Krista Clark Grabowski and A. Henry Keene, this anthology has a special place in my heart. First of all, it’s my first published work and second, trains are synonymous with horror – for me anyway. There’s always been something so eerie about the locomotive. To be involved in such a p...
