Jack Rollins's Blog, page 2
June 10, 2020
The Fiendish Minds Podcast Show Notes. Episode 2: Duncan P. Bradshaw
I first met bizarro-horror-comedy writer Duncan P. Bradshaw a few years ago at Sheffield Horror Con, where he was exhibiting as part of the Sinister Horror Company (all great folks, by the way, and I was impressed by their professionalism and friendliness). Now working on his own independent press EyeCue Productions, Duncan lives up to his strap line: “Happily teabagging the barriers between genres since 2014.” With a line like that, how could I not have him as a guest on the F...
The Fiendish Minds Podcast Show Notes. Episode 1: Alice J. Black
I was pleased to invite fellow North East based dark fiction writer Alice J. Black to be my first guest on The Fiendish Minds Podcast. We discussed creativity under the Covid-19 lockdown, her first steps into her writing career and the benefits of working with publishers. We covered her first novel, The Doors, and talked about her most recent releases in the Demon Hunter and Soul Seekers series.
Alice J. Black Author BioAlice lives and works in the North East of England with her par...
June 6, 2020
FREE Horror Ebook on Amazon (Limited Time Offer)
For sixty years, he has observed two simple rules, rules that have painted the cobbles with splattered blood and broken teeth, and forged an impressive legacy. But sixty years is a long time ... people are becoming restless; the criminal young bloods are ambitious and hungry to take their slice of the pie, and they'll do anything to obtain it. Even if it means taking down one of their own... Hard Man takes place in the mysterious town of Tilwick, where the demon Mammon is worshiped as a god. The...
May 24, 2020
Ready, Steady, Read: Thoughts for Prospective English Literature Students
Thinking of studying English Literature and Creative Writing at University?
I did not go to university straight from school. I got lost for many years before a horror writer made become a student. It may sound weird, but it is the truth. Adam Nevill (The Ritual, Last Days), recommends that aspiring writers take a good creative writing course and read the canon. He reasons that classic prose and poetry reveal timeless and effective ways of expressing the real emotions a writer wants his or her a...
February 1, 2020
What Was the First Horror Book?
Many fans of the horror genre wonder where horror books began. Google is flooded with searches for “What was the first horror book?”, “What was the first Gothic horror novel?” or “What was the first supernatural horror book?”. The answer to all of these questions is the same (when it comes to the English language, which - given the language of the question, I’ll stick to): The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole (1764).
The book preceded the much better known Mary Shelley novel Frankenstein ...
January 7, 2020
New Book, 'Scattered Ashes', released on 9th January 2020!
To order your copy of Scattered Ashes, click the Amazon link above.
It’s been a long time coming, but I finally got Scattered Ashes ready and up for grabs. Ideally I wanted this book out last year, but I had to focus on coursework, pushing the book’s release back to 2020. In some ways it’s quite nice that happened. What better way to open this year, than with a collection of stories that looks back at my output of the last few years?
As I work on the craft of storytelling within my degree, I...
November 26, 2019
The Curse of Conrad Bell by Jack Rollins
This is my fault. I wasn't paying attention as I cooked. A cremated steak. Dehydrated, burst potatoes. Soggy, pale vegetables. Instead of tending to the food, I was interrogating my phone, and now, instead of eating this disaster of a meal, my phone is again in my hand and I am scrolling, scrolling, pinching and zooming. Scrolling some more.
Pinterest. Google Images. The heavily contested Wikipedia articles on both the painter and the painting itself. No print or photograph of Conrad Bell’s ...
September 26, 2019
Death on the Rocks
Over the weekend, The Howick Coastguard Rescue Team warned of potential danger posed by the partially decomposed carcass of a humpback whale washed up on rocks near Dunstanburgh Castle. The state of the creature and the bacterial and parasitic life thriving as the massive corpse decomposes, present a “significant risk to health”.
The humpback whale carcass, washed ashore near Dunstanburgh Castle. Image source: BBC.co.uk
The public was cle...
September 24, 2019
The Jaw-Dropping Truth of Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook announced its closure, with thousands of travellers stranded and thousands of employees facing unemployment.
Monday 23rd September 2019 saw the first of 150,000 holidaymakers returned to the UK after the collapse of travel agents Thomas Cook. What is suspected to have ended with mismanagement, began almost by accident…
The 178 year old tour operator was unable to secure emergency funding, resulting in collapse. The firm has been struggling financially over the last decade and has...
September 23, 2019
Book Review: The Hidden, by Fiona Dodwell
[image error] [image error]A visit to Japan brings Charlotte into the mysterious world of the Yokai, making this a trip she will never forget… if she can keep her sanity intact.
When Charlotte Howarth flies from the UK to Japan to finally meet her penpal, Takako, she hopes to have a fun visit, guided by a knowledgeable local. She’s looking for a break from the pressures of her relationship back home, and seeks a bit of breathing space to get her thoughts in order and come up with a plan.
Takako lives in Hiroshima prefect...
