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The Ties That Bind
From Irish writer and quiet horror master David O'Mahony comes a collection of tales that delve into the myriad aspects of what connects us, in this world, other worlds, to each other, and to things not of this Earth. Including forays into Irish folklore, stories loosely based on some of his real-life ancestors, Lovecraftian cosmic horror, and an array of ghost stories, this is his debut work and gathers together published as well as unpublished stories.
Praise for David's
"A riveting and imaginative journey… [balancing] the surreal aspects with a palpable sense of urgency and drama"
- Wicked Shadow Press on the story 'Head Case'
"This story is beautiful. It has the neatness of a fable, but the characters' emotions and the tug of the picturesque setting make it anything but neat. "
- Adam Katz, editor, 2rulesofwriting dot com on the story 'The Ties That Bind'
David O'Mahony is a horror and dark fantasy writer from Cork, Ireland. Having once harboured fantasies of being the next Tolkien or Goodkind he realised horror was his calling while writing a historical fiction novel that only worked when he made it a ghost story. With influences from HP Lovecraft and Mary Shelley to Paulo Coelho and Caitlin Marceau, he is inspired by what drives the human mind and soul, as well as the folklore and landscape of his native country. He has had some 30 stories published or accepted in Ireland, the UK, US, Belgium, Canada, Australia, India, and Thailand. They have found homes with, among others, Temple Dark Books, Rogue Planet Press, 2 Rules of Writing, Stygian Lepus, AntipodeanSF, Wicked Shadow Press, Exquisite Death, and Perseid Prophecies.
He was a finalist in the Globe Soup Primal Fears horror competition and his entry to the NYC Midnight Short Story contest was praised as "an original, creative take on the ghost story".
A journalist, copy editor, and historian by training he has written non-fiction at irishexaminer dot com, where he is assistant editor. A second volume of stories, What Gets Left Behind, is due out in early 2025. He lives with his wife, three children, and two cats outside Cork City in a house that's far too modern for somebody who specialises in ghost stories.
Praise for David's
"A riveting and imaginative journey… [balancing] the surreal aspects with a palpable sense of urgency and drama"
- Wicked Shadow Press on the story 'Head Case'
"This story is beautiful. It has the neatness of a fable, but the characters' emotions and the tug of the picturesque setting make it anything but neat. "
- Adam Katz, editor, 2rulesofwriting dot com on the story 'The Ties That Bind'
David O'Mahony is a horror and dark fantasy writer from Cork, Ireland. Having once harboured fantasies of being the next Tolkien or Goodkind he realised horror was his calling while writing a historical fiction novel that only worked when he made it a ghost story. With influences from HP Lovecraft and Mary Shelley to Paulo Coelho and Caitlin Marceau, he is inspired by what drives the human mind and soul, as well as the folklore and landscape of his native country. He has had some 30 stories published or accepted in Ireland, the UK, US, Belgium, Canada, Australia, India, and Thailand. They have found homes with, among others, Temple Dark Books, Rogue Planet Press, 2 Rules of Writing, Stygian Lepus, AntipodeanSF, Wicked Shadow Press, Exquisite Death, and Perseid Prophecies.
He was a finalist in the Globe Soup Primal Fears horror competition and his entry to the NYC Midnight Short Story contest was praised as "an original, creative take on the ghost story".
A journalist, copy editor, and historian by training he has written non-fiction at irishexaminer dot com, where he is assistant editor. A second volume of stories, What Gets Left Behind, is due out in early 2025. He lives with his wife, three children, and two cats outside Cork City in a house that's far too modern for somebody who specialises in ghost stories.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 31, 2024
About the author
David O'Mahony
6 books3 followersI'm an Ireland-based horror and dark fantasy writer with a speciality in ghost stories and quiet horror (think of mounting, creeping atmospheres rather than relying on blood and guts, though I can do that too).
I've had 50 stories accepted, not including reprints, and have two collections out - The Ties That Bind (2024) and What Gets Left Behind (2025) - with a standalone novelette House of Sorrows coming out with Graveside Press in 2026.
I've had 50 stories accepted, not including reprints, and have two collections out - The Ties That Bind (2024) and What Gets Left Behind (2025) - with a standalone novelette House of Sorrows coming out with Graveside Press in 2026.
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December 30, 2024Welcome to my first story collection, a gathering of quiet horror, dark fantasy, and contemporary fiction that tends to skew toward the dark... though not always.
A mix of published and unpublished stories, it's the first in what will be my Shadows and Starlight series of collections. Some of the stories will be related, but the books themselves, on the round, will all be standalone. Still, if Clive Barker and Richard Matheson can gather some of their short writings under singular banners, that's good enough for me.
-David
A mix of published and unpublished stories, it's the first in what will be my Shadows and Starlight series of collections. Some of the stories will be related, but the books themselves, on the round, will all be standalone. Still, if Clive Barker and Richard Matheson can gather some of their short writings under singular banners, that's good enough for me.
-David
Displaying 1 of 1 review