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Post by robertmammone on Dec 6, 2013 14:16:31 GMT
Hi all, I'm a contributor to the follow up to Ill at Ease, cleverly titled Ill at Ease 2. Available from PenMan Press (see the link at the bottom), the collection has a number of rising writers in the short horror field. More details below... Following on from the critical success of “ill at ease” comes volume 2, featuring seven original horror short stories, all of them guaranteed to give you the chills. Joining the original trio of Stephen Bacon, Mark West and Neil Williams this time are Shaun Hamilton, Robert Mammone, Val Walmsley and Sheri White. You will descend into an underground train station to uncover a dreadful secret and watch in horror as a paradise holiday turns sour. You will see a bullied boy who’s helped by local history and share the anguish of a father, losing his child in a shopping centre. You will take a trip with a cancer sufferer and share the pain of a couple, desperate for a child. You will discover that history needs to be kept somewhere. Seven stories, seven writers and you. Prepare to feel “ill at ease” all over again. penmanpress.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/ill-at-ease-2-now-available.html
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Post by robertmammone on Aug 4, 2012 0:19:06 GMT
I've a story in this anthology from Dark Minds Press - support small horror presses everywhere! Dark Minds Press is pleased to announce the publication of their second anthology of dark fiction. Darker Minds features stunning cover art from Ben Baldwin, interior art from Will Jacques and fifteen stories of dark, psychological horror from some of the best writers in the genre. The stories have been selected and edited by Ross Warren and Anthony Watson and include original works from Gary McMahon, Simon Bestwick, Stephen Bacon, Ray Cluley and Daniel Kaysen. Darker Minds will be available as a limited edition paperback which can be purchased at www.darkmindspress.com/page2.htm
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Post by robertmammone on Jun 1, 2012 10:00:04 GMT
I see the film of The Woman in Black is finally out here in Australia to no fanfare - I've been looking forward to it, but I bet it won't last long in the cinemas. Finished Susan Hill's Mrs De Winter recently. No happy ending there. I saw it last weekend James - not a patch on the tv adaptation. And the ending! Jesus Christ...
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Post by robertmammone on Dec 24, 2011 6:12:38 GMT
The programme included interviews with Mark Gatiss and Ramsey Campbell (who said Robert Aickman had the worst set of teeth he had ever seen in a human mouth). "Start the Week" on Radio 4 at 9.00 this morning included Susan Hill talking about M.R. James. There is an edited repeat tonight at 9.30. Sadly, the astonishingly bad teeth are also my most vivid recollection of him from when he was guest of honour at FantasyCon back in the mid 70s. Ramsey was not exagerating one bit. Describe, describe!
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Post by robertmammone on Mar 8, 2011 10:07:22 GMT
Conflict of interest warning - I have a story in this magazine which should see print release through the Australian Horror Writers Association website shortly. Non-members can purchase it from the site, in pdf and printed form, apparently. A chance for some exposure for some talented Australian horror writers (and poets!). Cover and details are all on the blog posting for March 1, 2011 sswftapa.blogspot.com/
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Post by robertmammone on Jan 20, 2011 1:09:21 GMT
I picked Banquet up cheap at one of those Dirt Cheap warehouses - not sure what that says about how many it sold, but unlike his follow up, Apartment 16, which isn't very good, Banquet is a real...feast! That other book about a Psycho - never heard of it.
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Post by robertmammone on Jan 12, 2011 1:45:44 GMT
I'm Reading Pan #14 at the moment, and the best story is the RCH, so I'm keen to pick up more. The story is a standout - not a word wrong, clean prose and while the ending is predictable, the descriptions and the use of language all mark it as a great story. Hi Robert - glad you liked that one, it's a real goodie and in that case you might like to look out for my essay 'It Came To Dinner - RCH & the Pan Book of Horror' which is in the Prism bit of the new BFS journal that's due out soon. Sorry to hear you didn't like Harry E Turner's Schwartz, btw - I absolutely agree that it's not horror but it has made me chuckle over the years. Beware if you seek out more RCH stuff as some of his stories veer as dangerously close to silly territory as that does! John, Looking forward to the latest BFS journal as I have a story in it - but even more keen to read your article. I suppose if the Scwartz story was anywhere other than a book sporting a cover featuring a hideous face without eyelids, weeping tears of blood I may've appreciated it more! Will look to pick up one of RCHs early collections then. Thanks for the advice.
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Post by robertmammone on Jan 11, 2011 10:10:58 GMT
will look forward to that! it's about time we had a mini-RCH revival - and how delightful that the shudder pulps are once again a happening vault concern after all this time. Just goes to show that no vault thread ever dies, they just ... lie fallow for centuries at a time. The Cradle Demon and The Monster Club come close, and i guess all the collections have their moments (i've not yet landed Tales Of Fear And Fantasy), but it's the first three - The Unbidden, Cold Terror and Terror By Night - made the biggest impression on me. To my way of thinking, he strikes just the right balance in the early books. The horrors are effective ( A Penny For A Pound, A Family Welcome), The Ninth Removal) the "comical" efforts are often actually funny ( The Treasure Hunt, Under The Skin, The Devilet) and there are even some strikingly sad, most likely personal, inclusions ( The House, An Act Of Kindness, Never Take Drinks From A Strange Lady). The Death Of Me contains one of my (admittedly several) favourite lines in horror & supernatural fiction: "For I desire to be negative. To be blotted out, to rest in the deep, deep pit of never was - never will be - must never be again."I'm Reading Pan #14 at the moment, and the best story is the RCH, so I'm keen to pick up more. The story is a standout - not a word wrong, clean prose and while the ending is predictable, the descriptions and the use of language all mark it as a great story.
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Post by robertmammone on Jan 7, 2011 2:39:12 GMT
While trawling through Paul Finch's blog I saw him wax lyrical about Vortex of Horror (surely wins and award for title not matching story contents?).
Story itself is fine, but not overly memorable.
Scwartz: f**k**g awful. Obviously a parody/comedy/satire piece, but why was it included? Does Johnny Mains know?
The one with the woman and her insufferable husband and dog - dull.
The Spider story - really quite good and a bit stomach churning. Joshi would wax lyrical about the prose poetry, while damning it overall as being symptomatic of the fall of Western civilisation.
Will read the rest over weekend and hope quality improves markedly.
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Post by robertmammone on Jan 1, 2011 3:41:36 GMT
bit blurry on timelines, but i think the best stuff i read this year was vols1-6 of Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol (discovered by chance when i came across some old issues in someone's comic cupboard) and the three volumes of Sandman Mystery Theatre i picked up. Morrison is very hit and miss for me, but I love his Doom Patrol to pieces. One of the rare examples where the surreal bent works and didn´t feel forced. So many great ideas on the page. Sandman Mystery Theatre is as different as imaginable, but also well done. Matt Wagner is good with those period pieces. Right - Worst Anthology: Lovecraft Unbound ed by Ellen Datlow. For the life of me I just couldn't get into this book - and maybe I'm missing something that all the other bloggers/reviewers seem to get - they gushed all over the shop for this anthology. I got Datlow´s Poe and had much of the same reaction. After a very clever tale by Newman I stopped reading fast. Maybe I am being unkind but if you desperatly need to read the author´s note to understand what the story has to do with Poe except a few catchrases sprinkled into the narrative something is off. It more often than not came away as literary fanwank. In the vein of: in Poe´s tale xxx there is a comb mentioned on page 4 which I could never forget and drove me to write this story. After this experience I skipped on the Lovecraft. Even if I like pastiches if they are good, I have no tolerance anymore for stories where young HPL discovers something frightening on a stroll through the city which sets him to writing or any such fare. Any writer who does this should get a visit form the cliche-police and a stern reprimand. I also bought Cthulhu´s Reign edited by Darrell Schweitzer which I also got stuck in. Guess this would qualify for the Worst Cover. This just spell´s "We don´t care any longer and why should you?" Cthulhu Reigns. Sigh. Can I have my money back? Awful, awful collection, with one or two shining moments. God, I need to speak to my therapist again about this one.
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Post by robertmammone on Dec 7, 2010 10:35:53 GMT
We were watching this at work today - one of my mates (who went around Australia teaching cricket to youngsters and mucked in with the likes of Terry Alderman) was quietly philosophical. I, who had cracked the shits with the Australian team years ago because of the boorish behaviour of the players was loving the fall of every wicket and another put hard cash with Betfair for the England win and was whooping it up with each wicket.
Work?
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Prism
Dec 1, 2010 19:26:35 GMT
Post by robertmammone on Dec 1, 2010 19:26:35 GMT
Thanks David. It's a real thrill and a little humbling to be in it. Looking forward to having the book in my hands.
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Prism
Dec 1, 2010 11:46:00 GMT
Post by robertmammone on Dec 1, 2010 11:46:00 GMT
The combined edition for BFS members of New Horizons, Dark Horizons and Prism is off to the printers according to this: www.britishfantasysociety.org/Proud to say I have a story included in the upcoming volume. Fantastic!
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Post by robertmammone on Nov 28, 2010 9:06:43 GMT
'Carn the Poms!
Great batting display by the English top order - exposing weak Australian attack, with spearhead Mitchell J shown to be a shadow of himself and 4th rate spinner in Doherty not up to it. Just hope the pathetically one sided coverage in today's News Ltd papers swings to cover the excellent recovery shown by Strauss et al.
Says the man born in Australia who loves cricket, but not necessarily the Australian team...
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Post by robertmammone on Nov 19, 2010 1:37:22 GMT
Curses! Unless Lord & Lady P can tell us differently, i'm pretty sure this is receiving its official launch tonight (Tuesday 16 November, 6.30pm) at The Gallery, Foyles, 113-119 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0EB. It's an all-ticket affair, but, provided they've any left, they're free from events@foyles.co.uk so contact 'em now if you wanna reserve a place! Why do i curse so? because, due to rotten real life stuff, i can't make it, but maybe you will have more luck. As mentioned before, it has the look of a jolly good collection! Jonathan Oliver (ed.) - The End Of The Line: New Horror Stories Set On And Around The Underground (Solaris, Nov. 2010) Introduction - Jonathan Oliver
Paul Meloy - Bullroarer John Llewellyn Probert - The Girl in The Glass Nicholas Royle - The Lure Rebecca Levene - 23:46 Morden (via Bank) Jasper Bark - End of The Line Simon Bestwick - The Sons of The City Al Ewing - The Roses That Bloom Underground Conrad Williams - Exit Sounds Pat Cadigan - Funny Things Adam L.G. Nevill - On All London Underground Lines Mark Morris - Fallen Boys Stephen Volk - In The Colosseum Ramsey Campbell - The Rounds Michael Marshall Smith - Missed Connection James Lovegrove - Siding 13 Gary McMahon - Diving Deep Natasha Rhodes - Crazy Train Joel Lane - All Dead Years Christopher Fowler - DownInteresting to see on the actual cover the carriage is daubed in blood and a message 'They are Watching Us' is written on the panel on the rear right hand wall. I imagine an allusion to the reader 'watching' the story. Read 3 so far - Fowler's tale is bittersweet and sad and and just a well told story. Campbell's is once again a hallucinatory ride that goes round and round and just about freaks you out. Gold. Probert's was pretty bland, unfortunately. A solid effort, without rising to any height (great or other).
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