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Post by paulfinch on Aug 2, 2015 16:15:41 GMT
Interesting stuff, D. I agree, There You'll Be has got Years' Best Horror written all over it. I hope so anyway, as I don't think a volume has come out yet that hasn't seen at least a couple of selections for Year's Best anthologies. Re, the other thing, you might be interested to know that one of my original aims was to include wonderfully chilling novella, Beliah, by the late George MacKay Brown, the legendary Bard of Orkney. But though some of his representatives were very keen to see his work find a new audience, whoever it is that controls the estate was completely uninterested - I tried to persuade them otherwise, but failed. Shame. It would have suited TTs of the Highlands superbly. All that said, we'll be starting on Terror Tales of the Lowlands in due course - not just yet, but I've already gathered the anecdotal material, and I can certify that there is some seriously disturbing stuff there.
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Post by dem bones on Aug 2, 2015 18:47:31 GMT
I can never understand that kind of non-reaction. Surely the estate would want to keep a dead author's work alive? It's not as though George Mackay Brown was adverse to the odd ghost-themed anthology appearance when he was alive. The anecdotal material certainly adds to the morbid entertainment. Easy to forget that only six of the ten Fontana books contain non-fiction interludes. Here's the story to date: The Fontana 'Tales Of Terror'series ‘Angus Campbell’ [R. Chetwynd-Hayes] (ed.) - Scottish Tales of Terror (Fontana, 1972) R. Chetwynd-Hayes (ed.) - Cornish Tales of Terror (Fontana, 1970) R. Chetwynd-Hayes (ed.) - Gaslight Tales Of Terror (Fontana, 1976) R. Chetwynd-Hayes (ed.) - Tales of Terror from Outer Space (Fontana, 1975) R. Chetwynd-Hayes (ed.) - Welsh Tales of Terror (Fontana, 1973) Jim McGarry (ed.) - Irish Tales of Terror (Fontana, 1971) J. J. Strating (ed.) – European Tales of Terror (Fontana, 1968) J. J. Strating (ed.) - Sea Tales of Terror (Fontana, 1974) J. J. Strating (ed.) – Oriental Tales of Terror (Fontana, 1971) Jacquelyn Visick (ed.) - London Tales of Terror (Fontana, 1972) The Gray Friars 'Terror Tales' series Paul Finch (ed.) – Terror Tales Of The Lake District (Gray Friar, Sept. 2011) Paul Finch (ed.) – Terror Tales Of The Cotswolds (Gray Friar Press, March, 2012) Paul Finch (ed.) – Terror Tales Of East Anglia (Gray Friars, Sept. 2012) Paul Finch (ed.) – Terror Tales Of London (Gray Friars, May, 2013) Paul Finch (ed.) – Terror Tales Of The Seaside (Gray Friars, Oct. 2013) Paul Finch (ed.) – Terror Tales Of Wales (Gray Friars, June. 2014) Paul Finch (ed.) – Terror Tales Of Yorkshire (Gray Friars, Sept. 2014) Paul Finch (ed.) – Terror Tales Of The Scottish Highlands (Gray Friars, July 2015) Would like to see a Terror Tales equivalent of Gaslit Tales Of Terror!
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Post by paulfinch on Aug 2, 2015 21:57:50 GMT
It exists at the planning stage. But again, we don't want to run before the horse to market. Putting out a full-fleshed plan of action would be an error at this stage, I feel.
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Aug 7, 2015 5:04:23 GMT
I've reviewed TERROR TALES OF THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS here: www.heavenmakers.com/?p=875TERROR TALES OF THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS and on goodreads and amazon but if you're lazy like me I pasted it on the Vault below in case anyone's interested. It struck me as a near perfect collection - there wasn't a weak story in it and My favourite bit was the folklore. Despite having read stacks on this I was still surprised at some of the stuff Paul unearthed. I'll be looking over my shoulders every time I go near the highlands. _______________ Nominated for awards, crammed full of award winning authors, the Terror Tales series, edited by Paul Finch and published by Gray Friar Press, is now on its eighth volume: TERROR TALES OF THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS. Happily I’m in it along with several other Scottish authors whose work I enjoy and admire. The “Terror Tales” series is rapidly spanning the British Isles in disseminating horror and ghostliness in a broth of old and new tales based on the folklore of the region. Paul Finch puts wafers of legend, horrific happenings and terrifying tales in between the short stories, which are a times even more compelling than some of the stories themselves. The series even threatens to go beyond the isles, which is great news for lovers of the supernatural , the occult and those who like their bedtime reading inspirationally morbid. Ian Hunter kicks of with “Skye’s Skary Places” an excellent piece about the isle of Skye and a man’s increasingly tenuous relationship with his partner. Helen Grant’s “The Dove” continues the high standard set as it explores that awful moment under the shadow of the gallows. “Strone House” by Barbara Roden is a personal favourite. I’ve always had a penchant for the surreal aspects of automata; a nice story with its unexpected contrast: a mechanical world not generally associated with the grandeur of the highlands. “Face Down in the Earth” by Tom Johnstone is a personal reminder that Highlanders have very very long memories. “The Dreaming God Is Singing Where She Lies” by William Meikle is also excellently placed with it’s one fault being that I would have liked another five pages of it. Rosie Seymour’s “The Housekeeper” has echoes of Pan Horror with a spicing of class. It’s very short but for this kind of story, short is exactly right. “The Executioner” by Peter Bell reads at times like a climbing manual and in another author might have fallen flat on its face. In Bell’s hands it becomes, for me at least, a form of poetry. An excellent story and perhaps my favourite in the anthology. “You Must Be Cold” by John Whitbourn is an intelligent and well crafted piece – not my preferred style of writing (too many brackets) but it’s a subtle, unexpected and unusual tale. I haven’t seen one like it before. Sheila Hodgson’s “The Fellow Travellers” began very well and continued for about two thirds of the story to be absolutely compelling. Maybe I am just simple minded but beyond that there seemed to be a proliferation of unnecessary characters. Might have to reread it to get the full flavour. “Shelleycoat” by Graeme Hurry was a decent short, good concept and interesting ending. “The Other House, the Other Voice” by yours truly deals with Crowley. You’ll have to judge that one for yourself “Myself / Thyself” by D.P. Watt comes quite close to being a classic and I can imagine it being reprinted. “Broken Spectres” by Carl Barker was conceptually very good and well written but didn’t quite grab me; probably sounds silly in the context of the supernatural but it may have lacked a certain necessary plausibility – despite that misgiving, it was very good. Gary Fry’s “Jack Knife” as one might expect, is expertly written, enjoyable and leaves the reader with that oozy feeling of worse to come. Johnny Mains, no stranger to the world of Horror as an editor, has been quietly honing his other skills as a writer. “The Foul Mass at Tongue House” is a fine example of his development: an enjoyable tale. “There You’ll Be” by Carole Johnstone was a strange beast for me – an almost perfectly written plotted and paced tale which unfortunately did not hit the eerie button – maybe I’m just a darker soul. Finally, wouldn’t be right not to mention Paul Finch. I don’t read much short fiction now as I prefer drier stuff. The highlight of the series is undoubtedly the snippets of legends and folklore which really ice the supernatural cake. The series is indubitably at the top end of the market and is frankly a must buy if you like that kind of thing.
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Aug 7, 2015 10:03:55 GMT
Interesting stuff, D. I agree, There You'll Be has got Years' Best Horror written all over it. I hope so anyway, as I don't think a volume has come out yet that hasn't seen at least a couple of selections for Year's Best anthologies. Re, the other thing, you might be interested to know that one of my original aims was to include wonderfully chilling novella, Beliah, by the late George MacKay Brown, the legendary Bard of Orkney. But though some of his representatives were very keen to see his work find a new audience, whoever it is that controls the estate was completely uninterested - I tried to persuade them otherwise, but failed. Shame. It would have suited TTs of the Highlands superbly. All that said, we'll be starting on Terror Tales of the Lowlands in due course - not just yet, but I've already gathered the anecdotal material, and I can certify that there is some seriously disturbing stuff there. Thanks for the heads up re Beliah/ Shame about the lack of interest. David Lindsay's estate (Voyage to Arcturus) has a similar problem. Very frustrating. I'll try to seek Beliah out regardless. Being a lowlander myself, I'm looking forward to the lowland collection especially as the striking thing about the Highland collection is that I counted myself pretty well versed in the supernatural side of the old homeland but you still managed to unearth some tidbits way beyond my ken. Incidentally I found two typos in the collection - both very small and inconsequential - which by modern standards is remarkable
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Post by dem bones on Aug 7, 2015 15:25:13 GMT
That really is a wonderful review, Craig. I agree, the marvellous folk tales & historical horrors dredged up by Mr. Finch add an extra, special something. Harking back to the Fontana Tales Of Terror, Chetwynd-Hayes et al mostly quoted snippets from, say, Marie Trevelyan's Folk-lore And Folk Stories Of Wales, W. Howell's Cambrian Superstitions, K. M. Brigg's The Fairies In Tradition & Literature, Folklore Of A Cornish Village or looked to Robert Hunt and Hazel F. Looker to provide the non-fiction material. Commendably, Paul's deadpan 'non-fiction' interludes are all his own work and qualify as short supernatural/ horror/ mystery stories in their own right.
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Post by paulfinch on Aug 8, 2015 8:04:25 GMT
Thanks for these kind words, guys. Craig ... that review is much appreciated. I hate saying this because it sounds like I'm fishing for compliments, but the more positive reviews that get left on Amazon, the better for the series. I have it from the marketing people at HarperCollins who deal with my Heck novels that it really does make a difference - the more reviews, the more sales.
Demonik ... glad you like the snippets of 'fact'. They are a lot of fun to do, and yes, I research and write them all myself. When the series started, I made a decision to consciously avoid any of those that had already been covered in the Fontana series. However, I soon realised that this would mean the new books might miss out on some good stuff, and there was no guarantee a new readership had read the originals anyway, so it seemed like I was cutting off my nose to spite my face. My solution now is to research and write the anecdotal material as I please, without checking with the originals ... in other words, if Ron covered it back in the 1970s, fine and unavoidable, but this new write-up would be different and in my own words.
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Aug 8, 2015 11:56:11 GMT
Thanks for these kind words, guys. Craig ... that review is much appreciated. I hate saying this because it sounds like I'm fishing for compliments, but the more positive reviews that get left on Amazon, the better for the series. I have it from the marketing people at HarperCollins who deal with my Heck novels that it really does make a difference - the more reviews, the more sales. Demonik ... glad you like the snippets of 'fact'. They are a lot of fun to do, and yes, I research and write them all myself. When the series started, I made a decision to consciously avoid any of those that had already been covered in the Fontana series. However, I soon realised that this would mean the new books might miss out on some good stuff, and there was no guarantee a new readership had read the originals anyway, so it seemed like I was cutting off my nose to spite my face. My solution now is to research and write the anecdotal material as I please, without checking with the originals ... in other words, if Ron covered it back in the 1970s, fine and unavoidable, but this new write-up would be different and in my own words. At the risk of sounding like an obsequious toad the 'snippets' are my favourite bit. I should qualify this by saying I genuinely don't read much short fiction partly because I am just more interested in history than fiction nowadays so my opinion regarding shorts is weighted. If it was possible I'd have given the collection a 9/10. It is really superb. Tremendous honour to be in there with that standard of writing. I really wish more people would review work. it doesn't take too long and with cut and paste you can disseminate the good news worldwide to people who are genuinely looking for good things to read.
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Aug 8, 2015 12:00:18 GMT
That really is a wonderful review, Craig. I agree, the marvellous folk tales & historical horrors dredged up by Mr. Finch add an extra, special something. Harking back to the Fontana Tales Of Terror, Chetwynd-Hayes et al mostly quoted snippets from, say, Marie Trevelyan's Folk-lore And Folk Stories Of Wales, W. Howell's Cambrian Superstitions, K. M. Brigg's The Fairies In Tradition & Literature, Folklore Of A Cornish Village or looked to Robert Hunt and Hazel F. Looker to provide the non-fiction material. Commendably, Paul's deadpan 'non-fiction' interludes are all his own work and qualify as short supernatural/ horror/ mystery stories in their own right. As purveyor of wonderful reviews I am a mere minnow compared to the killer shark that is Dem. I don't often comment on your reviews because I'd be saying the same things over and over again. The Vault has made my 'to read' pile an impossible dream.
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Post by dem bones on Aug 9, 2015 6:08:40 GMT
Demonik ... glad you like the snippets of 'fact'. They are a lot of fun to do, and yes, I research and write them all myself. When the series started, I made a decision to consciously avoid any of those that had already been covered in the Fontana series. However, I soon realised that this would mean the new books might miss out on some good stuff, and there was no guarantee a new readership had read the originals anyway, so it seemed like I was cutting off my nose to spite my face. My solution now is to research and write the anecdotal material as I please, without checking with the originals ... in other words, if Ron covered it back in the 1970s, fine and unavoidable, but this new write-up would be different and in my own words. To my way of thinking, that's the right approach. It's not as though the facts/ 'facts' surrounding these local legends and horrible histories are set in stone, and another perspective is always welcome. The interludes remind me of why I used to enthuse so over The Unexplained magazine (take it from me, that's a compliment). I've written a few capsule reviews for Robinson, google books, maybe Am*z*n too, but always worry they'll do more harm than good ("What does he know?" "I hate their board, so if they like it, it must be rubbish," etc.). Then again, the review has yet to be written ever decided me against a book/ film/ band/ whatever. We'll see ...
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Post by paulfinch on Aug 9, 2015 8:37:49 GMT
If people don't want to leave reviews, D, or have good reasons not to you - as you do - that's entirely understandable. I'd never want to try and blackmail anyone into doing something they weren't comfortable with.
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