The Times They Are A-Changin.

It’s been a funny old time this past couple of weeks in the Confessions office.

Everything is changing. In fact, I am in probably the biggest transitional period of my life. Ever.

A lot of you will know what’s going on but many of you may not. That is the reason for this post.

I have just become unemployed from the day job. This is mostly by choice but also due to enormous changes within the unit I was working in. It seemed a fantastic idea at the time because of life choices, and plans that myself and my wife Jo had in place to totally change the direction our life was taking, and to try and finally make something for ourselves and live out the dreams we have had for many years.

Now the break from the day job has been made, it is scaring the hell out of me. I didn’t expect to feel like this. Maybe it is just the adjustment to not having to get up and spend three hours a day travelling to and from a job I hated with a passion. Maybe it is the fact that now, I have to put in place all the plans I had in my head and for whatever reason, they don’t want to come out of my head and materialise into a workable plan that will make those dreams become a reality. It will happen. I just need to get over the fear of all the new stuff and get on with it.

To that end, I just wanted to let you all know that Confessions may be a bit quiet over this next few weeks. We will still be reviewing and posting as often as possible. It will not be as frequent though until things settle down. I need to use as much of my time and energy in the most constructive way possible to put plans in place to ensure that the implementation of my business ideas and the setting up of Jo’s new business take priority. It is our new livelihood after all.

There are exciting things just around the corner. The new Confessions website isn’t too far away. I thought I would give you a sneak preview of our new logo.

Also, not too far away is a new branch of Confession’s. This is my own new venture that is very exciting for me and that will hopefully have me interacting more with a lot of you author types in trying to help in whatever way I can to promote and manage all aspects of the promotional side of things for you, so you can get on with the important task of writing more stuff for all your fans.

I will let you all know what this is about very soon and post more details as I have them, so keep watching the site for details.

So, I thank you for your patience. If we are quiet for a time, do not panic, we are not going anywhere. Just regrouping and coming back even stronger! This will start tomorrow night with a review of a book that may just be one of my all-time favourites and one that you really need on your shelf!

Thanks again for your continued support and for visiting Confessions of a Reviewer!

Nev.

LAST CALL FOR ALL YOU CONFESSORS!

If you follow the blog on a regular basis, (and if you don’t why the hell not?) you could not have failed to see the Confessions of my Past, Present and Future feature, where authors write a piece about what they like in books from their past, the present and the future.

If you have never seen it, then go have a look here to see what it is about.

This feature has run for over a year. It still proves to be very successful and you all seem to enjoy reading about what your favourite authors like in books.

So, I am going to keep it going. This is where you come in. I only have a few submissions left and would like more.

If you are an author and would like to take part in this feature, then please see the guidelines for it below and email me at confessionsofareviewer@gmail.com to let me know.

Also, I am throwing the floor open to ANY of you who would like to take part. Yup, that’s right, you don’t have to be a published author to send a submission in for this. If you love books and reading and always have and always will, I want to hear from you.

Again the guidelines are listed below and if you want to take part then please email me at the blog email address. The only additional thing I would ask for from non-published authors would be a short bio and possibly a picture of yourself to include in the post. If this isn’t supplied, I will just make something up for you.

Also please share this with any of your friends who may be interested, be they authors or not. I know I am not friends yet with all the cool people on Facebook and Twitter so your help in sharing this around would be appreciated.

Thanks again.

Nev.

CONFESSIONS OF MY PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Basically it is guest posts from authors, and now non authors, “confessing” to books you loved in your past, what you love to read at the minute and what you think may come in the future.

What I’m looking for (if you want to take part of course) is a piece from you split into three sections. The “past” would be where you would talk about either a book or series of books that either inspired you to write, read more or simply blew you away for no other reason than you thought it was bloody good. This would be from way back, not just last week. Maybe something you read in your childhood or you’re first favourite horror for example. Something old.

The “present” would be about something you have read recently. Again it could be something that inspired you or just stuck in your mind for the fact that is was different in some way or again blew you away because it was just bloody good.

The “future” is slightly different. I would like you to think what you would be writing or reading in 2045. Do you think you would still be writing or reading the styles or genres? Do you think you would like to write or read something completely out of your comfort zone or completely different to your current genre? Is there some style you have always wanted to try but were too scared?

I want this to be about you. Your selection of books. Your favourites even if they were not common favourites amongst readers of the times. Books that mean something to you so forget about trends and don’t be scared to upset the cart. This will give the people who read your post a lot more insight into your individual personality.

In terms of length I would like this to be sort of standard blog length. About fifteen hundred words so if you split it three ways, about five hundred words for each section. This of course is not set in stone. Each section or indeed the entire length could be as short or as long as you would want it to be. I know that once people get writing about something you love, it can be hard to stop and I certainly wouldn’t try and stop you.

I don’t have any set time scales on this either. Whenever you feel you are happy with it, fire it over to me and I will add some pretty pictures and let you know when it will be posted.

Whenever I publish any posts in the feature I would of course be including any pictures I can for any books you would mention (hopefully someone else will mention one of yours…..yay free advertising). I will also add in a profile picture of yourself and your bio and links to your website/blog/author page or any other site you would like me to add in.

This would obviously be fantastic for the blog to have you on board if you agreed but it wouldn’t just be about the blog. If there was anything else you would want added in the post feel free to suggest or request and I would do my best to help you out. Also this would be over and above any further interviews I would hope to do with you on the site.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you will consider taking part and be able to spare some time for it.

Nev.

NEXT WEEK: A WEEK OF MARK CASSELL

Next week sees another of Confessions week long features on an author we think you should be reading more of, and certainly one we think you will be seeing a lot more of in the years to come.

If you have been to any cons in the UK recently you will probably have met him, and you will probably agree as well, that he is one of the nicest, most approachable guys in the UK horror scene.

We talk, of course, about the one and only, Mark Cassell.

I met Mark a few months ago and picked up a couple of his books, one of which was The Shadow Fabric. This is a book that you should really pick up to get a feeling of how this man writes. If you go to a con as well, don’t be shy, introduce yourself to him. He is always up for a chat. Then steal all his sweets and run away very fast!

It all kicks off on Sunday with his Past, Present and Future confession. Monday and Tuesday will see parts One and Two of an interview with the man himself. Wednesday night is the review of The Shadow Fabric and Thursday is me showing off my own copy of the book to give you an idea of what to expect when you buy it!

Make sure you all come back next week, and don’t forget to tell your friends!

Thanks again for visiting Confessions of a Reviewer.

Nev.

Mark Cassell lives in a rural part of the UK with his wife and a number of animals. He often dreams of dystopian futures, peculiar creatures, and flitting shadows. Primarily a horror writer, his steampunk, dark fantasy, and SF stories have featured in numerous anthologies and ezines including Rayne Hall's Ten Tales series and horror zine, Sirens Call.

His best-selling debut novel, The Shadow Fabric, is closely followed by the popular short story collection, Sinister Stitches, and are both only a fraction of an expanding mythos. His most recent release, Chaos Halo 1.0: Alpha Beta Gamma Kill, is in association with Future Chronicles Photography.

And for more about Mark, visit his site or find him on social media:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page - Blog

WE PROMISED - WE DELIVER - TIJUANA DONKEY SHOWDOWN LINKS!

Last week we dazzled and amazed you with images and words connected to the cover reveal for the amazingly wonderful Tijuana Donkey Showdown by the equally amazingly talented Adam Howe.

If you missed it then go here immediately.

One thing we couldn’t do at that time was supply you with the relevant links to buy it. We promised we would rectify that. And we have!

So now you can pop along to Amazon in whichever country you may reside and get your pre-order in for this little beauty.


Reggie Levine needs a new home for this book. It should be yours!

You can pre order Tijuana Donkey Showdown below. Get clicking!

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Adam Howe writes the twisted fiction your mother warned you about. A British writer of fiction and screenplays, he lives in London with his partner, their daughter, and a hellhound named Gino.

Writing as Garrett Addams, his short story Jumper was chosen by Stephen King as the winner of the international On Writing contest, and published in the paperback/Kindle editions of King’s memoir.

His fiction has appeared in places like Nightmare Magazine, Thuglit, Mythic Delirium, and Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volume 1.  He is the author of Tijuana Donkey Showdown, and two novella collections, Die Dog or Eat the Hatchet, and Black Cat Mojo.

In the pipeline: the occult thriller Scapegoat, co-written with James Newman, a horror/crime collaboration with Adam Cesare, and 80s action throwback, One Tough Bastard.

And for more about Adam, visit his site or find him on social media:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page

Confessions has a surprise for you next week!!!!

You know when someone tells you something and asks you to keep it a secret

Someone did that with me last week. Problem is, I am really no good at keeping secrets. I like to give hints, and try to get people to guess what the secret is without directly telling them the secret because then I would feel incredibly guilty about them knowing the secret and then it isn’t a secret anymore and the person who told me the secret wouldn’t tell me anymore.

It’s a difficult position to be in isn’t it?

Anyway……should I tell you the secret now, or just give you a hint?

I think if I just told you, then it wouldn’t be very fair. As well as that I wouldn’t have a surprise for you next week because you would already know.

If I just give you a hint will you promise not to tell anyone?

Happy days!

The secret involves this man:

The Man

And a donkey:

The Donkey

Can you guess? Can you? Eh?

Everything will be revealed on Monday 10^thOctober!

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE A CONFESSOR? AN OPEN CALL!

If you follow the blog on a regular basis, (and if you don’t why the hell not?) you could not have failed to see the Confessions of my Past, Present and Future feature, where authors write a piece about what they like in books from their past, the present and the future.

If you have never seen it, then go have a look here to see what it is about.

This feature has run for over a year. It still proves to be very successful and you all seem to enjoy reading about what your favourite authors like in books.

So, I am going to keep it going. This is where you come in. I only have a few submissions left and would like more.

If you are an author and would like to take part in this feature, then please see the guidelines for it below and email me at confessionsofareviewer@gmail.com to let me know.

Also, I am throwing the floor open to ANY of you who would like to take part. Yup, that’s right, you don’t have to be a published author to send a submission in for this. If you love books and reading and always have and always will, I want to hear from you.

Again the guidelines are listed below and if you want to take part then please email me at the blog email address. The only additional thing I would ask for from non-published authors would be a short bio and possibly a picture of yourself to include in the post. If this isn’t supplied, I will just make something up for you.

Also please share this with any of your friends who may be interested, be they authors or not. I know I am not friends yet with all the cool people on Facebook and Twitter so your help in sharing this around would be appreciated.

Thanks again.

Nev.

CONFESSIONS OF MY PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Basically it is guest posts from authors, and now non authors, “confessing” to books you loved in your past, what you love to read at the minute and what you think may come in the future.

What I’m looking for (if you want to take part of course) is a piece from you split into three sections. The “past” would be where you would talk about either a book or series of books that either inspired you to write, read more or simply blew you away for no other reason than you thought it was bloody good. This would be from way back, not just last week. Maybe something you read in your childhood or you’re first favourite horror for example. Something old.

The “present” would be about something you have read recently. Again it could be something that inspired you or just stuck in your mind for the fact that is was different in some way or again blew you away because it was just bloody good.

The “future” is slightly different. I would like you to think what you would be writing or reading in 2045. Do you think you would still be writing or reading the styles or genres? Do you think you would like to write or read something completely out of your comfort zone or completely different to your current genre? Is there some style you have always wanted to try but were too scared?

I want this to be about you. Your selection of books. Your favourites even if they were not common favourites amongst readers of the times. Books that mean something to you so forget about trends and don’t be scared to upset the cart. This will give the people who read your post a lot more insight into your individual personality.

In terms of length I would like this to be sort of standard blog length. About fifteen hundred words so if you split it three ways, about five hundred words for each section. This of course is not set in stone. Each section or indeed the entire length could be as short or as long as you would want it to be. I know that once people get writing about something you love, it can be hard to stop and I certainly wouldn’t try and stop you.

I don’t have any set time scales on this either. Whenever you feel you are happy with it, fire it over to me and I will add some pretty pictures and let you know when it will be posted.

Whenever I publish any posts in the feature I would of course be including any pictures I can for any books you would mention (hopefully someone else will mention one of yours…..yay free advertising). I will also add in a profile picture of yourself and your bio and links to your website/blog/author page or any other site you would like me to add in.

This would obviously be fantastic for the blog to have you on board if you agreed but it wouldn’t just be about the blog. If there was anything else you would want added in the post feel free to suggest or request and I would do my best to help you out. Also this would be over and above any further interviews I would hope to do with you on the site.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you will consider taking part and be able to spare some time for it.

CONFESSIONS IS BACK WITH A BANG!!

Well, after a well-earned (I think) rest, Confessions is going to be coming back at you next week. Instead of working you in gently, we are coming at you with a week full of interviews, reviews and guest posts. In other words, a normal week for Confessions!

We will be kicking off our Autumn collection with J.G. Clay week next week.

Who, I hear you ask? Well you know what? A couple of months ago I would have asked the same question. After reading his book which is going to feature next week, Tales of Blood and Sulphur, I am making it my mission in life to get this man’s name on more people’s tongues.

This book is an absolute gem and deserves to be on everybody’s shelf and hopefully after next week, you will agree.

It all kicks off on Sunday with his Past, Present and Future confession. Monday and Tuesday will see parts One and Two of an in-depth interview with the man himself. Wednesday night is the review and Thursday is me showing off the latest parcel to drop through my door and give you an idea of what to expect when you buy!

Make sure you all come back next week, and don’t forget to tell your friends!

Thanks again for visiting Confessions of a Reviewer.

Nev.

J.G Clay is definitely a Man of Horror. There can be no doubt. Putting aside the reverence he has for the horror greats, such as King, Barker, Herbert, Carpenter, Romero and Argento, there is another fact that defines his claim for the title of the 'Duke of Spook'. He was born on Halloween night. By a quirk fate, it was also a full moon that night. Co-incidence?

Here at Clay Towers, we don't believe in coincidences.

The 41-year-old hails from the Midlands in the United Kingdom, is married with one step child and two dogs that bear a strong resemblance to Ewoks. Beyond the page and the written word, he is music mad and can hold down a tune on a bass guitar pretty well. He is an avid reader and also has an enduring love of British sci-fi, from the pages of the '2000A.D' comic to the televised wanderings of Gallifrey's most famous physician. Clay is also a long-time fan of the mighty Birmingham City Football Club and endures a lot of flak from his friends for it.

And for more about J.G. visit his site, or find him on social media:

Website – Facebook – Twitter - Goodreads – Amazon Page

CONFESSIONS IS TAKING A BREAK!!

Call it a holiday or call it a much needed rest, Confessions will not be around for the next couple of weeks at least.

Us reviewers will still be working in the background reading your wonderful books but no posts will be going up.

All current commitments will still be met but no new submissions will be picked up.

See you on the other side!

Nev!

ANNOUNCEMENT: MATT DARST WEEK NEXT WEEK!

So in the spirit of spoiling you lot of Confessionors (I just invented that new term for you all. Better than calling you all my children. That’s just weird) I am very proud to announce the next instalment of the Confession Weeks as they are now apparently known.

From Sunday 14^th of August Confessions will be hosting the Matt Darst week!

Who is he you may ask. Well hopefully by the end of the week you will know all you need to know and will have gone and picked up a couple of his books.

This little one all started with Matt submitting his latest novel, Freaks Anon for review. This people is one of the most wonderful books I have read in years. It is so fresh and fun and scary and loads of other things rolled into one that I know each and every one of you will absolutely love it.

It all kicks off next week with Matt’s Confessions of my Past, Present and Future piece on Sunday 14^th August. This will be followed with an interview with Matt. Part One will be on Monday 15^thAugust with Part two following on Tuesday 16^th August. The week will of course be capped off with the Confessions review of Freaks Anon on Wednesday 17^th.

Matt has very kindly agreed to donate all proceeds from Freaks Anon to the charity Stand Up To Cancer. When you read the review you will probably want to pick it up anyway but this is another great reason to do so.

Don’t forget to come along on Sunday night when it all starts and don’t forget to tell your friends!

Thanks again for visiting Confessions of a Reviewer!

Nev.

All proceeds from the sale of this Freaks Anon will be donated to Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C). Private donations can be made at http://do.eifoundation.org/goto/mattdarst

Matt Darst’s childhood addiction to reading took a turn for the worst when he started writing…for fun. His experimentation with notebooks (a classic gateway) led to dabbling with typewriters. Soon he was hitting the hard stuff: word processors.

After law school, he decided to straighten out his life. He went cold turkey. He got a responsible job, a place in Chicago, and a dog. He surrounded himself with all the trappings of a normal life. Still…

Pen and pad call to Matt late at night, cooing his name, telling him to take another hit of fiction. Sometimes, when he’s weak, he heeds the siren call of the drug. He wakes from each blackout amid reams of freshly written pages, pages that have seemingly written themselves.

And for more about Matt, visit his site or find him on social media:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page

ANNOUNCEMENT: JEFFERY X MARTIN WEEK NEXT WEEK!

We are really treating you at the minute over at Confessions!

Just a quick note to let you know about a fantastic week of interviews, reviews and guest posts coming up next week. It is a week nearly full to the brim of Mr Jeffery X Martin!

If you don’t know a lot about this gentleman you surely will by next Wednesday!

Jeffery first came to my attention with his short story, And In The Endless Pause There Came The Sound Of Bees which appeared in the Black Room Manuscripts Vol 1. I have to admit to not really giving this one a glowing report and couldn’t really figure it out. However, Jeffery won me over to his style when he entered, and won, the authors section of the Confessions birthday writing competition.

It kicks off on Sunday 31^st with Jeffery’s contribution to the Past, Present and Future feature. On Monday 1^stAugust, we have Part One of the interview with Part Two coming on Tuesday 2^ndAugust. This will all be capped off with the Confessions review of Jeffery’s new book Hunting Witches: An Elders Keep Novel on Wednesday 3^rd.

Please come along an enjoy all that we have planned for you and don’t forget to tell your friends!

Thanks again for visiting Confessions of a Reviewer!

Nev.

Please call me X. Everyone does.

When I was a kid, fourth grade, to be exact, I wrote a horror story for a class assignment. It was so good, they called my mother in to the office for a conference on a day when school was closed for students. The fourth grade teachers and the school principal wanted to have me evaluated by a psychologist. The school staff couldn't figure out why I would want to write a story that was violent or had frightening images. Why wasn't it football, puppies and rainbows?

I wasn't that kind of kid. My mother knew that. And she promptly told those teachers, the principal (and that horrible school secretary, the one who looked like a Raggedy Ann doll, possessed by Pazuzu) and anyone else within earshot to go f**k themselves.

I still write scary stories. It's my job. It's what I do. It's what I've always done.

And for more about X, visit his site or find him on social media:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page

ANNOUNCEMENT: DUNCAN BRADSHAW WEEK ON CONFESSIONS!

We all love a good week long spotlight on someone at Confessions and we are doing it again next week!

Starting on Tuesday 19^th we are kicking off a week of Duncan P Bradshaw, celebrating the launch of his newest book, Hexagram.

This has the normal mixture of features from Confessions during the week including an interview, review, showing off and guest posts from Duncan.

I have to quite honestly say that this is probably the funniest interview I have ever had the pleasure of conducting. It turned out to be so long that for the first time ever I have had to split it into three nights. Trust me, you don’t want to miss any of them!

This is what we have planned for you:

Tuesday 19^th – Interview Part One.

Wednesday 20^th – Interview Part Two.

Thursday 21^st – Interview Part Three.

Friday 22^nd – Confessions review of Hexagram.

Sunday 24^th – Duncan’s Past, Present and Future Confession.

Monday 25^th – Showing Off Hexagram on the launch date!

We both really hope you can come along to this and show your support for Duncan for his latest release!

Thanks for visiting Confessions of a Reviewer!

Nev.

CONFESSIONS REVIEWS DUNCAN P BRADSHAW

Class Three

Those Who Survive (Class Four #1)

Prime Directive

Black Room Manuscripts Vol 1

Part-Time Author/Full-Time Loon.

One day upon waking, as if from some frightful nightmare, I sat at my laptop and typed out letters, which formed words, slowly they created sentences. People read it and said, that's okay that is, have a biscuit. And I said yes.

I live in Wiltshire, in Southern England with my wife Debbie and our two cats, Rafa and Pepe, they just miaowed a hello at you. Between bouts of prolonged washing up and bungie cord knitting, I type out the weird and wonderful things that run around my head.

My debut novel, zom-com Class Three, was released in November 2014, the first book in the follow up trilogy, Class Four: Those Who Survive is out in July 2015. I'm then going to try and get some novellas released which are on something other than the undead.

And for more about Duncan, visit his site or find him on social media:

Website - Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page

COME SAY HELLO AT HORROR CON!!

There will be no more posts from Confessions until next Monday, 11^th July. The main reason for this is that I am going away for the weekend and quite frankly I don’t trust anyone else to publish any reviews or posts without bringing the whole blog to a standstill by deleting everything!

The dog has offered to help out but I worry about the typos due to the fact he has no fingers.

Which brings me to my next point! I will not be here because I am off to Horror Con in Rotherham / Sheffield this weekend!

This is a weekend I have been looking forward to for a long long time. This is my first opportunity to actually meet, face to face, some of the wonderful (and not so) people I have virtually met this past couple of years in the wonderful world of horror writing.

It turns out now that there are quite a few of us staying in the same hotel so many predictions have been made about the level of carnage about to bestow itself on the region.

If you are going and I don’t know about it, then let me know. I am sure there are quite a few people going along, like me, just to browse and meet some people and enjoy the atmosphere.

If this is the case, then please come and say hello if you see me. I am not hard to miss (bald Irish guy with Specs wearing a metal T-Shirt with either a beer or coffee in my hand depending on the time of day) and contrary to popular belief, I don’t bite and am always up for a chat whether it be something you might want to do with Confessions, or just chew the fat.

To those going, hope to see you there.

To those not going, na na na naaaa naaaaaaa!

Thanks again for supporting Confessions.

Nev.