The Reviews Area

You can but any of Mark’s other books here:

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

thriller

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #41 - Angela Marsons - Play Dead

#41 in the Show-Off and Tell series is another one that I hold very dear to my heart. Play Deadby Angela Marsons.

If you have never heard of Angela Marsons or you have never read her books, I have two things to say to you. Shame on you, and go fix it right away!

I have been lucky enough to follow this woman’s career from the beginning of the journey, with her first book in her DI Kim Stone series, Silent Scream. When I first read Silent Scream, I knew Angela was in for a bright career, but I don’t think anyone was prepared for the explosion that happened.

If you need any more encouragement to go check her books out, then go read my reviews at the bottom of the page. If you don’t want to take my word for it then check out these facts.

In two short years she has achieved this:

Wiped out twenty-five years of rejections.

Packed in the twelve-hour night shift job.

One point seven million sales in two years.

Translated into nineteen languages.

Book number five, due out in November, already #1 on pre-orders.

Angela Marsons is living proof that when you keep going, you get what you deserve.

This is my copy of Play Dead:

I have said this about a few authors I know but with Angela Marsons, I truly mean it. When she is big and famous all over the world for the wonderful books that she writes, I can say she signed one for me once, and here it is:

You can buy Play Dead here.

You can buy any of Angela’s other books here:

Silent Scream (Detective Kim Stone crime thriller series Book 1)

CONFESSIONS REVIEWS ANGELA MARSONS

Evil Games (Detective Kim Stone crime thriller series Book 2)

Lost Girls (Detective Kim Stone crime thriller series Book 3)

Play Dead (Detective Kim Stone crime thriller series Book 4)

Angela Marsons is the author of Amazon #1 Bestseller SILENT SCREAM.

She lives in the Black Country with her partner, their bouncy Labrador and a swearing parrot.

She first discovered her love of writing at Junior School when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read "Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people's".

After years of writing relationship based stories (My Name Is and The Middle Child) Angela turned to Crime, fictionally speaking of course, and developed a character that refused to go away.

She is signed to Bookouture.com in an 8 book deal.

And for more about Angela, visit her site or find her on social media:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon Page

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #40 - Daniel Marc Chant - Into Fear

#40 in the Show-Off and Tell series is one that has just come out this week. It is Into Fearby Daniel Marc Chant.

You can read the review at the bottom of the page. It is worth reading giving the quality of the book and it’s high score for a collection.

I have to advise that the one featured in this Show-Off and Tell is not the one you will get when you buy the book. I am extremely lucky to have in my possession a very early proof copy with a different cover on it. One that didn’t see the light of day.

Not only am I delighted to own a copy of the book but, to have this version gives me an extra opportunity to stick two fingers up at one and all! That’s what showing off is all about! Isn’t it?

This is my copy:

This little beauty came to me in a rather large parcel from Mr Chant in which I was expecting a signed copy of Mr Robespierre, but ended up getting a signed copy of everything he had written to date.

Lucky me eh?

First unedited proof that I own. Hopefully there will be many more!

You can read my review of Into Fear here.

You can buy Into Fear here:

CONFESSIONS REVIEWS DANIEL MARC CHANT

Mr Robespierre

Aimee Bancroft and the Singularity Storm

Into Fear

Daniel Marc Chant is an up-and-coming author of Horror and strange fiction. His passion for H. P. Lovecraft genre and the films of John Carpenter inspired him to produce intense, gripping stories with a sinister edge.

Currently based in Bath -- a picturesque town in Somerset, UK -- Daniel launched his début, "Burning House," to rave reviews, and swiftly followed with the Lovecraft-inspired "Maldición," the story of a lone survivor of a desert island plane crash fighting for his life with an ancient predator.

Daniel continues to hone his craft with a number of dark titles waiting to hit shelves, including "Mr. Robespierre" and "Devil Kickers." He also created "The Black Room Manuscripts" a charity anthology featuring twenty stories from twenty experienced authors and talented newcomers.

He hopes to one day contribute to the Cthulu Mythos. Although hopefully not as a sacrifice.

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

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon Page

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #39 - Scream Horror Mag - My First Review

#39 in the Show-Off and Tell feature is a purely self-indulgent showing off of something that I achieved this year which makes me immensely proud and emotional.

My first review in a print version of Scream Horror Mag!

When I first started reviewing for Scream it was a huge honour for a magazine such as this to put their faith in a fledgling reviewer like me. It gave me a well needed confidence boost that what I was writing about books actually meant something to people who read my reviews. I am eternally grateful to Scream for giving me the opportunity to share with their subscribers my thoughts on what I read.

This is the edition I made it into:

Not only did I make it in with one review, I had two pages of my words printed in the magazine. The first review was of A Foxes Lament by Marc McGowan.

Flipping over the page gave me the surprise of my life when I discovered the second of my reviews in it for Island of The Dolls by Jeremy Bates. I have to admit to barely being able to hold the magazine I was shaking so much.

And here it is. My name in print for the first time ever in Scream Horror Mag!

To visit the amazing Scream Horror Mag and subscribe for either the print or downloadable version, or just to have a browse, visit the link below.

www.screamhorrormag.com

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #38 - Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love

#38 in my showing off section is a book that I got last year and to this day it remains one of my all-time favourite books. This goes both for the content between the covers and the actual cover itself.

Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love.

This little beauty is from the crowd I call the Bad Apples Crew. Evans Light, Adam Light, Edward Lorn, Jason Parent and Gregor Xane.

When this one came out I was just launching Confessions. I came up with this crazy idea of doing a week long stint of interviews and along with the review, managed to pull it off. I have to honestly say that it was probably a bit rough round the edges but it worked and was the fore bearer of all that has come since.

The cover on this one was done by Mike Tenebrae and is still one of my all-time favourite covers.

This is my copy:

As you can see, the cover is absolutely superb but my picture does it no favours. You need to hold it in your hands to appreciate the true beauty of it.

I was lucky enough to get one of the limited edition hardback copies signed by the entire motley crew. This is a book I will cherish forever!

You can read my review of Dead Roses here:

Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love

You can buy Dead Roses here:

Tales of Blood and Sulphur

EVANS LIGHT has been in love with the written word from an early age, and works in a variety of genres, but stories of the "Weird Tales" variety remain his favorite.

Frequently drawn to uncommon experiences, Evans has thrown himself headfirst into a wide range of unusual situations, from testing low-level-entry parachutes with British Army Airborne units to travelling the vast reaches of inner space using sensory deprivation tanks.

Evans has lived here and there across the United States, from the mountains to the beaches to the desert, and currently chooses to reside in a southern state where the weather is warm and living is easy. He is the proud father of fine sons and the lucky husband of a beautiful wife.

His brother, Adam Light, is also a bestselling horror writer, and the two frequently collaborate as "THE LIGHT BROTHERS".

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

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon Page

Adam Light resides in northeast Florida with his beautiful wife and daughter, and their aptly, though perhaps not so imaginatively named Walker hound, Walker. He haunts a cubicle by day, writes horror stories at night, and virtually never sleeps.

He is the author of several short horror stories, some of which have been published in his first collection Toes Up. He also has stories in the anthologies Dead Roses, Bad Apples, and Bad Apples 2. He is currently at work on a novella, and a novel-length work, with his brother and frequent collaborator, Evans Light.

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

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon Page

Edward Lorn is a reader, writer, and content creator. He's been writing for fun since the age of six, and writing professionally since 2011. He can be found haunting the halls of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Goodreads. He has blogs on both Booklikes and Wordpress, with such popular features as Ruminating On and Randomized Randomocity.

Edward Lorn lives in the southeast United States with his wife and two children. Not to mention, Ash and Coal (a.k.a. his Goombas). He is currently working on his next novel, EVERYTHING IS HORRIBLE NOW.

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

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon Page

In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls New England his home. The region offers an abundance of settings for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them. He currently resides in Southeastern Massachusetts with his cuddly corgi named Calypso.

In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it's harassing the witness; no one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he's back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that's another story.

When he's not working, Jason likes to kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play just about any sport (except that ball tied to the pole thing where you basically just whack the ball until it twists in on knot or takes somebody's head off - he misses the appeal). And read and write, of course. He does that too sometimes.

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

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon Page

Gregor Xane lives in southwestern Ohio. When he's not writing, he can be found in his workshop bolting little satellite dishes to the foreheads of anesthetized goats. He's the author of the horror novellas Six Dead Spots and The Hanover Block. His short story "It Came From Hell and Smashed the Angels" is available as a free eBook download from just about everywhere.

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

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon Page

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #37 - J.G. Clay - Tales of Blood and Sulphur

#37 in the Show-Off and Tell is the latest one to fall through my letterbox. At the time of typing this, it has arrived just in time for the end of J.G. Clay week.

It is the wonderful short story collection, Tales of Blood and Sulphur.

I have mentioned before that I came across this one completely by accident and it is one of those accidents that I will be eternally grateful for. This, my friends is one of the greatest collections of short stories I have ever read. I will be surprised if any collections I read in the future will come close. Now there is a challenge if ever I wrote one!

Getting to know Mr Clay over this past couple of weeks while doing the interview and other stuff, it has hit me what an absolute genuine gentleman he is. Unassuming, modest and always happy yet with a writing style that is an absolute killer. It is a great, great pleasure of mine to add this one to the shelf.

This is my copy:

This is also quite a rare copy by all accounts. This is one of the originals before the original publisher fell by the wayside so I am even more privileged to own this one.

Thankfully, the content hasn’t changed one bit. This one is going on to the special favouriteshelf.

I also have no idea what he is going on about with the baldie thing. I have been reliably informed that this is J.G. Clay in real life!

You can read my review of Tales of Blood and Sulphurbelow.

You can buy Tales of Blood and Sulphur here:

CONFESSIONS REVIEWS J.G. CLAY

Tales of Blood and Sulphur

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

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #36 - Andrew Lennon & Georgia Lennon - A Taste of Fear

#36 in the Show-Off and Tell feature is one of my most recent buys. A Taste of Fear by Andrew Lennon and his daughter Georgia Lennon.

I managed to meet up with Andrew at Horror Con UK this year and shared many a conversation with him and many a pint. Don’t let his timid looking picture and calm demeanour on social media fool you! This man can sink a pint or two.

He always comes across as a quiet sort of a fella. He is in many ways, but I have to be honest and tell you that he is one of the nicest fellas I have had the pleasure of meeting on this horror journey. He is very hard working, very knowledgeable and honing his talent beautifully. I really hope he turns into the fantastically well know writer that I know he has inside of him.

This is my copy:

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the pleasure of meeting Georgia at Horror Con so this version is only signed by her dad. I do however know that this will change in the future. This young girl has an amazingly bright future ahead of her in the horror writing world so I know it is only a matter of time before she is standing behind the Lennon family table at cons. I will make sure to bring this along and get her to sign it too.

You can read my review of A Taste of Fear at the bottom of the page.

You can buy A Taste of Fear or indeed any of Andrews books here:

CONFESSIONS REVIEWS ANDREW LENNON

Keith

A Taste of Fear - with Georgia Lennon

Andrew Lennon is the author of A Life to Waste, Keith and Twisted Shorts. He has featured in numerous anthologies and is successfully becoming a recognised name in horror and thriller writing. Andrew is a happily married man living in the North West of England with his wife Hazel & their children.

Andrew grew up in Ormskirk, which is a small market town. During his school years he enjoyed writing stories. These were kept locked away at home because he did not have the confidence to show the outside world.

Having always being a big horror fan, Andrew spent a lot of his time watching scary movies or playing scary games, but it wasn’t until his mid-twenties that he developed a taste for reading. His wife, also being a big horror fan, had a very large Stephen King collection which Andrew began to consume. Once hooked into reading horror, he started to discover new authors like Thomas Ligotti & Ryan C Thomas. It was while reading work from these authors that he decided to try writing something himself and there came the idea for “A Life to Waste”

He enjoys spending his time with his family and watching or reading new horror.

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

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page

Georgia Lennon was born in 2002. Although relatively new to the writing industry, she has already begun to impress several authors and publishers with her work. Her first short story was accepted into and featured in Jeapers Creepers, by J Ellington Ashton Press. Further stories have been accepted into Kids –Volume 2 and A-Z, both published by Dark Chapter Press.

And for more about Georgia, visit her site or find her on social media:

Website – Facebook - Goodreads

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #35 - Duncan P Bradshaw - Hexagram

#35 in the Show-Off and tell feature finishes off the Duncan P Bradshaw week.

It’s Hexagram.

This is one that just arrived in the post one day. I hadn’t been asked previously to review it so it just arrived in the post one day. Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly not complaining about that fact. I love getting books to review from Duncan and The Sinister Horror Company and they know my door is always open to them. It’s just an extra special surprise when it comes through the door totally unexpected. It’s like Christmas for a ten-year-old every time this happens to me.

The purpose of this one tonight is purely and simply, to show you what you get when you order a book directly* from Duncan at the Sinister Horror Company. They come to you in the normal brown box or standard jiffy bag but it’s what’s inside that will make you feel like the most special person in the world.

When you open the box or jiffy bag, you will be greeted by your book, wrapped in black tissue paper with the Sinister Horror Company sticker holding it all together.

*this is when you order directly from the SHC website, not from Amazon.

It looks like this:

Normally included with the book you will get a couple of bookmarks. Normally a Sinister Horror Company one if it is an anthology or one from the individual author. You might be lucky and get a couple of cards or something else special that they are doing at the time. I have seen people get patches for their holey jeans as well!

One other thing that you can always be assured of is that the cover for the book you have just bought will be of the highest quality ever. These guys know exactly how to do it when it comes to attracting your eye and filling your brain and heart with total desire and a need to buy the book.

This is Hexagram:

Also once you get inside you will probably see a lovely signature and, depending on whose book it is, a funny drawing of some sort. Duncan especially has a knack for filling them with little doodles to keep you amused.

I have only one picture of the inside of Hexagram. If I included all of the pictures I wanted to, there would be about fifty. The fonts, the design, the layout, it is all perfect. You can see immediately the effort that these guys put into their books and they are a true pleasure to own.

Hexagram is out now. You really need to buy it.

You can read my review of Hexagram at the bottom of the page.

You can buy Hexagram or indeed any of Duncan’s books here: