SHOW-OFF AND TELL #42 - Mark Cassell - The Shadow Fabric

#42 in the Show-Off and tell feature brings us, sadly, to the end of a week-long special about its author. Tonight’s book is The Shadow Fabric by Mark Cassell.

I have mentioned a couple of times this week how much of an approachable, decent fella Mark Cassell is. I hope that throughout this week you have picked that up as well and also that you will go pick up some of his books and give him the support he deserves.

If you decide to go and buy this weeks featured book, The Shadow Fabric, this post will give you an idea of what you will have in your hands.

The cover alone gives you an idea of the mysterious happenings on the inside of the pages and indeed, if you meet Mr Cassell at a con, you will be able to see the hourglass in person.

This is my copy:

This was the first ever book I bought at a con so even though Mr Cassell may not know it, this book holds a special place on my shelf. To be able to pick a book up directly from the author and get it signed while you are there is a wonderful feeling for anyone who wants to start their own collection of signed stuff. I can highly recommend it!

You can buy The Shadow Fabric here:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

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

Amazon US

Amazon UK

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

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.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

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

Amazon US

Amazon UK

CONFESSIONS REVIEWS ANGELA MARSONS

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

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:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

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:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

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:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

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