DS: What is The Book of Thrice Dead? JS: I’m glad you asked! The Book of Thrice Dead is a six-part multiverse apocalypse. At its heart, I think of this as a fantasy story. It has heroes and villains, magic and monsters, and other worlds that intersect with our own. However, it also combines a lot of elements from a wide variety of genres, including science fiction, post-apocalyptic, and plenty of horror. I suppose the nature of exploring a multiverse concept is that rather than having tonal consistency, there’s going to be this eclectic mix. That was the great joy of writing this series ..read more

In the competitive world of publishing, authors often face numerous challenges when it comes to marketing and promoting their work. It’s hard to get heard. There are so many new books coming out every week. Then there are the old classics on a TBR list a mile high. Ads can be expensive for indie authors, and traditional authors don’t control their marketing budget. Social media cliques seem random and hard to become a part of. However, there is something we can do, and do together. By fostering a supportive network among fellow authors, both self-published and traditionally published authors c ..read more

Below, dear reader, you will find links to all the podcast interviews I’ve done. I hope you enjoy these long form conversations about writing and horror. Horror writer Dan Soule talks about his book, Neolithica to Boomers on Books, 13th May, 2021 Author Dan Soule interviewed on Boomers on Books   The Kilgrave Corner – Guest: Dan Soule, 14th Sep 2021 Dan discussing horror on Kilgrave CornerWho’s There Podcast – S3E21:UK Horror Writer Dan Soule Talks His Favorite Horror Writers, Why Loves SciFi Horror, and a Passionate Defense of the Movie World War Z, 5th July 2022 The Bleeding Keyboard ..read more

Guest post by editor, author, poet, and generally excellent guy, Joseph Sale When writers, editors, and critics discuss world-building, it is often in isolation. But to tell a successful story, world-building must be intimately interlinked with two other elements: plot and character. In fact, these three should be so tightly interwoven that it is almost impossible to divorce any single element. The best example I can probably give is to be found in The Lord of the Rings. The dark lord, Sauron, has bound his spirit to the One Ring, and thus, to prevent his return, the One Ring must be destroyed ..read more

Try before you buy: that’s what I say. The opening chapters of a book should grab you, so here you can sample the opening prologue and first five chapters of my novel Witchopper. I wanted to give you a little more than you get on Amazon or Apple Books previews. Take a look. I hope you get pulled into the world of this urban legend and want to read more. Now beware the Witchopper… Blurb If you see her, then you’re dead… All Rob wanted to do was fit in at his new school after being torn from London so his parents could fix their marriage. But when Rob’s journalist father dragged him along to inv ..read more

In this instalment of the Independent Author section of the blog we have copyeditor and proofreader David  Pearce. I make no secret of the fact I’m a dyslexic writer. I don’t expect any special treatment for so being, but it makes me acutely aware of the value of good editors of all kinds. Now, the proofread comes at the very end of writing a book and preparing a manuscript. If we thought of it as a sequence, it would be something like the following. The writer writes the first draft. They may write and edit as they go along or them may blast through a first draft and then do a rewrite. E ..read more

This is another try-before-you-buy post. The digital equivalent of standing in a bookstore and reading the opening chapters of a book to see if you want to read more. Below you’ll find the opening 4 chapters to my three novel THE ASH.  It’s a bit more than you’d get on Amazon and I hope will hook you in to Jim Castle’s story. This is basically a story about a man trying to find his way home when the obstacles aren’t just the end of the world… Here’s the blurb to start you off: You know the drill: mushroom clouds, end of the world, only the clichés survive. This isn’t that… Even on the day ..read more

1. Who is HP Newquist? A writer of horror fiction and strange non-fiction, a guitarist, and a human who is ruthlessly curious. 2. How and when did you get into writing? I started writing short stories in high school, got a job after college writing about artificial  intelligence, then found an agent and some publishers who liked my book ideas. Somehow I turned that into a writing career. 3. You write across very diverse areas, from science to music and, of course, horror. What attracts you to such different genres? A lot of different things interest me, so I try to find ways to write ..read more

Trying a new author is a bit of a risk. Are you going to throw away your money? Will you like their style and tone? Amazon, Apple Books and the like give us a sneak peek. Here, I wanted to give you a little more. Below you’ll find the Blurb, the Prologue and first four chapters of my debut novel Neolithica. Have a read. I hope you get hooked and want to see more. Now brace yourself… Blurb What happens when the archaeological find of a lifetime becomes a threat to life itself? After the death of her husband, Professor Mirin Hassan wants life to return to normal for her and her son. But when con ..read more

Note: this review first appeared on Storgy.com The Earth is healed and humans have been extinct for 500 years. Those two things are connected. In the dying days of human civilisation a scientist created a better species, the Erta. Human-like but with none of their physical and emotional flaws. They are walking problem solvers with one purpose – to fix the Earth. Now that their job is done they have no purpose and with to move and transcend to a higher level of consciousness. But they made a promise to reintroduce humans. Ima, the Erta who fixed the sky is the one charged with raising a single ..read more