One of the problems – or, perhaps, the best things – about Gothic Horror is that it does tend to be sad. Usually, there are at least one or two characters who don’t deserve whatever is happening to them, or who have done something which is being punished in a way which does not in any way fit the crime. M.R. James’s writing is perhaps a constant reiteration of the old proverb, “curiosity killed the cat”, but curiosity in itself isn’t a bad thing; while Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula finds himself in the initial dangerous situation through no fault of his own. Perhaps the saddest story in this anthology is The Lady Who Dances in the Ashes , which was first published by Sley House in Tales of Sley House 2022 . Here is the story of a man who is facing professional and financial ruin as a result of suggesting that mental health patients can be treated in the community rather than institutionalised. He is one of the most sympathetic narrators you will find in the book, but he bad...
It's #HistFicThursdays, and I'm super-excited to be sharing a guest post from Nancy Northcott , as part of her Coffee Pot Book Club tour. Find out about the pros and cons of writing a series rather than a standalone book, the different genres she's written, and explore the world of The King's Champion . But first, let's meet the book... Blurb The Boar King’s Honor Trilogy A wizard’s misplaced trust A king wrongly blamed A bloodline cursed until they clear the king’s name. Book 3: The King’s Champion Caught up in the desperate evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from France in the summer of 1940, photojournalist Kate Shaw witnesses death and destruction that trigger disturbing visions. She doesn’t believe in magic and tries to pass them off as survivor guilt or an overactive imagination, but the increasingly intense visions force her to accept that she is not only magically Gifted but a seer. In Dover, she meets her distant cousin Sebastian Mainwar...