Well, we're so close to release day for Beneath A Darkening Sky , and I've celebrated this by becoming a member of the Horror Writers' Association ! I also had a set of author photos taken in a local graveyard, complete with an entire flock of sheep watching me as some previous visitor had left the gate open for them. So now, I'm faced with the decision of which story to share with you. We've been through a few for this blog series, and I'm left with three: Guidman Trowie (a tale set in Orkney and inspired by the unique folklore of the islands); Moonsong (a love song from a werewolf to the moon); and Eaves-Drip , which is the story I'm going to talk about in this blog. It's no coincidence that these three stories have been left. Along with Ay Atomics , they're the short and (not-always-very-)sweet ones. Eaves-Drip was written while we were on holiday in Perthshire one autumn, but it goes back to Lincolnshire, where I grew up. Lincolnshire is ful...
Today for #HistFicThursday, it is my absolute please to welcome Elizabeth R. Andersen and her fantastic series, The Two Daggers . Here, Elizabeth takes us into 13th century Acre, dispelling a few misconceptions and welcoming us to the world of The Scribe and The Land of God ... Acre Harbour, present-day. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Imagine you are in that sacred space between sleeping and waking when your body slowly becomes aware of its surroundings, and the deliciousness of sleep is still with you. As you emerge into consciousness, you notice the hardness of your bed and the chill in the air. Instead of a soft, spring and foam-filled mattress, you feel an unfamiliar crackle of straw when you shift your weight. Something’s not right. You open your eyes and stare at the ceiling – wooden poles and thatch instead of painted drywall. You went to bed in the 21 st century and woke up in the 13 th . Will you be able to blend in, or will you be immediately noticed as an ...