Crowvus Book Blog

 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...

Arthur Rackham's timeless illustration (from Wikipedia )  There was a big push a few years ago to rewrite fairy tales. Snow White and the Huntsman got a less than warm reception, but Maleficent was more kindly received. Not wanting to be left out, I also had a go at rewriting a fairy tale, although I think I was a little bit late to the party. Memories of the Grand Tour was based on the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel , and features my only female narrator. I don’t know particularly why I chose a woman’s voice for this one. Generally, I find men in Gothic Horror to be easier to write about, simply because they had more possibilities and options during the time in which I set most of my writing. A Victorian woman sitting alone in a pub, for example, would say a great deal about her character before the story even starts, whereas male characters in the same situation wouldn’t even invoke a raised eyebrow. Strangely, by contrast, both Gothic Horror novels which I am cur...

© Christine Taylor  I wrote Death At Priest’s Acre for a callout by Quill and Crow , who were looking for stories to fill a “Bleak Midwinter” anthology. It wasn’t the right fit for them and, to be honest, the beginning and end needed a revisit which has been provided for this anthology. Beginnings and ends are very important in Gothic Horror: they are what tell you that whatever terrible happening has been taking place has successfully scarred the characters involved. If the events of the story aren’t enough to leave an indelible mark on the character, they aren’t going to be enough to leave a mark on the reader. Priest’s Acre was a completely new place to me, which popped into my head one day and I just loved the idea of writing the story of the vicar there. However, as I wrote it, I discovered that the priests who the place was named after were not, in fact, Christian priests at all, but from a time predating Christianity. Then, I knew that druidic magic would play a role in the...

 Here's a little historical horror story, right in time for Hallowe'en. This is based on the macabre belief in the power of a Hand of Glory  and, while the story is fictitious, the events leading there were all true. My Mother’s Eyes to See, My Father’s Hand to Guide 1596 106 Egiptians (gypsies) were condemned to death in York. Only 9 were executed, the others able to prove their English birth. The magistrate forced the children of the condemned to watch. Cornella’s eyes welled with tears as she struggled against the hand on her shoulder. Far from being alone, scores of people stood before her, but every one of them was a stranger. She was standing on a high wall, the last in a line of youngsters. These children she did know. They were her fellow gypsy children. A second hand rested on her other shoulder, pinning her firmly in place. The people below her were gathered as though at a fair. They talked excitedly, eagerly awaiting the spectacle. Cornella felt the grip ...

Today, I'm so excited to introduce a book which is being launched next week at Sutherland Show (22nd July):  The Folly at Raighvan Park   by Judith Crow! Here's a little sneak peek at this upcoming release and a couple of its characters... First of all, let's meet the book... Blurb Desperate to escape memories of a devastating railway accident, Lord Stretton accepts an invitation to Raighvan Park, the home of his childhood friend, Sir David Joyce. But Stretton discovers that Raighvan Park is not the safe haven he had been seeking. The ghosts which have haunted him since the accident seem to have followed him, and the situation grows darker when human remains are discovered at Sir David’s proposed folly. Are the ghosts of the accident still stalking him? Or is there something more sinister at work at Raighvan Park? Guest Post All the Gothic Horror I've written features - to different extents - an unreliable narrator. In The Devil's Servant , Reuben Fancroft is an ol...

I know we’re nowhere near Halloween but, let’s be honest, every season is spooky season if you want it to be! So, I’m going to share some thoughts about one of my favourite genres to read and write: Gothic Horror. I first discovered it as a genre when I was a teenager being taught at home. Every week, Dad would take me and my sister to the local library and we would pick a book or two to read. One week, I picked an abridged version of Dracula . I loved it so much that I immediately graduated onto the full version, before moving on to The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe . There was something about these stories which completely immersed my imagination, and I think it was how setting is always an extra character in them. I read a piece a couple of weeks ago which was labelled as Gothic, but the setting wasn’t right. It didn’t jump out as one of the characters in the book which was twisting and turning as much as any of the humans (or not-quite-humans!) Whitby is rightly proud of it...

     Review I feel  slightly bad writing this review because I googled the author, Reg Gadney, and discovered that he died in 2018. He seems to have been a very interesting person, who created many great things throughout a very creative and fruitful lifetime. Unfortunately, this book isn't one of those things.     There are two things I really loved about it. The first is the blurb, which is shared at the end of this review. This is a book which sounds perfect for me, and I'm still looking forward to reading the story that I believed it would be. The second is the personal inscription which is in my copy. You see, someone who knows me really well also read the blurb and immediately thought of me! What could possibly go wrong?! It turns out that a book can look perfect for someone but still not be a good fit. But, honestly, this is just not a good book. There are one or two characters who threaten to be realistic but every single one of them maintains an ai...

Night of the Victorian Dead by Amber Michelle Cook "Night of the Victorian Dead" Book Cover "Inspired by beloved works of literature from Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen, and in tribute to the delightful terror of first encountering classic undead creatures comes Night of the Victorian Dead, in which a rich collection of characters - with the endearing manners, gentility and sensibilities of that era - meet the unthinkable horror of an outbreak of the supernatural in the form of Re-risen Dead." 3 Stars When I got the review request for this novel, the first thing I thought was "Oh no. I hate zombies!" It's not that I have anything against zombies (I'm sure some of them are very decent) but ever since my sister used to chase me around the room in a Hallowe'en mask pretending to be a zombie, I have been really scared of them. I'm pleased I agreed to review this book, however. It is a really interesting ...