I turned 30 a few weeks ago. It doesn't actually feel any different from being 29. Or 27. Or 25, which I think is where I stopped counting in my head. I felt no fearful anticipation at hitting this milestone, no existential terror, though I know a great many 20-somethings do. If anything, it was… Continue reading Lessons learned from being 20-something
a love letter to impostors everywhere
I'm an impostor. At least, I perceive myself to be: I am a fraud, a know-nothing, a talentless buffoon who wrote a story people liked and have cruised by on their goodwill ever since. Is this true? Possibly, possibly not. My brain choruses YES at a deafening volume: yes, you're going to get found out… Continue reading a love letter to impostors everywhere
Great British Horror 1: Green and Pleasant Land
Very pleased indeed to be a part of this excellent upcoming anthology from Black Shuck Books, with my short story 'Strange as Angels'. It's due for release in October.
Things I read in June
Bodies of Water by V.H Leslie I've been looking forward to this since it was announced, so I was very pleased that it lived up to all my expectations. I love the subtle, chilly kind of horror Leslie so often deals in - creepy, pervasive unease which seems to originate at the very core of… Continue reading Things I read in June
A-Z of Books
As shamelessly stolen from Thana Niveau. AUTHOR YOU’VE READ THE MOST BOOKS BY- A quick glance at my bookshelf suggests this title goes to Stephen King, followed by China Mieville, Margaret Atwood and Tove Jansson all pretty much tied. I started reading Stephen King aged about 11 so it's not really a surprise. BEST… Continue reading A-Z of Books
Magical Thinking: Not As Fun As It Sounds
It’s mental health awareness week, and in that spirit I think it’s time I talked a little bit about OCD. I was diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder last year, after struggling for some time with increasing anxiety, a spate of panic attacks and somewhat bizarre behaviour tics I’d developed to cope with these things. I didn’t… Continue reading Magical Thinking: Not As Fun As It Sounds
because I forgot to mention it before
My short story "Terry In The Bed By The Window" will be appearing in The Black Room Manuscripts: Volume Two. All proceeds will be going to Alzheimer's Research UK, which is bloody brilliant - I'm very proud to have been able to contribute. (Also, while you're here, why don't you go check out V.H. Leslie's… Continue reading because I forgot to mention it before
and on a related note
Prince was a superb musician, and an incredible guitarist, and he will be sorely missed.
thoughts on the power of music
thinking a bit today about why so many of us are so profoundly affected when we lose iconic musicians, perhaps more than any other category of 'celebrity'. And I think it has a lot to do with the power of music itself - the way in which a song hits us emotionally. Music isn't the… Continue reading thoughts on the power of music
‘write about the desert’, my brain said
inspiration is strange. One day, quite recently, a story arrived in my head almost fully formed - a thing that rarely happens to me, and a joy when it does. And that story was set in the Mojave desert in California. I have never been to California, much less the desert. I have never been… Continue reading ‘write about the desert’, my brain said
Dispatches from the Sinister Room 