Earlier this year I happened across the 1980 Asterix annual in a charity shop; a book whose existence I was entirely unaware of. It was evidently a one-off, and provides an introduction to many of the long-running French comic series’ characters, along with heavily abridged versions of some of the stories, and the usual puzzles … Continue reading Asterix!
FEAR appeared at exactly the right time to fill a gap in the market. Although there were similarly-glossy genre magazines (Starburst, Fangoria, Samhain) their focus was on film whereas FEAR recognised there was demand for a magazine that covered horror fiction1. As an avid reader of ZZAP!64 in the mid-80s, for their publishers Newsfield to … Continue reading Horror Rewind #12 – ‘FEAR’ magazine # 2, Sep/Oct 1988
The book's subtitle puts it better: Ghost Movies. But even that's deceptive. In this 260-page anthology, editor Peter Haining (whose many other spooky collections were familiar to me as a teenager) traces the history of the ghost story onscreen through the works of fiction that inspired such classic films as Night of the Demon, Don't … Continue reading Horror Rewind #11 – “Classics of the Supernatural” (ed. Peter Haining) (1995)
Hello! In the six months or so since I last wrote about my writing, what have I actually written? Generally, if I'm writing fiction then I'm not writing here in the Gyre. The converse is also true: I've posted more in the last six weeks than in the previous six months and consequently have barely … Continue reading #AmWriting, April 2024
Hello! An unexpected burst of creativity. I'd finished the sixth, and longest, Engineer story (see previous #AmWriting post) and was taking a breather to build up the energy and ideas for the next one. Suddenly, I had an idea for a novella: almost the entire story came to me in a few minutes. I wrote … Continue reading #AmWriting…differently
Hello; it's been a while (again). The book reviewing has taken a back seat, largely because Horrified closed down at the end of last year, partly because I seem to have lost enthusiasm for reviewing (for now, at least), and partly because all my creative energies have been spent writing my own fiction, which is … Continue reading I still #AmWriting
Still here. Almost all of my writing this year has been my own fiction; I've written just one review (for Horrified). Some of you may have come across my cosmic technician The Engineer; well, I'm just finishing the fifth story to feature him. They're darkly comic urban fantasy, and there will be a few more … Continue reading #AmWriting. But what?
Hello! Sorry, it's been a while. It's six months since my last post, which is by far the longest break I've taken from the Gyre. Not only have I not written here, it's also a few months since I reviewed for Horrified (the last thing I covered there was the excellent debut novel by Ally … Continue reading #AmWriting. Honest.
STORGY have today published my story The Engineer. It's the first outing for the eponymous cosmic technician. I hope you enjoy it. The Engineer Will Return. Image By Jean-Paul Jandrain at Pixabay
I'm sorry, faithful visitors to the Gyre. I've been writing elsewhere. Mostly for the excellent Horrified magazine, for whom I'm reviewing new horror fiction. You can find my reviews here. But that's not all! I've just finished the third story featuring my recurring character, and you can meet him soon. Yes, STORGY will publish my … Continue reading #AmWriting Elsewhere…
Into the Gyre 