January 2021

Happy New Year, fellow horror freak…

And, just like that, 2020 was no more.

Are the trials and tribulations of the past year over forever? Are we out of the woods? Can I give ya a hug? Well, no. Not quite yet. But the global consensus seems to be that we’re making progress and can begin to look forward to the resumption of normality.

And those hugs.

You have been warned.

But these updates are meant to be about horror, not lame stuff like peace and hope and happiness. Nae, you seek my words to deliver unto your soul the darkness it so unashamedly craves, and I’m here to deliver.

2021 will see the publication of my first two books:

FOR RYE, the first true piece of horror fiction I ever wrote, a novel that was over two years in the making, and the damned thing that put me on this twisted path;

and

THE LAST TESTAMENT OF CRIGHTON SMYTHE, a novella full of old person murdering, Oedipus Rex-esque creepy maternal relations/tragedy, and the blending of humour with the psychopathic. It is my American Psycho-meets-Catcher in the Rye.

Both will be available for your cringing, stomach-turning pleasure in April through two different indie publishers. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for weekly excerpts of FOR RYE, starting tomorrow.

You may have read all four of my horrorific flash fictions by now, but if not there’s a host of new features going live any day now with three different online publications:

THE THING WITHIN: Coffin Bell Journal

LEOPOLD’S LIGHT: Living Springs Publishers

A DYING MOMENT: Sirens Call

This is first time Leopold’s Light has been published, so I’m absolutely thrilled to send it out into the world. Further, to be included in Coffin Bell Journal is an indescribable honour. It looks like The Thing Within will be included in their print anthology at the end of 2021, and I’m giddy at the prospect. Keep an eye on my social media channels for these to appear any day now…

The final thing to mention is that from February onwards for some months I’ll be running FREEBIE-FOR-A-REVIEW-FRIDAY across all my social medias, where on the first and third Friday of each month you can be in with the chance of having a book by one of my writer peers mailed directly to your door – totally free! This is to raise awareness of how important Amazon and Goodreads reviews are to indie authors, and all I’ll ask in return is that you leave a review for the author in question to help with the visibility of their work.

So keep an eye on my posts and follow the #freebieforareviewfriday hashtag on Instagram to be in with more of a chance of seeing them pop up. Anyway, I’m just giving you some prior notice so you can start looking out for them. Hopefully we can get you a free book!

That’s all for now. I hope you enjoy my new flash fiction Leopold’s Light when it hits and that 2021 serves you well. The battles aren’t over (are they really ever?) but the light at the end of the tunnel is finally blinking in the distance.

Let’s just hope it’s not a giant Lovecraftian eye staring back at us.

Happy New Year!

-GG