All the latest Shadow Writer news and announcements.   2003 news can be viewed here 2004 news can be viewed here 2005 news can be viewed here 2006 news can be viewed here 2007 news can be viewed here   August New Year’s Day premiered on 17th of last month and we have some more stills for you here (above and below). Its reception was mainly positive with Bloody Disgusting commenting: ‘This week’s episode is the first one that really captures the feel of a full-blown feature film for a television audience. A great deal of that success comes from the stark cinematography (courtesy of John Spooner) and the jump-cut editing (by Marshall Harvey). But, as both Spooner and Harvey have prior Fear Itself credentials (Family Man and Eater respectively) the onus for the episode’s ultimate feel must be placed on Bousman. In fact, New Year’s Day contains all the gritty, grimy, desaturated lighting and whip-pans that you’d expect to see from the man who helmed most of the SAW franchise.’ Matt Fowler of IGN.com had this to say: ‘New Year’s Day has a dark griminess to it that comes as a nice contract to the slick hyper-gloss of previous Fear instalments. It had that damp, dirty feeling that you get from the SAW movies... Having Steve Niles cook up another story involving the undead at war with human relationships was also a plus. Anyone who knows his work, surely can vouch for the fact that he won’t hesitate to have someone regrettably hack up a loved one after they’ve turned into a soulless minion of the undead…Or a Republican.’ Michael Gingold of Fangoria reported: ‘The pre-credits sequence is a knockout, joining Helen (Briana Evigan) as she wakes up at 4:32 in the morning after an apparent long night of heavy partying. Hung over and disoriented, she soon discovers that she’s got much worse to deal with than a headache: The power is out, chaos reigns in the streets outside and, as the story continues, she finds that a chemical-plant explosion has turned many of the public in general – and her friends in particular – into flesh eating killers… Scripted by horror-comics hero Steve Niles and Ben Sokolowski from the former’s adaptation of Paul Kane’s short story “Dead Time”, New Year’s Day does indeed feel like something that has sprung from the pages of an old Creepy or Eerie issue. As she tries desperately to get to her boyfriend’s place, where safety hopefully beckons, Helen has a series of unpleasant encounters with the ghouls and one threatening human, all illuminated by lots of intermittently flashing lights and the occasional spotlight from a passing helicopter. Every so often, we get glimpses of what went down for Helen at a party the night before… As televised terror goes, it emerges overall as a satisfying hour.’ While Bruce Simmons on Cinema Static offered this: ‘The atmospheric photography of the episode reminded me a bit of Cloverfield but the perspective of the episode takes a twisty turn… It was an amazing, new, refreshing twist. Fear Itself is really pulling it out so far for each episode… If I were to rate this episode on a scale of 1 to 10, I’d dare give it an 9. The ending boosted it up from a probable 8.’ Below you can watch a video from the NBC site which sees director Darren Bousman and star Briana Evigan talking about the episode. There are plans for the series to be released on DVD in an uncut format, including New Year’s Day, so we’ll bring you news of that as and when we know more. -------------------------------------- News now, though, of a couple more short stories from Paul. ‘The Suicide Room’ will appear in the line-up of Voices (above), to be published by Morrigan Books in September and launched at FantasyCon in Nottingham. And for those of you suffering from Quayle withdrawal, you’ll be able to read his latest adventure in an upcoming issue of Tales of Moreauvia (above), the magazine which prides itself on ‘Flights of Historical Fancy’. Click on the website here to find out more. Plus you’ll find a great review by Mathew Riley of Read by Dawn, highlighting Paul’s story ‘Windchimes’, at the Book Geeks site here. ------------------------------- For the first time ever, our Guest Writer for August is a previous GW from the site. But we felt the fact that Tim Lebbon had not one, but three books coming out (and in the UK through Allison and Busby and Humdrumming) was excuse enough to bring him back. Not only can you read extracts from The Everlasting (above), Fallen and The Reach of Children (both below) here, here and here, but they are also preceded by mini-interviews Paul conducted with the author last month. So sit back, enjoy, and then go out and buy.     ---------------------------- If you pick up a copy of the latest issue of Dark Side magazine, # 134 (above), you can also enjoy an interview Paul and Marie conducted with bestselling horror author Shaun Hutson, of Slugs, Assassin and Unmarked Graves notoriety. Paul has also begun contributing reviews to Mass Movement’s magazine and website. These include write ups of the horror film The Graveyard,Simon Clark’s Stone Cold Calling and Peter Weir’s cult movie The Cars That Ate Paris (below). To visit the site, just click here. -------------------------------- Finally, Paul had a great time at the BFS Awards Showcase on 19th July at Ye Olde Cock Tavern, Fleet Street, and even got to meet one of his writing heroes: Brian Aldiss (who penned the story on which Spielberg’s A.I. is based). We’ll leave you with photos from the event below: The great Brian Aldiss! The display table, featuring Award recommendees. The Recommendees making speeches From left to right: Lee Thompson, of Humdrumming, Christopher Fowler and Simon Clark. Photos © Helen Hopley and Paul Kane ----------------------------- July Extra Paul's just received the following images from the episode of Fear Itself, New Year's Day, based on his story 'Dead Time', which airs on NBC in the US today. Briana Evigan, who plays Helen. Niall Matter FEAR ITSELF --  "New Year’s Day"  Episode 108 -- NBC Photo: Chris Large (c) NBC Universal, Inc.   July More news on Paul’s episode of Fear Itself to begin with this month (see last month’s news for more details). Some of the cast have been revealed now, starting with Briana Evigan (above), star of House of the Damned, Step Up 2: The Streets and the forthcoming sequel to Donnie Darko. Briana plays the lead character, Helen Kirby. Also cast in the episode is Niall Matter, of A Town Called Eureka fame, who plays Mothman in the new Watchmen film, based on the groundbreaking Alan Moore graphic novel (above, in the Minutemen, second from left). Plus J. LaRose (above) who played Troy in SAW III and IV. Above you can see one of the first stills from the movie, courtesy of Bloody Disgusting, which shows a zombie merrily chomping away on a victim’s arm. Also on that site you will find an exclusive report following Darren Bousman in the editing suite post shoot, with more exclusive behind the scenes photos. To check it out, just click here. Lastly, you can read an article on the series in the latest issue of Fangoria (above, with the HellboyII cover) which has a checklist including all the episodes. The episode is due to air on 17th July, but we’ll be keeping you up-to-date with any news as and when before that time, so keep checking in. ------------------------------- Meanwhile, the story on which New Year’s Day is based, and the book in which it features, have been recommended for British Fantasy Awards. Both the novella ‘The Lazarus Condition’ and ‘Dead Time’ have been recommended, and if you head on over to the Tasmaniac site here you can read exclusive extracts from both of them. Paul is thrilled to announce that his short stories ‘Dig (This)’ published in Dark Animus; ‘The Convert’, which appeared in The Shadows Trilogy from Screaming Dreams; and the novella Dalton Quayle Rides Out from Pendragon Press have also picked up recommendations. Proprietor of Pendragon , Christopher Teague is willing to send any member of the BFS a pdf version of DQRO if you drop him a line here. Members can, of course, vote online by visiting the BFS site here. And Paul will be attending the BFS Awards Showcase on 19th July at Ye Olde Cock Tavern, Fleet Street, starting at 2pm. ------------------------------ Our Guest Writer for the month of July is New York Times bestseller David Morrell, who created the enduring character of Rambo (above in the new Stallone movie) for his powerful novel First Blood. David has chosen to contribute a piece of non-fiction to the site, namely the afterword of the excellent novel Creepers (below), which won the Bram Stoker award. To read this, simply click here. --------------------------------- Two pieces from Paul are in the latest issue of TV Film Memorabilia, as promised: an Incredible Hulk timeline, featuring a history of the comics, the TV series and the movies, plus the first part of his Monty Python retrospective (both below). He has also been asked to write an article on the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise (below), which will include the Robert Englund interview mentioned in a previous news section. ------------------------------- Paul was saddened to hear about the death of FX master Stan Winston last month. Stan was, of course, the genius behind the effects in The Terminator, Aliens, Jurassic Park, Predator (below) and so many other magical movies. He will be greatly missed. --------------------------------- Finally, here are some pictures from Paul’s recent visit to London, for the June BFS Open Night and a trip to the London Dungeons over that weekend… ------------------------------------- June © Lionsgate/NBC First on the agenda this month is a major announcement for the SW site. Paul’s story ‘Dead Time’ has been bought by the film company Lionsgate and developed as an episode for the NBC television series Fear Itself (above). The zombie tale, which appeared in Paul’s 2007 book The Lazarus Condition from Tasmaniac Publications, has been adapted for the screen by the creator of 30 Days of Night and Criminal Macabre Steve Niles (below) under the title ‘New Year’s Day’.    The episode recently went before the cameras under the capable direction of Darren Bousman (below, right), director of SAW II-IV, with special make-up effects from Oscar-winners KNB (Chronicles of Narnia). The anthology series was created by Mick ‘Masters of Horror’ Garris (below)… …and high profile directors working on the show include John Landis (American Werewolf in London), Stuart Gordon (Re-animator) and Ronny Yu (Freddy vs. Jason) – below from left to right. While stars appearing in the series include erstwhile Superman Brandon Routh, Shiri Appleby ( Roswell) and Eric Roberts (Heroes) – again, below from left to right. Audiences at Fangoria’s recent ‘Weekend of Horrors’ were given a sneak preview of the series and you can watch that trailer here. You can also find out more information about the show on the NBC site here, here and here. In addition you can visit its IMDB page by clicking here. Finally, there is an interview with one of the show’s producers, Keith Addis, in the latest issue of Shivers (below). Fear Itself is due to begin airing on Thursday 5th June and continue for 13 weeks in the E.R. timeslot during its summer hiatus. We’ll be bringing you more news as and when on both the series and ‘New Year’s Day’, but in the meantime if you want to read the original story then copies of The Lazarus Condition can still be purchased from Horror Mall here, Jeff ‘n’ Joys in the UK here and, of course, the publishers here. ----------------------------------- If you fancy reading some brand new fiction by Paul, though, we’d recommend you pick up the just-published anthology Read By Dawn which features Paul’s subtle yet very disturbing supernatural story ‘Windchimes’. To buy this from Amazon simply click here. ------------------------------ Now, time to give this month’s Guest Writer a very warm welcome. It’s the one and only Jeff Mariotte, who fans of the 30 Days… series will recognise as the co-author of Rumours of the Undead, Immortal Remains and Eternal Damnation (above) with Steve Niles, as well as books in the Conan, Charmed, Buffy, Angel, Star Trek, CSI and Supernatural universes. He is the creator of the award-winning and hugely successful Witch Season series of books, and author of the original novel Missing White Girl (below). Click here for an exclusive extract from the follow up to that book, River Runs Red. ------------------------------ Paul’s just turned in a timeline of The Incredible Hulk to TV Film Memorabilia magazine, which will appear in the next issue alongside the first part of his Python two-parter (see last month). In this he traces the origins of everyone’s favourite less than jolly green giant, from his first appearance in his own Marvel comic (above) to the brand new movie coming out over the summer starring Edward Norton (below). But if you can’t wait that long, Paul’s feature on Indiana Jones – timed to coincide with his new movie – can be found in the current issue of TVFM (below). ------------------------------ Paul had the great pleasure of interviewing screenwriter and director Eric Red (above) last month. A true legend of the genre, Eric first rose to fame in the 80s as writer of The Hitcher (below), starring Rutger Hauer, and the vampire classic Near Dark. Eric has written and directed movies such as Cohen and Tate, Body Parts (below) and Bad Moon. And his latest movie as writer/director is 100 Feet, a ghost story starring X-Men’s Famke Janssen (below). You can watch the trailer for that here. More details about where and when this cracking interview will appear in a future news section. ------------------------------- Lastly, Paul has just sold his collection Peripheral Visions to Creative Guy Publishing. It includes all his best published fiction from the last seven years or so, such as ‘Strobe’, ‘Guilty Pleasures’, ‘Remote’, ‘Suit of Lies’, ‘The Opportunity’ and ‘Dig This’, as well as brand new stories like the novelette ‘Reunion’ and ‘Yin and Yang’. More details to follow, but the collection will be out in October, has a cover by award-winning artist Les Edwards, and will soon be available on the CGP site for pre-publication ordering. Click here to visit the CGP page where it was announced. Paul will be at the British Fantasy Society Open Night on 6th June from 6pm at Ye Olde Cock Tavern, Fleet Street, so hopefully he might see a few of you there for a drink and a chat. But be sure to keep checking back here for more exciting SW news. ------------------------------- May We’re delighted to be able to show you the stunning cover of Paul’s forthcoming mass market novel for Abaddon: Arrowhead (above and below). As reported last month the artist is 2000 AD’s Mark Harrison and we’re sure you’ll agree he’s done a wonderful job of bringing this reworking of the Hood myth to life, set against a future Nottingham in flames. News of the book has appeared now on the Abaddon site here, and this is from the advance preview blurb: ‘In a post-apocalyptic future, a legend is reborn! In the years following The Cull England has reverted back to the middle ages, ripe for invasion by the Frenchman De Falaise and his group of mercenaries. They enter through the Channel Tunnel and work their way up the country, expanding their army as they go. ‘Ex-policeman Robert Stokes lost everything to the virus that ravaged these isles, a virus which killed anyone who didn’t have O-Negative blood. Along with his wife and his son, it took Robert’s whole reason for living. Retreating into the woods and forests near Nottingham, he has become a hunter, living off the land and avoiding any form of human contact…until now. Pockets of survivors are now attempting to build up small communities in the region, bartering at makeshift markets and forming tentative connections. But when De Falaise arrives at Nottingham – proclaiming himself the new ‘Sheriff’ and using the castle as his base from which to raid these communities – Robert finds himself drawn reluctantly into the fight, using the famous legend of a Hooded Man as his guide.’ The novel, part of the Afterblight series (above), will be out in September in the UK and will receive its launch at FantasyCon 2008, appropriately enough at Nottingham. The US release will be in November. Images © Rebellion and Mark Harrison 2008 -------------------------------- In April Paul was given the opportunity to talk to rocker, writer and director Rob Zombie (above) about his life, his work and the recent remake of Halloween starring Malcolm McDowell (below). Part of this interview is now online at the Pantechnicon website here and you can read a review Paul has done of the movie by clicking here. With a big thank you to Martin Blythe in the US, Lauren at Shine, plus of course Rob for his time. ------------------------------- To celebrate the phenomenal Heroes being back on our screens in the UK, Paul’s interview with James Kyson Lee (who plays Ando – below) is now also up at Pantechnicon and will be linked in from the interview section of the SW site. To go straight to it, though, just click here. --------------------------------- The Shadow Writer site is absolutely thrilled to welcome bestselling author John Connolly (above) as Guest Writer for the month of May. John is the author of the Charlie Parker series of novels, which began with Every Dead Thing, as well as the supernatural collection Nocturnes, and the superb Book of Lost Things. We’re proud to present the prologue of his new Parker novel, The Reapers (below) here to whet your appetites and send you racing out to buy it. Enjoy. With thanks to John, and also Kerry at Hodder. -------------------------------- As announced by the publisher’s blog here Paul is contributing to a very special anthology based around the God Machine album Scenes from the Second Storey (above). Due to be published by Morrigan Books in 2009, this will be available in two versions: one featuring an all Australian line-up and one consisting of international authors. Keep checking back for more news as and when. ----------------------------- Paul’s just been commissioned to write a two part article about the history of Monty Python, taking in the TV show and the films, and ending with the hugely successful stage version of Holy Grail (below), Spamalot. You’ll be able to read the pieces in forthcoming editions of TV Film Memorabilia soon. In the meantime you can still read Paul and Marie’s article on former Python Terry Gilliam’s Tideland – featuring interviews with the director and cast – on the SW site here. ------------------------------ Below you will find just a few images from Derby’s Alt.Fiction event (see last month for details), which was a raging success. Until next time… Organiser Alex Davis introducing the event. The horror panel including Sarah Pinborough (left), Mark Morris, Simon Clark and Tim Lebbon (right). Graham Joyce (left) and Michael Marshall Smith (right) on the scripting panel. Author of Debatable Space, Philip Palmer. Felix Castor author, Mike Carey, reading from his forthcoming novel. --------------------------------- April Extra You can read a brand new interview conducted with Paul for the New Voices in Horror Magazine, online here right now. The interview is running alongside ones with the likes of writers Teri Jacobs and Jeff Mariotte (co-author of 30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead, above) and FX man Mike McCarty, who worked on Grindhouse and The Mist (below). NVH have also reprinted one of Paul’s best loved shorts, ‘The Bones Brothers’, to go with the interview. ----------------------------- April We begin with more news about Paul’s novel Arrowhead this month. He’s just discovered that the cover artist will be Mark Harrison from the 2000 AD stables. Mark has worked on projects featuring Judge Dredd (above), Strontium Dog spin-off Durham Red (below), Rogue Trooper, plus Star Wars and Terminator, as well as being responsible for the other Afterblight covers. To See more of his stunning artwork just click here. Keep checking back for more news on Arrowhead in coming months, including details about the launch, but for those of you who would like a sneak preview, the first chapter will be available to read in the back of Jaspre Bark’s excellent Dawn Over Doomsday (below) All images © Rebellion 2008 ------------------------------------ Last month Paul got to take a tour of post production on The Book of Blood (see previous news sections for details) in London at Black Island Studios, and see some of the ‘Highway of the Dead’ sequences being filmed and put together. Paul was also delighted to be able to catch up with Clive Barker (above) again on the set to talk about the movie’s progress (you’ll be able to read his thoughts, along with those of the director John Harrison in an upcoming piece for Rue Morgue Paul has delivered). As if all that wasn’t enough, Clive very kindly drew in Paul’s personal copy of The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy – appropriately a picture of Pinhead! (With a big thank you to Clive, Joe Daley, Julia Jones and Charlotte Walls) ----------------------------------- Paul is very excited to welcome his Guest Writer for April, Douglas Preston, with an extract from his new novel Blasphemy. As well as being a talented author in his own right (with books such as The Codex and Tyrannosaur Canyon), Douglas is responsible, along with co-writer Lincoln Child, for the Pendergast series of novels, beginning with Relic – which was turned into a movie starring Penelope Ann Miller and Tom Sizemore (below). To read Chapter Two of Blasphemy in its entirety, just click here. (With a huge thank you to Douglas Preston and Melissa Frain at Tor). ------------------------------------------ Now for another non-fiction round up. You can find interviews Paul conducted with Doug ‘Pinhead’ Bradley and director Russell Cherrington about their new film To The Devil His Due in the latest issue of The Dark Side # 132 (above). And in the April edition of TV Film Memorabilia (above) you’ll see not one, but two contributions by Paul. The first is a mammoth feature on The Terminator (also above) in the wake of the new series currently airing on Virgin, The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Included is all the background on the franchise and, of course, all the memorabilia. In addition, you can read Paul’s exclusive interview with Hellboy actor Ron Perlman, in which he gives us a sneak preview of the second HB movie coming out later this year: The Golden Army. Be sure to look out for an article Paul has just done on Indiana Jones for TVFM which is coming soon. It traces the origins of the series and includes the new movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (above). Finally, there’s a distinct Dr Who flavour to the reviews Paul contributed to Pantechnicon recently. As well as reviewing the audio versions of Wetworld by Mark Michalowski, Sick Building by Paul Magrsand Forever Autumn by Mark Morris, he also reviewed an adventure from William Hartnell’s era, The Time Meddler (above). Catch these and more by visiting the site here. -------------------------------- And the last piece of news before we leave you, Paul will be attending Alt.Fiction again – for the third year running – at the Assembly Rooms in Derby on 26th April. Guests this time include Michael Marshall Smith, Brian Lumley, Mike Carey, Simon Spurrier, Stephen Gallagher, Eric Brown, Sarah Ash, Conrad Williams, Sarah Pinborough and many more. You can book tickets from the Assembly Rooms Box Office on 01332 255800 for £20/£16 concessions, or contact Alex Davis on alex.davis@derby.gov.uk. Hopefully Paul will see some of you there. ----------------------------------- March A couple of interview news pieces to begin this month’s roundup. Firstly, Paul was thrilled at finally getting to talk to Robert Englund (above), one of his horror heroes. In the lengthy chat, the star – who, of course, is famous for making the role of Freddy Krueger (below) his own – revealed lots of little-known facts about making the Nightmare movies, as well as what it’s been like to be on the other side of the camera as director. More to come about where and when you can read this, very soon. ------------------------- But you can read the second interview of the month right now at Dreamwatch Presents Total Sci-Fi here. In this one Paul talks to another horror legend, George A. Romero (above) about his career and about what it’s been like working with zombies all these years – culminating with the release of his new movie Diary of the Dead (below) in March in the UK. The piece has also been added to the permanent interview section which you can find here. ----------------------------- Our Guest Writer on the site this month is the extremely talented and multiple award-winning US writer Gary A. Braunbeck, creator of the ‘Cedar Hill’ stories (above) and novels and author of books such as The Indifference of Heaven, Silent Graves, Keepers, plus the chilling Mr Hands (below). To read an extract from the forthcoming Cedar Hill novel entitled Coffin County, simply click here. ---------------------------- In the latest issue of Writers’ Forum (above) you can find a piece that Paul edited based on his own interview with bestselling author Simon Clark. In this Masterclass Simon talks about how to make the perfect monster, whether it be human or supernatural-based. Pick up your copy today and get some tips! ------------------------- Image © BBC A whole bunch of new reviews by Paul have been added to the Pantechnicon site here. These include: audio books based on the increasingly popular Torchwood, Everyone Says Hello by Dan Abnett (above) and Hidden by Steven Savile; John Barrowman’s audio autobiography Anything Goes; the Dr Who audio books …Space War and …The Brain of Morbius; Masters of Horror Season Two Vol. 2 box set; the new horror movie DVD Dead Mary; the excellent audio dramatisation of Robert Rankin’s Brightonomicon produced by Neil Gardner and starring David Warner; and Robert Rodriquez’s zombie Grindhouse movie Planet Terror (below). Image © 2007 The Weinstein Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ------------------------ Both the Kanography and Non-Fiction sections of the site have now been updated with new information about Paul’s work, quotes, pictures and links to buy books. You can access these by clicking on the buttons to your left or by clicking here and here. ------------------------------- Paul had a lovely birthday – thanks to everyone for the good wishes – and this was capped off by a great time at the Basil Copper book launch (see last month for details). We’ll leave you this month with a few pictures from that special night… Ye Olde Cock Tavern filling up nicely on the Saturday night… PS Publisher Peter Crowther (right) and Michael Marshall Smith (left) From left, editor and compiler of the fabulous book, Stephen Jones, Basil’s wife Annie and Basil himself. Author, critic and broadcaster Kim Newman. The lengthy signing queue, with artist Les Edwards (top right) on hand. Pinhead himself, Doug Bradley. Copies of Basil Copper, A Life in Books can be bought from PS here. -------------------------- February The first bit of news for Paul’s birthday month is a big one. As announced by the company itself and subsequently by UKSF Booknews here, we can now tell you that Paul has been working hard on a novel for Abaddon’s Afterblight series of books. Arrowhead will be out in mass market paperback in October in the UK and around Christmas time in the US. We can’t go into too much detail about the plot yet, but the story revolves around the legend of Robin Hood (immortalised below) set against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic future – and parts of the novel take place in and around Nottingham Castle. More news over the coming months, so keep checking in at the SW site and at the Abaddon website here. --------------------------- And there’s an element of Robin Hood to our next piece of news, too. Paul and Marie were invited to do a set report up in Edinburgh in January, where filming is taking place on the new adaptation of Clive Barker’s Book of Blood. Scripted and directed by John Harrison (who ably handled the Sci-Fi Channel’s Dune miniseries), it stars Sophie Ward as Mary Florescu, Doug ‘Pinhead’ Bradley as Tollington and Jonas Armstrong (below playing the BBC’s Hood) as Simon McNeal. You can find out more about the movie and read a production diary by producer Joe Daley on the official Barker website here. ----------------------------- Continuing with the superb line-up we have of Guest Writers for 2008, Paul is proud to present a never before seen in English short story by Peter Straub. As fans of the genre will be well aware, Peter co-wrote both The Talisman (above) and Black House with Stephen King, and is also the bestselling author of novels such as Mr X, Lost Boy Lost Girl and Ghost Story (below). So, to go straight to ‘Variations on a Theme from Seinfeld’ simply click here. ---------------------------- Paul had the great pleasure of interviewing Ron Perlman recently for TV & Film Memorabilia magazine. Ron is, of course, best known for his roles in TV’s Beauty and the Beast and in the first two Hellboy movies (below). In the interview he reveals how he got into acting and tells readers exclusively about Hellboy2: The Golden Army which is due out over the summer. Details of which issue this will be in, coming soon. ------------------------------ Also for the same magazine, Paul has just turned in a retrospective of The Terminator franchise. In this he looks at the history of the movies from the original James Cameron film (above) through to T2 (below) and then Rise of the Machines, before reporting on the future with the new Sarah Connor Chronicles and Terminator Salvation, the upcoming movie starring Christian Bale. In addition Paul takes time out to look at the host of merchandise associated with the films. More details as and when. ---------------------------- Now for some more non-fiction news. In the latest issue of Dark Side magazine, #131 (above) you’ll find Paul and Marie’s fascinating interview with the director of Fear Dot Com, Titan Find, the ‘Fair Haired Child’ episode of Masters of Horror and House on Haunted Hill (below), William Malone.    In this, William talks about his previous films as well as his new venture, called Parasomnia (above). In the latest edition of Writers’ Forum magazine (above) you can also read an interview Paul conducted with Clive Barker about his writing, background, inspirations and work. In Death Ray Issue 9 (above, with the Dr Who cover) you can find a review that Paul did of Simon Clark’s new book from Severn House, Lucifer’s Ark . And finally for Pantechnicon Paul has written a number of reviews, including the new 20th Anniversary edition of Hellraiser (above), the Battlestar Galactica box set, Wrong Turn 2, To The Devil His Due, the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer graphic novel, Blade Runner box set and Day Watch:Director’s Cut (below). Find them, and more, by clicking here. ------------------------------ As well as all this, you will soon be able to find an interview with New York Times bestselling author Tim Lebbon in the March/April edition of Shroud magazine (above). But if you can’t wait that long, there’s another brand new interview now up on the SW site which you can access just by clicking here. Paul is also delighted to announce that the artwork Les Edwards contributed to the recent Stephen Jones British Fantasy Society publication H.P. Lovecraft in Britain has been nominated for a BSFA Award. The winner will be revealed on Saturday 22nd March 2008 at Orbital, the British National Science Fiction Convention, which is being held at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel near Heathrow, London. As reported last month, the book can be bought directly from the BFS here. You can now read an interview with Les, where he talks about his other award-winning book cover and poster art for the likes of Son of Celluloid and Nightbreed (above) on the SW site in the interview section here. -------------------------------- Paul was excited to find out last month that his ghost story ‘Windchimes’ will be in the final line-up of the third Read By Dawn anthology (see above for the original). The anthology will be put together by Adele Hartley – curator of Bloody Books and Festival director of Dead By Dawn, Scotland’s International Horror Film Festival (below – click on the picture for the link). The book is due to be published in May, so more details nearer the time. ----------------------------- Paul has just been told of a new review of his Hellraiser book, this time from Kitley’s Krypt back in December. They had this to say: ‘Author Kane has definitely done his homework here, digging up a lot of material about the series. He starts off with the original creator Clive Barker, his start up, and how it led to the creation of Hellraiser. He also goes into some detail about symbolisms in the films and different themes, but doesn’t go way overboard, making them more Pyscho-Babble than they are. He discusses certain changes in the films through their development… ‘For example, on Hellraiser: Bloodline, Kane talks about some of the stories and outlines from the original scripts that had been written. This gives us a great idea of what some of the original concepts were, before the studios got a hold of them. There’s plenty of interviews and quotes from people involved throughout the movies. These are not only new quotes, but taken from interviews at the time the films were being made. Gives a nice perspective from then and now…Die-hard Hellraiser fans, you will enjoy this book!’ --------------------------------- As we mentioned at the beginning of this news update, February is Paul’s birthday month and we’re sure that you’ll all join us in saying many happy returns! Later on the month Paul will be at the BFS Open Night and Basil Copper Book launch at Ye Old Cock Tavern in Fleet Street on 23rd February from 6.00pm onwards, where Stephen Jones will be unveiling his new PS publication about the classic writer (above), along with artists Randy Broecker and Les Edwards, and designer Michael Marshall Smith. Perhaps he’ll see some of you there for a drink and chat… Till next month, have a good one. ------------------------------------- January Extra The Shadow Writer site has been asked to bring to your attention a cracking new competition marking the release of the new horror movie Hatchet on DVD! For a chance to win a Nintendo Wii just head on over to the site and play the ‘Cabin Fever’ game by clicking here. And if you want to read Paul's review of Hatchet on the Pantechnicon website, just click here. ------------------------------- January Happy New Year and welcome back to the Shadow Writer site. We hit the ground running in 2008 with news of two appearances for Paul in major publications. To begin with The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy was mentioned in the Independent on Sunday’s The New Review magazine (above and below) on 16th December as part of their Christmas Books section. Christopher Fowler had this to say about the tome: ‘The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy by Paul Kane takes its subject seriously and works through a surprising number of thoughtful ideas, from horror’s fascination with all things medical to the recurring voyeuristic tropes in Clive Barker’s work. There’s no reason why a study of B-movies shouldn’t reveal as much as any volume on the great directors, and this is a definitely well-researched fan volume about a film series made for fans.’ The round-up also featured Cinema Macabre which contained Paul’s essay on Hellraiser. The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy is available to buy from Independent Books Direct now with 10% discount. Simply click here to go straight to it. ----------------------------- The second appearance was a detailed examination of Paul’s life and work for Reflections magazine. The three page interview was conducted by Jane Croft and appeared in January’s edition of the publication (above and below). ----------------------------- We have some exceptional Guest Writers coming up in 2008 and to kick off the year with a bang Paul is honoured to welcome Bram Stoker Award-winning author of books such as The Nightrunners (above), The Drive-In, Mucho Mojo and Bumper Crop, none other than hisownself Joe R. Lansdale! Joe is also, of course, author of the brilliant Bubba Ho-Tep which was turned into a movie by Don (Phantasm) Coscarelli, starring The Evil Dead’s Bruce Campbell. And it is this story that the Shadow Writer site is proud to bring to you – so to access it right away, just click here. ------------------------------- The Shadow Writer site is delighted to spread the word about the brand new hardback version of The Hellbound Heart (above) which has just come out from Earthling Publications. The story on which Hellraiser was based, this is the first occasion the novella has appeared in its own hardback release – and this time with intros from Ashley (Kirsty) Laurence and Peter (writer of Hellraisers II-IV) Atkins, plus a brand new painted cover by Clive. To pick one up, visit the website here. ------------------------------- Last month Paul was given the opportunity to interview the man credited with making horror comics big again: creator of the hugely popular 30 Days of Night series, Steve Niles. In the interview Paul chatted to Steve about his early Clive Barker adaptations like Son of Celluloid, his other graphic novels such as Criminal Macabre, Wake the Dead and Bigfoot (with Rob Zombie), and the movie adaptation of 30 Days (below). More news about where this will appear, soon. ------------------------------- News now of a reprint of one of Paul’s zombie stories. ‘Pay the Piper’ has appeared in the Altair Australia Books anthology entitled, appropriately enough, Zombies (above). Edited by Robert N. Stephenson and with sumptuous cover art from Conny Valentina, you can get hold of your copy by clicking here. -------------------------------- The interview section of the site has undergone a bit of a revamp. Now you can find interviews conducted with Paul over the years and read interviews he has done with others – such as Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Muriel Gray, Steve Harris, Neal Asher and more – by clicking on the interview button or just clicking here. ----------------------------------- In his capacity as Special Publications Editor of the British Fantasy Society, Paul is proud to announce their new release. Written by the award-winning Stephen Jones and with original cover artwork from award-winning artist Les Edwards, H.P. Lovecraft in Britain looks set to be the collectors’ item all Lovecraft fans will want, especially as it is limited to just 750 copies signed by both contributors. Free to members of the BFS, you can also buy this very special chapbook by clicking here. -------------------------------- Speaking of Stephen Jones, he and Mandy Slater (above) were in attendance at the BFS’s Open Night on December 7th December at Ye Olde Cock Tavern, London, along with Les and Val Edwards, Doug Bradley and Nicholas Vince (Pinhead and Chatterer from Hellraiser), Michael Marshall Smith, Christopher Fowler, Stephen Gallagher, Abaddon author Scott Andrews, Dr Who author Simon Guerrier, Simon Clark, Marie O’Regan and Cory Doctorow (below), Phil and Sarah Stokes from the Revelations site, filmmaker Frazer Lee, Paul McCauley and many others. A great festive time was had by all. Finally, as promised, here is the gallery of pictures from FantasyCon 2007. Click here to enjoy some memories of another excellent convention. -------------------------------------------------------------- 2003 news can be viewed here 2004 news can be viewed here 2005 news can be viewed here 2006 news can be viewed here 2007 news can be viewed here

© Paul Kane 2003-2008. All rights reserved. Materials (including images) may not be reproduced without express permission from the author.