Shadow Writer - The Official Paul Kane Website

Fans of Paul’s Arrowhead books (above) can get an extra dose of the series in the form of a free short story written exclusively for the Abaddon website as part of their ‘A Very Abaddon Christmas’ campaign (below). Entitled ‘Perfect Presents’ this takes place the winter after Broken Arrow (in case you haven’t read that one yet). To check it out, just click here.

There have been a couple more guest confirmations at the SFX Weekender, which Paul is appearing at in February – also as a one of the guests (see previous news section for more details). First up, we have co-creator of Watchmen (above) and acclaimed comics artist Dave Gibbons. Also attending is the creator of the BBC’s smash hit horror drama-comedy Being Human (below), Toby Whithouse.

That’s it for 2009. Join us again after the holidays for more Shadow Writer news. Merry Christmas to all our visitors!

As reported on the SFX site here, and in the latest issue of the magazine (above, with the Avatar cover), Paul is to be a Guest at the SFX Weekender at Camber Sands from 5th – 6th February, 2010. Other author guests include China Miéville, Mark Millar, Paul Cornell, Richard Morgan, Robert Rankin, Joe Abercrombie, Mark C. Newton, Peter F. Hamilton and Abaddon’s Jon Oliver, while publishers like Rebellion, Gollancz, Tor and the Manga label will also be in attendance.

Media guests include Captain Jack himself, John Barrowman (above, left), and his fellow Torchwood star Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto), Tom Baker (above, right), Liz Sladen (Sarah Jane from TheSarah Jane Adventures) and James Marsters (Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer – below).

December’s Guest Writer is also an author Guest at the Weekender, none other than bestseller Dan Abnett. Dan has worked in the Warhammer and Warhammer 40k universes (his Horus Rising novel was massively popular), produced original Torchwood, Primeval and Dr Who novels, as well as working for major comics markets Marvel, DC and 2000 AD (‘Sinister Dexter’, ‘The Wild’, ‘Durham Red’). He has been nominated and shortlisted for several awards and won Best Writer Now at the 2003 National Comics Awards.

But it is from his first Angry Robot (HarperCollins) novel, Triumff, Her Majesty’s Hero, that we proudly present an extract here. To visit Dan’s site click here and for the Angry Robot site click here.

Time for a reviews round-up now, and Paul’s novella RED, published by Skullvines Press, has received a glowing write-up in the latest Cemetery Dance magazine (the William Peter Blatty special, above). Reviewer Michael McCarty had this to say: ‘ Kane is well respected in the United Kingdom with his short story collections such as Alone (In the Dark), FunnyBones (one of my personal favourites) or his novellas Signs of Life, The Lazarus Condition and his novel The Afterblight Chronicles: Arrowhead – getting praise from such giants of the genre as Clive Barker, Simon Clark, Jeff Mariotte and Graham Masterton... RED is a tale about Rachael Daniels, a caseworker travelling through the modern jungle – a crime-ridden, gang-banging city – to help an elderly lady. RED not only tips its hat to “Little Red Riding Hood,” but “Peter And The Wolf,” and “Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?” and every werewolf type motif in between... This time around Kane puts a twisted horror spin to it, with even a fair amount of social criticism thrown in for good measure; due to mature themes, you’ll want to keep the kids away from this one... Kane does an incredible job of combing horror and humour into one tasty morsel.’

Paul was also delighted to be told that RED was amongst those stories chosen to receive Honourable Mentions in Ellen Datlow’s The Best Horror of the Year Volume One (above).

There have also been a couple of excellent reviews of Paul’s second post-apocalyptic Robin Hood book, Broken Arrow. Jim Dodge Jr, reviewing for Mass Movement, commented: ‘In this sequel to Arrowhead, Paul Kane picks up the tale of Robert Stokes, a post-apocalyptic Robin Hood, and his band of (merry men) survivors. We pick up the thread of the tale at a time when Robert, Mary, Jack, Mark and the others have built a larger following and taken to policing more than just their own territory... I strongly recommend you pick up the book and enjoy the ride! Paul Kane is a superb writer and his characters come to life with often tragic clarity. Good guys die, bad guys live and sometimes good guys live and bad guys die, usually in equal amounts. Even after only two books I’ve come to really love Robert Stokes and all of his new friends. They’re good people trying to live well in a bad world. When they bleed, I bleed. I only wish that more authors would write books this wonderful.’ You can read the full review here.

While over at Falcata Times here, they had this to offer: ‘When I originally heard of a second novel in this series by Paul Kane, I knew that I just had to get my hands on it pretty quickly as his original offering really was a title that I loved. After all, the beautifully creative way in which he’d managed to weave folklore and British History together in an apocalyptic setting really created something that enchanted readers. The real problem however was how would he better it or could he even live up to the original creation with the second offering, or would it just collapse around the authors ears as he’d pretty much done everything he could with the original? I shouldn’t have worried to be honest as this tale didn’t only build upon the original but exceeded my expectations as the author brought more twists to the tale alongside emotional conflict that really did keep the characters fresh. Add to the mix some new villains alongside some old fiends and it’s a tale that will keep you glued to the last page and crying in anguish for a third instalment.’

There are also some more great reviews for Hellbound Hearts on the web, which you can read here, here and here.

Plus, the aforementioned Michael McCarty gives a review mention to Paul’s FunnyBones in his lengthy book Esoteria-Land (above) where he called the collection: ‘A tasty buffet of weirdness and buffoonery, comedy and chills – I loved every page of it.’

And, finally, Paul’s forthcoming short novel Of Darkness and Light, has received its first review from Horror Drive-In who said, ‘Earlier this year, I stumbled across Paul Kane via his Peripheral Visions collection. To say I was blown away is an understatement. It’s been a long time since I’ve read stories so original, creative, and entertaining. So it was with high expectations that I jumped into Kane’s forthcoming short novel, entitled Of Darkness and Light... As showcased in his short story “Yin and Yang”, and now in Of Darkness and Light, Kane excels at making readers question their belief systems and contemplate the opposing forces of our world. Good versus Evil is rarely this thought-provoking and enjoyable. Kane also effectively uses a moody atmosphere to bring his world to life, and allows readers to get to know his characters inside and out – the fears they face, the poverty they live in, the friendships they share, and the hope they cling to.’

An interview with Paul will appear soon in the book Horror Prodigies and Legends, compiled by David Byron (see above for a sneak peek at the cover). Other interviewees include: David Moody, Joe R. Lansdale, Scott Nicholson, Anne Rice, Tamara Thorne, Teri A. Jacobs and Amy Grech. More details on this and other projects – including a DVD Interview compilation – very soon.

Uploaded this month is a mammoth photo gallery from World Fantasy 2009, held in San José, which includes photos like the one above (from left to right, Stephen Jones, Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane) showing the Hellbound Hearts launch party and signing. To browse through these, click here.

As reported on the Abaddon blog in a recent profile of Paul here, the next event he’ll be attending is the British Fantasy Society Open Night on 4th December where there will be the UK launch of Hellbound Hearts.

Paul’s latest reviews for Mass Movement include Clive Barker’s Book of Blood (above) and the Wire in the Blood box set (below). To go to the site, click here.

Finally, Paul was very shocked and saddened to hear of the death of bestselling Mythago Wood author Robert Holdstock (pictured here, right, with Paul at FantasyCon 2004). He was a terrific guy and an extremely talented author who will be missed within the genre and beyond. Our thoughts go out to his family at this sad time.

We begin our Halloween Extra with news that Hellbound Hearts has received a rave four star review in the latest issue of SFX (above, with the Dr. Who cover). To visit the magazine site, click here.

Reviewer Calum Waddell had this to say about the book: ‘With an introduction from Clive Barker himself, this anthology of short stories inspired by Pinhead and his merry band of Cenobites has obviously won respect where it matters most. Even more impressive, however, are the number of heavy-hitters involved in this project, each of whom gives their own well-informed spin on all things Hellraiser. From The Stand director Mick Garris (whose “Hellbound Hollywood” brings fear to a film set, and even references Candyman) to 30 Days Of Night’s Steve Niles (who documents some graphic flesh filleting in “A Little Piece Of Hell”), this is far from a quickly bashed-out horror hack-job. Another highlight is Barbie Wilde’s “Sister Cilice”, which offers a uniquely female spin on the mythology. Other members of the fair sex (including Buffy novelist Yvonne Navarro and Otherworld author Kelly Armstrong) also take a bash but Wilde, who played the Female Cenobite in the movies, tells the most insightful tale. Then there’s “The Cold” by Conrad Williams, best known in cult circles. Williams manages the impressive task of bringing Barker’s supernatural sadomasochism into a more grounded, “real world” scenario and it proves to be one of the most compelling and well-realised shorts on offer here... For any Barker buff Hellbound Hearts should provide more pleasure than pain.’

The anthology has also been reviewed over at HorrorNews.net here where ‘Bonedigger’ comments: ‘Hellbound Hearts is collection of Hellraiser influenced stories that’s dear to my heart. Being a fan of Barker and all things Hellraiser, I must say it’s great to see that the legacy or mythos is being carried forth... I come out of this book feeling as if the writers dug deep to pull out these stories of damnation and suffering. There is a black abyss that lies deep in the hearts and minds. Hellbound Hearts is a doorway into that notion. Hellbound Hearts will sit proudly next to all things Cenobitovian and Barker, whether directly inspired or indirectly awakened it stands on its own as a collection to have.’

You can listen to a radio interview with contributor Barbie Wilde by visiting the Metal Crypt here, in which she talks all things Hellbound Hearts and Hellraiser, as well as about her career and other writing projects.

And, finally, Hellbound Hearts is # 2 in Shock Till You Drop’s Top Ten list of Halloween treats, chosen by Managing Editor Ryan Rotten here.

Hellbound Hearts will be officially launched in the US at the World Fantasy Convention in San Jose this Halloween. Paul and Marie will be hosting a launch party for members of the convention on Saturday October 31 st, 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm, 20 th Floor, Suite 2014/2015. Available to sign copies at the party will be: Stephen Jones, Sarah Pinborough, Chaz Brenchley, Jeffrey J. Mariotte and Simon Clark.

The party is being co-sponsored by World Horror Convention, Brighton, England.
(http://www.whc2010.org)

We’re thrilled and delighted to welcome November’s Guest Writer a little early, just in time for Halloween! Screenwriter and novelist Alexandra Sokoloff, author of The Price (above) and The Unseen has given us an exclusive extract from her first chilling novel, The Harrowing (below), which is now out in the UK from Little Brown. The book was nominated for both a Bram Stoker and Anthony award, so turn the lights down low and read this at midnight by clicking here.

Word is spreading pretty fast about Of Darkness and Light (see October’s news section for more details). As well as being mentioned on award-winning artist Vincent Chong’s site here - Vinny of course provided the stunning cover art (above) - it has also been announced on the Zone Horror website here and on the Famous Monsters of Filmland site here.

The book is now available to pre-order (limited edition hardback $49, signed paperback $16.95), so to reserve your copy visit the Thunderstorm site here.

Last, but not least, the latest DVD reviews Paul has done for Mass Movement are up and include the zombie comedy Wasting Away (above), Crooked House, Heathen, Colin and Surviving Evil (below) to read these just click here.

The first piece of news this month is about a new short novel from Paul called Of Darkness and Light. Introduced by bestselling and award-winning author Mike Carey (Felix Castor novels, X-Men, Lucifer), it also boasts some gorgeous cover art from the award-winning Vincent Chong (above). This from the official press release:

‘Fear of the dark. It’s one of the most common phobias, especially when we’re growing up. For teenager Lee Masterton, his deepest childhood fears are about to become a reality – because not only will he discover that the things living in the darkness are real, he will also find himself in the middle of a war between them and the forces of light. Set against the normal, everyday backdrop of a council estate, the future of humanity will be decided by the outcome of these events. As Lee’s family and his friends are threatened, he must face up to and conquer his terrors. Because Lee has a very special destiny, and his fate and that of the world’s is soon to be dangerously linked... From the imagination of award-winning author Paul Kane (Touching the Flame, TheLazarus Condition, The Hellraiser Films And Their Legacy, Arrowhead, RED) comes a short novel that will make you re-evaluate both the darkness and the light. And everything in-between. Unique in its perspective, by the time you have read this powerful tale you will no longer be the same.

The book is to be published in hardback and paperback by Thunderstorm and you can pre-order through the site from early October by visiting here.

Paul has just about recovered from the madness that was FantasyCon 2009 (above), where incidentally Vincent won yet another BFS Award for Best Artist. Highlights this year included Stephen Jones’ interview with Brian Clemens (creator of The Avengers), the Best New Horror and The Mammoth Book of Wolfmen book launch and signing, and the launch of Paul’s new mass market novel Broken Arrow, alongside Gary McMahon’s Hungry Hearts –also by Abaddon publishers. You can see photos from all of these below.

Hellbound Hearts was officially released last month, on the 29th September, and to mark the fact Paul and Marie wrote an exclusive introduction to the book for Clive’s site Revelations which you can find here.

The book has also been gaining some more glowing reviews, firstly from Fatally Yours who said: ‘ It is truly amazing how Clive Barker’s work could go on to inspire so many different terrifying tales. Each and every one is worth reading and it was painful to try and pick out just a few to talk about when all of the stories are so stellar. Each of the authors captures the aesthetic and themes of the Hellraiser mythos, all the while tweaking it just enough to make it their own. What truly makes this anthology so exciting is how many different directions authors can go with Barker’s legacy. From Native American lore to the future of science behind “Shadow DNA”, there is really no limit to how writers can reinterpret and retell the Hellraiser mythos... Horror fans that relish shocking literature as well as Clive Barker and Hellraiser fans are sure to enjoy Hellbound Hearts. Don’t torture yourself, get your copy today!’

While Jason Rolfe writing for HorrorBound had this to say, ‘The stories collected in Hellbound Hearts remain true to the nightmarish mythology that inspired them. They are subtle and suggestive, violently unrestrained, and penned by writers perfectly suited to the task. Kane and O’Regan have done a wonderful job. Hellbound Hearts will delight and disturb the fans of Hellraiser, and those who first discovered The Hellbound Heart in George R. R. Martin’s Night Visions 3. Hellbound Hearts is highly recommended.’

The anthology is currently available at the Simon and Schuster site here as well as Amazon UK here, Amazon US here and all other good book stockists.

Finally, Paul and Marie are launching the title in the US at the World Fantasy Convention in San Jose later this month – appropriately on Halloween. More details about that and the UK launch and signings very soon.

Paul is very excited to welcome our Guest Writer for October now, international bestselling author Tad Williams. Tad is of course responsible for the Shadow March trilogy (including Shadowplay, above) and the Otherland series (below), but also novels such as Siege, Storm, Mirrorworld and War of the Flowers. To read his brilliant story ‘Go Ask Elric’, an homage to Michael Moorcock, just click here. And be sure to keep checking back for another very special Guest Writer who will take us into Halloween in style with an extract from her newly released UK novel.

Finally, last month Paul and Marie took another trip to Pinewood studios where they met up again with effects maestro Bob Keen for a project they’re working on. Bob has worked on everything from the Star Wars series and Highlander, to Hardware and Dog Soldiers (one of the werewolves from that movie can be seen below).

Just ahead of its launch at FantasyCon, you can read an exclusive prequel short story to Broken Arrow called ‘Servitor’ in news-stand magazine DeathRay (Issue 21 Oct/Nov 2009, above) out now. There’s also an interview with Paul at the end, and his fiction features alongside the mighty Charles Stross (author of Glasshouse, below, On Her Majesty’s Occult Service and The Revolution Business).

News has been spreading fast across the net and elsewhere about Hellbound Hearts, so here’s the current round-up of where it’s appeared. New reports have cropped up on The Hellbound Web here, Dread Central here, IMDB here, Fearnet here, Zone Horror here, Pretty Scary here, Fatally Yours here, Shock Till You Drop here and on Clive Barker’s official Revelations site here. In addition you can read interviews with Paul and Marie over at the Fangoria site here, The Hellbound Web here, and Fantastic Horror here.

The first review of the anthology has also appeared on the All Things Horror site here in which Johnny Mains says, ‘Kudos MUST go to Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan who have pulled out of the bag a magnificent clutch of tales and have managed to coax from the authors many rich, dark and some truly frightening stories that have added a new and complex light to an already vastly complex universe. It’s a great read and I hope that Pocket Books, the publishers, commission a second volume soon. 9.5/10.’

Plus contributor Barbie Wilde, who plays Female Cenobite in Hellbound: Hellraiser II, has put together a brilliant trailer for the book and her story ‘Sister Cilice’ (below).

The anthology is currently available on pre-order at the Simon and Schuster site here as well as Amazon UK here, Amazon US here, and all other good book stockists.

Speaking of Barbie, she has just provided a glowing review herself of Paul’s novella RED. In it she comments: ‘Sex and violence run like scarlet, subterranean rivers beneath the surface of many iconic fairy tales and Little Red Riding Hood is no exception. A young girl loses her way in a dark forest and meets a Woodsman and then a Wolf. They both ask her questions and give her advice, but who is friend and who is foe? She arrives at Grandma’s house, only to find her beloved Nan in the belly of the beast, literally. What happens after Red Riding Hood’s unfortunate discovery of a Wolf in Grandma’s clothing is not definitive: in various versions of the fairy tale she either escapes unscathed; or she’s eaten by the Wolf; or she’s cut out of the Wolf’s stomach by the helpful Woodsman. But whatever the final dénouement, it’s always bloody, it’s always violent, and someone always ends up dead. And this is what people read to their kids as a bedtime story! No wonder human beings are so fascinated by horror. We’ve all been indoctrinated from a very early age.

In RED, Paul Kane’s very modern take on a centuries’ old tale, Red Riding Hood is Rachel Daniels, a pretty young woman with a big heart and a terrible taste in men, who undertakes a mission of mercy to take some medicine to an old lady who lives on a council estate in a bad part of town. She meets a few disaffected youths on the way, which is threatening enough, but something else is stalking her – a creature that is snuffling out the familiar scent of an adversary from the distant past and who is eager to taste the blood that was denied to it all those years ago.

From RED’s shocking first chapter through wicked twists and turns to the end, the story surprises, intrigues and beguiles you. Paul Kane’s taut, muscular, yet descriptive prose conjures up disturbing images in your mind that you won’t be able to dislodge for months. Kane’s writing is frighteningly realistic. Not only are you are there with Rachel for every moment of her ordeal, but you also inhabit the shape-shifting monster’s mind – privy to his motivations and his side of the story. RED is a beautifully visceral, dark tale and if any novella was ripe for a film adaptation, it’s this one.’

This coincides with the release of RED as a digital book exclusively over at Horror Mall here.

Just a quick reminder that this month sees the release of the Fear Itself boxed set in the States. The DVD set contains all the episodes of the show, including New Year’s Day, based on Paul’s short story ‘Dead Time’, adapted by Steve Niles and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (see the New Year’s Day page on the SW site here). NYD stars Briana Evigan, who can currently be seen in the new horror movie Sorority Row (above) alongside Rumer Willis (below) and Carrie Fisher.

The Shadow Writer site is honoured to welcome award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Ed Gorman as its Guest Writer for September. Ed is the author of countless novels including Rough Cut, Cage of Night, The Autumn Dead, Voodoo Moon (above), Fool’s Rush In and – writing with Dead R. Koontz – the second volume in the popular Frankenstein series: City of Night (below).

Ed’s novel The Poker Club has also just been turned into a movie (below). And we’re lucky enough to have not one contribution from him, but two: a double whammy! To read ‘Emma Baxter’s Boy’ click here, and to read ‘Long Sunset’ just click here.

News now from two friends of the Shadow Writer site. Director of On Edge and Red Lines, Frazer Lee has written with news that his Urbane collection of stories and scripts (above) has been re-released in an expanded edition. To get your hands on a copy click here. The book should also be available on Amazon.com shortly.

And BAFTA award-winning screenwriter and author Stephen Volk, who penned the shows Ghostwatch and Afterlife, starring Lesley Sharp and Andrew Lincoln (above), has a new website for you to explore at www.stephenvolk.net. So what are you waiting for? Head on over for more info.

Paul will be attending FantasyCon 2009 at the Britannia Hotel, Nottingham, 18th-20th September. The Guests of Honour this year are Jasper Fforde, Gail Z. Martin and Brian Clemens, with M.C. Ian Watson overseeing events. Paul’s new mass market novel Broken Arrow is due to be launched over the weekend and his short film The Opportunity forms part of the movie programme line-up. See previous news updates for more details about both, and you can visit the FCon site by clicking here.

Before we go, don’t forget there’s still time to enter our exciting SLAVE competition below to win free DVDs – details below!

An August extra bonus now to celebrate the bank holiday. The Shadow Writer site has three copies of the new twisted thriller SLAVE (released on August 24th) to give away on DVD. Find out how after reading the official blurb about the movie.

SLAVE is a twisted tale of how the most basic of actions can lead to the most brutal of consequences. Following his directing duties on short film Wish You Were Here, Darryn Welch gets behind the camera once more for this unrelenting thriller from writer Brett Goldstein. TV star Sam Page (CSI: Miami, Madmen) and Natassia Malthe (BloodRayne 2) star alongside Michael Maxwell & Howard Marks in this dark story based on true events.

SLAVE follows Americans Georgie and David as they arrive in Spain seeking the wedding blessing of David’s estranged and criminal father. They are soon invited to stay at his palatial Villa where they find themselves entering a world of wealth and danger beyond their wildest dreams. When David’s father is away on ‘business’ they head out for a night on the town where they meet seedy nightclub manager Marlon. He treats them as honored guests, laying on champagne and drugs, but after leaving Georgie alone for an instance David returns to find she has vanished without trace, or a single witness. Now David must wade through corrupt local officials, drug dealers and crazy locals to find her, but is he ready to discover the truth?

Now, to win, just answer this simple question: Where are David and Georgie travelling to for his father’s wedding? There, couldn’t be simpler could it? Answers to this email address please: competition@shadow-writer.co.uk, along with your postal address. The closing date will be the September 30th. Good luck!

We can finally announce a project that Paul has been working on as co-editor for some time. Hellbound Hearts is an anthology of stories inspired by The Hellbound Heart novella written by Clive Barker back in 1986, which was also the basis for the film Hellraiser. This from the official press release:

Clive Barker’s iconic masterpiece The Hellbound Heart, the novella adapted into the film Hellraiser, unleashed a new mythology of horror, brilliantly conceived and born of the darkest imagination. Now, enter this visionary world – the merciless realm of the demonic Cenobites – in Hellbound Hearts, a terrifying collection of stories inspired by The Hellbound Heart.

Featured here is the graphic work “Wordsworth,” from bestselling author Neil Gaiman and artist Dave McKean, who unlock an explicit way to violate innocence – one torturous puzzle at a time… New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong logs on to a disturbing website for gamers, where the challenge is agonizing, and the solution beyond painful. When his father disappears, an Oxford student returns to his family’s mansion, where a strange mechanism in the cellar holds a curious power, in a haunting illustrated work by Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola.

With a special foreword by Clive Barker, introduction by Stephen Jones and afterword by Doug “Pinhead” Bradley, Hellbound Hearts is a must have for any horror and dark fantasy fan.

Mechanisms by Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola (illustrated by Mike Mignola)

Special Bonus Material: Wordsworth Graphic short story Original Script by Neil Gaiman

As well as the above, the book also features brand new cover artwork from Clive, a Cenobite created especially for the anthology called ‘Vestimenti’.

The news about Hellbound Hearts was officially broken at Comic Con in San Diego 22nd – 25th July where Clive was also introducing a screening of Clive Barker’s Book of Blood (see previous news entries for details about an online a set report).

There will be more exciting news about HBHs in months to come, including a very special launch, but in the meantime this groundbreaking book is available to pre-order at the Simon and Schuster site here, as well as Amazon UK here, Amazon US here and all other good book stockists.

The trailer for Paul’s mass market novel Arrowhead is now featured on the Abaddon website front page. To see this, just click here. Paul has just done the latest round of edits on its sequel Broken Arrow, and in the Abaddon blog here his editor Jon Oliver comments: ‘I’m happy to report that this sequel to Arrowhead ups the game considerably. Paul has produced another rip-roaring post-apocalypse adventure tale featuring the Hooded Man.’

The Shadow Writer site is delighted to welcome our Guest Writer for August, Bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson. Kevin’s books of course include Resurrection, Inc, Climbing Olympus, Blindfold, Hopscotch and Fantastic Voyage: Microcosm, as well as books in the X-Files, Superman/Batman and Star Wars universes. His latest include Paul of Dune (with Brian Herbert, above, the most recent of their Dune series of novels), and The Edge of the World (below).

In a first for the SW site, Kevin has not only given us a short story – the excellent ‘Newts’, which you can read here – he has also sent a writing article called ‘If I Only Had The Time’, ideal for would-be scribes, which you can read here.

Yet another great review of Peripheral Visions has been posted online, this time on the SynergyMagazine site. Bob Estreich had this to say:

‘It’s very hard to classify this book. Paul Kane’s short stories are a mixture of different genres with a strong leaning towards the inner space of the mind. These stories particularly are brilliantly conceived and written.

Paul Kane has a very economic style of writing but he can pack so much into a few pages. His words are well chosen, his plots clearly and concisely outlined. The seven-page “Strobe”, for instance, sets up an overpowering addiction to a flashing light in the first couple of pages then tracks the degeneration through stronger and stronger lights until the final…whatever… is reached… He is also good at turning the conventional ideas on their head and examining the outcome…

I found “Life Sentence” particularly poignant. It explores the possibility that, as life-prolonging technology improves, dying may become illegal, as may even wanting to die. Paul manages to convey the desperation of wanting to die and the utter futility of trying. He gives the whole euthanasia debate a new, subtle, vicious twist. And the most chilling story of all is the shortest – “Protégé”.

Because each story is so different in its plot and approach this is a very easy book to come back to later. Each story explores a new idea and if, like me, you like to read in short bursts between other demands on your time, this book is very easy to enjoy. Ghosts, zombies, environmentalists, obsessives, blackmailers – they are all here in their own little beautifully crafted stories. This is a book worth reading for its good stories and for Mr Kane’s incredible imagination.’

You can read the full review by clicking here and visit the Synergy site by clicking here.

Finally, a page has been created for the short film Paul scripted – which premiered in Cannes this year. To go to The Opportunity’s section of the site, then just click here.

The first piece of major news this month is the announcement of the SW site’s Guest Writers for July. We’re very proud to give you an exclusive extract from The Strain (above), the new novel from Oscar and Saturn-winning director of Hellboy, Hellboy II and Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro (below) and thriller writer Chuck Hogan.

The first part of an intended trilogy, The Strain involves half-zombie, half-vampire creatures running riot in New York, so to read the extract simply click here. With a big thank you to Guillermo, Chuck and HarperCollins.

The finished cover for Paul’s forthcoming novel, Broken Arrow – see last month’s news for details – is above. The novel has gone up on pre-order now at places like Amazon here and Paul has just finished a short story called ‘Servitor’ which will feature in a major news-stand magazine soon to promote the release.

On a related note, Arrowhead has now gone on sale at the ‘Robin Hood Shop’ online. Selling everything Hood related – from books and DVDs to collectables and clothing – you can find the entry for Paul’s book by clicking here and scrolling down.

News now of the upcoming release of the Special Edition Box Set of Fear Itself (above in the gorgeous skull and tombstone box). As reported here on Shock Till You Drop this will feature all 13 episodes of the show, including ones not seen before, plus special featurettes. The set will also include the episode New Year’s Day, based on Paul’s short story ‘Dead Time’ – adapted by Steve ‘30 Days of Night’ Niles, directed by Darren Lynn Bousman of SAW fame, and starring Briana Evigan from S. Darko. Look out for it this September! In the meantime you can visit the section of the SW site devoted to New Year’s Day by clicking here.

You can find a set report Paul and Marie did about the new adaptation of Clive Barker’s Book of Blood (directed by John ‘Dune’ Harrison, and starring Jonas ‘Robin Hood’ Armstrong and Sophie Ward – the latter pictured above) over at the Total Sci-Fi site by clicking here.

Following on from last month’s great reviews of Paul’s novella, RED, we can now add Mathew Riley’s for BookGeeks. In it he says, ‘Paul Kane’s an author I’ve kept my eye on ever since his short fiction began appearing regularly in the genre small press in the late 1990s. Over the last few years his output has been unnaturally prolific and of a very high standard… RED is a contemporary take on the classic fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood…Kane cleverly uses the various characters and victims as visceral pathways and bridges for the beast. He plays with both the reader and Rachael, lulling us as it engineers its course towards her, circling her literally through the flesh and blood of those she encounters in her daily life. As it shapeshifts it takes on their personas as best it can, convincingly over short time spans (which is normally all the time it needs) it charms and confuses, until ultimately it is unable to hide its true nature as its century-spanning hunger and lust for revenge explodes from behind the thin facades it creates in scenes of bone-crunching ferocity. As with the beast, so with the book: over 70 impactful pages, and without wasting a word, Paul Kane has enriched the werewolf mythos with a seamless re-imagining of a hypnotically suggestive fairy tale, embellishing it with the harsh, alluring scent of an ages-old psychosexual predator who easily rivals that other undead villain from Eastern European folklore, the vampire. A relentless and grisly fairy tale for dark times, Red is filled with the blackest blood from the deepest parts of our bodies, and is thoroughly recommended.

To read the full review, click here.

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Raven

The Return of the Raven anthology, featuring stories inspired by Poe – including Paul’s ‘Masques’ (see April’s news for more details) is now available to buy through the Horror Bound website. You can visit the page for this by clicking here.

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The Best of Judge Dredd

Paul’s latest reviews for Mass Movement magazine include The Best of Judge Dredd (above) from Prion Books, plus the DVDs Thirst and the recent remake of Friday the 13th starring Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki (below).

Friday the 13th

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Torchwood, Bay of the Dead, by Mark Morris

Finally, Paul will be out and about in early July, attending the British Fantasy Society’s Open Night on the 3rd at The George, Fleet Street in London. This time around it’s a Torchwood themed event, featuring the launch of TW novels from Sarah Pinborough, Guy Adams and Mark Morris (above). The fun kicks off at 6pm.

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First up this month is an exclusive look at the cover artwork for Paul’s forthcoming novel Broken Arrow (above) – the sequel to last year’s well received Arrowhead, Paul’s post apocalyptic reworking of the Robin Hood mythology. This instalment of Abaddon’s Afterblight Chronicles has once again been brought to life by the excellent Mark Harrison (of 2000 AD fame), and it’s a stunning snapshot of what to expect inside. The book itself will be out later this year, so keep checking back for more news, including an exclusive publicity tie-in with a major newsstand magazine.

To celebrate, last month Paul indulged in a spot of archery at… where else, but Sherwood Forest (above). With grateful thanks to Mark, Paul’s patient instructor – pictured with him – and Sherwood Forest Visitors’ Centre.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Afterblight world, Scott Andrews’ Operation Motherland has hit the shelves. Regular visitors to the SW site may remember that Scott has featured both De Falaise (Paul’s version of the Sheriff) and The Tsar (the main bad guy in Broken Arrow) in this one. Paul has read the novel and recommends it highly, saying, “Operation Motherland is even better than School’s Out, if that’s possible. Hitting the ground running – with a plane crash in Iraq – the action and tension never lets up, boasting one great twist after another. Believable characters and cracking dialogue round off a very satisfying read.”

You can check out Scott’s ‘Writer’s Commentary’ for Operation Motherland by visiting his site here.

Paul’s story ‘Life-o-Matic’ – a black horror comedy about consumer society and advertising – is in the brand new issue of Estronomicon (above), available from the Screaming Dreams site both as a PDF here, and as a Flip-Book version here.

A new interview with Paul has just been published over at the G.A.S.P etc site (Gruesome Art, Shocking People etc). To read what he has to say, just click here.

And G.A.S.P etc forms part of our review round-up for Paul’s latest books, Peripheral Visions and RED. In her review of the former, Alesha Brunell had this to say: ‘From clever twists and turns in the longer page-turners, to quickly familiar characters, to penetrating and deep thoughts. All this you can easily find in even the very short stories. Such is true, and why I enjoyed Peripheral Visions; one of four collections of Kane’s shorts…I like that Kane is not afraid to take sharp turns or end with the villain as the victor. He can make you believe the story could end happily and then it turns lethal. Or put the victim in a dire predicament and then shove them to a blissful state for eternity. I also admire his ability to quickly introduce familiar traits in people to give them instant dimension. I think several of his stories could have expanded to exciting and easily popular novels and/or screenplays. For this reason, I will always look forward to reading more from Kane.’

Talking about RED, she offered: ‘Paul Kane likes to skew known fairy tales and classic horror legends and give them an abrupt overhaul. Sometimes taking an old familiar character and planting them into our modern times or perhaps the future. Such is the intent with RED. It is a novella of a more modern Little Red Riding Hood and an intimate portrayal of the Big Bad Wolf. This time, Little Red also has gangs and dangerous urban environments to battle on her way to Grandma’s. I enjoyed having both characters’ perspective in RED. Though I wouldn’t have minded a longer novel, I do admire Kane’s style of bare-bones storytelling. He strips out a lot of the extra things that can sometimes weigh down a good book without sacrificing the important points.’

Peripheral Visions was also reviewed by Horror Drive-In last month, and here are just some of Andrew Monge’s comments about it: ‘How big is the rock I’ve been living under to have missed out on such a wonderful talent?!? What sets this collection apart from all the others is its undeniable creativity and originality. You won’t find tired retreads of common genre themes; hell, you won’t even be able to pigeonhole Kane into any one genre. Peripheral Visions runs the gamut from horror to suspense to dark fantasy, and the author nails each and every one of them. Take, for instance, “Yin and Yang”. Never before have I read a more eloquent story about the dichotomy of the forces of nature. It was not only my favorite story of the collection, but is one of the best short stories I’ve ever read…Paul Kane has a helluva toolbox at his disposal – characterization, visualization, creativity, success with multiple themes and genres, the ability to tell a good story at any length. Simply put, the man is wildly talented. I give Peripheral Visions a 9 out of 10 and highly recommend grabbing a copy.’

Horror World and Horror Bound have both also reviewed RED. On the first site, Michael McCarty reported: ‘Once upon a time, there was a British speculative writer named Paul Kane, who was well respected in the United Kingdom… Then one day, Kane wrote a devilish little novella named RED and decided to get it published across the pond, in a faraway land called America... He even dared to do a retelling of the popular Grimm Brothers fairytale “Little Red Riding Hood” but this time around puts a twisted horror spin to it… The novella is bloody brilliant – clever, classy and bound to chill you to the bone.’ You can read the rest of his review here.

Kerri Silva over at Horror Bound commented: ‘ RED by Paul Kane is a modern-day retelling of a classic fairy tale. The character of Rachael Daniels is one that many can identify with. The monster is a terrifying hunter who has the ability to shape-shift. He is intelligent, patient, and always hungry. He is the sort of monster that does not need any supernatural powers to make him terrifying, however the added abilities make him even more dangerous. It is entirely believable that he has been doing this for centuries in cities all over Europe because he is so smart and clever, and one is reminded of tales of a dark Trickster character from legends around the world when reading this story.

The suspense builds from the very fact that the reader has some idea of what is going to happen. When the woman is murdered in the restaurant bathroom, the reader knows that is not the end and is left to wonder what horrors are still to come. The whole story builds up to a rather fascinating climax…This is a good scary story for those stormy nights or bright days. It is strong enough to terrify either way and will stay in your mind for days afterwards. Stories like this don’t come along very often, as all readers know.’

Time again for our Guest Writer slot on the SW site, and we’re very excited to welcome bestselling author Simon R. Green, with an exclusive extract from The Spy Who Haunted Me, book three in his latest series: ‘Secret Histories’. The UK cover edition (from Gollancz, please click here) is above, the US edition (from Ace, please click here) is below, and you can read the extract by clicking here.

Paul will be attending the World Fantasy Convention for the first time this year, held in San Jose, California. He is very much looking forward to the event, as among the Guests are Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, Lisa Snellings and Garth Nix, author of The Seventh Tower series (above). More details closer to the event, which takes place between October 29th and November 1st.

News now of the short film Paul scripted, The Opportunity, directed by Lewis Copson (see last month’s news for more details). Both Lewis and cameraman Ed Williams (pictured above on set, with Lewis on the left) were in attendance for the film’s European debut at Cannes Film Festival (below). The film has received quite a bit of interest and very good feedback, and is already lined up to appear at more festivals in the future. A big thank you to Lewis and Ed for the pictures.

More good news, this time for the Wednesday night group Paul teaches. The aptly named ‘Wingerworth Wordsmiths’ came first last month in the David St John Thomas Charitable Trust Group Anthology Competition with their book Perspectives (the trophy is pictured above).

The ceremony took place on 19th May at the Society of Authors and above you can see Jane Croft accepting the award on behalf of the group. Very well done to all concerned!

Word has reached us that Wonderlands in Flesh and Blood (above), which Paul recently read and rated highly is now available. Written by Christian Daumann, it examines Clive Barker’s magnum opus Imajica and places it within the context of his other work. For more information and ordering details, just click here.

Finally, the DVD Mirrors starring Kiefer Sutherland is among the new titles Paul is reviewing for Mass Movement magazine and he calls this movie: ‘One of the best horror films in recent years.’

That’s all for now, but keep checking back as there’s much more to come soon…

Paul is thrilled to be able to spread the word that James Herbert, credited with being the creator of the modern mass market horror genre, is Special Guest of Honour at The World Horror Convention in Brighton in 2010. Author of The Rats, The Fog, Survivor, The Spear, The Magic Cottage, Portent, Others, Nobody True and, most recently, The Secret of Crickley Hall (below – which you can read an extract of here from James’ time as Guest Writer on the SW site), as well as countless more titles, James joins the other great names on the guest list: Tanith Lee and David Case as Author Guests of Honour; Les Edwards and Dave Carson as Artist Guests of Honour; Hugh Lamb as Editor Guest of Honour; with Gollancz’s Jo Fletcher as MC.

Paul recently joined the WHC committee as Hospitality / Events Liaison and you can find all the information you need about attending / registering / accommodation on the site here. Some types of hotel rooms are already close to selling out, so hurry if you want to secure your place at what will be one of the best genre events of recent times.

The second piece of extra news for May is that the stunning cover for Darc Karnivale has now been painted by Nick Rose. Nick is also producing artwork to go alongside each story, including Paul’s ‘One for the Road’ mentioned in a previous news update. Edited by David Byron, the anthology will be out later this summer from Evil Nerd Empire publishers.

The first very exciting piece of news this month is about a film Paul has scripted, based on one of his short stories (‘The Opportunity’, first published in Hidden Corners magazine, above, and reprinted recently in Peripheral Visions). The short is directed by actor/director Lewis Copson, who has worked in the past on BBC productions and has just starred in the new horror movie Cut alongside Zach (Gremlins) Galligan and Danielle Lloyd (below).

This from the official release blurb for The Opportunity: ‘Enter the mind of a killer as he stalks his latest victim. Through the streets of an empty town follow as he watches and waits for the perfect moment to strike. Will he or won't he?’

The film features rising star Clare Coleman (above – whose credits include work for Granada TV, Channel 5 and The Shakespeare Trust) and the vocal talents of Stephen Coates (below in the studio, recording the Opportunist’s voiceover).

Stephen is of course better known as lead singer of the band ‘The Real Tuesday Weld’ whose albums include I, Lucifer (below), The Return of the Clerkenwell Kid and The London Book of the Dead. Stephen has written music for documentaries and features, and the band’s music has been used frequently in movies, on TV and in adverts. You can visit The Real Tuesday Weld’s site by clicking here.

The film will receive its European premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this month and below you’ll find a couple of photos from the shoot earlier this year, including Clare and Paul on set.

Speaking of the Peripheral Visions collection, this is currently the subject of a ‘Featured Review’ over at Horror Bound. HB regular Kerri Silva had this to say:

‘The stories all start out in real life, then end somewhere horrifyingly closer to home. Any reader will find it difficult to read this without looking over his shoulder to check on the shadows in the corner and what they’re hiding.

“The Opportunity” is a story that sends shivers down your spine without any violence or obvious crime being committed. The monster hiding in plain sight is often the scariest type to be found, and he can be found here. In “Nightmare on 34th Street” Santa is overwhelmed by the cynicism of the world and turns New York City on its head. The image of Santa Claus with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a gun in the other is a haunting one…“Check-out” is a story of an abused young woman working at a supermarket with an idea of how to become important. As you read her thoughts and experiences, you can’t help but feel pity for her…“Life Sentence” is a story of a man who wants to die but is not allowed to because of his futuristic government’s anti-death laws after the discovery of immortality. After gaining what every human wants, Joseph discovers that there is more to life than just continuing to exist on earth. Being imprisoned in his own body, among others who feel the same, is worse than death to Joseph, especially without the elements that make life worth living – like his family.

Each of these stories, and the ones not discussed, are thought-provoking, disturbing, and stay with you after the book is over. You will find yourself looking at people differently, wondering what they could be capable of doing. You may even wonder what you are capable of doing. Paul Kane is a wonderful writer who is following in the footsteps of the man to whom this collection is dedicated – Clive Barker – and he will carve out his own niche someday soon amongst fans of horror.’

And another quote for RED next, with Kevin King from the Dave McKean Collector site writing in with this: ‘Paul Kane offers up a fantastic adult re-working of the classic children’s tale. A blood thirsty novella that you will devour in a single sitting and be left hungry for more. Beware though, this is not the Little Red Riding Hood you remember as kid, RED is something much...darker.’ Many thanks, Kevin.

RED has also been added to the ‘Book Cover’ section of Kevin’s site, which you can find by clicking here.

It’s a great pleasure to welcome James Miller as our Guest Writer for May now. James’ writing has been praised by, amongst others, The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Observer and Time Out. His debut novel is Lost Boys (the hardback cover is above, the forthcoming paperback is below) and we’re delighted to be able to present an exclusive extract from it here. A big thank you to both James and Little Brown.

In addition, if you click here you’ll be able to watch a sneak preview ‘trailer’ for James’ second novel Sunshine State, out in 2010.

Paul’s just done two reviews for Mass Movement magazine, one of Frank Miller’s The Spirit (above), which is out on DVD later this month, and one of the long-awaited Adventures of Mr. Maximillian Bacchus and His Traveling Circus (below) by Clive Barker, available from Bad Moon Books here.

Paul has a short story coming out in the new anthology, Return of the Raven in early summer (the stunning cover artwork for which you can see above). Published by Horror Bound the book marks the 200th Birthday of Edgar Allan Poe by presenting short stories inspired by or using the themes of his work. Paul’s story ‘Masques’, as the title suggests, is a sequel to Poe’s ‘Masque of Red Death’ set in modern times. More details about this as and when we get them.

Secondly, Paul is thrilled to report that his work has been recommended for several British Fantasy Awards. In the Best Short Story category (for ‘A Chaos Demon is For Life’ published in Estronomicon Magazine – see main April news section for more on that one; ‘Lifelike’ and ‘Yin and Yang’ published in Peripheral Visions; ‘The Suicide Room’ published in the Voices anthology; and ‘Windchimes’, published in Read By Dawn III), in the Best Collection category (for Peripheral Visions itself), in the Best Novella category (for RED and ‘Reunion’) and in the August Derleth Best Novel category (for Arrowhead). If you’re a BFS member you can vote on the long list until the deadline of 31st May by clicking here.

Paul is very proud to announce that he has won the Dead of Night (Editor’s Choice) Award for Best Story 2008 with his tale ‘A Chaos Demon Is For Life’, which appeared in Estronomicon Christmas Special a few months ago. The award is above and for those of you who have not yet read the story, just click here to find the entire issue in ‘flipping book’ format.

Meanwhile, Paul’s novella RED from Skullvines Press has been garnering some critical attention. Sheila Merritt had this to say reviewing it for Hellnotes: ‘ RED is a gleefully gruesome tale that moves at an excellent pace. Its length is a joy, reminiscent of a line from another fairy tale: “Not too big, not too small, just right.” Paul Kane does a rip roaring rendition of the Red Riding Hood story… He has the gift of summing up a situation in a sentence. RED is wonderfully written; it is easy to sink one’s teeth into it and devour it with relish.’ To read the full review, click here.

And in a review on Nick Cato’s blog, which is also due to appear in Horror Fiction Review in April, he commented: ‘Kane expands on the “Little Red Riding Hood” mythos with a sharply-written novella that pits a descendent of the classic fairy tale character against the “real” creature of the same story. But make NO mistake: this isn’t for kids! You can tell Kane had a real ball twisting time updating “Riding Hood”, especially in how he has crafted this new, psycho-sexual “wolf.” For the sake of not ruining anything else, let’s just say RED is a real BLOODY good time.’ To read his complete review click here.

As reported last month, April’s Guest Writer is David Moody, with an exclusive extract from his novel Hater (above) – which is currently being turned into a feature film by producer Guillermo del Toro and director of The Orphanage Juan Antonio Bayona.

To read this click here, or to visit David’s excellent website just click here.

You can read not one, but two brand new interviews with Paul that have gone online this month. The first is over at the great HorrorBound site, where Paul is the subject of their featured interview. To read this, click here.

The second is up at Mass Movement’s site here, or just click here to view the interview panel for Paul.

Speaking of Mass Movement, Paul has just reviewed The Midnight Meat Train (above) for them. The first of a new clutch of movies based on Clive Barker’s Books of Blood, Paul was extremely impressed by the film – as you can see by visiting the reviews section of the site.

Above you can watch a short ‘making of’ New Year’s Day film called A New Kind of Zombie,courtesy of Fear.Net, which contains interviews with the director Darren Bousman and star Briana Evigan. And below you can see a short film about the effects called Zombie Chic. New Year’s Day, as you’ll probably know by now, was based on the short story ‘Dead Time’ written by Paul and published in The Lazarus Condition.

Paul was absolutely thrilled to discover that the cover of his book The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy is now being used on the Wikipedia page for the Hellraiser series. The comprehensive hardback, which covers alls the movies and the comic series, has widely been touted as the definitive reference guide to the series, and is also mentioned as one of only two non-fiction books about the mythos – the other being Stephen Jones’ excellent The Hellraiser Chronicles. To visit the Wiki page for the series, click here and to visit the Hellraiser page on the SW site click here.

You’ll also be happy to learn that another new story by Paul called ‘Life-o-Matic’ has just been accepted by Estronomicon magazine for their March/April edition. More details as and when.

Time now for our very special Guest Writer for the month of March, New York Times bestselling author, Nancy Holder. Co-author of the popular YA series Wicked (above), author of Pretty Little Devils, and many novels in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (like The Book of Fours, below), Angel, Highlander and Smallville universes, Nancy has also won four Bram Stoker awards. To read her great short ‘Passion Play’ simply click here.

Two very special announcements now to promote friends of the Shadow Writer site. Firstly, next month’s Guest Writer, David Moody – author of Hater (above), which is being turned into a movie by producer Guillermo del Toro and director of The Orphanage Juan Antonio Bayona – has brought to our attention the US viral campaign for the book. You can check this out by clicking on the video below.

And award-winning artist Vincent Chong, who brought us covers for the likes of Joe Hill’s 20th Century Ghosts (above), The Dark Half, Lisey’s Story and Stephen King Goes To The Movies (below), has written to us with news of a revamped website. You can take a tour of his other work now by clicking here.

Paul has just reviewed the latest horror DVDs, 100 Feet (above) – written and directed by Eric ‘The Hitcher’ Red – and the independent parasite movie, Splinter (below), both for Mass Movement online.

You can also find the article Paul wrote about Micro Machines, including sets such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Men in Black and Aliens in the latest issue of Collectors’ Gazette (below).

Last month, Paul MC-ed the first ever Performance Evening (above) for the group he teaches, collectively known as ‘The Wingerworth Wordsmiths’. The group gave readings celebrating the publication of their new anthology, Perspectives, which was on sale on the night. Below you can find a few more pictures from the enjoyable event.

As reported on Steve Niles' site here, the episode of Fear Itself based on Paul’s story ‘Dead Time’ is now available as a webisode to those in the US, at Fearnet.com. The short film was scripted by Steve as ‘New Year’s Day’, directed by Darren Bousman (Saw II-IV) and starred Briana Evigan (above). This from the tagline: ‘A young woman wakes up in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, and does her best not to become one.’ You can visit the section of the SW site devoted to ‘New Year’s Day’ by clicking here.

Paul’s ‘Shadows Trilogy’, published by Screaming Dreams, has now been converted into a ‘flip’ format so you can read it much more easily. To go straight to it click here.

The first piece of news for February is about an Afterblight crossover. Author Scott Andrews is including two of Paul’s villains in his follow-up to the very successful School’s Out: Operation Motherland (above) to be released soon. Both De Falaise (The Sheriff) and The Tsar (the new bad guy in Paul’s sequel to Arrowhead, Broken Arrow) are mentioned: the former pitted briefly against Scott’s heroes in the entrance to the Channel Tunnel. Paul’s read and approved the extracts and was highly delighted with them, especially as they contribute to the growing mythology of this series.

Speaking of Arrowhead, the novel has just received another very positive review, this time in the British Fantasy Society’s magazine Prism (above).

‘I didn’t want to read this book. Not because I was concerned about the quality of the work, but because the myth of Robin Hood is a precious thing to me. I come from Nottingham and spent my childhood being told the tales of the “wolf’s head”, who led a band of outlaws against the oppression of the Norman Sheriff. I grew up watching the Richard Carpenter TV show that moulded the story to include magic; I had read the comics and the original tales. I knew Robin Hood and I didn’t want him sullied.

Fortunately Kane has done no such thing. He knows his history and has carefully moulded a story around the myth. Set in the future the story centres on ex-policeman Robert Stokes, a man devastated by the loss of his wife and child, who in his grief has gone native, cutting himself off from the ailing society. At the same time a band of mercenaries, led by the decidedly Gallic monstrosity De Falaise, leave France to begin their subjugation of England, in an attempt to re-enact the Norman Conquest.

The story plays on the imagery and mythic undertones of the Hood stories, pieces of the legend falling into place, the collective memory of Hood being brought to the forefront of people’s minds. Stokes has no desire to take on the role of the Outlaw but the people must have their champion. As well as playing with the fables of the “Outlaw” Arrowhead also falls into the tradition of English sci-fi disaster stories, in some places the work echoes Wyndham in the depiction of the survivors attempting to regain some normality in their lives. An excellent read that adds rather than detracts from the folklore of Robin Hood.’

Paul’s story from the excellent anthology Voices (above) has also received a mention on Horroscope here as one of the stand-out stories of the book. Voices was also recommended in the ‘Predators and Editors’ awards last month, and has almost sold out of its first print run in the UK. To find out more or to order Voices, visit the Morrigan site here.

Continuing the Shadow Writer site’s mission to bring you superb fiction, Paul’s Guest Writer for the special month of February is Shirley Jackson Award-winner, Glen Hirshberg, author of American Morons (above), The Two Sams, The Janus Tree and The Snowman’s Children (below). To read his brilliant story ‘The Muldoon’ then simply click here.

Paul has just registered for the World Horror Convention in Brighton, March 25-28, 2010, and encourages anyone interested in the genre to do the same. You can find out all the details on their website by clicking here.

Paul has just done a handful of reviews for Mass Movement magazine, which include DVD’s of Stuart Gordon’s Stuck (above), the 80s adaptation of James Herbert’s novel The Survivor (starring Robert Powell and Jenny Agutter), Blackout, Tony Randel’s The Double Born, Road Kill 2, Hit and Run and Trailer Park of Terror, plus the Earthling release of Peter Atkins’ novel Moontown (below).

Last month, Paul attended the launch of Ellen Datlow’s new anthology, POE (above) from Solaris, a collection of reworkings and remixes of Poe’s tales to mark his 200th birthday. Sadly Ellen herself could not attend due to ill health, and the Shadow Writer site wishes her a speedy recovery, but you can see a few photos from the launch below.

Finally, regular visitors to the site will know that February is Paul’s birthday month. So, we’re sure you’ll join us in wishing the old man many, many happy returns!

Happy New Year! And what better way to start than by watching the trailer for Paul’s new novella RED made by Skullvines Press (above). As mentioned in the last update, this publication features cover art by Dave (The Graveyard Book) McKean and an introduction by Tim (Fallen) Lebbon. To buy it, just click here.

A brand new short by Paul called ‘One for the Road…’ has been picked up and will feature in the forthcoming publication Dark Karnivale, edited by David Byron. The story is an interesting take on the end of the world and yes, as you can probably see from the title, drink is involved.

Getting the New Year off to a cracking start, Paul’s first Guest Writer of 2009 is Sarah Pinborough, author of novels such as The Hidden, The Reckoning, The Taken and, most recently, Tower Hill (above). The SW site is proud to present an exclusive look at Sarah’s forthcoming sequel to the very popular Breeding Ground (below) which you can read by clicking here.

Spotlighted in the latest issue of the magazine Wings (above) is the writing group Paul teaches every week. The group have just produced their own anthology for charity called Perspectives which is expected to do very well.

Last but not least, below you can find a few photos from the BFS Christmas Open Night which was held on 5th December from 6pm onwards at Ye Olde Cock Tavern, Fleet Street, London. The next event Paul will be attending is on 31st January at the same venue: the launch of Ellen Datlow’s new anthology, POE.

From left to right, Hellraiser actress Barbie Wilde, musician Georg Kajanus and Xtro and Star Wars actor Tim Dry.