All the latest Shadow Writer news and announcements.   Current news can be viewed here 2023 news can be viewed here 2022 news can be viewed here 2021 news can be viewed here 2020 news can be vieweed here 2019 news can be viewed here 2018 news can be viewed here 2017 news can be viewed here 2016 news can be viewed here 2015 news can be viewed here 2014 news can be viewed here 2012 news can be viewed here 2011 news can be viewed here 2010 news can be viewed here 2009 news can be viewed here 2008 news can be viewed here 2007 news can be viewed here 2006 news can be viewed here 2005 news can be viewed here 2004 news can be viewed here 2003 news can be viewed here     December   Paul’s new YA novel, The Rainbow Man – which came out last month – has been getting some serious attention in a couple of reviews. The first, at YA?, Yeah, Yeah had this to say: ‘Kane’s prose drips with menace, his lead characters – Daniel…his younger brother Mikey, and friends Jill and Greg – are well-written, and the final reveal and climax is very exciting. Well worth checking out, and I hope that Kane writes more for this age range.’ The second, from none other than Starburst magazine, gave the book 8/10 and said: ‘Paul Kane writes with confidence and skill, crafting a gripping YA novel that once started cannot easily be put down. The great thing about this story is that it can be enjoyed on different levels: the emotional context of Daniel’s family life, the awful gap left by the death of his father, the horror of the Rainbow Man and the social commentary of how, sometimes, we often fail to see what is right under our noses. And like all good YA books it doesn't really matter what age you are, the story is strong enough to carry the reader through to the final page. P.B. Kane is an award-winning writer and editor with a host of books and comic books to his name. What he doesn't know about horror isn’t worth writing down. Well worth a read.’ You can catch the full reviews here and here , plus visit the Bookkaholic page for TRM, where they gave the novel a Five Star rating here. You can also watch a trailer for the book below…     And visit the publisher page at Rocket Ride Books – which includes glowing recommendations from the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer author Nancy Holder – by clicking here. ---------------------------     You can now read the story behind Paul’s other release at the moment, GHOSTS, at the Upcoming4Me website here. ---------------------------     Paul and Marie were out and about at the launch of Sarah Pinborough’s new book The Language of Dying last month, at Blackwells in London – followed by drinks afterwards. A good time was had by all and you can see a couple of photos above (Sarah being interviewed by fellow author Will Carver) and below (the book on sale).     The next event the couple are attending is the British Fantasy Society Open Night this coming Friday 13th at The Elephant on Fenchurch Street, also in London – from 7pm onwards. Hopefully they’ll see some of you there.  ----------------------------------     A special treat now for the festive season. Our Guest Writer for December is bestselling author Martyn Waites with an extract from his sequel to The Woman in Black, Angel of Death (above), soon to be a major motion picture from Hammer (below). To read this, just click here.     --------------------------     And that’s it for another year of Shadow Writer News updates. It just remains to say from all of us here, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. See you back here in 2014! ---------------------------------- November Welcome to the delayed Shadow Writer news for November, beginning with photos from the massively successful World Fantasy Convention – above – which Paul was a committee member on. The convention, which revealed its secret MC on the Thursday evening as none other than Neil Gaiman, saw attendees reach around 1300 during the course of its five days, as you can probably tell by the snap below taken at Registration on the Wednesday evening.   WFC also saw Paul launching his latest collection from Spectral Press GHOSTS available to buy here alongside Tim Lebbon’s novella Still Life. Below you can find photos from the event, courtesy of Paul’s daughter Jennifer O’Regan, including Paul signing with cover artist Edward Miller (Les Edwards) and Nancy Kilpatrick – who penned the intro – plus Paul with Tim, and the original GHOSTS artwork.   All © Jennifer O’Regan         And below here, we have photos from the Titan party and Beyond Rue Morgue signing, which Marie took. These include Paul with his co-editor on the project, Charles Prepolec, then alongside contributors Simon Clark, Lisa Tuttle and Stephen Volk.   All © Marie O’Regan     Lastly, below are photos from Stephen Jones’ 60th Birthday Party which was on the last night of the con, including the personalised banner plus Paul, Marie and Jen with Stephen enjoying the bash.     © Peter Coleborn ------------------------------   As reported in the PS Publishing Newsletter, the deluxe signed and jacketed hardcovers of Marie and Paul’s anthology A Carnivàle of Horror: Dark Tales from the Fairground started shipping out this week. Below is the gorgeous wraparound artwork from Ben Baldwin, and the link to buy can be found here.   ---------------------------     Time to welcome now our Guest Writer for November, bestselling crime author Kerry Wilkinson. Known for his series of novels featuring the popular detective Jessica Daniel, beginning with Locked In (above) and with the latest out now, Thicker Than Water (below), we have an exclusive extract from a very different story from Kerry called Watched which was released recently. To read this, simply click here.   ------------------------------   Finally, this month, Paul has a new story out in the anthology Terror Tales of the Seaside (above). Edited by Paul Finch, this is part of the popular Terror Tales… series from Gray Friar Press. Paul’s creepy story is called ‘Shells’, but to find out the rest of the line up and how you can buy, you can visit the editor’s page here. ----------------------------- October With The World Fantasy Convention just around the corner now, a brief rundown of what Paul will be doing at the con. As well as being on the organising committee, and having brought in advertising for the publications – such as the Souvenir Book above (cover art by Alan Lee and featuring the likes of Neil Gaiman, Brian Aldiss and Joe Hill) – he will be doing a signing for Abaddon, publishers of Hooded Man, on Friday 1st November at 3:30pm. Then on Saturday 2nd, Spectral will be launching Paul’s collection of supernatural fiction GHOSTS (below), alongside Tim Lebbon’s Still Life, at 2 – 3pm; signing at this alongside Paul will be Nancy Kilpatrick, who provided the intro, and Les Edwards. Finally, he will also be part of the Beyond Rue Morgue signing during the Titan party 4 – 6pm, which will also feature Paul’s co-editor on the project Charles Prepolec, and contributors Mike Carey, Lisa Tuttle, Simon Clark and Stephen Volk. Paul will be attending various events and parties as well, such as the Gemmell Awards and Awards Banquet, or you can find him in the bar for a chat, so be sure to say hello.     In the meantime, this is the back cover blurb for GHOSTS which is available to pre-order here: ‘They are all around us all the time. But only a few make contact, and only a few people are destined to see the GHOSTS. Here, you’ll read a lonely shade’s tale… and about a deceased old man’s house being invaded… how one person discovers the true meaning of Christmas spirit, while a parent struggles to come to terms with the sad loss of a child… and what happens when the ghosts of war go on the rampage, or when a monstrous wraith stalks the streets looking for revenge. Gathering together all of award-winning and bestselling author Paul Kane’s supernatural fiction, including three brand new stories – one a sequel to Charles Dickens’ ‘The Signal-Man’– and featuring an introduction from bestselling horror author Nancy Kilpatrick (Power of the Blood World series), the script of Wind Chimes introduced by its director Brad Watson (7th Dimension) as well as a bonus DVD of the film, plus suitably atmospheric cover art from Edward Miller, this is one collection that will haunt you forever.’ ------------------------------ But that’s not the only publication out this month. Paul’s short YA novel, The Rainbow Man, is due out in paperback and audio at the end of October (his eighth publication this year in total). This also from the back cover blurb: ‘When Daniel Routh, together with friends Jill and Greg, and little brother Mikey, discover a body washed up on the beach after a storm, it’s one of the most exciting things ever to happen on the island of Shorepoint. And, as the man in question slowly recovers, he befriends the inhabitants of this small fishing community one by one. Only Daniel suspects something might be wrong with the newcomer, who cannot remember who he is, nor how he came to be there. To start with, this John Dee (as they label him, short for Doe) brings prosperity and happiness with him, but it isn’t long before the tide begins to turn. Then John begins to worm his way into Daniel’s own family, trying to take the place of his late father, and the teenager knows something must be done. Little does Daniel realise that he’s now involved in one of the most ancient conflicts of all time; one that might decide the fate not only of Shorepoint, but of the entire world. This very special short novel from the imagination of award-winning and bestselling author P.B. Kane (the Arrowhead Trilogy, Lunar, The Butterfly Man – as Paul Kane), marks his first foray into the realms of YA fiction. With great characterization, emotional impact, action and shock twists, this is a genre release that’s sure to become an instant classic.’ You can find the publisher page at Rocket Ride Books – which includes glowing recommendations from the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer author Nancy Holder – by clicking here. But be sure to keep checking back, as extras will be added soon, including Paul’s prequel short story ‘The Rainbow Coat’. -------------------------------- To help with publicising all this, Paul has recently joined Twitter and you can find his online presence here. ------------------------------- Paul was delighted by a great review for this novel Sleeper(s) on the Long and Short Reviews site last month, mainly because one of his passages made the reviewer jump! There can be no greater compliment for a horror writer… This is some of what they had to say: ‘Dr. Strauss is about to visit a quarantined city in the hope that he can develop a treatment for the highly contagious, mysterious aliment that has struck every man, woman, and child who lives there… The vivid descriptions of what is happening to the residents of Middletown paint such a horrifying picture of the changes they’re undergoing that I nearly jumped out of my skin when a piece of my hair brushed against my neck as I read that scene. Every assumption I’d made about what was actually happening in Middletown was thrown out the window as Dr. Strauss begins collecting samples and attempting to find a cure… By the climax Kane weaves all of the subplots together in ways I never would have predicted they would fit. The final glimpse of this world was the perfect capstone to this eerie, rule-bending tale. Sleeper(s) kept me up late last night. I’d recommend this book in particular to readers who love techno-thrillers and science fiction that is heavily influenced by current scientific knowledge.’ To read the full review, click here. To read an exclusive extract of the novel, click here. -------------------------------- And congratulations must go to the winners of the Twisted Tales Beyond Rue Morgue competition, Gary Chapman, Leah James, Bradley Gartz and Hamish Jones, who will each receive a copy of the critically-acclaimed anthology. ------------------------------- Now, please give a warm welcome to our Guest Writer for this Halloween month of October, Canadian author Rio Youers. Known for books such as Old Man Scratch (above), End Times and Dark Dreams, Pale Horses, we present here an exclusive extract from his Sunburst Award-nominated novel Westlake Soul (below, published by ChiZine). To read this, simply click here. ------------------------------- Another author favourite and friend of the SW site, Sarah Pinborough, was interviewed by Paul last month for Mass Movement Magazine. You can read the results here as well as Paul’s reviews of her novels Mayhem, Poison and Charm (below). Plus you can read extracts from the first two right here on the site, simply by scrolling back to May’s News or visiting the Guest Writer section to your left. ------------------------------------- Another photo of Paul’s Scribe Configuration was revealed last month, this time in its own glass container (above). And another little video has been created to promote the box which is now on sale. You can watch this by clicking on the screen below. To find out more, visit www.pyramid-gallery.com ---------------------------------- Returning to the World Fantasy Convention for a moment, Paul is sad to report that China Miéville has had to withdraw as MC of this year’s event due to unavoidable commitments. Making up for this announcement a little, is the fantastic news that none other than Sir Terry Pratchett (above) is popping in on the Friday. Terry is, of course, best known for creating the beloved Discworld series, beginning with The Colour of Magic – which was turned into a mini-series starring David Jason, Sean Astin and Tim Curry (below). -------------------------------- Paul was saddened to hear news of the death of yet another genre great this year, Gary Brandner, who passed away at the age of 80. A prolific writer, Gary was probably best known as the author of The Howling series of novels. Paul was fortunate enough to know Gary and share a couple of publishers with him, Mansion House Books (who brought out the gorgeous limited edition of The Howling below) and Books of the Dead. He will be greatly missed by the horror community. ----------------------------------- September Firstly this month, more news for the sell-out Hooded Man mass market omnibus edition of Paul’s Arrowhead trilogy novels, which received a four star review at SF Book Reviews last month. This is what they had to say: ‘Every year in my local town (Lancaster) there is a play put on in one of the public parks (Williamson’s Park) and by chance this year’s subject was Robin Hood. I've always loved this classic tale and we booked tickets to see it as soon as they became available last year. A week before I began reading Hooded Man my family and I watched the play… Why am I mentioning this? I really wish that whoever wrote the play had read Hooded Man first, he could have learned a lot about how it’s supposed to be done. The characters in Hooded Man are aware of the Robin Hood story, they know that their lives have parallels to the classic tale – the protagonist is an ex-policeman who has excellent woodsman skills and teaches himself to use a bow (due in part to a lack of modern weapons to hand) while our antagonist of the first book sets himself up as Sheriff of one of the UK’s best kept castles – Nottingham. The author doesn’t pretend to recreate the Robin Hood story, instead he draws inspiration from it to create his own unique story that makes effective use of the post-apocalyptic backdrop… The Hooded Man himself cuts quite the enigmatic figure, a dark and brooding flawed hero who is driven to protect his charges and fights like a deamon. It’s impossible not to like the guy, along with the supporting cast while the antagonists make equally good bad guys. The stories are entertaining, the pace is swift and steady and the three books join together seamlessly, each strong enough individually and yet together greater than the sum of their parts. Hooded Man is a rich post-apocalyptic tale that adds much to the Afterblight Chronicles universe; a highly rewarding read.’ You can read the full review here. The book was also the subject of San Diego’s Books Discussion Group last month, here.   Above and below you can also find photos from the ‘Meet Paul Kane’ event at Edwinstowe Library, at the heart of Robin Hood territory, where Paul talked to people about the book and hopefully inspired a few future SF/Horror writers.     The link to order this on Amazon UK is here, US here and the link to the ‘Arrowhead Trilogy’ website is here. ---------------------------------------- And more praise came in last month for Beyond Rue Morgue (above), Paul’s other mass market book out at the moment. Trash Mutant said: ‘Contrary to how it may seem, Sherlock Holmes was not the first literary detective. That honour belongs to Edgar Allan Poe’s Le Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin, who was a detective before the word “detective” was even invented… Now, over 170 years after his debut, the character’s legacy continues, as he returns in an anthology of new stories by top tier writers titled Beyond Rue Morgue: Further Tales of Edgar Allan Poe’s First Detective… The anthology features the original Poe story as well as 9 other stories, each in a very different style, but all connecting to Dupin and the macabre mystery he debuted in. Who are the authors? The list includes names like modern horror classic Clive Barker, Joe R. Lansdale, Stephen Volk, Lisa Tuttle, Elizabeth Massie, Weston Ochse & Yvonne Navarro, Jonathan Maberry, Simon Clark and renowned comic book author Mike Carey. It’s a very exciting pantheon of writers (gathered by editors Paul Kane & Charles Prepolec) and almost everybody brings something really unique to the table.  Even though I obviously have my favourites, it’s not an anthology that needs cherrypicking. It’s an impressive project that, as far as I'm concerned, was a full success. I highly recommend getting it, no matter if you’ve heard of Le Chevalier C. Auguste Dupine before or not. It’s one of the most interesting Titan Books releases in recent memory and you will be happy you got it!’ Meanwhile Bookshelf Butterfly commented: ‘Dupin is exceptionally intelligent, eccentric thinker who takes in all the evidence of a case that others might overlook, and manages to logically dismiss all the alternatives before coming to the correct conclusion. He was solving gruesome and complex crimes long before the likes of Sherlock Holmes came on the scene, and yet is a character of much less fame when compared to well known fictional detectives such as Holmes or Poirot. This book is a collection of short stories that pays tribute to Dupin…. I think my favourites of the stories in this collection were the ones that explored the legacy of Dupin’s long lost relatives and their inheritance of his crime-solving skills, more than the ones that featured Dupin himself… For me this wasn't just the discovery of a literary detective I had yet to read, but also of many authors I hadn't read before. A very interesting book to dip in and out of, especially for fans of old fashioned crime and unconventional detectives.’ Paper Droids said: ‘A collection of adult fan-fiction (without, of course, the negative connotations), Beyond Rue Morgue: Further Tales of Edgar Allan Poe’s 1st Detective is exactly what it sounds like: a group of talented writers dreaming up stories of Dupin, the other mysteries he could have solved and more… Beyond Rue Morgue is a great collection of short stories of new, re-imagined adventures for Dupin – ranging from old-school mysteries told in first person to stories with subtle commentary on race and media, to introducing the audience to both Dupin’s grandson, to “meeting” Edgar Allan Poe – and introduces an unusual and creative connection with Sherlock Holmes, creating some ~super meta~ situations (“The Purloined Face” by Stephen Volk is highly recommended). It is a good read for both new fans and old Dupin readers, containing fascinating stories that are just as interesting as the original three. For fans of detective stories, the authors within these pages don’t disappoint. Many of the stories leave you thumbing the pages in anticipation, wanting to know what’s going to happen next, who the killer or the thief was. Beyond Rue Morgue offers an interesting and unique homage to the world’s first literary detective, doing so while respecting the original work and the man behind it. It proves that Le Chevalier has not been forgotten, that his legacy still exists, and that fans are as intense and dedicated as ever. I recommend this anthology to Poe fans and new adventurers in the mystery department, as well as those who just like to dip their toes in the detective pool but don’t want to commit to an entire book.’ While Geek News Network’s opinion was: ‘Let’s start with the good ones, because when I speak of the good in this book, it’s remarkable. My personal favourite came in a story titled “The Gruesome Affair of the Electric-Blue Lightning” by Joe Lansdale. Being a fan of the Victorian styled horror (meaning Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll, and the like), I had absolutely no qualms with this story. The author’s voice, the sheer reality of his characters contrasted against his fantastical story, gave me the chills up and down. A tad gory, but as long as you’ve got a strong stomach or a weak imagination, you’ll see it through. But this was not the only tale to receive high marks. As far as sticking to the pacing and set of a Dupin story went, the award goes to “The Unfathomable Darkness”. Though “The Sons of Tammy” claimed to set itself in the 1890s, it read to me as the classic 1930s gumshoe story, which kept me in arms because of his intriguing perspective of Dupin – the first pages read him as a dumpy detective, but trek on! Once the boiler gets hot, the author writes a character reminiscent of the original. Above all, this I found fascinating: the authors found a way to take an increment of the Chevalier as well as Poe’s writing and make it their own – conceptualizing the stories as well as giving them a flair of originality. I found myself flipping through the pages, constantly murmuring, “They have captured the spirit, definitely”, although as a whole, the stories read vastly different.’ Finally, With An Accent had this to add: ‘A fascinating collection of short stories from various authors paying homage to the first detective in literature. Before Sherlock Holmes deduced his way onto the page, Edgar Allen Poe created a cool, analytical mind that found solving murders to be the height of fun. Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin was detecting before the word “detective” was even coined. He has a similar mind to Holmes, to the point that you have to wonder if Doyle was a Poe fan… The ones that really stuck with me are probably “The Sons of Tammany,” which takes Dupin to New York; “The Weight of a Dead Man,” which follows the grandson of Dupin, a Pinkerton detective trying to track down a Caravaggio; and “The Purloined Face,” possibly my favourite, where Sherlock Holmes is the apprentice to Edgar Allan Poe posing as Dupin. Connecting Holmes to Dupin was brilliant and it illustrated the similarities between the two whilst suggesting that Holmes learned it all from the best. But what I loved most about it was having Poe become Dupin after faking his own death and the exploration of the demons that Poe carried from his past. Of course, each of the other stories is captivating in its own right. Each one has something that will keep you reading until the very end. There are a few that get a bit outlandish… but none of them are all-out bad or poorly written. Edgar Allan Poe fans will no doubt enjoy seeing one of his most famous characters given new life and the respect he deserves for founding many of the tropes of the detective genre. Mystery fans will love following Dupin’s deductions and trying to guess ahead of him. If you like a bit of horror, there’s plenty of that too. Beyond Rue Morgue is an excellent collection for anyone who loves a bit of mystery in life. And occasional apes.’ You can read the full reviews here, here, here, here and here. And you can watch Geek Mundo’s video review of Beyond Rue Morgue by clicking play below:        Finally, friends of the SW site, Twisted Tales are running a competition right now to win not one, but four copies of this critically acclaimed anthology. Head on over to the site here to get your entry in by the Friday 13th draw and to read a short interview with Paul about the book. For those wishing to order a copy of the anthology anyway, you can do so at Amazon UK here , US here or from the publishers, Titan, here. ----------------------------------------     Speaking of Twisted Tales, as you can probably see from the above photos, a lot of fun was had at their ‘Hunting Shadows’ event last month which Paul attended – spotlighting authors Paul Finch (left), Alison Littlewood (middle) and Sarah Pinborough (right). All the writers did a reading, answered questions from the audience and signed copies of their books.   Paul was also delighted to see copies of The Butterfly Man and Other Stories on the shelves at Waterstone’s Liverpool One (above). -------------------------------------   A special treat now for fans of our Guest Writer section, an exclusive extract from the wonderfully talented Alex Bell’s new story for the X7 anthology due for release on 27th October: ‘The Devil in Red’. Alex is, of course, best known for her novels The Ninth Circle, Jasmyn (above) and the Lex Trent series, beginning with Fighting Fire with Fire (below). To read this illustrated extract, just click here.   ------------------------------------   Paul’s ‘Scribe Configuration’ puzzle box was finally unveiled at Crypticon Kansas City last month and you can see photos of this gorgeous item on sale above and below.    In addition another little video has been made to accompany the release, featuring Paul’s Scribe story:   And Paul’s interview with the Labyrinth site has been re-uploaded here. --------------------------------------   Last but not least this month, Paul’s forthcoming collection from Spectral Press – Ghosts, gathering together all of his supernatural fiction – has gone on pre-order this month. The collection includes an introduction from bestselling horror author Nancy Kilpatrick, the DVD of Wind Chimes (which sold to TV) and the script, introduced by its director Brad Watson – you can find the page about this on the SW site here – not to mention stunning cover art from Edward Miller (above). To pre-order your copy, click here. ------------------------------------ August The first piece of major news this month is to report that the mass market omnibus edition of Paul’s Arrowhead trilogy novels – Hooded Man – sold out of its initial print run within only one month of its release in the States. Needless to say Paul is delighted by this news, which was passed on by the publisher in July. He’ll be doing a local event in August in the heart of Robin Hood country, not far from Sherwood, to celebrate. Paul will be at the free Nottinghamshire County Council’s ‘Meet Paul Kane’ event at Edwinstowe Library on 9th August from 2:30 – 3:30 (click here for details), so come along and say hello. Hooded Man is also getting some great reaction on GoodReads here, including one reviewer who very flatteringly said it was on her ‘list of best of the greatest SciFi ever written’. The link to order this on Amazon UK is here, US here and the link to the ‘Arrowhead Trilogy’ website is here so you can see for yourselves what all the fuss is about. -------------------------------------- Paul was, of course, at the Beyond Rue Morgue launch and signing at London’s Forbidden Planet last month, as mentioned in their newsletter (above) circulated just before the event. Above and below you can see a few photos from this enjoyable event, including the poster up in the store to promote this and the signing table – from left to right, contributors Lisa Tuttle, Simon Clark, Stephen Volk, Mike Carey and Paul.   Meanwhile, the book has been gaining great press coverage. It’s a recommended Summer Reading Pick at All Horror Net here for starters. Then Horror-Movies.ca had this to say in a 5/5 star review: ‘Where would we be without the works of Edgar Allan Poe? He basically created a genre, and his works have gone on to influence and inspire millions and even still to this day, his work is as relevant as it was when it first hit. So, when I got the opportunity to check out Titan Books’ Beyond Rue Morgue: Further Tales of Edgar Allan Poe’s 1st Detective, I pretty much jumped at the chance. So, as I’m sure many of you are aware, Poe originally released his short tale “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” in Graham’s Magazine in 1841, and the tale is included in the anthology… The tale itself pretty much created the term detective, and without this, we would not have such icons as Sherlock Holmes or even the adventures of one Hercule Poirot. So, the anthology itself continues the legacy of C. Auguste Dupin, as further tales are brought forward by some of the best authors of today, including, Clive Barker, Mike Carey, Simon Clark, Joe R. Lansdale, Jonathan Maberry, Elizabeth Massie, Weston Ochse & Yvonne Navarro, Lisa Tuttle and Stephen Volk. The stories in the anthology vary as the adventures Dupin continue, as he faces some new enemies, some human and some are more supernatural, but either way, the stories included are intriguing, and if you love the character or are simply new to Dupin, I think you will love this and find them totally engrossing. It’s not only a great book filled with great stories, it’s an awesome tribute to Edgar Allan Poe, the man who basically created the first literary detective for the world to see, and Paul Kane and Charles Prepolec, who put the book together have done a fantastic job at incorporating the stories from such great authors… It’s a fascinating read with some great short stories which just flow so well. I will tell you now, you will have a hard time putting this sucker down once you’ve picked it up.’ While Geek Native commented: ‘The stories continue the adventures of “ratiocination” of Dupin. We also follow his grandson, who becomes a Pinkerton detective and even his great-granddaughter. Yes, there’s a Sherlock Holmes connection too. This may upset some readers but Beyond Rue Morgue brings in the supernatural. In fact, we go a bit Cthulhu. I don’t mind at all. I feel it’s in keeping with the spirit of the character and of Poe. Besides, I enjoyed the story. Beyond Rue Morgue: Further Tales of Edgar Allan Poe’s 1st Detective was put together by the editors Paul Kane and Charles Prepolec. Kane is a sci-fi, fantasy and horror author who co-edited the horror anthology Hellbound Hearts. Prepolec is a freelance writer (and reviewer!) who’s worked on the Sherlock Holmes anthologies Gaslight Grimoire and Gaslight Arcanum. If you combine all those genres then it’s little surprise you come up with an anthology like Beyond Rue Morgue. Beyond Rue Morgue manages to be tightly focused on Dupin and his line and yet broad in scope. I’ve got to recommend this book.’ Bullet Reviews stated: ‘Great stories from this anthology – and there are quite a few – include “The Sons of Tammany” by Mike Carey, which features Boss Tweed and good ole fashioned American political corruption. Or “The Purloined Face,” which takes the interesting step of stating that Edgar Allen Poe did not die in Baltimore, but lived on in Paris and worked detective cases as Auguste Dupin – as well as mentoring a burgeoning detective by the name of Sherlock Holmes. But the real gem of the anthology is “New Murders in the Rue Morgue,” by Clive Barker. Barker’s story takes the often-repeated trope in the anthology of having one of Dupin’s relatives be the star, but, unlike the others, has that as less a feature, and more a bonus… Aficionados of Poe and mystery will probably want to pick this one up.’ Retrenders offered: ‘Before there was a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, there was Edgar Allan Poe’s C. Auguste Dupin the sleuth from Paris, France… Editors Paul Kane & Charles Prepolec have brought together an amazing group of award-winning authors to the table featuring new adventures of Auguste Dupin by Mike Carey, Simon Clark, Joe R. Lansdale, Jonathan Maberry, Elizabeth Massie, Weston Ochse & Yvonne Navarro, Lisa Tuttle and Stephen Volk… It’s plain fun to read new stories and see how modern writer’s take of Poe’s iconic character. If you don’t have time to read a 500 page novel, might I suggest reading a collection of short stories: Beyond Rue Morgue – Further Tales of Edgar Allan Poe’s First Detective.’ BGG After Dark commented: ‘The book is detailed in beautiful Halloween colours of orange, black and white… The intricate stories manage to continue the epic story of Dupin alongside his grandson and even great-grandmother. However, Beyond Rue Morgue manages to bring in something that readers have never had the luxury of experiencing until now, the supernatural! The new addition is blended seamlessly into the tightly focused stories and delivers an overall satisfying experience for readers. The anthology not only includes modern touches but contains the original short tale by Poe, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, that was released in 1841. The original story followed C. Auguste Dupin who tries to connect the clues between two murders in Paris. The original story made way for the detective novels of today such as Sherlock Holmes. The intriguing and well-written stories continue the adventures of Dupin from a group of talented writers who manage to blend what we loved from the original story with modern day touches. If you love a good detective novel, then pick up Beyond Rue Morgue: Further Tales of Edgar Allan Poe’s 1st Detective and check out these fascinating stories for yourself. ‘   Finally, Crime Fiction Lover said: ‘Beyond Rue Morgue is an inspired celebration of one of fiction’s most enduring characters. Eight contemporary writers deliver new short stories and the collection is book-ended with two reprints. The first reprinted story is, of course, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, Poe’s classic locked-room mystery in which Madame L’Espanaye is found in her fourth floor Parisian apartment with her throat cut and her daughter throttled and partially stuffed up a chimney. The unnamed narrator, present in all of Poe’s Dupin stories, describes Dupin’s process of ratiocination leading to the solving of the mystery. It proves to be as weird as it is inventive… Beyond Rue Morgue is clearly more a playful pastiche than a critical appraisal of Poe’s writing, but its stories are never less than entertaining and are of a standard that most similar Sherlock Holmes collections struggle to match. And if they lead new readers back to Edgar Allen Poe and his “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, so much the better.’ You can read the full reviews here, here, here, here, here and here. ----------------------------------------- And for our Guest Writer section this month, you can read extracts from four of the BRM stories on various high profile genre sites. The first, over at Dread Central, is from Jonathan Maberry’s ‘The Vanishing Assassin’ here; the second at Bloody Disgusting is from Joe R. Lansdale’s story ‘The Gruesome Affair of the Electric Blue Lightning’  here; the third at Daily Dead is from Mike Carey’s ‘The Sons of Tammany’ here; and the fourth and final extract at MTV Geek is from Clive Barker’s ‘New Murders in the Rue Morgue’ here.   You can get your hands on a copy of the anthology at Amazon UK here , US here or from the publishers Titan here. ------------------------------------- Paul’s eagerly anticipated ‘Scribe Box’ – as mentioned in a previous news update – is coming out in August. Above and below you can see more promos for this. And below, you can watch the video promo. To find out more, visit www.pyramid-gallery.com ------------------------------------- A big congratulations to Jason Whittle of Southampton, winner of Crystal Lake’s Sleeper(s) competition. Jason correctly answered the questions set and is now the proud owner of a signed edition of the book! For those who didn’t win, don’t despair! The book can be ordered in paperback or on Kindle here and here. -------------------------------- Finally, Paul will be at this Twisted Tales event on Friday at Waterstone’s Liverpool One, supporting three of his favourite writers, Alison Littlewood, Paul Finch and Sarah Pinborough. Hopefully he’ll see some of you there! --------------------------------- July Paul’s new short novel, Sleeper(s) (above, sporting Ben Baldwin’s wonderful wraparound cover) launched at the end of June.  To mark this event, the publishers are holding a competition to win a signed copy of the book. For a chance to win, just answer these simple questions: 1) Who’s the hero of this adventure? 2) Where does it take place? 3) Name one of the authors who wrote a pre-launch review for Sleeper(s). You can find all the answers on the publisher website here so mail them to Crystallakepub@gmail.com before July 11th for a chance to win. Paul was also interviewed on Crystal Lake’s blog to tie in with the release of the book, and you can read that by clicking here. And below you’ll find just some of the reaction to the new novel: ‘Sleeper(s), by Paul Kane, is a rapidly moving tale of nature and science gone awry. Add in booze, sex, cultural diversity, and political subterfuge, and I believe Mr. Kane has something here for everyone. Some parts of this story are amazingly in line with my own thoughts regarding the possibilities of the evils that governments sometimes engineer, or might, given the chance. I am not a believer in having Prologues in books, tending to feel they give too much of the story away. However, the one here was skilfully used and added to the book. Even better than that was the Epilogue. This was a superb piece of prose having me say, “Look at the possibilities!” That being said, I am hoping that Mr. Kane sees fit to share a second book with us. This could be a series. Paul Kane is a superb author. I most highly recommend you read Sleeper(s).’ (Blaze McRob, Tales of Horror)   ‘If you take Quatermass Experiment (and Xperiment), Quatermass and The Pit, Day of the Triffids, Night of the Triffids, Outbreak, The Andromeda Strain, Lifeforce, Inception – throw them all into a blender, grind into tasty chucks, you’ll come out with something like Paul Kane’s novel Sleeper(s). This page-turner will make you scream, laugh and think – sometimes all in the same sentence. Highly recommended.’ (Michael McCarty – author of Lost Girl of the Lake and Return of the Scream Queen)   ‘With his take on the zombie/military genre, Kane shows off his action pedigree in the infectious Sleeper(s), keeping the pages turning at a blistering pace. You’ll be kept awake by this tale of a English town that refuses to sleep soundly!’ (Daniel I Russell – award nominated author of Critique and Tricks, Mischief and Mayhem.)   ‘Suzie is a little girl on a picnic with her family. She wanders off to explore and finds the most beautiful flowers she’s ever seen. They’re so pretty she decides to pick one to show her parents. When one of the thorns pricks her finger, she gets sleepy, oh so sleepy, and falls asleep on the ground before she can return to their loving embrace. So begins the possible end of mankind. Sleeper(s) is a tale of potential disaster, near-apocalypse and the folly of mankind. Suzie isn’t the only one affected, she’s just the first, and as others fall prey to this dread malady, good guys and not-so-good guys race to contain and control the spread of this coma-like sleep. Not only are those afflicted unable to be roused, they exude a cocoon-like substance from their pores. Then, when all is seemingly lost, they rise. Oh no, I know what you’re thinking. These are decidedly not zombies. They’re “Sleepers”, not dead but not under their own control either. Bullets can’t stop them, fire consumes but does not destroy…but maybe there’s still a chance for a cure. Whatever controls the Sleepers, well, it doesn’t want a cure and it drives those under its influence to assimilate its enemies into its embrace. Proving he’s not stranger to plot twists, Paul Kane takes us on a tense ride and squeezes us until we’re so anxious we nearly pop. It’s deadly certain that Sleeper(s) is no sleeper. You’ll be up all night trying to get to the last page.’ (Jim Dodge, Mass Movement magazine)   ‘Paul Kane’s Sleeper(s) is a rip roaring adventure horror, that will, ironically, give the reader many a sleepless night. Fans of Quatermass will love this book!’ (Jim McCleod, Ginger Nuts of Horror)   The book comes with an introduction by bestselling author David Moody (Autumn, Hater) and can be ordered in paperback or on Kindle here and here. ------------------------------------- Paul was sent his author copies of various books out or coming out last month, including the mass market re-issue of his bestselling and British Fantasy-Award nominated book, The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy. Widely regarded as a bible for fans of the mythos, it has even been used as the picture for Hellraiser’s Wiki page here. While above is a box full of The Spaces Between collections, with a cover by The Walking Dead’s Charlie Adlard and introduction from Kelley Armstrong. Published by Dark Moon, you can order this in UK here and in the US here. Above and below are photos of the chunky Hooded Man omnibus, including the spine artwork of Robert by 2000 AD’s Mark Harrison. The link to order this on Amazon is here and the link to the ‘Arrowhead Trilogy’ website is here. ------------------------------------ Finally, above are copies of Beyond Rue Morgue from Titan Books, which Paul co-edited with Charles Prepolec. As a reminder, this book will be launching at Forbidden Planet’s London Megastore on Saturday 27th July at 1pm, where contributors Mike Carey, Stephen Volk, Lisa Tuttle and Simon Clark will join Paul for a signing – with drinks afterwards at the Spice of Life. See last month’s news for the official PR and the page for it on the FP site is here. ---------------------------- And to celebrate the release of BRM, we have the man himself – Edgar Allan Poe, creator of Dupin – as our Guest Writer here in the SW site. Famous for stories such as ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’, gathered together in his book Tales of Mystery and Imagination (above), the author was recently portrayed by John Cusak in the thriller The Raven (below). To read Poe’s own sequel to ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’ – ‘The Mystery of Marie Rogêt’ – on the Edgar Allan Poe Society’s site just click here. ------------------------------------ Last month was also, appropriately, Crime month and Paul was at a couple of events with friends to help celebrate this. The first was a reading & signing by Martyn Waites and Mark Billingham (above) at Waterstone’s in Birmingham to promote their new books, The Dying Hours and The Doll’s House (Martyn writing with his wife under the name Tania Carver) both pictured below. Then Paul joined Stephen Booth for a talk and reading at Chesterfield Library (the venue of last year’s Mammoth Book of Body Horror event) and to help launch his latest Fry and Cooper novel, Already Dead (photos below).   ----------------------------- Paul was saddened to hear of the death of Richard Matheson (above) last month, aged 87. Richard was of course the author who brought us so many brilliant books, such as The Shrinking Man, What Dreams May Come, Somewhere in Time and I Am Legend (all turned into hit movies, the latter filmed no less than three times – the latest a few years ago, starring Will Smith, below), not to mention working for TV and film himself. Paul only had the privilege of working with Richard once, for the aforementioned Mammoth Book of Body Horror (below), which featured his excellent story ‘Tis the Season to Be Jelly’. Plus he was due to be a Guest of Honour at the World Fantasy Convention (the convention will now be dedicated to Richard’s memory). Paul and Marie’s thoughts are with his son, Richard Christian, and the rest of the Matheson family. The genre has lost a true legend. --------------------------------------- June Another month, another book. We begin June with a look at the cover art for Paul’s new short novel, Sleeper(s) – provided by the very talented Ben Baldwin. This from the official PR for the novel: ‘The sleepy English locality of Middletown is about to get even sleepier, as a strange malady starts to affect the population. It spreads quickly, causing the authorities to quarantine this small city, and seek out the only person who might be able to help: Doctor Andrew Strauss. However, Strauss has a secret, one that has linked him to this place all his life, one that has linked him to a particular person there, though he doesn’t yet know who. But he’s not the only one hiding things – and as he ventures into Middletown to collect samples with an army escort, a mixture of UK and US troops, cracks soon begin to appear in the operation. Especially when his team come up against the most terrifying threat humankind has ever known… From the imagination of the award-winning and bestselling author of Who’s Been…? and RED (optioned for film and turned into an award-winning feature script), this chilling reworking of another well-loved fairy tale reads like a heady mix of The Andromeda Strain, Inception, Outbreak and Quatermass, and is a tale that’s bound to delight genre fans the world over.’ The book  comes with an introduction by bestselling author David Moody (Autumn, Hater) and is due to be published by Crystal Lake very soon. Visit the page for the book here and Paul’s author page on the publisher’s site here. -------------------------------- In addition to this, two more of Paul’s books are out this month. The first is his collection of novelettes and longer stories, The Spaces Between (above, with a cover by The Walking Dead’s Charlie Adlard). Published by Dark Moon, you can order in the US here and the UK here. The Spaces Between features an Arrowhead novelette, which is perfect timing as an omnibus of all three of his bestselling post-apocalyptic Robin Hood novels is also being published in June. Called simply Hooded Man, the link to order on Amazon is here and the link to the ‘Arrowhead Trilogy’ website is here. ------------------------------------- And Paul will be signing copies of Hooded Man – amongst other books – at the launch of his next anthology, Beyond Rue Morgue (above is the first look at its wraparound cover), which will take place at Forbidden Planet’s flagship megastore in London (below). Here is the PR for this exciting event: ‘Forbidden Planet is delighted to be hosting one of our trademark multi-author signings. At 1:00pm on Saturday July 27th, Forbidden Planet 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, will be playing host to: • Mike Carey • Simon Clark • Paul Kane • Lisa Tuttle • Stephen Volk To promote the release of the fantastic anthology Beyond Rue Morgue (Titan Books), Forbidden Planet has gathered a host of authors into one event – an event to bring writers and fans together. Edgar Allan Poe’s 1841 short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” introduced the world to the its first literary detective, Le Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin, and established many literary devices which would be used in future fictional detectives, including Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. Beyond Rue Morgue invites its authors to continue the exploits of Dupin, while retaining that touch of the strange and macabre for which Poe’s work is so well known. This will be one of our trademark multi-author events, bringing our guests out from behind their tables and giving their readers a chance to meet them and talk to them about their work. For more information visit the event page here. ------------------------------------- The SW site is very pleased now to welcome our Guest Writer for June: bestselling and award-winning author of books such as The Hope, The Age of… series (the latest being Age of Voodoo, above) and Redlaw, James Lovegrove. James and publisher Titan have very kindly let us have a sneak peak at his forthcoming Sherlock Holmes – The Stuff of Nightmares (below) which you lucky people can read by clicking here. ----------------------------------- A couple more reviews for Creakers appeared last month, the first in the latest Black Static magazine (above) who said: ‘This is well done, with some nice spectral effects to disturb the reader, such as the invasion of insects and the phantom lovemaking in Ray’s mother’s bedroom. The characters are competently drawn, with Ray’s troubled past put over effectively by suggestion, and his burgeoning romance with amiable neighbour Pam convincingly rendered.’ The second is by Casey Chaplin over at Sanatarium magazine who commented: ‘Kane’s style of writing is intriguing, and not one I’m accustomed to seeing. He seems rushed and frantic, but I feel it adds to the story. There’s not a lot of unneeded fluff added to lend length to the story, which is something a lot of writers do in order to hit a specific word count, but not Paul Kane. Everything that he needs said is indeed said, and he’s still able to tell a compelling narrative. The story itself isn’t anything ground breaking or earth shattering in anyway; it’s a simple tale of one man who’s troubled childhood comes back to him. But it doesn’t have to be more than that. We learn enough about Ray to want him to beat his adversary. We know enough about the house that we want to know how the next chapter in its life will begin. There’s a lot going on in this finely crafted short story, and I would be hard pressed to find something this enjoyable in such a small package any time soon.Using great language and description to create a spooky atmosphere, Paul Kane’s Creakers is a must read for anybody, not just fans of horror. VERDICT: 92% ----------------------------- A prequel short story that Paul wrote to promote his forthcoming YA novel The Rainbow Man – ‘The Rainbow Coat’ – will be appearing this summer in a special YA Horror edition of Dark Moon Digest (above). Also featured are writers such as Jonathan Maberry, Joe McKinney and Nancy Holder, so Paul is in very good company indeed. You can find more information about this by checking in regularly on the Dark Moon site here. ------------------------------------- The new issue of famous US horror magazine Fangoria, #325, features an in-depth interview with Paul conducted by Barbie Wilde, where he talks about all his latest projects including the film version of Lunar. It also contains features on Night of the Living Dead live, Pacific Rim and Jess Franco (featured on the cover, above). To visit the link for this issue on the Fango site click here. ----------------------------------- Paul reviewed two movies for Sci-Fi Bulletin last month, the new Texas Chainsaw film (above) and Curandero: Dawn of the Demon (below). You can read these in their entirety here and here. ---------------------------------- Paul was out and about last month at a couple of book launches/signings. The first was for Alison Littlewood’s new novel, The Path of Needles (above, from Jo Fletcher Books) which took place at Waterstones in Leeds. Below you can see photos of Alison giving her talk and reading, and signing books.   Then he visited Waterstones Liverpool One for a reading and signing promoting Joe Hill’s new novel N0S4R2 (below, along with other photos from the event) out from Gollancz now.       ------------------------------ Finally, friends of the Shadow Writer site The Great Escape are raising money for a new film project (preview above), a follow-up to their successful venture Gabriel Cushing vs The Zombie Vampires. To pledge money towards Gabriel Cushing and the Carnival of Sorrows, visit the Kickstarter page here and to visit The Great Escape site itself just click here. ----------------------------------- May We begin this month with the first look at the striking cover to Paul’s next anthology, above. Published in mass market paperback by Titan this July, Beyond Rue Morgue contains all new stories featuring Poe’s detective, Dupin. Co-edited with Charles Prepolec (noted for his Sherlock Holmes anthologies), the book has stories from the likes of Clive Barker, Joe R. Lansdale, Mike Carey, Elizabeth Massie, Jonathan Maberry, Weston Ochse & Yvonne Navarro, Stephen Volk, Lisa Tuttle and Simon Clark. More soon about this exciting release, including a very special launch, but in the meantime you can pre-order the book from Amazon here or from the publisher here. ----------------------------------- Another first look now, this time at the gorgeous cover artwork for Paul’s forthcoming Ghosts collection of supernatural stories – launching at the World Fantasy Convention this Halloween. The suitably atmospheric image has been provided by Edward Miller and the publisher for this one is the same as Paul’s Creakers, Spectral Press. Again, more over the coming months about this one.   ---------------------------------- Speaking of Creakers, more positive reviews are in for the chapbook. The first is from Wag the Fox who said: ‘I might have thought a story with as many uses of the word “creak” would have irritated me, but it didn’t. I was too wrapped up in the horror of it all, especially one scene involving a sleeping bag that made my skin crawl off my bones as I read it…Ghost story fans are in for a treat!’ While Matthew Fryer at Welcome to the Hellforge commented: ‘From its spine-chilling opening in the house, this muscular tale holds the interest throughout with crisp prose and chills, and I enjoyed Ray’s developing friendship with an attractive, lonely neighbour. As well as character development, this element also served to balance the haunting moments with some cold light of day. I found the overall concept familiar, but the piece still builds to an assured – if not breathtaking – finale…the author keeps us guessing as to whether events are concrete, psychological or supernatural, or even a combination of them all. And tip-toeing around a scary house at midnight by torchlight is always a blast in safe hands like Paul Kane’s.’ And Theresa Derwin at Terror Tree stated: ‘As an experienced house re-builder, Ray knows that those old places that make noises in the night are called Creakers, so he expects some noise during the night, but not this much. The noises and the things crawling over him at night are not normal. The reader can feel his growing tension and fear as the noises and creaks in the house grow and grow. The story falls into that nice tradition of anthropomorphic horror, in which objects take on human personification and become the objects of horror, bringing back painful memories of his home, his childhood and his Mom. Filled with squirmy uncomfortable imagery, this is cheap as chips chills! Give it a go.’ Finally, Hellbound Times said: ‘Paul Kane is quite a diverse and highly regarded writer, perhaps known primarily as an author of dark fantasy and science fiction and for his editorial work (The Mammoth Book of Body Horror). Here, Kane uses the old fashioned quiet horror/ghost story as his foundation, slowly crafting a totally modern, yet Victorian mansion of a tale. The character of Ray is well fleshed out, revealed in a calculated fashion, his blue collar voice nicely realised and actually key to the underpinnings of the story. Kane’s prose here is tight and non-fussy; again, this augments the believability of the narrative.’ You can read the full reviews here, here, here and here.   And you can read Paul’s new blog posting about writing the book by clicking the ‘Journal’ button to your left, or just click here to go straight to it. ------------------------------ Photo © Peter Coleborn Last month Paul and Marie were at the launch of Sarah Pinborough’s reworking of Snow White, Poison, at Blackwell’s bookstore in London (above) – a thoroughly enjoyable event, made that bit more special by finding out the book is dedicated to the couple.    And to mark the arrival of not only this title from Gollancz (above, with cover art by Les Edwards), but also Victorian serial killer thriller Mayhem (below) from Jo Fletcher Books – a stunning double whammy – Sarah returns to the Shadow Writer site as Guest Writer (only the second person to appear twice). You can read extracts from the excellent Poison here and Mayhem here. Plus you can buy the books at the publisher sites here and here or from Amazon here and here. -------------------------------     Paul has been involved in a very exciting project recently, in conjunction with The Pyramid Gallery and the new Labyrinth website. Paul came up with the basic design and back story for ‘The Scribe Box’ (above and below). There’ll be more about this in the future, but until then you can visit the Scribe Box page on the Labyrinth site here and read Paul's interview with them here.     ------------------------------------ Photo © Tim Lebbon Paul was a Guest at not one, but two conventions last month. The first was Monster Mash in Margam, Wales, and you can see photos from this above and below including: Paul with an old friend giving a Hellraiser talk; the beautiful Margam Castle where the event was held – as seen in Dr Who recently; a Cyberman, Davros plus Dalek on bouncer duties; the book display and buyers; Paul with David Warner (Tron, Titanic, Star Trek V & VI); a Frankenstein print; Marie and Paul with Spencer Wilding (Green Lantern, The Wolfman, Wrath of the Titans); and Marie and Paul with Tim Lebbon against the fireplace seen recently on TV in Da Vinci’s Demons.                       Photo © Tim Lebbon But Paul also guested at the inaugural Event Horizon in Derby last weekend. Below you will find photos from this, as well, including: the book display and posters; Paul with Marie at their table; Sarah Pinborough – who also features in Hellbound Hearts – with Marie; plus some of the crowds and dealers in the main room.                       --------------------------------- You can read Paul’s thoughts on the newly-released Scanners trilogy on blu-ray in his review over on the Sci-Fi Bulletin site here. --------------------------------------- Finally, Paul’s Film Section has undergone a bit of a revamp, adding pages for Wind Chimes and the upcoming feature adaptation of Lunar, currently in development. To go to this page and see what else Paul has had made, just click here. --------------------------------- April First of two major book announcements this month, to begin with. First up, Paul’s Arrowhead trilogy is to be gathered together in a gorgeous mass market omnibus edition called simply Hooded Man (above). The weighty tome will also come with a little bonus extra that should please fans of the series. It’s out in paperback in June, but to pre-order Hooded Man from Amazon click here. And to visit the ‘Arrowhead Trilogy’ website, just click here. --------------------------------- The other piece of exciting news is a preview of the stunning wraparound zombie cover for The Spaces Between, by The Walking Dead’s Charlie Adlard. For more details about the collection – introduced by Kelley Armstrong – see previous news sections and visit the Dark Moon site here. -------------------------------------- And sticking with Dark Moon for a moment, their charity anthology Slices of Flesh, featuring Paul’s story ‘Hoodies’ and boasting cover art by Mike ‘Hellboy’ Mignola, has just been nominated for a Horror Writers’ Association Bram Stoker Award. Congratulations to editor Stan Swanson and all the other contributors to the book.   ---------------------------------- Paul was at the Salon Project last month at the Citizens’ Theatre in Glasgow, with Marie and Muriel Gray. Above and below are some photos from the excellent event, including Paul in 19th century Attire, one of the speeches given – about neuroscience – the crowd gathered, Muriel giving her performance and the group shot. With thanks to Muriel and the staff of the Citizens’ Theatre.        -------------------------------- And April looks set to be even busier. The first event Paul is attending is the launch of Sarah Pinborough’s new book from Gollancz, Poison (above) – a reworking of the Snow White fairy tale. This will be at Blackwell’s bookstore on Charing Cross Road on 18th April. Paul will then be appearing as a Guest at Monster Mash (above) in Margam, Wales, Saturday 20th – Sunday 21st alongside people like Tony Todd (Candyman, Final Destination), David Warner (The Omen, Time Bandits, Titanic and Madeline Smith (Live and Let Die, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell) – all below – as well as Marie and fellow genre authors Simon Clark and Tim Lebbon.     It promises to be a great event, so for more details and to book tickets visit the website here. And don’t forget, there’s also still time to book for Event Horizon in Derby – an ad for which is in the latest SFX magazine (above). Paul is a Guest at this one as well, along with Marie, Sarah Pinborough, Farscape’s Virginia Hey and Hammer/Bond Girl Caroline Monroe on 28th April. For enquiries mail ehmderbyevents@gmail.com  or visit the FaceBook page here. ------------------------------------- Paul’s Guest Writer for April is the chillingly brilliant Mo Hayder, and we’re very proud to give you an exclusive taster of her latest DI Jack Caffery novel, Poppet (above). Popular detective Caffery was, of course, introduced in the very disturbing thriller Birdman (below), one of Paul’s favourite novels, and has featured in several since. To read the extract click here, and to read what happened when Paul and Marie caught up with Mo a few years ago, click here. With special thanks to Mo, plus Simon Taylor, Sarah Adams and Joanne Williamson at Transworld. --------------------------------- The first review of Creakers, published by Spectral Press, is now up online, written by Tom Ruffles for his personal site – where he says, ‘Kane’s short story is tautly written, with an introduction by Sarah Pinborough. But I would not advise reading it alone, at night, in a creaking house…’ For the full review click here. ------------------------------------- Paul was very saddened to hear of the sudden death of two genre greats last month, both within just one week of each other. The first loss was James Herbert O.B.E., author of such bestselling books as The Rats, Moon, The Secret of Crickley Hall (televised by the BBC) and Ash (his final book, reviewed by Paul recently here. Paul had known Jim for a few years and had always been impressed with his kindness and willingness to give his time, especially for projects such as Voices in the Dark and last year’s The Mammoth Book of Body Horror. Above is one of Paul’s favourite photos of the pair of them sharing a joke at World Horror in Brighton a couple of years ago, while below Paul got the chance to introduce daughter Jen to Jim at FantasyCon just last September. He will be sadly missed. As will horror writer Rick Hautala, bestselling author of books such as The Wildman, Cold Whisper, Night Stone and Moon-Death (below), who also passed away in March. Paul only knew Rick briefly, as he was one of the producers of the film he wrote, The Weeping Woman, but his reputation preceded him. His work was first published in the 1980s and wrote and published over 90 novels and stories since then. A sad month for horror fans indeed, we’re sure you’ll agree. --------------------------------------- March The first piece of news for March is that the short film Paul wrote, Wind Chimes, which premiered at FCON last year, has sold to Shorts International to be screened on TV. This subtle ghost story, based on a short story of Paul’s from The Butterfly Man and Other Stories PS publishing) and directed by Brad Watson (who is also handling directorial duties for the feature adaptation of Lunar) stars Robert Carretta and Joanna Ignaczewska. For a sneak preview, check out the trailer below. And be sure to keep checking back for a Wind Chimes section on the SW site, coming soon. ---------------------------------- The second major announcement this month comes in the form of an award. Paul is delighted to report that FantasyCon 2012 won the prize for best event in the This is Horror poll, as voted for by the public. It narrowly beat FrightFest, which is quite an achievement, so congratulations to all members of the FCON committee and staff. To read the announcement click here and to see who else won in the awards click here. ------------------------------- Paul is also very excited to announce that #1 bestselling author Kelley Armstrong (above) known for novels such as Bitten, Haunted and, more recently Thirteen (below) has penned the introduction to his novelette collection The Spaces Between (see last month’s news section for more details). The book is due out around June from Dark Moon Books, features an exclusive cover and internal art from The Walking Dead’s Charlie Adlard, and contains three stories from Paul’s ‘Dead…’ series (one of which was filmed by Lions Gate) plus a tale from his bestselling Arrowhead mythos. ------------------------------- The SW site is proud to welcome Lisa Tuttle as our very special Guest Writer for March. The author of such titles as Windhaven (above, with Game of Thrones’ George R.R. Martin), A Nest of Nightmares and The Pillow Friend, Lisa has remained a popular genre favourite throughout her career. It’s with great pleasure that we offer the opportunity to read an exclusive extract from her most recent novel The Silver Bough (below) published by Jo Fletcher Books; just click here to go straight to it. ------------------------------------- Finally, Paul was out and about at the end of last month – at the Twisted Tales Serial Killer Evening at Waterstone’s Liverpool One. Giving readings and answering questions were Dark Room author Steve Mosby (above left), Last Days author Adam Nevill (above centre) and Stuart MacBride (above right), there to promote the latest Logan McRae novel Close to the Bone (below). A thoroughly enjoyable event, as always! -----------------------------------   February Welcome to another Shadow Writer news update. We start with an exclusive look at the terrific art for Paul’s forthcoming release from Spectral Press, Creakers. The cover is by Neil Williams and the publication comes with an introduction by the award-winning Sarah Pinborough, who had the following to say: ‘Paul Kane’s career is moving steadily forward, quietly creeping up around us and you know what? He’s good. That won’t come as a surprise to those who have read him already…’ You can order your copy directly from Spectral here or why not take out a subscription, as there are many more fine releases coming soon. But hurry, it’s on a first come first served basis and stocks are running out (in fact they’ve just had to be increased to compete with demand). ------------------------------------ Viewers of Channel 5’s Fear Itself – originally broadcast in the US on NBC – can now own the DVD of the first series. The show contains episodes written and directed by the likes of John (American Werewolf in London) Landis, Ronny (Freddy vs. Jason) Yu and Victor (Jeepers Creepers) Salva. The series also contains the episode ‘New Year’s Day’, adapted from Paul’s story ‘Dead Time’ by writer Steve (30 Days of Night) Niles and director Darren (SAW II-IV) Lynn Bousman. To order the DVD (below) from Amazon, click here and to visit the NYD page on the Shadow Writer site click here. -------------------------------- And sticking with ‘Dead Time’, this is one of the stories contained in Paul’s forthcoming collection The Spaces Between. The book gathers together all of Paul’s longer short stories and novelettes, including two new tales in the ‘Dead…’ zombie universe, completing the trilogy, plus an Arrowhead Robin Hood story, as well as many others. The collection also boasts an exclusive colour cover and black and white internal illustration from The Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard (below), in keeping with the zombie theme. The book is being published by Dark Moon and is being introduced by a bestselling author – who will be announced very soon. Keep checking back for more details. --------------------------------- Guest Writer on the SW site for this month is the author of Babylon Steel (above), published by Solaris last year, and the follow-up Dangerous Gifts (below) – out this month! – Gaie Sebold. Click here for the excellent first chapter of Babylon… ------------------------------------ Paul has just been added to the guest list of Derby’s ‘Event Horizon’ one day event on April 28th (see poster above). Other guests announced so far include former Bond girl and Hammer regular Caroline Monroe (below) and Farscape’s Virginia Hey. For enquiries mail ehmderbyevents@gmail.com  or visit the FaceBook page here. ------------------------------------- Finally, as regular visitors to the site will know, February is Paul’s birthday month so I’m sure you’ll all join us in wishing the old man a very Happy Birthday! See you next month for more Shadow Writer news! ----------------------------------- January A very Happy New Year and welcome to the first news update of 2013 on the Shadow Writer site! First up, we have photos from events Paul attended last month, beginning with the British Fantasy Society’s annual Christmas Open Night in London. Above you can see Paul (left) with director Brad Watson, who made the movie of Paul’s short story ‘Wind Chimes’ and is attached to film the adaptation of his latest novel Lunar (see the announcement at Film News and This is Horror for more details). While below we have a snap from the fourth successful Wingerworth Reading Event, which raised money for Cancer Research UK – this proved to be the biggest of those yet! ------------------------------- And the first Guest Writer of this year marks a very special crossover event, as well. To promote Marie’s new anthology from Constable & Robinson/Running Press The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women – which was an Amazon bestseller over the festive period – we have an extract from Nina Allan’s story, ‘Seeing Nancy’. Nina is author of the books A Thread of Truth, The Silver Wind (below) and Stardust: The Ruby Castle Stories, as well as being a contributor to many other anthologies and magazines. To read this extract, simply click here and the book is available at all good bookstores and online.  ------------------------------------- Coming soon from Paul are a couple of publications from Spectral Press, the first of which is a chapbook called Creakers, introduced by the wonderfully talented and award-winning author of the Dog-Faced Gods trilogy – which concluded recently with The Chosen Seed (above) –  Sarah Pinborough. The second publication will gather together all of Paul’s supernatural fiction, including new material, and is coming out later this year, so keep checking back for more on that. In the meantime, Paul’s blog has had a makeover; to check this out, just click the ‘Journal’ button to your left.     -------------------------------------------------------------- Current news can be viewed here 2023 news can be viewed here 2022 news can be viewed here 2021 news can be viewed here 2020 news can be viewed here 2019 news can be viewed here 2018 news can be viewed here 2017 news can be viewed here 2016 news can be viewed here 2015 news can be viewed here 2014 news can be viewed here 2012 news can be viewed here 2011 news can be viewed here 2010 news can be viewed here 2009 news can be viewed here 2008 news can be viewed here 2007 news can be viewed here 2006 news can be viewed here 2005 news can be viewed here 2004 news can be viewed here 2003 news can be viewed here

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