Simon Clark: Nailed by the Heart - 'Blog' section

The Mammoth Book of Sherlock Holmes Abroad

Mon, 20 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0100

Hello! I’ve been writing novels and short stories for decades now, and it came as much a surprise to me as anyone else when I was asked to edit my first anthology.

So, I donned my editor’s cap, and as the anthology is a book of Sherlock Holmes stories that should be a deerstalker, and produced a book that I’m enormously proud of.

The Mammoth Book of Sherlock Holmes Abroad contains fifteen new stories that follow the great detective overseas as he investigates some of the most mysterious cases he’s ever encountered.

Here’s the list of writers in the order they appear in the book: Paul Finch, William Meikle, Denis O. Smith, Alison Littlewood, Nev Fountain, David Moody, Andrew Darlington, Simon Clark, Sam Stone, Johnny Mains, Cavan Scott, Paul Kane, Stephen Volk, Mark Morris and Carole Johnstone.

The book is published by Running Press in the United States and Canada, and by Robinson in the UK and the rest of the world. It’s available both in paperback and e-book.

I’m pleased to announce that more of my earlier books are available in e-book, including Blood Crazy, Nailed by the Heart and Vampyrrhic. Also Big Finish have released a fantastic audio adaptation of The Night of the Triffids with a cast of extremely talented actors, sound fx and music. I really am thrilled with the production and it was a personal highlight of 2014 to sit in the studio as the recording took place.

In closing, I’ll just mention that my next book will be Inspector Abberline & the Just King, which will be published in September in hardback and e-book by Robert Hale Limited.

With best wishes and take care,

Simon Clark

HIS VAMPYRRHIC BRIDE – a story of forbidden love

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0100

When I was a young boy my father pointed at the river near where our family lived and said, ‘Look, Simon, that’s where the Vikings landed their invasion fleet.’

As I grew up in the North of England, a place conquered and settled by Viking warriors over a thousand years ago, I began to appreciate that those invaders from Denmark, Norway and Sweden had never really left.

Viking blood still flows in many an English person’s veins. One visible clue is a hereditary condition that causes some descendants from the Scandinavian ‘old country’ to develop a quirky kink in one of their fingers. All of which shows that every single one of us has inherited the blood of our ancestors.

I grew up with the notion that the past, and our long dead ancestors, can still tiptoe into our lives today. That notion – or should I say fascination? – prompted me to write Vampyrrhic over fifteen years ago. This story of Viking ‘vampires’ that haunt the town of Leppington struck a chord with readers around the world. So I’m delighted to report that the latest instalment of the ‘Vampyrrhic legend’ is out now as a hardcover from Severn House. His Vampyrrhic Bride tells the story of Tom Westonby being attracted to a beautiful, yet unearthly girl who lives deep in an ancient forest with her mother. The story draws on Viking legends as well as the ‘mythology’ that first appeared in Vampyrrhic in 1999.

Ladies and Gentlemen, His Vampyrrhic Bride silently awaits her groom, so without any more delay here’s an extract from the novel:

Tom Westonby’s life changed the moment he saw the woman. She shouldn’t have been there. Certainly not at this time of night.

But there she was. Tom looked out of the window and watched the stranger walk across the lawn. Moonlight flooded the valley. That other-worldly radiance gave the white cotton dress she wore a spectral glow. While her pale, yellow hair had the appearance of a luminous mist that cascaded down around her shoulders.

She was beautiful. Uncannily beautiful. Somehow dangerously beautiful. As well as tingles of physical attraction, he felt the cold, tingling sensation of an inexplicable fear trickling down his spine. So what was this striking, yet ghostly figure doing gliding across his lawn at midnight?

So, if you’ve bought His Vampyrrhic Bride for yourself, or as that unique wedding gift for a bride and groom who love vampires – or even for an actual Vampyrrhic bride and groom – then thank you, good health, good reading and take care.

—Simon Clark

PS LATE BOOK NEWS: Many of my books are being launched as ebooks at the end of August. One of these is the short story collection, Hotel Midnight, which has been a rarity for a while now, and which contains the popular Vampyrrhic spin-off novella ‘The Electra Suite.’

New Simon Clark Website

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Hello! I’m delighted to welcome you to my new-look website!

Now, let me take you back to the dawn of the internet age…

I’m driving toward the beautiful hills of Derbyshire and listening to REM’s Automatic For The People. The year’s 1997 and I’m going to visit Chris Reed (of BBR fame). He’s promised to introduce me to a new invention called a ‘website’. I’m agog. I’ve never seen a website before. Come to that, I still didn’t have the internet. Back then, very few people did.

After ‘Hellos’ and chatting about the picturesque setting of Chris’s home village we head to the study where a computer is waiting. Chris taps the keyboard and announces, ‘This is your website, Nailed by the Heart,’ and there it is, in all its magnificent splendour.

‘That’s incredible,’ I tell Chris, ‘It looks really brilliant!’ Then I pause and ask the question, ‘What is it that websites actually do?’

Chris explained, and I began to understand the possibilities of reaching out to the whole wide world. Now websites are as much a part of our society as television, roads and the shoes on our feet. Everyone knows what a website is, millions of us blog, tweet and surf. Back then, Chris Reed was one of the first web designers anywhere. I’m extremely proud of the fact that the Simon Clark website was a very rare thing – one of the first author websites on the planet. Since then, how many eyes have scanned my webpages? And I’ve been delighted to welcome you, the virtual visitor, from every corner of the globe. From your home, from schools, colleges, military bases, and now I have the honour of offering you a friendly ‘Hello, and welcome.’

More to see at the new Simon Clark website

Please take the new Simon Clark website for a test-drive. There’s information about Blood and Grit 21 and the video link. Click the Novels tab and you can browse the cover gallery for a whole array of book covers, including foreign language editions of Blood Crazy, Vampyrrhic and so on. There’s lots more to see, too.

Simon says, you says

You’re more than welcome to contact me. On the home page there’s an e-mail address so you can get in touch, whether it’s to say ‘Hi’ or request visits to your conference, book shop, university, festival, or for interviews, rights queries and so on.

Is the old website rotting away in the wrecker’s yard?

No, the original has been diligently archived by the British Library. In my mind’s eye, at least, I see it being safely stored behind bombproof doors for future generations to take a gander at now and then.

Recent news

Blood and Grit 21 is my latest eBook. Kindle and iBookstore offer free samples at a press of a button. Also, you can download the Kindle version to your PC or laptop, if you don’t have an eReader yet.

Just out: My story ‘The Soaring Dead’ is in The Mammoth Book of Body Horror, edited by Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan. Forthcoming: an appearance in Paul Finch’s Terror Tales of the Cotswolds.

My next novel is His Vampyrrhic Bride (Severn House). More news about this will be appearing here soon.

Thanks for spending time with me, and take care until next time.

—Simon

PS Be sure to check out Chris Reed’s own BBR website. Chris developed and manages nailedbytheheart.com – thanks Chris!

Blood & Grit Twenty-One Years Later

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100

I’ve been time travelling… At least that’s what it felt like. I’ve been re-reading stories that I wrote over twenty years ago. This was before my daughter, Helen, was born – she’s an adult now.

Those stories, which made me feel as if I was eerily gliding back through time, are from Blood and Grit, my first book. Its publisher back in 1990 was Chris Reed, the same brilliant Chris Reed that created my website, which has had the honour of being archived by the British Library.

In my recent mailer I hinted about the re-release of a book that changed my life. And here goes! I can now reveal which one.

Yes, Blood and Grit is back. And it’s bigger and better than before. I’m thrilled to announce that Blood and Grit 21 has been launched. Initially, the book is being released as an eBook. The original first saw the light of day twenty-one years ago as a slim paperback.

Blood and Grit 21 boasts a new introduction from the inspirational Andy Darlington. This is so comprehensive that it reads like a biography. Andy did me proud. I have to admit that it was so moving to read that I had a lump in my throat. Thanks, Andy!

There’s also a new story, ‘21 Skinner Lane’. There are photographs, and there is an article that describes how the original Blood and Grit came to exist in the first place.

We’ve also included my first professional sale, ‘…Beside the Seaside, Beside the Sea…’.

Working on this collection has been an emotional experience. As I mentioned at the beginning of this mailer, I had a sensation of travelling back in time to visit the Simon Clark of two decades past.

If anything, I realized how proud I am of that slender volume that put me on the road to becoming a writer. The stories in Blood and Grit have such a raw power. What they lack in grammatical nicety they make up for with sheer energy. I even wished I could e-mail that younger version of Simon Clark and say ‘Simon, you did alright! By the way, you should see how much those copies of the original book are worth these days. Wow!’

So, recently I read passages like this in ‘Skinner Lane’ from Blood and Grit:

“An ominious rumble of thunder rolled over Thorne Manor. And, as Kenny watched, the last gleam of daylight died. Then something fantastic happened: the clouds and trees merged into a single, enormous, threatening shape.”

And, as I read those words, I found myself smiling with such a heart-warming sense of satisfaction. Because I realized the stories had stood the test of time. Not only that, so many people – you included – have invested time, money and faith in my work. And if we’re still riding the horror trail together after all this time, then we’re doing something right, aren’t we?

Blood and Grit 21 is available for download now on the iBookstore and Amazon – go to www.bloodandgrit.com for more details.

Happy Halloween.

—Simon

Humpty Yokes Award

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100

The British Fantasy Society held its awards ceremony in a sun-drenched Brighton a few days ago.

I’m delighted to tell you that my novella Humpty’s Bones won the award for best novella. This story of amateur archeology and monstrous immortality was published by the excellent Telos and boasts a fabulous cover by Vincent Chong.

I’m also pleased to add that both Telos and Vincent Chong won awards at the same event. Most deservedly, too.

Due to engineering works on the railway line I had to leave Brighton early and so missed the opportunity to pick up my award. I would have loved to have been there to personally thank the British Fantasy Society members for their vote, but some behemoth of a machine ripping up worn-out railway track meant it wasn’t to be. However, thank you to the British Fantasy Society and for everyone who gave their vote to Humpty’s Bones. It’s a marvelous honour: I do appreciate and value this award.

To watch the awards ceremonies click here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL32260EBC2F88BAD1

For Doctor Who fans there was a special treat. Frazer ‘Jamie’ Hines, the man who tangled with Daleks, Cybermen and other horrors in the series, was there to present an award. His appearance was caught on camera, too, and can be seen if you follow the awards ceremony YouTube link.

Website news

We have a new domain, and shortly this website will have a new look. I’ll send you a mailer when the refurbished website goes live.

Book news

I’m going to be deliberately tantalizing and mysterious here, because I can’t say too much just yet. However, a new edition of one of my books, which has been an incredible rarity, will be reappearing shortly. And it will be bigger than before. There’ll be new material and intriguing extras. Quite simply, the book in question changed my life.

That’s all for this time. Take care, and I’ll write to you with a full announcement about the special edition of that Simon Clark rarity very soon.

—Simon

Television, Whitby and Vampires

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Those nice people at ITV’s Countrywise recently interviewed me in the ancient seaport of Whitby on England’s East Coast. I’m talking about Whitby being such a mysterious and inspirational location. Arthur Machen described the place as ‘a town of a magic dream.’

I’m also talking about vampires, of course. Especially Whitby Vampyrrhic, which is now available as an e-book. Countrywise airs on ITV at 8pm, 14th June.

Recently, BBC’s Juliette Foster interviewed me on stage at the Camberley Literature Festival. She reviewed Whitby Vampyrrhic before the event and this is what she wrote. With Juliette’s kind permission I’m reproducing her piece here in full. Thanks, Juliette, for such a wonderful review!

—Simon

FANGS FOR THE COMPANY: WHITBY VAMPYRRHIC – Juliette Foster

Vampire stories, like the movie genre they’ve spawned, are a bit like marmite: you either like them or hate them. Personally I don’t mind the spread but I do draw the line at bloodsuckers.

Maybe my prejudice was shaped by Christopher Lee, whose brilliant depiction of the elegant Count Dracula in the Hammer horror films always scared the living daylights out of me. How I survived those memories of fangs embedded in jugulars is a bit of a mystery. Which leads me to my next point: considering I’ve never even read a vampire novel why am I reviewing one for the Surrey Heath Literary Festival?

Call it the luck of the draw! The organisers wanted a horror author who’s exciting, hip, funny and happening: Simon Clark ticked all the right boxes. I just happened to be the one who was ruthlessly shamed into putting my hand up when a “volunteer” was needed to review his novel Whitby Vampyrric. So what do I think of it? In a word: Good!

It’s set in the winter of 1942, in the same Yorkshire seaport where in the Bram Stoker story the infamous Count Dracula makes dry land and later menaces the locals. Drac may be absent from Clark’s narrative but his wayward spirit lives on through dark Viking myths and a cave where something very nasty lurks amongst the stalactites. Evil flourishes in darkness and at night during the wartime blackout the vampires patrol the hood looking for food. There’s plenty of nourishment around some of which quite literally falls out of the sky: without giving too much away just think parachutes! Into this heady, dark, mysterious cauldron walk Beth, Sally and Alec who are in Whitby to make a government propaganda film. It should be a straightforward assignment but it soon becomes clear to the trio that all is not right: what is the secret that local hotelier Eleanor Charnwood is hiding in her basement, why is her reclusive brother Theo covered in mysterious bite marks and who exactly are these vampires roaming the streets?

This is a novel which draws in the reader from the first chapter to the last thanks to some good, fluid writing and the evocative sense of atmosphere that drips off every page. Whitby is a land steeped in ancient folklore and history which Clark seamlessly intertwines into his storytelling: you can almost feel yourself wrapped in the creepy, swirling fog of the East Cliff, or walking along the same cobbled streets where Saint Hilda famously saved the town from a plague of snakes by cracking their heads off with her leather whip.

But it’s also a book with a strong feminist undercurrent. It’s the women who lead the initiative in the fight against evil and it’s an ex housewife who, liberated from a darts obsessed husband and a life of drudgery at the kitchen sink, brazenly plots to snatch the leadership of the vampire posse. I won’t spoil things by telling you whether she succeeds or not but even I couldn’t stop cheering her on!

This is a rollicking good read which intelligently subverts the notion of what being a vampire is all about. Don’t expect the clichés of crucifixes, garlic pods, wooden stakes and deranged vicars with rolling eyes. Clark’s living dead are conflicted souls with human personalities locked in a one sided war against an overpowering, bloodthirsty streak. We know they have to die but that doesn’t make their demise any less tragic, because in their former lives they were ordinary people with whom most of us would have surely empathised.

A great book, an excellent writer and a first rate storyteller: I’m looking forward to Simon Clark’s next offering.

Spring Writing Weekend in Chesterfield, England

Sat, 07 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100

I don’t often get the chance to share my thoughts about writing or give new authors what I hope will be useful and valuable tips for writing success; however, I’m taking part in the SPRING WRITING WEEKEND, and I’m delighted to be giving a workshop on creating fictional characters. I firmly believe that if a reader is interested in a character in a story or novel that’s one of the major keys to successful writing. Here are the details that have been provided for me by the organizers of the event:

Alt.Fiction is proud to present its Spring Writing Weekend – the perfect chance for writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror to meet and work with like-minded people and enjoy workshops and talks with established authors in the field. Offering workshops, feedback sessions and expert advice, these weekends are sure to both inform and inspire.

Spring Writing Weekend, 20th–22nd May

Guest Speakers:
Simon Clark – acclaimed horror novelist and author of The Night of the Triffids
Tony Ballantyne – science fiction writer of the Recursion Trilogy and the Penrose Series
Venue: Legacy Chesterfield Hotel, Malkin Street, Chesterfield, S41 7UA

With a convenient location next to Chesterfield rail station and a wide range of leisure facilities, the Legacy Chesterfield Hotel is a great place to work and relax.
www.legacy-hotels.co.uk/legacy-chesterfield/

The Spring Writing Weekend costs just £180, including two nights’ shared accommodation, all meals and hot drinks, plus a full programme of writing activities throughout Saturday and Sunday featuring two guest authors.

Day rates are also available for the 21st and 22nd May at only £40 per day, including access to all workshops, lunch and drinks throughout.

To book your place, or for any enquiries, email alt.fiction@writingeastmidlands.co.uk or call Alex on 07896 228367

Schedule information at http://sffeastmidlands.blogspot.com/

A £90 deposit is required to confirm your place, with a further £90 to be paid at least one week before the event. Deposits are non-refundable except in case of event cancellation. No refunds will be given in case of any changes to guest authors, or in the event of participants being unable to attend for any reason. Please note, the deadline for booking your place is 4 May 2011.

By the way, just a heads-up on some of my latest publications. Whitby Vampyrrhic is now available in paperback. And Telos have produced a beautiful little gem of a book called Humpty’s Bones. This contains my novella “Humpty’s Bones”, and the story “Danger Signs”. “Danger Signs” is a story for children, and it’s also one of the spookiest things I’ve ever written! The book, with amazing art by award-winning artist, Vincent Chong can be found here: www.telos.co.uk

I hope the Summer is kind to you, and you have time to relax with a good book or two.

All the best,

—Simon

Whitby Vampyrrhic – in Wartime Britain, Vampires Rule the Hours of Darkness

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100

I’ve held back on the news about the paperback release of Whitby Vampyrrhic, due to the time it takes for the books to reach the four corners of the globe. Come to think of it, there’s probably a batch of books on a boat chugging through the South China Seas even as I’m writing this.

However! The paperback of Whitby Vampyrrhic is out now from Severn House.

The Vampyrrhic series takes place in and around the real-life harbour town of Whitby on the English coast. A place rightly described by the writer Arthur Machen as ‘a town of a magic dream.’ With this book I wanted to step back in time and look at what might happen if vampires launched their evil crusade in World War 2. A time when mandatory blackouts and wholesale switching off of streetlights plunged Britain into darkness. Perfect for vampires!

It’s 1942. The Second World War rages. A group of filmmakers arrive in Whitby in order to make a moral-boosting film. Beth is an experienced actress who once appeared onscreen with Cary Grant. For Sally this is her first film. She’s incredibly excited and incredibly nervous. Her parents live in poverty. Sally grabs this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to earn enough money to give her mother and father a better life.

The actresses, and the film’s troubled, wayward director, Alec, find themselves staying in a hotel that is linked to the sea by a hidden tunnel. The owner, Eleanor Charnwood, knows some very dark secrets. And, in total secrecy, she is planning to fight her own battles with the undead that prowl the streets of ancient Whitby by night. Soon Beth, Sally and Alec are drawn into Eleanor’s own private war.

Whitby Vampyrrhic doesn’t feature the characters that appear in Vampyrrhic or Vampyrrhic Rites – it’s set many years before David Leppinton’s birth. However, I’ve listened carefully to those who’ve enjoyed those books and written to me with their thoughts. So, I’ve made sure to include the ingredients that made Vampyrrhic and Vampyrrhic Rites such hugely popular novels world-wide. I’ve also added a good few more of those vampiric ingredients and done my darndest to make this novel as exciting and as compelling as I possibly can.

Whitby Vampyrrhic is about vampires that plague a mysterious coastal town. It is also a story about hope, ambition, and the importance of making friends and trusting them with your life. And it’s about discovering what is really important to us as human beings.

And here’s a short film:

I made this to coincide with the release of Butterfly, a novella published by Cemetery Dance, which sold out before it left the printers! The film contains Steve Gilbert’s brilliant artwork and a haunting soundtrack by Alex Clark. Yes, Alex is my son, and a terrifically talented writer and musician. Dads are always biased, aren’t they? But Alex is wizard on the guitar. And his music and Steve’s illustrations blend together so powerfully.

That’s the news for this time. Enjoy your Halloween! And take the very best of care.

—Simon

Get Ready for Tomb Wars!

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

It’s that time again. Halloween season. The ghosts are out, the phantoms moan, and what’s making the floorboards creak upstairs…

A long time has passed since my last mailer, but that’s mainly due to writing a whole new batch of short stories and novellas, as well as my regular cycle of novels. You might have already spotted some of these in volumes like Hellbound Hearts and Dark Delicasies 3. And there are more lurking in the wings ;—)

So, what’s coming up? November sees the release of Ghost Monster (hardback from Robert Hale, paperback, Leisure). This story of possession is, in part, a homage to the kind of films I grew up with, especially the Hammer Horror movies that starred the likes of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. There are splashes of humour in this story of revenge from beyond the grave, as well splashes of gore, but it was my intention to create a lurid Technicolor frightfest of the kind that had me hooked in front of the television on Friday nights.

December sees the release of Whitby Vampyrrhic (Severn House). There’ll be more about this in a later mailer, along with a link to a short tie-in film. In a nutshell, however, the novel sees the return of the vampire creatures that featured in Vampyrrhic and Vampyrrhic Rites. Whitby Vampyrrhic is set in World War 2; a film unit travels to the remote coastal town of Whitby with the intention of making a movie… however, something is waiting there with a hellish appetite.

Out now:

This Ghosting Tide. A few years ago I took part in Winter Chills, a series of ghost hunts, which were shown on TV. For a long time I wanted to write a story that featured some of our adventures at haunted castles, mansions, ancient jails, and so on, but I never seemed to get round to it. Then one day I sat down and started writing the novella that would become This Ghosting Tide. A story of a bunch of hapless ghosthunters, hired by an eccentric English aristocrat called Lord ‘Byron’ who is accompanied by his pet monkey, Polidori. There are nuggets of autobiography in the novella, some humour, too, but its has a very dark heart, with some of the most unsettling scenes I’ve ever written. The strapline is GET READY FOR TOMB WARS! And I think that sums up nicely the jist of the story. The book is published by Bad Moon Books

I hope your Halloween is a good one. Remember, strange noises in the house are often caused by plumbing, drafts or roaming pets. But if your pet is some fiery, be-fanged hellborn spawn of Satan… then you’ve only yourself to blame ;—)

All the best,

—Simon

Horror Rocks! Music, Film, Fiction, Novels & Shooting Stars

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0100

This time there are some unusual extra items to report, come to that they are probably unique.

First off: Severn House has just released the paperback of Lucifer’s Ark. This is a hard-hitting horror-thriller about psychopaths being secretly shipped to an overseas jail. The book was inspired by my conversations with real-life mass-murderers in maximum security jails.

Secondly: Leisure have reprinted a number of paperbacks that haven’t been available for a while. These are my first novel Nailed By The Heart, the Zombie-esque Stranger, and Darkness Demands, a phenomenally popular story of supernatural suspense.

Thirdly: This is where we journey through the unusual into the downright unique. The visionary publisher Steve Clark of Tasmaniac has boldly created some fantastic items. He has published a novella of mine, Stone Cold Calling (Introduction: Kealan Patrick Burke; art: Vince Natale). The story involves a group of treasure hunters in search of a valuable meteorite. The downside for them – it has been located in a remote valley that is the site of a new dam. They must race against the clock to find this chunk of cosmic rock before the entire countryside is flooded. There is, however, much more to this meteorite than meets the eye. The book is in two formats: a paperback, and a special limited edition, which comes with a fragment of real meteorite. The special edition has already sold out but the paperback is still available from Tasmaniac and other outlets.

The VIP room at the Tasmaniac website is also playing host to a unique e-package, The Calling & Other Wraiths. Priced at just 99c this comprises “The Calling”, a 9,000 word short story, set in the same stretch of wilderness as Stone Cold Calling. With that comes “Make Me Frightful”, an article containing some secrets for writing horror. And finally The Haunted Page. This is a short film I made which illustrates some of the tips in the article. The film has a rocking soundtrack courtesy of John B. Ford and Steve Lines – you’ll be humming it for days.

For more about these special Tasmaniac publications and the e-package visit: http://www.tasmaniacpublications.com

To order the Stone Cold Calling novella in the UK drop in here: http://www.jeffnjoys.co.uk/

With longer hours of darkness in the Northern Hemisphere it’s a good time to spot shooting stars of your own. So keep watching the skies! And if you do see a meteorite fall, go grab it. Some are literally worth their weight in gold!

—Simon

The Midnight Man — Van Gogh, Ghosts, Murder and Madness. A Fusion of Fact and Fiction

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve looked forward to this moment for the last five years. Today, I’d like to make an announcement that means a great deal to me. The novel I’ve been working on, which features that troubled, cursed and blessed genius Vincent Van Gogh, has now been launched.

The Midnight Man is published by Severn House in hardback; it’s released in the UK in April and the U.S. in July. It should be available in the rest of world by the late Spring.

When I came across Van Gogh’s work and life-story as a teenager it was one of those revelatory moments. I’ve been a fan ever since. His visionary power and ability to be just so astounding in what he did was an inspiration. Van Gogh became a kind of magic touchstone for the way I wrote.

As well as The Midnight Man drawing on a crucial part of Van Gogh’s life and imagining the circumstances that led to the shattering breakdown in late 1888, I wanted to evoke what was, I believe, one of the most important eras in our history.

1880-90 is the decade that bore witness to the birth of the modern world. A profound change was in the air. It wasn’t a decade of global wars or major political revolutions, this was the revolution of the human mind. All of a sudden, people saw the world differently. Popular newspapers of that time start being written in the style of the modern press. They aren’t stilted or old fashioned. Photography became part and parcel of everyday lives. Baird was born in 1888, the inventor of the first mechanical TV system. Daimler and Benz’s motor cars were appearing on the roads. Family life became a lot like ours, working 9-5, school for the kids, then the commute to a suburban home.

In 1888, Van Gogh lived in Arles in the famously yellow house. Like a satellite dish he appeared to be picking up this emotional and intellectual evolution in human beings. Through that alchemy, which art possesses, he expressed this transformation in life-style and ‘mind-style’ into paintings of such visionary power that they enchant millions today. But it’s more than brilliant sunflowers and incandescent portraits, we still sense there is a code within the pictures that speaks to us. Of course, his passion to capture the new spirit that electrified the Western World was too much for him. That’s where the biography of Van Gogh is transmuted into legend.

So, these two elements have fascinated me for years: the story of Van Gogh in 1888, and the story of humanity’s transformation during possibly the most important decade in history. Now that, truly, is a story that MUST be told. With Van Gogh’s work to inspire me I’ve set out to attempt just that. The Midnight Man is, for me, one of the most personally satisfying novels I’ve ever written. I must add that I wrote about the artist with love and complete and utter respect. I trust I’ve done this great man, who saw the world’s transformation before anyone else did, justice.

By the way, I’ve launched a ‘making of’ blog that features background information to the novel. It also serves as a gateway to web films about the artist and to a virtual tour of the Yellow House in Arles. Here’s the blog link http://midnightmannovel.blogspot.com/

The Midnight Man – ISBN: 9780727866370

The book’s description: 1888. The Yellow House, Arles: Vincent van Gogh paints works of transcendent genius, while in London a killer launches a reign of terror. Nidabi is attacked by her sadistic master but is rescued just in time by saintly Pastor Hux, a man who befriended Van Gogh many years ago. On a mission to help those most in need Hux is relentless in his attempts to save the souls of those he rescues. In Arles, Van Gogh is helped by prostitute Ty and they quickly form a special relationship. Both are outsiders and she struggles to protect the artist as his passion to create threatens to shatter his mind. But why are these two men haunted by the spectre of failure? How can loyalty endure in the face of evil? Soon a deadly momentum will draw two old friends back together – into a withering storm painted in madness, fear and death.

Late Breaking News: Simon will be the toastmaster at the World Horror Convention 2008 in Salt Lake City, 27-30 March. http://www.whc2008.org/

That’s all for this time. Thanks for your patience in reading this longer than usual message. You can tell this book has a big, BIG place in my heart. Take care.

—Simon

Lucifer’s Ark is Launched

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Across the haunted ocean Lucifer’s Ark sets sail.

Psychotic killers are being transferred to an overseas prison by ship when a shadowy agency with a grisly plan intervenes. Shipwrecks, webcam footage of slayings, deadly pursuits, forbidden lust, friendship forged during an eruption of absolute peril. This routine sailing becomes a voyage to hell.

‘Isis gripped the handle of one door while the red-haired man took hold of the other. At that moment the lights went out. And, for Tanya, nothing in her life would prepare her for what happened next. Her world would never be the same again.’

Lucifer’s Ark is now out from Severn House.

Vampyrrhic. A big thank you for making this book a huge success and a firm favourite of horror fans world-wide. First appearing in 1998, Vampyrrhic’s gone through many printings, been a big hit in Russia, and has now appeared in translation in France and Greece. One fan enthused, ‘VIKING VAMPIRES! AUDACIOUS!!’ When I was writing the book some critics scoffed, saying vampire stories were a thing of the past. I’m glad we proved them wrong!

Marlow’s Telling: The Sea Of Darkness: Now live at Amazon Shorts (available USA only). Set aboard a nineteenth century sailing ship this account of a calamitous expedition and an encounter with an African sorceress is a companion piece to The Extraordinary Limits Of Darkness, which recently appeared in The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror 20.

I hope the run-up to Christmas is a smooth, hassle-free one.

That’s all for this time. Take care.

—Simon