Second bit of news is a brand new review of Tattered Souls over at Horrorworld (scroll to the bottom of the page), courtesy of regular reviewer Patricia Snodgrass. It’s a very good one, and concludes with “All of these stories are top quality, guaranteed to give you a shudder or two. Certainly, after reading Other People, you’ll never look at your dishwasher in the same way again. I loved Tattered Souls, and I think you will too. It’s a great winter read.” It’s the sort of review that might very well tempt the discerning reader to purchase a copy to enjoy for their very own. Those curious readers should follow this link. At the far end, they will be able to gratify themselves entirely.

“All told, these six novellas present unique takes on the macabre, and there is bound to be a story here for just about every sort of horror reader. Cutting Block Press’ offering of novellas is a nice touch, as these give readers a bit more meat than is possible in the typical short story… Cutting Block Press has brought one more fulfilling volume of long stories to readers.”

I can live with that. Pop along and buy the book. Consider it a festive investment in an opinion.

seems intended to comment upon society in general

Far from it. As the author, I was more concerned with immersing the reader in the psychology of the individual, and thematic repeptition formed a significant part of that. In an important way though, the statement I’ve just made means nothing in the eyes of the reader, because you filter what you’re reading through their own experiences and perceptions. As such, the points Wities makes, because they’re clearly well considered, are more valid than my own. He owns the story, while he’s reading it, and I find his take on it fascinating and rewarding.

I hope you’ll also filter the story while you read it, taking the words on the page and making them mean something unique to you. Go and buy it, and find out whether you agree with either of us, or have your own take.

Good bits of the review include such things as:

Individually, each suicide is well-written and chilling. Particularly powerful is the portrayal of determination and supreme effort in the characters self-destructiveness; each works hard and suffers greatly for their easy way out.â The characters are interesting, and their outlandish deaths earn our belief and our horror.

The ‘bad’ bits include:

Though each character’s personality, motive, and method are different, the narrative is nearly identical. We get the point halfway into the second suicide, and by the beginning of the third, there’s little need to read any further.

It’s an informative, interesting, and well written review, the type that is worth discussion in its own right. If that’s a discussion you want to have, there’s a forum at the bottom of the review that will let you do so. Failing that, feel free to let me know what you thought yourself, and what effect the story may or may not have had on you.

I don’t agree with the reviewer’s suggestion that erotic themes unify the anthology, unless the definition of erotic stops exactly at ‘it’s got some sex in it’, and even then I don’t think sex itself is a theme as such. It just happens to appear in most, if not all, of the stories as an act. However, I do agree with the assertion that this is as very good book, and that you should probably own a copy.

“Cutting Block Press has put out a book of high quality horror that is extreme in every sense of the word. Recommended.”

And when you’re done reading the review, why not find out whether you agree with it or not by reading the actual book?

Do I have readers in Austin, Texas? Wave, if you’re out there.

Okay, that wasn’t practical, even if I like the idea that you just waved.

Anyway, I ask because Cutting Block Press are holding a book signing event at the Book Place this Friday, the 13th. They’ll have thier whole inventory to hand, which of course includes the anthology Tattered Souls, home of my novelette ‘Other People’. They’ll also have gallons of beer and wine, a willingness to do readings and answer questions, and possibly some authors too, with signing arms at the ready. While you’re there, it would be terribly rude not to pick up a book… say, Tattered Souls. Tell them I sent you. They’re a nice bunch, putting out great books, and could do with your support.

As fo Tattered Souls, I’ve yet to see any reviews of the book, but I read it in May, and really did enjoy it. The horror is strong and twisted, and the standard of writing and storytelling (two wholly different diciplines, in my opinion) is very high indeed. Hard though it is to pick a favourite, I got a real kick out of the extremely cinematic ‘The End of Flesh’, by Matt Wallace. Go and find out why.

One thing that has made me notably happy is the arrival of my contributor copies of Tattered Souls, which contains my novelette Other People. I’ve been deliberately quiet about the book since it’s launch, mostly because I wanted to see it for myself before I try to get you all to buy it. Now I have, and I’m very impressed. The book itself is damned handsome looking, with impressive attention to detail and quality. Considerable thought has gone into the design, layout, typography, and all those other details that make a book a pleasure to hold and read.

Of course, that’s as nothing if the stories don’t grab you. I think these ones will, and they will leave an impression to boot. I had a feeling they would. I’ve been published in a few places now, but this has been my first experience of really vigorous editing. Frank Hutton challenged every aspect of Other People that he possibly could, sentence by sentence, and made me justify absolutely everything he wasn’t quite happy with. A lot of changes were made to the tale on that basis (not an editor for precious authors or faint-hearts, I can assure you), and the story is far better for them. A lot of his suggestions were rejected too, as Frank knows where the line between doing an editor’s job to help make the author look as good as possible and being obsessive and demanding is. Where I could fight my corner, he nodded and backed away, which is exactly what you want.

It was a demanding, extremely rewarding experience, and I was aware that each of the stories in the book were being subjected to the same thing. That gave me enormous hope, and so far, it seems to have been justified. As well as obsessively re-reading Other People, I have also read Jeff Crook’s excellent The Monkey Skin Cloak. It’s sharp, precise, and extremely disturbing – very much the feel I’m getting from the book as a whole. It’s also an impressively unique look outside of Western culture. A lot of horror fiction plays the familiarity card to lull readers into a false sense of security, setting tales in suburbia, or the inner city, or the classic small town. Crook sniffs at this, wanders halfway across the world to rural Africa, and tells a tale of sort-of-lycanthropy that exploits African mythology beautifully, and is all the more haunting for the exoticism of the culture and locale. It’s hard to do new things with the hoary old werewolf, but this story takes the concept in all sorts of strange directions.

You’re going to like Tattered Souls a lot. You can go and buy it from the publisher, or from Shocklines, who have it in stock at the moment. Actually, if you choose Shocklines you are running even less risk. For a short time, the book is part of their New Voices Guarantee scheme, tailor-made for getting people to try something new. Basically, if you buy it and don’t like it, you’ve got thirty days to return it, no questions asked.

I really don’t think you’ll return it though. Honestly.

I’d also like you to buy it, simply because I want to hear what you think of Other People. It’s a distinctive piece. I want to know how you feel when you read it…

Let me know. Do so on my website – the book pages are comment-enabled just as the journal entries are, so if you ever read anything of mine that provokes a reaction of any sort, that’s the place to purge. The website gets a surprising amount of traffic (happily), and I’ve a feeling that many new visitors look at books they like the look of, umming and ahhing over whether to take the risk and put their money down. Your opinion might be just what they need to see to commit.

Right, that’s enough for now. More news after my week of relaxation, including details of the story I will have featured in issue 14 of Dark Wisdom magazine, and when The Blackest Death III is going to be released…

The book is currently up for pre-order at the publisher’s website, and believe me, you need a copy. Other People is among the most disturbing pieces of fiction I’ve written, and divides my readers like no other. You need to discover what side of the line you sit on.

In fancy terms, the story is an overtly existentialist dissection of four characters who believe there is only one path for them to take. In regular speak, Sartre aside, it’s about how the world looks from inside your own head, and how different that is from what everybody else sees.

Don’t sit there reading me type about it. Go and buy it. You’re going to be back with questions when you turn the final page, I promise you.

Anthology of six novelettes, including Other People by Richard Wright (Cutting Block Press, 2007).

Order from the following stores:

Cutting Block Press (US)

Amazon.com (US)

Horror Mall (US)

From Cutting Block Press, edited by Frank J Hutton, and featuring the following novelettes:

The Monkey Skin Cloak by Jeff Crook

Other People by Richard Wright

The End of Flesh by Matt Wallace

Clipped Dirty Wings by M.E. Palmer

Drool by Chris Reed

Terminal Condition by Chris Ryan

Cover by David Magitis

Launching at the World Horror Convention, Toronto, March 29th – April 1st 2007