Enemies - coming soon to a door near you!

Despite the torrential rain and slate-grey skies, it is supposed to be summer here in the UK, so at last it's time to think about going on vacation. In fact, a nice break is now looming imminently for Cathy and I, so things will be quiet around here for a little while - and what a relief that will be.

The first half of 2012 has been an intensely busy one for me. With the Avon deal now in the bag (but much work still to do on the first book in the trilogy, let alone the second and third), new movie scripts in development and a possible graphic novel on the horizon, there hasn't been much time to sit down and contemplate the Universe recently. Neither has there been much opportunity to pen short stories.

A couple of friends have recently asked if, now that I'm writing a series of dark crime novels, will I be neglecting that old favourite of mine - the short, spooky tale?

Well, hopefully the three exclusives I reveal in this week's post will answer that question. Pictured above is the cover for ENEMIES AT THE DOOR, my next collection of horror stories and novellas, which will be out in hardback and paperback from Gray Friar Press either in late summer or early autumn this year. I'm not going to give anything away about the TOC yet, but suffice to say that it will contain plenty of original material as well as one or two timely reprints.

Meanwhile, left is the cover for STAINS, which will be an ebook re-issue of my hardback collection of the same name (though with different artwork) which was published by Gray Friar back in 2007.

STAINS is another collection of stories and novellas all set firmly in the horror bracket ("horror with a capital H", as one reviewer at the time described it). No further details are available yet - these are just tantalising snippets of news I'd like to leave you with before I depart on my hols - but this electronic version of STAINS will be available for purchase some time in late summer. I'll post all the necessary bits and pieces nearer the time.

As an extra titbit of last-minute excitement, another brand new story of mine, IN THE FOREST OF THE NIGHT, will soon be appearing in A CARNIVALE OF HORROR: DARK TALES FROM THE FAIRGROUND (from PS Publishing, edited by Paul Kane and Marie O'Regan). The cover for this one is simply stunning, but sadly I'm not in a position to post it yet, nor the full TOC, but the book will be launched at 5pm on Saturday September 29th, at FANTASYCON 2012 in Brighton. I'll be on hand to sign a few copies, along with the following other (thus far) confirmed contributors: Peter Crowther, James Lovegrove, Muriel Gray, Alison Littlewood, Lou Morgan, Robert Shearman, Rio Youers and cover artist Ben Baldwin.

So there you go ... I ain't finished with the short form yet.