Author Interview: Mark Farrugia

I first became acquainted (via email) with Melbourne author Mark Farrugia in 2009 when he contacted me about  illustrating a comic about a vampire seeking a meal while scrounging around the muddy, war-torn fields of the Somme. Not much later that comic – Allure of the Ancients was published in Midnight Echo Magazine #5. WeContinue reading “Author Interview: Mark Farrugia”

Rollercoaster Ride

Writing is a tough game; like a freaking rollercoaster actually. In the past week, the following has happened – I saw a draft cover illustration for my upcoming novella “Vaudeville”, which I really liked; I volunteered to review a favourite author’s novel, which was later published, I was invited to write an introductory line for anotherContinue reading “Rollercoaster Ride”

Awards season

The speculative fiction writing industry is gearing up to recognise some of the best in the business, with numerous awards in various stages of competition. The horror world’s most respected awards are undoubtedly the Bram Stoker Awards and there are several Australians who have been nominated including my co-collaborator on Witch-Hunts, Rocky Wood for hisContinue reading “Awards season”

Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Stieg Larsson’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series are extremely popular, with the right blend of intrigue, wit and fully realised characters and the characters, rather than the story are what makes the book for me.At first I was enthralled in the mystery of the case our heroes Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander become involvedContinue reading “Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson”

Time is my enemy (at the moment)

Right now I’m not getting much writing done. The last two weeks have been a bit of a challenge. My wife now has a job after eight years of being a stay-at-home mum, which is fantastic, but part of her employment involves a four week training stint 600km away in Brisbane (which she is still completing).Continue reading “Time is my enemy (at the moment)”

Secondhand bookstores and thrift shops – last refuge for the damned … horror reader?

A couple of times a year (probably more than that), I visit the thrift shops where I live; St Vincent de Paul, Lifeline, Salvos. Mostly people go in here to look for clothes, but I enter in search of books!For an avid horror reader like me, living outside a major city, these places are veritableContinue reading “Secondhand bookstores and thrift shops – last refuge for the damned … horror reader?”

Review: Monsters of L.A. by Lisa Morton

Being an Australian, the little I know about Los Angeles comes from the television and films I have digested since I could first understand the idiot box, but after reading Lisa Morton’s stellar horror collection, Monsters of L.A., I have an appreciation of the City of Angels and its raw emotional texture. Morton uses theContinue reading “Review: Monsters of L.A. by Lisa Morton”