Monthly Archives: April 2021

The Irresistible Summons: Prologue

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My horror/supernatural thriller novel The Irresistible Summons has recently been re-released with a new cover. It’s probably the scariest of my ghostly gothic mysteries, particularly in the final section of the book. However, here’s the prologue, which I promise it’s safe to read even if your nerves aren’t up to reading the rest of the novel.

FIRE INVESTIGATION CONCLUDES: TRAGIC ACCIDENT

A tragic electrical accident started the fire that consumed 22 Bainbridge Close, fire brigade investigators have ruled. The inferno, which killed all members of the Lane family, shocked the local community to its core, on the 17th September 2001. In their concluding remarks, investigators once again reiterated the importance of fitting smoke alarms and urged for campaigns to raise awareness.

Naomi stood at Toby Lane’s grave, clutching the same tattered local newspaper article she had read again and again over the past year. Murky skies blocked out the sun and a chill wind blew in from the east. St Mary’s church – a medieval granite building with a pointed bell tower – loomed behind her. Tree branches creaked and blew in the wind, amid a light drizzle. Naomi’s eyes fell on the article again.

‘I know there were smoke alarms. I remember seeing them just before we…’

Her voice faltered. The memories were overpowering. She had been sixteen, Toby seventeen. Out of the corner of her eye, she had glimpsed said smoke alarms during a moment when she had been greatly distracted by other matters. But the alarms had been there, even if she had only seen them for a second before her eyes closed.

Naomi had been too overwhelmed with shock and grief to tell anyone about the smoke alarms. Nor did she have reason to think there was anything suspicious about the way the fire brigade had arrived at an incorrect conclusion.

For many months, Toby’s memory tormented the utterly broken-hearted Naomi. She half-expected to see him in the streets, on the beach, in the woods, or the other secret places they had visited together. When she was alone, Naomi imagined Toby’s spirit in the room with her. She would hold imaginary conversations with him, anticipating responses and acting as though he were really present.

Often these conversations were later followed by dreams. In these dreams, Naomi conversed with Toby, clinging to every moment they had together, willing herself not to wake up.

During one such dream, Toby spoke a single sentence that haunted her throughout the years that followed.

We can be together again.

For a long time Naomi wondered if this was a subconscious, suicidal urge to join Toby in death. But as months went by, she became less convinced, and eventually dismissed the dream as little more than a small, desperate part of her burning love that refused to be entirely snuffed out by the passage of time.

‘I miss you,’ she whispered.

Naomi welled up as she placed a handful of crocuses next to the gravestone, knowing Toby would have understood the significance.

A tall figure in dark robes ambled along the nearby path. Reverend Patrick Mortimer had presided over the Lane family funeral. His bony, severe cheekbones had frightened her as a child, but now she observed a comforting warmth in his hazel eyes.

‘A year to the day,’ said Reverend Mortimer. ‘Still hard to take in, isn’t it? Thousands of people die in New York. Then six days later, our community experiences a tragedy just as devastating, in its own way.’

Naomi nodded. ‘I feel like part of me is still missing.’

‘Part of you always will be. People talk about getting over the loss of a loved one, but that isn’t how it works.’

‘So what can I do?’ Fresh tears filled Naomi’s eyes. She didn’t know the vicar well, and she knew her parents would much prefer she had a conversation such as this with one of their own congregation rabbis. Yet she felt drawn to the Reverend, perhaps on account of his refreshing bluntness.

‘The distance of time will enable you to come to terms with it,’ said Reverend Mortimer. ‘Then you will see the life of the person as someone who entered your life for a season, and was important. But they will always be missing, so a part of you will be too.’

‘It hurts so much,’ said Naomi.

‘Of course it hurts. If I cut off your finger, that would hurt too. In time the skin and flesh would heal, and you would no longer feel pain. But you would still be missing a finger.’

The words Toby had spoken in the dream returned to her mind.

We can be together again.

‘Do you believe in life after death?’

The Reverend smiled. ‘I’d be pretty bad at my job if I said no.’

‘What about ghosts?’

‘I don’t believe the dead return to watch over the living. Yet there are spirits in this world of an altogether different origin.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean be careful what you wish for, Naomi Levinson.’

With those words, the Reverend turned and walked away. Naomi stared after him for a second and then returned her gaze to Toby’s headstone. 1984 – 2001. A short life for someone with such promise. What had God been thinking, allowing him to die in a house fire? Naomi’s parents had brought her up to believe in God, but right now she found it difficult to believe he cared about humans, especially someone as lonely as her. Toby Lane had understood her, and she had trusted him completely. Now that he was gone, the isolation felt all but unbearable.

Yet over time, Reverend Mortimer was proven correct. Although Naomi felt as though she had a spiritual missing limb, the pain eased. When she eventually came to terms with the loss of Toby, she no longer gave the Lane family smoke alarms a second thought. Only years later did the tragic events of the 17th of September 2001 cast their sinister shadow over the present.

Intrigued? Here’s the blurb from the back of the novel:

How far would you go to bring the one you love back from the dead?

Television producer Naomi Levinson makes documentaries debunking the supernatural. When asked to film a promotional video for computer game company Persephone, she considers the task beneath her talents. But as production gets underway at the Persephone office block on London’s Canary Wharf, a mysterious disappearance, ghostly sightings, and lingering tragedy from Naomi’s past lead her to believe she might have stumbled into a genuine haunting.

As Naomi continues to investigate, past and present collide in a horrifying conspiracy. Cutting edge technology and ancient evil meet, leading to the discovery of a shocking and terrifying secret that could change the nature of life and death as we know it.

To pick up your copy of The Irresistible Summons in paperback or ebook click here (in the UK), and here (in the US). Or you can click here, to download the book from Smashwords.

Oscars 2021

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This article is to pre-empt inevitable enquiries as to what I thought about this year’s Oscar winners. I have only seen half of the nominated films, partly due to said films not yet having a UK release. Certain films I am holding off watching because cinemas reopen next month, and those I know will be shown on the big screen I want to catch there (Sound of Metal, for instance). As a result, I cannot comment on the Oscars from a degree of authority, and reserve the right to make posthumous mutterings to the effect of “Oh, actually that should have won instead”.

Such caveats and disclaimers in place, to a degree, this year’s Oscars seem less like awards and more like participation trophies. Various key potential contenders were postponed. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune and Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, for example. Also, some notable British films were overlooked, specifically Rocks, His House, and Saint Maud. But the latter two are horror, so I’m not surprised the Academy ignored those. I’m not surprised it ignored The Invisible Man either, though to my mind, it was an equally deserving nominee.

Global pandemic-related delays notwithstanding, I must confess my interest in the Oscars has dwindled in recent years. I used to care a lot more about who wins. I still care, just about, and perhaps my indifference to this year’s winners simply reflects my present rather glum state of mind. Perhaps next year I’ll be as excited as I was the year Spielberg won Best Picture and Best Director for Schindler’s List, or as enraged as when Anthony Hopkins lost out on Best Actor for The Remains of the Day (the same year, incidentally).

Speaking of Hopkins, I’ll get to the matter at hand. I’ve yet to see The Father (out in UK cinemas this June), but I hear great things. I’m sure Hopkins is brilliant, and I daresay it’s a worthy win for Best Actor. That said, I doubt I’ll particularly enjoy The Father. Dementia dramas tend to be films that only a critic could love. Take 2011’s Amour as an example: Brilliantly written, acted, and directed, and I hated it. I’m glad I saw it, but it was so depressing nothing could ever induce me to watch it again.

I had expected Chadwick Boseman to pick up Best Actor for his scenery-chewing turn in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom because he had the advantage of being dead, and Oscar loves a posthumous sympathy vote. I also expected Viola Davis to win for her turn in the same film, but again, I’ve yet to see Frances McDormand in Nomadland. All of which makes for a very frustrating, fence-sitting article I know, but bear with me.

Speaking of Nomadland, that’s another film I’m waiting to see on a big screen (it’s due for a UK release next month). Again I hear wonderful things, and the consensus seems to be that it was the stand-out film among those that actually were released last year. So I suppose well done Chloe Zhao, who also won Best Director.

I’ve not yet seen Judas and the Black Messiah for one simple reason: I refuse to pay £15.99 to rent a film that I would have seen in the cinema for £5 or possibly less (I have a Cineworld Unlimited pass). Paying to see films on television shouldn’t cost more than a video rental once cost. When the price comes down, or better still if it gets a cinema screening, I’ll give it a watch. All of which is to say that I’ve no idea if Daniel Kaluuya deserved his Best Supporting Actor win or not. Again, I’ve heard good things.

On the other hand, I did see Minari. I should add that I’m quite annoyed I saw it because at the time I believed it would only be shown on streaming. However, I understand that it will now have a limited cinema run next month. I would rather have seen it on the big screen first, but it’s no good crying over spilt milk. Anyway, Yuh-Jung Youn is wonderful in that film, so I’m pleased she won Best Supporting Actress.

With the Best Original Screenplay category, things get a little more interesting. I’m thrilled Emerald Fennell’s entertaining, incisive, and provocative Promising Young Woman won. Yes, I know I’ve not seen all the nominees, but this is one I really do suspect was a spot-on choice. As for Adapted Screenplay, again, I can’t properly comment, except to say that if The Father made the transfer from stage to screen with the same deft brilliance of, say, Amadeus, then it’s a worthy winner.

I’d have preferred Wolfwalkers to beat Soul in the Best Animated Film category, but Pixar is rarely upset in this category. If a Pixar film had to win though, I’d have opted for Onward. In the International Feature category, I’ve yet to see Another Round, so cannot comment. However, I’m a big fan of Mads Mikkelsen, and from what I have read about the film, it sounds like I’d find it interesting.

Best Original Song I can’t comment on as I haven’t seen any of the nominated films, but Soul was a deserving win for Best Original Score. As for Mank winning Best Cinematography, I suppose that’s probably a good win (I managed to see that in the cinema last December). On the other hand, I hear Nomadland has lovely cinematography too, so I should probably once again point to my reserves-the-right-to-change-his-mind clause.

As for Best Visual Effects, Tenet winning was a no-brainer. Just thinking about the technical minutiae and sheer levels of planning that must have gone into every shot gives me a headache. I should also add that Tenet is a much better film than many people give it credit for, but that’s an argument for another day. I’d have also given it Best Production Design, instead of Mank.

Film Editing is another category I can’t properly comment on this year, as I’ve not seen enough of the nominees. Again, from what I understand Sound of Metal was a fine choice, and also a fine choice for Best Sound.

I’m not going to comment on any of the other categories. However, I will add a note of positivity to end on: I do quite like it when awards are spread a bit more evenly, with no one film sledgehammering the other, Ben Hur style. Sometimes a film deserves to win lots of awards, but it’s nice when they can be spread out a bit. Perhaps that just adds to this year’s participation trophy vibe, but doubtless I’m being very unfair in such jibes. At any rate, that concludes my thoughts on this year’s Oscars.

Film Review – Justice League (Zack Snyder Cut)

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I’ve had lots of people ask me what I think of Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League. To be honest, it wasn’t high on my list of viewing priorities. I am not a fan of Snyder’s films, having been irked by both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman in particular. Yes, Justice League was taken out of Snyder’s hands and largely reshot by Joss Whedon, with less than stellar results. But I wasn’t exactly begging to see Snyder’s version either. However, after an ardent lobbying campaign by Snyder fans, here we are. I determined to view this new, four-hour cut of Justice League with an open mind. Who knows? Perhaps the revised cut would transform incoherent rubbish into near-masterpiece, much like the longer cut of Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven.

No such luck. Whilst the longer cut is technically an improvement, the film remains a thudding bore. Yes, the narrative is now coherent, but like all Snyder films, it’s a murky, dismal, art-directed-to-within-an-inch-of-it’s-life exercise in weightless CGI, smothered in an orgy of gratuitous slow-motion. Comic book films should be playful and fun, and this just feels like an interminably drawn-out and dull version of Avengers: Assemble. The plot – a boring alien after three boring things-of-ultimate-power to conquer Earth for boring reasons – is still boring. Although in this longer cut, we discover the boring alien (Steppenwolf, who undergoes a CGI design makeover in this version) is conquering Earth on behalf of another boring alien (Darkseid). If you’ll forgive my use of an obscenity, whatevs.

The film does give more screen time to Barry Allen aka The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Victor Stone aka Cyborg (Ray Fisher), so that’s nice I suppose. But these characters really deserved their own films. Aquaman (Jason Momoa) isn’t any more interesting, although I did get some unintended laughs from the way he flounces around in what look like aftershave commercials, as he wades into raging seas with his gleaming tattooed six-pack in slow motion.

Ben Affleck’s Batman still fails to make an impact, even with Jeremy Irons’s Alfred doing his best to inject dry humour into proceedings. And even though in this version, Henry Cavill’s Superman doesn’t suffer the ignominy of dodgy CGI moustache removal (Whedon’s reshoots were filmed during the production of Mission Impossible: Fallout), I still cannot abide Snyder’s idiotic insistence on making him a “dark” character. From the black costume choice to his ludicrous initial act of aggression after being resurrected by one of the things-of-ultimate-power, the Man of Steel is barely recognisable (oops, sorry spoiler alert – not that anyone capable of reading English wouldn’t have predicted Superman’s return). And please don’t get me started on the charisma-free zone that is his relationship with Lois Lane (Amy Adams).

It irks me that such a fine supporting cast was so wasted. It takes special talent to squander JK Simmons, but Snyder manages that astonishing feat. Dianne Lane and Ciaran Hinds are also wasted. Even Gal Gadot’s iconic Wonder Woman doesn’t manage to lift this one (not that she did in the Whedon cut either).

I realise there is a substantial army of Snyder fans who disagree, and that’s fair enough. They are pleased Snyder’s uncompromised vision was finally released. But the truth is, I don’t much care for it. Nor can I help thinking this cut is anything more than self-indulgence.

A superhero film of this kind does not need to be a 15 certificate (or R, for US readers). It shouldn’t have f-words or some of the bloodier shots. Nor does it need to be four hours long. An entirely unnecessary epilogue sets up future sequels that will never be made since Snyder left the DC Universe. The inclusion of such material feels less like a gift to the audience and more like a director giving the middle finger to the studio executives who originally butchered his project.

So, in summing up, Justice League is either a messy but shorter bore in the Whedon cut, or a coherent but longer bore in the Snyder cut. Either way, it’s a bore.

UK Certificate: 15

US Certificate: R

Content Warnings: Strong language, some gory images.

Spectre of Springwell Forest: First Six Chapters

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Here are the first few paragraphs of my recently re-released ghostly gothic mystery horror novel Spectre of Springwell Forest.

“These days, the run-up to Christmas feels bittersweet. As a young girl, I looked forward to the season with unclouded excitement. Upon reaching adulthood, I adopted a more cynical view. This ancient pagan festival that had once been appropriated by the Church now seemed dominated by capitalist interests. Yet, there came an all too brief time, during the early part of my first marriage, when these misgivings all but vanished, due to becoming a mother. Seeing festive celebrations through the eyes of a child triggered a temporary truce with the more commercial aspects of the season. Cynicism, in those years, took a back seat.

That was before the events of Springwell Forest.

I have long since come to terms with the past, but the way Christmas is here today and gone tomorrow has a melancholy bordering on cruelty, reflecting the cruelty of what took place all those decades ago.

Such thoughts lurked in my mind like background noise, amid the bustle of crowds in the busy pedestrianised streets at the centre of Exeter. A bitter frost clung to the pavements and windows, and I found myself shivering beneath the baubles, wreaths, and coloured lights decorating the streets. My husband, Andy, sped up a little as we walked; his gloved hand in mine, keen to get out of the cold.

Usually when driving to the centre of town, we park in one of the side streets, but on this occasion, the sheer busyness of the place rendered the usual benefits of local knowledge useless. We were forced to park in the multi-storey car park, which meant a brisk ten-minute walk to the cinema. Andy kept glancing at his watch, concerned we might miss the start of the film.

I didn’t particularly care if we did. It was only a silly Hollywood horror film, one of those daft supernatural possession stories with loads of jumpy moments. I find them funny rather than frightening, perhaps because they are so far removed from the horrible reality I once experienced…”

You can read the rest of Chapter 1, and indeed Chapters 2 to 6, in Illumination Book Chapters, a new Medium publication. Here are the links.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

I hope you enjoy these chapters. The full novel is available in paperback or ebook here (in the UK), and here (in the US). Or you can click here, to download the book from Smashwords.

Film Review – Promising Young Woman

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I think I’m correct in stating Promising Young Woman is the first rape-revenge film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. That itself signals 1) This is no I Spit On Your Grave style exploitation flick, 2) The Academy is being uncharacteristically open-minded about genre pieces this year, and 3) Writer/director Emerald Fennell’s debut film is far more gripping, incisive, nuanced, and thought-provoking than some of the more simplistic commentary would suggest. The film has been on my radar for some time and having finally had the chance to watch it (sadly, not in the cinema, as it has gone straight to streaming in the UK), I can confirm all the above is true.

Carey Mulligan gives a tremendous lead performance as the aptly named Cassandra, a drop-out medical student turning thirty now working in a coffee shop, who in her spare time pretends to be blindingly drunk in nightclubs. There she is inevitably picked up by some random “nice guy” who offers to take her home, before attempting to take advantage. At that point, Cassie turns the tables, asking these men what they are doing, to darkly comic, but sadly believable effect. Their reactions, as “nice guys” caught in a moment of horrible indiscretion, are telling and plausible.

There’s a compelling, simmering rage bubbling beneath Promising Young Woman, yet this is far from a straightforward revenge narrative. The reasons for Cassie’s actions are gradually revealed, and I don’t want to spoil them as this is a film best experienced with as little prior knowledge as possible. However, I do want to make a couple of points abundantly clear.

Firstly, this is not the one-note anti-men rant some would have you believe. The men in this story are painted in varying shades of grey. Cassie’s father (Clancy Brown) is a loving parent who just wants the best for his daughter. Other men are decent people but have dark secrets in their past, where they were cowardly and complicit in their silence. Others are verbally abusive, or say inappropriate things, or have misogynist attitudes, or are caught in the situations I described earlier.

Cassie’s actions in these scenes are intended as instructive, not punitive. This isn’t I Spit On Your Grave. She isn’t castrating these men in bathtubs. In some cases, Cassie simply wants these men to acknowledge and take ownership of their misdeeds. One character shows genuine remorse and repentance when Cassie shows up to confront him regarding an aspect of the backstory, and she forgives him.

Said backstory, involving Cassie’s dead friend Nina, introduces more dubious characters who were complicit in a tremendous injustice. These are not exclusively male. Some of the female characters demonstrate disturbingly familiar internalised misogyny. For instance, when a female college dean tells Cassie she didn’t properly investigate a rape accusation because she didn’t want to blight a young man’s career, one is reminded of comments made during the notorious Brock Turner case. Another female character spouts familiar arguments about rape victims not being believable if they are promiscuous.

The uncompromising, scalpel-sharp script dissects and exposes the fallacy of these attitudes with tremendous dexterity. In addition, Fennell cleverly interrogates character behaviour often seen in romcoms. Everything from “meet-cutes” to colour palette, costume, and choice of pop songs on the soundtrack acts as a nifty, counter-intuitive contrast to the subject matter, challenging the audience at every turn. The script also has a couple of deft, noir-ish twists that feel authentic and satisfying. This isn’t a film that wimps out, but in the tradition of all great stories, gives audiences what they want, though not the way they expect.

With first-rate performances and direction, Promising Young Woman is bold, provocative, and destined to jab raw nerves for all the right reasons. But it doesn’t forget to entertain either, making it one of the best films of the year.

UK Certificate: 15

US Certificate: R

Content warnings: Very strong language, sexual violence theme, drug use.

Medium Update

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I’ve been very busy on Medium recently. Here are some articles that you might have missed, in various publications. Check them out by following the links below. Please “clap” generously by clicking your mouse on the “clap” icon, as that is a huge help to me, trying to get the Algorithmic Overlords to distribute my work further.

In Frame Rated

Curate Don’t Cancel

A compromise to avoid the unspeakable alternative of censorship… and why art should be separated from the artist.

In The Writing Cooperative

Writing Unsympathetic Protagonists

Tips for crafting central characters who embrace the dark side.

In Cinemania

Raiders of the Lost Ark: 40 Years On

Still the greatest adventure film of all time.

Coma: Nail-Biting and Resonant

Exploring the still relevant feminist undercurrents of Michael Crichton’s riveting 1978 medical conspiracy thriller.

Ripley: Best “Final Girl” Ever

Why Sigourney Weaver’s iconic character in Alien stands above her horror peers.

Transgressive Female Characters During the Hays Code Era

How feminist concerns were smuggled into classic movies under the nose of moral guardians.

Resurrection Cinema

Twelve great cinematic tales of death and rebirth (a recent Easter piece).

My Favourite Films of 1991: 30 Years On

How do my choices, made when I was sixteen, hold up today?

In Writer’s Blokke

When the Voices in My Head Went Quiet

My experience of writer’s block.

DISCLAIMER: The Writing Cooperative submission guidelines require I use “US English”. As a Brit, I am fully aware that this probably makes me answerable to Her Majesty the Queen on a charge of High Treason. I can only throw myself at your mercy, as I would hers, and state I’m just trying to make a living.

Film Review – The Dissident

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The Dissident is a compelling documentary directed by Bryan Fogel examining the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist in exile who wrote for The Washington Post. It is worth looking at all the more, in view of concerns it might be suppressed by interested parties wanting to kowtow to Saudi authorities and those who do business with them, who do not come out of this smelling of roses, to say the very least.

On the 2nd of October 2018, Khashoggi went to the Saudi embassy in Istanbul to procure a document pertaining to his marital status, in order to marry his fiancée, Turkish journalist Hatice Cengiz. He never came out again. The media laid siege to the embassy, demanding to see him, but eventually, the Saudis confirmed he had died on the premises. The brutal details of what turned out to be assassination were later revealed in grisly transcripts by Turkish intelligence, thus in the process revealing the open secret that they routinely bug foreign embassies.

An outspoken critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Khashoggi had left his home country and made contacts with other fellow countrymen in exile; activists and dissidents who were concerned about the concentration of power in the Crown Prince’s hands, regardless of his reforms (including the allowing of concerts and cinema). The documentary examines Khashoggi’s links with these people, especially Omar Abdulaziz, whose social media presence greatly riled Saudi authorities.

Whilst living as an exile in Canada, in conjunction with Khashoggi, Abdulaziz organised a counterattack on Saudi government-sanctioned Twitter trolls (“the flies”), with his own social media movement (“the bees”). It is here that The Dissident is at its most fascinating, showing the extraordinary online battlegrounds where post-Arab Spring public opinion is shaped, and how revolutionary movements arise and can be quashed accordingly.

Ultimately, Abdulaziz was threatened by Saudi government figures, who imprisoned friends and family members as a result of his actions. The aftermath of Khashoggi’s death left him in fear for his life, but he is still determined to speak out. So is Hatice Cengiz, whose quiet dignity and refusal to be silenced regarding what happened to her fiancée is powerful and moving. The relationship between Khashoggi and Cengiz appears to have been respectful and sincere.

As for Khashoggi himself, he comes across as an amiable, humble, good-humoured man, who believed in the integrity of good, objective journalism. If the documentary has a fault, it is that Trump is too easy as a target for anger in his refusal to condemn or sanction the Saudis. After all, Biden has done no such thing either and it is difficult to imagine any other US President taking a stand when about fifty percent of the world’s oil is involved. I also couldn’t quite swallow the portrayal of Jeff Bezos as one of the good guys, even in a case as cut and dried as this (as with Khashoggi and Abdulaziz, Bezo’s phone was hacked by the notorious Pegasus technology, apparently sold to the Saudis by Israel).

Still, The Dissident correctly stirs up anger against a state that essentially calculated they could get away with murder, to silence someone whose opinions they found an irritation. At first, I was incredulous at their audacity, and couldn’t help comparing Mohammed bin Salman to Putin, who has been far more discreet at distancing himself from the ruthless extinguishing of political enemies. However, given that anger at the Saudis from the rest of the world appears to be impotent fury, in the face of an oil stranglehold, perhaps Mohammed bin Salman simply doesn’t need to exercise the same levels of Machiavellian deniability.

UK Certificate: 12A

US Certificate: PG-13

New Covers: Spectre of Springwell Forest, Phantom Audition, The Irresistible Summons

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Three of my gothic mystery horror/thriller novels have recently been unavailable, for tedious legal reasons not worth wringing my hands over in this blog post. However, the good news is they are back, having received a make-over with new covers, courtesy of the brilliant Yasmine Nuoraho.

Here are each of the new covers, with an introduction to each novel, to whet your appetite.

Spectre of Springwell Forest

Exeter, 2010. Lily Parker learns that her daughter Olivia is to move to the village of Springwell, near Plymouth. To the surprise of her husband Andy, this sends Lily into terrified despair. She tells him that Olivia must not move to Springwell, under any circumstances. Andy wants to know why, and Lily tells him what happened to her many decades previously, in 1979, warning him that she has a horrifying secret that she had previously hoped to take with her to the grave.

In 1979, Lily and her then six-year-old daughter Olivia, along with her first husband Tom Henderson, move to the sleepy village of Springwell. Here they meet a tight- lipped community of secretive villagers who seem to have something to hide. Lily discovers a painting of an abandoned railway tunnel in her attic, by a local artist, Alison Merrifield. Lily is strangely drawn to the painting, particularly the dark maw of the tunnel, and ends up hanging the picture in her hallway.

After meeting her neighbour and other mothers dropping their children at the local primary school, Lily is surprised to learn they all have similar paintings in their homes, all of them painted by Alison Merrifield, all of them showing the same abandoned railway tunnel. The other mothers dismiss this as something of a village in-joke, and when Lily visits Alison in her local craft shop, Alison herself insists she cannot understand why the paintings of the abandoned tunnel are so popular. But Lily senses she is being lied to.

Shortly afterwards, when Lily and Olivia go for a walk in the local forest, they come across a fenced off area in the heart of the woods where the barbed wire has been mysteriously torn apart. Investigating further inside the fenced off section, they discover the very same abandoned railway tunnel of the painting and enter the tunnel. A disturbing incident follows (which I won’t spoil).

After this incident, back home, Lily starts to make out a mysterious figure emerging from the railway tunnel in the painting. As time passes, the eerie figure becomes more clearly defined, but Lily is disturbed to discover no-one can see it but her. Worse still, as the sinister figure is revealed, Olivia starts to behave in an increasingly alarming manner.

To pick up your copy of Spectre of Springwell Forest in paperback or ebook click here (in the UK), and here (in the US). Or you can click here, to download the book from Smashwords.

Phantom Audition

Small-time actress Mia Yardley, recently widowed wife of renowned actor Steven Yardley, grieves in his ancestral family home, Elm House, near Plymouth. Her husband’s inexplicable suicide left her in possession of a considerable fortune, but she is unsettled. Her sister-in-law Jemima is openly hostile, and Mia also senses disapproval from hired staff, especially de facto housekeeper Liza. Only Verity, a part-time maid, is friendly to Mia, seeming genuinely sorry about the death of Steven.

Mia discovers Steven’s secret acting diary. It details appointments made with a psychic medium, Etta, who advised Steven on which roles to take. Mia visits Etta to question her over mysterious diary entries that hint at a more supernatural reason for Steven’s demise. Etta rejects such claims, but Mia senses she is hiding something, and explains as much to her best friend Bronwyn, when they go out horse riding. Mia also begins to see manifestations of what she believes to be Steven’s ghost in and around Elm House, and also at a nightclub.

Mia’s therapist tells her the visions of Steven are psychological, not spiritual. But Mia isn’t convinced, and begins an investigation into her husband’s death that gradually becomes an obsession. She uncovers the alarming story behind the last role her husband took, but every answer leads to more questions, opening dangerous doors to a labyrinthine world of terrible secrets. The deeper Mia digs into they mystery, the deeper she disappears inside her own inner darkness, crossing thresholds from which there can be no return.

To pick up your copy of Phantom Audition in paperback or ebook click here (in the UK), and here (in the US). Or you can click here, to download the book from Smashwords.

The Irresistible Summons

Teenager Naomi Levinson laments the death of her boyfriend, Toby Lane. Toby and his entire family perished in a mysterious house fire, which Naomi comes to believe may have been started deliberately.

Several years later, Naomi is now an accomplished television producer making documentaries debunking the supernatural. When a shoot interviewing a possibly possessed killer in prison goes terribly wrong, the production company Naomi works for faces a lawsuit and possible closure.

Offered what could be her last job, Naomi is initially reluctant to take on filming a promotional video for computer game company Persephone. She considers the task beneath her talents. However, after production gets underway at the Persephone office block on London’s Canary Wharf, strange things begin to happen.

One member of staff inexplicably disappears. Ghosts are sighted, one of whom appears to be Toby. This re-opens old emotional wounds for Naomi, bringing back bittersweet memories of her strictly religious messianic Jewish parents, who disapproved of her teenage lover.

A horrifying conspiracy is gradually revealed. Cutting edge technology and ancient evil meet, leading to the discovery of a shocking and terrifying secret – one that could change the nature of life and death as we know it.

To pick up your copy of The Irresistible Summons in paperback or ebook click here (in the UK), and here (in the US). Or you can click here, to download the book from Smashwords.

Film Review – Minari

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The American Dream has been explored many times on film before, and from many angles. Oscar-nominated Minari, from writer/director Lee Isaac Chung, is partly informed by the filmmaker’s own experience as a Korean US immigrant, growing up in Reagan’s America. It is this layer of authenticity that raises the film well above-average into a quietly affecting drama that gradually gets under the skin in a subtle and immersive way.

The plot concerns a Korean family relocating from California to Arkansas. Jacob (Steven Yeun) dreams of having his own farm where he grows and sells Korean vegetables. His wife Monica (Yeri Han) is reluctant, and from the very start, the cracks in their marriage are visible. They are accompanied by two children, Anne (Noel Cho) and David (Alan S Kim), the latter of whom has a weak heart. David is further irritated by the arrival of his grandmother on his mother’s side Soonja (Yuh-Jung Youn), whom he at first dislikes, claiming she isn’t a proper grandmother because she doesn’t bake cookies, swears, and “smells like Korea”.

However, Soonja gradually wins David over, and their evolving relationship proves one of the most touching parts of the narrative. The complications of the main plot involve Jacob struggling to juggle farming with a dead-end job separating male and female baby chicks. As Jacob tells David, the males are discarded for not being useful – an ominous metaphor. The family faces many setbacks, including lack of water, money, and in Jacob and Monica’s case, a crumbling marriage. One particularly poignant scene features Anne and David throwing paper planes with “Don’t Fight” written on them, into the midst of one of their parents’ particularly heated arguments.

That said, the film eschews melodrama and sentimentality, and develops at an admirably unhurried pace. Introduced into this mix are a number of key supporting characters, including Paul (Will Patton), a quirky but kindly evangelical Christian, whose peculiarities including impromptu exorcisms and carrying a wooden cross on Sundays. I should add that the performances are uniformly excellent.

Chung infuses his film with a dreamlike, magical-realist quality, aided by Emile Mosseri’s evocative score. I wish I’d been able to see this in the cinema, where it could have weaved its spell with greater power, but Minari is still a very fine piece of work, and one of the best films I’ve seen so far this year. Incidentally, the title refers to an edible Korean plant, which Soonja encourages the family to plant near a creek. It acts as a metaphor for the family themselves, and whether they can flourish in a difficult environment.

UK Certificate: 12A

US Certificate: PG-13