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.

New Cover: Spectre of Springwell Forest

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For complicated legal reasons I won’t bore you with, three of my gothic mystery novels, Spectre of Springwell Forest, The Irresistible Summons, and Phantom Audition, have been unavailable for the last three months. However, the good news is they are due for re-release this April, with new covers.

Here is one of the new covers, for Spectre of Springwell Forest.

All three of the new covers were designed by the excellent Yasmine Nuoraho. In this case, she prepared a splendidly unnerving image of the abandoned railway tunnel described in the novel. If you can make out something emerging from the tunnel, then… Well, read on and you’ll understand why you might want to be a little concerned.

The novel opens in 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.

Intrigued? You’ll be able to pick up the new edition of Spectre of Springwell Forest from Amazon and Smashwords very soon. Watch this space.

Writing Update

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With 2021 well underway, here’s an update on my various writing endeavours.

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

Firstly, and most importantly, I’m now ten chapters (about 40,000 words) into writing my latest novel; a sequel to a still unreleased contemporary children’s horror/dark fairy tale I wrote in 2014, entitled The Faerie Gate. The new novel is yet to be titled, but it wasn’t originally conceived as a sequel. During the planning stages, I realised the narrative dovetailed perfectly in the universe of The Faerie Gate. It is set several decades later (in our future), and is a much bigger, more epic story. In fact, it could even end up being two or even three volumes, which means The Faerie Gate will be to the new story to what The Hobbit is to The Lord of the Rings. It’s a hugely ambitious undertaking, which I’ll keep chipping away at throughout this year, and probably beyond.

My most recent novel Peaceful Quiet Lives continues to bring in good reviews, and this post contains links to various articles exploring the novel from lots of perspectives.

This April, my currently unavailable gothic mystery horror/thrillers Spectre of Springwell Forest, The Irresistible Summons, and Phantom Audition are due for re-release with all new covers. More information on that next week.

I’ve also written a new short story, entitled Trial Period. It’s an unusual piece that takes a satirical look at being made redundant, and the peculiarities of the modern job market. It evolves into a tale of odd-couple mentorship and friendship between the protagonist – a white, middle-aged former publishing professional – and his co-worker, a young black woman with untapped literary talent. Whilst working for the marketing department of a herbal remedy company, they eventually discover a sinister conspiracy.

Trial Period might be published on Medium at some point in the future. Speaking of which, I’m now very active on that platform, contributing to publications including Frame Rated, Cinemania, The Writing Cooperative, Writer’s Blokke, and Illumination. I’ve also had an article published in the Guardian earlier this year, so all things considered, not a bad start to 2021.

Peaceful Quiet Lives: Summary of Recent Articles

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Here’s a one-stop-shop with links to all you need to know about my latest novel, dystopian romantic satire Peaceful Quiet Lives.

What’s it about? Here’s the blurb from the back of the book:

Two Nations Under God. Can their love survive in either nation?

Life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are a distant dream for Sam and Eve. Their forbidden love falls foul of laws in both nations born from the ashes of the Second American Civil War.

A satire of political and religious fears, Peaceful Quiet Lives is a thought-provoking and powerful dystopian future shock.

Intrigued? Want to know more? Check out these articles:

The First 400 Words

“The morality inspectors are late.”

Read the opening paragraphs to whet your appetite.

Themes

“The central idea – regarding opposite extreme authoritarian states being two sides of the same militant coin – I thought would make an intriguing backdrop for a doomed romance. But I also wanted the novel to be a satire of the worst fears of both sides in the US culture wars.”

I outline my intentions for the novel, whilst making clear it isn’t a political statement.

Influences and Inspirations

“Orwell’s masterpiece casts a long shadow over all modern dystopian fiction, and to not acknowledge it would be disingenuous.”

The literature that informed Peaceful Quiet Lives.

The Cover

“Given that the subject matter is outside my usual gothic horror or children’s adventure oeuvre, it really needed to stand out.”

Designing the cover, through various alternative images, before settling on the final version.

A Second Excerpt

“You will be expected here, at the Department of Tolerance, to begin your Enlightenment Conditioning classes tomorrow morning at nine o’clock sharp.”

An extract from the second half of the novel.

Setting, Research, and Revisions

“At first, I feared the ideas for my novel would be too ridiculous even for a satire, but real life was always three steps ahead of me.”

An insight into the development of the novel, including deleted chapters, and research into extreme political movements.

Love and Other Punishments

A short story companion piece to Peaceful Quiet Lives, published in Illumination (a publication on Medium).

How Will You React?

“I’ve had people tell me it’s gripping, romantic, satirical, darkly funny, deadly serious, disturbing, offensive, timely, too-soon, desperately sad, and an important warning.”

An overview of reviews and reactions so far.

Peaceful Quiet Lives is available as a download or paperback from Amazon. Order your copy here (in the UK), or here (in the US). You can also order from Smashwords here.

Peaceful Quiet Lives: How Will You React?

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My most recent novel, dystopian romantic satire Peaceful Quiet Lives, has attracted a wider and more varied response than any of my previous works. It has provoked a lot of wildly different reactions and jabbed a few raw nerves. I’ve had people tell me it’s gripping, romantic, satirical, darkly funny, deadly serious, disturbing, offensive, timely, too-soon, desperately sad, and an important warning.

One thing all the responses have in common: They are all hugely positive. So far, reviews have been exclusively five-star raves. I must confess, I sensed I was on to something whilst writing the novel, and speculated to that effect at the time. I’m always reluctant to trust such instincts, as there is always the danger of being deluded. However, it seems on this occasion, my instinct might have been correct.

Here are a sample of recent reviews, on Amazon and Goodreads:

“It’s been a long time since any novel has touched me on such an emotional level: shock initially, then horror, and ultimately sadness; the last few pages were read through tears. A futuristic, thought-provoking book in the first instance that hits you with the realisation at a certain point that most of what Dillon describes is here already. Absolutely gripping.” (Amazon reader.)

“A must-read. I am a slow reader, but I read this book in a few days because I could not put it down. If you only read one book in 2021, I’d recommend it be this one. An exciting yet frustrating love story set in America (but not as we know it) a few decades from now. Buy it – buy it now!” (EmmaGee, Amazon.)

“Interesting (and scary) look at the extreme ends of two societies we see vying for power and attention in our world today. I am not sure why the second half of this book surprised me but throughout the whole story I found my confirmation bias challenged – exactly, I am sure, what the author intended.” (JA Nice, Amazon.)

“Future Fact or Fiction? Gripping, thought-provoking stuff in the light of current events. It may punch you in the stomach.” (Amazon Reader.)

“Relentlessly bleak… This is not for the faint hearted but certainly kept me gripped.” (Amazon Reader.)

“Who doesn’t love a great love story? This is a great book… an easy read with a captivating plot. It also caused me to think a lot about the political landscape in the US right now and brought up a lot of emotions. When I reached the end of the book, I didn’t want it to end. I highly recommend it!” (Amazon reader.)

“Thought provoking, disturbing, and at times hilarious. Several laugh out loud moments… I dare you to read it!” (Steve Beegoo, Goodreads.)

“So engrossing that I literally missed my stop on the train, because I was busy reading. I highly recommend it.” (Claus Holm, author Tempus Investigations.)

Intrigued? Why not pick up a copy yourself, and see how you react? Here’s the blurb from the back of the book to further whet your appetite:

Two Nations Under God. Can their love survive in either nation?

Life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are a distant dream for Sam and Eve. Their forbidden love falls foul of laws in both nations born from the ashes of the Second American Civil War.

A satire of political and religious fears, Peaceful Quiet Lives is a thought-provoking and powerful dystopian future shock.

Peaceful Quiet Lives is available as a download or paperback from Amazon. Order your copy here (in the UK), or here (in the US). You can also order from Smashwords here.

New Short Story: Love and Other Punishments

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Photo by Tomas Jasovsky on Unsplash

A new short story by yours truly, entitled Love and Other Punishments, has been published by Illumination on Medium.

Conceived as a kind-of companion piece to Peaceful Quiet Lives, this dystopian romantic mystery concerns a bereaved insurance salesman living in a not-too-distant future fascist London. He begins to believe he has repressed memories when he encounters a mysterious woman.

Click here for Part One.

Click here for Part Two.

Click here for Part Three.

Click here for Part Four.

I hope you enjoy it.

Peaceful Quiet Lives: Setting, Research, and Revisions

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My latest novel, Peaceful Quiet Lives, involved just as much research as usual, though this time into many unexpected areas.

Given the authoritarian political states in the novel, a certain amount of investigation into those with extreme views was inevitable. I looked at a lot of the more cult-like leaders on the US evangelical right-wing, as well as extremists on the left, and their groups and organisations. I also read up on so-called “incel” groups and those who believe they can have loving relationships with an android. At first, I feared the ideas for my novel would be too ridiculous even for a satire, but real life was always three steps ahead of me.

After researching several US cities and states, I took the decision to not name any real city or geographic location in the novel, other than to talk in vague terms about east and west (with California and the west coast having fallen into the sea, following the “big one” earthquake). Apart from anything else, I didn’t like to assign particular social, political, or religious ideologies to any one city, so it seemed best, on balance, to have the cities in the novel remain nameless. It’s also worth mentioning that several parts of the novel deal with news media organisations, for which I drew on my own television experience. This was more for the personalities and their attitudes than the technical side, though I should stress no characters are directly based on real people.

The plot came to me fully formed in early 2018, in a strange “download”. At first, I expected my protagonist Sam to be American, but then I realised I needed an “outsider” perspective for this story, so made him an English refugee (in the novel, an unspecified “Catastrophe” has rendered the UK and Europe uninhabitable). As I wrote the story, little changed from the original outline in terms of characters and events, but I did ruthlessly prune everything I considered “preachy”, I hope successfully. Peaceful Quiet Lives is not intended to be a political statement of any kind, and I wanted the events to speak for themselves, without editorialising.

I also cut a number of lengthy sequences, especially in part two. A chapter where Sam and Eve attend an illegal gathering was removed, largely because it felt superfluous in light of the Halloween party they attend earlier. This gathering involved people indulging in all manner of “rebellious” activity; not just unregistered (and therefore legally “unconsenting”) sexual activity, but also free and frank political and spiritual discussion, without fear of state punishment for expressing undesirable views. In that draft, the priest from the final chapter made an earlier appearance, discussing his resistance work in both nations with Sam. I liked this section of the novel, but took it out because it felt a little on the nose, as well as being unnecessary. I revised the novel so Sam only meets the priest in the final chapter.

If you’ve not yet read Peaceful Quiet Lives, why not give it a go? Here’s the blurb from the back of the book:

Two Nations Under God. Can their love survive in either nation?

Life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are a distant dream for Sam and Eve. Their forbidden love falls foul of laws in both nations born from the ashes of the Second American Civil War.

A satire of political and religious fears, Peaceful Quiet Lives is a thought-provoking and powerful dystopian future shock.

Peaceful Quiet Lives is available as a download or paperback from Amazon. Order your copy here (in the UK), or here (in the US). You can also order from Smashwords here.

Peaceful Quiet Lives: The Cover

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My latest novel, Peaceful Quiet Lives, has a superb cover, courtesy of my graphic designer friend, the excellent Denisa Trenkle.

Denisa and I discussed a variety of concepts. One early rough mock-up (complete with amusing typo) emphasised the surveillance angle of the novel.

Another explored the brainwashing angle, and another featured the provocative image of lovers trapped behind prison bars in the shape of a map of the USA. A revised version of the latter, without the figures, was fully completed. We considered using this one as an alternative.

At one point, this cover (created by me – nothing whatsoever to do with Denisa) was used as a temporary measure, but never intended to make it to publication. For complicated reasons, a couple of these were printed, so if this novel is ever hugely successful, these two copies featuring my inept attempts at graphic design will end up being worth a fortune.

However, in the end, we settled on this cover:

The final cover subtly hints at different elements of the narrative around the central title text, through use of colour and symbolism. It also looks nothing like any of my other novel covers, which was a key part of the brief I gave Denisa. Given that the subject matter is outside my usual gothic horror or children’s adventure oeuvre, it really needed to stand out.

What is the subject matter? Check out the blurb from the back of the book:

Two Nations Under God. Can their love survive in either nation?

Life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are a distant dream for Sam and Eve. Their forbidden love falls foul of laws in both nations born from the ashes of the Second American Civil War.

A satire of political and religious fears, Peaceful Quiet Lives is a thought-provoking and powerful dystopian future shock.

Peaceful Quiet Lives is available as a download or paperback from Amazon. Pick up your copy here (in the UK) or here (in the US). It is also available from Smashwords here.

To see more of Denisa’s splendid work, click here.

Peaceful Quiet Lives: Second Excerpt

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My latest novel, Peaceful Quiet Lives, is out now. Last year, this post revealed the opening of the novel. Here’s a taster from early in the second half.

‘You will be expected here, at the Department of Tolerance, to begin your Enlightenment Conditioning classes tomorrow morning at nine o’clock sharp.’

‘Thank you. What about Eve?’

‘As I said, we are not quite finished with her.’

‘But how will I reach her?’

‘She will be told where you are staying in due course, and obviously we will rehouse her as well. For the time being, you cannot have any contact with her.’

I stare at Adams and Lucas. Something isn’t right.

‘What aren’t you telling me about Eve?’

‘We have told you everything. She simply needs further time for processing. Remember, she has been the victim of patriarchal oppression in a society that hates women. She has suffered a lot more than you, and we need further time to ensure she is not a political threat.’

‘A political threat? You just said she was a victim!’

‘It is precisely because she was a victim that she could be a political threat. Women who are oppressed the way Eve has been oppressed will often fall back on expected behaviour patterns, even unconsciously. We need to be sure that she will not display or even encourage such behaviour in the DEAR.’

I can scarcely believe my ears. ‘You’re telling me you’re worried Eve will go around telling women in the DEAR that they need to be subservient to men?’

‘I don’t think she would do so intentionally,’ Lucas says. ‘But we have to be sure, nonetheless.’

I slump back in my chair, unable to believe my ears. ‘This is farcical. Just spend some time with Eve. Have a conversation with her. She is one of the strongest, boldest, most independent people you will ever meet. She has such a great sense of humour, and she is…’

‘Ah yes, humour… Another area where you and Eve will doubtless require Enlightenment Conditioning.’

‘Humour?’

‘Given the situations you were in, I expect you and Eve used dark, offensive, and insensitive humour as a means of coming to terms with your predicament. Here we cannot allow such things. There is no need for it, and such jokes will only cause distress.’

‘You want to make sure we don’t make the wrong jokes?’

‘The Department of Tolerance has many sub-divisions, including an Office of Humour, which regularly advises citizens on what is and isn’t funny.’

I burst out laughing. ‘You can’t legislate humour!’

‘Humour isn’t a laughing matter, Sam. It can be perverted into a terrible weapon of oppressive propaganda.’

‘Eve and I are hardly Goebbels! We’re just two people who love each other and want to live together in peace. I can assure you we will not make offensive jokes to anyone else.’

‘That is good Sam. But we must also make sure you don’t make them to each other. As I said, you will both require Enlightenment Conditioning, if you wish to live as successful citizens in the DEAR.’

Intrigued? Here’s the blurb from the back of the book.

Two Nations Under God. Can their love survive in either nation?

Life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are a distant dream for Sam and Eve. Their forbidden love falls foul of laws in both nations born from the ashes of the Second American Civil War.

A satire of political and religious fears, Peaceful Quiet Lives is a thought-provoking and powerful dystopian future shock.

Peaceful Quiet Lives is available as a download or paperback from Amazon. Order your copy here (in the UK) or here (in the US). It is also available at Smashwords here.