As you are no doubt aware, all my film reviews have now moved to Substack or Medium. I syndicate them to both sites, with Medium available only to those with a Medium account. However, those with a Substack account can access my film reviews for FREE – for four weeks, before they disappear behind a paywall.
This FREE option isn’t the only thing I’m up to on Substack. I’m also creating a mirror of my Medium account, which means for just $5 per month, you also have access to short stories, including horror stories like Crockern’s Curse or Once in a Lifetime, poignant dramas including Aftermath, satirical fantasy such as In-Between, satirical thrillers like Call the Number on Your Screen, and many others as I release them. For example, my dark fairy tale Window of the Soul will be serialised there over the next eight weeks, and new subscription-only material is added constantly (for one thing, I’m gradually transferring my entire Medium back catalogue, as well as releasing new stuff).
Your monthly subscription also gets you access to all the film essays, top tens, and other cinema analysis I write on Medium, along with access to the full film review archive, which doesn’t disappear after four weeks behind a paywall (unlike the FREE option). There’s also a try-before-you-buy option, so why not take a free trial of Dillon Empire on Substack? Click here and sign up today, as they say in commercial speak.
Thank you to everyone who has supported my writing by signing up so far.
“Naomi believes she wants to see what is on the other side, but doesn’t realise it’s the other side that wants to see what is inside of her…” – Aaron Channel, Warhol Publishing Reviews.
Feedback for my supernatural horror/thriller novel The Irresistible Summons has 1) been consistently great, and 2) consistently told me it is the scariest, most disturbing novel I have released. I am surprised, as I personally think Spectre of Springwell Forest is a lot more unsettling. However, reviews suggest otherwise. Here are a sample from around the internet, including a couple from fellow authors Claus Holm and Galina Trefil.
“A wonderful mix of old-fashioned ghost story, religious horror, drama, and a dash of sci-fi. We follow a young woman who, after suffering a devastating loss as a teenager, grew up to become a film producer making documentaries debunking supernatural stories. After an incredibly scary event, she’s re-assigned to a new project – a haunted high-rise in central London. But it’s not just ghosts that haunts the building… Simon Dillon has a wonderful way of describing environments. The Dartmoor landscape, Central London, and the scary underground tunnels of abandoned tube stations are described in such detail that I could almost see them, and at the same time he does very well with action scenes. There are some very cinematic fight scenes, but most importantly, the book is genuinely scary. I loved Naomi, the main character, but I was even more enamoured with Raven, the wonderful cameraperson on her team. I pray she gets a spin-off in her own book, because she was one of the highlights. I can’t recommend this book highly enough – if you’re into horror and spooky stories, you should definitely pick this one up.” – Claus Holm, Goodreads.
“Dillon’s talent for somehow making already-creepy settings, (abandoned tube stations, tunnels, moonlit moors,) even creepier, dirtier, more decrepit, and claustrophobic presents itself proudly in this poignant story of innocent, young love gone a very gory wrong. Demons, ghosts, witches, high-powered businessmen… this book has almost every possible form of monster, (not to mention some gnarly mutilations) to make the hair prickle on the back of the audience’s neck. The only question is, of all the multiple baddies to choose from, which one will ultimately wind up being the biggest threat, and will they be formidable enough to take down Dillon’s badass, axe-wielding heroine? Evil may be powerful, but it’s in for one hell of a fight.” – Galina Trefil, Amazon.
“Regarding horror aspects, the book starts surprisingly slow, sprinkling in a few particularly unsettling scenes here and there, but not pushing the macabre envelope overly. Then… boom! Suddenly, the pace picks up, and picks up fast. Dillon incorporates some of the classic elements that catapulted films like The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby into horror history, but he does so with a series of modern, technological twists. With surprising ease, when the complete set-up of the plot finally reveals itself, Dillon’s take on these beloved scream queen tropes turns them into something wholly original.” – Aaron Channel, Warhol Publishing Reviews.
“Fabulous creepiness and building feelings of discomfort reaching a delightful peak.” – Daniel, Amazon.
“Legitimately terrifying read, with the great elements to make a scary story.” – Amazon reader.
Curious? Here’s the blurb from the back of the novel:
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.
How far would you go to bring the one you love back from the dead?
Still curious? Pick up your copy of The Irresistible Summonshere (in the UK) and here (in the US).
Simon Dillon Books 
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