My latest short story Vindicta, a spine-tingling tale about a ghost ship, is now available for your reading pleasure, having been published by Medium publication Fictions. Set shortly after the end of World War II, it concerns a jewel thief and murderer whose past catches up with him whilst fleeing for South America.
What inspired this story? Initially my youngest son, who said I hadn’t written a ghost ship story before, so I should have a go. Because I’d been researching British merchant navy losses to German U-boats during World War II, I was struck with inspiration for the time period, as well as some of the other subject matter. This included Jewish treasures looted under Nazi occupation, sold through dubious sources. The title is Latin for vengeance, so a certain amount of guesswork concerning the narrative can be extrapolated from that. Although I hope the finale still surprises.
As I’ve recently launched on Patreon, I’ve decided to combine my monthly Medium highlights with Patreon highlights. If you aren’t already a supporter on Patreon, please take a look at this link, which outlines my writing goals for the next year, clearly stating how much I wish to raise and why, and offering support levels of £2, £4, £8, and £25 per month, with different benefits at each level. Please consider supporting me, even if only at the lower level, as every pound makes a huge difference.
The big Patreon news this month is, as of this week, I’ve started serialising the current draft of my novel The Balliol Conspiracy. This somewhat unusual story begins as a psychological mystery, evolving into a romantic spy thriller of sorts akin to novels such as John Buchan’s The Thirty-Nine Steps and Hitchcock films like North by Northwest.
The Balliol Conspiracy proved a real change of pace for me when I wrote it, as frankly, I wanted to write a novel that (for once) wouldn’t give my mother nightmares. As such, I strove to keep events at a PG level, even though it is a grown-up thriller with a strong, suspenseful narrative. At its heart, this is a history-based treasure hunt tale, leading to a new lease of life for its bereaved protagonist, who has a mysterious compulsion for purchasing and cataloguing suitcases left in airports. I don’t want to say too much more, except that it also involves Balliol College in Oxford, the infamous “Galloping Gertie” Tacoma Narrows bridge disaster, and the head of Oliver Cromwell!
If you become a “Knight of the Dillon Empire” at £8 per month, you get at least one draft chapter of The Balliol Conspiracy per month, as well as all the benefits of the lower “Ally of the Dillon Empire” and “Free Citizen of the Dillon Empire” tiers. These include updates on all I’m doing, which sometimes take the form of videos of me prattling in various locations such as Dartmoor. You also get draft previews of short stories, deleted snippets of published books, exclusive peeks at rejected cover artworks, further insights into my creative process, and more.
I hope many of you consider supporting me, and that you enjoy the exclusive material. In the meantime, here’s a selection of my highlights from Medium over the past month. Those of you who aren’t Medium subscribers get three free reads per month. However, if you decide to subscribe to Medium to read all my work (and the work of many others), please do so via this link, as it means I financially benefit from your subscription. Thank you for supporting my writing endeavours, and I hope you enjoy the following.
That’s it from me this month. Thank you again for all your support, and a special big thank you to my ten first monthly supporters on Patreon – Claus, Robin, David S, David P, Steve, Yasmine and Ville, Sterling, Galina, Ian, and Gillian, plus those who have contributed one-off donations on Ko-fi. And also to Ruth and Iain. I’ll leave it there, before this degenerates into an Oscar acceptance speech, suffice to say, it is greatly appreciated.
Herewith an update on where you can read my currently available short stories and novellas. Most are online in Medium publications such as Fictions and Illumination.
Dystopian Sci-Fi/Thriller. A journalist investigates a tech company manufacturing nightmare suppressing nanotech for children. “Sweet Dreams” refers to the technology involved, which the journalist comes to believe may be linked to an increase in suicidal tendencies among young people. Her investigations uncover conspiracies, cover-ups, and eventually murder.
Fantasy. A Dark Ages knight undertaking a quest to rescue the young woman to whom he is betrothed. She has been captured by a mysterious Beast and taken into a mysterious and dangerous uncharted forest. On his quest, the knight encounters bandits, witches, and strange supernatural beings, journeying ever deeper into the forest, and ever deeper into himself.
Horror/Sci-Fi. The near future. No one knows where the giant spider nests came from, but nations are adjusting to the challenge of living alongside dangerous oversized arachnids. A mercenary desperate for money to purchase medical treatments that can save his wife is hired by an influential businessman. His objective: Infiltrate a spider nest on a mission of vengeance.
The former also features two short stories, Influencer and White Horse, exclusive to that volume. Copies can be ordered here (in the UK) and here (in the US). Digital versions are also available from Smashwords here, as well as the various outlets to which they distribute (Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, and Kobo, for instance).
The latter features exclusive stories The Thought Improvement Programme, Driverless, Bleed with Me, The Traffic Warden, Apocalypse 1983, and Love and Other Punishments (as well as Sweet Dreams, which can be read on Medium). Copies can be ordered here (in the UK) and here (in the US). Digital versions are also available from Smashwords here, as well as the various outlets to which they distribute (Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, and Kobo, for instance).
Papercut and Once in a Lifetime were originally traditionally published by Dragon Soul Press for their First Love and All Dark Places anthologies respectively. These collections are now out of print, though copies can be obtained via sellers. Papercut is also available to read in both short story and adapted screenplay form on this blog, here.
In a brief series on Medium, I’m showcasing some of the opening chapters from my novels. These will be primarily from my gothic mysteries, though there may be one or two others. Kicking off the series is my supernaturally tinged whodunnit The Thistlewood Curse, which opens with these words:
In spite of the peculiar circumstances surrounding the death of Jacob Price, Detective Sergeant Laura Buchan had all but convinced herself there was no foul play. That he died as the result of a bizarre accident had become the accepted version of events for her and most of her colleagues. Only the senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Ethan Roland, had any further inkling that Price’s demise was in any way suspicious.
Laura kept pinching the bridge of her nose in a nervous reflex. The questioning of her lifelong friend and occasional colleague Lawrence Crane should have been mere formality; an interview that would establish beyond all doubt that he had no involvement in Price’s death. But Roland kept treating him like a criminal. No doubt he considered his actions thoroughness, but Laura thought he was just being rude. Through the two-way mirror, Laura watched as Roland continued to question Crane in the interview room.
‘Are you glad he’s dead?’
Lawrence Crane leaned forward and stared for a moment at the mirror. His eyes met Laura’s and although he could not see her, she experienced the familiar sensation of discomfort, as though she were standing before him naked. His gaze seemed darker and colder than usual, no doubt because he didn’t suffer fools gladly, and Ethan continued to behave like one.
Crane returned his piercing, steel blue stare to the Detective Inspector sitting before him. Although his back was turned, Laura could imagine the dogged, determined expression on Ethan Roland’s face. He had a stocky, bulldog build that intimidated most people he questioned. But Lawrence Crane was not most people. He replied with an icy calm.
‘Obviously, I’m glad he’s dead.’
From The Thistlewood Curse by Simon Dillon.
You can read the whole of the chapter here, and read my companion piece article on this series here. Alternatively, to purchase a copy of The Thistlewood Curse (ebook or paperback) click here (for the UK), here (for the US), or here, if you wish to purchase via Smashwords.
Apologies for the recent dearth of information on my writing. I’ve not posted anything other than film reviews on this blog for a couple of months, as I’ve been extremely busy – both working on novels (expect an update on those soon) and working on Medium articles. Regarding the latter, here are just ten highlights from the past two or three months.
Those of you who aren’t Medium subscribers get three free reads per month. However, if you decide to subscribe to Medium to read all my work (and the work of many others), please do so via this link, as it means I financially benefit from your subscription. Thank you for supporting my writing endeavours, and I hope you enjoy the following.
Medium publication Fictions have recently serialised my new short story Sweet Dreams. A science fiction thriller set in the near future, it concerns a journalist investigating a tech company that manufactures nightmare suppressing nanotech for children. “Sweet Dreams” refers to the technology involved, which Ali, the journalist, comes to believe may be linked to an increase in suicidal tendencies among young people. Her investigations uncover conspiracies, cover-ups, and eventually murder.
Themes of playing God and the dangers of mollycoddling are inherent in the subject matter, but quite honestly it isn’t meant to be terribly deep. My main motivation in writing was to create a gripping tech-murder mystery. I’ve had lots of great feedback on Medium so far, and I hope you enjoy it. All five parts are now available for your reading pleasure.
I’ve a new short story entitled Sweet Dreams currently being serialised in Fictions on Medium. It concerns a journalist investigating a tech company that manufactures nightmare suppressing nanotech for children. I’ll talk more about this story once all five parts are published, but for now, you can check out part one here. Enjoy!
The Fictions publication on Medium published my short story In-Between. Originally conceived as a supernatural satire, this evolved into something far more personal. It concerns a recently deceased man whose attempts to haunt his family are constantly interrupted by ghost politicians attempting to secure his vote in an afterlife by-election. Check it out in full here. I hope you enjoy it.
First, my apologies for the lack of Medium update in April. I have been exceptionally busy elsewhere, mostly writing short stories. However, here’s a selection of my more notable Medium pieces over the past couple of months.
Those of you who aren’t Medium subscribers get three free reads per month. However, if you decide to subscribe to Medium to read all my work (and the work of many others), please do so via this link, as it means I financially benefit from your subscription. Thank you for supporting my writing endeavours, and I hope you enjoy the following.
Herewith an update on where you can read my currently available short stories and novellas. Most are online in Medium publications such as Fictions and Illumination, but I am also gradually releasing many of my short stories on new fiction specialising platform Simily. Here’s a link to my profile on that site.
Fantasy. A Dark Ages knight undertaking a quest to rescue the young woman to whom he is betrothed. She has been captured by a mysterious Beast and taken into a mysterious and dangerous uncharted forest. On his quest, the knight encounters bandits, witches, and strange supernatural beings, journeying ever deeper into the forest, and ever deeper into himself.
Science Fiction/Horror. The near future. No one knows where the giant spider nests came from, but nations are adjusting to the challenge of living alongside dangerous oversized arachnids. A mercenary desperate for money to purchase medical treatments that can save his wife is hired by an influential businessman. His objective: Infiltrate a spider nest on a mission of vengeance.
Dystopian Science Fiction/Romance. In a fascistic future London, a widowed salesman begins to suspect he has repressed memories when he encounters a mysterious woman.
A curious IT technician discovers the truth about traffic wardens in this surreal, sinister, rather silly conspiracy thriller.
The only short stories of mine currently available in paperback/e-book are those selected for Infestation: A Horror Anthology, which also features two short stories exclusive to that volume. Copies can be ordered here (in the UK) and here (in the US). Digital versions are also available from Smashwords here, as well as the various outlets to which they distribute (Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, and Kobo, for instance).
Papercut and Once in a Lifetime were originally traditionally published by Dragon Soul Press for their First Love and All Dark Places anthologies respectively. These collections are now out of print, though copies can be obtained via sellers. Papercut is also available to read in both short story and adapted screenplay form on this blog, here.
Medium allow three free reads per month for non-subscribers, so for unrestricted access to my work and the work of every other writer on that site (including the many other articles I write, in addition to my fiction pieces), I’d recommend becoming a Medium subscriber for $4.99 per month. This will also give you the ability to write and publish your own articles, and make money doing so, should you wish to go that route. I benefit financially if you use this link to become a Medium subscriber, so if you wish to support my work, subscribing that way is a huge help.
Simon Dillon Books 
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