Tag Archives: The Thistlewood Curse

How scary are my novels?

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I’ve had a lot of people ask about the level of scariness in the novels from my “Spooky Quintet” (yes, it’s a rubbish umbrella name, but it’s temporary until I can think of a better one).

As I’ve said in the past, I’ve been reluctant to label these novels as horror, purely because that term conjures up gory images of axe murderers stalking foolish teenagers. My horror stories have a rather different sensibility, and some are more horror-ish than others. In fact, I would argue they are more modern-gothic ghost story mysteries, on the whole.

Still, since I’m asked this question all the time by nervous, I-don’t-do-horror-but-your-books-sound-interesting readers, here’s a non-spoiler overview of how scary you can expect these novels to be, and where they fit within my psychological mystery/supernatural thriller/horror spectrum. I’m calling this the “SSS” – Simon’s Scariness Scale. I’ve also include one or two “comparison texts” so you can get an idea of not only the scariness tone, but the kind of scariness.

The Birds Began to Sing

The Birds Began to Sing_1600x2400_Front CoverMore psychological thriller/mystery than horror, and if it were a film, probably wouldn’t be rated stronger than 12A (that’s PG-13 for our American cousins). Yes, there is plenty of page-turning suspense, with our imperilled heroine wandering spooky corridors at night, but let’s put it this way; my notoriously easy-to-scare mother braved it, and managed to reach the ending unscathed. It’s only a notch up from something like Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca.

SSS rating: 4/10.

The Thistlewood Curse

THE THISTLEWOOD CURSE Cover (JPG Print version)This begins more like a whodunnit, develops into a supernatural thriller, and really only segues into horror during the finale, in quite a gradual slow-burn. Yes, the bodies do pile up a bit, but in scariness, only a notch or so up from The Birds Began to Sing.

SSS rating: 6/10.

Spectre of Springwell Forest

SSF coverA properly full-blown ghostly gothic horror mystery, most akin to something like an MR James short story, or The Woman in Black. It is a slow-burn, but it does build to a properly spine-chilling finale that will test the nerves, so I’m giving this one a higher scariness rating.

SSS rating: 9/10.

The Irresistible Summons

simon-dillon-irresistible-summons-full-resFor the most part, I’d argue this is a supernatural conspiracy thriller. However, the final act is undoubtedly in clear horror territory, in a pretty full-on manner. Comparison texts would be something like Coma crossed with the more horrific elements of Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom.

SSS rating: Most of the book, 7/10, the last bit, 10/10.

Phantom Audition

PHANTOM AUDITIONDespite the sinister (and rather brilliant) cover, this is much more a psychological mystery/drama than a horror tale. In fact, I’d argue it isn’t really scary at all. Suspenseful and gripping yes, but not scary (despite a violent sequence near the end). With this book, I was more interested in messing with your head than making you afraid. It is more unsettling than The Birds Began to Sing, but no more scary, if that makes sense. I’d also add Sarah Water’s The Little Stranger as a scariness comparison text.

SSS rating: 4/10.

Phantom Audition is published by Dragon Soul Press, and is out on the 19th of October. Click here to pre-order your copy now.

Happy New Year 2019!

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Happy New Year!

2019

Last year was a hugely significant year for my writing, not least because my first novel to be published by a traditional publisher, Spectre of Springwell Forest, has now been released. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, what are you waiting for? Click here (for the UK) and here (for the US) and dive into a nail-biting ghostly mystery that will brighten up your January with page-turning suspense.

So what are my writing plans for 2019?

For a start, I have submitted a short story entitled Paper Cut for inclusion in the upcoming Dragon Soul Press romantic fantasy anthology First Love. More to be announced on that front in due course.

Aside from that, I have started writing my first novel for 2019 – an as yet untitled ghostly tale which is lighter on the terror than Spectre of Springwell Forest and The Thistlewood Curse, yet still falls neatly within the psychological/supernatural thriller/horror spectrum in which I greatly enjoy writing. I will keep my lips sealed on details so far… suffice to say it involves a famous dead actor, his rather less famous actress widow, a large sinister house, a medium, and a big mystery.

Also this year, I intend to finally stop procrastinating and write the science fiction novellas I have put off since mid-2017 (when I opted to write Echo and the White Howl instead). Those I really will say nothing about for now.

On top of that, I hope to have at least one other novel released this year, possibly horror mystery The Irresistible Summons which I wrote back in 2015, depending on what my publisher makes of it. Watch this space for more updates on that and other writing related matters throughout the year. Here’s hoping it’s a good one.

Christmas Present ideas

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If you are scratching your head this year over Christmas presents, why not consider giving one of my novels? At the risk of sounding like a cliché, I have written across a variety of genres and therefore have “something for all the family”.

First and foremost, I have a novel about to be released on the 20th of December entitled Spectre of Springwell Forest. A nail-biting, page-turning ghost story, this supernatural mystery is my first novel to be published by Dragon Soul Press, and a must for any fan of bone-chilling suspense. Simply click here (in the UK) or here (in the US) to pre-order your copy. (NOTE: at present this pre-order is for the Kindle version only. Stay tuned for updates on the paperback.)

SSF coverHere is the blurb from the back of the book:

Lily Henderson has a horrifying secret buried far in her past. She hoped it would never be revealed. Now she has no choice.

To save her family, Lily must keep them from returning to the village of Springwell, where she lived with her first husband and young daughter decades previously.

In the past, after moving to Springwell, Lily encounters secretive locals, government scientists, and rumours of a ghost haunting the forest.

Are they linked to the mysterious deaths of local children? Do paintings by a local artist predict when tragic events are getting closer? Will Lily’s daughter be next?

“Two were taken. More will follow.”

If you enjoy stories with devious twists on the spectrum between psychological thriller, supernatural mystery and horror, why not also try The Thistlewood Curse or The Birds Began to Sing? The former is a gripping mystery involving astral projection and murder on Lundy Island. The latter concerns a peculiar writing competition in a remote and sinister Dartmoor house.

 

My short story Once in a Lifetime is also available, as part of the Dragon Soul Press All Dark Places anthology. A disturbing tale of existential dread, this short is based on a nightmare I had earlier this year. It concerns a man waking up in an entirely different life. As he struggles to understand what has happened, memories of his previous existence rapidly vanish, and are replaced with those from the life he has awoken inside.

Folded Valley coverOn a rather different note, we have my most successful (and arguably most “personal”) novel to date, Children of the Folded Valley. A dystopian memoir mystery with a science fiction edge, the plot concerns a man looking back on his life growing up in a strange cult.

For the young and young at heart, I have written a number of gripping tales, including treasure hunt adventure Uncle Flynn (my debut novel) and Dr Gribbles and the Beast of Blackthorn Lodge, which involves spies, haunted houses, mad scientists, and monsters (and that’s just chapter one).

My most recent novel for younger readers, Echo and the White Howl, is a thrilling animal fiction adventure about a pack of wolves set in the wilds of Alaska.

 

In addition, my George Hughes trilogy (comprising George goes to Mars, George goes to Titan and George goes to Neptune) are a trio of fast-paced science fiction adventures with thrills and perils galore.

 

I must emphasise my stories aimed at children are not just for children. Amid the humour, thrills and scares are themes many adults will appreciate too.

LvsHonour 1600 x 2400Finally, Love vs Honour represented something of a departure for me, in that it is a teenage romantic drama. But many of the themes present in my other novels – religious oppression, abuse of power and so on – are present and correct here, and this is a much darker tale than it first appears. I don’t consider it a complete success for reasons I have discussed in more detail here, but I still think it is well worth a read.

All the above books can be ordered on Kindle or as paperbacks from Amazon here (for the UK) and here (for the US).

My Five Favourite Gothic Mysteries

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As regular readers of this blog (and indeed my novels) will know, I absolutely love a good gothic brew of mystery, melodrama, thrills and horror. To date I have written five novels of this kind, including The Birds Began to Sing and The Thistlewood Curse, as well as The Spectre of Springwell Forest, which is the next book I intend to publish.

Here are five classic gothic mysteries that I return to endlessly, that have proved a huge inspiration and influence. NOTE: Although undoubted gothic classics, for this list I have deliberately ignored Dracula and Frankenstein, since those are less mysteries and more full-throttle horror.

rebecca1

Rebecca (Daphne Du Maurier) – I adore Daphne Du Maurier, and this one remains top of my gothic influences list. For instance, how many other novels have their own variations on the manipulative, vindictive, psychopathic housekeeper Danvers? The central narrative is great too, with the famously unnamed, tormented protagonist living in the shadow of her husband’s dead wife. It also has one of the greatest gothic mystery plot twists of all time, and an appropriately fiery climax.

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Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) – This moody, brooding romance features one of the most iconic gothic subplots in the history of English literature (ie the classic, oft-imitated mad-woman-in-the-attic). A rich, melancholy, menacing work, brimming with vivid description, dangerous passions, and many other gothic touchstones (like Rebecca, this one ends in purging flames).

 

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The Hound of the Baskervilles (Arthur Conan Doyle) – I tend to think of this Sherlock Holmes story as a spinoff into gothic horror, rather than belonging in the main Holmes crime fiction canon. The quality of the suspenseful prose remains unsurpassed, not just in obviously scary sections, but in little moments, such as Watson’s unsettling first night in Baskerville Hall. The oozing dread and menace drips from every page.

 

woman-in-black

 

The Woman in Black (Susan Hill) – Despite the popularity of the long-running stage show and a successful film adaptation, the source novel is still one of the finest, most bone-chilling ghost stories ever written. The superbly abrupt, genuinely shattering ending (significantly different from the film) has lost none of its ability to shock.

 

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Coma (Film) – I’m referring here to Michael Crichton’s superb film version of Robin Cook’s novel, rather than the novel itself. The premise – a possible conspiracy in a Boston hospital whereby patients are being deliberately placed in irreplaceable comas – is a masterclass in escalating unease and paranoia, building to full blown suspense set pieces that are pure modern gothic. Genevieve Bujold makes a fantastic imperiled heroine, and Michael Douglas is also good as her is-he-or-isn’t-he-in-on-it boyfriend. A real nail-biter.

2017 in review

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So how was 2017 for me, in writing terms? Well, besides pursuing that ever elusive mainstream publishing deal (I keep trying, with every novel), I have had a fairly productive year, though not quite in the way I anticipated.

I had originally intended to release horror whodunit The Thistlewood Curse (for adults) and horror fantasy The Faerie Gate (for children – and any adults that didn’t find it too scary). However, ultimately only the first of those was released. I decided to delay the latter for another year, and instead I opted to release Echo and the White Howl – an animal fiction adventure about wolves in Alaska I wrote on the spur of the moment at the urging of my youngest son.

At the onset of this year I had planned to write two novels; another horror tale entitled The Spectre of Springwell Forest, and a satirical drama called A Statement of Disbelief. I had also planned to pen a collection of science fiction novellas.

I wrote the two novels as planned, but then the afore-mentioned Echo and the White Howl reared its howling head. As a result, the science fiction novellas will now be written next year instead.

All things considered, this year has been good to me on the writing front, particularly given the positive response to both The Thistlewood Curse and Echo and the White Howl. In the case of the latter, the positive response has (so far) come from my youngest son, and since I wrote the book for him, I consider that a big success.

Christmas Present Ideas Part Two – Books for Grown-Ups

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Christmas is rapidly approaching, but if you are scratching your head over potential presents, why not try one of my novels?

In this second of a two-part series, I take a quick look at what I have written primarily for adults (and in one case, for teenagers and adults).

This year I released The Thistlewood Curse; a gripping, page-turning tale that begins as a whodunit, becomes a supernatural thriller and finally escalates into full blown horror.

THE THISTLEWOOD CURSE Cover (JPG Print version)

Here is the blurb from the back of The Thistlewood Curse:

Lawrence Crane’s powers of astral projection are put to the ultimate test when he and his lifelong friend Detective Laura Buchan investigate a mysterious death on Lundy Island.

Sensing a dark power at work, they attempt to identify a human assassin under the control of supernatural evil.

But can they escape a terrifying, centuries-old curse?

In a similar vein to the above, The Birds Began to Sing is a supernaturally tinged psychological thriller.

The Birds Began to Sing_1600x2400_Front Cover

Here is the blurb from the back of The Birds Began to Sing:

When aspiring novelist Alice Darnell enters a competition to write the ending for an unfinished manuscript by late, world famous author Sasha Hawkins, it appears she might have her big break at last.

However, upon arrival at Sasha’s former home – the sinister Blackwood House – Alice is unsettled by peculiar competition rules, mysterious dreams and inexplicable ghostly visions. She begins to question her sanity as she is drawn into a terrifying web of deceit, revenge and murder.

My most “personal” novel to date, Children of the Folded Valley, is a coming of age memoir mingled with science fiction mystery.

Folded Valley cover

Here is the blurb from the back of Children of the Folded Valley:

During a journey to visit his estranged sister, James Harper recalls his childhood in a mysterious valley cut off from the outside world, where he grew up as part of a cult called the Folded Valley Fellowship.

In this seemingly idyllic world, the charismatic Benjamin Smiley claimed to be protecting his followers from an impending nuclear apocalypse.

But the valley concealed a terrifying secret.

A secret that would change Smiley’s followers forever.

Finally, Love vs Honour represented something of a departure for me, in that it is a teenage romantic drama. But many of the themes present in my other novels – religious oppression, abuse of power and so on – are present and correct here, and this is a much darker tale than it first appears.

LvsHonour 1600 x 2400

Here is the blurb from the back of Love vs Honour:

Two Religions. Two Deceptions. One Love.

When Johnny meets and falls in love with Sabina, their bond proves stronger than a teenage holiday fling.

Fearing the disapproval of their strict Christian and Islamic families, they undertake an elaborate deception to continue seeing one another. Johnny pretends to convert to Islam whilst Sabina pretends to covert to Christianity to appease their parents.

But how long can this deception last before it unravels?

All the above books can be ordered on Kindle or as paperbacks from Amazon here.

(Note to self: I think I might use the word “terrifying” too much in blurbs…)

All my novels now available as paperbacks from Amazon

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At long last, I have stopped procrastinating, deferring, delaying, dilly-dallying, putting off, hanging fire, dragging my feet, beating about the bush and taking a rain check (or a “precipitation verification” as I sometimes call it, since the expression, American in origin, uses the spelling “check” rather than “cheque”). At any rate, I have finally decided to get off my backside and do what I should have done long ago and, to finally come to the point, ensure all my novels are available in paperback from Amazon Create Space, complete with physical pages that you can actually turn.

With that deliberately silly paragraph out of the way, to be more succinct, all my novels are now available from Amazon in dead tree format. Simply click here, and you’ll find them all listed accordingly.

The Thistlewood Curse – early reviews

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The first reviews for The Thistlewood Curse continue to trickle in, and so far they have all been very positive.

THE THISTLEWOOD CURSE Cover (JPG Print version)

For example, one reviewer on Goodreads spoke of “chilling moments”, “an unusual premise” and that although it was “not what I’d usually choose… I was kept guessing to the end”.

There have been also been five star reviews on the US and UK Amazon sites respectively. One stated “Simon Dillon’s streak continues with another cracking book! The author’s storytelling is top notch with the twists, turns and suspense covering the book with glue, that is to say, you can’t put it down.”

Another said “This one will certainly leave you with “novel hangover,” still reeling from the emotional storm that just picked you up and spit you out. It was engaging, captivating, and immersive from the very beginning, and the plot twists were a pleasant surprise.”

I’m also very pleased people are seeing past the murder mystery/horror elements into the deeper stuff. For example, one reviewer commented “The characters are built up and written so well, you feel you know them and connect with them. For that reason, when they go through an ordeal, you go through it with them.” The reviewer went on to state that this was “a book with real depth, personal struggle and a test of faith—in more ways than one.”

To all those that have left reviews for this or any of my other novels, thank you so much. I really appreciate your support.

If you have read and enjoyed The Thistlewood Curse, please, please do leave a review on Amazon. It need not be long. Even just a one-liner saying “I enjoyed it” is fine. All such reviews are a great help to independent self-published authors such as yours truly – not because we require endless affirmation, but because the more reviews are published on Amazon, the more Amazon shows the fruits of our hard work to other customers.

Thank you.

Are my novels one big existential crisis?

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The other day, my wife made an observation about my body of work; namely that virtually all my novels, either peripherally or directly, concern an existential crisis. I thought about this, and have come to the conclusion that she is correct.

Notions of identity, delusion and not being able to trust reality are definitely a running theme in my work, along with other mainstays such as abuse of power, religious oppression and so forth. Here are some examples from the novels I have published thus far (avoiding major spoilers): 

George goes to Neptune – Admittedly the first two novels don’t deal with an existential crisis, but the third in the George Hughes trilogy definitely does. George’s highly unusual battle with his dark side is what inspired me to write this third novel and complete the trilogy.

Uncle Flynn – The question of who is Uncle Flynn runs throughout the entire novel, particularly during the hunt for the hidden treasure. Throughout much of the story, police pursue him and his nephew Max across Dartmoor, for mysterious unknown reasons.

Dr Gribbles and the Beast of Blackthorn Lodge – An identity crisis of sorts lies at the heart of this story, involving Dr Gribbles’s daughter Emily and the Beast itself.

Children of the Folded Valley – Quantum physics and the nature of reality are a theme behind this story, still my most successful novel to date.

The Birds Began to Sing – From the very first chapter, it is clear that Alice’s perceptions of reality should be questioned. The suspense in many of the events that follow hinges on the question of whether or not what Alice is seeing is real or a delusion.

Love vs Honour – Spiritual identity crises form the heart of my attempt at teenage romantic drama.

Most recently, my supernatural thriller cum horror story The Thistlewood Curse pulls the rug out from the reader in a variety of existential crises involving ghosts, astral projection and more. You can download or buy a print copy of The Thistlewood Curse here.

Existential crisis remains a theme in virtually all my (as yet) unpublished novels, and this will no doubt continue to be the case.

Genre blending

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Blending genres can be a fiendishly tricky exercise yet sometimes it can work brilliantly, against the odds, even if conventional wisdom says these genres would mix like oil and water.

The film Colossal is a good recent example of this. It blends indie drama elements with that of the monster movie tin a surprisingly effective way. TV series Twin Peaks is another genre blender, and one that is very difficult to define in conventional terms. The programme contains elements of soap opera, offbeat dark comedy, whodunit detective drama and supernatural horror with an avant-garde surrealism that is continually pulls the rug out from under the viewer in ways that both delight and infuriate.

I have a personal passion for films that start out in one genre, but then evolve into full blown horror. Kill List begins as social realist hitman thriller but becomes Grand Guignol occult horror. Bone Tomahawk is essentially a western that gets gatecrashed by cannibal horror. Most effectively of all, the massively underrated Angel Heart begins as private detective noir but ends in Faustian horror.

My recent novel, The Thistlewood Curse, attempts to emulate this genre evolution, from detective whodunit, to supernatural thriller and then full-on horror, hopefully in a fairly gradual build-up. There are risks of course. It can be difficult to categorise and promote. But ultimately the story is what it is. I hope readers take a risk and give it a go regardless. So far the feedback I have heard has been very positive.

THE THISTLEWOOD CURSE Cover (JPG Print version)

You can download or buy print copies of The Thistlewood Curse from Amazon here.