{"id":4600,"date":"2017-10-07T11:53:04","date_gmt":"2017-10-07T11:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/?p=4600"},"modified":"2017-10-09T10:33:56","modified_gmt":"2017-10-09T10:33:56","slug":"watson-weird-books-and-a-weirdbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/watson-weird-books-and-a-weirdbook\/","title":{"rendered":"WATSON, WEIRD BOOKS AND A WEIRDBOOK"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oh, dear listener, we are so buried under review copies and books of interest that we resort to the tactics of madness. Rather than wait, we\u2019re going to highlight four new publications before we\u2019ve even finished reading them. Ugly Little Things<\/em>, by Todd Keisling<\/strong>; the Sherlock Holmes special from Mystery Weekly<\/em>; the Weirdbook Annual<\/em>, and The Dollkeeper<\/em> by Rob Martin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"art<\/a>
art by luke spooner\/carrion house for ‘ugly little things’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We picked these four for the variety they offer, and have started all of them, with high hopes. Here\u2019s the information you might want to ponder if you\u2019re looking for something to read, and there are Amazon UK and US links at the end of each section. No lurcher room today, sadly…<\/p>\n

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1) FOR THE DARK AND HORROR FANS<\/h1>\n

\"81DJyO7JVvL\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ugly Little Things: Collected Horrors<\/h3>\n

By Todd Keisling<\/h3>\n

A new one on us, but the reviews so far have been good \u2013 a collection of dark tales.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe eleven stories in Ugly Little Things explore the depths of human suffering and ugliness, charting a course to the dark, horrific heart of the human condition. The terrors of everyday existence are laid bare in this eerie collection of short fiction from the twisted mind of Todd Keisling, author of the critically-acclaimed novels A Life Transparent and The Liminal Man.<\/p>\n

“Travel between the highways of America in \u2018The Otherland Express,\u2019 where a tribe of the forsaken and forlorn meet to exchange identities. Witness the cold vacuum of space manifest in the flesh in \u2018The Darkness Between Dead Stars.\u2019 Step into the scrub of rural Arizona and join Karen Singleton\u2019s struggle to save her husband from a cult of religious fanatics in \u2018When Karen Met Her Mountain.\u2019 Visit the small town of Dalton in \u2018The Harbinger\u2019 and join Felix Proust as he uncovers the vile secrets rooted at the heart of Dalton Dollworks. And in the critically-acclaimed novella \u2018The Final Reconciliation,\u2019 learn the horrifying truth behind the demise of the rock band The Yellow Kings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith an introduction by Bram Stoker Award-winner Mercedes M. Yardley and illustrations by Luke Spooner, Ugly Little Things will be your atlas, guiding you along a lonely road of sorrow, loss, and regret. This is going to hurt\u2014and you\u2019re going to like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"art<\/a>
art by luke spooner\/carrion house for ‘ugly little things’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTodd Keisling is a born storyteller, drawing the reader into artfully constructed narratives that scout the darker end of the literary spectrum with skill and bravado. A pleasure to read, his stories linger well after the last page has been turned. Excellent stuff.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

John Langan, Bram Stoker award-winning author of The Fisherman<\/em><\/p>\n

From Crystal Lake<\/span><\/p>\n

\"DIqgnoHXcAIsPHU\"http:\/\/amzn.eu\/2ZuOIPW<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/a.co\/acCtFwc<\/a><\/p>\n

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2) FOR THE CLASSIC & DETECTIVE FANS<\/h1>\n

\"22050144_1446396022109977_965368956818848784_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Mystery Weekly October 2017<\/h3>\n

Edited by K Carter<\/h3>\n

C F Carter\u2019s<\/strong> Mystery Weekly<\/em>, which produces weekly updates and a monthly print\/Kindle issue, came to our attention last year with its special Sherlock Holmes edition, which was most enjoyable. So we are fortunate enough to have a copy of this year\u2019s similarly Holmesian double-issue\u00a0 October special, and so far it looks good. We may report in more depth later, but here\u2019s the round-up:<\/p>\n

Contents<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Vincent W. Wright<\/strong> \u201cThe Pastiche: A Sherlockian Necessity\u201d Ever considered writing Sherlockian pastiche? Here are some thoughts to ponder.<\/p>\n

Michael Mallory<\/strong> \u201cThe Adventure of the Lyceum Theatre Curse\u201d At the request of Bram Stoker, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigate the deadly occurrences plaguing a production of Macbeth.<\/p>\n

Ralph E. Vaughan<\/strong> \u201cLondon After Midnight\u201d Roger Sherrington replaces Dr John H Watson to provide invaluable assistance to Sherlock Holmes in a monster-god investigation.<\/p>\n

David Gibb<\/strong> \u201cHercule Poirot’s Birthday\u201d In this Agatha Christie pastiche, Hercule Poirot’s birthday dinner is interrupted by an inconvenient homicide.<\/p>\n

Eric Cline<\/strong> \u201cThe Adventure of the Very Quiet American\u201d Sherlock Holmes must discover who murdered a man. But first, he must discover who murdered a pig.<\/p>\n

John Hearn<\/strong> \u201cThe So-Called Yoga Instructor\u201d The part-time yoga instructor at an active retirement community is murdered in a fellow resident’s apartment.<\/p>\n

John Longenbaugh<\/strong> \u201cThe Mechanical Detective\u201d In a Victorian London substantially different from the one we know, no consulting sleuth is as extraordinary as Ponder Wright, the mechanical detective. Yet even his wits are tested by a murder where the suspects are all automatons.<\/p>\n

Bruce Harris<\/strong> \u201cWho Made Sherlock’s Clay Pipe?\u201d At long last, the maker of Sherlock Holmes’s clay pipe is revealed.<\/p>\n

From Mystery Weekly<\/span><\/p>\n

\"22050144_1446396022109977_965368956818848784_n\"http:\/\/amzn.eu\/haBw0kx<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/a.co\/3kkkkKN<\/a><\/p>\n

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3) FOR THE WITCH, WEIRD AND FOLK HORROR FANS<\/h1>\n

\"weirdbook\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Weirdbook Annual #1<\/h3>\n

Edited by Douglas Draa<\/h3>\n

Another special to grab. Weirdbook<\/em> the quarterly magazine of weird fiction edited by Douglas Draa<\/strong>, is upping its game, as they say, with its first annual, entirely themes around witches. 250 pages of witchery, with twenty one stories within, plus eleven poems on the theme.<\/p>\n

As greydog<\/em> has one of his Mamma Lucy hoodoo stories in the Weirdbook Annual, here\u2019s a quick taster of the conjure-woman as she walks the strange world of 1920 Eastern America, and faces some very human problems as well as some witchery ones:<\/p>\n

\u201cA long night coming,\u201d said the Dark Man. He stood easy on the edge of a field, red earth between his toes as he sucked on a piece of sugarcane. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Mamma Lucy didn\u2019t hold much with visions. And as visions went, this wasn\u2019t greatly encouraging her. She didn\u2019t recognize the place her left eye was seeing. A great field spread across the valley bottom, and that field was sown with fingers, knuckle-end in the deep soil. Most were black fingers, waving without a breeze, though here and there a white one grew. Some had cracked, hard-worked nails, and some had none at all. Near to where she stood, one finger had died where it was planted; a crow was tearing strips of rancid flesh from the small, pale bones. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHow long?\u201d <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The Dark Man pushed back his straw hat.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLong as a mule kicks; long as cane is sweet.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

She reached across the floor of the lean-to shack and took up the largest candle, her grip marking the soft wax.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you game me now, boy,\u201d she said, a husky rattle in her throat. \u201cThis ain\u2019t New Orleans, and I ain\u2019t one of your mamaloi, Sant-eria ladies, liftin\u2019 their skirts when you come callin\u2019.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I forget, sometimes. Long time since we talked.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

She loosened her grip on the candle.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTrue enough. Ain\u2019t been need to find you, is all. Lord knows, don\u2019t rightly \u2019member askin\u2019 for you this time.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPender County,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ll be needing you there, by and by.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

She ran memories across the candle flame, through the scorch of hyssop burning in the bowl at her side. The name would come.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMight\u2019ve just said that.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI might.\u201d He leaned on the sugarcane, now a bent stick with a silver head. His crumpled suit was brown, red, or maybe neither, and though he was taller than oaks, it fitted him well enough. \u201cBut I don\u2019t get to speaking with so many folk these days. It\u2019s all kerosene, steel and burned rubber at the crossroads. Every soul in a hurry, always in a hurry.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

He tipped his red straw hat, and her milk-and-honey eye twitched in its socket.<\/em><\/p>\n

The vision was gone, and she was where she\u2019d been. Four plank walls and a broken roof. A place for the night, and straw to rest her bones on. She licked finger and thumb to snuff the candle, and then it came to her.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

North Carolina. That was the place\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

The Witch of Pender, John Linwood Grant<\/em><\/p>\n

Contents<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Thou Shalt Not Suffer<\/em>, by Matt Neil Hill
\nNo Holds Bard<\/em>, by Adrian Cole
\nLaying The Hairy Book<\/em>, by Josh Reynolds
\nHere Is Where Your Proud Waves Halt<\/em>, by Erica Ruppert
\nVicious Circles<\/em>, by Paul Dale Anderson
\nAssorted Shades of Red<\/em>, by Franklyn Searight
\nStrange Days in Old Yandrissa<\/em>, by John R. Fultz
\nFertility Rites<\/em>, by Glynn Own Barrass
\nThe Witch\u2019s Heart<\/em>, by Rachel Bolton
\nHag Race<\/em>, by Andre E. Harewood
\nBest Friend Becky<\/em>, by Wayne Faust
\nThe Rat in the Rabbit Cage<\/em>, by Ashley Dioses
\nTwo Spells<\/em>, by Neva Bryan
\nPulled Over<\/em>, by Paul Spears
\nThe Witch of Skur<\/em>, by L.F. Falconer
\nCat and Mouse<\/em>, by Duane Pesice
\nLast of the Ashiptu<\/em>, by Paul Lubaczewski
\nFirestorm<\/em>, by Richard H. Durisen
\nThe Witch of Pender<\/em>, by John Linwood Grant
\nThe Nora Witch, <\/em>by Brandon Jimmison
\nThe Broken Witch<\/em>, by Scott Hutchison<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not very clued up on recent weird poetry, so don\u2019t usually cover that. And Ashley Dioses<\/strong>, better known as a weird and dark poet, has cheated by submitting short fiction. Shocking! For enthusiasts, here\u2019s the line-up:<\/p>\n

The Desert Rose Inn<\/em>, by Maurits Zwankhuizen
\nThe Ballad of Blighted Marsh<\/em>, by David F. Daumit
\nThe Witch-Queen<\/em>, By S. L. Edwards
\nA Witch\u2019s Work is Never Done<\/em>, by Lori R. Lopez
\nOracle Bone Script,<\/em> by Frederick J Mayer
\nHalloween Witch<\/em>, By K.A. Opperman
\nRemembering the Peculiar Effects from the Sugar Witch\u2019s Goblin-Brew,<\/em>
\nby Clay F. Johnson
\nSea Witch<\/em>, by Vonnie Winslow Crist
\nLittle Youkai at the Witch House<\/em>, by Chad Hensley
\nMother Persephone<\/em>, by Oliver Smith
\nA Warlock Slips Into My Dreams<\/em>, by Darla Klein<\/p>\n

From Wildside Press<\/span> (the regular quarterly Weirdbook is now also available).<\/p>\n

\"weirdbook\"<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/amzn.eu\/0ag8yHT<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/a.co\/elpxQpK<\/a><\/p>\n

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4) FOR THE WEIRD AND LITERARY FANS<\/h1>\n

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The Dollkeeper<\/h3>\n

By Rob Martin<\/h3>\n

This is a fascinating novella, which we have now finished, but will be reading again before we make any more detailed comments. Containing elements of magical realism, fable and personal tragedy, it is both an easy and a difficult read \u2013 the prose flows between vivid imagery and moving, intimate emotion.<\/p>\n

After her autistic daughter chases a butterfly over the mountainside, young Annaka exiles herself to a wilderness of guilt and shame. But when it returns a year later, the butterfly draws her from her solitude and into the shadows of her past. There she meets The DollKeeper\u2014the mysterious guardian of a nursery deep beneath the earth, where the children are beginning to gather their crayons and colour in the void.<\/p>\n

80% of the profits earned from The DollKeeper will be donated to the Easter Seals* charity. Art by Russell Smeaton.<\/p>\n

*Easter Seals is a US non-profit disability organisation which addresses the needs of individuals and families throughout the lifespan \u2013 from inclusive child care to respite care \u2013 in order to help people “reach for their full potential.”<\/p>\n

From Electric Pentacle Press<\/span><\/p>\n

\"51p8B3av4JL\"http:\/\/amzn.eu\/8GYMwX3<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/a.co\/fKrTmOG<\/a><\/p>\n

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We hope you find something of interest in there, and look forward to seeing you in a couple of days…<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n