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Thanks to a terrifyingly sinister murder of crows I sold out of ‘The King of Crows’ at my very first Horror Con! My other books sold well also in what was a fantastic and fun day. Northern Frights did a fabulous job and I look forward to the next con in Aberdeen.

I was caught peeking behind my banner in the pic below, luckily not by the crows or it might have gotten messy…

The King of Crows, my second novel and third book, was released today by AM Ink.

Anybody who likes a spine chiller in the tradition of IT should like this one. A Scottish city, an ages old monster, a forgotten underground river and 70’s students, what more could you ask for? It slides back and forth between the 70’s and present day, following a group of students forced to become heroes, and a cop with a secret.

Buy it now, or something terrible will happen.

My Second Novel will be published on the 20th September by the wonderful AM Ink!

It is a time-slip horror novel based in, and below, the Scottish city of Dundee. It’s a big read, a real tour de force slipping between 1976 and 2016 as our heroes battle an ages old monster who slumbers in the darkness of a forgotten underground river. When the river level drops, the creature awakes.

This is HUGE for me!!!

My debut short story collection has just been released by Dark Lane Books. I’m really proud of these eighteen strange and unsettling stories. I love David Whitlam’s surreal front cover, which captures the atmosphere particularly of the title story.

Eighteen! For less than the cost of a coffee on Kindle.

New Gods, Old Monsters eBook: Davidson, Bill: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Here’s what Tim Jeffrey’s had to say-

As showcased in this, his first collection of short fiction, Bill Davidson has a proven gift for imagining nightmarish scenarios and getting underneath his reader’s skin.  Imagine a world where the entire population suffers frequent and unexpected momentary fits of rage.  Or how about a world where every single living thing is dead — apart from you.  In this collection the reader will also encounter a circus plagued by enormous eight-legged fiends, forbidden texts, time slips, ancient beings who exist alongside ordinary morals, and ordinary mortals with their hearts set on becoming ancient beings.  Blending elements of fairytale, science fiction, and fantasy into the horror, Bill Davidson writes stories that are occasionally gruesome, at times brutal and shocking, at other times strange and moving.  In this short story collection, the everyday is paired with the extraordinary to supernatural effect. 

Includes the story ‘A Brief Moment of Rage’ which was chosen by Ellen Datlow to appear in ‘Best Horror of the Year Vol.11’ alongside work by Joe Hill and Laird Barron.

The brilliant David Whitlam https://www.davidwhitlam.com/ has finished the cover for my debut collection NEW GODS, OLD MONSTERS. Blurb on back cover is by Tim Jeffreys.

Should be available on Amazon and Lulu in next few weeks!

Dark Lane Books Volume Ten TOC’s have been published on their blog…and it’s looking good. Dark Lane isn’t a straight ahead horror press. IN their own words, they seek out strange and beautiful writing.

http://darklanebooks.blogspot.com/2020/10/table-of-contents-for-dark-lane.html

I have just signed a contract with Close to The Bone Publishing to publish my debut novel THE ORANGERIE. All going well, it will be released in August 2021.

THE ORANGERIE is a psychological thriller, with strong elements of the strange. It is based around the Tay River at the Scottish city of Dundee, and the river itself is an brooding and unsettling presence throughout. The reader must unravel the mystery and ultimately decide whether the story is a journey of redemption, or a time travelling murder mystery.

More to follow soon!

I’m super excited to be working with the incredibly talented surrealist artist David Whitlam to produce the cover art for my upcoming collection NEW GODS, OLD MONSTERS. Above is just one of his amazing pieces of art.

I believe David’s otherworldly and unsettling images are a perfect fit for my work, and can’t wait to see what he comes up with.

You can find so much more on David’s website, and also on Dark Lane Books.

When I heard that HellBound Books were publishing a ghost anthology by The Horror Zine, I had high hopes – and I wasn’t disappointed. The Horror Zine is a true gem of the internet, whilst HellBound consistently produce some of the highest quality anthologies out there.

It’s no exaggeration to say the Horror Zine Book of Ghosts is an outstanding modern ghost anthology – I don’t believe there is a weak link in there and some of the stories gave me a proper chill.

The Book of Ghost Stories is, unsurprisingly, full of ghosts; malevolent ghosts, playful ghosts, vengeful and even ravenously hungry ghosts. There are haunted houses, haunted people and haunted dreams. It lurches from the creepy to the macabre to the downright terrifying, which is exactly what it aims to do.

The writing is consistently high quality, the concepts are clever and the protagonists are largely those that you find yourself caring about, even if you wish them ill. I could find something good to say about every story, but these were my highlights –

The very first paragraph of ‘Vacuum’ by MN Nichols offers a great introduction to the anthology. The story whirls the reader into a sad and desperate world, one that is breaking apart even as we read. It’s all the more painful for being seen through the eyes of a child

There were many scary stories in here, but the one that gave me a proper old fashioned scare was ‘Proof of Afterlife’, by Derek Austin Johnson. The hair on my arms raised as I was reading, and I don’t frighten easily!

‘Cutting the Mustard’ by Graham Masterton and Dawn G Harris was an intentionally tough read. It builds and builds to a truly horrific climax, offering, for my money, the most disturbing scene in the anthology

I could see what was happening fairly early on in Christian A Larsen’s ‘Something to Nibble On’, but I guess I was meant to, and anyway it didn’t help one bit. It was still seriously macabre and provoked more than one wince.

‘All That She Leaves Behind’ by S.J. Budd is quite simply beautifully written and offers a welcome change of pace and mood. It’s a soulful and introspective journey through grief that seems to be heading towards a strange reconciliation, till Budd steers it into something quite different.

 Tim Waggoner’s ‘The White Road’ is a ghost chase with a fantastically imagined monster. It jumps, skips and loops unexpectedly back upon itself, leaving you breathless.

Jeani Rector’s chilling haunted house mystery ‘The House on Henley Way’ rounds the anthology off in a most satisfying way.

If you’re looking for a book of ghost stories set in the modern day, I can’t recommend this one highly enough. Twenty-six imaginative and original tales, well told. You can’t say fairer than that.

Tim Jeffreys has chosen twenty-one strange and unsettling tales for his upcoming BLACK MASQUERADES  collection, to be released on Dark Lane Books.

A common thread running through Jeffreys’ stories is that of deeply flawed and vulnerable protagonists, making poor and even disastrous decisions.

Jeffreys places these fragile characters in weird situations ranging from the macabre to the downright frightening, resulting in a palpable and almost constant sense of threat. The skewed realities they are forced to face will challenge, change and sometimes destroy them.

The collection begins with THE HIDDEN LAYER. It’s not clear what sort of journey failed artist Ann is on, as she discovers her mentor’s horrific secrets, but it leads her deeper into a dark and dangerous world, spiralling to an unexpected conclusion. The entire story is redolent with an atmosphere of threat, and a sense of dread.

For my money, the highlight of the collection is the downright creepy HERE COMES MISTER HERRIBONE!  The surviving member of a successful comedy duo is haunted by the memory of his dead partner, who played the character Mr Herribone. Herribone was a figure of fun wearing a full head mask, but the man inside was tortured, resentful and deeply unhappy. He is naturally creepy in the same way that ventriloquist dummies are.

The collection ends on a high note, with the deeply unnerving THE LAST SHOT. Death seems to dog photographer Russell’s footsteps, with some of his subjects dying soon after he took what proved to be their final shot. As often with Jeffrey, the story doesn’t go where you expect, and there is a nasty sting in the tail.

Overall, BLACK MASQUERADE is a highly enjoyable ride. It will be published early next year, and I’ll be sure to link to it when it’s released.