STEPHEN BACON

My story ‘The Other Side of Silence‘ will appear in the British Fantasy Society’s ‘Dark Horizons’, edited by Stephen Theaker, due to be published in September 2010. It’s a 6500 word post-apocalyptic tale, set in a future Britain, ravaged by a virus pandemic. The story has nothing to do with zombies, surprisingly. Dark Horizons goes out free to all members of the BFS. More information when I get it.

D F Lewis, editor of the Nemonymous anthology, ‘Cern Zoo’,  has now announced that the authors of each respective stories can now identify themself. So (cue drumroll) I can now reveal that my contribution to the book was the tale, ‘The Devourer of Dreams‘.

Here are a few snippets from the reviews, concerning ’The Devourer of Dreams’ -

Matthew Fryer said, “Also worthy of special mention is Devourer of Dreams, a dark and unsettling story about a boy’s discovery of an exotic monstrosity owned by his father, and the terrible price that can come with the promise of success. It’s a serious theme tackled by a gruesome imagination.”

Author of Salmon Widow said, “The Devourer of Dreams: A canny hand on the tiller here. Respect! A
web woven with skill and precision – and the web is woven around…the reader!”

David Hebblethwaite said, “‘The Devourer of Dreams’ is another story whose voice is the star attraction. A successful writer looks back on his childhood in post-war Suffolk. His father, an innkeeper, suddenly developed a talent for writing, and produced several best-selling books. One day, the boy discovered the macabre secret behind this turn of events — a secret he went on to exploit himself. The plot of this tale is, to be honest, nothing particularly special; but the narrattion certainly is. The author pulls off a difficult balancing-act, creating a voice which convinces as that of someone (albeit elderly) living in the present day, yet has enough of a Lovecraftian touch to give ‘The Devourer of Dreams’ the menacing atmosphere of an old weird-fiction tale.”

Nick Jackson said, “The Devourer of Dreams on the other hand, is more consciously manipulative, addressing the reader directly in an uncomfortable epilogue.  The story has a creepily old-fashioned feel to it; almost as if it may have been stuck in a sealed casket for many years until it found its way into this anthology.”

Mario Guslandi said, “Horror fans will appreciate The Devourer of Dreams, an offbeat tale where an alien creature living in a wooden box sucks ideas and dreams from the human mind , producing, in return, a special milk endowed with uncommon properties.”

Peter Tennant of Black Static said, “There’s yet more creepiness in The Devourer of Dreams, a title that reeks of Lovecraft, and a monster to match, a strange, spider-like creature that can feed on the dreams of men, and a writer who milks it of their essence to fuel his own creativity. The story holds the attention all the way, with its truly unnerving creature, and a framing scenario in which the matter of creativity is addressed and the reader’s collusion solicited.”

So there we go. I hope you liked the story. It was a blast to write, as I’m a sucker for pulp monsters. The whole notion of creativity has always fascinated me, and it was enjoyable to ponder on this area of human behaviour.

It has also been announced that Steve Duffy’s excellent story, The Lion’s Den, has been selected by Ellen Datlow for inclusion in her Best Horror of the Year vol 2. Congratulations to him, and to the other writers who contributed to Cern Zoo. I feel honoured to be sharing bookspace with you all.

I’m delighted to report that my story ‘Room Above the Shop’ has been accepted to appear in the next edition of the Black Book series of anthologies, edited by the inimitable Charles Black. This is set to be released in March, in time for the World Horror Convention in Brighton. I’m a huge fan of the previous five books, so it’s an even bigger thrill to be contributing to this. The Mortbury Press website contains details of the earlier titles. Click here to see.  More information as I get it.

My story, The Strangled Garden, will feature in the TTA PRESS Christmas advent calender for 2009. If you haven’t already read it, you can do so by clicking here. My slot is December 9th. There’s a whole host of great fiction and poetry, so why not have a browse through some of the other dates.

My story ‘The Strangled Garden‘ has been reprinted in the first issue of ‘Dead Lines’, a FREE webzine edited by Drew LeClercq, available by clicking here. It features fiction by TM Wright, Monica O’Rourke, David T Wilbanks, Lisa Morton, Harry Shannon and others, as well as my story. There is also an interview with TM Wright.

It’s worth a read just for the interview, not to mention the stories.

No, not just by the police this time!

I’ve been interviewed for an online magazine called The Black Glove. You can read the details on the website Shadows & Illusions, run by Steve Jensen here.

Peter Tennant, contributing editor of Black Static, who happens to be an excellent writer himself, has posted his thoughts on the nominees for the British Fantasy Society’s forthcoming awards. The anthology CONE ZERO, in which my eponymous story appeared, is of course nominated in the Best Anthology catogory. He goes on to say “stories by Bob Lock and Stephen Bacon in Cone Zero were among the very best I read last year.” I don’t think I need to say how much this comment means to me. Click on the link above to head over to his blog, where he discusses many things of interest to the fan of darkness.

While you’re there, why not take out a subscription to BLACK STATIC? It’s a fantastic magazine, packed full of superb fiction, breathtaking artwork, and the best editorial columns around. And if you take out a new subscription you’ll get the current issue – number 12 – for FREE. I’ve been a subscriber from day 1, and I can guarantee it’s the best horror magazine on the market.

Writer Matthew Fryer has reviewed Tales From the Smoking Room on his blog, The Hellforge. He says some very nice things about the stories, commenting on The Strangled Garden as “the baleful atmosphere and period language are faultless – the work of a very meticulous writer – and the inevitable adventure into the garden builds to a classic finale.”

Des Lewis has come up with a great competition for his annual ‘guess-which-writer-wrote-which-Nemonymous-story’, with help from Bob Lock. The winner – who correctly assigns the most stories to their true bylines – will have their name used as a character in ALL of the stories in next year’s anthology, Nemonymous 10.

Click here to find out more. You have 3 chances to enter, and how else will you become famous – or infamous – in a similar way? Speaking of CERN ZOO, writer MATTHEW FRYER has posted a nice review on his site, describing the anthology as “a banquet. A cornucopia of flavour and texture, of many courses and layers.”

Just received my contributor’s copies of CERN ZOO, otherwise known as Nemonymous 9, edited by D F Lewis. It’s a gorgeous book, boasting 24 tales of strangeness and fantastic storytelling (well, at least 23 of them do – I can’t be the judge of my own work). If the previous editions are anything to go by, you won’t want to miss out on such a fantastic treat.  It only costs £10 including shipping so click here to place your order, or click on the cover artwork to the right.

While you’re at it, why not pick up one of the previous editions? Cone Zero, which contained my short story of the same name, was described as “a flawless anthology” so who am I to argue with that? I have every edition of the series, and there’s not a poor story in the entire lot. If you’re after a bargain you can get a discount on buying several.

I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.