Ghosts, deadly judges, and the hanging of cousin Charlotte

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after-life, anthology, Carmilla Voiez, death, Dennis Higgins, Essays, Franco Esposito, Ghost stories, Ingrid Hall, Our Day of Passing, Poems, reincarnation, Short stories

Our Day of Passing – An Anthology of Short Stories, Poems and Essays

Complied by Ingrid Hall and Franco Esposito

Free Kindle Download

King Death

Illustration from Chapter 6: ‘Ghosts’; Our Day of Passing.

Death is a subject that most of us are at least mildly curious about. The fact that it is inevitable and that there is no hiding from it adds to its macabre appeal. I have always had a strange relationship with death and rather than becoming increasingly afraid of it in my middle-age, if anything, I have come to respect the power that it has over us all. You can be the sweetest person ever to walk the earth or a twisted, psychopathic serial-killer…but ultimately that great leveler, Death, will come for you.

The beauty of Our Day of Passing – An Anthology of Short Stories, Poems and Essays is that it has been written from a wide range of authors and poets from around the world. Rather than looking at death from one fixed, religious perspective it contains a full range of opinions proving that when it comes to death, there is no right or wrong answer.

So, whether you are pagan in your leanings or deeply rooted in your Catholic faith, or just like a good ghost story, I am sure that you will find something that will make you not only contemplate your own mortality but embrace your life.

Illustration from Chapter 5: ‘The Immortals’; Our Day of Passing.

Our Day of Passing was compiled by Ingrid Hall and Franco Esposito; edited by Ingrid Hall, Carmilla Voiez and Joanne Armstrong; and has contributions from the following international writers and artists:

Ingrid Hall, Franco Esposito, Dennis Higgins, Virginia Wright, Candida Spillard, Valeri Beers, Dada Vedaprajinananda, Strider Marcus Jones, Adam E. Morrison, Allyson Lima, D. B. Mauldin, David A. Slater, David King, Dee Thompson, Donald Illich, Edward Meiman, Eileen Hugo, Emily Olson, Joan McNerney, J.S. Little, Kin Asdi, Madison Meadows, Malobi Sinha, Marianne Szlyk, Mark Aspa, Mark David McClure, Megan Caito, Michael Brookes, Michael Burke, Pijush Kanti Deb, Prince Adewale Oreshade, Rafeeq O. McGiveron, Robin Reiss, Sasha Kasoff, Stephanie Buosi, Talia Haven.

Our Day of Passing is free to download on Amazon until Tuesday 23 February 2016 and will be available in paperback soon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Our-Day-Passing-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B01BQLXBXE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456046999&sr=8-1&keywords=our+day+of+passing

Book Review: Dark Messages by Daniel J Weber

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daniel j weber, dark messages, horror fiction, Short stories

I have been busy the past few weeks catching up on some book reviews for http://www.ingridhall.com and one of my recent favourite’s was Dark Messages by Daniel J Weber.  Daniel is a Canadian writer whose oeuvre is horror fiction, in particular fantastical horror.  He is taking part in a year-long campaign to promote talented indie writers: Indie and Proud.

Dark Messages a short story anthology by Daniel J Weber

Dark Messages is a slender volume containing 6 tales of horror, fantasy and allegory,  many addressing issues of self-esteem and the omniscience of death.

The first thing I should say is that this is a very short collection, coming in at only 42 pages, but good things come in small packages, as they say!  Weber takes the reader on a dark roller-coaster of a ride, intense, surreal, visceral even visionary at times.  Yes, he uses some blood and guts horror, but a lot of the horror stems from the mind and how people perceive themselves, how they react to each other and their environment.

The first story, Undying Memories, depicts a grieving mother trapped in side her own grief and memories.  She appears as lost as her dead son, lying trapped beneath the waters of a lake.  The forest setting and the allegorical and  deadly wolf that stalks her, and the timeless quality of this story, create the atmosphere of a claustrophobic fairy tale where there will be no happy endings.

A Mile in My Shoes was another intriguing, almost surreal, tale of a man who inherits a collection of shoes and finds he can ‘feel’ the lives of those who wore them.  From the emptiness of his grandfather and his dead-mans’ shoes, to the shoes of a delinquent dispossessed boy; until he finds the shoes that really fit, and brings the story full circle.

My favourite story was Master of Death.  This was a surreal story where the narrator/observer watches a tattered man struggling through the desert in a final battle of wills with death.  The story is as wild and intense as the desert wind that whips through it, with Breughel-esque imagery repleat with lakes of blood.  My other favourite tale was They Know Not What they do, an odd choice for me as it has a very Christian theme.  Weber creates an emotional re-imagining of the crucifixion complete with warring demons scenting victory as the failed Saviour doubts himself on the cross.  Doubt, fear, redemption – it’s all there!

Asides from the exploration of self-esteem, one of the predominant themes in this collection was the power of death: always stalking you, seldom bested – a suitably dark message and one which was handled in a beautifully dark and Gothic, yet thoughtful manner.

Occasionally the stories were a little over-blown, and occasionally a bit opaque in their message, but overall I think this represents a very strong, thoughtful and gripping collection of tales, told in a very vivid and at times quite moving style.  My biggest gripe was that there were only 6 stories in the collection – I could easily have read more.

All in all a great short read!

Dark Messages by Daniel J Weber is available on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Messages-Daniel-J-Weber-ebook/dp/B00G8OUI8G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391021938&sr=8-1&keywords=dark+messages+daniel+j+weber

Broken Mirrors Fractured Minds edited by Carmilla Voiez

Tags

anthology, book reviews, horror, indie authors, Short stories

Broken Mirrors Fractured Minds, edited by Carmilla Voiez was published in 2013.  Here is my review which was originally posted on www.ingridhall.com on 12 November 2013.

About the Author

Carmilla Voiez is an exciting new horror writer whose work often tackles taboo subjects from a distinctly female perspective.  She is the winner of the Horror Author of the year 2013 for her first novel Starblood.  In this anthology of horror, published by Vamptasy,  she brings together 21 talented horror writers, poets and artists from both sides of the Atlantic to create a unique collection of darkly disturbing tales.

Broken Mirrors Fractured Minds edited by Carmilla Voiez

This is a great little collection of thoroughly disturbing tales, poetry and art.  Less Twilight and more Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, HP Lovecraft. A boon for  horror fans fed up with mopey werewolves and angst ridden teen-vampires that have seemed to dominate the supernatural fiction market for so long.  These works grab you by the throat and take no prisoners – exploring the dark labyrinths of disturbed or damaged minds and tackling some very distressing subjects head on.  Murder, psychosis, child abuse and self-harm all form part of subject matter for these well executed short stories and poems.  The written horror is accentuated by the beautifully deranged art work whose tortured figures seem to illustrate the inner worlds of the stories and poems.

Because this collection contains the work of 21 writers and artists  it would be impossible for me to do justice to each one of them, so I will select a few of my favourites.

The first story that grabbed me, was ‘Just a Kiss Away’ by Jef with One F.  This is the tale of a man adrift after a divorce. His dislocation from real-life and  his growing obsession with a lap dancer called Dolly are explored.  One of the most exceptional things about this story was the character Dolly,  who could be viewed simply as a disturbing incarnation of woman as sex-object, but came across as an individual despite her extrordinary disability. That the author can make Dolly a believable character and persuade the reader to suspend disbelief is surely a sign of what an exceptional writer he is.

The next story that I particularly enjoyed was ‘Wand Therapy’ by Fred McGavran which was a terrifying and gory exploration of the deranged world of a Halcion popping retiree and the power he feels resides in a mysterious crystal wand purchased by his wife.   ‘Mouse and Katt’ by John Tucker was another story that particularly stood out for me as it created two dysfunctional but ultimately likeable protagonists in the story of an abused runaway hitching a ride with a strange travelling salesman – neither one quite sure who will be victim, who the killer.    The wonderfully Poe-esque prose of ‘Rainier Dreams’ by Marten Hoyle and ‘The Changeling’ a deliciously seductive tale by Carmilla Voiez were also stand out stories.

The poems were just as shocking and intense as the prose.  The angry intimacy of First Therapy by Nelson Mongiovi was a very powerful insight into the aftermath of abuse while the concise elegance of Life and Deathtrip by Stefy Janeva was darkly beautiful.

As I said, it would be impossible to do justice to every writer, poet and artist in the collection.  I thoroughly enjoyed (and was disturbed) by most of the works in this collection, every piece was well executed.  Some of the stories stayed with me well after I finished reading them, and I will definitely be re-reading this collection and seeking out further works by the featured writers and artists.

Broken Mirrors Fractured Minds edited by Carmilla Voiez is available from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Broken-Mirrors-Fractured-Minds-Carmilla-ebook/dp/B00EA9SCOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384289592&sr=8-1&keywords=broken+mirrors+fractured+minds

Book Review – A Dangerous Place by Robin Herne

Tags

A Dangerous Place, Animism, crime stories, Genius Loci, Moon Books, mysticism, Polytheism, Robin Herne, Short stories

I originally posted this review on http://www.ingridhall.com on the 6 September but thought a few of my readers might also find this book of great interest…

Robin Herne

Robin Herne is a practicing Druid who lives in Suffolk and has a number of books already under his belt.  Founder of the Druidic Clan Ogma and the Ipswich Pagan Council Robin Herne is also an accomplished story-teller and poet. His latest volume of short stories, A Dangerous Place, will be published by Moon Books on 27 September 2013.

A Dangerous Place by Robin Herne

‘A Dangerous Place’ is a collection of ten crime stories set in Ipswich, and covering over two thousand years of history.  From the Iron-Age to the modern-day; the sinister power of Castle Hill exudes its baleful influence on those who inhabit it leading to gruesome murder after gruesome murder.

I have to say that the only thing I knew about Ipswich, before picking up this book, was that a few years back it gained notoriety as the stomping ground of a serial killer bent on murdering women – so the title ‘A Dangerous Place’ certainly seemed appropriate.  However, the focus and theme of this book is the animist and polytheist concept of how a place can have a ‘genius loci’, spirit of place, which can influence its human inhabitants.  Robin Herne provides a very good introduction to explain the premise for his collection to those less familiar with this world view.

The setting for each of the ten tales is Castle Hill, Ipswich, and each of  tales takes place in distinct and well researched historical periods – in fact Herne ends each story with a comprehensive (and very readable) set of explanatory notes.  I was reminded of other weightier tomes such as Edward Rutherford’s ‘London’ which told the story of London from earliest times and, like Herne, had reoccurring families and character-types.  Unlike Rutherford though, Herne weaves a pagan and spiritual theme throughout his tales.  Not just travelling through social history (there is a welcome inclusion of gay and lesbian victims and protagonists in the cast of characters ); but through the history of beliefs – Druids, Heathens, Puritans, Spiritualists and Modern Pagan all get a turn on the murderous stage of history.  Herne demonstrates how paganism once the lifeblood of Britain was suppressed by incoming religions but never quite eradicated.

One of the things that I liked most, was that Herne was not afraid to incorporate real historical characters.  One of my favourite stories was set in the seventeenth century and concerned Mary Lakeland, a real life woman accused of murdering her husband through witchcraft.  The epistolary style of this tale was very effective.  He also incorporated the often neglected role of the ‘Cunning man’ into one of his tales – and I could definitely see Dr Bayldon Winter being the focus of further stories!

My decided preference was for the later tales – I can say that I really began to enjoy these stories from The Golem onwards; ‘Suffer a Witch’, ‘A Doctor Calls’ and ‘The Black Dog’ were my favorite stories (Look out for the humorous parody of Holmes and Watson in The Black Dog).  Perhaps it is simply that I am more familiar with those historical periods, or that the sinister reputation of Castle Hill took a few stories to establish itself! Herne admits in the introduction that it is almost impossible to define what characterises a Genius Loci as joyful or sinister…he considers that in some cases it may be simply experience that makes a place hostile to humans…and he certainly wastes no time in laying down enough negative experiences connected with Castle Hill to make the reader believe his theory.

One of the elements that I particularly enjoyed about these tales was that although they each ‘stand alone’ the folk memories and long forgotten religious practices of previous generations that feature in earlier tales, resurface as half remembered  folk-memories (the dog is one such reoccurring theme) and are woven into the fabric of each succeeding story, thereby providing the dark thread that binds both the past and the future together.

My only caveat would be that the short story format does not always allow for a great amount of detail to build up, those expecting complex forensic crime stories may be a little disappointed at the speed at which crimes are wrapped up.  However, Herne provides a well researched, entertaining collection of murder mysteries in a variety of literary styles and with a historical and spiritual twist.  Not only that, he successfully creates a wonderful cast of memorable and sometimes eccentric detectives who employ everything from observation, psycho-analysis to mysticism in their historical crime-fighting.  All in all, a good read!

A Dangerous Place by Robin Herne will be published by Moon Books on 27 September:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Dangerous-Place-Robin-Herne/dp/1782792112/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378495540&sr=8-1&keywords=A+Dangerous+Place+by+Robin+Herne