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All the latest Shadow Writer news and announcements.

 

 

January/February

 

photograph of a cardboard box filled with copies of Beyond & Within Witchcraft, edited by Marie O'Regan & Paul Kane

 

January was of course the launch month for Paul and Marie’s new anthology, Beyond & Within – Witchcraft and publishers Flame Tree sent them a bundle of books to celebrate.

 

photograph showing a stack of copies of Beyond & Within Witchcraft, edited by Marie O'Regan & Paul Kane, showing the spines of the books

 

photograph showing nine copies of Beyond & Within Witchcraft, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane, lying in a three by three grid

 

They also included the antho in their newsletter for Jan (below), plus you can listen to one of the stories for free – ‘What Bones Remember’ by Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu – introduced by Paul & Marie, on their Myth & Fiction podcast here.

 

screenshot showing the banner for the Flame Tree Fantasy Fiction newsletter

 

screenshot showing the Flame Tree newsletter entry for January, featuring Beyond & Within Witchcraft, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane. Text reads: An impressive new anthology of horror stories exploring what it means to be 'witch', including the rediscovery and reclaiming of that power; its links to nature, and witchcraft mythology from around the world. Award-winning anthologists Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane have commissioned and chosen an outstanding selection of tales, with contributions from authors including Ally Wilkes, Eliza Chan, Angela Slatter, Gabriella Buba and Lisa L. Hannett. Five brand new stories have also been selected from a popular open submissions call. The full list of featured authors in this book is: Eugen Bacon, David Barnett, Melissa Bobe, Gabriella Buba, Mark Chadbourn, Eliza Chan, Aveline Fletcher, Helen Grant, Muriel Gray, Kay Hanifen, Lisa L. Hannett, Damien Kelly, Amanda Mason, ALison Moore, Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu, Angela Slatter and Ally Wilkes.

 

Visit the page for the book on the Flame Tree site here, and order yours here and here.

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image showing a copy of Death Comes at Christmas, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane, against a blue and white background, bordered in cream and red. There is blood spatter at the corners. Text reads #1 Best Seller. Eighteen Festive Stories!

 

While back in December, Death Comes at Christmas hit the coveted Number 1 bestseller spot on Amazon, across ebook, paperback and hardback editions (above and below).

 

screenshot from amazon.com, showing Death Comes at Christmas, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane, with a #1 bestseller sticker

 

screenshot from amazon.com, showing the Kindle edition of Death Comes at Christmas, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane, with a #1 bestseller sticker

 

screnshot from amazon, showing the Bestsellers Ranking for Death Comes at Christmas, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane. Text reads: 1 in Crime, Thriller & Mystery Anthologies. 1 in Crime, Thriller & Mystery Series. 8 in Crime, Thriller & Mystery Short Stories

 

image showing two copies of Death Comes at Christmas, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane, lying on a dark blue background, with a #1 Best Seller sticker in the top left corner

 

There were also some more mentions and reviews. ‘A thoroughly enjoyable selection of Christmas stories to curl up and read on a wintery Christmas night, or a warm summer evening, depending on where you are in the world!’ said @fortheloveofbooks383 (below).

 

screenshot from @fortheloveofbooks383, showing a copy of Death Comes at Christmas, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane, against a background showing snow-covered pine trees and snowy ground

 

‘Perfect Christmas reading. Cratchits, bookshops, ghosts, and a wonderfully clever Joseph Spector story,’ was @j.s.savage_author’s take (below).  

 

screenshot from @j.s.savage_author. Image shows a copy of Death Comes at Christmas, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane, standing up against a decorated mini Christmas tree on a dark grey surface.

 

@katies_cosy_reading_corner (below) said, ‘Each story is packed with imagination and flair… This book is one of those that you could easily curl up with… dip in and out of in-between the continuous prepping for Christmas.’

 

photograph showing a woman's hand holding a copy of Death Comes at Christmas, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane, up against a decorated Christmas tree

 

And @shesdefinitelyreading left the below picture reviews…

 

screenshot from @shesdefinitely reading. Image shows a copy of Death Comes at Christmas, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane, against a white background with a red garland, mixed flowers and a tablet with a Christmas design. Text reads: From locked room mysteries on Christmas Eve to devilish whodunits and tales of simmering rivalries unfolding at the dinner table, these eighteen original seasonal tales will delight and shock at every twist and turn.

 

screenshot fo a five-star review for Death Comes at Christmas, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane. Text reads: A classic mix of dark, murdery Christmas tales - some hits, some misses, but plenty of festive mayhem. My favorites were: What She Left Me, The Red Angel, Deadly Gift

 

For those of you who celebrate Christmas all year round, the book is still available here and here.

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screenshot from george_can_read, titled Best Anthologies, and including In These Hallowed Halls, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane

 

Sticking with anthologies for a moment, and over on Insta @george_can_read chose Paul & Marie’s first Dark Academia book In These Hallowed Halls as one of his anthologies of last year.

You can pick up your hardback or paperback copies of that one here and here.

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image showing poster for Dark Reflections by Paul Kane. Text reads: https://mybook.to/darkreflections. Paul Kane - Robert Louis Stevenson. Spooky Christmas reading. In Hyding - It was just my little joke. Jyde. Hyding... Hiding. Amused me at any rate, I was only having my fun. Had to do something to enterain myself while I was biding my time, waiting in secret. Trapped. Because that's what I was for such a long time, you see. STRANGE CAE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE. All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil; and Edward Hyde, alone, in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil. blackbeaconbooks.com.

 

Dark Reflections from Black Beacon Books was also part of a seasonal promotion with an extract from the collection and the tale that inspired it for the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ (above and below).

 

image showing poster for Dark Reflections by Paul Kane. Text reads: https://mybooks.to/darkreflections. Paul Kane. Charles Dickens. Spooky Christmas Reading. Signals. 'Halloa! Below there!' The words echoed, following her up and out of a dream taht was already well on its way to being forgotten, leaving behind only a faint unpleasant odour. Robin opened her tired eyes, sleep like glue trying to keep them together. For a second or two she thought she was blind. She rubbed it away, seeing again, and glanced blearily over sideways at the clock display. In spite of the pills, she was awake again at 2:30pm. The Signal-Man. 'Halloa! Below there!' When he heard a voice thus calling to him, he was standing at the door of his box, with a flag in his hand, furled round its short pole. One would have thought, considering the nature of the ground, that he could not have doubted from what quarter the voice came; but instead of looking up to where I stood on the top of the steep cutting nearly over his head, he turned himself about, and looked down the line. blackbeaconbooks.com

 

image showing a poster for Dark Reflections and Aura by Paul Kane. Text reads: ON THE TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS SPOOKS, BLACK BEACON BOOKS AND PAUL KANE HAVE A DARK GIFT FOR YOU. DARK REFLECTIONS IS FEE TO DOWNLOAD FOR KINDLE TODAY ONLY! mybook.to/darfkrelfections. AND IF YOU'RE HUNGRY FOR MORE KANE, GRAB A COPY OF HIS LATEST NOVELLA. amazon.com/Paul-Kane-ebook/dp/BOFTMKVPB1

 

The push saw it rise in the bestseller ranks itself, to Number 6 in British and Irish short stories (below). 

 

screenshot from amazon.com, showing Best Sellers Rank. #2,160 Free in Kindle Store. 6 in British & Irish Short Stories. 8 in Horror Short Stories (Kindle Store). 9 in British Horror Fiction

 

The dedicated ordering page for Dark Reflections is here.

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photograph showing a man's hand holding a copy of the German edition of Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell by Paul Kane up against a white background

 

Paul received a copy of the German hardback edition of Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell, brought out by Festa publications, and gorgeous it looks too! Little wonder it’s now sold out…

 

photograph of a man's hand holding a copy of the German edition of Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell by Paul Kane up against a white background, showing the back cover of the book

 

photograph showing the signing sheet on the inside of the German edition of Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell by Paul Kane

 

photograph showing a man's hand holding up the German edition of Sherlock Homes and the Servants of Hell by Paul Kane, showing the hardcover inside the dustjacket

 

The book is now out in Spanish, French, German (below).

 

photograph showing English, French, German and Spanish editions of Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell by Paul Kane, lying on a wooden surface

 

But to pick it up in the English edition, just click here.

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cover image for Phantasmagoria magazine special issue featuring THE DALEKS IN THE MOVIES!

 

Paul wrote about his first encounters with the Daleks – on TV!! – for the latest Phantasmagoria Special (above), and received his contributor copy (below). Exterminate!

 

photograph showing a man's hand holding up a copy of the Special Daleks issue of Phantasmagoria magazine to show the front cover

 

photograph showing a man's hand holding up a copy of the Daleks Special issue of Phantasmagoria magazine to show the back cover

 

photograph of Paul Kane's byline on his piece in the Phantasmagoria magazine Dalek Special issue

 

You can pick yours up here or here.

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image showing a small red old-fashioned portable TV showing the BFS logo on top of static on the screen, sitting in a garden with red flowers, ferns and grass

 

Interview time, and Paul & Marie were interviewed by Lauren McMenemy for the British Fantasy Society recently (above and below). You can see what they had to say here, and directly on YouTube here.

 

photograph of a smiling Lauren McMenemy holding up a copy of Beyond & Within: Witchcraft, edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane

 

Photograph of a smiling Marie O'Regan on the left, and Paul Kane on the right.

 

Paul also gave a lengthy interview to the Hellraiser Revival Discord (below), which you can read by joining here.

 

banner image showing a smiling Paul Kane beside the cover of his book, Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell. Text beneath that reads: Paul Kane - Writer - Exclusive interview. @hellraiserdiscord

 

Plus he was interviewed by Jason DeHart for his Words, Images and Worlds podcast, which you can watch by clicking on the below…

 

 

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Banner image showing two books - Challenger and Company, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, on the left, and Sargasso Sea Stories, William Hope Hodgson, on the right

 

Free fiction for you now, and a novelette Paul originally wrote for the Professor Challenger anthology New Worlds, Lost Places which sadly wasn’t included in the final line-up. It’s the crossover you never knew you needed, taking Challenger into William Hope Hodgson’s Sargasso Sea – and presented purely as ‘fan fiction’. Enjoy The Lost Voyage by clicking here. 

 

 

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