Last weekend I attended the fabulous World Horror Convention in Brighton, a celebration of horror fiction from the Victorian age to the present, and the first time this event has been held outside North America. Horror is a fascinating area and, as with SF and fantasy fiction, the definition seems interestingly fluid and has the capacity to evolve in new and exciting ways with each new generation of writers. We have the legacy of 19th century gothic horror (Mary Shelley, Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker). This was followed by Lovecraftian horror, and more recently we have seen contemporary horror wordsmiths such as Stephen King, James Herbert and Ramsey Campbell.
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Posted 30/03/2010 15:42:59 by Emily Rowland with 0 comments.
Elizabeth Speller, author of the spell-binding debut novel The Return of Captain John Emmett, has recorded a podcast talking about her experiences of writing the book, and what sparked her fascination with the post-World War One era. You can listen to it here.
Posted 23/03/2010 17:24:14 by Emily Rowland with 0 comments.
Foolish Lessons in Life & Love by debut novelist Penny Rudge is a warm and wonderfully funny first novel that launches a memorable new literary matriarch. This book is a fabulous addition to your reading group, so we now have a comprehensive reading guide that the author herself has contributed to, and you can print out for all of your group members!
Posted 15/03/2010 17:39:01 by Emily Rowland with 0 comments.
About a month ago, best selling author Linda Fairstein took us inside her new novel Hell Gate, and now that the publication date is fast approaching (this Thursday!), Linda has been doing some intriguing interviews. One that tops the list is last week's Bloomberg interview that nicely illustrates Linda's years of DA experience in the New York City sex crimes unit.
Posted 15/03/2010 13:14:00 by Emily Rowland with 0 comments.
Dorothy Koomson is the author of six novels including My Best Friend’s Girl, Marshmallows For Breakfast, The Chocolate Run, The Cupid Effect and Goodnight, Beautiful – all of which spent several weeks on the Sunday Times bestseller lists. Her latest book, The Ice Cream Girls, has been capturing widespread attention and acclaim. Read on for a glimpse of the accolades!
Posted 10/03/2010 14:08:21 by Emily Rowland with 0 comments.
Gin Phillips, author of The Well and the Mine, has written the following author post for our blog. Read on for the full post about how the author's family history helped shape her moving debut novel about hope and hardship. There is also a Reading Group guide included after the post.
Posted 02/03/2010 15:02:34 by Emily Rowland with 0 comments.