Love is a Grift

Love is a Grift by Graham Wynd
Cover and layout by S.L. Johnson Images

Sex, Death and Crime: The essentials of Noir.

How does obsession begin? For one hit man it starts with a target he just can’t kill. She leads him on a deadly spree across Europe. With every step he’s in deeper. Each crime binds them together like a vow and only death can part them. But will it be his… or hers?

Love is a Grift and the other stories in this collection offer a fresh take on a classic genre, that begins with obsession and most often ends with death.

The awesome Victoria Squid recorded this amazing theme song for Grift.

Get Grift products from cover artist S.L. Johnson.

Contents:

LOVE IS A GRIFT
1. GALWAY—The Salt House
2. BRUXELLES—À la Mort Subite
3. HELSINKI—Ravintola Saari
4. DUNDEE—The Tay Bridge Bar

OTHER TALES OF DESPERATION
PSYCHO MOTORCYCLE DOLLS (1966)
BONNIE & CLYDE
THE TENDER TRAP
DON’T CALL ME DARLING
SMALLBANY
TOY MONKEY
HAM ON HEELS
BONKERS IN PHOENIX
MESQUITE
LIFE JUST BOUNCES
MASQUERADE
INEVITABLE
BROKEN BICYCLES
THE CABAL
THE OVEN
BLOODY COLLAGE
THESE TOYS ARE FOR TOUGH BOYS
SOMEWHERE IN SLOVENIA
REPETITION
COPPED IT
SPIRITS IN THE NIGHT
DO ANYTHING YOU WANNA DO
I’VE TOLD EVERY LITTLE STAR
REBELLIOUS JUKEBOX
30 VERSIONS OF ‘WARM LEATHERETTE’

 

Halloween Reads from Fox Spirit

In addition to our two upcoming releases, The Girl in the Fort with Fennec and Got Ghosts, we have several other titles perfect for curling up under a blanket with as the nights draw in. 

Of course, we have our 2017 anthology, Respectable Horror. Full of thrills and chills to make your blood run cold. 

Introduction by K. A. Kaity
The Estate of Edward Moorehouse by Ian Burdon
The Feet on the Roof by Anjana Basu

Respectable Horror front cover

Spooky Girl by Maura McHugh
Recovery by H. V. Chao
The Holy Hour by C. A. Yates
Malefactor by Alan C. Moore
A Splash of Crimson by Catherine Lundoff
In These Rooms by Jonathan Oliver
A Framework by Richard Farren Barber
Running a Few Errands by Su Haddrell
Miss Metcalfe by Ivan Kershner
The Little Beast by Octavia Cade
The Well Wisher by Matthew Pegg
Where Daemons Don’t Tread by Suzanne J. Willis
Full Tote Gods by D. C. White
Those Who Can’t by Rosalind Mosis
The Astartic Arcanum by Carol Borden

Or is you fancy something that is sure to make you feel the bite of oncoming winter… Winter Tales might be just what you need.

Mat Joiner: The frost sermon

Cover by S.L. Johnson

Su Haddrell: The Bothy
Sharon Kernow: The Wolf Moon

Ruth Booth: The love of a season
Masimba Musodza: When the trees were enchanted
Fiona Clegg: Sunday’s Child
Tim Major: Winter in the Vivarium
Lizz-Ayn Shaarawi: Snow Angel
Amelia Gorman: Under your skin
B. Thomas: Among Wolves
Eliza Chan: Yukizuki
DJ Tyrer: Frose
G.H. Finn: Cold-Hearted
David Sarsfield: Voliday
Kelda Crich: Coldness Waits
K.N. McGrath: The Siege
Jonathan Ward: Spirit of the Season
James Bennett: The Red Lawns
Anne Michaud: Frost Fair
Jan Edwards: Shaman Red
Adrian Tchaikovsky: The Coming of The Cold
Verity Holloway: The Frost of Heaven
 
For shorter reads we have G. Clark Hellery’s murderous camping collection Weird Wild or Colin Barnes gothic novella A Heart for the Ravens. 
 
 
Or you might prefer to wonder paths unknown with Ian Whates in Dark Travellings
 
And for those of you who are having an urban Halloween, perhaps the fairy tale stylings of King Wolf, a short collection by Steven Savile
 

Of course, you may be in the mood for something completely different. A journey into outer space, a fun adventure to drive away the shadows. Have a browse, because the only thing we know for sure is dark evenings are perfect for reading. 

 

Launch Day: Dark Travellings by Ian Whates

Ian Whates is not only an established author but runs the well respected and multi award winning British indie NewCon Press where new writers butt up against legendary names such as Tanith Lee and Neil Gaiman. With numerous short stories published and novels out with Solaris and Angry Robot, we at Fox Spirit were obviously extremely pleased when Ian said yes to doing a collection with us.

This is the third collection of Ian’s short stories, and our first with him. It’s a collection of thirteen of his darker tales for fans of the fantastic.

Welcome to Dark Travellings.
Cover image is by Michael Marshall Smith, layout by Vincent Holland-Keen

dark travellings - front

Showcasing the darker side of the author’s imagination, Dark Travellings takes us from a post-apocalyptic future where music offers mankind its only hope to a quiet country lane where an apparently chance encounter leads to deception and betrayal, from rain-swept London streets terrorised by a creature out of folklore to the nostalgic beauty of a seaside town, where a young girl learns far more about her grandfather than she ever wished to. We are introduced to a cast of heroes and villains, including a brilliant artist with a unique form of inspiration, an ordinary man who stands firm against a vampire horde, and a woman who personifies a dangerously misunderstood legend. Thirteen stories that reveal the best and the worst of humanity: murder, adultery, treachery and depravity, but also compassion, hope, and love. Thirteen stories that will unsettle, delight, and entertain.

“The stories of Ian Whates manifest a vivid particularity of place and a clarity of suspenseful plotting, along with an endearing ability to conjure up vivid characters both noble and nasty.”

– Paul Di Filippo.

“Ian’s stories, unexpected yet unnervingly apt, come as a masterfully easy read that can lull or shock, please and dismay, and may quietly break your heart.” – Tanith Lee

“It is his characters who live through the story and make the reader need to know just how it’s all going to pan out, human characters who may seem familiar but then there’s that one thing, that shifted alteration that changes the world and changes the reader too.” – Interzone

“Intelligent, ingenious, often funny, and told with an easy and down to earth style.” – Adrian Tchaikovsky

“Brilliantly inventive.” – SFX

Dark Travellings

Dark Travellings by Ian Whates
Cover Image by Michael Marshall Smith, Layout by Vincent Holland-Keen

dark travellings - front

Showcasing the darker side of the author’s imagination, Dark Travellings takes us from a post-apocalyptic future where music offers mankind its only hope to a quiet country lane where an apparently chance encounter leads to deception and betrayal, from rain-swept London streets terrorised by a creature out of folklore to the nostalgic beauty of a seaside town, where a young girl learns far more about her grandfather than she ever wished to. We are introduced to a cast of heroes and villains, including a brilliant artist with a unique form of inspiration, an ordinary man who stands firm against a vampire horde, and a woman who personifies a dangerously misunderstood legend. Thirteen stories that reveal the best and the worst of humanity: murder, adultery, treachery and depravity, but also compassion, hope, and love. Thirteen stories that will unsettle, delight, and entertain.

“The stories of Ian Whates manifest a vivid particularity of place and a clarity of suspenseful plotting, along with an endearing ability to conjure up vivid characters both noble and nasty.”

– Paul Di Filippo.

“Ian’s stories, unexpected yet unnervingly apt, come as a masterfully easy read that can lull or shock, please and dismay, and may quietly break your heart.” – Tanith Lee

“It is his characters who live through the story and make the reader need to know just how it’s all going to pan out, human characters who may seem familiar but then there’s that one thing, that shifted alteration that changes the world and changes the reader too.” – Interzone

“Intelligent, ingenious, often funny, and told with an easy and down to earth style.” – Adrian Tchaikovsky

“Brilliantly inventive.” – SFX

Opening Paragraphs of Dark Travellings 

It shouldn’t be long now. She pushed back a stray lock of blonde hair and considered the house again. It was perfect for
her requirements: an unassuming, detached suburban home. She knew the type well. Built in the 1970s, upstairs would
boast a main bedroom with en suite shower, plus two further bedrooms and a family bathroom, while the ground floor
consisted of a front to back through-lounge and a spacious kitchen, big enough to accommodate a table that the whole
family could sit around at mealtimes. Of course, that didn’t necessarily mean they ever did.

She glanced at the car parked in the driveway; a midrange Toyota – metallic blue, this year’s number plate. It spoke of financial comfort rather than prosperity. Then her eyes returned to the house, looking up to take in the neat red brickwork, the replacement upvc facia and guttering – white to match the frames surrounding the double-glazed windows – before settling on the windows themselves; her attention drawn by one in particular.

Yes, there was a flicker of uneven light and shifting shadow.
It was almost time to make her move.

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Busy week ahead! All the announcements! Also some updates.

This is a quick ‘are you sitting comfortably’ post, as this coming week we seem to have numerous announcements.

Tuesday sees us launching the re release of a book that requires an act of faith in the early episodic chapters, but is adored by those who throw themselves into the journey, The office of Lost and Found by Vincent Holland-Keen. I’ll be linking to reviews from it’s original release in Tuesday’s post.

Later in the week I will be announcing the book to be launched at Edge.Lit. I’ve kept this very quiet so far, so it will finally be listed on the site. Right now, I’ll tell you it’s a collection and that we are sharing our launch space with the illustrious NewCon Press.

We also have news regarding our long planned line for younger readers, follow @kitthefennec for news as it comes on that. This is a busy week for us as lots of plans start to come to fruition.

We’d also like to remind everyone, that while it has been quiet on the FoxGloves front we will be launching that line with Neil Adams MBE’s autobiography covering the post Olympics years. This is an honest look at starting over and rebuilding after the day comes you discover you are no longer on the team and your sponsors have vanished. It’s a great insight into the world of top flight athletes when they have to confront life outside of competition and a tremendous story.

Aunty Fox Hoffman

Finally a few updates.

Fox Pockets no. 7 is now out, 8 Piercing the Vale is in formatting and should be released at the end of this month with Evil Genius Guide and Reflections following swiftly on. We know you’ve been waiting for them, but they are all going to be with us this summer. Catch them all.

Eve of War is well underway and we are aiming for a mid summer release, we will announce soon on the exact date.

The Forbidden Planet signing event for African Monsters went very well in February, it was excellent to meet everyone for an enjoyable evening. There are a small number of copies, signed by the attending authors still available at the London store.

Dream Book

Dream Book

— a collection of stories inspired by Finnish myth and folklore

K. A. Laity

These tales offer a distinctive take on the myths and legends of Finland, the land of my ancestors. It resonates more each time I visit. In the stories giants sleep, women change shape and music often proves the key to magic. The stories take place in the distant past or the urban present, but all weave together ancient lore in new ways. There’s even a play that brings to life the experiences of immigrant far from the land that still haunts their dreams. Let your dreams soar.Dream Book

Opening Paragraphs of Dreambook

Raven Sister, Cuckoo Sister
Raven sister sits on the branch of the long-needled pine. Cuckoo sister sits below at her loom, weaving the world into being, hands in motion, always in motion.

Raven sister says, come away with me, we will fly across the forests, skim through the trees, reach the high mountain peaks. Cuckoo sister says, you know I cannot, I am weaving the world into being.

Raven sister sighs and says, come away with me, we will soar over the lakes, cross the salty oceans, and see the giant pike in the depths of the sea. Cuckoo sister says, you know I cannot, I am weaving the world into being.

The golden marten comes by with tears on her whiskers. Help me find my kits, she says, they have strayed from our burrow and are lost.

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Reviews

“You will want to savor every word, every page and read this book over and over. The warmth and peacefulness these stories bring to the reader feels like a big, comfortable blanket on a cold wintry day” — The Pagan & the Pen

“K. A. Laity’s efforts make Finnish mythology and folklore relevant today in ways that resonate with the modern reader. She mates myth and womanhood exquisitely. In short, her work is fabulous.” — FinNALA

Read the short story “Palakainen”

Cover design by S. L. Johnson

Photo of Astuvansalmi rock paintings © K. A. Laity

Read reviews on Goodreads

Want to have an excuse to see Finland for yourself? Support the 2017 Helsinki World Con bid!

Always a Dancer & Other Stories

Always a Dancer & Other Stories by Steven Lockley
Cover Art by Steven Upham

FrontCoverCroppedWithTitleSampleRGB

A collection of tall tales from author Steve Lockley that ranges from the whimsical to the horrifying, from wistful to chilling. There are dark tales of old rites and all manner of men and beasts to encounter. Featuring some established favourites and some never before released stories collected together for the first time.

‘… more than anything there are tales of Mystery and Imagination, trust me on this. This particular thing, this collection, has been too long coming. ‘ Steven Savile

Contents:

Always a Dancer
Funny Weather
Wassailing
Life in a Northern Town
The First Time
This Masquerade
Fairground Attraction
The Mermaid’s Tears
The Long Wait
When Two Hearts Beat in Time
The Last Frost
Life and Life Only
Crow
Sea Monkeys
Imaginary Friends
Don’t Leave Me Down Here

Opening paragraphs of Always a Dancer

Always a Dancer
Garry was busking in the underpass at the end of the Kingsway when I saw him. It was the first time we had been in the same city, as far as I knew, for almost three years.
Garry Antoniazzi, Italian looks and a voice to match, or at least that was how he had been when he had left for London with a recording contract in his pocket. Now he was thin to the point of looking haggard and his voice shot to pieces.
The temptation was to walk straight past. It would have been easy to allow myself to be carried away by the heavy flow of Christmas shoppers who dragged plastic bags and small children with equal force. Instead I stopped and spoke to him, despite the noise of the traffic above which echoed around the white tile walls even though I did not really have anything to say. I could not look him in the eye, finding my gaze being drawn to the graffiti behind his shoulder.
‘That thing frozen to your lips’, I said as he came to the end of ‘Silent Night’. The final chord played as a flourish into the bustle of the crowd. I half expected him to thank his audience despite the fact that no-one was really listening, and yet a few coins were still dropped into his battered guitar case. He unscrewed the neck brace which held the harmonica a few inches from his chin.

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Reviews

BFS review : Steve Lockley has managed to provide readers with a series of stories that don’t fail to interest and vary in content so that the subject matter doesn’t get dry or cluttered. Obviously there are a few more that readers could pick out as favourites, but none of them left me feeling cheated.

Ebookwyrm’s review : Always A Dancer is a very good bunch of short stories that covers all bases in what I would want from a ghost story/horror collection.

 

King Wolf

King Wolf & Other Stories by Steven Savile
Cover art by Ben Baldwin

King Wolf (with titles)

 

The death of a beloved children’s writer, Hoke Berglund, draws Jon Sieber into a world he cannot hope to understand – a world filled with Hoke’s creations, including the vile Mr. Self Affliction who is the cruel master of this place. In a landscape where angels are beautiful women and the by-blows of nightmares people the mythical Forgetting Wood, Jon, heir apparent to all that Hoke created, falls for Kristen, the writer’s daughter, but cannot let her secret remain secret.

“If there are secrets, as in the Grimm’s fairy tale nightmare of “The Fragrance of You,” there may well be good reasons that such things are hidden. In some cases, the wistful protagonist learns, you need to just take such gifts on faith; it isn’t necessary to understand everything around us. Some things we can just be grateful for, and enjoy as long as they last.” SF Site

Opening paragraphs of King Wolf
The Fragrance of You
The illustration was so much more than paper and ink. It was a farewell gift to a man he had loved without ever really knowing; a man whose few words in Princess Scapegoat, The Forgetting Wood and his last gift, Angel Home, had opened up a new world for so many children like him. Of course Jon wasn’t a child anymore but Hoke Berglund had written himself into his heart just the same. When he heard the old man had died it was as though a magic-shaped hole had opened itself in Jon Sieber’s life. The magic of childhood, innocence, wonder and the impossible, everything that was so wonderful about Hoke’s books, was suddenly gone. Snatched away. The crazy thing was they had never met. Not once.
Jon looked at the drawing again: the old man with his head down and his hands on the Life Stone, praying to the very heart of Angel Home, and to the angels all around him who knew it was too late for prayers.
It was raining. The branches of an old cypress offered little in the way of shelter. The handful of mourners had already begun to drift away, leaving a sad-faced women alone by the graveside. She held a white orchid in her hand.
She was so lost in her maze of thoughts she didn’t hear him approach.
Feeling self-conscious, Jon knelt by the grave and placed the drawing on the coffin lid. It looked pathetic lying there, a scrap of paper just waiting for the mud to fall but he thought the old man would understand. ‘Goodbye, Hoke.’ He whispered after a moment.
‘Did you know him?’
She had come over to stand beside him. As Jon stood their eyes met. She had been crying.
‘Not as well as I would have liked to.’

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Reviews

Tony Lane : There is a darkness that pervades these three stories. I thought that was going to be it though. A nice story wrapped in an allegory. Instead I found a story that seemed simple and easy to read but was much deeper and interesting than it first seemed. There was a lot of symbolism in this story aimed at differing levels to create maximum impact.

King Wolf on Goodreads

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The Stars Seem So Far Away

FS Star Seem So-Front 180ppi

The Stars Seem so Far Away by Margrét Helgadottir
Cover Art by Sarah Anne Langton

‘Wars, famine and plagues rage across the dying Earth. Fleeing the deadly sun, humans migrate farther and farther north. The last shuttles to the space colonies, crammed to their limits, are long gone. The only plants and animals left are those that humans create in laboratories and artificial soil.
 
Guerrilla soldier Simik fights for independence for his forefathers’ land, once called the Green Land. On a remote island, Bjørg and her great white beasts guard a resource that could help ensure human survival. Sailor Nora plunders ships on the northern sea, while Zaki journeys to the promised land in the west. Amongst the legendary skyscrapers of plague-stricken Svalbard, Aida struggles to survive.
Five people in a future north. These are their tales.’
 
Margret Helgadottir’s kinetic prose immerses the reader in a future woven from the threads of Nordic history, studded with jewels pillaged from our mythic past.’
– Damien Walter, Columnist for The Guardian

 

Finely observed, beautifully written; Margret Helgadottir’s stories have the chill brightness of new myth. She is a writer to watch.
– Adam Roberts

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Opening Paragraphs of The Stars Seem so Far Away
 
Nora stood on deck waiting for the other ship to come closer. The sails flapped over her head, eager to let the wind take hold. The air was thick with ocean mist. She held her ship steady, never letting the other craft out of her sight.
An old wooden sailing ship, heavy in the sea, it glided towards her, majestic and elegant despite the high waves. The wind strained the massive sails to their limits. People ran to and fro on the deck, adjusting them. She counted five. All men. Shivering, she huddled deeper into her fur coat.
They had not fired at her yet, but she could see the weapons hanging from their shoulders and backs. They furled some of the sails and came up alongside her ship, hooks ready, and connected the two ships. Only a few inches of foaming sea separated them. The men were young. Two had let their whiskers grow out, probably in an attempt to appear more manly, but the few tufts only highlighted their youth. A giggle escaped her lips. She bit her tongue. No one stayed young for long at sea.
The men talked with each other, gesticulating towards her, her ship, her sails, and her pile of furs up front. The roaring wind drowned their voices, but the few words she heard made her stomach sink. They were pirates. Vultures. Thieves and murderers. Hunger, greed and something she didn’t want to investigate further shone in their eyes.
One of the men fingered a large tooth hanging from a chain around his neck. He moved towards her. Nora eyed the knotted scar that slashed across his forehead.
‘Hello my lady. I am Rolf. These are my men, Morten, Hans, Lars and Jon.’
Reviews
Margret has collected all the reviews here but we have highlighted some below.
E.P. Beaumont : The narrative compels through spare suggestion — short story on the boundary with poetry — and implies a world of vast sweep in its pauses. The Stars Seem So Far Awayis set in a post-apocalyptic Far North, where much of the middle latitudes of Earth have become uninhabitable and streams of refugees have found their way to cities built where currently nothing lies but tundra.
Books Abound on Goodreads : For me, there was a very distinct essence to the prose that I loved. It wasn’t too flowery and seemed to reflect the state of their world. Beautifully nuanced in all the right ways.
The Future Fire : I wish the book had been twice its length, the better to explore this world and its people, but in its brevity it manages to become something like a fable for the future, promising rewards for good deeds.