British Fantasy Society Awards Shortlists Announced

Huge congratulations to all those shortlisted but a special shout out to Shona Kinsella who has been shortlisted with novella The Flame and the Flood

Book cover design cover for Fox Spirit’s The Flame & The Flood by artist Sarah Anne Langton

Very well deserved recognition for Shona in the novella category.

In Slyvo, one child in a hundred is born with an affinity: a magical link to an element, able to shape and use it as they choose. If they are lucky they will become a master craftsman, able to command high prices; if they are unlucky, the factories always demand new wielders, kept as slaves and worked to exhaustion. Talis and Almoris are free wielders, dedicating their lives to helping wielders leave the country for better lives abroad. But not everyone believes in their mission, and not everyone can be trusted – when Almoris takes in a runaway, they find themselves pulled into a mission that puts their lives in danger and threatens both their loyalties and their love. 

Best Novella

Jurors: Timy Takács, Phillip Irving, Ellis Saxey, Kshoni Gunputh, Alasdair Stuart

  • The Flame and the Flood, Shona Kinsella (Fox Spirit)
  • Honeybones, Georgina Bruce (TTA Press)
  • The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water, Zen Cho (Tordotcom)
  • Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom)
  • A Song for the End, Kit Power (Horrific Tales Publishing)
  • Triggernometry, Stark Holborn (Rattleback Books)

You can view the full list of all categories here 

I can’t resist a few extra shout outs here too

Extra foxy congratulations to

The Full Lid 
Daniele Serra 
Ginger Nuts of Horror
Black Shuck
Breaking the Glass Slipper, PodCastle and PsuedoPod
Charlotte bond & Robert Shearman
Georgina Bruce & Zen Cho

 

The Flame and the Flood by Shona Kinsella

Out now, new novella from Shona Kinsella with fantastic cover art by Sarah Anne Langton.

 In Slyvo, one child in a hundred is born with an affinity: a magical link to an element, able to shape and use it as they choose. If they are lucky they will become a master craftsman, able to command high prices; if they are unlucky, the factories always demand new wielders, kept as slaves and worked to exhaustion.

Talis and Almoris are free wielders, dedicating their lives to helping wielders leave the country for better lives abroad. But not everyone believes in their mission, and not everyone can be trusted – when Almoris takes in a runaway, they find themselves pulled into a mission that puts their lives in danger and threatens both their loyalties and their love.

Still not convinced, check out this  review by RunaAlongtheShelves.

Available now in ebook from our store and ebook and ppbk from Amazon.

The Flame and The Flood – Full Wrap

The new novella from Shona Kinsella is due out in days so we wanted to treat you to the full wrap cover.

Stunning work by Sarah Langton to cover a brilliant novella.

‘In Slyvo, one child in a hundred is born with an affinity: a magical link to an element, able to shape and use it as they choose. If they are lucky they will become a master craftsman, able to command high prices; if they are unlucky, the factories always demand new wielders, kept as slaves and worked to exhaustion.
 
Talis and Almoris are free wielders, dedicating their lives to helping wielders leave the country for better lives abroad. But not everyone believes in their mission, and not everyone can be trusted – when Almoris takes in a runaway, they find themselves pulled into a mission that puts their lives in danger and threatens both their loyalties and their love.’
 
 
 

Fox Spirit is Seven! #skulkisseven

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Fox Spirit is Seven! How did that happen?!

Did you know there’s an ebook store right here? And that you can use coupon code ‘skulkis7‘ to celebrate our 7th birthday with 25% off throughout June!! What are you waiting for?

It’s a milestone that makes you thoughtful. Shakespeare talked about the ‘seven ages’ of human life in his ‘All the world’s a stage’ speech. The first is birth which he describes as

At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.

Fox Spirit managed to avoid that unpleasantry: it was born with a song in its heart, a laugh in its mouth and a pub on  its mind — the Nun & Dragon. It was meant to be a one off, but here we are seven years later! Which in Bill’s words means:

Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.

I suppose we can see a little bit of that: hands up skulk members who would rather be writing/drawing/plotting than creeping to our jobs and other duties? Yes, you can put your hands down now. We itch to have the luxury of time, but there are always new responsibilities. In the mean time we can remember that we are yet young and have so many ways to grow.

What will the next anniversary bring? More books? More multimedia efforts? Games? Skulk Island? World Domination?

Time alone will tell — but the skulk has ambitions, you can bet your floof on that. All kudos to our fearless leader Adele!

Christmas Countdown Day 12

THE ENCLAVE by Anne Charnock

NewCon Press / 72 pgs / £6.99 paperback / ISBN 978-1910935347

Reviewed by Carol Goodwin.

In this novella, Anne Charnock returns to the near future United Kingdom of her first novel, A CALCULATED LIFE (which was a finalist for the Philip K Dick Award). In that novel genetic engineering was aiding the establishment of an elite, with access to upgrades for intelligence, antisocial behaviour etc. whilst the majority are denied these and form a struggling underclass. Whilst A CALCULATED LIFE looked mainly at the privileged through the eyes of a naïve “simulant” Jayna, this novella looks in more detail at the general population, living on minimal support and surviving on a mixture of wits and intimidation.

            The story is told mainly from the viewpoint of two characters who live in an “enclave” outside the city, where like a shanty town most of the available jobs are menial or dirty, and people are constantly scrabbling to make a living. These two characters are Caleb, a bright and enterprising twelve-year old refugee and Ma Lexie, a young widow who is barely tolerated by her husband’s gang family and surviving by using young children without parents as child labour to recycle thrown-away clothes and scraps to eke out a living. Caleb was “recruited” by a scout for the gangs from a travelling refugee group after he lost his mother and he now works in Ma Lexie’s group. When Caleb manages to catch Ma Lexie’s attention with his designs for improving clothes, she promotes him and this allows him a little more freedom to plot an escape. Both characters are simultaneously victims and manipulators. Ma Lexie may control the children’s lives but she is in turn controlled by the gang who at any time could take away her “business”. She promotes Caleb for her own advantage but also in a desire for company and someone to look after her. This is a society where everyone uses everyone. 

            In a short 59 pages, Anne Charnock constructs a very believable world which could easily be extrapolated from current events. This is an excellent example of “show not tell” – it touches on many serious issues whilst still keeping the story paramount and is more effective for leaving the reader to think and draw their own parallels. The characterisation is superb – one is both sympathetic and repulsed by the actions of the characters. The prose is first-rate – precise and sharply accurate, building up a wealth of detail via small observations. It is not a work where the technology is at the forefront, or with a large amount of “action” (although events do happen and there is a very definite plot). and thus, may not suit fans of more traditional SF. However, in my opinion, Anne Charnock in this novella has shown yet again that she can write extremely intelligent and thought-provoking SF.

Petra MacDonald and The Queen of the Fae

Petra MacDonald and the Queen of the Fae by Shona Kinsella
Cover art and layout by Tabatha Stirling

Petra MacDonald is a bisexual, pagan artist who lives and works on a small Scottish island. While in a trance, she paints a young girl who has been abducted by the Queen of the Fae and it falls to Petra to save her. 
 
She must travel Faery, collect three items for the Queen, escape the sex spell of the Selkie prince and steal the loyalty of her fae guard. 
 
Can she bring the child home before it’s too late?

Book Launch : Got Ghosts

Halloween is nearly upon us! The pumpkins are carved, the cobwebs draped and the ghosts are dusting off their best hauntings. It is the perfect time to launch a spooky novella for a little Halloween fun. 

Welcome to Greystones. Do you believe in ghosts? You will.

Haunted manor house Greystones Hall is filled to the brim with ghosts.  It’s also falling to bits, and artist owner Emily doesn’t have the money to refurbish the place. When the makers of hit tv show ‘Got Ghosts?’ offer to pay for a weekend’s filming there she jumps at the chance, even though she and her ghostly grandfather Gramps have reservations.

The reservations seem to be misplaced when the film crew swing into action, and producer Carl turns out to be dark, handsome and very available.  But Emily soon starts to have doubts about the methods they use, which Carl won’t discuss. Then the show’s resident medium Stella stirs up a new and malevolent spirit, revealing a dark secret at the heart of the house that has been hidden for centuries.  And when Emily’s own safety is threatened, together with that of her ghosts and her beloved Gramps, will it be Carl who comes to the rescue, or someone much more unexpected?

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. 

 

Got Ghosts

Got Ghosts by Fiona Glass
Cover art by Vincent Holland-Keen

Haunted manor house Greystones Hall is filled to the brim with ghosts.  It’s also falling to bits, and artist owner Emily doesn’t have the money to refurbish the place. When the makers of hit tv show ‘Got Ghosts?’ offer to pay for a weekend’s filming there she jumps at the chance, even though she and her ghostly grandfather Gramps have reservations.

The reservations seem to be misplaced when the film crew swing into action, and producer Carl turns out to be dark, handsome and very available.  But Emily soon starts to have doubts about the methods they use, which Carl won’t discuss. Then the show’s resident medium Stella stirs up a new and malevolent spirit, revealing a dark secret at the heart of the house that has been hidden for centuries.  And when Emily’s own safety is threatened, together with that of her ghosts and her beloved Gramps, will it be Carl who comes to the rescue, or someone much more unexpected?

Opening Paragraphs of Got Ghosts

Emily was in the library dusting endless stacks of books when the phone rang. It was one of her least favourite chores so she wasn’t too unhappy about the interruption. She stifled a sneeze and picked up the receiver. ‘Hello?’
‘Miss Price? This is Angelica from Angelic Productions, the makers of the hit tv show ‘Got Ghosts?’. I don’t know if you’ve heard of us?’
‘Um, I think so,’ Emily said, balancing the feather duster on the edge of a shelf and perching her buttocks on the desk.
‘Oh good,’ said the voice, which was female, deep, and thoroughly in control. ‘In that case I don’t need to explain. Shall I say we’ll see you on the twenty-seventh?’
‘Erm, yes. I mean no,’ said Emily, trying to collect her scattered thoughts. She’d just been day-dreaming about Johnny Depp and the transition to ghosts was not a happy one. ‘Look, what d’you mean, see me?’
The voice gained an edge of impatience. ‘I mean we’ll be coming out to film on the twenty-seventh.’
‘Oh, right. Er, film what, precisely?’
‘I see I shall have to explain after all. Miss Price, the ‘Got Ghosts?’ crew spends the weekend at a haunted property and films the results. The programme goes out on the Paranormal Channel at nine pm Mondays and Thursdays and our ratings are very good.’ The impatience was turning to the hurt of an abandoned dog and Emily, kind-hearted to a fault, hurried to appease.
‘Oh yes, I’m sure they are.’
‘We have it on the very best authority,’ the voice continued as though it hadn’t even heard, ‘that your property, Greystones Hall, is one of the most haunted houses in England. Isn’t that right, Miss Price?’
‘Er, well, I suppose….’ said Emily, chewing a finger nail.
‘Splendid. We’d like to come and film your ghosts on the weekend of the twenty-seventh to the twenty-ninth. If that’s all right with you.’

Buy this book

Reviews 4: Down the Rabbit Hole

Weirdmage

Tales of Eve edited by Mhairi Simpson

‘The quality of the storytelling is very high here, above what can be expected from any anthology. It really is consistently very good throughout. Every author in here has delivered something that they can be proud of, and something which I have really enjoyed.’

Fox Pockets: Piracy edited by Adele Wearing

‘It is short, as are the stories in it, and it is all the stronger for it. This is excellent for those that want some short fiction that will fill a few minutes now and then. For those that like their fiction to come with a piratical leaning, this is an absolute must.’

Neil Williamson

Fox Pockets: Piracy edited by Adele Wearing

‘Did I mention the cover design? How much I love it? No? Well I do. Look to your left. See what I mean? I reckon artist Sarah Anne Langton has created something truly iconic with this set of simple elements and limited palette.’

Liquorice UK

Weird Wild by G Clark Hellery

‘The mix of styles and genres, incorporating elements of thriller and fantasy works well on the whole and the descriptions of the wood are wonderfully vivid and rich, beautifully capturing the eeriness of the setting.’

Killer Aphrodite

Requiem in E Sharp by Joan De La Haye

‘As you all may know, Killer Aphrodite is run from Pretoria and we are well aware that sometimes the truth is much more terrifying than fiction… especially around these parts, which means that De La Haye was able to capture the truly gruesome realities that we have to face more often than not and turn it into a book that will give you a proper scare. ‘

White Rabbit advert 2

A whole bunch of carrots… or reviews for White Rabbit by K.A. Laity

Alasdair Stuart : This is supernatural fiction mixed with noir, coffee and incense, whiskey and blood, all swirled together in a novel that’s compact, punchy fun. Life is messy, death is too.

Antonio Urias : White Rabbit is fast paced, pitch perfect noir with a well-developed fantasy world and tight characterization. Highly enjoyable.

Crimeculture : Laity’s writing is punchy and readable and she has a knack for slang and banter. The whole style of the genre mash-up keeps the reader on their toes, because with noir, the supernatural and the Carroll-bunny theme all in play, we never know what’s coming next.