“The Ballad of Boomtown”

“The Ballad of Boomtown” is now up in its entirety on the Nightmare website. This was originally published in Black Static magazine in 2012. Read it for free here.

Thanks to both John Joseph Adams of Nightmare and Andy Cox of TTA Press.

The entire issue of Nightmare is available to purchase for just $2.99, and an annual subscription is just $23.88/year.

 

It’s estimated that in 2011 there were 2,881 semi or unoccupied housing developments in Ireland.

There was a time when we put our faith in euros, shares and the sanctity of brick. A time when we bought our books from stores as big as barns and ate strawberries from Andalusia, when only a generation before, they’d been grown on farms up the road.

The wide avenues of Boomtown were named for trees when there was grand optimism for growth. Now nothing booms in Boomtown. It’s bust and broken.

I miss you. You were a lick of cream. I can still taste you.

-The Ballad of Boomtown

Nightmare Magazine

Issue 79 of Nightmare Magazine is now out and includes original fiction from Mari Ness (“The Girl and the House”) and Dennis E. Staples (“The One You Feed”), along with reprints by Stephen Gallagher (“Shepherd’s Business”) and myself (“The Ballad of Boomtown”). There’s also a regular column on horror, “The H Word,” plus author spotlights and a media review from Adam-Troy Castro.

The stories are made available to read online for free, week by week. If you can’t wait,  the whole magazine is available to read now as an ebook. A subscription to this excellent magazine costs $23.88/year. (Purchase links here).

I thoroughly recommend Stephen Gallagher’s “Shepherd’s Business”, which I first read in “New Fears”, Mark Morris’ excellent horror anthology.

My story, “The Ballad of Boomtown”, was originally published in Black Static Issue 28 (2012).

 

Stuff for September

The Best Horror of the Year Volume 5, edited by Ellen Datlow,  is now available in print from Amazon UK, Amazon US and by order from your local bookshop. I’m delighted that it contains “The Ballad of Boomtown”, my short story that appeared in issue 28 of Black Static.

Ellen’s Honorable Mentions shortlist for the anthology also contains “Pearls” (issue 4 of Bourbon Penn).

“Needlepoint” (issue 242 of Interzone) and“Fish Skins” (issue 42 of Albedo One)  are on her longlist.

So, many many thanks to Ellen Datlow, Andy Cox of TTA Press, Eric Secker of Bourbon Penn and the editorial team of Albedo One (John Kenny, Bob Neilson, Peter Loftus, David Murphy and Frank Ludlow).

***

Mark Lord, editor of Alt Hist, has published interviews with all the authors who appeared in the last issue. If you want to read the interview with me that relates to my story, “After Mary”, it’s here.

The Best Horror of the Year Volume 5

The Best Horror of the Year Volume 5 Edited by Ellen Datlow and published by Night Shade Books is out now as an e-book. The print edition will be available in August.

It contains my story, “The Ballad of Boomtown”, which first appeared in Black Static Issue 28. If you want to know more about it, have a look here.

Many thanks to Ellen for including it.

 

Contents

Nikishi by Lucy Taylor
Little America by Dan Chaon
A Natural History of Autumn by Jeffrey Ford
Mantis Wives by Kij Johnson
Tender as Teeth by Stephanie Crawford and Duane Swierczynski
The Callers by Ramsey Campbell
Two poems for Hill House by Kevin McCann
Mariner’s Round by Terry Dowling
Nanny Grey by Gemma Files
The Magician’s Apprentice by Tamsyn Muir
Kill All Monsters by Gary McMahon
The House on Ashley Avenue by Ian Rogers
Dead Song by Jay Wilburn
Sleeping, I Was Beauty by Sandi Leibowitz
Bajazzle by Margo Lanagan
The Pike by Conrad Williams
The Crying Child by Bruce McAllister
This Circus the World by Amber Sparks
Some Pictures in An Album by Gary McMahon
Wild Acre by Nathan Ballingrud
Final Exam by Megan Arkenberg
None So Blind by Stephen Bacon
The Ballad of Boomtown by Priya Sharma
Pig Thing by Adam Nevill
The Word-Made Flesh by Richard Gavin
Into the Penny Arcade by Claire Massey
Magdala Amygdala by Lucy Snyder
Frontier Death Song by Laird Barron

 

Purchase the e-book from Amazon US, Barnes and Noble.

Pre-order print copy from Amazon UK, Amazon UK or your local bookshop.

The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror:2013 and The Best Horror of the Year Volume 5

Paula Guran and Ellen Datlow have now annouced the contents of their annual anthologies.

“Pearls” originally appeared in Issue 4 of Bourbon Penn (April 2012)

“The Ballad Of Boomtown” appeared in Issue 28 of Black Static (April-May 2012)

A huge thank you to Ellen, Paula, Andy Cox (editor of Black Static) and Erik Secker (editor of Bourbon Penn).

The Best Horror of the Year Volume V (Ed. Ellen Datlow) 
Nikishi  by Lucy Taylor
Little America by Dan Chaon
A Natural History of Autumn by Jeffrey Ford
Mantis Wives    by  Kij Johnson
Tender as Teeth by Stephanie Crawford and Duane Swierczynski
The Callers by Ramsey Campbell
Two poems for Hill House by Kevin McCann
Mariner’s Round by  Terry Dowling
Nanny Grey by Gemma Files
The Magician’s Apprentice by Tamsyn Muir
Kill All Monsters   by Gary Mcmahon
The House on Ashley Avenue by Ian Rogers
Dead Song  by Jay Wilburn
Sleeping, I  Was Beauty    by Sandi Leibowitz
Bajazzle  by Margo Lanagan
The Pike by Conrad Williams
This Circus the World  by Amber Sparks
Some Pictures in An Album by Gary McMahon
Wild Acre by Nathan Ballingrud
Final Exam by  Megan Arkenberg
None So Blind   by Stephen Bacon
The Ballad of Boomtown  by Priya Sharma
Pig Thing by Adam Nevill
The Word-Made Flesh by Richard Gavin
Into the Penny Arcade by Claire Massey
Magdala Amygdala  by Lucy Snyder
Frontier Death Song by Laird Barron

The Best Dark Fantasy and Horror: 2013 (Ed. Paula Guran)
Laird Barron, “Hand of Glory” (The Book of Cthulhu 2)
Peter S. Beagle, “Great-Grandmother in the Cellar” (Under My Hat)
Peter Bell, “Glamour of Madness”  (The Ghosts & Scholars Book of Shadows)
Joseph Bruchac, “Down in the Valley” (Postscripts #28/29: Exotic Gothic 4)
Jim Butcher, “Bigfoot on Campus” (Hex Appeal)
Mike Carey, “Iphigenia In Aulis” (An Apple for the Creature)
Terry Dowling, “Nightside Eye” (Cemetery Dance #66)
K. M. Ferebee, “The Bird Country” (Shimmer #15)
Jeffrey Ford, “The Natural History of Autumn” (F&SF, July/August 2012)
Neil Gaiman, “The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury” (The Shadow Show)
Theodora Goss, “England Under the White Witch” (Clarkesworld, Issue 73)
Maria Dahvana Headley, “Game” (Subterranean, Fall 2012)
Robert Hood, “Escena de un Asesinato” (Postscripts #28/29: Exotic Gothic 4)
Stephen Graham Jones, “Welcome to the Reptile House” (Strange Aeons #9)
Caitlín R Kiernan, “Fake Plastic Trees: (After)
Ellen Klages, “The Education of a Witch” (Under My Hat)
Marc Laidlaw, “Forget You” (Lightspeed, June 2012)
John Langan, “Renfrew’s Course” (Lightspeed, April 2012)
Joe R. Lansdale. “The Tall Grass” (Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations)
Tim Lebbon, “Slaughterhouse Blues” (Nothing As It Seems)
Alison Littlewood, “The Eyes of Water (The Eyes of Water)
Good Hunting, Ken Liu  (Strange Horizons, October 2012)
Helen Marshall, “No Ghosts In London” (Hair Side, Flesh Side)
Sarah Monette, “Blue Lace Agate” (Lightspeed, January 2012)
Ekaterina Sedia, “End of White” (Shotguns v Cthulhu)
Priya Sharma, “Pearls” (Bourbon Penn 04)
Robert Shearman, “Bedtime Stories for Yasmin” (Shadows & Tall Trees 4)
John Shirley, “When Death Wakes Me to Myself” (Black Wings II)
Cory Skerry, “Sinking Among Lilies” (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue #92)
Simon Strantzas, “Go Home Again” (Fungi)
Rachel Swirsky, “The Sea of Trees” (The Future Is Japanese)
Melanie Tem, “Dahlias” (Black Wings II)
Karen Tidbeck, “Arvid Pekon” (Jagganath: Stories)
Genevieve Valentine, “Armless Maidens of the American West” (Apex, August 7, 2012)
Brooke Wonders, “Everything Must Go” (Clarkesworld, Issue 74)

The Ballad of Boomtown

My short story “The Ballad of Boomtown” appeared in Black Static Issue 28 in 2012. I am thrilled to bits that it’s made the Locus’ 2012 Recommended Reading List.
Thanks to Andy Cox of TTA for publishing it and to the lovely people who decided to include it.

There’s some great stuff on the list which includes writers like  Aliette de Bodard, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Catherynne M. Valente, E Catherine Tobler, Lavie Tidhar and  K.J. Parker.

Quite a few stories from TTA Press appeared – I particularly enjoyed Carole Johnstone’s “The Pest House”.

‘‘Beasts’’, Elizabeth Bourne (Interzone 240), novelette  

‘‘The Pest House’’, Carole Johnstone (Black Static 28), novelette

‘‘The Philosophy of Ships’’, Caroline M. Yoachim (Interzone 243), short story

‘‘Twember’’, Steve Rasnic Tem (Interzone 239), short story

I’m also very pleased to see ‘‘The Ballad of the Wayfaring Stranger and the Dead Man’s Whore’’ by Sean Demory is in there. It’s a self published story that’s available for 77p, which is a steal for something that’s so brilliant.

“Breaking the Bow: Stories Inspired by the Ramayana”, Anil Menon & Vandana Singh, eds. (Zubaan Books) was in the original anthology category (congratulations Anil!)

The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Four, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Night Shade Books) and The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2012 Paula Guran, ed. (Prime Books) both were in the reprint/best of anthology category. I was lucky enough to have stories in both of these (“The Show” in the former and “The Fox Maiden” in the latter). Thanks to both Paula and Ellen for including me.

HWA Bram Stoker Award 2012 Reading List

I am very happy that “The Ballad of Boomtown” (Black Static Issue 28) is on the HWA Bram Stoker Award 2012 Reading List. Issues 27 and 28 of Black Static has a strong showing on the list with great writers like Carole Johnstone, Jacob Ruby, John Ingold, Stephen Bacon and Simon Bestwick.

Just to be clear, this is the HWA reading list not a ballot or nominee list for the awards themselves.

On a different note,  I’m going to be a guest on RedShift Radio on Thursday 14th June. Tim Prevett hosts a regular show, Something Different, from 7-9pm for anyone with an interest in heritage, history and the mysterious. You can listen via a link from Tim’s page. I am very, very nervous.