Two characteristics distinguish Simon Strantzas from many contemporary horror authors. For one, he prefers the short story format rather than novels (making him, to paraphrase Ray Bradbury, “a sprinter” rather than a “long-distance runner”).
More notable, perhaps, is Strantzas’ preference for subtle, thought-provoking effects in contrast to the graphic, violent shocks that define much of modern horror. Both of these characteristics are wonderfully displayed in NIGHTINGALE SONGS, his third and latest story collection, available from Dark Regions Press.
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Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989) is regarded as one of the early influences and shapers of popular fiction, including genres such as suspense and horror. Those who never read her are still familiar with her work, thanks to the many notable movie adaptations of her novels and short stories, including REBECCA, JAMAICA INN, DON’T LOOK NOW and THE BIRDS.
Now Cemetery Dance has located the eight du Maurier short stories previously published many years ago in the collection EARLY STORIES, along with five additional, uncollected tales published in the early 1930s, and published them in a handsome, but limited trade edition titled THE DOLL: THE LOST SHORT STORIES.
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“Who is Todd Grimson?” That was the first thought I had when someone recommended his work to me.
Apparently, he’s an author of quirky subject matters who burst onto the literary scene in the 1990s, and then faded just as quickly. Although from what I’ve read about him, he never stopped writing; he simply wrote under a different name. Now, Grimson is back with his older work — STAINLESS and BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR — reissued by Schaffner Press, and a new novel on the horizon.
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With SUPERNATURAL NOIR, prolific and award-winning editor Ellen Datlow set out to find stories that would combine the characteristics of her two favorite types of genre literature. So, per her brief introduction to this original anthology, she put the word out for “smart, edgy, complex, harder-than-nails stories of the supernatural with at least a few of the trademarks of noir.”
The challenge is a lot harder than it seems. Noir, as Datlow herself notes, is “an attitude” — that is, a mostly interior-oriented, cynical and pessimistic view of the world, most often incorporated in crime fiction. Stories of the supernatural, both horror and fantasy, are mostly about external forces — an extraordinary being, power or imagined world.
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Each year, the Horror Writers’ Association presents the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement for horror and dark fiction, named after the author of the quintessential vampire novel.
No, not TWILIGHT.
If you don’t know that Bram Stoker was the author of DRACULA, then chances are you stumbled upon this column by accident, and the rest will be meaningless to you. I’ll wait while you hit the back key …
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