Writer Gregory L. Norris and editor Tom English discuss the impact of daytime soaps on story-telling and the horror genre

Gregory L. Norris, Writer: BLACK INFINITY 3: Some of my earliest memories involve Dan Curtis's dreamy soap opera set in coastal Maine,  Dark Shadows . Often as a boy, I would wand...

2018 was a very good year!

In 2018 I made my biggest pro sale yet, selling a reprint of a short story for a cool 6 cents per word.

I picked up an honorable mention from editor supreme Ellen Datlow, for my tale "A Handful of Dust" which appeared in Weirdbook #35 (edited by Douglas Draa).

I also had work appearing in other magazines, including the premiere issue of Scath Beorh's Fear & Trembling.

My wife and fellow writer Wilma Espaillat English and I published our inspirational book Spiritual Boot Camp for Creators & Dreamers, and our book about the true meaning of hospitality, The Heart of an Angel, received a great review from Publishers Weekly!

I edited book 6 in the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet series. AND -- big job -- I edited 2 new issues of Black Infinity Magazine, the latest of which is the massive Body Snatchers! issue.

The first issue of Black Infinity debuted barely a month ago and I'm already hard at work constructing the second big issue which features Blobs, Globs, Slime & Spores.
Here's the preliminary cover of issue #2 due early 2018.

Here's a chance to pick up a print copy of Weirdbook #35 for a ridiculously low price. Amazon has the issue reduced to about $5. The magabook contains my eerie short story "A Handful of Dust." Grab one and give thanks for saving a lucky $7.

New article: 7 Weird Facts You Didn't Know About Comic Books

My new Comics article is now live at WhatCulture.com

7 Weird Facts You Didn't Know About Comic Books

Yet another great review of GASLIGHT ARCANUM: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes

Issue #28 of the UK magazine BLACK STATIC contains yet another great review of GASLIGHT ARCANUM: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes (edited by Charles Prepolec and J. R. Campbell for Edge SF and Fantasy Publishing). BLACK STATIC Contributing Editor Peter Tennant had previously listed the anthology among his 13 favorite reads of 2012 thus far. In his review column CASE NOTES, he gives a short review of each tale in GASLIGHT ARCANUM, and I'm still glowing over what he wrote about my story "The Dead Sin of Sherlock Holmes": "There is more supernatural fare with 'The Deadly Sin of Sherlock Holmes' by Tom English, with the genre standard of a cursed book here given a fresh coat of scarlet paint...." Tennant describes the story as "adroitly written and engaging, [the] horrors put over with aplomb." GASLIGHT ARCANUM can be purchased just about everywhere books are sold. Here's the Amazon link

What GASLIGHT ARCANUM readers and reviewers are saying about "The Deadly Sin of Sherlock Holmes"

“The Deadly Sin of Sherlock Holmes” by Tom English

“Eerily good fun, reminded me a bit of ACD's 'The Silver Hatchet'. This is one to get caught up in, and will send the shivers down your spine. Made all the better for it capturing the essence of Sherlock Holmes.... Investigation played out the way Holmes of Canon would have done, down to the last letter. Supernatural or no, this was a genuinely well-done pastiche.”

“The tale overall is very dark and contains quite a bit of conflict around the nature of faith and sin -- not a traditional Holmes story, but very good despite that.”

“...This tale builds tension with an engaging and original plot.”

“...A chilling & succinctly told tale....”

“...A clever twist that was both imaginative and chilling. I found it an excellent read.”

(Just one of a dozen stories in GASLIGHT ARCANUM: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes) 

(Quotes pulled from spoiler-laden reviews at TANGENTonline.com, FlamesRising.com, Examiner.com and Amazon.com)

What readers and reviewers are saying about GASLIGHT ARCANUM

Here's what readers and reviewers are saying about GASLIGHT ARCANUM: UNCANNY TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

From TANGENTonline.com

“...A strong collection, well worth the price.”

From FLAMESRISING.com

“I have been a Sherlock Holmes fan for as long as I have been able to read. ... So it’s no surprise that Flames Rising asked me if I wanted to review a (nearly) all-new anthology of “uncanny tales” featuring Sherlock Holmes. It’s even less of a surprise that I accepted. ...In such anthologies, I personally look for two elements: fidelity to the core of the characters and elements of the Holmes canon, and novelty to present a new take or slant on familiar faces. How does this new anthology hold up? ...Most of the stories are good for a variety of reasons, and the last two stories are absolutely worth the price of admission. If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes and novel approaches to well-loved characters, this anthology is well worth a look.” (4 out of 5 stars)

AT AMAZON.com (Here are quotes from 4 of the 6 reviews posted thus far. All 6 reviews are 4 or 5 star.)

“Campbell and Prepolec's 3rd eerie anthology:

This collection is the fifth by this pair of editors and it is, perhaps, their best yet. ...A few of the tales in this book can be explained by modern science and rational circumstances, but even that is not always comforting. All are interesting, some are exceptional and a few are unpleasant. ...certainly worth the price. ...The variety of tales is wide, with something (or things) for everyone's tastes.” (4 out of 5 stars)

“Chilling Compilation:

...Gaslight Arcanum was a very enjoyable, readable, and at times thrilling set of stories ranging from the uncanny, to supernatural to pulpy sci-fi.” “...FANTASTICALLY chilling ... more than worthwhile.” (4 out of 5 stars)

“Sherlock Holmes in the Twilight Zone:

...Puts the great detective in several bizarre situations that test the limits of his logic and skills. Several memorable and imaginative stories here with lots of plot twists and surprises! ...A good, fun read that's generally faithful to the spirit of Conan Doyles's original tales. Highly recommended!” (5 out of stars)

“Enjoyed Despite Myself:

I am not a huge fan of myth science fiction -- and some of these stories are truly grotesque and horrible. But I liked it. ...Disturbing stories -- yucky but really, truly, interesting. Holmes and Watson remaining true to character helped make the stories.

Worth the purchase and then some.” (4 out of 5 stars)

A Baker Street Dozen: GASLIGHT ARCANUM TOC

GASLIGHT ARCANUM: UNCANNY TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES is now available for pre-ordering at Amazon.com

I'm pleased to be a part of Gaslight Arcanum, the third in a series of anthologies that began with GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE: FANTASTIC TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (2008) and GASLIGHT GROTESQUE: NIGHTMARE TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009)--- both still available, by the way.

Gaslight Arcanum (edited by J.R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec)

Table of Contents:
Introduction by Charles Prepolec

"The Comfort of the Seine" by Stephen Volk
"The Adventure of Lucifer’s Footprints" by Christopher Fowler 
"The Deadly Sin of Sherlock Holmes" by Tom English
"The Colour that Came to Chiswick" by William Meikle
"A Country Death" by Simon K. Unsworth
"From the Tree of Time" by Fred Saberhagen
"Sherlock Holmes and the Diving Bell" by Simon Clark
"The Executioner" by Lawrence C. Connolly
"Sherlock Holmes and the Great Game" by Kevin Cockle
"The Greatest Mystery" by Paul Kane
"The House of Blood" by Tony Richards
"The Adventure of the Six Maledictions" by Kim Newman

Cover art by Dave ElseyFrontispiece by Mike Mignola
Published by EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy, September 2011

Writer's Quote:
"A trusty comrade is always of use; and a chronicler still more so."

---Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Interview at Bibliobuffet.com

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by David Mitchell at Bibliobuffet.com  We talked about books, ghost stories, the supernatural, and other things -- including the future of Dead Letter Press. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed doing it. We had a blast!

Happy Halloween, ghosts and goblins!

.
Writer's Quote:
"The act of writing requires a constant plunging back into the shadow of the past where time hovers ghostlike." ---Ralph Ellison 

Hardly elementary, my dear Watson!

I'm extremely proud to announce that my new story "The Deadly Sin of Sherlock Holmes" will be appearing in the anthology Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes, edited by Charles Prepolec and J. R. Campbell (to be published early 2011 by Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing of Calgary, Canada). Gaslight Arcanum is the third in a series of anthologies featuring stories pitting the Great Detective against the fantastic. (Gaslight Grimoire and Gaslight Grotesque are the first and second volumes in the series.) I'm absolutely thrilled about this! (Speechless, in fact, which is why I'm typing as fast as I can!) Holmes and Watson are among my favorite literary characters, and the Edge anthologies are class acts. Can't wait! I'll post the entire TOC once the editors announce it.

Writer's Quote:

"A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author." ---G.K. Chesterton

Vampire Awareness Month

I'll be joining several writers including Gary McMahon, Lisa Kessler, Amanda Pillar, Simon Marshall-Smith, Reece Notley, Peter Bell and Mark Deniz for Vampire Awareness Month, July 9 through August 8, 2010. We'll be discussing the undying popularity of the vampire in movies, books, folklore and pop-culture---among other things. I invite you to fold your bat-wings and drop in each day to read and respond to the latest article.

Writer's Quote:
"The coroner will find ink in my veins and blood on my typewriter keys."

---C. Astrid Weber  

DEAD SOULS at Amazon.com (and 1st Review)

You can now find Dead Souls at Amazon.com (and maybe even a few live ones, too!).

Also, the first review of this new anthology is now in:

"Dead Souls makes a journey within the human soul through time and space, taking the reader from the times of legend to a distant future, from the Northern European shores to the Far East. Mark S. Deniz gathers 25 stories that will not try to shock the reader through violent acts, but through a series of events that can change the human soul forever."

The reviewer describes my contribution to the anthology, the story "Dry Places", as "a quite violent and action packed story." Violent? Maybe, but certainly not graphic. Action packed? Well, I certainly don't want to bore my gentle readers. ;-) You can read the entire story-by-story review here.

Writer's Quote:

"There is no way of writing well and also of writing easily." --Anthony Trollope

INHUMAN is back with a vengeance!

Good things come to those who wait:

Following a three-year hiatus, Allen K's INHUMAN magazine has made an impressive comeback with issue #4 (now available for order at AllenK.com). Editor and illustrator Allen Koszowski has loaded this issue with tons of great fiction and cool art. Take a look at the lineup:

New tales by Chad Hensley and W.H. Pugmire, Justin Gustainis, Joseph Nassise, Lois H. Gresh, Bruce Boston, Steven Vernon, Mark McLaughlin, Mary SanGiovanni, Darren Speegle, Kiel Stuart, Darrell Schweitzer, Matt Cardin, C.J. Henderson and R.Allen Leider, Robert Swartwood, and Stephen Mark Rainey.

Vintage Horror stories by Joe R. Lansdale, Chet Williamson, and Robert Silverberg; plus an editorial by Allen K, an interview by John Pelan, and an article on the monsters of Stephen King by Bev Vincent.

Ugh, stop drooling on my blog and make the jump through cyberspace to Allen's website and get a copy!

Writer's Quote:
"Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very;' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be." --Mark Twain

My, how those evil books get around!

Here's another Twilight Zone tale about an evil book, adapted from the Manly Wade Wellman short story "The Valley was Still".

Writer's Quote:

"Every writer is a frustrated actor who recites his lines in the hidden auditorium of his skull." --Rod Serling

Cat on a Cold Stone Tomb (with apologies to Tennessee Williams)

The feline in this photo probably found this perch particularly fine.

I'm not sure exactly what it was that so captivated this creature, but I do know that my imagination ran wild over what appeared to be a black cat guarding a tomb. Poe would be pleased. I snapped this picture outside Bruton Parish Church in Colonial Williamsburg, VA. I also got a look at the name on the stone. (!) More to come of this.

.

Writer's Quote:

"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master." --Ernest Hemingway

You'll find DEAD SOULS at FANTASY CON 2009

The horror anthology Dead Souls (published by Morrigan Books) will be launched on September 19, 2009, at Fantasy Con in the Britannia Hotel in Nottingham, England.
I would love to be there for the book launch and signing, not to mention the opportunity to meet all the fabulous guests lined up by the British Fantasy Society, but given my present financial situation, a flight to the UK is completely out of the question. Not that I'll be too terribly missed, since the editor, Mark Deniz, will be on hand with several of the contributors, Paul Finch, Gary McMahon, Carole Johnstone, Rebecca Lloyd, and Ramsey Campbell(!!). So if you're in or near Nottingham on September 19, don't miss the opportunity to pick up a copy of a damned* good anthology signed by five fine fantasists!

*I say "damned good" because the anthology is full of stories about dead souls. Get it? Oh never mind. Get a copy and read my damn story, "Dry Places".

Writer's Quote:
"The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt." --Sylvia Plath

Weight of Glory

My luggage was a little heavier when I returned from Readercon a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately the extra poundage consisted mainly of a few books picked up at the con, and not one of those nifty hunks of highly polished glass bestowed by the Shirley Jackson Awards jury. I console myself by scanning the list of nominees (and winners) and recognizing just how stiff the competition truly was.

But I didn't come away from the awards ceremony empty handed. The jurors F. Brett Cox and Paul Tremblay, along with Awards Administrator JoAnn Cox (no relation to F. Brett Cox, by the way), paid homage to one of Shirley Jackson's best known stories, "The Lottery", by "stoning" the nominees who were present. Behold my rock (please see above photo, my dear Ozymandias) and despair! All kidding aside, I'm very proud of and very thankful for this keepsake. This engraved river stone now occupies a prominent spot on my desk, close to the wireless mouse, as a reminder that my anthology, Bound for Evil, was numbered with the best works of 2008. It's also a souvenir of the wonderful time I had at Readercon, hanging out with the finest people I know, readers and writers---book people. Um, it makes a nice paperweight, too!

Writer's Quote:
"The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes." ---Agatha Christie

Dead Souls Rising

The horror anthology Dead Souls is now available for pre-order at MorriganBooks.com.

The book is edited by Mark S. Deniz and is scheduled for an early September release. It contains 25 tales, including my story "Dry Places". And the cover creeps me out.

Table of Contents:
Bernie Mojzes - "The Collector"
T. A. Moore - "Licwiglunga"
Carole Johnstone - "The Blind Man"
Tom English - "Dry Places"
Sharon Irwin - "Begin with Water"
Robert Holt - "In the Name"
William Ward - "When they Come to Murder Me"
Chris Johnstone - "The Unbedreamed"
Elizabeth Barrette - "Goldenthread"
Catherine J. Gardner - "When the Cloak Falls"
Anna M. Lowther - "The Price of Peace"
James R. Stratton - "Your Duty to your Lord"
Kenneth C. Goldman - "Mercy Hathaway is a Witch"
Lisa Kessler - "Immortal Beloved"
Lisa Kessler - "Subito Piano"
Michael Stone - "The Migrant"
Robert Hood - "Sandcrawlers"
Reece Notley - "Tatsu"
L. J. Hayward - "Wayang Kulit"
Rebecca Lloyd - "Contaminator"
Ramsey Campbell - "The Dead Must Die"
Stephanie Campisi - "The Ringing Sound of Death on the Water Tank"
Paul Finch - "June"
Gary McMahon - "A Shade of Yellow"
Kaaron Warren - "The Blue Stream"

Writer's Quote:

"I try to leave out the parts that people skip." --Elmore Leonard

Interview at Shirley Jackson Awards blog

Charles Tan recently interviewed me about my Shirley Jackson Award-nominated anthology Bound for Evil. The interview is now posted on the Shirley Jackson Awards blog.

.

Writer's Quote:

"Be obscure clearly." --E.B. White