gothic

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Dark Imaginings: Gothic Tales of Wonder

image from Dark Imaginings at Melbourne Uni
 
What a wonderful title for an exhibition — how can you resist? For the University of Melbourne has prepared just such a show, running 1 March to 31 July.

It features artists, body snatchers, and some of the renowned writers and poets, and trick photography and magic lantern slides to get a little ghosty.

As well as wonderful art, there will also be some events, such as a curator’s talk, a workshop on writing horror/Gothic with Dmetri Kakmi (he knows his stuff, people!), lectures by Mary Luckhurst and Ken Gelder (on vampires!), and an “in conversation”.

This last item includes Kirstyn McDermott, Michelle Goldsmith, Narrelle Harris and yours truly, hosted by Louise Swinn (of Sleepers Publishing and Stella Prize fame, amongst other things).

We’ll be yarning about speculative fiction noon-1pm on 14 June at the uni’s Parkville campus: details and bookings here.

All events are free but bookings are required. More here on Dark Imaginings.
 

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We have launch: Shadows on the Wall by Steven Paulsen

Steve Paulsen launches his collection Shadows on the Wall

Steve and Kirstyn


 
Kirstyn and I were stoked to be asked to launch Steve Paulsen‘s Shadows on the Wall, a collection of 14 spooky, at times extremely poignant, occasionally funny short stories penned over the past 30 years.

The launch was held yesterday at the Printers Room, the new home of Words Out Loud in Ballarat, and what a splendid venue it is. It was an excellent launch, with an eager and appreciative audience helping to celebrate the milestone. (Steve had a Melbourne launch earlier in the week, shared with IFWG stablemate and fellow good guy Jason Franks.)

The picture above is of Kirstyn and Steve chatting about the book and his career to date: very gratifying to hear he has more tales on the drawing board, and one might just be set in Ballarat!

Find out more about the book, and where to snaffle a copy, at Steve’s website.
 

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Dreaming in the Dark: seeing the light in Brisbane

dreaming in the dark

A reminder, friends: I’m chuffed to be attending the Brisbane launch of the Dreaming in the Dark anthology, edited by Jack Dann and published by UK-based PS Publishing. Still gotta pinch myself when I look at the contributors to this epic tome of Aussie speculative fiction.

So yes, it’s worth a party with contributors (edited to add more — huzzah!) Veny Armanno, Paul Brandon, Kirstyn McDermott, Angela Slatter, Janeen Webb, Kim Wilkins and me in attendance; Paul and Sarah Calderwood will provide some musical atmosphere; Jack will do his thing; the book will be launched and you’ll be able to get your copy signed by a third of the contributors in one fell swoop!

Please join us, at Dymocks Brisbane in Albert St, on Thursday 8 December from 6pm. It’s free, but RSVPs are being taken here.

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Dreaming in the Dark: shining a light on Australian speculative fiction

dreaming in the darkThis is an exciting anthology of Australian speculative fiction. Back in 1998, Jack Dann and Janeen Webb put together Dreaming Down Under, an anthology that helped shine a light on the speculative fiction talent in Australia. Then, in 2010, Jack revisited the field in Dreaming Again: 35 yarns, of which I was privileged to have contributed one. And now he’s combined with PS Publishing to produce a new taster of established and up-and-coming writers: Dreaming in the Dark. Check out the contributors list below! Here’s the link to order this gorgeous tome. Launches are in the works, but why not get your order in while it’s hot? The signed, slipcased editions are limited to 200 and they look pretty darn fancy.

Introduction: Welcome to the Golden Age: an Introduction of Sorts
JACK DANN

Sing, My Murdered Darlings
SEAN WILLIAMS

Falling Angel
PAUL BRANDON

Martian Triptych
JAMES BRADLEY

Northerner’s Farewell
RJURIK DAVIDSON

Midnight in the Graffiti Tunnel
TERRY DOWLING

A Right Pretty Mate
LISA L. HANNETT

Eromon No More
JASON NAHRUNG

Luv Story
KIM WESTWOOD

The Luminarium Tower
SEAN MCMULLEN

Neither Time Nor Tears
ANGELA SLATTER

His Shining Day
RICHARD HARLAND

The Liquid Palace
ADAM BROWNE

Heat Treatment
VENERO ARMANNO

Snowflakes All the Way Down
ROSALEEN LOVE

Served Cold
ALAN BAXTER

The Dog Who’d Been Dead
ANNA TAMBOUR

Fade to Grey
JANEEN WEBB

All Those Superpowers and What Are They Good For?
GARTH NIX

Burnt Sugar
KIRSTYN MCDERMOTT

In Hornhead Wood
KIM WILKINS

Moonshine
SIMON BROWN

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Forged in Blood — now free in ebook formats!

forged in blood vampire storyLast month I staked out a free short story on my website to mark the anniversary of the release of the two Vampires in the Sunshine Country books by Clan Destine Press. But the story, a backgrounder to one of the key characters, was only in PDF because that’s as much as I could get my head around.

Well, CDP has come to the rescue, and now mobi and epub versions are available on the CDP website, iTunes or Amazon (sadly, my website host doesn’t allow these formats, but the PDF is available there). These are free, except, I’m told, on Amazon, where the store imposes a fee (boo!). This means it has an ISBN — yes, it’s a “real” story now! Hope you enjoy!

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Happy birthday, Kevin the vampire! Here’s a free story to celebrate with

forged in blood vampire storyTo mark the first-year anniversary of the launch of the Vampires in the Sunburnt Country duology, I thought I’d open the window to a secretive event in the life of Kevin’s nemesis, the Hunter Phillip Reece.

The story was written in 2011 as I was coming to grips with Reece’s background. The event detailed in the story, set in 1970s Brisbane, is never explained in either Blood and Dust or The Big Smoke, but is alluded to as Reece looks back at his long history with the villainous Mira.

It was a fun and effective way to explore the characters’ first meeting, even though much of the detail never made it into either book because it simply wasn’t needed. But I like to think it gave those few references emotional depth and, of course, consistency.

Find out more and read the story in PDF here

UPDATE: as of 7 July 2016, free mobi and epub versions of the story are available at the Clan Destine Press website!

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More Aussie vampire deals!

the big smoke by jason nahrungblood and dust by jason nahrungClan Destine Press has extended its 50 per cent off sale through to the end of April. That means half-price books or, if you like, both books in the Vampires in the Sunburnt Country duology for the price of one. $27 for Blood and Dust and The Big Smoke in paperback. Or $6 all up for B&S and TBS in ebook. You might also like to check out the vampire novel from Narrelle M Harris, Walking Shadows (decidedly tasty!).

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2 for 1 Aussie vampire deal – last days

the big smoke by jason nahrungblood and dust by jason nahrungJust a reminder that Clan Destine Press is offering 50 per cent off all stock until March 31. That means half-price books or, if you like, both books in the Vampires in the Sunburnt Country duology for the price of one! $27 for Blood and Dust and The Big Smoke in paperback. Or $6 all up for B&S and TBS in ebook. Stake ’em out while you can!

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2 for 1 Aussie vampire deal

the big smoke by jason nahrungblood and dust by jason nahrungClan Destine Press is offering 50 per cent off all stock until March 31. That means half-price books or, if you like, both books in the Vampires in the Sunburnt Country duology for the price of one. $27 for Blood and Dust and The Big Smoke in paperback. Or $6 all up for B&S and TBS in ebook. Killer!