A Midsummer's Pause

The sun came out on Wednesday, putting an end to what the papers have been calling June-uary. A couple of days in London with my husband visiting family was a lovely break, and we were fortunate to see Les Miserables - an early 60th birthday present to my husband from his sister and her wife. Then it was off to see a student production of The Crucible at City Lit where my sister-in-law works as stage manager. Unfortunately, she went down with covid so we had to go and watch it without her. And the culture continued on our return home with a day out in Chester to see the Midsummer Watch, a revival of a 500-year-old tradition of a parade of giants. We managed to get a place in the Rows, so you can see this particular puppet was pretty tall.

My final bit of escape from the online world was a trip to the cinema to watch Ghost’s film, Rite Here, Rite Now. I’ve seen them live twice, and this film is setting us up for a new Papa. Can’t wait until they tour again.

But this sort of break is unusual for me, so I am now back at my desk, back at work, and here with a few announcements!

Upcoming Releases

Novel, novelette, short stories, poetry are all slated for the next few months. Some via publisher, some self-published. This is the freedom of the hybrid life!

The Barricade

My latest novel, The Barricade is due for release in August via Lycan Valley Press. A pre-order package of paperback, ebook and audio is available here.

‘When the world threatened to end, a select few went into an underground complex and left those above to survive any way they could. Scientist Faith Hamilton and her grown daughter Josie are two of the abandoned. A Barricade around the entrance to the bunker ensures those below would never be allowed out. Twenty years later they start hearing strange voices, seeing shadows within. Those below start to appear in the inner circle of the Barricade asking to be let out. Those above still refuse. Faith and her friends discover it hasn’t isolated them as they thought, that in fact there has been communication and manipulation by those underground all this time.’

Early reviews of The Barricade:

“Stephanie Ellis worms her way under your skin with The Barricade, a monstrously grim dystopian tale exposing the human condition with all its frailties. Uncovering themes of abandonment, trauma, and mental health The Barricade examines exactly how far we might be prepared to go to survive the impossible, both as individuals and as a species. Provocative and compelling.” —Lee Murray, five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Grotesque: Monster Stories

“In The Barricade, Ellis presents the worst kind of dystopia: one which is all too believable, especially in the actions of the few who remain. With a diverse cast, and a compellingly underrepresented choice of protagonist, the author's unique voice and perspective bring this post-apocalyptic world to chilling life.” – Kev Harrison, author of Shadow of the Hidden.

“With The Barricade, Stephanie Ellis has created a story where the strength of older women is celebrated. Topics usually shied away from, such as menopause, are part of the story just as they are part of everyday life for many of us. Her heroines are human, and it's the limitations they overcome that make them special. A riveting story that doesn't flinch from the worst in us and, in spite of this, somehow left me feeling stronger. An empowering narrative that will lodge in your thoughts for a long while.” —Angela Yuriko Smith, 2x Bram Stoker Award® Winner

Darklings

My self-imposed challenge continues with novelettes up for order or pre-order through to August. September’s is written and just needs links to make it available. I have also put up Darklings I, an omnibus edition which collects all Darklings up to, and including, June. The novelettes cover a variety of subgenres with something to suit most dark tastes. More information can be found here.

Wish me luck with trying to write the final three! And there will be a Darklings II omnibus as well.

National Poetry Month - Dracula Found

I was a bit late to National Poetry Month this year but wanted to do something, and so I decided to write found poetry culled from the pages of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Every day, from the 6th April, I put the poems up as short videos on YouTube and TikTok, using image/video/music from Pixabay and Pexels.com, and using ClipChamp software. (For those interested, this is all free stuff and easy to use.) TikTok was an interesting experiment, and during April a number of my poems received several hundred views, though figures dropped after - algorithms at work!

I did not, however, stop at the end of April. Instead, I continued until I’d completed the book, compiling the poems as I went along. I now have my own version of Dracula - in found form - almost ready to publish. The print version is coming out first and it was very much another experiment for me in terms of using colour and playing with layout. I’m always learning something new in formatting and want to continue to do more. There is absolutely nothing wrong in doing something for yourself (but please avoid AI like the plague!). The price for the print will be a bit higher than usual as I’m trying amazon’s premium quality paper for colour. I have the proof copy, a few tweaks needed, and it’ll be up; hopefully, I’ll get the ebook sorted soon after.

I think this project shows how you can create something tangible from what was initially a writing exercise.

Short Stories, Poetry and Non-fiction

Yes, I have more out, coming out, or ‘accepted but I can’t say anything’. A recent announcement was for my short story, ‘Cast Down’, a retelling of the story of Odin and Hel, for Flame Tree Press’ Odin anthology. You can read more here.

Of the above, Death’s Other Kingdom is the only one currently out. If historical horror is your thing, this one’s for you. I have written another historical horror which has been accepted by a publisher, but I can’t say anything at the moment. History is a love of mine and I’ll probably write a lot more in that genre, whether it be horror or simply ‘dark’.

In Progress

The horror novella in verse might, just might, be finished soon. But I will say no more on that in case I jinx it!

I have recently started work on a co-authored novel which is something else I can’t say too much about at the moment. At least not until it’s finished.

My alternative history novel has sadly been neglected because of my Darklings challenge, plus Dracula Found. However, I fully intend to get back to that one and have some fun with certain historical characters. I think I left it with a body in the library … no cliches there! I had written about 30,000 words, so I was well into it and I do intend to finish that before the end of the year (famous last words).

Plans?

Too many. I need to organise bookfunnel, update website, sort out selling ebooks myself, and do ‘stuff’ that’s not writing and which I find so very frustrating.

Intended novels:

Genesis - the story of Genesis Caul, the supernatural, demonic figure who lurks in the shadows of my East End gothic stories.

Women of the Witch Eye II - not its title, but the follow up to the first (which is still on sub), taking Jennet Device (survivor of witchcraft trial) to London with John Milton and his family. Set at the time of the Putney Debates, this is London almost under martial law.

Those are the two I want to write next, but … I also have an idea for new folk horror, and a new gothic - the latter being based on a character from Dickens’ work. So, what actually appears out of these plans is anyone’s guess.

I have also factored in some time for proofing, formatting, and editing work, so the upcoming months are very busy. Ooh, and there might be another poetry collaboration in the pipeline as well …

What I’ve Been Reading

A lot, but I’ll recommend these three in particular:

Inujini by Angela Yuriko Smith. I read this a little while ago and put a review up on Horror Tree, but I’m mentioning it now as it’s just been released!

The Dark Between the Twilight by Jamal Hodge is a fantastic, powerful and very personal debut poetry collection. This is another work which I had the privilege to review at Horror Tree.

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. This was my birthday book and I devoured it in a couple of days. A brutal, moving ghost story which kept me turning the pages. She is a masterful storyteller.

And that’s a wrap! As always, thank you for reading this and for picking up my books from time to time.

Steph