Stephanie Ellis - Writings from Wrexham
It’s been a strange year. I feel as though I’ve drifted along for much of the time due to health issues which culminated in surgery a couple of weeks back. But with that behind me, I’m taking stock - and it seems I’m in a good place! Not bad for someone turning 59 on the 15th of this month!
Elgin Award Nomination - Foundlings
I was so pleased to be officially notified the other week that the found poetry collection, Foundlings, co-authored by myself and Cindy O’Quinn, has been nominated for an Elgin award by the SFPA. Voting opens July 1st and closes September 15th.
This collection was sourced from the poetry of dark masters Linda D. Addison and Alessandro Manzetti who also wrote the Foreword. We regard this nomination as much theirs as it is ours. This was a wonderful bit of news to receive in April considering it was National Poetry Month!
The other bit of poetry news is the release of Crystal Lake Publishing’s Shakespeare Unleashed which contains my found poem, “Usurping Monster”, sourced from his play, King John. I can’t wait to get my author copy of this gorgeous book!
Of Novels and Novellas
The Woodcutter
My new folk horror, The Woodcutter, is due out in August and is quite different to my Five Turns of the Wheel series. Playing with an old legend, a rural reality show and an unreliable narrator or two, it’s merged the psychological with the supernatural in a deliberate attempt to keep the reader guessing.
A tragic accident, shrouded in mystery, leads to a family reunion in the hidden village of Little Hatchet, locatedin the smothering shadow of GodBeGone Wood, the home of the mythical Woodcutter and Grandma. Alec Eades rediscovers his bond with GodBeGone Wood and the future his father agreed to years ago as nefarious landowner Oliver Hayward schemes to raise money for the village by re-enacting part of the Woodcutter legend. Old wounds are re-opened and ties of blood and friendship are tested to the extreme when the Woodcutter is summoned and Grandma returns.
Note: I’ve also set myself a challenge to create something especially for the launch of this book. Whether I’ve made a rod for my own back remains to be seen. It is a visual, I think I can do it … you’ll soon find out if I don’t!
Women of the Witch Eye
I am currently querying agents with this dark piece of historical fiction. No luck so far, but I’ll keep pushing. At 88,000 words it is one of the longest I’ve written but one which has allowed me to combine my love of history with dark fiction. It’s also been submitted to a couple of publishers. The waiting is one of the worst parts of a writers’ life!
What is it about? Set during the chaos of the months following the execution of Charles I in 1649, it is a tale of murder, mystery and the ongoing story of the Pendle witch trials.
John Milton, poet, but also secretary to Oliver Cromwell’s Council, is sent to Lancashire to report on troops in the area and to investigate the recent disappearance of his cousin. In doing so, he crosses paths with Jennet Device, a woman, who, as a child had sent her family to the gallows during those infamous trials. For her, it seems history is repeating although this time the noose will be around her own neck. Accused of murder, it is for Milton to discover the truth and save her.
Enough Rope
This novella was written in the same world as Asylum of Shadows and a gothic novel, A Fragile Thing (the latter as yet unpublished). It’s currently on submission but me being me with itchy feet and the years passing very quickly, I might just put it out myself in a few months!
It is a gothic horror set in the East End of London at the time of the Ripper murders, although it is not a Jack the Ripper story it will appeal to those who enjoy this popular sub-genre. With supernatural elements, it tells a tale of poverty, love and revenge in the London Docks and the lodgings of the ‘two-penny rope’. The rope is the snake which weaves its way through the London fog, gathering up its victims as it goes. And personally, I think it is a pretty creepy tale!
Short Story Collection
As mentioned last time, Devil Kin, is due out on May 15th. It contains six previously published stories and 13 brand new tales, one of which is a novelette.
Short Stories
Three stories are currently out:
Arthropoda Anthology (Perennial Press): Hybrid - a tale of human mutation involving Daddy Long Legs. My phobia made flesh!
The Old Ways Vol 1 (Eerie River Publishing): Bringing in the May - a May Day folk horror set in the universe of Reborn, the sequel to The Five Turns of the Wheel. Do you want to go gathering nuts in May?
Legends and Lore (Encyclopocalypse): Invitation to the Feast. A modern retelling of the Norse myth of the Sæhrímnir and the feast of the warriors in Valhalla. The anthology is due out 4th August and review copies are available from Book Sirens.
I also have three more short stories due for publication, spookily these are all either linked to Norse/Scandinavian mythology in some form. One, I might add, is not horror but a somewhat humorous update.
Work in Progress
Whilst I hope to do one or two more short stories this year and work on individual poems, I do have two main projects:
Horror Novella in Verse. This slasher novella is moving on apace. Co-authored with Shane Douglas Keene, we’ve melded free verse, sonnets, prose poetry, murder ballads and even the odd limerick or two. It is something we both feel to be unique and are thoroughly enjoying writing. I would say it’s probably about half-way there now. I can’t wait to share details properly when this epic is completed!
Five Turns Series. The next book in the Five Turns universe has been started although I have had to put it aside a bit because of the above project and the ongoing health issues. Really hoping to get back into it now. Writing a Yule-themed story in the summer months will be an interesting experience.
Are You an Indie Writer or Small Press Publisher?
If you are not aware, I prepare HorrorTree.com’s weekly Indie Bookshelf Releases Post. It comes out every Friday and I post book covers and links for all recently released or upcoming books. Our priorities are those in the indie community, the self-published, the small presses. The bookshelves hold horror, sci-fi, fantasy, poetry, anything which has a dark edge to it. I also include kickstarters, magazines and author services for those who need an income boost. It’s free promo and something to help everybody. You can let me know about your books via contact@horrortree.com
I hope you find something in the above you would like to read, but remember you can also go over to Horror Tree and check out the Indie Bookshelf Releases post. There’s a huge selection to choose from!
Steph