A Hazy Shade of Winter

by Simon Bestwick

'This book is the first collection of Simon Bestwick's tales of supernatural horror,' writes Joel lane, in his introduction to A HAZY SHADE OF WINTER. 'I don't think it will be the last. These stories . . . are disturbing, emotionally frank, thematically diverse, and rich in descriptive skill. Bestwick allies traditional story-structures with an uncompromising modernity of outlook.'

Like his contemporaries Terry Lamsley, Paul Finch, and Tim Lebbon, Simon Bestwick combines a respect for, and a knowledge of, the classic ghost story with a voice which is concerned with the way we live now. The characters in his stories find themselves in landscapes—both physical and mental—that are immediately and recognizably modern, but which contain terrors which are universal and timeless. In Bestwick's world, an innocent walk in unfamiliar surroundings becomes a journey into a nightmare; a stranded tourist faces a bizarre challenge; a harassed employee takes a desperate revenge on her employer; and a secondhand book of ghost stories becomes the instrument of a malevolent, restless spirit. Nothing is quite what it seems; and the line which separates us from something much worse often vanishes altogether.

211 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 4, 2004

About the author

Simon Bestwick was born in Wolverhampton in 1974. He has worked in various jobs, from fast food operative through drama teacher to training administrator. His short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Nasty Piece of Work, All Hallows, Darkness Rising, Extremes 5, and Beneath the Ground. He lives in Swinton, Lancashire, and when not writing can be found indulging his interests: walking, films, literature, rock, folk, and jazz music, good food, and the occasional pint.