Contemporary British Horror Fans discussion

This folder is for discussing David Haynes. Please add a new topic for each book.

Hi, thanks for visiting.
I'm an independent fiction writer born and raised in Derbyshire in the U.K.
I still live there with my wife, son and gentle, yet simple minded, retired greyhound.

My love for books came at a very early age and has never ceased. Writing was a later development, although not by much. My first memory of writing stories was on an old typewriter with half of the keys missing.

Apart from writing and reading, I enjoy sports, particularly cricket. I've never given up on the hope that one day I'll get a call from the English chairman of selectors.
"Dave, we've got a problem. Can you get down to Lords and open the batting?"

"I'll just finish writing this chapter, then I'll be there."

I'd love to hear from you about anything, so use the contact page and send me a message.
Thanks
Dave

Why is it that Horror lit is sometimes disregarded as 'neither serious or legitimate' as works of modern literature? Recently I was having dinner with some relatives and we were discussing books.

I told them what I'd written recently and was greeted with. 'Ah yes, but when are you going to write another proper book?'

'A proper book?' I asked, confused.

'Yes, you know, a thriller or something. Even better' what about some romance!'

Hmph! It's not the first time something like that has happened either.

Until I started writing horror, I didn't know people felt like that. Disappointing and disappointed.

One of the reasons why for years I kept it to myself that I wrote books. I think a lot of people have a poor view of horror because it is often considered formulaic and designed purely for shock value etc, whereas in reality 95% of books in all genres are formulaic and designed specifically to appeal to the majority of their catchment audience. Personally I let the books and the reviews from strangers speak for me.

Absolutely. Its as legitimate as any other genre in my opinion. Its a smaller market than thriller or romance but that doesn't make it any less genuine.

There will always be more bad books in every genre than good ones, but for some reason people single out horror as having more trash. No idea why. It's not like its a niche market. Horror movies are as popular as anything else.

By the way, I grabbed the sample of The Swimmer because its set in Cornwall and it sounded interesting. You write well. I've added it to my list.

Thanks, Chris!
Of course, what we really need is a good Horror/cricket story. Hope we don't get one this summer!

Have you seen the Aussie squad? If we can't batter that group of Dad's Army age-alikes then there really is no hope ...

Yep, it's one of the weakest I've seen for some time. It's just... it's the Aussies and you never really know if they're going to turn it on. Not that I think they can or will win but there's still that seed of doubt in the back of my mind. There always is when England play.

They shouldn't win. However, we're not performing nearly as well as we should be, which suggests we're not as good as we think. I think Bell and the No.6 need to step up a little (although Bell did in the last game) and our bowlers need to fire. Personally I'd like to see James Taylor get a run as I think he's quality. Should be tough for the Aussies to get through our batting line up though.

Interesting that they've turned to the old boys. One of my friends in Japan is an Aussie and actually played youth cricket with Chris Rogers. His opinion was "he was decent but nothing special". Kind of sums up their team at the moment, haha.

Chris Rogers was the skipper at my county, Derbyshire for a while. He shone here because we were pretty dismal back then. Not now, of course we're back in the first division! But yes, comparitavely, he's good but not exceptional.

I've never been a massive fan of Bell, he's get bags of talent and on his day is as good as anyone but he makes me feel uneasy. Like he's always likely to give it away and not be got out.
Taylor should be an ever present now. i watched him on the youth tours etc and he was a cut above. They need to get him in and leave him in the team for a good run to see what he can really do.

Yeah, I don't see a lot of cricket but I saw Taylor get 34 I think last year and he looked solid. I like Bairstow, Root, Compton etc, but I think Taylor's better than any of them and really can't see how he ended up at the bottom of the pecking order. I think Bairstow has the potential to be a bit of a Pietersen at No.4 (but not as good) while Root will maybe end up as an opener, but Taylor could be our No.3 for the next ten years. As a Somerset fan I want to see Nicky Compton do well but he's a bit of a Collingwood. He'll be gritty for a year or two but he's only a short term option really.

I agree, Root will be the next opener, he looks as good as anyone I've seen for a while and has definatley got the temperament. I think Compton will be an important player for England. He's got the right temperament too, just like Collingwood.

All this talk is getting me excited about the summer!

I am about half way through the first draft of my new book, entitled A Séance of Souls. It is likely to be novella length on completion and will continue my current theme of Victorian/gothic horror. The cover has been commissioned and will also continue the theme, although subtly different to reflect the length and also the differences in structure. I'm not giving away the plot but this story concentrates on one man and his family rather than from differing viewpoints.

There are some threads from both Ballet of the Bones and Mask of the Macabre in there, but as before, is also a stand-alone book.

I'm enjoying writing it again and the depth of material and inspiration from that era is incredible. Is it any wonder that many Victorian writers on both sides of the Atlantic wrote some truly wonderfully dark tales?

I'm not setting a release date in stone, just yet, but hopefully in the next couple of weeks Ill be able to give a more accurate time scale.

Hi,
I'm delighted to announce the release of my new book.



Seance of the Souls

January 7th 1855

A boy weeps beside the grave of his dead father; his infant sister clings to his leg. It is another pitiless blow for a life already stained with blood.

When all those you hold dear have been taken from you, where do you find solace?

In the arms of the dead, for the living no longer care.

This is novella length and totals approximately, 21,500 words

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seance-of-the...

http://www.amazon.com/Seance-of-the-S...

Oh and it's 99p or $1.99

Bought and next on my TBR list.

You're a good man, Michael. Thank you

I'm very excited to say I'm the "Author of the Day" on Indie Book Bargains.
http://www.indie-book-bargains.co.uk/...

Seance of the Souls is the featured new release too!

Nice work - I hope it gives you a boost.

Cheers, that would be most welcome!

I've started creating a new blog for my writing. Here it is and if you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free!

Im still waiting for the official banner.

http://macabrecollection.blogspot.co.uk/

To celebrate the official launch of my new blog, complete with new banner, I've interviewed the hugely talented artist Michaela Margetts. Michaela designed all three covers for The Macabre Collection and the banner for the site.

http://macabrecollection.blogspot.co.uk/

I was interviewed by fellow writer, Michael Brookes on his blog yesterday. Thanks Michael! Here's the link,

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

Macabre Collection Box Set

After much deliberation I decided to go ahead with the release of The Macabre Collection. It contains the three stories, Mask of the Macabre, Ballet of the Bones and Seance of the Souls.

It wasn't something I set out to do when I first started writing Mask, indeed when I started writing Mask I didn't know if I would do another similar story or if anyone would want to read it!


I have no idea if this will be a success but it is better value for money, being priced at £1.99 or $2.99.

My only concern is the risk of alienating those who bought the books separately but then again I've bought books and then found them for free or cheaper a few weeks later and it doesn't upset me. I shall keep my tin hat close, just in case and if it does upset people, I apologise.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D7EJQUQ

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00D7EJQUQ

Michaela Margetts once again did a brilliant job, her website can be found here, https://www.facebook.com/MMillustrations

I was interrogated by top book reviewer Joo. Here's the link to her blog

http://joobook.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06...

I quite like the Mr Macabre moniker!

Fantastic news!

I’ve been awarded 2nd place in the inaugural Cult of Me short story competition. My entry was titled, "Pick a Cup."

Follow the link to see the winning stories.

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/p/j...

I'm delighted!

Hi, I posted a blog about my forthcoming book, The Scream of Angels.

The story is set in Paris in 1900 and there was no shortage of inspiration!

http://macabrecollection.blogspot.co.uk

Stop teasing us and finish it already!

:-)

It's having a coat of looking at by a trusted friend, as we speak!

Excellent.