Omens

There was something going on here. There were too many odd things going on in my life, all of them since the accident. Patterns and signs. I wondered if someone was playing around with me, trying to put the frighteners on me for some imagined insult. Maybe it was just someone in the village who […]

Gutshot

Gutshot marks Conrad Williams’ debut as an editor. It is an anthology of ‘Weird West’ stories to be published by PS Publishing some time in late 2011, if all goes well. The book will contain 20 original short stories from new and established authors and features stunning cover art by Caniglia. Here’s the close-to-finalised ToC […]

Total abstinence

I reached for the bottle of wine and felt my spine crack. Grey mist drizzled across my vision. The bolus of mashed breadsticks in my mouth caked the back of my throat; I couldn’t swallow it. Through the grain I saw the beak of the broken gull, bloodied and shuddering. I heard bubbles of air […]

Fish

Charlie released the slipknot and it all came slithering out. I reflexively stepped back and slipped on the wash of mucus and blood and brine. I went down hard on my backside as the tide of fish charged into me. Within seconds I was coated in a foam of slime. Charlie was laughing, his hand […]

Optophobia

He stood and watched through his ghastly orange mask, an ecstasy of bug-eyed pouting and ragged breathing, sweat turning the fabric of his coat patchy with dark. She would scoop up the soup or the stew or the risotto, and push away the plate with its blood-printed spoon, wishing she could conceal the cutlery from […]

Pain Management

The pills don’t cancel the pain, they just move it out of reach for a while. It’s still there, in view, like a dangerous thing put on a high shelf away from the children. And you can’t stop glancing at it. You know it will be returned to its normal place before long. Decide what […]

Visitants

Out now, a new anthology edited by Stephen Jones. Conrad’s contribution is called The Fold. “Jones lines up heavy hitters for this anthology of reprints dating back to 1914 as well as original tales about decidedly non-Hallmark angels… This wide-ranging anthology has something for every taste, from the light to the horrific, and is nicely […]

Calcium Cowboys

It was midnight when I turned the key in the lock. I listened for Ruth but could hear nothing. I went for a hot bath and crept into bed. I couldn’t get rid of the cold, even though the heating was on. I felt too tired to sleep. But then I woke up and I […]

Firestarter

BURN THIS FOR ME. I don’t spend too much time on the contents. It’s too much like prying. But sometimes you can’t avoid the objects that tumble out; they contain their own force, a fearful potential. A map of Alaska slashed with black biro. Aeronautical charts (which gave me pause) with their dense codes, vectors […]

Murmurations

I’m thrilled to announce that a story of mine, All Our Dead Heavens, will be published in what promises to be a beautiful, must-have anthology edited by Nicholas Royle and available in October this year from Two Ravens Press. All Our Dead Heavens is a reprint. It first appeared in an anthology called Sugar Sleep […]