#Titanuary #BookExtract ‘ThePlagueStones’ by James Brogden

One of Britain’s most foremost folk horror writers, James Brogden, has written 3 wonderful books published by Titan.

His last, ‘The Plague Stones’, is available on Kindle for a ridiculously low price of £1.79-not sure how long this will last so get clicking,folks!-and I am so pleased to bring you this extract.

*if you have Kindle Unlimited, it is free!*

The synopsis goes something like this…

”Fleeing from a traumatic break-in, Londoners Paul and Tricia Feenan sell up to escape to the isolated Holiwell village where Tricia has inherited a property. Scattered throughout the settlement are centuries-old stones used during the Great Plague as boundary markers. No plague-sufferer was permitted to pass them and enter the village. The plague diminished, and the village survived unscathed, but since then each year the village trustees have insisted on an ancient ceremony to renew the village boundaries, until a misguided act by the Feenans’ son then reminds the village that there is a reason traditions have been rigidly stuck to, and that all acts of betrayal, even those committed centuries ago, have consequences…”

How great does that sound?

Here is the extract-

”Peter knew this doorway shouldn’t be here. He’d been working on the site for almost six weeks and the floorplan variations of these units were as familiar to him as walking around his own home in the dark – and this doorway absolutely should not be here. Unless somehow he’d become turned around. Or the owners had ordered some customisations which would never see the light of day because nobody in their right mind would work on this unit.

This house is stillborn, he thought. Dead before it ever lived.

Still, this was the direction in which he’d heard the murmuring voices so this was the direction he had come.

‘Trish?’ he called. The concrete soaked up his voice – tasted and swallowed it without echo.

Whatever this chamber’s intended function, it was large, most likely the living room. Sheets of shredded plastic hung down from the ceiling joists, making it hard to be sure, but it looked like there was a group of people standing in a little cluster at the far end.

‘Reverend Dobson?’

Then Trish’s voice, screaming, ‘Peter!’

Coming from behind him.

He spun around as she lunged out from another doorway opposite and fell into his arms, gasping and sobbing. Behind her hurried the reverend and the rest of the group, asking if she was okay, what was the matter, was she all right?

‘I’m sorry,’ she gasped. ‘I just, I think I had. Anxiety attack. Just, oh God, can we please just leave?’

‘Peter,’ said Reverend Dobson, ‘maybe you should take Trish outside for some fresh air.’

He nodded. ‘Maybe we should all leave. This place is wrong.’ Who had those other people been? Had they been real? Shadows cast by the plastic sheeting? Was he simply going crazy?

The reverend shook her head. ‘We knew there would be resistance. This only proves how right we were to come here in the first place. We must be strong in our faith and our trust in each other.’

‘Great. You do that. But I’m telling you, this was a mistake.’

Then Nash started in. ‘Peter—’

‘Where’s Donna?’ asked Pankowicz, looking around.

‘Didn’t she come out with the rest of you?’ replied Trish.

Dobson turned back to the small room that they’d just left. ‘Donna!’ she called.

In response came the sound of a girl’s voice, singing. It was accompanied by harsh, rhythmic scratching sounds, as if two bricks were being grated together repeatedly. The reverend entered the room first, her cross held high, the others close behind.”

This is the only one of Jame’s books that I don’t currently own so you can bet I will be snapping this up, how about you?

And in 2020, this is what we have to look forward to also from Titan-‘Bone Harvest’ on May 12th!

About the author…

James Brogden is a writer of horror and dark fantasy. A part-time Australian who grew up in Tasmania and the Cumbrian Borders, he has since escaped to suburbia and now lives with his wife and two daughters in the Midlands, where he teaches English. When not writing or teaching he can usually be found up a hill, poking around stone circles and burial mounds. He also owns more lego than is strictly necessary.

His short stories have appeared in various anthologies and periodicals ranging from The Big Issue to the BFS Award-Winning Alchemy Press. His  recent novel, ‘‘The Hollow Tree‘ was published by Titan Books in March 2018,following his well received debut, ‘Hekla’s Children’ and his new novel ‘The Plague Stones’ was published in 2019.

Links-http://jamesbrogden.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter @skippybe @TitanBooks