#Spooktober #BlogTour ‘After Sundown’ Edited by Mark Morris

About the book…

“This rich and masterful collection of horror highlights both up-and-coming and established authors in an interesting twist on the standard anthology […] Highly recommended for longstanding horror fans and those readers who may not think horror is for them. There is something for everyone in this one.” — Booklist

This new anthology contains 20 original horror stories, 16 of which have been commissioned from some of the top names in the genre, and 4 of which have been selected from the 100s of stories sent to Flame Tree during a 2-week open submissions window. It is the first of what will hopefully become an annual, non-themed horror anthology of entirely original stories, showcasing the very best short fiction that the genre has to offer.

Contents List:

Butterfly Island by CJ Tudor

Research by Tim Lebbon

Swanskin by Alison Littlewood

That’s The Spirit by Sarah Lotz

Gave by Michael Bailey

Wherever You Look by Ramsey Campbell

Same Time Next Year by Angela Slatter

Mine Seven by Elana Gomel

It Doesn’t Feel Right by Michael Marshall Smith

Creeping Ivy by Laura Purcell

Last Rites For The Fourth World by Rick Cross

We All Come Home by Simon Bestwick

The Importance Of Oral Hygiene by Robert Shearman

Bokeh by Thana Niveau

Murder Board by Grady Hendrix

Alice’s Rebellion by John Langan

The Mirror House by Jonathan Robbins Leon (https://jonathanrobbinsleon.com/)

The Naughty Step by Stephen Volk

A Hotel In Germany by Catriona Ward

Branch Line by Paul Finch

As always, huge thanks to Anne from Random Things Tours for the blogtour invite and gifted review copy of ‘After Sundown’,which is out now from Flametree Press. The contents page looks like a who’s who of modern , thrilling fiction, and I was very excited to get my teeth stuck into it.

From the first story to the last, there is a thread of continuity that joins very, very different stories-it reads like a dream with not one dud note to be found. The impression that is received after this very satisfied reader finished it, is that the editor, Mark, chose each story with extreme care and then used optimum placing to ensure a smooth transition between them.

Moving from body based horror, to apocalyptic terror, 19th century chills to subtle commentary on modern parenting that will have you side eyeing the school yard queue for quite some time (Michael Marshall Smith takes the morning routine and runs it through the ringer-footwear Vietnam is so incredibly relatable!)

What is great about anthologies can also be it;s worst enemy in that they can sometimes come across as overly rich and indulgent, but in the case of ‘After Sundown’, it is a showcase of talents that I am pretty sure will introduce writers to new readers-and vice versa. There are people here such as Angela Slatter and Rick Cross who I have never read before, and am keen to read more of. The mini biogs at the back recommend back catalogue reading, so start reading with a pen and paper close to hand.

Stories hit the supernatural bullseye with varying degrees of accuracy-some , like ‘Butterfly Island’ land right in the solar plexus whilst others, like ‘Swanskin’ and ‘Creeping Ivy’ contain a more cerebral, haunting quality which proves difficult to shake off.

As someone who read the ‘The Fontana Book Of Great Ghost Stories’ and ‘The Pan Book Of Horror Stories’ at far too young and impressionable an age, I have been looking, ever since, for a book series which invinces the kind of feelings that those anthologies did. In ‘After Sundown’ ,I got the feeling that this could be a series that delivers the same kind of thrills. Running the gamut of emotions as you read is such a joyful experience, it is like having a box of chocolates and losing the selection card-you take a risk with every bite and maybe you hope you don’t -or rather you do- take a bite of something gooey, bitter and somehow, familiar tasting….

About the editor…

Mark Morris became a full-time writer in 1988 on the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, and a year later saw the release of his first novel, ‘Toady’. He has since published a further sixteen novels, among which are ‘Stitch’, ‘The Immaculate’, ‘The Secret Of Anatomy’, ‘Fiddleback’, ‘The Deluge’

He has written tie-in novels for popular movies as well as orginal stories for ‘Doctor Who and ‘Torchwood’

His short stories, novellas, articles and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of anthologies and magazines, and he is editor of the highly-acclaimed Cinema Macabre, a book of fifty horror movie essays by genre luminaries, for which he won the 2007 British Fantasy Award.

His most recently published or forthcoming work includes Obsidian Heart trilogy and editing short story collections New Fears 1 and 2  for Titan Books.