GUEST POST: Four Methods of Travel in BARRICADE: Kenstibec’s Guide by JON WALLACE

Name: JON WALLACE Author of: BARRICADE (2014) On the web: thingaboutchickens.blogspot.co.uk On Twitter: @Jon__Wallace Kenstibec is the main character in Barricade. He is a member of the ‘Ficial’ race, a breed of merciless super-humans optimised for soldiering, engineering and other vital roles. They fought a war against humanity and turned Britain into a wasteland. Now […]

GUEST POST: Writing About Drugs in the 60s by WILLIAM SHAW

Name: WILLIAM SHAW Author of: A SONG FROM DEAD LIPS (2013) A HOUSE OF KNIVES (2014) On the web: williamshaw.com On Twitter: @william1shaw Photograph © Ellen Shaw When you write a book about recent history, what’s important is the difference between then and now. There are the blindingly obvious differences. Want to set […]

#CarrieAt40: Start at the Beginning by ROB CHILVER

ROB CHILVER On the web: http://www.adventureswithwords.com On Twitter: @robchilver As a bookseller, I often see young teenagers hovering around the horror section shelves. On some occasions they stride confidently towards them, certain of what book to pick while at other moments, they waver halfway, around the ‘K’, a wide expanse of books to choose from, […]

#CarrieAt40: Forever Young and Bloody by ANDREW PYPER

ANDREW PYPER On the web: http://www.andrewpyper.com On Twitter: @andrewpyper Turning forty, that at once arbitrary but inarguable line between youth and mid-life, invites all manner of introspection, almost all of it unwelcome. I know, I had my turn at it a couple years ago. And no matter how strenuously and logically you tell yourself (and […]

#CarrieAt40: Ghosts of Smoke & Fire by KEALAN PATRICK BURKE

KEALAN PATRICK BURKE On the web: http://www.kealanpatrickburke.com On Twitter: @KealanBurke When I was eight years old, I snuck into my mother’s bedroom while she was shopping, and swiped her copy of Stephen King’s Pet Semetery from her nightstand. This simple act of thievery opened the doors of horror, writing, and imagination to me in a […]

#CarrieAt40: Bringing the Weird Home by MICHAEL MARSHALL SMITH

MICHAEL MARSHALL SMITH On the web: http://www.michaelmarshallsmith.com On Twitter: @ememess There’s no doubt that horror fiction — and commercial fiction in general — would have been very different without the novel Carrie. Of course there were writers who’d blazed the trail — Richard Matheson and Ira Levin are two obvious examples — but in terms […]

#CarrieAt40: Fear by LOU SYTSMA

LOU SYTSMA On the web: http://www.liljas-library.com/podcast.php On Twitter: (Lou Sytsma) @OldDarth (The Stephen King Podcast) @SKingPodcast Fear. For over four decades, Stephen King has been the choice of many a Constant Reader to be our Guide into our deepest fears. But we didn’t put our trust in King freely. He earned it. With each […]

#CarrieAt40: Dancing to Stephen King’s Tune by SIMON TOYNE

SIMON TOYNE On the web: http://www.simontoyne.net On Twitter: @simontoyne When I was asked to write a piece about when I first read Carrie I had to fess up that I had never actually read it. I’m not sure why this is. Maybe it was because somehow I knew what the story was about and had […]

#CarrieAt40: We Know These People by NEAL MUNRO

NEAL MUNRO On the web: gutenbergsson.com On Twitter: @GutenbergsSon Carrie was not the book to introduce me to the writings of Stephen King. That honour went to Eyes of the Dragon, discovered in our high school library. Nor was it the second I read (The Dead Zone), nor the third (Christine) nor even the fourth […]

#CarrieAt40: Hope and a Handmade Dress by P.T. HYLTON

P.T. Hylton On the web: http://www.pthylton.com On Twitter: @PTHylton When I was thirteen years old, my family moved to Beloit, Wisconsin. Moving to a new town was scary, but it was also exciting. At my old school I had been a bookish loner and an easy target for other kids. I never got hit with […]