Something squamous this way comes

As mentioned in my last blog post, this Saturday (the 28th of November) saw the release of the new book from KnightWatch Press, "New Tales of the Old Ones".  I hadn't contributed to this particular collection, but as I've joined the KnightWatch fold through two releases in 2016 ("A Thousand Tiny Knives" and "Weird Ales: Last Orders") I came along to contribute.

If you haven't been to Southcart books, you really should correct that.  I'm a sucker for bookshops, especially second hand ones, and Southcart is a particularly good one, spanning the epic hemispheres of both new and used*:).   It was my first visit to Wallsall, let alone Southcart books, but Scott and Amy Carter (the owners) put on a fantastic day. Lots of wine and nibbles for all visitors.  A dab of red wine may have been had before I had to read my own piece.

As you've probably guessed from the title of the event, it was - as well as an event to release the new book - a celebration of Lovecraft and his works. I got to meet my editor Theresa Derwin at last, as well a number of other excellent authors. 

It was an excellent day. We heard about Great Cthulhu's online dating attempts and the Damp Ones respectively from Jonathan Butcher and Chris Amies, and an except from the new book from Michael Brush.  There was a fascinating biographical piece about Lovecraft and Astronomy from A. Stuart Williams (who also read his story from the aforementioned anthology), and a great reading from Richard Bruce Clay.  Not to mention some wonderful musical accompaniment by the supremely talented Jessica Law.  Some fantastic talents all crammed into a wonderful reading room!

Photo Credit: James Josiah

I'd - as per usual - completely misunderstood the brief, but had luckily confirmed with Theresa about a week before that I needed to have an original story.  I had a few stories that were could have tenuously linked to the Mythos, but none that could do it justice.  I had the basis of an idea that I spent a few days writing into a piece that would take about 20 minutes to read, and to my relief, it went down well.  I'm still nervous about public speaking, and this is one of the few pieces I've read that didn't feel uncomfortable - after a while where it was obvious the audience were enjoying it, I started enjoying it too - and that's a first!

So, all in all, an excellent day.  Lovely to put some faces to names of people whose works I've read, and nice to be a part of such a special day with such a great group of people.

There may have been drinks imbimbed once the event finished, but that's a story (and a blackmail attempt) for another day.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

ALSO: "Caped", the superhero anthology that I've contributed towards - and mentioned in my last blog post - is now available to buy.

(* pre-loved)