Demain Publishing Unleash Short Sharp Shocks! #46-#50
January 31st 2020 Demain Publishing release the next 5 titles in their incredibly successful Short Sharp Shocks! series.
The authors involved in this latest wave of horror will be Christopher Beck, S.J. Budd, Deborah Sheldon, Alicia Hilton & David Charlesworth
Short Sharp Shocks! #46 – The Birthday Girl & Other Stories: Christopher Beck
Writing about the stories contained in his Short Sharp Shocks! entry, author Christopher Beck said: “MISSING CHILD is based upon my life. I was once married and my ex-wife had a little girl with whom I developed a great relationship. After the marriage failed, things between the ex and I were sour which left my relationship with her daughter uncertain. MISSING CHILD was written as an attempt to deal with that uncertainty. Though it was tough at the time, I’m happy to say that now, years later, I have a wonderful relationship with the kiddo. [I would say of my second story] THE BIRTHDAY GIRL, you know sometimes in life terrible things happen and sometimes there aren’t happy endings. Stories like this aren’t easy to tell but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be told. [My final story in this mini-collection is] THE TRASH CAN. In my opinion, the great thing about short stories is that they don’t have to explain everything, they can just be pulpy fun. I used to live with my brother and he had a dog that raided the trash constantly. He bought a trash can which was basically dog proof. Soon after our roommate threw a paper towel into it and the lid slammed down way too hard and I had an instant story!”
You can buy The Birthday Girl & Other Stories from Amazon UK
Short Sharp Shocks! #47 – Crowded House & Other Stories: S.J. Budd
Containing the stories: UNTIL I GO – Selina longs to be free from her mother’s hatred. They haven’t spoken in years until Selina is asked to visit her dying mother in hospital one final time. This is it. Soon Selina will be free but will their last goodbye go smoothly? CROWDED HOUSE – A young woman finds out she is the sole heir of her Uncle’s estate after he vanishes. She comes to Canterbury for a new life but the house is not what she was hoping for. It has been left in a terrible state and holds many secrets she must confront if she is to take control of it before it takes control of her. A BUBBLE OF FRIENDSHIP WILL KEEP US – On the cusp of adolescence, Ella fears for her best friend Jade who is turning her back on their childhood friendship and the mysterious forest beyond their homes. Jade wants to grow up but the fairies want Ella to put a stop to it.”
You can buy Crowded House & Other Stories from Amazon UK
Short Sharp Shocks! #48 – Hand To Mouth: Deborah Sheldon
“When the truth doesn’t satisfy, people make up stories.” An imprisoned man writes letters to his son, trying to explain the bizarre circumstances that led to his incarceration. But can his son believe him? Award-winning author Deborah Sheldon keeps you guessing with this novelette of secrets, lies, conspiracies and paranoia.
You can buy Hand To Mouth from Amazon UK
Short Sharp Shocks! #49 – Moonlight, Gunshot, Mallet, Flame: Alicia Hilton
Writing about her Short Sharp Shocks! author Alicia Hilton said: “These are stories about dangerous women who confront supernatural forces. When the moon is full passion simmers and demons strike. Who will survive? ” Of MOONLIGHT, GUNSHOT, MALLET, FLAME, Alicia summed up her tale, thus: “Laura is a hitwoman who murdered men to avenge and protect innocent victims, but her violent past catches up to her after she kills her nephew. Are Laura’s terrifying visions hallucinations, or real? “ And of her second story, A LITTLE DEATH: “An Internet date unites two monsters. Descended from flesh-eating witches, Darla must choose whether to embrace her magical powers and kill, or risk her own destruction for love.”
You can buy Moonlight, Gunshot, Mallet, Flame from Amazon UK
Short Sharp Shocks! #50 – Dark Corners: David Charlesworth
Horror can take a lot of shapes and sizes. For some, it appears in the form of Patrick as he steps out from the shadows, Stanley blade in hand. For Patrick, however, the only thing he fears is not shooting up. So he finds himself scouring the darkest corners of the world for his next hit. Exploring those lost and desolate places that no man should disturb.
You can buy Dark Corners from Amazon UK
Dean M. Drinkel
“Dark, tortured, sinuous…the tales that Dean M. Drinkel has to tell you will freeze your soul!” – Barbie Wilde, horror author and actress.
Ambitious, Dean M Drinkel is a published author, editor, award-winning script-writer and film director and was Associate Editor of FEAR Magazine – he has also contributed several non-fiction pieces to various publications. In 2018 he established the horror press DEMAIN PUBLISHING and in 2019 was selected by the BFI to attend two project labs (writing and producing).
Dean has over thirty credits to his name in the field of genre writing (including short stories, collections, novellas, anthologies); has written and directed fifteen theatrical plays in London and the South East of England and during the years 2002 – 2008, he wrote and directed several short experimental films.
Dean moved to Cannes, France in 2016 to write a feature film script with Romain Collier – “The Tragedy Of The Duke of Reichstadt” about the son of Napoleon. This subsequently won two screenplay awards (Best Historical Drama / Best Independent Spirit) at the Monaco International Film Festival and is now in development as a major European tv series. An award-winning cast has signed up (including actors from Belgium, France, Germany, Austria and Denmark).
In 2017 Dean returned to directing with the short film “15” for Midas Light Films (screened at the Solaris Festival in Nice, the Med. Film Festival and the Malta International Film Festival amongst others) which in November 2018 was awarded “Best European Film” at Malta.
2020 Dean will be making his feature film directing debut with the British comedy film (also for Midas Light) “Chocolate Potato” which will be followed up by the horror film “Werewolf On A Plane” (as writer/director) for Pink Flamingo Films.
Currently Dean has a number of feature film (‘Hamilton’ for Lionstar as an example) and tv projects (‘Season In Hell’ with the Rimbaud / Verlaine Foundation) in development.
Dean has won five awards (thus far) for his script-writing, one for his directing and was runner-up for the 2001 Sir Peter Ustinov Screenwriting Award (International Emmys) with his teleplay “Ghosts”.
For more information visit the Official Demain Website www.demainpublishing.com
Adrian Baldwin
Adrian Baldwin is an award-winning author from Manchester, now living and working in Wales. Back in the nineties, he wrote for various TV shows/personalities: Smith & Jones, Clive Anderson, Brian Conley, Paul McKenna, Hale & Pace, Rory Bremner, Terry Wogan, (and others). Wooo, get him.
Since then, he has written three screenplays, one of which received generous financial backing from the Film Agency for Wales. Then along came the global recession to kick the UK Film industry in the nuts. What a bummer!
Not to be outdone, he turned to novel writing – which had always been his real dream – and, in particular, a genre he feels is often overlooked; a genre he has always been a fan of: Dark Comedy (sometimes referred to as Horror’s weird cousin).
BARNACLE BRAT (a dark comedy for grown-ups), his debut novel won Indie Novel of the Year 2016 award; his second novel STANLEY McCLOUD MUST DIE! (more dark comedy for grown-ups) published in 2016, and his third novel: THE SNOWMAN AND THE SCARECROW (another dark comedy for grown-ups) published in 2018.
Adrian Baldwin has also had five dark comedy shorts published, either in anthologies or as stand-alone short stories: PIED!; EGOR’S EMPORIUM; BLOWN; ONE SMALL STEP FOR (A) MAN; and THE AMAZING XANDRA LEE vs NED SWANN.
2019 has been a very busy one for Adrian as a book cover designer too, with scores of covers created for Demain Publishing: the Short Sharp Shocks! and Murder! Mystery! Mayhem! series, plus several stand-alone titles such as Dave Jeffery’s A Quiet Apocalypse or Raven Dane’s House of Wrax – and then there are all the TK Pulp titles: the Gruesome Grotesque volumes as well as several editions of Phantasmagoria Magazine. And 2020 looks set to be another active year with more shorts, a couple of screenplays and no doubt another slew of new book cover designs.
The author/artist cites his major influences as Kurt Vonnegut, Monty Python, Stephen King, Edward Hopper, and David Bowie. And one of his favourite things about designing books covers: “I get to work not only with great artists whose work I admire greatly – such as Les Edwards and Roberto Segate – but also with wonderful publishers such as Dean M. Drinkel and Trevor Kennedy.”
For more information check out his Facebook page, Twitter feed, and website: www.adrianbaldwin.info (you can read sample chapters of all his works there).
These sound really fresh and original ,will definitely check them out!