Hello, all.

It’s been a busy few weeks (nothing new there) but I’ve decided to finally reveal my upcoming UK convention schedule for the remainder of 2017.

I wanted to ensure that certain dates were confirmed before doing this, and now I have that confirmation, I am happy to share the news with you. The convention scene for 2017 has been prolific so far, and that will continue throughout the year. I’m also working on my first overseas appearance in Seattle,  which will consist of a book signing appearance and some surprise attendances. I still need to iron out the details yet, but it’s very exciting. Watch this space for developments.

On that note, I will be attending the following events in 2017:

April 29/30 – Em-Con, Nottingham

May 6 – Oldham Comic Con

May 13/14 – Horror Con Rotherham

July 1/2 – Swansea Horror Con

September 23/24 – MCM Glasgow

October 7/8 – NorCon, Norwich

October 28/29 – Birmingham Halloween Horror Con

Unless something unforeseen occurs, I will be in attendence on all days of these dates.

I’m looking forward to meeting my readers again; I attended several of these events in 2016 and they were an absolute blast. Not only that, but I was able to meet many of my fellow authors for a drink and a chinwag. This year is no different; I already have plans for several of these conventions, but if anyone wants to meet up following the event, just PM me on Facebook or drop me an email at skaos@hotmail.co.uk. I look forward to hearing from you.

See you soon!

Hello all

Wow, has it been two months since I posted a blog?

I swear the website just slips by me sometimes, but it has been a very busy few months. To keep it short, my rota for January and February has been simple: Write, write, sleep, finish 89, start Oedema, polish Kids for Dark Chapter Press — which is available for pre-order, and sitting at #1 in the Horror bestseller charts on Amazon as of writing this — more writing, spend time with the wife, and get a new cat.

The last of those has been an experience in itself, and expect Vincent (named after the legendary Vincent Price) to feature in a future blog. I’m lucky I can actually write this with the scratches on my hands, such is the aggressive nature of a marble Bengal, but I digress.

Anyway, a lot has happened since my last post, but 2016 is fast becoming the year of the convention. Thus far, I have attended three in 2016 — two of which were within a week of one another — and plan to attend five more (currently) before the year is out. Details of these can be found below, so if you wish to get a book signed/buy a book and get it signed, you know where I’ll be. However, today’s post is about a particular convention that was a lot of fun, not only as a privileged vendor, but as a huge fan of a certain popular TV show. That’s right…

The Walker Stalker Con London

That’s right, the Walker Stalker Convention, which took place at the London Olympia in Hammersmith. To be honest, I was dreading this convention after the unorganised chaos that was London Film and Comic Con in June of last year, which took place in the same venue. As usual I attended the event with Matt Shaw, and we were included in a select few who were offered the chance to play vendor for the weekend. This was clear when we arrived, with a minimal amount of stalls set up, and it soon dawned on us that people might be coming to this event purely for the celebrity factor. A majority of the cast members from The Walking Dead were on hand for the event — including Norman Reedus, who gathered a five-hour plus queue at one point — so it was clear where people’s hard-earned money was going. Which was fine, but we dreaded sitting behind a table for sixteen hours with nothing to do, which is the initial feeling we got from the event.

We were wrong.

The event was an absolute thrill. From an professional point of view, I’ve never sold so many books at a convention. I had people picking them up and buying in handfuls, inquisitive readers and authors asking advice about horror, some general tomfoolery, and thousands of horror fans walking by. Mr Shaw also brought along his infamous head mould (see below), which garnered some significant attention throughout the weekend. One man even snogged the head to win a free book; I’ve never seen Matt gag before — hilarious! The shocker was that the competition only sat on the table for thirteen minutes before someone accepted it. We won’t mention all the probing, curious fingers that went into the gaping mouth beforehand…

The celebrity factor was, unbelievably, quite painless. I expected hour long queues, an inconvenience when hosting a stall, but this fear was for nought. I was in line for a two photo ops for a mere four minutes past the allotted time, before having the pictures taken, and they pushed everyone through efficiently and expertly. A painless, excellent experience. It was no wonder they brought their convention staff over from the U.S. It worked wonders, and really gave the event a personal, professional feel. Oh, and the photos were with Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori), and later on David Morrissey (The Governor).

Overall, it was just a nice place to be, and seeing the fans come out to play, and giving our humble little stand a bit of notice, was very exciting. By the Sunday lunch time, I’d sold out of everything, and Matt — who had four times as many books — was not far off by the time I scuttled off to catch an earlier train at 2pm. We were pleasantly surprised at the outcome, considering we expected to sell nothing during the weekend. But, with 8,000 people attending, we should have expected it…

So would I do it again? Yes. I’m certain I have the convention bug, there’s something about meeting the readers, seeing people admire and contemplate your work, people who aren’t scared to come over and say hi, have a general chat and, in some instances, grab a photo or two (like Simon above). Its definitely one of the more rewarding aspects of this brilliant career, one I’ve loved every second of so far. I’m approaching my third year as a writer (the first as a full time writer), and I hope there are many more years to come. However, this inevitably means I will be attending more UK conventions in 2016, and here are the details. Click the links for tickets or information.

Birmingham – MCM Comic Con — March 19 & 20

Nottingham – Em Con – The East Midlands TV & Film Convention — April 30 & May 1

Sheffield  – Horror Con 2016 — July 9 & 10 (Pending)

Chatham, Kent – Invicta Con 2016 — August 7

Bristol – Horror Con 2016 — October 15

If I get any more, I will add them to a separate blog post, but I don’t think this is bad going. I look forward to seeing you all at your respective venues. In the meantime, watch this space for news regarding a couple of exciting projects I have in the pipeline, my confirmed book release line up for 2016 — the next blog post — and some interesting news regarding All or Nothing … which is currently sitting with a talented screenwriter.

2016 is going to be a busy year. Ciao!

Hello!

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone. The end of 2015 was a simple one for me; half work and half play, more so the former than the latter. Christmas is a time of celebration with my family — three Christmas Days will really take it out of you — and New Year is a time to settle back and relax. No longer do the fireworks and expensive evenings with random strangers appeal to me, such has been the case for several years. But, it gives me a chance to ease into the New Year without a splitting headache, and enables me to get back to work at a reasonable pace.

Today, I come to you with some exciting news. First of all, I have recently signed a publishing contract with Matt Shaw Publications, run by the one and only Matt Shaw. Matt has recently established this aspect to his services, one he hopes will usher in a new wave of talent for the horror fans out there. I’m aware that I’m the second signing thus far to his new venture, but I am really excited about getting started. Matt and I have chatted for quite some time, ever since I started out with my writing, and he was very influential in getting me out of the starting blocks, so to speak. I now consider him a friend as well as a fellow writer, so this business partnership was a no-brainer really.

The second part of the news also involves Matt Shaw; we’ve decided to write a collaborative novel together. The details are still being etched out, but we are setting the tale in a haunted house. It features an investigator who meets up with some Dark Tourists in an abandoned house for a forty-eight hour sleepover. You can also expect two alternate time lines in the story. This should be an experience if nothing else, but I already feel this is going to be something special. Watch this space for details…

Aside from this, I am currently confirming several dates for various conventions around the U.K during 2016, and I have a finalised schedule for releases too. Seven books are planned this year, so it should be a busy one. Catch my next blog post (Thursday) for full details.

Hello, all.

I have something a little different for my blog post today, something that caught me off-guard at 4am on a chilly Monday morning. In a way, I’m still processing it slowly, my mind has been a blur for the past two days, mainly because of the emotional heft behind a personal, heart-felt email I received from a reader. I’m not one to share my emotions often – after all, a horror author’s mind works slightly differently – but it felt right to do so here.

Before I continue, some context.

Several weeks ago, I offered to send my books (Charlotte, All or Nothing, The Customer Is Always… and Whispers – Volume 1: A Collection) to an avid reader. The reason? She loved two of them, dropped me two kind reviews, and aims to get around to the others at some point. She has supported my work for some time. The person in question – who will remain anonymous during this post – is very busy, but an avid reader, a massive horror fan, one who truly treasures their reading time.

During multiple discussions, I’ve discovered a life rife with tragedy and rippled with torment, including a troubled childhood. Since a young age, she has found solace in her books and because of my writing, I have been fortunate enough to connect with this woman, been lucky enough to share book recommendations and literature discussion.

She has a massive passion for horror so, to this end, I have no problem sending free, signed books to people who respect the genre, people who qualify horror reading as a hobby.

Anyway, fast forward several weeks – to Monday morning – and I received an email from this person. I sat down, I read it, I nearly cried. Yes, me, tears nearly fell from my cold, dead, horror-scribing eyes. I have no shame in admitting this. After composing myself, I replied slowly, taking it in, a little unsure of what to say, speechless in some instances. The reader had taken the time to email me about a poignant moment in her life and make me aware of how my writing has affected her, for the positive good.

The power of the written word can affect people in different ways. For this reason, she was more than happy for me to blog about this email, to share her heart-felt communication, one that will remain with me forever. As you are about to read, it provided an elderly man with a few hours of precious joy. Readers and authors, PLEASE read this, this is one of the reasons we do what we do.

Anyway, without further ado. Here is the email in her own words.

Hi,

I was showing my dad your books you sent me tonight as he was a huge horror fan for a long time and we shared our Stephen King and James Herbert books. My dad is 70 in November, recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s and is here visiting us “whilst he can” from Australia.

He rang me 6 weeks ago to say he had Parkinson’s and also that he was coming over as didn’t know if or when he might again. Bittersweet. I cried for days reading about the decline with Parkinson’s. Awful.

He has not read for years, finds it hard. He picked up Charlotte and I told him I loved it. I just said how good and creepy it was, next thing I think he’s just browsing it then realised he was reading it! At the dinner table after dinner. He started reading, right there, he’s still going at 11:33pm! He’s loving it and he’s a critical man so that’s high praise and he’s enjoying his discovery of the novella which is easier for him to finish.

It brought tears to my eyes as I now know new Stephen King books I’ve sent him he’s never read and he so loved his books. So, sometimes a book reaches people in powerful ways. I was loving watching him engrossed with his glass of red wine.

Thank you for sending me books, or this moment would never have come.  Those books were meant to come here!

Twice I said “what do you think Dad?” And he said “yeah it’s really good” which for him is a five star review. My Dads bookcase introduced me to horror as a teen, scared myself silly reading Cujo – asking Dad to look under the bed every night for months in case a rabid dog was under there. There were so many. Some fantasy too – the entire Chronicles of Thomas Covenent, The Unbeliever.

My dad has always been super active and to see his hands trembling holding the book to read was just so emotional. I felt like Dad and I really connected.  As you say the power of the written word helped my dad escape for hours away from Parkinson’s and all his other worries. He leaves on Thursday and I’m going to be a bloody mess. I want my dad to stay.

He’s not on Goodreads or Amazon so there will be no stars or review but you’ve made a top bloke rediscover his love of horror books and reading and that’s like gold to me. Keep writing!

I don’t really know what to say. I started writing books for fun, mainly because its been a dream for many years. To have this impact on someone, one person who uses books to escape their life just for a few hours, is absolutely phenomenal. I have since contacted the reader and I have organised a batch of books to be sent to Australia – to her father so he can have his own copies.

Authors, you know why we write, if it’s appreciated by just one person, if we know we’ve made a person happy, given them some joy and entertainment, then we’ve succeeded. Readers will also know the power of a good book, one that gives you an escape, some solace, for a few hours a day.

So, that was my Monday morning. If I never do anything else in my writing career from this moment forward, this email from the heart will always be a very proud, amazing moment for me.

You could be forgiven for thinking the horror genre has become complacent, lazy. The genre, as a whole, is lacking in many areas. In film, the genre is chock full of tame remakes, films that pilfer the original source material for inspiration, inspiration that ultimately falls flat because the original story isn’t meant for a modern audience. In books, the easy way out if to use the same, tired tropes – serial killers, bogeymen and, heaven forbid, vampires. Yes, the story is easy to write, but it doesn’t mean we want to see the same story over and over again. It’s boring and it isn’t exciting. Horror fans want something new, something fresh.

The Ancient Lawman is one such book. The premise is simple. We’re whisked back to 1656, to a time of violence and debauchery, where the mysterious entity  of the title rules supreme. A silent behemoth with a mean streak, he knows when people are guilty and when they are innocent, a judge, jury and executioner with a lethal sixth sense if you will. After a particularly gruesome opening, which sets the story perfectly, we are transported to modern day USA. FBI agent Lucinda Ackerman is transporting a convict to death row when a terrible accident alters her course. During the incident, The Ancient Lawman is unleashed on the small town of Tinkerhill Falls and Ackerman, and her colleagues, must do anything to stop it…

First of all, let’s get something straight here. Chances are, you will root for the bad guy. The entity of the title is a modern day Michael Myers, a demonic, unstoppable force with no reservations, no feelings and no qualms about butchering the guilty. His job is to unleash justice on those deserving of it, and if anyone gets in the way…well, it gets messy. Much like Jason in his later movies, the character is a sight to behold and the victims matter not. However, don’t let this put you off, The Ancient Lawman has much more going for it.

Like many horrors, there’s a swathe of 2D characters littering these pages. Fine, it’s expected, Lawman has a job to do, cannon fodder is welcome, and offing too many characters we’ve invested in would be exhausting. What we do have though, are two solid main characters in Ackerman and the local sheriff, Elroy Williams. Noakes writes excellent female leads and Ackerman is no exception – tough, ballsy, a mean streak that would put Reacher or Bauer to shame. Williams is her foil, the local sheriff teamed with the experienced FBI woman, one that makes for a genuine relationship that forms an emotional story behind the violence and brutality.

Now, I’ve read the reviews and the main concern was an out of place sex scene, one that ruins the brief connection between the characters, very early on, and leaves a sense of awkwardness between the two. I do know the book underwent a rewrite and I can confirm this isn’t the case. Is it awkward? Yes, its the result of two like-minded individuals – in this case, lonely cops married to their careers – who invest in a night of passion. It was always going to be awkward, its how spontaneous sexual encounters work, but it’s this genuine feeling, this realistic playing field that immerses us in a story of desperation against the violent unknown. When the shit hits the fan, we’re right in the middle of it and we want the characters – characters we understand because we’ve been in their shoes – to survive. It’s a clever trick by Noakes, one that makes the story all the more interesting.

Then there’s the violence. Glorious! Noakes has a descriptive knack to his death scenes, one that was ever present during his other horror novel, Hourglass Heights – the review can be located earlier in my blog. Some authors tend to splash the blood without artistic merit or thought. Noakes does this in style, each death a mini set-piece, one that separates the story with effortless execution. Are some over the top? Sure, but when were Jason and Michael ever cautious about their kills. The Ancient Lawman simply follows in their shoes and in the process, Noakes has invented a literary bogeyman, one that could work in multiple sequels – think different times in history. Lawman vs. Hitler anyone?

To summarise, it’s not for everyone. Some individuals are throw away and at times, the jumping between multiple characters will grate on your patience. However, persevere and you will be rewarded with a genuinely frightening horror story, a book balanced correctly between 80’s B- Movie homage and lean, thrilling horror lore. The Ancient Lawman is a rarity in literature, a horror novel that plays out like a movie in your head and provides addictive words on the page. Noakes has followed up Hourglass Heights with another phenomenal effort. If more horror stories had balls to be this brave, this unorthodox…well, reading would become exciting and unpredictable again.

I’m happy to announce that my newest novel, Cine, is available now on Amazon.

I’m holding a release party at 7pm GMT tonight. Multiple prizes will be up for grabs and some fun competitions will be taking place. Pop along for a chance to win, chat or simply watch the amusing comments. Find the gathering here.

The initial feedback is very positive, and people stayed up all night to read the book. An honour for any horror author. You can buy Cine here.

Lake Whisper. The perfect town for retirement, the ideal location to raise your children away from the bustle, crime and chaos of ordinary society. Quiet, quaint, beautiful.

Whispers Cinema. It could be the greatest establishment to hit Lake Whisper’s shores, one that provides the residents with some much needed entertainment, some activity away from their routine, sensible lives. Within hours, the cinema is a phenomenal success with the townsfolk, it’s the buzz on everyone’s lips.

Until a teenager mysteriously vanishes on their property.

Then, more people begin to disappear. Colleagues don’t turn up for their 9-5. Family members fail to keep organised arrangements. Frustrated by the procedure of police investigation, the teenager’s friends seek the truth and meet a dead end at every turn. Despite their lack of evidence, they can’t seem to shake that sinister feeling, the suspicion that surrounds the cinema, one that has everyone in Lake Whisper caught off-guard.

Which is when Whispers Cinema invites the entire town for a free showing…