Pre-orders for the new FunDead anthology, featuring my story The Lunatic Song, are now live!

Exquisite Aberrations is a collection of novelette-length Gothic horror stories, traditional tales with a modern twist:

“A familiar chill runs down your spine. You’ve been here before: the abandoned house on the hill, the dark hallway with the creaking floorboards, the ancient cemetery veiled in mist, the rutted pathway to a lonely place. You know these stories, or do you? These are the tales not told; the words pushed to the margins. These figures have been shrouded, forgotten, locked behind a creaking door, but now their stories will be told.”

— Exquisite Aberrations

The idea being the anthology will tackle the classic tropes of the Gothic tale through a new lens, from unique and diverse points-of-view, featuring the kinds of characters traditionally marginalised or ‘othered’ by the genre.

My own entry in the collection, The Lunatic Song, follows Charles Hale, a musician returning to London in disgrace after a scandal in Europe involving another man. His chance for redemption in the eyes of high society comes in the form of a dubious private performance, for which he must meet famous pianist and alleged murderer, Lawrence Roper, now resident in Bethlem Hospital.

Sound good? Interesting? Spooky? Then get your pre-order in here. Release will be in August.

Oh, and did I mention it’ll also be available in gorgeous hardback!? That’s right! Hardback! (I’m very excited about this as I’ve never had a story feature in a hardback book before – it’s gonna look so good sitting permanently on my coffee table.) Limited edition, available through pre-order only, so get on it before they’re all gone!

Head to fundeadshop.com

FunDead Publications is based in the Witch City – Salem, Massachusetts – and publishes wonderful collections of horror stories and poems. My short story The Sixpence in the Pudding appeared in their 2016 Christmas horror anthology, O Horrid Night.

Also, as well as working to be socially aware, inclusive, and progressive on the page, the good people at FunDead are donating $1 from every book sold to the ACLU, who are currently seeking donations to help fight against abortion bans in the US, among other causes.