Can you judge a book by its cover?...

So I can finally reveal the front cover of my forthcoming novella "Torment".

Many thanks to the very talented Neil Jackson for creating the cover and of course head cover artist at Damnation Books Dawne Dominique!

Damnation Books will publish "Torment" in March 2011 and I think the cover sets the tone very nicely.

Torment tells the story of Jessica Newman, a woman haunted by the death of her mother during an exorcism - performed by her Deacon father.

When her father dies, Jessica must travel to his home in the Scottish highlands where she will come face to face with the truth and a shocking evil. 

Let me know what you think and stay tuned for more updates!

Exorcisms ... are they the new black?

Ok... given my forthcoming book Torment is centred around an exorcism, I just had to see The Last Exorcism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOQTxalr334

Despite feeling a little let down by the ending, there is a hell of a lot to like about this film.

The story: disheartened and maybe a little disillusioned Reverend Cotton Marcus sets out to debunk the "demonic possession" phenomenon by inviting two film students to accompany him to a farm in Louisiana where a young girl is believed to be possessed by Satan himself.

The mockumentary style, like The Blair Witch Project, works in the movie's favour. As the horror escalates, the viewer is drawn in - trapped with the characters.

The acting IMHO is the real highlight. Ashley Bell who plays Nell is perfect, playing innocent one minute and frightening the next. Patrick Fabian, who plays Reverend Marcus is also believeable, playing the role of the con-man of the cloth with controlled strength.

The middle section of the film is when the film really shines, as the "demon" takes control of Nell and terrorises  everyone in the house. One scene where the "possessed" Nell borrows the camera is particularly unsettling.

The Last Exorcism is probably one of the most well-acted horror films I have seen for some time and certainly  deserves a place alongside Blatty's The Exorcist. Let's just hope they don't spoil it by jumping on board the sequel train. But hey, that's just my opinion.

The E-Book revolution

E-Books are all the rage in publishing at the moment, with many publishers, including large publishers, using the instant digital world as a marketing tool.

Take the novella The Painted Darkness, written by Brian James Freeman and published by Cemetery Dance Press.

I was lucky enough to be able to download a free PDF version of the title before its impending release. The Painted Darkness is a fine piece of dark fiction that pulls at the heartstrings at a very visceral level. The story revolves around Henry, an artist tortured by something horrible that happened during his childhood.

The concept of imagination - and whether truth is real or make believe - that runs through Freeman's story, certainly resonated with me and the climax of the story was very rewarding.

Freeman weaves the tale well, shifting from past to present, the horror always there, waiting. But what he has really capitalised on is the e-book phenomenon; by giving people his book in electronic format for free he has proven his book is worth buying in print form.

With my novella Torment (to be published by Damnation Books in e-book and print formats from March 2011), I was a bit hesitant at first about publishing it electronically. However I can now see how the instant PDF version can very quickly and easily get the good word out about your book.

Therefore I can’t recommend e-books enough and it is certain there are many more to come.www.brianjamesfreeman.com

Dark Scrybe .. Dark Artisan?

So I'm a writer, but one of the other skills I have is as an artist.

When I left school I had good grades in English and Art; I had two choices: Journalism or Graphic Design. I chose Graphic Design and finished a Diploma. On the side though I was heavily into comic books and even drew a few of my own.

Things happened though. I got married and decided to follow the journalism path. Now many years later, after a career as a newspaper journalist, my desires to be a writer and an illustrator of note are merging...

After joining the Australian Horror Writers Association I submitted an eight page comic story for Midnight Echo #3 edited by Dave Schembri. He liked my drawing style, but the story was a bit lax (admittedly he was right!), but obviously my attempt rubbed off on him.

A few months ago another AHWA member and prolific writer and editor Mark Farrugia, had a story that he thought suited a comic. He met Dave and he - to his credit - suggested me.

Now that comic Allure of the Ancients will be published in Midnight Echo #5! Funny how things can turn full circle.

The best part is that Allure is generating me more work ... which I hope to reveal more about very soon.

Perseverance...

Writing can be very labour intensive on the mind.

The writer's brain is constantly thinking, looking for inspiration or working out what to write to find the 8,000 odd words to finish off the first draft of that novel. (The novel I am writing is close to completion, but there is still daunting task of the second and third drafts to go)!

Coupled with the need to finish a fellow scribe's comic book (written by Mark Farrugia) also strains the mind and body, but if I have learned anything from my fellow writers it's patience, perseverance and pragmatism.

One fellow Aussie horror writer, Brett McBean, who mentored me during the AHWA's mentor program and offered advice on the novella that will be published next year, knows all about perseverance and how it pays off.

The guy has had several works published and will later this year have a novel published called "Torment" (oh, the irony), but it's purely coincidental that the titles of our books are the same. Either way Brett is an inspiration and his success only encourages me to persevere!

Check out Brett's website which has recently been updated HERE 

Good news!

I'm very excited to announce that I've just signed a contract with US dark fiction publisher Damnation Books to publish my novella "Torment"!

I can't give away too much just yet, but Damnation Books has pencilled in a release date of March 2011 - so stay tuned.

Take a look at Damnation Books website here: http://www.damnationbooks.com/

This is my blog

Hello world,

I've created a blog for myself because I think very soon, I might have a lot more to say.

I'm an emerging author from Australia in the field of dark fiction. I've had a few short stories published which you can find at my website: www.wix.com/darkscribe/gregchapman

My burgeoning writing career is taking off and I might be posting some more news here very soon.