M is for Monster but H is for House of Fear

When I was a young, aspiring writer, I never seriously considered becoming a horror writer. And yet, last week I sent my story for the House of Fear anthology to Jon Oliver at Solaris and am this week writing another horror story for a new short story collection about phobias. And then, of course, last year my explicit tale of horror Incubus appeared in M is for Monster.

Well, M is for Monster is available for sale again here and I'll sign every copy purchased. And if you need persuading, here's a review of my short story that appears in the collection:

Erotic with a seductively blasphemous undertone from the very outset, Green's sexually charged short throbs with a thick and somewhat unsettling tone of darkness... What gradually transpires is a powerfully unnerving tale of horror, with many unspoken questions left unanswered, creating an altogether more powerful tale. Certainly one of the most atmospheric and unsettling tales in the anthology - and for that, possibly one of the best additions.

But back to the subject of my short story for House of Fear (released in the UK and US this October by Solaris Books). It's called The Doll's House and is my take on the traditional haunted house tale. In it I set out to make a story set in a nondescript Edwardian terrace on a bright sunny day as unsettling as anything set at the witching hour on Halloween. My editor made very few changes and the only alteration I had to make was to add one word. This is almost unheard of, and I like to think it bodes well for how the story's going to be received elsewhere.

That said, it's not a nice story. Not at all. Here's what my editor wrote in his email after reading the story for himself for the first time. "Ooh, that's a right nasty little shocker." And from an editor inured to the ways of horror, that's got to be recommendation enough.