It was near closing time in the castle. If they weren’t the last visitors, they at least weren’t far off. Penny was standing at the wall, looking out of one of the small cross-shaped windows. She’d had enough of imagining herself as a twelfth-century archer, and was now simply savouring the warm afterglow of Earl […]
Behind The Scenes: The Onyx Ring
I’ve wanted to bring back Munro ever since the story “Elkwood”. (I also want to take the story Elkwood and rewrite it a bit, but that’s another story.) I had the name first and then wondered what would be special about this ring, and what it would do. Of course, it was evil, naturally. I […]
The Onyx Ring
“Don’t move, and you won’t get hurt.” The sawn-off barrel of the shotgun waves an inch from the bald man’s face. “I’m sure we can come to some arrangement,” he says, smiling. “Just give me the money,” the man shouts. “I just want the money.” “How much money do you want?” the bald man asks. […]
Behind The Scenes: Next Time, Be More Careful
The idea of a were-man – a wolf that turns into a human at the full moon – came to me some time on Monday, but I couldn’t work out exactly how to make it work. Rebeca suggested the answer one day while we were out walking the dogs, that I tell it from the […]
Next Time, Be More Careful
The moon is full; I can feel it. I can feel the change in my legs, feel the skin ripping and tearing, the transformation beginning. The pain is almost unbearable for a few minutes as my legs change shape, my chest changes, the hair changes. My family won’t recognise me any more. Even my thoughts […]
Behind The Scenes: The March Society
First off, I have no real idea what inspired me to call this one “The March Society”. The idea that a music journalist wouldn’t see the name and immediately think of John Philip Souza and other purveyors of vaguely military-style pieces in two-four time is nonsense. Second, the idea that someone who was opera mad […]
The March Society
I’m writing this at Graham’s request, although not necessarily just for his consumption. Unlike him, I’m not a journalist so I don’t really know how this should work. After all, I only worked in the copy department. Graham started as the music critic some ten years ago, when I was working there in the IT […]
Behind The Scenes: Leo’s Last Show
The clichéd question that every writer gets asked is “where do you get your ideas from?” Well, I’m not sure, but for the last few weeks the ideas haven’t really been flowing freely. In fact, this was the third attempt to write this story. I started off thinking I’d bring back Mr Munro of the […]
Leo’s Last Show
The old man scratched at his beard as he walked. He looked through the bars of the cage, past the old lion, watching the sun going down on the horizon. “Hey there, Leo old lad,” he said, softly. He billed himself as the gipsy lion tamer, of vaguely eastern European extraction, from a town no […]
Behind The Scenes: The Killer, Unmasked
When I first wrote If, Never three weeks ago, I didn’t think it would have a sequel. Even in my wildest dreams did I think it would turn into a trilogy (and some of those dreams and pretty funky, thank you for asking.) The initial premise of the first story was expanded on, and I […]