The Crow Man: Writing Feminist Horror

OCTOBER FRIGHTS #DAY 2


This blog post introduces you to my latest novel, 'The Crow Man' and there is a chance to win a signed paperback copy at the end of this post. 

This month has seen the release of my first adult horror novel, 'The Crow Man' and it marks the end of a labour of love that has seen me invest 5 years into this novel.

Horror has always been my favourite genre of literature right from my earliest reading habits; Dracula, Frankenstein, Point Horror, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Lovecraft, Poe - we're all the foundations of my love of the written word.

Despite having found a comfortable flow in the writing of paranormal and occult, I had yet to make that final leap into writing a 'pure' horror novel because the responsibilities that come with writing horror are immense.

To me, good horror is one of the most moral, political vehicles there is. In my very personal opinion, for horror to be elevated from gratuitous pornography it has to have some kind of exploration of the human condition, of moral structures, and of state constructs. It is an incredible vehicle for exploring the ills of society and the wrongs of mankind - of course done in a way that excites, entices, scares, and thrills the reader.

There are conventions in horror that are long established and which work, but traditionally, mainstream horror in both literature and film have tended to be dominated by male influence and the male gaze. I knew when I finally plucked up enough courage to write a horror novel, I wanted to both work within a long tradition and to challenge some of the constructs that had been established. I wanted to write a horror from a very female point of view.

Hence the premise of The Crow Man - as most women will testify, one of the most horrific things that can happen to you as a woman is to be labelled mad or insane - to have every word and action questioned; to stand accused of crimes you have not committed and for the whole social structure to come bearing down on you.

One of the very worst nightmares I have ever had was that I had hit an intruder and that 'boy' had died. I was arrested and was facing a long time in prison. I wouldn't last two minutes in prison - or only in the way that Tyrion Lancaster might by a thread come out bruised and abused but still living. The very worst of that dream was no one believing my version of the story. Of everybody, the courts and eventually even my own husband swaying to the social constructs that surround female voice and behaviour. I woke shouting, tears streaming down my face. Never had I felt so afraid - and so the beginnings of The Crow Man were birthed.

To call it feminist horror does not mean that it is horror written for women and women alone - I would hope that  the readership of this novel is a 50 / 50 split. Just because it is a story about women doesn't mean that all horror readers can't access and enjoy it, just as I have read hundreds upon hundreds of horror books with very male focused protagonist and stories.

It was important to me with both of my female characters, Grace Waters and Camille to try and defy some of the tropes and stereotypes that female characters often fall into in horror novels - but it wasn't easy. I rewrote the ending several times as I discovered that I had fallen into established models that didn't sit right with me - but which were a form of horror convention. I wanted to move beyond those sometime two dimensional offerings of female motivation and experience that is so often portrayed in horror and offer, what I hope is a more 'real' more true conclusion to these events.

The writing  go The Crow Man took me to some pretty dark places when I was writing it. For me, there are elements that are extreme and cross my comfort zone, or at least they did when I was in the depths of writing certain scenes. Looking back, I know that by modern standards of gore horror and psychosexual horror, these scenes are perfectly within the mainstream - but in the way that a creaking door or a shadow is more terrifying than a body being carved up by a circular saw, the scenes in The Crow Man got under my skin and were a manifestation of my own worst fears.

I decided to set The Crow Man in the 50's purely because some of the issues that the women face were amplified, and because, as a form of historical piece exploring the progress of psychiatric care and practice, the 1950s were a radical time of change and advancement.

In the author notes at the beginning of The Crow Man, I have acknowledged that other great horror piece written about the pioneering advancements of the medical profession and where that placed humans and doctors in terms of gods and monsters - Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus'. Perhaps, if I were being arrogant, I could have named my novel, 'The Crow Man: The postmodern Prometheus' LOL. The Crow Man is very much in the tradition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and I hope that my humble little offering does that text and that heritage some justice.

eBOOKS
The eBook of the Crow Man is already available here on  Amazon Worldwide exclusive https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0758JMKZ1  and can be read for FREE if you are a Kindle Unlimited User or for just $2.49 / £2.99 if you are a Kindle reader.

PAPERBACKS
The paperbacks do not officially come out until January 1st 2018 but I have signed pre-release copies available for folks in the UK (And in the US if people are prepared to cover shipping costs.) To order your signed paperback for £7.99 (+ £2.00 p&p delivery before 25th October) please complete this google doc form. https://goo.gl/forms/ekj8xflMbfYTleyf1 

GIVEAWAY: UK Only I'm afraid. To be in with a chance of winning a signed copy of The Crow Man, please leave a comment telling us what your worse fear is. One lucky winner will be selected and notified as a reply to their post. The winner will be announced a week today.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

HOP ON OVER TO THE OTHER BLOGS in this fabulous OCTOBERFRIGHTS BLOG HOP.

10 Goals for 2017

So here's to the new year; may 2017 be a lot more full of positivity than 2016, which has been a gruelling year for many of us. It's traditional to set resolutions at the end of the old year but I've never been very good at resolutions; it's almost as if making something a resolution curses it. 

This year I am all for goals - and smashing them. That's how I feel about 2017; it's going to be full o energy, accomplishments and goal smashing. So here are my 2017 goals, which I'm setting down here more for my reference than your probable curiosity LOL 

• Finish The Crow Man for an April publication. My first adult horror title. A psycho-sexual, insanity horror story set in the 1950's exploring the theory of Monarch programming and women in 1950's society. Dark, twisted and graphic, this book has really taken it out of me and I am struggling to finish the last 10-20k words due to the shadows it casts on my soul -- but it will be finished. 


• Finish Angelicus for a May / June publication. Book 4 in The Meadowsweet Chronicles - a planned 7 book paranormal / occult upper YA series. Modern Witchcraft, ghosts, poltergeists, magic, demons, angels, headless huntsmen and all other manner of ancient folklore, fairytales and paranormal deliciousness. It is 1/3 written, all planned out and ready to be finished. 

Have a full table at UTOPiA con, Nashville. This will be the third year I am attending UTOPiA in Nashville. It was meant to be a once in a lifetime kind of deal, but somehow, I keep pressing that buy table ticket. This year, I am hoping to have a full table mostly because I can barely fit all my titles onto a half table any longer, and secondly because I am having guest author hosts who are going to help me out with my table this year. How exciting is that! 

Hold an awesome 2 day author conference and public signing event in August. Chapter.Con 2017 is my baby and I am so excited about it. After spending far too many years scribing all alone in the UK, I am bringing over the USA model of author, blogger and reader conventions to the UK; a chance for authors, bloggers and readers to get together and spend some serious quality time talking about publishing, authoring, blogging, social media and all things books,  as well as networking, sharing resources, making friends and also selling some books in an exciting public signing. I am touched how many international authors are already signed up to this very special event. If you're interested, you can find out more at www.chaptercon.weebly.com 

Grow my newsletter to 2.5k subscribers with a 30-40% open rate. I've shied away from newsletters for a long time - I wasn't sure that I had anything to say - but I've realised after the amaze-balls year that 2016 has been in many ways, I have loads to say and share with readers. It's also a really great way to give back to a reading community, which has supported me over the last 10 years. The newsletter is a way of sharing other great authors in my community, introducing my readers to fab new reads, but it's also a way for me to easily spoil my readers. For example, I am giving 500 subscribers a free eBook copy of 'When Sorrows Come' via instafreebie at the minute, and also a chance to win a paperback edition of the award nominated book. The newsletter also contains a Three Free Book Roll, which links subscribers to three fabulous free quality reads. If you'd like to join the party, you can do so here http://eepurl.com/ckO6KD 

Get this blog organised. This is one of my main goals for 2017. I want to make this blog consistent in its material, creating a clear pattern of posts depending on day, for example, 'Folklore Thursday' and 'Fan Girl Friday' - the idea of this is that you, as readers know exactly when to hit my blog to meet your needs. If it's free books you want, then Mondays, if it's folklore info, it's Thursday etc. 

Do more public signings. I've done Leeds, Nashville and Glasgow this year and its taught me one thing - I really love meeting readers and bloggers in the flesh. There's nothing beats having a conversation with fellow book lovers. I've got some great events lined up this year and I can't wait. 

Complete NaNoWriMo. This year, I crashed and burned - actually that's not true at all, I didn't even start the car. For the first year in five years, I didn't do NaNoWriMo and the reason why was because of really poor time management - this year, that won't happen. I have to ensure that I am protecting my own creative writing time as well as giving to a community that I love.  

Get Fitter and Healthier. Last year, I had a really good run from February to July I was super healthy. I had made a commitment and I thought I had passed the habit forming zone -- alas, due to a whole heap of excuses (and legitimate reasons) I gave up on the lot of it. I had built going to the gym 3 times a week into my schedule, I was doing mindfulness for at least 10 minutes a day. I lost that annoying stubborn stone and a half and I was feeling great - and then I hit a wall and rather than climb up it, I slumped down it and sat on the floor at the bottom of it, stuffing my face with comfort cheese. No more. I'm back on it --- just as soon as.... LOL. 

Introducing you to Ash Krafton...

I am blessed to be a part of a really fabulous author community, who have done such a lot to support me over the years, and who have become friends. One of these wonderful authors is Ash Krafton, whom I've known on line for about 5 or 6 years after we met through our mutual love of horror writing. This month sees the release of her latest book, 'Charm City' and I'm really delighted to share it with you, and encourage you to check her out, if you haven't already.

CHARM CITY Kindle release day!

There are demons all around us, legions of the dark that break loose from Hell's restraints to prowl the mortal plane. Most people can't see them and will never suffer their torments. They are the lucky ones. Guess that makes Simon Alliant the unluckiest man alive. He's learned that the only luck a man has is the luck he makes for himself. Call him exorcist. Call him master of the dark arts. Call him dime-store magician. Most names don't matter, not when Hell knows yours. Armed with his spells and his amulets and his desperate drive toward redemption, he fights the rising darkness and sends those demons screaming back into Hell, one minion at a time. But not all demons can be exorcised. Some dwell too deep inside a man's bones to be so easily banished. Simon is smart--or, at least, cynical--enough to know which battles are worth fighting. It takes more than a fistful of charms to stay alive in his line of work. And staying alive is the only way to avoid giving the Devil his due...

Welcome to the world of The Demon Whisperer.

It kicks off today with the Kindle release of

the first book in the series: CHARM CITY.

Now available on Kindle!

CHARM CITY (The Demon Whisperer #1)

The darkness is rising and one man stands against it: the exorcist mage Simon Alliant. But in Baltimore, he finally meets his match...a part-mortal divinity with the power to whisper away demons.

Simon Alliant is an exorcist who battles demons, whether he wants to or not. Sometimes it's not so bad...he gets to play with magic, after all. But for Simon, magic represents a demon of another kind. He's addicted to magic and it takes more than a handful of charms to keep that particular demon at bay. Chiara is part Light, part Dark, and stubbornly mortal. The woman has a way with words: she literally talks demons into abandoning their human hosts. Simon thinks that's not the only trick she has up her sleeve-and that's pretty high praise coming from a mage like him.

As intriguing as that may be, Simon has too many reasons to distrust her...one of them being his more-or-less partner, an angelic Watcher. Amidst all the celestial warnings of the rising dark comes a new prophesy that makes him wonder: is Chiara a threat to him and all of mankind?

Or will she be his salvation?

Join the legions and pick your side: Light or Dark. Just know this...decisions like this are never easy, because there's no black and white when it comes to good and evil.

Grab your lucky charm. You might need it.

Ash Krafton is a speculative fiction writer who, despite having a Time Turner under her couch and three different sonic screwdrivers in her purse, still encounters difficulty with time management. She's the author of urban fantasy (such as the trilogy The Books of the Demimonde) as well as paranormal romance (WORDS THAT BIND). She also writes for YA and NA audiences under the pen name AJ Krafton (THE HEARTBEAT THIEF, her Victorian dark fantasy inspired by Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death”). Currently, she's working on a new urban fantasy series, The Demon Whisperer. The first book, CHARM CITY, is now available on Kindle.