Highlights from the blog tour of Nightmare Asylum & Other Deadly Delights!

I recently had my first ever book tour, which was hosted, beautifully by Blackthorn Book Tours. It was an exciting experience as I didn’t know what was going to be posted in advance and my book is kind of weird, so it was always going to be a bit of a surprise!

Usually, the book tours are organised to coincide with the book’s release date from the publishers. But this didn’t happen in my case due to a couple of factors, I didn’t help that I was on a ship travelling t through the Suez canal with poor internet. This was also my first indie book that had a professional publisher, and I wasn’t quite sure where to start with promotion.

I paid for the tour with my first royalties payment, which felt a little self-indulgent. Still, I wanted to mark the occasion and celebrate after a long and tricky path to publication – the book was finally out there, on its own in book-world, which can be a dangerous and unpredictable place for little books that don’t really fit in…

Obviously, I have my favourite reviews and so did BlackThorn Tours. They very helpfully sent me a break down of the reviews, with highlights and quotes, which and would have been brilliant at the beginning, had I organised the tour sooner! (The first couple of days I had no sales or reviews, and this would have been amazing to have had at that time).

So as promised the highlights:

beauty

“Horror, more than any other genre, lends itself to short stories so perfectly. There’s no dragging things on and overstaying the welcome. Instead, we’re intrigued, hooked, surprised, and satisfied in short measure, ensuring maximum impact.

Nightmare Asylum and other Deadly Delights collects 18 stories, some as short as just a few pages, that pick at the scabs and scars of all-too-human horror. “Read more

Amy

“This book deserves a second read! (and maybe more). This author is not just a writer but a great storyteller. The collection fit together with varying themes, but all with deadly twists and the unexpected. I look forward to reading more by this author. This book is a definite recommendation by Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews.”Read More

Books

“From the very beginning, I knew that each story was going to be unique and very well written. Overall, this was a fantastic read and it is something I highly recommend. If you are looking for horror or just some creepy reads, this is definitely an anthology for you. Especially if you can’t decide on a story to read and you need something nice and short to get you back into it. Read more…

reader

Reader Gal

‘… I am recommending this book because why not? It’s amazing. If you are looking for something action paced and horror and mystery then read this one here…. ‘ Read more…

anazstasia

Anastasia on Goodreads

‘… Do you like trigger warnings? (I don’t. I think they’re for snowflakes). But here you are: if you’re a snowflake you might not like this book….Read More…

And finally… this gorgeous photo and great review is from Dana at Open My Pages!

Dana

“Did you read Scary Stories to tell in the Dark as a kid? I did and loved them. I loved their dark and macabre nature and the abrupt often startling endings. Sonia Kilvington brings us the adult version of those stories. Haunting and dark, Nightmare Asylum will twist your mind and leave you wanting for more after the jaw dropping twist. The anthology continues with tale after tale of creepy stories that leave that unsettled tickle in your brain.” Read More

 

book cover

 

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

 

 

My first book tour was amazing! – Many thanks to Blackthorn Book Tours!

Blackthorn

 

Perfect Love∼Review&Interview at Scream Hard Reviews!

Is it really possible to control something which is made in our own image, and yet has a life-force of its own?

My android short story, Perfect Love, is set in the future of 2033, where android companions are a luxury as well as a growing market trend for international sales. A global manufacturer and distributor of companion androids decide to initiate an experiment to introduce human feelings into an android male – with devastating results…

My dark short story is reviewed, and I’m interviewed about what inspired me to write it, by the marvellous Donna Maria Mccarthy and CHenry Roi at Scream Hard Reviews!

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Paranoid

It’s so good to be back at Pulp Metal Magazine with my new short story Paranoid!

This one is about a man suffering from paranoia who believes he has been targeted by a religious cult. I have always found cults to be fascinating, and when I grew up as a teenager in the late seventies, cults seemed – if the newspapers were to be believed – to be proliferating everywhere!

Just like my character Frank one of these organisations had, for some reason, decided I might be worth pursuing. It went on for months, but it began one innocent Saturday afternoon while I was out shopping by myself.  This incredibly handsome young man opened a shop door for me; I was very surprised and smiled back. His eyes were mesmerising and it literally took me several seconds to notice his shaved head and orange robes…

When I came out of the shop he and several of his ‘gang’ were waiting for me. They began calling after me and following me down the high street. At the time I thought it was funny, like something from a bad Monty Python sketch … until it happened every time I went to town. The stupid thing was that I was the least likely person I knew to be indoctrinated, as I hated conformity of any sort and I would have looked really sickly in orange.

shutterstock_233455516

It is true that we all have our individual perceptions  which are coloured by our memories, past hurts and special recollections. It is completely unrealistic to assume that others experience the world in exactly the same way as we do, as individuals. I imagine that given the right circumstances, everyone can experience a feeling paranoia to some degree…

 

“They would lay in wait outside of the shops at the mall in the afternoons. I would catch threatening glimpses of their vivid orange robes as they lingered in shady doorways, waiting for an opportunity to lure me away. I was already on their radar and I’m not sure how I got there. Maybe it was something to do with the weird phone calls; disembodied voices would ask for me using my name, Frank, and then refuse to speak. It felt as though they were trying to bait me, waiting for me to reveal myself to them, through my fear.

I became anxious and stopped enjoying going to the mall, or talking to anyone on the phone, in case they were listening in. I didn’t know what powers they had or what they wanted from me.” Read more at Pulp Metal Magazine

 

 

Cry Baby at Pulp Metal Magazine

My new story, Cry Baby is at the marvelous Pulp Metal Magazine today! Considering some of the fantastic stories which have been up there recently, I’m feeling really chuffed!

Cry Baby is a story about a psychopath with a dark and frightening past; who is about to evolve from a stalker into a serial killer.

I wrote this story while on the Litreactor course, “Making a Monster” where the impressive horror writer, Ania Ahlborn, was as my tutor. I found the course to be a fun, interactive experience and I feel that I learnt a lot from it, especially about exploring character development and  also advance story planning; which has never been my strong point.

The photo above is from the Spanish horror/ghost film, “The Orphanage” (2007), which I felt fitted the theme quite appropriately, although my characters dis-figuration has occurred internally rather than externally, due to his childhood experiences at the orphanage.

As maybe you have already guessed, I borrowed the title of the story from that wonderful Janis Joplin song, Cry Baby. I love Janice for her unique style and fabulous voice, and I’m hoping that she won’t mind too much, what I have done with  the title of her beautiful song.

 If you get there first, it’s very difficult for a woman to accuse you of stalking; anyway following women about, that’s for amateurs who haven’t done their homework. If you follow a women into a café or  restaurant or are seen loitering around her apartment, alarm bells will ring and she will eventually spot you, may confront you or even call the police, and this is the last thing that you need…

You can read my story, Cry Baby here at Pulp Metal Magazine

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