Marie O'Regan

December

The highlight of last month for Marie would have to be meeting bestselling author Neil Gaiman again while he was over in the UK promoting his new book Anansi Boys, the long-awaited follow-up to American Gods. Neil made time on his tour to give an interview to Marie and Paul Kane – where he also talked about his new film with Dave McKean, MirrorMask - and then signed books for the many fans that had turned up. The finished version of this interview will appear in a future edition of the BFS magazine Dark Horizons and on Marie’s site, so keep checking every month.

Photo courtesy of Paul Kane

Marie has also been undertaking a massive overhaul and revamp of the Elastic Press website, which will be re-launched soon. The double BFS Award-winners’ new home displays quite a few of Marie’s web skills (see more about these at www.marieoregandesigns.net ). She also found time to typeset The Last Days of Johnny North by David Swann for Elastic. Details to follow on this publication when EP announce them

Finally this month, Marie will be at the Devereux in London on 2 nd December for the British Fantasy Society’s famous Christmas Open Night. The event is always a memorable and well-attended, with the likes of Stephen Jones, Kim Newman and Michael Marshall Smith being among previous guests. Marie hopes to see many of you there and wishes all visitors to her site a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Be back here in a month for the latest on her forthcoming collection, Mirror Mere, which looks likely to kick off 2006 with a bang.

November

Marie of course attended FantasyCon 2005 on the weekend of 30th Sep-2nd October which she thoroughly enjoyed (see last month’s new section) and here is a picture of the author with the star and creator of Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place, Matthew Holness. She is very much looking forward to the next BFS Event which will be a Christmas Open Night held on Friday 2nd December 2005.

Marie has just completed typesetting More Than Life Itself for Telos publishers (full details on www.telos.co.uk), as well as being in the middle of an update for the Elastic Press website (www.elasticpress.com). Full details of More Than Life Itself will be added to the typesetting section of Marie's site when Telos releases them. Elastic and its proprietor Andrew Hook won not one, but two awards at FCon – again, see below – and here is another little picture of Andrew making a speech upon accepting one of his natty Demon sculptures, presented to him by none other than Simon Clark.

Finally this month, Marie is looking forward to the release and launch of her book Mirror Mere, which should be with us soon. The collection features all of her stories released so far and plenty of new material too. There were colour flyers for the Rainfall release in the goody bags at Fcon, showing a sneak preview of the brilliant David Magitis cover and displaying a quote The Trickster author Muriel Gray kindly gave her about her work: ‘Marie O’Regan's stories are deliciously, satisfyingly nasty, and it's refreshing to read someone who so obviously relishes the genre concocting her unique tales with vigour and lack of pretentiousness.’

Photos copyright Paul Kane. For more pictures and news, see Paul's site.

 

October

Marie has attended one or two important events in the past month. First was the BFS Open Night at the Devereux in London on September 2nd, attended by names such as Stephen Jones, Michael Marshall Smith, Conrad Williams and Les Edwards. Second was the launch of Paul Kane’s new novella Signs of Life from publishers Crystal Serenades, which was held in the very atmospheric surroundings of Craig-Y-Nos Castle in Wales. Here Marie enjoyed meeting people attending the psychic fair and was able to promote her forthcoming collection, Mirror Mere.

Something she was also able to do at FantasyCon on the weekend of 30th Sep-2nd October. As Chairperson Marie was responsible for moderating the Annual General Meeting and looking after guests such as Simon Clark, Mark Chadbourn and Matthew Holness – who wrote and starred in Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place. An excellent weekend was had by all, with many commenting it was one of the best FCon’s they’d ever been to. The weekend also saw the official launch of the BFS Horror Calendar which Marie co-edited and features authors such as Clive Barker, John Connolly, Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell and Muriel Gray.

Marie also found time to finish typesetting the Children’s book Wicked or What for Crowswing books and update both the Elastic Press website and that of artist Michelle Blessemaille.

Marie would also like to congratulate Andrew Hook on winning not one, but two British Fantasy Awards: the first for his publishing company Elastic Press and the second for the Alsiso Project anthology which he edited, containing a story by Marie.

Lastly, Marie has had her short story Spiritus Sanctus (previously published in Italy and Germany in anthologies Amazzoni and Amazonen respectively), accepted for publication in Issue 2 of new ezine Estronomicon.

September

Marie has been gathering quotes this past month for her new collection Mirror Mere, and has been delighted by the response. Take for example this quote from Eleventh Hour creator (see this month’s SFX for details of that forthcoming SF/Horror series starring Patrick Star Trek Stewart) Stephen Gallagher: ‘Marie O'Regan writes punchy and vivid short fiction in which the reader is disarmed and then dismayed with almost surgical ruthlessness. Nothing here can be trusted; not the world you know, nor the people around you, nor the ground on which you stand. Not even, when she's got you backed into a corner, that final hiding place you call your self.’ High praise indeed. More details about when the book is coming out very soon.

Marie’s story ‘Can You See Me’? is to be published in the next edition of the new Midnight Street. This powerful tale is a typical example of what Stephen talks about in his quote. The magazine's featured author is Simon Clark, and includes a full bibliography of his work to date.

Marie is also in the process of typesetting Wicked or What, Sean Wright's new young adult book for Crowswing Books. More details of this will be posted in the Design section of the site next month, when the book is due to be released.

August

Marie has been busy the past month putting together her best stories for her forthcoming collection Mirror Mere to be released in the near future by Rainfall Books. The collection will contain such tales as ‘Can You See Me?’, ‘Sea View’, ‘Stay’, ‘Samedi’s Child’ and the brand new title novella ‘Mirror Mere’. More details soon. The cover and internal art has been provided by artist David Anthony Magitis. Larger versions of the artwork can be seen on David's site.

Because of the recent terror attacks on London, the British Fantasy Society’s Awards Showcase was postponed until the 23 rd July, which Marie attended. You’ll remember from previous news sections that Marie has been recommended for her short story ‘Alsiso’, contained in the Elastic Press book of the same name, also in line for an award. Also present on the night were writers like Conrad Williams, Adam Nevill, Stephen Gallagher, Tony Richards, Paul Kane, Stephanie Swanston, and editors such as David Howe from Telos and Phil and Sarah Stokes from the Clive Barker website Revelations. A good night was had by all and much genre talk ensued.

Marie was also able to attend screenwriter and script editor Nic Ransome’s Thriller Masterclass at RADA on the same day. She found this incredibly rewarding and it will be of great help for some of the scripting projects she has lined up.

In terms of typesetting, this has also been a busy period for Marie. She has not only finished laying out Crowswing’s new collection: New Wave of Speculative Fiction, edited by Sean Wright www.crowswingbooks.co.uk, she has also found time to typeset The English Soil Society by Tim Nickels for Elastic Press. Details of this will be posted here as soon as they are released.

Finally, it can now be revealed that the introduction to Cinema Macabre (see the previous news section for details) is to be written by TV personality and O.B.E Jonathan Ross no less. In this book, edited by Mark (Fiddleback) Morris, you’ll find essays written by some of the top genre talent around today, including famous authors, artists, film-makers and actors. Marie has written about one of her favourite supernatural films, The Changeling.

July

The British Fantasy Society Horror Calendar, announced last month, has just gone to print. Response to the project from authors, artists and advertisers involved has been tremendous and Marie is overjoyed at the way it’s been pre-selling so far (due in no small part to people mentioning it on sites, blogs and message boards). If you still haven’t ordered yours you can still do so here

Marie was in attendance at Quentin S Crisp’s book launch on 11 th June to help support the author. His new collection, Rule Dementia, is the latest release from Rainfall Books, the publisher bringing out Marie’s collection very soon. Marie also has a story in the latest Terror Tales and Shadow Writer anthologies from the same publishing house.

There are two pieces of typesetting news for July. Marie has just completed work on Trailer Park Fairy Tales which has now been listed for pre-order on the Elastic Press website. She also typeset Parish Damned for Telos, details of which can be found here

Marie has also updated BFS Horror Calendar artist Michelle Blessmaille’s site. The new pictures can be viewed at http://www.michelleblessemaille.com/newgallery.htm And don’t forget you can see details of all Marie’s typesetting and website credits at http://www.marieoregandesigns.net

More news about the exciting Cinema Macabre project now:

Launching at FantasyCon 2005, is Cinema Macabre, a ground-breaking anthology collection of 50 essays on horror movies written by some of the brightest talents in the field. Edited by Mark Morris, this latest tome from the multiple-award-winning PS Publishing, will be available for sale in two attractive editions -- a trade hardcover (500 numbered copies), signed by Mark Morris, priced at £35/$50 and a slipcased hardcover (200 numbered copies) signed by all 52 contributors, priced at £75/$150. Full details can be found at the PS Publishing website. PS Publishing, in conjunction with the British Fantasy Society, is also producing an unsigned paperback edition to be sent out free to BFS members later in the year.

And to end this month, Marie will be attending a Horror Masterclass by Nic Ransome and organised by Scriptwriting Magazine on the 9th July, for an article and interview to be published at a later date in Dark Horizons - followed by the BFS Awards Showcase at night – details of the award she has been recommended for are in the previous news section.

JUNE EXTRA

Marie is very happy to announce a project that she's been working very hard on for the last few months, along with co-editor Paul Kane - the follow-up to last year's highly successful Fantasy Calendar, the 2006 British Fantasy Society Calendar. This time, the theme is horror all the way - with fiction by such genre greats as Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Graham Masterton, Poppy Z. Brite, Stephen Gallagher, Christopher Fowler, John Connolly, Kelley Armstrong, Stephen Laws, Simon Clark and Muriel Gray. The stunning cover artwork is provided by Sin City, Lord of the Rings and Constantine matte artist, Paul Campion, who has also contributed an internal piece. Artwork is also provided by James Ryman, Mike Bohatch, Lew Lehrman, Michael Ian Bateson, David Anthony Magitis, Ian Simmons, Russell Dickerson, Lara Bandilla, Bob Covington, Lizzy Shumate and Michelle Blessemaille.

Demand for this collector's item is expected to be very high, so order early to avoid disappointment! The calendar is available for pre-order now from the British Fantasy Society Cyberstore, and will launch at this year's FantasyCon.

June

Marie is delighted to announce that her story ‘Alsiso’ from Elastic Press’ The Alsiso Project anthology has just been recommended for a British Fantasy Award. This is Marie’s first ever recommendation and she is thrilled at the news. For those of you who haven’t read this piece it has been uploaded onto the site here. The story will form part of Marie’s first collection which she is currently compiling. Also recommended was When Darkness Comes which featured Marie’s story ‘Stay’ and Terror Tales # 2 which contained her short tale, ‘Bleed for Me’.

Marie was at the ‘Write Fantastic’ launch/BFS Open Night on 4th May at Walkers pub, Holborn. Also in attendance were Best New Horror editor Steve Jones, Conrad Williams, Mark Chadbourn, Juliet McKenna, Sarah Ash, Simon Clark, Mike Marshall Smith, Chaz Brenchley, Stan Nichol, Gary Couzens, Telos' David Howe, Alec Worley, artists Dave Bezzina and Bob Covington, and many others. The event was very well attended and the free drinks went down very nicely indeed!

Marie’s creepy short story ‘Whispers’ has just been accepted for publication in Terror Tales # 3 which will be published in the not too distant future. Other contributors are under wraps at the moment but the anthology will also featured bestselling author Peter - The Hellfire Club - Straub. Keep watching this space.

Marie has just finished typesetting work on Trailer Park Fairy Tales by Matt Dinniman, for Elastic Press. Details of this will be available as soon as Elastic Press release them on www.marieoregandesigns.net/typesetting.htm - where there is more information about Marie’s website design and typesetting businesses - and of course on the EP website.

Finally, on a related subject, Marie has just updated author Tony Richards' site, with news of his brand new book, Ghost Dance. For details about this visit Richards Reality at http://www.richardsreality.com.

May

Photo: Hugh Glynn

The big news this month revolves around Marie’s interview with bestselling author John Connolly. John is of course the author of such popular books as Every Dead Thing, Dark Hollow, The Killing Kind, The White Road, Bad Men, Nocturnes and The Black Angel. Marie met up with him the last week in April for a chat, the result of which will be published in the next edition of the British Fantasy Society’s magazine Dark Horizons which Marie also edits. It will also appear here on the site at a future date so keep looking out for it.

It’s been an exciting month or so for Marie as she’s been picking and choosing material for her first collection. The stories, which range from her earliest stories to more recent tales, will be gathered together in one volume. It will also see the first ever publication of a very special novella she has written.

Marie did find time, however, to attend the launch of Tim Lees’ book The Life To Come from Elastic Press. Tim read a short extract from his story The God House and answered questions from those in attendance. You can find details of this publication at the EP site

Photo courtesy of Andrew Hook

Finally Marie’s site is in the process of being redesigned to separate out her writing and web work (she designs and maintains websites for numerous artists and writers (Tony Richards, Michelle Blessemaille, Paul Kane). The main site will continue to bring you all the latest news about Marie’s writing, but anyone interested in her web design work can find all the details about that at this link: www.marieoregandesigns.net

April

Marie has been busy working on a number of script projects this past month and turning a few of her short stories into short screenplays for future transition to film. In between this she finished her essay on The Changeling for the upcoming Cinema Macabre book featuring a host of famous writers, editors, artists and actors. The book is due to launch in September and looks set to have a very special introduction.

And it's here! The German anthology, Amazonen, has now been published by Ubooks. Contents are as for the Italian version, Amazzoni, detailed last month. For full details, click here.

She also found time to update artist Michelle Blessemaille's site with a new gallery. To view these stunning pictures from this amazing French artist follow the link

Marie has been busy with typesetting work of three new books. The first is Beyond Each Blue Horizon for Crowswing Books - the new collection by Andrew Hook. The book is due for release in June, details available on www.crowswingbooks.co.uk Secondly, Telos release Another War by Simon Mordern, which is due to be published in June 2005. Details available on www.telos.co.uk. Lastly, Elastic Press' new collection, The Life To Come by Tim Lees. The book is due to be published in May, details are to be found on www.elasticpress.com.

You can also find pictures from the Elastic Book of Numbers launch and Nick Jackson's launch for Visits To The Flea Circus at the Elastic Press website which Marie has just updated.

At the end of March, Marie attended John B. Ford’s wedding along with a number of other genre talents including Night of the Triffids author Simon Clark, Joel Lane, Simon Bestwick, Paul Kane, Martin Roberts & Helen Hopley, Sue Phillips, Quentin S Crisp and Des Knight.

She was also invited to attend an exclusive reading night at The Pineapple last month where authors Christopher – Water Room – Fowler and Jake Arnott read from their books.

Finally, Marie has received news of a very special interview she is due to conduct in April with a huge name in the industry. More about this in a future update.

A reminder that you can book for FantasyCon 2005 right now on the BFS website. For more details visit the FCon section here

March

Marie’s story ‘Spiritus Sanctus’ has just been published in the Italian anthology Amazzoni alongside some of the cream of genre talent: Susanne Brydenbaugh, Lisa Negus, Eddie M. Angerhuber, Peggy Jo Shumate, Jeanine Krock, Sarah Crabtree, Petra Wilfert, Kathleen Weise and Susan M. Phillips The book has excellent production values and this is the first time Marie’s material has been translated into another language, so it obviously a very exciting release. There is also due to be a German translation at some point in the future. For more details click here, although be warned that the text is in Italian.

Marie has just finished typesetting Stephen Gallagher’s Valley of Lights as mentioned last month on the news page. The book’s scheduled release date is 21 April 2005 and can be ordered now from the Telos website.

Marie has begun work turning her short stories ‘Stay’ and ‘Can You See Me’ into film scripts. The stories both deal with psychological horror at it’s best and are guaranteed to make either the reader or viewer uneasy.

Lastly, Marie was in attendance at a small Terror Scribes gathering at the Cittie of York on 19TH February, along with John B. Ford, Mark Samuels, Quentin S. Crisp, Des Knight, Paul Kane and others. The do was to celebrate the launch of Sue Phillips’ Dog Tales anthology and the impending release of Quentin S. Crisp’s Rule Dementia.

Photographs courtesy of Paul Kane

February

Marie has just finished editing the brand new version of Dark Horizons, the BFS magazine. It will now contain fiction, reviews and interviews and will be in a different format to those from the past. One of the interviews Marie will be conducting for a future issue is with bestselling author John Connolly, whose recent Nocturnes collection has proved a massive hit with readers. This exclusive interview will coincide with the release of John’s new book The Black Angel which Marie will also be reviewing for DH.

Finally, Marie is in the midst of typesetting two new releases. The first is Stephen Gallagher’s classic chiller Valley of Lights for Telos. The second is The Life to Come by Tim Lees for Elastic Press. For information about both of these please visit the respective publishers websites at www.telos.co.uk and www.elasticpress.com.

January

Marie attended both the BFS Open Night on 3rd December at the Princess Louise, in London, and the TTACon the following day at the Cittie of York. Other guests included Steve Jones, Pete Crowther, Des Lewis, Dave Matthew, Gary Couzens, Martin Roberts, Paul Kane, Mark Samuels, Chris Teague, Stuart Young, Andrew Hook, Allen Ashley and Andy Cox. Photographs of both events can be seen on Paul Kane's website, here.

Writing-wise Marie completed the extended version of her Suicide Bridge script in December and has delivered this. She has also been busy putting the finishing touches to her first fiction collection, featuring a brand new novella called ‘Mirror Mere’.

Marie is also finishing up editorial duties on her first edition of the BFS magazine Dark Horizons, which should see print in February. The whole look of the magazine has been completely overhauled and she is confident readers will like the result. Featured in its pages is the winner of the 2004 BFS Short Story Competition, which was announced at FantasyCon last October.

Artist Michelle Blessemaille's site updates have been completed by Marie so if you take our advice you'l check out Michelle's new gallery, here.

Finally, at the end of what has been a busy month for the author, she has just finished typesetting two new books: Elastic Press's brand new multi-author anthology The Elastic Book of Numbers and Nick Jackson's new collection, Visits to the Flea Circus. For information about both of these please visit the Elastic Press Website at: www.elasticpress.com/publications.htm.