December
Stephen Jones, Marie O'Regan, Paul Kane, Sarah Pinborough, Jeff Mariotte
Marie is delighted to report that the US launch of Hellbound Hearts (see previous news section for details) at the World Fantasy Convention in San José 29th October – 1st November was a hugely successful event. Everyone had a great time and the signing session afterwards went on for an hour and a half (above you can see a photo, courtesy of Charles Prepolec, of Marie – centre – at the signing table, with Stephen Jones on her left and co-editor Paul Kane on her right). For more photos of the event and Marie, you can visit Paul’s site here.
Hellbound Hearts will be receiving its UK launch during the British Fantasy Society’s Xmas Open Night on 4th December at The George pub on The Strand, from 7:30pm onwards, so more pictures to come... In the meantime, check out some more new reviews of Hellbound Hearts here, here and here.
Marie has just reviewed Shaun Hutson’s latest book, Last Rites (above), for Total Sci-Fi Online and Maria V. Snyder’s novel Sea Glass (below). To find out what she made of them, visit the website here, where you’ll also find lots of other reviews and interviews.
In her capacity as webmistress, Marie has just updated two sites. You can find out all the latest news about Night of Demons author Tony Richards by visiting www.richardsreality.com. Likewise, visit www.allenashley.com to find out what author and editor Allen Ashley is up to.
Marie has also just typeset Out of this World for the Wingerworth Wordsmiths. A follow-up to their award-winning Perspectives, this will again be sold in aid of charity – and Marie will be at the launch of the book on 9th December.
We finish with some fiction news now. Marie’s short story ‘Cat and Mouse’ features in a new anthology called Deadly Dolls (above), edited by Terrie Leigh Relf and David Byron, brought out by NVF Publications. Other authors featured include Roberta Lannes, Tamara Thorne, Sam Stone and Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc. Marie’s creepy story ‘Playtime’ is also due to be published soon in Darc Karnivale, but more news on this as and when.
October Extra
Hellbound Hearts will be officially launched in the US at the World Fantasy Convention in San José this Halloween. Paul and Marie will be hosting a launch party for members of the convention on Saturday October 31 st, 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm, 20th Floor, Suite 2014/2015. Available to sign copies at the party will be: Stephen Jones, Sarah Pinborough, Chaz Brenchley, Jeffrey J. Mariotte and Simon Clark.
The party is being co-sponsored by World Horror Convention, Brighton, England (www.whc2010.org)
October
Marie had a great time catching up with people at FantasyCon 2009 last month (above). For her, highlights included Stephen Jones’ interview with Brian Clemens (below), creator of The Avengers, the Mammoth Book of Wolfmen and Best New Horror launches and book signings on the Saturday, as well as the PS Publishing and Abaddon launches that followed.
The next event Marie will be attending is the World Fantasy Convention, in San Jose ) – her first – where she will be launching Hellbound Hearts in the States with Paul. The title went on sale on 29th September worldwide, and she and Paul wrote an exclusive introduction which appeared on Clive Barker’s official Revelations site to mark the occasion. You can read this here.
More positive reviews have also been appearing, such as this one from Jason Rolfe at HorrorBound here. He says ‘The stories collected in Hellbound Hearts remain true to the nightmarish mythology that inspired them. They are subtle and suggestive, violently unrestrained, and penned by writers perfectly suited to the task. Kane and O’Regan have done a wonderful job. Hellbound Hearts will delight and disturb the fans of Hellraiser, and those who first discovered The Hellbound Heart in George R. R. Martin’s Night Visions 3. Hellbound Hearts is highly recommended.’
Fatally Yours have also put up a review which you can find here, and comments: ‘ It is truly amazing how Clive Barker’s work could go on to inspire so many different terrifying tales. Each and every one is worth reading and it was painful to try and pick out just a few to talk about when all of the stories are so stellar. Each of the authors captures the aesthetic and themes of the Hellraiser mythos, all the while tweaking it just enough to make it their own. What truly makes this anthology so exciting is how many different directions authors can go with Barker’s legacy. From Native American lore to the future of science behind “Shadow DNA”, there is really no limit to how writers can reinterpret and retell the Hellraiser mythos... Horror fans that relish shocking literature as well as Clive Barker and Hellraiser fans are sure to enjoy Hellbound Hearts. Don’t torture yourself, get your copy today!’
The anthology is currently available at the Simon and Schuster site here, as well as Amazon UK here, Amazon US here, and all other good book stockists.
In the non-fiction world, Marie just delivered a review of the horror DVD Dying Breed – starring SAW’s Leigh Whannell – to Total Sci-fi Online which you can read here.
Also last month Marie and Paul took time out to visit Pinewood studios once again where they caught up with effects maestro Bob Keen for a project they’re working on. Bob is a veteran of the movie industry having worked on everything from the Star Wars series and Highlander, to Hardware and Dog Soldiers (you can see one of the werewolves from this below in his office).
September
Marie is very excited that news of Hellbound Hearts (see previous news section for details) has been spreading around the net like wildfire. Here’s a round up of where you can find news reports about the book: on The Hellbound Web here, Dread Central here, IMDB here, Fearnet here, Zone Horror here, Pretty Scary here, Fatally Yours here, Shock Till You Drop here and on Clive Barker’s official Revelations site here. Marie was also interviewed along with co-editor Paul Kane on the Fantastic Horror site here, plus the first review of the anthology has appeared on the All Things Horror site here where Johnny Mains comments, ‘Kudos MUST go to Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan who have pulled out of the bag a magnificent clutch of tales and have managed to coax from the authors many rich, dark and some truly frightening stories that have added a new and complex light to an already vastly complex universe. It’s a great read and I hope that Pocket Books, the publishers, commission a second volume soon. 9.5/10.’
In addition you can watch a trailer for the movie made by Barbie Wilde (Female Cenobite from Hellbound: Hellraiser II) below:
As a quick reminder, you can pre-order Hellbound Hearts at the Simon and Schuster site here as well as Amazon UK here, Amazon US here and all other good book stockists.
Marie is one of the lucky few to get their hands on an advance review copy of Stephen King’s latest novel, Under the Dome (above). She is reviewing it for Total Sci-fi Online, so will put a link up when it appears, but she has already said that this one is definitely worth waiting for. Under the Dome will be available from Hodder & Stoughton in the UK from 10th November.
Marie will be attending FanatsyCon 2009 at the Britannia Hotel, Nottingham this month (18th-21st September to be precise). Guests of Honour this year are Jasper Fforde, Gail Z. Martin and Brian Clemens, with Ian Watson handling the M.C.ing duties. For more information on the event, visit the FCon site at http://www.fantasycon.org.uk/
August Extra
A very special announcement now, as Marie’s site celebrates the release of new twisted thriller SLAVE on DVD on August 24th with three copies of the shocking movie to give away. To find out how, just read the official press release below.
SLAVE is a twisted tale of how the most basic of actions can lead to the most brutal of consequences. Following his directing duties on short film Wish You Were Here, Darryn Welch gets behind the camera once more for this unrelenting thriller from writer Brett Goldstein. TV star Sam Page (CSI: Miami, Madmen) and Natassia Malthe (BloodRayne 2) star alongside Michael Maxwell & Howard Marks in this dark story based on true events.
SLAVE follows Americans Georgie and David as they arrive in Spain seeking the wedding blessing of David’s estranged and criminal father. They are soon invited to stay at his palatial Villa where they find themselves entering a world of wealth and danger beyond their wildest dreams. When David’s father is away on ‘business’ they head out for a night on the town where they meet seedy nightclub manager Marlon. He treats them as honored guests, laying on champagne and drugs, but after leaving Georgie alone for an instance David returns to find she has vanished without trace, or a single witness. Now David must wade through corrupt local officials, drug dealers and crazy locals to find her, but is he ready to discover the truth?
So, to win one of the copies of the DVD simply answer this question: Who directed SLAVE? Send your answers to this email address please: competition@marieoregan.net, along with your postal address, to be in with a chance of winning. The closing date is September 30th. Good luck!
August
Marie is delighted to finally be able to announce a project she has been working on behind the scenes for a while. Hellbound Hearts is an anthology of stories inspired by The Hellbound Heart novella written by Clive Barker back in 1986, famously adapted to film by Clive as none other than Hellraiser. Here’s more information from the official press release:
‘Hellbound Hearts Edited by Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan
Twenty-one Tales Inspired by Clive Barker’s Hellraising Universe.
Clive Barker’s iconic masterpiece The Hellbound Heart, the novella adapted into the film Hellraiser, unleashed a new mythology of horror, brilliantly conceived and born of the darkest imagination. Now, enter this visionary world – the merciless realm of the demonic Cenobites – in Hellbound Hearts, a terrifying collection of stories inspired by The Hellbound Heart.
Featured here is the graphic work “Wordsworth,” from bestselling author Neil Gaiman and artist Dave McKean, who unlock an explicit way to violate innocence – one torturous puzzle at a time… New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong logs on to a disturbing website for gamers, where the challenge is agonizing, and the solution beyond painful. When his father disappears, an Oxford student returns to his family’s mansion, where a strange mechanism in the cellar holds a curious power, in a haunting illustrated work by Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola.
With a special foreword by Clive Barker, introduction by Stephen Jones and afterword by Doug “Pinhead” Bradley, Hellbound Hearts is a must have for any horror and dark fantasy fan.
Table of Contents:
Foreword: Clive Barker
Introduction: Raising Hell, Again by Stephen Jones
Prisoners of the Inferno by Peter Atkins
The Cold by Conrad Williams
The Confessor’s Tale by Sarah Pinborough
Hellbound Hollywood by Mick Garris
Mechanisms by Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola (illustrated by Mike Mignola)
Every Wrong Turn by Tim Lebbon
The Collector by Kelley Armstrong
Bulimia by Richard Christian Matheson
Orfeo the Damned by Nancy Holder
Our Lord of Quarters by Simon Clark
Wordsworth by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
A Little Piece of Hell by Steve Niles
The Dark Materials Project by Sarah Langan
Demon’s Design by Nicholas Vince
Only The Blind Survive by Yvonne Navarro
Mother’s Ruin by Mark Morris
Sister Cilice by Barbie Wilde
The Promise by Nancy Kilpatrick
However…by Gary A. Braunbeck and Lucy A. Snyder
‘Tis Pity He’s Ashore by Chaz Brenchley
Afterword by Doug Bradley
Special Bonus Material: Wordsworth Graphic short story Original Script by Neil Gaiman
This very special book also boasts brand new cover artwork from Clive, a Cenobite which has been specifically created and named for the anthology: ‘Vestimenti’.
News about Hellbound Hearts officially broke at San Diego’s Comic Con running from 22nd – 25th July which Clive himself attended to personally introduce a screening of Clive Barker’s Book of Blood (see last’s month’s news update for an online set report).
Keep checking back for more exciting news about this anthology, including details about a very special launch, but in the meantime Hellbound Hearts is available to pre-order at the Simon and Schuster site here as well as Amazon UK here, Amazon US here, and all good book stockists.
The second big piece of news is about Origin, the new short film written and directed by Doctors and Eastenders scriptwriter Danny Stack. The movie features Coronation Street, Mistresses and Waterloo Road actress Katy Carmichael and Life on Mars and Robin Hood actor Lee Ross. Marie is an associate producer on the film, which revolves around a young man undergoing a mysterious transformation. You can visit the IMDB page for the film here, visit the film’s own web page here, but to whet your appetite even more the trailer and various stills are below…
Writer/Director Danny Stack on set...
Freddy, played by Jack Blumenau
Jimmy, played by Lee Ross.
July
Marie has just reviewed the entire of Stargate Atlantis Season 5 (above) for Total Sci-Fi online. The final series of this groundbreaking show is being released in volumes, and you can see what Marie thought of them by clicking here.
© Matador Pictures
Also for Total Sci-Fi, you can now read a set report that Marie did with Paul based on their trip to see the making of Clive Barker’s Book of Blood. Directed by John Harrison (from the Sci-Fi Channel’s version of Dune) and starring Jonas Armstrong from BBC’s Robin Hood (above, in a spot of bother) as well as Sophie Ward, you can read the report by clicking here.
You can now read the articles Marie contributed to issue 5 of Shroud magazine (above), namely about Absinthe, geographical confluences, and the Webley revolver. For more detail about this ‘Hiram Grange’ special of the magazine, visit the website link here.
Marie has also found the time to update both the Read Us site, with news of the Wingerworth Wordsmiths’ award win (see previous news update for details) and the award-winning Elastic Press, marking the announcement of its closure and with news of the remaining stock for sale. To visit these, click on www.read-us.com and www.elasticpress.com respectively.
And, to end, Marie will be attending the next BFS Open Night on 3rd July at The George on Fleet Street in London. The event will be a Torchwood evening with the launches of books in the series written by Sarah Pinborough (above), Guy Adams and Mark Morris. It starts at 6pm so she hopes to see some of you there.
June
The first piece of news for this month involves a book Marie typeset for the ‘Wingerworth Wordsmiths’ group. Perspectives (below) has won the David St John Thomas Charitable Trust Group Anthology Competition, which was announced at The Society of Authors HQ in London on 19th May. The cup the group received is pictured above and Marie wishes all the writers involved many congratulations.
Marie has also updated the group’s website recently, which you can find here on Read Us, which the Wordsmiths set up to showcase their work.
Marie is also delighted to announce that she will be attending the World Fantasy Convention for the very first time this year. Held October 29th - November 1st in San Jose, California, the convention boasts such Guests of Honour as Garth Nix (see a selection of his books above), Jeff and Ann VanderMeer and Lisa Snellings.
May
Marie is delighted to pass on the news that James Herbert has just been revealed as Special Guest of Honour at The World Horror Convention in Brighton in 2010. Beginning with his ground-breaking novel The Rats (below) first published in 1974, James has gone on to cement his reputation as not only one of Britain’s bestselling genre writers, but one of the world’s most popular authors. With more than twenty other novels published – such as Lair, Domain, Sepulchre, The Shrine, Jonah, Haunted, The Ghosts of Sleath, ’48 and Once… - James joins the other fantastic guests at WHC already announced: Tanith Lee and David Case as Author Guests of Honour; Les Edwards and Dave Carson as Artist Guests of Honour; Hugh Lamb as Editor Guest of Honour; with Gollancz’s Jo Fletcher as MC.
Marie recently joined the committee and will be handling registration over the convention weekend itself. But for more information on attending / registering / accommodation please visit the site here. Some types of hotel rooms are already close to selling out, proving what a popular event this is likely to be. So don’t delay, book your place right now.
In other news, Marie has just delivered a review of Maria V. Snyder’s latest novel Storm Glass to the Dreamwatch site, which has now changed its name to simply Total Sci-fi Online – click here to visit. Regular visitors may remember that Marie has read and reviewed all of Maria’s books to date, with glowing recommendations. To visit the author’s site to find out more, just click here.
Finally, Marie has just been sent the finished cover artwork for the Darc Karnivale anthology she is due to appear in with her story ‘Playtime’. The gorgeous art is by Nick Rose, who is also providing an illustration for each tale. The book is edited by David Byron and should be out over the summer through Evil Nerd Empire publishers.
April Extra
The British Fantasy Society has announced its awards longlist, and Marie was delighted to see that her short story In The Howling of the Wind (Estronomicon, Christmas 2008) has been recommended in the Best Short Story category. To read the story, click here - and if you're a BFS member, you can vote up to 31st May, if you click here.
April
The first piece of news for this month is the publication of Femme Fatales of Fright: New Voices in Fiction # 4 featuring Marie’s tense story ‘Cat and Mouse’. As the title might suggest, this is a psychological study of terror not to be missed… The magazine comes complete with creepy cover (above) and also features fiction from the likes of Corrine De Winter, Jeani Rector and Kitty Taylor, as well as interviews with actress Cheyenne King (from Demons Rising) and Danica Decosto (from The Vampires of Zanzibar), plus movie reviews. Pick up your copy today by clicking here. There is also a website dedicated to Femmes Fatale, featuring more information on the contributors, here.
Marie was also delighted to see the following review of her story, 'World Without End', by Peter Tennant - which appeared in Issue 2 of The Thinking Man's Crumpet in February. For a review of the whole issue, see here.
"Marie O'Regan is featured author, and probably the best known and most accomplished of the magazine's contributors. In World Without End she cleverly builds what at first blush appears to be a simple tale of a young girl losing her teeth into one of global apocalypse. You can take this in several ways - as simply an externalisation of the girl's feeling that tooth loss is a monumental catastrophe, or as an actual scenario in which the macrocosm reflects the microcosm (and tempting to wonder if the girl represents Gaia). Either way, the idea is intriguing, and the story well written, managing to hold the attention all the way and make us suspend disbelief."
On the review front, Marie has just delivered her review of the horror DVD Dead Wood for Dreamwatch Presents Total Sci-Fi. All in all, she was impressed by this low-budgeter from directors David Bryant, Sebastian Smith and Richard Stiles, where the woods are definitely not all they seem! Check the review out when it goes online, here.
February
We kick off this month with news that Marie’s story ‘World Without End’ will be published in The Thinking Man’s Crumpet issue 2 (above is issue 1), in fact Marie is one of the featured writers in the magazine, which spotlights multi-genre fiction written by women.
Marie has also just been interviewed in Deadly Dolls (above), which features conversations with women working within the genre. Also included in the line-up are Roberta Lannes, Tamara Thorne, Andrea dean Van Scoyoc, Jeani Rector, Jade Eckert, Laura Bickle, Tamara Wilhite, Cindy Rosmus, Angie Hulme, Alexis Child, Terrie Leigh Relf and Amanda Underwood. To order your copy, just click here.
Marie's novella, Mirror Mere, currently available on the Screaming Dreams website, has now been added to www.issuu.com and converted into an e-book you can read online. Just click here to read more.
Marie has just reviewed the DVD Alien Raiders (above) for Dreamwatch Presents Total Sc-Fi. Produced and directed by the team that brought us The Blair Witch Project, you can find out what she made of it by checking out the piece on the site at http://www.dwscifi.com/ .
Marie has just signed up for The World Horror Convention in Brighton, 25-28 March, 2010. The World Horror Convention is a highly recommended event for anyone interested in the horror genre, with panels, readings and guests of honour. To sign up yourself or to find out more details, visit the website at http://www.whc2010.org/
On 31st January Marie attended the launch of Ellen Datlow’s new anthology, POE, which included readings from contributing authors Nicholas Royle and Pat Cadigan. Sadly Ellen herself could not attend due to ill health and Marie hopes she gets well soon. You can find pictures from the day below:
The superb cover of this Solaris book.
Kim Newman saying a few words at the start of the launch, holding ‘little Eddie’.
Pat Cadigan reading.
Nicholas Royle stepping up to read next.
Photographs © Paul Kane
On another note, award-winning artist Vincent Chong has redesigned and relaunched his website - full details can be seen here.
January
A very happy new year to everyone, and we hit the ground running in 2009 with an article Marie has written for news-stand publication Writing Magazine (above with the Penny Smith cover). All about creating suspense in your work, you can pick up your copy today.
And a brand new story from Marie will feature in David Byron’s forthcoming publication, Dark Karnivale. ‘Playtime’ is a chilling ghost tale which should greatly please fans of Marie’s fiction.
Marie has just reviewed the third book in the ‘Study’ series by Maria V. Snyder: Fire Study (above). You can find out what she thought of this one when her thoughts are published on the Dreamwatch Presents Total Sci-Fi site soon.
Below you can find pictures from the BFS Open Night Marie attended on 5th December at Ye Olde Cock Tavern, Fleet Street, London. She’ll be at the same venue later this month when she attends the launch of Ellen Datlow’s new anthology, POE.
L-R: Female Cenobite from Hellbound Barbie Wilde, musician Georg Kajanus and Xtro and Star Wars actor Tim Dry.
Other Open Night attendees
Marie with her husband, Paul.
Open Night photos © Paul Kane
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