Marie O'Regan

DECEMBER

 

The first piece of exciting news this month is that Marie’s collection, In Times of Want, has sold out of its first print run at the publishers’. You can still pick up an e-book copy, however, to see what all the fuss is about by clicking here.

 

 

Marie also reviewed Alison Littlewood’s new novel from Jo Fletcher Books last month, The Hidden People (above). You can find out what she thought of this one on the Sci-Fi Bulletin site by clicking here.

 

 

Marie has been out and about at events since the last update. Last month it was as a Guest for the second time running at Sledge-Lit (above). And below, you’ll find pictures of her on the panel ‘Size Matters? Is Shorter Fiction Making a Comeback?’ with Niki Valentine, Adam Millard and Terry Grimwood, who was chairing.

 

 

 

Then she was on the panel ‘The Award Goes To... Do Award Nominations and Wins Help Books and Authors?’ with KT Davies, chair Penny Reeve from Angry Robot Books, Mark Morris and Guest of Honour Stephen Volk (below).

 

And, earlier this month, Marie was at the British Fantasy Society Christmas Open Night. Below you’ll find photos of that event, including one with Paul and director of Hallows Eve, Brad Watson.

 

 

 

 

And that’s it for 2016! So it just remains to wish all the visitors to Marie’s site a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you all in 2017 for more news on her work.

 

NOVEMBER

 

The main news this month is that Marie is a guest at Sledge-lit for the second year in a row. Not only that, she is on two panels: ‘Size Matters? Is Shorter Fiction Making a Comeback?’ at 3:30pm, with Adam Millard, Niki Valentine, Simon Clark and Terry Grimwood as chair, then straight away afterwards, ‘The Award Goes To... Do Award Nominations and Wins Help Books and Authors?’ at 4:30pm with KT Davies, Mark Morris, Stephen Volk and Penny Reeve, who is chairing that particular one.

To book your ticket for the event, which takes place on Saturday 26th at the Quad in Derby, just click here.

 

 

Last month Marie reviewed the new book by Adam Nevill, a collection called Some Will Not Sleep (above). To find out what she made of it, you can read the review on Sci-Fi Bulletin here.

 

 

And Marie’s collection In Times of Want, which launched at FantasyCon in September, is now available to buy in paperback on Amazon. To pick up a copy directly from there just click here.

OCTOBER

 

We begin this month with a couple of reviews Marie has done, the first of Six Scary Stories (above) – chosen and introduced by Stephen King from entries to a competition run by his publishers in tandem with the release of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams – which you can find over on the Mass Movement website here.

 

 

The second was for This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab (above) and you can read what she thought about that one on the Sci-Fi Bulletin site here.

 

 

Next up we have pictures from FantasyCon by the Sea, which took place in Scarborough and was spread over two hotels: The Grand (above) and The Royal. Below you’ll find photos from the interview Marie did with Mike Carey on the Friday night, author of The Girl With All The Gifts and Fellside (as M.R. Carey)…

 

 

 

…. Then pictures from the Horror Writers Association/Jo Fletcher Books party she co-hosted, including one of her and co-chair of the UK Chapter of the HWA, Paul…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo © CC Adams

 

….next, below, you’ll find photos of Marie on the ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ panel from the Saturday with (L-R) Maura McHugh, Anne Nichols, chair Heide Goody, Catriona Ward and Priya Sharma…

 

 

 

 

…then it was onto the hugely successful launch of Marie’s collection, In Times of Want and other stories (which virtually sold out on the Saturday evening). Here you’ll see her signing copies of the book at the event, which Hersham Horror Publisher Peter Mark May introduced…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…before finally taking part in the HWA-sponsored publishing panel with (L-R) agent Ian Drury, chair Paul, publisher Jo Fletcher and editor Stephen Jones on the Saturday…

 

Photo © Stephen Jones

 

Last, but not least, on the Sunday it was time for the BFS Awards banquet – hosted by Lee Harris with awards presented such luminaries as Joe Hill – where Marie herself was given with an award for her involvement with the Red Shirts over various conventions. Photos of all this below:

 

 

Photo © Alison Littlewood

 

 

 

 

Photo © Peter Coleborn

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER

 

Marie was out and about quite a bit in August. Firstly, she was joined her fellow ‘esteemed guests’, as well as Guest of Honour Adam Nevill and Master of Ceremonies John Connolly (above in the booklet) at the Dublin Ghost Story Festival between the 18th and 21st.

The event kicked off with a reception held at Gallery X on the Thursday evening, part of Brian Coldrick’s ‘Behind You’ exhibition. On the Friday was a tour of St Michan’s and its mummies, then it was on to the Grand Lodge of Ireland building where the main Festival was being held for a James Joyce whiskey reception and a performance from Robert Lloyd-Parry as M.R. James (photos from all these below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marie’s panel started the festival proceedings proper on the Saturday, which was introduced by John. She had fun chatting about ghost stories with Paul, Lynda E. Rucker (who moderated), Angela Slatter and Adam Nevill – all in front of a packed audience (photos below)

Photo courtesy of Sarah Pinborough

 

Photo courtesy of Brian J. Showers

 

 

Guest interviews followed, including Sarah Pinborough talking to Adam and David Mitchell reading from his new novel Slade House then chatting with John (below).

 

 

 

Saturday night saw the raffle, followed by the well-received Horror Writers Association wine reception, then the whole thing was wrapped up by co-organiser Brian Showers of Swan River Press (below).

 

 

Later that same week later, Marie attended the Angela Slatter Jo Fletcher/HWA event at Forbidden Planet in London. You can photos of this above and below, including Angela’s signing, and the gathering afterwards at the Crown and Anchor where Marie gave a speech about the Horror Writers Association – as co-chair of the UK Chapter.

 

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of Angela Slatter

 

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of Jo Fletcher Books

 

 

An upcoming event now, and Marie will of course be at FantasyCon again this year – in fact her schedule has just been announced. On Friday 23rd September at 6pm she’ll be interviewing Mike (M.R.) Carey – author of The Girl With All the Gifts, which has been turned into a movie starring Glenn Close and Gemma Arterton (above) – and then co-hosting a Jo Fletcher Books/HWA party and signing at 9pm.

She has two panels on the Saturday, ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ at 5pm (with Heide Goody, Catriona Ward, Priya Sharma, Maura McHugh and Anne Nichols) and ‘Every Day I Write The Book’ at 9pm (with Paul, Stephen Jones, Ian Drury and Jo Fletcher). She is also launching her collection from Hersham Horror, In Time of Want, at 7pm that evening (see last month for more details about the book).

So to book your ticket, if you haven’t already, click here.

 

AUGUST

The big news this month is the cover reveal for Marie’s new collection, In Times of Want – published by Hersham Horror, and launching at FantasyCon in September. The stunning cover art is by Edward Miller, and the collection comes complete with an introduction by Sarah Pinborough (13 Minutes, Behind Her Eyes) and an afterword by Johnny Mains (Dead Funny, Best British Horror).

 

 

Marie was also at various events last month, starting with Creative England’s Northern Lights at the Lowry – in the very heart of Manchester’s Media City (above and below).

 

 

 

Giving advice about film and TV writing were such names as Adult Life Skills writer/director Rachel Tunnard (below, right)…

 

 

 

…writer of Last Tango in Halifax and Happy Valley (above), Sally Wainwright, and founder of RED production company Nicola Shindler (below middle and right). The event even had its own cupcakes! (below)

 

 

 

Then, as a NewCon author Marie was on hand to help the press celebrate ten wonderful years down in London, which included more cake and a heartfelt speech by NewCon’s very own Ian Whates (all below).

 

 

 

 

Finally, Marie was a guest at Edge-Lit in Derby, where she was on the ‘Horror, Thriller or Chiller?’ panel with Jason Arnopp, Sarah Pinborough, Johnny Mains and V.H. Leslie, then later on the ‘Professional Writing’ panel – which she chaired – with Ali Shaw, Jason, M. John Harrison and Nina Allen. You can see photos from all these below.

 

 

 

 

 

JULY

 

Marie had a great time last month at the Joe Hill Fireman event in Derby, as you can see from the photos above and below, including Joe with Marie and Paul, setting up the Kazoochestra on stage and signing books.   

 

 

 

Marie’s schedule has now been released for Edge-Lit (see last month for more details about the event itself): At 10 a.m.she is on a panel called ‘Horror, Thriller, Chiller… What’s the Difference, Really?’ with Jason Arnopp, V.H. Leslie, Conrad Williams and Johnny Mains. Then at 4p.m. she’s chairing a panel called ‘The Truth About Writing – What’s it Like to be a Professional Writer?’ with Nina Allan, M. John Harrison and Ali Shaw.

 

 

Marie has also been busy reviewing books, with three appearing on the Sci-Fi Bulletin website. You can find out what she thought of Hope and Red by Jon Skovron (above), My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix and Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger (below) here, here and here.

 

 

She also reviewed Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? by Paul Cornell and End of Watch by Stephen King (below) for Mass Movement, and you can read those here and here.

 

 

JUNE

 

Marie is delighted to announce that she’s one of the guests at The Dublin Ghost Story Festival, Friday 19th – Sunday 21st August, run by Swan River Press with sponsorship from the HWA UK. Guest of Honour is Adam Nevill (No One Gets Out Alive, Lost Girl), with John Connolly (Nocturnes, Night Music) as MC and other guests including David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas, The Bone Clocks), Sarah Pinborough (The Death House, 13 Minutes) and Angela Slatter (Of Sorrow and Such, Vigil) in attendance.   

To read more about the event and to book your tickets just click here.

 

Before that, though, Marie will also be attending the Joe Hill event in Derby at the Quad on 11th June. Joe will be there to celebrate the launch of his new novel The Fireman (above), as part of the Derby Literary Festival.

You can find out more about that and book your tickets simply by clicking here.

 

MAY

Above and below you’ll find photos from the first ever HWA UK Horror Meet held in Derby at the Ye Olde Dolphin Inne. In the first Marie is introducing the event and in the second, guest A.K. Benedict is doing a reading from her latest book Jonathan Dark or The Evidence of Ghosts.

And there are reports about the event here and here.

 

The HWA are also one of the sponsors of this year’s Edge-Lit, at the Quad in Derby on 16th July, which will feature Marie as one of the Guest Speakers alongside Sarah Pinborough (The Death House, 13 Minutes) Jason Arnopp (The Last Days of Jack Sparks, Stormhouse) and Paul Cornell (Who Killed Sherlock Holmes?, Elementary).

To read the full list of guests and book your tickets just visit the Quad website here.

 

Marie also reviewed John Connolly's A Time of Torment (below), the latest Charlie Parker thriller, for Mass Movement Magazine. You can find her review here.

 

 

APRIL

 

We hit the ground running this month, with the first HWA Horror Meet which is on 9th April in Derby at the reputedly haunted Ye Olde Dolphin Inne from 2pm to 7pm. Our guest is the wonderful A.K. Benedict (above), author of The Beauty of Murder and Jonathan Dark or The Evidence of Ghosts.

All members of HWA UK are welcome, plus this event will also be open to non-members who are interested in meeting fellow horror fans and writers and learning more about what the Horror Writers Association can do for its members.

The link for the pub is here. It’s about a twenty-minute walk from the train station or five minutes in a cab. For anyone wanting to stay over, there are quite a few hotels not too far away.

For more details and to register your interest, visit the Facebook page for this event here.

 

 

Last month Marie reviewed the latest Lovecraft-inspired anthology, Black Wings of Cthulhu 4 edited by S.T. Joshi. You can read her thoughts about it on the Sci-Fi Bulletin site here.

 

MARCH

 

Two of Marie’s reviews were published on the Sci-Fi Bulletin site in February. You can read what she thought of A.K. Benedict’s Jonathan Dark or the Evidence of Ghosts (above) and Jen Williams’ The Silver Tide (below) here and here.

 

 

She also designed a new flyer for the UK Chapter of the Horror Writers Association (below), which she recently became the co-chair of. For more details about the HWA and for up to date information about the events that are approaching keep checking the site here and its Twitter page by here.

 

FEBRUARY

 

As part of a special Mr & Mrs version of his interview series, ‘The Lowdown’, Simon Bestwick interviewed Marie last month. She talks about her background, her fiction and publications such as Hellbound Hearts and The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories By Women (below), and you can read it all just by clicking here.

 

 

JANUARY

Welcome to the first news update of 2016, and here’s wishing everyone a Happy New Year! We begin with some very exciting news in the form of Marie & Paul taking over as co-chairs of the UK Chapter of the Horror Writers Association. Formed in 1985 by Joe Lansdale, Karen Lansdale, and Robert McCammon, to promote awareness of horror literature, the HWA’s first president was none other than Dean Koontz, and in 1987 it inaugurated the Bram Stoker Awards®, the highest recognition for writing in the horror genre. You can find out more about the organisation by visiting its homepage here

Keep checking back for more announcements in the months ahead about related promotions and events over here in the UK, but in the meantime you can visit the HWA UK site and join by clicking here and go to its Twitter page by clicking here.

 

 

Marie’s first fiction appearance of the year was in Obsidian (above), an e-book from NewCon Press celebrating a ‘Decade of Horror Stories by Women’. Marie features alongside such names as Sarah Pinborough, Alison Littlewood, Lisa Tuttle and the late, great Tanith Lee to name but a few, with her ghost story ‘The Cradle in the Corner’. You can read more about the publication and buy it by clicking here.

In addition to all this, Marie has been busy reviewing a raft of genre books, starting with Stephen King’s new collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (above) for Mass Movement magazine. To read her thoughts about that one, just click here.

 

 

You can also read Marie’s reviews of The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman and Lost Girl by Adam Nevill  (both above),  as well as her review of The Night Clock by Paul Meloy (below) for Sci-Fi Bulletin here, here and here.

 

 

Finally, Hersham Horror Books, publishers of Marie’s The Curse of the Ghost novelette have announced a brand new collection from her called In Times of Want. Out later this year, this will include all of Marie’s stories from recent years, plus a very special introduction. More details to come as and when about this, so keep checking back.