{"id":13180,"date":"2013-02-20T09:00:48","date_gmt":"2013-02-20T09:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.badreputation.org.uk\/?p=13180"},"modified":"2013-02-21T09:11:28","modified_gmt":"2013-02-21T09:11:28","slug":"guest-post-five-women-in-horror-from-alison-littlewood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badreputation.org.uk\/2013\/02\/20\/guest-post-five-women-in-horror-from-alison-littlewood\/","title":{"rendered":"[Guest Post] Five Women in Horror from Alison Littlewood"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>I was delighted when Bad Reputation
asked me to recommend the work of five women working in horror, to
coincide with Women in Horror Recognition Month<\/a>. It\u2019s
the perfect time to celebrate each other\u2019s work and shout about
what women have achieved in the field. So here are five personal
picks…<\/p>\n
<\/a>I first came across Thana\u2019s
work in various anthologies, including several editions of
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror<\/strong>, where her work
had rightfully been selected as among the most outstanding of
the year.<\/p>\n
Most recently though, I read her first collection of short
stories, From Hell to Eternity<\/strong><\/a> (published by Gray
Friar Press, with an introduction penned by none other than
Ramsey Campbell<\/a>).<\/p>\n
From Hell to Eternity<\/strong> is a wonderful read. I
particularly loved the opening story, ‘The
Curtain’, with its eerie underwater world, and
‘Stolen to Time’, with a photography session
that captures more than is bargained for. This is a
strong debut, and definitely marks Thana out as one to
watch.<\/p>\n
Furthermore… this is a lady who really lives the
life. As her bio says, she \u2018lives in a crumbling
gothic tower in Wicker Man country. She shares her
life with fellow horror scribe John Llewellyn Probert,
in a Victorian library filled with arcane books and
curiosities.\u2019<\/p>\n
Her online home (\u2018a little dusty, little dark, a
little strange,\u2019) is at thananiveau.com<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n
Marie is another talented short story writer as
well as a top-flight anthologist. She has also
worked behind the scenes of the FantasyCon
gathering, putting programming together and
bringing some fantastic guests of honour to the
event.<\/p>\n
One of her latest titles is\u00a0The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by
Women<\/strong> (published by Robinson<\/a>), a project
aimed at showcasing the work of women writers
in the field. It includes stories dating back
to the nineteenth century through to
contemporary ghostly tales. I have a story in
there too, and can vouch that Marie is a
pleasure to work with.<\/p>\n
With husband Paul Kane, Marie also edited Hellbound Hearts<\/strong><\/a> (Pocket
Books), a Clive Barker tribute anthology
that includes stories by Neil Gaiman,
Sarah Pinborough, Conrad Williams, Tim
Lebbon, Barbie Wilde, Kelley Armstrong and
many more, and features a foreword by
Clive Barker.<\/p>\n
Next up on my \u2018to be read\u2019
pile is The Mammoth Book of Body
Horror<\/strong><\/a> (Robinson),
which includes more big names and
potentially more visceral
fare…<\/p>\n
Find Marie at www.marieoregan.net<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Sarah Pinborough has
published a number of novels,
including The Hidden<\/strong><\/a>,
Tower
Hill<\/strong><\/a>, The
Reckoning<\/strong><\/a>
and Breeding
Ground<\/strong><\/a>,
a wonderfully chilling
book that reimagines
motherhood and birth
in an entirely
different way.<\/p>\n
Her novella, The Language of
Dying<\/strong><\/a>
(PS Publishing) is
an intimate and
harrowing account
of a father\u2019s
terminal illness.
The fantasy
elements are
interwoven with
the lightest touch
– this is
more akin to
true-life horror,
and brought me to
tears. It won the
2010 British
Fantasy Award for
Best
Novella.<\/p>\n
The
Dog-Faced
Gods<\/strong>
series
(Gollancz) is
a widely
acclaimed
trilogy
combining
crime with the
supernatural.
Coming up is a
duology of
historical
novels that
again combine
crime with
horror: Mayhem<\/strong><\/a>
and
Murder<\/strong>
(Jo
Fletcher
Books).
Sarah also
has a
movie,
Cracked<\/strong>,
in
development,
and is
making
inroads
into
writing
for
television,
with an
episode
of
New
Tricks<\/strong>
under
her
belt.
Her
short
story
\u2018The
Confessor\u2019s
Tale\u2019
was
among
my
favourites
in the
Marie
O\u2019Regan\/Paul
Kane
anthology,
Hellbound
Hearts<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
See
more
from
her
at
sarahpinborough.com<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n
2010
saw
not
one
but
two
short
story
collections
published
–
Sourdough
and
Other
Stories<\/strong><\/a>
(Tartarus
Press)
and
The
Girl
with
No
Hands
and
Other
Tales<\/strong><\/a>
(Ticonderoga).<\/p>\n
Sourdough<\/strong>
is
full
of
dark
fairy
tales,
where
babies
are
fashioned
from
bread
and
dolls
are
given
souls.
The
Girl
with
No
Hands<\/strong>
has
retold
stories,
including
The
Little
Match
Girl
and
Bluebeard.<\/p>\n
I
tend
to
think
of
fairy
tales
as
the
original
horror
stories,
and
Angela\u2019s
work
is
ideal
for
anyone
who
likes
their
dark
fiction
with
a
good
measure
of
the
magical
and
folkloric.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s
good
to
hear
that
she
is
currently
working
on
an
urban
fantasy
novel,
Brisneyland
by
Night<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
www.angelaslatter.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
Her
writing
career
began
in
1995
with
the
bestselling
horror
novel
The
Trickster<\/strong><\/a>,
which
was
followed
by
Furnace<\/strong>
and
The
Ancient<\/strong>
(all
HarperCollins),
which
Stephen
King
described
as
\u201cscary
and
unputdownable\u201d.<\/p>\n
She
has
also
contributed
many
short
stories
to
anthologies
and
magazines,
the
most
recent
including
The
Mammoth
Book
of
Ghost
Stories
by
Women<\/strong>
and
A
Carniv\u00e0le
of
Horror:
Dark
Tales
from
the
Fairground<\/strong>
(PS
Publishing).<\/p>\n
Apparently
Muriel
was
a
horror
fan
from
childhood,
when
she
hid
The
Pan
Book
of
Horror
Stories<\/strong>
under
her
bed
covers
and
read
it
with
a
torch.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1. Thana Niveau,
short story writer<\/h2>\n
2. Marie O\u2019Regan, anthologist<\/h2>\n
3. Sarah Pinborough,
novelist<\/h2>\n
4.
Angela
Slatter,
short
story
writer<\/h2>\n
5.
Muriel
Gray,
novelist
and
TV
presenter<\/h2>\n
\n