Dave Higgins's Blog

Hawkin riffs on modern social trends and the question of whether all human experience is an artefact of perception to create cyberpunk that remains true to both the theme of dehumanisation and the wrapping of fast-paced vibrant spectacle. Technological and software advancements have turned the internet into the Holos, interconnected virtual realities so real and … Continue reading Thrill Switch by Tim Hawken

Thorn places the ability of vampires to control their victims front-and-centre, creating a paranormal romance where the female protagonist has cause to doubt her emotions rather than just her potential lover’s actions. Pagan Hall has spent her adult life hunting the worst of vampires in the hope of finding those responsible for her parents’ murder. … Continue reading Conspiracy of Vampires by Miranda Thorn

One of the online poetry groups I’m in posted a line prompt based on the Bible’s Book of Proverbs Chapter 18 Verse 24—but in a translation that was rather different from those I’d encountered before. So, in the spirit of difference, I decided to experiment with a new form and chose a rondeau. There are … Continue reading Taking the Proverbial

Weichsel gathers stories that do not shy from graphic sex and violence but realise that plot and characterisation aren’t something to just be cast aside like a blouse before getting to the main action. This anthology contains twelve short stories united by being set in a jungle and not confining themselves to socially polite themes … Continue reading Jungle Scandals, ed. J. Manfred Weichsel

Weischel gathers stories that do not shy from graphic sex and violence but realise that plot and characterisation aren’t something to just be cast aside like a blouse before getting to the main action. This anthology contains twelve short stories united by being set in a jungle and not confining themselves to socially polite themes … Continue reading Jungle Scandals, ed. J. Manfred Weischel

Davis reframes classic tropes of a con artist being caught by their own con and the absurdity of social status through the lens of a mixed-race US teen in the 1980’s, creating an engagingly modern satire. Grieving the death of his mother, angry at his father for moving them to a different area almost immediately … Continue reading Bad English the III: The Mostly True Tales of a Son of a Brit by JM Davis

They laughed at Lovecraft when he warned of men turning into Deep Ones, claiming evolution and mutation happen over generations not within a single lifetime. But nature—not the nature that can be observed and measured by scientists but the true nature that continues without a care for the human belief in patterns—does not laugh; or … Continue reading The Cats of Innsmouth

Matthews gathers tales of people already fighting past traumas who encounter new horror, displaying both the true damage of succumbing to addiction and that the real world can be just as terrible. This anthology collects three novellas and three short stories, each featuring addiction as a central plot thread. ‘Sometimes They See Me’ by Kealan … Continue reading Lullabies for Suffering: Tales of Addiction Horror, ed. Mark Matthews

I hope you are all enjoying the benefits of the annual Herostratic Rite. And that you have no idea what I mean. It is said that the sheen of the basalt pillars is exquisite, the subtle curve of their surface reflecting back the image of a world that does not contain… Which is where we … Continue reading Memory Hovel

I was intersected by multiple things recently, which emerged as a poem: Learning Through Play after Philip Larkin They try their best, your mum and dad. It’s bigger things that fuck it up. Like starting out from what they had And getting extra in your cup. Some cousins told to wait their turn By siblings … Continue reading Learning Through Play