Oh I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside – Christopher Fowler Christopher Fowler explains and “‘. . . Seaside’ came about firstly because I was commissioned to write a story for the World Horror Convention souvenir book and, as the event was to take place in Brighton, it seemed logical to set a tale on the South coast of England. and “I had written a fantasy novel, and “Calabash, and ” some years earlier, hinting at the dark madness of such seaside towns, which are the antithesis of their Mediterranean counterparts. I thought of the depressing Morrissey song and “Every Day is Like Sunday, and ” which captures the awfulness of English resorts. and “Coincidentally, Kim Newman and I were discussing the inherent creepiness of pantomime dames, and I decided it was time to give vent to my horror of these coastal pleasure domes. I wish I’d thought to include screaming gangs of hen-nighters as well. And I thought it was a nice touch to have everyone in the story telling the hero to ‘fuck off’ until he finally does. and ” Featherweight – Robert Shearman and “I don’t like writing at home much, and ” admits the author. and ” and ” and “Home is a place for sleeping and eating and watching afternoon and ” and “game shows on TV. There are too many distractions. So, years and ” and “ago, I decided I’d only write first drafts in art galleries. and “And the best of them all is the National Gallery, in London, and ” and “a pigeon’s throw from Nelson’s Column. I can walk around and ” and “there with my notebook, thinking up stories – and if I get bored, and ” and “there are lots of expensive pictures to look at. Perfect. and “A lot of those paintings, however, have angels in them. and ” and “They’re all over the place, wings raised, halos gleaming – perching and ” and “on clouds, blowing trumpets, hovering around the Virgin and ” and “Mary as if they’re her strange naked childlike bodyguards. And and ” and “I began to notice. That, whenever the writing is going well, the and ” and “angels seemed happy, and would smile at me. And whenever and ” and “the words weren’t coming out right, when I felt sluggish, when and ” and “I thought I’d rather take off and get myself a beer, they’d start and ” and “to glare. and “I wrote this story in the National Gallery. Accompanied by a and ” and “lot of glaring angels. Enjoy. and ” Lesser Demons – Norman Partridge and “I was surprised to receive an invitation for S.T. Joshi’s and “Black Wings, and ” and ” reveals Partridge, and “an anthology of Lovecraftian fiction. and ” and “Although I knew S.T. admired my work, I’ve never quite seen and ” and “myself as a Mythos writer. and “While I respect H.P. Lovecraft and his contribution to horror, I’ve never felt that his worldview (or maybe I should say and “universe and “view) meshed with mine. and “In the end, that’s what made the story work . . . at least for me. I concentrated on my differences with Lovecraft, and approached the material from a place where Jim Thompson would be more comfortable than HPL. And I’m delighted that so many people have enjoyed the tale – it was a lot of fun to write. and “

Mammoth Books Presents Demonic Dreams: Three Stories by Christopher Fowler, Robert Shearman and Norman Partridge PDF

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