Walter's Crossing

I'm eagerly awaiting a radio interview with horror author (and a good friend of mine) Carol Weekes. Carol and I used to edit Northern Fusion magazine together, coached and edited each other's work and also wrote several stories together.

Our story "It Creeps Up On You", a tale about a haunted comic book that forever changes a young boy's life, was first published in the World Fantasy Con 2001 CD-Rom that came with the program booklet and was reprinted in my story collection One Hand Screaming.

Here's the first three paragraphs of the opening of the story, just to give you a sense of the wonderful style of Carol's writing. Of course, her brilliant style is a bit subdued thanks to my own hand in this tale, but even the words that my big sausage fingers typed out can't dispel the magic of the way in which Carol can string words together and weave a tale.

He slowed the car along Parson's Road to view his old house from across the street. The last occupants had left the place back in 1976, and from what he'd heard, in a hurry, too. Some said it had been due to bankruptcy, another said divorce, but John Ingram knew better. Something had driven the last family out, and he thought he could understand what. When he'd lived in this house at 24 Parson's Road as a child, everything had been normal -- until one fateful night many years ago.

It had everything to do with the comic book he held in his hand. He tapped it against one leg, hating it, afraid of it, but also relieved to have found it. It wasn't the same book his brother Martin had bought back in 1975, but it was a continuation of the toxin, an unusual and frightening kind of poison that had begun to ruin his life two decades earlier.

He crossed the road towards the house. Dead leaves crunched under his feet. He watched the windows for any sign of movement. His lips pressed into a tight line and he regarded the house, swearing he was finally going to see this through to the end.

Carol is about to launch her first novel, Walter's Crossing. which is being released by Naked Snake Press. (Summary Description of the novel below)

On a torrid summer morning, a young man named Walter Matthews sets out to commit an act of vandalism and revenge against a small town bully that has made Walter's life miserable for a year. Walter almost achieves that bitter nugget of satisfaction--except something goes terribly wrong when he drops a pen while running for cover in the backyard of the bully he fears. What happens next only opens a chasm of horror for Walter and those he despises.

Carol is a brilliant writer, one whom I am fortunate to have worked and written with. And, having already read Walter's Crossing I can say that it immediately gets slotted into the list of my favourite novels. I think that anyone who enjoyed Dan Simmons Summer of Night or Stephen King's It will also enjoy Walter's Crossing.

(Incidentally, the book is not only available in hard copy, but also available as an e-book. If you only buy one e-book this year, make it Walter's Crossing. The great thing about e-books is that you can try out an author you've never read before with very little expenditure and risk. Being able to read Carol's novel for under $5.00 is incredible bargain. You'll thank me for the recommendation.)

Carol is going to be interviewed on Chuck Phillips' "The Morning Show" on AM 1220 on Thursday April 19th at 7:10 AM -- the first of a number of interviews surrounding the launch of her wonderful novel. You can listen to AM 1200 live by clicking here.