Anthology Announcement: Samhain Screams!

SAMHAIN SCREAMS

Edited by Greg Chapman and Cameron Trost 

Halloween. 

So much more than costumes and candy, it’s the time when the veil between our world and the other side is at its thinnest. The hour when dark forces come into the light in search of innocent souls. A time of blood and evil.

Australian Shadows Award-winning and multiple Bram Stoker Award-nominated author and artist Greg Chapman, and acclaimed author Cameron Trost, are seeking new original Halloween tales for this anthology, planned for release in October 2025.

We want memorable, character-driven stories set on, or near, the last night of October. Give us ghosts, serial killers, rituals and monsters, heroes and villains, but most of all give us the true dark side of Halloween - and make it terrifying.

Payment is $50 AUD for stories up to 5,000 words. Contributors will also receive a complimentary print and digital copy.

The anthology will feature original cover art and internal illustrations by co-editor Greg Chapman.

The submissions window opens March 1st and closes midnight May 30th. Send all submissions to samhainscreams@hotmail.com Story submissions should follow the Shunn format.

Kindle Pre-Order Deal: The Third Black Beacon Book of Horror

Be a mastermind, not a mug, and take advantage of our huge Kindle pre-order deal! The Third Black Beacon Book of Mystery will be released on the 18th of April. Pre-order today for Kindle and pay just 99c instead of $3.99. https://mybook.to/TTBBBoM

If you haven't read the first two volumes yet, it's time to get cracking!

Welcome to 2025

Best wishes for 2025 from the Black Beacon Books crew.

We have three anthologies planned for this year:

- The Third Black Beacon Book of Mystery

- Steampunk Sleuths

and the last one will be announced later this month.

Stay tuned!

 

Steampunk Sleuths Update

The table of contents for our first novelette anthology has been finalised. Steampunk Sleuths will be published on the 18th of July next year and will feature the following stories set in a steampunk world. Each adventure will have an appropriately quirky crime or mystery at the centre of its plot, and as well as steam-powered vehicles and clockwork machinery, you might just bump into pirates, samurai, vampires, and extra-terrestrials!

Tears of the Dragon by S.B. Watson

Murder in Whitby by Karen Bayly   

The Untimely Death of Clockmaster Tollsmead by Cameron Trost

The Copper Train by Diana Parrilla

The Strange Case of Private Ornshaw and the Martian Detective by David Turnbull

The Third Black Beacon Book of Mystery - Publication Date

Black Beacon Books is pleased to announce the publication date for The Third Black Beacon Book of Mystery. The puzzles will be ready for you to solve (with the help of our host of talented investigators) on Friday the 18th of April, 2025.

These are the cases you'll be cracking...

The Painting and the Password by Cameron Trost
Death Goes Gourmet by Edward Lodi
Webster's Wallet by Robert Petyo  

A Veiled Truth by Karen Keeley

Gunning for a Promotion by Jon Matthew Farber

Take Care of Zozo for Me by Christina Hoag

A Study of Death by Teel James Glenn

Storm in a Teapot by Chris Hook

The Roman in the Fountain by Ron Fein

The Lunt by S. B. Watson

The Adventure of Woodbury Barrow by Cameron Trost

In the meantime, you can get your fix of mystery in the first two volumes.

Trailblazing Women - Karen Bayly

Karen Bayly shares the real-life inspirations behind her steampunk adventuress Artemis Devereaux with us over on her website and Black Beacon Books gives you, Dear Reader, the chance to win a print copy of her novels, Fortitude and Courage, simply by answering the question at the end of this post.

TRAILBLAZING WOMEN by Karen Bayly

In my latest novel, Courage, Artemis Devereaux stops over in Terra Australis, after flying her dirigible Taygete solo over much of the world. She had done similar journeys previous, but never solo, and I was determined she should fully spread wings after her journey toward independence in Fortitude.

Like all authors, some of my character’s drams and skills represent my own. I have wanted to learn to fly since my teens. However, the cost of flight tuition was more than I earned. Other avenues such as air force pilot weren’t open to women when I was young enough to take advantage of the opportunity. Now, I still can’t cover the cost of flight tuition, but even if I could, my failing eyesight might make things difficult.

Read Karen's full post on her website blog in order to answer the question below. Answer the question as a comment on this post or on any of our social media posts for the competition. A winner will be randomly selected at the end of the month.

Question:

What is the name of the reporter who beat the fictional record set by Phileas Fogg?

A Glimpse of the Ghostly: Cameron Trost

The Black Beacon Book of Ghosts will send shivers up your spine this Halloween. The anthology is out now in print and for Kindle. You can also add it to your Goodreads bookshelf. To get you in the mood and give you a little insight into the workings of their minds, our contributing authors are sharing their own haunting experiences with you. Read on, if you're not fainthearted!

Victoria's Most Haunted Mining Town - Cameron Trost

While my contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Ghosts is set in Brittany, one of my favourite ghost towns is in Australia. Several years ago, I discovered the old mining town of Walhalla and was so fascinated by it that I wrote a novelette set there; the Oscar Tremont mystery "The Ghosts of Walhalla". This town was where some made their fortunes but most died untimely deaths, and if it doesn't make you feel like you're in an episode of Scooby-Doo when you arrive there at night in your combi van, well, you lack imagination. The ghosts claimed to haunt Walhalla include those of Emily, a nurse, and Sally, a young bride who fell ill with smallpox. I'm not going to recount these tales here; you can look them up online or relive them as Oscar Tremont solves the case of the "ghosts of Walhalla" in Oscar Tremont, Investigator of the Strange and Inexplicable. But first, as Halloween 2024 approaches, grab a copy of The Black Beacon Book of Ghosts and let the spirits take control! 

Photo credit: https://historicalaustraliantowns.blogspot.com/