130 Talented Talespinners

130 talented talespinners! ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY! That's how many wonderful wordsmiths Black Beacon Books will have published in our anthologies, collections, Kindle-only novelettes, and novels long before the midnight fireworks announce the end of the year. We might have a sleep in on New Year's Day, but then it will be back to work bringing you more fantastic fiction, including (we hope!) a handful of more new names, in 2027. Perhaps you will join our ranks. 

   

A Scary Interview with Esme Lee Wilmot

The Black Beacon Book of Horror 2 will be released on the 1st of October, but in the meantime, the Kindle version is available for pre-order at just $1.99 instead of $3.99 and you can add the anthology to your Goodreads TBR list. To get you pumpkin-spiced up for an unforgettable Halloween 2026, we’re interviewing the contributing authors. Step into the corridors of their dark minds, if you dare!

Hi Esme,

That classic question to get started. Do you have to be a horrible person to write horrible things?

No, you just have to have met horrible people. OK, perhaps I’m only half joking, but I do think this rings true for anyone who has experienced bullying. I think that I write horror to rationalise and debunk my own fears or to process events from the past. I have always felt drawn to the dark and strange or to the things I don’t understand. Darkness is inherent to human nature and society, and I believe this should be acknowledged rather than ignored. Fiction is a good way to explore this.

Which horror writers do you admire—old or new, famous or hidden gems?

I admire Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson and Shaun Hamill for the originality of their ideas, the quality of their writing and their ability to invoke real unease or fear in the reader.

Can you describe your perfect horror-themed night in, out, or away?

A fancy-dress Halloween party with lots of spooky decorations, a Halloween playlist, and horror-themed food and drink is my idea of fun.

Are there any urban legends, folktales, or real-life tales of horror that happened (just maybe) where you live or grew up?

Sadly, no!

Do you have any writing rituals?

A coffee and a silent house normally do the trick. Sometimes I might play a bit of Radiohead or burn essential oils, but I try to minimise distractions so I can become immersed in the story I’m writing.

Would you share something about yourself that your readers don’t know yet?

I have been told that I come across as confident. This blows my mind, as I consider myself quite a fearful person (hence, writing horror to face my fears). It has taken a long time to build up my self-esteem, and even now I’m still plagued by self-doubt, particularly with the writing.

Where can we find you online?

https://www.facebook.com/esmeleewilmotwriter
https://www.instagram.com/esme_lee_wilmot_writer/

The Pandemic Has Begun!

THE PANDEMIC HAS BEGUN!

Index Case is a pre-apocalyptic medical thriller that we can only hope remains purely fictional, but this latest offering from Sam Dawson is based on thorough research and the insight only a professional journalist can bring. Accompanied by Sam's own illustrations and a chilling cover by Greg Chapman, this is one book you're not going to want to miss out on. Catch the virus now as an ebook or in print.

Index case, in public health, the first case of a disease or other condition that is noticed by health authorities. The index case is sometimes also referred to by the term patient zero. - Encyclopaedia Britannica

INDEX CASE isn't just another novel about a pandemic. It's a pandemic in itself! A thoroughly-researched medical thriller, a critical analysis of public policy, a survival handbook, a guidebook to some of the historical highlights along the south coast of England, and ultimately a philosophical treatise. All of this wrapped up for the intrepid reader in one gripping novel.

Rob is an epidemiologist, dedicated to fighting disease and all too aware that the UK is unprepared for the deadly pandemic that's about to hit. As he plans how his family will survive, he ponders the traces of long-dead villages and plagues past, and begins to wonder: is it time to be part of the problem, not the solution?

Index Case holds a Black Mirror up to recent times, with dashes of Quatermass, Wyndham, Simon Clark, Christopher and Doctor Who – all the good stuff! Thought-provoking, with lots of cultural touchstones I could relate to.

— Paul Kane, award-winning, #1 bestselling author of Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell and Dark Reflections

Laced with nuanced social observation and eerie visions of horror, Dawson’s Index Case is a paranoiac fever dream for which there’s mercifully no cure!
— Dave Jeffery, Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Award nominated author of the a Quiet APOCALYPSE series

A Scary Interview with David Schembri

The Black Beacon Book of Horror 2 will be released on the 1st of October, but in the meantime, the Kindle version is available for pre-order at just $1.99 instead of $3.99 and you can add the anthology to your Goodreads TBR list. To get you pumpkin-spiced up for an unforgettable Halloween 2026, we’re interviewing the contributing authors. Step into the corridors of their dark minds, if you dare!

Hi David,

That classic question to get started. Do you have to be a horrible person to write horrible things?

It’s such a common misconception when one thinks that a particular author would need to have the personality of which they would write. Actors playing evil antagonists on the stage and screen are not evil at heart ; they're acting. It’s their profession. They study the role, research the origins, do interviews, read material and get a sense of how the character would behave, and put all of that into their performance. That’s what a horror writer does. To write in any genre, one researches, reads the genre and dives deep into the characters they create, and sculpts their work accordingly. To provide a simple example, I will never write a romance story, however in life, I am a romantic person at heart.

Which horror writers do you admire—old or new, famous or hidden gems?

I’m a little on the cliché with this one. I am a strong Stephen King fan and loved also reading the works of Richard Laymon and Clive Barker. I also love J RR Tolkien and JK Rowling. The worlds in which I’d dived into with their works had left me with life-long inspiration, and I have been known to re-read their books.

Can you describe your perfect horror-themed night in, out, or away?

My perfect horror-themed night in would be getting together with my mates and playing a horror RPG. Snacks, drinks, creepy ambiant music, an excellent GM, a dam scary story and no time limit. This is my idea of horror-themed heaven.

Do you have any writing rituals?

Setting myself in a quiet spot, dim the lights, perhaps some snacks or a cup of tea, research/reference material at hand, ambient music is a must, and a warm rug on my lap.

Would you share something about yourself that your readers don’t know yet?

What readers probably don’t know about me yet is that I’m a musican. I love playing the guitar and singing. I also have been writing my own music ever since I was in early high school. I would like to share my music in the future when I get my solo album finished. I was in a four-piece rock band in the 90s and we played a few venues around Melbourne. Music, like art and writing, has and always will be a part of me.

Where can we find you online?

Feel welcome to visit my website at: davidschembri.net I am also on Facebook and have my author’s page here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063595146407

A Scary Interview with David Turnbull

The Black Beacon Book of Horror 2 will be released on the 1st of October, but in the meantime, the Kindle version is available for pre-order at just $1.99 instead of $3.99 and you can add the anthology to your Goodreads TBR list. To get you pumpkin-spiced up for an unforgettable Halloween 2026, we’re interviewing the contributing authors. Step into the corridors of their dark minds, if you dare!

Hi David,

That classic question to get started. Do you have to be a horrible person to write horrible things?

I'd say to write horrible things you need to be aware of horrible things and exactly why they are horrible, which is miles better than someone who does horrible things and is oblivious to what a horrible person they are.

Which horror writers do you admire—old or new, famous or hidden gems?

I'm a sucker for Stephen King. The first thing I read of his was Salem's Lot. I was a big fan of Dracula but the main characters - a lawyer, a professor, a doctor, a Lord - all seemed a bit far removed from the world I knew. King's characters were ordinary people in a small town, which made the notion of vampires all the more scary. King's novels usually come out in Autumn which means I usually end up with his latest outing for my birthday gift in November.

Are there any urban legends, folktales, or real-life tales of horror that happened (just maybe) where you live or grew up?

In the town of Selkirk in the Scottish borders where I grew up, there's a story of a poor old woman called Tibby Tampson who stole a ball of wool and was denounced by her neighbours as a witch. She was unjustly put to death. The stone rolled over her unmarked grave in the hills allegedly cracked when it was struck by lightning. There is a marker there and people leave coins wedged in the crack for good luck. As a kid it I used to have nightmares about going to visit the stone and being chased over the hills by Tibby on her broomstick. 

Would you share something about yourself that your readers don’t know yet?

In another life I was the officer in Unite the Union responsible for the Fair Tips Campaign. I coordinated strike action in TGI Fridays and campaigns in Pizza Express for the fair distribution of tips and helped change the law concerning tip and service charge allocation.

Where can we find you online?

You can find my regular Substack London Fantastical here  London Fantastical | David Turnbull | Substack

A Scary Interview with Robert Runté

The Black Beacon Book of Horror 2 will be released on the 1st of October, but in the meantime, the Kindle version is available for pre-order at just $1.99 instead of $3.99 and you can add the anthology to your Goodreads TBR list. To get you pumpkin-spiced up for an unforgettable Halloween 2026, we’re interviewing the contributing authors. Step into the corridors of their dark minds, if you dare!

Hi Robert,

Which horror writers do you admire—old or new, famous or hidden gems?

I like John Linwood Grant’s An Unkindness of Shadows, Ain’t No Witch, and Occult Detective Magazine--though those might be more weird than horror, per se? And of course, I have to mention Premee Mohamed, the Canadian author whose The Butcher of the Forest (to take just one example) is blindingly brilliant.

Are there any urban legends, folktales, or real-life tales of horror that happened (just maybe) where you live or grew up?

The local museum is said to be haunted (it started out as the local hospital), as is the old 1900s-era theatre where my kids attended acting camps. Does that count? I’ve written a few stories based on my family’s history with ghosts, though none of those were strictly horror—mostly just encounters with recently dead relatives announcing their passing a continent away from where they passed, before word reached us in the more conventional ways.

Do you have any writing rituals?

I need a specific tea to write. For several decades, it was David’s Tea’s (Montreal-based Canadian chain) “Chocolate Chili Chai”, but they discontinued it, leading to a long dry period for my creativity. I experimented with two dozen other brands’ variation on the theme, but nothing else came close. I eventually found Creative Tea & Herbal Products’ (Elora, Ontario) “Chocolate Chili Pepper” which I have grown to love even more than the original David’s Tea. Unfortunately, Creative Tea is strictly a wholesaler, so I have to go to McQuarrie's Tea & Coffee Merchants in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, about 8 hours from where I live. The round trip is worth the drive for the boost to my writing output. The rest of the time I drink teas my almost-son-in-law brings back from his trips to China.

Would you share something about yourself that your readers don’t know yet?

I need people to understand that I am not mansplaining. There is no gender bias in me; I pontificate at everyone equally. Pontification is not just a professional hazard as a retired professor, but reflects that as neurodivergent editor and author, I’ve done deep dives on a great number of ridiculously obscure topics as part of my job. Consequently, I know stuff. If I am spouting, unasked, on some topic you do not wish to hear about, you can stop me using the magic phrase, “Will this be on the test?” (That works to deflate most educations mid-spiel.)

Where can we find you online?

I’m still on Facebook (Dr.Robert Runte), though the medium is becoming so toxic, it’s driving more and more of us elsewhere. My websites are SFEditor.ca, EssentialEdits.ca, and I blog at “I’m Not Boring You, Am I?” at https://runte.blogspot.com/ My Amazon page is https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robert-Runte/author/B07CZ12GNL

A Scary Interview with Mike Adamson

The Black Beacon Book of Horror 2 will be released on the 1st of October, but in the meantime, the Kindle version is available for pre-order at just $1.99 instead of $3.99 and you can add the anthology to your Goodreads TBR list. To get you pumpkin-spiced up for an unforgettable Halloween 2026, we’re interviewing the contributing authors. Step into the corridors of their dark minds, if you dare!

Hi Mike,

That classic question to get started. Do you have to be a horrible person to write horrible things?

Interesting point! I would say there is no call to be a horrible person to write horrible things, but I would have to ask whether some such things would ever be welcome in a mind that wasn’t at least touched in some way by darkness. Writing horror, as surely as painting horror, can be used to exorcise dark things that would otherwise take hold and damage the mind. But all things are relative. Horror is a spectrum, after all, and a very wide one at that, and one can dabble in it without wading hip-deep in the mire, as it were.

Which horror writers do you admire—old or new, famous or hidden gems?

I recently explored the writings of Arthur Machen, which was certainly interesting—one sees where Lovecraft got some of his inspirations. Charles Dickens and H G Wells could each have quite the streak of horror about them at times, more than is popularly associated with their names.

Are there any urban legends, folktales, or real-life tales of horror that happened (just maybe) where you live or grew up?

Oh, you mean like The Witch-Tree of Trinity Churchyard? I was born in the northeast of England, and not far from where we lived was an old church with a spreading tree right outside its front doors. Legend said that it was a witch who, hundreds of years ago, was pursued by torch-wielding peasants. She ran to the church to appeal for sanctuary but was refused, and on that very spot she transformed herself into a tree to escape her tormenters. The interesting corolary to this is that vandals torched the church in 1987 or so, and it’s a burnt-out ruin to this day. The only thing that wouldn’t burn—was the tree. She had the last laugh!

Do you have any writing rituals?

I do my writing on a laptop, in a rocking chair in the corner of the lounge—it’s the quietest place in the house, and I’m one of those writers who needs peace and quiet. I develop a narrative from notes, including a rough run of scenes, which helps me keep the material under control and properly paced. I log my wordage daily, and record the start and end dates for every story, as a way of tracking my productivity. I keep an organised list of my fiction output.

Would you share something about yourself that your readers don’t know yet?

Forty years ago I trained as a scuba diver, worked briefly with dolphins and soon after went to university to be a marine biologist. My writings at the time were centred on cetacean intelligence and underwater futurism, but being a professional writer was only a distant dream. Nevertheless, my first published short story was underwater SF on a cetacean theme and appeared in the long-gone Australian magazine Underwater Geographic, for whom I was, for a while, their marine mammal correspondent.

Where can we find you online?

The best place for all things Mike Adamson is my flag-carrier website The Worlds of Mike Adamson. It has pages for all my writing areas—science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery and so forth, with special pages for my copious Sherlock Holmes output and my epic sci-fi Tales of the Middle Stars universe. Find it at https://dream-craft.com/mikeadamson/

A Scary Interview with Matthew R. Davis

The Black Beacon Book of Horror 2 will be released on the 1st of October, but in the meantime, the Kindle version is available for pre-order at just $1.99 instead of $3.99 and you can add the anthology to your Goodreads TBR list. To get you pumpkin-spiced up for an unforgettable Halloween 2026, we’re interviewing the contributing authors. Step into the corridors of their dark minds, if you dare!

Hi Matthew,

That classic question to get started. Do you have to be a horrible person to write horrible things?

Of course. We’re all complete shits. Seriously? In my experience, horror writers tend to be kind, thoughtful, inclusive, and just generally the nicest of people, so no – whilst an occasional arsehole will be outed, the opposite tends to be true…as I suspect (and expect) you already know!

Which horror writers do you admire—old or new, famous or hidden gems?

How much space do you have? Let’s restrict this to the current year’s reading for brevity’s sake, or we’ll be here all week. Kirstyn McDermott has stepped into mainstream Gothic thrillers with What the Bones Know and everyone should go buy it. Sarah Langan’s Trad Wife is just brilliant, top-shelf stuff. Johanna van Veen has put out three grim queer historical novels thus far and her latest, Bone of My Bone, is the best yet. Alan Moore continues his high standard with I Hear a New World, the second book in a fantasy series that is incredibly imaginative and very funny when it’s not terrifying. Solace House by Will Maclean is a substantial and gripping take on cryptic dark academia, for all that it takes place off campus between semesters. Some other authors I’ve been enjoying in 2026: Matt Dinniman, Chris Chibnall, Nat Cassidy, Gemma Amor, Jeff Clulow, qntm, Delilah S. Dawson, Eric LaRocca, Angela Slatter, Charles L. Grant, Elaine Cunningham, Ian McDonald, Daniel Kraus, Gretchen Falker-Martin, Daisy Pearce, and Ramsey Campbell. Yes, I read a lot.

Can you describe your perfect horror-themed night in, out, or away?

I don’t know about perfect, but I always enjoy taking my partner Meg out to The Bonfire Horror Club movie screenings, which include local merch stalls, prizes, and themed cocktails for each film – the last one we saw was Possession (1981), which, oddly enough, is namedropped in my contribution to this anthology! I just wish we had more time before and after the feature to hang out with our like-minded friends.

Are there any urban legends, folktales, or real-life tales of horror that happened (just maybe) where you live or grew up?

Just stuff like the story that went around my small-town primary school about a bearded man who would park outside the grounds with lipstick on and try to lure kids into his car, which I doubt had any factual basis. Meg thinks she might have seen something in our kitchen once, probably the house’s only previous tenant, but otherwise life is depressingly unghostly.

Do you have any writing rituals?

I sacrifice time on the altar of creativity with the obsidian knife of talent. Things have changed a little since you last asked me this question: I don’t take smoke breaks anymore, cats are always looking to come into my office, I will sometimes listen to music as I work like I used to back in the day, and I find myself going out to various locations to write and edit in a different environment – usually a library, but the novel I’m editing at the moment was written in hotels, airplanes, theatres, trains, and stranger places.

Would you share something about yourself that your readers don’t know yet?

My story in this book, “An Eye is Upon You”, was inspired by my experiences working at the Illuminate Adelaide festival in 2023, especially my last night at the Queen’s Theatre. The photo I’m using for this interview is a screengrab from one of the exhibits that plays a role in my tale. I wanted to call this tale “Izzy’s Golden Wrap”, but that sounded too much like one of my other titles, so I borrowed the name of the intro track from Powerman 5000’s Tonight the Stars Revolt!

Where can we find you online?

Lurking in the darkest corners of the web, waiting for innocent flies to wander in. Or just at my blog (matthewrdavisfiction.wordpress.com), or Facebook, or BlueSky: @mxrxdx.bsky.social…but not on OnlyFans, despite what Meg says, because things haven’t gotten quite that desperate yet.