The Lamplighters Goes J-Horror

Takeshobo Tokyo HQ Photo By Lombroso (Public Domain)

Major publisher Take Shobo will release a Japanese translation of my Bram Stoker Award® Nominated horror novel The Lamplighters in ebook and paperback.

I’m excited about the translation, and the potential for my work to reach new Japanese readers.

And I’d love to be a fly on the wall when the poor translators get to the part where [spoiler] uses a syringe to extract [spoiler]’s buttock fat, before injecting it into his [spoiler] so that he can [spoiler] [spoiler]’s eye socket… (Sigh)

I will post the release date and cover art when I have them!

Domo arigato,
Frazer x

 

In Memoriam: Robin Hardy, writer & director of ‘The Wicker Man’

Robin Hardy was a true original, and his 1973 film The Wicker Man is often and justifiably hailed as the finest British horror film ever made.

The book is a cracking read, too!

The story of the film’s conception is perhaps as fascinating as The Wicker Man itself, with a studio unsure of what it had on its hands butchering Hardy’s masterpiece in the process of its clumsy and half-hearted initial release.

My own personal obsession with Hardy’s work began when I saw (the theatrical version of) The Wicker Man at a special screening at Glastonbury’s Library of Avalon. A discussion followed the screening of the film about its pagan themes, and I was well and truly hooked.

Those were the early days of VHS video and I managed to track down an alternate cut of the film on a yellowy, fifth-generation pirate copy from Australia. This was later cleaned up using the best possible source materials and released on DVD as The Director’s Cut of the film.

Years later, with the advent of home-HD and the Blu-Ray format, The Wicker Man – The Final Cut arrived, providing a fitting epitaph to Robin Hardy’s life and career as he finally got to release the version of the film that he deemed closest to his original vision.

In 2011 I was very lucky to meet Robin Hardy, for a brief “Hello!”, in person at FrightFest, London. Mr Hardy was there to present the premiere of his sequel The Wicker Tree, adapted from his novel Cowboys For Christ. He was a true gentleman and eccentric – very warm and wickedly funny. (Read my capsule review of the rather wobbly, but joyously bonkers, sequel The Wicker Tree here.)

One unsung hero in the whole Wicker saga is Anthony Shaffer’s brilliant script, which really is one of a kind. The basic storyline was based on Ritual, a novel by David Pinner, which has recently been republished. The novelisation of the film (also written by Shaffer & Hardy) is well worth tracking down (a new edition was published by Tor in 2000) – with some lovely embellishments to the screen story, not least its haunting and ambiguous ending, it provides yet another version of The Wicker Man for us all to enjoy.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, it is time to “keep my appointment with The Wicker Man.”

R.I.P. Robin Hardy, 1929-2016

Quoted in The Wicker Man novel by Robin Hardy & Anthony Shaffer

 

An Audience With Guest Author Stuart R. West

I’m delighted to welcome guest author Stuart R. West to the blog today.

With superb comic timing, Stuart published his wicked novel Demon With A Comb-Over via Samhain Publishing – just as they announced they were winding down their business. But the killer punchline is all Stuart’s as he has many other exciting books for you to read, with more on the way.

Read on to learn more!

Hi Stuart, thanks for dropping by at my blog today.

SRW: Thanks for having me, Frazer! Freezy, Frazey Leezy! You like your hip-hop name? No?

I’ll stick with Lazer Free, thanks! Now – your novel Demon With a Comb-Over is a wicked blend of horror and humour. What made you settle on this hybrid genre for your book?

SRW: Frazer, it didn’t start that way. Originally, it was gonna be a straight-up horror book. But I thought, “Hey, what if the setting, the weird characters, all of that, lean toward comedy?” Seemed kinda like a no-brainer to me. Of course, some readers have thought it’s not funny. Humor’s subjective. Bring to it what you will.

The horror in the book ranges from subtle atmospheric creeps to full on guts-out (quite literally) visceral mayhem. How did you achieve the balance with this when you were writing?

SRW: I hope I did achieve it. There’s subtlety, than there’s full-on horror. Personally, I like a mixture of both. But I couldn’t write a trip to Hell without getting all up in everyone’s faces. Actually, there’re two detailed trips to the netherworlds. Readers seem to be mixed: some like the grue, others are all about the comedy. Then there are the ’hatahs. Can’t please everyone.

Charlie is a living, breathing and completely engaging protagonist, I think because he’s flawed and therefore believable. How did you dream him up and were there any real-world influences when developing his character?

SRW: Charlie’s actually me. Duh, Frazer, duh. All the foibles, the mistakes he makes, the pseudo-crimes her performs against humanity? All me. I’m putting it all out there. Don’t judge me!

I’m guessing that you are no stranger to the world of stand-up comedy. The book shows your deep knowledge of that world to great effect. Care to share any road stories? Any particularly horrific heckles?

SRW: Right you are, my friend! Actually, I only performed stand-up twice. The first time was in college. I made everything up on the go. Thing is I had a built-in audience of about 20 people—my entourage from school—following me. So they laughed. Alcohol helped. The second time? Alcohol didn’t help. I went to an open-mike night at a club, thinking I could wing it again. Didn’t work so well. Crickets didn’t even begin to explain the response. Glad I got out alive.

This is also a wild guess, but a very strong element of Comb-over is the relationship between Charlie and his daughter. Reading it, I felt sure you must not only be a parent, but father to a daughter? If so, was this helpful to you when exploring the horror of Serena being threatened in the way that she is (by a vengeance crazed demon!)?

SRW: Very astute, Frazer. Yep, I’m a father. My daughter’s now 24, but I pretty much raised her on my own. Well, that’s not true exactly; my ex was cool enough to give me 50-50 rights. But, yeah, it’s based on truth. I hope my ex never reads this post (she won’t, right?), but a lot of it is based on her – true down to the reliance of therapy, the accusations, the constant aggravation. She even told me once, “I checked over our daughter; I cleared you of abuse.” WHAT? Damn.

Another part of the novel that I enjoyed immensely was the use of the chapter headings based around the ‘rules of comedy’. “Put your fantasies out there. It makes you more relatable,” was one that stood out in particular. Care to expand on that one in the context of your writing?

SRW: Fantasies? No, that’s up to everyone else. It does seem like a lotta stand-up comedians dwell on fantasies. I believe part of the secret of comedy is making yourself relatable, saying crap everyone wants to, but doesn’t have the guts to. But the chapter headings I kinda made up. Sorry. My research assistant, “Ms. Google,” helped me with the rest.

Those chapter headings really help support the structure of the story and the thematic content of each part, and the whole. Did you work to an outline based around those headings? Or did you go with the flow and discover this later?

SRW: I’m sorry to say the headings kinda came as an after-thought. No way, Frazer, am I that smart. Just seemed right as I plowed along.

Following on from the ‘Rules of Stand-up’, what do you believe to be the core rules of writing Horror?

SRW: Make your characters human, relatable. Then toss ‘em into hellish visions. Without characters people can empathize with, a tale would be like a tossed-off nightmare, barely remembered.

Aside from a liberal sprinkling of salt around your bed each night (readers – check out Stuart’s novel for more about this!) what’s next for Stuart R. West?

SRW: Glad you asked, Frazer! I have an upcoming darkly comical novel from Grinning Skull Press called Dread & Breakfast. I’m working on the third and final book in my darkly humorous (I’m detecting a theme here) serial killer thriller series, Killers Incorporated. There’s a sequel on the way to my comedic mystery series, Bad Day in a Banana Hammock, about a vapid male stripper who keeps turning up dead bodies. The prequel to Demon with a Comb-Over, The Book of Kobal (a very dark, immoral, irreverent tale), is hunting for a new home since the original publisher, Samhain, is pretty much dead to horror. Hey! I have a children’s picture book coming out (dunno when) from Guardian Angel Press. I’d like to write a Lovecraftian/Cronenbergian horror tale about a genetic dairy farmer but it’s kinda a hard sell. Finally, up next will be a nostalgic ’60s set, Midwestern ghost tale.

Sounds like a great, diverse line-up! Thanks again for dropping by Mr. West!

SRW: Thanks for putting up with me, Frazer.

Demon with a Comb-Over available at Amazon.

Stuart R. West Amazon Page.

Blog: Twisted Tales from Tornado Alley

Stuart R. West Facebook

Twitter: @StuartRWest

 

Check out my (tweed-free) interview at Stuart R. West’s blog

I took a quick break from writing to chat with author Stuart R. West about…well, writing. 

(And filmmaking, new projects, and not wearing a tweed jacket.)

Read it at Twisted Tales From Tornado Alley: http://stuartrwest.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/frazer-lee-horror-novelist-and.html?m=0

My thanks to Stuart, and look out for his interview on this very blog next week!

100 Years: Commemorating The Battle of the #Somme with the brilliant short film ‘Waiting For Dawn’

Remembering my Great Grandfather William J. Tibbles again today, on the centenary of the commencement of the Battle of the Somme.

Lieutenant Corporal William J. Tibbles & his regiment, the 10th London

Signalman Tibbles survived both World Wars, though many of his nearest and dearest did not. I used to visit Great Granddad at the hospice where he saw out his last days, and it was clear that he was traumatised by all he had seen during the Wars.

My Great-Granddad’s typed list of places he visited on active duty in France

This brilliant short film by director Richard Cousins, screenwriter Gareth Rothwell and director of photography Alan Stewart (who i worked with on The Stay, Red Lines & On Edge) is a powerful summation of the futility of the conflict, and its tragic loss of so many (often very young) lives.

I’m delighted that the filmmakers will join me this autumn at Brunel University London to screen and discuss their film, Waiting For Dawn:

“Lest we forget.”

Beltane Fires and Samhain Horrors

When I was writing my folk horror novel The Jack in the Green, I knew I wanted to blend ancient and modern to create a new horror story. As I so often do, I looked to the Celtic calendar for some inspiration.

30th April/1st May:
Beltane, or Fire Festival, which has its origins in pagan and druidic practice. The name Beltane is derived from Belenus (a Celtic sun deity) and when translated means ‘the fires of Bel’. Fire Festival is celebrated on May Eve and traditionally marked the bringing out of livestock into the spring. Animals would be herded between the fires to ward off illness, and rowan would be hung above the hearth in the home to purify the live-giving fire. Beltane is a fertility festival, and that aspect was key to my decision to work some of its lusty magic into the story of The Jack in the Green. As you’ll find when you read it, fertility is a strong theme in the book. After the Beltane fires have died down, we celebrate May Day (1st May), which sees the tradition of ‘The Jack in the Green’ played out to this day in places such as Whitstable and Hastings. The anarchic, often rather drunk, Jack is dressed from head to toe in greenery and processes through the town as an anarchic symbol of mischief and mayhem. The origins of this fiendish figure of fun are said to harken back to Roman times, when a tree would be cut down and decorated in veneration of the Goddess Flora. This tradition is said to have given us the maypole, around which promiscuous revellers would dance and cavort. Jack would be proud of them, no doubt.

Samhain (31st October) is another festival of renewal in addition to being the name of the publisher of The Jack in the Green! (Pronounced Sow-when). As the wheel of the year turns into winter, Samhain marks Celtic New Year. We celebrate it nowadays as Halloween, and aspects of ancient tradition can be seen in our ‘guising’ (wearing masks and costumes) and the act of remembering our dead ancestors, perhaps most strikingly of all in the Dia de los Muertos celebrations. Celtic belief made Samhain a time to reflect on past mistakes and to take stock, and this is really what Tom’s journey in The Jack in the Green is all about as he moves through the darkness into enlightenment.

It is one of the great pleasures of being a writer to take folklore that fires the imagination and to blend it all together into something new. 

I hope you enjoy reading The Jack in the Green and ‘May’ I wish you all a fantastically fiery Beltane!

Now, where did I put that Jack in the Green costume…? 

The Jack in the Green is on sale at only $0.99 thru 6th May from:

Amazon Kindle

Barnes & Noble Nook

Kobo

Apple iBooks

Samhain Horror

About the book:

A nightmare made real.

On Christmas Eve, six year-old Tom McRae witnessed an unspeakable atrocity that left him orphaned, his childhood in tatters. Now in his mid-thirties, Tom still has terrifying nightmares of that night. When Tom is sent to the remote Scottish village of Douglass to negotiate a land grab for his employer it seems like a golden opportunity for him to start over. But Tom can’t help feeling he’s been to Douglass before, and the terrible dreams from his childhood have begun to spill over into his waking life. As murderous events unfold and Tom’s feverish nightmares escalate, he will discover the hideous truth behind the villagers’ strange pagan ritual of The Jack in the Green.

“I have enjoyed all of Frazer Lee’s work, but The Jack in the Green is by far my favorite! Lee strikes the perfect balance between psychological horror…and vicious violence and gore.” (5 out of 5 stars, The Horror Bookshelf)

The Jack in the Green: The countdown to Beltane has begun!

To mark Beltane (May eve) and in celebration of this year’s Festival of Fire, my folk horror novel The Jack in the Green is on sale from today through to 6th May for the special price of only $0.99.

Here’s what one reviewer said about the book:
“I have enjoyed all of Frazer Lee’s work, but The Jack in the Green is by far my favorite! Lee strikes the perfect balance between psychological horror…and vicious violence and gore.”
(Rating: 5 out of 5 stars, The Horror Bookshelf)

Spread the word like wildfire my f[r]iends – thank you!

Cheers,
Frazer

The Jack in the Green – ebook only $0.99!

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Barnes & Noble

iTunes

Kobo

Samhain Publishing

(special price offer ends 6th May 2016)

About the book

A nightmare made real.

On Christmas Eve, six year-old Tom McCrae witnessed an unspeakable atrocity that left him orphaned, his childhood in tatters. Now in his mid-thirties, Tom still has terrifying nightmares of that night. When Tom is sent to the remote Scottish village of Douglass to negotiate a land grab for his employer it seems like a golden opportunity for him to start over. But Tom can’t help feeling he’s been to Douglass before, and the terrible dreams from his childhood have begun to spill over into his waking life. As murderous events unfold and Tom’s feverish nightmares escalate, he will discover the hideous truth behind the villagers’ strange pagan ritual of The Jack in the Green.