The first reviews of Chilling Tales are in!

Rue Morgue magazine liked the book a great deal, and while only a few stories were singled out, “My Body” was one of them. (The review isn’t online. You’ll have to pick up the mag to read it.) The second review appeared on the SFRevu website, and even though the reviewer didn’t like the book as much as Rue Morgue, he seems to have enjoyed my story:

Among the good stories I will mention Barbara Roden’s “404”, a Kafkaesque tale of office horror where employees mysteriously disappear one at the time, and Ian Rogers’ “My Body”, a modern ghost story with an undercurrent of sadness.

Read the full review.

It’s also worth noting that Chilling Tales is now for sale in the U.S., with copies available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, etc., etc.

In other Black Lands-related news, I have a new Felix Renn short story making the rounds, and I just hit the 12,000-word mark on the new novelette. If I can maintain my current pace, I should have it finished within the next couple of weeks. And once it’s done, I start work on the first Felix Renn novel.

The all-Canadian horror anthology, Chilling Tales, which features a new Felix Renn story called “My Body,” is now available from Amazon.ca.

Amazon.com and BN.com list an April 2011 release date, so U.S. readers may have to wait a bit longer for the book. Of course, if you’re really hankering for more Felix Renn, you might want to just go ahead and order it from Amazon.ca. I wouldn’t blame you if you did. The line-up for this book is pretty damn impressive. I count myself lucky to have my work appear alongside such talented authors.

In other Felix news, I learned the lesson of why it is usually a bad idea to talk about works-in-progress. About a week into the writing of the new Felix Renn chapbook, I came to the conclusion that the story was much bigger than I had originally envisioned. Suffice to say, Exhibition Loop will be written one day, not as a novelette but as a novel.

After a week or two of tossing around new ideas, I finally started on another story that will be the third Felix Renn chapbook. And no, I’m not going to tell you what it’s called. At least not until it’s finished. I learned my lesson.

My publisher has informed me that “The Ash Angels” will be going into a second printing. Mucho thanks to everyone who picked up a copy and helped make this possible. If you’re interested in snagging a first printing, you might still be able to get one from Horror Mall or, if you act fast, directly from the publisher.

The support for the Felix Renn/Black Lands stories has been truly overwhelming. I’m grateful to everyone who has bought one of the chapbooks, as well as the people who have taken the time to approach me at conventions and readings to tell me how much they enjoy the series, or to ask me when the next one will be out, or, better yet, when I will be getting to work on a Felix Renn novel.

I can tell you the novel is coming, once I get a couple of other projects off my plate, and as for the third Felix Renn chapbook, I expect to begin writing it within the next couple of weeks, for a September 2011 release. It will be called “Exhibition Loop.”

Welcome to TheBlackLands.com, the official website of the Felix Renn/Black Lands stories!

So what are the Black Lands, and who is Felix Renn?

In short, the Black Lands is a supernatural dimension discovered in the 1940s. This alternate reality provides the backdrop for a series of stories written by yours truly, about the ways in which the world has been affected by its proximity to this dark world and the entities that reside there.

Felix Renn is a private detective based in Toronto whose cases tend to involve the supernatural. In addition to being what I hope are entertaining supernatural mysteries, these stories also allow me to explore the ways in which the people in this world deal with living next door to the Black Lands.

The idea for this website came to me after I realized that “Temporary Monsters,” the first Felix Renn story, wasn’t just a passing fancy. I wrote TM in 2008, and even then I knew I had come up with something special. Something that had the potential to be a series. When TM came out in September of 2009, the reviews were extremely positive. The only real criticism I received was that I didn’t spend enough time developing the characters or exploring the world of the Black Lands. The readers wanted more, and that’s a complaint I don’t mind hearing.

To date, I’ve sold two more stories featuring Felix Renn. I have several more in the works, including a number of novels. I’m also planning a second series of stories that will follow a different character, as well as a number of standalone tales set in the Black Lands universe.

Since these stories are separate from the rest of my work, it made sense that they should have a website of their own. Of course, creating a website for a total of three stories (only one of which is currently available) might seem a bit presumptuous on my part. The truth is I wanted the site to start out small so I could watch it grow over time, much like the stories themselves. I decided to wait until I sold three Felix Renn/Black Lands stories, then I’d get to work on the website.

So while it’s true that there isn’t much to look at right now, I promise that will change very soon. The second Felix Renn story, “The Ash Angels,” will be published by Burning Effigy Press in one month, and if things continue as planned, I expect to be well into the writing of the first Felix Renn novel by that time.

Until then, be sure to check out the FAQ and the history of the Black Lands. There are pages for Felix Renn and the PIA. I have plans for more exclusive content, including free stories, contests, deleted scenes, and all sorts of other groovy surprises. Stay tuned.

I hope you enjoy your stay in the Black Lands!