Movie Madness

 

https://www.amazon.com/Movie-Madness-Black-Ink-Fiction-ebook/dp/B0B847MZ43/

Ctrl Alt Del: Drabbles 2 (Revelations)

 Ctrl Alt Del has just been released by Black Ink Fiction, featuring a "Foreword" by me and three of my short drabbles, “R.I.P. Grandpop”, “Overrun”, and “EMP Free”.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09XRTWP6W/

Fools for Love, available April 2022

 

I am thrilled to announce my story "The Reaper's Jest" is featured in Paramour Ink's Fools for Love anthology, set in the fictional paranormal town of "Bones Hollow". This is a shared world and I feel honoured to be able to cooperate with other authors to contribute.

https://www.amazon.com/Fools-Love-Paranormal-Romance-Anthology-ebook/dp/B09PKRRD3G/

While reading I was thoroughly enchanted by Fools for Love (edited by S.O. Green). The Paramour Ink Press promotes diversity and inclusivity in the most charming fashion, and I found myself loving the characters no matter what their paranormal species, gender identity, or relationship style. 

The stories are longer than drabbles, offering 10-15 minutes of reading time each (with one incredibly poetic exception). The tales are also beautifully written and expertly edited, so even when the surprise of what is happening is over, the style and humor make the narratives worth a second reading. 

“To Fool a Demon” by Charlotte Langtree features an adorable and unusual pet, a demon trying to find her role, and a Gargoyle who is looking for a chance to pop the question.

“A New Start” by Dorian J. Sinnott is a prank that backfires, moving a relationship to the next level.

“Baby Trickster” by Betsy Raye Allen features an infant flexing its fledgling powers.

"OM(Demi)G" by Shelly Jarvis mixes pizza with a most amusing polyamorous love story.

“Heart of the Oak” by Charlotte Langtree is a bittersweet and poetic short love story.

“The Perfect Prank” by Kim Plasket describes a young couple embarking on a second chance at life.

“The Reaper’s Jest” by Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer combines humour and morality tale with a contemporary twist.

“Look in the Mirror” by S.O. Green features a magical friend who lives in the mirror. 

Australian Fairy Tale Society "Writers" page

 

As a member of the Australian Fairy Tale Society, I was invited to have my works featured on the Australian Fairy Tale Society "Writers" page. 

In terms of fairy tale writing, I highlighted "The Princess of the Trees" in an anthology by Black Hare Press. This story features a faerie princess of the "trooping fairy" variety and utilises traditional Shakespearean/Spenserian & Celtic elements. 

"The Land of Meow" is a children's story I've just released. It is set in a dream-world and has those anthropological and shapeshifting elements common to children's stories and fairy tales.

Mystic Evermore is also a Young Adult fantasy, which might also qualify. As a paranormal dark romance, with Byronic-style damaged heroes and vampire characters, it represents another incarnation of the fairy story.

https://australianfairytalesociety.org/afts-writers/

Black Ink Fiction "Women in Horror Month" Listing.

The lovely ladies at Black Ink Fiction have put together a feature on emerging women in horror.

All the female authors: https://womenofhorror.square.site/women-in-horror

I found filling out the questionnaire was a revealing process. The first question challenged me to name a woman horror writer who had influenced me. To be honest, I COULDN'T! All the horror writers that had influenced me big time were male. Stephen King, Bram Stoker, James Herbert, Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft.

The other writers that came to mind were Ira Levin (who wrote Rosemarie's Baby) and when I looked him up, he was also a man, and if I  had reached back into the past of the Gothic tradition, Ann Radcliffe who wrote The Mysteries of Udolpho.  Female fantasy writers who include a good balance of darker elements did come to mind, and if you check my interview, you will read about them. 

Upon reading interviews by fellow women writers I notice some identified Agatha Christy as an influence (I was a huge fan, but classed her as a murder mystery writer), and Shirley Jackson, author of The Haunting of Hill House. A couple of authors referred to Mary Shelley, but she is usually classed as the "mother of science-fiction" and it is often necessary to point out that Dr. Frankenstien is the inventor NOT the monster! The movies have had such a contrary influence on the plot. 

I was surprised that nobody else traced their love of horror back to fairy-stories. The modern Disney stories have been sanitised and filmed with cheery music, bright costumes & falsely happy endings. I would encourage the younger reader to seek out original Hans Andersen, Brother's Grimm and Arabian Nights volumes. There will be some surprises.

Of course, it is quite okay to class writers in multiple genres and garner influences where one wants. The first lesson I learned filling out the questionnaire is that men have perhaps dominated the horror scene during certain eras. The second lesson I learned reading other interviews is how diverse women writers really were. Two excellent lessons!

My interview: https://womenofhorror.square.site/cecilia-hopkins-drewer

New Year Release of Illustrated Children's Fantasy

 THE LAND OF MEOW 

I have celebrated New Year 2020 by releasing an illustrated children's book.

The human/animal urban fantasy is suited to emergent and independent readers 8-10 years of age (if I have judged correctly) with the inclusion of a few more challenging words that expand the vocabulary.

Knowing that children's literature requires illustration to succeed has held me back for many years, but I finally created cartoon-like illustrations to make it appeal to the age group. I was emboldened by the fact that illustrations in primary readers are often line drawings, watercolors, cartoons & other rough images which I felt I might just manage to match with the aid of computer drawing packages.

I meant to make it free on Amazon, but have discovered that is not possible. (I'm still investigating other options, including putting a PDF on Academia.com because the story was born out of a pitch I had to develop as part of a university subject ENCO310: Children’s Literature: Picture Books and Fantasy completed at the University of New England in 2009).

The lecturer suggested our assignment book proposals could be developed into full-length books, but I was never inspired to fill out the whole 20,000 words I proposed. Instead, around 2009 I released five mini-adventures as serials on Watt Pad. Although that site is primarily designed for Young Adult readers, the tale reached number 23 in #Primary and attracted a few comments.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PJ8R5J7

The ebook is ideal for loading into children's electronic devices as a reader. However, there will be a paperback version released for parents who prefer to give their children reading matter in print. The other book in the series will follow, as soon as my hand has recovered from the cramp of illustrating this one and is able to illustrate the next. This story has been replaced by a placeholder message on Watt Pad. However, the sequels are still available to read online until each is illustrated, given a final edit, and released officially.

2021 News: Festival of Fear

https://www.blackinkfiction.com/festival-of-fear

FESTIVAL OF FEAR: Under the Big Top: Drabbles 1, (Edited by Brandi Hicks and Shelly Jarvis) features an amazing one hundred and seventy-nine tiny stories by a talented group of writers. The “Foreword” by Jim Nemeth sets the scene, alerting the reader to the darker elements underlying the hilarity of the carnival spirit.

I like to think that my drabbles “The Balloon Seller”, “Spectator”, and “Carnival Alley” deliver sufficient surprise! “Petty Crime” and “No Fakes Allowed” were also carefully constructed. Although these tales are only one hundred words long, they take up to a day to write.  Each story uses a unique plot, requires a beginning, development and conclusion or denouement. On top of that, I try to incorporate some settings, making them extremely tightly packed.

Among the other writer’s offerings, I believe “Funnel Cake” by Rachel C. Pendragon, “Carousel” by Laura Shenton, and “Wheel of Delight” by Andy Clark capture the showground spirit particularly well. “Mirror Image” by Gary McDonough and “Rip” by Ingrid Thornquest are cleverly plotted. “Serpent's Maw” by Nyki Blatchley and “Circle Game” by Beth W. Patterson are both very evocative. “Wrong Festival” by Radar DeBoard, “The Spaceship” by Destiny Eve Pifer and “A Fool’s Fortune” by J.S. Nel are particularly well crafted.

“Fun in a Funfair” by Christopher T. Dabrowski (Tr. Julia Mraczny),  “Surrounded By Freaks” by Andrew Kurtz, and “The Festival” by Kim Plasket deliver satisfying turns. Beware the secret ingredient in “Spun Horror” by Jim Nemeth, and chuckle at the subterfuge in “Dark Fortune” by Maggie D Brace. “Dodgem” by G.J. Dunn and “Everyone’s a Winner” by Michelle Brett incorporate a touch of fantasy.