Heavenmakers

Back from the Dead
….Look out for the inimitable Herbertson in this new anthology of Pan Horror authors lovingly put together by Mr Horror, Johnny Mains. ‘Back From The Dead.’

This fanatical editor managed to trace almost every living author from the incredible series, which included within its 30 anthologies, such giants as Lord Dunsany, Stephen King, Tanith Lee, Patricia Highsmith, Agatha Christie, William Sansom, H.G. Wells and… well….me. In fact, I’ve missed out so many other famous authors I might well be sued.

Mr Mains put in several lifetimes of research to gather the kings of horror together – in itself an epic tale – and then managed to persuade them to churn out another tale to chill the blood and make sleep a collage of nightmares.

In my case ‘The Waiting Game’ a tale of betrayal, revenge and general nastiness will grace the pages of the who’s who of the old guard, uncomfortably, buried next to its old friends…

More news to follow.

This for me is a particularly pleasing review because it’s by a favourite author, Rog Pile.

“…a grotesque and beautifully written book, which shows the working of a fine mind, and really you owe it to yourself to collect a copy for your bookcase.”
Rog Pile

Full review is here: Filthy Creations

Immanion Press have also released the deathless classic on Smashwords, an online site where for a Mere $5 it’s yours:

Smashwords

Craig Herbertson

Welcome to Heavenmakers loosely named after my first mainstream publication, ‘The Heaven Maker’. This horror story appeared in the ‘29th Pan Book of Horror Stories’ and the original was typed out on an Mechanical desktop typewriter. These large metal edifices have been consigned to museums; perhaps they better make room for me there too.

Here I hope to outline my published works and give some insights into my writing. I’m known by a few people as Craig Herbertson the traditional musician, mainly playing Scots, Irish and contemporary folk:  In the distant past – seems very distant now – I played Heavy metal, which gave way to Punk, then Cosmic Rock. University witnessed the demise of my youth, common-sense, cultural expectations and the Cosmic Rock. I played Reggae, funk and, in an almost prophetically doomed manner, ended up on the streets in the old and disrespected trade of busking.

All the while I was writing. At first it was science fiction  but in those troubled times the market was bad and so was I. I could  paper the walls with rejection slips. I nearly had to. I wrote some horror and now I write some more, hopefully better. I also write Gothic or dark fantasy. I could snobbily say I write speculative fiction and I suppose I do but  have never been terribly comfortable with categories that imply I’m clever largely because I would prefer to entertain.

Perhaps the best way to judge if you might like to read my work is to know what I like. You’ll find my tastes outlined here in the near future.

If there is a future.

Dark Horizons 55

Artwork by Arthur Wang.

Dark Horizons 55 has been released with fiction from Richard Ford, Naoko Awa (tr. Toshiya Kamei), Alex Davis, Mike Phillips, Alison J. Littlewood, Ian Hunter, Mike Chinn, Ralph Robert Moore, Astrid Klemz, Shaun Jeffrey, Douglas Thompson Jim Steel; poetry from Michael Fantina, Wade German and Victor D. Infante.

Non-fiction by Mike Barrett, Paul Campbell and Craig Herbertson. As well as Arthur Wang, this editions features David Bezzina, Jackie Burns, Mark Pexton, Dominic Harman, John Shanks and Ally Thompson. Stephen Theaker editor.

My humble contribution is comparable to a bible-sellers spiel on the great pulp sf author E.C. Tubb. More accurately, its a request to regard the Dumarest saga as the best sf series in existence.

The print edition is out in September.

At the age of ten my teacher told me to pick a book from the basket. Perhaps it was this new vista of choice that started it all off. It was a green book with little snow capped mountains, recommended by a friend.

At the age of sixteen another friend recommend I read ‘The Hobbit’ and because I was the luckiest boy in the world I had the joy of rediscovering Tolkein’s classic.

Lord of the Rings followed. I am eternally grateful to Providence for this but even more grateful to Mr Whittaker who on hearing me rave about Tolkein’s saga, gave me The Worm Ouroborous.

Ouroborous and the other three connected works have lit the darkness with few rivals since that first late night love affair.

I read Peake’s ‘Gormenghast ‘and still remember the delicious excitement of waiting with Steerpike in the little cell buried in the Castle, just before his great voyage to the roof tops. Nevertheless that wondrous work of fantasy will always be eclipsed by Eddison.

Vance, brilliant, Peake beautiful, Lewis, fun to read, Burroughs exciting, Le Guin quite wonderful but the only one to rock the fantastical house into the neighbour’s garden apart from Eddison, is David Lindsay. And then only ‘A Voyage to Arcturus’

That leaves me with five fantasy books to fill the grave of eternity. Still I want no more.

Novelette
The Heaven Maker‘   The 29th Pan book of Horror Stories
First published 1987

Fantasy Novel
School: the Seventh Silence‘

First published 2005
Immanion Press, available from www.amazon.com

Short Stories

‘Strange Fruit’    Filthy Creations #3

‘On the Couch’   The Second Black Book of Horror

‘Synchronicity’  The Third Black Book of Horror

‘Soup’  The Fourth Black Book of Horror

‘Leibnitz’s Last Puzzle’, The Fifth Black Book of Horror

‘A Game of Billiards’  Tales from the Smoking Room

‘Maidenhead’  The Thinking Man’s Crumpet

‘Return to Greenwood‘  ‘Fantastic Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs‘

‘Soap 7‘   Works #7

‘The Glowing Goblins‘    ‘Auguries #16

‘Under the Moons of Mars‘   Fantastic Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs

Articles

‘Tarzan, Nietzschian Superman?‘  Fantastic worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs

‘The Rope‘     Fantastic Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs

‘Dumarest: The Coming Event?’, Dark Horizons 55#

‘The Irish Rover‘ (with Matt Hogan)

Novels (unpublished)

‘The Death Tableau‘

‘The Queen of Mastakara‘ (in process)

Poetry

‘Timeless Love‘ Filthy Creations #2

‘A White Rabbit in Gent‘    School: the Seventh Silence

In Process

The Second ‘School’