'Cor lummy it's been a while.

So is Jack Frost twisting pretty patterns on your window can you feel the chill and brr of winter well I can abit but then it is cold(obvious-sentence-man joins the Just-ice leauge :P)

Finaly I have my computer up and running thanks to my lovely partner :) so it's important I write another entery into the blog even if it's as freqent as Hialys comet.
The last month and a hlf has been a massive turn around in my life I have met the woman of my dreams,moved out of my parents place into hers/ours,relocatted to a place by the sea*Brighton* and finaly got what I always wanted.
I didn't see it comming nor did I expect things to turn out the way they have...but they did and I am thanking the heavens for the blessings I have recived.

I hope all my readers are doing fantastic and are looking foward to Xmas or whichever festival you are celebrating for this time of yeah.
I am going to my parents for a great christmas but it will be noisy and it will be that time of year when you wished batteries did not exsist.
Silas if you are reading I want to send out a personal Merry Christmas to you and to say sorry I haven't been around as of late but I have now finaly set up and we can contact each other more :).
My writing is doing well I need to finish off a few things and I am also writing a Christmas horror tale that with a little luck will be avaible in audio form via the B.H.F(georgy doing the vocals).
For now that's is the update just wanted everyone to know how amazing my partner is and how much I am looking foward to the bright future we shall have...I am so very happy right now and I hope you guys/gals get the same feelings in your lives as I do.

Bye for a bit

James :)

Progress it seems...

Okay first off I am still reviewing the B.H.F horror book but rather than review each tale as I read them I am going to read them all then review them shouldn't be long now :)

That's that done so unto the next bits.

it feels as if progress is being made in my life I mean I still have a crumby job but that isn't really to difficult to change and the way I see it I will have a pretty dull place of work for as long as my writing is part-time.
If I manage to get a little cash from writing it would be brilliant and I am not expecting anything other than personal satisfaction out of writing I mean getting paid elephant sized bags of cash for writing isn't easy.
I am more than happy to be a not to rich writer because I know I would be happier that way than working somewhere with no spare time making okay money but having no time for what brings me joy.

Anyway that's not the real progress in my life what is would be the person who I have recently met her name is Georgy and he comes into my life like a beautifuly combined angel and devil partnership:)
It was totaly unexpected I was just trudging through the leaves of life looking up to see if I could find the sun behind the clouds and their she was arms encasing me in love.
I can feel a clear focus falling over my eyes and new swagger in my step I am growing a little more each day inside with the most lovely warm feelings.
People are capable of powering up others with the ease of an arrow through velvet and Georgys love passed into me with such guile and sublimity I don't think I knew I was hooked until I was. I got someone and that hasn't been something I could say in a long while and I aim to keep it.

All the cold places where I go seem to now thaw the frost without the bite it used to love to numb my heart with is...no more. I have someone to accompany me on the many battles that await me in life...or should I us.


I would also like to mention to my friend Silas that I am sorry about his friends departure but all I will say is that he is stronger in spirit form than anyone can ever be in physical.
He will excel wherever he is now because he is weak no more and I bet right now is delighted with the things he is discovering about...well everything.

Keep warm and well my dear friend.

Anthony Clarke is Sick (review)

This is the first tale of the B.H.F Horror Stories book and sets the pace with an uneasy chill.
Anthony Clarke wakes up feeling unwell and his feeling are communicate to the reader from the off set creating a sense of mucas filled unhealthy.
Making the reader feel whatever ailment this man has with the use of common themes that play around things we have all had blocked nose,bad head and incessant weakness.
The tale quickly establishes the condition of the main character without over explaining and moving swiftly into advancing the story with natural pleasing pace.
As Anthony moves around his flat you also get the sense that the place hasn't been the most active of homes in quite a while almost as if Anthony has been in his slumber for more than a night.
Infact if it wasn't for the writer later explaining how often the main character did go to work I would be inclined to think that he had been in his house for some considerable time. Festering in his bed and struck down with some powerfully virus. This does however work well when we come to the climax of story of which I shall explain later.
Anthony Clarke then muses about his life a little allowing the reader a small glimpse into his history and how boredom and the numbness of being one of many has seemed initially enter his life and later almost consume him.
The nihilism of an office is cleary communicated in Anthonys thoughts it his clear that the man not only doesn't want to work in his office but feels it is detriment to his very existence.

After the short self reflection Anthony summons the the will to call into work however he is not calling in sick instead he wishes to play a prank.
The writer tells us how Anthony strives to spark life into his work place with simple gestures however when Anthony does get a reaction it is usually one of distain that he does not wish to encounter again.
As a joke our lead character calls his deparment and demands to talk to Anthony Clarke(himself of course).
At first the call is met with a little confusion as the girl at the desk (Debbie) doesn't seem to know if there is such a person in the company.
However then there is a short silence and then a young voice and this is where the chill kicks in. Anthony recognises the voice infact it is too familiar for comfort he recognises at his own from when he was younger.
His mind then tracks back to when he first startd the job and recalls that he received a call very much like this on the same day from a person demanding the same thing.

The disturbing fact causes our lead man to place the phone down and we are left to wonder what exactly are the consqences of this.
To me it appears that the writer has left things open maybe Anthony has called into a parallel universe or it could be that he has gone insane due to the numbness of his life.
There are a few possibilities but the way I read it is that Anthony Clarke has acutely ceased to be he has died possibly in his sleep and of the virus that he supposedly "awoke" from.
Somehow the dead ghost of Anthony called his younger self somehow breaking all barriers of time and physics with the untamed rules of the supernatural.
Of course this is just my interpretation of the events in the tale however what I do know is that the ending is far more than it seems and presents far more chilling question than we care to ask.


Review by:

James Stanger

It's all worth it.....

Yes that's right all the doubts and worry coupled with fear of faliure it's all worth going through when you manage to produce something that is someway towards worthy.
To have my story included in the this book makes me feel on top of the world because I am amoungst writers of great talent who know what ideas are and what makes for a chilling yarn.

Not only does this make me feel like I have made a personal break through but it begs me to write more as I feel that there is a solid reason to carry on with writing.
Not only this but I have had some great things said about my tale too which I never even thought could be said about it.
Aside from my input which I have spoken about a lot already there are some superb writers in this short story collection and I will write a review of each tale as I read them and put the review up on this blog so you can get a taste for what treats are in store for you if you wish to pick up a copy of it(and you will be satisfied if you do so).

However because I am feeling self-indulgent this once and also due to the fact this my blog I just wanted to add a couple of things some important British Horror freinds of mine have said to me about what I wrote:

Chris(Tsar of the British Horror Forum and talented writer)

And James' story... well. I'm so happy that people are enjoying it. When I read it I thought it had a strange kind of power all of its own - there's an anger there which really leaps off the page, and ideas which get under your skin. I think I'm right in saying it was his first attempt at a short story too - perhaps it'll be James who beats us all to the punch and gets a publishing deal?

Darrel Buxton(The true source of British hororr fil information EVER and talented writier)

Just read 'Beggar's Banquet' this evening, having saved it til last, and found it to be a really creepy, squalid little piece of modern horror. I'd go so far as to say that it's also the most 'British' story in the whole collection - despite echoes of Jeffrey Dahmer, you set the city scene so well, and encapsulate the world of the homeless with such accuracy, that it's somehow difficult to imagine this tale taking place in a foreign setting. The lives of the shabby unfortunates at the centre of the tale work as a microcosm of a much greater social problem (the expansion of the story for the final paragraphs therefore working perfectly). I could virtually feel my feet sticking to the carpet in Calvin's flat, and the insect population of the place almost take on a weird character all of their own. Very daring of you to incorporate a flashback in the middle too! (Mart's frantic, half-remembered recollection of his abusive father).

I know you'll take it as a compliment if I say this would have made a really great episode of the 'Urban Gothic' t.v. show.

Okay you all must be board with my self-promoting by now so I will make up for it in the next couple of days by showing you how good the other tales are :)

Something about today....

Things can change drasticly in a matter of hours today feels just bleak I am left feeling pretty used up and despite advice from my physcoligist about taking control of your own life it really feels as if that isn't enough.

Early this week I managed to get part time work in a clothes shop near me tere isn't a lot of hours on my basic contract infact I am contrcted to one day a week which is bare minium by anybodys standards.
The problem is that this is all I could get because there just wasn't the vacneys to take and if I am turthful I was lucky to get even that.
The problem is it's terible money and the boss really doesn't care for anything apart from standing around watching you like a hawk making sure you never cease working.

It's left me feeling empty inside as I have worked all my life from the age of 15 (now 27) and only ever not worked due to depression.
So now I am making do with a really pathetic low job which leaves me wondering what was the point of working hard in the past if all my efforts accumliate to this.
When I tell people about the fact I actuley have gained employment thier first reaction is happines then when I tell them the kind of work I do and what the hours I am doing they look really dissapointed in me.

I was speaking to my sister to see what she says and she told me that there really isn't an alturntive and this is really what I will have to do for work unless I have a skill or am inteligent to get a better job.
I felt frustrated and asked what was the point in carrying on breaking your back for nothing she replied telling me we all need money to survive.

That's a deffenate truth.

I told I would rather take a job where your boss is a little more easy going even if the money wasn't great(at the moment I have a dictator boss with lousy money).
I said why don't I just become a roadswepper and not bother about a higher paid job where the stresses obviously effect me...there was no reply.

The problem is I don't think I handle pressure well and let's face it a well paid job has pressure ...otherwise it won't be well paid.
I thought about it for a while and a few of my dreams died I don't know if this is realism finaly sinking in but I used to think if you wanted something bad enough you could get it.
I think I am realising how limited my skills and talents are it feels like my heart just broke but maybe this is real life.

One thing is for sure that no matter what you do no matter how far you go it's never good enough even if you do better than somebody else in life that person still thinks you have failed.

This song below actuley demonstartes my frustration and angry about living up to the world...
So much to say so little time for me, to explain the way I feel
You only see, things the way you want to see them
It makes sense to you all these things you do
You’ve got it all figured out while everyone is confused
How do you do it? (how do it?)
In your mind I'm just blind
You're right all of the time
If I think for myself, I guess I'm way out of line
I'm not who you are
I'm so sorry (im so sorry)

chorus:
I can't do anything right (right)
You don't know me, stay out of my life (life)
Kick me while I'm down, I want you to
I can't be like you
Don't want to be like you

I can't do anything right
You don't know me, stay out of my life
Kick me while I'm down, I want you to
I can't be like you
Be like you

No matter what I do it's never good enough
I give all that is me; still it's never enough
So, why try? I give up.
What does it feel like to be in your shoes
And walk over everyone like you do?
Tear me down again, I want you to. (want you to)
You're lovely, so beautiful and
You're perfect in every way.
Your interior rusted and I'm so disgusted
Can't trust it. You're busted.

chorus:
I can't do anything right
You don't know me, stay out of my life
Kick me while I'm down, I want you to
I can't be like you
Don't want to be like you

I can't do anything right
You don't know me, stay out of my life
Kick me while I'm down, I want you to
I can't be like you
Be like you

I can't do anything right (repeat)

Is that it?

Finaly published

It finaly happened I have a story in print for the first time but it still doesn't feel like it has actuley happened until I have got my hands on a copy of it.
It's a story that has been finished for a while now and I made an effort to copy it up on computer and see if I could get it included in this short story collection.

I was plesently suprised that it was accpeted not being the biggest fan of my own work but then your always your own biggest critic.
It's a book that is going to be should online and it looks as if there is going to be a follow up collection to this current one so I can now start putting pen to papaer and write up another story now.
So far this is the most important achivement this year it's a leap foward because my writing is so important to me to take that first step in actuley getting it out there for people to read makes me smile.

I have actuley landed a part time job as well but this isn't such a great achivement even if I am glad I have got some paid work now.
It's a pretty meanial job the problem is I met an old school friend who told me that he could get me a good sales job with good money so I don't really know what to do (I detest sales).

This blog addition is irnoicaly dull for such exciting news but I guess I am being more mechinical with my writing today rather than creative.

Have a good day now ;)

I'll carry you...

This to a friend of mine called Silas who has experenced a targic loss recently and finds himself in a time of dampend spirits and reflection.
I just wish to say my strengh goes out to you to get you through this difficult time but be sure to know it won't be like this for too long.

This is just the intense part of loss something that everyone finds unbearable at times and unwilling to face.
..but it's okay it's alright because it's what humans do you are coping in the way you know how and nobody has a mgic way to do things.
The only reason why it feels so bad is because the person you lost was such a good person and ment so much to you.
Her influence and goodness lives on inside your heart which means she has not gone but still sharing her love with and others through you and the things you do and say.

People are fragile you and I are fragile and times such as these we realise what that actuley means. You see that is good because that means your real and normal like you should be.

Also remeber this the only thing to come out of darkness is light and it always does just let it happen and the rest will follow.

To my dear friend Silas.