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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

"frighteningly believable and ‘entertaining’ tale" - Shadowchild and Shady by Matthew Williams

18+ Shadowchild - In 1629 something visited the parish of Feckenham. The events that followed were so terrifying that they never gained their place in the history books. 
The Shady Corner - A shady corner in life can be a dark and mysterious place, but in the shady corners of the mind, the mystery and darkness know no bounds!

Description:

Shadowchild

In 1629 something visited the parish of Feckenham. The events that followed were so terrifying that they never gained their place in the history books.

Now in 2008, something seems to be wrong with Marie Watson’s young children.
Her father won’t believe her and her mother is nearing the end of her tether.

Marie feels utterly alone.

But is she?

"Amazing. Disturbing. Haunting. This is a book that I won’t easily or soon forget. It and the author Matthew Williams has branded a part of my psyche with his dark and gripping and evocative tale unlike anything I’ve read. [...]
But surprisingly nothing ever felt gratuitous for the sake of being ‘shocking’ or ‘gory’. It all made sense with the evil that was occurring at the time. The ending is freaking insane and leaves me very unsettled. And that’s what made this book end perfectly! I’d definitely be interested in reading more from this talented author to see what other terrifying tricks he has up his sleeve. Highly recommend." - Marcella, Goodreads

The Shady Corner

A shady corner in life can be a dark and mysterious place, but in the shady corners of the mind, the mystery and darkness know no bounds!

In a struggle with his conscience and haunted by images of murder, David is given a choice to right the wrongs of his past.

Can he cheat fate and avoid his future? Or is the evil that dwells within him more than it seems?

Only one thing is certain . . .

Fate can be cruel, but true evil can be brutal!

"[E]verything you could possibly want from a gripping horror novel is found here: solid world building, three dimensional characters (some of whom you love, others whom you hate or are terrified of), high stakes, life and death situations, treachery, evil, and a great supporting cast. [...] it does deliver frighteningly believable and ‘entertaining’ tale that even well-read fans of dark horror and suspense are sure to enjoy and be freaked out by." - Elizabeth, Goodreads

AUTHOR's Q&A

Tell us something really interesting that's happened to you! 
Thinking back on it, I guess I was lucky to survive my childhood. I don’t mean to imply for a moment that my upbringing was bad, quite the opposite in fact. But on two separate occasions I could have died, or at least suffered injuries that would have altered the course of my life. 

When I was just eighteen months old when I was knocked down and run over by the rear wheel of a car as it was reversing out from a parking space. I had a nasty graze on my forehead from where I hit the ground, but somehow, I was otherwise unscathed. The ‘Bionic Baby’ the newspapers called me, and I got to share the front page with Raquel Welch. 

The second occasion was, perhaps, even more strange than that. The living room in my parent’s house had a very elaborate fire hearth. A piece of slate that ran the width of the room, and ornate rocks that were embedded in the wall above the fire. Now, these rocks weren’t small, in fact the largest stone was over a meter in length and must have weighed over 100kgs. As a child of six, I used to sit on that slate hearth regularly. It was a favorite spot of mine until the largest rock fell from the wall and split the slate hearth. What was really strange was that until the very second that that rock fell, I had been sat there, warming myself by the fire. To this day I still don’t know what made me get up when I did. It would be easy to say that my getting up caused the rock to fall. But as an engineer I have looked at that wall many times as an adult, and I find it hard to believe that something as small as I was then would make a rock that was mounted a good 1.5 Meters up the wall fall. I don’t know maybe it did? Or maybe something? Somewhere? Is watching over me? What I can be sure of is that the split in the slate is still the only scar from that day. 

What are your top 10 favorite books/authors? 
Being a horror writer, it will come as no surprise that I love Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert, Richard Laymon, etc. but I also hugely enjoy Terry Prachett and Douglas Adams too. I’m also going to name drop a good friend of mine called Stephen Helmes, we only know each other through us both being horror writers, but he is a great guy. I think his stories are up there with the best of them, I really wish him every success as an indie author. 

So my top ten books are – 

1 – Misery by Stephen King 
2 – Rats Trilogy by James Herbert 
3 – Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King 
4 – Mort by Terry Prachett 
5 – The Hitch hikers guide to the galaxy (5 book edition) by Douglas Adams 
6 – I am Legend by James Matherson 
7 – Body Rides by Richard Laymon 
8 – Nightly Visits by Stephen Helmes 
9 – Odd series by Dean Koontz 
10 – Silence of the lambs by Thomas Harris 

Not sure the order is correct and I could probably list a whole load more than 10 because I am already missing at least another 20 books that deserve a place in my list lol.

What can we expect from you in the future? 
At this point in time, I can’t visualize writing outside of the horror genre, horror is what I love and it seems to come naturally. Of course, the thing about horror is that it doesn’t really have many boundaries. Romance, thrills, drama; these are all inside the genre if I need them to be. But whatever I can imagine, be it traditional, paranormal, creatures, monsters, bad people doing bad stuff, fantasy; the list goes on! They can all be inside of my stories too, so staying in the horror zone gives me plenty of scope to bring out the darkness and the macabre. 

2018 will see the publication of my third novel ‘Talia’s Kiss’. It’s already half way through and it’s coming together very well so far. If I had to place it in a category, I guess it falls somewhere between witchcraft and fantasy as a general theme, but as with all my stories, I like to put my own twist on things to keep them feeling fresh. 

I am also working on my fourth book. It is little more than an outline right now, but it’s an apocalyptic story that will be all out action from the start! No timeline jumping in this one, I do love playing with timelines in my books but I fancy a break from difficulties inherent in that style. 

Furthermore, I have an idea for a novella called ‘Shard’ (working title). It won’t stretch to a full novel and I am keen to give a short story a go. Maybe I’ll add a few more short stories and publish a compendium, or maybe I’ll struggle to get a short story to work for me. It’s the finding out that’s the fun part!
About the author:
Born in 1975, Matthew Williams has been a keen fan of the horror/thriller/fantasy genres for as long as he can remember. Whether it’s a film, a TV series, or a novel; he is drawn to all the different aspects of these genres. Mainly it’s the complexities and the mysteries that can be expressed with freedom and imagination that he enjoys the most.

A fan of authors such as Stephen King, James Herbert, Dean Koontz, Richard Layman – to name but a few!

A fan of TV shows such as Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, American Horror Story – to name but a few!

A fan of films such as Saw, Seven, Eden Lake, The Descent, Quarantine, Skeleton Key, The Sixth Sense – to name but a few!

Matthew now has a small body of work of his own with ‘The Shady Corner’ and ‘Shadowchild’ only the beginning of what he is determined to grow into an extensive collection of horror/thriller fiction novels.

Author's Giveaway
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23 comments:

Kate Sarsfield said...

Nice to see Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker series making your top 10. Have you read any of his other works, namely Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency & The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul?

Stephanie LaPlante said...

These book sounds awesome, especially Shadowchild.

Unknown said...

Hi Kate, I did read Holistic Detective Agency many years ago now, but I really must find time to read it again. If you like Douglas Adams then perhaps check a lesser know novel called The Zombie, The cat, and Barack Obama by Christopher Meade. I just read it last week as it was brilliant. Thanks for your comment Kate :-)

Unknown said...

Thanks Stephanie :-)

Unknown said...

Thanks Rita :-)

Kate Sarsfield said...

Checking it out now Matthew - thanks for the tip!

Kate Sarsfield said...

The Zombie, The cat, and Barack Obama is now on my 'feel like treating myself' list! Some great reviews so fingers crossed!

Deb Hollow said...

These books all make my spine tingle, good eh? I think the Shady Corner really was the one that caught my attention.

Unknown said...

If you enjoy Douglas Adams, you will enjoy it :-)

Unknown said...

Thanks for saying so Debra, I really hope you read them and enjoy them :-)

CindyWindy2003 said...

I've always secretly loved a good fright, these sound perfect!

Unknown said...

I hope you enjoy them Cindy - have a good fright :-)

Kate Sarsfield said...

Thanks again Matthew & good luck with your novel!

CindyWindy2003 said...

What inspired these books? Where do you get your ideas?

Unknown said...

I just love horror! My inspiration is my drive to create new stories that are original and different. I hope that I am doing that :-)

CindyWindy2003 said...

I was wondering what the author's favorite book is?

CindyWindy2003 said...

If your book was made into a movie, who would you want to star in it?

Deb Hollow said...

The Shady Corner really gives me quite a chill and tingle. I will definitely read this one.

Unknown said...

I hope you enjoy it Debra :-)

CindyWindy2003 said...

Do you read other genres or just horror?

Unknown said...

Hi Cindy, I just returned from holiday so sorry for the late reply to your questions, but here we go!

My favourite book is Misery by Stephen King.

James McAvoy would be perfect in the role of 'David' if The Shady Corner were ever made into a movie. I say this after watching his performance in Split.

I do mainly read horror, but I do love to read thrillers, and I can't resist a good comedy or satire too.

Thanks for your questions Cindy :-)

CindyWindy2003 said...

What are you going to be for halloween?

Unknown said...

I Was a vampire, my son was a werewolf and my wife was a witch. How about you Cindy?