(Image design by atrtink.com)

And so another Halloween is over and with it, another Coffin Hop where horror maestros from around the world combined to celebrate all things horror and host some great giveaways in the week leading up to Halloween and where I teamed up with the Kintsugi Poets Society, sharing their dark and delicious poetic delights. A busy time (again!) for me, but was great fun and a privilege to be involved! 

So without further adieu, here's the winners of my giveaway:

BREWIN’S 2014 COFFIN HOP GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

GRAND PRIZE: Signed paperback copy of The Dark Horde and digital copy of Gamebook Adventures: Infinite Universe – goes to Brandy Blake!

RUNNER-UP PRIZES: PDF copies of The Dark Horde and digital copies of Gamebook Adventures: Infinite Universe – go to Julianne Snow and Heather Powers!

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all those who participated! Hope you had a great Halloween!

(Image design by atrtink.com)

There's just over twenty four hours left of the annual COFFIN HOP where horror authors and artists from around the globe come together to share their dark works and giveaway great prizes for just a few mouse clicks... So there's still time to win some really cool stuff if you're quick!

Right here, you can win free copies of my horror novel The Dark Horde - 3 copies in ebook (pdf) format, and if you win the grand prize, I’ll mail you a signed copy of the paperback version completely free! Or if you'd prefer, you can get a ebook (pdf) copy of Evermore: An Introduction instead (or a signed copy of the paperback version mailed free if you win the grand prize). 

Want more? Well I'll also throw in a free copy of my gamebook Infinite Universe (published by Tin Man Games) that you can read and play on PC, Mac, Linux or Android platforms for every winner!

(The free copy of Infinite Universe will come via a link that you copy and paste into your browser - I'm fairly sure this link will still work for you, but in the event it doesn't, let me know and I'll give you another free PDF copy of your choice of one of my books instead).

You can enter any time, as often as you like up until midnight on the 31st of Oct (US EST time). In the event a winner doesn't claim their prize within 72 hours of being notified, another winner will be drawn in their place.

*** Click here to enter Brewin’s 2014 Coffin Hop Giveaway ***

And continuing the "Terrible Myths & Legends" theme for the Kintsugi Poets Society where myself and fellow poets are sharing their dark, delicious delights as part of COFFIN HOP, here's another Arabian legend (that also appeared, albeit quite differently, in the gamebook Sultans of Rema I worked on, that was written by Gaetano Abbondanza and published by Tin Man Games)... Enjoy!

HUSH MY LITTLE ONE

photo credit: 尽在不言中 via photopin cc

Hush my little one, dry your tears

Sleep my child, forget your fears

Mummy’s here now, you’re safe and sound

The ghūls are far away, underground

The graveyard’s their home, and there they stay

So you’re safe from them, if you keep away

They need to feed, do beware

So let another, find their lair

Let their sacrifice, feed their lust

And give their life, for someone must

Else the ghūls will stray, into town

Choose a target, and strike them down

When they come, they’ll cause no fuss

Because they’ll change form, to one of us

They lure their victims, with such disguise

So remember this trick and don’t trust your eyes

The one way to tell, if it’s a ghūl

Is by their hooves, that’s the rule

What’s that you say? You see my feet

Yes they are hooved, but there’s no retreat

Your mummy’s already dead, I drank her blood

It tasted delicious, a warm dark flood

And as her life, began to fade

I thought of you and my mind was made

I’ll eat you first, and then the rest

Because I like… Children best

So be still my dear and don’t you cry

Your tears won’t save you, it’s time to die

(Image design by atrtink.com)

It's day three of the annual COFFIN HOP where horror authors and artists from around the globe come together to share their dark works and invite you to join in the fun and win some great horror prizes, all for just for a few mouse clicks!

And right here, you can win free copies of my horror novel The Dark Horde - 3 copies in ebook (pdf) format are up for grabs, and if you win the grand prize, I’ll mail you a signed copy of the paperback version completely free! Or if you'd prefer, you can get a ebook (pdf) copy of Evermore: An Introduction instead (or a signed copy of the paperback version mailed free if you win the grand prize). 

Want more? Of course you do haha... Well how about I throw in a free copy of my gamebook Infinite Universe (published by Tin Man Games) that you can read and play on PC, Mac, Linux or Android platforms for every winner? Done!

(The free copy of Infinite Universe will come via a link that you copy and paste into your browser - I'm fairly sure this link will still work for you, but in the event it doesn't, let me know and I'll give you another free PDF copy of your choice of one of my books instead).

You can enter any time, as often as you like up until midnight on the 31st of Oct (US EST time). In the event a winner doesn't claim their prize within 72 hours of being notified, another winner will be drawn in their place.

*** Click here to enter Brewin’s 2014 Coffin Hop Giveaway ***

And continuing the "Terrible Myths & Legends" theme for the Kintsugi Poets Society where myself and fellow poets are sharing their dark, delicious delights as part of COFFIN HOP, here's another Arabian legend (with a little inspiration from the gamebook Sultans of Rema written by Gaetano Abbondanza and published by Tin Man Games)... Enjoy!

BEWARE THE SANDWALKER

Beware the great hunter of the desert, the Sandwalker

Huge and terrifying its visage, a tireless stalker

By day it sleeps, concealed beneath the sands

By night it awakes, hungry, to patrol its lands

Deadly its venomous sting, crushing its mighty claws

Prowling the sands for victims, hunting without pause

A blackened, scorpioid beast the size of a horse

Wielding a beak so sharp it can slice steel with its force

And if this terror you should ever meet

Know that it will never relent nor retreat

Unerringly, methodically, it will follow your trail

Cover your tracks as you might, to no avail

Can this nightmare be slain? No one knows

Where it is said to dwell, no one goes

Of those that crossed its path, none have returned

Beware and avoid, only this has been learned

(Image design by atrtink.com)

Been a bit quiet around here hey? Never mind COFFIN HOP is back once again, showcasing the dark wares of hundreds of horror authors and artists from around the globe. So come and join the horrific blog hop where each participating blogger is giving away prizes! Win heaps of awesome free horror stuff and all just for a few mouse clicks!

This year I'm combining forces with the Kintsugi Poets Society where myself and fellow poets are sharing their dark, delicious delights for your enjoyment on the theme of "Terrible Myths & Legends". And here too you can win some more great prizes, including dark poetic works and an Amazon gift card :)

And right here, you can win free copies of my horror novel The Dark Horde - 3 copies in ebook (pdf) format are up for grabs, and if you win the grand prize, I’ll mail you a signed copy of the paperback version completely free! Or if you'd prefer, you can get a ebook (pdf) copy of Evermore: An Introduction instead (or a signed copy of the paperback version mailed free if you win the grand prize). 

You can enter any time, as often as you like up until midnight on the 31st of Oct (US EST time). In the event a winner doesn't claim their prize within 72 hours of being notified, another winner will be drawn in their place.

*** Click here to enter Brewin’s 2014 Coffin Hop Giveaway ***

I'll leave you now with my first poem for the Kintsugi Poets Coffin Hop... With a little inspiration from the gamebook Sultans of Rema that I worked on (written by Gaetano Abbondanza and published by Tin Man Games), I've decided to share some terrible myths & legends with an Arabian theme... Enjoy!

TWICE THE FEAR

It was I thought an abandoned tomb

An ancient relic, in eternal gloom

But within this eldritch, slumbering womb

Lay an imprisoned terror… And my doom

I found it as I crossed this lonely desert land

It was but a stone wheel, buried in the sand

Perplexed by this discovery, I knelt to uncover it by hand

Revealing an archaic portal, whose purpose I could not understand

Gripping the wheel, I struggled to wrench it free

Eventually succeeding, and opened this portal of mystery

Before me stretched steps untouched since antiquity

Obscured by a foul darkness, through which I could not see

Curiosity ruled my thoughts, and so I began to descend

Holding a flashlight anxiously, wondering where they’d end

Down a hundred steps I went, before reaching a bend

And came to a cavernous expanse I could not comprehend…

Strewn across the floor were artefacts of stone and clay

Smashed and left to lie for the ages to this day

Yet over the remains hung the heavy stench of decay

More recent, undiminished, filling me with dismay

As I stood in silence, puzzling over what I’d found

There came from the hidden depths, a tortured sound

An inhuman groan, so intense it shook the ground…

Then I realised, something fearful towards me was bound

My trembling torch cut a swathe through the dusty air

But where I’d heard the noise, there was nothing there

Overcome with horror, I mouthed a silent prayer

But my fate was already sealed – I would die in this lair

Then from the dancing shadows, it began to appear

Half a torso, one arm and leg, hopping near

Its head half a mouth and nose, a single eye and ear

It was only half a man, but twice the fear

Faced with such nightmare, I strove to disbelieve

But it was the dreaded Nasnas, I failed to conceive

Spawn of a demon, my flesh it began to cleave

Ignoring my cries, my slayer, its domain I would never leave…

Broken memories. Twisted dreams.

Shattered hopes. Tortured screams.

These elements have given birth to a new society of dark poetry…

KINTSUGI POETS SOCIETY

Turning dark cracks & broken fragments into golden seams of poetry

So come join us…

In the darkness…

If you dare.

*    *    *

Today is the last day of the Kintsugi Poets Society Grand Launch Bloghop of Dark Poetry – 21^st July to 28^th July, where we, Kintsugi members, have posted dark poetry on our blogs and the Kintsugi Poets site. 

There'll be more dark poetry to come from the Kintsugi Poets of course, but I'll leave you today with a poem that hasn't really made it into my forthcoming musical story/album The Calling (which forms the back-story to my supernatural horror/thriller novel The Dark Horde). You see there's already been three versions of the album produced over the years, with different tracks and musical composers, and some tracks have seen six or more versions... But the final (i.e. released) version won't include the following words, once again those of Henry Wilcox as he records his final words and tells of what is to come... 

*    *    *

TESTIMONY

To know the future

Is to know the horror to come

To know what stalks us

Calling from the darkness inside

How do I explain

The forces that words can’t describe?

Who can believe me

And stop them before it’s too late?

These words I speak, these things I feel

I want you to understand, and see it is real

My will grows weary, strained is my breath

All that’s left now is to wait for…

Broken memories. Twisted dreams.

Shattered hopes. Tortured screams.

These elements have given birth to a new society of dark poetry…

KINTSUGI POETS SOCIETY

Turning dark cracks & broken fragments into golden seams of poetry

So come join us…

In the darkness…

If you dare.

*    *    *

Once again we are here in darkness, as the Kintsugi Poets Society continues this Grand Launch Bloghop of Dark Poetry – 21^st July to 28^th July, where we, Kintsugi members, will be posting dark poetry on our blogs and the Kintsugi Poets site. 

And once more, I reveal some of the darkness that is to come in the form of the musical story/album The Calling, the back-story to my supernatural horror/thriller novel The Dark Horde. In The Calling, Henry Wilcox records his final words that not only tell of his past but of the things to come... The return of unstoppable things of ancient evil that are beyond our comprehension. Things he calls "The Dark Horde".

What follows are their words: 

*    *    *

PUPPET

Your puppet strings I pull like reins

I suck the life that flows through your veins

I poison your mind with confusion and hate

Ever-present, I alone control your fate

Open your eyes and see that I am master

Running from me will only bring you faster

With lies, I drug you, deceive you and taunt you

You’ll not find truth for only I know what is true

You think you know me, when you don't even know yourself

You try to hide from me behind your science, religion and wealth

Yet these are my weapons, and mine alone to deploy

Using hate of race, hate of place, hate of face, I only destroy

For at the end of it all, at a time you will not see

 There will be nothing left, only death, only me!

Broken memories. Twisted dreams.

Shattered hopes. Tortured screams.

These elements have given birth to a new society of dark poetry…

KINTSUGI POETS SOCIETY

Turning dark cracks & broken fragments into golden seams of poetry

So come join us…

In the darkness…

If you dare.

*    *    *

So join me in darkness once more, as the Kintsugi Poets Society continues this Grand Launch Bloghop of Dark Poetry – 21^st July to 28^th July, where we, Kintsugi members, will be posting dark poetry on our blogs and the Kintsugi Poets site. 

Today, continuing the Bloghop's theme of darkness, I reveal some more "poetry" from the forthcoming musical story/album The Calling, which tells the back-story to my horror/thriller novel The Dark Horde via the final words of one of the central characters, Henry Wilcox.

Henry is haunted by inner demons... literally.

More to come soon! Enjoy!

*    *    *

VICTIM

It isn’t me nor what I planned

I’m victim to a force that takes command

They rule my thoughts and force my hand

Why does no one understand?

Save me I pray, from this fate

I did not want and did not create

My prayers go unanswered, what can I do?

They will destroy me and destroy you

Nobody sees, nobody knows

Where anger feeds and malice grows

Hate in my heart, fire in my brain

What is fantasy and what is sane?

They will destroy me and destroy you

How can I live, when this is true?

All hope is lost, I want to die

To end it all, but fear to try

Helpless, abandoned, victim am I

Night has fallen, dark is the sky

Darkness through which I cannot see

Darkness corrupts inside of me

Malignant, eternal, a hidden blight

Casting life into deepest night

Black in mind, black in heart

Slowly tearing our souls apart

There’s no escape that I can see

The Dark Horde are, will always be

They come for me, they come for you

 The Dark Horde are, their time is due

Broken memories. Twisted dreams.

Shattered hopes. Tortured screams.

These elements have given birth to a new society of dark poetry…

KINTSUGI POETS SOCIETY

Turning dark cracks & broken fragments into golden seams of poetry

So come join us…

In the darkness…

If you dare.

*    *    *

To celebrate the launch of this Society we’re having a Grand Launch Bloghop of Dark Poetry – 21^st July to 28^th July, where we, Kintsugi members, will be posting dark poetry on our blogs and the Kintsugi Poets site. The theme for the Bloghop is Darkness, so be sure to check the main site and our linked blogs over this week to read lots of mesmerising poetical darkness J

This Bloghop launch of Kintsugi Poets is the perfect time I think, for me to show you some of the poetry I’ve written around the theme of the Dark Horde: from the already-published book of the same name and from the forthcoming musical story/album The Calling.

The Calling tells of the story leading up to the events in the novel The Dark Horde:  a recording of Henry Wilcox’s final words where he reveals all. It’s not going to be out for a while yet, but if you basically imagine something like Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds musical, but instead a supernatural horror story and set to a “dark and epic heavy metal” soundtrack, with a narrator, guest characters and sung sections, then you’ll have the idea of what’s to come J

So here’s a taste of the madness to follow, with more to come over this week ….

*    *    *

MASK

Take my hand, render me blind

Hide from me the fear that grips my mind

I want to live, I want to be

No longer want to know nor want to see

For now my world's a dark void where no hope exists

And despite my efforts, only the dark persists

The Dark Horde will soon be victorious, that I clearly see

And then these words shall be all, all that's left of me

I wish to erase from my mind all I now know

Delude myself and forever dwell in truth's shadow

But I know it's useless, for our souls they've already won

So let these words be a warning of what's to come…