Facebooked

Despite my best efforts, protests, Diva-like crying and general furiousness I was coerced into making an author page for myself on Facebook by fellow horror brethren Justin and Dunk.

So check it out.

If you want to.

Although I will add it was a bloody nightmare setting it up. You can't edit page settings from a non-desktop system and everything in Facebook is like some sort Lemarchand's Box. Only without Cenobites.

Bad reviews and Ben Hutchinson

It’s inevitable when you create something and invest countless hours of blood, sweat and tears into it that you’re proud of it. Some may say precious or protective. It’s your baby. You've given it all the love in the world and you want the world to love it as much as you do. The thing is that it’s never truly the case. Just because you love it, it doesn't mean somebody (or everybody for that matter) will feel the same.

Whether it’s from a stranger, a respected peer or industry professional it’s inevitable your work is going to piss somebody off. And the sooner you can accept that the better your work will be. Everybody gets bad reviews. Even the people you respect and admire as creators. I love John Carpenter with all of my blackened heart but he’s made some shit let’s be honest (Ghosts of Mars anybody?!).

The worst part of this process is that you can’t try and defend yourself from a bad review. You may write a chapter or draw an image and instinctively know that it’s not going to sit right with some. It doesn't matter. Don’t change what you’re doing. Your energy and passion for what you’re doing colours the work you do. Don’t water it down or homogenise it.

Bad reviews will creep up on you like a thief in the night and there’s nothing you can do. And if you let it scare you your work will never be the same. Despite your best endeavours you cannot head it off at the pass.

The fact you’re thinking and worrying while creating means you care for the project you’re doing. And what’s better is that if you’re worrying about them there’s a good chance you've already taken the preventative measures to avoid the many criticisms headed your way.

The bad news is that it won’t matter.

Some people will just not like what you do. No matter how hard you try. And that’s okay. It’s subjectivity.

The reason I write this is today I received my first bad review.

A chap named Ben Hutchinson kindly took the time to read my book but didn't like it and dutifully posted his opinion on Amazon. His two star review states “Started off quite well but became confusing. A great idea but too much was left unexplained in the end. On the whole quite poor.”

To Ben I say I'm sorry you didn't like it – truly I am. But I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read it and post your feedback. 

Kindle version updated to fix minor issues

If you've downloaded the Kindle version of Burning House please update the file as I've made some minor alterations to increase the general quality of the read as well as changing a tiny amount of errors that cropped up in conversion to Kindle format.

You can click here for a guide on how to enable automatic updates if you're unsure (don't worry it's not complicated).

All you have to do is head to the Manage Your Kindle item on the Amazon menu and then click the “update available” next to any book that has an update. Then click the Update this title now link. It'll take a few seconds and will increase your enjoyment immensely!

And who knows, maybe there's updates to your other books that you weren't aware of? Kindle books are updated regularly so don't forget to check if you haven't enabled automatic updates.

Thanks!

Some well deserved thanks

Within a week over 100 copies of my little book are out in the wild. It's a scary but humbling experience. It's amazing first and foremost. I look forward to hearing what new readers think, I'm under no impression it's perfect so it'll help me develop as an author.

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their support and help. Most are named in the book but for many reasons some aren't, so for those that aren't I raise a glass to you. And to the wonderful Twitter people who retweeted I give enormous thanks.

Thanks everyone. X

Burning House is FREE on Kindle and Kindle apps for the next 5 days

There's not much to say besides the fact that Burning House is FREE on Kindle and Kindle apps for the next 5 days. Get it while you can!

Horror's state of decay?

The proliferation of low budget (typically found footage) films within the horror genre can feel like our beloved subject is saturated with cheap knock offs or wastes of time.

Within the rough there's a diamond or two to be found (Willow Creek being the most recent from memory) but it's becoming harder and harder to sift through the cacophony of 'me too' possession films or 'based on true events' ghost films. And trust me. There's a lot of them.

While I could go on about this I'll leave it to Chad Armstrong of Legless Corpse to put these thoughts more succinctly and poignantly - I suggest you read his thoughts here.

Dogs and Cats living together

We watched Ghostbusters tonight. Not only was it as wonderful as I remembered but it made me think of films that are structurally and technically perfect. For me it has to be The Thing, Predator, Ghostbusters, Raiders of The Lost Ark, Jaws and... There's so many. What's your favourite film and why?

Kids read Burning House

My good friend Matt had his copy of Burning House arrive in the post and he immediately did the sensible thing and put it in the hands of his young children.

8MM

So tonight my good lady Christian and I sat down to watch a film. After browsing through the Netflix queue we settled on 8MM. Now, I saw this film in the cinema back in the day as it's written by Andrew Kevin Walker who wrote Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow and Se7en, one of my favourite films.

I wasn't that enamoured by 8MM first time around but a repeat viewing has made me like it much more. It's also reminded me how much I loved Rockstar Games under appreciated Playstation 2 gem Manhunt.

It's interesting to see it out of context now post Saw and the rise of the "Gorno" horror.

Cover art by comic creator Jester Diablo

My Brother from another Mother Vince (aka Jester Diablo) put together the beautiful cover art and design for Burning House. He's also the creator of Britain's newest and most stupendous comic superhero, The Red Mask From Mars! Get the free prologue issue here and buy the first issue why you're there. You'd be silly not to.

Step into Burning House!

So. It's official. Not only have I finally set up a Blog I've also launched my début horror novella Burning House and you can buy it right now!

It's available in either paperback or Kindle, depending on your preference - personally I always like the feel of a printed book so my recommendation would be to buy the former but if you prefer pixels to print then the Kindle version delivers the same scares at a fraction of the price.

It's been an emotional roller-coaster finalising this project and getting it out there for purchase. I've already learnt so much more on the way. That'll most certainly help for book two. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The brilliant Danny King, author of The Burglar Diaries and the award-winning movie, Wild Bill, called it "a sizzling debut novella from Daniel Marc Chant. Chilling, claustrophobic and charnel. You can almost see the demonic shadows moving behind his writing."

Find out for yourself what all the fuss is about by buying the paperback or Kindle versions today!