Diary of a Dizzy Deviant - A.S.Chambers

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Thursday, 4 June 2020

A very big thank you!!!

Welcome to June’s blog!

I want to use this as an opportunity to say a big “thank you” to all those who have helped me out with my Kickstarter for Sam Spallucci: Troubled Souls. It was launched on Monday 1^st June and, quite incredibly, reached its target in under two hours! Needless to say, I was totally blown away by this. You guys are all incredibly generous and it has been wonderful to see people getting so excited about my new work.

The Kickstarter will run until the end of June. All the large rewards have now gone. These were the ones where your name appeared as a victim of the Bare Lane Butcher in the book or the sponsor had a talking role before being despatched by the serial killer’s cut throat razor. The most popular reward has been the signed copy of Troubled Souls accompanied by the signed copy of Children of Cain. There are only a few of these left now, so if you want that deal, you had best get in quick. Also running low are individual signed copies of Troubled Souls. I think there may only be about twelve left of these for the Kickstarter. To hop over to the Kickstarter, click here.

Once the Kickstarter has completed, there will be about two weeks where it will be finalised as payments come in. After that, the book will go to the printers and I am looking at a publication date at the beginning of August. Ideal timing for the summer!

But Troubled Souls is not the only book that I have coming out this year. In November, my next short story anthology Hide Not Thou Thy Face will hit the shelves. Following my usual anthology format, it will contain about eight or nine shorts of varying length. There will be two more prologues for Sam Spallucci 6 (Bloodline – due next year) as well as another “Dragon” short. One to really watch out for though is a short story set post-Divergence entitled The Virtuous Man. Those of you who have read Dark Justice should recognise the title from the prophecy concerning the individual who is supposed to be the hope for humanity after the rise of Kanor. More on that another time.

Something else to watch out for is an online store that I am currently putting together. I get asked a lot to post out signed books to my readers. Once this site is up and running, it should make accessing my signed books a lot easier. Again, watch this space for details.

Stay safe and look for what lurks in the shadows,

Austin.

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Tuesday, 5 May 2020

Sam Spallucci: Troubled Souls - Your Questions Answered!

In this month’s blog, I’ll be chatting about my forthcoming book, Sam Spallucci: Troubled Souls which, all being well, should hit the shelves in August this summer. The fifth book in the Sam Spallucci series, I’ve been asked loads of questions regarding it, so I thought this would be a good time to deliver some answers for those who are hungry for their next dose of Lancaster’s beleaguered investigator of the paranormal.

When is Troubled Souls set?

This next set of adventures is going to be set straight after Dark Justice and will deal with the fallout in Sam’s life, both professional and personal, that he suffered at the end of the last book. It will take place over about three weeks, bridging the festive (or not so festive) season and will climax in the new year.

Is this book a single storyline or a set of separate cases?

The easiest answer to that is probably, “both.” There are five cases in total: The Cherokee Checkout; The Distressed Demoniac; The Time Travelling Tearoom; The Dabbling Dominion and The Bare Lane Butcher. However, there are two strong over-riding arcs: one regarding Sam’s relationships with the supernatural beings that continually interfere with his life and the other being the Bare Lane Butcher, a serial killer who Sam tackles first in Victorian and then in modern-day Morecambe.

Is it true that you will be using characters from another author’s book?

It is indeed! I am delighted that Peter Cakebread allowed me to use Mulberry and Touchstone his detectoratorsfrom the fabulous Morecambe Medium. I read the book a few years back and fell in love with his style and, as I was reading it, wished that I could use the loveable detectives in one of my stories. I originally bounced the idea off Pete a couple of years ago and he gave me the go ahead. He was the first person to read the finished story that they appear in (Time Travelling Tearoom) and was delighted with the finished product.

Is there a real-life character appearing in Troubled Souls?

Sort of. There is going to be an author called Craig Shaw making an appearance as a researcher in the Bare Lane Butcher. He is actually based upon a good friend of mine, author Craig Hallam (click here for his blog). Craig loves all things Victoriana and Steampunkery, so I couldn’t resist using a character based upon him and he jumped at the chance to appear.

Will there be reappearances from characters in Sam’s universe?

Most definitely! I think it is safe to say that it is crammed full of readers’ favourites. As the cover art shows, Sophia plays a very central role as do her little travelling companions. Mister Tibbles, the familiar of Boom Box Betty will reappear in Tearoom and Dominion, causing chaos as he interferes with Sam’s life. Alec, Grace and Spliff will obviously be around as will a new love interest for one of them. I’m delighted to have DCI Jitendra Patel back in The Bare Lane Butcher where he enlists Sam’s help in hunting down the modern-day serial killer. Perhaps most excitingly though, two of Sam’s phantasmagorical nemeses will finally appear in the flesh: fallen seraph Lucifer and bringer of the divergence Kanor. I don’t want to say too much (spoilers and all), but the scene where Sam finally gets to meet Lucifer has to be possibly my favourite scene in the whole series so far.

Are there any new characters?

Off the top of my head, there are two new faces that we can expect to see again. The first is a ghost who is haunting a local supermarket whilst dressed as a Cherokee chieftain. He turned out so well, that I shall most likely use him again in a few books’ time. The second is a police officer by the name of Becks Mullen. WPC Mullen is driven and ambitious and will first appear in Bare Lane Butcher. Passionate about what she does, she will be butting heads with her ordered boss and will definitely be a character to watch when she reappears in Bloodline.

Is there going to be a Kickstarter for Troubled Souls?

I was very nervous about holding a Kickstarter for Songbird, but it was a resounding success, raising funds for the publication process and introducing new readers to my books. So, most definitely yes, there will indeed be a Kickstarter.

As well as the varying levels of backing which will give you access to artwork and books, there will also be two levels which will let you actually appear in the book! At one level you will have the chance to be named as a victim of the Bare Lane Butcher and on the highest level, you will actually have your name used for a speaking character in the book (before being brutally murdered of course).

All details will appear on my Kickstarter campaign which should launch in June. Here’s the link to my Kickstarter profile. Make sure to follow it to get more details as they are launched. I will also be posting updates on my Facebook page and in my Facebook Group, so make sure to subscribe to those and keep your eyes peeled!

After Troubled Souls, what will be next?

I have already started on the next two novels, Bloodline and Fury of the Fallen.

The first of these sees the Bloodline of Abel descend upon Lancaster. It will tie together all the little Easter eggs that I have been laying down since Shadows of Lancaster (I hope you’ve been watching carefully…) and will follow on from the three prologues from the anthologies Mourning Has Broken and Hide Not Thou Thy Face (this book is due out later on this year). Again, not wanting to give spoilers, but tears will be shed as there will be death and heartache…

Fury of the Fallen will follow on directly from Bloodline and will have the fallen angels Asherah and Asmodeus interject themselves into Sam’s life. Sparks will definitely fly.

Well, I think that is all for now. I had better get back to causing chaos in Sam’s life.

Take care, stay safe and remember to look for what is lurking in the shadows…

A.S.Chambers.

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Thursday, 9 January 2020

Hello 2020!

Happy new year to you all!

2019 was a fantastic year for me. I had three new publications come out. Here’s a quick run-down of them in case you missed them.

Children of Cain – A Vampire Omnibus was a collection of the vampire stories that I had previously published across my first three short story anthologies. It collected together for the first time in one place all the stories of the Children of Cain who exist and interact with Sam Spallucci’s universe. There were the three tales set in the modern day concerning newly created vampire Dave Nichols and his mother the regent Nightingale. Alongside these there were three in the Wild West centred around the reluctant heir to the empire, the gunslinger Claw and the ill-fated relationship that he develops with a young orphan boy. Then there were two contrasting stories centred around my favourite pair of construct hunters: Tigress and Scorpion. One saw them out on the tiles and hunting down their unsuspecting prey whereas the other showed us a more vulnerable side to their relationship.

Songbird was another Children of Cain based book. This novella centred around the vampire Nightingale. It tracked her last few weeks as a human, suffering at the hands of a sadistic employer, through to her rebirth and rise to regent of the shadowy figures that await the Divergence and the rise of Kanor.

Finally, Needs Must received an outing as an eBook. Originally part of the anthology All Things Dark And Dangerous, this very popular short story tells the tale of Odd Bod, a human-eating creature down the bottom of a well who has to venture up into the world above when his food source dries up, only to encounter something far more deadly than himself – a little red-headed girl.

So what of 2020? Well the big news is that the next Sam Spallucci book Troubled Souls is now in the editing stage and, all being well, should be published late spring. Like Casebook and Shadows of Lancaster, this new outing for Lancaster’s investigator of the paranormal will take part over five interconnected cases as Sam tries to come to terms with the fallout from Dark Justice.

The Case of the Cherokee Checkout sees Sam reluctantly drawn into the spectral happenings at a new supermarket which has apparently been built on a Native American burial ground. Quite an achievement for Lancashire! During the investigation, he encounters Craig Shaw, a local author who has written a book about the Bare Lane Butcher, a serial killer in Morecambe from the 1800s. Not only this, but photographic evidence puts Sam right at the heart of the Victorian killing spree.

The Case of the Distressed Demoniac has Sam called in to try and cure a teenage girl from what appears to be a demonic possession. However, things aren’t quite what they seem and, what’s more, a certain shadowy figure who haunts Sam’s dreams begins to take a far from healthy interest in the occult goings on.

The Case of the Time Travelling Tea Room sees Sam and Spliff transported back to a Victorian Morecambe which is in the grip of the murderous hand of the Bare Lane Butcher. As they try to solve the case and find a way home, they team up with detectorator duo, Mulberry and Touchstone who have leapt from the pages of Peter Cakebread’s novel The Morecambe Medium.

The Case of the Dabbling Dominion involves more time travel as the dominion Mister Tibbles whips Sam and Alec back and forth through points in history (and out of history...) as the diminutive angel tries to force the hand of Sam’s mysterious lodger and get him to accept his destiny. Be prepared to find out what really caused the destruction of the Indus Valley civilisation!

The Case of the Bare Lane Butcher is the final of the five connected tales and sees Sam rooted firmly in the present as the Victorian serial killer seems to raise his ugly head in modern day Morecambe. As Sam hunts down the murderer before they can kill someone close to him, he struggles with continued appearances from Kanor, before things finally come to a head.

So, have a great 2020. Continue to watch this space for more details as and when they are announced and remember: The Divergence Is Coming!

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Monday, 5 August 2019

Why Lancaster?

A question I am frequently asked is, “Why have you set

stories about a paranormal investigator in Lancaster of all places?”

When I first moved to this hidden jewel of the North West, tucked away to the side of the M6, I was but a mere university undergraduate. Living on the campus a few miles south of the city, I rarely ventured into town. However, when I did, it was normally at night time to frequent the pubs and clubs. I was soon drawn into a world the like of which I had never experienced before. Having grown up in a small market town which had undergone numerous rejuvenations, I had only ever heard of these mystical little routes between buildings known as alleysand had never actually seen them up close.

Lancaster was (and still is) full of them.

The city's heyday was in Georgian times when the majority of the hoi polloiwandered around on foot. Only the rich had access to carriages and, as a result, most of the main roads were narrow and the small footpaths that connected them were even more of a squeeze. Wandering around as a bright-eyed fresher, I could not help but be attracted to these tiny veins and arteries of my new home. As I passed one in the middle of the night, I could easily imagine what creatures might lurk down its shadowy depths and I would automatically cross to a lighter side of the high street to avoid being dragged away for some nocturnal creature's midnight snack.

Time and familiarity tend to eradicate childish fears. So it was that, in my twenties, I started to see these little footpaths as less a potential lair for the undead and more a quick shortcut home from work. They lost their edge and became just like everything else in my early working years, part of the norm. I would stroll down them without giving a thought to ghosties or beasties that might have dwelt along their cobbled paths.

Then, when I stumbled rather bemusedly into my thirties, I began to hear tell of stories regarding Lancaster's past. Tales that portrayed the city as less of a sparkling diamond, but more of a mysterious dark orb. There were ghosts that wandered the dressing rooms of the Grand Theatre. There was the screaming head that rolled down Castle Hill.

And who, in Lancashire, has not heard about the fate of the Pendle Witches? Members of two families whose feud boiled over into allegations of Satanism and witchcraft, leading them to be incarcerated at Lancaster Castle before gruesome deaths and executions.

So it was that I started to reevaluate my sanitised view of my city and began to once more regard its shadowy alleys with a dose of caution and a certain amount of trepidation. These were footways that had known history, and not just the peaceful type where everyday folk merrily went about their business. There were murders, deaths and destruction that had bled their way into the very cobblestones upon which I walked.

So, when I get asked the aforementioned question, I tell those who enquire to come to Lancaster. Visit this place steeped in blood-stained history and walk down its alleyways at night. Then they will see how it might just be possible that there is a werewolf roaming Williamson Park, that a vampire might happen to run a local comic shop or that maybe, just maybe, the crazy woman singing on the street corner could very well be descended from the Pendle Witches.

Until next time, keep looking for what lurks in the shadows.

A.S.Chambers.

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Wednesday, 3 July 2019

Back In The Old Home Town.

One of the questions that I get asked a lot about my Sam Spallucci books is, “Are all the places in the books real?” The easiest answer to this is, “Usually.” For example, most of the locations in Lancaster exist in the real world with the exception of Luneside University, which happens to be Lancaster University transported magically down onto the side of the river Lune. All the rest of the locations in Sam’s adopted home town are more or less as you find them. There is the Ashton Memorial in Williamsons’ Park, the Priory Church of St Mary, the Borough and indeed 15a Dalton Square, all of which are real locations.

But what about Sam’s originalhome town of Wellington which we first visit in Shadows of Lancaster? Does this have a basis in fact?

Indeed it does. Wellington first came into existence when I wrote the as yet unpublished Fallen Angel. I needed a small market town with an impressive gothic church so I went with the old adage, “write about what you know.” All I reallyknew as a teenager, was my home town of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire. So I used that.

Specifically, I used my parish church of All Hallows.

All Hallows was a perfect model for All Saints in Sam’s world. A gothic beauty, it is almost virtually identical in the books as it is in real life: a towering spire, next to a thriving market, the ornate rood screen with the lifelike figure of the crucified Jesus in calm repose.

And, yes, there is the font.

Now, the font in All Hallows may not have the enigmatic inscription “Knaves Are Not Our Responsibility”, but it is a fine piece of stone craftsmanship, nonetheless. As a chorister there, I witnessed many babies getting dunked in the large stone bowl. What I can absolutely testify to is that there is nothing supernatural about it and there are no mysterious

watery noises coming from beneath it, even though Wellingborough was a spa town in Tudor and Stuart times.

Speaking of All Saints, Songbird – A Nightingale Storyis now out online and in a select few shops. It tells the tale of a young girl who rises from the poverty of Victorian England, to become Nightingale, the leader of the Children of Cain, the group of vampires in the universe of Sam Spallucci. As we follow her journey, she spends time at the church of All Saints in Wellington, where she witnesses a number of supernatural events surrounding the font and is subjected to the sadistic wrath of the parish priest before being rescued by her vampiric father, Doulos.

If you want to treat yourself to a copy, it is available to buy over on Amazonor, if you want a signed copy, feel free to drop me a line at www.aschambers.co.uk.

Until next time, keep looking for what lurks in the shadows.

A.S.Chambers.

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Monday, 3 June 2019

Steampunkery and Vampires.

So, the last week has been somewhat manic for me.

Not only have I launched a Kickstarter for my new novella Songbird: A Nightingale Story (more on that in a bit), but I had the delightful pleasure of attending this year’s A Splendid Day Out at the Platform in Morecambe.

For those of you who don’t know, Steampunk is a fantastical fusion of high Victoriana and all manner of things futuristic. If you can imagine Sherlock Holmes hanging from a Zeppelin whilst blasting off a patented Tesla ray gun, then you are in the right sort of ball park.

A Splendid Day Out has taken over Morecambe every year now for the past six years (if memory serves me correctly) and I have been lucky enough to attend the majority of the events. It is marvellous to see the little seaside town transformed into something quite spectacular.

As well as the traders’ market with all sorts of goodies on sale, there was tea duelling, teapot racing, clog dancing, magical shenanigans and wonderfully eccentric music to name but a few of the array of attractions.

Then there was the authors’ tent, where Yours Truly had an absolute blast. I can safely say that I have never been to an event where I have been so inundated with enquiries (and indeed sales of) my books. My fellow authors were an absolute hoot and we all had a great time chatting to members of the public and basically causing general anarchy. I feel deeply sorry for the poor chap who had to try and control us during the panel on the end of the Sunday: it was like trying to herd LSD-infused felines!

If you haven’t been to the event, then I highly recommend it. The link to the ASDO website is here.

So, if having a blast over the weekend wasn’t enough to keep me entertained, last Monday I launched the Kickstarter for my next book Songbird: A Nightingale Story.

I have to say that I felt sick to the core when I clicked on launch for the crowdfunding for my vampire Nightingale’s origins novella. I was convinced that it would be a flop and I would just sit and watch tumbleweed drift through my campaign for the next thirty days.

Well, all those nerves were well and truly squashed when the campaign zoomed past its target in just six hours!!! Needless to say, I was totally gobsmacked and my thanks goes out to everyone who has contributed so far.

There are still approximately three weeks left on the campaign and there are still plenty of goodies left to be snapped up. Primarily there is the opportunity to preorder digital and paperback copies of the book which see Nightingale rise from the poverty of Victorian England to becoming the leader of the Children of Cain, the vampires from the world of my very own Sam Spallucci.

Not only this, but there is also the opportunity to grab yourself some limited edition artwork by the amazing Liam Shaw. I have a very limited run of A4 prints of the cover art on offer alongside signed copies of Songbird, The Case of The Belligerent Bard and The Casebook of Sam Spallucci.

Why not hop over to Kickstarter now and have a look for yourself? You can reach it here.

Until next time, keep looking for what lurks in the shadows.

A.S.Chambers.