SUNDAY SCENE: PENNY HAMPSON ON HER FAVOURITE SCENE FROM A PLETHORA OF PHANTOMS

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Jane Cable

One of the perks of being a writer is being able to put one’s characters in dangerous situations and coming up with believable ways in which they can extricate themselves. A favourite example of mine occurs in my book, A Plethora of Phantoms, because it marks the point where my main character starts to become the man he wants to be.

Aristocrat Freddie Lanyon is not your typical hero; he’s reserved, doesn’t enjoy being the centre of attention, and is head over heels in love with Bath antique dealer Marcus. Sadly, Freddie thinks he’s blown his chance for love because he’s too timid about coming out. Marcus has gone missing, so, urged by Marcus’ distraught sister, Freddie stays the night with her in Marcus’ flat above the antique shop. Unfortunately, a quiet night’s sleep is not what Freddie gets.

Woken in the early hours by the sounds of a violent scuffle in the street outside, Freddie spies Marcus being assaulted by two thugs as they attempt to gain entry to the shop below. Freddie telephones the police for assistance and is instructed to remain where he is, but this is an instruction that Freddie chooses to ignore – it would be a pretty dull story if our hero did nothing at all.

Tiptoeing swiftly down to the first-floor kitchen and pausing only to pick up something heavy – a sharpening steel – Freddie carried on towards the ground floor entrance of the flat. The bolts slid back silently. The sound of muffled voices told him that the street door had been breached and the intruders were attempting to gain entry to the shop.

“Hurry up!” A harsh voice ordered.

There was a groan. Freddie knew it was Marcus. Anger rose in his chest.

“Key in the bloody number or I’ll hammer you again and you wouldn’t want me to spoil that pretty face of yours, would you?”

Another voice chipped in, “You’d have thought he’d had enough when we smashed his fingers. Must be something really special in that safe of yours, eh, Spender?”

Freddie took a deep breath. Now was not the time to hesitate. He had to take them by surprise.

Clutching the steel in one hand Freddie flung the door open and charged forward with a roar, but instead of aiming high he went low, landing a heavy blow across the legs of the assailant who had Marcus in a stranglehold. The guy screamed as his limbs buckled and he crumpled into a heap on the floor, freeing Marcus. Freddie leapt on to the thug’s back, determined to keep him immobile until the police arrived, and watched as Marcus slid to his knees making choking sounds. Bracing himself for an attack from the assailant’s accomplice, Freddie looked up to see this guy staring open-mouthed with terror, not at him, but at something behind him.

The crook’s mouth opened and closed but there was no sound as he slowly backed away.

If Freddie didn’t know better, he’d have sworn that this ugly customer had seen something awful, not just a bloke in pyjama bottoms wielding a steel.

I loved turning Freddie into an action hero. Seeing Marcus being threatened with violence galvanises him into doing something out of character to save the day, although he does have a little supernatural assistance – this is a ghost story, after all.

I had great fun with Freddie, especially in this scene where he changes from being a quiet man to action hero.

To discover more about my action-filled romance stories visit my website: https://pennyhampson.co.uk/

WELSH WRITING WEDNESDAYS: JESSIE CAHALIN AND THE NO SIGN BAR

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Jane Cable

Nobody followed me to the No Sign Bar, Swansea – a regular haunt of Dylan Thomas. Seated next to the window, I searched inside my handbag for Collected Stories by Dylan Thomas. I found The Followers, a ghost story, hidden inside the anthology.

A ping from my phone confirmed a signal, but I ignored the emails. I sat in the bar Thomas renamed the Wine Vaults. I read the opening lines of the story, but there was no sign of the beer I had just ordered. Without anything to quench my thirst, there was nothing I could do apart from read on. Between words, I felt compelled to search for two pairs of eyes outside of the window, but there was no sign of anyone.

Outside the window, ‘the rain spat and drizzled past the street lamps’. No one wore ‘squeaking galoshes, with mackintosh collars up and bowlers and trilbies’. Alas, the ‘rattle of bony trams’ was silenced long ago. Only the swish of car tyres, hum of engines and slamming of car doors filled the silence on the streets. Gazing at the decaying red window frames, I did not see ‘a young man with his arm around a girl’. Instead, I glimpsed a young couple hand in hand dashing across the road while there was a break in the traffic. Outside, there was a mass of coloured jackets and everyone wore jeans, leggings or trousers. No one looked inside the tatty building. They didn’t seem to care that Dylan Thomas once frequented this watering hole.

Reading the short story, I pursued the followers, as they scurried through the alley. Inside, No Sign Bar, I could smell the old musty wine cellar. No one was responsible for the spontaneous spark of colour in the open fire. The pitted floorboards had been battered by tired and drunken feet for centuries. Words echoed around cavernous room. Perhaps, these were the words that inspired Dylan Thomas’s story The Followers: his only ghost story. And I heard the rise and fall of the Welsh accent that probably escaped into the pages of Thomas’s mind, as he imagined the story. I read the final sentence, ‘And we went our separate ways.’ I departed.

Near to Paradise Alley, I heard a voice echo. ‘Spare some change, madam?’ The homeless soul was clutching a fleece blanket. His watery, bloodshot eyes regarded me as he rolled himself a cigarette. I spared him fifty pence, but this wouldn’t even buy him a beer. He caught the meagre offering with a grateful nod that punched my conscience.

‘Have you seen Leslie?’ mumbled the man. He looked at my handbag as I retrieved more change.I nodded. ‘Only bread and jam in my handbag,’ I declared.

I ran to the car park. The rain drizzled until diluted my memory of the bar. I heard the distance tapping of footsteps and turned around. Thankfully, there was no sign of anyone following me. Checking Twitter, I did note I had two more followers.

No Sign Bar and The Followers

No Sign Bar is believed to be Swansea’s oldest pub and dates to 1690. The wine cellars date back to the 15^th century. The name ‘No Sign’ originates from legislation of licencing when public bars had to have a recognisable sign. This building was not public house and did not require a sign, hence was later given the name ‘No Sign’ to announce its presence!

Dylan Thomas frequented No Sign Bar, as a young man. No Sign Bar is featured as the Wine Vaults in Dylan Thomas’s story, The Followers. Salubrious Passage, next to the bar, is referred to as Paradise Alley in the short story.

THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: RIPPING THE VEIL – Jane Cable on the art of the ghost story

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Jane Cable

Despite the pumpkin-orange commerciality of Hallowe’en its roots go back deep into history. Further than All Hallows preceding All Saints in the Christian calendar, back to a more pagan past and the festival of Samhain.

As I discovered when I was researching The Faerie Tree, Samhain is the time when the veil between the living and the spirit world is at its most fragile; the perfect moment to honour the dead and to reconnect with our ancestors. The time when you’re most likely to encounter a spirit, perhaps – or maybe to tell a ghostly story.

I believe that tales of those who have passed beyond our world have been part of human history for millennia. It’s something that archaeology can never prove, but what is known about early civilisations is that they worshipped their ancestors. And if you worship them, you will naturally pass down stories about them and perhaps they will even come back to visit you. So maybe you start to tell stories about that.

Even now there is a great deal of emotion invested in family ghost stories. Authors Rosemary Noble and Julia Macfarlane agree. Julia edited Chichester Ghost Walk, a collection of short stories which form a walk around Chichester city centre or can simply be read for pleasure, and when she guides the walk herself she has to make sure someone else reads The Cottage Vision. “It’s based on my Nanna’s vision of her son drowning,” she explains, “I fill up, every time.”

But how to create a spine tingling ghost story? When I started to write The Cheesemaker’s House I’m not sure it was my intention, and when my characters took me there it was how to get it right that terrified the living daylights out of me. My basic premise was to ground my characters so firmly in the real world that when they slipped elsewhere – or elsewhere slipped to them – it seemed effortless and ephemeral at the same time. Writing in the first person helped; it meant I could be inside Alice’s head, feeling her emotions, and making sure my readers felt them too.

My aim became to write a story which while hard to put down wasn’t so scary that my readers couldn’t sleep when they did. However one of my very few beta readers, a man in his late twenties, rode a coach and horses through that idea when he emailed to say he’d been reading the book while his girlfriend was away and had been forced to sleep with the light on.

Research is also key. I am lucky enough to have access to the library at The College of Psychic Studies which is stacked floor to ceiling with books around the subject of consciousness beyond matter. There I learnt the difference between a spirit and a ghost and was able to read first hand accounts of those experiencing their presence – and those whose calling it is to mediate between the different worlds on either side of the veil. I can’t recommend the college enough as a resource – to find out more about its work visit https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/.

But above all, if you want to write a ghost story then read them. Find out how other writers create emotional buy in and weave a magical web of suspense. For me Kate Mosse is mistress of this art. It was as I was reading The Winter Ghosts I realised that if I could learn her subtlety I could do this too. But for reading around the fireside as the nights draw in dip and out of The Mistletoe Bride & Other Haunting Tales. The stories are so diverse I’m sure you’ll find something to inspire you.

Coldplay’s New Album Art By Mila Furstova For Ghost Stories

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Frostie

On the 3rd of the 3rd 2014 Coldplay unveiled their 6th studio album, Ghost Stories, with album art by the great Czech artist Mila Fürstová. Mila said: “I let the etching flow listening to the lyrics”.

Album Artists present these works by Mila in collaboration with Coldplay, as an original series of etchings and limited edition prints.

Monks of Mellonwah | Music Profile

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Frostie

Monks Of Mellonwah Release ‘Ghost Stories’ Single

The year 2013 has so far shaped up to be a busy and successful year for Australian Alternative Rock band the Monks of Mellonwah. After 3 EP’s since 2009, the band has recently departed with their 3rd release, ‘Sky And The Dark Night’ and is now celebrating their new partnership with company A&R Worldwide (Muse, Coldplay) with the release of single ‘Ghost Stories’. Ghost Stories features the single ‘Ghost Stories’ and two new tracks fast-tracked from their debut album ‘Turn The People’, which is set for release in late 2013.

The band has been described as the ‘birth child’ of bands such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, noted as their primary influences. Their music includes hard-hitting Alternative Rock combined with elements of space and electronica, and their forthcoming releases are a testament to this. Their most recent EP, ‘Sky And Dark Night’ explores elements of classism and film music, noting Hans Zimmer as their primary inspiration for it. The three track EP takes the listener on an epic journey of discovery and musically marks the continued evolution of the band into a darker, more intense exploration of their combined talents and influences.

The Sky And The Dark Night Trilogy was released in March and has since been reviewed by over 50 blogs worldwide, being described as “nothing less than symphonic artistry in its purest and rawest form? (Limerence Magazine 2012). The 8-minute long Trilogy has also enjoyed significant airplay in its entirety across a number of radio stations in Australia and NSW, and to celebrate it’s success, the band has just released the Trilogy on limited edition 10” vinyl.

The ‘Ghost Stories’ release coincides with the bands’ recent selection to play at Singapore?s acclaimed Music Matters Festival, as well as their involvement with A&R Worldwide. Having won respective awards for ‘Best International Rock Band’ and ‘Best Indie Rock Band’ at the LA Music Awards and AIM Music Awards in 2012, and following an East & West Coast tour of the US, the recent deal with A&R Worldwide marks the bands continual push at breaking into US and International Markets. The release of a full-length album in late 2013 will also see the band doing further touring both nationally and internationally.

The Monks of Mellonwah are a four-piece alternative/indie rock band based in Sydney, Australia. The band has toured nationally and traveled to the United States twice, winning awards for Best Indie Rock Band (2012 AIM Awards) and Best International Act (2012 LA Music Awards). Their two EP’s and subsequent music videos have gained them worldwide critical acclaim, airplay on MTV’s network and extensive radio play.

Strongly influenced by rock artists such as Led Zeppelin, Muse, Pink Floyd and the Chili Peppers, the Monks’s music displays a masterful and unique blend of intense space, driving riffs and sharp metaphors. As their sound evolved, so did their love for both classic rock and modern progression/experimentation.

Their first EP, “Stars Are Out” found the Monks receiving significant radio play across Australia on community radio. The band released their first music video “Swamp Groove” in April 2011 and enjoyed airplay on ABC’s music program RAGE. “Swamp Groove” also claimed first prize at a music video night at “Harold’s Shorts” short film festival, receiving great reviews and the award from legendary music historian and personality Glenn A Baker.

The Monks released their second EP “Neurogenesis” in May, 2012, along with a new video for “Neverending Spirit”, to an overwhelming response. In addition to international and national radio play, College Radio in the US and Canada, “Neurogenesis” received hundreds of reviews and features worldwide, including coverage on MTV, Big Takeover Magazine, CMJ, Kings of A&R, Noise 11 and Tonedeaf. The media attention earned them licensing spots through a number of production companies in the US including Discovery Networks and Bunim Murray. The video for “Neverending Spirit” also received high profile exposure in the US including MTV Networks. The College Music Journal (CMJ) featured the track on their MixTape for May along with a feature of the band in their magazine.

The Monks successfully toured for “Neurogenesis” throughout Australia in Summer 2012 working with Tone Deaf, and continued their outreach with a United States tour organized by President Entertainment.

Their debut full-length is currently in production, partly with legendary producer Keith Olsen and partly self-produced. The Monks have also signed a development deal with A&R Worldwide (Adele, Muse, Coldplay). Intensive touring plans are in the works for both Australia and the United States in 2013.

On April 1, 2013, the band released the progressive and experimental EP/single “Sky and the Dark Night”, an emotionally charged, heavy offering showcasing the band’s new direction that was hinted at with “Neurogenesis”. It was released on limited edition vinyl and digital only.

Now the Monks have taken a turn again with “Ghost Stories”, truly showcasing the bold new sound they’ve developed over the past year of touring, writing and studio work. Rock, electronic, and strong pop sensibility infuse this offering, meant as a preview of their forthcoming full-length.

AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES (Queensland and other dates will be announced shortly. The tour will be 16 stops.):

29th June – Live @ The Brewhouse, Kings Street Wharf, Sydney, NSW
2nd July – Revolver Upstairs – Prahan, Melbourne, VIC
3rd July – Noise 11 – Live acoustic performance + interview, Melbourne, VIC
3rd July – Grace Darling Melbourne, VIC
4th July – Tote – Melbourne, VIC
12th July – The Fitzroy, Windor, NSW

3rd August -The Annandale, Sydney, NSW
14th August – Yours & Owls – Woolongong, NSW
15th August – The Australian Brewery, Rouse Hill, NSW

Band: Monks of Mellonwah (Sydney, NSW)
Style: Indie, Alternative, Progressive
Similar to: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, John Frusciante, Incubus, Black Keys
Release: Ghost Stories (June 29, 2013)
Members: Vikram Kaushik (vocals), Joe de la Hoyde (backing vocals/guitar), John de la Hoyde (bass), Josh Baissari (drums)
Websites: www.monksofmellonwah.com, www.facebook.com/monksofmellonwah, http://www.youtube.com/user/MonksofMellonwah, www.twitter.com/monksofmellonwah

Production: Produced, Recorded and Programmed by Joseph de la Hoyde at Aston Villa Studios 2012/13, Track 2 drums recorded at Studio At The Palms, Las Vegas, by Keith Olsen and Rob Katz and Assisted by Kevin Luu 2012

Win a Kobo Touch eReader & Top Christmas Reads

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Catherine Balavage

Frost Magazine is giving away a Kobo Touch eReader just in time for Christmas. As well as winning a a Kobo we have some excellent Christmas reads for you.

To win follow Frost Magazine on Twitter and tweet, ‘I want to win a Kobo eReader with @Frostmag’ or subscribe to our newsletter.

“A little before twilight one Christmas Eve, Gabriel shouldered his spade, lighted his lantern, and betook himself towards the old churchyard, for he had got a grave to finish before the next morning, and feeling very low, he thought it may raise his spirits perhaps, if he went on with his work at once.”

The Story of the Goblins who Stole a Sexton by Charles Dickens

The smell of a crackling fire, the taste of mulled wine and the words of a scarily spooky ghost story was a much loved Victorian tradition. Why not bring this tradition up to date by enjoying a cozily creepy evening curled up with Christmas ghost stories on the new Kobo Touch.

Kobo has a range of Christmas eBooks suitable for the period lover or the most contemporary tastes, but better still create the perfect ambience by lighting the Christmas candles and switching on the Kobo Touch (£79.99),

Tis the season to be eReading, revive the tradition with one of these five eBooks:

A Christmas Carol

By: Charles Dickens