PenMan Press

A new year, still "ill at ease"...

2012-01-05T15:12:00.000Z

Happy New Year

Good news to start 2012 for the "ill at ease" project.

Thanks to Matt Fryer over at the Hellforge, who included the collection in his "Favourite Genre Reads of 2011" round-up with this capsule comment - "A truly faultless ebook featuring 3 equally memorable, macabre and highly polished tales. There are even clowns to upset any fellow coulrophobic masochists."
(you can see his review of the collection from this link).

Also, a new review has been posted to Amazon.co.uk by J Everington which concludes with "Overall a strong collection, and one that will definitely lead me to explore further work from all three writers involved."

Great stuff - and keep an eye out for news, within the next few months, of another exciting "ill at ease" publication.

Just in case this leads you to want to buy it, or get more information, you might find the following useful:

Purchase from Amazon in the UK here

Purchase from Amazon in the US here

Or get it from Smashwords here

In addition, you could also join our Facebook group

More love for "ill at ease"

2011-08-05T22:19:00.000+01:00

Another great review, this time from Colum McKnight at Dreadful Tales - read it here.

"Ill At Ease could easily pass itself off as the first volume in a series of chapbooks. All of the writers involved brings forth a high caliber writing, and a true understanding of how to scare an audience and, at the very least, how to creep out their audience with seemingly innocent situations gone awry."

Just in case this leads you to want to buy it, or get more information, you might find the following useful:

Purchase from Amazon in the UK here

Purchase from Amazon in the US here

Or get it from Smashwords here

In addition, you could also join our Facebook group

Briefly, in print...

2011-07-21T23:26:00.001+01:00

"ill at ease" was conceived as an e-book and that was what we always worked towards. However, once it had started picking up decent notices, Neil, Steve & Mark all commented that they'd like to have a copy (writers have their own shelves, it's just something they do).

Neil re-formatted the book and uploaded it at Lulu for printing. Neil received his copies yesterday, Mark's arrived today and Steve's are on their way. In print, the book looks fantastic. And to prove it, here are two very chuffed writers!

Just in case this leads you to want to buy it, or get more information, you might find the following useful:

Purchase from Amazon in the UK here

Purchase from Amazon in the US here

Or get it from Smashwords here

In addition, you could also join our Facebook group

More "ill at ease" reviews

2011-07-04T14:50:00.000+01:00

Two more reviews posted online for “ill at ease” and they’re very good.

Over at The Black Abyss, Colin Leslie calls the collection “excellent anthology of solid horror writing”. Read the review here

At The Hellforge, Matthew Fryer says of the collection, “It’s modern horror that understands subtlety, full of real characters and plenty of shivers. These three authors clearly take pride in their work, all writing with lucid, thoughtful prose, and the time and effort shows.” Read the review here

Just in case this leads you to want to buy it, or get more information, you might find the following useful:

Purchase from Amazon in the UK here

Purchase from Amazon in the US here

Or get it from Smashwords here

In addition, you could also join our Facebook group

Shout-out from TTA Press

2011-06-30T11:06:00.000+01:00

A nice write-up, from the very nice Peter Tennant and TTA Press, about the collection.

Click here to find out more!

Just in case this leads you to want to buy it, or get more information, you might find the following useful:

Purchase from Amazon in the UK here

Purchase from Amazon in the US here

Or get it from Smashwords here

In addition, you could also join our Facebook group

Round robin interview

2011-06-29T10:50:00.000+01:00

Steve, Neil & Mark are interviewed over at Jim McLeod's Ginger Nuts Of Horror site and it makes good reading - background on the stories, how the project came together and plans for the future.

Check it out here

Reviews Round-up

2011-06-21T11:22:00.002+01:00

We’ve been very lucky and managed to pick up a few reviews for “ill at ease” - this post is intended to collate all of them in one place!

Pablo Cheesecake’s review at The Eloquent Page

"Overall Ill at Ease was a great little collection…I wish that it were a bit longer. Perhaps if we’re lucky there will be an Ill at Ease 2?"

Max Wedge’s review at Page Horrific

"Suffice it to say, ILL AT EASE lives up to its title. And at $2.50 for the e-book, you should not hesitate to buy."

Jim McLeods review at Ginger Nuts Of Horror

"This is an anthology about finding horror in the everyday things of life, and how it affects those who come in contact with it. A master class in quiet understated horror."

Cate Gardner’s review at Goodreads.com

"Worth picking up if you like a slice of British horror."

Paul D Brazill’s review at “You Would Say That, Wouldn’t You?”

"Ill at ease is a highly recommended collection containing three splendid examples of modern, British storytelling."

Just in case this leads you to want to buy it, or get more information, you might find the following useful:

Purchase from Amazon in the UK here

Purchase from Amazon in the US here

Or get it from Smashwords here

In addition, you could also join our Facebook group

An interview, with Mark West

2011-06-18T01:19:00.000+01:00

Michael Wilson at Read Horror.com has interviewed Mark West over at the site.

As he says on his website, "I think I come across quite well - why not nip over and take a look? And yes, I do mention "ill at ease"!"

First review!

2011-06-16T12:37:00.002+01:00

The first review is now in, from Paul D Brazill at his "You Would Say That, Wouldn't You?" site? It's a good one!

You Would Say That, Wouldn't You - ill at ease review

Just in case this leads you to want to buy it, or get more information, you might find the following useful:

Purchase from Amazon in the UK here

Purchase from Amazon in the US here

Or get it from Smashwords here

In addition, you could also join our Facebook group

"ill at ease" - Available Now!

2011-06-15T01:04:00.003+01:00

ill at ease is an e-chapbook collection from PenMan Press, available now from Amazon and Smashwords. Combining the talents of Stephen Bacon, Mark West & Neil Williams, ill at ease showcases three new tales of the macabre.

Waiting For Josh, by Stephen Bacon
Pete Richards returns to his hometown for the first time in years. His childhood pal is dying, and Pete realises he must face the past and confront some ugly truths if he is to fulfil his friend’s dying wish.
But the events of their childhood would prove to hold far more darkness than he’d ever imagined.

Come See My House In The Pretty Town, by Mark West
When David Willis travels to the picturesque village of Hoelzli, for a reunion with his old college friends Simon & Kim Roberts, he expects a weekend of laughter and reminiscing. But on a visit to the local fair, he manages to lose the Roberts’ seven-year-old son Billy and things take a decided turn for the worse.

Closer Than You Think, by Neil Williams
Dave is a loving family man, with a keen eye for a bargain. So when he spots a brand-new-looking child seat in a skip at the local tip, he decides to take it. After all, he needs one in his car to ferry his daughter around. But then he starts to notice things that seem otherworldly yet still familiar.
Could it really be an unquiet spirit, the echo of some past tragedy?
Or is it something else? Something that is much closer to home?

'Here are three writers with singular voices who have, nevertheless, somehow managed to merge their talents to imbue the whole of this slim collection with a kind of menace that is like oil on skin: difficult to remove and persistent. For relative newcomers to show such restraint, to trust in the subtle and the unsaid, is rare indeed. ill at ease is a treat, and I hope it finds many readers.'
Conrad Williams, British Fantasy Award winning author of One and Loss Of Separation

"Childhood memories, a seemingly idyllic English town, a car seat found in a skip... The three chilling tales from ill at ease ably demonstrate that horror can be found in the most mundane places, and a sense of unease is always much closer than we think."
Gary McMahon, author of Pretty Little Dead Things and The Concrete Grove

The book is available from Amazon - click the title below:

From Amazon.co.uk, priced at £1.77 - ill at ease

From Amazon.com, priced at $2.87 - ill at ease

The collection is also available, on a range of formats, at Smashwords.

Don’t have a Kindle? No problem, Amazon provide a range of free app’s that allow you to read them on whatever device you might have:

Kindle for PC & laptop
Kindle for iPhone
Kindle for Blackberry
Kindle for iPad
Kindle for Android

Join the Facebook Group here

Closer Than You Think, by Neil Williams

2011-06-14T01:55:00.000+01:00

Best viewed large!

Come See My House In The Pretty Town, by Mark West

2011-06-14T01:52:00.000+01:00

Best viewed large!

Waiting For Josh, by Stephen Bacon

2011-06-14T01:48:00.001+01:00

Best viewed large!

2011-06-10T01:13:00.001+01:00

The first trailer for "ill at ease" is now live at YouTube

ill at ease - a collection

2011-05-28T11:35:00.000+01:00

Coming soon, from PenMan Press, an echapbook collection with stories from Stephen Bacon, Mark West and Neil Williams. It's a good package.

More details coming soon, but the final cover art is below (designed by Neil)

There's also a Facebook group, if you're on the network and fancy hooking up - there'll be a competition, with a nice prize - ill at ease on Facebook

ill at ease - 1st teaser

2011-05-25T20:32:00.000+01:00

We now have a title for the collection.

Coming soon...

2011-05-21T00:00:00.001+01:00

Test artwork, created by Neil Williams...

Coming soon - publication number two

2011-03-13T00:20:00.001Z

Looks good, doesn't it?

First Publication

2011-03-12T00:35:00.001Z

We are proud to announce that our inaugural publication is “Safe And Others”, a collection of ‘5 strange tales’ by Mark West. Running to a shade under 15,000 words, this mini-collection features the stories Safe, Giving Blood, Infantophobia, Love Is Blind To Age and To See & Feel.

This is the blurb:

An original, ebook only mini-collection from Mark West, this features 5 previously published stories (though only one was collected in West's "Strange Tales" collection).

Stories about normal people, who slip easily into unreal situations, where their fears become all too genuine.

From the black comedy of "Giving Blood" to the very dark "Infantophobia", this collection showcases some of West's best early works.

The book is available at Smashwords, on a range of formats and also at Amazon, through Kindle for £1.09/$1.55.

Links:
Buy the book at Amazon.co.uk
Buy the book at Amazon.com
Buy the book at Smashwords.com