Horror Slices Issue #20

Some recent releases and personal news...

Well, hello dear readers,

It’s been a while…

Firstly, apologies for not writing sooner but things have been rather chaotic personally, which has all but stopped my writing and time to do anything such as keep my newsletter up to date.

In November, our landlord decided to put our rent up by £1000 per month, which would make our expected rent £2500 per month, this is before all the other bills, which would make the figure more in the region of £3000+ per month; which is more than our combined salaries. So, we were looking at the real prospect of homelessness. Yep, slightly ironic as my day job is a homelessness day centre manager - you have to laugh or you’ll cry, trust me I’ve done both over the last month.

It’s been mental, really it has, I’ve balled my eyes out and also struggled with a number of things, mainly, trying to find a home for my wife and two young children. Our wider families live in London and Bournemouth, so we couldn’t even move in with them during this time and still keep our jobs and the girls in school…so we were well and truly fudged.

But out of this chaos we thought we’d have one final look at the possibility of getting a mortgage, and to cut a long story short, we were able to do it, a small mortgage but a mortgage nevertheless - but due to the size of this mortgage, it means relocating to Wales.

The landlord then decided that he’s such a nice guy, he’d issue us a two month notice to move out on the 20th of December (what a Christmas present - he’s so nice!) and so we’ve been packing and filling out forms, trying to find a place to stay temporarily whilst the purchase of the house goes through (which can take anywhere from 8-20weeks). Enter a dear friend, who said we can stay with them until the sale happens - whom without we would be well and truly fudged, because Bristol is like the third most expensive place to rent in England.

I’ve probably glossed over a lot of things here, but this was all just to say that I’ve had a lot on my plate and I’ve not been writing and for me, that hurts if I’m honest - I was 67k into a new novel and I’ve not had the bandwidth to get back into it, and it also shows that in live, sometimes we’ve got to down tools and deal with the pressing matters to ensure our survival.

I’ll get back to it once we’re settled, when that will be though is somewhere in the distance and I can’t quite grab it yet.

But soon.

Very soon.

Release Day!

It’s release day for my novel ‘Metamorphosis’ which is being published by Truborn Press and I’m over the moon with how this one turned out. There are a lot of people to thank, Kristina (Truborn Press), Cynthia Pelayo (introduction), William Sterling (editor), Andy Spencer (editor - AustrianSpencer), and a whole slew of authors who have given early blurbs: Clay McLeod Chapman, Craig Wallwork, Candace Nola, Brian Bowyer, Drew Huff and Robert P. Ottone to name a few.

For those that don’t know what the book is about, let me enlighten you…

Metamorphosis is a haunting exploration of grief, obsession, and transformation. Cynthia, a woman who once thrived in her autonomy, now finds herself ensnared by a relentless desire to reclaim what she has lost.

Living a double life, she meticulously plans a path that blurs the lines between love and madness. Armed with a mask that reflects her inner turmoil, Cynthia descends into a world where reality and fantasy intertwine, revealing the dark depths of her psyche.

Ross Jeffery weaves a chilling narrative that delves into the human mind, questioning the boundaries of sanity and the transformative power of grief. Metamorphosis is a poignant and gripping tale that will linger with you long after the last page is turned.

Ross Jeffery crafts a mesmerizing story that captures the reader’s imagination and pulls them into a world where the human spirit confronts its darkest fears and desires.

You can purchase a copy here there’s the owl package and the normal paperback package, the book is also available in ebook.

Harvesting The Nightmare Fields

I also had Harvesting The Nightmare Fields published recently from my good friends at Cemetery Gates Media. You can purchase this here this one is full of grief and disturbing horrors, and I think you’ll dig it. The cover artwork was designed by Nathan Logan who has worked on a number of projects for me and I really love his style and how his artwork really speaks of the internal horrors of my books.

A little bit about Harvesting The Nightmare Fields:

xxxx awakes to the nightmare of a broken mind and body, at the mercy of a local farmer with a dark, abominable secret, who pulls him from the twisted wreck of his car.

As he recovers, clawing his way back through tortured memories and twisted nightmares, xxxx realizes the person he fights to remember should have been best left forgotten, buried alongside the truth of his own personal demons.

And those demons are breaking through into reality...

Harvesting the Nightmare Fields is the latest novel from Bram Stoker-nominated author Ross Jeffery.

The book is available from Amazon in paperback and ebook.

The Devil’s Pocketbook - rebirth.

For the first time since the Darklit press debacle, The Devil’s Pocketbook is now available again through Thunderstorm Books and is available for purchase here. This special edition features a beautiful cover (apologies that this screen grab doesn’t do it justice, but as you know, I’m mid packing all my shit up and the actual cover is on my computer, which is now in an unmarked box) and internal illustrations by Nathan Logan, and is signed by myself, Josh Malerman and Nathan Logan - it’s limited to 50 copies and after it was released on Sunday, 90% of the stock has already sold.

If you’ve been wanting to read this and you didn’t want to give any money to Darklit press (yes there are still copies of it available on Amazon which Darklit have said they can’t do anything about, but still sell and are not providing royalties) then this is your only chance for the time being. It’s a stunning book, and I’ve made some small amendments to the text too…trust me, it’ll look amazing on your shelves…and big things are coming for this book, so do yourself a favour and get this limited edition now. You can purchase (or should I say secure your awesome copy) here.

Signing off…

Well, I’ve got to go now, wish us luck with the move and the upheaval…and if you want to know what you can do to support us, purchasing a book would go a long way - the ones mentioned above or any number of my other grief-riddled tales…thank you, and stay strong!

And to all of those who have reached out and offered help and support, thank you, I see you, I hear you, and we (my family), thank you all!

Ross