Thank you. Yes, you.

What a strange, strange month December was.

It's been a long time between posts, and for good reason - at the start of December my father passed away suddenly, and I had to return to Western Australia to sort out his estate. It was sad, obviously, but also an incredibly steep learning curve since before this all started I didn't have the foggiest about funeral arrangements, what to do without a will, and who to contact about his death. And now I know all of that, I'm really hoping I don't have to use that knowledge again soon!

Things are much better now that I'm back home in Melbourne, and everything is beginning to return to normal. This is where the thank-yous com in. Something that was niggling at me was this blog, and how without new content it would fall into disrepair. I mean, there have always been cobwebs (I LIKE the cobwebs) but now there would be tumbleweeds blowing across it... possibly with more cobwebs.

But what I was surprised to find was that I was still getting quite a lot of traffic, even in the absence of anything to read. Which cheered me up so much after what was a pretty crappy month.

So THANK YOU to everyone who continued to read this blog. I'm really looking forward to adding a whole bunch of new reviews and horror news in the new year, and I hope you'll keep reading it too.

January Horror New Releases

Better late than never! These are the new horror releases for January. If I’ve missed something out, let me know in the comments, but remember, these are Australian release dates only

What I'm Excited About: While January isn’t a huge month volume-wise, there are some gems in there still – in particular I’m looking forward to the new Undead Ed and also the first in a new series from Heather Brewer.

Junior & Middle

Creepy Creatures 4: Toad Terror, Ed Graves (Scholastic).
Undead Ed and the Devil’s Fingers, David Grimstone (Hachette).

Young Adult
The Vampire Stalker, Alison von Diepen (Scholastic).
Dark Warning, Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick (Hachette).
Slayer Chronicles: First Kill, Heather Brewer (Penguin).
A Witch in Winter, Ruth Warburton (Hachette).

Graphic Novels
Good Neighbors 3: Kind, Holly Black & Ted Naifeh (Scholastic).

Non-Fiction
Twilight Realm: Ghosts, Jim Pipe (Hachette).
Twilight Realm: Monsters, Jim Pipe (Hachette).

December Horror New Releases

These are the horror new releases for August. If I’ve missed something out, let me know in the comments! But remember, these are Australian release dates only.

What I'm Excited About:  Phew, so much to get excited about in this month! I Am Grimalkin - I have been DYING for this book, and the next one in the Larten Crepsley series, which I've also been overeager to get my hands on. The only thing I'm slightly cross about is WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG? Both of these books were out ages ago overseas, so come on Australian publishers, why make us wait? Ahem. Rant over. I've also been hearing lots of good things about dystopian book Legend.

Junior & Middle
Sophie and the Shadow Woods #6: The Bat Sprites, Linda Chapman & Lee Weatherly (Harper Collins).
Earwig and the Witch, Dianna Wynne Jones (Harper Collins).
Creepella von Cacklefur #2: Meet Me in Horrorwood, Geronimo Stilton (Scholastic).
The Orphan of Awkward Falls, Keith Graves (Hardie Grant Egmont).
The Templeton Twins, Jeremy Holmes (Hardie Grant Egmont).
The Treehorn Trilogy, Edward Gorey (Hardie Grant Egmont).
Goosebumps Hall of Horrors #4: Why I Quit Zombie School, R.L. Stine (Scholastic).
Goosebumps Classics #21: Vampire Breath, R.L. Stine (Scholastic).
Wolven #3: Bad Wolf Rising, Di Toft (Scholastic).
3:15 Season One: Things That Go Bump In the Night, Patrick Carman (Scholastic).

YA

Saga of Larten Crepsley #2: Ocean of Blood, Darren Shan (Harper Collins).
Sleepwalkers, J. Gabriel Gates (Harper Collins).
I Am Grimalkin, Joseph Delaney (Random House).
Undead, Kirsty McKay (Scholastic). Check out the youtube trailer for this one.
Wish You Were Dead, Todd Strasser (Walker).
Adventures of a Wimpy Werewolf, Tim Collins (Hardie Grant).
Legend, Marie Lu (Penguin).
Smoulder, Brenna Yovanoff (Simon & Schuster).

Dark Souls, Paula Morris (Scholastic).

Anthology
Guys Read: Thriller, John Scieszka (Harper Collins).
More Bloody Horowitz, Anthony Horowitz (Walker). [New Format]

Non-Fiction
Make a Mummy, Shrink a Head, and Other Useful Skills, Pat Murphy (Klutz).

Author Interview - Stuart Daly

Anyone who has heard me rant about my favourite books for even a minute will realise how much I love the Spook's Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney. So when I approach a series that involves both apprentices and witches, I am both excited and wary. Excited because, oh dear, how could I not be? And wary because I'm never sure a new book could stand up to my lofty expectations.

When I heard that Random House Australia was to publish the first in a new series called The Witch Hunter Chronicles, I knew I had to read it. And though I still experienced that same excitement/wariness feeling, I'm pleased to say I finished the book feeling one hundred percent excited. I absolutely adored this tale of German witch hunters and their demonic foes, and so I'm very pleased to have Stuart Daly here on the slab at Spine Chills. 

***

Can you tell us a bit about your most recently published book?
The Army of the Undead just got released today. This is the second book in The Witch Hunter Chronicles. This is an intensely fast-paced adventure series set in the seventeenth century. Imagine Pirates of the Caribbean meets the Three Musketeers, and you're getting a close idea as to what it's like.

What would be written on your main character’s gravestone? 
Deo duce, ferro comitante. Don't know what this means? Well, you had better read The Scourge of Jericho, the first book in The Witch Hunter Chronicles, to find out.

Why do you write horror? 
I love the idea of scaring people. Books can be so much scarier than movies, allowing a reader's imagination to conjure the most terryfing scenes.

Have you ever had your own spooky experience? 
Fortunately, no.

What is your favourite book of the past month? 
The past year? All time? Favourite book of the past month - Sandstorm by James Rollins. Favourite of the past year - The Purity of Blood, by Arturo-Perez Reverte. All time favourite - Ice Station, by Matthew Reilly.

What does your writing space look like?
As I don't write on a computer, I don't have a set writing space. I write on pieces of paper when waiting at traffic lights - Sydney's traffic is so congested you could write a 1,000 page novel in the time it takes to drive down King Street! I write all the time, whenever I can. I only use a laptop when I'm typing up the final product.

What’s the scariest book you’ve ever read? 
The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James. What a bone-tingler! Best ghost story ever written.

What’s your biggest fear?
Heights. I once had a person jump from the top of Westfields and land at my feet. Believe me, you wouldn't wish that on your worst enemy.

What are you working on right now?
I'm currently working on Books 3 and 4 of The Witch Hunter Chronicles. I don't want to reveal anything about these other than say that they are going to be the most action-packed, scariest books I have written.

Check out the Witch Hunter Chronicles at http://witchhunterchronicles.weebly.com/ or on the Random House website. 

November Horror New Releases

These are the new horror releases for November. If I’ve missed something out, let me know in the comments! But remember, these are Australian release dates only

What I'm Excited About: I am crawling with excitement about Witch Hunter Chronicles 2, since I loved the first one and can't wait to see how this series builds. Anna Dressed in Blood seems to be getting a lot of attention as well, and Dark Lord looks quite hilarious.

Junior

Spindlewood Witches 1: Pip and the Wood Witch Curse, Chris Mould (Hachette).
Spindlewood Witches 2: Pip and the Twilight Seekers, Chris Mould (Hachette).
Spindlewood Witches 3: Pip and the Lost Children, Chris Mould (Hachette).
Monster Swap 2: Zainab and Mash, Jonny Zucker (Hachette).
Creepella von Cacklefur 1: Thirteen Ghosts, Geronimo Stilton (Scholastic).
Sophie and the Shadow Woods: The Icicle Imps, Linda Chapman & Lee Weatherly (Harper Collins).
Mega Mash-Up: Pirates vs Ancient Egyptians in a Haunted Museum, Nikalas Catlow & Tim Wesson (Allen & Unwin).

Middle and YA

Dark Lord: The Teenage Years, Jamie Thomson (Hachette).
Final Friends Volume 2, Christopher Pike (Hachette).
Rats, Paul Zindel (Hachette).
Anna Dressed in Blood, Kendare Blake (Hachette).
Witch Hunter Chronicles 2: The Army of the Undead, Stuart Daly, (Random House).
This Dark Endeavour: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, Kenneth Oppel (Random House).
Scorch Trials, James Dashner (Scholastic).
Dark Inside, Jeyn Roberts (Macmillan).
Vampire Diaries - The Hunters Vol. 1: The Phantom, L.J. Smith (Harper Collins).
Poison Diaries 2: Nightshade, Maryrose Wood (Harper Collins).
Morganville Vampires 11: Last Breath, Rachel Caine (Penguin).
Strange Angels 5: The Reckoning, Lili St. Crow (Penguin).
The Caster Chronicles 3: Beautiful Chaos, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (Penguin).
Dust & Decay, Jonathan Mayberry (Simon & Schuster).
Awfully Beastly Business #4: Jungle Vampire, The Beastly Boys (Simon & Schuster).
Awfully Beastly Business #5: Big Beast Sale, The Beastly Boys (Simon & Schuster).

Non Fiction
Encyclopaedia of the Unexplained, Judy Allen (Scholastic).

Anthology
Ghost Hunt 2: More Chilling Tales of the Unknown, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson (Hachette).
Dust ‘n’ Bones: Ten Ghost Stories, Chris Mould (Hachette).
Vampires: The Original Classics, Various (Simon & Schuster).