WELCOME TO Coldwood, a town not unlike HP Lovecraft's Arkham - the focal point of strange happenings, murders, disappearances, insanity, degradation, and terrifying encounters.
Coldwood: The Haunted Man and Other Tales, a new collection of gothic horror stories by Galway author Al Shine has just been published by Rhode Island publisher Dark Hall Press.
Al, who writes under the name A M Shine, is a 32-year-old Galwegian, one of the few, if not the only "active and prolific writer of Gothic horror in Ireland at present". He has won a number of literary competitions; his stories have been published in American magazines; and his first collection, Thirteen Tales of Ill-Fate and Misfortune, came out in 2013.
Speaking about his work, Al said: "I have endeavoured over the five years past to push the Gothic tradition forward, believing that, even when pitted against more-favoured, contemporary styles, it was always in the running; immortal by its very horrific nature."
The fact Dark Hall Press is located in Rhode Island also has great significance for the author. "I’m thrilled beyond words to be accepted there of all places," says Al, "an area of the States home to my literary heroes, Edgar Allan Poe and HP Lovecraft. Gothic horror is alive and well, and I hope to rekindle its flame both at home and abroad."
The book is available via darkhallpress.com/coldwood, Kindle, and in physical form on Amazon.
