I’m extremely pleased to announce that Infested took home the silver award at the 2023 IBPA Benjamin Franklin award ceremony for best horror novel!
Eerie River Publishing has made this book into so much more than I thought it could be, so a big thanks to them.
Now I just have to wait for my shiny, silver stickers to arrive so I can slap them on the book’s cover!
-C
As I said in my last post, my novel (tentatively titled They Crawl Within) was suddenly without a home. As luck would have it, the stars aligned, and the universal decided to smile upon me, and so, I’m happy to announce that it has been scooped up by Eerie River Publishing!
I’ve been following Eerie River for a little while now and have been impressed with their books, to say the least. And bonus, they are from my home province of Ontario!
The novel is currently scheduled for a fall 2022 release. Stay tuned for updates.
In the meantime, give Eerie River some love and check out their socials.
-Christian (C. M. Forest)
So, it’s been awhile since I’ve checked in here. My bad. It’s not that I don’t want to update the page, it’s just that things move at such a glacial pace in the literary world that, sometimes, there’s just nothing to report. However, with that said, I do have a few bits to share.
First, I have recently submitted a trio of short stories to various publications that I admire quite a bit. As always, competition is fierce, so nothing is set in stone. I’m very picky about who I submit to (stupid, I know), but I feel that my work has value, and as such, I want a publisher than can properly showcase my talent. When submitting shorts, it is truly a waiting game, as they (the publisher) have a shit-ton of fiction to wade through. These things take time.
Second, there is my novel. This book, which is out in the ether at the moment, means a lot to me; but I am a realist, and so am not expecting anything soon. That doesn’t bother me as much as you may think. You see, I am always writing. I have a second horror novel in the works, as well as a literary fiction novel (both in the second draft phase). My brain may not be good for much, but it loves telling stories. There’s no shortage of ideas floating around in there.
Lastly, I’ve been reading a lot of fantastic novellas recently (The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper, Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling and Break/Interrupt by Ben Van Dongen to name a few) and have been inspired. I’m, as of this writing, almost finished the second draft a horror novella which has been a blast to write. Truly, this story has been the most fun I’ve had in front of my computer in ages. There is a publisher in mind for this one, but they have a very limited release schedule, so it might get shopped around a bit. I will, as always, keep you updated.
Besides that, I’ve been reading a lot. Finally checked out Stephen King’s On Writing. It is weird coming to this book twenty years after its release. It’s so famous, that I’ve heard most of its advice second hand years ago. Still, if there is a person alive who knows what the hell he’s talking about, it’s King, so I was happy to absorb.
Anyway, that’s it from me. Be back soon,
Christian
Hey! 2020 is behind us! We made it!
Last year was not exactly ideal (says captain obvious). All the plans were scuttled…seriously, all of them. The various book signings and conventions I had lined up to promote the re-release of The Space Between Houses vanished. I’m not complaining about this, mind you. It sucks, don’t get me wrong, but we were all in the same boat, so I’m not going to make it into a one-man pity party.
On a positive note, I did get some writing in, and even managed to sell four short stories (three have been released, the last coming this fall), with a fifth out in the ether as we speak.
I also managed a couple new drafts on my second horror novel, as well as a first draft on a literary fiction book I’m working on. That latter project will come to completion first, but then it’s back to the scary for me.
Another thing 2020 allowed me time for was a re-write of my first horror novel. Basically, after talking to some friends in the industry, I decided that there needed to be some changes to the story (mostly pacing). Ultimately, I am much happier with the novel now, and have recently started sending it out to agents and publishers (fingers crossed).
Looking ahead to this year, besides finishing those two books, I’m also going to try and squeeze in another four or five short stories as well as a mystery project (more on that soon).
With any luck, we’ll all be able to return to some semblance of normal in 2021 and we can start going outside again (I’m almost a mole-person at this point so it can’t happen soon enough). I miss the conventions and signings so much! Meeting new folks is the highlight of this wacky career I’ve chosen.
Anyway, that’s enough out of me for now.
Cheers!
-Christian
I’m a little late with this one, and for that, all I can do is throw my hands in the air and say life got in the way. But as they say, better late than never!
You’ll notice by the above image, that this book is not like the others I have been featured in. And the reason for that is because it isn’t. Words Gathered is a unique blend of poetry, prose, fiction and non-fiction. A veritable smorgasbord of literary delight.
This might have you asking how one of my spooky tales came to reside in such a volume? Good question.
Gertrude’s Writing Room is a fantastic local resource for both aspiring and established writers. Besides being a warm, and cozy place for creatives to gather, they also offer a plethora of writing workshops (I’ve attended one and taught two more). So when Gertrude’s owner, Vanessa Shields (an accomplished poet), asked if I’d be interesting in contributing to the first ever collection Gertrude’s would release, I of course said I would be delighted to.
Okay, now I’m just rambling. Long story short, it’s a great book and you should check it out. It can be purchased from Gertrude’s website, found here.
Until next time!
-Christian
A little over five years ago, my first book, The Space Between Houses, was unleashed upon the world. The initial run was limited, and as such, the book has been out of print for a couple of years now. And it would have probably stayed there as well, if not for all of you. I am constantly being asked if, or when, Space will be available again. And since the book will always have a special place in my heart, coupled with the demand, I decided it was indeed the time to bring it back.
For this second edition of the book, I have gone through and cleaned it up a tad. Fixed some minor mistakes, and gave the whole thing a new coat of paint. Beyond that, I have also added three short stories that were not included in the original edition, but were written around the same time.
So, without further ado, I present the cover for the second edition of The Space Between Houses, published by Adventure Worlds Press, which will be available for purchase this April.
-Christian
I was recently asked to appear on an episode of Scribes & Songsters. I had a blast talking to host Veronique Mandal (a great writer as well!) about my work. Thanks to all involved and if you do check out the video, make sure to subscribe to the Scribes & Songsters page as they feature tons of fantastic authors and musicians.
It’s been a while since I’ve done an update on my projects. So, hey, why not now?
First, I did finally finish* my novel. I need to put an asterisk next to that because It is not actually finished (possibly far from it), but it is more finished than ever before. Basically, I finished it enough to submit it to a publisher. I’ve had really good feedback on the book and think it is quite scary. Hopefully I’ll have some publishing news sooner rather than later to share.
Next up, and I already did a post about this, but what the heck, it’s my site so I can do what I want, is the re-release of The Space Between Houses. I’m crazy excited about getting this book back into print. I went through and cleaned up a few of the things that always bugged me about the book (don’t worry, I didn’t go full George Lucas on it or anything), and was also able to add in three short stories that I had written around the same time (or just after) TSBH but were published elsewhere. This means that between TSBH and No Light Tomorrow, almost every short story I’ve ever written that has been published will be in print. Fear not though, I’m not expecting those who already own the book to buy it again. As I said, the three stories have been published online previously, and can still be found over at Adventure Worlds Press.com (you might have to do some scrolling though). And, like the rest of the stories in the book, I was able to give those three stories some added shine for this upcoming second edition.
There is a tentative release date of the fall for the newest incarnation of The Space Between Houses, but an exact date has not been announced. And it will be coming out through Urban Farmhouse Press. I’ve read a number of UFP books, and they are always quality.
On the subject of short fiction, I have a few NEW short stories I’ve put together recently. One is a leftover for an anthology I was going to submit to last year, but didn’t have the time to finish it before the deadline. Another is for an upcoming anthology, but I won’t know if it makes that book or not until at least October, and the third is a short story for a rainy day. I figure it is good to start stockpiling some short stories in case of unexpected opportunities.
And, lastly, I’ve started a new novel (horror, of course). I won’t tell you what it is about because it is in its embryonic stage, but I can say that it is an idea I had about a year ago (maybe less), and as soon as I did, I knew it was the next book I was going to write.
Besides the above stuff, I’ve been doing a few interviews, and will be teaching a workshop on horror and Sci-Fi writing with Ben Van Dongen (co-author of a couple of my books, as well as full author of a couple of his own) in Sept. And then there’s been PlayStation. That sweet, awful source of endless distraction. While on the subject, if you haven’t played the Resident Evil 2 remake yet, do so. It is amazing!
-Christian
I was asked recently to be a guest on the brand new podcast All Write in Sin City (along with writing buddy Ben Van Dongen). Normally, I find interviews for radio, TV or internet, to be a bit stuffy, but the folks running the show at All Write know what they were doing and it was a very pleasant experience.
If you want to hear me talk about various topics like: writing horror, attending conventions, and the importance of selling in person, then give it a listen. Oh, and as a bonus, the podcasters (not sure if that is what they are called, but oh well) recorded me doing a reading at Biblioasis (a local bookstore for those not in my neck of the woods).
Listen here.
Enjoy!
-Christian
A couple months ago, I was asked (along with my frequent collaborator, Ben Van Dongen) to host a writing workshop. I said yes, of course, but truth be told I did have some reservations. You see, I’ve been lucky enough to take part in all sorts of writing and literary events since the release of my first book, The Space Between Houses (which turns 5 this year!), but have never hosted a workshop.
What would we speak about? And, more importantly, would anybody care?? After some discussion with Ben, I can say that at least one of these questions has been answered. We’re going to focus on what we know best: short stories and genre fiction.
We’ve since mapped out a series of sub-topics and writing exercises for those attending. It was while doing this that I had an interesting revelation. If such a workshop as the one I myself was going to be hosting existed five or six years ago, it would have taught me how to avoid a lot of the obstacles which plagued the embryotic days of my writing career. Which then made me realize I need to build a time machine.
The workshop itself will be held at Gertrude’s Writing Room; a cozy space with a ton of charm. Ben and I sat in on the last workshop held there (to see what we were in for) and fell in love.
For anyone that is interested, there is a link to the website to register HERE and one for the Facebook event page HERE.
The workshop, now titled Monsters! Aliens! Short Stories! …& Friends! will be a 3 hour class, and it goes down January 19th. The cost is $50
-Christian
P.S. All those who attend will receive a signed copy of our short story collection, No Light Tomorrow.
C. M. Forest 