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.
It’s official, my cosmic horror novella We All Fall Before the Harvest has been acquired by Timber Ghost Press! I wrote the book early this past summer and felt confident that it would find a home sooner rather than later. Stay tuned for more info about cover reveals and a release date.
In the meantime, check out Timber Ghost’s website for more spooky goodness. Timber Ghost Press
Last week I signed a contract for a two-book deal with Raven Tale Publishing. This deal includes my debut novel, They Crawl Within. I’ve been tinkering with this book off and on for nearly five years now and am thrilled that it will see the light of day. The second book on the deal hasn’t been written yet, but I have a doozy of an idea and should start drafting very soon.
Who is C. M. Forest? Good question. I’m not entirely sure yet myself. I’ve always been keen to write in other genres besides horror (as is evidenced through my bibliography), and as such, have begun to notice that there is a growing misunderstanding from readers as to what to expect from me. If you pick up a story or book by Christian Laforet, it could be anything from horror to literary fiction. It’s like a spin of the genre wheel. Because of this, I’ve decided to start using pen names for my various genre specific projects.
The first fictional fellow to be birthed into the world is the horror writer, C. M. Forest. This nom de plume is not as far from my actual name as it might at first seem. My first two initials are indeed C and M and my last name, Laforet, when translated from French to English, means The Forest. Creative, I know.
I’m not really sure how this whole thing will work out, but it feels right, so I’m jumping in. The first story under the C. M. Forest name can be found in the upcoming anthology, The Darkness Between by Collective Tales Publishing.
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.
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.
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.
I’m thrilled to have my story, The House in the Ground, included in this collection. The Emerald Edition is the 7th entry in the Horror Collection series, and features some great talent!
Available now as an e-book, and coming soon in print. If you would like to get a copy of your own, follow this link: The Emerald Edition.
I am pleased to announce that my short story, Hunger, will be featured in an upcoming anthology from Blood Song Books. The anthology is called Harvest and features stories of a rural bent.
The book will be available in both print and digital format on July 1st. If you are interested in ordering it, please follow the link below.
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.
C. M. Forest 