A SHINING LIGHT: MARK WEST

The horror genre is, in the main a great genre to be in, and despite what some people think their is a community, or at least lot of little communities out there. These communities are supportive, understanding of the foibles of the people in it, and are always keen to help out those who walk their streets.  

However, there are a few people who transcend the communities, people who are the true heart and soul of horror.  Mark West is one those people.  I have known mark since i first stumbled across the online horror world, and from that first moment I knew he was something special.   

Mark is enthusiasm, personified, always positive. deeply supportive of other peoples work, and never asks for anything in return. Both online and in the real world Mark draws people to him, just go to a convention and if you are nervous about meeting a writer, the first thing anyone and I mean anyone will say is "Mark will you introduce Bob to..." and you know what he'll do that.  Not because he has more front than Brighton Beach, he'll do it because he is a genuinely good guy.  It's a joy to watch.

Ask anyone in the UK horror fiction scene what they think about Mark and you will hear nothing love and high praise, and they will have a huge smile on their face as they talk about him.  

Over and above is enthusiasm  and love for the genre Mark is also a great writer.  A master of the soulful  supernatural story, Mark can entrance a reader with stories that carry a powerful emotional punch.  

Today is Mark's Birthday, so in honour of the great man we have compiled a list of some of our favourite Mark West books.  Read on for some great books and why not use the links at the end to try some of his books and help have a birthday fit for a true gentleman of the genre 

​Twenty years ago at college, Martin, Paul, Jane, and Gwen were members of the GLUE Club - the Gaffney Legendary Urban Explorers - run by the charismatic Tom. Now, following his mysterious death, they agree to meet up again and undertake one final exploration to honour his name.

Aside from Paul who never left, none of them have been back to Gaffney since and the reunion is awkward, re-opening old wounds. As they begin to explore the long-abandoned Pocock Factory, it seems they might be intruding on something better left alone. As they succumb to the spirits in the darkness, it quickly becomes a battle to see who will survive the night...


Recommended for fans of haunting stories, both in the haunted house sense and in the sense that this story may stay with you for weeks to come.
-Chars Horror Corner 

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Michael struggles to come to terms with the death of his wife. He has visions of her calling to him, inviting him to the beyond.

At the Bereaved Partners’ Group, he learns that he is not the only one left behind who can hear the departed beckon them… to the Mill.

This Greyhart Press eBook is a novelette: longer than a short story but brief enough to read in one sitting. At 16,000 words, The Mill would be about 64 pages in paperback.

'The Mill' was previously published by Pendragon Press as part of the anthology 'We Fade to Grey', edited by Gary McMahon. This Greyhart Press eBook edition has been revised but remains substantially the same. Paperbacks, and signed limited-edition hardbacks, of 'We Fade to Grey' may still be available.

"West's writing manages to be both upliftingly happy and in the same moment breathtakingly sad.” — The Eloquent Page

“...this one grabs your heart-strings and twists them like a knife.” — Matthew Fryer’s Hellforge

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David Moore has one night left in Gaffney and is at a party he doesn’t want to attend. Natasha Turner, at the same party, is lost for a lift home.

Meanwhile, three young men have stolen a car, and as the night darkens and the roads become deserted, David and Nat enter into a terrifying game of cat-and-mouse. . . 

" The day of the novella has come and thrillers like Drive can only enhance its popularity. A great read."

- David Price 


"Drive takes you for a journey down the darkest alleyways of human savagery."

​-Ginger Nuts of Horror 

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Great characterisation with people you can care about and vivid, taut story telling. This is a good 'un !Newly pregnant, stuck in a job she doesn't like and mourning the death of her cousin, Beth Hammond’s life isn’t working out the way she thought it would. So when her boyfriend wins a weekend away at the seaside resort of Heyton, Beth thinks this could be just what they need — to get away, relax, and make plans for the future.

But as they begin their weekend, a JCB driver accidentally damages a centuries-old memorial at the beach. He hopes no one will notice, but something has… a presence that was buried beneath the memorial, sealed in a stone tomb. Now that presence wants its revenge on the people of Heyton.

"Great characterisation with people you can care about and vivid, taut story telling. This is a good 'un !"

-Demonica 

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The Hyde Hotel Welcomes You...
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The Hyde Hotel looks almost exactly as you'd expect it to: a faceless, budget hotel in a grey city you are just passing through. A hotel aimed at people travelling alone, a hotel where you know so little about your fellow guests that they could be anyone... and where, perhaps, so could you. But sometimes things are hiding in plain sight, and not everyone who stays at The Hyde gets a good night's sleep... Featuring stories about the guests and staff of The Hyde Hotel from Simon Bestwick, Ray Cluley, Alex Davis, Cate Gardner, V H Leslie, Alison Littlewood, Amelia Mangan, S P Miskowski, Iain Rowan, Mark West and the editors.
Enjoy your stay.

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​"The Lost Film is a collection of two novellas, one by Stephen Bacon and one by Mark West, both dealing the same theme: that of lost films. Bacon's story, Lantern Rock, references both Hammer and Amicus early on, and his tale is very much in the spirit of those films. His two protagonists are seeking out the director Lionel Rutherford who lives as a recluse after his son died years before. Gradually revealing its secrets, this is a fun, atmospheric story. Mark West gets to follow that, and he does so by doing something very different. The Lost Film has a noir feel to it, as a PI is hired to track down the director of a film which sends people mad... There's some truly chilling imagery and ideas at play in this one, especially concerning the few snippets of the film itself that are uncovered. A very different story to Bacon's but one that contrasts it nicely." -  James Everington 

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