Of Folk and Poetry

The past few months have seen a real focus on both folk horror and poetry in writing and publication terms.

In the world of folk horror, I have been able to share Reborn, the upcoming sequel to The Five Turns of the Wheel with people. It’s currently available on Netgalley for review and is also up for pre-order here. It’s already picking up some great reviews:

‘This is a world of monsters. Stephanie Ellis takes us back into the Weald, refining and deepening a world she created. The world building is sensational, the imagery is magical, the characters alive with nuance …’ – Coy Hall, author of The Grimoire of the Four Imposters

I recently did my first online workshop (Darkness In the Fields), on how to turn the landscape into character in folk horror, which went reasonably well despite some technical difficulties at the start and a few nerves! If you missed this, then Alex Davis has another folk horror day lined up for March 2023, Darkness in the Fields 2, amongst many other workshop and online event opportunities.

This Sunday, I took part in Buzz Book Expo as part of the Brigids Gate Team and read an excerpt from another upcoming novel, The Woodcutter, which is due out in Jan. 2023.

I gave a sneak preview of the cover in progress which I share here together with the synopsis:

A tragic accident, shrouded in mystery, leads to a family reunion in the hidden village of Little Hatchet. This community has existed within the smothering shadow of GodBeGone Wood, the forest home of the mythical Woodcutter and Grandma, for centuries.

The last time Alec Eades saw his father, he was only five-years-old. He has no memory of his time in the village but as the days progress he rediscovers his bond with GodBeGone Wood and the future his father had agreed to, all those years ago, the reason his mother left and took him with her.

This reunion occurs against the backdrop of incomer Oliver Hayward’s scheme to raise money for the village by re-enacting part of the Woodcutter legend – a scheme hiding Hayward’s own murderous intentions. Old wounds are re-opened and ties of blood and friendship are tested to the extreme – when the Woodcutter is summoned and Grandma returns.

In addition to the folk horror, my poetry collaboration with Shane Douglas Keene, Lilith Rising, has finally gone up for pre-order here. This work started during lockdown and was batted back and forth across the pond over a period of some months, often with long breaks between but what appeared is something we are both extremely proud of! This is a true tale of revenge.

What else is happening? Things! I’ve a gothic horror novella out on submission and am currently 40000+ words into a new novel, Women of the Witch Eye. This is a dark historical mystery novel set in 1649 Lancashire, with a focus on murder and witchcraft and the social and political upheaval of the time. There is also a new poetry project developing …