Marie O'Regan

june

Following on from the announcement of Marie & Paul’s sequel to The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic, the hardback The Hopeless Romantic’s Guide to Enchantment out from Titan in September, Nerd Daily ran an extract from L.R. Lam’s story '‘Rose Bloom, Rose Bud, Rose Blood’ (above). You can find that by clicking here.

 

Marie and Paul also received their gorgeous ARC copies of the book from Titan (above) .You pre-order your own copy the book itself here and here.

Other anthology news now, and two more reviews of Beyond & Within Witchcraft dropped last month. The first was from Runalong the Shelves who said: ‘The archetype of the Witch is a classic feature of fantasy stories. From Shakespeare to the Brothers Grimm, they have been used in classic tales often, though as someone malevolent to fear by the pricking of the thumbs. But more recently the character has been recognised also as a way that society sees women who don’t fit in or have knowledge and secrets a predominantly male society would not tolerate. So now one of the joys of a witch tale is you’re never entirely sure which type of witch we will meet. In the new anthology – Witchcraft - Folk & Horror Stories edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane – a fine selection of stories by great authors await the reader to decide if a trick or treat is awaiting.

In the impressive collection I was most notably struck by “Apotropaic” By Ally Wilkes – a mesmerising story that in many ways explores the central theme of witches changing over time… “Stranded” by Eliza Chan – this story is placed very suitably next to Wilkes and also explored the concept of a witch, but here a woman aging and either losing herself or finding who she really wants to be… “Murder Ballads by Moonlight” by Angela Slatter – a very different tone but here explores the Witch as a force for justice for those women the world has wronged… Slatter makes the action packed tale work by our narrator also explaining her own path to becoming a witch and her own family grief. In a few pages the world and character come alive… Impressive storytelling. “What Bones Remember” by Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu – this was a fascinating story set in a village that highlights a tale of choice… This story is fundamentally a moral one of deciding who you are – what kind of witch do you want to be? What will you do with your own power? I loved the way this one all came together. “The Witch of Withered Hill” by David Barnett – this I think may be my favourite take in the collection as it has a fascinating unique voice and idea…The writing is rather beautiful in this and just a pleasure to read.

“Remembrance” by Helen Grant – this is a powerful, troubling tale. A young woman who can see the future is asked to help find who is killing young women but this means she must return to the town she was ostracised from. It’s a tale of lost love, guilt and most worrying not seeing a future for yourself. It has a memorable set of final scenes where we have emotions and so very much want to know what is the final outcome. A story I really felt had an impact on the reader. “Kittycat” by Amanda Mason – a mother and her teenage daughter return to her grandmother’s house to pack things and prepare to sell. This though revives memories of how that town rejected her and made her life hell. Mysterious events though suggest a cycle that repeats is beginning – a really interesting story again about choices, but here embracing who you fully are even when knowing later on there will be conflict and rejection ahead. How both sides of the choice get explained is quite unusual and yet neatly connects to many of the other stories in the anthology. “The Weaver” by Kay Hanifen – a young woman has slowly built herself a reputation as a skilled weaver and constantly rejects suitors but she is also connected to the magical world… A delight of a tale to finish the collection. 

This is a highly recommended collection also featuring tales by the likes of Eugen Bacon, Muriel Gray and Mark Chadbourn and many more talented authors! Witch fans should keep their eyes peeled for it!’

You can read the full thing here.

The second came from Mario Guslandi at The Horror Review: ‘Here’s the latest volume in the excellent “Beyond & Within” series  from Flame Tree Press, addressing various aspects of sorcery, horror and, obviously, witchcraft. The prolific and classy Angela Slatter is certainly one of the most expert contributors in this area and her sinister story “Murder Ballads by Moonlight” provides a creepy narrative confirming her extraordinary talent as a dark storyteller. “Jackie’s Dust” by Alison Moore is another of my favorite tales in the book, a bittersweet piece featuring a young girl whose life is changed by a series of apparently trivial events taking place in her village and in her family. David Barnett contributes “The Witch of Withered Hill,” a piece of dark and fantastic fiction, quite in tune with the title and spirit of the book, where a real witch puts a stop to her village’s living curse.

In “Remembrance,” the always excellent Helen Grant develops a rather predictable yet deeply upsetting plot where a smart serial killer takes his final revenge. Another of my favorites is the weird “The Weaver” by Kay Hanifen, featuring an atypical witch whose only real friend is a peculiar spider. All in all, a rather unusual anthology. The list of other contributors includes: Ally Wilkes, Eliza Chan, Mark Chadbourn, Muriel Gray, Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu, Gabriella Buba, Aveline Fletcher, Lisa L Hannett, Melissa Bobe, Amanda Mason, Damien Kelly, and Eugen Bacon.’

To read the review, just click here.

You can visit the page for the anthology on the Flame Tree site here, and order yours here and here.

Meanwhile, their previous Beyond & Within, Folk Horror, was a pick for Erica of Briar Press New York during Folk Horror Week!

You can get your copy of that one here or here

A huge thank you to Joe for sending these pictures of the Romanian version of In These Hallowed Halls from a shop over there (above). It coincided with Marie and Paul being sent their own contributor copies (below). 

 

 

And you can still pick up the English edition here.

Marie and Paul were also sent the ARCs of forthcoming anthology, The Land of Oz (above and below), which look amazing.

You can pre-order Land of Oz here and here.

Marie and Paul were interviewed for the latest issue of Phantasmagoria, #28 (above and below), where they talked about their lives and work – in particular editing. 

You can grab your copy here or here.

And Collective: The Collaborative Art of The Anthology, mentioned in a previous news update, now has a stunning cover by Shauna McDonnell (above).  

Coming in October, you can find out more about this one here.

Absinthe Books news now, and Mia Dalia’s Alakazam was reviewed by It’s Terrific Books over on YouTube recently, which you can watch by clicking on the below

Phantasmagoria magazine also reviewed a couple of Absinthes, including James Brogden’s The Dwimfolk (below).

Here’s what Con Connor had to say: ‘Alan Garner's The Weirdstone Brisingamen was the novel that introduced me (and many others of a certain age) to the delights of folk horror and dark fantasy; one of said delights, for me, as a youngster growing up on a farm, was how the customs and superstitions of rural living hint at the primal, magical and not-a-little-frightening alternate realities folded into the mundane routines of country life. Like Garner, James Brogden starts this (too!) short novel as an account of outlier child Wren (nicknamed “Gollum”, in a knowing aside) who comes to school only for storytime and who lives in a wild woodland known as the “Trod” with his mother, reputedly a witch. The early chapters are narrated by substitute teacher Lisa, who tries to reach out to Wren, seeing him as a bullied and neglected outsider. Once the perspective shifts to Wren, things become interesting; he is shunned and persecuted and has only one friend, Sean, but Wren is no one’s victim.

As he recounts his experiments with “Twiggers”, with the skulls of small animals and with his access to the Deep Trod, the reader must decide whether Wren is deeply disturbed or is really a supernatural hybrid with access to hidden dark powers. Brogden brings a lightness of tone and a nuanced ambiguity to the story that immerses the reader gradually in the world of “The Greenfather” and the savagery of his various Courts. While the novel has a YA slant, the horror is even more effective for being hinted at – for instance, our initial delight at seeing a bully receive his comeuppance is tempered when we consider that he is a child about to confront a very brutal and nasty fate. To say more would be to spoil things; my only criticism is that I found the ending slightly rushed (albeit Brogden informs us in his Afterword that the original draft was much longer). I was glad that the final chapter leaves things open for him to revisit Wren’s world, and I hope that we may see more work set there.’

And Jessica Stevens reviewing Alison Littlewood’s Visions of Grace had this to say: Alison Littlewood, an award-winning British author of horror novels and short stories, and her new title Visions of Grace is a page-turning novella published by Absinthe Books, an imprint of PS Publishing. From the moment I sat down to read this piece I was hooked. Littlewood truly has a gift with words and readers are in for a heart-rending treat. The story opens with a chilling realisation of what it means to lose a loved one at a young age. Grace Thorpe, now grown, is alone in this world except for her neighbour Leanne, and of course there is little Katie. She loves her Aunt Grace, even though they aren’t related by blood. Katie is turning six and they are on the exciting final countdown to her birthday party. That is until Grace begins to see terrible visions that start to eat away at her very sanity. Grace begins to question everything, including her own life. After all, at the end of the day what is marriage, motherhood and belonging to someone other than yourself? Deep in her heart she knows she is a part of their lives even if that life exists next door.

Littlewood explores the themes of women’s many identities within this world, and the ache that often comes with the responsibility of those beliefs. One moment the reader feels Grace’s strength, while the next you are tearing through the pages hoping to protect her from her own vulnerabilities. Something awful has been foreseen at Katie’s birthday, but the predictions aren’t always certain. A pink balloon, a pink ruffled top; a little girl’s party dress. Are these the thoughts of a mad woman, and what would a mother do? Grace feels haunted by these questions as we are pulled through her tortured past and present. The clock is ticking, but one thing is for sure: she will protect those who need her no matter what the cost. Littlewood is one of my favourite writers. Visions of Grace is beautifully depicted as a tale of loss, love, and the importance of finding the meaning of oneself.’

But that’s not all. Not only did Alakazam find itself on the OutWrite Scary Awards ballot listing here, it also appeared on the British Fantasy Awards longlist (above), along with The Dwimfolk, Visions of Grace and For the Road by Stark Holborn.

Plus, people got their first look at the new trio of books from Absinthe above, when covers appeared in the PS Newsletter (above).

You can visit the Absinthe page and check out the whole range here.

Finally, Marie and Paul attended another event, the launch of Ava Morwood (Alison Littlewood)’s book for Harper North Until We Drown (above). This included the pre-launch party at the Lost & Found, then the launch itself at Leeds Waterstones, and then a meal at the Giggling Squid restaurant (photos below). A good time was had by all!

 

 

 

 

 

March

In February, there were not one, but three cover reveals for new anthologies coming this year from Marie & Paul. The first, in the run-up to Valentine’s Day, was for the hardback of The Hopeless Romantic’s Guide to Enchantment – their second Romantasy antho after The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic (above and below).

Out in September from Titan, it features the authors below…

You can pre-order here and here.

The British Fantasy Society revealed the next anthology from Marie & Paul – Land of Oz – also out in September from Titan (above and below). You can read more about that, including the full list of contributors, on the BFS site here.

The book is of course the third of Marie & Paul’s ‘Land’ anthologies, following the Shirley Jackson Award-shortlisted Wonderland, and the #1 bestseller The Other Side of Never (below), both still available here and here.

And you can pre-order Land of Oz here and here.

Finally, the third of Marie & Paul’s Beyond & Within anthologies, a crime one centred on revenge stories – Best Served Cold – had a cover and contents reveal, which you can take a look at here.

This was also shared by one of the contributors, Ronnie Turner, as a story on Instagram (below). More news in the months to come…

But in the meantime you can also pre-order this one, out over the summer, here and here

PS announced the next batch of Absinthe books last month via their newsletter…

Maura McHugh (above) is no stranger to PS. Her book Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me about David Lynch's iconic film was nominated for a British Fantasy Award for Best Non-Fiction and her short story ‘Raptor’ from Dan Coxon's Heartwood anthology won a World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction in 2025

House of Wyrd by Maura McHugh

Aly Wyrd, famous art provocateur and magician, is missing on the eve of the opening of her visionary project, the Path of Illumination. It falls to her estranged daughter, Pallas Trismegistus Morrigan Aylward, to navigate through dream, memory and arcane mystery to revisit her history with her mother in ’80s London and ’90s Ireland until Pallas catches up with present-day revelation by walking the road to enlightenment designed by her mother.

Helen Grant (above) writes Gothic novels, the latest of which is Jump Cut (2023), and short supernatural fiction. Her new short story collection Atmospheric Disturbances was published late in 2024 by Dublin’s Swan River Press. Joyce Carol Oates has described her as ‘a brilliant chronicler of the uncanny as only those who dwell in places of dripping, graylit beauty can be.’

Steal Me by Helen Grant

Rowan Byrne hasn’t stolen anything for ages – not since she started to straighten her life out after a personal tragedy. But the volume she’s just picked up in the new bookshop in town seems to want her to steal it. The text is very persuasive. There’s a book for everyone in Legends – a book that will encourage their worst impulses. Steal. Fear. Burn. Kill. It’s not long before Rowan’s small town, isolated from the outside world, is descending into mayhem. Assailed by her own demons, Rowan could try to cut and run. Or she could make a stand, and try to save the community she loves…

Tom Mead (above) is a mystery writer and aficionado of Golden Age crime fiction. His novels include Death and the Conjurer, The Murder Wheel, Cabaret Macabre and The House at the Devil’s Neck. He also recently published a collection of mystery stories, The Indian Rope Trick And Other Violent Entertainments. His books have been translated into twelve languages (and counting), nominated for various awards and named books of the year by The Guardian, The Telegraph, Publishers Weekly and CrimeReads.

 

The Lamp in the Window: A Victorian Ghost Story by Tom Mead

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin… Each Christmas Eve, academic and antiquarian Roland Spence invites a select group of students to his quarters to indulge in a glass or two of port, and to listen to a ghostly tale by the fireside. It seems like an innocent enough tradition – after all, who doesn't enjoy a wintry chill at Christmastime? Decades later, one of Spence's students must revisit those half-remembered stories as a long-buried secret threatens to resurface… Inspired by M.R. James, E.F. Benson, Algernon Blackwood et al, The Lamp in the Window is an eerie winter ghost story in the classic Victorian tradition.

Alison Littlewood’s Visions of Grace was also reviewed by both Ginger Nuts of Horror, which you can read here and Happy Goat Horror here.

You can visit the Absinthe page and check out the whole range here.

Finally, Marie & Paul were interviewed by CC Adams on his site recently. You can read that by visiting it here.

January/February

Happy New Year! January is of course the launch month for Marie and Paul’s new anthology, Beyond & Within:Witchcraft and publishers Flame Tree sent them a bundle of books to celebrate.

They also included the antho in their newsletter for January (below), plus you can listen to one of the stories for free – ‘What Bones Remember’ by Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu – introduced by Marie & Paul, on their Myth & Fiction podcast here.

Visit the page for the book on the Flame Tree site here, and order yours here and here.

While back in December, Death Comes at Christmas hit the coveted Number 1 bestseller spot on Amazon, across ebook, paperback and hardback editions (above and below).

There were also some more mentions and reviews. ‘A thoroughly enjoyable selection of Christmas stories to curl up and read on a wintery Christmas night, or a warm summer evening, depending on where you are in the world!’ said @fortheloveofbooks383 (below).

‘Perfect Christmas reading. Cratchits, bookshops, ghosts, and a wonderfully clever Joseph Spector story,’ was @j.s.savage_author’s take (below). 

@katies_cosy_reading_corner (below) said, ‘Each story is packed with imagination and flair… This book is one of those that you could easily curl up with… dip in and out of in-between the continuous prepping for Christmas.’

And @shesdefinitelyreading left the below picture reviews…

For those of you who celebrate Christmas all year round, the book is still available here and here.

Sticking with anthologies for a moment, and over on Insta @george_can_read chose Marie & Paul’s first Dark Academia book In These Hallowed Halls as one of his anthologies of the year.

You can pick up your hardback or paperback copies of that one here and here.

Marie wrote about her first encounters with the Daleks – on TV!! – for the latest Phantasmagoria Special (above) last month and received her contributor copy (below). Exterminate!

You can pick yours up here or here.

Interview time, and Marie & Paul were interviewed by Lauren McMenemy for the British Fantasy Society recently (above and below). You can see what they had to say here, and directly on YouTube here.

Marie’s new collection Bleed for Me (below), which dropped from Demain in December as an ebook, is now out in paperback. You can get your hands on that here and here.

And a new review has appeared of Marie’s novella from last year, Resurrection Blues (below), written by Peter Tennant. He said: ‘Musician Marcus buys a beautiful harmonica that he sees in a shop window and thinks he has got himself a bargain, but when he performs with his band at a club that night he sees ghosts in the audience… In many ways this reminded me of A Nightmare on Elm Street, with its predator who is disposed of by a mob of his victims’ nearest and dearest, only to prove more of a problem dead than he was alive. Louis certainly haunts Marcus’ dreams, but that is only a part of his horror. O’Regan is her own woman and creates a truly memorable monster, one with a killing line in dialogue and even deadlier and inventive streak of violence. But the forces of good are nearly as strong, with Marcus’ mother Irene a towering presence, both in life and death, and Albert a steadfast friend, one with his own paranormal talent. Marcus himself is a strong character, driven by his love of music, but at the same time with a feeling of guilt over his decision to take this course in life and leave the family home…

The battle against Louis is gripping, with fights in an old house and a ferocious showdown in a cemetery, the sense that things could go either way, but before all of that we get a sound build up with appearances of the dead and a creeping sense of something gone very badly awry. There are magic rituals throughout the narrative and a strong element of the macabre, with hearts removed from bodies with extreme prejudice. At the book’s core is a story of good vs evil, and if the latter is to be defeated it is through the sacrifices of the good people, the ties that bind them together and hold true when all else fails.’

You can read the full thing here.

Plus pick up your copy of the book here, here, or here.

Finally, a couple of Marie’s Absinthe titles have been reviewed recently. Firstly, Alakazam by Mia Dalia (below) was reviewed by Happy Goat Horror here and by Lachlan’s Book reviews here.

And Visions of Grace by Alison Littlewood (below) was reviewed by Runalong the Shelves here.

You can visit the Absinthe page and check out the entire range here.

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