A new book is on the horizon. It’s a new novella. My publisher, Chris, asked me to write another story for an upcoming anthology of short stories that we are putting together.
And I am lucky enough to have the extremely talented Dawn Lauder creating illustrations throughout. My first heavily illustrated book – rather exciting.
As you can see in this blog, we have sprinkled a few insights into what she will be injecting into the book from this particular story.
Some of you will be familiar with the earlier short stories, but all of them have been given an overhaul to make sure that they are ready to go into this anthology. In fact, one of them in particular was given a rather interesting twist at the end that it never had before – and I rather like it.
And once they enter this new collection of ghostly and unnerving tales of the unexpected, they will no longer be available as independent short stories.
The Butcher’s Apron is a Christmas ghost story, well, actually, I think it’s more of a ghost story within a ghost story to be more accurate. Some might even say, a ghostly whodunit!
I have put a little blurb below:
Every Christmas Eve, something stirs within The Butcher’s Apron Inn.
For generations, the old coaching inn has stood on the edge of the moors, its history soaked in superstition, whispered darkened pacts, and an unspoken rule that no one stays past closing time on one of the longest nights of the year. Locals know better than to ask why. Fewer still remember the tragedy that sealed its fate one hundred and fifty years ago.
And so, cursed by an unknown fate, three deathly bodies are seen hanging from the neck by a hangman’s noose, and only a tale of utmost wickedness can reveal their doom.
When a gathering of strangers assembles inside the inn to witness a once-a-year unveiling of its so-called “anomalies,” curiosity quickly turns to dread. What begins as a theatrical séance descends into something far more dangerous as forgotten contracts, fractured souls, and an ancient claimant are drawn back to the place where it all began.
Bound by blood, ancient lore, and something older than either, the living find themselves trapped inside a circle of protection that may not be strong enough to hold. Because some debts cannot be prayed away. Some bargains cannot be broken. And some doors, once opened, demand far more than anyone intended to give.
The Butcher’s Apron Inn is a dark, atmospheric tale of folklore, consequence, and the terrible cost of unfinished business, where salvation is uncertain, innocence is not always what it seems, and the devil is very particular about what he is owed…
Until next time,
Stephen