hall of mirrors

Good morning! Well, yesterday was an incredible day on both sides of the Atlantic. Just look at these terrific reviews for Hall of Mirrors: Tales of Horror and the Grotesque, Volume One ...

Mike Bennett is a genius who rivals both the horror, comedy and story telling greats in the literature world. Mrs. M.C. Edwards "Manderloo"

Simply brilliant! Deborah Kaufman

Gruesome horror with a comic twist. Lori Y


A superb appetizer for his novel length works. Mary Laura

Engrossing Storyteller. Jeana L Smith


Simply The Creepiest Horror Since Stephen King! Douglas Lawson

Great compilation of creepy short stories. Jason Stubbs


Great Horror Fiction. C Griffin


Genuis. Scary and funny as hell. Horrorman

He writes the best kind of horror Wintermute670

Mike Bennett is a wonderful author, this is a great well written collection. t

Genius, Roxy J

Fantastic! Huge thanks to all the above for taking the time to leave a review. The value of these on Amazon simpply cannot be understated! And also, my thanks to everyone around the world who went to Amazon yesterday to download their FREE copy of Hall of Mirrors Vol 1. How did it fare in the charts? Very well! Here's what I woke up to this morning. I thought that after a night's sleep, the book would have slid somewhat, but no! This was the chartscape an hour ago ...

As you can see, I'm rubbing shoulders with some very exalted company, here. I'm under Bram!

And below is the US Short Story chart:

Look at all those Christmas-themed titles! There's loads of them. This is clearly a very good time to release a Christmasy romance. One Among the Sleepless is going to fit in here like a meat pie on a shelf of quiche - and the Christmas market seems to be ravenous for quiche! But hey, that doesn't mean that people don't want meat pie; it's just that quiche is the dish of the season. So, writers take note: Christmas sees a big rise in titles that at other times of the year wouldn't be an obstacle.

Anyway, moving on. In the UK, Hall of Mirrors: Volume One has been holding its own as well, reaching 11 in Horror:

Look at James Herbert there in the paid chart! Obviously the current TV adaptation of The Secret of Crickley Hall is doing wonders for Mr Herbert's sales (it's number one, unsurprisingly). I read Haunted, the first book in the Ash series, years ago, and loved it. And as a kid in the seventies, I devoured James Herbert's books like no one else's. Did you ever read, The Rats trilogy? Every kid in my school read The Rats. Dog-eared copies were passed around from chum to chum with frenzied interest. I enjoyed the first sequel, Lair, but for me, the masterpiece was the third book, Domain. Giant rats preying on the survivors of a post-nuclear holocaust London? What's not to like? I read it once, then read it again. In fact, I should read it a third time. You can never get enough of giant rats, especially at Christmas.

Sorry, I digress. 

In UK Short Stories, HoM1 reached No 5:

Again, here we can see a couple of Christmas-themed titles above me in the freebies. And there to my left, my opposite in the paid charts, we see the perennial literary love affair with books about abused children continuing with the cannily-titled (and jacketed) Abused - a Daughter's Story. That wouldn't be my cup of tea, but I remember when I was working in a bookshop in the late nineties, books like this were HUGE. Remember, A Child Called, "It" and it's sequels? Apparently, the trade term for the genre is Misery Lit. Nothing like a book full of misery, especially at Christmas.

Sorry, slipping off on another digression there. 

The main thing is, what's going to happen with Hall of Mirrors: Tales of Horror and the Grotesque - Volume One next?

Well, the period of its FREE status (can't write that word big enough) runs for today - AND - into tomorrow. Yes, I've extended it a day. I figure, why not? If there's a buzz, why kill it? So if you haven't yet got your FREE copy of Hall of Mirrors Vol 1, get it NOW! And tell a friend at work today so they can get it TOMORROW. The push is far from over, and I would LOVE the book to get into the Amazon free top 100 (obviously). 

Can you help it get there? 

The psychological effect of this on me - let's be honest - is wonderful! It inspires me. It tells me that you support me. It makes me want to write - and what I'm writing, when I can - is Underwood and Flinch 2. So, it follows that if you support me in this, you encourage me to write Underwood and Flinch 2. So come on, inspire me! Download Hall of Mirrors Volume 1 now! It's FREE! And the long-term results will be Fang-Tastic!!

Hall of Mirrors: Tales of Horror and the Grotesque - Volume One at Amazon.com

Hall of Mirrors: Tales of Horror and the Grotesque - Volume One  at Amazon.co.uk

After much, much ... much work and secret struggle (I couldn't say anything until it was done), the Hall of Mirrors stories are finally coming to publication. They're materialising into the Amazon Kindle store in four volumes. The first contains the stories, Hair and Skin, The Grave, and The Haslet Technique, and is available now from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk for the bargain prices of $0.99 and £0.71p respectively (the difference is due to the exchange rate; your wallet will be exactly the same amount lighter on both sides of the Atlantic).

This is the first time in five years of podcasting that I've been able to make any of my work available to buy, so I really hope you will avail of this great opportunity to show some support to the cause (or help me pay my rent, call it what you will ;-)

Interestingly, you don't have to have a Kindle to get the book. You can get free apps for the iPhone, the iPod touch, The iPad, the iMac, PC, Windows Phone 7, and Android phone FREE from the Amazon Kindle store here: GIMME FREE KINDLE APP

So please, listeners, if you have any of the above devices, go to the Amazon Kindle store and grab your copy of Hall of Mirrors Volume One today!

Oh, and if you could see your way clear to writing a few kind words in the review section, I'd be doubly grateful.

Many thanks. Happy reading :-)

MBP.com member, The Glove, has submitted a great charcoal drawing of the opening scene from Hall of Mirrors: Night Crossing, the story - and scene - that introduces Underwood and Flinch. I love the cat ;-)

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