SHARING A FENCE WITH THE TWILIGHT ZONE is available now

SHARING A FENCE WITH THE TWILIGHT ZONE, my collection of short stories of the fantastical kind is  now available for the kindle on the amazon websites.

The Blurb goes like this

"Forrest Gump said that life was like a box of chocolates and you never knew what you were going to get. Clearly he had never looked inside the lid or consulted those little cards you get in the fancier boxes that tell you exactly what you’re going to get.

This collection of short stories are like Forrest's chocolates (no not sticky and half-melted) - a varied mix of light and dark, of sweet and sour, soft and hard-centred. Some are longer than others whilst some are shorter. Some are thoughtful and some are just fun. Some have already been available on the internet, some have never been seen before. This is, however, the only place where they have been gathered together in one place.

The world will end (possibly more than once), men will hear the voice of God, nature will fight back, technology will threaten and be misused, vampires will be born (or will they?), gifts will be given and aliens will make contact.

Oh, and a death in Oxford's Bodleian Library will bring Agent Ward's past back to bite him in the exclusive short story THE MAN FROM UNDEAD'S SCHOOLDAYS."

If you're interested, the links are

UK  Amazon.co.uk

US (who am I kidding? Nobody in the US buys my books, but hey...) Amazon.com

Concept art for Man From U.N.D.E.A.D. Spin Off Book

Early next year I hope to release the first ever spin-off from the popular Man From U.N.D.E.A.D. series.

Between now and then, I'll bee releasing occasional sneaky peeks in the form of concept art pieces like the one right here.

Please welcome Miss Penny Kilkenny, personal assistant to the global director of the United Nations Department for the Enforcement and Apprehension of Demons with a burning airship in the background.

This is, in fact, the first image of a character from one of my books and I'm pretty excited by it.

UNDEAD Short Story Cover Revealed

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat (and he ain't the only one let me tell you).

It's also time for the giving and receiving of gifts.

Since I have been receiving the gift of readers' enjoyment of my books (you're buying the fourth MAN FROM U.N.D.E.A.D. book so you must have enjoyed the first three), I've decided to do a little giving.

As well as seeing the release of my short story anthology SHARING A FENCE WITH THE TWILIGHT ZONE (assuming disaster doesn't strike anytime soon) December will see the release of the first MAN FROM U.N.D.E.A.D. stand alone short story (INTERVIEW WITH THE MAN FROM U.N.D.E.A.D. being the first short story, but appearing in THE SPLENDID SALMAGUNDI anthology).

Imaginatively entitled THE MAN FROM U.N.D.E.A.D.'s CHRISTMAS CAROL it will be available absolutely free of charge for the Kindle over the Christmas period (again, assuming that nothing goes wrong with the process, Amazon's this time).

So, check up on December 23-27 on the Amazon sites and pick up your free copy of the first standalone MAN FROM U.N.D.E.A.D. as my present to you.

New Book Gets A Cover

Here is the final artwork for the book of collected short stories that will be coming out onto Kindle in December.

I think that it's got fairly clean lines and isn't too cluttered. It also moves away from the cartoony look most of my other covers.

I won't be changing the theme of the Man From U.N.D.E.A.D. covers as a result though.

As with the writing and the self-publishing, covers have been a learning curve for me and I think that I'm getting better at it.

Well, there are stranger things to think - many of which are in this book.

One Small Step For The Man From U.N.D.E.A.D. is released

October 1st marks the day that One Small Step For The Man From U.N.D.E.A.D. is released to buy on Amazon's kindle.

The fourth in the series featuring Agent Ward's battle against the weird threats embattling the planet it has the following publicity blurb:

"The United Nations Department for the Enforcement and Apprehension of Demons is the first, last and only line of defence against the supernatural threats trying to break into a world where magic and technology are uneasy bedfellows.

Agent Ward is out of this world (literally) in this fourth book in the Man From U.N.D.E.A.D. series. He's facing the biggest threat ever and his most personal challenge, not to mention shapechangers with a lingerie fetish, imps that just won't keep still and giant howler demons.

The race to save reality as he knows it is on and he just might be out of time."

The title references Neil Armstrong's famous line as he stepped on the moon, but the final draft was already locked and formatted when the news came through of the astronaut's death, so a small tribute to all those who work in the field of space exploration get a dedication of thanks in the added Author's note.

Interrogated by Joo - The Grand Inquisitor

Ever wanted to know more about me? No, I didn't think so. Somebody apparently does and so I've been submitted to the Grand Inquisition by Joo from the KUForum and Goodreads Forum. If you'd like to see my rambling answers to pointed questions then get yourself over to Joo's Book Reviews and Interviews

BAG A FREE VAMPIRE TV SHOW GUIDE

It's freebie time!

Having just thrown in with Amazon's exclusive programme that allows books to be free for a few days in return for exclusivity on Amazon (sorry but the other platforms have failed to yield any interest in my books whatsoever with Amazon shifting more in a day than Smashwords ever!) I am going to be using the programme for a giveaway starting September 10th (ie tomorrow).

The book of choice is a guide to television shows that feature vampires. It's a themed chapter taken from THE SCI FI FREAK SITE GUIDE TO THE TELEVISUAL GALAXY, a book that has been a project of mine for a couple of years now, providing information on science fiction, fantasy and supernatural horror shows on TV. I needed such a book, but the only available one was well out of date, so I did my own. It's available on the Kindle and at lulu.com.

If vampires are your thing, though, then you have five days to get your free kindle download from when it goes live tomorrow.

UNDEAD 4 has a title and a cover

One Small Step For The Man From UNDEAD has become a slightly bittersweet title for the fourth in the Man From UNDEAD series following the news that Neil Armstrong has died. The book even has a character with a similar name, referencing the first man to walk on the moon.

The book is set for release in October and this is ther first time that the cover has been let out in public on its own without a babysitter.

Clearly, it's in the same vein as all the other Man From UNDEAD covers, but the new elements are all story specific and hopefully don't give away too much of the plot.

Frankly, the plot is so bonkers that it would be impossible to give it away with a few images anyway.

Anyhow, this is now the official title and cover and come October the book will be available to buy on Amazon for the kindle and Lulu.com for the printed book.

Sky Atlantic's new show The Newsroom started tonight and whilst it was not perfect, it showed up a lot of other TV shows without even hitting its stride right.

Why is this even on my blog? Well, this show's opening episode was written by Aaron Sorkin who is a personal writing god of mine. The man who was responsible for the Greatest Show Ever On TV (TM) - The West Wing - just doesn't seem to be able to write anything not worth watching. Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip (or whatever it was called) was a cracking show based inside a sketch show that lampooned the events of the week, but only lasted one season for the crimes of being intelligent and not having too much nice to say about network TV in the States. There is only so much biting of the hand that feeds you that you can get away with.

And The Newsroom is more of that. Right from the outset, Sorkin accuses media news of being lazy, corrupt and more interested in the advertising revenue than the quality of the news. No surprise then that the media in the US went ape and tore the show to shreds. There is no way that the show deserved any of the maulings it got, even on the evidence of this opening episode that is never going to be as slick as it's going to get. It's a case of "say you don't like us and we'll say it back".

Sorkin's got the last laugh, however, as HBO has commissioned a second outing for the show that has, after just one episode, become unmissable.

Man From UNDEAD now a trilogy and doing well

In the not too distant past, I released the third in THE MAN FROM U.N.D.E.A.D. series. The reaction was pretty immediate and rather surprising. Before I knew it, the books were on a couple of Amazon's filter lists (humour and contemporary fantasy) and sales took off like never before.

This surge of sales also took in the trilogy edition that contains all three books for a slightly cheaper price.

Considering that I have done absolutely nothing more in the way of promotion than at any other time, I am at a loss to explain it, but I am grateful for it all the same.

I can only assume that perhaps the fact that there is now a trilogy of these books that has in some way 'legitimised' them in the eyes of readers. I don't know why that should be, but I have absolutely no other explanation for it.

GOODNIGHT DEAR free again.

It's been far too long since I was posting on this blog, but a lot has been going on in that time, so there will be things to catch up on now that I have a few extra seconds.

The first is to announce that GOODNIGHT DEAR:THE UNSENTIMENTAL DIARY OF A BEREAVED HUSBAND is back free on Amazon of all flavours, so if you have a kindle you can download it for free for another three days.

Lots of other people already have been, so why not you?

Norah Ephron Dies

Today I found out that Norah Ephron had died in her early 70s. Though not a huge fan of all of her work, the script for WHEN HARRY MET SALLY is a thing of beauty; so funny and yet so true and warm and full of heart. Sure, it has a couple of great performances to help it along, but with a script this good how could they not?

Five Star Review for Stormwreck

This is a  lovely review for STORMWRECK that was just posted. Thank you to Lorraine for taking the time.

 

"5.0 out of 5 stars Be prepared..., 14 Feb 2012

By 

This review is from: Stormwreck (Kindle Edition)

Going through all of Darren Humphries books to select the one I was going to read first, I went for Stormwreck as it was the one that was most likely to appeal to me, as I like everything weird and spooky. I thought I'd familiarise myself with the writer by reading something from my favourite genre before moving on to something sci-fi or humoristic. I was even more enthusiastic at the idea of reading it as other group members who had read it and who knew my tastes in books thought it was a book for me. And boy were they right !

What really stuck me with this book, is how it doesn't give the feeling of being "fast-paced" somehow. You would think the fact that the events happen over a few hours only (and there are quite a few things going on), all on a background of violent storm, would give the book a very rapid rhythm, but instead I found that the main feeling was that of oppressiveness, of gloom, something that makes you feel claustrophobic even though you're there, with all the characters, on a beautiful Cornish cove.

That said, you can't help but notice how the story builds up with the storm, how the evil grows, how scared the villagers become, and how more and more drawn-in you become as a reader.

This book is definitely a different experience from what I've had so far. You don't get excited as such to get to know what happens at the end, you want to get there because you want that feeling to end, that weight to lift off, you want to disperse that cloud of mystery. It could be very easy I guess to write a novel that would just state the facts, but I think the whole atmosphere thing is created with skill, and is what sets this book apart from the other horror/mystery/paranormal books I've read in my life.

It's all very hard to explain, it's really something you really need to feel for yourself ! "

Four star review for TO INFINITY (and maybe that's far enough)

This review was posted earlier for TO INFINITY (and maybe that's far enough):

"4.0 out of 5 stars Nice to see Science fiction can still be fun., 7 Feb 2012

By 

G. Robbins "Miles of Smiles" (Cheshire, UK)

  

  

   

 

This review is from: To Infinity (and maybe that's far enough) (Kindle Edition)

I'd been hearing good things about Darren Humphries work for some time now and, on that basis, decided to give one of his books a spin. I've always been a science fiction fan, as my groaning bookshelves will attest, so this title came as the ideal starting point.

Mr Humphries has written this book with a Douglas Adams / Terry Pratchett voice. In that respect it has succeeded very well. The interplay between the characters is sharp and entertaining at every point. The story moves along well and there is plenty of enjoyable dialogue.

For the most part I really enjoyed this book, but, and there is a but, something happened to the end. Everything was going wonderfully until it got to 97%. I think the problem with this book is that the enemy is too good. There is a fine line between the hero being cornered and being able to fight his way out and the same hero being painted into a corner. I felt this was the case with this book, where the author had succeeded with the painting, thrown away the brush and decided to have the wall demolished from the other side by the next door neighbour.

I know this is going to sound odd, but don't let the ending stop you reading this book, it really is a treat. There were times when I cursed the end of my lunch break as I was enjoying myself so much. On a number of occasions, I was howling out loud with laughter and annoying my colleagues by insisting on reading out sections of dialogue.

On that basis, I'm going to have to knock off a star for the ending, otherwise it would have got a perfect score. If you are a Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett fan, you'll feel very at home with this Darren Humphries book and enjoy it immensely."

That's a detailed review, so thanks for taking the time to review it.

E books I have read - Quantum Of Tweed: The Man With The Nissan Micra

The title made me smile and the blurb made this a must buy.

A James Bond pastiche in a very British style, I honestly thought I was going to laugh my socks off when I bought it, but in the end I didn't. What I did do was a smile a lot and that's certainly not something to be sneezed at. Of course, if you don't remember who Bonnie Tyler is then a lot of the humour here is going to be wasted on you.

It's short and the ending felt far too rushed as though trying to come in under a word count or something, but I've had less fun with longer books also marketed as funny.

Moderate your expectations and you'll have a good (short) time.

Five Star Review for The Man From U.N.D.E.A.D. - The Curious Case Of The Kidnapped Chemist

The first of the Man From U.N.D.E.A.D books - The Man From U.N.D.E.A.D - The Curious Case Of The Kidnapped Chemist received this nice review on Amazon.co.uk recently:

"This review is from: The Man From U.N.D.E.A.D. - The Curious Case Of The Kidnapped Chemist (Kindle Edition)

I absolutely loved this read. I was engrossed from the moment I started reading it and had to find a day where I could sit and just read so as to find out what happens!
I loved Ward's character and his humour. There was, for me, a lot of laugh out loud moments entwined with action and suspense, which kept me guessing as to who was behind all of the goings on!
I am looking forward to the next in the series and for reading more offerings from Darren Humphries.

by emzibah"

So thanks very to emzibah for taking the time to say that they liked it.

2nd five star review for Man From U.N.D.E.A.D.- Zombie Apocalypse Now

The following review was posted on Amazon for my first sequel:

"5.0 out of 5 stars TRUST me! This is a great book, 22 Jan 2012

By 

Walrus

 

This review is from: The Man From U.N.D.E.A.D. - Zombie Apocalypse Now (Kindle Edition)

A smile from start to finish and laugh at loud funny in places too.
As i said about the first book in the series- "The Man From U.N.D.E.A.D. - The Curious Case Of The Kidnapped Chemist"-If you enjoy well written,fast paced,amusing,tongue-in-cheek urban fantasy you are in for a real treat.

This book is even better;tighter written,and even better told.

Truly excelled!.More please "

New Five Star Review for STORMWRECK

I received this rather remarkable review whilst away. It's rather more erudite than I would suggest the book is!

"5.0 out of 5 stars Spooktastic!, 22 Dec 2011

ByJenny Shaw

The essence of horror is lack of control. True horror shows us that our safe, secure little world over which we have power and in which events are predictable - or at least logical - is nothing but a comforting fairy-tale. It harks back to some long-forgotten race memory in which life could be snuffed out in an instant in a world that did not always make sense.

So what better setting for a horror story than an isolated community in the teeth of a massive and potentially deadly story. Throw in a long forgotten secret, give early indications that Supernatural is Permitted and, for good measure, cut the cast of characters off from the rest of civilisation.

It's an excellent set-up and in Darren Humphries' masterly hands becomes a highly compelling and satisfying read. As a narrator he is authoritative but never obtrusive, his characters are rounded and sympathetic and the whole thing trips along with an ease that will have you reading all night."


Wow, who'd have thought I'd ever get the phrase 'masterly hands' used in a review of my work? Not me that's for sure.

The Man From U.N.D.E.A.D. - Zombie Apocalypse Now on Kindle

The Man From U.N.D.E.A.D.- Zombie Apocalypse Now (UK link, US users link here), the second book in the Man From U.N.D.E.A.D. series  (and my first sequel, though it's more of a standalone book) has come out for the kindle on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. It already has a review:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and clever, January 21, 2012

By Ignite (East Yorkshire, UK) - As a self confessed non-zombie fan, I wonder why I am reading, let alone reviewing, this book. It's because it's the second in the U.N.D.E.A.D series and because it's written by Darren Humphries.

In the first in this series we are introduced to the hero, Agent Ward. He is a clever, daring and very likable character and any book starring him will have me reading it.

We find ourselves in a world infested at regular intervals by aliens, supernatural beings, mythological creatures and magic, from which the public are protected by the Agents from U.N.D.E.A.D. Here we continue to follow Ward as he takes his new and surprising sidekick on a chase across the globe to find out who is re-animating corpses and why.

As always, the author uses clever word-play and very funny descriptions that light up the often ludicrous situations in which our hero finds himself. I love Darren Humphries' style of writing and I'm so pleased that there are to be more in this series, especially in view of the new working partnership we discover at the end of this book.