“Lee’s character work is great. We have five young women thrust together in this old girls’ reformatory, and Principal Quick who is in charge […] I had no trouble distinguishing between them as their personalities were all so strong and fully-formed. I love a writer who can just drop individuals into a story like that.”
Read the full review here, and then buy the book – it’s perfect reading for spooky season!
Over the moon to receive the Best Horror Short Award for my folk horror film ‘The Stay’, its 30th film festival award honour to date. Congrats to my incredible cast & crew, and big thanks to all at World Indie & to all of our supporters!
As is customary on this blog, time for a quick glance back before looking ahead.
2022 was a political pantomime of giant horse costume proportions, and I live in hope of a General Election in 2023… Aside from all that, it was a great year for creativity, and for reconnection with others, but an absolute stinker for illness as we all started circulating once more after the lockdowns. Covid finally caught up with me in June, and it hit me real bad, but I was grateful to have gotten over the worst of it after a couple of weeks. Yuletide gifted the Winter vomity bug, which was as unpleasant as it sounds, but I recovered just in time for the obligatory glass of Guinness on NYE.
My big news of the year was of course the publication of Damnation: The Gothic Game (the official novelisation of my favourite board game of all time) on Halloween. The re-vamped (yes, pun intended AGAIN, sorry-not-sorry) game will be unleashed in Spring of 2023 after a few inevitable delays, along with the game’s soundtrack, so that’s already something to look forward to. Thanks again to Kris Rees & Blackletter Games for the opportunity, and to the Gothic Game’s co-creator Robert Wynne-Simmons, who also published an official novelisation of his own, the most excellent Blood on Satan’s Claw, which I was only too happy to support on the Unbound platform. It was a fanboy thrill to see my name in the book’s end credits!
I completed my PhD thesis in 2022 and will have my viva voce in early 2023 (not sure if that’s something to look forward to or not, i’ll let you know how it goes!). My short story Ill Met By Moonlight was republished in Castle of Horror Vol. 7, and my historical horror novel The Skintaker returned in paperback thanks to the wonderful people at Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink. My film The Stay went from strength to strength, picking up another five awards on the festival circuit, including Best Horror in Austin & Hollywood, and Best Mystery Thriller in sunny Cyprus. I’m so grateful to all the festival organisers and audiences for supporting my film, and as ever to my cast, crew, and backers for their hard work and belief in the end product.
In-person events were back on the menu, and I had such a blast at Chillercon in Scar(e)borough, meeting horror heroes old & new, almost selling out of books & blu rays, and finally getting to sit on Bram Stoker’s bench (another ambition fulfilled). My thanks to organisers Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane, and to all the awesome guests and attendees. As hoped last year, The Cure did indeed go on tour in 2022 and I was lucky to see them in Birmingham and London (times three) bringing my show tally up to a respectable 42 since my first Cureshow on December 6th, 1987. 2022’s Shows of a Lost World Birmingham gig was on December 7th, so 35 years and a day since my first! No new album yet, though we were treated to five of the new songs, so that’s also something to look forward to in 2023 (we hope!). It was a pleasure to return to teaching in-person creative writing classes at Brunel University and to see my students graduate at the first offline ceremonies in three long years (not a dry eye in the house!).
And in the spirit of looking forward, I have my first ever Blake’s 7 story published early 2023 in a charity annual endorsed by series star Jan (Cally) Chappell. I’m looking forward to presenting Writing Horror at University of Hull’s Faculty of Arts, Cultures & Education later this month. One or two other things are in the works, but I’m not at liberty to say anything about them (yet!). Who knows what else 2023 will bring? Come what may, I hope yours is a happy and healthy one.
Thanks again for all your support & best wishes, Frazer x
As 2022 draws to a close, there’s just enough time for one more amazing announcement! The Stay won the Best Horror Award at Make Art Not Fear (Porto, Portugal) an anti-censorship film festival.
Our thanks to Bruno Miguel Resende and his festival team for celebrating our work and best wishes to all the winners and nominees.
Spooky season is upon us and it’s almost time kids… The pumpkin flesh is tender and ready to carve. A scary horrorthon is queued up on the telly. This year’s costume is even more fabulous than last year’s, and the candy pail is already overflowing with treats! How else can we add to the frightful fun before the clock strikes twelve on the creepiest night of the year? In my haunted house, after the dead man’s fingers and gooey eyeballs have been devoured, we always play a spooky game together. So gather around my table of terror brave ones, and feast your eyes on the…
This game will bring out the spooky strategist in you as you pit your wits against the other players in order to grave-rob them of all their cards. If you’ve ever wondered…
An impassable storm forces a group of travellers to disembark from their steam train and take shelter in a remote castle for the night. Their enigmatic host invites them to take part in some after-dinner entertainment. But as they each explore the castle’s rooms and passageways, they discover they have become part of a deadly game. Only one guest may leave in the morning and it is up to each of them to use their wits, and weapons, to survive the night.
For the others, Damnation awaits.
Who will survive the night?
I’ve always wanted to write a Dracula story, especially one with a unique twist, so this book is a nightmare come true for me.
I’m super excited to share this book with you and I hope that it gives you chills and thrills in equal measure.
Drop a rating / review at Amazon / Goodreads and let me know what you think of it.
Spooky Samhain Blessings & Happy Halloween! x Frazer
ABOUT THE GAME
Damnation: The Gothic Game is a brilliant new version of my all-time favourite board game. The original Gothic Game was created by ‘Blood on Satan’s Claw’ screenwriter Robert Wynne Simmons and Nigel Andrews, and became a horror fan favourite when it was released back in the 1990s.
My own experience withThe Gothic Gamebegan when I was working at The London Dungeon (where my Saturday job was scaring the life out of tourists!). The Marketing Manager popped down and said they had this preview copy of this creepy new game. He asked me to take it home and play it, and tell him if I thought it would be a good addition to the gift shop. The concept of the game took competitive play to dastardly new levels with the aim being to kill all the other players on the board. Terry Jones of Monty Python fame said, “This game will make you turn in your grave!” And of course it did! For me, it was love at first bite and I played it every Halloween after that fateful night.
Damnation, the updated version from Kris Rees & his talented team atBlackletter Games, expands beautifully on the original with a cast of cunning characters, tons of new traps, weapons, and artefacts, and also the added attraction of being able to haunt the other players from the graveyard if you get bumped off!
The game was a smash hit success on Kickstarter, fully funded in just 20mins & raising over £77k!
Amazing news to share today, The Stay has won Best Short Horror at Hollywood Blvd Film Festival 2022! This film has had quite the run and is still going strong. I’m really looking forward to making another one soon. 26 awards! Thanks to the festival organisers and to my amazing cast & crew & to all our wonderful supporters. Cheers, Frazer
FrazerLee.com 