The DeGribblification of Fireside Horror
The Gribblies emerge from dining on some poor unsuspecting traveller, to discover they have been evicted... (they don't really resemble what I describe in the story, but this is the best picture I could come up with)
I have recently had the good fortune to work with horror writer Carson Buckingham (currently nominated for The Face of Horror Award) who kindly acted as an editor on ‘Fireside Horror.’ This editing process resulted in a few changes in the book, nothing major, but interesting changes never-the-less.
Firstly she felt the short story ‘Fireside Horror’ need tying in to the overall book more, the villain of the book does appear in this story but it is quite subtle, so I added Elspeth to the tale to link it more clearly with the rest of the book.
Secondly, it was felt that in ‘The Witchbrands of Wendlelow,’ the encounter between Dafyd Ellis and the three guardians should be explored in more detail, so it has been.
Perhaps the biggest, and saddest change is the removal of the story ‘The Gribblies.’ It’s a tale I love and one written with my Dad in mind. But I have long suspected it has no place in ‘Fireside Horror.’ It is neither part of Elspeth and Nolan’s story, or Crom Cruach’s Tale. It was there because I loved it, but it stuck out like a sore thumb. So it has gone.
The result of removing the story from the book is a reduction in production costs, and this I have passed on to the reader, the book is roughly about £1 cheaper to buy now. The Audio book had already gone into production when these edits were made and the Narrator ‘Aubrey Parsons’ has done a wonderful job bringing the stories and characters to life, as such ‘The Gribblies.’ will still appear in the audio book as a bonus story.
I am horribly aware that new readers will be missing out on this chilling little tale, and so I intend to include it on my website, where it can be enjoyed by everyone for free. I just have to put on my tech head and figure out the best way to do it. Hopefully it will be sometime this month. Eventually it will feature in a collection of Wendllow short stories that are already written and should be released next year.
Finally a special thanks to Carson for all her hard work and I enclose a link to her book below, be sure to pick up a copy for the spooky season.
