Luna Press is proud to welcome the talented Marie O'Regan, who will enrich the Harvester Series with her beautiful The Last Ghost and Other Stories.
As you know, Harvester won't just include short stories from the past, but also new ones, along with bonus material. You can read more about the series here.
We asked Marie to tell us more about her ghost stories:
"It’s no secret that I love ghost stories – I’ve written quite a few myself. I also edited The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women… there is nothing quite like reading a ghost story, preferably when it’s cold outside, and the lights are on, and the curtains drawn. They evoke an atmosphere that’s quite unlike any other type of tale; a feeling of sadness and longing, and at times even sympathy for the poor deceased creature so desperate to impart their story to the living.
What I haven’t done, so far, is collect any of my own ghost stories into one volume, so I’m very grateful to Francesca and Robert of Luna Press for giving me the chance to do just that. Here you’ll find ‘The Last Ghost’, a young girl’s tale of loss; ‘In The Howling of the Wind’, a small boy waiting for his parents in a house suddenly grown strange; ‘Someone To Watch Over You’, the story of a protective phantom; ‘The Cradle in the Corner’, a slightly different haunting; ‘Play Time’, a cautionary tale on the dangers of playing out alone at night, and ‘Sleeping Black’, a tale of spirits awoken by a house’s new tenants – and they want to play.
One thing I hadn’t realised, until now, was quite how many of my ghost stories involve children, in one way or another – perhaps it’s because children see more, and judge less; perhaps it’s that they’re more empathetic than the rest of us, or easier for us to empathise with. Who knows? Either way, you’ll find within these pages some of my favourite stories from those I’ve written; I hope you find something that becomes a favourite of yours."
Marie O’Regan is a British Fantasy Award-nominated author and editor, based in Derbyshire. Her first collection, Mirror Mere, was published in 2006 by Rainfall Books; her second, In Times of Want, came out in September 2016 from Hersham Horror Books, and her short fiction has appeared in a number of genre magazines and anthologies in the UK, US, Canada, Italy and Germany, including Best British Horror 2014 and Great British Horror: Dark Satanic Mills (2017). Her novella, Bury Them Deep, was published by Hersham Horror Books in September 2017. She was shortlisted for the British Fantasy Society Award for Best Short Story in 2006, and Best Anthology in 2010 (Hellbound Hearts) and 2012 (Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women). Her genre journalism has appeared in magazines like The Dark Side, Rue Morgue and Fortean Times, and her interview book with prominent figures from the horror genre, Voices in the Dark, was released in 2011. An essay on ‘The Changeling’ was published in PS Publishing’s Cinema Macabre, edited by Mark Morris. She is co-editor of the bestselling Hellbound Hearts, Mammoth Book of Body Horror and A Carnivàle of Horror – Dark Tales from the Fairground, plus editor of bestselling The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women and is Co-Chair of the UK Chapter of the Horror Writers’ Association. Marie is represented by Jamie Cowen of The Ampersand Agency.
Marie joins an amazing group of writers: Paul Kane, Stephen Bacon, Wole Talabi and Tim Major. We can't wait!