AustLit

'Calvaria Fell is a stunning collaborative collection of weird tales from two acclaimed authors, Kaaron Warren and Cat Sparks. It features previously published stories from both authors, along with a new novella by Kaaron Warren and four new stories by Cat Sparks. The collection offers a glimpse into a chilling future world that is similar to our own. Readers will be drawn into experiences at once familiar and bizarre, where our choices have far-reaching consequences and the environment is a force to be reckoned with. The title of the collection tethers these stories to a shared space. The calvaria is the top part of the skull, comprising five plates that fuse together in the first few years of life. Story collections work like this; disparate parts melding together to make a robust and sturdy whole. The calvaria tree, also known as the dodo tree, adapted to being eaten by the now-extinct dodo bird; its seeds need to pass through the bird’s digestive tract in order to germinate. In a similar way, the stories in Calvaria Fell reflect the idea of adaptation and the consequences of our actions in a changing world.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A dark and magnificently inventive upmarket thriller about the lengths a lone woman will go to protect her home, and the family history it hides within its walls.

''Hauntingly creepy' - ERIN KELLY
'A unique jewel of a book' - LIZZY BARBER
'A heartfelt and chilling gothic tragedy' - CHRIS WHITAKER

'People come to visit my home and I love to show them around. It's not the original house of course. That was destroyed the day my entire family died. But I don't think their ghosts know the difference.

'Pera Sinclair was nine the day the pilot intentionally crashed his plane into her family's grand home, killing everyone inside. She was the girl who survived the tragedy, a sympathetic oddity, growing stranger by the day. Over the decades she rebuilt the huge and rambling building on the original site, recreating what she had lost, each room telling a piece of the story of her life and that of the many people who died there, both before and after the disaster. Her sister, murdered a hundred miles away. The soldier, broken by war. Death follows Pera, and she welcomes it in as an old friend. And while she doesn't believe in ghosts, she's not above telling a ghost story or two to those who come to visit Sinclair House.

'As Pera shows a young family around her home on the last haunted house tour of the season, an unexpected group of men arrive. One she recognises, but the others are strangers. But she knows their type all too well. Dangerous men, who will hurt the family without a second thought, and who will keep an old woman alive only so long as she is useful. But as she begins to show them around her home and reveal its secrets, the dangerous men will learn that she is far from helpless. After all, death seems to follow her wherever she goes...

'Sinister and lyrical, The Underhistory is a haunting tale of loss, self-preservation and the darkness beneath.' (Publication summary)

'Gloria inherits a set of cigarette cards, 24 beautifully illustrated, historically accurate cards depicting death scenes. Once she meets her future husband, they become obsessed with cards, determined to visit each of the locations, driven by a force they don't understand. They profit from this obsession, flipping haunted houses from dumps to delights, selling them for a good return. Their family grows and their five children join the exploration, learning to live with the ghosts, the constant moves, the underlying smell of death that follows them. The family vandalize each place they live in, knowing that you need to destroy in order to rebuild.

'It's only once the ghost of a young boy is roused that the true history of the cards is revealed and the true sacrifice to obsession begins.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The giant metal man has stood for hundreds of years, head tilted back, mouth open. All the dead of the town are disposed of this way, carried up the long, staircase that winds around him and tipped in. At his toe emerges the Bitters, the lifeblood of the town, keeping them healthy and prosperous as the sick and needy come to buy and drink.

'McNubbin is a happy man with all he wants in life. He’s carried the bodies up since he was 14, a worthwhile, respected job. But when he notices broken girl after broken girl, he can’t stay quiet, and speaking up will change his perfect life.' (Publication summary)

'Botanica is the island, but all of Botanica is taken up by the Tree. When Morace and other students set out to walk around the Tree, a five year journey, he has no idea what lies ahead. Little does he know the risks his teacher, Lillah, will have to take to keep him alive, and the dangers he will face himself to save her life. A young teen companion book to Walking the Tree.' (Publication summary)

'Two trees grow on either side of the old church, one called Winter Sweet and the other Winter Grieve. Felicity, owner and cook of the restaurant that now occupies the church, named her business after the former. Tonight, it is business as usual—twelve patrons are booked for the dinner service, and she and her assistant, Owen, are the only ones working. A charming older man, Owen seduces Felicity into a romantic tryst after the diners leave. Little does Felicity know, however, that his intentions are far less than honorable and will trigger a series of unfortunate events.'

Source: Tangent Online (https://tangentonline.com/e-market-quarterly/grimdark-25-january-2021/)

'Multi-award winning creators Ellen Datlow and Kaaron Warren teamed up on Facebook a few years ago when Ellen posted photos of antique tools and Kaaron wrote microfiction pieces to accompany them, without either of them knowing what the tools were for.

'This chapbook collects and preserves their playful interaction for readers to enjoy.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'People come to The Angelsea , a rooming house near the beach, for many reasons. Some come to get some sleep, because here, you sleep like the dead. Dora arrives seeking solitude and escape from reality. Instead, she finds a place haunted by the drowned and desperate, who speak through the sleeping inhabitants. She fears sleep herself, terrified that the ghosts of her daughters will tell her "it's all your fault we're dead." At the same time, she'd give anything to hear them one more time.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The Sixth Falling Star by Kaaron Warren continues the themes of displaced people, with Jena who commands a barge for ferrying the dead along the canals; a grim journey towards some unknown sacrifice; a brokered peace with the invaders but at such great a cost. A new ecosystem functions so much better than the destructive, old human ways, but the purpose for it all is terrifying.'

Source: Foreword.