Potter’s Grove Press is pleased to announce the release of River Dixon’s psychological horror novella, The Smell of Cedar. Available in eBook or paperback.
Sarah’s day was already off to a bad start when the arrival of a strange package from an unknown sender sent her spiraling into a state of paranoia. Memories of a tortured childhood in her grandmother’s care taunt her as she tries to piece together the events of the past few months—the events that have led up to this day. She’s convinced that a killer is coming for her, and it’s become a race against time and madness to figure out who is pulling the strings in this game of hunt or be hunted.
Potter’s Grove Press is excited to announce the release of M. Ennenbach’s newest collection of poetry.
to soar free of inhibition. a collection of poetry that skims the surface of fathomless emotion, leaving waves across the placid sea. m ennenbach plumbs these ripples in search of connection. sometimes the only answer is to tear down everything and examine it in its basest form. (un)fettered.
Potter’s Grove Press is happy to announce the upcoming release of the second book in Stephen Black’s critically acclaimed Irish, urban fantasy series, The Kirkwood Scott Chronicles.
A New Jerusalem will be available in eBook and paperback, with a tentative release date of October 6, 2020.
Fresh from defeating Colonel Augustus Skelly and his Napoleonic ghost soldiers on the bridge at Ardgallon, Kirkwood, and his misfit friends, Meredith Starc and Harley Davison, now face a new threat from Skelly and his demonic paymasters, the Scourge. When Skelly captures Harley and imprisons her on his hellish plane, Kirkwood and Meredith, aided by the mysterious Forsaken, face a desperate race to rescue her and reunite the Presence, the only force capable of stopping Skelly and the Scourge from destroying the planet.
Their journey takes them to Belfast 2099, where law and order have all but broken down, as rival street gangs fight a brutal turf war for control of the city. Chief amongst these is a mysterious cult led by a beautiful but brutal woman, known only as the Priestess, who seeks to establish a New Jerusalem on Earth. Kirkwood and Meredith struggle to stay one step ahead of her and her fanatical followers while struggling to unlock the key to defeating Skelly and saving Harley.
‘The Kirkwood Scott Chronicles: A New Jerusalem’ is the latest instalment in the supernatural fantasy series, which began with the highly acclaimed, ‘Skelly’s Square.’ Tackling hard-hitting themes such as addiction, mental illness, and disability against a supernatural backdrop, it guarantees the reader a frenetic and darkly humorous ride where nothing and nobody is quite as they seem.
If you haven’t already read book one in the series, pick up a copy today!
Or, if you would like to purchase a signed copy directly from the author, click here.
Thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered the eBook or purchased the paperback.
In celebration of release day, Susan will be holding a live reading this evening on Facebook. It would be greatly appreciated if you could stop by and show her some support.
We are happy to announce the release of Cecilia Kennedy’s short story collection, The Places We Haunt. Available from Amazon in eBook or paperback.
Click here to purchase from your closest Amazon marketplace.
When a pastry-obsessed ghost follows Audrey M. K. Summons back to her apartment, Audrey feels compelled to write the story—along with a few others she has collected. The resulting manuscript becomes The Places We Haunt, which a literary scholar discovers when Audrey dies. To the scholar’s surprise, the pages magically fill with more stories from beyond the grave, so she publishes the book in order to put Audrey’s spirit to rest. This collection of 13 eclectic dark tales takes place in museums, swimming pools, houses, restaurants, the cemetery, and outdoors in nature. The stories told are sometimes humorous, absurd, pensive, or cautionary. Those who tell them, don’t even realize they’re dead.
Thank you to everyone who pre-ordered. Your continued support means the world to us.
First off, I’d like to thank everyone who has shown support for Potter’s Grove Press. I believe a lot of sales and attention we have received come directly from the WordPress community, and for that, I thank each and every one of you.
In starting Potter’s Grove Press, I had faith in what we were trying to do but had no idea if it would amount to much. Since starting the company in October 2019, things moved forward much more quickly than I had anticipated. That is a good thing, and I am thankful for the opportunity to assist other writers in getting their work out into the world. My original goal was to release six books during 2020, but that has increased to ten. For 2021, we are on track to publish a minimum of one book per month.
Submissions are still open for 2021, but the year is filling quickly.
Poetry collections are still being accepted (as I consider that to be the root of what we do), but we are looking for more novellas, novels, and short story collections. All genres are welcome, but preference will be given to dark fiction. Dark fiction, to us, includes: horror, speculative, psychological, bizarro, splatterpunk, etc. But remember, if you have a story that you feel needs to see some light of day, don’t hesitate to submit. We are open to anything and will never pigeonhole ourselves into a single genre or format.
The Places We Haunt, a short story collection by Cecilia Kennedy, is available to pre-order in eBook format. The paperback will be available on release day, June 30 2020.
When a pastry-obsessed ghost follows Audrey M. K. Summons back to her apartment, Audrey feels compelled to write the story—along with a few others she has collected. The resulting manuscript becomes The Places We Haunt, which a literary scholar discovers when Audrey dies. To the scholar’s surprise, the pages magically fill with more stories from beyond the grave, so she publishes the book in order to put Audrey’s spirit to rest. This collection of 13 eclectic dark tales takes place in museums, swimming pools, houses, restaurants, the cemetery, and outdoors in nature. The stories told are sometimes humorous, absurd, pensive, or cautionary. Those who tell them, don’t even realize they’re dead.
Potter’s Grove Press is happy to announce that Things My Mother Left Behind is available for pre-order. Release date is July 14 and the paperback version will be available on that date as well.
Things My Mother Left Behind is more than the poetic story of a woman’s experience with loss and her journey to blindness. It is the birth of an awakening; learning to see beyond the limitations we allow ourselves to become tethered to and defined by. In the author’s words, we find ourselves at the point where darkness and light converge, entwined by her search for meaning as she clings to the undeniable connection between pain and joy; grief and love. By delving into the center of sadness and addiction, we recognize a loss of innocence, the laying bare of what hides beneath the scattered bones of escapism. She will teach us that no matter how dark our days may be, there is always a light inside each of us that cannot be extinguished.
Paul Brookes has been kind enough to interview a few of our published authors. Here is a conversation with s.r. Jakobi, the author of Antiques & Curios.
Wombwell Rainbow Interviews
I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers three options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger, or an interview about their latest book, or a combination of these.
The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.
s r jakobi
Ex-lecturer, in his late 60s. Initial degree in Business and MFL (French & German); MA in history; post graduate teaching qualification. Began writing poetry in August 2019, a spur of the moment decision. He was never particularly enamoured of poetry but has delved into 20th century poetry and found he enjoys reading it.
He has written one collection of poems, published by River Dixon’s Potter’s Grove Press, Antiques & Curios: Fragments of a Love Affair (2020) and has four poems (see under SJ Reizlein) in an anthology edited by Tara Caribou of Raw Earth Ink, titled The Poets Symphony (2020).
Currently, he is working on two projects: a follow up to Antiques & Curios and a collection of poems, illustrated with his own photographs, on travel. Both will be completed in 2020.
The Interview
1. What inspired you to write poetry?
Purely a need to express the loss of a friendship that obviously meant more to me than to her.
That was the catalyst to write. Cathartic reasons. Now I have the bug.
2. Who introduced you to poetry?
No-one. It found me. Although I did enjoy French poetry at A Level – the teacher was young and rather lovely, and she was enthusiastic about the subject. That was 50 years ago.
3. How aware were you of the dominating presence of older poets?
Studying the Metaphysical Poets nearly finished off my poetry interests in English Lit. Again that was 50 years ago. I still have a philistine attitude (an antipathy) to much pre-20th century poetry. I do however quite enjoy some Victorian/ Edwardians like AE Housman and WB Yeats. Housman was a local lad so he’s OK.
I write poetry how I write it – there is some style to it on the wonderful occasions when it happens.
4. What is your daily writing routine?
I am proud to say I do not have one. Not an inspirational answer, but honest.
5. What motivates you to write?
Just a desire to do it. It isn’t for the money –I have not managed to tap into the zeitgeist like Rupi Kaur and never will. There is pleasure in seeing your own words, thoughts, in a book, or a dissertation. It takes time and mental effort to get that far, so to see it in a physical format, especially, is gratifying. Many of my poems are very personal, as attested to in Antiques & Curios, (henceforth A & C)
6. What is your work ethic?
Pretty much in the style of my cats – zero work ethic. I leave all work ethic concerns to Protestants (see Weber).
7. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?
Their influence was important to me inasmuch as I was introduced to new words, ideas, places, histories etc. An important question is how one defines ‘young’. I remember collecting Dean’s Classics (UK), so there were books such as Treasure Island, The Coral Island, The Black Arrow, The Three Musketeers, historical fiction mainly – up to the age of 12 – all adventure stories.
I was also an avid reader of history books – books were a crucial part of my life in my formative years. I did find reading for testing purposes more of a chore but got through it. I found Thomas Hardy and poetry more appealing after the exams. As far as literature was concerned I enjoyed it more at undergraduate and post graduate levels – although it was a minor part of my studies. Maturity lent greater appreciation and empathy in my case.
8. Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?
Novelists
I have enjoyed Donna Tartt’s novels – as there are only 3 of them it is reasonably easy to have a complete collection – although they are quite lengthy – The Secret History is the one to read first because it is an easier read, in my opinion, or should I say more to my taste – ancient history, murder mystery and a college milieu – suits me fine. Saw her at Cheltenham Lit Fest – erudite, lovely in every way, writer and academic.
Yesterday’s writers – those who are now no longer alive:
John Updike – I visited Ipswich MA in 2018 just to get a feel for the town on which he based the imagined Tarbox of Couples and other stories. Lucky enough to meet him once – see A & C poem.
Phil Roth – should have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Live and kicking as of today – great favourites – Ian McEwan, Julian Barnes and Martin Amis – another author I’ve met- only briefly. Money is still his masterpiece.
Poets – a shout out for Potter’s Grove Press writers. The Two Erics, Eric Keegan and Eric Daniel Clarke; M Ennenbach and River Dixon – of course. Without River’s encouragement I doubt I would have bothered to get anything published.
And at Raw Earth Ink – Tara Caribou, a poet of true talent; editor who deposited some of my poems in the superb collection: Poets Symphony.
Wheeling out some big guns: Carol Ann Duffy – always so readable, Ferlinghetti’s got a great voice and Sylvia Plath –some poems are utterly sad/fab -I did enjoy her novel The Bell Jar more
I have a great fondness for Jo Bell’s collection Kith.
Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan – two great poets and musicians – both get a poem from me in Poets Symphony
