Our author, Ash Hartwell, has placed 2nd in the Critters.org Annual Reader’s Poll!
Ash’s story “Copper and Cordite” was in our 2020 anthology, Dark Divinations.
Congratulations Ash!
The full book, Dark Divinations, also placed 6th in the Best Anthology category.
Thank you to the authors in Dark Divinations for making this book so great!
And thank you readers for voting for us.
AWARDS
Critters Annual #2 in the Best Horror Short Story category.
Critters Annual #6 in the Best Anthology category.
Thank you for visiting us for our Dark Divinations Book Events. Did you miss any of this fab stuff? Read more about your favorite authors and get insight on the stories are each of these links.
Rie Sheridan Rose, author of “Broken Crystal” from our anthology Dark Divinations,
has done much research on each of the divination techniques used in our book.
She explores each one in this awesome series of blog posts.
It’s the height of Queen Victoria’s rule. Fog swirls in the gas-lit streets, while in the parlor, hands are linked. Pale and expectant faces gaze upon a woman, her eyes closed and shoulders slumped. The medium speaks, her tone hollow and inhuman. The séance has begun.
Can the reading of tea leaves influence the future? Can dreams keep a soldier from death in the Crimea? Can a pocket watch foretell a deadly family curse? From entrail reading and fortune-telling machines to prophetic spiders and voodoo spells, sometimes the future is better left unknown.
Choose your fate.
Choose your DARK DIVINATION.
Join us as we explore fourteen frightening tales of Victorian horror, each centered around a method of divination.
“Power and Shadow” by Hannah Hulbert / A young woman, with the power to manipulate the future using tea leaves, teaches her friend a lesson at her mother’s behest.
“Copper and Cordite” by Ash Hartwell / On the eve of her fiance’s departure for the Crimea, a young Englishwoman discovers the power which lies in dreams. Can she use it to save him?
“Damnation in Venice” by Joe L. Murr / When a roguish fortuneteller counsels an aging writer, he ends up in danger of damning his own soul.
“The Pocket Watch” by Emerian Rich / When a young American bride returns to her husband’s English estate, she receives a present from his deceased mother that can foretell a deadly family curse.
“They Wound Like Worms” by Naching T. Kassa / A man writes his sister concerning a method of divination which reveals his true love. But, as his obsession grows, the method grows bloodier.
“Miroir de Vaugnac” by Michael Fassbender / A widowed seer, augmenting her skills through an antique scrying bowl, faces grim choices when she learns she is not fully in control of its power.
“The Bell” by Jon O’Bergh / A physical medium, who earned his fortune faking necromancy, finds he’s buried in a coffin and must call upon his powers to save himself.
“Romany Rose” by Stephanie Ellis / A penny gaff mysteriously appears outside a London shop, awaking a spirit with a terrible agenda.
“Miss Mae’s Prayers” by H.R.R. Gorman / A preacher seeks to rebuke an Appalachian witch for her use of the Bible to divine the future, but ignoring her warnings leads to dire consequences
“Broken Crystal” by Rie Sheridan Rose / A young, Irish fortuneteller discovers her true fate when she reads for a dangerous man who won’t accept her prophecy.
“Breaking Bread” by R.L. Merrill / A wife, suspecting her husband of infidelity, tests him with a magic loaf of bread, but her quest for knowledge might be more trouble than she asked for.
“The Ghost of St. John Lane” by Daphne Strasert / While conducting a seance to contact her dead husband, a woman discovers a girl with strange gifts and provokes a man who seeks to destroy her.
“The Moat House Cob” by Alan Fisher / In a tower of fortune-telling animals, a spider spins a web over London. What ominous force may be headed their way?
“Of Blood and Bones” by Jeremy Megargee / When a woman throws the bones in search of her sister’s murderer, she finds an unimaginable evil. Will she avenge her sister’s death? Or share her fate?
Hi, I’m Ash Hartwell and I wrote Copper and Cordite.
Being English I often find inspiration in the country’s long, rich and varied history, and Copper and Cordite is no exception. In 1854, during the Battle of Balaclava, the Light Brigade charged headlong into the Russian guns. Although a military catastrophe, their action and bravery became immortalized in the poem by Tennyson, The Charge of the Light Brigade. My grandmother used to own a house built as officer’s accommodation during the Napoleonic wars and as with all houses of this age, it had its ghosts or rather, the whole street had its ghosts. Many people have reported seeing officers, dressed in full uniform, riding down the street, some even say they can hear the horses’ hooves.
To write Copper and Cordite, I took both events and merged them into one story. If a mother could foresee her son charging into a valley of death, would she not try and stop him? At whatever cost?
I hope you enjoy my story and the many others included in this anthology. And, while you’re about it, why not check out Tennyson’s classic poem as well.
Ash Hartwell has had over fifty short stories published in a range of anthologies from Stitched Smile publications to The Sinister Horror Co. JEA published a collection of his stories Zombies, Vamps and Fiends in 2015 and his first novel Tip of the Iceberg was awarded Best Horror Novel 2017 by Critters.org and made the reading list for both the HWA and BFS awards for the same year. Ash lives in the English countryside with his wife, kids and too many animals.
Ash Hartwell has over fifty short stories published in a range of anthologies from Stitched Smile publications to The Sinister Horror Co. JEA published a collection of his stories Zombies, Vamps and Fiends in 2015 and his first novel, Tip of the Iceberg, was awarded Best Horror Novel 2017 by Critters.org and made the reading list for both the HWA and BFS awards for the same year. Ash lives in the English countryside with his wife, kids and too many animals.
How did you become interested in the Victorian era?
I have long been a fan of Arthur Conan Doyle and read the usual HG Wells/Jules Verne stories as a child. The gothic nature of literature, the image of Jack the Ripper lurking in London’s foggy streets, and the classic Hammer Horror films have all helped cement my interest in the period. I have returned to it for both novels and short stories often in my writing career. It is a period where society is advancing yet without the convenience of mobile phones and automatic weapons so stories can have a purer nature.
What is your favorite Victorian horror story?
Carmilla and Dracula are obviously in there. But there are many other tales, often serialized in the newspapers of the time, which are notable reads. Henry James, MR James, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Arthur Conan Doyle spring to mind. The period provides rich pickings for readers of the genre and there are some very good collections available for anyone wanting to read further, obviously after reading Dark Divinations!
Do you have a favorite Victorian horror movie?
Maybe Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) but I remember hiding behind the couch watching the classic film version of The Time Machine.
Are your characters based on real people?
No, but my grandmother lived in a house built for officers during the Napoleonic Wars. There are many ghostly sightings including officers in uniform riding down the street associated with the place. The barracks didn’t close until the 1990’s. I think that, subconsciously, my story has its roots in those sightings and stories.
Do you use an outline to write? Or do you write by the seat of your pants?
I write an outline then career wildly off course until I have something which looks nothing like the original plan. It seems to work…sometimes! On longer pieces, I do have a story arc in mind that forms the framework of the main narrative and I try and stick to the broad parameters of that arc, but sometimes they are very broad parameters!
Do your characters have free will? Or do you decide their fate?
I allow them a certain amount of free will, although I define the world and situation within which they can exercise that freedom. Some characters, through necessity, have a pre-destined path which often forms the skeleton of the story. I have allowed characters too much freedom and they have gone off on an unexpected tangent – but that never ends well for them, after all, the pen is far mightier than the sword!
What are you most afraid of?
A global shortage of coffee! Seriously I think I worry about the future my kids will inherit. The way society has lurched in recent years, and months, has caused me to fear for the future. Do ghosts and vampires scare me, no.
What is your favorite form of divination?
I don’t think I have a favourite. Palmistry and tarot cards both interest me as does the idea of an old crone dispensing words of wisdom from her hovel. I think it’s a case of horses for courses – and if you can predict the winner then lets me know!
Who is your favorite horror author?
Joe Hill and Adam Nevill of the current crop spring to mind, but Edgar Allan Poe, James Herbert, Neil Gaiman and Richard Laymon could all lay a claim.
What does the future hold for you? What books, short stories, or works do Horror Addicts have to look forward to?
I have just signed a contract with Terror Tract Publishing for my second novel. A Cursed Bloodlinewill, hopefully, appear during the summer (2020) and is set in Victorian England. Witches, demons, a religious artifact from the crusades and an ancient curse; what more do you need?
Welcome Horror Addicts, to the Dark Divinations Book Event Calendar. We have many delightful events planned for your enjoyment and edification. Be sure to join us for interviews, tales of inspiration, excerpts, and parties galore! We would be most honored by your presence.
It’s the height of Queen Victoria’s rule. Fog swirls in the gas-lit streets, while in the parlor, hands are linked. Pale and expectant faces gaze upon a woman, her eyes closed and shoulders slumped. The medium speaks, her tone hollow and inhuman. The séance has begun.
Can the reading of tea leaves influence the future? Can dreams keep a soldier from death in the Crimea? Can a pocket watch foretell a deadly family curse? From entrail reading and fortune-telling machines to prophetic spiders and voodoo spells, sometimes the future is better left unknown.
Choose your fate.
Choose your DARK DIVINATION.
Join us as we explore fourteen frightening tales of Victorian horror, each centered around a method of divination.
“Power and Shadow” by Hannah Hulbert
A young woman, with the power to manipulate the future using tea leaves, teaches her friend a lesson at her mother’s behest.
“Copper and Cordite” by Ash Hartwell
On the eve of her fiance’s departure for the Crimea, a young Englishwoman discovers the power which lies in dreams. Can she use it to save him?
“Damnation in Venice” by Joe L. Murr
When a roguish fortuneteller counsels an aging writer, he ends up in danger of damning his own soul.
“The Pocket Watch” by Emerian Rich
When a young American bride returns to her husband’s English estate, she receives a present from his deceased mother that can foretell a deadly family curse.
“They Wound Like Worms” by Naching T. Kassa
A man writes his sister concerning a method of divination which reveals his true love. But, as his obsession grows, the method grows bloodier.
“Miroir de Vaugnac” by Michael Fassbender
A widowed seer, augmenting her skills through an antique scrying bowl, faces grim choices when she learns she is not fully in control of its power.
“The Bell” by Jon O’Bergh
A physical medium, who earned his fortune faking necromancy, finds he’s buried in a coffin and must call upon his powers to save himself.
“Romany Rose” by Stephanie Ellis
A penny gaff mysteriously appears outside a London shop, awaking a spirit with a terrible agenda.
“Miss Mae’s Prayers” by H.R.R. Gorman
A preacher seeks to rebuke an Appalachian witch for her use of the Bible to divine the future, but ignoring her warnings leads to dire consequences
“Broken Crystal” by Rie Sheridan Rose
A young, Irish fortuneteller discovers her true fate when she reads for a dangerous man who won’t accept her prophecy.
“Breaking Bread” by R.L. Merrill
A wife, suspecting her husband of infidelity, tests him with a magic loaf of bread, but her quest for knowledge might be more trouble than she asked for.
“The Ghost of St. John Lane” by Daphne Strasert
While conducting a seance to contact her dead husband, a woman discovers a girl with strange gifts and provokes a man who seeks to destroy her.
“The Moat House Cob” by Alan Fisher
In a tower of fortune-telling animals, a spider spins a web over London. What ominous force may be headed their way?
“Of Blood and Bones” by Jeremy Megargee
When a woman throws the bones in search of her sister’s murderer, she finds an unimaginable evil. Will she avenge her sister’s death? Or share her fate?
Ash Hartwell has had over fifty short stories published in a range of anthologies from Stitched Smile publications to The Sinister Horror Co. JEA published a collection of his stories Zombies, Vamps and Fiends in 2015 and his first novel Tip of the Iceberg was awarded Best Horror Novel 2017 by Critters.org and made the reading list for both the HWA and BFS awards for the same year. Ash lives in the English countryside with his wife, kids and too many animals.
stories Zombies, Vamps and Fiends in 2015 and his first novel, Tip of the Iceberg, was awarded Best Horror Novel 2017 by Critters.org and made the reading list for both the HWA and BFS awards for the same year. Ash lives in the English countryside with his wife, kids and too many animals.