Last year there was a review of my collection Living With the Dead in the Leader newspapers in Melbourne by Mark Smith.  I’ve just gotten my hands on a copy, and here’s the review:

It’s such a lovely review, so I’m really thrilled.  It’s also the first official review of the book I’ve seen, so yay!  And if you haven’t bought it yet, well, you must have received SOME money for Christmas…

Please note that I’ve also included the Sudoku from the same page, for your puzzling entertainment!

Now Matthew Tait over at Hellnotes has also reviewed my Ebook novella Rope.  And I think he liked it too, which is excellent!

http://hellnotes.com/rope-book-review

Martin Livings has been traversing Australia’s dark fiction scene for over two decades now, providing dependable tales with a mature rendering of prose. Although short, Rope still manages to deliver something that is unmistakably the author’s.

You can still of course purchase Rope from Dark Prints Press in ePub and mobi format, and also find links to purchase it from Amazon and Kobo, here:

http://www.darkprintspress.com.au/books_novellas.html

There’s been a very positive review of Brimstone Press’ magnificent octopus Macabre over at Innsmouth Free Press.  Fellow AWHA alumni Amanda Spedding says some very nice things about it, and my story “Crawlin” gets a mention, which I’m chuffed about, because in a book that big, getting noticed ain’t easy!  She says:

There are so many stories in this section I enjoyed, each one a new gift to be unwrapped. One worth special mention is Martin Livings’ “Crawlin”. The first person narrative of this piece, the agony and the desperation of the character, is reinforced by the style. Bare-bones punctuation drives this story forward, and the disjointed thoughts, feelings and experiences transported me completely into the main character’s hell.

I’m so glad she liked it; when pitching it to Angela and Marty, we all agreed that people would either love or hate this one; it isn’t a wishy-washy piece, whatever else you might say about it!  The entire review is available HERE.

I’m quite thrilled to see that both Dead Red Heart and More Scary Kisses from Ticonderoga Publications have been reviewed in Publishers Weekly, and, even more excitingly, I’ve managed to sneak a mention in both, though both mentions are for collaborative works. Maybe I need to co-write more often.

Dead Red Heart:

Ticonderoga publisher Farr (Fantastic Wonder Stories) collects 32 stories of horror and dark fantasy that acknowledge the undead as ineradicable members of Australian society. The best selections twine the vampire incursion with Australian history, as in Shona Husk’s “Mutiny on the Scarborough,” whose vampire narrator reveals himself to have been one of the earliest convicts transported Down Under. Angela Slatter’s “Sun Falls,” about a luckless vamp dependent upon his smart-aleck human slave, and “The Tide,” a multiauthored story that charts vampires’ rise from second-class citizen to the nation’s ruling elite, mix horror with humor. Unfortunately, most of the more serious stories aren’t particularly innovative, but there are still many solid tales to satisfy vampire fans. (May)

More Scary Kisses:

Talent shines in this beguiling collection of 17 paranormal romance stories from Down Under, many of which are more haunting and humorous than scary. Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice takes a turn as a barbaric demon slayer in Fraser Sherman’s “The Sword of Darcy,” while a sugar-crazed cherub does his best to reunite two lovers in Nicole R. Murphy’s “The Protector’s Last Mission.” A telepathic tentacle monster reluctantly wedded to a human woman finds a way toward happy-ever-after in Liz Coley’s “Marriage of Convenience.” On the creepier end, both Felicity Dowker’s “Berries and Incense” and Kirstyn McDermott’s “Frostbitten” will leave readers with chills. Martin Livings and Talie Helene close the anthology with “The Last Gig of Jimmy Rucker,” a brilliantly hypnotizing and heartwarming tale. Readers will be delighted by this introduction to some of Australia’s best paranormal romance writers. (May)

Big congrats to Russell and Liz for putting these together, and of course thanks to Talie and the entire Tide collective.

First post for ages, primarily because I’ve been frantically preparing for The Wedding tomorrow.   But I thought I should quickly mention that Morrigan Books‘ Scenes From The Second Storey anthology has picked up yet another glowing review, where my story “Home” garners a mention:

“Home sees Martin Livings delivering a poignant tale that twists and turns but which remains sombre throughout as the reader is gradually drawn into a particular well draw image of things lost and I guess a longing for a return of innocence.”

The full review is HERE.  And wish me luck for tomorrow.  I’m going to need it. 

Thanks to Jennifer Brozek for revealing the existence of this one, a very nice review indeed of Close Encounters of the Urban Kind is online HERE, and my story “Lollo” gets a positive mention:

“While many people apparently have a fear of clowns, I had thought I was immune. In this first story, Jenny, the babysitter, has an easy time until Domenic, one of her young charges, asks her to cover a black and white clown doll with a blanket so that he can go to sleep. After the terrifying events that ensue, I will never look at clowns the same way.”

Mission accomplished. 

Scary Minds has reviewed Ticonderoga Publications‘ Scary Kisses collection HERE… not an entirely glowing review, mind you, but thankfully “The Valley” somehow manages to escape with its dignity intact:

“The Valley” by Martin Livings left an indelible mark on me long after reading the story, talk about your haunting tale.

Yay!  Now to try and finish a story for the next Scary Kisses collection…

Thanks to Mark Deniz for pointing this one out… Albedo One reviews Grants Pass here:

http://www.albedo1.com/reviews/brozekj+pillara_grants_pass.html

Lots of stories get really nice mentions in this very very positive review, including mine:

“Martin Living’s “Ascension” however takes us beyond the Earth and is a great tale about astronauts stranded in the International Space Station, removed from the plagues and safe from it, but unable to return home.”

If you haven’t bought this book yet… why not???  Go get it!

http://www.morriganbooks.com/?page_id=172