GUEST POST: A. F. Stewart

Today I want to share a guest post from author A.F. Stewart promoting her new Horror Collection Visions and Nightmares debuting on the 13th, fittingly enough. I have read this book, and it is fantastic. There is even a special discount for pre-ordering, so check out the link below the post. I highly recommend this collection.

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Classic Influences

by A. F. Stewart

I thought I’d chat about some the fantasy influences for the stories in my book Visions and Nightmares. I love crafting fiction from a basis of history, mythology and legends, and this book isn’t any different. While these tales lean into the darker elements of fantasy and horror, they also draw from classic literature, myth and folklore.

Let’s begin with the three stories that draw from literature, specifically from Frankenstein, Alice in Wonderland and the Lovecraft mythos. Obviously from the title, Blood on the Looking Glass (Or Alice Kills Wonderland), I’ve gone to the darkest timeline for this one. I’ve taken the beloved characters and delved into the more psychological consequences of Alice’s adventures, while adding my own little evil twist. Fans of Lewis Carroll’s book may want to avoid reading this particular tale.

Gears of the Undead is a steampunk horror tale that draws on Frankenstein for its mad scientist inspiration with a female doctor bringing the dead back to life. Again I added some twists regarding her motivation, and a little nod to the popular (if not fictionally accurate) notion of Igor with not one but two helpers.

And I return to the world of the Eldritch Gods in When Gods Roar with my Pantheon, who are definitely influenced by the Cthulhu universe. Here the gods are not quite so removed from the world, and may not even be the bad guys. Plus, they have tentacles and I love a good tentacled god.

Two of the stories use mythology as their basis, The Price of Wishes having a Djinn as the main character, and The Cold Dark Heart of the Forest using the Wendigo as its antagonist. It was an interesting change to use North American myth in The Cold Dark Heart of the Forest and there’s even a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from Mayan myth.

Folklore plays a part in A Life for a Life, where I dig up my Scottish roots a bit and play with the faerie. In this story, though, they’re not the ones up to mischief, more like hired guns…

I hoped you enjoyed this small insight into what goes into crafting my stories and you can read all about the trouble these ladies get into in Visions and Nightmares.

Here is a bit more information about the book:

Title: Visions and Nightmares: Ten Stories of Dark Fantasy and Horror

Author: A. F. Stewart

Genre: Horror Fantasy

Publication Date: March 13^th, 2020

Ebook pre-order and Launch Price: $0.99 (ends March 22^nd)

Print price: 10.99

Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0854BMQLG

To follow the author, check out these links:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/afstewartauthor/

Facebook Fan Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/348788975590362/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/scribe77