SMILING CYRUS by Lily Childs

It's the Thrillers Killers 'n' Chillers Halloween Horror Editors' Special! Matt Hilton, Col Bury and David Barber have already posted three terrifying tales - and now it's my turn.

I wrote SMILING CYRUS, too late, for an Evil Jester Press anthology. Like many of my stories, it doesn't fit elsewhere so I included it in Cabaret of Dread: a Horror Compendium - the first volume of my collected short stories. (Vol.2 will be published in early 2013).

I love this tale, and am proud to offer it up on TK'n'C. I hope you enjoy it too.

SMILING CYRUS: Excerpt

Hurtling. He’s hurtling. Cyrus has a head the size of three balloons welded into one, rubber bumps in all the right places. Someone set him up, something stung him.

Trinkets and engraved goblets topple from overloaded shelves as the boy, nearly a man runs the length of the room and back again. His eyes are peas in the growing face. He tears at them, not knowing if they are about to sink forever into the burgeoning flesh or pop and burst. Salty old seadog, those tears that spill; they sting the stretch marks spreading and ripping at the child’s visage.

Blind, Cyrus throws himself to the floor. Screaming is impossible; the fattened mouth is full to suffocation with a tongue of weeping meatloaf. Who would hear him anyway?

They start with a jingle, the bells; whispering at Cyrus with their teasing voices. He slaps at the spaces his ears used to be, hearing only mosquito torture and fearing another assault. So they play a little louder. The boy shudders as the noise grows in volume.

Tinkling, ding dong dinging, tolling and tolling and tolling until the sound is too much and the eardrums inside Cyrus’s attic-sized head explode. The roar that almost kills him is enough to wake Mr and Mrs Cleavage in their bedroom below.

It’s the same every night since their son disappeared.

Read more...

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Cabaret of Dread on Amazon UK | Amazon US/Canada
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lilychildsfeardom
Twitter: @LilyChilds

News and Updates

"It's been a while, it's been a while, it's been a while and OH!" As sang Rev Hammer and the Levellers of Freeborn John, one of England's most controversial freedom fighters.

I've been away from The Feardom for a few weeks, getting myself together and tying up loose ends - all with the aim of getting stuck into the novels once I'm finished.

What Has Lily Been Up To?

Thank you for asking. Succinctly:

• I've recorded a podcast as guest of Feardom friends Phil Ambler and Dion Winton-Polak for The Geek Syndicate on the subject of flash fiction. Two versions will be released - the first will be interspersed within the next Geek2Geek issue during late July/early August, and a longer one with readings of microflash fiction from The Prediction will be published soon at Scrolls
• Another Feardom friend John Xero is celebrating the second Xeroversary which starts today 1st July and runs for 8 days. He invited me to contribute and I'm proud that he accepted my debauch myth, A Song of Restoration which will be published on 7th July 2012.
• After working on a lengthy short story for a Spectral Press competition I finally completed, edited and submitted the 5,560 word tale with 1 hour and 5 minutes to go before the deadline. I have enormous respect for Spectral Press which publishes beautiful, limited edition chap books, as well as a great admiration for its owner - the inimitable Simon Marshall-Jones.
• I have been interviewed by Mr. Glamour author Richard Godwin for his Chin Wag at The Slaughterhouse. His patience has been unbelievable and I'm really looking forward to reading his interpretation of my gabble during July.
• My husband and I have been outlining plans for an exhibition of artwork and dark fiction. Lots more to come on that - in the meantime, here's his latest painting - a black and white watercolour interpretation of the Charles Bargue drawing of a horse-head from the Parthenon:

So, as you see - I've not been slacking!

Other Feardom Friend News

There's been lots going on with other Feardom friends and Thrillers Killers 'n' Chillers contributors too. Good luck to everyone with your self-publishing endeavours! Please share your support.

The links below go to Amazon.co.uk - just swap the the co.uk in the link for .com to access them in Canada/USA.

• Edited by Joe Hunter best-selling thriller author Matt Hilton, Action: Pulse-Pounding Tales Vol. 1 is packed with old-style, non-stop crime/action stories by some of the best in the business at the moment, and includes some of our friends - Matt Hilton himself, Col Bury, Absolutely*Kate, David Barber, Keith Gingell, Paul D. Brazill, Graham Smith, Richard Godwin and many more. Suspend belief - and step into the extreme - you won't regret it.
• David Barber's new eBook From a Crowded Mind includes a fine contradiction of gritty and emotional short crime stories
• Chris Allinotte's Gathering Darkness eBook promises 230 pages of short horror madness
• Shaun Adams's eBook Jack Is Writing includes eight short stories and six 100-word flashes of gruesome horror and twisted evil. As is only right.

I'm also hearing lots of exciting rumours about forthcoming novels, agents and contracts from a few of you. A huge - yet tentative - congratulations. The bubbles, or perhaps in most of our cases - the Merlot - is awaiting. Onwards and upwards my dear friends - how times are changing. And that comes with a smile.

Lily's Friday Prediction

I may be a bit quiet for the next six weeks. I wrote over 10,000 words towards the novel this week and want to bury myself in finishing it.

Today is the deadline for entries to February Femmes Fatales 2012 - which is very exciting! - but it's a lot of work so please bear with me.

Thrillers Killers 'n' Chillers is receiving some wonderful horror fiction, including some crackers from Predictioneers - and I will be spending time scheduling these for posting over the next couple of months.

As you can see, I am somewhat committed time-wise (and need to go to work every day too!) So don't worry - I haven't disappeared.

Winner of Last Week's Prediction Challenge

And the winner of last week's challenge is... me! No, only kidding.

My (genuine) winner with his trademark, excellent use of dialogue is David Barber and The Package. This was a really powerful excerpt from, hopefully, something bigger. I often think Dave's work lends itself to scriptwriting - is that a consideration Dave? Either way, many congratulations!

Runner-up this week is Amber Taitague (MuckieDuckie) with the gloriously macabre Party Guest. I thought the twists in this piece uncoiled really well as we discovered the truth about Marie. Well done Amber!

Words for 13 January 2012

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: whoever wins this week's challenge gets to judge the following week! Don't let that put you off, on the contrary.

UPDATE 19 JANUARY: Please accept my sincere apologies. I've been very poorly all week and been off work. I am going to postpone my comments and announcing the winner/judge - as well as the new Predicition words - until Saturday 21st or Sunday 22nd. I hope you'll forgive me, fine friends. Thank you.

So what are we dealing with here?:

• Evacuate
• Ruby
• Blade

A colourful challenge, methinks.

Rules

Note: if you prefer you can now add your comments as a Reply to each other's individual entries. Please include their name in your reply though, as anyone subscribed by email simply gets your user name and your comment THROUGH. Thank you!

The rules are: 100 words max flash fiction or poetry using all of the words above. Please add your entries in the Comments box below. You have the whole week until 9pm UK time on Thursday 19th January 2012 to enter.

Winner - and the guest judge - will be announced on Friday 20th January. If you can, please tweet about your entry, using the #fridayflash hashtag, and blog if you feel like it.

Let's start the year in the most wicked way you can think of... Fiction only - of course.

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Aw, little 'ole me - guest writer at TFFO?

God's Gift

Ages ago, the marvellous and witty Two Blokes, I mean Flash Fiction Offensive editor, Friday Prediction regular and crime writer of choice David Barber asked me if I'd care to submit something to TFFO as a Guest Writer. So I ermd and aaahd and of course, within seconds said 'Yes please' like some freckly toff schoolgirl with 'prefect' as a career move.

Then life happened. Shit happened. Loads of cruddy rubbish happened and I found myself stuck in inglorious mud - but I got there in the end.

The subject matter for 'God's Gift' came from a fleeting dream my old man had. I stole it (that's what demons do), elaborated and added the fiction... and the nasty bits... and the back story - oh well, you know how it goes.

Anyway, my apologies to David for committing so long ago - then making him wait and a huge thank you to him for this opportunity.

Read God's Gift at The Flash Fiction Offensive...

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