Letters From Badgers Crossing #1
Welcome to the first ever Letter From Badgers Crossing!
Greetings everyone, thanks for subscribing to my brand spanking new newsletter in which I’ll share my latest personal and writing news, info and bios from Tales From Badgers Crossing and other stories, maybe even share the odd exclusive snippet of future works in progress, answer your questions, and share what watching, reading, playing and listening to that have inspired me recently.
So let’s get into it…
Why Badgers Crossing?
In the summer of 2007, not long after I had decided to try my hand at writing, I was driving along the A6003 between Corby and Kettering in Northamptonshire when I saw a road sign that would drastically alter the course of my life.
So what is Badgers Crossing all about?
After seeing that sign my brain started to go into overdrive, planning a novel about a haunted school in a quaint but creepy little town called Badgers Crossing. I never wrote that novel - the more I thought about it, the more I realised it was too derivative of many other ideas - but the name stuck. Around 2015, after I’d written a few short stories, I decided to retroactively set them all in Badgers Crossing.
Then earlier this year, many of my stories were collected together into a book, Tales From Badgers Crossing (available NOW from Greenteeth Press). It works as a collection of individual stories, but there’s also a subtle overarching narrative running across the entire book if you read it as a novel.
But why would so many horror, fantasy and science fiction stories all be set in a small market town that you’d not even notice before you’d driven past it? A question I asked myself, and I’m still working on that. The more I write, the more is revealed about the town’s mysterious history. There’s definitely more to come.
More? Ooh! Tell me about it!
I will!
When I was working with the publisher to choose stories for TFBC, a number of tales were rejected, mostly to keep the word count within the agreed limits. One of those stories was a novella called Bait. If you bought TFBC on preorder you should have been sent that as a free ebook. I’m still hoping to do something with that story - maybe self-publish it, maybe send it around agents, I haven’t made my mind up on that yet.
I’ve also been working on another novella called The Convergence. I wanted to write something about a modern building that had no business being haunted and I’m a big fan of Brutalist architecture so I settled on a 1970s car park. It’s partly inspired by found footage films, like The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, etc, partly by Simon K Unsworth’s short story The Pennine Tower Restaurant and partly by Preston Bus Station.
It’s nearly finished and I’ll give more news on what’s happening with that as it happens.
Meet The Residents of Badgers Crossing
This time I’m going to introduce you to Debbie Carter. Debbie was born in January 2011 to Tim and Claire Carter. She first appears in the story The Grey Path in Tales From Badgers Crossing as a 6-year-old. At the time of the story, she is still mourning the recent disappearance of her mother. She’s outspoken, opinionated and with a very strong sense of wrong and right (meaning she’s well aware of when she’s doing something wrong - which is often). She is fearless and impatient. This often leads to her rushing into situations without thinking. She is pretty much the opposite of her father, Tim, who is measured, cautious and patient.
One of her favourite things in the world is to learn about the plants and animals of Penlock Forest with Mr Smallwood, a retired gamekeeper who lives in a cottage in the woods.
This is my painting of how I imagine her to look.
Debbie appears again four years later in Bait - an old-fashioned kids-vs-crooks adventure with a supernatural twist. She also appears briefly in The Convergence and I’ve got another Debbie adventure in the works called The Trial of Patience Starling. There will be more details about that in a future Letter From Badgers Crossing.
Here she is with her best friend Ty Grant, Bert the Badger and the ghostly spectre of the railway tunnel under Graveling Hill, The Conductor.
This artwork was created as an alternate cover for Bait by Christopher Fieldhouse (@atomictimepiece on Twitter). If you’re looking for a good comic artist for your project, then you could do a lot worse than seek Chris out.
What else are you up to?
I’ve got a couple of projects in the pipeline. One is an anthology I’m still waiting to hear back on which, if my story is accepted, will be a dream project. The other is something I was invited to participate in, and there will be an announcement very soon. Sorry I’m being vague, but I can’t really talk about them more than that until decisions have been made. Just keep all your appendages crossed for me and I’ll update on them soon.
Read any good books lately?
I’m currently partway through a few books - I tend to have several on the go at once, which I dip in and out of. Here are the three most recent of those.
17 Stories of Death & Desire by Andrew Lyall
I was very lucky to have Beta-read several of the stories in this book, and it’s wonderful to see them in print. Andrew’s love of horror shines through on every page - he’s very good at creating a sense of building dread.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/17-Stories-Death-Desire-collection/dp/B0BFV45CBC
Vasquez by V. Castro
Ever since I first saw it in 1988, Aliens has been a permanent fixture in my top ten films, and Vasquez is one of my favourite characters, so getting this was a no-brainer. It kind of reminds me of Orson Scott Card’s back story for Lt. Coffey in the novelisation of The Abyss, another James Cameron film and another resident in my top ten.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aliens-Vasquez-V-Castro/dp/1803361115
Sausages by Janine Pipe
I’ve always thought werewolves were one of the scariest horror monsters - as strong and dangerous as a vampire but with hardly any of the limitations (“You’re not invited in, beast!” “I don’t care, I’m coming in anyway and you can’t stop me, ahaha!”) - and the werewolves in 2002’s Dog Soldiers are some of the best. This book is full of fascinating behind-the-scenes stories and fun anecdotes about the making of one of the best werewolf movies. And that title… Genius!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sausages-Making-Soldiers-Janine-Pipe/dp/B0B113WZ71
What about movies?
Here are a few films I’ve enjoyed recently: The Black Phone, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Two Witches, My Best Friend’s Exorcism and Deadstream.
I won’t review each of them here, but you can always pop over to my Letterboxd to see my ratings for each and everything else I’ve watched: https://letterboxd.com/paulychilds/
Next time!
I’ll wait to send another Letter From Badgers Crossing until I have definite news that can be shared publicly regarding the works in progress I mentioned above. In the meantime, please do feel free to leave a comment below - I’d love to hear your thoughts on Tales From Badgers Crossing or any of my other stuff you may have read.
And why not ask me a question? Anything you like: Ultimate sandwich filling; Best movie horse; Favourite episode of Scooby-Doo Where Are You?; Anything! I’ll answer it in the next LFBC.
Anything else?
Probably not really, just a thank you to you, lovely reader for taking the time to sign up for this occasional update and for your support.
If you’ve not got a copy already, you can buy Tales From Badgers Crossing from GreenteethPress.com. Links to my other writing can be found on my website PaulChilds.co.uk.
I love the origin story for Badgers Crossing! . . . And the way it stayed with you until you found the way to put it to use. :-)
Badgers Crossing is a great name for a quaint, creepy little town. I once lived near “Playing Place” and “Come-to-Good”. Same energy.
Love the sound of everything you’re working on, Paul!
What is the sort of thing or experience that ends up haunting a car park?