It’s the 19^th? Better get my Festivus Pimping moving along if I’m going to squeeze as many pimpalicious books in before I head away in three days (woo hoo! Three days!). Ahem. Sorry. As you were…

This time we’re back on home soil, with Australian author, Carole Nomarhas, and her wonderfully creepy short story collection, The Fading.  The stories in this collection run the gamut of horror, dips it toes into some fantasy, and gives you a little bit of urban as well – but the running theme through the diversity of stories is that not everything is as it seems. Like ever.

Now before I move on, a little background here. There are moments editors dream of – finding those stories (be they shorts, novellas or novels) where you know you’ve encountered a true storyteller. I’ve been lucky enough to have had a few instances of, what I like to call my ‘holy shit’ moments. And I got that with the first story of Nomarhas’ I read – Black Glass. That was when I knew this collection was going to be something special, and it was the first two lines of that story that dragged me in: The dead came back. All of them.

In that moment, I knew I was working with something special. Each story built on the last; each one delivering their own sense of bleak storytelling that only reinforced my belief that Nomarhas is an author to watch.

Of course, I have my favourites, but the standard of this collection is so damn high, these were difficult picks indeed. Especially when you add in the almost poetic prose Nomarhas employs to visually transport you to her worlds: Moth-flutters of dark, tattered mist came to his call…

The Fading consists to eleven stories, each one a world, a horror unto itself, and each told with the same desire to take you places you will never forget, places that will haunt long after you’ve stopped reading. Nomarhas’ words tell you so: The wind sang thinly, ghost notes through hollow bones.

I can’t recommend this collection enough. Anyone who loves horror, dark fantasy, and the magic of words will love it.

Currently only available in ebook format, which makes it the perfect gift with just the click of a mouse.

Go. Now. Buy it.