Finalist, Best Short Story, Sir Julius Vogel Awards
Reprinted in Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volume 6, Alt-ernate: A Collection of 37 Stories, and Year’s Best Aotearoa New Zealand Science Fiction & Fantasy Volume 3.
Black Dogs, Black Tales is a charity anthology raising funds for The Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand
‘Synaesthete’ is also available free to read on my website, and then you can buy the anthology to keep reading more great dog horror!
Title of story: ‘Synaesthete’
Length: Short - 2,020 words
Publisher: Things in the Well
Date published: 17 May 2020
Available from: Amazon [Kindle and Paperback}
Themes: Mental Health, Imposter Syndrome, Discrimination, Horror.
This was also the first anthology I’ve worked on as Assistant Editor!
Excerpt from a review by Ginger Nuts of Horror:
“For me, the standout story of the collection was Synaesthete by Melanie Harding-Shaw. A haunting tale which swirled with tension and psychological horror, it dragged me in and took me on a journey which was both disturbing and exciting in equal measure. It forced the pace as if some force was pushing me along towards a climax I both dreaded and welcomed. To me, it was the epitome of a Black Dog tale, and I’ll certainly be looking for more of her work.”
From the Introduction by Tabatha Wood: "What follows is a varied collection of dark canine tales that will excite, thrill and captivate readers, while supporting a truly worthwhile cause. And above all else, you know the dog won’t die."
CONTENTS:
Foreword by Alan Baxter
Introduction by Tabatha Wood
Nero by Shannon Elizabeth Gardner (Artwork)
Hunted by Dion Winton-Polak (Poem)
Black Cloud Sunshine by Dan Rabarts
The Dead Way by J.C. Hart
Vision Thing by Matthew R. Davis
Shifting in the Black by L.L. Asher
Synaesthete by Melanie Harding-Shaw
Fossil Bluff by P.J. Blakey-Novis
A Handshake in Darkness by Miranda Crites (Artwork)
Night Wolves by Tabatha Wood
The Honeymoon’s Over by E.E. King
Black and Tan by M.E. Proctor
Ding Dong Bell by Steve Dillon (Poem)
The Gaze Dogs of Nine Waterfall by Kaaron Warren
Park Life by Ian J. Middleton
Grey Dog by John Linwood Grant
Use a Shovel by Galina Trefil
Banjo by Chloe Herczeg (Artwork)
I am Become by Hari Navarro
Yellow Dog by Alan Baxter
Redbone by Justin Guleserian
The Feather Wall by Octavia Cade
This Dog’s Life by Dion Winton-Polak (Poem)
And Don’t You Ever Look Back by Falco Verholen (Artwork)
From the Foreword by Alan Baxter: "As the stories in this book point out, dogs are the best, and we should all try to be a little bit more like them. Except the butt-sniffing. We don’t need that. Unless it’s your personal kink, in which case, enjoy! Meanwhile, read this book, be transported by the dark tales, and enriched by the wagging tails. And remember, you are awesome."
17 short dark fiction stories, some poems, some illustrations. featuring dogs that you know won't die...