That votary of the night is yours truly. Before I go any further, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Christian Carter-Stephenson and I am a budding writer. Although recognition has been a long time coming, I am hopeful that I am about to turn an important corner. Which is not to say I have been able to quit my day job quite yet (to whit my means of staying afloat on the turbulent sea of life), but I am getting closer.
If you have visited my lovingly weaved corner of the world wide web before, you will notice this introductory statement has recently been changed. The reason for this is that it was hopelessly out of date, the last revisions having been made way back in 2004 (at the time of writing, we are rapidly approaching the end of 2009). "So, how have the intervening years treated you?" I hear you ask, or perhaps I don't, but I'm going to tell you anyway. Frankly, it's been a very exciting time, because I have finished work on three long-term projects - a ten issue comic mini-series/graphic novel (exact format still to be confirmed), a children's novel and a one act play.
The novel, which is called The Crystal Ship, is of such potential significance to my writing career that I have set up a separate website to promote it. You can visit this website by cliking here. The comic mini-series promises to be equally important and will no doubt have a website of its own in due course (watch this space for further details). The play is not a big enough project to warrant a site of its own, though I will be posting regular updates about it here. Phase one of my plan for it was publication, which I am pleased to say happened some time ago. Phase two is the debut performance, which should hopefully be taking place next year (exact details to be confirmed). For anyone who is interested in reading the script, copies will be available for purchase shortly in the The O Tempora Emporium. It was a piece of writing that I enjoyed working on immensely. So much so that I subsequently decided to develop a short story adaptation. This was published in ~Macabre Cadaver~, shortly before that excellent publication's untimely demise.
In other writing news, I have managed to find homes for a number of my short stories recently. In the summer of 2008 , A Puzzle in the Churchyard appeared in the celebratory one-year anniversary edition of ~The Willows~, a high profile publication that specialised in traditional weird fiction, but has now sadly ceased publication. This story holds a special place in my heart, because it was the first piece of supernatural fiction I ever wrote. It was inspired by my love of the work of M.R. James and grew out of a composition I wrote for school. Rounding off the year was the publication of All I Want For Christmas in the Christmas edition of Murky Depths. This was an important milestone for me, because it was the first time one of my comic scripts had been developed into a full-fledged graphic strip. The story is a twist-in-the-tale science fiction piece with some truly stunning artwork by Mark Chilcott - samples of which can be viewed here. More recently, my work has featured in Twisted Tongue (The Threat From Within - the second of my Sir Degrevaunt novellas), The Bracelet Charm (Different Worlds - a rare piece of straight fiction) and Sorcerous Signals (A Costly Wager - a fantasy story in the traditional vein)..
Turning to poetry, my most recent appearances have been in The Stray Branch (a beautifully presented magazine packed with high quality writing) Back Roads (highly recommend if you are into hardcore horror) and MÖBIUS, which is rapidly establishing itself as one of the top poetry magazines in the world. I am hopeful there will be a few other pieces coming out in the near future as well, but I have nothing definite to report as of yet.
My current project is an epic fantasy novel, which will take me I dread to think how long to finish (we're probably talking about years). Stay tuned for further details. Before I forget, I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you, if you haven't already picked up a copy, that the first in my planned series of horror novelettes is available to buy at The O Tempora Emporium. It's a riproaring piece that pays homage to the traditional gothic novel, a la Matthew Lewis and Anne Radcliffe.
At the present moment in time, acting (my other great passion) is on the backburner, though I must stress this is only temporary. As soon as my finances are sorted out, there is no doubt that I shall tread the boards once more - I miss them too much not to.
For anyone who doesn't know, the picture above is of me. Those who are interested can find a selction of other photographs in the Personal Section of this website, together with information about my work, exclusive online stories and poetry, and a shamefully out-of-date installment of my life story (my next updating target). As for anyone who isn't interested - at least you know the section to avoid. On that note, I'll draw to a close, leaving you to explore the latest incarnation of O Tempora: The Castle of the Night in peace.
C.J. Carter-Stephenson
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