WITHIN THE DARK PLACES

A rollercoaster ride of blood, sweat and tears…

There is a faceless danger lurking in the shadows — or are the shadows themselves the real threat…? Within the Dark Places is a rollercoaster ride of blood, sweat and tears, a novella that pays homage to horror movies of the late seventies and early eighties. The story follows a stag-party who find themselves stalked by a malevolent force that hides within the dark shadows of the forest. What the party hoped would be one hell of a night soon turns into a night from Hell…

“Vivid description and solid character establishment make for an immersive read, I enjoyed how Thompson played with his characters’ idiosyncrasies and threw in a dash of dry humour to keep me chuckling. The storyline itself is well-paced and compelling, but it’s in the action and gory elements that Within the Dark Places really comes into its own. The influence of vintage horror films can be felt throughout… Overall, an enjoyable read; I would certainly recommend for classic horror fans.”

“An enjoyable novella with believable characters and the right touch of goriness in the right places. I never knew what to expect next, which of course makes for a great story.”

Within the Dark Places is one of the more frightening books I have read this year and will certainly stay with me after I’ve closed the final page. Using the shadows as something to be feared is uncanny as it makes the familiar unfamiliar. Imagine a mixture between Harry Potter’s Dementors and those murderous shadows from that one episode of Doctor Who…”

“I don’t usually read horrors, but the suspense throughout made it a page turner. I read it over 2 sittings but could easily be read in 1, as its a gripping fast paced read but with simplicity. The cliffhangers at the end of every chapter makes it hard to put down. “Within the Dark Places” is based in areas the author knows well, and you can tell by how descriptive he is of what the characters can see and feel. What’s great about this book is that it hooked me even though I am not a horror fan, as the writing style kept me intrigued to what will happen next – I will be recommending this to people I know who are a fan of the genre!”

“I had planned a 1st time camping expirience with my family, until I was drawn into reading “WITHIN THE DARK PLACES”, Duncan Thompson’s first book in the series. Well, the camping trip was CANCELLED!!!! Maybe forever cancelled just from reading this page turner and gripping tale. I was drawn into a potential reality for me, scene after scene!”

Before you plan your next camping trip, get your copy of ‘Within the Dark Places’ today at:

Amazon US   Amazon UK   Barnes & Noble   Goodreads

But that’s not all! The story continues in…

Just when you thought the thrill ride was over, prepare for round two! Where the Darkness Hides picks up immediately where Within the Dark Places ended — and, as tradition dictates for horror sequels, this time the body count is higher and the death scenes are even more brutal and terrifying.

The Shadowmen have returned. This time, they lay siege to Raven’s Peak police station, and amongst the hostages is Joe Costello. However, the Shadowmen are not the only threat; as Joe steps out of the shadows to do battle with the forces of evil once more, he finds something even more sinister lurking where the darkness hides.

“Wow! Just Wow! The book’s predecessor was good, Where the Darkness Hides is great…”

“Great book, I’ve been waiting for this since finishing within the dark places. Very well written, the story keeps you hooked from the start.”

Duncan Thompson achieves something only a handful of autuers can do – create a sequel superior to the original… There is one specific scene in this book which plays to a common fear of all men and left me with nightmares.”

“This book is like Assult on Precinct 13 with demons”

“A brilliant job the writer and I can’t wait to see what happens next because that’s one mother of a cliff hanger.”

Get your copy today at:

Amazon US   Amazon UK   Barnes & Noble   Goodreads

Author Duncan Thompson talks about the inspiration for his story and how it was originally an idea for a film in this interview

“That’s a long story. To answer that question we would need to travel back to the late ’90s. I was in my teens at that time and myself and a few friends used to make films on a home camcorder ‘borrowed’ from parents. At that time Scream was a big hit at the cinema and I had also discovered Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy. Inspired by Raimi’s films and the stories behind how they were made, we were spurred on to make our own movies. Sadly people grow up and become adults. Fast forward to 2013 and I was sat in the pub with one of my fellow filmmakers and we began to reminisce. We had the idea to bring the gang out of cinematic retirement and make a new film which, now being adults, we could finance and generate a modest budget. With money-saving costs in mind I began to work on an idea for a film where a group of people were stalked by a presence in the forest, but the audience would never actually see what was pursuing the characters. The scares would come from the power of suggestion. And so, I set about writing the script; each scene was meticulously planned as to how it would be achieved in camera with a minimal amount of funds. Keeping the constraints in mind, I found a darker edginess appeared in the writing, which I don’t think I would have been able to achieve if we had bags of money to play with. Sadly, the project fell apart before the first draft of the script was even complete, but I was pleased with what I had written and felt it had the makings of a great story – it would have been a shame to waste it. So, I reworked what I had written for the script into the start of a novella.”

About author Duncan Thompson

Duncan has spent most of his life in a small market town in West Yorkshire — the same town in which most of his stories are set under the guise of Raven’s Peak. Duncan has been writing works of fiction since the age of seven. In those early days his stories often involved himself and his friends being transported to fantasy worlds. However, as a teenager, Duncan fell in love with horror movies and his writing took a whole new direction. In the late ‘90s, Duncan turned amateur director and started creating his own horror movies with no budget and a video camera ‘borrowed’ from his parents. Fast-forward some thirteen years later, Duncan turned to film-making once more, and the idea behind Within the Dark Places was born — initially as a screenplay. Unfortunately, adult responsibilities caused the project to end before it had really begun. However, Duncan felt there was merit in the story and so developed his concept into a novella. Duncan works in financial services and lives with his partner and their two young children. He is currently working on a sequel to Within the Dark Places. He also says he has already planned enough stories to keep him writing for the next twenty years, and he never stops coming up with new ideas.

For more information about Duncan and his books, please follow him on Twitter, and “Like” his Facebook page!

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