The Dark Writings of Charlotte Emma Gledson

This review will be featured in issue 9 of HOUSE OF HORROR MAGAZINE

http://www.houseofhorror.org.uk/#/home/4534063502

Charlotte Emma Gledson writes like no other. Her ability to capture the monster that lurks in the dark, be it physical, metaphorical or in the mind, is astounding to say the least. Her poetry above all is beauty and pain mixed into one and that is why I employed her as poetry editor for House of Horror. Never would I have thought that such dark and disturbing work could come from the mind of such a lovely lady. She is a writing force to be reckoned with and being a relatively new addition to the dark world of writing horror, she has most definitely made a name for herself in such a short amount of time. The Lonely Tree and Other Twisted Tales of Torment is Gledson's debuing book, put out by her own publishing company, Black Hound. The book is a collection of 19 short horror stories that will surely chill you to the bone. Each individual story takes you on a ride of pure dread and I for one could not put that book down.

The Lonely Tree has now been read on both sides of the world and is well renowned for being as close to Stephen King as you can get. Through the flow of her dark prose, Charlotte teaches us some of the true horrors in life and that simple words on a page can mean so much more. I have read small snippits of Gledson's work, but on a much smaller range. The Lonely Tree was a completely different read altogether. Never in my life have I been so scared to put a book down until I had read each and every story to the end. Be warned: These stories are truly horrifying and deal with some terrible aspects of horror with vulgarity and bad language. If you are to be offended by any of these things then turn away now. But, if you enjoy a truly horrifying read and something to challenge your mind to the depth of your soul then this will definitely be a book for your reading list. I sure as hell cannot wait to see what Gledson puts out next, but one thing I can be certain of, is that it won't be a pretty story with a happy ending.

S E COX - Author of FORBIDDEN LOVE and EDITOR of HOUSE OF HORROR MAGAZINE.

On Feb 7th John is doing his first comedy stand up. Its in Richmond, London at the Hope of Richmond pub. A few of us are all going up to support him. He writes his own material, so I am very proud that he dares to stand up and deliver his humour and writings to total strangers! He's got balls I can tell you! One of the hardest professions I say. To make someone laugh is the ultimate of challenges! Love you John x

Well, this year, 2009 has been a mixed bag. It started off well - Sam gained his GCSE's and financially things improved some what, and I was getting recognition and praise for my book ‘The Lonely Tree’. Things were good! Then with a gradual decline things dipped to an old time low. So low, that I have not experienced such emotional conflict since the death of my son Daniel, 10 yrs ago... In April I worked so hard to publish a book collection under BLACK HOUND Publishing, but my costly venture proved to be a flop in some people’s eyes. As a result I felt I had let them down and my reputation was slammed somewhat. This was my first time as an editor; I will not be doing anymore as a result – but I am using this experience as a learning curve. However, I enjoyed doing it, though it was hard work, and I love all the contributors who all are dear friends to me (mostly!) I am greatly thankful for their support. Spiritually though, my heart and mind took a knock, and I stopped writing for while. Come the summer time, I started work on my novel once more, ‘Bluebells for My Baby’, and I was writing 2,000 words a day, until the phone call that rocked my world at the beginning of October. My mother suffered Kidney failure for many years, having to withstand the exhausting process of dialysis three times a week. She was very brave and though her life was restricted greatly, she coped with it as her partner Peter cared for her so passionately and was completely dedicated to her. My father, John Gradon, had passed away when I was 21. In June Mother was fine, by October; she had passed away on the 19th. The 12 days before she passed Liza and I were at her bedside every day. We had left our families with our husbands. This was hard, as mother lives in Preston 250 miles away. Liza lives in London and I live in Portsmouth.I missed my kids so much… it tore me apart to start with. John however coped so well, and so did my eldest son Sam, it wasn’t easy for them. It was a long three weeks for all concerned. Meanwhile Liza and I watched our mother slip from us, watching her die. This has traumatized us greatly, I will never forget her face and features... I can’t even explain how horrific it was. However we hold onto the fact that she was aware that we were there, pain free, and that she died with Peter's complete devotion and her ‘dancing lillies’ - Liza and I, as she took her final breath… The funeral arrangements were very difficult. Peter is 85 and was so traumatized by everything, Liza and I had to sort everything out. John thankfully came down for a few days, as we don’t drive. Peter was in no fit state. I wrote a poem, which I penned ½ hr before she passed. It was based on the perfect love of two people - simply called Gillian and Peter. Liza read this out at the funeral. Chloe, Beth, Sam, Will, all read pieces from her favourite poems and passages, and Jess played her cello beautifully, as mother adored music and she was our musical inspiration. She was a cello teacher by profession... We all returned home at the end of October - still in shock, still shaken by the whole thing. Other family conflicts were hovering around me like a large black raven, it was an unnecessary stress we all could have done without! One dear friend I could always turn to was the talented writer Matt Pierce. He too with suffered Renal Failure, and was aware of mother’s situation and would often, weekly, email me, chat and guide me. On my return from ..Preston.., I found out that he had died also, a week after my mother… I was shocked to the core. I knew he was ill, diabetes also plaguing him, but his death was so SUDDEN… he was only 40. I felt I was spiralling, but I had to stay strong for my kids, and life had to go on. I was busy with the kids activities, sorting out other peoples problems as usual, busy with life in general. My mother in law Maureen is my best friend. She is the ‘mum’ to me that my mother wasn’t. With no disrespect to my mother, mother was not easy to talk to. Yes she loved us but found it hard express that love, we of course loved her, but she was unapproachable at times, and led a very separate life from us. This is understandable as she lived 250 miles away, and had such a restricted life with the dialysis. Peter was very possessive over her. We visited when we could, but having the 4 kids, both mother and Peter were not used to it, so we had to stay in hotels, so visits were very brief and costly. Thank god for the phone, we still talked a lot up until she declined in June. Maureen came down to see us 2 1/2 weeks ago. She seemed fine and dandy, though her knees were causing her a lot of pain as she is having steroids injected into the surrounding area. She did have a few forgetful and disorientated moments, but we put it down to her treatment and the injections. Last week, she rang and told me she felt so confused, forgetting things instantly, she didn’t even know where her plates lived in the kitchen and felt that she was in a dream like state and was frightened. Maureen Gledson is the most organized person I have ever met in my life. She is astute, reliable, and extremely ordered in everything she does. She has a heart of gold, and has committed her life to her family, and embraced me as her daughter. These symptoms that she was displaying caused Tom her husband a lot of concern also, so a couple of days ago, he took her to the doctors. She has not come back. They have found a tumour on her brain. 10 years ago, she had a massive brain tumour, it was successfully removed and it was benign. This tumour is spread around her head like a hand, with many fingers prodding in parts of the brain, causing these symptoms. On Saturday as planned months ago, we go to France for Xmas and will be with Maureen. I don’t really know what to expect and how she will be reacting. This Christmas is going to be the hardest one our family will ever have, I only hope that when she has her biopsy on Friday it isn’t malevolent – please pray that it can be treated and that she recovers… if she does not, I really do not know how I could deal with it – the stress is enormous for all of us right now. I am afraid the Maureen I see will not be the Maureen I know… So there you have it. Its off my chest and on onto my blog, writing really does expel many pent up feelings, thanks for reading this far… God bless…and I wish each and everyone a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year! Charlotte~