Celebrating the Life and Works of Guy N Smith
Sending out a Warm Welcome to Fans, Friends and Fiends. From Black Hill Books Ltd
We hope this newsletter finds you well! It has been a while since our last newsletter but, as the weather warms up, so do prospects for republishing Guy’s backlist, beginning with the eight-book Crabs series. Guy’s wife, Jean, and four children (Rowan, Tara, Gavin and Angus) are still in the process of sorting through all the books, collections, artefacts and paperwork left behind by our man of industry, so it is taking some time. We have some exciting news, however!
We will be holding a Memorial Fan Convention in early September 2022 for the most committed GNS fans – for more information, please get in touch with news@blackhillbooks.co.uk as we will need to control numbers. There will be an auction, a raffle, a quiz, books and merchandise for sale and, of course, plenty of food and drink. If you are so inclined, you might manage to bag yourself one of the Great Scribbler’s very own hats – black fedora, fez, or deerstalker, anyone?
Guy N Smith books available
Although Black Hill Books Ltd’s’ own publications are currently on hold, there are other publishers out there, flying the flag. If you need your GNS fix, you could investigate some of the following publications online.
The Sinister Horror Company continues to sell paperback and ebook versions of:
- From The Dark Hours
- Werewolf Omnibus
- The Charnel Caves: A Crabs Novel
- Tales From The Graveyard
- Satanic Armageddon: A Black Fedora Novel
- Sabat 6: The Return
- The Casebook of Raymond Odell
- The Black Room Manuscripts Volume Three (Toad in the Hole short story)
- Beheaded (jointly written with J.R. Park).
Hellbound Books continues to sell Made In Britain, a horror anthology including Guy’s story Mirrored Evil, as an audiobook, ebook and paperback, and there are other anthologies still available online that include Guy’s stories.
You might want to investigate the KJK Publishing Horror Collection series (Blood Show at the Carnival and Larry’s Guest short stories), Shane Agnew’s Illustrated Bibliography, Horror Express Volume 2 (The Hangman short story) and the Second City Scares: A Horror Express Anthology (Holocaust short story), The Mammoth Book of Sherlock Holmes (The Case of the Sporting Squire short story), Matt Shaw’s publications Masters of Horror (The Priest Hole short story) and Next Door: A Horror Anthology (Final Feast short story).
“Mystery Man” Diary 1957
And now for the long-awaited second instalment of Guy’s secret teenage diary, originally handwritten. Guy would have been just 18 years old when he wrote it and was already working in the Midland Bank. Enjoy…
Monday, January 7th
When I walked into the Bank this morning I saw that I was down for Early Post. I was told to make arrangements for getting here earlier in future. I went in cash wagon to Bank of England with £1,000 000. Colin Flemming went on Local. Had lunch at the Kardomah. We didn’t finish till 6.30 as some of the stuff wouldn’t balance. Local was first to balance. I am now awaiting tomorrow and have no definite plans.
Tuesday, January 8th
My greatest disappointment! The Local played awkward when we came to list it, & at quarter to five I was 10/9d out. I had hoped to catch the 5.15 train but at that time I was 10/- out. The 5.50 train was now my last hope, but I did not leave the Bank until 6.10pm. So all my hopes fell through – until next week, of course! Mr Loughead told me, “They do the dancing – I do the drinking!”
Wednesday, January 9th
Had a bit of trouble with a “come-back” of Saturday’s local. A good day otherwise – Local practically ‘fly-balanced.’ Carroll Lowe (blonde) paid me plenty of attention today & I walked to the bus stop with her. I don’t think I’m interested though. I’m ready for next Tues – can’t wait!!! I did my Book-Keeping Correspondence Test tonight.
Thursday, January 10th
Local went very well indeed. Colin went up to the Clearing house. Barbara Brown pulled up Ann Hopkin’s skirt & shouted out that I had done it. Very amusing indeed! Today was the slackest day so far this year – I got the 4.40pm train. Carroll Lowe gave me a photo of herself today – but I’m waiting for next Tuesday. Miss Brewster came & gave me a Book-Keeping lesson tonight.
Friday, January 11th
Went up to the Clearing House with Colin & brought the cheques back. Got my photographs. Today has been rather uneventful but peaceful. I did 6 batches today & was fairly successful all round. I am looking forward to a nice quiet weekend after all these early mornings (Early Post 8.30am) & most of all to next Tuesday evening.
Saturday, January 12th
We went shooting to Eric Sansome’s today. On the way we saw a man lying in the road with his bike on top of him. Another man was bending over him. We stopped and I got out to see if they wanted any help. The man said, “It’s OK, mate, he’s just had a drop too much to drink & he’s fallen off his bike.” We shot a hare but it had a suspicious-looking growth in its side so we gave it to the roadmender. Tonight I went to the pictures to see John Wayne in “The Searchers” [and] also Elizabeth Montgomery in “The Siege.” Roll on Tuesday!!!
Sunday January 13th
Church (11am). Went down to Tamworth with Grandpa. Ran into Fred Emery & Sid Faulkner. In the afternoon I went to see Billy Wilkins. He told me about Arthur’s hat & said he would let me have the address to send for one. He said he went shooting in the wood with Fred Cole on Thurs – they shot nothing. Ken Price saw them but said nothing. I then went round to see Coles. Arthur has heard all about the parcel I sent Coles at Xmas. He says, “It must have took him all night to do it up, because it took her all next day to undo it!”
Monday 14th January
At 12.10am this morning I was awakened by a loud crash & a scampering downstairs. We all thought it was burglars & came onto the landing. We whistled Mac but he didn’t come. Daddy & I crept down the stairs with the sword-stick – the guns were in the hall cupboard. We got the guns & opened the kitchen door to find a section of the doorpost lying across the floor & a heap of plaster. Mac had got shut in & had tried to get out!!! Best Local yet, today. We were late finishing though owing to a difference in Country I. Went to the post with Carroll Lowe. She says I’m cheeky!!!
To be continued…
Last Word:
Fan Tribute by Max Speed
“Guy was an amazing writer but moreover, he was an inspiration to many aspiring writers. When I first met him in the early 1990s, I had never written anything more than a hundred lines at my secondary school, just a few ‘Purple Ronnie’ postcards of youthful affection towards my then-girlfriend and the necessities of homework – writing was the last thing I wanted to do.
I attended a book launch at Knighton Community Centre in Powys for a local writer: Guy N Smith and his book ‘Knighton Vampires.’ I was immediately hooked. The book was a piece of architecture, hardback and an alluring cover that literally screamed out at me. After listening to Guy speak, I had a new role model to look up to – okay, I didn’t put his photo up on my bedroom wall next to whatever male footballers and female film stars were about then but Guy talked with such passion about his work that it was at that moment I first realised that writing was more important than a holiday postcard home and a scribble in your jotter in school. I purchased the book, got Guy to autograph it and held it firm all the way home. It was a brilliant book – the display of several, stacked like jenga blocks in the window of the ‘Gift Shop’ in Knighton, sparkled every time I meandered past.
I didn’t really believe I’d ever write anything and I was well aware (in my mind) that I had no chance of ever publishing a book. BUT then about a year later, I bumped into Guy in the street – he remembered me from the launch and we chatted briefly. I commended him on his excellent ‘Knighton Vampires’ book and asked a couple of questions about other books of his that I’d purchased and started to thoroughly enjoy. Within the conversation, I said something like, ‘Just incredible writing, Guy. I have no idea how you do it.’
Rather than soak up the superlatives, he thanked me and then immediately asked what I wanted to do in the future. He also reversed back to a comment I’d made a few minutes earlier when I said something like, ‘I love reading your books but have no idea how you write them – impossible for anyone else to come up with ideas and description, plot….’
‘You ever thought of writing?’ he asked.
‘I’ve got stories in my head but I could never get them down on paper,’ I replied.
Guy immediately looked me in the eye and tapped me on the shoulder. ‘Yes, you will. One day you will.’
That one moment stayed with me for years and about 30 of those years later, Guy’s words were one of the many reasons I decided to believe in myself and get some ideas planned out on paper. Guy N Smith was not just an amazing writer but he was an inspiration to many, an inspiration to people whom he perhaps didn’t even realise he had inspired. Obviously my genre (and skill) is very different from Guy’s but I wanted to just let you all know that his inspirational words made a difference to me.”
Thank you, Max, for this lovely piece!
Feedback If you have any thoughts, requests or suggestions about the future of Black Hill Books Ltd, and/or Guy N. Smith publications, please get in touch by emailing news@blackhillbooks.co.uk. Do follow Guy N. Smith on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more news, observations, photos and updates.
Future Projects We will be launching the new website later this year. If you wish to buy a GNS book, we do have some hard-copy stock available, so please let us know and we will see if we have anything we can send you. We are working on a new edition of Night of the Crabs and we are keen to publish a tribute anthology to Guy. The rights of all the Jonathan Guy children’s books have now been reverted successfully from Penguin Random House, so those books are also on the cards as new publications. We also hope to publish/republish some of Guy’s mother E. M. Weale’s historical novels, since it was thanks to her unfailing encouragement that we had our beloved Great Scribbler. Watch this space!
Newsletter written and compiled by Tara Paulsson. Black Hill Books Ltd would like to say a big thank you to all our guest contributors to this edition.
Copyright ©️ 2022 Black Hill Books Ltd