 Official Newsletter No. 6 Celebrating the Life and Works of Guy N Smith 1939-2020  A Warm Welcome to Fans, Friends and Fiends From Black Hill Books Ltd |
It’s the spooky season – and the perfect time to bring out a GNS newsletter after a longer-than-anticipated break. Apologies to those of you who have been waiting and wondering what happened! The last 2-3 years following Guy’s passing have been intense, with a good deal to sort out: a 10-month-long probate, a criminal case, multiple rifle/shotgun disposals, backlist copyright and business structural/finance issues, an extensive private book collection to dispose of (thanks, Paul Evans, who is assisting with expertise and patience!), a memorial convention which served as the ‘wake’ we couldn’t have thanks to the pandemic, and of course, making sure Guy’s widow Jean is comfortable and safe. Not to mention the Stygian river of grief that flows beneath it all. But we have news about the start of re-publications, as well as an upcoming event at Tamworth Castle’s Gothic Literary Festival.
| YouTube Too |
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The Guy N. Smith YouTube channel currently offers readings of two of Guy’s short stories – Murder So Cool and Hangman’s Hotel – as well as chapters on Horror Novels and Wildfowling from Guy’s autobiography Pipe Dreams, read by his daughter Tara Paulsson. We hope to add some more films soon – and we are waiting on confirmation of a possible recording of short story The Shooting on the Moss in time for Burns’ Night. |
| And so it begins… The new Night of the Crabs Black Hill Books (BHB) edition is due out soon – we are in the final stages of production and have commissioned new artwork by Liverpudlian artist Neale Thomas, who will hopefully provide artwork for all the books in the series available to BHB. See Neale’s website NealeThomasPaintings.com to admire wonderful paintings executed in a nostalgic style we think Guy would have loved. The edition also contains a new introduction by award-winning American author Brian Keene. Brian writes novels, comic books, short stories, and nonfiction and is the author of over fifty books, mostly in the horror, crime, fantasy, and non-fiction genres. He was also a friend of the late great JF Gonzalez, of Clickers fame, who wrote an introduction for Night of the Crabs back in 2009. Brian has gained permission from the Gonzalez estate for BHB to use Gonzalez’s introduction again in the future – perhaps one to save for a limited edition collectors’ hardback copy. To find out more about Brian, visit his website www.briankeene.com. His latest work, co-written with wife Mary Sangiovanni (also award-winning), Things Left Behind is on sale and can be bought from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3k0UboV  Author Brian Keene has written an introduction to the new edition of Night of the Crabs. |
| “How I Knew Guy” From the Guy N. Smith & Fiends Facebook Group Chat We decided to include a ‘How I knew Guy’ section in this newsletter after a joyful Messenger chat on the ‘Guy N. Smith & Fiends’ Facebook Group. See also the ‘Guy N Smith Appreciation Society’ group and Facebook page ‘Guy N Smith’ for their gloriously weird and wonderful posts. Rob Andrews Brief reminiscence of a phone conversation I had with Guy (never met him in person) must have been maybe 30 years ago. I worked in a library at the time, and one evening at home my dad shouted to me that Guy N Smith was on the phone for me. I had written to him asking if he could provide me with any material to promote his books as part of a big horror novel display in the library. I was over the moon that one of my favourite authors had phoned ME! I’ll never forget the conversation  Jo Shennan Symington met Guy in 1997. I was 28 and worked for the specialist tobacco division of Rothmans. He won our Pipe Smoker of the Year award. From there we formed a lovely friendship. I used to send him dried loose tobacco and he’d find all sorts of ways of rehydrating it; apple, potato, pear… He was very passionate about his pipe smoking. My husband and I spent many weekends with Guy and Jean at Black Hill and, on one in particular, Guy took us out to trial ‘monkey shot.’ It was the first time I’d ever shot a gun and, of course, I ended up flat on my back  Thanks to Guys’ quick instincts he grabbed the gun before I could kill someone  A touch typist, I typed up his manuscript of The Eighth Day onto disk and he dedicated the children’s book Cornharrow to me, because I love donkeys. We regularly chatted, putting the world to rights. I miss him so – I loved the passion he had for his work. Paul Beattie How did I discover Guy? I will tell you my story. I got married in April 1978 and, like many people living on the Isle of Man, we had summer night time jobs to help pay the mortgage etc. We both had jobs as bar staff at the Antrim Hotel on Douglas Seafront. It didn’t get busy until about 10 pm when all the visitors came back from the various shows. One night I decided to go and buy a book to read while it was quiet. There was a shop 100 yards from the hotel that had a bookstand. I browsed the stand and came across a book called The Origin of the Crabs by Guy N. Smith. I was hooked by the cover and had to buy it – and that was it, hook line and sinker. After reading it, I had to get more of his books and so I did. Then I discovered Black Hill Books and I could buy direct from Guy. I talked often to Guy on the phone and I often emailed him. My big regret is never getting to a convention but Guy was good enough to write me a cameo part in The Reaper. For this, I will always be grateful. I am now the proud owner of 99 of Guy’s books – and one very special one signed by Tara with one of Guy’s Parker pens. After 45 years, Guy is still the man – gone but never to be forgotten. P. S. Still with the wife… Rachel Randall My childhood was a zoo! Books were my refuge. As far back as I can remember, I lived for bedtime. Being able to shut my door, snuggle down and dive into a book kept me sane! I discovered a penchant for gore and found Guy in a charity shop That was it, he opened a whole new world for me, one I dived into happily. I never stopped reading, though I lost most of Guy’s and other authors’ books during the one divorce, but found him again earlier this year. I’m now 52 and a ‘rabid reader’ and collector of all things Guy I do a ‘happy dance’ every time one comes through the letterbox. I wish I could have told him how much help he was when I was a kid. Sarah Furger Ok this is kind of a wild, roundabout discovery. So my 87-year-old grandmother is in a book club in her apartment building. She was telling me about how she HATED the book from the previous month but the current book was much better. It was about female aviation milestones and she goes, “Sarah, did you know Amelia Earhart was eaten alive by crabs? It’s true. I remember it.” Ooooook. So I was relaying this funny story to my coworkers the following day, and we were googling crab gifs to send to each other throughout the day, and my coworker sent me the cover of Night of the Crabs. We became OBSESSED with reading the whole series and, while it is very hard to find, each book we acquire is passed around between four people so it is well loved! And then I randomly found this group and the rest is history. Robert Jones Sabat 1 was the first one for me. Picked it up in a charity shop or something in the mid-90s and just started collecting them. They were only 20p or 50p each back then and most charity shops had some. There was zero value or collectors’ market for them. Unfortunately I lost my whole collection 20 years ago which is a shame as they are not so easy to find cheap these days and I had a few rare ones. Hal C.F. Austell Mine was a similar story to Robert’s, but it was Sabat 4. I found a copy in a charity shop in Wales for next to nothing. I read it, loved it, wanted more, so started buying all I could find at charity shops or on market stalls. This was before the internet, so I vividly remember compiling a bibliography from the “also by” lists in the books: this bunch for NEL, this bunch for Hamlyn. When I stumbled on The Pluto Pact in a Huddersfield market, I thought I’d found the holy grail because it wasn’t in my bibliography. Eventually I found Book & Magazine Collector and devoured the ads at the back, which is where I found Black Hill Books. I ordered some stuff from them and was shocked to get a letter back from Guy himself. The rest is history. Brian Gatto I stumbled upon Guy’s books by chance. I was looking up other aquatic horrors and creature stories in general. After reading The Rats trilogy, I craved more old-school literature. The first book I acquired was Night of the Crabs. I read some of it but put it down to read an advanced reader’s copy of another book if memory serves. I always remembered how fast paced it was so, a short while later, I read it and the whole series. I became obsessed with crab horror and Guy’s work in general. I loved the foreign charm as a native of Massachusetts in the United States. Not only that but I couldn’t get enough of the landscapes in his books. They became familiar in a way It was enough to obtain most if not all of his published bibliography. Then I got to interview him and it was amazing-ly expensive. The phone bill was one I did not expect. Still, I had a wonderful time talking with the man. When I attended his funeral through a virtual broadcast I swore I’d get my own books out there more. I even wrote my own killer crab book and am currently outlining the sequel. Needless to say, I owe a lot to Guy. Ceri Brown My story started while working at the local supermarket. I’d read my parents’ copy of and so I struck up a conversation with Guy about books, big cats and Knighton life. From there on we would talk almost every time he came in. One day he mentioned he was looking for admin/PA and so I joined Black Hill Books. I loved old books plus Guy’s and so it was a done deal. Then meeting fans at the convention and picking up GR again.. it went by so quick! I left due to having my daughter but helped type a few of the latest manuscripts up and getting to read the books and know who was being put into a story or killed off ….. especially if a fan I knew, was kinda fun 🙂 Kim Dvorak Discovered Guy’s works a number of years ago here in Australia. Got hooked by the Crabs. I’m a 64 year grandpa that enjoys reading horror. Reading keeps Alzheimer’s at bay. Mike Bradbury As a 14 year-old keen on Subbuteo table football, I quickly became the best player in the Cannock Chase area. I wrote to Waddington Games to see if I could become a regional organiser only to be dismayed to be informed that a man called Guy Smith already was in post. We arranged to meet the day after the FA Cup final, and got on like a house on fire. Thereafter, Guy visited me on Thursday evenings when the other members of the league gathered to play matches. The visits continued for many years, even after I moved to Walsall and got married. Guy’s visits would bring great excitement for he would sometimes come dressed in full Sherlock Holmes outfit, other times resembling Clint Eastwood in a cowboy movie. Some of my friends ended up as characters in his books, particularly my girlfriend Julie Coles who had red hair – many GNS readers will recognise her character. When I started writing my own books, Guy was helpful in terms of advising me on style and technique. In his later years, he still loved to play Subbuteo, and a minibus of players from his club came to his house to keep the fun alive. Guy and my father were both pipe smokers and Guy grew his own tobacco. One day, dad said to ask Guy for some pipe tobacco. Anticipating a handful, he was shocked when I presented dad with a carrier bag full of the stuff which would cost a fortune in the shops! One day, meeting Guy in Lichfield, he told me that his agent had received a block order from Eastern Europe for all his back catalogue since the Berlin Wall came down. Ten books each for 100,000 said Guy. That’s a million I exclaimed! Yes, he said but I only get 99p of the £3.99 cover price. Well that still makes you a millionaire, I replied. Guy beamed and lit his pipe. Do you have a funny and /or interesting story about Guy? Do get in touch for the next newsletter and we will try to include it. |
Lovecraft’s Long Shadow A hardcopy Polish edition of the 1994 Shadows Over Innsmouth (Widma Nad Innsmouth), including stories inspired by Lovecraft’s original horror novella, was published by Vesper in late 2022. This revised and updated version, edited by Stephen Jones, is part of Vesper’s ‘Kroniki Arkham’ (Arkham Chronicles) series and reveals splendid cover artwork by Maciej Kamuda (ISBN 978-83-7731-404-3). The anthology includes Guy’s story Return to Innsmouth. The original English edition is still available as kindle and paperback on Amazon.  Vesper’s Polish edition of Shadows Over Innsmouth was published in 2022 |
| “Mystery Man” Diary 1957 Here is the fourth instalment of Guy’s secret teenage diary, originally handwritten and published in the GNS newsletters for the first time. Guy would have been just 18 years old when he wrote it and was already working in the Midland Bank. Enjoy! Wednesday February 6th We should have finished at 4.30 but didn’t get away until 5.30. I had a letter from Tim Rawsthorne & one from Michael Chapman. Tim says he’s “bloody fed up.” I went up to Murdoch’s in the lunch-hour & got 2 Victor Silvester records, “Paper-Kisses” & “Answer Me.” My “Paper-Kisses” was too worn so I had to get a replacement. Thursday February 7th Went to Aston Cross with some cash – came back on the ´bus. Not a lot of work today, but we didn’t finish until 5.30. I got the 6.50 train home & got the 6.45 bus. I bought some more Valentine cards today. I’m just waiting for February 14. Miss Brewster came & gave me a Book-Keeping lesson tonight. I am reading “Aloma of the South Seas.” Friday February 6th I did 11 batches today. My record. I got the 5.50 train home. A good “Dragnet” oon T.V. I traced a picture of the Saint on the back of one of the Valentine cards. I’m sure I’m going to have some fun on the 14th!!! Dad has discovered that he has got a hernia & will probably be going into hospital in a few weeks. All gloomy about it. Saturday February 7th The ´bus was early at Mile Oak this morning, but Dad caught it up O.K. for me in the car. This afternoon I went with the gun down Hopwas Wood. I went down as far as the canal, over the three hills, down on the Goat side by the forrester’s shack. & back by Rookery Nook. Mac smelled a fox but I didn’t see it. Didn’t have a shot. The Dawsons came. I went to see Burt Lancaster in “Trapeze.” Sunday February 8th I went to the church & then went to Tamworth with Grandpa. Saw Syd Faulkner & Mr Brammer. Saw Billie & Nellie in afternoon. He told me about old Teddy Cole – when a man wanted 20 gold sovereigns burying with him, Teddy took out the sovereigns & put in a cheque. Went down to Grandma’s after tea. Wrote to Morrell and Rawsthorne. Monday February 11th I am back on Local again – damn it! Fly-balanced twice today, though. In the lunch hour I posted the Valentines off to Tim Rawsthorne & Morrell. Morrell will send the rude ones for his sister to post in Southport & Tim will send one to Di Stanton saying that I like her. A fairly quiet day. I got the 5.50 train home. Boy, am I just waiting for February 14th!!!!! Tuesday February 12th Did O.K. up at the Local. I bought a 2/3d Valentine card to send to Di Stanton. Dad has got his belt now – says he feel much better. I did not go to Mrs Winfield’s tonight. I did 2 questions of the Geog. paper. I am now waiting for Feb. 14th. I am sending Matron & Duncan Jones a card. Wednesday February 13th- “Tomorrow is ST. VALENTINE’S DAY” The Local did not go quite so well today. I sent Valentines to Matron, Duncan-Jones, Chapman, Don & Miss Haw. When I got home I found a packet of Valentines to be posted, sent by the boys at school, so I popped them in our little post box by Trimby’s. Tonight I finished off the Geog. paper. Mum was annoyed at me sending D-Jones a Valentine. Thursday February 14th Got away early today. 4.40 train. Dad has got his V-card. He is rather puzzled by the Southport postmark. Buckley & Cooper sent 3 to Dyne & he had to pay postage. Grandma has said nothing about hers but we can tell from her manner that she didn’t like it. Don put his on the fire. Helen Brewster gave me a Book-Keeping lesson tonight. Friday February 15th Quite a good day. I told Don on the train tonight that I had sent him that V-card. He said his father had said that whoever sent it might have put it in a clean envelope. I was very lucky with my batches today. 8 balanced out of 8. I had a row with a lorry driver when I informed him there was a halt sign at Fazeley Lane. Saturday February 16th I went pigeon-shooting with Fred Cole this afternoon. We went in the hanging wood. Barnes’ nephews were there – they’d got 28 bones & weren’t much use – more of a nuisance. Fred had a shot at a flying pigeon which he claims fell in Wylie’s cabbages. I had about 5 shots – I reckon I pricked one or two, but didn’t get any down. There were plenty about. Stayed at home this evening. Sunday February 17th Grandpa had a puncture this morning. I walked on to Tamworth & he caught me up near the Mill. In the afternoon I went to see Billy & Nellie, also Coles. I went down to Grandma’s after tea. In the evening I wrote a school story for “Tettenhall Observer” entitled “The Secret of the Picture” – another story of Wrekin. Monday February 18th I brought some of those foreign coins in, that Billy gave me some time ago. Tried a lot of places but they said they were worthless. Then I took them to Thos. Cook & Sons & they gave me 2/7d for the four of them. I just missed the 4.42 today, so I came back by ´bus. Mum was a bit tired & touchy tonight & flared up once or twice. P.S. I’m still on Local. Tuesday February 19th Had lunch with Mum & Gran at Lewiss’s. It snowed. I took some more coins to Thos. Cook & Sons. They would only have one & gave me 2/6d for it. We balanced all right tonight & I got the 4.42 train. I went up to Mrs Wright’s tonight. Di & her pals were not there. Bert told me, “Oh, they come up on Mondays & Fridays.” So I shall be there next Friday. Wednesday February 20th A peaceful day. Local O.K. I got the 4.42 train again. Today I went to Dale Forty’s & bought a Victor Silvester record, “Out of Town.” Pay Day today. I went to St. Chad’s tonight & went down the Song School. When they said “Goodnight, Drainpipes,” I replied “Goodnight,” & put the light out on them. I am very puzzled about Di. Roll on Friday!!! Thursday February 21st Had a bit of trouble with the local concerning a charge to Barclays, Colmore Row. Otherwise we were all right. Fly-balanced. I just missed the 4.42 so got the 4.50 bus. Sam Loughead got on at Erdington & we travelled together. It was too foggy to fetch Miss Brewster so I finished off the English paper instead. Saturday March 2nd We seemed to get in rather a mess on States. Did not leave the office till 2pm. Got the 2.5. bus home. On the bus up from Tamworth I met Cameron from Wrekin who is doing his National Service at Whittington Barracks. We chatted. Went shooting with Dad & Fred Cole. Dad & Fred each got a pigeon but I had eight or nine shots & got nothing. Mrs Cole has fallen down and broken her wrist. Sunday March 3rd Went to see Billie & Nellie in the afternoon. A strange man (a Peeping Tom) has been seen in the wood. Mrs Cole is nervous about him. He went down Percy Holmes’ garden at 11.30 one night & when Percy came out he ran into Hopwas Wood. I gave Coles the pigeon that Dad shot yesterday. I am using the telescope that Grandpa gave me – it’s very powerful. I made a bonfire of dead leaves this afternoon in order to get some ashes to fertilise the garden. Wrote some letters. Monday March 4th At lunchtime in Littlewoods I was pestered by an old man who kept asking, “Do you think I’m in much trouble?” He was hankering after me lending him some money but I didn’t bite. I went down to the junk shop on Snow Hill & bought the records “Little Things Mean a Lot,” “High Noon” and “Under the Banner of Victory.” We had some trouble on States & I caught the 7 o/c ‘bus home. I got off at & walked up the Bodnets. I was home at 8 o/c. It’s an eerie walk in the dark – much different from waking from Tamworth. Tuesday March 5th I caught the ‘bus from Tamworth this morning. In the lunch hour I went to the junk shop again & bought “Cross Over the Bridge,” “I Get So Lonely,” “Beside the River Clyde,” “You’ve Got Someone on Your Mind,” “Stowaway” & “Open Up Your Heart.” We got in a bit of a mess on States over a bad figure on a B/A form from Weymouth. We had to tick them off & it was the last card but one. I came home on the 5.50 train with Don Stevenson. I had a quiet evening playing records & watched “Gun Law.” Mr Edwards says I can leave at 4.35 tomorrow for the Masonic Ladies Evening. Wednesday March 6th I played cards with Graham Austin in the lunch hour – lost 3d. Marmion Ladies Evening at night. Uncle Jimmy was there – he says I can shoot on the island when I like. Mr Lockhart invited me to their next fox-shoot. I sat next to Charlie Bray at the meal. We came away about a quarter to twelve. Dad saw Aston Villa beat Burnley this afternoon. Thursday March 7th Played cards again with Graham Austin in the lunch hour – won 2d. I got the 5.5 bus home. I saw the lorry that crashed into the river at Kingsbury. I walked back from Tamworth tonight. Another 6d for my record fund. Dad is going into hospital on Sunday and is being operated on, on Monday. I have told Barbara Hles to ask her sister to go out with me!!! |
| Tara’s reading will include an excerpt from the Country Life article, The Mummy short story, an excerpt from Accursed, the opening chapter of Night of the Crabs (but of course!) and Pocklington’s Walk, a true family ghost story. Come along and be entertained by the Great Scribbler’s colourful imagination! |
Last Word by Chris Elphick
| Meatloaf introduced me to Guy N Smith. Kind of. I was a fan of the singer, and both the cover art and title of Guy’s Bats out of Hell reminded me of Meatloaf’s inaugural album. A few weeks later, I happened upon the psychedelic skull cover of The Sucking Pit. Son of the Werewolf followed shortly afterwards. At this time, my choice of reading matter was dictated mainly by whatever W.H. Smith sold. For some reason, I only managed to source one more of Guy’s titles in their Swansea branch – Son of the Werewolf, which I read out of sequence but nevertheless enjoyed immensely. There was one further GNS book that intrigued me around that time. One that I got deliciously close to reading. I remember the occasion distinctly. I was around at my grandmother’s when I spotted Caracal, sporting its proud cover of a savage big cat snarling at its prospective reader, lying invitingly on the coffee table. Seeing the book piqued my interest. My grandmother said I could have it as my uncle had finished reading the novel. This delighted me. I immediately had the book in my hands, had started flicking through its pages and relished the chance of submerging into the world of my fourth GNS book. And then my uncle walked in and piped up, “Oh, I wouldn’t let him read that! There are some very risque scenes in it.” To which my father responded by making me return the book to the table! And then, for a long while at least, that was that. I left school, started studying for my college degree, and fiction novels got replaced with non-fiction texts on semiotics. Then, I met my wife, had our children, got a job etc. My fiction reading was a thing of the past. Many years later, when the children were older, I stumbled upon a review of Guy’s Manitou Doll. Again, the book cover attracted me with its lurid ‘punchy’ cover, and the storyline of a wet seaside weekend near a decrepit malevolent fairground intrigued me. Of course, I had to read it… Zoom forward a few more years to last winter. By this time, my reading had slowed again. I was scarcely getting through a novel a year, with my reading largely confined to summer readings in the garden. I decided enough was enough. I wanted to read more. Lots more. To give myself that extra push, I challenged myself to read as many books as possible in 2023. Knowing Guy’s books were compelling, fast reads which sucked you in and spat you out again before your mind stopped reeling, I confined my mission to his novels. And to sustain my resolution and stamina, I joined like-minded lovers of Guy’s work through his official Facebook pages, where I have been enthralled by their various posts. Re-entering the world of GNS in 2023 has been addictive. As well as ending up with more of Guy’s books than I could possibly read, I have even collected a few handwritten manuscripts from his remarkable oeuvre – items I will genuinely treasure. By the time this article reaches you, I will already be nineteen books deep into my 2023 GNS readathon, which evidences how much I genuinely enjoy Guy’s books. And, whilst there are still a couple months of 2023 ahead, I already know which book will complete the challenge – my long-awaited read, Caracal! You can follow the progress of Author/Photographer Chris Elphick’s Guy N Smith readathon on the web page devoted to GNS on his blog – visit www.pixie-led.co.uk and click on the label ‘Guy N Smith’. His latest book, Vampires from Hell is out now. |
| Newsletter written and compiled by Tara Paulsson. Black Hill Books Ltd would like to say a big thank you to all guest contributors to this edition. Copyright ©️ 2023 Black Hill Books Ltd. |