Celebrating the Life and Works of Guy N Smith
December 2021 – Christmas Special
Welcome Friends and Fiends from everyone at Black Hill Books and the Smith Family!
We hope this newsletter finds you well enough to enjoy the festive season! What a year. As you know, this is an important and poignant time as Guy joined the Great Study in the Sky at 3am (UK) on Christmas Eve last year (2020). The past year has been one of tears, memories and reunions as family and friends have reminisced the Great Scribbler’s incredible rabbit warren of a life and grieved the loss of this remarkable personality.
Great Scribbler Highlights
The most heartwarming feature of the past year has been how much Guy’s friends have wanted to help us keep up the momentum.
Joseph Freeman dedicated his excellent YouTube ‘Midsummer Macabre’ story readings to Guy, with readings from authors Simon Clark, Paul Finch, Alison Littlewood and Joseph himself. You can visit YouTube to watch this fabulous offering, (and several others, should the fancy take you) and do visit his website www.josephfreeman.co.uk.
Writer and filmmaker Anthony O’Connor released his fantastic dystopian sci-fi novel Straya in 2020 which references Guy’s crabs books with fond and irreverent humour – well worth a read, and you’ll get a fast-track course in Aussie slang, too! It’s a beaut!
Justin Park at Sinister Horror Company released Satanic Armageddon, the third and final book in the John Mayo series, From the Dark Hours, a short story collection and Beheaded, a joint collaboration with J.R. Park. (These are all available on Amazon and directly from www.sinisterhorrorcompany.com) Justin Park, amongst others, was a staple in Guy’s life over the last few decades and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for Sinister Horror.
A Polish anthology of the Sabat series by Phantom Books is now timed for release in January. (Covid has caused unavoidable delays in the Polish publishing world.) The two-volume work contains the Sabat novels, short stories by Guy and new Sabat stories by acclaimed Polish writers, as well as some previously-unseen material. You can purchase a Polish copy from www.phantombooks.pl. The collector’s edition sale is now over and copies ordered should arrive after Christmas, pandemic permitting. If you missed it, don’t worry – in January, there will be a brochure cover version for sale. This project has been a true labour of love for Sebastian Sokolowski, the head of Phantom Books, and we believe his genuine passion for Guy’s work will shine through. In total, the two volumes contain around 1,200 pages of novels, Polish stories, photos and other collector’s materials. Guy’s fans in Poland are tremendously excited and we just can’t wait to see this new publication!
Guy’s elder son, Gavin Smith, has worked as a rock singer/songwriter for many years and his song ‘Chasing Shadows’ was written for Guy after we lost him. You can listen to Gavin’s song, listed under Bamboo Guerillas, on all platforms including Amazon and Spotify. Guy would be so proud of him. You can also subscribe to the Bamboo Guerillas YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwfX7tOcIH6dMlrAHFO6BMQ/videos
Guy would be thrilled to know that he has been the subject of some entertaining podcasts recently, including ‘Breakfast in the Ruins.’ For this year’s Halloween Special the podcast took a poll of its patrons to decide the subject matter (after the 2020 special covered James Herbert’s The Rats). Night of the Crabs was the overwhelming winner. Hosts Andy & Phil had such a good time with it, they followed up with another show on ‘sidequel’ Crabs’ Moon in the company of (friend of the show and avowed Guy N Smith obsessive) Graham. This gave them the opportunity to delve a little more deeply into Guy’s career and also raise a toast to him almost a year after his untimely passing.
With so much more material to explore there is no doubt they will return to his books in the new year. If you are interested, here are the links:
https://breakfastintheruins.com/2021/10/31/halloween-special-2021-night-of-the-crabs-by-guy-n-smith/
https://breakfastintheruins.com/2021/12/14/guy-n-smith-revisited-crabs-moon/
Breakfast in the Ruins is hosted on Podbean and available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Owltail, Podparadise, TuneIn, Overcast, Amazon Music and most other podcast clients.
Someone else flying the flag for Guy is writer and reviewer Brian Gatto, known as ‘The Horror Shark’ on YouTube where he recently reviewed The Slime Beast and The Sucking Pit. These video reviews are fun, pithy and cheeky – and we love them! You can find his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/HorrorShowHost1
His latest updated review of Night of the Crabs is out now! Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n984ZC4t3Sk
Another review site that has caught our attention is the blog Lord Sampers Library. Here’s a review of Guy’s Deathbell, but you’ll find many other books by Guy and other horror/fantasy authors reviewed here. https://lordsamperlibrary.blogspot.com/2021/12/deathbell-guy-n-smith-hamlyn.html You can also find Lord Samper on Twitter, if tweeting is your thing!
Of course, we must acknowledge Hal C. F. Austell for his extensive coverage of all things Smith-related at Smithland (smithland.co.uk) and his monthly book reviews for The Nameless Zine (thenamelesszine.org) which include several from Guy’s backlist.
And last but not least, there is Shane P.D. Agnew, long time collector of pulp horror and author of several books including the Guy N. Smith Illustrated Bibliography and Guy N. Checklist, both available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Shane-P.D.-Agnew/e/B07G67PZGH%3Fref=dbs_a_mng _rwt_scns_share
Have we missed you out? If you are doing something interesting that recognises the Great Scribbler’s writing and would like us to highlight it here, please email us at admin@blackhillbooks.co.uk with your details and we will try to include you in the next newsletter.
“Mystery Man” Diary 1957
And now, we present the eagerly-awaited first 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. It’s worth noting that Jan. 1 didn’t become a national holiday in the UK until 1974.
Tuesday, January 1st
A busy day at the office. I went up on Local. Did the Bank of England stuff OK but got into a muddle with the forms. I did 5 “batches.” I came home on the bus today. On the way, I tried to think up a plan for next Tues. Thought of several, but still uncertain. Maybe I’ll have a brainwave during the week! Quite a good ‘Gun Law’ on T.V. this week.
Wednesday, January 2nd
Heaviest day I’ve known yet at New St. No complaints about the Local, but when we listed the local at the end of the day it just would not balance. I did not leave the office till 6.10pm. John Hodgens told me that when he was new to the bank & Mr Powell told him off for making a mistake, he said, “I didn’t do it on purpose, but if I’d wanted to baffle you, you’d never have found it.”
Thursday, January 3rd
A fairly busy day. Local went perfectly, but had a bit of bad luck with batches – nothing serious though. N.F.U. (National Farmers’ Union) letter came today concerning rebate on cartridges for pigeon shooting. A lot of red tape. I don’t think there is much hope but I have replied. Bought record of George Formby singing “Cleaning Windows.” I have made up my mind to go through with it on Tuesday next.
Friday, January 4th
Once again the Local went perfectly. I did 7 batches today – record so far. I bought a record down Snow Hill called “A Sky Blue Shirt & A Rainbow Tie.”(1/-) I got home at 6.30pm. At present I am reading “A Day To Remember” by Jerrard Tickell, hoping to pick up a tip or two – I must form a definite plan beforehand. I AM going through with it.
Saturday, January 5th
Local did not go so well today. Home at 2pm. I went into Hopwas Wood with the gun. Had 2 shots – got nothing. I was fascinated by the impenetrableness of ‘Rookery Nook’ & made up my mind to find a way in. Went to the Grand to see Broderick Crawford in “Big House, U.S.A” and also “Canyon Crossroads.” I am still thinking about next Tuesday and plucking up my courage.
Sunday, January 6th
Tregaskiss kicked up a fuss about me shooting in the wood – I am now limited to Saturdays. We all went for a walk in the wood this afternoon. I saw Billy & Nellie today. I put a film in the camera & took some photos on the hillside. I wrote to the “Shooting Times” tonight in praise of fox-shooting.
The day after tomorrow is Tuesday!! Tonight I finished “A Day To Remember.”
Fan Tribute – Sandra Sharp
“I’d known Guy and Jean from seeing them around town in the late eighties, I believe, and they used to visit the building society where I was working at the time. Having two sons, I was involved in the cub scout movement and was always on the lookout for fundraising ideas. We were holding a sale to include books (in those days everyone read real books!) and Guy o ered to come and sort them for me on the proviso that he would have the first pick of any that he fancied. ‘Yes, please!’ was the answer.
I had always been an avid reader – even of sauce bottle labels at the tea table – so when Guy asked me if I’d read any of his books I had to admit to not being a fan of any supernatural or ‘unbelievable’ stories. He took my comment very politely but the next day came into the o ce with a book for me. A gift, he said, just for my feedback. That book was Phobia!!! I started to read it as soon as I could, later that day, and literally didn’t put it down until I’d nished it at about 3am!! What a tale – and it was relatable, being set in a normal house with normal people. It was a revelation. From then on, I read every GNS book I could get my hands on. Guy went from zero to hero literally overnight. It wasn’t long before Guy asked if I’d like to be his fan club secretary. What an honour! This led to many years of involvement with the fan club.
I still have all of my books and the odd manuscript which are treasured possessions. I feel privileged to have known and worked with such a great writer and a good friend.”
With thanks to Sandra for this lovely piece!
Feedback
We have begun setting up a Patreon account and YouTube channel under the title Great Scribbler, through which we will share exclusive forthcoming news, events and content with our followers. If you have any thoughts, requests or suggestions about the future of Black Hill Books, Great Scribbler and Guy N. Smith publications, please get in touch by emailing Tara at admin@blackhillbooks.co.uk. Please follow Guy N. Smith on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more news, observations, photos and updates.
Looking Ahead
Some of you may have noticed that Guy’s ebooks and PoD books have disappeared from Amazon and all other online platforms. His website [24]www.guynsmith.com will be changing dramatically this year, as the domain name will be transferred to the Smith family, along with www.blackhillbooks.co.uk. Circumstances have forced us to bring his literary estate and business under one roof, namely under Black Hill Books Ltd, which will be run by Guy’s immediate family, and this change has necessitated a complete overhaul. Please don’t panic. It will take time to make titles available for sale again, but the process has begun. We do have some residual hardcopy stock, so if you are desperate, please let us know and we will see if we have anything to send you. This year should see the release of a new edition of Night of the Crabs, as ebook/pulp-style paperback/Audible audiobook, and the creation of an invite-only tribute anthology to Guy. We are also looking at his children’s books. Watch this space! In the meantime, have a wonderful Christmas and a peaceful and happy New Year. May the coming year bring you health, joy and lots of exciting books!
Merry Christmas, Guy!
With thanks to Lionel Mileman, who took the photo.
Newsletter written by Tara Paulsson, daughter of Guy N. Smith.
Copyright © 2021 Black Hill Books