A new short story – and I rarely get the chance to write them these days – will be available in the first annual anthology from the British Fantasy Society. Deadhouse Steps is a horror story, springing out of my recent visit to Tenby in South Wales, where the steps can be found.

The anthology – the British Fantasy Society Yearbook 2009 – is only available to members of the British Fantasy Society, so sign up now if you want to get a copy. Membership costs £30 a year, but for that you get the quarterly magazine, Prism, with news, reviews and colums, the fiction magazines Dark Horizons and New Horizons, and a discount off the entrance fee to the annual convention, Fantasycon.

The anthology includes a cross-section of leading British fantasy and horror writers, including James Barclay, Juliet McKenna, Christoper Fowler, Tim Lebbon, Sarah Pinborough and Conrad Williams.

Back from two weeks exploring Dorset – some research, some chilling – plus a visit to see a priapic man. It may take a few days to get back up to speed as I work through the inbox.

But while I was away top blogger and reviewer Graeme Flory did a nice review of Lord of Silence. Hope it whets your appetite.

I’ve been invited to contribute to the Amazon.com blog on a weekly basis for the next three weeks. I’ll be talking about writing and the mysterious events it often conjures, plus background on Age of Misrule.

You can find the first one here: The Invisible Hand of the Gods of Writing

And the second one here: Mysterious Britain.

The third: Real-World Roots of Fantasy.

Thanks to Jeff Vandermeer for the invite.