Saturday, January 28, 2012

Nice Things


Look what the nice postman delivered to me today.

Most people who know me realise that I'm not an awards kind of guy. In the past, I've heard people say that the only people who don't care about awards are those who don't win them, and, to be frank, I think that's utter bullshit. I don't write for awards, or to have my back slapped. I write because I must. It's who I am, what I do to survive in this insane world. I'd write even if nobody published me. I used to, in fact - back when I couldn't get a book deal even if I'd have threatened a publisher with a shotgun.

I do, however, understand that recognition from one's peers is gratifying on several levels, so when I won two of the brand new This is Horror Awards my initial sense of embarassment at being targeted for attention turned quickly into genuine gratitude. It would be churlish - and fucking self-centred - of me to say that receiving the above through the mail didn't make me smile and make me happy. It means that somebody somewhere gives a fuck about what I do, and in my opinion that's always worth celebrating.

So, thank you. Whoever voted for me, whoever sat down and read, and was moved by, my work. Thank you. Let's do it again next time.

I'd also like to take a moment to say that I hope these awards - just in their infancy - go on to become a permanent, and respected, part of the genre landscape. Michael Wilson and his This is Horror team are doing great things and trying so very fucking hard to promote a genre that's often misunderstood, always underestimated, and sometimes even purposefully disrespected by the mainstream.

More power to Michael, then. You'll be hearing a lot more from this talented guy in the future.

1 comment:

Ray Cluley said...

Congratulations, and fucking well deserved.
(For some reason I felt inspired to swear after reading your blog...)