Terror Tales of Wales

I'm delighted to say that my short story THE OFFSPRING will be included in TERROR TALES OF WALES, the next instalment of the TERROR TALES series - a collection of regional British horror anthologies edited by bestselling author and screenwriter Paul Finch.

I'm already a big fan of the series, so have a story included in such a great collection with so many true masters of the horror genre is a big deal for me. A huge thank you to Paul for the opportunity.

The book, which will be released in June, is available to pre-order now on the Gray Friar website. Here's the back-cover blurb.

Wales – ‘Land of my Fathers’, cradle of poetry, song and mythic rural splendour. But also a scene of oppression and tragedy, where angry spirits stalk castle and coal mine alike, death-knells sound amid fogbound peaks, and dragons stir in bottomless pools …


The headless spectre of Kidwelly

The sea terror off Anglesey

The soul stealer of Porthcawl

The blood rites at Abergavenny

The fatal fruit of Criccieth

The dark serpent of Bodalog

The Christmas slaughter at Llanfabon

And many more chilling tales by Stephen Volk, Tim Lebbon, Simon Clark, Priya Sharma, John Llewellyn Probert and other award-winning masters and mistresses of the macabre.

Previous books in the series include -  TERROR TALES OF THE LAKE DISTRICT, TERROR TALES OF THE COTSWOLDS, TERROR TALES OF EAST ANGLIA, TERROR TALES OF LONDON and, my personal favourite, TERROR TALES OF THE SEASIDE.

Interview with The New Current

'Writer & director Steve Jordan recently spoke with The New Current about Bad Bat's upcoming debut production, THE PROBLEMING.

'Was it challenging writing a horror comedy play?

While writing my style of comedy has always come naturally to me because I grew up on classic British sitcoms, the horror aspect is more challenging. I think there’s a lot more funny comedy out there than genuinely scary horror, so we want to make sure we don’t short-change our audiences with something half-heartedly spooky. When the play moves into horror, expect edge of your seat stuff.

I think SHAUN OF THE DEAD and SCREAM are two excellent examples of of the genre, though SCREAM is often billed as a straight-forward slasher, I see it more as a incredible parody of one (in a good way) - there's a reason why the two genres are such common bedfellows. In my mind, they can both fold seemlessly into the other.'

Read the entire interview on their website, HERE. Tickets are on sale now.' 

taken from bad bat.co.uk

The Probleming - Tristan Bates Theatre, 28th July - 2nd August 2014. 7.45pm.

'Bad Bad Productions is delighted to announce that our next theatrical production will be THE PROBLEMING, a horror comedy by Steve Jordan. The show will run at the Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent Garden for six evening performances, from Monday 28th July to Saturday 2nd August 2014 at 7.45pm. The show will be part of this year's Camden Fringe Festival, and will star Emma Stirling as 'Cynthia', Adam Joselyn as 'Dave' and Ellen Gallagher as 'Nicole'.

For Cynthia, university life is a living nightmare. She hates her peers, her campus and she's beginning to hate herself. Her only ‘friend’ is Nicole - a scatterbrained party girl who gravitated towards Cynthia because of a shared loneliness. In an effort to move up the social ladder, they join the only student society that appealed - the Speculative Analysis Society (Spec Anal for short) - a group that seeks to prove the existence of the paranormal. As it turns out, it’s not a group at all; just a fella in a bow-tie named Dave, a lone ghost enthusiast who believes that the isolated rural campus of Trent Park University is haunted by the spirits of the witches that were once burnt on the grounds of the campus. Cynthia’s sceptical, but the trio venture out into the seemingly endless fields at night. Is the tale a harmless fantasy? Or will they uncover a deadly truth?'

This will be Bad Bat's first Camden Fringe run, though the team have had years of success at the Fringe as part of ManMoth Productions. This will be the team's second run at the wonderful Tristan Bates Theatre, a lovely theatre in the heart of London's West End. We're delighted to be opening the Camden Fringe at the Tristan Bates as their first show of the festival. We aim to be a tough act to follow. Expect laughs, scares and a whole bunch of fun.

Tickets will be £10, and go on sale on the 1st of June 2014. Check back soon for details on how to book and more info about Bad Bat productions!'  Taken from badbat.co.uk

'The Good Death Guide' makes the Wattpad Featured Story List

What a busy week! My short story THE GOOD DEATH GUIDE has been chosen by Wattpad to be a part of their ongoing 'Featured Story List'. The story was previously short listed in the Fine Line Short Story competition in 2011, so it's great that the story is finally reaching a wider audience.

The list promotes content reviewed and approved by staff and an editorial review board, so it's very exciting to be chosen. My story has already garnered nearly 2,000 reads, which is unbelievable really. Wattpad currently hosts over 16 million writers, so is a great platform to have fiction read by a huge audience, and the staff work hard to find work to recommend to their growing users.

I currently have four other short stories available free to read on Wattpad, mostly science fiction and fantasy. If you get a chance to read them, I hope you enjoy them!

KZINE issue 8 out now

KZINE issue 8, featuring my science fiction horror short story HEAT, is available now on amazon. Click here for further details.

It’s terrific to have been selected for publication for a second time in such a great genre magazine, catering for those who enjoy a wide range of diverse genre fiction like myself.

HEAT tells the story of a teenage girl who babysits an anti-social boy genius with an unhealthy obsession - pro wrestling.  I hope that the tale really hammers home the expression ‘a little knowledge is a dangerous thing’.

This story has a bit of everything I love in it. It took time and effort to get it right, and I’m extremely happy with the end product. I'm thrilled it's found a platform where it will be read, and hopefully enjoyed. And if you enjoy it, a review on Amazon saying so would be hugely appreciated.

Casting Call

'We are now accepting applications for the lead role in THE PROBLEMING, Steve Jordan's new horror comedy play. Please click HERE to apply. We’re looking for someone professional and committed to take on our lead role and become a crucial part of our small but extremely successful (even if we say so ourselves, and we do, often) team. The closing date is 15th Feb 2014.

We will be announcing further details in the next couple of months - can't wait to tell you all about it!' from the Bad Bat website.

Jonathan Creek: 'The White Lady' by Steve Jordan

So, I've written a Jonathan Creek spec script. What started as a bit of fun has turned out as a writing sample. You can read and download the entire script as a pdf HERE.

For fans of David Renwick's mystery series, it serves as a kind of alternative 2013 Easter special. Anyway, whether you're a fan of Creek or not, I hope you enjoy it!

THE WHITE LADY by Steve Jordan
Famous psychic medium Margaret Hart has predicted her own death, claiming she will die at the hands of the 'White Lady', the ghostly figure who speaks to her from beyond the grave. Margaret's son Paul invites his girlfriend Joey Ross and her friend Jonathan Creek to the family home on the night his mother claims she is to die. Margaret's prediction comes true - she dies in a locked room, facing the portrait of the Lady. But is her ghost story a cover for a baffling suicide or a brutal murder? Jonathan and Joey embark on a quest to find out.

My spec Jonathan Creek script was entirely a writing exercise of my own devising and is not affiliated with the BBC TV serials. The characters and format belong to David Renwick, though I had a lot of fun experimenting with them!