The Couvade (Short Sharp Shocks!)

Martin’s keeping a dangerous secret from his partner. He’s found love with Jerome, and a life happily estranged from the shapeshifting rituals of his past. But some secrets don’t die. As the past comes alive and lures them into a trap, Martin must choose whether to be hunter or prey… Writing about ‘The Couvade’ and the protagonist of Martin, Joe said: “He is a psychiatrist despite his dark secrets, or more likely because of them. He keeps anxiety at bay by maintaining control as the Doctor, the master of the situation. I like that he’s an expert in sanity with a fragile center. He’s kind of a mess as a human, and makes bad decisions in his relationship with Jerome, and his reluctance to trust makes him blind to obvious threats.” Joe also added about his research for ‘The Couvade’: “Elements of this story grew from my interest in sin-eaters, as well as the medieval criminal case of Gilles de Rais. I mean, I just do research because I’m a nerd, basically! Years ago I first heard of sin-eaters from a friend who saw one at their grandmother’s wake. Their description of the cloaked sin-eater stuck with me, as did the mystery of what happened behind the closed door. I took my research wildly out of context to create a mythology for this story, though.”(Cover by Adrian Baldwin)

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