Bloody Red Nose: Fifteen Fears of a Clown

In a world filled with menace, dare to paint on a grin.The world is full of images of scary clowns: packs of grinning figures with knives plaguing towns; pom-pom clad serial killers; loners who like children in the wrong way.But clowns can be a force for good: it takes a kind heart to put other people’s joy first; keeping children entertained is honest work; what better disguise than one that makes the villains laugh?What if, rather than being childhood-spoiling serial killers, clowns were the victims or heroes of the story?When all the children at a party are poisoned, an entertainer’s profession and past both make him a prime suspect.An anti-corporate prankster discovers his guru might be just as callous as the capitalist world-view he claims to reject.A clown attempts to redeem the image of his profession by saving a group of teenagers from a serial killer.And twelve more stories of clowns facing humanity’s baser natures.

About the Author

Dave Higgins writes and publishes speculative fiction, often with a dark edge. Despite forays into the mundane worlds of law and IT, he was unable to completely escape the liminal zone between mystery and horror. His short stories have appeared in several magazines and anthologies, including All These Shiny Worlds, Millhaven's Tales of Suspense, and DimensionBucket. He published his first solo novel, Seven Stones: The Complete Series, a gritty fantasy homage to pulp serials, in 2018. He has also co-authored two humour trilogies with Simon Cantan. In January 2019, he established Abstruse Press, an imprint releasing speculative fiction anthologies. Born in the least mystically significant part of Wiltshire, England, and raised by a librarian, he started reading shortly after birth and has not stopped since. He currently lives in Bristol with his wife, Nicola, his cats, Jasper and Una, a giant sack of coffee beans, a plush altar to the Dark Lord Cthulhu, and many shelves of books. It's rumoured he writes and publishes out of a fear that he will otherwise run out of things to read.

Reviews

News