The Absinthe Goth Festival - 28th April 2018

Whitby! It has to be without doubt one of my favourite places to visit. Great fish and chips, good real ale, the holiday home of Dracula. What a place! And its also the town that attracts various individuals from the Goth and Steampunk cultures.

While my previous weekends at Whitby took in the atmosphere of the place and seeing some of the amazing outfits people wore, I had a book stall set up at the Metropolitan Ballroom and Lounge not far from the coastline.

I was there to promote both Cursed Horror Stars and my forthcoming Basil Rathbone talk at the Castle Keep. Managed to sell a few books too.

My thanks to Kirstin Lavender for getting me involved in this worthwhile event. What a wonderful organiser. She did an incredible job getting in a good crowd of people. I'll bet she'll sleep for a week.

One amazing highlight was meeting up with Arlene Russo once more. Arlene was editor of the Glasgow based vampire magazine Bite Me, which published my first professional article. We had lost touch for a few years so it was nothing short of wonderful to see her again. I hope we can stay in touch.

After packing up the stall, I took in the evening entertainment, which came courtesy of The Skeletal Family. I'll admit Goth music has a bit too much symbolism for my taste but it is unique stuff, and once again the costumes were amazing.

In addition to my Basil Rathbone talk on 12 May, my talk for the Friday Film Club has been confirmed at Gateshead Central Library on 18 May at 2:00 pm. Its free entry so please get along for a great day.

So I have two talks to rehearse.