Dark bleatings, everyone! This isn’t a book review because I work as an assistant for the press that has just released this novella and I don’t want to be accused of using this separate platform to bolster the marketing. However, I LOVE this author’s work (I interviewed him years ago, and you can find that interview HERE if you’re interested), and I really like this new dark offering, so wanted to make sure you guys know it exists!
One Last Laugh in the Dark is a twisted little treat for those of you that enjoy novellas and the merging of (or borrowing from) certain genres. It’s very much a horror story but, as the title suggests, there is a very dark streak of humour running through it. Here’s the synopsis:
Struggling stand-up comedian Nick Avery has two shows left in his final Adelaide Fringe run and then he’s going to end his life. Alcoholism, obscurity, hallucinations, and a broken heart are bad enough…but since childhood he’s been haunted by a spiteful vision he calls the Boy — a surreal and terrifying twin that only he can see or hear, who demands that Nick surrender control to him. And yet darker plots are unfolding, for death stalks the comedy circuit and Nick has not gone quite as unnoticed as he thinks…
Because I’m privy to behind the scenes info, as well as expressing my general love for the story, I want to make mention of the amount of work that has also gone into the cover. In this current climate of AI bullshit (I would never work for anyone that uses it and I will never knowingly review or talk about a book here that has used generative AI in any capacity), it’s never been more important to highlight the actual hard work of, you know, HUMANS. I’m sorry, but feeding details into a programme and letting it do the work for you by pilfering and cannibalising the work of real people, without their consent or any sort of compensation is simply not creating art, and if you do that, you’re not an artist.
Meg Wright AKA Red Wallflower, is the person behind this book cover. She actually hand-crafted the mask and photographed it to create the cover image, and with the colours used for the backdrop and the lighting, I think it looks fantastic.
If you’re interested in checking out the book, I’ve popped all the sales links below for you (I don’t use affiliate links):
Bleeeat!
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