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Amanda Mason

@amandajmason

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Bookish. Rep'd by Julia Silk. #TheWaywardGirls #TheHidingPlace #TheDark

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The clocks go back tonight, don't forget!

Which makes this the right evening to mention that Whitby has been doing gothic since 1890, when a theatre manager from Dublin spent a few days on the West Cliff and left with a name, a shipwreck and a churchyard as his inspiration.

This November we continue that gothic thread, right here where it all began:

Laura Purcell on the queens of gothic fiction. Essie Fox and Jess Kidd on Cathy Earnshaw. Lucie McKnight Hardy at nine o'clock at night in a bar. A live Wuthering Heights podcast. Folklore and the supernatural at the Pavilion. And a children's event about the things that don't wait until dark.

🎟 Book your tickets now!

#WhitbyLitFest #Gothic #Dracula #WhitbyLitFest26 #Whitby #GothicFiction #AmReading

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📣 Last chance... We've have a number of events very close to selling out, so if you don't want to miss out please book your tickets now! Here are the events with limited tickets remaining:

📗 The Wirefolk of Whitby - Emma Stothard with Tim Kelly.
✒ Writing Workshop: Thrutopia with Kate Evans.
📖 There’s Been a Murder, Pet - Ann Cleeves with Alison Graham
📚 It’s me, it’s Cathy! Essie Fox, Jess Kidd & Amanda Mason

Last year we saw lots of last-minute interest across the programme, but some visitors were left disappointed.

We've kept our programme affordable, so why not go out on a limb - take a chance on the events which pique your interest, you won't be disappointed!

#whitbylitfest #literature #festival #books #authors

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An edgy superstack celebrating just some of the fantastic and fearful fiction that blends folklore, horror and the blurred boundaries of where mysterious and macabre combine … we have a terrific selection of choices including novels and short story anthologies, in-store now.

Featuring:
Beasts of England edited by Nathan Connolly, published by @deadinkbooks
Water Shall Refuse Them by @lucie_mckhardy
Barrowbeck by Andrew Michael Hurley
Christmas and Other Horrors edited by Ellen Datlow, published by @titanbooks
The Lamb by @lucyrosecreates
Scuttler’s Cove by @davidmbarnett
Pet Sematary by @stephenking
Lost in the Garden by @adam.leslie2018
The Ritual by @adamlgnevill
The Dark by @amandajmason
Winterset Hollow by @thisone0verhere

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Just finished reading The Dark by @amandajmason , a wonderfully eerie and delightfully creepy story following a young pregnant woman who finds herself alone and maybe not so alone in the dark of the 1972 blackouts.

There is a real sense of dread seeping through every page of this book and I absolutely devoured it. Reading it late into the night with only a very small reading light may have been a mistake, but I absolutely couldn’t put it down. The unsettling dreams were well worth it!

I particularly love the folklore at the heart of this story, that lurks within the landscape and the village and which drives the characters to do strange and terrible things. It is so wonderfully crafted and feels like it may really be lurking out there somewhere along the coast…

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She so nice….but she so Dark 🖤

Signed copies of @amandajmason latest spine-tingling read to plunge you into 70s supernaturalia.

Be brave, be strong - don’t fear The Dark

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Had a fine time with Amanda Mason this afternoon. Hanging out, signing books, meeting customers and talking horror, dark nights and mystery. Grab a signed copy when you next visit. See you soon, a big thanks Amanda xx. #supportsmallbusiness #indiebookshop #friends #authorsofinstagram #thankyou

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Join us this evening for the launch of Amanda Mason’s @amandajmason new ghost story … if you dare 🙈#marsden #slaithwaite #lovereading #independentbookshop #bookstagram

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💡When the lights go out, you can lose sight of what is real . . .

Happy publication day to THE DARK by @amandajmason; a spinetingling seaside folk horror set against the blackouts of the 1970s.

A remote Yorkshire village. A young woman alone. Strange noises in the night. THE DARK has all the makings of an unsettling read, especially as our evenings get colder and darker.

'Gripping and thoroughly eerie'
@lucie_mckhardy

'Deliciously spinetingling'
@annamazzolawriter

'The perfect ghostly web of claustrophobia and grief'
@essie_fox_author

THE DARK is out now. You might want to read this one with the light on... 🔦

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📚My Ten Most Recent Book Purchases📚

These are some of the books I’ve purchased over the last few weeks. I’m lucky enough to be sent a lot of proofs throughout the year, but I also find myself buying around 8 to 10 books a month on top of this. These are the last ten books I purchased over the last few weeks.

My TBR pile is crazy and I know I should take a break for a few months from buying new books; unfortunately, my mind is telling me different 😂. The moment I see a bookshop, I think to myself I will just check it out, have a quick browse. An hour later, I appear with a bag full of new books. My weakness is signed books! Even if I have a book already, like a proof copy, if I see a lovely finished signed copy in store (I’m probably going to buy it, even if I’ve already read it 😊).

My Ten most recent purchases:

The Strangers by Naomi Alderman (Signed)
PLY by Hernan Diaz (Signed)
Issac by Curtis Garner (Signed)
The Dark by Amanda Mason (Signed)
Stations by Louise Kennedy (Signed)
Taipei Story by Rebecca F. Kuang (Signed)
American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee (Signed)
The Fish Curse by Wong Leung-Wo
Attention All Shipping by Kathy Biggs
Dodge City by Patrick deWitt (Signed)

My collection is getting large now and soon I think I could open as a Public Library!

What’s been your most recent book purchase? Let me know in the comments 📚

#newbookrelease #minjinlee #rebeccafkuang #hernandiaz #patrickdewitt

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Meet two exciting authors weaving spellbinding, spine-tingling tales! 🔮✨

🕯️ The Wise Witch of Orkney by Anna Caig: A dark historical debut set in 1593, where King James VI’s ruthless witch hunt reaches deep into the royal court itself...

🌊 The Dark by Amanda Mason: An unsettling 1970s folk horror following a new mother in a remote seaside village - where strange noises and dark shadows linger in the corners.

Link in bio.

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*My October Reading List*

My favourite time of the year has arrived! I love it when the colder days start to creep in and the leaves start falling from the trees 🍂. There’s no feeling better than reading in front of the fire with a nice warm drink and the rain and wind howling on the window outside.

I’ve spent a few days looking at what books to prioritise this month as there are genuinely so many new books I’m desperate to read. I also like to add a few scary reads (it is Halloween month). Since finishing the entire Booker Longlist last month I’ve got back into a nice rhythm catching up on so many books I’ve been wanting to read. A few recent reads, Stations by Louise Kennedy, Understory by Chloe Benjamin and Dodge City by Patrick DeWitt have been outstanding.

This is what I’ve come up with for October:

1. The Floating World by Ben Eastham
2. The Strangers by Naomi Alderman
3. We Turn Gruesome at Night by Eric LaRocca
4. The Dark by Amanda Mason
5. Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun
6. In One Brief Moment All Eternity by Elif Shafak
7. Find Me Where It Ends by Cassandra Khaw
8. American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee
9. The Castle by Jon Ronson
10. Mistranslation by Madeleine Moss

I have to say I can’t wait to start this month’s reads. Every month, I always aim to read ten books, but in reality, this can vary hugely depending on how much spare time I have, bookish events I’m attending (I have a few this month), and work commitments. Some months I find I’ve only read eight books, then other months I’ve read twelve or thirteen. For me, ten is a good base marker to aim for. What I do like to make sure of when coming up with a list is diversity in genres. So there’s always something I want to read depending on mood.

I hope you all had a great month of reading! I really want to know from all of you what book you’re all most looking forward to reading in October? Is it a new release? A proof that you’ve been waiting for? Are you planning on reading any horror this month?

Let me know in the comments 🎃

#autumnreads #octoberreads #readinglist #elifshafak #minjinlee

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My current reading ‘The Dark’ by Amanda Mason @amandajmason … warning don’t read on your own at night .. spookily good 😬👻👻🙀. Set in a remote village near Whitby in the 1970’s. Amanda Mason is visiting our Marsden shop on Thursday 8th October (launch day) for a Q&A, it will make for a very atmospheric literary evening. Tickets can be bought via our website and in store … be prepared is all I can say 🙀📚#choosebookshops #lovereading #marsden #slaithwaite #independentbookshop

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