Mark Morris (born 15 June 1963) is an English author known for his series of horror novels, although he has also written several novels based on the BBC Television series Doctor Who.[1] He used the pseudonym J. M. Morris for his 2001 novel Fiddleback.[2]
Morris began his writing career in 1988 as part of the (now defunct) Enterprise Allowance Scheme,[4] which was at that time paying claimants £30 a week to be self-employed. His first novel, Toady, was published in 1989 (re-titled The Horror Club, and its text shortened by one-third for the US market) and several further books followed: Stitch, The Immaculate, The Secret of Anatomy, Mr Bad Face, Longbarrow, Genesis and Nowhere Near an Angel. Before Toady, he had written a novel called The Winter Tree, which was rejected by publishers, but allowed him to gain him some familiarity with them.
In addition to his major works, Morris has published, as chapbooks, the novellas The Dogs[5] (for Barrington Stoke, an imprint for 'reluctant readers') and The Uglimen.[6]
Morris has written a great deal of other short fiction, too, his first published short story being 1988's "Homeward Bound," published in the magazine Dark Dreams (#6, 1988)[7] and continuing well into the 21st century (for example, 2014's "Sins Like Scarlet," co-written with Rio Youers) in the anthology Dark Duets: All-New Tales of Horror and Dark Fantasy.[8] Morris has contributed many book reviews to the genre field, as well as essays.[9]
He has also published two volumes of short stories, Close to the Bone and Voyages into Darkness (with Stephen Laws) and a novel as "J.M. Morris": Fiddleback (which was renamed The Lonely Places and had a slightly longer epilogue for the US market, which the author claims was "in order to (quote from US editor): 'clarify matters for a US readership.'"[citation needed]). A further collection of short fiction, Separate Skins, was due for release from British small press publisher Tanjen, but the publisher went out of business around that time and the book — introduced by Graham Joyce - remains unpublished.
The novel Nowhere near an Angel was intended to be his second J. M. Morris novel for Macmillan, but they rejected it as they considered 'J. M. Morris' to be a female writer (Fiddleback was written from a female point of view), despite Mark's publicity appearances for the novel. Nowhere Near An Angel was published by PS Publishing, and a further planned J. M. Morris novel, "Cold Harbour" was later reworked as "The Black".
He is currently published by the small press publisher PS Publishing. Morris has also worked in the retail sector for the book retailer Borders in Leeds.
^Orion Publishing Group (c. 2001). "Fiddleback, by Mark Morris". Orion Publishing Group. Retrieved 9 June 2014. As Ruth becomes concerned that something terrible has happened to her brother, events escalate mysteriously, dangerously out of control. Then in one fearful moment she is sure she glimpses the abusive ex-boyfriend she left behind in London... Ruth realises that her worst fears haunt her still, and that she is at the centre of a far darker nightmare than she could ever have imagined.
^Marshall, Jill. "The Dogs". Reading Matters. Retrieved 10 June 2014. This may be a short story, but it is a horror story... Alice Manly grows up, but Aunt Vanessa never really stops looking for some trace of her dogs out there on the moor. For what could be worse than losing your dogs and never knowing what became of them? I'll tell you. Finding them again after nine years could be much worse.
