Thrills and chills

Spooky books to haunt your Halloween.

Three Little Words

J.M Robson, Vanguard Press, £8.99

HORROR author J.M Robson admits even she is terrified by the words that flow from her fingertips.

It’s an unexpected occupational hazard for the Dundee-based mum and gran who, when she is not writing novels, runs a quality, health and safety consultancy company.

J.M – aka Jane – explains: “I know it seems strange but I do scare myself. I feel that if I wouldn’t be scared by the story then others wouldn’t be scared either.”

And she confesses she penned Three Little Words – her first book which came out earlier this year – a decade ago but didn’t have the courage to send it to a publisher.

Having finally taken the bull by the horns she reveals: “It was all to do with self-belief in my writing. I was so pleased when a publisher wanted to give me a contract.”

The fast-paced novel is set in Death Valley, Nevada, USA and has a chillingly original storyline.

Its publication has given Jane the confidence to write a sequel, The Revenge Of The Fallen, along with a new Scotland-set thriller, I Am The Walker.

Animal lover Jane, who writes at home in the evenings with her three rescue dogs by her side, says: “I love writing horror novels. In Three Little Words I wanted to make the supernatural killer a bit different from the usual demon found in horror stories.

“Mine is a descendant of the Nephilim, biblical creatures that left heaven to mate with humans. They wreaked havoc for the short time they populated Earth. I thought it would be fitting that their descendant also loved to see suffering, death and fed on the souls of the heartbroken.

“This being is not only responsible for the deaths of the broken-hearted, it ensures that everyone left behind is traumatised; they believe they are responsible, knowing if they had just said those Three Little Words (I love you), their loved ones would still be alive.

“It plays with your head and makes you really think about ensuring those you care about know just how important they are to you or you could live to regret it.” Her third novel, a thriller horror, is set closer to home in the Scottish Highlands and centres on the life of a troubled young man.

“His father hates him, his cousin bullies him and his mother doesn’t want anything to do with him,” says Jane. “One day he snaps. There are a number of deaths and a shocking truth comes to light.”

Three Little Words is out now. The Revenge Of The Fallen and I Am The Walker will be out soon.