Out now, and available as a PDF publication from HERE.
Way back in the 1990s, Cyrkel Spynn was an independent goth zine run by Alan Miller, (or Crazy Alan Craw, as he was then known). This publication had featured several peices by me, plus plenty of other writers. The zine scene was a lively, wonderfully creative and quirky, low-cost way of sharing and exploring multiple subcultures. The internet plus the rising cost of snail mail pretty much killed that scene off, but all things change.
Last year, I was in the process of updating some information and wondered if there was any lingering trace of Cyrkel Spynn floating around the internet. A quick search led me to the DMMG DisAssociation Music & Media Group webpage, (so new it was still under construction), where, with a lovely example of synchronicity, I read of Alan's plan to reboot the magazine.
To cut a long story short, the newly published magazine is now available, and it really is absolutely packed with interviews, book reviews, gig reviews, and music reviews, and photos. Cyrkel Spynn has stayed true to its goth, pagan, witchcraft roots, something this new issue celebrates in style.
The interviews with musician, poet, and environmental activist Steve Andrews, and author Raven Digitalis are very interesting reads. Steve and I have known each other for something like 40 years even though we've never met in person, which probably sounds a bit weird. We chatted over his dad's phone once, when I interviewed him for Smokin' Dragon, a zine I used to run. Raven Digitalis and I have known each other for quite some years too, and we've never met in person either - though we did take part in a recorded video interview, to promote the anthology he edited, Black Magick: 13 Tales of Darkness, Horror and the Occult, which features one of my short stories, Spanish Jones.
There is a lovely review of Black Magick, too, which has some very kind comments about Spanish Jones.
This issue features interviews with The Venus Fly Trap, Amnesiak, Stella Wembley, Bitter Kisses, Attrition, plus the interview I did with goth rock band Chaos Bleak. I hadn't interviewed a band since my old Smokin' Dragon days, so that was a bit of fun.
This issue has poetry by Neil James Rhind. He was a schoolboy when he published Hallow Zine, in 1996, (which included some of my poems), and here he is, still writing, which is a pleasure to see.
Cykel Spynn also features one of my short stories, Make Do and Mend, which I hope you'll enjoy.
For full details of the contents, click on the link directly under the image of the front cover.
I've not had time to read the whole 127-page magazine yet, of course - it's huge!
Treat yourself to a copy!
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