David Brian's Blog, page 6

With a knock kneed chicken and a bow legged hen...

I haven't been so happy since I don't know when!

I'd just like to say a massive, massive well done to Northampton Town Football Club.

And indulge in a brief (personal) history lesson.

It was a chilly midweek evening, many years ago, and I was filled with a nervous anticipation. A young boy about to attend my first 'proper' football match. I was being jostled amid a sea of bodies, in a queue which stretched the length of Abington Avenue, the main road which runs parallel to Northampton's (then) home, The County Ground.
We had just drew close to the first set of turnstiles, but my dad directed me away from these and on towards another turnstile, which was situated under the main stand. As we began to move forward past a set of double gates, a thunderous roar erupted from inside the ground, swiftly followed by a repetitious chant of 'NORTHAMPTON!' which filled the night air.
The crescendo of noise was coming from an area beyond the gates, and the urgent, almost violent edge it carried made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Excitement coursed through me, and I looked at my dad, wanting answers as to what was going on. He smiled and told me, 'That's the Hotel End terrace, son.'
He shook his head when I asked if we were going in that section, and said 'it would be some years before I was old enough to venture into there.'
It was some years later, but eventually I did become a regular on the Hotel End.

We watched that first match from the tightly packed, although infinitely safer side-terracing, and I was entranced by the magic that was Northampton Town.
Of course, a significant fact managed to escape me that night. We were playing the mighty Aston Villa in the third round of the League Cup, and we drew the game with a goal apiece, and in front of over fifteen thousand fans.
My second match was the return leg at Villa Park, and a game we lost by three goals to one. A game played in front of over twenty five thousand fans. It didn't matter that we lost, because I was hooked!
These occasions were electric!
Following Northampton was electric... well, not quite.

You see, those first two games I attended were huge (at least by Northampton's standards), but they were far from the norm.
Following a team who play in the lower leagues (and unfortunately that is an area Northampton Town tend to frequent) can make for painful viewing. Poor quality football, low crowds, little success, and truly awful, inedible food on offer.
Even a move away from The County Ground, to the newly built Sixfields Stadium failed to produce any longterm improvement in the clubs fortunes.
But that first match had captured me, and from that day forward Northampton was in my heart. I was, and always would remain a fan of The Cobblers!

If only dad had taken me to see Manchester United it may have all been different!
But the Town were in my blood, and once a Cobbler always a Cobbler!

Over the years success for my team has proven sporadic at best, and the last couple of years had been dire. This season though, under the excellent chairmanship of David Cardoza, and the management of Aidy Boothroyd, Northampton Town just might be on the up!

On Saturday May 18th, Northampton Town Football Club will contest the League Two Play-Off Final against Bradford City, at Wembley Stadium. It will be only the third time Northampton have appeared at Wembley, and the winners will be promoted to League One. And after the last few years of struggle, success for The Cobblers would be a massive achievement.

So please, excuse me my wandering down memory lane, as I wanted to share Northampton's upturn with you all. And remember if you are a neutral, on the 18th support The Cobblers!

Good luck to Aidy and the boys.
And Bayo, let's do this one Beastmode!

More April Giveaways!

Following on from The Boy On The Beach kindle giveaway, which I ran at the beginning of April.

And the Goodreads giveaway of ten copies of Carmilla - The Wolves Of Styria, which will run until April 30th.

I have now decided to offer two signed copies of Dark Albion, available to win as Goodreads giveaways - in a contest which runs from April 18th until April 23rd.

Juliet is trapped in a loveless and abusive marriage. Her husband is a violent bully, intent on making her life into a living hell... Presumably, he has never heard the old adage about 'a woman scorned'.

Vlad has hunted his prey across the major cities of the world for many years, and after arriving amid the bright lights of London, he is excited at the prospect of this new hunting ground... Sometimes though, things don't go quite as planned.

A wonderfully twisted collection of horror stories which occult author - Phillip Cooper, describes as 'great stuff, and a chilling candlelight read!'
Featuring weird and disturbing tales, all of which make up the very strange world of Dark Albion.

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...

I'd like to wish the very best of luck to all who attempt to win a copy of Dark Albion, or indeed Carmilla - The Wolves Of Styria, too.

Be Lucky!

David

The April monster(s) giveaway!

Well, here we goes then!

Having taken my time settling into being a Goodreads author, I've now decided to take the plunge and do my first Goodreads giveaway!

Carmilla - The Wolves of Styria is a nicely priced little read, currently £1.91 on kindle, and with a paperback version available too.
I've decided to feature this title as a Goodreads giveaway, with ten signed copies up for grabs between April 9th-30th.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Carmilla-Wolv...

Also, as an added bonus my novella, The Boy on the Beach, is going to be free to download on Amazon from April 8th until April 12th. And I'm guessing it's a story which will feature a creature new to most fans of horror. I very much hope you enjoy!

A young woman finds herself alone in the night, and nothing will ever be the same again! A unique journey into terror.
For fans of dark fantasy, a tale of one woman's descent into a world that just should not exist, and the journey of self discovery which she is forced to take.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Boy-Beach-ebo...

If you enjoy your monsters, then I hope you'll enjoy my April giveaway!

Peace.

Ten months of hard work! But finally...

It's ready to go!

Okay, so I'll 'fess up! I originally wrote this post way back in December of 2012, just after I published Carmilla - The Wolves of Styria... Thing is, I thought it'd be nice to post it on goodreads, just in case anyone is interested in the highs and lows of being an indie writer.

Peace.

As an indie, life can be tough. Writing the initial draft is one of the enjoyable bits. You have your plot worked out and can barely hit the keys fast enough. Life is great, and it culminates in that moment when you finish the first draft.

After your next read through (and multiple edits), you pass the piece you have crafted on to your beta-readers. Without these people you would be nothing. They spot the mistakes which you've missed.
After hundreds of hours staring at the same manuscript, believe me it is easy to become blind to something which should be obvious.
The down side is that they will also point out things which they don't like, and sometimes the critique can sting a little.

After the next round of edits and beta-readers, repeat with more edits and (hopefully) a final set of readers. Once you are fairly certain that the book is almost to spec, then you read through again. Even at this late stage there are usually a few final tweaks which need to be made. But you know things are close to completion now, and so you experience that same buzz of excitement which accompanied the completion of your first draft.

Finally, it's done, and all feels good in the world... well, sort of.

You need tough skin to be an author. No matter how many people praise your work, rest assured there will always be some whose opinions differ. Of course, this is fine, where would we be if opinions didn't differ? Well, yeah, a more peaceful world... but that's a debate for another day.

Anyhow, I'm just pleased to announce the completion of my latest project. I say project, but it feels a whole lot more personal to me than 'a project.'

Since I was a boy, I have considered J Sheridan Le Fanu to be one of the greatest horror writers of his generation. It was because of my affection for his craft that I decided to create this book, and so the seeds for 'Carmilla - The Wolves of Styria' began to blossom in my mind. I enjoyed writing this book, and because of my affection for the story within its pages, I even enjoyed the editing process.

I Hope you enjoy it too.

Seriously; Growing up in a two hundred year old house can seriously mess with your head!!

Black:


Little Davy watched as his Dad closed the bedroom door,
After saying, “goodnight my son,”
And Davy buried his head beneath the sheets and prayed that she would not come.

Hideous hag in long dark dress,
She entered his room each night,
To mutter and curse in unspoken verse,
And fill his heart with fright.

Davy decided to stay awake,
As he had on every night which came before,
But eventually eyes flickered, then closed,
And his worry was no more.

Around the witching hour,
He awakened with a start,
Icy fear clambered up his spine,
And grabbed hold his beating heart.

Bedroom door slowly opens,
The rooms filled with a blue grey light,
And young Davy could tell, it was different now,
She had come to claim him on this night.

Davy doesn’t want to go,
He desperately tries to resist,
But her cold and bony fingers,
Cut deep into his wrists.

She leads the boy from bedroom,
Along winding landings to the stairs,
And when at the top, then she did stop,
To gloat that finally he would now be theirs.

Icy fingers gripped tightly onto Davy’s shoulders,
Getting set for one big push,
And just as she was to launch him,
To send him flying through the air,
A low guttural roar, and then the sound of paws,
Moving ever closer up those stairs.

From the darkness, the shape that emerged was Old Black,
A lurcher, of good age and spirit true,
And although that dog sensed evil,
He never doubted what he should do.
Old Black moved quickly toward Davy,
Once side by side they grew strong,
Old Black’s canines bared and gleaming,
Little Davy’s fear now gone.

Now that dark woman spat out,
That she would have her way,
She raised her hands and versed silent bands,
But that old dog did not sway,
No matter what she tried this night,
From his boy he would not stray.

Suddenly, Old Black leapt forward,
And with one mighty canine roar,
He sank his teeth deep into her,
And dragged her to the floor.
With one last silent scream of rage,
That dark woman she was gone,
Old Black had banished her,
Back to where she did belong.

As Davy climbed back under his covers that night,
He felt so safe, secure,
With his old friend beside his bed,
Lying stretched out on the floor.

When Davy’s eyes opened, it was morning,
He squinted as he saw the light from the sun,
He leapt up and raced to his parents bedroom,
To tell of all that Old Black had done.

Mother sat up in bed, as she heard her boy come charging in,
She said, “Come and climb in here my son,
While we tell you of some things.”


As Davy climbed upon their bed his father cuddled him,
It was with reddened eyes, and between deep sighs,
But finally father did begin,
“I’m sorry son, but me and your mum,
Well there’s something we must say,
You see, at half past seven last night,
Old Black he did pass away,
He was just lying by the fireside,
And peacefully he slipped away.
I know it is sad, but we should just be glad that…”

“No! No! No!” Davy did protest,
“This cannot be right!
You see Old Black he came to me,
It was dark, it was late, and it was night!”

Well they said Davy was dreaming,
That he had imagined all which came before,
But I know what Old Black did that night,
Yes, I know what I saw,
He was there for me,
To care for me,
To stand right by my side,
Without you my faithful old friend,
Evil would never have been denied.

For Blackie, Always loved, never forgotten.

The pain of loss.

First off, let me apologize. This post is not book related, and some may consider it heavy going for a first blog on goodreads. But, please, stick with me, I'm sure some of you will get it.

Many of us love our pets, and many too have known the pain which their passing can inflict upon us.

Some people just don't get it. 'It was only a cat/dog/hamster/(insert as necessary).' The thing is, that animal (particularly in the case of a dog or cat) was more a part of your family than some long lost aunt/uncle, who you last saw at cousin sally's wedding.

On the 29th of July 2012 my heart was broken, again. Sam, my wire haired jack russell terrier faced his final trip to the vets. Sam had been deaf for the last two years. He only had 40% vision in his good eye, and had been on medication for over a year due to the onset of fits. But he remained a happy dog, and I am sure he thoroughly enjoyed his fifteen plus years with me.

When the end came, well unfortunately it's a path I'd trodden before. Personally, I'm a dog person, always have been, always will be. But I know cat lovers who suffer that same sense of loss. If you are 'an animal person' then you'll understand what I mean.

I wrote a poem in 1997, on the night that Gemma, my red fell terrier died. It was later published and won a number of credits.
Although it was written for and named after Gemma, it could just as easily have been called Blackie/Bella/Gemma/Gem/Ellie/Chloe or Sam.

I'd like to put that poem up on here now, and I'd like to dedicate it to all of those whom I've loved then lost, and just as importantly, it is dedicated to any loved pets who have passed on from you. I hope you enjoy and can take comfort from my words. Peace.


GEMMA

You're leaving me now for a little while,
But I must hide my grief, and shed no tears.
I must just grit my teeth and turn my mind to our golden years.
It starts out bravely, I raise a gallant smile, and for
your sake I hope I can hold it a while.
Inside I have so much grief and pain. Life to continue,
Why the need to change?
But I know that is selfish, those thoughts are for me.
To let you continue, what sort of friend could I be?
And I know for your sake, our time has come to part.
You reach out your paw, place it on to my hand.
I look in your eyes, do you really understand?
I comfort you, and hold you near.
And as you pass, it all becomes clear.
I never need be afraid to die,
Because I have a friend waiting, high in the sky.

For Sam; rest in peace, little buddy.