David Moody's Blog, page 85
September 3, 2012
TRUST – chapter 12
Another brief post today (because I’m meeting James Herbert tonight and I need to get ready/calm my nerves/prepare my questions etc. etc. – I’ll hopefully report back here tomorrow). Chapter 12 of TRUST is now available at www.trustdavidmoody.com.
TRUST – chapter 12 is a post from: David Moody - author of TRUST and the HATER and AUTUMN books
September 2, 2012
Take Shelter
An interesting theme (which, coincidentally, is one of the underlying themes of TRUST) is how hard it is for an individual to hold on to their own beliefs in the face of massive opposition from everyone else. Today’s Post-Apocalyptic Movie Club selection is about just that. In TRUST, Tom Winter remains unsure about the aliens whilst everyone else seems intent on welcoming them with open arms. In TAKE SHELTER, Curtis (played by the excellent Michael Shannon), is convinced the world’s about to end. The bottom line is simple and stark: he’s either right or he’s insane.
Curtis is an ordinary man who works hard for the family he dotes over. He has a wife and a very young, profoundly deaf daughter, and he’s a well-respected member of the tight-knit local community. But he also has a problem. He is experiencing apocalyptic visions of increasing severity with increasing regularity. As the visions continue, he begins to question his sanity. And as he struggles to maintain his grip on reality – building a shelter, stocking up on food etc. – his behaviour becomes an increasing concern to all those around him.
I thoroughly enjoyed TAKE SHELTER. It’s a very well made and acted film (particular kudos to writer/director Jeff Nicholls), and key to its success is the fact that no one – Curtis, the people who love him, the audience watching – knows if he’s right or wrong until the last scene. Special effects are used sparingly and to good effect, and the central uncertainty gives the film a sense of real unease which grows by the minute. Put yourself in his shoes… you love your family more than anything else in the world and you’d do absolutely anything to protect them. If you thought there was even the slightest chance that Armageddon was looming on the horizon, could you just sit back and do nothing?
Here’s the trailer. Grab a copy of the film and find out for yourself if Curtis is right or if he’s got it very, very wrong.
Take Shelter is a post from: David Moody - author of TRUST and the HATER and AUTUMN books
August 31, 2012
Last chance
Just a quick post to remind you that the 10% discount offer on the limited edition hardcover of TRUST ends this weekend. Please click here to find out more and get your hands on a copy.
And in today’s TRUST update… Tom Winter has his first very close encounter which you can read now at www.trustdavidmoody.com.
I hope you’re enjoying the book. Remember, ebook and paperback editions are available if you want to read the rest of the story now rather than waiting until the end of December!
Last chance is a post from: David Moody - author of TRUST and the HATER and AUTUMN books
August 30, 2012
What’s next?
I’m conscious that there are a lot of empty spaces on this site right now. The HATER and AUTUMN series are all but finished (though not quite) and the serialisation of TRUST is well underway, but other than that I don’t seem to have many updates to share with you right now. That’s largely because I’m working on a number of new projects, and there’s not a lot to tell about any of them just yet. In any event, I thought I’d give you the barest of details to try and whet your appetites and keep your interest. It also might explain why I’m not around here as much as I’d like.
In no particular order then, here are the projects I’m currently planning/writing/developing/working on…
17 DAYS
A brand new novel which I hope to have written by the end of September. Those of you who’ve been following me for a while might remember MARK THANE – an aborted serialised novel from 2005/6 (I think). 17 DAYS takes the germ of Mark Thane’s story and beefs it up by adding a few healthy dollops of social breakdown and urban terrorism into the mix. It’s actually broader in appeal than anything I’ve written before, I think, and I love it.
THE SPACES BETWEEN
A five (and a half) book series set in a dystopian future not too far removed from today’s reality. Greg Dawson is an armed social worker and one of the few remaining people who still genuinely gives a damn about anyone else. Many of the social and political problems we’re facing today have continued to fester, and the UK has become a dangerous place to live (unless you’ve got power and/or money, and 99% of the population have neither). Dawson’s work brings him into contact with the extremes of the social spectrum, and a series of diverse cases results in him uncovering things no one should have to face. There’s a rumour the world’s going to end soon, but that’s the very least of Dawson’s problems. This one’s going to take a while to see the light of day – it’s an intricate story, so all the individual books have to be fully mapped out before I start writing. With a little luck, I’ll be writing the first book in the series – tentatively titled TOMMY – in early 2013. Think CHILDREN OF MEN meets QUATERMASS, and you’ll start to get an idea of the direction I’m taking with this one.
STRAIGHT TO YOU
I’ve been really pleased with the reception TRUST has had, so I’m going to continue the resurrection of Infected Books by dusting down and re-writing my debut novel from 1996. The plan at the moment is to have the book reworked by early 2013, and to serialise it next year in the same way I’m currently serialising TRUST.
STRANGERS
A quick, dark and dirty horror novel. A really nasty little number. As close to a vampire novel as I’m ever going to get (with absolutely no fangs, capes or sparkly teens). This book is currently being scoped out with a view to (hopefully) trying to bash it out at speed in 2013.
AUTUMN: THE HUMAN CONDITION
Pretty much all of the stories which made up the original release of THE HUMAN CONDITION are now available online at www.lastoftheliving.net. But there’s more… new stories were written to accompany DISINTEGRATION and AFTERMATH, and to further expand the AUTUMN universe (did you read JOE & ME?). I’d like, therefore, to produce a definitive version of The Human Condition (mass market paperback, eBook, limited edition hardcover) which collects up EVERY additional AUTUMN story. ETA – the second half of 2013.
ISOLATION
A brief final word about Isolation, which I announced at the beginning of the year and have so far completely failed to update you about. It is happening. It will be made. We have a great team working on the project but, inevitably, it’s having to take second place to all our other (paying) commitments. It will be worth the wait, I promise. We’re going to be meeting in the coming weeks to get things moving. More news soon.
So there you go. If I’m not posting much on here, that’s why. I am busy, honest!
What’s next? is a post from: David Moody - author of TRUST and the HATER and AUTUMN books
August 27, 2012
August 24, 2012
My appointment with a legend
Have you ever had one of those emails which you read, re-read, then read again, then have to read several more times because you don’t quite believe what you’ve just been told? I received one of those recently, and here’s the result:
On Monday 3rd, September, I’ll be at Waterstones Birmingham New Street where I’ll have the incredible honour of hosting James Herbert’s signing to mark the release of his hugely anticipated new novel, ASH. Mr Herbert will be reading from the book and answering questions.
I’m terrified and excited in equal measure. I grew up reading James Herbert novels, and I’ve cited DOMAIN in particular many, many times as one of the books which most influenced my work and, if I’m honest, one of the reasons I wanted to write horror in the first place. Tickets are £3 (redeemable against a copy of ASH) are available from the store or by calling 0843 2908151. A full report will follow the event.
A couple of other brief bits of news…
It’s Friday, so it’s another TRUST day – chapter 9 is now online. All pre-ordered copies of the TRUST limited edition hardcover have now been shipped. The price will be staying low for another week, so please click this link to order a copy. Alternatively, you can now order the book from eBay.
Have a good weekend!
My appointment with a legend is a post from: David Moody - author of TRUST and the HATER and AUTUMN books
August 20, 2012
They’re here to stay now…
Interesting developments in Thatcham in today’s chapter of the free serialisation of TRUST.
‘Well that’s it,’ he heard someone say, catching a snatch of excited conversation as he tried to push past a group of revellers, ‘they’re here to stay now.’
And good news for those of you who’ve pre-ordered the limited edition hardcover edition of TRUST. Your books will start shipping in the next couple of days. Thanks again for picking up the book. Follow this link if you’d like to get your hands on one.
They’re here to stay now… is a post from: David Moody - author of TRUST and the HATER and AUTUMN books
August 18, 2012
The Day Britain Stopped
I’ve long tried to understand my fascination with the end of the world. One reason is undoubtedly down to my habit of ‘people watching’ (which isn’t as voyeuristic as it sounds!). Putting characters in extreme situations – and you can’t get more extreme than the end of everything – is a wonderful way of stripping away all pretence and social niceties to expose the black and white reality of what we need to do to survive. When someone’s faced with a yes or no, sink or swim, fight or flight decision in order to stay alive, their behaviour is likely to be a lot more honest and direct than if they’re concerned about what the neighbours are thinking.
Another aspect of Armageddon which intrigues me is its perpetual closeness. I’m guessing that everything probably went okay for you yesterday and so far today, but what about tomorrow? I’m conscious that I sound like a miserable pessimist here and I apologise because I’m not, but the fact remains: anything could happen in the next five minutes. That’s a frightening prospect in itself, but it’s made even more terrifying when you consider how complex and fragile an ecosystem we all inhabit. At any moment something which is completely out of our control might trigger a chain reaction which could drastically alter our individual lives and the lives of those around us. It’s sobering stuff if you think about it (which I do… far too often and in far too much detail!).
Today’s recommendation for my Post-Apocalyptic movie club is a BBC faux-documentary from 2003 which demonstrates just that: The Day Britain Stopped.
I don’t know how I missed this when it was originally broadcast – the film had enough of an impact to warrant being discussed on Newsnight and other equally highbrow BBC current affairs programmes. But the title appeared on my radar several times in quick succession recently: whilst I was researching my next novel (17 DAYS – I’ll tell you more about it soon) and also because a big-budget remake has been announced, to be helmed by Sir Ridley Scott.
I’ll not pretend to know enough about the political and/or infrastructure developments (if there’ve actually been any) made in the UK since the film was shown, instead I just want to briefly talk about it as an (almost) post-apocalyptic movie.
The film is a fictional documentary set in 2005, which looks back at the events and repercussions of 19th December 2003 when a series of incidents resulted in the UK’s transport system becoming almost completely gridlocked. In response to a serious train accident, industrial relations between the government and the rail workers union have become strained, and a day of industrial action is planned for the week before Christmas – an already busy time for the UK’s road system. The strike goes ahead, increasing the number of people on the roads. A series of initially unconnected incidents result in first the M25 (the orbital motorway which surrounds London), then the rest of the country’s road network grinding to a halt. Millions of people are left stranded in their cars in sub-zero temperatures overnight. There are fatalities and civil disobedience as people’s fear and frustration mounts. But that’s not the worst of it… the implications of the congestion are far reaching and, before long, pressure is mounting at Heathrow and other UK airports with planes unable to take off and others stacked up to land. Mistakes are made and flawed procedures are followed, resulting in an air traffic controller making a call which directs two jets onto a collision course over central London.
The Day Britain Stopped is told from the viewpoint of a number of different key players in the imagined crisis: a government minister, a senior police officer, the disgraced air traffic controller, relatives of the deceased, various ‘talking head’ experts etc. On the whole the performances are very good, and the inclusion of specially shot news footage from various immediately recognisable British media outlets makes the film feel surprisingly plausible and genuine. Sparingly used special effects are combined with stock footage to great effect. Only on occasion does the ‘found-footage’ vibe spoil the atmosphere (for example, the kid filming his family’s drive to Heathrow from the back of the car - why?)
Overall I was very impressed by this film. The crisis it portrays is ultimately limited in scale and after one hellish day and night, the situation is recovered. As I said at the beginning of this post, I’m fascinated by our perpetual closeness to the end of everything. The Day Britain Stopped shows just how close we might actually be, and there’s not a zombie, pandemic, rogue asteroid, alien invasion or anything else in sight. Just us. Messing it up on our own.
If you’ve got a spare hour and a half, it’s well worth a look.
The Day Britain Stopped is a post from: David Moody - author of TRUST and the HATER and AUTUMN books
August 17, 2012
Moody and Simmons on the wireless
First things first – it’s Friday (and a very surreal Friday at that) – and that means more TRUST. Chapter 7 is now available at www.trustdavidmoody.com. Don’t forget, if you don’t want to wait until December to find out what happens, you can read the entire novel now by buying the (cheap) Kindle ebook, paperback, or limited edition hardcover.
I said it’s been a surreal day… Wayne and I start our ‘Never Trust a Man With Hair’ signing tour at Hereford Waterstones tomorrow, and this afternoon we were interviewed about it on BBC local radio. I think both of us were a little bemused to find ourselves talking about zombies and Armageddon in the midst of all those traffic reports and easy listening music! It was a lot of fun, and for those of you in the UK, here’s the iPlayer link to the show. We were on between 10 and 30 minutes in.
Have a good weekend. I hope we’ll see some of you in Hereford tomorrow!
Moody and Simmons on the wireless is a post from: David Moody - author of TRUST and the HATER and AUTUMN books
August 13, 2012
More TRUST news – early hardcover release and awesome reviews
No need for artists impressions any longer (see my previous post) – the limited edition hardcover of TRUST is on its way back from the printers and here’s a picture of the very first copy. It’s a thing of beauty. Pre-orders have been coming in at a great rate and there’s still time to purchase the book at a 10% discount: click here for more details. More good news for those who snagged a copy early – your books will be dispatched next week, a couple of weeks ahead of schedule.
Still not sure? Let Wayne Simmons try and persuade you: “Moody is selling TRUST as an anti-scifi book, and that’s pretty much what you’ve got here. Unlike a lot of contemporary scifi, this story is defiantly character-focused, and heartbreakingly accessible with it. It’s not Hollywood fodder. Think DISTRICT 9 as opposed to INDEPENDENCE DAY. I’ll stand by the word ‘epic’ to best describe this book. Because from gripping start to heart-pounding finish, this is a story that will shake you to the very core, resonating long after you’ve turned the final page. And there’s nothing more epic than that.”
And I loved these words taken from an Amazon review by Chris Bowsman: “For the majority of the book it’s a slow burn, obviously building towards something. The payoff is immense, and once it gets going it’s like dozens of pages of falling down the stairs. Very highly recommended.”
Wonderful words. Thanks to Wayne and Chris.
And finally, it’s just a short chapter today, but there’s more free TRUST to be had at www.trustdavidmoody.com.
More TRUST news – early hardcover release and awesome reviews is a post from: David Moody - author of TRUST and the HATER and AUTUMN books
