Callum McSorley's Blog, page 16
August 29, 2018
Ramen Recipes and Japanese Fiction
[image error]Since I visited Japan three years ago, I’ve been obsessed with ramen – the famous soupy noodle dish found everywhere in the country with many regional variations.
Ramen shops are ubiquitous in Japan’s cities – the little restaurants are crowded underground in railway stations and shopping malls. You make your selection from the machine outside – pork, veggie, spicy, etc. – put on your bib, then slurp away as fast as you can before getting on your way.
Historically, ramen became popular in the...
July 18, 2018
New Gothic Anthology by FunDead
I’ve been sitting on this news for a while, so it’s with much excitement that I can say I have a short story appearing in a new Gothic horror anthology by FunDead Publications!
FunDead is an amazing indie horror publisher based in the Witch City – Salem, Massachusetts. Back in December 2016 it released a Christmas horror book – ‘O Horrid Night’ – I had the pleasure of appearing in, with a story called ‘The Sixpence in the Pudding’ (republished in Fresh Blood Orange last year).
Now, coming in...
July 8, 2018
New Hardboiled anthology – the return of Dead Guns Press
A couple of years ago, my short story Queen of Junkyard Dogs appeared in an anthology called Hardboiled: Dames & Sin by Dead Guns Press. (I have since self-published this one in my own latest collection, Fresh Blood Orange.)
Shortly after, DGP went on hiatus, its future uncertain.
I’m pleased to say in 2018 DGP has returned, bigger and better, and is putting together a new Hardboiled anthology.
I’m even more pleased to say a short story of mine – Sherry Sherry (teaser below) – has been accept...
June 19, 2018
Holiday Reading in Rome and Sorrento
[image error]per example
Buongiorno!
Last week I came home from my summer holidays in Italy, and I thought I’d shared a few thoughts about the books I read while I was sunbathing in Sorrento – plus share some of my snaps, which are mostly of random animals I saw, and the occasional UNESCO World Heritage landmark.
The first four days were spent in Rome, eating thin pizza, classic pastas covered – and I mean covered – in parmesan, and suppli (rice baws). Although most of my time was spent walking and ga...
June 1, 2018
Summer Book Giveaway Day Five
Last call at the bar! This is it, the end as we know it. Or rather, the end of my free book giveaway.
You have tonight and tonight only to get your free downloads of all my self-published stories, after that, you may have to pay a whopping 99p for them, or even as much as £2.19 for my newest collection of short stories.
In the past week of blogging I’ve said my piece about each my four books, so as I’ve run out I thought today I would simply thank everyone who has picked up a copy this week,...
May 31, 2018
Summer Book Giveaway Day Four
Ah Thursday, home of the Throwback Thursday. That’s kind of what this whole week has been like on here. (If you’ve been reading, thank you very much! Feel free to skip to the second paragraph. If not, read on…) The Kindle editions of my books are all free this week, ending tomorrow, and for each one I’m writing an accompanying blog post.
Today: ‘Something was Stirring’, my collection of Christmas horror stories.
Okay, this one is out of season, and so, rightly, not as many people have been ta...
May 30, 2018
Summer Book Giveaway Day Three
The usual opening credits:
I’m giving away my Kindle books for free this week for a summer promo, yak, yak, you’ve got until Friday 1st June to get your free downloads, and so on, I’ll be writing a piece about each book on the blog, etc.
Today, Day Three, it’s the turn of ‘Beaten to a Pulp 2: Fresh Blood Orange’.
This is a continuation of my first book, a collection of genre short stories in the pulp paperback tradition. With the second in the series I tried to diversify my cast of characters...
May 29, 2018
Summer Book Giveaway Day Two
As said in yesterday’s post, I’m giving away the Kindle editions of all my books for free this week (Mon 28 May – Fri 1 Jun) and am writing a few words about each to accompany it.
Today: ‘Dead in Autumn, Buried in Winter’.
This is the first novel I ever wrote. Sure, I’ve started plenty over the years, and what writer hasn’t, but this is the first I actually completed. I was amazed at myself, and quite proud, I admit. It’s on the short side at around 54k words, sure, but it’s a finished, worki...
May 28, 2018
Summer Book Giveaway Day One
I decided that in aid of the holiday a season and people needing stuff to read on planes/in the park (the weather in Glasgow right now is crazy beautiful, very unexpected) that I would give away free downloads of my books this week, Mon 28 May – Fri 1 June.
On each day of the giveaway I wanted to right a short blog post about each of the books in turn, starting today with Beaten to a Pulp!
This was my first foray into self-publishing, essentially an experiment to see how it all worked. It’s a...
May 23, 2018
Free eBook Summer Promo
That thing is back in the sky. You know the thing – big, orangey, hard to look at. And for people here in Scotland that means a solid week of shorts, ice cream, sun burn, daytime drinking in the park, burnt burgers, knock-off Ray Bans… all the things that make it worth getting through the rest of the year-long winter.
I have divined that that perfect week will begin Monday 28th May.
To celebrate summer, I’m running a free ebook promo. From Monday 28th to Friday 1st June all my kindle books wi...
