Callum McSorley's Blog, page 22
July 29, 2016
Hardboiled: Dames and Sin
My short story Queen of Junkyard Dogs is featured alongside some great pulp crime stories in Dead Guns Press’s latest Hardboiled offering.
Excited to finally get a read at it!
Sadly this might be DGP’s last anthology, so best get yours hands on it while you still can.
Read here.
July 21, 2016
Pulp! Influences: Jake Adelstein
Today I’ll be writing about American journalist Jake Adelstein, specifically his true-crime book, Tokyo Vice (2009).
Tokyo Vice is Adelstein’s memoirs of working at the Yomiuri Shinbun from 1993-2005. The Yomiuri is a Japanese language newspaper and Adelstein is one of a tiny number of foreigners to have worked within the Japanese press (not on the English language editions) and the only westerner ever admitted to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police press club.
The book covers his experiences from...
July 19, 2016
Pulp! Influences: Edgar Allan Poe
I’ve decided to write a few short blogs on books and authors that influenced Beaten to a Pulp! starting today with Edgar Allan Poe.
“The Great American Hack” – a title to aspire to. Credited as one of the original creators of the Penny Dreadful, pulp fiction, shock tales and gory horror, Poe now holds a highly respected place in the literary canon.
He has a wide-ranging influence over contemporary fiction and popular culture alike. Just look at how often The Simpsons reference him – The depic...
July 17, 2016
Happy Birthday to Bella!
My miniature dachshund/editor is one today so to celebrate I wrote her a poem.
To a Sausage Dog on her Birthday
Miniature dachs-hound of the Baskervilles,
Scourge of the skirting board,
Our fearsome beast
Is now one-years-old.
In these last twelve months
She’s grown from pup to dog
And developed the worrying habit
Of chasing next door’s mog.
More draught-excluder than guard dog
Is our foot-long sub,
You can rob the house and take the car
For the price of a belly rub.
We’ve learned the...
Preview Beaten to a Pulp! on Goodreads
You can now read an excerpt of Beaten to a Pulp! on Goodreads. It is taken from the collections lead story, MS Found on a Recovered Hard Drive, where a discovered manuscripts tells a tale of secret societies, drugs and murder in Vicrorian Glasgow.
Read the excerpt here.
And if you enjoy it you can buy the whole collection on Amazon.
Beaten to a Pulp!
A collection of short stories
A manuscript discovered on a broken hard drive reveals a tale of secret societies, drugs and murder in Victorian...
July 6, 2016
Read Queen of Junkyard Dogs in Hardboiled: Dames and Sin
Stoked to have one of my short stories, Queen of Junkyard Dogs, included in Hardboiled: Dames and Sin.
Published today, Dames and Sin is the third and, sadly, the last anthology to be released by Dead Guns Press. It’s out now in print and on Kindle. You can buy it here.
As well as my story (excerpt below) it features another fourteen pieces of top-notch pulp action.
Queen of Junkyard Dogs
Clem hadn’t thought about the junkyard in years. Not since Bobby phoned her up long-distance to tell her...
July 4, 2016
Beaten to a Pulp! OUT NOW
That’s it! Beaten to a Pulp! is out now exclusively on Amazon.
You can read it on Kindles, ipads, laptops and phones (though it might be tricky to read on your Nokia 3310).
What’s more, from Monday to Friday this week it’s on free promotion, so if you’re keen but skint get in there now – after Friday it’ll rocket up to over two quid (but less than three).
Any downloads, reviews, ratings, shares, likes, criticisms would be greatly appreciated!
You can download it here:
July 1, 2016
Beaten to a Pulp! out Monday
Excited to announce my first collection of short stories, Beaten to a Pulp!, will be out on Kindle on Monday!
Secret societies, drugs and murder in Victorian Glasgow, slumlord dragons in ancient Japan and marital problems vs the apocalypse… it’s an eclectic mix that travels across location, genre and time but all tied together with distinctive pulp style. If that sounds like your bag then head to Amazon and start reading.
It will begin with a free promotion running Monday until Friday so if y...
June 30, 2016
Read ‘The Six-Foot’ in Gutter 14
I was delighted last April when my short story The Six-Foot was included in Gutter 14, one of Scotland’s leading literary journals of new writing. As well as my own piece the latest issue contains some incredible stories and poetry, including work by Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap fame. You can buy it from the Freight Books or from Amazon.
As the theme of the issue is spoken word, the magazie is also acompanied by a playlist of performances. You can listen here:
June 29, 2016
Read ‘Lepers’ on Unscooped Bagel
My flash fiction piece Lepers was published online by Unscooped Bagel back in November, and they were also kind enough to include it in the first issue of their journal, called Pork, realeased last February. You can read it here.
Lepers
Let me tell you, I was a downtrodden motherfucker. You know those guys you see in the road begging for change and scraps of meat? That was me. Well, not quite, but you get the drift. Mortgaged to the hilt, on several houses too. No rent coming in from any of t...
