Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 372

Time Out Of Joint

For Londoners, there are certain things that you've seen all your life. The Mousetrap. The Queen in residence. The traffic on Charing Cross Road. And Time Out.

I bought the very first issue while I was doing a course at Goldsmith's art college, and stayed with it through every issue. Time Out was the Londoners' bible; [...]

Libel On The Buses

Recently a poster promoting equality and financed by Stonewall ran on the sides of London buses. It said; 'Some people are gay. Get over it!' The campaign has been running around the world for quite some time.

Now a far-right Christian group who copied the ads with an anti-gay campaign set to run on London buses [...]

Original VS Remake

The other night I watched 'Reykjavik-Rotterdam', the original version of 'Contraband'. The remake starred Mark Wahlberg and was directed by the star of the original. Locations switch from frosty Iceland to the Southern US, and the plot beats are pretty much the same, but here's the thing; the remake is terrible. What felt fresh in [...]

That'll Teach Me

I came up with straplines for the continuation of the Bryant & May series, and lovely Martin Sorensen, the bookseller at the number one store on my list to visit in the world, Green Apple Books in San Francisco, has taken me at my word. Behold. Visit his store. Buy many books. Over and out.

Mad Amy

It feels too long since we've had a song, and to remind ourselves how utterly wonderful Amy Winehouse was and what a sadder place the world is without her, here's a reminder that she could shine through even singing one note in a rather kicky mash-up with Madcon's Beggin'…

'I Have A Curious Feeling This Is All Some Kind Of Literary Plot.'

I was in 'thinking mode' yesterday (staring out of window with mouth open pretending to write book) which meant catching up on some saved sites, and in the interests of oh, I don't know, sheer caprice, I thought I'd Pinterest a few here today. I'm quite interested in the speed with which fads rise and [...]

Born To Be Vlad

He married Oscar Wilde's old bird, he never went to Eastern Europe, he was the author of 'Miss Betty', he managed the Lyceum Theatre and he wrote 'Dracula' (which I always couple with 'Frankenstein' as the readable half of the pair). In 10 days' time it's the anniversary of Bram Stoker's death, and in that [...]

Edith Piaf Didn't – Why Should You?

A palliative nurse called Bronnie Ware has written a book about her patients called 'Top Five Regrets Of The Dying', and of the things people regretted in their lives, intriguingly, being insulted by Simon Cowell on a talent show didn't make the cut. It's sobering and often heartbreaking reading.

1. I wish I'd had the courage [...]

Another Christopher Fowler Gets Banged Up

Google Alerts continues to inform me of the whereabouts of my namesakes, but for some weird reason all the Christopher Fowlers in America seem to be in county jails. Here's the latest. I don't know what he did, but he definitely looks guilty. Incredibly so. I picture him heading out into the desert at night, [...]

Selling Bryant & May

With the delivery of my tenth outing for Bryant & May, 'The Invisible Code', I've reached the end of my current publishing contract, and indeed all of my contracts until somebody, somewhere picks up some of my new books. They're written – all I need is the publisher's nod. That's easier said than done in [...]