Nigel Bird's Blog, page 64

One Man's Opinion: MURDER MILE by TONY BLACK

Tony:  The New Black
Last year I had the pleasure of being introduced to DI RobBrennan, the new kid on the block for Scottish police fiction.  I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him and was left looking forward to the next time we'd meet. I bumped into Rob again earlier this week in the new book Murder Mile.He looked well, at least in the circumstances.  Tough, dogged, passionate about the job and not about to suck up to anybody for any reason is how I found him – no change there.He's working another case.  That of a psychopath in Edinburgh.  A real nutter who delights in mutilation of young women.Kicked out of the house by his wife, missing his daughter and having had to break the news of a new death to a young woman's parents might be things he takes in his stride, but I think I know him well enough to see him buckling under the pressure no matter how philosophical he tries to be.And hell, I don't envy the office politics in his place; I thought my school was bad, but it has nothing on the police station, not even close.  Seems the economic crisis is hitting the boys in blue as much as everyone else.  So I told him, get the best you can to do the job, the bean-counters can go and play with their chick peas while you set about solving the case.Now I happen to know that there's a pimping ex-con with only the one prostitute in his team, and she's past her sell-by-date even though she's only a young-un.  Drugs, you see.  They'll do that to some people.  Anyway, this guy has some information on the killer and is thinking about earning a little money to pay off a loan-shark – which means he has to be pretty desperate if you ask me.I'd tell the DI, but I know he likes to work these things out for himself.All in all, it was a whirlwind of a meeting.Brennan's nothing but stoical.  He's doing the usual thorough search and he's not going to let it go.  Dog with a bone that guy, with sharp teeth to go with it.I'm really glad that I caught up with him again.  I reckon you'd like to meet him too.  Will it matter that you didn't get to know him on his last case?  I don't think so.  I know him better now, but I would have loved him while he works the Murder Mile even if I'd never set eyes on him before.   When he tells you stories, they stand alone with a lot of strength, so don't worry on that score.  If you've already been there, then you're in for a similar treat.  There might be a little of the 'deja vu', but that's only because you're like old friends already.I'm hoping we'll get together again next year.  Hard to guess whether he'll have been thrown out of the force by then, or got sick of that politics or whether he'll be on the way back from another 'break'.  Who knows?  Only time will tell.Till then, DI, good luck with catching that lunatic.  Make sure our kids our safe on the streets.   Bless you for that, sir.  Bless you.

One Man's Opinion: SENSELESS by STONA FITCH

Elliot Gast is a man of taste and refinement.  He has a nose for a fine wine, and eye for fine detail and a palate that has appreciated the best of food.  He works for a company called IBIS as a social facilitator in business dealings, having moved on from being a small cog in some murky palm-greasing on behalf of American business interests at the point of the formation of Europe's Common Market. 
His life is good. 
On the way home from a splendid meal one evening, he is kidnapped from the streets of Brussels. 
Initially, the kidnappers have a civilised approach to their guest, treating him with a modicum of respect.
Luckily Gast is a pretty cool customer.  He's been in hostage situations before.  He's been trained for such eventualities.  He thinks he'll be able to hang on till the necessary formalities for his release are completed.
Unfortunately, he's not in the hands of any typical captors. 
He finds himself accused, a little in the manner of Josef K, of being guilty of something by a group of people who are part of a bigger organisation that is 'diverse by nature' and with 'many controls and safeguards'.  There's to be a punishment, and what better punishment could there be for a man like Gast than to remove his 5 senses?
To gain support for their cause, the kidnappers are showing the entire event online.  The general public are to vote on Gast's future and to donate to buy his freedom or otherwise.
The situation is a complete nightmare. 
The journey through it is told by Gast in a generally dispassionate way.  He reflects on his past, the events that have taken him to such a point in life, and upon the present as he tries to figure things out.  The stories are formed in such a way as to amplify the miseries of his predicament.
The premise of the book is superb, but a good idea in itself isn't enough.  To my delight, Stona Fitch works with the concept wonderfully well.  The detail, the similes, the tales recounted from Gast's past create a vivid experience and in doing so heightens the horror when it comes to the removal of his ways of interpreting the world. 
I've seen mentions here and there of it being Kafkaesque and it's easy to see why.  What comes to mind when I think of Kafka is a dispassionate description of terrible situations, life turning on a moment, bureaucratic mess, individual guilt, alienation and the horrors that go hand-in-hand with it.  There are elements of each throughout Senseless.
What's more, the book was published way back in 2001.  I guess that makes Stona Fitch a kind of visionary who'd seen early on the complex range of issues presented by globalisation, by reality TV and by the opportunities offered to anyone of enhanced methods of communication and our inevitable dependence upon them.
I also think that it's a testament to the quality of his writing that there were points where I had to look away from the page.  The anticipation of what was coming was quite overwhelming.  Now, it's not because I'm squeamish when it comes to violence and difficulty in fiction – I'd say the opposite was true – but when it's done this well I do get goose-bumps, not just because of the acts buy because of the implications of them.  Within the small pictures he shows us the whole world and in the world he shows us the miniature.
It's a seriously good book and it deserves to be read, and it's great value as there's the 'bonus track' in that I know I'll be thinking about it for a long time to come. 
Kindle US  UK

One Man's Opinion: CRIMES IN SOUTHERN INDIANA by FRANK BILL

Fuck me.  What a book.
Or to quote Donald Ray Pollock:  'Good Lord, where the hell did this guy come from?'
Frank Bill describes his work more succinctly and directly than I'm about to when he says at his blog, 'House Of Grit', 'I don't waste words, I write them.'
In 'Crimes In Southern Indiana' we have a book to cherish.
Essentially a collection of short stories, the work grabs hold harder with each page read. 
Stories overlap as characters and histories reappear in new situations, the circles becoming tighter and tighter until the lines of definition begin to blur and it begins to feel like a novel and like a work of major force.
They tell of a culture that seems completely engrained in the communities and families we get to visit.  It's a culture of depth and of major contradiction, one that an outsider might feel the need to eradicate without wanting to throw out the babies with the bathwater.  There's good and bad in there and they're so tangled together that there's little hope of separation.
Family loyalty and blood ties are deep-rooted.  Revenge is on an eye –for-an-eye basis; better still, two eyes are taken for the one.  History and economics has left the people impoverished and forgotten.   War veterans pick up the pieces.  Police do what they can and sometimes what they shouldn't.  Children are ruled with iron-fists and belt-buckles.  Need drives all, even the selling of a young girl or the delivery of a knife into a throat. Guns are as part of daily life as pieces of furniture.  Hunting takes on new boundaries.  Friendships are tight until they aren't.  People react to survive in any way they can.
In all the snapshots shown, the centre of the event is often an act of brutality.  Within a short space of time, Bill is able to explain lives and reasons and facts without ever being heavy-handed.  What is clear is that black and white aren't really colours – they're illusions.  There were times during the collection that I was applauding acts of immense brutality and I'll applaud the next time I read them, too.
What I love about a really good short story is the way that it can engage with feeling and with power to leave me completely bowled over.  The effect of stringing a series of interwoven tales of the highest calibre is absolutely stunning on all levels (stunned by craft, plot, character, situation, imagination, heart and courage). 
Frank Bill is a man who can take hold of the emotional core of a situation as if it were some winged insect, and at the end decide whether to squash it or let it go.  He never shirks from difficult finales and tells things exactly as they have to be.
Miss this one and you're making a huge mistake.
Simply magnificent.

Dancing With Myself: DANA CAMERON interviews DANA CAMERON

Have you heard the news?  There's good rockin' tonight.

The sequel to Pulp Ink is to be published by the wonderful team at Snubnose. 

So far, we've had a heap of great submissions for Pulp Ink 2.  If you're interested in sending something in, you can follow this link and get onto the typewriter or whatever it is you use.  There's another month yet and there are still a few seats available.

A quick word for Crimes In Southern Indiana.  Ouch, it's good.  Painfully so.  Makes me even happier that I went for the hard-cover.  I'll put down my thoughts when I'm done (spent?), but you really should be buying yourself a copy of this one.

And today's Dance is from Dana Cameron.  Take it away, Dana.

1. You used to write about an archaeologist; you were an archaeologist. Now you write about werewolves, covert operatives, and sociopathic 18th-century tavern-owners. Can we infer that you...?
Infer nothing. I started with what I knew, then started playing around with bigger adventures and darker stories. Grateful as I am to EmmaFielding, my archaeologist sleuth, it would be pretty dull for me if I kept writing about stuff I had lived (professionally, anyway), and not the crazier stuff I can dream up based more loosely on those experiences.
2. There seems to be an emerging theme here: more violence, more dark emotions...
I know, huh? For a long time, I wrote Emma with a very strong sense of right and wrong, and it got her into trouble some might say she could have avoided if she'd been less ethical; very black and white. I wanted to play with characters who had strong moral codes, but of a different nature. Sometimes even two natures: Gerry Steuben is a werewolf, but his family, the Fangborn, fight evil in secret. Jayne, my covert operative (who'll debut in EQMM in June 2012), has a deeply moral sense, but it happens to think that if she has the skills to stop something bad from happening, she should do so, whether she has government sanction or not. Anna Hoyt's only code is to survive in the underworld of 18th-century Boston, at any price. Those gray areas are really interesting for me.

3. So what about the Fangborn? I thought that was just going to be one short story?
"TheNight Things Changed" was meant to be a one-off. But I couldn't stop thinking about the Fangborn and that led to "Swing Shift" and "Love Knot," and a Fangborn novel. Once I got over the idea that I had to conform to someone else's canon of vampire and werewolf lore, I kept looking for where the Fangborn might have inadvertently found their way into human history, in spite of their best efforts to remain hidden.
4. The archaeology thing again?
Well, yeah. You never fully recover from being an archaeologist. You always look at the world from a different perspective, which serves a writer as well. Plus, there are stories of shapeshifters in so many cultures; I really wanted to find a grand, unifying theory to explain that. Fictional, of course, but who doesn't want to rewrite history in her own image?
5. Megalomaniac much? What about the covert operative character?
I really, really wanted a kick-ass, Jason Bourne-type character who was a woman. I'm not a fan of the trope of the woman who only comes to action—and violence—only after her husband and/or family is killed. It seems to me these characters have to be unmade from the traditional role of a woman, before they can be action heroes, and that makes me nuts. I wanted Jayne to be as badass as Bourne or Reacher or Bond, and do what they do, not because she's driven to it, but because she thinks it's right. Also, it's fun to beat the stuffing out of the badguys and get away with it.

6. Okay, now you're worrying me. Quick change of topic: What are you listening to/reading/watching now?
The soundtracks to "Sucker Punch" and "28 Days Later;" I love movie soundtracks and make up playlists for every project I work on. I just finished reading THE ROOK, which was great, and I'm reading BABEL NO MORE, about language super-learners. I look forward to "Justified" every week, and am hoping "Mad Men" will live up to the wait. I've also been watching and rewatching the DVDs of the second season of "Sherlock" until my nose bleeds.
7. So you admit to being a "Cumberbi—?"
Don't say it; I hate that word. But yes, the reboot is incredible and I'll admit to being a little obsessed over this interpretation of the world of Sherlock Holmes.
8. And the actor who plays him?
Well...yes. But, actually, everyone in the cast is so accomplished. And, okay...hot. 
9. There, now. Doesn't it feel better to admit that?
No. And I hate you. Next question.
10. Moving on. What's next?

I'll be toastmaster at Malice Domestic in May—that's going to be a blast, with Jan Burke as the Guest of Honor and Simon Brett as the Lifetime Achievement Honoree. "One Soul at a Time" will appear in EQMM in June, and an Emma Fielding short story, "Mischief in Mesopotamia" is also forthcoming in EQMM. I'm working on a Fangborn novel, and I will be starting a new Anna Hoyt story, soon, and off to Bouchercon and Crime Bake this fall. And before my nosy alter-ego can come up with any other impertinent questions, thank you, Nigel, for inviting me!

Dancing Again: JOHN KENYON

So, it has been a little more than a year since you visited with us. What do you have to show for that time?

Glad you asked. I edited an ebook anthology (Grimm Tales), published the first issue of a magazine (Grift), finished the first draft of a novel, started another and published a few stories along the way.


Wow. When do you sleep?

I get that a lot. Add in the full-time day job, the family with two young boys who try on a daily basis to run me ragged, recreational reading… Let's just say I couldn't begin to tell you who is on "Dancing with the Stars." Or "American Idol." Or what a "Real Housewife" is. Or apprise you on the comings and goings of the Kardashians (did I spell that right?). When I do watch TV, I'm usually on the treadmill – two birds, one stone.

Last year you shared some resolutions with us. How did those go?


I resolved to get more work published, to eat right and exercise, and to attend Bouchercon. Let's just say mission accomplished on two fronts, and I'm still working on the third (see above comment about the treadmill).

Short stories have taken a bit of a backseat this year, though I still have some things in the pipeline at Beat to a Pulp and Needle that will make it look like I'm working harder than I am.


Bouchercon was an absolute blast; an eye-opening, career-defining experience. I will be back. Get ready Cleveland.

So, I can't turn around without hearing about Grift. What's the story there?


I first floated the idea for the magazine in this very space in February 2011. It took me months to get the idea off the ground. I decided I needed to have something to announce at Bouchercon to drum up interest, so I zeroed in on the name Grift, printed up business cards so I'd have something to stick in people's hands when I met them, and set about making a nuisance of myself in St. Louis. Then came the hard part: wading through dozens of great stories in search of the greatest, and working with writers to come up with kick-ass content that would set the crime fiction world on its ear.

Ed Gorman called this "the most ambitious and extraordinary first issue of any kind" he's ever seen. How'd you do it, and what's next?


Those were very kind words from the guy who helped to bring Mystery Scene into the world. In truth, it wasn't that difficult. I've formed relationships with many exceptional writers over the years, and I asked a handful to write essays for it. No one turned me down, proof positive that the crime fiction world is made up of amazingly good-hearted people. Dozens of writers submitted short stories, and several of those left on the cutting-room floor would make a good publication in their own right.


As for what's next, more and better. I'll open submissions at the end of March for #2, and I hope to see more non-fiction: reviews, interviews, essays, etc. I love short fiction, and that always will be the backbone of Grift. But given the response to this issue, it seems others share my desire to read and learn about the genre as much as they do to read the work of those in the genre. My goal is to provide more context for that work, to enrich it and enhance enjoyment.


You did a lot of work over the past year getting the work of others out in the world. What about your own writing?

As I mentioned above, one novel is done – the first draft, anyway. I'm revising it now. I started a second as a palate-cleanser, but set it aside once revisions started on the first. I'm also chipping away at a novella-length work with the hope of adding to a certain pugilistic series.


The biggest news is that the fine folks at Snubnose Press have agreed to publish my first short story collection, The First Cut. That gathers the cream of the past few years of my writing, and will be out later this year.


Given what you know now about publishing, where are things headed?


This time last year, I had a handful of stories available through web publications. Now, I have an ebook out, a print publication and another ebook on the way. Would I like to have a hardcover on shelves with the logo of a Big Six publisher on the spine? Of course? Can I carve out a comfortable career without it, if that's the way things go? Definitely. It is becoming increasingly clear that it is the work that matters.


I look at the experiment Reagan Arthur Books did with George Pelecanos' What It Is as a great example. When they announced a new Pelecanos ebook for 99 cents, I bought it within seconds. I later learned that they were coming out with a $10 paperback and a high-end, slip-cased hardback. Three formats to meet the desires of three different types of reader. All released on the same day. I think that experiment is going to become the norm in the not-too-distant future. You can debate ebooks vs. print, free vs. cheap vs. too expensive, hardback vs. paperback, ad infinitum. Here is the truth: Get the words into readers' hands, and everything else takes care of itself.
xxx

One Man's Opinion - ALL THE YOUNG WARRIORS by ANTHONY NEIL SMITH

Anthony Neil Smith's 'All The Young Warriors' (UK) is a little like one of those bullets that leaves a small wound on entry and exits the body to leave a gaping hole.  Opening with small town events it expands to deal with war, world politics and piracy and doesn't miss a beat along the way, making this a novel worthy of a place on the shelves of noir fans on the one hand and of an airport lounge on the other.  Any justice and it might even make it to the DVD shelves somewhere along the line.
In order to create the pull needed to get you in, a strong opening is required and Smith does this like he's the world's strongest man. 
He sits two cops in a car.  It's snowing and there's not much happening.  A car drives past erratically and the cops go in to investigate.  All should be sweet and smooth.  The lady cop, pregnant by one of her colleagues (Bleeker), goes along against her better judgement.  Turns out they've stumbled into two young  Somalians (Jibriil and Adem) off to fight for their homeland.  One of them, slightly crazy and fuelled by his commitment to the cause , pulls out his gun and starts firing.  It's the end of Holm and Poulson and the end of Bleeker's chance at fatherhood.
This is so well written that it instilled in me a powerful sense of the need for justice. Jibriil, the man responsible , had to pay.  Had to be tracked down.  Needed sorting out for good. 
Fortunately for me, Bleeker happened to agree with those sentiments.  It became all he had to live for.
Out of need, Bleeker teams up with Adem's father, ex-gangster and reformed hard-man, a man who set himself on the path of the straight and narrow so that his son might follow along. 
Here is a buddy team that's perfect for the ride.  They conflict in their religion, culture, status and motivations in a way that means there's always an edge to what they do.  On the other hand, they have enough in common to cement their relationship, enough to make me care how things panned out.
Jibrill and Adem provide another buddy team.  They also have conflicts, but the only cement they have is history.   When they reach Somalia - a madly hot, anarchic place - the two switch roles.  Jibriil finds himself in his element, Adem like a fish out of water.
The first half of the book has a hell of a pace, the action moving swiftly on, yet all the while there's an undercurrent of thoughtfulness, ideas that need to digested no matter how unpalatable.
Just before the mid-point, things settle for a while.  Smith centres the action by immobilising Adem and Bleeker in different ways – one wrapped in bandages like a mummy, the other hiding away in his ice-fishing hut.
It's almost like the story has formed a chrysalis for a while.
When it emerges, it is as a new and wonderful creature.
Adem finds himself using his skills to become a negotiator for Somalian pirates and takes us into that bigger world I mentioned at the beginning.   However the book was to pan out from that point, the gaping hole in someone's back was inevitable.
Not only did I really enjoy this one, I was very impressed by the writing.  Crisp and sharp from beginning to end it paints pictures that are vivid without over-describing at any point.  The horror of situations is real and very immediate.  Smith had me right in the middle of the action one minute then taking me further back to soak up the view from a new perspective the next.
The contrasts are huge right through, from hot to cold through black to white.  They do the job tremendously well.
I don't know how much research was done for this.  It's not easy to tell.  I did come out of the other end feeling like I knew more about what happens in the world than when I went in.  I also came out fully satisfied. 
It's a great piece of work from the off and should go down as a must buy if you've not done so already. 
Marvellous.

A Time For Romance

Old poems are like old photographs.  They fade, too.

Inside Her
There's sea inside her
As she's inside the sea.
And indeed that's how she came
In wave after wave after wave after wave.
I dissolved like sugar in tea.

There's fire inside her
And she's inside the flames.
They flicker just behind her eyes
She rises and lights up the sky,
And all my inner beasts are tamed.



The wind's inside her
And in the breeze she lingers.
Around the hills as different weathers
Light as air and wild as heather
Her hair a mosaic of salt and my fingers.

There's earth inside her
And she's inside the land.
Lava pulses through her veins
Rocks and pebbles her domain,
The world spins softly in her hands.

And I'm inside her
And she's inside of me.
It grows and grows and grows this thing
Just how long is a piece of string?
And how close this to symmetry?

Busted Flat is free just now.  Mostly it's of the faded variety.
UK   US

Dancing With Myself: BEN SOBIECK interviews BEN SOBIECK

Well, you know the free thing?  I'm doing it again with about as much understanding as I had before (ie little).

This time it's mainly kid's stuff - poetry and illustrated stories.  You may not want to look, but if you have children under the age of 7, one of them might appeal (The Day My Coat Stuck On My Head might stretch to older children in places).  There's a more grown up collection of poetry around, too.  You'll find them here (US UK), here (US UK), here (US UK), here (US UK) and here (US UK).  And I am Murder Wink as well as Lotta Floss, but if you want to send hate-mail, please look them up in the yellow pages.

Today, we're running with super cool and nicely warm in the form of Ben Sobieck.  Welcome Ben.

* Who are you and what do you want?

Well, self, we've been trying to answer that question for some time, haven't we?

* So what's this I hear about you writing dark- and light-hearted crime fiction? Are you confused?

Yes, totally confused. I write dark, serious fiction ("Cleansing Eden - The Celebrity Murders" novel) and crime fiction humor ("5 Funny Detective Stories - A Maynard Soloman Collection"). I like switching back and forth. Keeps things fresh.

* Now wait a minute. Didn't you just release "4 Funny Detective
Stories - Starring Maynard Soloman?" You trying to scam someone?

I'm a confused scammer, what can I say. Each time a new short story in the Maynard Soloman series comes out, a new collection featuring every short is on its heels.

I do this to double the exposure of the new release (most recently "Maynard Soloman Legalizes Gay Knot Tying") and to offer readers a better bang for their buck. Compared to buying five shorts for a buck each, they get extra value with a collection priced at less than a Lincoln.

Since these collections are in the Amazon Select program, it also means more chances to read "Funny Detective Stories" for free. Everyone wins.

* What other scams are you pulling?

I recently bundled my crime novel, Maynard Soloman short stories, my serious short stories and a couple true crime stories (including one true crime ghost story) into a single collection. It's called, "Pick Your Poison: 1 Nefarious Novel & 12 Stirring Short Stories."

That brings my total e-book count to 10. Eleven if you count the one that is only available at my website, www.CrimeFictionBook.com .

* Do you think you're better than everyone else just because you have an extra kidney?

No, the person who gets to be holier-than-thou only has one. I'm just a humble recipient.

I use my platform as an author to shamelessly promote organ donation. I got a kidney two years ago from a living donor who is happy and healthy to this day. I'm writing crime fiction today only because that person selflessly donated an organ. I hope my testament can persuade people on the fence about whether to donate now or after they've no use for them.

* So now you're scamming people out of money AND kidneys. How many times has your griftin' arse been to jail?

Actually, quite a few. I was a newspaper crime reporter before landing at my current job with a large non-fiction publisher. I spent a good deal of time in the bowels of justice.

* Speaking of bowels, what do you want to eat after we're done here?

The weirder, the spicier or the Polish-ier, the better.

* You ever been to Poland?

Yes, and I enjoyed every pierogie-gobbling, Żubrówka-guzzling minute of it.

* Where else you been?

I like being outside. Inside with a keyboard or e-reader are the next best things.

* You also like being on your own with this whole self-publishing thing?

Very much so. There are great publishers out there (heck, I work full-time for one), but this is the best fit for my fiction. I know what I want, how to create it and where it needs to go. I've been with two small publishers, but I didn't find the same satisfaction that comes with going solo.

That isn't to say I've ruled out contracting with a fiction publisher again. I'm always open to working with other talented people.

* Can I have 10 bucks for booze?

No, we don't drink anymore on account of that kidney thing. Remember? Our sins now are ice cream and hot sauce.

* But you said Żubrówka and I just bought apples.

I wish.

* Where do we live again?

www.CrimeFictionBook.com 

Dancing With Myself: OLIVIA LENNOX interviews OLIVIA LENNOX

Why on earth become a writer?

Why on earth not? I sort of feel it was my destiny. I come from a background of repressed creatives. I hated seeing all the talent and creative energies of my parents and relatives go to waste so I thought "I HAVE to try and make my talents and strengths work for me" even if nothing ever happens, at least I know I haven't sat back and let me energy go to waste.


How did you get started?


Really, it was in my college days. I'd gone there to study Literature and was doing Creative Writing as a sideline. In the end, the creative side of things took over my degree and instead of doing a dissertation on "Did the type of breakfast cereal Jane Austen ate affect her writing ability?" I wrote a screenplay. It sort of happened like that. I felt more relaxed and able to open up in a classroom full of writers than I did in a classroom full of 18th century novel studiers. By the way, the answer to the dissertation question is "No. She ate toast". It's a good job I didn't have to spin that out for another sixty thousand words. Anyway, after college had ended I realised that although I'd loved writing the screenplay I'd really rather focus my attention onto story writing and novels – with the odd bit of article writing thrown in.


How did you find your niche? Your style?


I guess I'd like to call myself a humorist, so I fell into comedy writing pretty naturally. For a long time I harboured a desire to be a stand up comedian (Which gives me an excuse to use the old line: "When I told my Mother I wanted to be a stand up comic, she said "Don't be silly dear, people will only laugh") but quickly realised although I could do it, it was hard on the ol' ego. I began experimenting with blog writing - short, satirical pieces sending up news stories or lame women's magazine articles on "The Thin Air Diet" and such. By doing this, it gave me a chance to hone my funny side in short bursts and also really be harsh with the edit button. Once I'd done this for a while, I decided to try moving onto longer pieces – short stories and creating 'proper' characters I could give back stories to, again by blogging them or getting them into local publications or entering competitions, even winning a few.


While you're honing, you still have to earn money – how did you cope financially?


That's a good joke, putting "coping" and "financially" into the same sentence. Unless you're lucky enough to be JK Rowling or Dan Brown or whoever, you have to make money from other avenues while you louchely wait for some publishing house to recognise you weeping in the corner. I had to give up a lot of things, holidays, looking for the latest Caribbean cruise deal, running my car as frequently, breathing etc. I took on lots of jobs over the years in various fields. Since I was eighteen I've been a secretary, typist, worked in social care, worked in libraries. I even trained as a teacher too, as I thought if all else let me down I could teach others how to fail at writing too (that's just another little joke). The best writers have had varied careers and seen what life has to offer. These jobs shaped the way I write today. However, I began freelance writing as a sideline some years ago, to earn extra income, writing articles, blogs and getting paid for it too – very often I was lucky enough to be able to write in the style that suited me best (comedy, in case you were wondering) and it helped because it gave me some extra money and got me to practice my skills.


How did it affect the people round you?


I have nobody around me anymore. I've alienated all my friends and family. I live in a world of strangers. Kidding. Not really. Luckily my family have been incredibly supportive of what I do. Though they were concerned at first how I'd make ends meet and so on, now they see me working hard, earning some money for freelancing and that I'm properly preparing a novel – they think it's paying off. It's tough sometimes when you have a bad day and you wonder to yourself "will this EVER work for me?" but as corny as it sounds you do have to believe in yourself and what you do – and I think (I hope) that my relatives and loved ones feel the same when they read my work.


Who or what are your cultural cornerstones?


Well, lots of things. I think that having lots of different interests, hobbies and cultural crutches is so important in terms of shaping your work and the things you write about. For instance, I am passionate about all things historic and vintage, so I like to write pieces that are influenced by the past times and centuries I love so much. If you can get under the skin of a period in history – even if it's relatively recent, it can open up so many avenues to explore – how people thought, how they looked, the things they said and did and how they reacted to events that were happening around them at the time. In terms of the stuff I like to watch I am hugely influenced by vintage silent film and comedy, class acts from the past that still resonate so much today. Obviously because of wanting to be a stand up comedian originally I have a passion for watching good comedians at work. Listening to their patter and seeing how they observe life gives me angles on how to attack my own work.


I also read, I read a lot and I read as varied a mix as I can. Classics, history, biography (biographies are a brilliant way of getting skin deep into a character…anyone who writes should automatically add biographies of any kind to their reading list) and as many newspapers/magazines as I can, for up to date news and information – and the sort of real life stories that can truly only be made up…


Finally, what advice would you give to someone just starting out?


Don't give up. Simple as. Take the knocks, take the bad stuff, pick yourself up and carry on. Believe in yourself and what you do – even if you're convinced no-one else does. That self belief is probably the most important thing you can have to carry you through the writing experience. Lots of great authors had countless bad times before they hit lucky. You will too if you truly do have the talent and the nous. It's taken me years of freelancing, dedicated short story writing and nearly to the completion of a first novel for me to believe any of what I just said, but it IS true.

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Courtesy of interviewer (and interviewee!) Olivia Lennox, a professional writer who now lives in the UK.

Check out a few samples at the links below:

http://www.blackpresence.co.uk/2012/01/remembering-a-legend-gil-scott-heron/

http://www.shaanhaider.com/2012/01/urine-controlled-video-games.html

http://www.eyebridge.in/blog/looking-stylish-in-the-mobile-world-mobile-first-design/

http://probablydontlikeyou.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/the-very-definition-of-i-dont-give-a-damn/

http://www.myinfosecjob.com/2012/01/how-to-sell-the-value-of-information-security/

Free Book Syndrome

I was in a bookshop on Thursday.
That shouldn't sound shocking, but it's been a while.
The reason for the visit, the launch of Hit And Run – the new novel from the excellent Doug Johnstone.
If you've never read one of Doug's books or seem him at an event, I'd like to recommend both to you.
Hit And Run sounds like it has all the ingredients for a fast-paced noir thriller and the first chapter certainly has got me hooked.  The opening has a partying trio taking the long way home to avoid running into the cops on drink-driving watch.  Unfortunately for them, they run into something else, and there's a sense that things are just about to move from bad to really bad with the next turn of the page.
Excellent stuff.
Not only that, but Doug sang a couple of songs.  The first I liked, the second was a real humdinger about Bjork and car-crashes.  On top of that there were laughs aplenty, so it was great entertainment all round.  Make sure you get yourself a ticket for him for the Bloody Scotland festival if you're around for that.
Walking out afterwards, I had a look at the shelves.  There was something warm and familiar about them, packed full of books as they were and in neat order.
It was only when I got to the front door that I realised that there was no FREE BOOKS table.
No free books?  How do Waterstones (without the apostrophe these days!) expect to survive if they're not giving everything away?
It's an interesting idea, the Kindle Select programme.  Put in your book, let it be borrowed and be paid for that and have access to the facility of the giveaway.
Now, I'm a mean guy.  Mean in the saving money where I can way.  Truth is I have to be if I want to be able to pay for my children to have some of the brilliant experiences that are on offer to them – theatre, cinema, music, football, workshops, soft-play, swimming club, Rainbows and Brownies, you may know the kind of thing.
In the supermarket, if it has a reduced price sticker on an item because it's on the verge of disintegrating in the fridge, you'd have to hold me back to stop me putting it in my basket.
Same goes for books. 
Books are my biggest indulgence these days.  My shelves are packed to overflow and regular culls don't seem to make any difference.  They've been stocked by titles from Amazon, charity shops, car-boots, jumble-sales for as long as I can remember.  Not even becoming a kindle user has completely changed my habits and I still can't resist the odd tree-book now and again (take Dead Harvest by Chris F Holm, for example, how could the electronic version do that cover justice?).
Now I have a couple of new syndromes. 
The first is called 'Free Kindle Download Syndrome'.  I see a book I want or think I might want and press click as soon as I see it's going for nothing (not even for a song!).
The second is 'Giveaway Syndrome' where I keep having the urge to give books away for nothing.
I have another title going for free today.  I've enrolled 'With Love And Squalor' again to the Select Programme and it can be downloaded for nothing over the next 3 days.
Why?
To be honest, I'm not even sure myself. 
In part, it's down to the desire to be read by as many people as possible.  More downloads should equate to more readers even if only a fifth of them are actually opened.
Another part is the sheep mentality.  Everyone else is.
I'm also keen to sell books.  My fantasy is that at some point in the future I'll be able to swap my hugely stressful and demanding  teaching job, a job that is killing me softly, for a part-time one that allows me space to write, the two complimenting each other so that I can make enough money for the roof, the food and all of those clubs.
The idea, give some or lots away for free, sell a few and maybe get some traction.
There's nothing wrong with any of those things.
I do wish I could be more like Pablo D'Stair and his idea of just giving it all away for nothing for as much of the time as possible.   I admire his views and his writing.  Thing is, that leaves me in the 'killing me softly' job for eternity.
My worry about all of the free books thing is one that's no doubt been aired all over by now.  If every book is free for a certain period of time, won't people eventually stop paying for books?  It's not stopped me yet, but if I manage to reign in my enthusiasm at some point surely the rational thing is to do that.  Stop buying.  Be canny.
I guess Amazon know what they're doing from their side.
If a book has 20,000 giveaways and everyone raves about it, then the book will have to be bought in retrospect.   But won't it be available for free to the Kindle Prime folk?  And won't that persuade us all to join it eventually?
So, the big books will be borrowed and the best-selling authors will do fine.
And that leaves the less well-selling folk.  Maybe they'll do OK, but not as well. 
Then others will fall by the wayside.
Isn't that the way it's always been.  Is this a speedy evolution back to some form of the status quo? 
There are differences, I know.  The status quo didn't have the self-published before.  There might have been a more diverse platform in terms of where people shopped.  We had to move and mix in the world to buy our books and chat to people in the shops and find out what was going on in the book-world of their lives.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still embracing the e-book world and its possibilities, I just get nervous about it all from time to time.
If you've seen an analysis of this that makes sense, could you please drop in a link in the comments for me.  I really would like to find some informed opinions.
Have a good weekend.