Adam Maxwell's Blog

What I Did On My Holidays

By Adam Maxwell (Age 48 3/4)

We were lucky enough that daughter was finished early this year due to A-Levels being done and dusted so avoided the usual school holiday price gouge on the prices and had book a sojourn to Northern France.

ON THE TRAIN

We were left with a degree of trepidation given the shitshow that is the British Rail system. We needn’t have worried – it was the Eurostar that was the shitshow. More on that to come.

Leaving Northumberland we packed light with waterproofs ready for the few days we were expecting rain, stuck out our thumbs and flagged down a passing train to the capital city. No… not Kilchester… the other wretched hive of scum and villainy… London. It was as it always is… awful with pockets of delight you have to navigate to. We had tickets to see Cabarets. Since Mrs M and Maxwell Jr are both musical aficionados, I had it on good authority that the theatre had been done out to be a permanent Kit Kat Club (no, not the chocolate snack…). Utterly immersive and the performance? Phenomenal. 10/10 – no notes.

The following day… started with our train to Europe being cancelled due to thieves stealing stuff (the irony). Mrs M negotiated hard and we were granted safe passage on another train… running through the station…. down the platform and hopping… straight into an undeserved first class carriage.

Which was jolly nice and I got to work eating the free food straight away thank you very much.

Our first stop on the continent was Lille… the weather gods had clearly been out on a bender of Hunter S Thompson proportions and the promised sunny, cloudy, occasional shower forecast was sacrificed and replaced with 34 degree sizzle-weather.

We sought shade. We sought cheese. We sought La Piscine Musée d’art et d’industrie – a swimming pool with art deco interior that houses an art gallery that really had to be seen to be believed. 

It was incredible. But we didn’t hang around too long because we had more destinations to tick off our itinerary so were soon back on the train and on our way to Amiens home of JULES VERNE!

Reader, the Maxwell clan went to his house and it was as bonkers and uplifting as you would imagine. My creative batteries had been lacking in juice for a while and plugging into the big fella’s house (replete with tower… why haven’t I got a tower in my house?) and seeing his writing space was a jolt of the purest inspiration.

But we couldn’t stick around because Paris was expecting us and I, for one, do not like to keep that dear lady waiting.

Hotel in Montmartre… tick.

Walking ten miles a day… tick.

Having dinner in the cafe from the movie Amelie… tick.

Even in the insane heat, Paris is one of my absolute favourite cities and it didn’t disappoint. Of course we ticked the essentials off… they’d rebuilt Notre Dame since our last visit which was exceedingly nice of them. I bought a ‘new’ collection of Bukowski’s poetry in Shakespeare and Company, an English-language bookshop on the left bank favoured in times gone by Allen Ginsberg and William S Burroughs and visited by non-beat writers from Anaïs Nin to Max Ernst…

Which Dadaist mention brings us neatly to the Dali museum… High on the hill in Montmartre it was no mere deception, it was packed with paintings, sculptures and an explosion of other assorted ideas that poured forth from the genius when he lived in the area and from throughout his career.

The Louvre… tick. There was art galore. There were paintings. Some featured horses. Some galloping. Some not-so galloping.

Eiffel Tower… tick.

Batobus… was like a floating greenhouse but we did it anyway!

Oh and here’s me on the stairs Keanu Reeves got thrown down from the Sacre Couer around 50 times in the climax of John Wick 4.

All this and so much more we crammed into our scorchingly hot time and then we high-tailed it back onto the Eurostar which was delayed (but not cancelled!) presumably due to a Tom Cruise impersonator flying a helicopter through the tunnel? I don’t know, I’m neither a heli-nut nor a rotorhead.

Careering back into Kings Cross we paused briefly to sneer at the capital (no, still not Kilchester. Very disappointing.) then jumped a train to Northumberland where the temperature was a mere 15 degrees cooler.

Exhausting? Not a bit of it.

The danger with going on holiday is that you take yourself with you. Fortunately, as you’re aware, I’m brilliant so that’s not really an issue. Also being exceedingly modest and having impeccable taste meant myself, Mrs M and Maxwell Jr all had an absolutely splendid time.

Oh and I took this little writing device with me… will probably save explanations for another email but suffice to say. Writing took place. The draft on the new book is up to 88 thousand words and it has a way to go so it’ll be by far the longest Kilchester book so far! I even stopped myself from getting distracted and writing a short story about a teenage Violet and Katie getting up to shenanigans, tomfoolery and, likely hijinks.

Though I may return to that in the not-too-distant. I suggest you go to all the places I mentioned and see them because they were great.

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Quick! Name an impossible mission…

…getting Rachel to do a blog post on time. 

Just in case you have forgot about me (it has been a while, thanks R), I am Adam and you have a subscription to hearing my thoughts and opinions on who knows what every so often. 

I reckon in the last few months I’ve missed a couple of special occasions, but let me start by saying a belated Happy Birthday – no, not to you – but to the late Dashiell Hammett. A pioneer, the creator of hard-boiled detective fiction such as The Maltese Falcon and The Glass Key. Lately, I have been diving back into his greatest work and the often Woodhousian levels of wit displayed by fellow Noirist, Raymond Chandler. This has proved to be a valuable use of my spare time, whilst spending the rest editing my latest book and getting ready to immerse myself back into Kilchester to write the ending…

Speaking of other impossible missions, Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning came out and we went to see it at IMAX. Tom Cruise introduced it on screen – it was good of him to make the journey to the North East (I assume it was live from within the cinema). 

No spoilers for the film (lucky for you). But I will say, endings are difficult to do and…it was incredible, if not perfect. Maybe I’ll aim for incredible for my ending. Perfect is probably subjective. More likely I’ll just try to remember the final full stop. That would probably be good. 

Another birthday (technically anniversary) coming up is that seminal masterpiece The Dali Deception. Violet & co’s very first outing is turning NINE tomorrow! While you wait for me to finish the next one why not check it out again on your kindle, through your ear goggles or on that most quaint of medium’s – paper.

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TGIF…Thank God It’s February.

I’ll be honest I was starting to think I was in a remake of the 1993 classic, Groundhog Day, life was getting very repetitive. If there was an award for the most boring month, January would win. Is that why people set New Year’s resolutions? To keep them distracted until life starts up again? Maybe. Mine was to write more…I may or may not have already broken that one. That was about three different tangents in one paragraph – wow it feels good to be back.

I’ve been trying to get into some good habits e.g. scheduling and sticking to writing time, reading more and kicking the urge to delete every sentence after I’ve wrote it. Makes me feel a bit better about life when the world is going mad outside my windows. TGFF…Thank God for Fiction? At the moment, writing time is as scarce as sunlight in the northern hemisphere?!!??? Though I can’t say that for much longer as now that Winter Solstice has passed, the nights will get lighter and days longer. Plus, February is a shorter month so next week is basically March. This is getting too complicated. Basically, more light = more time = less excuses…

So, to keep you all in the loop and up to date with the latest happenings, below you can find links to all the places I will be sharing my wisdom and things I say before I speak (or post and then Rachel deletes to keep things normal). 

BlueSky – https://bsky.app/profile/adam.kilchester.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/groups/kilchesterirregulars

SubStack – https://kilchesterinc.substack.com/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/186729853-kilchester-inc

No excuses now, eh? Keep an eye out for some developments – me & Rachel have our work cut out for us this year. By that I mean there’s an Adam shaped hole in the wall whenever she asks how many words I’ve wrote for my work in progress. 

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56,000 words…and counting

What do you mean we’re in the middle of May already? It was only two minutes ago my Marketing & Chaos executive, Rachel, was telling you all that I have had my head down writing an autobiography (emphasis on the chaos in that sentence). Whilst I put the record straight, she wasn’t all wrong. Indeed I have had my head down, putting pen to paper and working hard on the next Kilchester installment. 

Now that I think about it, me and my office chair may have meshed together, meaning I now have 3 legs, 7 feet & 5 wheels. My hands resemble that of a T-rex. Permanently bent, claw like hands and shorter than the average human’s. Getting up at the crack of dawn and writing for an hour every day will do that to you. 

There’s nothing like Facebook to remind you of how well you were doing a few years ago, is there? 

10 years ago, throughout April 2014 I was finishing the first draft of what we now know to be ‘The Dali Deception‘. Without that, I wouldn’t be here today writing book 4 (well, technically 3!) and you would not be reading this newsletter. 

‘Comparison is the thief of joy’ – Theodore Roosevelt

There may be some truth to that quote, but we all know if anyone is more likely to be a thief of anything, it is most likely to be Violet. Diamonds, Money, anything with value. I’m quite surprised she hasn’t had Zoe hack my hard drive yet with all this high quality, good value for money writing. Specifically I can confirm that 56,684 words of the first draft is somewhat complete. 

On that note, I’ll leave you with a better quote from one of my favourite authors, Elmore Leonard – ‘Write the book the way it should be written, then give it to somebody to put in the commas and sh*t.” Wise words.

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New Year…same me (fortunately).

After what feels like 1,395 days of January, thankfully my bank account is no longer as dry as Billy Connolly’s sense of humor. Count this as my attempt to reach out into the void that is this miserable British weather and see if life is still out there (hello? … anyone?…). 

I can proudly report that my New Year’s resolution (yes, singular) is still going strong – this will be the year I publish Kilchester book 4! Technically it’s book 3, but I’ll save you the confusion of me rambling on about books. 

So instead, I’m going to ramble on about books…that aren’t my own. January might have been as long as your to-do list but at least I’ve had plenty inspiration from bingeing TV and books. One of those being ‘Jimmy The Kid’ by legendary heist-writer Donald E. Westlake. Dortmunder and his gang decide to kidnap the titular Jimmy, basing the entire heist on a book by Richard Stark. For those of you who are unaware, Stark is a pen name of Westlake… it all gets very meta and chapters from the fictional book are reproduced in their entirety. Since I don’t have a pen name I was thinking of chatting to my showbiz writer-pal Trevor Wood and seeing if we couldn’t do similar in the future.

Then again, by the time I’ve written GTGKTB and the next one in the series I already have an outline for I’ll probably have forgotten that idea.

Ah well…

I’ve also been buying up a bunch of Westlake titles from the Hard Case Crime publisher… mostly to read but partially because they have proper old-school pulp-style covers and were definite inspiration for the current crop of Kilchester covers.

I’m currently reading ‘Charlesgate Confidential’ by Scott Von Doviak so will report back with my findings. Coincidentally, I’ve been toying with the idea of Kilchester’s very own book club so you can do the same. Sound good? Head over to the Irregulars and have your say.

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Cover Versions (vol. 1)

One of the great things about being an indie author is the ability to commission/design/decide upon the covers for your books.

It’s also one of the worst things.

Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong. But life is a work-in-progress so why shouldn’t the gaudy paper you wrap your insights into the human condition (and nob gags) in?

This week (for boring reasons I won’t go into) I had to go back and make some minor changes to some of my backlist and discovered that ‘Come On Steal The Noise‘ paperback still had its original cover in one of the places that prints books for me.

Not one to let go the opportunity to wax lyrical about myself and my books go easily I thought it might be interesting to show you the journey. The journey so far, that is, because there’s no guarantee it won’t change again in the future.

The original.

When the novella was originally written I was languishing under the misapprehension that, rather than play to the humour in my writing which is pretty fucking unavoidable, I would trick readers into buying the books thinking they were ‘straight’ crime novels then hope they liked them anyway.

As idiotic ideas, it’s up there but in spite of that, for the most part, I really like the cover.

The use of negative space, the red colour against the snowy backdrop… the cassette. There’s a lot to like.

BUT

The only model I could find who looked remotely like Zoe Zimmerman unfortunately had an almost identical haircut to Violet (except for the fringe or bangs if you’re that way inclined). Which wasn’t ideal.

It definitely encapsulates the drama of the story with a little bit of its daftness but, without doing an actual photoshoot and finding a model who looked like Zoe, it wasn’t going to get much closer.

The update.

By now things have changed. We’ve fully embraced the balance of peril, of thrilling action and, naturally, of the daftness.

The Hitchcock and Saul Bass-inspired font for my name and the subtitle balanced with the BOOM statement branding of the pulp font. Actually a recreation of a font used on real pulp novels by authors including the phenomenal John D MacDonald, the title font was chosen because it’s instantly recognisable as both pulp and that it’s also fun… matching the Bass-ishness and running with it.

Same snowy backdrop (identical in fact) as the original but this time Zoe is digitally painted to look like Zoe.

BUT

As happy as I was with this overall… I just wasn’t 100% sold on the mid-fall element of the action. My shortcomings as a cover-designer, painter, whatever… my fault.

The best…?

Not sure where I came across it but I spotted a series of tributes to Norman Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post paintings and went down the rabbit hole until I realised that the stupidly long title I’d given the novella would fit in the circular format really well…

And I could use the same wintery background AGAIN.

And even better… I could show Zoe in her mid-heist cosplay of Noddy Holder with the top hat with the mirrors on it. And… frankly… I think the final digital painting turned out amazing

Everything from her sassiness to the winter to the pulp to the humour to the cassette in her pocket are all just working.

It took a few years to get here but, folks, I think the journey was worth it. What do you reckon?

Come On Steal The Noise is available as an ebook as well as in hardback and paperback.

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The Best Summer Reads? Undoubtedly.

Pick me! Pick me!

I’d say long time no speak but as you know by now it is that time of the month where the digital pigeons post you a weblog missive where I ramble about what I’ve been doing.

And what have I been doing, you ask? Taking a well-deserved break (if I do say so myself) from Kilchester and taking in a change of scenery. What better to do when sitting in the sun with a cocktail named after an innuendo in one hand and a gripping novel in the other?

Don’t worry, this time I’m not talking about my own but rather my top 5 holiday picks:

1) Disaster Inc. by Caimh McDonnell

I actually took a different book of Caimh’s on holiday with me but I could hardly recommend the fifth book in a series as one to start with. This one is the start of McGarry Stateside and is a joy from start to finish.

US // UK

2) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

I like to pick up something related to the place I’m holidaying and this year we were in Bilbao. Dan Brown did one of his here but frankly, I can’t read that shit so I’m recommending the one I took to London two years ago instead. Gaiman’s first novel (I think) and it’s full of imagination and delirium. Love it.

US // UK

3) What Does This Button Do? by Bruce Dickinson

I like a good autobiography and the lead singer of Iron Maiden doesn’t disappoint. Picked this one up on Audible since Bruce reads it himself and it’s heartfelt, unusual and really funny. Particularly the section where he’s gone solo and ‘accidentally’ ends up in warn-torn Sarajevo playing in front of kids who literally had to risk death to be there… There’s a BBC documentary about that whole affair I’d recommend too. Very timely with what’s happening in Ukraine right now. War… what is it good for?

US // UK

4) Suburban Dicks by Fabian Nicieza

Dicks as in Private Detectives… get your mind out of the gutter. Nicieza wrote some of the best runs in the Deadpool comics and proves as funny and inventive with his first novel featuring a heavily pregnant suburban Mom. There’s even a sequel which is just as good.

US // UK

5) Action – The Art of Excitement by Bassim El-Wakil

What holiday list would be complete without a book about the craft of writing? None. For the writers out there check out Bass’ podcast The Story Toolkit which is truly first class. I’ve worked with Bass on the outlines of ‘Kill It With Fire’ and the forthcoming ‘Get The Girl, Kill The Baddies’ and his insight into how story ‘works’ is frankly bordering on the mystical. I’m re-reading what I’d call the ‘author’s preferred text’ of this and it’s a solid 20 out of 10 for me. The one in bookshops is still worth your money co-authored as it is by legendary story guru Robert McKee.

US // UK

What would yours be? Head over to Kilchester Irregulars and have your say (no promises that your answers won’t be heavily debated).

I’ve seen… Blue Skies… Through the tears in your eyes… and I realise…

Okay, those are the lyrics to a song from Rocky Horror Show… Which has nothing to do with the fact that social media has gone INSANE this last few weeks. Twitter is a total sh!tshow and I am around elsewhere so in case you want to be sociable…

Blue Sky

This is probably going to be the one for me, my username is @adam.kilchester.com – sadly it’s still currently invite only and I don’t have any (yet) but if you’re there… say hi.

Bsky Cloud-Free

Threads

I’m on Threads too but… full disclosure… I HATE it. I’ll probably use it to see if I can get on with it but it feels like it just shows you a bunch of random influencers and people you don’t follow. Since you can’t ignore social networks… I’m on it

Here I Am

The Book of Faces

The oft-mentioned, never-bettered hangout for the discerning Kilchester reader…. Private Facebook group. If you go there now you might even get the new cover reveal I’m about to do…

Clickety Click

That’s all from me for now, I’m going to shut up and bury my head in one of these books.

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I’m ‘Just A Girl’…

I swear this isn’t me having a mid-life crisis, although it being pride month and all I’m proud to announce I’m staying as my clever, witty and humble self, much to your dismay. Some of you hawk-eyed readers may have noticed in the last newsletter that Violet had a say, her words specifically being ‘Think I’m Just A Girl? Try me’. If you’re lucky enough to consider yourself a Kilchester Irregular, then you’ll know what I’m hinting at…

Told you I’d been working hard on something in the meantime…yes, I have also been procrastinating really hard but you can’t have a story without a good book cover! What use is a naked book to anyone? (Now, now let’s keep it professional.) 

Just A Girl: A New Kilchester Short

We all know how far Violet will go to get her own way and get what she wants and a random weeknight on the Kilchester Underground is no exception. 

When Faye is en route from working at Kilchester’s latest and hottest slice, Kil-a-Pizza, all she can think about is getting home and into bed. But a drunken, self-centred football hooligan has a different idea.

When all other eyes are on their phones, Violet takes matters into her own hands to dish out a tasty form of revenge to the obnoxious ____ (you can fill in the blank yourself) and save Faye from trouble. 

He didn’t ask for it? Oh, the irony. 

Alright, I’ve made you wait long enough. You can get your hands on your copy of Just A Girl here, or if you’re hungry for more you can get your greasy, tomato-covered mitts on some Kil-A-Pizza goods too. 

Oh, and if you prefer to buy the ebook or want it in print… go here.

Sign up to the mailing list on the website and you might even get it for free, along with my previous short story ‘Come On Steal The Noise’.

Still hungry for more? Wow, I’m impressed. 

Well, it is a short story and not a novel for a reason but I suppose since your eyes are full from reading then let me satisfy your ears too. 

We all know I wear many hats – writer, comedian, artist, borderline pest and now…disc jockey. And by disc I’m of course referring to the good days when you would purchase a physical copy of an album and proudly display your stacks in all their musical glory. 

However, as we live in a technological metaverse ran by motherzuckers and the like, Spotify will have to do. 

I present to you, the ‘Just A Girl’ EP! 

You can’t have a literal kick-ass scene in a film without an appropriate soundtrack to play in the background and that is exactly what I had in mind when enjoying, sorry, writing Violet dish out some karma. 

From Florence and The Machine, No Doubt and The Cure – aptly chosen if I do say so myself – this playlist puts you right at the heart of the scene. 

With 6 tracks (short and sweet), songs such as ‘Take It Off’ and the inspiring ‘Just A Girl’ get straight to the point for 23 consecutive minutes. 

If you feel like tackling someone or attempting to flip a metro by the end of it or even just enjoy it as much as Violet takes pleasure in getting her hands dirty then I’ve done my job. 

The link you ask? There you go.

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Tis the seesaw to be jelly…

Sometimes ideas take a while to come to fruition because, basically, I should be spending my time on more productive things.

I think it may have been Xmas 2021 when I was chatting to a reader and said that I might have to do an Xmas card with Zoe on it in the full Noddy Holder outfit she wears in Come On Steal The Noise. The problem with ideas like that is that they come around too close to Christmas and you’re too busy with the real life thing and… who sends cards any more? What is this… 1972?!

This year, one thing aligned with another and I found a bit of time to do some colouring in and did indeed produce a painting of Zoe in shiny platform shoes, plaid and mirrored top hat! I got a couple of dozen printed and sent them out to select Kilchester Irregulars…

And then I realised that I might actually like the card a little better than the existing cover… which led to something of a dilemma.

The original cover of COSTN was that last composite cover I’d used. Basically pulling together a bunch of different elements in Photoshop and then making them into a book cover (apologies to every design ever for that sweeping generalisation, I really do know how hard it is to get right).

The problem with using real life people as the models for the covers is that you are extremely limited as to what you can direct the to do… they don’t take particularly kindly to being told that their fringe doesn’t look like the character they’re meant to be portraying and could they possibly shave a chequerboard design into the sides of their head?

But I digress.

The first cover came out well but after the pulp re-working of The Dali Deception and Kill It With Fire, it had to go and the result was the second cover with Zoe hanging on for dear life to the edge of a balcony mid-heist.

I liked the cover but over time it became my least favourite of the three (now four, nearly five) books in the series.

So, when the Xmas card turned out so well I did a little bit of a rejig and ta-da! A new cover.

Maybe next year I’ll be organised enough to get it so you can buy Kilchester Kristmas Cards. In the mean time, best wishes for the season and don’t forget if you sign up to my newsletter you’ll get the ebook of the novella of Come On Steal The Noise for free. If that’s the sort of thing that interests you.

Inception Evolution Regurgitation

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Rockdown in Lockdown – the Soundtrack!

For me, music plays a huge part in writing. Not in the actual writing, usually anything with lyrics is far too distracting but the soundtrack to writing a book can be as influential and inspiring as it is evocative of the mood of a scene.

Since Kill It With Fire I’ve been compiling Original Soundtrack Albums for each book as a playlist. Before you do anything else click on the button and start playing it on Spotify:

Listen Here

With Rockdown in Lockdown it got a bit messier… in the nicest possible way. For the first time ever (maybe!?) an actual band got a cameo in a book. But more on that later… First the tracklist, then I’m going to do some liner notes for the inside of the LP. If you want to read the lot, just keep scrolling and moving your eyes left and right in the traditional manner, if you want to skip to particular tracks, click and it’ll jump down to that bit of the page.

Block Rockin’ Beats – The Chemical BrothersHeart – Andy CooperCh-Check It Out – The Beastie BoysMain Title ‘Truck Turner’ – Isaac HayesWhole Lotta Love – Ike & Tina Turner Stay With Me – Mary J. BligeNobody’s Fault But Mine – Nina SimoneNo Surprises – Regina SpektorMonster – dodieIn The Air Tonight – Phil CollinsPush It – Salt-N-PeppaGoing Out Of My Head – Fatboy SlimSaturday Night’s Alright For Fighting – Elton JohnFight Fire With Fire – The ProdigyFuckin’ In The Bushes – OasisThe Drowners – SuedeHow Not To Drown – CHVRCHES featuring Robert SmithSay The Word – The Allergies w/Andy Cooper and Marietta SmithToo Many DJs – SoulwaxBlockbuster – Sweet2 Shots – David FordInstant Street – dEUS

Block Rockin’ Beats – The Chemical Brothers

Start with a banger. That’s what my old Gran used to say when she was DJing in Ibiza. The Chemical Brothers statement that they are, in fact, back with another one of those block rocking beats felt like a nod to lockdown.

A nod that said ‘fuck off lockdown’. And the book, written as it was in lockdown, embraced that sentiment wholeheartedly. The joy of people coming together in spite of what’s happened.

Heart – Andy Cooper

Andy makes an appearance a part of a rival crew in the book and this track on his solo album typifies Violet’s swagger at times while still wearing its titular heart on its sleeve. The fight back had begun within the first verse of this song in my mind and it serves as a microcosm of the attitude the gang have.

Ch-Check It Out – The Beastie Boys

Contemporaries of Ugly Duckling, Andy Cooper’s old band, feels like we’re setting up an attitude…

Believe when I say I’m no better than you
Except when I rap so I guess it ain’t true

I mean, that’s Violet really isn’t it? Except pulling slick heists instead of rapping, obviously.

Main Title ‘Truck Turner’ – Isaac Hayes

The first of the ‘soundtrack’ moments, this amazing song from the movie ‘Truck Turner’ (starring Isaac Hayes – go and watch it, it’s fantastic). If this was a movie, it’d be playing as Lucas makes his entrance into The Lakehouse.

Building tension. Funky, funky tension.

Whole Lotta Love – Ike & Tina Turner

What’s better than tension? More tension. The patience this song has laying down it’s track before Tina growls into life, the strings, the way guitar… Very few covers match the original but I think this one is arguably as good as Led Zeppelin’s original.

As we cross cut from Lucas’ isolation into the triumvirate of Zoe, Katie and Violet, the pulsing bass guides us through the plans for what’s ultimately going to happen.

Stay With Me – Mary J. Blige

Feminism? Yes please. Rod’s version of this feels like a lost and sleazy sexist uncle compared to Mary J. Blige’s resurrection of this. Bit of a thematic link too. We were all locked in our houses, remember.

Who says subtext is dead?

Oh… no-one.

Anyway, with everyone banding together in their bubbles, this banger also cut through the gloom of it a bit too.

Nobody’s Fault But Mine – Nina Simone

Sometimes, you can be blindsided by a song. I love Nina Simone and thought I was pretty well-versed in her back-catalogue but I was listening to Lauren Laverne on BBC 6Music and this came on… I had one of those music moments where you stop everything else you’re doing and you just listen.

I knew it was Nina Simone immediately and couldn’t believe I’d never heard this song before. Maybe it was just that it was resonating in a new way, I don’t know. Whatever the reason, that stripped back Nina just singing and playing piano… it’s just beautiful.

Foreshadowing on the soundtrack, of course (no spoilers) but when things go wrong, whose fault is it?

Side note – I kind of hope that Lauren reads this because it can’t be understated how appreciated it was for that slice of normality and togetherness that she provided through the radio show in the dark times of lockdown. Especially when she would have been going through the same shit as the rest of us.

Thanks, Lauren

No Surprises – Regina Spektor

Radiohead’s original didn’t feel like it would sit as well on the Original Soundtrack (capital letters!) after Nina Simone. Regina Spektor bring just as much emotion as Thom and co. but this piano-only version felt like the perfect fit at this point in the soundtrack as well as this point in the book where we’re sneaking around, trying not to get caught, the prelude to the main event.

Surveillance society… Zoe couldn’t give a shit about your security system. All your base are belong to her.

No alarms and no surprises

Monster – dodie

We need to bring it up a bit now, don’t we? Step up dodie… don’t let that sweet voice fool you, she’s as sharp as a thorn behind it. There’s even a reference about being a metre apart (not pandemic specific but nonetheless). There’s an encapsulation of Lucas’ state of mind trapped with all those horrible characters. The dance he’s engaged in, the lies he’s spinning and the facades that are put up by everyone.

In a way he’s as bad as they are but… at least in the book… we’re more on the gang’s side.

In The Air Tonight – Phil Collins

We’re into the meat of the heist now. The cinematic parallels worn like hearts on sleeves with the slow build and explosion of the song and Violet’s plan. Everything’s going to kick off really soon.

What’s that? A line about drowning? Just ignore that. Definitely not relevant in a story set in a facility under a lake.

Is it?

Push It – Salt-N-Peppa

The plan’s kicked off! Fun time! Salt-N-Peppa bringing it with Spinderella on the decks.

Violet & Katie’s here and they’re in effect…

With Rockdown I always wanted it to be a partial reflection of the bad parts of Lockdown but it was also meant to be a joyous explosion of all the best bits of Kilchester and what better way to kick off the fun and games?

Going Out Of My Head – Fatboy Slim

Starts with a Who sample and ramps up from there. Norman Cook is a genius being able to make songs that just make you want to smile (and dance!), this one is a high watermark for everything going to plan. Like that point in the evening when you are just the right side of happy. You know that soon things are going to get a bit messy but, hey… what’s the worst thing that can happen?

Turns out dying is an option but you can’t imagine that while the big beat bounces along.

Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting – Elton John

Inevitably, this Is where the chaos starts. With Katie’s fists flying. That idea that a fight’s a bit of fun bounds along in the song and, at points, in the book. But you know in Kilchester if someone pulls a knife there’s going to be blood on the pages and this song’s no different.

We’ve left the safe, warm big beat boutique and we’re still buzzing but now someone’s getting smacked.

Fight Fire With Fire – The Prodigy

Some bands lose their teeth with age but the Prodigy are still snarling. As the fight goes into round two the dirty side of brawling comes out.

We don’t fuck with police… we fight fire with fire

Katie’s injured. Things are getting out of control… And this is a great song to get in the mood for writing that kind of scene. If this scene was ever filmed there would have to be a section where Katie was hammering her assailant in the face to the kick and snare drum. It would be brutal. Just like the track.

Fuckin’ In The Bushes – Oasis

Comms are down. The gang are split up. Everyone has tasks and there are people everywhere. Everything’s going to come together in the end though. Isn’t it?

Oasis’ brilliant instrumental just builds and builds and we’re are going to end this song with a rocket launcher destroying the vault so… LET’S DO THIS.

[minor spoilers for the book in the next two songs – skip to Soulwax to avoid]

The Drowners – Suede

As I said previously, as much fun as I always try to make the books, there should always be a grounding in the real world. Without danger the characters just wouldn’t be interesting. And here the danger culminates in Violet trapped in the vault as it fills with water.

Bernard Butler’s guitar cha-chonks its riff into your ears before Brett Anderson’s lilting vocal sails overhead. Admittedly, I took it very literally but it’s a great tune and initially drowning is just swimming after all…

How Not To Drown – CHVRCHES featuring Robert Smith

This was the first song I’d heard by CHVRCHES and it was entirely as a result of The Cure’s Robert Smith. This is literally the soundtrack to Violet drowning.

Everything going through her head, Lauren Mayberry’s vocal… Robert’s response… the whole sound really wraps Rockdown up in a bow at this point in the narrative.

Needless to say I’ve dug into CHVRCHES since and they are an amazing band but the claustrophobia, frustration and rawness of this track made it a total no-brainer for inclusion.

Say The Word – The Allergies w/Andy Cooper and Marietta Smith

I tweeted about the soundtrack to ‘Kill It With Fire’ when I put it together at the time and The Allergies were on there. DJ Moneyshot tweeted back to say they wanted to be in my next book… The only problem with that sort of request is that it takes bloody ages to write a book.

I say ‘only problem’…

When I outlined the book I knew I wanted to have a scene in where they appeared, the idea being that they were in a band by day and heisting by night. I was conscious of the fact that if I worked them into the book too much when they read the end result they might say ‘no fucking way’ and I’d be left having the editing job from hell to take them out.

As it happened, their inclusion was woven in a bit deeper than just the one scene and to make matters worse I couldn’t just make it a puff-piece. The Kilchester gang are the protagonists here and, to have them suddenly defer to outsiders (or even be nice to them!) would have been weirdly out of character.

In the end I just wrote the main scene the way I thought it needed to be, crossed my fingers and emailed them the result. In the end I needn’t have worried. After they’d taken a look I got the thumbs up and (to the best of my knowledge) the first band cameo in a book ever came to pass.

This track was great for a moment in the plot where Katie realises what she’s just done… the results of firing that rocket launcher are not just explosions and larks.

Say the word and I’ll come running

It’s a brilliant track with Andy and Marietta bouncing along and complementing each other perfectly. Andy’s rapping percussively pounding the beat while Marietta’s singing soars in response. It’s soul, it’s funk, it’s attitude and it’s a great moment of people coming together in the book.

Too Many DJs – Soulwax

As Doctor Strange memorably said, ‘we’re in the endgame now’. I’ve long been and fan of the Belgian brothers and probably their most famous song as a ‘band’ is undoubtedly this one. It’s got energy, distortion, drive and chaos while still remain as tight as a drum.

The ‘something’s got to give‘ refrain is a great sentiment for this point in the book too.

Blockbuster – Sweet

Back in ‘banger’ territory for this one. A reviewer once described my writing as ‘Oceans 11 meets Hot Fuzz… in book form’ and this was on the soundtrack to Hot Fuzz. The siren, the drums, the glam of it all.

The song is dangerously catchy and it bloody knows it is. It’s arrogant about how good it is just like Violet but you love them both anyway. Cheers to Edgar Wright for reminding me of this one… plus you need something a bit uplifting as you’re bring this plane in for a landing, don’t you?

2 Shots – David Ford

Another very specific lockdown-related song. I’m a huge fan of David Ford, he was the first artist I saw post-pandemic and this song is about getting vaccinated getting back on stage. The forward-looking, the melancholy, the hope.

For a while none of use were sure we would have the hope. But then it came and I think this song has that uplifting quality. And it might be the only song with the name of a pharmaceutical company in it!

Probably less about Violet and the gang, this song is more of a reminder on the soundtrack of what we collectively went through and how fucking weird it was. But we got through it and we got through it together. David did regular lockdown streaming gigs (again, if you read this David, THANK YOU) and these were ways for us all to come together when doing so was strictly forbidden.

But that couldn’t be the end…

Instant Street – dEUS

The coda as the gang get back together at the end of the book. This might be one of my favourite songs in the world and it’s perfect for the end of Rockdown. I could probably go through line by line and draw comparisons but I’ll try to keep it short (too late).

The coming together of friends, colleagues, a makeshift family. Lyrically, the song slides perfectly into the ideas and themes I was playing with as I wrote the book. Musically the calm first half feels like it’s complimenting the denouement as it unfolds but there are choppy waters ahead and about halfway through it shifts into something different and darker.

By the time the song moves into a higher gear it’s become something entirely different. As if that might be some sort of indication as to how the gang’s next outing may pan out…

But that, as the saying goes, is another story.

Don’t forget, you can listen to the lot as a Spotify playlist:

Rockdown In Lockdown Original Soundtrack

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