James Howell's Blog, page 2
November 6, 2014
International project will reinvent literature
An abridged version of
A Disturbed Girl’s Guide to Curing Boredom
is being used as the pilot for an international multi-media project that aims to revolutionise literature.The Black Page (TBP) is a collective of cutting-edge European writers, designers, photographers and musicians who are working together to create new multi-media literature.
TBP started life in 2013 when Creative Director Erik Zwiers invited author James Howell and other artists to Antwerp, Belgium, to brainstorm ideas.
Following this meeting, Howell wrote Birth of a Disturbed Girl, a shortened version of his debut novel, leading Dutch photographer Look J Boden shot a series of Hannah Harker portraits, and UK electro artist Himuro Mansion produced a soundtrack.
Zwiers has now established a brand new Development House near Amsterdam where a team of creatives are using these various multi-media elements to work on design concepts for Birth of a Disturbed Girl.
Zwiers also met with the Haarlem Events Foundation in Holland recently and The Black Page will be the lead concept at the Haarlem Literary Festival in June 2015. This will bring together people from across the Netherlands, Belgium and further afield as TBP reaches out to a global audience.
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November 5, 2014
Interview with author james howell
Q) What can you tell us about Guinea Pigs, your new collection of short stories?A) The anthology will include three separate stories about everyday people who slide into depravity. The characters seemingly have nothing in common, apart from their decaying minds and deviant behaviour, but a common thread unites them all. This thread will be revealed over time and it is going to form the basis of my next full length novel.
After exploring a single character (Hannah Harker) over the course of the Disturbed Girl trilogy, I wanted to create some new characters from different walks of life. The anthology features a seemingly dull local council employee in suburban England, a female banker on holiday in the Gambia and a veteran policeman who specialises in missing persons and domestic violence.
I won’t reveal what connects them, but as with Hannah Harker I will blur the boundaries between right and wrong, explore how the mundane can become warped and serve up scenes to curdle your stomach and make you blush.
Q) The first story in the collection is The Man Who Couldn’t Laugh. What’s it about?
A) It’s a bit like the Michael Douglas film Falling Down, but set in a quaint English village.
The main character is a guy called Colin Jones who wants to just stroll through his mundane life and be left in peace, but he is constantly antagonised by his wife, work colleagues, motorists, people in the supermarket and so on.
He lives in a narrow-minded white neighbourhood and avidly reads the right-wing tabloid press, so when a family from Somalia move in next door it’s the final straw…
Q) When will Amber’s Haunt be released?
A) I’m very excited about Amber’s Haunt as it’s the first short film to be produced by Disturbed Girl Productions.
It’s been written and directed by Joe James, who has previously produced a Disturbed Girl soundtrack under his Himuro Mansion artist name. The first cut of the movie has recently been finished and I love what Joe has put together with his cast and production team.
The original plan was to release it in winter 2014, but we’ve decided to take it onto the film festival circuit first to generate publicity. We are now looking to release it to the world sometime around spring 2015.
Q) How is The Black Page coming along?
A) The Black Page (TBP) is a collective of European writers, designers, photographers and musicians who are working together to create new multi-media literature.
I was first invited to Antwerp a couple of years ago to join the project, but things moved quite slowly while we struggled to figure out what exactly TBP was going to look like and how it would work with so many international collaborators.
In the last couple of months, however, there has been some real progress. TBP has established a brand new Development House near Amsterdam, where a team of creatives are currently working on design concepts for Disturbed Girl, which is the pilot project.
TBP Director Erik Zwiers has also recently met with the Haarlem Events Foundation in Holland and The Black Page is going to be the lead concept at the Haarlem Literary Festival in June 2015. This will bring together people from across the Netherlands, Belgium and further afield and I’m really looking forward to seeing it develop.
Q) You’ve also become a father this year – how do you find time for all your projects?
A) Yes, my life has been more about disturbed sleep than Disturbed Girl since baby Athena was born in March, but I’m loving fatherhood and just about finding time for the various projects too.
Writing is obviously a solitary profession, but The Black Page and Amber’s Haunt are real team efforts so there has been plenty of work going on while I’ve been changing nappies!
Q) Will Hannah Harker return?
A) The poor girl has been through hell and needs a well-earned rest. That said, I’ll never say never again.
Interview with author james howell
Q) What can you tell us about Guinea Pigs, your new collection of short stories?A) The anthology will include three separate stories about everyday people who slide into depravity. The characters seemingly have nothing in common, apart from their decaying minds and deviant behaviour, but a common thread unites them all. This thread will be revealed over time and it is going to form the basis of my next full length novel.
After exploring a single character (Hannah Harker) over the course of the Disturbed Girl trilogy, I wanted to create some new characters from different walks of life. The anthology features a seemingly dull local council employee in suburban England, a female banker on holiday in the Gambia and a veteran policeman who specialises in missing persons and domestic violence.
I won’t reveal what connects them, but as with Hannah Harker I will blur the boundaries between right and wrong, explore how the mundane can become warped and serve up scenes to curdle your stomach and make you blush.
Q) The first story in the collection is The Man Who Couldn’t Laugh. What’s it about?
A) It’s a bit like the Michael Douglas film Falling Down, but set in a quaint English village.
The main character is a guy called Colin Jones who wants to just stroll through his mundane life and be left in peace, but he is constantly antagonised by his wife, work colleagues, motorists, people in the supermarket and so on.
He lives in a narrow-minded white neighbourhood and avidly reads the right-wing tabloid press, so when a family from Somalia move in next door it’s the final straw…
Q) When will Amber’s Haunt be released?
A) I’m very excited about Amber’s Haunt as it’s the first short film to be produced by Disturbed Girl Productions.
It’s been written and directed by Joe James, who has previously produced a Disturbed Girl soundtrack under his Himuro Mansion artist name. The first cut of the movie has recently been finished and I love what Joe has put together with his cast and production team.
The original plan was to release it in winter 2014, but we’ve decided to take it onto the film festival circuit first to generate publicity. We are now looking to release it to the world sometime around spring 2015.
Q) How is The Black Page coming along?
A) The Black Page (TBP) is a collective of European writers, designers, photographers and musicians who are working together to create new multi-media literature.
I was first invited to Antwerp a couple of years ago to join the project, but things moved quite slowly while we struggled to figure out what exactly TBP was going to look like and how it would work with so many international collaborators.
In the last couple of months, however, there has been some real progress. TBP has established a brand new Development House near Amsterdam, where a team of creatives are currently working on design concepts for Disturbed Girl, which is the pilot project.
TBP Director Erik Zwiers has also recently met with the Haarlem Events Foundation in Holland and The Black Page is going to be the lead concept at the Haarlem Literary Festival in June 2015. This will bring together people from across the Netherlands, Belgium and further afield and I’m really looking forward to seeing it develop.
Q) You’ve also become a father this year – how do you find time for all your projects?
A) Yes, my life has been more about disturbed sleep than Disturbed Girl since baby Athena was born in March, but I’m loving fatherhood and just about finding time for the various projects too.
Writing is obviously a solitary profession, but The Black Page and Amber’s Haunt are real team efforts so there has been plenty of work going on while I’ve been changing nappies!
Q) Will Hannah Harker return?
A) The poor girl has been through hell and needs a well-earned rest. That said, I’ll never say never again.
September 27, 2014
MORE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA FOR DISTURBED GIRL PROJECT
Dutch photography magazine Zoom.nl is the latest international publication to print a feature about the Disturbed Girl photography project.
Disturbed Girl author James Howell teamed up with leading Dutch photographer Look J Boden and model Sharon Elslander to create a unique portfolio of portraits based on Hannah Harker's exploits in the novel A Disturbed Girl's Guide to Curing Boredom.
The photographs are part of a wider multi-media project called The Black Page, which will launch soon.
You can read the article (in Dutch) here.
Disturbed Girl author James Howell teamed up with leading Dutch photographer Look J Boden and model Sharon Elslander to create a unique portfolio of portraits based on Hannah Harker's exploits in the novel A Disturbed Girl's Guide to Curing Boredom.
The photographs are part of a wider multi-media project called The Black Page, which will launch soon.
You can read the article (in Dutch) here.
July 30, 2014
photographic project featured in the dutch press
Dutch newspaper Groot Vlaardingen features a lengthy article in this week's edition about the recent Disturbed Girl photographic project.
Disturbed Girl author James Howell teamed up with leading Dutch photographer Look J Boden and model Sharon Elslander to create a unique portfolio of portraits based on Hannah Harker's exploits in the novel A Disturbed Girl's Guide to Curing Boredom.
The article (in Dutch) is below, and you can read more about the project here.
Disturbed Girl author James Howell teamed up with leading Dutch photographer Look J Boden and model Sharon Elslander to create a unique portfolio of portraits based on Hannah Harker's exploits in the novel A Disturbed Girl's Guide to Curing Boredom.
The article (in Dutch) is below, and you can read more about the project here.
July 23, 2014
get over 30% off the disturbed girl trilogy
If you're looking for something disturbing to take on your summer holidays, the whole Disturbed Girl trilogy is now available in paperback for just £15.99 with FREE postage and SIGNED by author James Howell, exclusively through this website. That is a saving of more than 30% on the individual list price.
Order your copy today at our online shop.
Order your copy today at our online shop.
July 20, 2014
LEADING DUTCH ARTIST PHOTOGRAPHS DISTURBED GIRL
Leading Dutch photographer Look J Boden has created a unique portfolio of portraits depicting Hannah Harker in various scenes from the novel A Disturbed Girl’s Guide to Curing Boredom.
Boden, who has been working with Disturbed Girl author James Howell on an international multi-media project called The Black Page, shot the images with model Sharon Elslander at locations around his home town of Vlaardingen, near Rotterdam.
He said: “My work is about telling stories with pictures, and this project offered an opportunity to create a visual interpretation of a story that has already been written.
“Hannah Harker is a fascinating character and A Disturbed Girl’s Guide to Curing Boredom offers some very interesting scenes for a photographer.
“Sharon was a little nervous in the beginning as some of the scenes are intense, but I think she did an amazing job and it was good working with her.”
Author Howell said: “Look is an artist who likes to push boundaries. I’ve long admired the way he portrays extremes through portraits and conceptual images, and I love how he has used his camera to bring Hannah Harker to life.
“His style has precisely captured the tone of Disturbed Girl, and in Sharon Elslander he has unearthed someone who possesses the beauty and confidence of Hannah, but also her vulnerability and inner darkness.”
Check out the Hannah Harker photos below and discover more of Look’s work on his website at www.lookjboden.nl
Boden, who has been working with Disturbed Girl author James Howell on an international multi-media project called The Black Page, shot the images with model Sharon Elslander at locations around his home town of Vlaardingen, near Rotterdam.
He said: “My work is about telling stories with pictures, and this project offered an opportunity to create a visual interpretation of a story that has already been written.
“Hannah Harker is a fascinating character and A Disturbed Girl’s Guide to Curing Boredom offers some very interesting scenes for a photographer.
“Sharon was a little nervous in the beginning as some of the scenes are intense, but I think she did an amazing job and it was good working with her.”
Author Howell said: “Look is an artist who likes to push boundaries. I’ve long admired the way he portrays extremes through portraits and conceptual images, and I love how he has used his camera to bring Hannah Harker to life.
“His style has precisely captured the tone of Disturbed Girl, and in Sharon Elslander he has unearthed someone who possesses the beauty and confidence of Hannah, but also her vulnerability and inner darkness.”
Check out the Hannah Harker photos below and discover more of Look’s work on his website at www.lookjboden.nl
July 7, 2014
behind-the-scenes photos from amber's haunt
A selection of behind-the-scenes photographs from the set of Amber's Haunt are now available to view below.
The psychological thriller is the first short film from Disturbed Girl Productions, and is currently in post-production. You can read more about the movie on the official IMDB page.
The psychological thriller is the first short film from Disturbed Girl Productions, and is currently in post-production. You can read more about the movie on the official IMDB page.
June 6, 2014
Sexy new amber's haunt trailer
Here's the latest, very sexy trailer for Amber's Haunt, the debut feature from Disturbed Girl Productions.
Needless to say, viewer discretion is advised as this trailer features material unsuitable for office computers!
Needless to say, viewer discretion is advised as this trailer features material unsuitable for office computers!
May 29, 2014
The guinea pigs are coming
Violence, sex and debauchery will be returning to your bookshelf this year with the publication of James Howell’s brand new anthology of short stories.
Guinea Pigs is the follow-up to Howell’s internationally successful Disturbed Girl trilogy, and it will be published by Amygdala Press in late 2014.
The anthology will include three separate stories about everyday people who slide into depravity. The characters seemingly have nothing in common, apart from their decaying minds and deviant behaviour, but a common thread unites them all.
This thread will be revealed over the course of the anthology, and it will form the basis of Howell’s next full-length novel, which is provisionally set for publication in late 2015.
James Howell said: “With Disturbed Girl I explored one character in great depth over three novels. I thoroughly enjoyed taking Hannah Harker on increasingly twisted adventures, but I reached a point where I needed a break from her. There may come a time when I’m ready to revisit her extraordinary life, but for now I want to create new characters.
“Guinea Pigs gives me the opportunity to examine three different people from various walks of life. As with Hannah Harker, I will blur the boundaries between right and wrong, explore how the mundane can become warped and serve up scenes to curdle your stomach and make you blush.
James added: “The stories in Guinea Pigs will work as standalone portraits, but the overall anthology is essentially an extended prologue to my next full-length novel. I’m still in the process of mapping out exactly how that novel will unfold, but the early indications are that it will be utterly insane!”
Guinea Pigs is not due to be published until December 2014, but Disturbed Girl subscribers will be able to get the first short story in the anthology completely free of charge as early as this summer.
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Guinea Pigs is the follow-up to Howell’s internationally successful Disturbed Girl trilogy, and it will be published by Amygdala Press in late 2014.
The anthology will include three separate stories about everyday people who slide into depravity. The characters seemingly have nothing in common, apart from their decaying minds and deviant behaviour, but a common thread unites them all.
This thread will be revealed over the course of the anthology, and it will form the basis of Howell’s next full-length novel, which is provisionally set for publication in late 2015.
James Howell said: “With Disturbed Girl I explored one character in great depth over three novels. I thoroughly enjoyed taking Hannah Harker on increasingly twisted adventures, but I reached a point where I needed a break from her. There may come a time when I’m ready to revisit her extraordinary life, but for now I want to create new characters.
“Guinea Pigs gives me the opportunity to examine three different people from various walks of life. As with Hannah Harker, I will blur the boundaries between right and wrong, explore how the mundane can become warped and serve up scenes to curdle your stomach and make you blush.
James added: “The stories in Guinea Pigs will work as standalone portraits, but the overall anthology is essentially an extended prologue to my next full-length novel. I’m still in the process of mapping out exactly how that novel will unfold, but the early indications are that it will be utterly insane!”
Guinea Pigs is not due to be published until December 2014, but Disturbed Girl subscribers will be able to get the first short story in the anthology completely free of charge as early as this summer.
#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Subscribe to the free Disturbed Girl newsletter * indicates required Email Address * First Name Last Name Email Format html text
