Andrew Hook's Blog, page 14

In Which I Am Bookended By Comedians

Whilst I haven't blogged much for July I haven't been resting on my laurels. Over the past couple of months I've attended various events promoting various books. Here's a round-up of my activities:

Friday 5th June - Double The Horror

This was an event at the Quad in Derby at which two books were being promoted, both edited by Johnny Mains. These were "Dead Funny", an anthology of horror stories written by comedians (co-edited with Robin Ince), and "Best British Horror 2015" (which, as it turns...

Bothersome

My short story, "Bothersome", has recently been published in Darkest Minds, an anthology published by Dark Minds Press. As usual I'm blogging about the gestation of the story for those who might be interested. There could be spoilers as part of this post.

I actually wrote "Bothersome" about four years ago. It's one of those odd stories which can often be hard to place in anthologies/magazines because it doesn't easily fall into any particular genre, however when I saw a call for submissions th...

A Childhood In Books

I'm glad that I'm a writer - but most of all I'm glad that I'm a reader. Sometimes I wonder about the nature/nurture question. Do I write because I read a lot, or did I gravitate to reading because somewhere inside me there lurked a fledgling writer? I guess it's something I will never know (and indeed, will never need to know), but thinking over this question has led to this blog post. These are the pivotal books in my reading/writing journey which I believe influenced and nurtured my w...

Church Of Wire

Last week saw publication of my new novel, "Church Of Wire" so I thought I'd blog about how the novel was created in the hope of stirring some interest. There will be spoilers.

"Church Of Wire" is the second in the series of my crime novels featuring Mordent, a PI who began life in short stories and made his first full-length appearance in "The Immortalists" last year. Mordent is a very easy character for me to write. Like most of us he's a complex individual with conflicting moral concerns, b...

A Life In Plastic

My short story, "A Life In Plastic", has recently been published in Strange Tales V from Tartarus Press, edited by Rosalie Parker. As usual I'm blogging about the gestation of the story for those who might be interested. Be aware there may be spoilers if you haven't read it.

This was one of the few occasions where the title was changed after I wrote the story. The original title, "The Plasticity of Identity", I took from a review of another story, "Drowning In Air", which appeared in Stra...

The Stench Of Winter

My short story, "The Stench Of Winter", has just been published online in the inaugural issue of Shirley magazine and as usual I'm blogging a few comments as to how the story developed. Be aware there may be spoilers for those yet to read the work.

A few years ago I was aware of a news item about a girl's body that had been found on the Queen's Sandringham estate. I can't recall the exact details, but I certainly remember that the way it was reported seemed to suggest that because sh...

The Frequency of Existence

My short story, "The Frequency of Existence", has recently been published in Black Static #45 and as usual I'm blogging about the gestation of that story. There may be spoilers for those who have yet to read it.

This piece is a curious one for me as I can't quite remember how it came about. I know I 'found' the title whilst flicking through a library reference book in one of my day jobs, seeing the phrase, and jotting it down. I remember deciding on the name Valerie at random when writing the...

You Can't Handle Love

My short story, "You Can't Handle Love", has recently been published in #6 of Fur-Lined Ghettos magazine. I should point out that whilst I assist in producing the magazine, it was the editor, my partner Sophie, who insisted she publish the piece. I wouldn't ordinarily submit to a project that I have direct involvement in and she had to twist my arm for me to agree she should do so.

This blog post will detail the genesis of the story and might contain spoilers for those who haven't read it.

I ha...

The Last Mohican

As my short story, "The Last Mohican", has just been published in the punkPunk! anthology I'm blogging as usual about how the story was written. Please be aware there might be spoilers for those who haven't read it.

Just a note on the publication. "punkPunk!" is a book I've edited for DogHorn Publishing which is an anthology of punk-inspired fiction. I wrote "The Last Mohican" before I considered editing such an anthology, and it was this story and Mat Coward's "You Can Jump" which I had...

Spizzology

I can now announce that the main act for the launch of "punkPunk!" are Spizzology (formerly Spizzenergi, who had the first ever UK indie chart number one with "Where's Captain Kirk" back in 1980).  Please buy your tickets now to ensure attendance at the event. Here's a poster: