One wedding and a Funeral

Life has a nasty habit of sneaking up and punching you in the ear when you least expect it. It’s sneaky, and just when you think you’ve made friends, it decides to get ugly. We had a wedding to go to this weekend in Dunblane and were looking forward to the weekend, but Monday my wife’s Grandfather passed away so we ended up making a long detour across the border into England to Leicestershire for the funeral (which was sombre and respectful).

We’re now back in the very wet capital and need to go catch a train in a few minutes.

Therefore I’ve not done much on the book this week and will pick it with gusto from Monday.

It’s also my Mum’s birthday today - so Happy Birthday. Hope you are enjoying Barga.

A quick reminder that you can see me this week at Underword, where I shall be reading part of ‘Heart of Glass’ which is now available to purchase in a copy of ‘the small print,’ (send me an email if you want a copy).

Details are below:

Wednesday 19th August, 7.50pm–8.40pm

Fingers Piano Bar, Frederick Street

Admission is free so if you’re in Edinburgh come along and give me your support. I’m going to need it.

***

I’m a comic book fan, always have been, but I like a certain type of comic book. I like dark and angst-ey, UK or European settings, where points are made and arguments examined. I’m not too big on the pants over tights superhero comics (apart from Batman, who I don’t think is a superhero - an argument for another day), so I have to say that All Star Superman left me cold.

People told me it was brilliant and that this would change my mind, but it didn’t, not really. I like the art work by the great Frank Quitely, but I found the story lumpen and slow and Superman is just kind of annoying. Sorry - I tried.

Read this week:

All Star Superman vol. 1 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

All Star Superman vol. 2 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

For one night only

I’ve been away to Bristol for the weekend having a very nice wedding anniversary rest and recuperation holiday that involved much food and wine but also a trip to see the Banksy exhibition 'Banksy vs the Bristol Museum', which was better than I anticipated after queuing for nearly three hours to get inside. His art is cool and funny and clever and poignant, some works only fall under one of these adjectives but others take into account more if not all of them at the same time. I’ll add some photos to my flicker stream which can be seen here.

Last week was busy as I went to see a couple of authors both with new books out. First was John Connolly, who was full of energy and eager to regale stories from his trip to New York talking to men who were cops during the late 70s. Having read the new parker novel you appreciate the amount of work and research that John puts into his books. You can read my review below.

Me and John Connolly

The second author was to meet with Alan Campbell who’s third volume from the Deepgate Codex: God of Clocks is out in hardback. Alan is of course the writer of the introduction in the small print and on the back of our meeting I now have a small performance spot at this years Fringe Festival.

I’m joining other writers as part of Underword on their ‘newbie’ night. Details are below:

Wednesday 19th August, 7.50pm–8.40pm

Fingers Piano Bar, Frederick Street

Admission is free so if you’re in Edinburgh come along and give me your support. I’m going to need it.

***

The Strain is the teaming up of Guillermo Del Toro (director of such films as Pan’s Labyrinth and the Hellboy franchise) and Chuck Hogan. Now Del Toro is one of the most prolific directors in the cinema today and I can't imagine he has much time to sit down and write a best seller, therefore I conclude that the ideas are his and in truth Hogan wrote the book.

It’s not bad, a retelling of the Dracula myth but set in modern day New York. It feels very much like a modern American TV show, a sort of 24 or else Heroes format. The story really picks up near the end but as this is part of a trilogy it doesn’t end very satisfactorily. The vampires are interesting, giving a new twist to the idea and staying far away from cool Goth types with tonnes of sex appeal.

The new Charlie Parker novel is brilliant. Stop reading this review and go and buy it. Go on, get it now! Oh all right - The Lovers sees Parker trying to get to the bottom of his family life. Why did his father kill two innocent teenagers and then take his own life? What happened on that fateful night? Why will no one talk about it? Parker travels back to New York to visit his father’s old friends and something is waiting for him, something old and nasty.

The books are getting darker and moving ever closer to a natural conclusion. I feel that Connolly is taking the reader somewhere and that somewhere is going to be a very dark, very bad place. The supernatural elements are also increasing as Parker delves deeper into the honeycomb world that exists around us. The writing as ever is fluid and fast paced, the characters are well rounded and mature and the ideas are frightening. A great book from a continually improving author. Thanks for this book John.

Read this week:

The Strain by Guillermo Del Torro and Chuck Hogan

The Lovers by John Connolly

Who is the nun in the mask and what is everyone hiding?

I’ve been working with the editorial team to get the last of the changes made before ‘the small print’, is sent off to the printers. Alan Campbell has kindly supplied the intro and the book will be on sale at the Edinburgh Book Festival 2009 as well as being sold on the street during the Fringe.

An open night has been planned at The Mound for late August. I’ll let you know dates when I get them.

This week I get to see John Connolly and Alan at Waterstones. I’ll do a write up for this blog later in the week.

A new short story of mine, ‘Pastoral Effect’, has also been released in New Horizons. Get it whilst stocks last.

****

Ronin has been claimed by many to be Miller’s greatest work. I’m not so sure. I like it and the story and visuals are interesting but it just doesn’t hold my attention as much as his Sin City books. It tells the story of a 13th century samurai who is born into the future to resume his age-old battle with a daemon. The art work is a little understated for my liking and the story leaves more questions hanging in the air than it settles. It’s good, but not brilliant.

The Ninth Circle obviously refers to Dante’s version of hell, and in this novel by first time author Alex Bell (female not male), the lead character finds himself pulled towards this final circle. Waking in a flat in Budepest with concussion Gabriel Antaeus finds himself battling daemons and talking to angels as he tries to work out who he is and where he came from. It’s a good idea but I found the narrator somewhat infuriating plus he makes some leaps of deduction that don’t make sense (he realises early on he’s speaking English to himself. How? Surely any first language makes sense to you when you’re thinking in your own head. How do you know what language you think in?).

Fell Vol. 1. by that gruff exterior (but I secretly believe him to be rather nice), hard drinking comic genius Warren Ellis is brilliant. Detective Richard Fell finds himself banished to Snowtown (part London, part New York) from the more affluent city across the waters. Here he starts about rehabilitating himself whilst taking down the criminals of this strange and dark city. Who is the nun in the mask and what is everyone hiding? Who knows, but it’s fun guessing. Ellis is working on more Fell stories and I can’t wait.

The Prisoner of Zenda is a Ruritanian Romance novel, a series of books that were popular in the 1890s. The book focuses on an idle English gentleman who visits the eastern European country of Ruritania and just happens to resemble the king. Thrust into a deadly plot where he must impersonate the monarch the book is a roaring adventure that feels very dated today. It also has some laugh out loud statements about women that would have your local feminist up in arms.

Read this week:

Fell: Volume 1 Feral City by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith

The Ninth Circle by Alex Bell

Ronin by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley

The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope

Refreshed and relaxed.

Back from my holiday to find...nothing much has changed. There are still deep issues in Iran, the British economy is still punch drunk, the weather in Edinburgh is still grey and I still don’t have a firm date for the release of ‘The Missing.’ Being out in Marrakech I made sure I stayed away from the internet, in the desert I couldn’t get anything. No phone signal, no wifi, no electricity. In these instances I always expect something momentous to happen whilst I’m hidden from the world. I always think I’m going to get back to the UK and be asked, ‘have you heard the news?’, but it never happens. Even Michael Jackson waited until I returned.

So now I’m rested and ready for action. The holiday was excellent. We stayed at The Riad Dar One, run by a very nice French man and his two very large dogs. The hotel catered for our every need as well as providing us with a room on the top floor terrace that gave a view over the city.

In the desert we stayed at La Pause, which was both luxurious and primitive at the same time. With great views of the desert, this is the only time I’ve been able to use the term ‘an oasis of calm,’ in its truest form.

The people of Marrakech are friendly, the food was wonderful and the sun, very, very hot.

So now back to life and writing and trying to make some sort of career out of my humble works.

I'll put more photos up on my Flickr! stream.

****

I did a lot of reading whilst away and tried to get through a small chunk of the books that have grown next to my desk.

Already Dead is the first Joe Pitt novel from Charlie Huston. It’s a fast simply plotted book, part film noir, part horror. Pitt is, as the book title tells you, already dead; but he’s returned as a private eye for hire in a New York City split by vampire clan loyalty. It’s fast and furious and great fun to read, with some excellent lines. I will certainly be reading the rest of the series.

A Madness of Angels is Kate Griffin’s (better known as Catherine Webb) first book for adults. A bit slow to start but it builds into a wonderful urban fantasy. Griffin has created a magic which runs off the power, vitality and electricity of London city, with magicians becoming part of the urban experience. Unlike much of Urban Fantasy, which just plonks a magical story into a modern setting, Griffin has interwoven her novel with a modern essence completely dependent on urbanity and the interconnectivity of the modern world. The book riffs off Neverwhere, but it is its own work and one worth praising.

Carey’s ‘Thicker Than Water’, is the fourth in the Felix Castor series following the London freelance exorcist. As usual Felix is in hot water with everyone, but this time the world that Carey has created is changed as something new enters the fray, something which will make Felix judge what the return of the dead is all about. The novel doesn’t so much end but open up the saga for the next novel. Another good read.

MPD - Psycho Vol. 1 is the first in an ongoing Manga series that lead to a film in its native Japan. It follows Yousuke Kobayashi, a man suffering from multiple personality disorders, framed for a murder he is unsure he committed and now out of prison and joined to a ‘special’ police unit hunting dangerous serial killers. It’s brutal, perverse, gory and as with most Manga, slightly confusing as to what is happening, but at the same time contains brilliant off kilter ideas.

Read this week:

Already Dead by Charlie Hutson

A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin

Thicker Than Water by Mike Carey

MPD - Psycho by Tajima and Otsuka

Before I go...

Today’s my last day in front of the Mac for some time as I’m visiting Morocco - Marrakech to be more precise. I plan to spend the time playing with the new Nikon and attempting to get that perfect shot that encapsulates the heat of the street, the shadows and mystery of the souk, the light playing off the Atlas Mountains and the history that beats within the walls of that mysterious city. If that doesn’t work then I’ll just have to eat tagine and drink mint tea until I’m fully rested.

I’m taking a bit of reading material with me including Huston’s ‘Already Dead’, Carey’s ‘Thicker Than Water’ and ‘A Madness of Angels’ by Kate Griffin. That should keep me busy.

The Royal Mail stamps containing art by Dave McKean and words by Neil Gaiman have arrived. I’m not much of a philatelist, but these are lovely little things and worth £4.35 of any-ones money

****

Century: 1910 is the next outing for The League of Extraordinary Gentleman by Mr. Moore and Mr. O’Neill and I’m glad to say a big improvement on ‘Black Dossier’, which I found just a little too self indulgent.

The book begins with Nemo’s daughter, setting her up as a replacement for the ageing mysterious submariner pirate. Running away from her destiny she ends up in the East End of London where the unaging Mina and Allan have been joined by Orlando, Raffles and Carnacki.

As usual part of the enjoyment is spent identifying all the allusions to history and characters real or imagined. The story seems more straight forward than the last outing and the art work is as usual excellent.

The Scar by China Mieville is probably one of the best works of fantasy I have ever read. The book follows a woman in exile from her city of birth, via a slave ship to a new urban sprawl, the pirate city of Armada. Made up from boats the entire vast city floats around the ocean collecting enforced citizens and growing in size and power. The rulers of the city, a mysterious couple called ‘the Lovers’ decide to increase the power of the fledgling state with or without the help of its people, by steering the city to a place that might not even exist.

The book deals with alienation, freedom, servitude, responsibility, civic power, and trust, just to mention a few things. Written in the steampunk subgenre the book stands heads and shoulders above many due to its breadth of ideas and its intelligence. It’s a demanding book that deserves your attention, a book that shows that fantasy need not be considered ‘a foolish thing’, but when written correctly can display more about the human psyche than even the best works of literary fiction.

****

So with all short stories in before my deadline, ‘Pick 57’ gestating nicely, I bid you adieu and leave you with a couple of Dave McKean shorts in my absence.

Read this week:

Century: 1910 by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill

The Scar by China Mieville

The Small Print

A short short entitled 'Pastoral Effect' is out in this months copy of New Horizons which I believe can be purchased from The British Fantasy Society. I've got two short stories ('Heart of Glass' and 'The Museum of Human Experience') plus a poem ('Singing the Low Down Geek Blues') in the book The Small Print which should be out in August and available from the British Heart Foundation. 

'Pick-up 57' (which I now think is completely the wrong name for the book), is coming on slowly. It's a complex work as I'm trying to strike a balance between what the narrator knows and what is really going on. I have about thirty pages done so far but that should increase rapidly once I get back from holidays at the end of June.

****

Mind the Gap is the first in a series of novels called 'The Hidden Cities' written by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon. The story follows Jazz who is on the run from the mysterious 'Uncles' who have just killed her mother. Racing across London she enters the underground and then disappears further into the abandon tunnels and secret place deep below the city. Taken in by a 'family' of petty thieves Jazz must learn her about her own past if she is to deal with her future.

Drawing influences from Neverwhere, the novel is magical, but it's a very mundane magic, rooted as it is in the history of London. The underside of London is seen as somewhere dark and foreboding, holding hidden secrets and a violent history. The story itself is a little weak and could have done with more interesting characters particularly the bad guys who come across as enigmas and not really that threatening. That said, it's a good book and one that further enhances the sub-sub-genre of Subterranean fiction.

My second recommendation this week is the book that started Subterranean fiction off. A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne has a professor and his future son in law following the guidance of an old parchment written by a Viking that leads them deep into Mount Sneffels and a world hidden below ground. Unlike all the film versions, the book is more interested in the journey than the hidden world, and though it is a world of palaeontology, lumbering dinosaurs such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex do not make an appearance. 

By today's standards the book is slow, and being told by a character recounting the story as if to a diary, feels old fashioned. But this is where it starts. The world is opened up and the hollow Earth theories are turned into fiction.

Read this week:

Mind the Gap by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon

Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

Heart of Glass

A short story entitled 'Heart of Glass' and a poem entitled 'Singing the Low Down Geek Blues' are being sent to the review committee for the charity book tomorrow. The book is to be called  'the small print' and will be for sale at the Edinburgh Festival and via the internet. We are trying to get a writer and /or celebrity to write the intro, unsure who it will be so watch this space.

Working on a new story now set in a museum that might not exist.

****

Some links. The underground world of Naples, I haven't been here but now want to. Stephen Smith has put together a list of Subterranean novels. I've got his 'Underground London' to read and I'm working through 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' on my phone right now.

Over on Suvudu China Mieville talks about his latest novel 'The City and The City' which sounds thrilling and I hope to enquire soon.

****

Audition by Ryu Murakami is a novelette that works best as an understanding of middle aged Japanese male desires. It's a fast paced read that builds towards a dark and disturbing climax. This climax is obvious from the start, but that sort of helps to build the tension. As always with Murakami when it comes the horror is human centred and bloody.

Black Hole is a classic graphic novel (one that Neil Gaiman has been working on a film adaptation of for some time). Burn's presents teenagers as disenfranchised and lonely, and though set in the 70s it feels modern, perhaps because the raging hormones of young people are the same now as then. The back story is a STD that results in strange mutations in the kids, but in truth the story is about love, belonging and alienation, something that is heightened through the use of the wood block like black and white drawings.

A Giant Cabinet of Curiosities

According to the publishers ‘The Missing’ should be released July / August this year which would be perfect as it would tie in very nicely with the Edinburgh book festival and lots of book buying members of the public in town. The cover is going through a design process at the moment. I’ve sent in my own ideas, but as to in which direction they are going to go, I have no idea. As soon as I see some work I’ll get it posted up here.

I’m working on a short story. This is for the charity book which should be out at the same time. It’s typical, you wait for ages and then two published works come along at the same time.

****

Had a trip to Glasgow and Kelvingrove museum yesterday. We went primarily for the Dr Who exhibition, but this was a bit of a let down. It’s less than half the size of the one we saw at the Olympia last year and though it advertised itself as having props from the last series and the Christmas special, these were a bit few and far between. I’m sure Scotland could have found somewhere bigger to put on the show and allowed everyone to see the full show.

I’ve put some pictures up here from both Dr Who and Kelvingrove which has interesting exhibits all mixed together. It’s like walking into a giant cabinet of curiosities.

****

Finished ‘Cages,’ and all I can say is 'wow!' It’s dense and clever and witty and surreal and touches on many different aspect of being an artist and the creation of work. Principally the story concerns an artist who moves into an apartment block to work on a fresh canvas. Here he meets a selection of strange neighbours, including the woman who runs the block, a man with learning difficulties, a jazz musician and a writer escaping from his public. At the same time he draws a woman who he sees across the street. Everything is interconnected, with the woman becoming his lover, the musician discussing his art and the writer running scared from his own work which has angered the reading public and put him in the hands of a totalitarian government. At the same time the apartment block becomes a Tower of Babel and it might (or might not) have been destroyed.

All of this is helped by the simple scratchy art work of Mckean, interspersed with several large colour plates. It’s a work that deserves to be read many times over and I’m surprised it hasn’t made it’s way into the lists that denote the exemplars of the medium.

****

Read this week:

Cages by Dave McKean

Lots and lots of things.

What a week. Lots going on and I feel like I'm juggling with too many balls. I have so much I want to do at the moment but so little time in which to get it done. I'm working on a new short story that seems to be growing as I write. Provisionally this is called 'Pick-up 76', but there is plenty of time for it to change. I'm really happy where it is going and the tone of voice and I'm also thinking it might be worth me self-publishing it. I'm tired with the length of time it takes traditional publishers get to print (I finished 'The Missing' two and half years ago and I'm still waiting for release day).

I have also promised at least two short stories to a charity book for The British Heart Foundation. The book is called 'UpBeat' and should be available in August. I think I might be able to get plenty of copies so you will either be able to order from me (and I'll sign them if required) or else they can be ordered through the BHF website (and I think Amazon and Lulu).

I'm also looking at finally getting a website up and running for 'The Chronicles of the Gap', practising my photography as I want to incorporate some art work, and taking up yoga.

This morning I got to see an advance screening of "Coraline', thanks to a note made by Neil Gaiman on Twitter (see it does work). The film is brilliant. Scary, dark, funny, charming, gothic, optimistic and in 3D. What more could you ask for? If you get the chance to see it, go. Take a kid if you have one hanging around the house. If you don't, go anyway.

*****

A few things I've looked at this week which is worth having a gander at:

This rather brilliant new piece of tech. from the TED archives. I can't wait to get one these devices. It's the first thing I've seen that trumps the iphone.

And then there this. The film '9' is out later this year but this is the original short version made by Shane Acker. I'm looking forward to this hitting the big screens.

I've also put a few of my photos up from the regualr Saturday morning Farmer's market we have 

in Edinburgh. Underneath the castle, the streets full of small stalls selling some great local

produce. You can see the photos on my flicker stream here.

****

Just finished Mike Carey's 'Dead Men's Boots', the third Felix Castor novel and the best one yet.

Felix is drawn into a murder investigation taking place in a seedy hotel in Kings Cross, that 

seems to have been committed by a woman long dead. At the same time his possessed friend

Rafi is subject to a legal battle and to make matters worse people are trying to kill him.

As always the book is a fast paced read, with plenty of witty one liners from our 'film noir' hero.

The books are building towards the reason why the dead are returning and demons can now walk

the Earth.

'The Picture of Dorian Gray', is one of my favourite works of horror. It's one of those books that

always gets overlooked by those who insist on using genre / literature to identify authors. Oscar

Wilde is of course a great writer of literature but he also wrote a horror novel which ever way

you want to look at it. It's been a couple of years since I last read it and I must admit that Oscar

can get a little tiresome with his pithy one liners (many just come over as catty and not very

clever) but the construct of the novel is so clever that I'm willing to forgive him.

*****

Read this week:

Dead Men's Boots by Mike Carey

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (read on my iphone).

Between Flights

I'm between flights.

I got back from my brothers home in Devon yesterday. Whilst we were down he proposed to his girlfriend, getting down on bended knee in a nice restaurant having hid her ring inside an Easter egg. There was then much quaffing of champagne and excited chatter about weddings, honeymoons and stag do's. I've been appointed 'best-man' and now have to think of a venue for several well built police officers to let off steam.

I haven't really had much time to get any writing done (none, if truth be known), but the brain is beavering away tweaking current stories and building on new ones.

I'm up again tomorrow to fly to Berlin. I have a very early start (I'm not good early in the morning, my brain refuses to work before 8.00 am), but as the weekend will involve copious amounts of alcohol and food it will probably be the best I feel all week.

Had my birthday yesterday, which was a quiet affair as MadameVin is not very well. Thanks to all of you in Twitterland and Facebook World  for the well wishes, it's very much appreciated.

Got some cool pressies, including many books and DVDs, but best of all, a 1st edition copy of Dave Mckean's 'Cages', which must have cost my other half a small fortune. 

Right, now I'm off to cook, pack and get an early night (probably).

Something New

Working on something new at the moment that is coming along slowly. It has a very different tone of voice for me. Very quiet and thoughtful, slow but in a very sinister way. I'm thinking of publishing the work myself as I want to include some art work and no mainstream publisher would touch that kind of work. It's far too different for them to consider. 

Some great art work by John Coulthart at his website {pantechnicon}

Interesting talk about pneumatic tubes under Paris by Ignite

One of my short stories is coming out shortly in New Horizons. I'll let you know when its published.

I've also been asked to work on a book for charity which should get underway in the next couple of months.

Trouble with Chapter Seven

Chapter seven of Hellfire is becoming problematic. I'm having trouble moving the characters on. I know where I've got to get them and what happens in the book overall but they are stuck. One reason for this is that I've had an idea for a short story that has been going around and around in my head since I thought of it and I think I need to get these ideas down on paper whilst I'm in the mood. 

Hellfire will continue. I have found that as my work matures I tend to write in cycles, with each expanding and driving the story forward. I just need to take a breather from the work before I come back all fired up.

***

A while back I read a David Almond book based on the fact that Dave Mckean had done the art work. I was impressed and vowed to read more. I have done, and he's amazing. Heaven Eyes is a children's book like I've never read before. Almond seems to like damaged children, those who have been affected by the adult world and so retreat to fantasy constructs to cope. 

In Heaven Eyes three children run away from a home for children in need of care that their parents are unable to give. They float down river on a man made raft and end up stuck on the 'Black Middens,' an area of industrial decay. Here they meet Gampa and Heaven Eyes, a family who have created their own mythology of misunderstanding. Heaven Eyes believes herself formed from some aquatic creature, whilst Gampa searches the river mud for treasure and lost history.

The story is simple and pared down, but it is the voices of the children that ring through here. Heaven Eyes, a girl with webbed hands, comes through loud and clear through the use of simplified language to describe the world she sees and tries so hard to explain. This is an amazing book.

Read this week:

Heaven Eyes by David Almond.

My Empire Strikes Back

I'm about a quarter of the way through the new book. It's coming on and I think I know where its going, but it still throws up the odd surprise. It's not as simple and straight forward as the first book, but then second books never are. It's my Empire Strike Back rather than Star Wars.

Not much else to report. I'm still trying to find an agent for the first book. The Missing is still coming out this summer, I want a holiday (thinking Marrakech and the desert) and I was so nearly a juror on a High Court case.

You'll see twitter updates to the right. If you haven't already joined, do. It's a great way to keep in touch and I promise to be your friend.

***

Around the World in 80 Days from my memory contained a balloon sequence. The book doesn't, so I must be remembering the film version. It's a witty fast read but somewhat strange when compared to most modern material as it uses a third person omniscient narrator, which ages it considerably.

The Compleat Moonshadow (that's how it's spelt) is something I've been wanting to read for a long time. It's a surreal adventure through the mind of a young man, struggling with growing up, love and death. It might all be a dream, in which case it's a haunting but beautifully watercoloured dream in which anything could happen. Fantasy via Brunelle, a modern Don Quixote.

Primal is a very short comic book rendering of a Clive barker story. I don't really think it works. It's too disjointed, trying to be too clever and the art work is too dark to appreciate what is going on.

Revelations on the other hand is much better. Another Barker story, this one is clever and in places funny. A murder playing out many years later, the ghosts witnesses to the real world. The art could have been better, as it's a little rushed in places, but the story more than makes up for it.

****

Read this week:

Revelations by Clive Barker

Primal by Clive Barker

The Compleat Moonshadow by John Marc DeMatteis

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

Quick Links

Just a few quick links of net stuff. 

First, Dave Mckean is interviewed at Seven Impossible Things. See why he is a favourite of mine as they have included several good examples of his work.

Next, pop over to Steampunk Myths and Legends to see the result of their competition.

Finally check out this short documentary about graffiti artist Peter Gibson.

That's it. As you were.

Twittering Watchmen

Sorry folks...I know it's been a long time...but I've been busy. I know that is no excuse. I'm slapping my bottom right now as punishment and promising to be better in the future.

What have I been doing? Well writing, writing, writing and reading, reading, reading. 

Hellfire continues. I'm getting into my stride now and our characters are all safely in the Gap and having all sorts of adventures. I've been doing reviews for the BFS, but missed this months deadline through my own inability to manage time, and so any new reviews will be in the next issue of Dark Horizons.

Reading Book 2 of Rex Mundi, which continues rather unsurprisingly on from Book 1. Our hero, Doctor Julien Sauniere is following up on the horrific murders that have taken place in Paris. Something rather nasty seems to be haunting the streets and everything is pointing to Lord Lorraine trying to depose of the king by any methods necessary. Tightly written and action packed the books pace is only slowed by the addition of the fake newspaper articles between chapters. Need to read Book 3 now.

Also read (well, not actually read, as there is no words in it) 'The Arrival' by Shaun Tan (thank you Madame Vin) which is a wonderful work examining one mans journey across the world to start a new life as an immigrant. It captures via the use of fantasy the alienation one must feel in a land that is completely different, the loneliness and the confusion. Tan's work is illustrated in an aged sepia tint which makes the book feel like an heirloom of some long forgotten family member. Produced by Hodder's children imprint this book is aimed at a very mature market.

Just seen Watchmen, which is good but works so much better in its original format. I think Alan Moore is right when he say's that it should have stayed as is. Not that it's not a good film, it is, it's just that ultimately the source material is so much richer and no amount of techno wizardry can capture that.

I've been Twittering a lot (I worry that I'm slightly addicted). Not sure what it is about this short form update service but I find myself continually drawn to finding out what strangers (famous and not) are up to. If you're interested in joining (and I would love to see you all in Twitterland) you can find me at MiddleManLost.

Other Twitter people I have been following include Danny Choo, who gives me my required update on all things Japanese and keeps the lovely website DannyChoo.com Cory Doctorow updates regularly with links to the ever brilliant BoingBoing and you can also follow Gaiman, Fry and the great Alan Davies and of course the great food and wine matches of MadameVin

Read this week:

Rex Mundi Book Two: The River Underground by Arvid Nelson, Eric J and Jeromy Cox

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Robotic spider monsters, live!

Chapter 3 entitled 'The Gap is calling' has been written. Things are moving at pace now and I hope to get at least a chapter a week done, which means I should have a first version by summer.

I noticed the other day that a man in Vermont is attempting to turn himself into the Professor from 'DarkFather'. His spider machine is rather on the large side compared to the professor's and less steampunk, but ten out of ten for trying. I'm wondering when to put my order in.

***

'Baltimore or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire', is an old fashioned gothic tale given a new lease of life. The story takes place during the first world war only this is our world given a little bit of a makeover. The future Lord Baltimore is attacked by a strange flying creature whilst out in no mans land. He wounds the creature that then wreaks revenge on his family. At the same time a strange plague sweeps across Europe decimating the population. Having returned to his island stately home to find his family dead, Baltimore becomes a vampire hunter. All told via stories from friends meeting in a bar, this is a haunting cleverly crafted novel. 

What's more it come illustrated by Mike Mignola of Hellboy fame and the book itself is nicely produced on thick rough cut paper. It's a shame there are not more books like this.

Also read another Doctorow book. 'Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves to Town', is a fantasy for adults. the premise does not work when stated here, Alan the son of a washing machine and a mountain is trying to write a book in his new house until his Russian Doll brothers turn up and are then dragged away by another brother who is a shrivelled baby body. At the same time he meets a girl who lives next door and has wings and he helps to cover the market with a wifi network. Also all the brothers use names that change (but stick to the first letter, A, B, C etc.) It's strange and magical and yet wonderful and brilliantly written with the characters drawing you in. Do not be put off by the idea as this is great writing.

MadameVin bought me a Shaun Tan book for Valentine's day so I know that at least one person reads these ramblings.

****

Read this week:

Baltimore or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden

Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves to Town by Cory Doctorow (read via Stanza on the iphone)

Rabbit Holes

I managed, at about 10.00pm last night, to get my Alice down her proverbial rabbit hole, except she’s not called Alice, she was called Sarah but is now Susan (or Sue to her mates - thanks to Joy and Lorraine who helped with the name change), and it’s not a rabbit hole but a large metal door in a brick wall that doesn’t go anywhere. 

The first bit of the novel has been a bit sticky but I now feel I’ve found the voice I’m looking for and now that Sarah is in the Gap all sorts of mayhem can take place, which is the fun bit of writing.

Found some interesting photos about disused places photographed by Urban Explorers. The empty fun parks are particularly surreal places. Devoid of the children who once ran around them they are haunted sites slowly decaying. Beautiful and yet lonely, I’m surprised about how many fun parks in the Far East have been left to ruin. 

I know that urban Exploring is technically illegal but their belief and tenacity in photographing these places has to be admired. I can’t find any Urban Explorers in Edinburgh, but then I don’t imagine they advertise. I’d would love to speak to some.

As usual Charlie Brooker has something funny to say about the modern age. I particularly like:

dwindlethink (dwin-dull-think) vb. The process by which a member of the public forms an opinion on a subject of national importance after viewing a plebbledashed (qv) news report, then finds themselves passing it on to the nation when stopped in the street for another plebbledashed (qv) report the following day.

If you don’t read his Monday column, you really should. Clever and angry.

And finally Shaun Tan has a good interview over at Drawn. I love his art work, a simple palette but so much is going on. I really must seek out some of his work.

I’ve been Twittering and Tweeting for a week now. It’s fun, however I started on a bum note with trying to turn it into a medium for a story, which to be honest has just not worked. Therefore I’ll just join in with the odd comment with those people who I’m following. If you want to follow me look for @MiddleManLost.

Vacillating between decades

I’ve spent the week vacillating, unsure about leaping into the next section of the ‘Hellfire.’ I’m not sure why but I’m finding it hard to get Sarah to move forward and find her voice. Terry and Benjamin were easy, they came to me fully formed and I could visualise them on their journey, making decisions and their reactions. I’m not sure if it’s Sarah herself (perhaps the wrong name) or else the setting. I’m not a child of the 60s anymore than I was a child of the 1940s, but I know the war period better because it plays more of a part in our society. It was the turning point for the modern world. We studied it at school, we’ve watched it on the television (I think the History Channel shows nothing but), we’ve read the books and dissected the memories. The 60s is different, it’s my parent’s decade, not that far removed from my own and so seems too normal, too much like today. I’ll get their eventually, I just need to find my way in.

I’ve joined Twitter and rather than use it to tell you what I’ve been doing (which would be very dull and mainly consist of ‘On the computer....still on the computer....having a sandwich (chicken)....back on the computer’, I’ve putting up a story piece by piece. I’m not sure it will work as it’s a strange format. You’re limited to 140 characters per entry and everything must happen in the immediate past.

You can read it by signing up for Twitter and looking for me at https://twitter.com/MiddleManLost (don’t try looking me up as for some reason Twitter does not return full results).

I’ve set up a map which show pictures from Hellfire London. You can find it here http://www.flickr.com/photos/34782120@N03/map/

****

‘The Resurrectionist’ has some great middle bits, a slow start and an ending that seems to have come from another book entirely. It tells the story of Gabriel Swift, a young man trying to become anatomist in 19th century London. Dazzled by the corruption of the city he falls in love with a prostitute and drink, falls on hard times and becomes a body snatcher. It had traits of Burke and Hare, with a well written grotty London serving as a back drop. 

I saw ‘Joker’ some time ago but put off reading it as I thought it was just a cash in to ‘The Dark Knight’ but it’s not and it’s good. Similar in idea to ‘The Killing Joke’ it examines the Joker, trying to understand what makes him tick, in this it money just as much as his own madness, which helps ground him a little more in reality. It’s the art work that really works here, with lush dark colours and the character picked out in hyper-realistic way.

I’ve heard of the ‘Young Bond’ series by comedian and writer Charlie Higson but never read any. Silverfin is a graphic novel but it doesn’t really work very well. It is aimed at kids but even so it’s just a little bit to easy, the story line flat with no real pay off.

Also read my first Doctor Who book by Mark Gatiss (another comedian / writer). Called Nightshade it follows the seventh Doctor as played by Sylvester McCoy and Ace. Ending up in England in 1968 (the same year as Hellfire) it shows the Doctor going through a bad patch due to a past adventure. Here the character is really quick dark and brooding, denying his companion the chance to lead him. It’s good but certainly more for fans and adults than children.

Read this week:

The Resurrectionist by James Bradley

Joker by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo

Silverfin by Charlie Higson

Nightshade by Mark Gatiss (read on an iphone).

Where the streets are paved with gold....

I’ve been in London for the weekend doing a bit of research around Camden where I was introduced to the City’s alternative community. The place is full of different tribes; punks, rockers, goths and emo’s, and whilst it is now a tourist trap full of stalls all selling the same ‘independently’ made items, it still has something of the 1960s ethos that I hope to capture at the beginning of the new novel.

I got a good look around the market and the lock but unfortunately could not see into the Camden catacombs as these have been locked away, I assume for safety, but I reckon they would make a great tourist attraction.

We stayed at the lovely Hoxton, which is a great hotel in that now very trendy area of Shoreditch. I was surprised at how that area of London had changed, with Spitalfields Market looking all shiny and new. Last time I had a look around this area (for a novel that sits in my bottom drawer to this day), Spitalfields was a hole in the ground.

We had some great meals at the new Boundary and a little Italian restaurant across from the hotel, plus a great Sunday roast in The Waterpoet pub.

I had been reading (on an iphone app which worked really well) Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, a great YA novel set in the not too distant future where a terrorist’s bomb causes the US to slip into a period of reactionary meltdown. Marcus gets caught in the fall out from the bomb and before he knows it he has been detained and shipped off by Homeland Security to an unknown destination. The book explores our rights and a Government’s need to stay within prescribed measures and not deny those laws enshrined in law even with the enormity of the situation. Marcus ends up running his own cyber guerrilla group against those who saw to abuse him of his rights. It’s a poignant, clever book which should be required reading in schools and universities. It lead me to visit the Taking Liberties exhibition on at the British Library which looks at the struggle for rights and freedoms across this country from the Magna Carta to today. There was also a great short play put on by Lois Tucker called Glitch.

Little Brother has also been released by Doctorow under the creative commons license which means as well as it being available in book form, Doctorow also reserves the right to release his books for free electronically. This is obviously working because based on the free iphone copy I bought a paper back version of it so that Madame Vin could read it.

We were also able to briefly catch with old friends and their ‘double trouble’ twins in a small coffee shop somewhere near a street flower market.

I’ll write up more at the weekend and include some photo’s of venues for ‘Hellfire.’

Read this week:

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Art Department

Just a quick note to mention that 'The Missing' has now been passed on to the art department for, well art obviously, and also to be blocked - which I think means to have the lay out done. Another step forward but still no idea of a release date yet.

Rich Tea with The Doors

I’ve bought a new computer, a very posh and shiny Apple Mac, so I spent most of last week transferring all the stuff on my rather battered lap top over to the new one and cursing when I lost things. That said it’s all on their now and, what’s more, it’s behaving itself.

Chapter one of ‘Hellfire’ (provisional name for the new book) is finished. Sarah is coming out as feisty but innocent, Terry is older, wiser and a caring father, Sarah’s mother doesn’t have a name yet, whilst Uncle Benjamin is quite creepy.
I’m trying to get a feel of 1960s London to the piece, and having to check things as I go such as, if they’re eating biscuits, which ones were around in the swinging sixties (answer Rich Tea). If my characters go to a famous gig that happened at the Roundhouse what day of the week did it happen on (The Doors only UK gig took place on a Friday). Had school holidays finished (no), what would a teenage girl wear when not at school...all sorts of things that have to be checked and confirmed.

Next weekend I’m in London to get a feel for the places around Camden and conduct research on the basin and the catacombs. I’ll report back with details.

****

I’ve mentioned ‘The Writer’s Tale’ previously. It’s Russell T. Davies diary via email conversations with Benjamin Cook of the last series of Doctor Who. It’s a brilliant book, with Davies coming off as part megalomanic, dictator and artist. He has a wonderful, damn it, brilliant mind, but he suffers from the same anxiety as the rest of us, screwing himself up and obsessing when he knows he should be creating. It’s also very good at conveying the art of writing (not just for TV but in all its forms), from thinking of that initial idea to getting it down on paper, revising it and then letting it out to a wider audience. Any budding author should read this, any artist should read this - it is inspiring.

Enigma is Vertigo at its strangest. The comic deals with Michael Smith, whilst going through a bad patch mentally his childhood hero, the super hero ‘The Enigma’ comes to life bringing with him his arch enemies who start murdering people. Smith sets out to find the character, ditching his girlfriend and life and teaming up with the drugged addled creator and changing his sexual preferences along the way. Strange but oddly compelling.

I’ve been reading other book on my phone. I’ve never been big on digital works but the iphone has a really good app called Stanza that makes it really easy to download work and reading from it clear and doesn’t seem to produce any headaches in me.

A Dangerous Man by Huston is the last in a series about an unfortunate killer, down on his luck and looking for a way out that won’t result in his parent being killed and trying to stay out of trouble. Needless to say, he doesn’t. Clever, with quick fire dialogue. I’ll definitely go back and read the first two books.

The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe (who is celebrating 200 years since his birth - which is odd because I thought he was dead), is a short story about a man’s hatred, how it manifests through alcohol, resulting in him becoming paranoid and eventually committing murder. It has a certain Hitchcockian feel to it and reads well for a story of that period.

****

Read this week:
The Writer’s Tale by Russell T. Davies

Enigma by Milligan and Fegredo
A Dangerous Man by Charlie Huston
The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe

Dr Who, I presume?

Got a nice surprise this morning when my new copy of ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ turned up in the post. This tale is one of my all time favourites, its imagery having stayed with me from when I read it as a teenager, always staying in my top ten. I think it’s up there with the best of horror from Stoker and Stevenson with beautiful prose and not a shred of over writing anywhere. What’s even better is that this version is encased in brown leather and has been put together as a limited addition by Bill Amberg. There are several companies now doing these limited finely crafted books. I mentioned the Subterranean Press before who do great Gaiman book as well as many others authors and while I don’t believe in buying every thing from these more expensive producers, when they do a book that you believe is a classic then they are wonderful to put on your shelf once your paperback has split and died.

They are about to announce the new Dr Who on the BBC…if you don’t want to know look away now (but how you plan to stay in a state of ignorance until 2010 is going to take some feat of ingenuity and no doubt some serious life style choices)….It is Matt Smith, who I think certainly looks Dr Whoish. Good Luck to him.

I read another of the Louvre graphic novels last night having thoroughly enjoyed ‘The Museum Vaults’. This one ‘Glacial Period’ is less good in so far as it feels like a much bigger story that got cut down slightly too much. It is set in the future and involves a group of arctic explorers travelling across the vast glacier that has covered Europe. It involves genetically modified dogs that talk, a hint of interspecies romance, anthropomorphic museum pieces and a misinterpretation of the history of man. The art work is nice, using thin pen lines and a simple board of colour, but it falls someway short of the previous work.

Read this week:

Glacial Period by Nicolas de Crecy

Cinema and Whale

With plenty of time off over the holiday period I’m doing a lot of reading, working my way through ‘London Lore’ by Steve Roud, a guide to the myths of the city which is helping me to create the world of the Gap. I’m also reading ‘The Writer’s Tale’ by Russell T. Davis of Dr Who fame which is him examining the role of the writer, where the ideas come from and pressures of making such a demanding show.

I’ve been filling in between both of these larger works with some short graphic and children’s works. Down in Buckingham in a charity shop I found several first edition Clive Barker books. Son of Celluloid is a horror work, and like many of Barker’s stories it starts off as one thing and then merges into another, subverting the idea of horror but still keeping the frights to a maximum. He seems quite happy calling on all genres and then twisting them to his own accord; I’ve always seen him more as a fantasy author who includes moments of pure horror.
Set in a cinema where a man has died resulting in the very building and its memories becoming an entity, it’s a quick precise tale let down only by the art work which is just a little bit bland.

“This Morning I Met a Whale” is a children’s environmental tale told by Michael Morpurgo from the point of view of a young boy who speaks to a whale stranded in the Thames. Based on a true story it’s a careful rendering of the environmental concerns of the moment without the sugar coating expected for a young persons work. The illustrations are wonderful pastels by Christian Birmingham that shows London as a luminous early morning city in a realistic and natural way.

Read this week:

Son of Celluloid by Clive Barker, Steve Niles and Les Edwards
This Morning I Met a Whale by Michael Morpurgo and Christian Birmingham

New Year Already...

Happy New Year…

Madame Vin and myself spent Christmas at my sisters and brought in the new year at Jo ‘n’ Jo’s close to the beaches of Portobello. A fine time was had by all with much merriment and a little imbibing of drink. I didn’t make any New Year resolutions, not because I don’t think I need the improvement, just that I would never stick to them.

Jo 'n' Jo and Madame Vin enjoy the beach.

Now I’m back at my desk with a few days of relative bliss and calm before starting on the next novel in the Gap series. I’ve started to do much in the research and already have a good idea of what happens in the first few opening chapters. The next few lines are me thinking aloud.

I started off wanting to use The Rolling Stones as the band Sarah goes to see in London, mainly because I’ve always loved their music and they represented the 60s, the rebellious youth.

Very early pics of The Rolling Stones can be found here. They look so young and hardly rock and roll. Interesting that originally their management attempted to get them to wear uniformly similar jackets but this was quickly rejected for more of a rebel look, unlike the Beatles who stuck to their uniform look for some time.

However, I want to place the novel in about 1968 to tie in with ‘DarkFather’ and to ensure that Sarah is old enough to want to go and see such music. She’s at an age where she wants to rebel, she’s getting into boys and music. I don’t want her to be as innocent as Terry and Benjamin because times have changed, the Second World War saw to that. Anyway, whilst checking on the Stones gigs for that year it quickly became apparent that they didn’t play London, plus by 1968 they had become quite famous, so I started checking into gigs that did take place.

On the 6th September 1968 The Doors played their only UK gig at the Roundhouse in Camden. The Roundhouse is a wonderful old Victorian building originally built as a turning circle for the London and Birmingham railway and later used as a gin warehouse. Just the sort of venue that fits with the Gap novels, as it has history and living memory that can be put to good use, plus the gig was an instant classic (not that many children will realise, but I want the books grounded in history).

Coincidence seems to play a lot in the Gap novels. I start thinking up something and then find that something very similar happened or exists ready for me to make use of. By setting the gig in Camden and the entrance to the Gap in the Roundhouse, I then did some research on the area and low and behold I found the Camden Catacombs, a series of tunnels and archways under Camden that is perfect.

The gods of the Gap are smiling on me and its only January the first.