Why the new blog layout?

All shall be revealed soon.

In the meantime here is a link to keep you entertained. A new book released based on the Woody Allen comic strip drawn by Stuart Hample.

Out for lunch

I’ve just had several intensive writing days so that I can get the bulk of the second draft of ‘Juvie’ written. That’s now about three quarters done and I hope to have it complete by the end of next week. At the same time I’ve been enjoying some glorious Edinburgh autumnal weather and eating many nice lunches in the bars round and about town.

I went over to the Botanical Gardens yesterday as the weather was so fine and took some photos, and hope to see the Spain exhibition on at The Mound later today.

I’ve also been catching up on some reading:

‘Dark Entries’ is Ian Rankin’s first attempt at a graphic novel and he decided (perhaps unwisely) to write a John Constantine story. It’s not bad, it’s just not anything amazing. the story is a little predicatable, Constantine doesn’t feel like the John I know and love and the art work by Werther Dell’Edera doesn’t help.

I do however like the format it’s be printed in. Standard book size (about half the size of a graphic novel) with a good hard back cover, though the printed paper inside is a little cheap feeling.

‘All His Engines’ by Mike Carey however is much better, in fact it’s probably one of the best Constantine’s I’ve read. The story is gripping and sinister, the characters are well created and the art work by Leonardo Manco is thrilling and vivid. John in LA is a fish out of water but this highlights his Britishness as he takes on demons and old death Gods. Worth reading and a good starting place if you’ve never read any before.

‘American Jesus’ is a new work by Mark Millar, the l’enfant terrible of comics who’s work seems to be in the ascendency at the moment. I imagine this book causes all sort of issues in those of a slight religious bent, but in truth its a book about being a kid, growing up and taking responsibility for your actions. The artwork by Peter Gross is simple, reminding me of children’s books with its pale colour work.

A good work that no doubt be controversial. I’ll be interested to see them make this one into a movie and who would supply the funding.

‘The Adventures of Jimmy Corrigan - The Smartest Kid on Earth’ is a simply told tale of loneliness and your place in a family. At first the character just comes across as pitiful, but he grows on you until eventually you hope that everything turns out right for the sad Jimmy, with his overbearing mother, new found father and lack of a love life. The art work is brilliantly rendered, like pop art in miniature. A great heartfelt book.

Read this week:

‘Dark Entries’ by Ian Rankin

‘All His Engines’ by Mike Carey

‘American Jesus’ by Mark Millar

‘The Adventures of Jimmy Corrigan - The Smartest Kid on Earth’ by F. C. Ware

Coming soon to an interweb near you...

I’ve been working away at the second draft of my new novel which I can announce here. The book is called ‘Juvie’ and is set fifteen seconds into the future, that is just slightly ahead of time now. Set in Greenville, a town in the middle of the grass desert that could be the US or else a town in Europe, the novel follows Ben, a teenager who has decided to stop taking his inhibitors. The world around Ben is antagonistic too children and juveniles alike, treating them with outright hostility and ensuring that they are constantly watched and monitored after ‘the incident.’

The book is about paranoia, surveillance culture, Big Brother and the Mothering State, how we’re fearful of those who differ from us, are younger than us, think in different ways to us.

I hope to have the second draft done by Christmas with another rewrite early next year.

‘The Missing’ has had it’s cover approved and I’m now awaiting the proof copy for one last read through. The publisher’s claim it will be out for Christmas - so fingers crossed. I’ve got a website going live very shortly adamjshardlow.co.uk will be the place to find out about my work and also the new home for this blog. I’ll let you known when it’s live.

'the small print' also has a blog.

Right back to work, but before that here are a few things to keep you busy:

A great little story in pictures by the very talented Shaun Tan is available at The Guardian.

The Mannahatta Project is cool interact map showing what parts of Manhattan looked like in 1609.

A new blog by a friend of mine. He’s managed the sum total of one update so far but I’m sure he’ll add another. He is a little angry with life. Stay away if you don’t like swearing.

The website for artist Vincent Chong

And an interview with John Jarrold which is very perceptive and informative.

****

Warren Ellis is well known for his comic books, but his single novel should be hunted out as well. Crooked Little Vein is a pastiche crime novel, part Raymond Chandler, all Warren Ellis. It’s laugh out loud funny and shocking and perverted (in only the best sense) and clever.

A burned out PI Michael McGill lands a case for the American Presidents heroin addicted Chief of staff to search out a lost part of the Constitution. This leads to a nightmare road trip across the US in the company of a nymphomaniac into the darkest underbelly of alternative sexual deviance.

Did I mention it was funny?

Warren Ellis (not to be confused with the musician) is a definite favourite of mine. You can read his daily updated website here. He’s a little misanthropic, but below the gruff exterior I have first hand knowledge that he’s a very nice man deep down (I won’t say what it is to protect his cover).

Read this week:

Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis

Cover Design

The draft version of the cover for 'The Missing' has arrived. No one has said I can't so I'm sure it's okay to share it with you:

I like what they have done. The colours, deep red and yellow, represent the fact that the story is set in the middle of a heat wave. The urban setting is obvious and even though the warehouse does look a little American, it also looks like the big old warehouses in Nottingham's Lace Market area (the location of the book). The font for the title I think really works and the black band helps my name stand out. I also like the fact it's a wrap around cover.

There are to be a few changes, a tag line is to be added to the top of the front cover which I think will read "They are the missing, lost souls, the disappeared," and the blurb on the back is to be tidied up. My name will also be up-cased as this seems to the be main format on most novels today.

I'll post the finished cover when it arrive but in the meantime let me know what you think.

****

Midnight Days is a series of Neil Gaiman's early works for Vertigo collected together. It shows how he matured as an author and comic book writer. The Hellblazer short 'Hold Me', is brilliant, a slow burning, grimy story set in an acid lit London tower block. It's stark and simple and wonderfully drawn by Dave McKean.

Other stories are less easy to enjoy mainly because they are read out of context. The first two are both based on the 'Swamp Thing' mythos and require you to have some understanding of what has happened to the character previously, whilst the Sandman story is a little long winded but has a great pay off.

An enjoyable collection if only to show how Neil Gaiman has gained in competence and style.

Read this week:

Midnight Days by Neil Gaiman.

Normal Service is Resumed

Everything was all very exciting there for a moment, what with festival events, short stories being published, readings, seeing Neil Gaiman (three times), late night meals and friends in bars.

But now it's all back to normal.

I've picked up the new novel again, which definitely needs a name change, but ideas are coming in thick and fast. 'DarkFather' is with another publisher and 'The Missing' is still in limbo awaiting art work.

Copies of 'the small print' are still available. Let me know if you want one.

****

Interesting article in the Arcitects Journal on comic book cities.

****

China Mieville is one of my favourite authors. He's hard work but very rewarding with complex narrative, ideas and structure weaving through his varied and genre bending works. 'The City and the City', is probably his most demanding works so far. Written as a thriller and set in two fictional East European cities it deals with a murder that needs investigating. These two cities have history and a partition is in place for they exist in the same geographical space.

The book is a deliberation on the duality of perception, how people see the same things differently and Kafkaesque confusion. A brilliant book.

Batman Black and White is collection of short comic book stories by a who's who of writers and artists. Some of the stories work, like the sombre 'Perpetual Mourning' by Ted McKeever and Gaiman's 'A Black and White World' and others don't, like the rather staid story 'The Hunt' by Joe Kubert. The best thing however is the art work. Monochrome with many different interpretations of the Dark Knight.

'Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, is the second book I've read by Cory Doctorow on my iphone as he gives his work away for free under a creative commons license. Some of his work I buy in print if I like them (such as the brilliant Little Brother) other I don't. Down and Out is one I won't buy. It's good, I found the concept and ideas of a world where no one dies and people live in the thrall of getting online support from friends (think Facebook) and strangers very good. It just didn't work for an entire novel.

Likewise Craphound, which is a free online comic based on one of Doctorow's short stories. It's not bad, but it doesn't really go anywhere and the art I found just a little simplistic with jumps in the flow which didn't make sense.

Read this week:

The City and the City by China Mieville

Batman: Black & White by Various

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow

Craphound by Cory Doctorow

Underword - Edinburgh Fringe 2009

A few photos from last nights event, which went very well. I didn't mess up or make too much of a fool of myself. We had a good turn out of about 200 people which helped to buoy the enthusiasm and applause.

Other writers from 'the small print', included Gareth Lee...

... and Mike Smith.

'The Small Print' is here

Just a quick note to say that 'the small print' is here. It has covers and pages, two short stories and a poem by me, more goodies by other authors and a brilliant introduction by Alan Campbell:

If you want a copy it costs £5.00 plus P&P with at least £3.75 going to The British Heart Foundation. Drop me an email and I'll ensure one gets posted out to you (it's a limited run, so be quick).

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