After feeling ill (nothing serious) for several weeks I'm pleased to have submitted a pretty gross piece to the splendiferous Thrillers Killers n Chillers this evening, as well as a flash piece, a full 'Telling Tales' fiction piece and a pome to TR Shaw's marvellous 'A Darker Spirit.'
Hope all is well with all involved.
Horror, crime and dark fiction.
Saturday, 6 February 2010
Back to life...
I am... well, not WELL, but definitely on the mend.
Went back to the (Eastbourne) Towner's Dark Monarch exhibition today. Actually paid to go in this time, and it was still well worth it (apart from Damien Hirst's unicorn).
My 6-year-old daughter's been talking about targets and achievements. I have a built in defense mechanism that makes me uncompetative but when she told me her achievement target was to "not fall over in the playground" I thought, I can do do that! (we're a clumsy family).
Went back to the (Eastbourne) Towner's Dark Monarch exhibition today. Actually paid to go in this time, and it was still well worth it (apart from Damien Hirst's unicorn).
My 6-year-old daughter's been talking about targets and achievements. I have a built in defense mechanism that makes me uncompetative but when she told me her achievement target was to "not fall over in the playground" I thought, I can do do that! (we're a clumsy family).
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
PURE by Lily Childs (c)
‘I don’t want to.’
The old man snatched the money out of Luke’s hand. He shoved it into the machine.
‘You want to see your mother again, don’t you?’
Trembles, painful and ugly shuddered across the boy’s chin. Almost imperceptibly, he nodded his head.
Dull music groaned into life. Inside the filthy booth the threadbare curtain juddered to one side leaving Luke to stare at a dark room through finger-stained glass. He waited, terrified by what he might see, scared stiff at what could have stolen his mother away from him.
And there she was. Naked, pale, expressionless. Lying across tattered sheets on a broken bed. She stood. Draping herself around a thin steel pole, she spun slowly, round and around. The boy’s eyes lit up, not seeing the holes in his mother’s arms or the bruises across her emaciated body.
‘So what do you make of her now?’ Luke’s father sneered, wanting his son to be appalled, disgusted.
The coin dropped. The time was up.
‘I think she’s beautiful’ Luke said as they left the booth, the final vision of his mother playing its way into his memory.
‘She’s a dancer.’
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
SEDATED
Send the message.
Go on,
Text it now
While your eyes are open
Seeing me,
Knowing me.
Before your senses dull
Wrap yourself
Around the phone,
Let your fingers
Do the walking
While you still have time.
Tick tock.
Send them away.
Tick tock
Raise my gun.
Tick tock
Too late
Tick tock…
They’re home.
Go on,
Text it now
While your eyes are open
Seeing me,
Knowing me.
Before your senses dull
Wrap yourself
Around the phone,
Let your fingers
Do the walking
While you still have time.
Tick tock.
Send them away.
Tick tock
Raise my gun.
Tick tock
Too late
Tick tock…
They’re home.
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Matt Hilton - Writing Competition
If you're a fan of noir and crime fiction, then you'll love Matt Hilton's books. With best sellers Dead Men's Dust and Judgement and Wrath already on the shelves, Matt's thrillers follow the decidedly dangerous world of Joe Hunter.
Who is Joe Hunter? As Matt says...
"He’s not a cop. He’s not a bounty hunter. He’s not a private detective.
Some people call him a vigilante, but even Joe will tell you that vigilantes take the law into their own hands, whereas there aren’t too many laws that define what Joe does to get a job done.
Joe is someone who cares.
Simple as that."
How Can You Win?
Matt is running a writing competition. The remit is to write a story in the style of a Joe Hunter thriller, with a maximum count of 2,000 words. Matt will chose the three best entries which he will post both on his blog and at Thrillers Killers n Chillers. The final vote will be down to the public, and the winner will receive a signed 'First Edition' hardback copy of Joe Hunter 3 - SLASH AND BURN.
The closing date for entries is Friday 12th March at midnight GMT. The winner will be announced on the Slash and Burn publication date - 1st April 2010.
More Info
* Find out more about the competition guidelines and submission rules
* Find out about Joe Hunter
* Find out about Dead Men's Dust, Judgement and Wrath and Slash and Burn
* Buy Dead Men's Dust or Judgement and Wrath
Saturday, 23 January 2010
The Dark Monarch Exhibition - Towner, Eastbourne
A new, extraordinary exhibition hit Eastbourne yesterday.
The press release says:
_________________________
The Dark Monarch: Magic and Modernity in British Art
23 January – 21 March 2010
This group exhibition explores the influence of folklore, mysticism, mythology and the occult on the development of art in Britain. Focusing on works from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day it will consider, in particular, the relationship they have to the landscape and legends of the British Isles.
Taking its title from the infamous 1962 book by St Ives artist Sven Berlin, the exhibition features major loans from the Tate Collection, regional collections, lenders and artists, and will examine the development of early Modernism, Surrealism and Neo-Romanticism in the UK, as well as the reappearance of esoteric and arcane references in a significant strand of contemporary art practice.
_________________________
We went along, by invitation, and were blown away. If you know us, you'll be aware how important this kind of collection is to us.
There were works by geniuses Austin Osman Spare and Graham Sutherland as well as Paul Nash, Barbara Hepworth, Bryan Wynter and Ithell Colquhoun, plus many more, including local artist Eric Ravilious.
We looked at the esoteric bookshelves that are part of the exhibition and almost had to check that our own library hadn't been invaded - which of course it hadn't because, sadly, we don't own first editions.
Towner were holding people back at the door, because they were at capacity. But once we were in, we fell in deep. The exhibition is on the ground and top floors. Much of it left an exquisite taste in our senses, bar a couple of contrived photographs and, sadly, Damien Hirst's Unicorn.
Well worth it. We're going to pay again, and probably again, to go back.
Go see it. Towner Eastbourne.
Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 6pm; closed Mondays except Bank Holidays.
Admission to The Dark Monarch: £5.50 / £4 concessions / under 18s free. Admission to Towner and other exhibitions: free of charge.
The press release says:
_________________________
The Dark Monarch: Magic and Modernity in British Art
23 January – 21 March 2010
This group exhibition explores the influence of folklore, mysticism, mythology and the occult on the development of art in Britain. Focusing on works from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day it will consider, in particular, the relationship they have to the landscape and legends of the British Isles.
Taking its title from the infamous 1962 book by St Ives artist Sven Berlin, the exhibition features major loans from the Tate Collection, regional collections, lenders and artists, and will examine the development of early Modernism, Surrealism and Neo-Romanticism in the UK, as well as the reappearance of esoteric and arcane references in a significant strand of contemporary art practice.
_________________________
We went along, by invitation, and were blown away. If you know us, you'll be aware how important this kind of collection is to us.
There were works by geniuses Austin Osman Spare and Graham Sutherland as well as Paul Nash, Barbara Hepworth, Bryan Wynter and Ithell Colquhoun, plus many more, including local artist Eric Ravilious.
We looked at the esoteric bookshelves that are part of the exhibition and almost had to check that our own library hadn't been invaded - which of course it hadn't because, sadly, we don't own first editions.
Towner were holding people back at the door, because they were at capacity. But once we were in, we fell in deep. The exhibition is on the ground and top floors. Much of it left an exquisite taste in our senses, bar a couple of contrived photographs and, sadly, Damien Hirst's Unicorn.
Well worth it. We're going to pay again, and probably again, to go back.
Go see it. Towner Eastbourne.
Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 6pm; closed Mondays except Bank Holidays.
Admission to The Dark Monarch: £5.50 / £4 concessions / under 18s free. Admission to Towner and other exhibitions: free of charge.
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Pretty Pinholes
My latest contribution to Thrillers Killers n Chillers has just been published; thank you Col and Matt.
It's called Pretty Pinholes. Read it here.
Hope you like it...
Excerpts:
The factory floor was cold beneath her naked back. Hard on the shoulder blades, crusty against her splayed buttocks.
The only light - a breath of radiance shooting through a distant keyhole - spangled across the thousand pin heads that pierced her trembling flesh. A bed of nails, she was. Only more so.
Crouching, near-naked himself except for the daggers, he took to his feet. Nothing could threaten the verve that prickled his skin, full as it was, with exaltation.
It's called Pretty Pinholes. Read it here.
Hope you like it...
Excerpts:
The factory floor was cold beneath her naked back. Hard on the shoulder blades, crusty against her splayed buttocks.
The only light - a breath of radiance shooting through a distant keyhole - spangled across the thousand pin heads that pierced her trembling flesh. A bed of nails, she was. Only more so.
Crouching, near-naked himself except for the daggers, he took to his feet. Nothing could threaten the verve that prickled his skin, full as it was, with exaltation.
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