A little treat for this round of Six Sentence Sunday, the weekly banquet of words to help you sample new writers or savour old favourites. Here’s the beginning of my postcard-sized story “Biscuits” which you can read in its entirety over at Postcard Fiction. “You should have been nicer to me,” Carlotta said as she…
Category: crime
Six Sentence Sunday: Kiss Like a Fist
The lovely Monica Vitti for no reason at all That time again: Six Sentence Sunday. I figured you might like a song-inspired story that isn’t inspired by The Fall. Yes, they do exist. The song is Florence + The Machine’s “Kiss With a Fist” which you’ll notice is not quite the same as the title…
Friday’s Forgotten Books: Lyrics and A Hard Road to Nowhere
A bit of a cheat: a music two-fer. One is old, but the other’s new; nonetheless, given the difficulty of finding your audience in the ocean of new publications out there, it deserves a boost to the signal. The Fall: Lyrics by Mark E. Smith The lynchpin of my current writing career: what, you think…
Crime Pop and Burning Bridges
I’ve got a piece over on A Knife & A Quill on pop music with crime (no, not criminally bad pop music, although I do make mention of The Buoys’ “Timothy” alas): I was listening to Skydaddies’ “Murder in the Park”, a fine Beatlesesque — no, really more Rutlesesque! Not because it’s a parody, but…
Tuesday’s Overlooked A/V: A Gun for George
A Gun for George offers the new Walter Mitty for a 21st century. Terry Finch is a frustrated pulp fiction author and eternal loner looking for brutal revenge on the mean streets of East Kent. This short film offers a fascinating (and funny!) look at a few tropes that are instantly recognisable to any film…
Six Sentence Sunday: Grotesque
Another Sunday has rolled around, giving you the opportunity to spot new writers you might like with the Six Sentence Sunday crew. A great, simple concept that seems to be very effective. My six this week come from a short that’s been under submission for a bit now; I’ve become so good at the “submit…
Six Sentence Sunday: The Claddagh Icon
Another Sunday has rolled around; in the States it’s Mother’s Day, so happy Mother’s Day to my mother and all the other mothers out there. It’s also Six Sentence Sunday, so I’ve selected another story to tease you with. It’s definitely a tease, because while I’ve sent the story off to my publisher in Italy,…
Now in Print: Drunk on the Moon
Yes, it’s true: Drunk on the Moon is now available in print, too. Those of you who’ve been putting off getting it because you don’t read them fancy ebook whatchamajiggers can now retire to your boudoirs with a good ol’ paperback of Mr B and the pack. Here’s a silly thing I wrote back in…
Writer Wednesday: Recommended
From pal Samuel Walker on Facebook: Dublin street art. What a great idea! I may need to do something similar. Hmmm, QR codes on promo postcards? Might be the way to go. You have checked out the QR code on the sidebar, right? Scroll down. I thought today I would point you toward some things…
Six Sentence Sunday: Chickens
My latest publication is another crime story: yes, that seems to be my groove now. I’m even going to the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in July the better to network and immerse myself in the crime writing world. Should be fun, eh? My story “Chickens” takes place in 1968, when a couple of…