It being Sid James’ birthday today, here’s a little story I wrote some years back under another moniker (recently booted from his Twitter account, I find, having forgotten there was one). Like a lot of my Graham Wynd stories it’s a bit of crime and a bit of a laugh and you don’t have to…
Tag: publications
Out Now!
CLUES 44:1 is out now with all kinds of crime writing fun, including a review by me of a new book that looks at links between Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith, and Leigh Brackett — and does it well. Introduction: Allusions and Illusions Spotlight on… Indian Crime FictionTARUN K. SAINT Rethinking Democracy and Detective Fiction: The…
Forecast Review!
MIDBROW 30 Artists Explore Divination Nadine Nelson’s installation for Forecast: Reading the Signs — running now in the upper gallery at the Institute Library through March 28 — is a sunny nook in the middle of the art show: two cozy chairs in the window, a snug table filled with intriguing objects, among them a deck of…
Hallucinations
I received an email requesting an essay I wrote in 2011. Not unusual: while publishers charge lots of money for academic journals, most of us are happy to give away copies for free of our own publications. Print journals used to give (maybe still do?) extra offset copies for precisely that purpose. What was odd,…
Out Now: Hobo Camp Review
Hobo Camp Review issue 50 is out, reminding us that in the midst of all the horrors we must create and play and communicate. Even editor James Duncan’s editorial for this issue reminds us. I’m pleased to be in this issue along with a bunch of names I recognise. I have a little story ‘The…
Ten Years Already
I had forgotten all about this piece at Pulp Metal Magazine (hi Jason) until a chance reminder yesterday. Clearly remember that day, waking up here in Dundee and hearing/seeing the news. I am amused by the theory that we have been in an alternate reality since, but it does not change what we must do…
Cosmic Law
Wrapping up the trying year that was 2025, endeavouring to remember what was good amidst the many tragedies and horrors of the year is definitely a challenge. Negotiating many losses, including the practical one of employment, which in its peculiarly American context means also health care [as Lady Catherine would doubtless find reasonable] and yet…
Daft Days & Discipline
In these daft days between the Yule and Hogmanay celebrations it’s easy to lose track of time, as Fergusson suggests. He also claims this is the time to enjoy ourselves in all the usual ways: Let mirth abound, let social cheerInvest the dawning of the year;Let blithesome innocence appearTo crown our joy;Nor envy wi sarcastic…
Free Xmas Ghost Stories
Here it is Xmas eve and I have gifts for you: two free ebooks. The first one is the trilogy of ghost stories written in past Xmases for Fox Spirit Books, carrying on the tradition of spooky Victorian tales told on the holiday. This free download is courtesy of me and Fox Spirit — though you can…
The Umpteenth Dog Redux
Prompted by the Hudson Valley Writers Guild to assess my ‘Year in Review’ I made a video. While I had a number of things published this year, looking back over blog posts (which is how I keep track of these things) I re-read my angry February post The Umpteenth Dog and decided it needed more…