I have been thinking a lot about failure recently because life seems full of it. I have had a disastrous start to the calendar year, bowing out of a couple things I quite wanted to do and losing all the work from three projects I was hoping to finish for February 1st. I didn’t realise…
Tag: publications
Coming Soon: All Due Respect 2021
Out February 18th: the 2021 collection of stories from All Due Respect, which includes my tale ‘Squid Lord’ which — wait for it — was inspired by a song from The Fall. Of course. Links when it is available for sale. What’s the story about? A fellah who’s out of work, annoyed by his wife’s…
Ghosts at Xmas
As I haunt my home town in the mauve misty snow, I have no new ghost story for Fox Spirit which has been a tradition of recent years. Things are just too… 2021, I guess. What excuse will there be next year? So here’s an ebook of the trilogy of ghost stories written in past…
TAROT IN GRESHAM’S NIGHTMARE ALLEY
[N.B. Written when I first heard that GDT was remaking it] When I showed Nightmare Alley to the students in my noir film course, one came up at the end to complain that the tarot readings were way off. I agreed and encouraged him to pick up Gresham’s novel. I assured him that the author cared a…
MAPACA & Witches
MAPACA kicks off today and the rest of the week will be a blur obviously because of ISSS Surrealisms, too. Yes, I am grateful that my two presentations do not overlap (though both are Saturday, argh). I am grateful, too, that I know ISSS panels will be viewable for a couple weeks after the conference…
Upcoming Events
Who’s super busy? Me. Yes, I am saying no to things — mostly so I can say YES to things I am enthusiastic about (yes, it’s still a struggle not to overburden my time). Some of them quite fun. I have two conference presentations coming up next month and another in December. I have a…
Highsmith @ 100: Ripley
TOM RIPLEY: MASTER CRIMINAL? I know I have forgotten to keep up with posting the assignments for my students, but if you want to read along, here’s the intro text for this week: I’m always amazed at the back cover copy of different editions of this book. I’ve got this edition with me. It refers…
#InternationalPodcastDay
Hey, it’s apparently International Podcast Day, so I remind you that I have TWO podcasts/internet radio shows appealing to a super-niche clientele of oddballs and hipsters. SURREAL NOIR via NoBounds Radio IS IT FUNNY? via Anchor and many platforms: new episode on Muriel Spark coming when I return to NY. Just a reminder, too, that…
Tainted Hearts & Dirty Hellhounds
Pleased to have my Graham Wynd story ‘The Pick-Up’ in the first anthology from the fine folks at Bristol Noir. Tainted Hearts & Dirty Hell Hounds is just one of the two simultaneously released volumes. The second, Savage Minds & Raging Bulls, is just as packed with noir goodness — or is that badness? Buy…
Highsmith @ 100: The Course
The fall semester begins today. My courses are still all online. I have changed the Crime Fiction course to be all Highsmith, because obviously being busy already means nothing. I’m resisting overloading them with biographical information at the start, instead planning to parcel it out as they make their own discoveries, though I gave them…