Update and News

Ok folks I'm back.

After having the trip to Harrogate for the festival I have been snowed under with work, reviewing, transcribing interviews and life in general.
During this hiatus I was honoured to be given a sneak peek at a novel which won't be out until April at the soonest. It was the fantastic Killer at the End of the Line by David Thomas. I've got to know David quite well (in an online kind of way) over the last couple of years and when I got the chance of this sneak peek I couldn't refuse despite being very busy. TKATEOTL is set before during and after the second world war and is a harrowing account of one man's journey through some of the worst atrocities of Nazi Germany. By turns it is shocking, tender, thought provoking and all the while extremely entertaining. It is already my top tip for 2013's must read list.

Since I last posted. My short story Kansas Kindred Killers has been included in an anthology called Flashy Shorts after coming fourth in a competition. It can be found here along with my story are all the other placed tales.

I have also been lucky enough to win another competition with my story Pursuit in the Penfiction competition. They are looking for short story submissions so if you're a writer head over and send them something of yours.

For those who haven't read Pursuit, it is below. Please feel free to comment.

They ran screaming from him, scattering to all points of the compass. Their young minds calculating the best way to escaper their pursuer. He selected one girl as his target and focused on her. She was eight and was one of the least athletic children present that day. She would provide the easiest catch as her chubby waistline would make her slow and unwieldy.

Her bulk was nearly as great as his, which meant he’d have a realistic chance of catching her. She was running away from him as fast as her legs would take her. Pigtails and shrieks flew over her shoulder towards him.

The father observed with pride as the son hunted down his prey.

Now only thirty feet separated them and the girl was looking increasing fearful as she knew she was gaining ground. The only sounds coming from her mouth were gasping asthmatic breaths. No scream or shrieks came now. Every mouthful of air was forced into her lungs to oxygenate the driving pistons that were her legs.

She was terrified of being caught by her pursuer as she knew exactly what his intentions were.

Twenty feet behind her, the thumping of his superior weight sent great echoes forward increasing her desperation. She had an idea and veered towards the creek.

By the time she had crested the ridge which started the slope down to the burbling water the gap had closed to ten feet.

She heard the shout of encouragement as the father drove him on after her. She’d never trusted the old man with his pointy face and stinky breath.

Now she was heading down a steeper slope and was struggling to keep both legs below her torso. The mysterious force called gravity gave her upper body propulsion the lower half lacked. A fall now would signal the end of her escape attempt.

She glanced over her shoulder to see where he was. Her eyes opened wider as she saw he was now within a couple of feet of her. He saw the panic in her pupils and laughed a cruel laugh which further twisted the knot of nerves in her stomach.

Her attention snapped back to her chosen route. A sapling tree lay straight in front of her so she veered left and executed her plan.

As the tree drew level with her shoulder, she flung out an arm and used the infant oak as a pivot. Her momentum carried her through one hundred and eighty degrees and sent her panting back up the slope.

The move worked, as her hunter shot past the tree before copying the trick and resuming the chase. She had gained herself twenty feet with the manoeuvre and his breathing was becoming more ragged by the second, as he too toiled up the slope.

She didn’t look back until she reached the top of the slope. The glimpse she afforded herself was fatal, as her tired legs no longer obeyed her demands. Left and right legs collided when he was a mere five feet behind her.

He paused gasping for air while as she hauled herself back to her feet with unshed tears in wide brown eyes. When she was stood beside him, he touched her arm and said one damning word.

‘Tag.’

Harrogate / Tossergate – The View From the Audience

I was in the audience of the much talked about panel Wanted For Murder featuring authors -Stephen Leather, Steve Mosby, agent Phil Paterson, VP of the Publisher’s Association Ursula Mackenzie and bookshop owner Patrick Neale. The panel was moderated by Mark Lawson

There was a rather heated debate which didn’t just flirt with controversy as much as drop its undergarments and offer itself to all comers. Now to quantify my position in the debate I am a reader, reviewer and writer myself. I had the previous evening, spoken with Stephen Leather, Steve Mosby and Mark Billingham and I spoke with them all after the event about aspects of the debate.

Here are my thoughts and experiences of the day.

It was a panel I was looking forward to as I have a foot in all camps so to speak. It started off fairly tamely but as the discussion progressed there became a feeling that the event was turning into something of a public hanging. Sadly for Stephen Leather it appeared that he was not only the victim but was intent on playing the part of pantomime villain. (One wag even suggested he’d bought the rope.)

The crowd was made up of a mix of industry professionals and readers alike. Stephen Leather soon received occasional boos and hisses. Any point scored against him in the debate received cheers and claps. When he said that pirates stealing his work were helping him by doing his marketing for him, the event’s chair Mark Billingham was handed a microphone.

Billingham made a strong and heated argument against Leather’s viewpoint which at the time had me feeling that the chair of the event should not be speaking with such vehemence. However upon reflection I realised that my initial thought was wrong and that if the chair cannot defend his opinion passionately then nobody can.

The lowest point for me was the shout of “tosser” aimed at Stephen Leather from the back of the room. Surely this is not becoming of a literary event? In my experience base insults in a debate always come from the person who feels that they are losing the argument.

To sum up my feelings from the event I would make the following points.

Stephen Leather’s use of multiple online personas is by no means a new or exclusive tactic. I have read a number of articles and blog posts advocating such dealings.

Stephen Leather knew much more about direct marketing than almost everyone else in the room.

The book buying public should have cheap and easily accessible books.

Books however should not be so cheap as to be of less value than a cup of coffee. There is a lot of hard work that goes into writing a book and authors deserves fair recompense.

Mark Billingham was right to condemn piracy in all its forms with his impassioned counter-argument.

Stephen Leather’s comment that his work receives little editing from his publisher is most likely borne from his experience as a writer rather than any direct failings of the publisher. After 28 books he ought to know what he’s doing.

Regarding the pricing of books there is probably a middle ground to be sought which provides value for reader and author alike.

The person who shouted TOSSER should hang their head in shame. It was unbecoming of the occasion.

Agents and publishers need to react against the rise in sales of eBooks and eReaders. Denial and condemnation are not the way forward.

Amazon should implement better measures against piracy. They are loosing out too!

Amazon should implement a stepped system of minimum prices based on word count. Just don’t ask me what the thresholds should be.

The lady who said she ePublished her book after not securing a traditional print deal after trying for only three months should learn the meaning of perspective and patience.

Finally I believe that this debate will run for months and years.

Please feel free to comment below.