Tag Archives: Marni Mann

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Posted on by

I’ve been tagged in The Next Big Thing by fellow writer and publisher Philip Bell of children’s publisher Beachy Books – Website: www.beachybooks.com.

I’m asked by Philip to tell you all about my next book by answering these questions and then I tag five other authors about their Next Big Thing. So here I go!

What is the working title of your next book?

It’s ‘Isle of The Dead’, but it’s had so many titles I’m not even sure I’m sticking with that one!

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Simply living here on the Isle of Wight. I once worked with a guy who said that if he ever became angry enough he would poison the water-plant that we worked at and kill everyone! I remember laughing about it to my dad, and he just looked at me very seriously and said; “don’t ever make that man angry.”

 

What genre does your book fall under?

The book I am writing is full of zombies, so definitely horror. It’s the genre I feel most comfortable in. Sci-fi is another favourite but I’d love a crack at a western. I had a western-horror short story published recently but I’d love to go at a western properly one day.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I’ve always had my lead character in my book as Ed Harris, but by the time the film deal DOES come through he’ll probably be too old!

Maybe I could play the lead myself!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Zombies on the Isle of Wight killing lots of people.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’ll let you know nearer the time! But I’m comfortable self-publishing. I’ve established myself as a massive social whore, and Facebook and Twitter are my domains. I’ve got people buying my short stories and supporting The Book by the busload…

I just gotta finish it.

 How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I hadn’t finished the first draft before I started the second. I hadn’t finished the second before I started the third… *sigh*

 What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

There will definitely be comparisons with books by Wayne Simmons and David Moody, but they’re right up ‘there’ in the Undead stakes so I’d be happy if my name and book was compared alongside theirs!

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Me. And my love for the shuffling buggers. And my Facebook Family who have hounded me to get the NaNoWriMo 50,000 words reached! Unfortunately, November had become a horrendous month for myself and things ground to a complete halt, but I’m back on track, and looking to fire on all cylinders again.

Gotta thank my girl, too. She’s pushed me all the way and gets at me when I’m not writing. I wouldn’t have written half the words without her support.

And nagging.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

There’s a love story unlike any other inside it…

 

Here are some of my fellow authors and good friends that I’ve tagged to tell you about their Next Big Thing:

 

Marni Mann

Joel Goldman

Alexandra Diane

John Hardy Bell

Cheyenne Campbell

 

My thanks to Philip Bell for Tagging me

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BeachyBooks

& Twitter: http://twitter.com/BeachyBooks

About these ads

Seven Heaven

Posted on by
Ok, I know I’m shit, and that I haven’t blogged for months, but forgive me. I HAVE been writing and writing hard. I’ve had a short story published with one or two looking at seeing print as well soon, and The Book is gathering steam again… but I will reveal all of the details soon in another blog.
Because today is dedicated to Abigail Kern. She is a fellow writer who had slipped under my radar until she threw a gauntlet in my face via Twitter.
The deal is to list the last 7 films/songs/books you’ve encountered, blog them, and then pass it on to seven other idiots.
Sorry, bloggers.
So, challenge accepted.
The Last Seven Songs I Listened To
Bugger. I just bought a Gary Beck EP so that’s three tracks!
1/ Gary Beck – Paid Out
2/ Gary Beck – Feel it
3/ Gary Beck – Hillview
4/ The Cure – Open
5/ Radiohead – Staircase
6/ Billy Talent – Standing in the Rain
7/ Pendulum – Through The Loop
Last Seven Books I Read
1/ Scars of a Memoir by Marni Mann (buy it. Buy it NOW)
2/ Autumn: The City by David Moody
3/ Drop Dead Gorgeous by Wayne Simmons
4/ The Rum Diary by Hunter S Thompson
5/ Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham
6/ The Slow Empire (an 8th Doctor Who novel) by Dave Stone
7/ Night Shift by Stephen King
Seven Favourite Movies
In no particular order…
1/ Bladerunner
2/ Jaws
3/ The Empire Strikes Back
4/ Rocknrolla
5/ 30 Days of Night
6/ The Dark knight
7/ Sucker Punch
Seven Songs That Are Significant To My Stories
Now, the first one is by a new friend I have made who DJs by the name of Deepbass. His dark, dark mixes have inspired much of my writing lately, and it’s only fair I give him a very honourable mention, as well as include the mix that has got me firing on all cylinders at the moment…
1/ Deepbass
2/ Staircase by Radiohead
3/ Everything’s Ok by Rewd Adams
4/ Six Blade Knife by Dire Straits
5/ Burn it Down by Alter Bridge
6/ Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
7/ The Poem by Maetrik
Seven Favourite Authors
1/ Stephen King
2/ Hunter S Thompson
3/ Marni Mann
4/ Peter Benchley
5/ Max Brooks
6/ Mark Billingham
7/ Me. Why fucking not? Someone’s gotta love me, right?
Seven People Upon Which I Bestow This Award/Curse
1/ Crystalee Beck
2/ Anderson Angel
3/ Marni Mann
4/ Alexandra Diane (see right)
5/ John Hardy Bell
6/ Cheyenne Campbell
7/ M Andrew Patterson
________________________________________________________________
So, there we have it. My first blog in months and it’s a right royal ramble about yours truly. If you enjoyed it, then feel free to pick by the gauntlet thrown by Abigail and create your own blog using the above points, or mix them up with your own.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a muse waiting to inspire my writing and I…

Memoirs Aren’t Fairytales (Marni Mann) – A Book Review

Posted on by

Hey, remember me? I’m the guy who last year attempted to write a blog every week, as per the WordPress challenge.  I failed. I missed it by one.

So this year I decided that I was only going to write a blog about things that mattered to me; important things, as well as cataloging my adventures… and I’ve got some absolute gems coming up.

But, back to this blog. I’ve never blogged a book review before, despite being tempted many a time; but this time I have to. I want to. I need to. If you know anything about me, you’ll know that Marni Mann is one of my tightest friends in the world of writing – as well as being a good personal friend of mine. And if you know anything about her, you’ll know that she has written a book:

Memoirs Aren’t Fairytales.

Ok, wait wait wait… yes she is one of my best friends, but don’t go expecting me to pull my old chap out and start gushing about how great the book is. You’re gonna read an honest review… a review with a little bit of a difference.

Because, y’see, the world that her book is set in, is the real world.

Nicole Brown is a young girl, heading for Boston with her friend Eric as they leave Bangor behind them.  Now, I’m not sure if Marni intended for the surname ‘Brown’ for her leading character, but ‘brown’ is also a nickname for heroin here in the UK, so it’s a nice touch either way.

Nicole is running from her her home, AKA The Hole, and trying to erase the memory of a drug-rape she endured at the hands of two men. Many a user ingests drugs to escape from Real Life. I’ve been there, done it, worn the t-shirt, and kept on wearing it until it become so faded and worn that I had to buy myself another one. And matching pants.

They reach Boston, and have soon stepped up from weed and pills to the old Marching Powder, aka cocaine. The duo and their work colleague, Renee, are soon playing more bugle than a brass section (oh boy, you Americans are gonna really struggle with some of my English-isms!) (but I’m sure you’ll get the gist).

Nicole’s life rolls spectacularly downhill after this, but I’m not in the business of ruining peoples’ enjoyment of reading the book, so you’ll have to buy it yourself from here (if you live in the US) or from here (if you live in the UK/Europe). Those of us this side of the pond are in for a treat at that ridiculously low price! You can also grab it on Kindle, and Amazon will even send you the first chapter free for you to try, on your phone or PC.

One of my favourite aspects of the book, is how realistis the depiction of drug-taking is. I remember the first time I did drugs; mushrooms with a guy older than me who I used to skip school and hang out with. He got me into pills, weed, and acid, and my late-teen years were one great big fucking mess.

But going back to the mushrooms; I dropped them, walked up the high street marveling at all the bright, fantastic colours… and then bumped into my mum. Heck, my mum’s been involved before. Once I got smashed on vodka and valium and drove my car around the local canoe lake…not around the outside, but the inside of it where people walked! And then I parked my car right outside the swimming pool doors… and locked myself out. And my mum had to come rescue my ass.

Marni’s depth on what effects drugs have are honest, sincere, and very well researched. It’s not my place to ask her how far she ‘went’ in her quest for true-effectiveness, but – as a dabbler in narcotics over the years – I can honestly attest that every reaction to the drugs in the book is true. At least in my own experience.

From the ants crawling under Nicole’s skin while on ecstasy, to the wired-buzz on coke, to the comatose-effect of weed, I’ve been there and experienced it all, as I’m sure many, many of us have. Everyone experiments…

…but Nicole’s is a story of someone – like myself – who succumbs to peer-pressure and finds herself spiraling downward; being dragged under by others and her own weak-willed inability to find help for herself, despite her family’s attempted interventions.

The journey she takes is both harrowing and uneasy to read at times; with the people in her life using her as they wish, and more than once she finds herself selling her body on the streets to raise enough money just to buy enough drugs to straighten herself out.

And the end, when it arrives, is strong, powerful, and heart-rending.

If you’ve ever done any sort of drugs then I urge you to read this, and see if the tale resonates somewhere inside of you.

If you have never done drugs, then read this, and know that you were right to have never touched them.

And read it soon, as the sequel is already underway…

NaNoWriMo and The Book Is Back!

Posted on by

Ok, let’s go back in time, to January, when I wrote THIS BLOG. Ok, now you’ve either rekindled your memory or learnt something new(ish) about me. Well, for the past ten months I have worked at it, but no where approaching the sort of time and effort that I should be giving to it.

So, allow me to introduce you to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). This was an event started by Chris Baty back in 1999, where he and 20 others in San Francisco decided to spur each other on to write 50,000 words of a novel within a month. The following year, 140 participated… the next year 5,000. In 2010, over 200,000 took part. NaNoWriMo had taken the writing world by storm.

And now, I’m participating. The Book is getting new life breathed into it. I wanted to write 5,000 words a month, and so far I’ve rustled up 20,000. So, NaNoWriMo is going to supply me with 50,000 words which will make The Book almost complete. This could be the motive I need to get things back on track… although, as you may have recently discovered, I am to become a published writer…

But, I can’t rest on my laurels, I need to get all guns blazing, and the undead in my head need their story telling.

So, sit tight, and I’ll be updating my Twitter, Facebook, and WordPress accounts with my wordcounts all through November… as well as growing a moustache of epic proportions. November’s gonna be a helluva month.

And, if anyone is interested in taking part, Nicole Cook has written her own brilliant strategy on attempting NaNoWriMo. You can read her blog here. It’s well worth taking the time to check it out, and I shall be using her strategy myself!

Also, an honorary mention goes to my partner-in-crime, Marni Mann, who is going

The Delectable Marni

NaNoWriMo along with me, and with both our aims of 50k for our books, Marni should have all but finished the sequel to her first novel – Memoirs Aren’t Fairytales – which is due for release in December. And you will buy it. Please. She’s been a massive influence on my own writing and you really need to see what the mistress can do herself.

Ok, that’s all from me. I have to prepare for today. So far, I’ve shaved my face completely clean for the first time in almost/over 15 years, I started a Creative Writing course, and I also start an

Nicole Cook

Italian language course.

Oh, and some small thing called National Novel Writing Month.

Wish us all luck.

Stylish Blogger Award

Posted on by

This week I was nominated for the Stylish Blogger Award by my good friend and partner-in-crime, Marni Mann.  The aim for the award is to recognise those who blog and blog well, with a good layout and humorous/interesting/factual blogs. I’m not sure which one of these things Marni has recognised in my dumb ass, but thanks anyway, Marni!

Marni’s awesome, and we’re all just waiting on the publication of her forthcoming book Memoirs Aren’t Fairytales – a book about addiction. You can find out more on her website and twitter accounts. Or just hang around twitter and watch us flirt outrageously despite the 4000+ miles between us…

Ok, here are the rules to the Stylish Blogger Awards:

  1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
  2. Share seven random facts about yourself.
  3. Pass the award along to 5 new-found blogging buddies.
  4. Contact the winners to congratulate them.

Seven Random Facts About Yours Truly:

1/ I prefer Zach Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead over George Romero’s version. Blasphemy-ahoy!

2/ I’m 35 years old and love the film Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

3/ It took me until my fourth attempt to pass my car driving test, but I nailed my articulated lorry test on the first go and was offered a job by the company later that day!

4/ I didn’t start eating mushrooms until two years ago and now I love them.

5/ As a kid I always preferred Marvel to DC Comics, and still do now. However, I buy more independents these days rather than either of the Big Twos’ comics. Geek me.

6/ I still think Dire Straits rock.

7/ I’m so good at Motorstorm on the PS3 they once showed my races on TV. Mind you, most of the guys I went up against pasted me…

And now for my nominees: (click on name to see their blog)

1/ Kevin Crew: I’ve mentioned him in previous blogs (as I will the next two or three names) and he is new to blogging, but very fresh with great lyrical skill and adorns his blogs with more than enough pictures to please the eye. Check him out.

2/ If I mention Roy DeWinkeleer and his blog anymore then people are gonna start to think we got something going on. Imagine that, though… the bastard child of Roy and I… it would either be utterly brilliant… or shot at birth.

3/ Derek Haines‘ blogs are something I have only just come across, which is naughty of me

Derek Haines

as I have been following him on twitter for a while now. Bad Jode. His latest offering is about childhood aspirations compared to what we have at our fingertips/wrists right now. Go check him out.

4/ This nomination is a little awkward to pull off. Night Shade Books are a publishing house that host a group blog written by a collection of their authors all releasing works this year. I couldn’t well name all of them so I’ve plumped for John Hornor Jacobs as his upcoming book ‘Southern Gods’ appeals to me with it’s ‘selling your soul to the devil’ vibe. As I have already done so myself.

5/ Another new guy and aspiring author trying to juggle Real Life against The Book – John Hardy Bell. Read his latest blog about struggling to get words on paper as work/life/etc all get in the way. John is a new friend of mine on twitter, but we seem to be having the same hardships getting The Book up and out there. Hopefully bouncing our blogs and tweets off of each other will gee us both up! I’ll race you, John!

That’s your lot this week, but hopefully the above bloggers/authors will give you plenty to digest until I can cobble together next weeks missive. You can also find all of the above authors in my blogroll down the right hand side of my page.

Blogs I Follow… and So Should You!

Posted on by

If you are friends with me on Facebook or twitter you will have noticed that I spam the hell out of other peoples’ blogs as well as my own. So, I thought that I would collate all the main ones I read/whore out and share them all in one space here for you.

I’m good like that.

In no particular order: (click on heading to go to their blog)

Roy DeWinkeleer and his RADventurer blog:

Ok, I said ‘in no particular order’, but Roy is an absolute fucking heavyweight in the

Roy is not the one on the right. I think.

blogging world and one of my favourite bloggers/writers around. His turn of phrase and the shit he gets up to is something of legend. Hell, in the guy’s latest blog about Beef With Shakespeare he manages to offend The Bard and most of my country and yet I still thanked the fucker afterwards.

He made me feel cheap and used. And I liked it.

Kevin Crew – Social Assassin:

Kevin is an old school buddy of mine and relatively new to the world of blogging, but his writing and subjects are strong, and he has already waded in by destroying the music of today in his very first blog! Follow-ups include the seedier side of Jamaica, and his latest offering is about… fire-eating. Go look.

A guy – like me – who likes to litter his blogs with pretty pictures.

Kerry Ella Connolly’s blogs about sex:

I just told you it’s about sex. Plus she puts in LOTS of rude pictures.

Ms Connolly

So what the fuck are you still reading this for?

Jeff Bennington:

Author of Reunion and also the successful Writing Bomb blog. A friendly, amicable author who takes the time out to answer any and all questions! Aspiring writers should read his blogs… and his book! Jeff also teaches a creative writing course, and the students and their book are the subject of his latest blog.

Natalie’s Twentysomething blog:

Ms de Gruchy is a new friend of mine but has been blogging for a while. Her page is covered with her thinkings/feelings, her pictures, stats about herself and her thoughts about the new man in her life.

It’s so saccharine I feel sick. But I like her and her blog and her cakes, so she makes the list.

The MixTrain:

The MixTrain

Being a radio DJ it goes without saying that I LOVE music, but Fatter Agnus’ collection of DJs from all over the world is the only blog I really follow to any extent. He often posts reviews of music products (if you’re that way inclined) but the real deal is when he posts up new mixes by himself and other DJs – that’s when you find yourself dancing around your lounge, washing up, or partying with these guys in the background.

Tune in and drop out.

Rachael Williams’ blog:

She’s a famous, she’s beautiful, one of her favourite films is Akira (as is mine) and her latest blog is about Vincent Price. Oh, and she blogs about porn and has naked pictures all over the place.

This girl ticks every fucking box I’ve got.

Did I mention she’s also a model?

Mitch Day – footballer, buffed, handsome, idiot.

I love Mitch. Everyone loves Mitch. You, too, will love Mitch if you read his blog. He’s a professional footballer (grass and beach) and plays in Spain. Plus he’s going out with a Barcelona cheer leader.

If that guy fell out of a plane he’d still land on his fucking feet.

The G and T Blog:

My fellow DJs at Vectis Radio (an online radio station) that have currently overtaken me in the ‘Who Can Get The Most Complaints Per Show’ race – mainly due to Gareth Icke being able to stick 500 straws up his arse in a record-breaking attempt.

They might be idiots, but they're our idiots.

Marni Mann:

A lady in Florida who has probably done more for my writing in the short time I’ve known her than I ever have myself. Read her blog, and soon you’ll be able to read her book… watch this space.

That’s all for this week. All the bloggers above are also on my blog roll. Enjoy!

I want to be like Mitch when I grow up.