The Dust Lounge

  • ‘Everything is Fine’ in Ellipsis Zine

    Ellipsis Zine is back, and it’s so good to see this wonderful literary magazine back after closing in 2024. Ellipsis Zine has always been a brilliant home for flash fiction, and so I’m hugely pleased that they’ve given some space for my small, strange piece ‘Everything is Fine’.

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  • Books, the year’s books, and Christmas books

    Say what? It’s December? Really? Very funny. *checks calendar* *screams* You mean it’s 2016? Anyway, so, I don’t have an inkling as to where this year bloody went to. I think I was busy having a coffee and a cigarette on the doorstep and 2016 just snuck around the back. Which means: It’s nearly time…

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  • On writing about bloody good books

    Let’s talk about the life blood of authors. That’s reviews, right? I mean, after wine, cheesy pasta, and a good set of pyjamas. It’s reviews. Still, that makes them damn important. …Mmm, cheesy pasta… Because there’s so many books you could pick up and read, it all starts to boil down to how you pick…

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  • Official Belated Grind Spark Book Launch day

    Howdy fiends. Aaaannnnd, after an impromptu hiatus, I’m back, in a slightly quieter Dust Lounge. But not for too much longer, as soon enough we’ll be finding some new fur-babies to chase away the emptiness. But, in the meantime, you’re stuck with me and my harmonicas. And we are back in business.

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  • Saying goodbye to the Beast

    You might have noticed a distinct quietness in the Dust Lounge during the launch of Grind Spark on Halloween. No blog posts, no buy my book tweeting, no general fanfare. Not even anything about what creepy books y’all reading, or what films you were curling up under a blanket to watch. Nothing. And it’s because…

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  • Are you NaNoWriMo-ing?

    Are you? Well, are you? Of course, if you’ve not heard of NaNoWriMo, then there’s a fairly high possibility that you think I might be talking about some new trendy form of high-rise city slicker drug parties, or perhaps a new type of technical hackery that’s gradually taking over the interwebs when we’re not watching.…

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  • On The Walking Dead and the big new season premiere

    SPOILERY MCSPOILER FACE COMMENTS AND MIND MEANDERINGS ON THE SEASON SEVEN PREMIERE OF THE WALKING DEAD. CONTINUE READING AT YOUR OWN PERIL. HERE IS A ZOMBIE FOR YOU TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO LOOK AWAY NOW. //giphy.com/embed/kfztfA622HDGM READY? NEED ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET AWAY, GET AWAY BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE AND YOU FIND OUT…

    Read more: On The Walking Dead and the big new season premiere

  • Win a signed proof copy of Grind Spark!

    With less than two weeks to go until we hit Halloween, it’s getting closer to the official launch of Grind Spark! You can already pre-order an ebook copy, but if you want to get your hands on an early paper copy, then here’s your chance. Just enter the giveaway below to win a signed, proof…

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  • Westworld – my new TV crush

    OHMYGODDIDYOUSEEWESTWORLDWASN’TITLIKETHEBESTTHINGEVERANDWHENISTHENEXTEPISODEBLOODYHELLINEEDTOSEEITNOW *ahem* I mean, did you happen to see the first episode of the Westworld series? Because it was damn bleeding can’t-peel-your-eyes-off-the-screen good. If you didn’t watch it then you should probably stop reading as I may accidentally spoiler-fy your brain. Seriously, though, if you didn’t watch it then you really need to go and…

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  • A week of #vss365

    This week I was given the keys to the FlashDogs Head Quarters, FDHQ, and was allowed to set the prompt words for #vss365 (“Very Short Stories”). Every day I had the responsibility for picking a word or phrase that would then be used for a whole day to inspire tweet length fictions. And damn, it…

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  • Grind Spark – Cover reveal

    It’s here, it’s here! The cover is done (after much fiddling) and the ebook version of Grind Spark is now LIVE FOR PRE-ORDER at the introductory price of 99p.

    Read more: Grind Spark – Cover reveal