The Dust Lounge

Tag: books

  • On reading: The Sheriff by Simon Fairbanks

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    Title: The Sheriff

    Author: Simon Fairbanks

    From the back: The Sheriffs wander the clouds to keep peace across Nephos.

    Sheriff Denebola is recruited by young Toby to help rid his village of a winged demon. The demon has tormented the people of Angel’s Keep every night for the past week so Denebola vows to capture the creature.

    However, the demon is not the only shadow cast over Angel’s Keep. There is the strict priest, Father Osmond, who detests all magic. There is Gideon, a man with wings, claiming to be an angel sent by the Lord. And there is also the matter of the Red Witch, who threatened the village five years before the demon’s arrival.

    Denebola soon finds himself caught up in a mystery where angels, demons, heroes and villains are not all that they seem.

    The gist:  My first foray for a while into middle grade/young-young-adult fiction, and Fairbanks makes it a most entertaining adventure through lands of clouds, talking lions, demons and witches. As a thirty-something surfing quickly towards endless drunken knitting days, it was good to dive into some light hearted entertainment for a change. (Drunken knitting is serious stuff).

    The Sheriff is firmly aimed at kids but deals with some meaty topics – religion, morality, acceptance of others – and doesn’t shy away from a bit of action (fight scenes, pyres, you know how it goes).  With so much action, plus a little bit of naughtiness on the side, there’s something in there for all ages.

    Fairbanks delivers an exciting ride through a fantastical land, with a tight writing style that gives just enough to let the imagination do what it does best, and builds a great picture of the relationship between Denebola and Toby (who wouldn’t want to be Toby, right?). With something for the whole family, it’s a great read to get kids involved in thinking about and engaging with moral issues and dilemmas. Dealing with those sorts of issues is always a tricky business, and Fairbanks does a pretty damn good job of it.

    Plus, it’s the first in a series, so you know there’s something more coming, and it’s gonna be worth checking out.

    Whether you’re a kid or a granny, when you’ve got a walking, talking lion sheriff, a ballsy kid, and an adventure in the clouds you’re in for a whole lot of fun. Add in the odd bit of naughtiness every now and then and whatever happens, you ain’t getting bored.

    Bonus point – the creator of the cloud lands of Nephos was called the Clown. I’m not sure entirely why, but this pleases me.

    Favourite line: ‘We thought you were fighting,’ said Jocelyn. ‘We heard groaning.’

    Yamilet responded to that with a dirty cackle and said no more.

    Read if: You want a fun, young-young-adult book that deals with religion and faith, and throws in some violence and adventure along the way.

    Read with: Hot milk. Hot milk is the best way to prepare for any adventure. Just ask hedgehogs.

    Get it: The Sheriff by Simon Fairbanks

  • On reading: The Garden by James Kester

    Title: The Garden

    Author: James Kester

    From the back: Throughout human history, the peddlers of certainty have reigned supreme. When Galileo first cast doubt about the place of the Earth within the cosmos, he was condemned . . . Either you believed that God’s Eden was the garden of all life, or you were a heretic.

    2045 – a mile-high asteroid suspended in the sky above the Yangdi valley in China, casting a shadow across human history, eradicating doubt. The Stone – as it comes to be known – appeared from nowhere and now hangs silent. Media around the world reels with the sudden knowledge: We are not alone.

    From the four corners of the Earth, humanity must face its deepest, unanswered questions. And from the remotest Indian village, to the dense and crowded cities of our 21st century world, peasant boys, religions, governments – all will face a final reckoning.

    What is the true purpose of the Stone? Or its intent . . . And what are the strange, fragile seeds being discovered on the subcontinent?

    The garden is about to bear deadly fruit.

    The gist: It’s a short, sharp, quick witted foray into what’s gonna happen when some goddamn weird alien monsters take over the planet. I mean, ‘alien monsters’ as in all manner of wonderful, bizarre and dangerous entities – a whole ecosystem of non-earth-based surrealism. And actually, it’s really not about monsters, it’s more about survival, and how the world changes as the balance of life on this insignificant mound changes. Add in some pretty damn spot on commentary around the way humans react to this (at all levels, from raw emotional and spiritual reactions to carefully crafted, favourite-baiting tweets), and you’ve got a damn fine look into a strange and daunting future.

    The Garden is a smart, well-crafted book. It never follows a single character longer than it takes for you to take a peek through a window into their lives, then whisks you off to meet someone new. It throws you across the whole range of reactions to an earth changing event that spans years. It shows you kindness, fear and insanity. And it’ll also make you laugh.

    Seriously, kudos to the favourite line.

    Favourite line: “Did you just… ejaculate on my hut?”

    Read if: You want snippets of the future seen through many different eyes, seasoned generously with a dash of social media and cynicism.

    Read with: Cheese, to help fuel your alien monster dreams.

    Get it: The Garden by James Kester

  • Creative Input: the weird and the blues

    First up – there’s still time to enter my giveaway to win a signed print copy of Double Vision. You’ve got ‘til Monday 2nd May at 5pm BST and all you’ve gotta do is follow me on Twitter and retweet the below tweet.

    Easy, right?

    But right now it’s time for some creative input. I feel like I’ve been talking a lot about me recently (apologies) so time for a refreshing break into cool stuff made by cool people. Here’s what’s making my brain coils party at the moment.

    Reading: Currently reading David Wong’s John Dies at the End. So far, a lot of fun. A lot of weird-ass fun. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked this up (not seen the film, or read any other of Wong’s books). And so far, I’m still not sure what to expect, and that’s very much a good thing.

    Watching: Z Nation is my current televisual vibe. Ok, so I’ve finished watching The Walking Dead – I’m not sure what I thought about it yet – I mean, it was good, but I feel like there is something more about it I need to process, something I’ll probably write a blog post about soon. But in the meantime, Z Nation is full of some badly needed lighter-hearted zombie relief. (And, noticeably improving with each episode).

    Listening: I’m very much back on my blues harmonica fix at the moment – a surefire way to cheer up after a long day at work, listening to Muddy Waters Sings Delta Blues and dreaming that I’m in a whole different place and a much better harmonica player.

    What about you? I’m off to sort out my to-be-read pile – if you don’t hear from me for a while I might be buried in books. Put out a search party and bring coffee.

  • Win a signed print copy of DOUBLE VISION

    So DOUBLE VISION is a thing.

    A real-life bona fide thing that exists and I can touch it and I can sniff it and I can lick it.

    And I want to give one to you!

    Don’t worry, I won’t lick your copy.

    To celebrate the launch of DOUBLE VISION tomorrow I’m giving away a signed print copy right now. All you need to do is head over to Twitter land, then follow me and retweet this pinned tweet. Easy, right?

    You got ’til 5pm (British Summer Time) on Monday 2nd May, at which point I’ll pick one lucky winner at random.

    See you in Twitter land.

    Double Vision Giveaway

     

  • If you were a book pusher what book would you push?

    Did I mention that Double Vision is out on Saturday? Did I mention that it’s only bloody well available for pre-order now? Yes? Maybe once or twice?

    Well, in an unscheduled interlude to the Double Vision public service announcements, and a possible break (but no guarantees) from cat pictures, let’s talk about books.

    Ah, them damn fine lovely booky smelling books.

    Mmmm.

    MMMM.

    Ah, riffle the pages, smell them fine booky smells.

    *Ahhhh*

    Hang on – you want more book talk? More serious book talk?

    Sheesh, if you insist.

    So, it was World Book Night in the weekend, and hey, World Book Night works – it gets people into reading that maybe weren’t so into reading before. It takes great books, gives them to people, and infects them with reading fever.

    Forget buying classics and pretending to like them so you can look ‘cool’ and ‘intelligent’ in front of your ‘friends.’ I’m not entirely sure who actually would do that, but apparently some people do.

    It’s about enjoying the wordage, getting sucked into the story, laughing or crying or hiding under the duvet.

    So, in the spirit of sharing the fun – what one book would you give to someone to get them into reading? It might not be your all-time favourite book. It might not be a recent read. What’s that book you always have in the back of your mind when someone says they’re not that into reading and your brain is screaming READ THIS, READ THIS GODDAMN YOU, HOW COULD YOU NOT JUST LOVE THIS BOOK?

    *ahem*

    It’s taken me a while to land on just one, and it surely changes day to day, but I’m gonna throw The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes down. Spanning the crime, thriller and supernatural genres with a few things in between, there’s a bit of something for everyone. I love Beukes’s writing, fast paced and hard hitting. My favourite book (although hard to pick) by Beukes would probably be Moxyland, but The Shining Girls would be the one I’d champion for the new-to-reading-reader.

    So what’s your pick? What book would you give that’s gonna give people the reading bug? Share in the comments or over in Twitter-land.

    And did I say I wouldn’t mention anything about cats? I might have lied about that…

    Pixel100

  • Double Vision – available to pre-order now

    I’m just dropping by the dust lounge, casually leaving this link here for y’all.

    When I say ‘casually’, I mean I’m basically falling over my own feet and my head feels like it’s got a party of drunk squirrels inside it but I’m just gonna play it cool because if I let them out they might just run riot and throw some tellies out of some windows and that’s gonna really piss the neighbours off.

    But, I mean, this crazy squirrel buzz is because DOUBLE VISION – COLLECTED SHORT STORIES is now available to pre-order (!) – yes, there’s this listing on amazon and it’s got my words all over it and damn did I make a mess. Hopefully a good mess. Hopefully a mess you might enjoy.

    Should you feel so inclined you can mosey on over and click that pre-order button and then you’ll get yourselves a nice shiny e-book into your e-reader of choice come the end of the month.

    But what are you getting? What exactly is your hard earned 99 pence gonna put back in your pocket?

    Here’s the lowdown:

    Double Vision

    Take a trip through the darker side of our human condition. Travel through near futures where computers are alive, entertainment is ruthless, and our moral lines are blurred.

    DOUBLE VISION is a short collection of shorter stories and flash fiction. Some you’ll have seen in the wild, others are brand new to this book and eager for your eyes. Featuring sixteen tales knitting together 16,000 words, there’s lunch-time length nuggets of horror, science fiction and the occasional side-order of humour.

    DOUBLE VISION also includes an exclusive extract from GRIND SPARK, a near future dystopian novel coming summer 2016.

    Pre-order now, release date 30th April 2016: Amazon UK | Amazon US

        “A sinister commentary on how we have submitted our personal lives as candidates for observation – frequently quite voluntarily and happily – by persons unknown.” – Alice LaPlante on Digital Eyes

    The collection includes:

    Kicking up dust
    Remember Me
    Goodbye, Luscious Pretty
    Job Hunting
    Cold Calls and Roses
    Digital Eyes
    Channel 52
    HTTP ERROR
    Double Vision
    Seventh Floor Consulting
    When the sun falls in streamers
    Straw Man
    Push
    Blood stains grouting
    Lost in Rorschach
    Apocalypsia
    Exclusive Extract – Grind Spark

  • Your indie book shout outs

    Double Vision

    First things first – you lot are bloody lovely you are.

    It’s true.

    Since my last post where I shared the news about venturing into the lands of self publishing, I’ve had so many kind messages offering support, advice and general all round fuzziness it nearly made me emoticon everywhere. It means a lot to hear from you.

    In order to avoid criminal emoticonage, I hereby present to you this video to express my fuzzy gratitude.

     

    Since then, things have been steadily progressing (my face mostly looking like one big question mark during the whole process) but Double Vision – Collected Short Stories is coming together. Formatting checks and preview copies are under way, which leaves a decision to be made; RELEASE DATE(!) So right now I’m aiming for 30th April. Yep, deadlines is deadlines and targets is targets and that’s where I’m gonna aim for, and writing it down in this here internet land means I’m just gonna have to do that now, right?

    But, enough about me.

    Stepping into the self publishing world is scary, it’s daunting, and it’s so bloody large and I can’t swim and bloody hell these arm-bands have a hole in and… glug…sputter….

    So to help me tread water, I want to hear your best indie published reading suggestions to add to my reading list. I want to know the self published books that make you laugh or make you cry or just make you feel weird and slightly disorientated.

    To kick us off, I’m going to say that The Gantean by the wonderfully talented wordsmith Emily June Street is already on my reading list, along with Head Traumas by the surreal bird king James Knight, and The Secret Notebook of Sherlock Holmes by the ever lovely Liz Hedgecock.

    So, over to you – shout out in the comments or over on Twitter.

    I’m off to finalise some edits. ‘Til next time, fiends.

  • Stepping into self-publishing

    Double Vision Coming Soon

    This is it, guys.

    This is me, checking out my New Year’s resolution-y things and getting some plans in place.

    And it’s time to get some wordy goodness out there in bookish form, which you’ll hopefully enjoy and share and generally have a damn good time with.

    It’s scary, stepping into self-publishing.

    Stepping in.

    Stepping out.

    Tripping on my shoelaces and teetering at the top of the stairs.

    *flails arms*

    But it’s damn exciting too, right?

    It’s a big learning curve – looking at formatting, design, marketing – all those things that eat into the actual writing hours that are so goddamn precious. There’s information everywhere – what you should do, what you shouldn’t do, what you should think about doing, what you should never even contemplate doing. And there’s all you lovely people out there who are already publishers of your own work (which is amazing and cool and *pops party poppers and offers you cake*), and all your advice is greatly appreciated.

    And I know what you’re asking…

    So, what’s the plan?

    First up, I’m cutting my teeth with a collection of my short stories – Double Vision. You’ll have seen some here at the Dust Lounge, or roaming in the wild in FlashDogs anthologies or elsewhere in the internet-lands. Others are brand new to the collection – never before seen words that are eager to join the party. Not only that, but there will also be an excerpt from my novel Grind Spark, planned for release later in the year.

    But when, goddamn you, when?

    As we speak/type/read I’m finishing the formatting and running final edit checks on Double Vision. The actual release date is to be confirmed, but I will keep you posted – provisionally I’m looking to share this with you all by the end of April. You can stay updated here, or at Twitter and Facebook.

    How can I help?

    Well, if you’re offering, then some extra strong coffee and a massive piece of chocolate cake would go down a proper treat right now. Carrot cake would also be acceptable. But, putting my proper serious face on for a second, if my writing is the sort of writing you like to read then any shares, reads, reviews and general good vibes would put me in a proper state of glowing-fuzzy-happiness.

    Like I said, this is a massive learning curve, one that could be the featured ride in some sort of extreme authorly theme park. And so, if you’re a publisher-author, then any tips and advice would be received gratefully and paid for with copious digital wine.

    Thanks for reading, fiends, I hope you enjoy coming with me on this crazy self-publishing ride.

    *straps into rollercoaster*

    *feels a bit sick*

    *smiles for camera*

  • Creative Input: Dystopian Times

    I just love a little bit of dystopia.

    I think I might have an addiction.

    But it’s a damn good addiction – one, incidentally, that can be enjoyed while eating enough chocolate to make you sick over a bank holiday weekend. Just saying.

    And here’s how I’m currently drowning myself in dystopia – in the thoughts and dreams of what happens when things go wrong.

    When humanity goes wrong.

    When we forget to safeguard the good things.

    Reading: I picked up Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro yesterday. I’ve barely scratched the surface of it yet but I’m already hooked – the conversational tone, the way he folds in back-story, the delicate and gradual reveal of what ‘current times’ are like. Also, when you’ve got someone like Margaret Atwood quoted on the blurb as saying “A brilliantly executed book by a master craftsman who has chosen a difficult subject: ourselves, seen through a glass, darkly” then how could you not give it a go?

    Watching: Well of course it’s The Walking Dead, right? I mean, I might have mentioned before that I really love a good zombie flick, but I mean The Walking Dead just takes the festering pieces of animated flesh and runs (staggers, flails, gurgles through decaying lips) with it. I love it, and although for me the start of the current series was a little slow going, it’s picking up pace and I am glued. I am, however, saving the last three episodes of the series to watch in one big hit, so if you want to chat about it then *la la la la la la la la*

    Listening: I discovered that The Chrysalids by John Wyndham is playing on BBC Radio. It won’t be there for much longer (think you’ve only got a couple of days to catch the first part) but, seriously, go and do it. The Chrysalids was by far and away one of my favourite books as a kid, and is on my list to re-read in the next few months. And whenever I think about it, I feel a knot of horror twist deep in my belly.

    And with that you have my current dystopian input, but what’s yours?

    And please don’t say the news. Because the news, at the moment, pretty much makes me want to cry, or punch someone.

  • Creative Input: The reading, watching, listening files

    It has a name, it has a name!

    *Flails arms, watches lightning crackle down the tower, smells hair burning*

    And it is called CREATIVE INPUT.

    Creative input to expand your horizons and fill your brain with ideas and inspiration.

    Creative input to perhaps try something new, something you might not have picked up before.

    Creative input that hopefully you’ll love and share with someone else, and they’ll love it too and pass it on, and it will be like some sort of brilliant, magical plague made of words or sounds or pictures.

    Because everybody needs a magical plague in their lives, right?

    So, this week’s latest reading, watching, listening files from me:

    Reading: If you’re after something creepy and unusual, I can heartily recommend The Bird Box by Josh Malerman. I just finished it in the weekend (and officially can blame this book for the reason why I’ve been so knackered this week, it’s a keep-you-up-at-night-to-try-to-finish-it sorta book) – a real pacey story, with a premise that I’d not come across before, it’s a great refreshing piece of horror writing.

    Watching: I wasn’t expecting much from this but bloody hell it turned out that Mr Robot is a damn fine watchable series. Not going to say too much because there’s the odd twist and turn, but a great modern take on hacking and corporations, and every now and then went darker than I was expecting (in very much a good way).

    Listening: Like a bit of goth-western-cowboy-darkness to liven up your eardrums? Yes? Well you might not go far wrong with Marilyn Manson’s The Pale Emperor. Listening to this on the way home from work every day to blast out the stress and fuzz of the day. And also to pretend to be a cowboy.

    So that’s my picks this week, just deciding what to read next at the moment (the to-be-read pile beckons, and threatens to crush me if I take a book from the bottom). Now it’s your turn – what’s been burning creative juices into your eyeballs? What’s been making your heart twist and flesh twitch because you just can’t stop reading it it’s so good?

    Share your most recent favourites in the comments or on Twitter.

    Because, in the wise words of Number 5: INPUT, MORE INPUT

    More input