The Dust Lounge

Tag: Grind Spark

  • 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*

  • Grind Spark – the complete earworm sessions

    It’s time to close the book on Grind Spark.

    Not completely, there’s still tweaks and edits afoot.

    But times are a-changing and new WIPs (Work in Progress, Walrus in Pants, Wet Insidious Pulses… whatever takes your fancy) with whole new earworms are calling.

    So it’s time to wrap up the Grind Spark playlist.

    I present to you here, in one place, for your most decadent earjoy, the majority of songs that I listened to while fighting words and wrestling keyboards, and also while writing Grind Spark.

    Genesis by Justice

    Utopia by Jackson and His Computerband

    Ain’t no sunshine by Liz Hodson & Josiah Wolf

    Idioteque by Radiohead

    Avril 14th by Aphex Twin

    White Cyclosa by Boards of Canada

    Brennisteinn by Sigur Ros

    Getting ahead in the lucrative field of artist management by UNKLE

    Feral by Radiohead

    Vengeance Rhythm by Two Fingers

    Spitfire by The Prodigy

    Turn Down for What by DJ Snake and Lil Jon

    Killa Bunnies by Moloko

    Hungry Face by Mogwai

    In the House, in a Heartbeat by John Murphy

    Don’t worry, dusty fiends, there will be more musical interludes, but they’ll be writing background to the new projects. But what music fuels your writing? What songs are the neighbours complaining about because you play them so loud in the middle of the night when the muse strikes? Share the sounds in the comments below. And keep writing, fiends.

  • This heinous hiatus is nearly over…

    Ok.

    You got me.

    I put my hands up.

    There has been an overly long break between blog posts and this is something that should not be allowed to pass.

    *Shelters behind the Beast against volleys of rotten fruit*

    Suffice to say, general life, work and an impending house move (got a good feeling that this one might actually happen) rather disrupted the steady flow of writing wordage. All of these are good things, just things that have kept me preoccupied, and finding the time to hole up in my writerly spot and wear through my fingertips until my bones scratch against the keyboard has been a little difficult.

    On the upside, things are now straightening out, writing will be recommencing, and once the move is complete the routine will be back with a vengeance. (I have consulted the Badger Council on this, and the Striped One with the Crown of Ashes has declared that if this does not happen I will forever be banished to living with the Evil Dolphins, and I am a terrible swimmer).

    So, writing this with a glass of the good red stuff in hand, I confirm that writing season is BACK ON. And even though the posts may be a little sporadic over the next few weeks until boxes have been packed, suitcases have been hauled up and down stairs, and copious amounts of coffee have been consumed, I have NOT finally disappeared into the depths of a rabbit hole.

    So this heinous hiatus is, really, nearly over. In the meantime, I leave you with the Beast for company. She will look after you well, if a little grumpily.

    The Beast

     

  • Grind Spark Earworm #15 – John Murphy

    28 Days Later

    It’s Grind Spark earworm time everybody, and this week we’re sort of staying with the soundtrack theme.

    Last time we listened to the hauntingly beautiful Hungry Face by Mogwai, featured on the TV series Les Revenants.

    This time we’re listening to a song that still sends shivers up my spine.

    A song that spreads out across an empty city, while a lone man looks at empty roads and wonders what’s happened.

    A song that sets music to zombies, with a backdrop of cruel humanity.

    Not that there are zombies in Grind Spark.

    But if I was all alone at the end of the world, I think this is what I’d be listening to.

    This is In the House, in a Heartbeat by John Murphy, as featured on the 28 Days Later soundtrack.

    Listen to it alone under storm clouds.

  • Goddamn my writerly Achille’s heels

    Writing Achilles Heels
    Image by Drew Coffman

    What do you do when you’ve finished writing something like a novel, eh?

    Well, I mean, after the obvious bit where you get pissed on whisky and give your mum a lap dance.

    … what…

    … is that just me…?

    Well, whatever, we’ve all got our own parties to get on down to.

    (I saw you with that fluorescent orangutan.

    Don’t tell me you didn’t.

    Facebook says you did.)

    Anyway.

    After the party, what happens then?

    Well, the streamers get cleaned up, the balloons deflate and whither like used condoms in the corners of the room, and the left over ice cream melts into wet goblins that chew at the carpet and mess up your socks.

    And then after that… after all that… you deal with the words. Again.

    And then you panic a bit.

    Because, hell, you can’t hide from the words you put together, and now they’re all laughing and pointing and honestly I think I might just have to go and tell on them because THEY ARE BEING MEAN.

    But once that’s over, once you’re into full-on editing mode, what happens then?

    1. You realise it’s actually not that bad.
    2. You realise there’s still a whole load of shit that you’re doing really bad.

    And so, in the spirit of things, I present to you my writerly Achilles heel(s):

    1. I am TERRIBLE at knowing when to use “past” or “passed.” Yeah, I know, it’s not that difficult. There’s rules and it’s only like it’s TWO words, my brain should be able to incorporate that information – but you can guarantee if I said “past” then use the other one.
    2. Capitalising (M)other and (F)ather. Again, there’s rules, but the more I think about it the more I might as well roll a dice and hope for the best.
    3. To start a new paragraph, or not. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a massive fan of a short paragraph, but there’s plenty of times when my return-key-trigger-finger needs to step back for a minute and have a nice cucumber sandwich or something.

    Now, this list doesn’t even begin to touch on all of my errors that get picked up in the copy-editing process, but they are some of the ones that drive my copy-editor crazy, because they’re the ones I do all the time.

    One day, I might learn.

    Perhaps I’ll train myself with treats and biscuits.

    *Cracks open industrial packet of jaffa cakes*

    But what are yours? Come on now don’t be shy – we’ve all got them (and you’ll probably only remind me of more that I’ve got).

    What’s your editing nightmare, what’s the one thing that you know you’re never gonna get right?

    Hit me up in the comments below.

    Because it’s best not to get too hung up about the things we get wrong, because the things we get right are what makes writing magic.

    Go weave some words regardless.

  • Grind Spark Earworm #14 – Mogwai

    HAPPY SUNDAY, GUYS! HAPPY FIRST DAY OF JUNE!

    Wha’?

    IT’S THE FIRST DAY OF JUNE, MAN!

    Are you smoking that shit you bought off the purple crocodile living at the bottom of the garden again?

    ERM… NO…

    Right…

    THAT WAS THE SEASONING FOR LAST NIGHT’S PIZZA.

    *Rolls over, digs in under the blankets*

    BUT IT REALLY IS JUNE.

    Which it is, as I gulp down mugs of coffee and wonder what’s happened with the rest of the year – perhaps that pizza knocked me out for months and now it’s Summer (only wet and quite cold). So now it’s time to fill in the rest of the year and make plans, and for all of that I figure I’ll start with working out what to eat for dinner and maybe work my way up from there.

    Speaking of which, it’s Grind Spark playlist time as you tuck into your Sunday lunches or post-drink fry-ups.

    Last week it was all about killer rabbits… this week we’re channeling the sounds of the returning dead.

    Not that there are any zombies in Grind Spark.

    But there is a yearning for the past. A desperate grab for something that is long gone.

    So you end up with a plastic sheen that replicates the real thing but doesn’t quite feel like it. I guess you could insert the Great British Bake Off here.

    This song comes from the soundtrack to Les Revenants, one of the best television series I’ve seen for a while (although I haven’t managed to catch the end yet so… shush about what happens, yeah?)

    This song is Hungry Face by Mogwai.

    Listen to it when the sun sets and faces turn to blurs.

     

     

  • Grind Spark Earworm #13 – Moloko

    Moloko Killa Bunnies

    Woah, it’s only come around to that Grind Spark playlist time again. There’s been less posts recently due to my head being buried in a couple of new WIPs and running through final edits on Grind Spark – don’t worry though, there’s wordage being stored up to shortly be spewed into bloggity format for your eyeball delectation.

    Last week we went on a little trip off piste to check out DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s Turn Down for What. I trust you all played it appropriately loud.

    This week I’m picking probably the lightest song from the playlist.

    Well, when I say light, I mean it has fluffy bunnies in it.

    So that’s light, right?

    So this is for the pet lovers.

    This is Killa Bunnies by Moloko.

    Listen to it whilst hopping.

    Or eating carrots.

  • Grind Spark Earworm #12 – DJ Snake and Lil Jon

    Turn Down for What

    Is it Grind Spark playlist time again?

    I think it might just be.

    Last time we went for rage and dancing with The Prodigy.

    This week we’re doing something different. This week we’ve got a BRAND SPANKING NEW addition to the playlist. Not spanking like paddles and chains and red lights. More spanking like Julia Childs with a nice piece of tripe.

    And the new addition was suggested by Gabriel Novo (find him on Twitter as @GabrielNovo). He’s a pretty darn cool dude, who seems to have got things pretty much right when he suggested my musical tastes seemed to be pretty odd. To be fair, I’d go as far as to say it’s not just my musical tastes… but let’s save that for another post.

    So, for your eardrum delectation, here’s Turn Down for What by DJ Snake and Lil Jon.

    Listen to it loud. Probably without your gran.

    Thanks Mr Novo. Any more recommendations hit me up in the comments below, or on Twitter and Facebook.

    Now turn it up.

     

  • Did someone say it’s International Short Story Month…?

    Writing

    Do you know what shit’s going down this month?

    Dudes?

    Do ya?

    In a month that apparently includes “STAY UP ALL NIGHT” day, “ROOT CANAL APPRECIATION” day and the most fantastic “CHICKEN DANCE” day, it’s only bloody well International Short Story Month as well.

    And do you know what this means?

    Dudes?

    Do ya?

    It means that I want to hear your best short story recommendations. They can be stories you’ve written, stories by other people you love, stories that just don’t have a home to go to so you felt sorry for them and took them in.

    I’ll start the ball rolling by pointing you in the direction of my own free short stories that are up here at the Dust Lounge (just saying, like). Y’all should read ‘em, tell me what you think, share ‘em.

    But if we get past just talking about what I’ve been up to, I’d want to share Neil Gaiman’s book of short stories, Smoke and Mirrors. I bought this book just before I spent some time living in Tenerife for a few months, and after a period of sun soaked reading I pretty much entirely blame this book for the fact that I am once again addicted to writing words and splurging thoughts into the world.

    Suffice to say, I think you should read it.

    So now it’s your turn – share your stories, share the stories you love by other authors. Share them all. Whack them in the comments and we’ll spend a month partaking of short reads and drenching our brains in inspiring mini feasts of words.

    I’m waiting for your words, fiends.

  • Grind Spark Earworm #11 – The Prodigy

    Spitfire by The Prodigy

    This week I am finally able to share the news that Grind Spark hit the longlist for the Bath Novel Award – one of only 32 novels out of 649. This is all pretty darn cool and since I heard the news I have celebrated appropriately with wine, beer, chair dancing and shouting HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS? NO, WAIT, I CAN’T SAY YET BUT IT’S AS EXCITING AS A KANGAROO FIRING PARTYPOPPERS FROM ITS POUCH.

    Ok, well, maybe not that exciting.

    But I’m not sure anything is ever more exciting than kangaroos.

    But enough shouting and partying, time to get back on track and it’s time for the next instalment of the Grind Spark playlist.

    Last week we had Vengeance Rhythm by Two Fingers, with its most awesome video that will mean you can never look at a stuffed bear in the same way again.

    This week we’re going to dance off the anger.

    We’re going to dance off the rage.

    We’re going to find a way to spend the last few hours of Earth having fun, fuelled by music and drugs.

    And we’re going to pretend we’re happy so we can pretend we don’t hate each other.

    And we’re going to smile with glassy eyes and call it love.

    This week we’re listening to Spitfire by The Prodigy.

    Listen to it so you can’t hear the screams outside.