Guest Blog: Recording Earcom 2 for Fast Records, 1979 by Alan Savage

Recording ‘Kirlian Photography’ and ‘Celluloid Love’ with Bob Last, Cargo Studios, Rochdale, May 1979 (I think it was that month). ..and the formation of the ‘classic’ Basczax line up. Bob Last (Fast Records label owner and manager) first took an interest in Basczax (then called Basssax) before me and Jeff Fogarty joined in late ’78. He

Guest Blog: Basczax: Teessider nights: some flashes, 1979… by Alan Savage

It is mostly a blur now of course, but there are plenty of flashes in my mind of those Friday nights back in ’79-’80 when Basczax played a residency at the Teessider pub. 50p on the door I recall, as we were trying to save money for a PA. Did we get one? I cannot

Guest Blog: Why Do We Do It? by Robert Cowan.

Firstly, thanks to Paul for inviting me onto his blog to say a few words about my books. If he sees something in them I must be doing something right. I’d like to start off with a question. Actually not just any question, but the question, (No, not the 42 one). Why do we writers

Guest Blog: Shot In Detroit by Patricia Abbott

In my novel SHOT IN DETROIT, the protagonist is a photographer trying to find a project that will succeed artistically and financially. When an opportunity fortuitously presents itself, she comes up  with the idea of photographing the dead clients of her mortician boyfriend. All her portraits will be men under forty. Aside from her aesthetic

British Noir by Paul D. Brazill

I’m over at Sue Coletta‘s blog talking about British noir and comedy. There are a couple of my stories up there, too. Check it out! 

Guest Blog: Number Thirteen Press – The End? by Christopher Black

So that’s it, then. Thirteen crime novellas from thirteen authors in thirteen months. Richard Godwin’s Ersatz World was the last, and Number Thirteen Press is finished. Only, not quite. Of course there’s still the admin and the accounting and the marketing. The boring bits I’m not very good at anyway. But the publishing part is finished

Guest Blog: Paladins by Aidan Thorn

Life has been good to me, I can write that today as I sit here healthy. Eleven years ago I didn’t feel so lucky, it was maybe a week before Christmas 2004 when I found a lump on my right bollock (I can say bollock, it’s fine, I’m a gritty crime writer – ask anyone).

Guest Blog: Life and the City by David Siddall

Liverpool: one of the world’s great cities, second city of the empire, and gateway to America. What is it about Liverpool that gets under the skin and into the blood? I am not a native. My home town lies twenty miles to the south. A quiet town and a semi-rural existence. So when I moved

Guest blog: ERSATZ WORLD by Richard Godwin.

Someone is playing computer games with mankind. REALITY? ‘The medium is the message.’ Marshall McLuhan. Here are some thoughts about my latest novel Ersatz World. ERSATZ As defined by the OED: ‘(Of a product) made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else.’ Etymology Late 19th century from German, literally, ‘replacement.’

Guest Blog:Looking Forward with Excitement by Graham Smith

At the time of writing my annual crime writing masterclasses are just over a month away. For me it’s a time of great excitement. Not only do I get to see the friends I’ve made over the previous years’ courses, I also get to learn from some top notch authors. This year Crime and Publishment

Guest Blog: Brit Grit – Killing and Community by Darren Sant

In November Near to the Knuckle turned 4. We celebrated by throwing an online party the only way we know how – lots of great fiction! In fact we had 13 stories over spread over 2 days. It meant a lot of hard work for Craig who posted, formatted and edited the stories. For myself the

Guest Blog: Down in the Hole by David Jaggers

Musing on crafting a collection of interconnected short stories. It’s not a new concept. The short story cycle or composite novel has been around a long time. From Joyce’s Dubliners which links disparate characters to a central locale (Dublin), to The Unvanquished by Faulkner which illuminates one family from seven different angles. The idea of

Guest Blog: Devils on Every Side by Graham Wynd

Most of the time when I think of the 70s I think of it as the most horrible time to be kicking around. Bad hair, bad clothes, arena rock and disco—at least until punk came along and kicked it all to the curb for a while. But then I remember cool things like glam and

Guest Blog: THE DAMN DIRTY APES CONTROVERSY BY ADAM HOWE

ADAM HOWE VS. THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION  OF THE NORTH AMERICAN SKUNK APE Writing for the indie press, without an advertising budget for promotion, the best an up-and-coming writer can hope is that an established writer will endorse your work, that you might poach a few of their readers. I’ve been very lucky.  Early