OUT NOW! The Thirteen Lives of Frank Peppercorn

Thirteen ways to remember the dead. Thirteen histories of a loving husband.

Betty Peppercorn is burning her husband Frank today. Well, she’s burning her property. The corpse she was left with as a reward for loving somebody for better or worse. Frank exists only in her thoughts, anymore.

To her knowledge, Frank had no friends. Betty’s not even sure he existed before they met. It comes as a major surprise, then, when several strange faces appear at the funeral, each of them bringing their own stories of what Frank meant to them.

As the day goes on, it becomes increasingly apparent that Frank was not the man she thought he was.

Thirteen new and established writers collide in this brand new novel-of-stories project from Ryan Bracha, the brains behind Twelve Mad Men, The Switched, and The Dead Man Trilogy. All proceeds will be donated to Alzheimer’s charities.

Featuring contributions from:

Dominic Adler – The Ninth Circle
Jason Beech – Moorlands
Kevin Berg – Indifference
Paul D. Brazill – A Case of Noir, Guns of Brixton, Kill Me Quick
Robert Cowan – The Search For Ethan, For All is Vanity
Craig Furchtenicht – Dimebag Bandits, Behind the 8 Ball
Shervin Jamali – The Devil’s Lieutenant
Jason Michel – The Death of Three Colours, The Black-Hearted Beat
Allen Miles – This is How You Disappear
Alex Shaw – The Aidan Snow series
Martin Stanley – The Gamblers, Glasgow Grin, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Billingham Forum
Mark Wilson – The dEaDINBURGH series, On The Seventh Day, Ice Cold Alice

Grab it from Amazon,com, Amazon.co.uk and loads of other places called Amazon.

Recommended Reads: February 2017

Phoebe Jeebies and The Man Who Annoyed Everybody by Ryan Bracha

Tony is a horrible man, he really is. He’s one of ‘the enlightened’ – a group of oddballs who are paid by a nasty rich kid to annoy people. Not in any major way but just enough to entertain the kid. And he’s good at it too. And then he meets Phoebe and she’s lovely, she really is.

Phoebe Jeebies and The Man Who Annoyed Everybody is bloody marvelous and really showcases Ryan Bracha’s strengths as a storyteller. In lesser hands, Phoebe Jeebies and The Man Who Annoyed Everybody would have just been an entertaining but slight scattershot of high-brow farce, low-brow satire, 6th form japes and jibes.  Bracha, however, has crafted a book that is artful, full of heart and really quite lovely.

The Origins Of Benjamin Hackett by Gerald M O’Connor 

Five days in the life of eighteen-year-old Benjamin Hackett as his world is turned upside down. The Origins of Benjamin Hackett by Gerald M  O’Connor is a raucous and riotous coming of age story that is brutal, tender and hilarious.

Vicious Dogs by Henry Brock

Derek Lasker is a down on his luck PI who is hired to follow a wayward son and inevitably digs himself deeper and deeper into the mire. Henry Brock’s Vicious Dogs is a brutal slice of lowlife noir that smartly blends Charles Bukowski with Eddie Bunker and breathes new life into the PI novel. I bloody loved it!

Ryan Bracha Reviews Kill Me Quick!

Kill Me Quick

Over at the Amazons and Goodreads, Ryan Bracha says:

‘Paul Danger Brazill is a writer’s writer. Universally respected throughout the literary scene. He writes with a nostalgia that I haven’t seen anywhere else, and up to now I haven’t read a thing of his that, however short it may be, wasn’t magnificent.

Kill Me Quick! is another fine addition to his arsenal.

Mark Hammonds is a former musician who’d achieved minor success with his band, but has hit hard (and mostly unsuccessfully criminal) times, returning to his home town, Seatown. Immediately on his return he is back in with his old friends, in his old haunts, doing his level best to remain as drunk as possible, living a quiet and easy life. Unfortunately for Mark, he just cant seem to stop stumbling into other people’s trouble.

Brazill’s USP is his ability to use his writing as a character in itself. It oozes sleazy personality and wit in every paragraph, every pun-filled comeback, and every criminal act. Where it works best is when he uses it against a backdrop of the lawless Seatown. It’s like Sin City starring Sid James instead of Mickey Rourke. Kenneth Williams instead of Bruce Willis. It’s Sid City. It sounds horrific? It’s not, it’s an absolute joy to behold.

Five very easy stars. Get it and read it.’

Short, Sharp Interview: Ryan Bracha

PDB: Can you pitch Phoebe Jeebies and The Man Who Annoyed Everybody in 25 words or less?

Borderline sociopath struggles to differentiate between comedy and nastiness as he tries to impress a girl with how he came to irritate people for money.

 PDB: Which music, books, films, songs or television shows do you wish you had written?

The list gets smaller and smaller all the time for this. Music gets worse, films get worse, telly gets worse, the older and less with it I get. Books don’t, books get better. That said, anything by Tom Waits I wish I’d written, really digging Goin Out West and Hell Broke Luce just now. Films, I dunno, I wish I’d written maybe This Year’s Love. I like a great concept done well. TV shows has to be Black Mirror. Charlie Brooker has a remarkably similar outlook on life to me as far as I can tell. He just worked harder than me. Book will always be The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta. I’ll echo my earlier statement about a good concept. For me, this has the best.

PDB: Which of your books do you think would make good films or TV series?

My books? I think The Dead Man Trilogy has a lot of scope for a three series run, especially with the current political climate edging my fiction closer and closer to reality. I wrote The Switched as intentionally unfilmable (unless the French wanted to have a go), so I couldn’t see that working unless it was toned right down. I’m working on adapting Phoebe Jeebies and The Man Who Annoyed Everybody as a three part series as we speak, so you never know. I’ve got my wishlist of actors; Chanel Cresswell, Nicholas Hoult, Cumberbatch, Vic Reeves. I’d probably get Dean Gaffney and Natalie Cassidy.

PDB: Who are your favourite writers?

Traditionally published writers are Irvine Welsh, Hubert Selby Jr, Chuck Palahniuk. Guys who push boundaries and tell stories on their own terms. At the minute, however, Welsh is losing my respect a little, because he won’t just leave his old characters alone, and they’re becoming tiresome parodies of themselves. My favourite indie writers are the ever impressive Mark Wilson, Martin Stanley, and Craig Furchtenicht. I really like J. David Osborne’s style, too. He’s probably going to go on to great things.

PDB: What’s your favourite joke?

How many racists does it take to change a light bulb? One; he’s an electrician, he just has strange funny ideas on life.

PDB: What’s your favourite song?

At present, Goin’ Out West by Tom Waits. He’s got hair on his chest and he looks good without a shirt. I don’t need anything else from a song other than a hirsute man with an iron throat. Looking good topless, of course.

PDB: What’s on the cards?

Very busy year planned. Alongside the adaptation of Phoebe Jeebies and The Man Who Annoyed Everybody (and the inevitable failed attempts to get it made), I have the second book from my After Call Work series to release in early 2017, titled Gross Misconduct. Also, I wrote Phoebe Jeebies from the point of the view of the annoying man, so I’d like to write a similarly cynical romance novel from a female perspective, then I’ll rest for a bit whilst I plan the third After Call Work book. I have just less than three years to write a further six books for the fifteen novels I told Sandi Toksvig I’d write before I hit 40, and I haven’t let Tokkers down for anything yet.

 PDB: Anything else?

Have I told you lately, that I love you?

Bio: Ryan Bracha is the author of nine novels and a collection of stories. He has topped some of the most obscure charts that Amazon has to offer, including Humour – Lawyers and Criminals, Fiction Mashups and Humour – Satire. He has had more number ones than Afroman, East 17, Pato Banton, Feargal Sharkey and Limp Bizkit combined, and with a reputation for highly original and subversive fiction, he’s probably going to die as an unknown genius. Phoebe Jeebies and The Man Who Annoyed Everybody is his latest, genuinely his greatest, and probably most commercial novel yet. He lives in the literary capital of the north- Barnsley -with his wife and daughter.

 

Have A Brit Grit Christmas!

I asked a bunch of Brit Grit writers about their favourite Christmas book, film and song, and this is what they said:

Martina Cole:

Well my favourite Christmas book has to be John Updike and Edward Gorey’s ‘The Twelve Terrors of Christmas.’ Film has to be Lon Chaney as The Wolfman. I love old horrors especially at Christmas! And song has to be ‘Fairytale of New York’ as I adore The Pogues and Kirsty! (I remember when they were called Pogue Mahone! Kiss my arse in Gaelic!)

Lesley Welsh:

I’m going to be really tedious and say ‘It’s A Wonderful Life.‘ Still gets to me every time. Music-wise, Jona Lewie and ‘Stop The Cavalry’. Christmas book? That’s a difficult one, I never much liked Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol.’ and don’t really recall others specifically about that time of year as I would probably have avoided them like the proverbial. So can I have a play instead? For which I nominate Steven Berkoff’s one-man short play ‘Harry’s Christmas‘. Devastating.

Douglas Skelton: 

The book has to ‘A Christmas Carol,’ obvious I know but it’s the only actual Christmas book I can remember reading! I know when I see other choices I’ll kick myself (so if you have any suggestions, let me know) For film I’d have to go with ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’, although ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ comes a close second. And song – there are so many – but ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ has the right blend of sweetness and melancholy for me.

Nick Quantrill:

Book I can’t really look beyond Dickens with ‘A Christmas Carol’, though you can’t beat a winter’s evening in the warmth with a book from a favourite author. Film Being a cynical and hardboiled crime writer is fine for 364 days of the year, but the remaining day has to be reserved to watch “It’s A Wonderful Life”. Song, all of Kate Rusby’s “While Mortals Sleep” is great and the use of a brass band gives it that distinctive Yorkshire feel that warms me.

Luca Veste:

Book – ‘The Grinch who Stole Christmas’ by Dr Seuss Film – ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’. Song – ‘White Wine in the Sun’ by Tim Minchin

Matt Hilton:

“The Spy Who Came For Christmas” by David Morrell, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” and “Silent Night” by Bing Crosby

Mark West:

Favourite book –‘The Mystery Of The Invisible Dog’ (it takes place between Christmas and New Year. Favourite film – either ‘Scrooged’ or ‘Die Hard’. Favourite song – ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ by Slade.

Alex Shaw:

Book: ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Film: ‘Die Hard.’ Song: ‘Feed The World.’

Sheila Quigley:

‘A Christmas Carol’, ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’  – I can’t count how many times I’ve seen it – ‘White Christmas.’

Sarah Hilary:

‘The Long Shadow’ by Celia Fremlin. ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ (Cary Grant, David Niven).’The World of Winter’ by Bing Crosby

Ian Ayris:

Here we go: Christmas Book – ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charlie Dickens, Christmas Film – ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, Christmas Song – ‘White Christmas’ – SLF.

Richard Godwin:

Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’, ‘Deep Throat’, Frank Zappa’s ‘Bobby Brown.’

Martin Stanley:

Okay, right now, off the top of my head: my favourites are Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’, ‘Bad Santa’, and The Pogues’ ‘Fairytale of New York’.

Jason Michel

Book/ story – ‘A Christmas Carol’, Film – gotta be a Bond, not traditional, of course, but the nostalgia of a Christmas evening Bond flick, Song – I would say Slade then again, I have a tradition of listening to Frank Sinatra at Christmas.

Graham Wynd:

Um…’Little Women’, ‘The Long Kiss Goodnight’, and oh, everyday a different answer so….Darlene Love, ‘Christmas Baby Please Come Home’. Best Xmas LP ‘A John Waters Xmas’.

Ryan Bracha:

‘The Little Matchgirl’ by HC Anderson for book, or ‘Mog’s Christmas’. The best and most underrated Christmas film ever is ‘Scrooged’. Song has to be ‘Mary’s Boy Child by Boney M’. Tune.

Betsy Reavley:

Oh easy, Charles Dicken’s ‘Christmas Carol’, ‘Merry Christmas Baby’ – Elvis Presley and film would have to be ‘Home Alone’.

Nigel Bird:

‘Run Run Rudolph’ by Chuck Berry, ‘Diner’ (Barry Levinson) and ‘The Christmas Star’ (it’s a short story, so I hope that counts) by Mina Lewiton.

Graham Smith:

Can’t think of an Xmas book but ‘Die Hard’ and ‘Fairytale of New York.’

Paul Heatley:

My favourite book is ‘Sausagey Santa’ by Carlton Mellick III, song is ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ by Slade, but film is a toss up between ‘The Santa Clause,’ ‘Elf,’ and Ron Howard’s ‘The Grinch’ – I like the garishly colourful and OTT ones!

Tess Makovesky

I’m not the biggest fan of Christmas on the planet.  I quite like some of the old traditions, but hate the modern, consumer-driven, hyped-to-hell-and-back, be-perfect-or-else-you’ve-failed version, which tends to bring me out in a severe case of Bah Humbug.  So my choices of reading, watching and listening matter over the festive period tend to reflect this.

Favourite Christmas song: there’s a special mention for Slade’s ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ which brings back happy memories of school Christmas parties.  But the winner, hands down, is ‘Fairytale of New York’ by The Pogues and Kirsty McCall.  Any Christmas song that includes lyrics like You scumbag, you maggot, You lousy old faggot gets my vote every time, and the harmonies (even with lead singer Shane McGowan apparently on such a massive bender he could barely stand up during recording) are amazing.

Favourite Christmas movie: I can’t really handle all those mushy-gushy sanctimonious ‘isn’t family wonderful’ type movies that you’re supposed to like at Christmas.  But Home Alone won me over the first time I saw it.  It has just the right blend of mischief, quirkiness, and sheer evil joy, from parents forgetting one of their own children, to Macauley Culkin’s 8 year old dreaming up ever nastier ways to keep the burglars out of the family home.  Great fun!

Favourite Christmas book: this one really had me stumped.  I wasn’t sure if there were any specific Christmas books, and when I googled, I’d never read most of them and wasn’t keen on the rest.  However, my favourite as a kid was probably ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ by C S Lewis for the sheer magic and inventiveness of the story.  Although these days, I probably have more sympathy with the Wicked Witch than I ought to.  Imagine: always winter but never Christmas.  I can think of worse things…!

HAVE A BRIT GRIT CHRISTMAS!

Pulp Hack Confessions reviews Rogue

‘Rogue contains 22 exceptional stories.’

Check out the rest of the review here.

Route 66 And All That is Reviewed at Dark Musings

The ROGUE anthology is reviewed by Anthony Watson at DARK MUSINGS.

Here’s what he has to say about my yarn:

‘There’s politics too – though in a subtle, tangential way and even some humour – though of the darkest variety. The latter is most evident in Paul D Brazill’s Route 66 and All That which introduces an entertaining set of hapless criminals and contains some zinging one-liners.’

Check out the rest of the review here.

Out Now! Near To The Knuckle presents Rogue: The second anthology

Includes my yarn ‘Route 66 And All That.’ The blurb: ‘You find yourself on the wrong side of town. It’s late and your only option is to walk down a narrow pitch-black alley. Your heart is pounding. You’re sure that you can hear footsteps, but there’s no one in sight. The sound of soft feet approaching, is getting ever closer. You start to break into a jog. There’s a light at the end of the alley but suddenly a figure steps from the shadows. He is smartly dressed and smiling and yet you have a bad feeling about this. He reaches into his pocket… Rogue the second anthology from the Near to the Knuckle website brings you a whole host of talent all bringing you their best stories featuring Rogue’s. This anthology was brought to you by this list of Rogues: Gareth Spark, Tess Makovesky, Gabriel Valjan, Craig Furchtenicht, Paul D Brazill, Richard Godwin, Aidan Thorn, Gary Duncan, Dave Jaggers, Walter Conley, Cal Marcius, T Maxim Simmler, Mark Cooper, Bill Baber, Robert Cowan, Ryan Bracha, Matt Mattila, Graham Wynd, Benedict J Jones, Liam Sweeny, Alan Griffiths and Keith Nixon’

The eBook is out now!

A Man Of Sophisticated Tastes in 12 Mad Men

My yarn A MAN OF SOPHISTICATED TASTES kicks off this innovative anthology edited by Ryan Bracha.

The phenomenally talented writers involved in this innovative and ambitious project are:

Paul D Brazill (Guns of Brixton, A Case of Noir) Gerard Brennan (Fireproof, Wee Rockets) Les Edgerton (The Bitch, The Rapist) Craig Furchtenicht (Dimebag Bandits, Night Speed Zero) Richard Godwin (Mr Glamour, Apostle Rising) Allen Miles (18 Days, This is How You Disappear) Keith Nixon (The Fix, The Eagle’s Shadow) Darren Sant (Tales From The Longcroft, The Bank Manager and The Bum) Gareth Spark (Black Rain, Shotgun Honey) Martin Stanley (The Gamblers, The Hunters) Mark Wilson (dEaDINBURGH, Head Boy) And narrated by Ryan Bracha (Paul Carter is a Dead Man, Strangers are Just Friends You Haven’t Killed Yet)

The Blurb: At St. David’s asylum for the criminally insane there are twelve residents. They call us that. Not inmates. We all have a favourite colour. A favourite member of staff. A favourite method of receiving torture for the purposes of science. We all have our reasons for being here. Our stories. Our tales. Why don’t you come and hear them? Twelve Mad Men is a groundbreaking literary collaboration. A novel which has a series of stories woven into the narrative, and featuring the finest independent authors from across the globe. The number one best selling author of Strangers Are Just Friends You Haven’t Killed Yet and Paul Carter is a Dead Man, Ryan Bracha, voices the narrator as he embarks upon his first shift as a night guard at St. David’s, and as he meets the residents there, it soon becomes apparent that there’s something very wrong in the water..

Coming soon … Twelve Mad Men

From the twisted mind of Ryan Bracha …

TWELVE MAD MEN

Jeremy Bracsman Vs Paul D. Brazill

Pop over to Ryan Bracha‘s gaff for my in depth interview with Jeremy Bracsman.

It’s here!

New Fiction From Ryan Bracha Down Brit Grit Alley

Ryan Bracha has some great and gritty short fiction down Out Of The Gutter Online’s Brit Grit Alley. 

Here’s a taste:

Work’s Murder  By Ryan Bracha 

“Come on in, Barry mate,” he says as I stick my head, all turtle like, round his door. Mate. Fuck’s sake. This can only mean bad news. Donald’s usually a grade A top class cunt of a cunt, and in all the time I’ve known him he only plays the nice guy before he’s about slide his metaphorical cock right into your arse. I grimace at my own choice of analogy as I drop my pre-shafting backside onto the chair opposite him, trepidation dancing across my mug like Michael fucking Flatley. 

Read the rest here. 

Short, Sharp Interview: Ryan Bracha

PDB: Can you pitch PAUL CARTER IS A DEAD MAN in 25 words or less?

A motley team of rebels go to war with a violent law man, a despot prime minister and a hideously disfigured social network.

PDB: Which music, books, films or television shows have floated your boat recently?

Music wise, Jake Bugg has caught my ears, he’s only young but the way he tells his tales through music completely belies his age.

I haven’t watched many decent new films recently but there have been some top quality shows on British TV recently. The Tunnel, for one. It’s a remake of the Scandinavian show The Bridge. I love telly that’s uncompromising, and unafraid to kill off whoever it needs to, to drive home its message and push the story where it needs to go. Luther, although it’s had three series, is another prime example. I love it.

Okay, so books, I’ve had a blast this last year discovering new authors, Craig Furchtenicht’s Dimebag Bandits was one of my favourite books last year, it’s a hilariously violent sniff around small time criminals. The set pieces he dreams up are brilliant. Another American book which knocked my head off was The Origins of Disgust, Self-Hatred and Hostility by Ken Leek, equally violent and uncompromising. There’s a scene where a guy breaks his back trying to steal a wallet from the decomposing body of a pensioner that’ll have you vomiting whilst you laugh. On this side of the pond there have been many many authors whose books have got me excited, and have since become pals. Mark Wilson’s stuff is great, I’m looking forward to what he’s got planned this year, Keith Nixon and his Margate based capers, Martin Stanley’s doing some great things, and of course Mr Brazill will his ridiculously high quality noir. 2013 was the year of the indie author for me, and I know my reading lists will never be the same again.

PDB: Is it possible for a writer to be an objective reader?

Yeah I think so, to a degree. There’ll always be a slight thing at the back of your mind that’s jealous of the way an author manages to portray something, or maybe you’ll cringe and be glad it wasn’t you who wrote something particularly bad, but for the most part we write because we love to read. The best books will make you forget you’re even a writer.

PDB: Do you have any interest in writing for films, theatre or television?

Yeah a huge interest. I started out in film, writing a directing a feature after my degree, and I wrote another feature. I prefer writing books though. In film you’re always relying on a hundred other people to help get the story how you want it. With a book you have to rely on nobody but yourself. It costs a hell of a lot less money to tell your story too. If I was approached to do anything with my own books though I’d definitely be up for a chat at least.

PDB: How much research goes into each book?

Not a great deal to be honest. I write about what I know. I’d feel like a fraud if I were to write a 90,000 word novel on something I had to spend six months researching. There’ll always be somebody that knows more than I do on it. Sometimes I’ll need a bit of Google’s advice on weaponry or chemistry, but that’s the world we live in now. You don’t need to go too far to find an answer to your question.

PDB: How useful or important are social media for you as a writer?

Massively. My inspiration comes predominantly from the stupid and the clever of social media. The mob mentality that comes with it. Everything is built for social media nowadays, and my writing just stretches what’s already happening out of shape, but not so much that readers wouldn’t think ‘this could happen’. As far as a promotional and networking tool it’s very important too. The biggest and most successful authors tend to be too busy to respond to the public. I like to think that even if it suddenly went mental I’d still keep in touch with the people who read my work. It’s the same for writers as it is for musicians and filmmakers. Keep putting the work out and the hard work in, and keep on knocking on doors. If you’re doing a good job of it it’s always nice to be told by Frank Watson of Colchester that he appreciates it.

PDB: What’s on the cards for 2014?

My third novel, Paul Carter is a Dead Man, is due for release very shortly, and I’m also writing a different short story every month for the whole of 2014 and publishing them free-to-read on the Paddy’s Daddy Publishing blog. These stories will be all linked to the universe I’ve created in the book, and will provide a prequel/companion piece when they are put together and published properly next December. I’ll also be writing the sequel, which will be the second book in the ‘Dead Man’ trilogy. Busy year. Exciting times.

Bio: Ryan Bracha is 34 years’ worth of ideas just screaming to be unleashed on an unsuspecting public. By 24 he had written and directed his first feature film “Tales From Nowhere” which was well received and enjoyed a limited release around his native Yorkshire, his second screenplay “Dirt Merchants” never made it to screen but was an outlet for his desire to tell stories. Almost 4 years in the making, his debut novel, “Strangers Are Just Friends You Haven’t Killed Yet” is a darkly comic satire based on the state of the media in the face of what appears to be a serial killer stalking the streets of Sheffield. His second novel, “Tomorrow’s Chip Paper”, a fast moving look at the current media infatuation with celebrity deviants, was released in early 2013, and his latest offering, the wonderfully titled ‘Bogies, and other equally messed up tales of love, lust, drugs and grandad porn’ is out now. He lives in Yorkshire with his wife and two cats.