Wordy Wednesday with Jack Strange

Welcome to Wordy Wednesday - today featuring Jack Strange!

Jack Strange has had a very varied career. He’s worked in a morgue, dug holes for a living, shifted heavy things on and off trucks, sold advertising space, and was, for a while, a Lawyer. 
Jack has always read voraciously and has wanted to be a novelist since the age of ten. He wrote his first novel aged fourteen. Jack enjoys parties and keeps himself fit. He is married with two adult daughters.

And so as usual I sat Jack down with a (virtual) beverage of his choosing, and we talked...

Do you have another job or are you a full time author? If you do something else (international spy?) what is it and do you like it?
Regrettably, I have another job. Two other jobs, in fact, so I'm on my way to rivalling George Osborne - but I don't get paid nearly as much as him. I'm a lawyer and a handyman, as well as being a writer. It's an odd combination, I know, but hey - we writers are supposed to be different, aren't we?

Why did you start writing?
To change the world, earn fame and fortune, and finally retire to a desert island with a good bar and a rocking city close to my beach house.

List 3 things that are guaranteed to make you smile.
My bank balance (that's an ironic smile by the way);
Tory party promises (so is that);
and any episode of 'Fleabag' (Google it, if you haven't heard of it).

Do you have any pets? 
No, I used to have a cat called 'Udi' and when she died I couldn't cope with the emotional loss so I never got another pet. They definitely would hinder the writing process. Udi used to demand attention when I needed time to myself to study law; she'd do the same if she was around when I was trying to write.

Who is your favourite author? Do they influence your writing or are they a total break from the sort of thing you write?
That's such a tough question as I could name twenty or thirty or more favourite authors who all have an equal claim to my affections. If I had to narrow it down to one, it might be Russell H Greenan, largely for his novel 'It happened in Boston'. We have things in common - we're both lineal descendants of Edgar Allan Poe, and accordingly, cats feature in my writing and in his. His books are hard to categorise, and maybe mine are too - but we both sit comfortably in the horror genre. And we both like to use dark humour in our books. I wouldn't want to claim I've written anything as good as 'It Happened in Boston' - but there's still time!

Which book(s) are you reading at the moment?
'Junky' by William Burroughs and 'Salvage' by Duncan Ralston. The opening of Junky is textbook, in that it's the perfect opening to draw you into a story; and the author's use of detail is outstanding. Would-be writers could do a lot worse than to read this book and draw a few lessons from it.

Which three cities would you most like to visit and why?
(1) Timbuktu - it's always seemed to me to be exotic, mysterious and remote. Plus it has some amazing libraries. I like libraries.
(2) La Paz - it's the current highest capital city in the world, I believe. The views from my hotel room would be tremendous, and I'm sure I'd enjoy a rocking night life there. I have a feeling the drinks are cheap, too.
(3) Novosibirsk - the largest city in Siberia. I'd love to snuggle up in front of a warm fire in a Siberian bar, with a vodka in my hand and the winter winds raging outside.

Tell us about the character that you've written that you like the most - no spoilers!
Henderson the cat. It's not just me - everyone who's read my books says he's their favourite character.
Here's a link to a recent review of a book of mine - note the comment about Henderson. Many readers have said similar things.

What is your favourite biscuit? 
Jack Strange never eats biscuits. He wouldn't be able to rock the pullup bar if he did.

In the film of your life who would play you? 
The young me would be played by the young Jude law (if we could go back in time!) - because we both had charm, insouciance and good looks in abundance in our youth. The old me would be played by Vladimir Putin if he ever turned his hand to acting - for obvious reasons.

If you could genetically cross an animal and a vegetable, what would you pick and why? I like the idea of asparagus and a giraffe...tender neck
A tory politician with a...wait a minute...they're a cross of animal and vegetable already. Mainly vegetable.

Amazon links to Jack's books:
Celebrity Chef Zombie Apocalypse
Amazon USA
Amazon UK

Zomcats!
Amazon UK
Amazon USA

Confessions of an English Psychopath
Amazon UK
Amazon USA

Wordy Wednesday's author interview with Oliver Clarke

Good day Wordy Wednesday fans. Another Wednesday another author to quiz, another brain to poke about in. Today it's rather a joy as I've known this author (via the medium of twitter) for quite some time and I've read a fair bit of his writing, so I know something you might not, he is a great write with a very dark, warped view of things, a creepy, disconcerting view of the world, but I'm leaping ahead, allow me to introduce Oliver Clarke, and let us ask him to tell us about himself and his books

I'm in my early 40s (just) and am married with a young son. We live in Sussex with and an overweight cat. At night, when a story grips me, I write. Genre is a tough one for me to pin down, but most of my work has an element of crime or horror in it. I've published 2 novels to date, the first 'Sunliner' is a mix of 50s noir and sci fi, the second 'One Night' is a more traditional romantic thriller about a young woman who meets a bad boy on the run.

Aside from the novels I've written a bunch of short stories, including 5 about a plucky cat. That series ('A Cat Called Hope') started life as a bit of a joke, because people kept telling me I never wrote anything nice, but has ended up being my most successful work by far. I've sold more copies of those than everything else but together (a few times over) and the first book in the series is now available in French too ('Un Chat Nomme Espoir'!)

Do you have another job or are you a full time author? If you do something else (international spy?) what is it and do you like it?
My "real" job is very dull, I'm a project manager for a big high street bank, specialising in telephony based projects. Most of the time I like it, I work with some great people and delivering something new is always satisfying.

When did you start writing?
As a child, I still remember the first short story I wrote for a school project when I was about 10 - it was a sci fi tale of an astronaut who crash lands on a planet inhabited by vicious robots. Through my teens, twenties and thirties I kept at it but never really managed to finish anything. My new year's resolution at the start of 2012 (the year I turned 39) was to stop pissing about and make it happen. The result was Sunliner, which I wrote in about 6 weeks and published in the February.


What 3 things are guaranteed to make you smile?

My son telling me about the latest crazy invention he's dreamed up

That thing where you take photos of 2 people who look alike but reverse the name captions underneath - a fan of Private Eye no doubt then!

Early Adam Sandler films


Do you have any pets? If yes, what, and do they help or hinder the writing process?

We have a cat, Venus, who is fairly saggy and lazy. I don't think she either helps or hinders my writing, but she is good company and very chatty.


Who is your favourite author? Do they influence your writing or are they a total break from the sort of thing you write?

Stephen King, without hesitation. I've struggled a bit with his more recent stuff, but I LOVED his books as a teenager and he has been a massive influence on me.Oh I totally agree, weirdly for an author I think his early stuff was better, proper fear inducing stories.

Which book(s) are you reading at the moment?

I generally have a few books on the go and flit between them - at the moment those are 'A Princess of Mars' by Edgar Rice Burrough, 'Shogun' by James Clavell and 'Alone in Berlin' by Hans Fallada


Where do you do most of your writing?

Anywhere I can! I used Google Drive which gives me real flexibility. Most of 'Sunliner' was written on my phone whilst walking to work and then edited at the dining room table in the evening. Writing books on your phone, what a world we live in


Tell us about the character that you've written that you like the most - no spoilers!

Tough choice, as there are a few I really like. The most popular with readers is Marx, the feline protagonist of the 'Cat Called Hope' books, who I think of as being a bit like a moggy version of Jack Bauer (he does the right thing no matter how hard it is).

My own fave is probably JJ, the villain in Sunliner. Writing someone utterly evil is great fun and really cathartic!


What is your favourite biscuit?

Custard Cream, no competition


Tea or Coffee?

Tea. I like coffee but only drink one cup a day compared to about 5 or 6 cups of tea


In the film of your life who would play you? (why)

I'd like to say Bradley Cooper, but that's probably wishful thinking. I genuinely don't know!

If you could genetically cross an animal and a vegetable, what would you pick and why? I like the idea of a potato and a sloth...could you get a lazier creature? (my soul mate)

My cat crossed with any vegetable would be lazier (trust me).

How about an onion crossed with a 3 legged puppy for when you need a good cry?


Here's the link to Oliver's Amazon UK page

It is VERY IMPORTANT to note that there is someone else called Oliver Clarke who publishes on Amazon. He writes dirty books and is not me! (I'm sensible enough to publish my dirty books under a pseudonym ;)) This made me laugh!


And here's a link to One Night, which is probably my most accessible book (and is only 99p at the moment!)

Massive thanks to Olly, and do check out his books, they are ...well good is the wrong word...fascinating maybe, creepy definitely and if you read Camera Phone v1 don't do it alone ...oh same for Doorbell, actually maybe read them all in a friendly spot ....

Do follow Olly on twitter, (I'm on Twitter too you know!) and pop over to Facebook to like my page and have a natter.

Wordy Wednesday with Jonathan Ward

Good morning Wordy Wednesday Fans! This week I would like to introduce Jonathan Ward, a writer of...well let's ask Jonathan to tell us what he writes ...

I write in three different genres: science-fiction, horror and fantasy. Of the three science-fiction has to be my main love, but fantasy is growing on me and I think I sneak enough horror into my stories that sometimes the genres blend together!

Do you have another job or are you a full time author? If you do something else (international spy?) what is it and do you like it?
Unfortunately I’m not a full-time author as yet, though I hope to be some day. At the moment I’m in a job about as far from writing as you can get: the thrilling world of accountancy. It’s not bad as jobs go, although it’s not always the most exciting career! though a spy would say that ...so ...

Fairly sure our author is the one in the glasses, probably a spy thing

When did you start writing?
Around the age of eight. I remember filling up notebooks with stories, most of which were horrendous rip-offs of anything I had watched or read recently. Quite often they featured main characters called Jonathan. *coughs* Thankfully my writing has improved significantly since then! haha that made me laugh, the megalomania of childhood!

What 3 things are guaranteed to make you smile?
In no particular order:
My daughter
A nice cup of tea
Liverpool winning a game without making it difficult for themselves!

Do you have any pets?
Unfortunately I don’t have any pets at the moment. I’d love a dog one day though.

Who is your favourite author? Do they influence your writing or are they a total break from the sort of thing you write?
I never know how to answer this; I couldn’t pick a favourite. Some I enjoy are Arthur C Clarke, Neal Asher, China Mieville, Peter F Hamilton, the late Iain M Banks and Terry Pratchett. All authors who have inspired me immensely.

Which book(s) are you reading at the moment?
The Traitor’s Hand by Sandy Mitchell. It’s set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and brings some humour to what is a very grim and dark setting.

Where do you do most of your writing?
Mostly at home. I get a fair bit done at work in my lunch hour though, which is actually where I’m writing these answers!

Tell us about the character that you've written that you like the most - no spoilers!
Hmm, a tough one. The first one that came to mind is Brin, a character in a published short story of mine called “The Last Rushani”. He’s got a good sense of humour despite the things he has been through and the difficult choices he has had to make. Hopefully the world hasn’t seen the last of him yet!

Winter Tales edited by the lovely Margrét Helgadóttir I see

What is your favourite biscuit?
Bourbon, without a doubt. a good choice, I'm so glad you didn't say Jaffa cakes - no one needs that debate again

Tea or Coffee?
Tea, definitely. I’m an absolute fiend for the stuff. Can’t stand coffee!

In the film of your life who would play you?
Now there’s a film that not a lot of people would watch! I’ll go with Jesse Eisenberg, because he’s thin and kind of annoying, just like me. (we'll put it on BBC2 late at night)

If you could genetically cross an animal and a vegetable, what would you pick and why? I like the idea of a potato and a sloth...could you get a lazier creature? (my soul mate)
An onion and a tortoise… it’s as close as I can think of to making a Bulbasaur.

Stalk follow Jonathan on twitter: Writtenward
Check him out on his amazon page: Joanathan Ward

Once again, thank you for reading, and big thanks to Jonathan for answering the questions. Until next week, pop over and like my Facebook page (I need the love) and follow me on Twitter.

Wordy Wednesday with Joan De la Haye

Hello Wordy Wednesday fans. Today I'm chatting to another writer to tickle your reading muscles and to lure you into a new fictional world. Let me introduce Joan De la Haye, a South African horror writer with three novels, two novellas, and lots of short stories under her belt. She published her first two novels and the novellas with Fox Spirit books, but is going full Indie with her latest release – Fury.

So Joan tell us more...
My job as a horror writer is to disturb, scare, and freak out my reader. And I love my job!

Do you have another job or are you a full time author? If you do something else (international spy?) what is it and do you like it?
When I’m not trying to figure out new ways to screw over my already messed up characters, I’m an administrator for a grant programme at the University of Pretoria. But the programme comes to an end at the end of 2016 and then I’ll be focusing on scaring my reader’s full time. I’m rather looking forward to it.

When did you start writing?
According to my mother and grandmother, I started writing from the moment I could hold a pencil, but I penned my first story at the tender age of twelve. It was during a school holiday and I was driving my poor mother crazy at work, so she handed me a pen and some paper and told me to write something. The result was a rather terrible fairy tale called The Wonderful World of Candyfloss.

What 3 things are guaranteed to make you smile?
My cat, chocolate, and wine.

Do you have any pets? If yes, what, and do they help or hinder the writing process?
I have a rather cuddly, black, cat called Midnight who has a tendency of insisting on curling up on my lap while I try to write. As long as my arms can reach around him and get to the laptop, and give him some head scratches every few words I’m all good.

Who is your favourite author? Do they influence your writing or are they a total break from the sort of thing you write?
Strangely enough my favourite author is Alexandre Dumas, so a complete break from what I write. That being said … I, like most horror writers, also love Stephen King and Clive Barker. I also recently discovered Karin Slaughter. She writes these really gritty, vicious, thrillers. I love them!

Which book(s) are you reading at the moment?
I’m on the second book of The Dresden Files series – Fool Moon by Jim Butcher.

Where do you do most of your writing?
That depends. Over weekends – in my bed.
During the week – really early in the morning at my desk, in my office at the university. I have a really understanding boss who is incredibly supportive of my writing career.

Tell us about the character that you've written that you like the most - no spoilers!
That’s a tough one. It’s like asking me to choose a favourite child (if I had one). But I’d probably have to go with Jack from Shadows. He’s evil, but a lot of fun to write. I just can’t have him running amok in my head for any length of time.

What is your favourite biscuit?
Oreo!

Tea or Coffee?
Coffee and wine.

If you could genetically cross an animal and a vegetable, what would you pick and why? I like the idea of a potato and a sloth...could you get a lazier creature? (my soul mate)
That’s an interesting question. Makes me think about those mad scientists who made a bunny glow in the dark just to see if they could.
How about jellyfish and broccoli…
No particular reason for the blend, just that it would be interesting to see a head of broccoli with the jellyfish tentacles. ooh I like this weird plan

For all the information on Joan and her books checkout her website: http://joandelahaye.com/
Her Amazon author page is: http://www.amazon.com/
You can stalk her on twitter: @JoanDeLaHaye

Big thanks for taking part. Thanks to all for reading.

Don't forget to head on over to Facebook to like my page and add any comments.

A Utopia of Dystopias

utopia - 1 ( usually lowercase ) an ideal place or state.
            2 ( usually lowercase ) any visionary system of political or social perfection.

Dystopia - noun, a society characterised by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.

I can't help noticing the influx on the YA (young adult) reading scene of the 'dystopian novel'. It seemed to catch fire (see what I did there?) with The Hunger Games and has continued with the Divergent series. Both sagas have been made into films.

There are so many of these novels on the shelves now. Uglies, Matched, Gone, I'm sure you could name dozens. 

Of course dystopian novels are nothing new. There was 1984 and Brave New world. The brilliant Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep (filmed as Blade Runner) and Fahrenheit 451.

But lately two things have struck me. The first is that they are very firnly aimed at young adults rather than adults and the second that they seem to also be aimed at girls. Female leads and heroines have been popular for a long time, Mina Harker in Dracula, Julia in 1984 to name a couple. But suddenly it seems the female lead is back with rather a bang!

Suddenly the 'feisty' (I hate that word!) female is the norm, the woman that notices the rot in the supposed utopia, revealing the horror beneath. The young girl  that dares to kick out against the society that controls everyone including her.


Is this only a blip? Or are our authors (male and female) seeing the important role the female lead can have in society?


Or maybe, they just realise that it's still the girls that do the most reading...


What do you think?


(and are there any great Dystopian Novels I've missed, with excellent female leads?)

 

Now wash your hands

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

There is a very real chance that at least 2 people reading this are sitting on the toilet. Yes you! I see you (I don’t, that would be creepy and bit pervy if you ARE on the loo) 

Lots of people take the few brief moments of calm while sitting on the loo to check texts, emails, blogs, twitter, etc Numerous studies have shown this to be unhygienic (as if we needed a study – bloomin’ obvious if you ask me!) but we still do it because in this technological world of ‘labour saving devices’ (haha) we seem more rushed, more busy and more stressed than ever before.

Who knows why? Maybe it’s FOMO (fear of missing out) or maybe it’s lack of real friends in a digital age, or a genuine lack of time, I know that parents seem forced to rush form one activity to another, ferrying children in cars from event to event, monitoring their whereabouts, terrified to let them play out without supervision due to the threat of pedophiles (and I’d love to say ‘oh that didn’t happen in the 70s’ but looking at recent evidence I’d be wrong) or traffic. I saw recently on twitter that mums asked what they would do with 5 minutes to themselves struggled with an answer, so rare was the occurrence!

Anyway, the loo, the toilet, the bog, as a respite area, a calm haven in a busy work day or a hectic home full of small screaming children, unhygienic but needs must.

But wait, danger lurks, even in your calm and peaceful water closet…

From the news this week Fox attacks man on Toilet!

And other stories of toilet horror abound

Things like Rat crawls out of toilet

And Three foot lizard in supermarket toilet

And Squirrel found in toilet

and also Snake bites man's penis as he sits on toilet!!!

So now…still sitting comfortably? 

You may also enjoy this post where animals attack....