31th October, 2011 - Graven Image

Happy Halloween! To celebrate, I have made my tripped-out noir novella GRAVEN IMAGE available for Kindle at the laughable price of 85p in the UK. Go on, laugh! It is also available in the US for an equally ridiculous price, so those guys can have a laugh too. Please give it a shot. It is not linked to Halloween, but there is a kind of horror element to it. And of course, the book is still available from Five Leaves Press as a beautiful paperback.

8th August, 2011 - One Dead Hen

The latest book in the Mangel series - ONE DEAD HEN - is coming out on August 9th. I am happy to say that it has already been given a great review in the Guardian. You can get it in the UK and the US, paperback or Kindle. What else can I say? Royston Blake is risen from the dead! Check it out...

If you want to know what Royston Blake does for reading matter, check out a recent bit he did on Jenny Davidson's Light Reading blog. Contrary to what you might think, he is a bit of a reader. Also check out an interview I did for Iain Rowan's More News From Nowhere where I talk about One Dead Hen, joke funnies and Terry Venables - pretty much all the big issues in the world today.

7th June, 2011 - Ridiculously Cheap Deadfolk

Do you have a Kindle? They're those crazy little things they said would never catch on... but that everyone now has. If you are one of those everyones, I suggest you download Deadfolk, my first novel and the one that introduces us to Royston Blake, for 99p. Ninety-nine flippin' pence! Oh, you're in the US? You can get it for 99c. That's even cheaper! (I think...?) Dunno how long this pricing will last, but take advantage now, before the guy who operates the Amazon website wakes up!

My serial story, which has the dumb working title of "Blakey on Tour", is growing into a monster, And by monster I mean novel. A novster. Monstel? Either way, it's living and breathing (mostly nicotine fumes) and heading for a conclusion at some point. Check it out.

My next event is at the Worcester Library on June 22nd, as part of the Worcs Lit Fest. this is the first one we've had down here, so wish us luck. Wish me luck anyway. And please come if you are local. I'm going to reveal all the magical secrets of writing.

21st April, 2011 - Cool Events and LIVE Story

I seem to have fallen into doing a serial story on my blog. Or Royston Blake has. It has no title as yet but it involves a Ford Granada MkIII hearse, Count Dracula and Jock the burger man. Unlike most other stories, you get to read this one before I've actually finished it. You don't know where it's going and nor do I, which should be interesting. I've always advocated writing on the fly without an outline, so here is my chance to prove that it works. Please follow it and tell your friends if you think they might appreciate an intro to Royston Blake.

There are some very nice events upcoming. First is The Killer Inside You, a panel at Waterstones One in Liverpool alongside John Connolly and Steve Mosby, where we will be talking about the intersection between crime and horror. Then it's off to New York City for BookExpo America, where I will be at the AmazonEncore booth. In June we have an event at the local library as part of the Worcester Lit Fest. If you can make any of these, please do. I will buy you an ice cream. Details here (of the events, not the ice cream).

10th March, 2011 - Return of the Blake

Thanks to a successful campaign waged on Facebook, Royston Blake is back! The fourth book in the "Mangel Trilogy" series (ahem) will be ONE DEAD HEN, out on 9th August from AmazonEncore. If you liked any of the other book, please do check it out - personally I think it is Blakey at his best.

Also the first three books will be re-issued by the same publisher, one per month leading up to the new one in August. DEADFOLK comes out May 10th, BOOZE AND BURN* on June 14th and KING OF THE ROAD on July 12th.

The hardest pound-for-pound doorman in Mangel is back, ladies and gents. Please support the series and help a fifth to get published.

* New title for FAGS AND LAGER. Apologies to fans of the original title, but the new publisher is American and that title looks a bit weird there.

9th March, 2011 - Graven Image

My novella GRAVEN IMAGE will be published on April 1st by Crime Express/Five Leaves Press. It is a short psycho thriller kind of thing about Leon, a brothel bouncer with a debt to pay. And boy, does he pay it. Please check it out and support independent publishers (and independent authors). Here is an early review from the Nerd of Noir. (Non-UK readers can get it postage-free here.

8th March, 2011 - Couple of Events

First off I will be in Matlock on Saturday 12th March as part of the Derbyshire Readers' Day (which seems to be two days, starting on the 11th, but never mind). Find me on a panel alongside Danuta Reah, hosted by Stephen Booth, which goes by the title "Keeping it Short".

In June I will be doing something for the Worcester Literature Festival. Details TBA on the events page but I can say now that it will be at Worcester Library, 6.30 - 8pm on Wednesday June 22nd. Rock 'n roll!