AN INVITE FROM ED OF BYKER BOOKS

How the devil are you? Broken all ya resolutions yet? Well I’ve got just the thing…the launch date and venue for the latest edition in our short story collections - the mighty ‘Radgepacket 6’ from Byker Books...

Now then, the previous Radgepacket' collections have shaken up the established literary order and this one will certainly be no exception. With over twenty different stories of madness, murder and mayhem Radge6 will be launched on Saturday 10th March at ‘The Back Page’ in Newcastle upon Tyne between the hours of 12:00 and 15:00.

The book itself costs only £5.99 because as you know (or maybe you don’t!) Radgepacket was conceived and set up to promote those authors who write 'industrial strength fiction' but who never get a look in because they haven't been on Big Brother or had their bits out in the paper and we also wanted to produce a quality publication that gives the reader value for money and we think we've done that. In fact in this austere day and age it’s probably a crime not to buy something that works out at about 30p per story – it’s for nowt man!                    

For those of you who don’t know it ‘The Back Page’ is one of Britain’s best (if not the actual best) sports book shops and carries a massive range of books and other sporting paraphernalia, not to mention the friendliest staff you’ll ever meet anywhere…ever!  

The full address is :  

56 St. Andrews Street

Newcastle upon Tyne,

NE1 5SF

So come along, have a drink with us (on me...unheard of that like!) get a copy of the new and improved Radgepacket, get it signed by some of the contributors in attendance and hear a bit of spiel from my good self – and hopefully a mystery guest speaker - what’s not to like? Oh...and if you could spread the word that'd be nice like...

Cheers,

Ed

HOW THE BOOK TREATED ME: ABIDE WITH ME BY IAN AYRIS

Happy New Year; hope 2012 is a good year for you all.

About a week before Christmas I was chuffed to bits to find out that I was the lucky winner of a copy of Abide with Me by Ian Ayris. Now then, I’m no book reviewer but as the book treated me very well I thought I’d post a few words here.

Abide with Me is not a long book, a hundred and fifty pages or so. That suited me fine and dandy and I cracked through this over the festive period. It’s not strictly a crime read although the last third certainly gets a little nastier. As the blurb says it’s a story that has elements of friendship, community, football, hope and biscuits… oh, and gangsters!

For me, Abide with Me is a cracking read because it has a real ‘voice’ - the voice of John Sissons. A story told first person point of view with an East London vernacular. A style of writing that maybe not for the fainthearted as there is more than a fair share of effing and blinding. But, it is the language that gives the narrative such a genuine voice, pulling the reader into the story from the get go.

Being a similar age to John Sissons, Ian Ayris paints a picture of London that I’m more than familiar with. Lovely hooks and signposts in the narrative that join the dots nicely: Primary school nativity plays. The long hot summer of 1976. F.A. Cup finals - always a big event regardless of the teams. The 1980’s recession. A changing workplace. A hard-lined government intent on tackling the trade union movement head-on. A country split; the Haves and the Have-nots. Intense class war. And, an ever growing list of the mass unemployed.

Abide with Me starts in nineteen seventy five. A London still not fully recovered from the damage caused by the Second World War. Austere times and a London filled with corrugated iron, latchkey kids and all daylong footie kick-a-bouts. And, not a Hooray Henry in sight! A London I remember fondly and yes I too had a red Raleigh Chopper bike.

Abide with Me is about a young lad, growing up fast, taking the emotional knocks life throws at you. Taking the blows on the chin and blindly ploughing on regardless. John Sissons struggles through a school of very hard knocks, emerging as a young man who now knows right from wrong. Harsh lessons learnt that some things are very precious: Family, friendship, community, hopes and dreams. And when you lose those it hurts like hell.

Abide with Me is a bruising, emotional roller coaster of a read and one that Ian Ayris should be truly proud of. It’s a remarkable debut novel. Scheduled for release in March 2012 and I recommend Abide with Me in a heartbeat.

RADGEPACKET TALES FROM THE INNER CITIES VOLUME SIX

Radgepacket Tales from the Inner Cities Volume Six; scheduled to be released 10^th March 2012 from those lovely folk at Byker Books.

The blurb:

Our Sixth volume of short stories is just pure quality.

You’ll find real industrial strength fiction in here as the best ‘unsigned and unhinged’ British talent regale you with stories of bad people doing bad things...and good people doing bad things....and lots of people doing naughty things!

In another snapshot of today’s Britain you’ll find twenty two ‘shorts’ that will entertain and appal you in equal measure. So sit down, have a stiff drink...have another two...then turn the page.

Cracking stuff!

ABIDE WITH ME

I was chuffed to hear from Chris Rhatigan that I’m the lucky winner of an early copy of Ian Ayris’ novel Abide With Me.

An early Christmas present that I’m really looking forward too. Cracking stuff! I’ll let you all know how the book treats me; pretty good I’m sure.

My thanks go to Chris and Ian.

BRIT GRIT TOO

Brit Grit Too is out NOW!

The blurb: Edited by Paul D Brazill, Brit Grit Too collects 32 of Britain's best up and coming crime fiction writers to aid the charity Children 1st children1st.org.uk/

The BRIT GRIT mob is coming to kick down your door with hobnailed boots. Kitchen-sink noir; petty-thief-louts; lives of quiet desperation; sharp, blood-stained slices of life; booze-sodden brawls from the bottom of the barrel and comedy that's as black as it's bitter--this is BRIT GRIT

Table of Contents:

1. Two Fingers Of Noir by Alan Griffiths

2. Looking For Jamie by Iain Rowan

3. Stones In Me Pocket by Nigel Bird

4. The Catch And The Fall by Luke Block

5. A Long Time Coming by Paul Grzegorzek

6. Loose Ends by Gary Dobb

7. Graduation Day by Malcolm Holt

8. Cry Baby by Victoria Watson

9. The Savage World Of Men by Richard Godwin

10. Hard Boiled Poem (a mystery) by Alan Savage

11. A Dirty Job by Sue Harding

12. Squaring The Circle by Nick Quantrill

13. The Best Days Of My Life by Steven Porter

14. Hanging Stan by Jason Michel

15. The Wrong Place To Die by Nick Triplow

16. Coffin Boy by Nick Mott

17. Meat Is Murder by Colin Graham

18. Adult Education by Graham Smith

19. A Public Service by Col Bury

20. Hero by Pete Sortwell

21. Snapshots by Paul D Brazill

22. Smoked by Luca Veste

23. Geraldine by Andy Rivers

24. A Minimum Of Reason by Nick Boldock

25. Dope On A Rope by Darren Sant

26. A Speck Of Dust by David Barber

27. Hard Times by Ian Ayris

28. Never Ending by Fiona Johnson

29. Faces by Frank Duffy

30. The Plebitarian by Danny Hogan

31. King Edward by Gerard Brennan

32. Brit Grit by Charlie Wade

I’m as proud as punch to be part of this project and what a line-up! My thanks go to the top-man, Paul D. Brazill and those wonderful folk at Trestle Press.

DRUNK ON THE MOON – IT’S A CURSE - VOLUME 7

Number seven in the cracking DRUNK ON THE MOON series has just been released. It’s been downloaded to my Kindle and will be my bedtime reading tonight.

My congratulations go to all those involved in this innovative series.

MATT HILTON’S DOMINION

I was interested to read on Matt Hilton’s blog that apart from the super Joe Hunter series of novels he has also been hard at work on other standalone projects. I shouldn’t be surprised by this news as Matt is a talented, hardworking and prolific author. He’s also a really nice bloke and tremendously supportive of other budding writers.

Read more about Matt’s eBook projects HERE and HERE for details of his new horror/thriller: DOMINION.

The blurb for DOMINION is terrific and after reading a couple of the Joe Hunter novels I know that this will be a fast paced page turner of a read; perfect format for the Kindle.

I’m wishing Matt every success with this venture and all his other writing projects.