“The rain is so heavy I can barely see the cop car. Red and blue lights dance across the parking lot, like diseased ghosts, so I know they are out there. Fat cops in government-issue windcheaters, clutching pump-action shotguns worth more than my life insurance policy, are likely out there right now.”
Back in October, my story Gusher appeared at the Flash Fiction Offensive. Always a pleasure to end up in the Gutter!
Albert Erasmus gestures vaguely over his stooped shoulder at the prowl car. It is moving at kerb-crawler pace down Palace Avenue, and the fat plainclothes cop in the passenger seat glares at us.
“You know what they call a Paignton cop in a three-piece suit?”
I shrug, already bored of his shtick. Already bored of his face.
“The defendant.”
I’m delighted to confirm that I have a violent new slice of Paignton Noir entitled Raw Deal included in the latest edition of British crime journal Crooked Holster. It’s the story of a dead lawyer, a crooked property developer and a hardboiled private eye who is only too happy to trawl Paignton’s sick underbelly in search of answers.
The table of contents includes lots of names that are new to me, but I was happy to find myself alongside Brit-grit luminary Paul D. Brazill, who has a story called New Dawn Fades in the same collection.
You can buy this great looking book through Amazon right now, and I believe a Kindle version is in the works.
This month saw the publication of Waiting To Be Forgotten: Stories of Crime and Heartbreak, Inspired by The Replacements, edited by British crime writer Jay Stringer, and published by US-based Gutter Books.
I am delighted to confirm that my story Nightclub Jitters is included in the anthology. It’s a brutal slab of Paignton Noir – a private eye story about reputation, legacy, sex, alcohol and violence.
It is a cracking collection, and the impeccable list of contributors (see below) tells you everything you need to know about the level of quality on offer.
Waiting To Be Forgotten – The Tracklisting:
2. I’m In Trouble – Hailey Ardell
3. God Damn Job – Ed Kurtz
4. Run It – Rick Ollerman
5. Within Your Reach – Alex Segura
6. If Only You Were Lonely – Gorman Bechard
7. Androgynous – David Accampo
8. I Will Dare – Jay Stringer
9. Unsatisfied – William Boyle
10. Gary’s Got A Boner – Johnny Shaw
11. Hold My Life – Jen Conley
12. Kiss Me On The Bus – Angel Luis Colon
13. Bastards Of Young – Josh Flanagan
14. Left Of The Dial – Eric Beetner
15. Here Comes A Regular – Mike McCrary
16. I.O.U. – Rory Costello
17. Alex Chilton – Franz Nicolay
18. Nightclub Jitters – Tom Leins
19. The Ledge – Josh Stallings
20. Election Day – Erik Arneson
21. Achin’ To Be – Kristi Belcamino
22. I’ll Be You – Manuel Royal
23. Darlin’ One – Eyre Price
24. Out Of Shape – Jerry Bloomfield
25. The Last – Liam Sweeny
“When Eddie Chainsaw smiles, his face looks warped – like the reflection in a fun-house mirror. It makes me glad he doesn’t smile very often.”
Last month, my brutal new wrestling noir story Meat Whiplash appeared at a great new fiction site called Twisted Sister. Check it out!
“The cop’s lips are moving so fast it looks like he has been badly dubbed.”
Sein und Werden is one of the most consistently inventive literature sites in the game, and it is always a pleasure to be featured.
My story All Animals Scream was included in Sein und Werden’s recent Giallo-themed issue – check it out!
“It is nine o’clock, and the Burning Wheel is emptier than a plundered grave. The warm summer air filters through the propped-open fire exit. It carries with it the tang of raw sewage.”
I am delighted to confirm that my new story The Repulsion Box is included in Issue #19 of the excellent Australian crime fiction journal Crime Factory.
This one is a nasty little slice of Paignton Noir, and I’m happy that it has found a home in such a great publication.
The Kindle version is dirt-cheap, so please check it out!
“Two men I don’t recognise walk into the TV lounge. The fat one is wearing a luminous-coloured t-shirt with the phrase ‘Amateur Gynaecologist’ emblazoned across it. I assume it is a joke, but in this town you never really know. After all, everyone needs a hobby…”
Last month I had a new slab of Paignton Noir over at excellent UK crime fiction site Near To The Knuckle. Check out Other People’s Blood, and let me know what you think!
“I hear the rattle of the tow-truck’s rusted chain before I see it roll down the rutted track and into view. The last time I saw the Mulligan brothers they hung a guy known as Blood Bubble from a hook by the roof of his mouth then beat him with crowbars until his pale skin burst.”
My latest wrestling noir story, Truckload of Trouble, was published by Rusty Barnes at his excellent Fried Chicken & Coffee site last month.
If you dig it, the same site hosted my story Nude With Boots earlier in the year, so check that out as well!
“I point my shrivelled dick at the dogweed and it sputters like a badly inserted drip. I tuck it back inside my leotard and carry on down the dirt track towards Burrachaga’s clapboard shack.”
Earlier this month, I had a new story over at reliably entertaining UK flash site Spelk. Thanks to Gary Duncan for running seven of my stories over the last 18 months!
The Cold Vein is the latest story in my new wrestling noir series. If you like it, make sure you check out The Big Blow Off (also published by Spelk) as well.
“Ordell knew he wanted to be a hooker the first time he saw Mama zip up her thigh-high boots, lean against the sink and scrub her rancid fanny with a wet-wipe.”
The latest story in my ongoing wrestling noir series, Fairytales For Hard Men, went live at Horror Sleaze Trash last month.
Plenty more wrestling stories on the way, so watch this space…
