Month: March 2011

http://www.spinetinglermag.com/2011/03/24/2011-spinetingler-award-short-story-on-the-web-nominees/

2011 Spinetingler Award: Best Short Story on the Web nominees are

Times Past by Matthew C. Funk from All Due Respect

Hold You by Steve Weddle from A Twist of Noir

Pillow Talk by Jodi MacArthur from Beat to a Pulp

The Girl with a Clock for a Heart by Peter Swanson from Mysterical-E

Secretario by Catherynne M. Valente from Weird Tales

Ghostman on Third by Chad Eagleton from The Drowning Machine

Carpaccio By Lily Childs from Thrillers, Killers ‘N’ Chillers

How to Jail by Dennis Tafoya from Crime Factory

Home Invasion by Jen Conley from Thuglit

Beat on the Brat by Nigel Bird from The Drowning Machine

It’s an absolute honour and I should be popping corks.  Instead I’ll have a ginger beer or similar. 

If you have any love for the short story or for crime-fiction, the stories linked to here are a definite must read. 

Enjoy.

 

http://tinyurl.com/5wkhkug
The first work I read by Dave White was his story in the ‘Terminal Damage’ anthology.  That’s a brilliantly constructed piece about a young man who has lost his grip.  It was so good that I had to get hold of ‘More Sinned Against’ as soon as it came out.

Here I found a very different voice. 

I met Jackson Donne, a Private Detective in the classic mould who has a strong enough profile to make him stand out from the rest.

This is a series of tales that are beautifully self-contained.  There’s enough tension, pathos and character in each one to make them the perfect read for fans of the detective genre. 

It’s extremely satisfying, also, to have complete stories that can be read in one sitting, reminding me of Block’s Hit Man in that respect.  Nourishing tales in manageable bites, it’s just the kind of thing Kindle was invented for.

Jackson (and I feel I know him well enough now to use his first name) is just the kind of man I’d want batting on my team.  A+

And now I’m on to Smokeheads by Edinburgh’s Doug Johnstone and I’m hooked.  Marvellous.

Two new reviews this week at Amazon for Dirty Old Town, both of them by writers I admire.

Here goes:

‘Noir With Soul – There is depth, humanity, an ironic sense of humor mimicking real life. His stories reach in and ask questions, where most noir forces the answer without taking the time to build the question. I find this incredibly refreshing and it shows Nigel’s talent. I would love to read a longer work by this writer. For lovers of noir and crime this collection is a must read.’ Jodi MacArthur (Sea Of Imagination)

‘Every story is really well-written and each brings its own charms and surprises. The stories are really varied – touching, menacing, chilling, sad, violent – but what they all have is honesty and immediacy… Really good stuff. I always look forward to one of Nigel’s short stories because I know I’m going to get something fresh and exciting.’ Donna Moore (Old Dogs)

For me, the smiles of the week. 🙂

I’m also delighted to have been sent a review copy of Heath Lowrance’s new novel, The Bastard Hand (out soon from New Pulp Press).

I’ve just had a story put up by the wonderful Christopher Grant at A Twist Of Noir. It’s called ‘Breakfast TV’ and it’s at:

http://a-twist-of-noir.blogspot.com/2011/03/twist-of-noir-667-nigel-bird.html

I’ve also had a piece up at Patti Abbott’s site, Pattinase, in her series ‘Why I Wrote This Story’. That one’s over at:

http://pattinase.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-i-came-to-write-this-story-nigel.html

They’re both there for entertainment, so why not go over and be entertained.

Today saw the release of a story of mine called Into Thin Air, an existential romance set in Copenhagen.

The publisher is the American Untreedreads and the price of the story is $1:50.  It’s a bargain when compared to most things, most things other than ebooks that is. 

Hopefully you’ll get around to downloading it yourself one day.

Hopefully.

Today at my blog, Sea Minor, I’ve posted an interview with one of the few writers who can be seriously thought of as being a living legend.

Lawrence Block has written more great books that I’ve had…I’m not sure I know how to finsh that sentence.  Anyway, he’s written tons of books in the Crime, Detective, Thriller, Noir, Erotic genres.

To see what he has to say, go to Sea Minor or click the link in the side-bar.

I’m only glad that I live long enough to be able to put this one out.

Go see for yourself.