Dunbar Noir

When I set up this site, I was doing so in the expectation that I’d be putting out one of the finest short story anthologies of the year, Pulp Tones.

Unfortunately for us, when we announce the project, a man over at Twitter called Pulptone wasn’t happy.

That was OK.  We’re lovers not fighters, and backed down (don’t get any ideas, now).  Our new name is going to be Pulp Ink following a poll of interested folk.

This week I’ve read some amazing pieces for the anthology.  It’s going to be awesome (to use a word I try to avoid using – here it’s in context).  Stories from Naomi Johnson, Eric Beetner, Chris Holm, Kate Horsley, Gary Phillips and Jodi MacArthur sent in work to add to the amazing pieces already there.  They’ll knock you down, pick you up and knock you down again.

Tremendous.

Because of the name change, I’m changing here as well.  Dunbar noir puts me in my locality and my genre, right where I want to be.

Sales of Dirty Old Town now stand at 350 (yippee).

I signed a contract with Untreed Reads for an anthology they’re putting together.

A piece of mine was accepted by Flashquake which is pleasing.

Another has made it in to a very strong publication which is yet to be announced – it will be one of the events of the noir fiction calendar, no doubt.

Sad news for me that I didnt’ win Spinetingler’s Best Story Online award.  That honour went to the excellent and lovely Matt Funk.  I’m holding on to the fact that I did make the nominations to keep some sunny side up.  Thanks to anyone out there who voted for me.

So, Goodlbye Pulp Tones, welcome Dunbar Noir.

I was delighted to pick up another 5 star review for Dirty Old Town this week. Here it is:
“Dirty Old Town is the first thing I have read by Nigel Bird and it won’t be the last. A very varied range of short stories. Nigel writes with an innate sense of believability, his characters came alive for me. Humour is ever present but this did nothing to spoil the sometimes dark nature of his tales – a rare skill. There’s a little something for everybody in this collection. A cracking read start to finish.” Groodaz39
Thanks Groodaz (and sistaz).

It’s also the last day of voting over at the Spintingler Awards. I’d love it if you’d think of supporting me, though I know you might like to read all ten cracking stories in the ‘Best story online’ category before casting your opinion (and there are some amazing pieces to be considered. You’ll find the list and the poll at http://www.spinetinglermag.com/2011/04/01/2011-spinetingler-award-voting/ .

Many thanks,
nigel

“This month’s All Due Respect spends some time in the sleaziest possible environment– a Hollywood movie shoot!  International super-star Nigel Bird breaks one of the most sacred taboos in Hoodwinked.”  Alec Cizak (No Moral Centre)

If you’re sensitive, you shouldn’t go – seriously, otherwise, you’ll find my story is the April edition of the wonderful All Due Respect.

Enjoy the weekend.

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.

REVIEW: Nigel Bird’s ‘Dirty Old Town (And Other Stories)’

From the opening story ‘Drinkin Wine’ Nigel Bird’s collection of stories grabs the bull by the horns.

His use of dialogue and pacing is exemplary and his characters live and breathe smut and crime.

Nigel Bird writes with an assured narrative voice that never bores or relents from its insistence on making the characters live and that is the sign of a great storyteller.

He maintains this throughout and the concluding story ‘Silver Street’ is both concise and brilliant.

Here is a sample from the opening story.

Any writer who writes tight narrative like this deserves to be read:

‘It was a red carpet all right. Furry and stained with wine. Wouldn’t have done a thing for me if it hadn’t been for the silver stud. Way it rattled against her teeth made me tighten my thighs.’

He knows what he’s doing and he knows how to deliver it.

I found this collection enjoyable and sharp.

Nigel Bird is edgy and has great tone in his stories.

The last story has the lines which encapsulate his ability to create a neat scar on the edge of velvet:

‘The tip took without problem. If it hadn’t been for the thickness of the scarring, nobody would have noticed anything was amiss.’

He writes with a tight control on his phrasing and characterisation, he is an immensely readable immensely enjoyable writer.

This is crime writing at its best.

It is entertaining and unpretentious.

Nigel Bird brings in menace seamlessly.

Read this collection, it is a crime not to do so.