My novel She Waits By The Water, to be published January 2023, is now available to pre-order from the publisher's website here.
The publisher is based in Canada. UK readers may find it preferable (and cheaper) to wait and order a (signed) copy direct from me; I'll post details of how to do so in due course.
Another new book announcement; my novel She Waits By The Water will be published by Ace Of Swords Press in January 2023. Further updates regarding this book will follow shortly. I don't have a cover image to share with you at present, but in the meantime here's the soundtrack.
She Wants Revenge at The Garage in London last night were awesome. Great set, great band. My thanks to Adam Bravin who gifted me his signed set-list (though I'm disappointed it got a little creased in my bag on the way home; I'll have to flatten it between some heavy books). As some of you will be aware, She Wants Revenge were a big influence on my novel Cutting, and one of the key bands that soundtracked its writing. I was able to give the band a copy of the book before the gig in gratitude. They're still touring; go and see them if you get the chance.
My novel Cutting is now available to purchase. Do so from the Elemental Press website, for a special limited time discount price, here. Links to buy on Amazon etc will be available shortly. Signed copies will also be available direct from me via this website in due course.
Unfortunately the event and reading scheduled for 18 June at The Brunswick in Hove has had to be postponed. My apologies for the short notice. I'll post again here as soon as I have the new date.
Latest video from my publishers Elemental Press.
Music has always been an inspiration to me and my writing, and soundtracks the composition of all my books. As I've written elsewhere on this blog, one of the key bands that soundtracked Cutting was She Wants Revenge. They're great music to write to, songs of love and lust and heartbreak that aptly accompanied the book as it unfolded.This video explores my love of them.
In May 2022, Adam Bravin of She Wants Revenge's studio was ravaged in a fire that sadly took the life of one person.The band are rebuilding, but of course this takes time and resources. You can donate to their gofundme for this here. For more information on She Wants Revenge, who are touring later this year, go to their website.
Regular readers will have noted that one of the Cutting videos has been unavailable for a little while. This video consists of a text interview with me. It was taken down by YouTube, but I'm really at a loss to understand why. It was removed when my publisher Elemental Press posted it, and removed again when I posted it.
You can view the video on the Elemental Press website here; it's the first video on the page.
The reason given by YouTube is that it violates their policy on self-harm, stating that the subject isn't barred from discussion on YouTube entirely and that some videos are allowed. I disputed the decision, saying "I am a little confused as to why this video has been removed. As far as I can see, it discusses but doesn't promote self-harm. I am a writer. I have a novel on the subject coming out this summer. The video discusses the novel, as well as some general comments on the subject. The novel also explores, but doesn't glamorise, self-harm. This is specifically stated within the video. For this reason, I would think it falls within your policy of acceptability. Please explain exactly what it is about the video that violates your policy." Within three minutes I received a reply stating "We have reviewed your content carefully, and have confirmed that it violates our self-harm policy. We know this is probably disappointing news, but it's our job to make sure that YouTube is a safe place for all."
Well, clearly they haven't reviewed the content 'carefully' since they had all of three minutes to do it in. In fact, I doubt an actual person has even looked at it, and I'm no closer to understanding what it is about the video that is so offensive. I wrote to YouTube again to ask if somebody could please clarify why the video is unacceptable. I have not received a reply.
YouTube did, however, send me a generic 'we're concerned about you' message, which can read below. How considerate. This seems to me, though, more an act of self-preservation on their part than of altruism. I don't need their concern, I need them not to pull my videos without explanation.
View the video at the link above and decide for yourself. YouTube did later accept a much-edited version of the video, which you can view here. If anything, this makes their initial decision all the more mystifying.
TikTok, meanwhile, have gone one further; all videos Elemental Press have posted relating to my novel have been removed from their site.
To my mind, this really doesn't help matters. As a book, Cutting explores the subject of self-harm in a non-judgmental manner and - I like to think - opens up a debate on the subject. Hampering the voice of that debate does nobody any favours.
My novel Cutting is in many ways a 'musical' book. Music is woven throughout it, and soundtracked its creation. I thought it a good idea to create a playlist of some of the tracks and artists that inspired it, get a mention in it, or accompanied its writing. Featured artists include Placebo, She Wants Revenge, This Mortal Coil, Tricky, Nine Inch Nails, Aeon Sable, amongst others. In anticipation of the book's release on 18 June, you can listen to this below.
The launch of my novel Cutting will take place at The Brunswick Tavern, Hove, on Saturday 18 June 2022. Full details below.
You can also follow on Facebook for the latest news here.
Video interview I did for my forthcoming book Cutting, to be published 18 June from Elemental Press.
My thanks to Aeon Sable for allowing us to use their music. Aeon Sable were one of several bands that soundtracked the writing of the book.
[Note: This video is temporarily unavailable. We hope to have it back online soon].
My apologies for the long delay in updating this site. I've been very busy behind the scenes on a number of projects, the first of which I can now reveal.
I'm very pleased to announce that my novel Cutting launches on 18 June 2022 from Elemental Press.
Cutting is a visceral tale of two self-harmers who fall for each other. Though it also explores depression and disassociation and wrong relationships and delves into some dark depths, it's ultimately a love story.
Cover art is to the right of this text. Video below. My thanks to She Wants Revenge for allowing us to use their music. She Wants Revenge were one of several key bands that soundtracked the writing of the book.
I'll be updating this site further in the coming days and weeks with more information. In the meantime, be sure to follow me on Instagram or Facebook for the latest news. While you're at it, I'd recommend you follow Elemental on Facebook and Instagram too for their frequent excellent updates.
