Pinterest

I’ve always been a bit dubious about getting involved with Pinterest, at least from a writing perspective.  I’ve got nothing against the site, and I think somewhere to pin pictures is a good idea.

My initial reservation was about time; whether I would be able to make it worthwhile alongside all the other social media writers are expected to use.  Having played around with the site, I don’t think that’s an issue with Pinterest.  Most social media demands regular status updates.  Pinterest doesn’t once the initial uploads are there.

My next reservation was whether I would find it useful – or perhaps more importantly, whether readers would gain anything from it.

Anyway, Pinterest may or may not be helpful, but I’ve decided to take the plunge regardless.  Here’s a link to my boards: http://www.pinterest.com/andrew0609/

So, what am I using Pinterest for?  How can pictures help a writer?

Well, the obvious is to have a ‘board’ (folder) for my book covers.  I’ve already put one together, here.

I have a board for each of my books, too (or, at least, that’s the long-term plan.  At the moment there are only boards for a few of them):

Snuff

The Doe and the Dragon

Dana’s Children

Each board contains pictures of my settings.  I often write historical novels, and pictures of the archaeology or of the sometimes obscure locations (particularly my favourite, remote north Wales) can, I hope, give readers an idea of what the places look like.  Photos of roundhouses, for example, can show where and how the Celts appearing in many of my stories, lived.  In short, I hope pictures on my boards will help readers get inside my imagination.

A lot of writers also use Pinterest to give readers pictures of their characters.  These are often photographs of people – film stars, models etc – who look like how authors imagine their characters appearing.  I do that for my own purposes – I’ve have various pictures on my computer, and I think it’s amazing how something minor in a picture – a mole, or the shape of glasses, or a hairstyle – can give me ideas to put in a story.  However, as a lot of my characters meet grizzly ends I don’t feel comfortable sharing pictures of real people I’m inflicting pain and suffering on, so my Pinterest boards don’t include characters.

Snuff’s Publisher: Damnation Books

Snuff’s contracts have been signed and exchanged, so I can now announce that the novel’s publishers will be…

Damnation Books

I’ve been with Damnation Books before; they published ‘The Torridon Witches’ last year and I’m delighted to continue.

Damnation’s sister publisher, Eternal Press, published two of my other works, ‘The Wood’ and ‘The Shoot’, a few years back.

A big thank you to Kim and her colleagues at Damnation for taking on yet another Richardson!

Acceptance – ‘Snuff’

I’m delighted to announce another novel acceptance!

‘Snuff’ is a story of two archaeologists: Shauna and Tessa are kidnapped and forced to take part in fights to the death for a paying audience. 

Although the story is violent – given the subject matter it has to be to work – I tried very hard to make it a plotted novel about a struggle to survive and overcome impossible odds, rather than simply ‘splatter’.

As usual, I’ll refrain from naming the publisher until contracts are signed.  However, it’s a house I’ve worked with before and I’m very happy to be with again, so I don’t foresee any problems.

‘Snuff’ is actually a story I wrote several years ago, but it’s taken me a long time and three or four rewrites to get it to the tone I wanted.

Many thanks to Philip McCormac, who as usual read an early draft.  Several of his suggestions appear in the revised version.

And now, the editing process begins.  That’ll keep me quiet for a while!

Andrew’s Publishers

I’ve been very fortunate to have been taken on by a variety of publishers.  I’m occasionally asked why I don’t stick to one house: the answer is easy; I write various genres and lengths.  A publisher happily accepting one of my books won’t necessarily be interested in the next.

The upside to multiple publishers is getting to see how different houses works.  It’s also given me an excuse to read some great books and and meet a lot of gifted authors.  A full list of my publishers is below.

Wild Child Publishing.  Publishers of my forthcoming ‘Dana’s Children’.  Wild Child publish books in a variety of genres.

Damnation Books.  Published ‘The Torridon Witches’ a few months ago.  Damnation is the dark fiction arm of Eternal Press, which published ‘The Wood’ and ‘The Shoot’.  As well as horror, Damnation publishes dark fantasy, paranormal, thrillers and dark-themed erotica. 

Keith Publications.  Publish every sort of genre fiction I can think of including ‘Art Class’, my erotic novelette.  I’ve got to know some fellow writers, editors and the like.  They’re a friendly bunch and a publisher I enjoy being with.  And the books are good too!

eTreasures Publishing.  Published ‘The Well’ a couple of years ago.  Another publisher of multiple genres.  The publisher was a pleasure to work with; the editing, cover art and publication all went very smoothly.

 

Rogue Phoenix Press.  Published my historical fantasy, ‘The Doe and the Dragon’.  I was impressed by the thorough editing, particularly checking almost every detail for historical accuracy.  That made for a better story, and gave me more confidence in the novel.

 

Eternal Press.  Published ‘The Wood’, and then its prequel, ‘The Shoot’.  I thoroughly enjoyed working with the publisher.  There is a particularly supportive community or authors, readers and staff.  And good books!

Dark Realm Press.  Sadly the publisher is no longer with us, but closed down respectfully and formally reverted all rights to their authors.  I remain grateful to Anne for giving me a break by publishing a first novel – and for telling me I’m a good author to work with!  Published ‘Andraste’s Blade’.

So, if you’re looking for something to read, why not give these a look?

Top Five Films

Like most horror buffs, I’ve been watching genre films since I was old enough.  My favourites have always had a simple plot, and been a blend of supernatural horror and fantasy.

So, which are my favourites, and why?  Here they are, in reverse order:

5.  The Amityville Horror.  I think this was the first horror film I saw at a cinema.  It’s about a family who move into a house where murders took place a year earlier.  It was released in 1979; by modern standards the plot is cliché and the effects out dated, but at the time I loved it.  I haven’t watched it since, but it’s a film I have a soft spot for.

4.  Highlander.  Okay, it’s not horror, but the film does have some dark elements and themes.  One of these is the need to chop heads off your enemies, which is defiantly a horror plot.  And any film set in the stunning Scottish highlands, and has Queen providing the soundtrack, can’t go far wrong - even if the story is, quite frankly, daft.

3.  Saw.  A lot of extreme horror is sparsely plotted and little more than an attempt to be more brutal and shocking than the previous slasher.  The Saw films are different in that they have theme, subtly and plot.  They manage to be cleverer than most and had me wondering what’ll happen next, rather than simply going onto another horrific death.  The series lost its way a little part way through, but overall I think it’s by far the best of its type.

2.  Predator.  This is a story about a group of soldiers fighting something invisible yet nasty in the central American jungle.  They are picked off one by one until only one survives to fight the ‘predator’.  We don’t see the monster until late in the film which I think ups the suspense in a brilliant example of the technique of not letting the audience see the ‘thing of evil’ until as late as possible.

1. Alien.  Perhaps the best known sci-fi horror.  A brilliant film about something nasty aboard a spaceship many years in the future.  The image of Ripley and the alien is one of those that stays with you long after the end credits.  Later films in the franchise lost a little because by then we knew what Ripley was up against, despite writers upping the ante – but that shouldn’t take anything away from the first in the series.

There are some classics missing from my list; nothing my Stephen King, for example.  I’ve seen several films based on his books (‘The Dead Zone’; ‘Carrie’; ‘The Shining’; Christine’, etc) and enjoyed them, but I think my choice says something about the sort of plot I like rather than anything about a film or writer’s quality.  I like watching (and writing) simple, ‘in yer face’ linear shockers rather than subtle or psychological horror, and those sort of films give me most pleasure.

Writing Review of the Year

With 2013 drawing to a close, this seems a good time to jump on the bandwagon and summarise what’s happened to my writing during the year.

• ‘The Torridon Witches’ was published by Damnation Books in September.  ‘Witches’ is a novella about a group of backpackers who find themselves in the middle of witch trials in remote modern-day Scotland;
• ‘Dana’s Children’ was accepted by Wild Child Publishing back in January.  This is a novella about a group of archaeologists who discover something unpleasant when they venture underground.  I’ve had contact with my editor, so Dana’s Children is going through the process at the moment;
• ‘Stones’ was published by Burial Day Books (and is still there as a free read).  It’s a short about a honeymoon couple who come across a stone circle.  I don’t write many shorts, but I was pleased with this one and I’m delighted it made its way into print (or rather, onto screen).

So, what is there to look forward to in 2014?  Here’s what I’m working on at the moment:

• A couple of sequels to ‘Art Class’.  Well, not quite sequels, but stories with the same characters and similar erotic themes;
• ‘Footholder’ is a novel based on a Welsh medieval myth about a king who will die unless his foot is kept in a maiden’s lap.  It’s a wonderful story and no surprise it has stood the test of time.  It’s also set in northern Snowdonia, an area of stunning beauty I know and love.  I’m very fond of this piece, which is just about finished;
• ‘Trench’ (working title).  This is dark science fiction, which is a bit of a departure for me.  It features an archaeological dig of a World War One bunker, which reveals skeletons from much more recent times.  The first draft is nearly finished.  It still needs a lot of work to bring it up to standard, but I’m beginning to think the finished article will be worth the effort;
• ‘Tribute’.  This reverts to my Celtic-themed work and settings.  The inspiration is an almost throwaway episode in the life of the Irish hero Cuchulainn.  He comes across a coastal king whose current oldest child is sacrificed to Sea Demons every seven years.  It’s a theme with a lot of possibilities; I’ve taken just one of them.  The writing is a struggle though, and I’m not sure I’ll persevere with it.
• ‘The Clootie Tree’.  This is a novel I started a long time ago.  I can’t remember why I put it aside, but I want to resurrect it.  In a throwback to pre-Christian Celtic beliefs, a clootie is a length of cloth often tied to a tree near a sacred well.  They’re supposed to give out healing properties.

So, there we are.  That’s what I’ve been up to this year, and what is likely to take up my writing time in 2014.

Review: Deathwatch

As I’m writing a World War One story at the moment, and as I’m a sucker for supernatural horror, the 2002 film ‘Deathwatch’ was always going to be a must-watch DVD.

The film is about British soldiers who attack a German position, only to find it near-deserted.  It soon becomes clear something isn’t right, and the group descends into in-fighting fuelled by the pressures of war and the fear of the supernatural evil lurking in the trench. 

The film shows World War One at its worst, with the unrelenting mixture of mud, blood and terror life in the trenches must have consisted of.

‘Deathwatch’ was given a ‘15’ certificate in the UK, which means it doesn’t have excessive ‘in yer face’ violence or gore.  There was enough unpleasantness for it to justify its place in the horror genre, though, especially as much of the horror is in the setting and soldiers’ psychology.  In some ways I was reminded of the descent into barbarism in ‘Lord of the Flies’.

There was enough tension and conflict throughout to keep me interested.

The characters are a little one-dimensional and stereotypical, but I don’t have a problem with that.  In a film where there is a danger all the characters might look the same (all young males, in uniform and covered in mud), making each an extreme helped me tell them apart.  One who stood out was Lawrence Fox as Bramwell Jennings.  He gave a brilliant performance as an upper class officer who was well out of his depth.

The part of the film that disappointed me was the supernatural.  I didn’t really get to grips with what it was, or what it wanted from the soldiers.  I’ve always thought World War One offers great scope for supernatural horror because the setting is a horrific enough starting point.  There are also some supernatural ‘events’ to hang a plot on, such as the disappearance of the Royal Norfolk Regiment at Gallipoli, or the Angels of Mons.  A couple of reviews suggest the film would have worked without the supernatural, and I think I’d agree.

I was, though, impressed with the ending.  It wasn’t a particularly fresh horror finale, but was enough of a surprise and seemed right for the film.

So, ‘Deathwatch’ was well worth watching, but I think fell down in a couple of places.  I’ll give it three out of five.