Archive - August 2019

1
The Necropolis Trilogy And More Besides
2
6 Humorous Reading Recommendations
3
A Free Book & An Update
4
A Summer Freebie & A Big Announcement
5
A Stuttering NHS, Technical Glitches & A Prison Break

The Necropolis Trilogy And More Besides

Aug 30 2019
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Golgotha, the final instalment in my Necropolis Trilogy, is nearing completion. I am currently working on a blurb, which I look forward to sharing with you in due course. If you haven’t done so already, why not check out the first two darkly humorous offerings in the trilogy? Click here to see my books on Amazon.

What is a sociopath to do?

A sociopath’s work is never done.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed your summer (Northern Hemisphere) visitors. What with all the sun and rain, I have been besieged with gardening. It is now complete; that is until it grows again. This lawn was landscaped a few months back hence why it looks a bit patchy in places. But it’s coming along well, and I look forward to the day when it will be a pristine bowling green.

In other news, I have just finished my thirteenth book of the year – Papillon. The 600 page tome is about a man sentenced to life imprisonment in a penal colony in French Guiana. Review to follow. Perhaps you’ve read it or watched the film it inspired. Next up will be some dark humour. A batch of books are on their way.

My blog’s comments and likes etc. are still not working properly, which is annoying. But I will be migrating to a new website at some point in the not too distant future, so I am not going to try and rectify this fiddly issue for now.

Have a good weekend.

6 Humorous Reading Recommendations

Aug 23 2019
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This week I have six humorous reading recommendations for you – five of which I’ve read and one that I have written. Click on the links to read my reviews.

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

Set in the 1990s, High Fidelity is a wryly humorous, music-themed novel that analyses man’s fixations and foibles.

My Review: Rob is a record shop owner from North London. The thirty-something has just split up with his girlfriend Laura and is now single. He had been …(more)

The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness by Craig Stone

The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness is a bizarre and humorous novel about the author’s time spent living homeless in a park.

My Review: The author Craig Stone is becoming increasingly disillusioned with the predictability and banality of his everyday existence. Deciding that it is better to live dreaming than …(more)

Rant by Chuck Palahniuk 

Rant

Rant challenges our own traditions by demonstrating how we contort our recollection of events in accordance with our desires, motives and beliefs.

My Review: Rant is the oral history of Buster ‘Rant’ Casey, recounted by an array of people including his relations, friends, enemies and lovers. Rant’s childhood companions from the …(more)

Candide by Voltaire

Candide

Candide is an eighteenth-century satirical classic that evaluates optimism; the prevailing philosophical ideology of The Enlightenment.

My Review: Brought up in the household of a German baron, cheerful protagonist Candide has been instilled with the philosophy of Leibniz, notably – That all is for the best in this …(more)

Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock

Knockemstiff is a transgressive compilation of short stories. Topics include drugs, drinking, disease and sexual degeneracy.

My Review: These interlinked short stories are set in ‘The Holler’; an impoverished part of Knockemstiff, a real-life Ohioan backwater. ‘The Holler’s’ air is permanently imbued with …(more)

Tomorrow’s World: Darkly Humorous Tales by Guy Portman

This quick read’s subjects encompass manic capitalism, extreme celebrity worship, virtual reality and a grotesquely ageing population. (Free at all retailers – you can also download it through this link)

Daily Squib Review: There’s something about the future that scares the shit out of people a lot, maybe it’s simply the thought of the unknown that affects us with such fear. What possible delights await …(more)

A Free Book & An Update

Aug 16 2019
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Tomorrow’s World: Darkly Humorous Tales From The Future is now FREE on all retailer sites. Well, I should say permafree – as it’s going to be free for quite some time I suspect. Maybe semipermafree would be the correct term. I digress. For those who don’t know, Tomorrow’s World is a satirical book of vignettes about the future, which will appeal to all dark fiction aficionados. You can download a copy using the link below (Mobi/ePub/PDF). No email is required. Otherwise visit your retailer of choice. Tomorrow’s World is also available as a paperback, but not for free.

Click here to claim your FREE copy of Tomorrow’s World

My forthcoming book, Golgotha, is coming along well. Golgotha is the third instalment in The Necropolis Trilogy. I am currently giving some thought to the blurb.

I am also going to be bringing out a new blurb for part 2 – Sepultura, as it could be improved upon. It is strange how we can be content with something, only at a later date to revisit it and be left with a different impression.

Thank you to those who have been in touch to tell me that my blog is not working properly. Namely, that posts cannot be liked or shared. The reason is the PHP is out of date. I am not going to try and fix it, as this blog will be migrating to a different platform as I mentioned previously. But it is going to take some time for it is a complex procedure, and one that I am incapable of doing on my own. Have a good weekend.

A Summer Freebie & A Big Announcement

Aug 09 2019
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In today’s post, I will be reiterating what I told my newsletter subscribers on Wednesday. First up, it’s the big announcement. My forthcoming black comedy, Golgotha, will be released in the late autumn now, and not this summer as originally planned. This is because I have had a lot on my plate of late. The good news is that Dyson’s return will be well worth the wait. Golgotha is the final instalment in my darkly humorous Necropolis Trilogy. I look forward to showing you the front cover, blurb and more very soon. 

And the good news doesn’t end there. I have a FREE book for you. It’s Tomorrow’s World: Darkly Humorous Tales From The Future. Click on the link below to download your FREE copy of my satirical book of vignettes (Mobi/ePub/PDF).

Click here to claim your FREE copy of Tomorrow’s World

Tomorrow’s World will soon be available for free on retailer sites, but this is your chance to get it before the rush. Have a good weekend. Happy reading.

A Stuttering NHS, Technical Glitches & A Prison Break

Aug 02 2019
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Back in January I went to my doctor complaining of a sore heel. He said it was most likely plantar fasciitis. Following a seven month wait, I finally got my scan done at the hospital yesterday. NHS hospital waiting rooms are depressing places, and this one was no exception. There were all sorts in there – the destitute, the dependent, people on their last legs, and a woman in handcuffs attached to a police officer. A fellow patient sensing my feeling of impending doom turned to me and said, ‘The NHS is dying embers.’ Having nodded in agreement, I said, a little too loudly as it transpired, ‘Being in this waiting room is like staring into your own grave.’

She laughed shrilly at this, but the other patients within earshot did not. A pair complained to reception about my ‘negativity’, and I was banished to the corridor. It was like being back at school.

Out in the corridor, I commenced reading my new book – Papillon. You’ve probably heard of the book cum movie. It is about a prison break, or rather multiple prison breaks. It is riveting so far. I was on page 9 when I was called in for my scan. Sour-faced patients watched me traverse the waiting room. The scan took all of 115-seconds, which seemed rather inadequate after a 7-month wait. But the good news is that I am on the mend and should live to fight another day.

In other news my blog has technical PHP-related issues as I mentioned previously, and comments and the sharing functions aren’t working properly. But as I am migrating from WordPress fairly soon, I have decided to put up with these glitches for the time being. I appreciate your comments and apologise if I have not been able to respond to them because of this.

And that’s it for today. I must be getting back to Golgotha; the final instalment in the darkly humorous Necropolis Trilogy, featuring erudite sociopath Dyson Devereux. I am running a bit behind schedule and Golgotha is probably going to be released in the late autumn now. I will provide updates in due course.

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