tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57876878377609133472024-03-19T03:54:33.009+00:00Strange TalesThe online presence of Mark WestMark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.comBlogger952125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-17131257491603536452024-01-23T11:06:00.004+00:002024-01-23T11:06:42.714+00:00Temporary hiatus<div style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately, the Strange Tales site is going into a temporary hiatus but will return at some point in the near future.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />In the meantime, further details about my thrillers can be found at <a href="https://mewthrillers.blogspot.com/">https://mewthrillers.blogspot.com/</a> or using the normal <a href="http://www.markwest.org.uk">www.markwest.org.uk</a> address.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Thanks for all your support to this point, I'll see you here again soon.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-20293905452585174132023-12-30T09:00:00.002+00:002023-12-30T09:00:00.130+00:00The Fifteenth Annual Westies - review of the year 2023<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnudPg4LtzaNdlDtRtR6VpYq8GCYCEeSucMVPi_FEUjppZyKf_XxJHyjpAVxQpMrhyphenhyphenVzLFiUAp7G3Lq1idLls6NWCAOwf_wgUOCJ-rrbv1KozT1NG7g0vJjuaZ9nNoaSStcHtZzk1IwSjmp9_c_3tfq1JVfQinkMN5mbLEceEGBIqiPds_TMoy1l-25M/s1042/westy%20awards%202023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="652" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnudPg4LtzaNdlDtRtR6VpYq8GCYCEeSucMVPi_FEUjppZyKf_XxJHyjpAVxQpMrhyphenhyphenVzLFiUAp7G3Lq1idLls6NWCAOwf_wgUOCJ-rrbv1KozT1NG7g0vJjuaZ9nNoaSStcHtZzk1IwSjmp9_c_3tfq1JVfQinkMN5mbLEceEGBIqiPds_TMoy1l-25M/w250-h400/westy%20awards%202023.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>And so 2023 draws to a close. It's been another up-and-down year for me (Dude left for university in September and I can report that not only is empty-nest syndrome an actual thing, it's also bloody horrible), but it's been creatively satisfying and I've read a lot.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Which means that it's now time to indulge in the annual blog custom and remember the good books of 2023.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once again, it's been a great reading year for me (one more book than last year, as it happens), with a nice mix of brand new novels, a lot of books that have languished on my TBR pile for too long, some good second-hand finds (which jumped straight to the top of the pile) along with some welcome re-reads.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My target for the year was to read twelve biographies and I achieved it - some of them were good, a couple were dire, but some were absolutely brilliant (Sam Neill and Geena Davis, I'm looking at you).</div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As always, the top 20 places were hard fought and, I think, show a nice variety in genre and tone.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, without further ado, I present the Fifteenth Annual Westies Award - “My Best Fiction Reads Of The Year” - and the top 20 looks like this:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>1:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Double Indemnity, by James M Cain</div><div>2:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A Love Letter Christmas, by Sue Moorcroft</div><div>3:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>C Is For Corpse, by Sue Grafton</div><div>4:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Looking For Rachel Wallace, by Robert B Parker</div><div>5:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It's My Life, by Robert Leeson</div><div>6:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When You Comin' Back, Range Rider?, by Charles Heath</div><div>7:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D Is For Deadbeat, by Sue Grafton</div><div>8:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Point Blank, by Richard Stark</div><div>9:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Deep, by Peter Benchley</div><div>10:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Carnosaur, by Harry Adam Knight</div><div>11:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Are You Awake?, by Claire McGowan</div><div>12:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Night Shift, by Alex Finlay</div><div>13:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Burning Girls, by C J Tudor</div><div>14:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The IT Girl, by Ruth Ware</div><div>15:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nightfall, by John Farris</div><div>16:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Faithless, by John L Williams</div><div>17:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Ideal Couple, by Anna Willett</div><div>18:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gila!, by Les Simons</div><div>19:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Guilty Couple, by C L Taylor</div><div>20:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Video Night, by Adam Cesare</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>The Top 10 in non-fiction are:</div><div><br /></div><div><div>1:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>INXS: Story To Story, by Anthony Bozza & INXS<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>2:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Did I Ever Tell You This?, by Sam Neill</div><div>3:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dying Of Politeness, by Geena Davis</div><div>4<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>All About Me!, by Mel Brooks</div><div>5:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We Could Be Heroes, by Paul Burston</div><div>6:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Making Of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, by Derek Taylor</div><div>7:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Blondie, by Fred Shruers</div><div>8:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>England's Dreaming, by John Savage<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div>9:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chasing The Light, by Oliver Stone</div><div>10:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Director Should Have Shot You, by Alan Dean Foster<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Stats wise, I've read 89 books - 40 fiction, 28 non-fiction, 14 comics/nostalgia/kids and 7 Three Investigator mysteries.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of the 82 books, the breakdown is thus:</div><div><br /></div><div>12 biography<br />10 horror<br />16 film-related<br />4 drama (includes romance)<br />27 crime/mystery<br />4 sci-fi<br />0 nostalgia<br />9 humour</div><div><br /></div><div>All of my reviews are posted up at <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/798905-mark?shelf=read">Goodreads here</a></div><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;">In case you’re interested, the previous awards are linked to from here:</span></p><div><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-thirteenth-annual-westies-review-of.html">2021</a></span></div><div><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-twelth-annual-westies-review-of.html">2020</a><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-eleventh-annual-westies-review-of.html">2019<br /></a></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-tenth-annual-westies-review-of-year.html">2018<br /></a></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-ninth-annual-westies-review-of-year.html">2017<br /></a></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/the-eighth-annual-westies-review-of.html">2016<br /></a></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-seventh-annual-westies-review-of.html">2015<br /></a></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/the-sixth-annual-westies-review-of-year.html">2014<br /></a></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/the-fifth-annual-westies-review-of-year.html">2013<br /></a></span><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/the-fourth-annual-westies-review-of.html" style="background-color: white; color: #4d469c; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">2012<br /></a><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/year-in-books.html" style="background-color: white; color: #4d469c; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">2011<br /></a><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/my-top-reads-of-2010.html" style="background-color: white; color: #4d469c; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">2010<br /></a><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/and-this-year-ive-been-reading.html" style="background-color: white; color: #4d469c; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">2009</a></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-23934004342789035552023-11-13T09:00:00.009+00:002023-11-13T09:00:00.141+00:00The Ideal Couple, by Anna Willett<div style="text-align: left;"><div>I am pleased to be part of the blog tour for Anna Willett's new novel from <a href="https://thebookfolks.com">The Book Folks</a>, <b><i>The ideal Couple</i></b>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5v8M-Yv-4QnMLxJnUw_FQ9SpGGHP-lm6nJYnra0PDjcNd1gn-8RXItOpcMRZLSbhjToEKO5_WsBqPQclYegOTPBGxCqrhv3-0nYv3QNCEu5LfCtxgfCS-t71M0Nhnur20mUQYgOR41t1kntswL7_-drrh1FK2dmGzFxk8_F5sHvtypaWavnqG-qRj3ro/s700/The%20Ideal%20Couple%20by%20Anna%20Willet.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="437" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5v8M-Yv-4QnMLxJnUw_FQ9SpGGHP-lm6nJYnra0PDjcNd1gn-8RXItOpcMRZLSbhjToEKO5_WsBqPQclYegOTPBGxCqrhv3-0nYv3QNCEu5LfCtxgfCS-t71M0Nhnur20mUQYgOR41t1kntswL7_-drrh1FK2dmGzFxk8_F5sHvtypaWavnqG-qRj3ro/w400-h640/The%20Ideal%20Couple%20by%20Anna%20Willet.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>When detectives try to close a missing persons case, a small town’s twisted secrets begin to unravel…</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A couple disappear in a region of the outback known for its gold mining. Some three years on, there is still no trace of them.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Detective Veronika Pope is handed the cold case. It’s cold only in name. When she turns up to the godforsaken town where the couple were last seen, the heat is sweltering; suspicion simmering.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The detectives stay in the same seedy hotel as the couple did. The townsfolk aren’t welcoming. Nobody wants the cops probing into their affairs.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>From what Pope can gather, the missing duo were the perfect couple. Loving. Happy together. The picture of marital bliss.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Assuming a murder but missing a motive, the detectives do make progress. They might even find the bodies, as the trail is hot. Almost too hot to touch.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Pope is in serious danger of getting burned…</i></div></div><div><br /></div><div>* * *</div><div>My review:</div><div><div>Veronica Pope runs a cold case squad out of Perth and is called in, with her partner Jim, to investigate the disappearance of an apparently loving couple three years ago in the small outback town of Iron Creek. The red-dust coated ten streets are home to a hotel, a garage, a museum and a handful of people waiting for life to pass them by. The rest of Pope’s team are back at base, investigating the missing couple’s blended family and in-laws.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is the fourth book in the Pope series but the first I’ve read and, apart from a couple of mentions of previous cases and a tease of her past that looks like it will be resolved in book 5, it’s a solid standalone that I thoroughly enjoyed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Iron Creek literally comes to life, you can almost feel the heat and the oppressive dust and feel the knocks the townsfolk are taking. The characterisation is smart and brisk, giving us a life-story in a paragraph sometimes and leaving the reader to figure things out the next. The case itself is well plotted and constructed - it took me a while to get the main villain - and there’s plenty of grubbiness amongst the sweat to keep the attention as the pace crackles.</div><div><br /></div><div>An excellent read which I would highly recommend and now I’m going to dive into the earlier cases! </div><div><br /></div></div><div>* * *</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzWCA5XYX4TwyEMBvPFEJYSvosRZiHOlDbjUun8fXEJSt7dNUqBD5GJlW9rBYTG2IvYJaJurppTLjZDZa_IUlC2OvwD0p0Z8vRrmtvESKE7qKqRlf-u7LTZb-xejZH7TH072ev9Z2oOrvZ5k2U22cnYl6dAVOqxtSehJYAQSx5AQ-qLNfz_8wHq7WTEs/s1200/TIC%20W2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzWCA5XYX4TwyEMBvPFEJYSvosRZiHOlDbjUun8fXEJSt7dNUqBD5GJlW9rBYTG2IvYJaJurppTLjZDZa_IUlC2OvwD0p0Z8vRrmtvESKE7qKqRlf-u7LTZb-xejZH7TH072ev9Z2oOrvZ5k2U22cnYl6dAVOqxtSehJYAQSx5AQ-qLNfz_8wHq7WTEs/w640-h334/TIC%20W2.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>* * *</div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LAwzpy2CuyAAUzfaeUiU9qzekpYXrvGSQSK12J2LZzBWteTyGE4Qp-DGwBB1hWM_EqHoL-4JLhhFL5nBRXP2h0XTExE9pcKlUZ2UM_W_QYyUTdhqqonWU9irGwoK2E6pcaAyqCXgA1mLvkAFFEFQX4L69cvm8d5RUrQvXgKWON_TaKrk2zdIi7cU2P8/s499/anna-willett.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="497" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LAwzpy2CuyAAUzfaeUiU9qzekpYXrvGSQSK12J2LZzBWteTyGE4Qp-DGwBB1hWM_EqHoL-4JLhhFL5nBRXP2h0XTExE9pcKlUZ2UM_W_QYyUTdhqqonWU9irGwoK2E6pcaAyqCXgA1mLvkAFFEFQX4L69cvm8d5RUrQvXgKWON_TaKrk2zdIi7cU2P8/w199-h200/anna-willett.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><div>Anna Willett was born in the United Kingdom and emigrated to Australia with her family when she was six years old. She developed a love of reading thanks to her mother who introduced her to authors such as Stephen King, Mario Puzo and John Steinbeck to name just a few.</div><div><br /></div><div>Although her reading tastes are eclectic, when it comes to writing, Anna is drawn to thrillers and dark tales. Anna writes about the shadowy side of the human experience and how ordinary people cope in extraordinary situations. Common tropes in Anna’s writing include people who get into trouble after they leave the safety of the city and the rupturing of domestic bubbles in which those who one is supposed to trust become a threat.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anna lives in Western Australia with her husband and their two children. When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoy movies, dining out and bushwalking with her dogs.</div></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>THE IDEAL COUPLE is the fourth title in the Cold Case Mysteries series featuring Veronika Pope and the full list of books is as follows:</div><div><br /></div><div>1. THE WOMAN BEHIND HER</div><div>2. THE FAMILY MAN</div><div>3. THE NEWLYWED</div><div>4. THE IDEAL COUPLE</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>* * *</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKN2BalVPyZBZzE9elPVJ4Uk_gNAXKN0THioaAGp71iCKGw3oz5iaZKRSFvOV2Y7b7-tKEhed9ie66awyrNuJY4Pp689262zW_We2wCGGOFSdbyTi-0Up3UENJwYfoOHuzzAND_Y-j96zhCwKcbdluSBf_e1_RidnV3Oilb21ReSusL2EdmvQrIwxQnx4/s1080/TIC%20LU%20Full.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKN2BalVPyZBZzE9elPVJ4Uk_gNAXKN0THioaAGp71iCKGw3oz5iaZKRSFvOV2Y7b7-tKEhed9ie66awyrNuJY4Pp689262zW_We2wCGGOFSdbyTi-0Up3UENJwYfoOHuzzAND_Y-j96zhCwKcbdluSBf_e1_RidnV3Oilb21ReSusL2EdmvQrIwxQnx4/w640-h640/TIC%20LU%20Full.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>* * *</div><div><div><b><u>Purchasing links:</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div><div>UK: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CHJXJ7W5/">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CHJXJ7W5/</a></div><div>US: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHJXJ7W5/">https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHJXJ7W5/</a></div><div>AU: <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CHJXJ7W5/">https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CHJXJ7W5/</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Website: <a href="https://thebookfolks.com">https://thebookfolks.com</a></div><div>Website - <a href="https://www.annawillett.info/">https://www.annawillett.info/</a></div><div>Insta:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_book_folks/">@the_book_folks</a></div><div>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/thebookfolks">@thebookfolks</a></div><div>Facebook: <a href="http://facebook.com/thebookfolks">http://facebook.com/thebookfolks</a></div><div>Blog: <a href="https://thebookfolks.com/blog/">https://thebookfolks.com/blog/</a></div></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-23043613307952480842023-07-17T09:00:00.013+01:002023-07-17T09:00:00.145+01:00The Piper's Children, by Iain Henn<div style="text-align: left;">I am pleased to be part of the blog tour for Iain Henn's new novel from <a href="https://thebookfolks.com">The Book Folks</a>, <b><i>The Piper's Children</i></b>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyYrPs_EQpMYzEv0S5E7VSj8aV5Mp7bFT2M21rMfoIJyKI7_IonXWuxWWFh1JDOolHp-suzJZdp0X345fcOKj9-BPSxUsgemeei40tTXNTVS4sJ7oLydE0uYPwSZ9_60M6evcW5Zc1Sw2KxaVm8lQUZ4aj_ml9S3ZMNzfyP8F7wVSLLMD-7hpcXxIYRs/s875/the%20piper's%20children%20iain%20henn%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="542" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyYrPs_EQpMYzEv0S5E7VSj8aV5Mp7bFT2M21rMfoIJyKI7_IonXWuxWWFh1JDOolHp-suzJZdp0X345fcOKj9-BPSxUsgemeei40tTXNTVS4sJ7oLydE0uYPwSZ9_60M6evcW5Zc1Sw2KxaVm8lQUZ4aj_ml9S3ZMNzfyP8F7wVSLLMD-7hpcXxIYRs/w396-h640/the%20piper's%20children%20iain%20henn%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales.jpg" width="396" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>A baffling mystery sets an FBI agent on a dangerous path...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Park rangers are puzzled when a child is found wandering alone in the middle of </i><i>a forest near Seattle.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Stranger still, he speaks a peculiar language that sounds a little like German, </i><i>and is dressed in clothes people wore in the Middle Ages.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>With no one having reported him missing, FBI Special Agent Will McCord </i><i>assembles a dedicated unit to investigate the case, placing Detective Ilona Farris </i><i>at its head.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Their relationship is edgy. They used to be an item. But McCord knows Farris is </i><i>the best person for the job. Especially when more children turn up in similar </i><i>circumstances.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Farris isn’t convinced that she is in fact the right person. Memories of a </i><i>traumatic incident in her own childhood begin to emerge, and threaten to cloud </i><i>her judgement.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Can she bury her demons and solve the mystery of these children, seemingly </i><i>lost in time?</i></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">* * *</div><div style="text-align: left;">My review:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Starting with a bang - and a touch of surrealism - Henn hits the ground running and puts us straight into the story. Ilona Farris is drafted into a newly set up FBI team, headed by her ex-lover, when a boy is found in a Seattle forest speaking German and apparently on the run from the Pied Piper. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Things get a lot weirder from that point on, but the pacing and structure keep you completely on board at all times. Peopled with believable characters - the best of which is Farris herself, sporting both a secret and a terrifying experience from her childhood that will help the investigation - and a keen sense of location, this works perfectly and is never less than readable. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Red herrings abound, there’s a lot of suspense and weirdness as well as a plot that makes perfect sense once you discover all the details. I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to more stories about the team. Very highly recommended.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">* * *</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Born in Sydney, Australia, Iain Henn worked for many years in print media production for newspapers, magazines, and direct marketing agencies, and as a writer for small business websites.</div><div><br /></div><div>He has written fiction from a young age. Somewhere in his house, there is still a framed copy of his first published story, a ‘5-minute fiction’ tale in Woman’s Day. Since then, he has never looked back, having short stories published in various magazines worldwide, and now his suspenseful thrillers and mysteries. </div><div><br /></div><div>Commenting on what influenced his writing journey, he describes a moment that has stayed with him. On his first day in his first job, as a teenage messenger boy, he left the office via a back exit into a narrow alleyway where he saw the body of a man crumpled on the ground. He had just jumped out of a window from the neighbouring building. The paramedics were already approaching. When Iain returned an hour or so later, the body and the surrounding activity were gone, there was just a chalk outline on the ground where the body had been. Ever since he has wondered who that man was, what led him to suicide, and what his future might have been had he lived. Decades later, that chalk outline is often on the writer’s mind when telling the stories of his characters’ lives.</div><div><br /></div><div>Authors who have inspired Iain include Daphne Du Maurier, Ken Follett, Michael Crichton, Tess Gerritsen, Michael Robotham, and Harlen Coben. He lives on the New South Wales coast with his wife.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">* * *</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><u>Purchasing links:</u></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Universal Amazon Link - <a href="https://geni.us/ppBS">https://geni.us/ppBS</a></div><div><br /></div><div>UK: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C5XNK6W8">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C5XNK6W8</a></div><div>US: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/ B0C5XNK6W8">https://www.amazon.com/dp/ B0C5XNK6W8</a></div><div>CA: <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C5XNK6W8">https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C5XNK6W8</a></div><div>AU: <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C5XNK6W8">https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C5XNK6W8</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Website: <a href="https://thebookfolks.com">https://thebookfolks.com</a></div><div>Insta:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_book_folks/">@the_book_folks</a></div><div>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/thebookfolks">@thebookfolks</a></div><div>Facebook: <a href="http://facebook.com/thebookfolks">http://facebook.com/thebookfolks</a></div><div>Blog: <a href="https://thebookfolks.com/blog/">https://thebookfolks.com/blog/</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcsNiHxXCooAtMLxENc7jh3SY-fqgTlbOK5O9WVowykIcPcsFtEH3MR41GY3gBI6HMcn53IUdCpvbIGksXEAvSfF6G8SeAqq-cczRaCrswqHELVgqQxm_SHqZk0Q9jyIZ2sYGR6xrvvjrraEajVUpuyyvCbnAmZuX64VWnVa01cJ_iYyxfnH0bJfpmOU/s1200/TPC%20blog%20tour%20line-up%20W.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcsNiHxXCooAtMLxENc7jh3SY-fqgTlbOK5O9WVowykIcPcsFtEH3MR41GY3gBI6HMcn53IUdCpvbIGksXEAvSfF6G8SeAqq-cczRaCrswqHELVgqQxm_SHqZk0Q9jyIZ2sYGR6xrvvjrraEajVUpuyyvCbnAmZuX64VWnVa01cJ_iYyxfnH0bJfpmOU/w640-h334/TPC%20blog%20tour%20line-up%20W.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-87448033175275759092023-05-29T10:00:00.000+01:002023-05-29T10:00:00.154+01:00An Italian Island Summer, by Sue Moorcroft<div style="text-align: left;"><div>Regular readers of the blog will know I've been friends with <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/sue%20moorcroft">Sue Moorcroft</a> since we first met at the Kettering Writers Group in 1999 (we genre writers were consigned to the back of the room, where we had a great laugh). Since then she's gone from strength to strength, hitting number one in the Kindle Bestseller charts (with <i><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/the-christmas-promise-interview-with.html">The Christmas Promise</a>) </i>on her way to becoming a Sunday Times Best Seller, while her novel <i><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-summer-to-remember-by-sue-moorcroft.html">A Summer To Remember</a></i> won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel Award 2020. As well as featuring her a lot on blog (<a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/search/label/sue%20moorcroft">to see more, click this link</a>), I'm also pleased to be one of her beta-readers and thoroughly enjoyed her latest novel, <b><i>An Italian Island Summer</i></b>, which has just been published in paperback and e-book.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvr6THJoSc7EF1HtXW-vajYTX0TNtpZBkHJRpAYE07ozrWKtB1sY6b3QDzH57BflDJDXl05buZ-8nJaqjXOsGPdWTnLIoNQpH7bCT0oF0ZyzraMol1H1jP8XbubDXrPXiVLIajSweLIk-5vtvtD7C0IEj9g20q_CQb0cI52voGGox32xoIbpMJbrAa/s2048/sue%20moorcroft%20italian%20island%20summer%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1341" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvr6THJoSc7EF1HtXW-vajYTX0TNtpZBkHJRpAYE07ozrWKtB1sY6b3QDzH57BflDJDXl05buZ-8nJaqjXOsGPdWTnLIoNQpH7bCT0oF0ZyzraMol1H1jP8XbubDXrPXiVLIajSweLIk-5vtvtD7C0IEj9g20q_CQb0cI52voGGox32xoIbpMJbrAa/w420-h640/sue%20moorcroft%20italian%20island%20summer%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales.jpg" width="420" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Will one summer in Sicily change her life for ever?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>After her marriage falls apart, Ursula Quinn is offered the chance to spend the summer working at a hotel on a beautiful island off the coast of Sicily, Italy. Excited by a new adventure, she sets off at once.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>At Residenza dei Tringali, Ursula receives a warm welcome from everyone except Alfio, son of the Tringali family. He gave up his life in Barcelona to help his mother Agata with the ailing business, and is frustrated with Ursula’s interference – and she in turn is less than impressed with his attitude. As they spend more time together, though, they begin to see each other in a different light.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>But what with Ursula’s ex-husband on her tail, family secrets surfacing and an unexpected offer that makes Alfio question his whole life, there’s plenty to distract them from one another. Can she face her past and he his future, and together make the most of their Sicilian summer?</i></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">* * *</div><div><div>A new book by Sue is always welcome and this time we see the return of a character, Ursula, who played a role in one of her earlier novels. As always, there are plenty of twists and turns as we follow the story of Alfio and Ursula and part of the fun is watching the blocks put into their path and how they might get around.</div><div><br /></div><div>Told with Sue's usual sure-hand skill, the book moves at a good pace and is filled with characters who burst into life from the page. Family life, in all its forms, is well represented, there's a lovely and lovable cat and the antagonists are realistically horrible. With a well realised - and used - central location, a lovely atmosphere that is well maintained and some great writing, this is another winner!</div><div style="text-align: center;">* * *</div></div><div><center><br /></center><center>Buy the book from Amazon here</center><center><br /></center><center><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Italian-Island-Summer-gorgeous-romance/dp/0008525706/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">UK here</a></center><center><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Audible-An-Italian-Island-Summer/dp/B0BXM37FBN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2DWWAMQP6O5NF&keywords=An+Italian+Island+Summer&qid=1683802089&s=books&sprefix=an+italian+island+summer%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C183&sr=1-1">USA here</a></center><center><br /></center></div><div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAwwczJa9FcJV88PQfu2pYhFXf2SxFbOZIStwORkFUrust16gcxwEPmFYM34A-B3A7YdeYAC0Culc86EmmeiJ20po0__YyYScQ2PwMbJf3gs5SnoIi8M8zkdcCdwSUMVc0B523dRic30/s640/sue+moorcroft+mark+west+blog+interview+2016.jpg" /><br /><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/sue%20moorcroft">Sue Moorcroft</a> is an international bestselling author and has reached the #1 spot on Kindle UK. She’s won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel Award, Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award and the Katie Fforde Bursary. Published by HarperCollins in the UK, US and Canada and by other publishers around the world.<br /><br />Her short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared around the world.<br /><br />Born into an army family in Germany, Sue spent much of her childhood in Cyprus and Malta but settled in Northamptonshire at the age of ten. An avid reader, she also loves Formula 1, travel, family and friends, dance exercise and yoga.</div><div><center><br /></center></div><div>Website: <a href="http://www.suemoorcroft.com/">www.suemoorcroft.com</a></div><div>Blog: <a href="https://suemoorcroft.wordpress.com/%C2%A0">https://suemoorcroft.wordpress.com/ </a><br />Facebook: <a href="http://sue.moorcroft.3/">sue.moorcroft.3</a><br />Facebook author page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SueMoorcroftAuthor">https://www.facebook.com/SueMoorcroftAuthor</a><br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/SueMoorcroft">@suemoorcroft</a><br />Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/suemoorcroftauthor/">suemoorcroftauthor</a><br />LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/suemoorcroft">https://www.linkedin.com/in/suemoorcroft</a><br />Amazon author page: <a href="http://author.to/SueMoorcroft">Author.to/SueMoorcroft</a></div></div></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-54161687745645327872023-05-29T09:00:00.076+01:002023-05-29T09:00:00.144+01:00The Missing American, by Julie Highmore<div style="text-align: left;">I am pleased to be part of the blog tour for Julie Highmore, making her debut with The Book Folks with her novel <b><i>The Missing American</i></b>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQR46ciFYOKkjb2dYXgjFRkiQMt0RHX3ZvnulDnNFK5pvOkCeDLQFQ0somFvbZEMWMEzoGh6KuFrrExSX3rCZ5x7A5_QFpqp6DFd_WMLou_QWMKtMF-IiI22eJHsKWFbMvKenW2xd52ZiDgempXegrM2qhJY-umWPvmvtnBRk8bM53gZslUaZ1ATJY/s5120/Edie%20Fox%20book1%20the%20missing%20american%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5120" data-original-width="3200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQR46ciFYOKkjb2dYXgjFRkiQMt0RHX3ZvnulDnNFK5pvOkCeDLQFQ0somFvbZEMWMEzoGh6KuFrrExSX3rCZ5x7A5_QFpqp6DFd_WMLou_QWMKtMF-IiI22eJHsKWFbMvKenW2xd52ZiDgempXegrM2qhJY-umWPvmvtnBRk8bM53gZslUaZ1ATJY/w400-h640/Edie%20Fox%20book1%20the%20missing%20american%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>New to the private investigator game, Edie Fox is delighted when a handsome American client with disconcertingly dazzling teeth asks her to find his missing cousin, Isabella. Especially when he leaves her a bundle of cash to get started.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>However, the case quickly gets complicated, and so does her life when a one-night stand from her Oxford university days gets in touch and asks if her 26-year-old daughter, Maeve, is also his child. Judging a chaotic home, a brimming wine glass, a daughter besotted with her new-found daddy, and a rekindled old flame, Edie must try to focus on the job.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>But with unreliable witnesses, a less than trustworthy client, and an assistant with her mind on other things, Edie will be up against it and risks losing all.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>THE MISSING AMERICAN</b> is the first book in a series of hilarious cozy mysteries by bestselling author Julie Highmore. Look out for the next book in the series, <b>THE RUNAWAY HUSBAND</b>, coming soon!</i></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">* * *</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Edie Fox is new to the private investigating business and delighted when a handsome American client asks her to find his missing cousin, Isabella and hands over a bundle of cash. The case quickly gets complicated, however and so does her life when the father (a one-night-stand from her university days) of her twentysomething daughter Maeve, turns up out of the blue. With a chaotic home-life, a rekindled old flame and a job with unreliable witnesses and an untrustworthy client, Edie is up against it as she tries to find Isabella.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not well read in the cosy crime field but the blurb for this was intriguing and, with news that a second book is on the way, I decided to give it a go and I’m really glad I did. Told with a clear, dry voice, this reminded me of the hardboiled novels of the forties with Edie’s ever complicated homelife impeding on the case (and vice versa) and her observations about events were often very humorous. The case twists and turns, almost everyone’s a suspect and there’s a lovely sense of location (it’s set in the less desirable areas of Oxford) that really grounds the whole piece. It’s also not afraid to show the seamier side of life, which was refreshing. </div><div><br /></div><div>Edie is a fantastic character, fully rounded and believable and even though she’s an amateur, she puts the clues together well. With a varied and often eccentric supporting cast, all of them fully living and breathing and with plenty of smart lines to amuse, there was a touch of “The Beiderbecke Affair” about this and that just made me love it all the more. Very highly recommended.</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">* * *</div><div style="text-align: left;">The daughter of an RAF officer, Julie Highmore moved around a lot as a child but eventually settled in Oxford in her twenties. After having three children, she studied first at Westminster College, then Oxford Brookes University and gained a first class degree in English. As part of the course, she studied creative writing with Philip Pullman, who encouraged her to continue with her writing after graduation. This she did, and her published work includes nine rom-com novels, and more recently, a crime fiction series for The Book Folks.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div>When not writing, Julie enjoys music, binge-watching a good TV series, country strolls, doing the New York Times crossword and hanging out with her husband and ever-expanding family.</div><div><br /></div><div>Click here for more info on the writer: <a href="https://thebookfolks.com/author/julie-highmore/">https://thebookfolks.com/author/julie-highmore/</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Missing American</i></b> features the somewhat flawed, Oxford-based private investigator, Edie Fox; a single mother and very young grandmother who inadvertently gets her precious family caught up in her first big case. The Oxford she knows is based in the more edgy and diverse east of the city, full of small Victorian houses, students, cafes, delis and retired lecturers.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><u>Purchasing links</u></b></div><div>UK: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C23XYCKG/">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C23XYCKG/</a></div><div>US: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C23XYCKG/">https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C23XYCKG/</a></div><div>CA: <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C23XYCKG/">https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C23XYCKG/</a></div><div>AU: <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C23XYCKG">https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C23XYCKG</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Social Media links</u></b></div><div>Website: <a href="https://thebookfolks.com">https://thebookfolks.com</a></div><div>Insta:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_book_folks/">@the_book_folks</a></div><div>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/thebookfolks">@thebookfolks</a></div><div>Facebook: <a href="http://facebook.com/thebookfolks">http://facebook.com/thebookfolks</a></div><div>Blog: <a href="https://thebookfolks.com/blog/">https://thebookfolks.com/blog/</a></div><div>Julie’s Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/JulieHighmore">@JulieHighmore</a></div><div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauDSyuXkR20uJeNPPK67epI4UcZkj8UYwsOE1zeGSq8B9H9x-DPzFLqLnUKvE6Pcq9F6HKeJykMg7hPmfWUAmf0fmkKUMAmhr0PLkmV5omZgf6J9yCX2LA6fa36FZQfdM2TJ48HxYzwpkz94R-MwVF9I_x7R5ITlL_OqmC8XwCP-bZEu8Z_M0cdDN/s1200/TMA%20tour%20wide.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauDSyuXkR20uJeNPPK67epI4UcZkj8UYwsOE1zeGSq8B9H9x-DPzFLqLnUKvE6Pcq9F6HKeJykMg7hPmfWUAmf0fmkKUMAmhr0PLkmV5omZgf6J9yCX2LA6fa36FZQfdM2TJ48HxYzwpkz94R-MwVF9I_x7R5ITlL_OqmC8XwCP-bZEu8Z_M0cdDN/w640-h334/TMA%20tour%20wide.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-5175360997081944692023-04-24T09:00:00.041+01:002023-04-24T09:00:00.172+01:00The Name On The Bullet, by John Dean<div style="text-align: left;">I am pleased to be the first port of call on the latest blog tour from John Dean, a stablemate of mine at The Book Folks, who is promoting his new novel <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C1GNRDRS/"><b><i>The Name On The Bullet</i></b></a>, which was published on April 4th.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvnWRifsHRA7A_iP-at-xh9T2PhicU4-PaOPpH6qoXE59o1p3NuiSY8QQhhK8SBb27GdkBPuCyuhm9EolB7bkamAdEpRhL9HPwshpVwrkIC_bAD6zqOyremSP1Fgwp9JdlQvTzfNvr9SGTJWrBL2k88gUnhFsjmQ-BelIkvBhtsFHVl6L27SFmI_w/s1920/the%20name%20on%20the%20bullet%20john%20dean%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales.jpeg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvnWRifsHRA7A_iP-at-xh9T2PhicU4-PaOPpH6qoXE59o1p3NuiSY8QQhhK8SBb27GdkBPuCyuhm9EolB7bkamAdEpRhL9HPwshpVwrkIC_bAD6zqOyremSP1Fgwp9JdlQvTzfNvr9SGTJWrBL2k88gUnhFsjmQ-BelIkvBhtsFHVl6L27SFmI_w/w400-h640/the%20name%20on%20the%20bullet%20john%20dean%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>After a policeman is shot dead, DCI John Blizzard seizes a chance to settle old scores</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>When a high-profile detective on a reality TV cop show is killed, John Blizzard fancies old-school gangster Nathaniel Callaghan for the crime.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>With the aging boss’s control over his northern crime empire on the wane, Blizzard sees an opportunity to turn his associates against him. But MI5 are also in on the action, and the different departments are in danger of scuppering each other’s investigation.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Yet as skeletons clatter out of the closet, it dawns on Blizzard that things are not as clear cut as they seem.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Who had murder on their mind, and who wrote the name on the bullet?</i></div><div><br /></div><div>* * *</div><div><div>When a policeman fronting a reality TV cop show is killed, his colleague DCI John Blizzard seizes a chance to settle old scores with local gangster Nathaniel Callaghan, who appears to be behind the murder. But as the investigation continues, drawing in MI5 and other departments, it seems that things aren’t as clear cut as they seem.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is the eleventh book in the DCI Blizzard series and, thankfully, works perfectly well as a stand-alone since it’s the first of John Dean’s books I’ve read. This has plenty of twists and turns, some more surprisingly than others and the book was helped along by a keen sense of location and nice sense of humour. There are a lot of characters (I did have to go back with a couple of names, to check who they were) but they’re briskly introduced and work well, particularly with the little brushes of personal life we see (especially for Blizzard). The backstory is well constructed and details of it are fed out at a good interval, helping keep the reader off-guard. Told with a decent pace, some clever writing and a straightforward voice, this works really well and I’d very much recommend it.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>* * *</div></div><div style="text-align: left;">John Dean is a former journalist who worked on regional newspapers for 17 years before going freelance in 1997. As a freelance, he wrote for regional and national newspapers and for many magazines on subjects as diverse as crime, wildlife and business before retiring in March 2020 to concentrate on his crime fiction. He also runs creative writing courses. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">John lives in South West Scotland and his website can be found at <a href="http://johndean.ning.com/">http://johndean.ning.com/</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">THE NAME ON THE BULLET is the eleventh standalone murder mystery by John Dean to feature stalwart crime-solver DCI John Blizzard. The full list of books is as follows:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div>1. THE LONG DEAD</div><div>2. STRANGE LITTLE GIRL</div><div>3. THE RAILWAY MAN</div><div>4. THE SECRETS MAN</div><div>5. A BREACH OF TRUST</div><div>6. DEATH LIST</div><div>7. A FLICKER IN THE NIGHT</div><div>8. THE LATCH MAN</div><div>9. NO AGE TO DIE</div><div>10. THE VENGEANCE MAN</div><div>11. THE NAME ON THE BULLET</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The book can be picked up from Amazon on these links</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Free with Kindle Unlimited and available
in paperback and hardcover.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amazon
US: </span></b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1GNRDRS/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1GNRDRS/</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amazon
UK: </span></b><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C1GNRDRS/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C1GNRDRS/</span></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amazon
CA:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C1GNRDRS/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C1GNRDRS/</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amazon
AU:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C1GNRDRS/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C1GNRDRS/</span></a></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">You can follow the rest of the tour at these great blogs</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vRmkBbjIK7X6f-BOlQKAY4y1cB5Q7TQAPBMaQTsICU7r2QLaUhd7POMrVnIUwTn6mC_xQBikvR642GsKI4q9BxmED3toHcPyHGC4buHj0i4voRiKcNYiMr_KYB8_KYj3XP4-l1hAjXamRHeZOiJi3R86JGtqPdHD1PyqwdV1ShWYSdQDbCX2dl4y/s1080/THE%20NAME%20ON%20THE%20BULLET_John%20Dean_Schedule.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vRmkBbjIK7X6f-BOlQKAY4y1cB5Q7TQAPBMaQTsICU7r2QLaUhd7POMrVnIUwTn6mC_xQBikvR642GsKI4q9BxmED3toHcPyHGC4buHj0i4voRiKcNYiMr_KYB8_KYj3XP4-l1hAjXamRHeZOiJi3R86JGtqPdHD1PyqwdV1ShWYSdQDbCX2dl4y/w640-h640/THE%20NAME%20ON%20THE%20BULLET_John%20Dean_Schedule.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p></div></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-66897255514701001392023-03-27T09:00:00.000+01:002023-03-27T09:00:00.160+01:00Ten Most Memorable Times At The MoviesThis MEME originally did the rounds way back when but I thought it'd be nice to revisit it.<br />
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<i>"This is not about the best movies you've ever seen. Describe ten experiences watching a movie that stick in your mind as being particularly memorable - for whatever reason."</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnJlQ1EqedX5-DUXRM9weg_1r-KYa9Unib9ro6cNqAtPwwmIirg8d1zs3_oq57jL5vlm8QvBaGyiH47cgqSaLQ7rU00-nZ405wG561fNJ9izl8ebxM4K1TxKU8O0XrjHiXe4tZ7PEE_70/s1600/STARWARSTRIPLEBILL1SH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnJlQ1EqedX5-DUXRM9weg_1r-KYa9Unib9ro6cNqAtPwwmIirg8d1zs3_oq57jL5vlm8QvBaGyiH47cgqSaLQ7rU00-nZ405wG561fNJ9izl8ebxM4K1TxKU8O0XrjHiXe4tZ7PEE_70/s400/STARWARSTRIPLEBILL1SH.jpg" width="277" /></a></div>
<b><u><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/search/label/star%20wars">Star Wars</a></u></b><br />
Still my favourite film of all time, I saw this when it first came out in the UK in early 1978, when I was 9. As I've written about before (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2018/03/star-wars-in-look-in-40-years-ago.html">which you can read here</a>), I was very aware of the film and very eager to see it. We'd already tried to get into one showing but it was full, so Dad took me and my friend Claire back to Rothwell. We headed off down the Rec. to play - it was cold and there was a lot of fog - and only realised the time when we could hear Dad calling us, to go to the next showing. My main memory from that day is watching the Star Destroyer come over the camera in almost the first shot and I knew I’d never seen anything like it before in my life.<br />
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I was lucky enough to see it in the cinema a few more times - a double-bill with <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i> and then a triple-bill (what a marathon that was) with both <i>Empire</i> and <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-making-of-return-of-jedi-by-j-w.html"><i>Return Of The Jedi</i></a> - and I also caught the special editions at the cinema too.<br />
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Even better, I got to watch the films again with Dude and it was wonderful to re-experience them through his eyes!<br />
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<b><u>Dead Ringers</u></b><br />
My friend Craig & I went to the cinema a lot in the late 80s/early 90s, alternating between the <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2018/03/cinema-listing-blast-from-past.html">Kettering, Burton Latimer and Corby ‘theatres’</a>. Can’t do that now, can we, Mr Odeon? I’d loved David Cronenberg’s films since watching <i>Videodrome</i> (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2014/11/videodrome-at-31.html">which I wrote about here</a>) and <i>Scanners</i> in the mid-80s, so rushed along to see this. It wasn’t a popularly held view - including me and Craig, there were only 6 people in the cinema. It’s the quietest I’ve ever heard an audience file out - all of us looked shocked and white faced - but what a brilliant film it is.<br />
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<b><u>Basic Instinct</u></b><br />
Not the greatest film ever, I know but Alison & I went out as mates on a cinema trip to The Point in Milton Keynes. We booked a double bill, watched <i>Waynes World</i> first and then went to get something to eat. Midway through I asked her to go out with me so therefore our first film as a couple was Verhoven’s sleazy thriller. Well, it could be worse…<br />
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<b><u>The Land Before Time</u></b><br />
Back in the late 80s, I often took my kid sister Sarah to the cinema during school holidays (video was starting to get a real grip, but we didn’t have a player, so the only place to see big Disney films was at the flicks). I picked this particular film out of the many because it vividly reminds me, every time I think of it, of the difference between kids and adults (I would have been in my late teens, Sarah around 5 or 6). One of the dinosaurs’ mothers dies, right near to the start and the kids in the audience went mental (it was quite a spectacular death if I remember rightly), laughing and shouting. I thought it was very sad and looked around, trying to see if I was alone in that and wiping away a stray tear. Turns out I wasn’t - whilst most of the kids were thoroughly enjoying themselves, most of the adults seemed to have <i>“something in their eye”</i>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQjIiosok1zVf-B3FZdYlkO4orZJCduG5xQUgGObpIZUTBUd2tZZtueDUgZU-KTFwCyaCrpuujazMSYPUT6vWWssnqwB-zwRwrvixGqu6oMUTJueUapFHEE4HEOUkSZ-v2v2yqhkYytX6/s1600/faux_semblants,2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQjIiosok1zVf-B3FZdYlkO4orZJCduG5xQUgGObpIZUTBUd2tZZtueDUgZU-KTFwCyaCrpuujazMSYPUT6vWWssnqwB-zwRwrvixGqu6oMUTJueUapFHEE4HEOUkSZ-v2v2yqhkYytX6/s640/faux_semblants,2.jpg" width="640" /></a><b><u>Whore</u></b><br />
I went to see this at The Point, in Milton Keynes, with a friend of mine called Julie. It was my suggestion - I'd enjoyed the Ken Russell films I'd seen to that point and I liked Theresa Russell a lot. The film started. It was vile. It got worse. To date - and I’ve seen a lot of films at the cinema - this is only film I’ve ever walked out of.<br />
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<b><u>Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger</u></b><br />
1977 - my friends and I went on our own to a matinee showing of this (I assume none of our parents wanted to sit through it). The cinema was chaotic, popcorn everywhere, a lot of noise and we 8 year olds were thrilled to be there on our own. The noise quietened down during the film and I remember I liked it - a feeling no doubt helped because of the presence of Ms Lambs Navy Rum herself, Caroline Munro (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2011/11/i-met-caroline-munro.html">who, many years later, I got to meet - as I wrote about here</a>). A friend of mine, who’d already seen the film, kept telling me about this huge seal that came out of the ice to attack the goodies and I was, quite frankly, terrified. Then I saw it and, for the first time, realised that my imagination, on occasion, could be far more powerful than what film-makers could get on the screen.<br />
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<b><u>Fatal Attraction</u></b><br />
For our first date (<i>I do pick them, don’t I?</i>), I took my new girlfriend Sara to see this at the Northampton ABC - a beautiful old Art Deco theatre, complete with a balcony and organ that came out of the stage, which is now a Jesus Army Centre (thanks for that, Mr Out-Of-Town Multiplex). I enjoyed the film and, as soon as it appeared that Glenn Close was dead in the bath, I knew what was going to happen. This is why, when she leapt out of the water only to be shot by Ann Archer, I was watching the rest of the cinema-goers rather than the screen. And I swear it was as if everyone moved into the seat directly behind them, a living, screaming ripple effect. I’ve never seen anything like it since.<br />
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<b><u>Star Trek III: The Search For Spock</u></b><br />
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Never the biggest Star Trek fan, I don't think I'd even see <i>Wrath Of Khan</i> (probably my favourite of them all) when this was released but one of the tabloids offered free tickets if you queued at the nearest relevant cinema and that seemed like a good idea. The closest one to us was the Northampton ABC so me, my friend Steve and his sister spent a happy few hours in the queue, chatting to our fellow would-be patrons. We got the tickets, I enjoyed the film and later wrote an essay about the day, which won an English prize that year at school.<br />
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<b><u><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2016/07/raiders-of-lost-ark-at-35-miniatures.html">Raiders Of The Lost Ark</a></u></b><br />
<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2014/04/my-friend-nick.html">Nick</a> (who I've known since 1976 and is still my best friend) and I had a falling out during the summer of 1981. Not being friends wasn’t at all pleasant but, typically for pre-teens, as horrible as it was neither of us was going to back down (and I can’t even remember what caused us to fall out). It just so happened that, at the same time, <i>Raiders Of The Lost Ark</i> arrived at the cinema and nobody I knew wanted to see it - they either didn’t like spiders or snakes or ghosts. Quite by chance, our mum’s met in the high street and, whilst talking, discovered both of us wanted to see the film but didn't have anyone to go and see it with. I can’t remember now who made the first move but we made up, went to see the film and haven’t fallen out since. The irony is that now I like horror films and Nick doesn’t, yet it was me at the time who covered his eyes when the first ‘angel’ turns into a ghoul at the climax! It's a fact Nick has never let me forget.<br />
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A brilliant, stirring film, <i>Raiders </i>remains one of my all-time favourites.<br />
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<b><u>An American Werewolf In London</u></b><br />
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I've long been a fan of the film (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2016/11/an-american-werewolf-in-london-at-35.html">I wrote a retrospective on it here</a>) and adore it but had only ever seen it at home or with friends, first on murky VHS, then on gorgeous DVD (where I finally realised the figure steaming in the night air was the original werewolf and not Jack, as I'd always thought). When a company called Luna Flix began showing open air films at Stanwick Lakes, my friend David & I jumped at the chance to go and see this, the evening of the showing coinciding with a full moon, which was terrific. The film looked gorgeous, it was great to see it under the stars and on a big screen and the whole experience was great fun (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2015/08/beware-moon-lads-american-werewolf.html">I wrote about it here</a>).<br />
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I could also discuss the <i><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2018/07/live-let-die-at-45.html">Live & Let Die</a>/<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-spy-who-loved-me-at-40.html">The Spy Who Loved Me</a></i> double-bill my Dad took me to see, in 1978 - the first Bond films I’d ever seen at the cinema (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/live-let-die-at-40.html">but I already did, in-depth, at this blog post</a>).<br />
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<i>So what are your memorable moments?</i>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-47431275703623673952023-03-13T09:00:00.000+00:002023-03-13T09:00:00.172+00:00The Restless Bones - a bit of nostalgia<div style="text-align: left;">Back in the day, when I was at Junior school, we had a thing called The Bookworm Club. It must have been a nationwide organisation (I vaguely remember a catalogue, though I can’t find any info about it on the Net) but what happened at Rothwell Juniors was that a stall was set up in the hall and you went in and bought any books that took your fancy (there was also something with collecting vouchers and saving them on a card). I enjoyed it because it was aimed towards me (bookshops in those days weren’t, particularly, kid friendly), I could pick what I wanted and they had some great titles to choose from.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One of my first purchases was <b><i>The Restless Bones</i></b>, edited by the great Peter Haining.<br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqAq90jXOIYLI8gufL8qz8YXdlMGjiOzBxjeH6uymkdr7XrLJdmP6HB-uiGM2EDqWau9cCkechg3eK8jydHDIf5IcxXMEGeAdYBImEoZ3JFTbdeUS_mviU7nUK5j_MciRxPVeyDavFTJxH0wP_5xbQa5p7dxrbisLD8V_uFz7_pPDkhslLSovvD6Q/s1600/1978%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales%20childhood%20nostalgia%20peter%20haining%20armada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="987" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqAq90jXOIYLI8gufL8qz8YXdlMGjiOzBxjeH6uymkdr7XrLJdmP6HB-uiGM2EDqWau9cCkechg3eK8jydHDIf5IcxXMEGeAdYBImEoZ3JFTbdeUS_mviU7nUK5j_MciRxPVeyDavFTJxH0wP_5xbQa5p7dxrbisLD8V_uFz7_pPDkhslLSovvD6Q/w394-h640/1978%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales%20childhood%20nostalgia%20peter%20haining%20armada.jpg" width="394" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>cover scan of my copy</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i>The Restless Bones & Other True Mysteries</i></b>, edited by Peter Haining, is a slim Armada paperback that has no copyright/publishers information in it at all, though I believe it was published in 1978. The cover was painted by Alun Hood, whilst the interior illustrations were the work of Ellis Nadler.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9nRxHmLfVHZsXsTqzaoB1wGzAkuW5prNZxef5XGGLQ7q7HRyJlJitMPFrfVY7DYeX7bvYB3qud9jHfs7cnPfAbGpM0yPguT1Sp6thZXv0gXeIm5j5j5_tbfVFbmIe51kUYN7E9xMzT0J/s1600/rb2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9nRxHmLfVHZsXsTqzaoB1wGzAkuW5prNZxef5XGGLQ7q7HRyJlJitMPFrfVY7DYeX7bvYB3qud9jHfs7cnPfAbGpM0yPguT1Sp6thZXv0gXeIm5j5j5_tbfVFbmIe51kUYN7E9xMzT0J/s400/rb2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(left - "The Restless Bones" are discovered - right - "The Thing From Outer Space")</i></div><br />Peter Haining (1940-2007) was a journalist, author and anthologist from Suffolk, who was Editorial Director at New English Library before becoming a full-time writer in the early 70s. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories and wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics, sometimes using the pen names ‘Ric Alexander’ and ‘Richard Peyton’ for crime anthologies. He won the British Fantasy Society Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjli7bx0Y9LmvmG1dYwjtunmzaBLS3_mu3JHfIpHCYUZl5oW1lJN_Nh1NC6m9yu-cUQkhYZUe2OMIRioXCYsQzk5jMWihr77t9zSz3Mbv03_QsrLjIX8sNU7gPAjc7U3ALHwlGw3j2UluqW/s1600/rb3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjli7bx0Y9LmvmG1dYwjtunmzaBLS3_mu3JHfIpHCYUZl5oW1lJN_Nh1NC6m9yu-cUQkhYZUe2OMIRioXCYsQzk5jMWihr77t9zSz3Mbv03_QsrLjIX8sNU7gPAjc7U3ALHwlGw3j2UluqW/s640/rb3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><i>The Restless Bones</i></b> contains ten stories:<br />The Restless Bones, The Winged Monster of the Desert, The Terror Of The Dragon, The Mystery of the Loup-Garou, Old Roger’s Vengeance, The Witch’s Familiars, The Call of Darke’s Drum, The Trail of the Devil’s Fooprints, The Thing From Outer Space and The Voice In The Graveyward. “I have drawn on the large file of material I have collected over the years about events and experiences which are fantastic - but factual” is Haining’s comment on their origins, as he writes in his introduction.<br /><br />The killer story for me was “The Voice in the Graveyard”, wherein teenaged Richard, in 1964 Wisconsin, accepts a challenge to spend the night in a graveyard, all on his own. As I write this - a grown man far removed from the nine-year-old me reading it over the 1978 summer holidays, I can still remember the frisson of fear that ran through me when Richard hears a whispering voice plead, “<i>…help us…</i>”<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0dAJuJUhiUTb86KTl53NEg2v-gZOnQdIqPYAoLkiSwWp4j41PILXKFbaBpj2kbVG1Tezfe1pLRR_Pjic-jyNxuRdvkBBn93q2JV1LoKr11rz0IGcU48eK1H6kmu1AJpQPHYXCzubVsy4X/s1600/Restless+Bones+08.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0dAJuJUhiUTb86KTl53NEg2v-gZOnQdIqPYAoLkiSwWp4j41PILXKFbaBpj2kbVG1Tezfe1pLRR_Pjic-jyNxuRdvkBBn93q2JV1LoKr11rz0IGcU48eK1H6kmu1AJpQPHYXCzubVsy4X/s400/Restless+Bones+08.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Well presented, with a good range of mysteries, this kept my attention well and steered me further into the path of horror and the supernatural (the devil's footprints being backed up by Arthur C. Clarke, of course).<br /><br />I'm also proud to say that this book still stands on my bookshelf - it looks a little beaten up around the edges, but it's holdings its own.<br /><br /></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-38956763766287760242023-02-27T09:00:00.000+00:002023-02-27T09:00:00.153+00:00If You Think Reading Is Boring...Regular readers of the blog will know I've been writing my own stories since I was eight, but reading for longer than that. I take reading seriously, I take book collecting seriously and I'm a real advocate for people losing themselves in a book. And since it's World Book Day on Thursday, what better time to start than now?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLNbasQ0g_JBwqqYSSK_2iHQ1OGkAPL5ZIfUV_Ba8dyf0HDLV3TDLzzrVvi-uymeMaNSY7L3zzpiJziJxSIP6PYnhuahw81lGiA4r5ieqOoaO1kio2gyTX_FlVdfor1sUsOnjBiM2I53f/s1600/wilbanks1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="483" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLNbasQ0g_JBwqqYSSK_2iHQ1OGkAPL5ZIfUV_Ba8dyf0HDLV3TDLzzrVvi-uymeMaNSY7L3zzpiJziJxSIP6PYnhuahw81lGiA4r5ieqOoaO1kio2gyTX_FlVdfor1sUsOnjBiM2I53f/s640/wilbanks1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I love the tactile nature of books (I've still not converted to Kindle yet), I love the smell of books, I love the delight of finding a new bookshop and losing myself amongst the shelves (especially 2nd hand ones). In these current times, I'm really missing that.<br />
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I love the delight of finding a new author to enjoy, I love the thrill of starting a new book and falling in love with the style and the characters and the flow of the language and I love the sense of satisfaction - mixed with a certain sense of loss - when you close the book for the last time and put it on your lap and rub the cover and want to say "<i>thanks, mate, I enjoyed that</i>".<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Y-lVOlzPjYfwP6Beh8f8_36nc2JV2KaLUR7lswwZy9yu7C7QcWWchAfoeOE24GYp7uA4v-daPgz8gztphglwwGMJ-Cq7yK8Xx5nu85WVxqAqDl0kG0jpbqn_yKrbxfHn5HgVk83YZjxw/s1600/bennet+writing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Y-lVOlzPjYfwP6Beh8f8_36nc2JV2KaLUR7lswwZy9yu7C7QcWWchAfoeOE24GYp7uA4v-daPgz8gztphglwwGMJ-Cq7yK8Xx5nu85WVxqAqDl0kG0jpbqn_yKrbxfHn5HgVk83YZjxw/s640/bennet+writing.jpg" width="274" /></a></div>The book can be anything you want and you don't have to spend a lot of money on a glossy hardback, or read a certain title just because it's at the top of the charts. Outside of lockdowns, go to the library (if you have any left near you) or buy a paperback, or download an ebook, or go into a second hand or charity shop (when you can) and pick up something for 20p. It doesn't matter how you do it, it doesn't matter what you read, just pick something up and open the cover and start.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dude, in 2014, reading his latest Coronet Snoopy collection and me, in a B&B in Bridlington in 1988, reading my latest horror anthology purchase</i></td></tr>
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And here's an icon of our times, who enjoyed reading...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZb4w7Pt0fdnUYaCyrkKF5sgTDlalw5LBUE1IijFbCqo2qFCze_2wvDWsCF0XWvOuTKEvkyT9yb6QHlTj7ZnQp5px0LqGUO1dJWsCPbtWoFOo1PutUIdQNFInAXizrwg_YjT-h1Xb7p4j/s1600/Marilyn+Monroe_reading+and+writing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZb4w7Pt0fdnUYaCyrkKF5sgTDlalw5LBUE1IijFbCqo2qFCze_2wvDWsCF0XWvOuTKEvkyT9yb6QHlTj7ZnQp5px0LqGUO1dJWsCPbtWoFOo1PutUIdQNFInAXizrwg_YjT-h1Xb7p4j/s640/Marilyn+Monroe_reading+and+writing.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-23579005332874709152023-02-20T09:00:00.006+00:002023-02-20T09:00:00.164+00:00"Don't Go Back" - Happy Book Birthday!<div style="text-align: left;"><div>Although it doesn't seem quite possible, my debut mainstream thriller <b><i><a href="https://mybook.to/DontGoBack">Don't Go Back</a></i></b>, published by those fine people <a href="https://thebookfolks.com/">The Book Folks</a>, is a year old!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOKf2EX6rHTWcAPHoySe2xiiGVolYq01kxGtBleoDPPCzKp933HZ_GpSacDxZdiZyPHH-gRWofqs11IIwS7LYwxCQyCQcNJmttjr42JabfFEcfuufQBXzxAlyz714AezaHeBP_gU3RmTdzYbliYgxcyJ42wy-ukzghNq5aGz6yoY7SC_CL4w3hQpYB=s2560" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOKf2EX6rHTWcAPHoySe2xiiGVolYq01kxGtBleoDPPCzKp933HZ_GpSacDxZdiZyPHH-gRWofqs11IIwS7LYwxCQyCQcNJmttjr42JabfFEcfuufQBXzxAlyz714AezaHeBP_gU3RmTdzYbliYgxcyJ42wy-ukzghNq5aGz6yoY7SC_CL4w3hQpYB=w400-h640" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>A captivating thriller about a woman whose past suddenly catches up with her</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>When Beth receives news that a once-close friend has died, after years away she reluctantly returns to the seaside town where she grew up.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Beth becomes increasingly unsettled as she attends the funeral, encounters people from her past, and visits her teenage haunts.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>She is forced to take herself back to the awful summer when she left for good. Yet it is not just memories that are resurfacing, but simmering resentments.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Someone else hasn’t quite so readily put their past behind them, and unwittingly Beth will become the key to their catharsis.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>As she puts two and two together, the question is: whatever possessed her to return?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>DON’T GO BACK </b>is a truly nail-biting read that will appeal to fans of Claire McGowan, Vanessa Garbin, Teresa Driscoll, Linwood Barclay and Anna Willett.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>This is the best book you’ll read all year!</i></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">* * *</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDc-YJm_TTQhiSN7i258eSo9y5cvZF_teB35MwgS8ZhsfwzXV0y7Qo57NxHw2su6kaFw6vM8k97CwTfxe0DH0ngVqiXW99CjU08PRSNBDMXSe2ja3lfq5BwZmwetXKpNBhUY0RqegxuStT-ZBcDG3UGHY05asE-gBX2_5lqZebnTvw9_MIf56jWvw/s1600/dgb%20postcard%20promo2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="1600" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDc-YJm_TTQhiSN7i258eSo9y5cvZF_teB35MwgS8ZhsfwzXV0y7Qo57NxHw2su6kaFw6vM8k97CwTfxe0DH0ngVqiXW99CjU08PRSNBDMXSe2ja3lfq5BwZmwetXKpNBhUY0RqegxuStT-ZBcDG3UGHY05asE-gBX2_5lqZebnTvw9_MIf56jWvw/w640-h410/dgb%20postcard%20promo2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>The book is set in Seagrave (a British seaside town that feels very much like Great Yarmouth and is, indeed, just down the coast from Lowestoft) and told in two timelines, which were great fun to write. My good friend David Roberts & I plotted it out on one of our Friday Night Walks and I wrote it during the lockdowns (which might explain why the first draft was twice as long as the second!). The novel took a few twists and turns in its progress from idea to finished tale and the novel features tension and suspense, some scary parts, some funny bits and a few sad moments too. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>Having come out of the UK horror small press I wasn't entirely sure what to expect but the reaction has been better than I could have imagined. People - some my friends from real life (Ross Warren deserves a mention for leading the charge) and Facebook, others I had never interacted with - were hugely helpful and supportive, sharing my posts and tolerating me talking about the book a lot and letting their friends and followers know that <b><i>Don't Go Back</i></b> was out there.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguL843evixWOECeExBJRnVQlbU3dh23M8I9MnL5jQOUSTq6yOst5VQKy4vyFH0wnde8iAJJdg8VYKKW3IoCHo49I8RuVuzxd7OQsR4afIyFLGRYuzo6CEUEvoUfDyoNrgmaeJooTUmMk1BtRwTS9Yb0UxL00HK7itspSop-bp_KN3H5NOrMUpNmL7x/s1056/DGB%20promo4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1056" height="606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguL843evixWOECeExBJRnVQlbU3dh23M8I9MnL5jQOUSTq6yOst5VQKy4vyFH0wnde8iAJJdg8VYKKW3IoCHo49I8RuVuzxd7OQsR4afIyFLGRYuzo6CEUEvoUfDyoNrgmaeJooTUmMk1BtRwTS9Yb0UxL00HK7itspSop-bp_KN3H5NOrMUpNmL7x/w640-h606/DGB%20promo4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div>The book has acquitted itself well over the year and, as I write this, it's sitting with 1,025 ratings on Amazon and a 4.1/5 average. I'm grateful to everyone who's bought a copy and left a rating or review (Steve Bacon posted his to<a href="https://stephenbacon.co.uk/2022/03/05/dont-go-back-by-mark-west"> his blog here</a>). People seem to have taken well to the dual timeline which is pleasing because the writing process for that and trying to get it all tied together seemed - at times - to be a never-ending headache.</div><div><br /></div><div>Like most writers, I create the stories because they're in my head and I enjoy the process of getting them out onto paper but to know that someone else derives pleasure from it makes all those painful parts (why won't this character do what I want her to, why isn't this part working, why on earth did I think it was a good idea to have a dual timeline?) worthwhile.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5cWF3HJqDqtzNx9JPcyLPnNdoL3U9VBTH2IZOHsdPSs9zQi3WBBagkBVlZdqwYErtLXE-SAOE-bZe35M9cUuWLFVQ3x1XPg6K2AW0mKDOsMqf7ocUHAIOIn1rdJ_XmDCfmv6zv3BLccw0pjpgO6_56quJuvZFoIKvlWswdRhlaHKx0lakj8Y-Whv/s1600/dont%20go%20back%20postcard%20seagrave%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales%20the%20book%20folks.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5cWF3HJqDqtzNx9JPcyLPnNdoL3U9VBTH2IZOHsdPSs9zQi3WBBagkBVlZdqwYErtLXE-SAOE-bZe35M9cUuWLFVQ3x1XPg6K2AW0mKDOsMqf7ocUHAIOIn1rdJ_XmDCfmv6zv3BLccw0pjpgO6_56quJuvZFoIKvlWswdRhlaHKx0lakj8Y-Whv/w640-h408/dont%20go%20back%20postcard%20seagrave%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales%20the%20book%20folks.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div>And if there's anyone you think might like a dual timeline thriller novel set in an English seaside town with some funny bits, a few scary bits, a couple of sad bits and a whole lot of suspense, please tell them all about <b><i>Don't Go Back</i></b>.<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglxsyXpvbPpo-qwMrw32NMOUB-fYX_X1QKoHhp0HkBfBziHaZ-Eplg2khc92-aYSrUOWcRGxe9HDgGOidnUjSXCHOC6vy9rElptqG9p783Yov5ZaH8u6foCrdqFMcVj5Tf4z6PyVP8Ddkvk3ErhFwhFPtBlThTnZerWsPiNVBh1JP0FUz__b80M-KX=s1024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1024" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglxsyXpvbPpo-qwMrw32NMOUB-fYX_X1QKoHhp0HkBfBziHaZ-Eplg2khc92-aYSrUOWcRGxe9HDgGOidnUjSXCHOC6vy9rElptqG9p783Yov5ZaH8u6foCrdqFMcVj5Tf4z6PyVP8Ddkvk3ErhFwhFPtBlThTnZerWsPiNVBh1JP0FUz__b80M-KX=w640-h454" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MarkWestWrites">Join my Facebook page - MarkWestWrites - on this link</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mybook.to/DontGoBack"><b>Click here for the universal Amazon book-link</b></a></div><div><br /></div><div><center><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=strangetales-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=1913516377&asins=1913516377&linkId=8802ddcbb3ea44270c22d34ff1e985b7&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
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</iframe></center><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Tell all your friends!</b></i></div></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-29804473832573658552023-02-06T09:00:00.000+00:002023-02-06T09:00:00.173+00:00The Shelter, by James Everington - Redux Reviews 2<div style="text-align: left;">Welcome to the second edition of the thread where I revisit reviews of books by friends and writers I admire, to highlight the works for readers who might have missed them the first time they appeared.</div><div><br /></div><div>This time it's <b><i>The Shelter</i></b>, by James Everington, a novella I originally reviewed in 2013.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieb8hHpCwKIdLm9Eu3UKFzEdL71LZocYqx7hSQEthLvJgHx07VfAKzrEIRj8hSWjEg1ibGy8rJIX1Rq_ochIoMap47m3nKfcvZeMM36I0YFtNjXMl5g2bwCfFLAcRnig3uoMcAI9my88Iw/s1600/shelter+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieb8hHpCwKIdLm9Eu3UKFzEdL71LZocYqx7hSQEthLvJgHx07VfAKzrEIRj8hSWjEg1ibGy8rJIX1Rq_ochIoMap47m3nKfcvZeMM36I0YFtNjXMl5g2bwCfFLAcRnig3uoMcAI9my88Iw/s640/shelter+cover.jpg" width="450" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>It’s a long, drowsy summer at the end of the 1980s, and Alan Dean and three of his friends cross the fields behind their village to look for a rumoured WW2 air raid shelter. Only half believing that it even exists beyond schoolboy gossip, the four boys nevertheless feel an odd tension and unease. </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>And when they do find the shelter, and go down inside it, the strange and horrifying events that follow will test their adolescent friendships to breaking point, and affect the rest of their lives...</i></div><br />During the long summer of 1989, thirteen year-old Alan Dean hung around with three friends - Mark, Tom and Duncan. Mark was a charismatic bully, a bad seed who was used to getting what he wanted and when he suggested the four of them explore an old shelter, they all agreed. At the same time, a local boy called Martin had gone missing and the newspapers are asking if a killer’s on the loose but once Alan and his friends find the shelter, they experience something strange and horrifying that will change all their lives forever.<br /><br />I love coming-of-age tales and I love eighties nostalgia and so, as my introduction to the writing of James Everington, this couldn’t have gone much better at all. Although he’s at the opposite end of the decade to me (in terms of points of reference), he perfectly evokes a long boring summer to the extent that the reader can almost feel the prickly heat and hear the flies buzzing and there’s nothing that knocks this illusion at all. The characters are well drawn, though Alan - who narrates - is probably the only one most people will identify with - Tom and Duncan are herd animals, not quite smart enough to strike out on their own and instead happy to be the muscle, whilst Mark is almost chilling in his relentness need to be in control, though Everington spotlights his vulnerability well as the story progresses. The peer pressure too is well evoked, with the other boys being two years old than Alan, so he goes along them with because he’s too scared not to, plus he likes the increased social status their comradeship gives him.<br /><br />The shelter itself is a superb invention, very real and with a claustrophobic atmosphere that is almost tangible. When Alan sees what he sees, we’re there on the ladder with him and equally desperate for release.<br /><br />With an afterword that explains where the story came from, which is interesting in itself, this is an excellent novella. It has good pace, believable characters, a nice use of location and a sureness in the telling that pulls the reader through. A wonderful exploration of powerful, quiet horror, this is well worth a read and highly recommended.<div><br /><div><br /></div><div>The novella is available from Amazon <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shelter-James-Everington/dp/1484083237/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">as a paperback here</a> and<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shelter-James-Everington-ebook/dp/B005NRQV80/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr="> as an ebook here</a>.<br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKZ2SwHIFkMe-BsfLPVFFJ_u7vS5BJue6SLOfzH4uHDCfjkdgibYIZw6iZn9z5AWA5WjmDHBq2RfLHjJmLv2ESFa8flEltDZ5CpAqJsidioqerNTFVIfwgw8hE9l5C-Wv-1Tlx_Dy9WoRUqZc6ACuERKbkVjAvqQiZ1F4n3Hzrol8MjYan9tQ5K-o/s380/redux%20reviews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="380" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKZ2SwHIFkMe-BsfLPVFFJ_u7vS5BJue6SLOfzH4uHDCfjkdgibYIZw6iZn9z5AWA5WjmDHBq2RfLHjJmLv2ESFa8flEltDZ5CpAqJsidioqerNTFVIfwgw8hE9l5C-Wv-1Tlx_Dy9WoRUqZc6ACuERKbkVjAvqQiZ1F4n3Hzrol8MjYan9tQ5K-o/s320/redux%20reviews.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>James & I first met at Andromeda Con in Birmingham in 2013 (which I wrote about here), though we'd been chatting through social media for a while. We instantly hit it off and I quickly became a big fan of his excellent writing. When he told me about The Shelter, which originally appeared in 2011, it sounded right up my street and proved to absolutely be so.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our friendship endures to this day and his writing just gets better and better (he's been reviewed in The Guardian, don't you know!).<br /><br /><div><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-crusty-exterior-in-london.html">James & I are co-founding members of The Crusty Exterior</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8DDQd5TO8liddNx_9inJsYCyRfP3X0n4iq6YpmO_uWXfbHXZOdT2FwzWYIrV4b6jixPxc20l32gYM7X8MB-PRBx2ZLkH-QUSPYyzRlKowp2T_rRC4BhAUg2oQW7Au_7eB0xH4PlABVmKmdnzh7ehsZwcXZYe05pMv2lKT0tbj4ZLbWaBbaTC9Qxf/s2048/sledge-lit%203%20derby%2025%20november%202017%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales%202%20James%20everington%20alison%20littlewood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8DDQd5TO8liddNx_9inJsYCyRfP3X0n4iq6YpmO_uWXfbHXZOdT2FwzWYIrV4b6jixPxc20l32gYM7X8MB-PRBx2ZLkH-QUSPYyzRlKowp2T_rRC4BhAUg2oQW7Au_7eB0xH4PlABVmKmdnzh7ehsZwcXZYe05pMv2lKT0tbj4ZLbWaBbaTC9Qxf/w640-h480/sledge-lit%203%20derby%2025%20november%202017%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales%202%20James%20everington%20alison%20littlewood.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sledge-Lit in Derby, November 2017<br />James, me and Alison Littlewood</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-7670049050879659582023-01-23T09:00:00.001+00:002023-01-23T09:00:00.168+00:00The Tooth Fairy, by Graham Joyce (a review)<div style="text-align: left;">In a new edition of the occasional series, I want to tell you about a book I've just read and loved, which I think adds to the horror genre and that I think you'll enjoy if you're a fan. In this case, the book first came out in 1996 and was written by the late and much-missed <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/search/label/graham%20joyce">Graham Joyce</a>, so the chances are you might have already heard of it. I'd been putting off reading it for a long, long time and when I finally picked it up I was pleased to find it inscribed to me and I realised I bought it from him at a Terror Scribes gathering in Leicester in 2001 (<a href="https://mewconreps.blogspot.com/2010/02/terror-scribes-gathering-leicester-17th.html">which I wrote about here</a>).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOpYREu65Y76la7G5wTHqgqQWoFGxhCA1ocnoUstKIW0tFvBZnQ4S9zLIDVEwuWxp9FksBeRBTc_YELr0ENe4uP2Vk06UOfDUUW0oV3s_s0qAJjgA95_OxJjJ9KUUKBjFhlG4eQLh6AgnlscBp_4sLYjRXMrIzCDjeBPlIlh9WcqpORpzmCVkDDSqJ/s2136/The%20tooth%20fairy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2136" data-original-width="1318" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOpYREu65Y76la7G5wTHqgqQWoFGxhCA1ocnoUstKIW0tFvBZnQ4S9zLIDVEwuWxp9FksBeRBTc_YELr0ENe4uP2Vk06UOfDUUW0oV3s_s0qAJjgA95_OxJjJ9KUUKBjFhlG4eQLh6AgnlscBp_4sLYjRXMrIzCDjeBPlIlh9WcqpORpzmCVkDDSqJ/w394-h640/The%20tooth%20fairy.jpg" width="394" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">When seven-year-old Sam Southall loses a tooth, he’s visited by the Tooth Fairy, a demonic being (sometimes male, sometimes female) that apparently only he can see, but whose malignant influence spills over onto his family and friends. The Tooth Fairy hangs around as Sam grows up, teaching him to make mischief at school and influencing his actions. One day she insists Sam’s friend Terry sleeps over and that same night, Terry's father shoots his wife, his other children, and himself…</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div>I am a huge Graham Joyce fan and I’d been holding this back (the book was published in 1996) because - well, there aren't a lot of his I have yet to read - but I’m so glad I did. Filled with Joyce’s wonderous prose, mastery of character and dialogue and a brilliant evocation of a seventies childhood (the timespan is never properly specified), this was just glorious. The lives of Sam, Terry and Clive are imbued with a sense of love and melancholy and the introduction of Alice to the group works brilliantly - she’s just as vivid a character as them, even if her motives aren’t always clear. And while the boys navigate friendships, parents and the rigours of becoming teenagers, the Tooth Fairy is always there, an ever-present reminder that things don’t always go right, however much you try to make them. There are scenes of horror - Terry’s family, Tooley the scout, poor Linda in London - and they’re shocking but the book, ultimately, is about friendship and love and I found it by turns funny and sad and eminently readable. I cannot recommend this highly enough and I envy those who have yet to discover its sense of wonder.</div><div><br /></div><div>* * *</div><div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3sfW3iYLz41vjlW_7rt4EIu7AS8q07B_r-hlb4JvTT36gN3P3fkUAFhpCmsDw6Uf1GifXn7GafIh3sNOQkytVxRjggLcHVS09wi-kmbyWv4mqO-FC3x4CrFwM_OctNGJ0E_drGTwIbQ/s529/graham+joyce+mark+west+strange+tales.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="377" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3sfW3iYLz41vjlW_7rt4EIu7AS8q07B_r-hlb4JvTT36gN3P3fkUAFhpCmsDw6Uf1GifXn7GafIh3sNOQkytVxRjggLcHVS09wi-kmbyWv4mqO-FC3x4CrFwM_OctNGJ0E_drGTwIbQ/w285-h400/graham+joyce+mark+west+strange+tales.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>Graham Joyce was born the mining village of Kerseley, near Coventry, on 22nd October 1954, where he grew up. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in education at Bishop Lonsdale college, an MA in English and American Literature at the University of Leicester and in 2004 was awarded a PhD in Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">In 1988, he quit his job and went to live on the Greek island of Lesbos, to concentrate on writing. His first novel, <i>Dreamside</i>, funded travel to the Middle East and he went on to write fourteen novels, five young adult novels, and an autobiographical book about his experiences as goalie for the England Writers' football team (which, by the way, is excellent). He also wrote numerous short stories.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">Over his career, he won the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel five times, the World Fantasy Award , the French Grand Prix De L'Imaginaire twice and the prestigious O Henry award for his short story <i>An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen</i>. In 2008 he was awarded the Honorary degree of Master of Letters by the University of Derby.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">He continued to write and teach creative writing at Nottingham Trent University until his death on 9th September 2014.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">Biography from the <a href="https://www.grahamjoyce.co.uk/about.html">Graham Joyce website</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">I was lucky to meet him on several occasions and we got to know each other well enough we'd chat and share a laugh whenever we were in the same place (usually at FantasyCon). I saw him at WFC (he was heading downstairs, I was heading up, he said "Hello mate!" and changed direction so we could walk and talk for a while) in Brighton and got to tell him how much his novel <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-year-of-ladybird-by-graham-joyce.html">The Year Of The Ladybird</a> meant to me and he seemed genuinely moved when I told him it made me cry. However, when I asked him if he was going to write a short story, detailing the love affair after the novels end, he told me to bugger off! </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">I miss his presence and his writing.</div></div></div><div><br /></div></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-79908123717335169832023-01-09T09:00:00.003+00:002023-01-09T09:00:00.162+00:00Review for STILL WATERS RUN<div style="text-align: left;">I'm happy to report that my fourth mainstream thriller, <b><i><a href="https://mybook.to/StillWatersRun">Still Waters Run</a> </i></b>from <a href="https://thebookfolks.com/">The Book Folks</a> is doing okay for itself and picking up some nice reviews.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-mwyirzWTaF6JDUTnQzA8paZ7GY-fSJThkBbv0s6m6WMRpCy0gbWwL-une9zF78YmgKEIUvGKmsltWJ4zzeLBOkS0Jiezyf4MxrrRLhCUL-Bt9tXhsnQZlzImnksRsWd2GX3gev6fwkS2wTO13qki3m4QEgxRlj1W40DKWr_ZjaGLYMJ4OsFiEvu/s2560/mark%20west%20still%20waters%20run%20strange%20tales%20the%20book%20folks.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-mwyirzWTaF6JDUTnQzA8paZ7GY-fSJThkBbv0s6m6WMRpCy0gbWwL-une9zF78YmgKEIUvGKmsltWJ4zzeLBOkS0Jiezyf4MxrrRLhCUL-Bt9tXhsnQZlzImnksRsWd2GX3gev6fwkS2wTO13qki3m4QEgxRlj1W40DKWr_ZjaGLYMJ4OsFiEvu/w400-h640/mark%20west%20still%20waters%20run%20strange%20tales%20the%20book%20folks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>In late summer, sixteen-year-old Dan and his recently divorced mother head to a Norfolk seaside town’s holiday park for a vacation.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Shy Dan soon strikes up a friendship with a girl of his age, quirky and pretty Charlie, and his mother is swept off her feet by a suave local property developer.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Yet a shadow is cast over their stay when one of the camp attendants, Mia, goes missing. And things go from bad to worse when her body turns up near the town’s derelict lido.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Charlie draws Dan into her efforts to discover the truth about Mia’s death. But as the locals close ranks, cracks begin to show in their new friendships, and he’ll soon find himself in deep water.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>This could turn out to be a holiday that mother and son will remember for all the wrong reasons, if they survive.</i></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;">* *</div><div style="text-align: left;">Stephen Bacon posted a review on his own blog and said he had "<i>a real blast reading</i>" it. As well as picking up on the nostalgia, he also made the perceptive comment that "<i>there's an interesting romantic aspect for Jude here too, and one that has much to say about the desires and vulnerabilities of middle-aged characters, an angle that is often neglected in crime fiction.</i>"</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm really pleased about that, because the Jude thread is as important as the Dan/Charlie teenaged one in the book and I came to really like Jude as a character - both in herself and also writing her.</div><div><br /></div><div>You can check out the rest of <a href="https://stephenbacon.co.uk/2022/12/29/still-waters-run-by-mark-west/">Steve's review here</a> and there's more to see at both Amazon and Goodreads (links below).</div><div><br /></div><div>As we move into 2023 I'm hard at work on the first draft of Book 5, which features a married couple going on a guided hike in Northumberland and finding that someone in their party doesn't want everyone to come away alive.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the meantime, thank you for your continued support and if you choose to read one of my books, don't forget to leave a rating/review!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLvXIEy5SgVGr_lyH_H7B5XzHw_WsZACnUQR06sq_Jeo1XQMZoabGF7Mg5UTFzTh_DCGs8H8INiexY3LH4g7bS84Zqt9pMA9lGLVL6nprrk_DcsjPvl_CZS93QsOfkb5DpiyzEICk-HelzAlCop6eYcWd9PSKqnjE7sGvmS5sXBoOYLbBw_XhIsB5Z/s720/515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLvXIEy5SgVGr_lyH_H7B5XzHw_WsZACnUQR06sq_Jeo1XQMZoabGF7Mg5UTFzTh_DCGs8H8INiexY3LH4g7bS84Zqt9pMA9lGLVL6nprrk_DcsjPvl_CZS93QsOfkb5DpiyzEICk-HelzAlCop6eYcWd9PSKqnjE7sGvmS5sXBoOYLbBw_XhIsB5Z/s320/515.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB833eJ-oOM7aPHuS4fc7BndYUjwUeRSyNgjzZnI3qDeLsTKB0Gssq7SwudjGseN_WoK_HhvWtQiWu_DmJZJOsW-5bF73MHHAJJJ4lqY4U-dLZTDpKALl5tKAFG1kEkUqmVWvwmMpEY6V3xz5zJfH0j2EmyJsb-IIYyAP8fNXFqAO9qt1FTkkV5Ngs/s1813/swr%20drawings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1274" data-original-width="1813" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB833eJ-oOM7aPHuS4fc7BndYUjwUeRSyNgjzZnI3qDeLsTKB0Gssq7SwudjGseN_WoK_HhvWtQiWu_DmJZJOsW-5bF73MHHAJJJ4lqY4U-dLZTDpKALl5tKAFG1kEkUqmVWvwmMpEY6V3xz5zJfH0j2EmyJsb-IIYyAP8fNXFqAO9qt1FTkkV5Ngs/w640-h450/swr%20drawings.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BN1S4QBS/">Buy it from Amazon.co.uk</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BN1S4QBS/">Buy it from Amazon.com</a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://mybook.to/StillWatersRun">click here for the Universal Amazon link</a></div></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5SpZuSw5oR_o6iTyL8IpRgJNyD5p9DSojlaorJtdagdHFfZltScjy72_caM01Tvezf2wLua5hb1sXhjllF0WzvE12h3K5ivxyUzKNeCdGzW3rAVNpMBwqNcQ5z6plBFv-3j0HTR-TMsUdtia3OQVJiE048kRIcHKrq67Ia-rq4h64C9gk7HoGfpk/s1600/swr%20postcard3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="1600" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5SpZuSw5oR_o6iTyL8IpRgJNyD5p9DSojlaorJtdagdHFfZltScjy72_caM01Tvezf2wLua5hb1sXhjllF0WzvE12h3K5ivxyUzKNeCdGzW3rAVNpMBwqNcQ5z6plBFv-3j0HTR-TMsUdtia3OQVJiE048kRIcHKrq67Ia-rq4h64C9gk7HoGfpk/w640-h410/swr%20postcard3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Tell all your friends!</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MarkWestWrites">More details on my Facebook Author Page, which you can follow from this link</a></div></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-28174320756880913222022-12-19T09:00:00.104+00:002022-12-19T20:20:00.628+00:00The Fourteenth Annual Westies - review of the year 2022<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabqmKshnt2dfSdVQNUX0eabGLRnlMRAXQw0q4BkjFLMO2XbTpb9YCSdBc2ZgEEeeam8v61XvMMz0jT-MrM7laoPkMbcOyqCVb2BsP6GyhdnlzdJnuFLF8OmJ6A-mSkF_4DFiLmYeZKkG5KQa_3P4WUNHnd3rtS4MFJ_8zE4VewaoihzwS0uGf6LPw/s1042/westy%20awards%202022.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="652" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabqmKshnt2dfSdVQNUX0eabGLRnlMRAXQw0q4BkjFLMO2XbTpb9YCSdBc2ZgEEeeam8v61XvMMz0jT-MrM7laoPkMbcOyqCVb2BsP6GyhdnlzdJnuFLF8OmJ6A-mSkF_4DFiLmYeZKkG5KQa_3P4WUNHnd3rtS4MFJ_8zE4VewaoihzwS0uGf6LPw/w250-h400/westy%20awards%202022.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><p>Well, this really has been a year of extremes for me (losing my Dad and seeing the thrillers take off) but now it's Christmas and even though I'm not in the mindset for celebrating it's time to indulge in the annual blog custom and remember the good books of 2022.</p><div><div>It's been an odd reading year - I've had a couple of DNF (did not finish), which is unusual and I've struggled on occasion to find material that chimed with me - but I've read the second most amount (87 books) since I began my reading spreadsheet in 2002. There's been a decent mix of brand new novels, a few books that have languished on my TBR pile for too long, some good second-hand finds (which jumped straight to the top of the pile) along with some welcome re-reads and a target to read past Book 30 in the Three Investigators series.</div><div><br /></div><div>As always, the top 20 places were hard fought and, I think, show a nice variety in genre and tone - if I've blogged about a book before, I've linked to it on the list.</div><div><br /></div><div>Without further ado, I present the Fourteenth Annual Westies Award - “My Best Fiction Reads Of The Year” - and the top 20 looks like this:</div><div><br /></div><div>1:<span> </span>The Tooth Fairy, by Graham Joyce</div><div>2: <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2022/11/a-white-christmas-on-winter-street-by.html"> </a><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2022/11/a-white-christmas-on-winter-street-by.html">A White Christmas On Winter Street, by Sue Moorcroft</a></div><div>3:<span> </span>The Judas Goat, by Robert B. Parker</div><div>4:<span> </span>B Is For Burglar, by Sue Grafton</div><div>5:<span> </span>An Italian Island Summer, by Sue Moorcroft *</div><div>6:<span> </span>God Save The Child, by Robert B. Parker</div><div>7:<span> </span>Han Solo's Revenge, by Brian Daley</div><div>8:<span> </span>Mortal Stakes, by Robert B. Parker</div><div>9:<span> </span>A Is For Alibi, by Sue Grafton</div><div>10:<span> </span>Chasing Spirits, by John Llewellyn Probert</div><div>11: What They Don't Know, by Susan Furlong</div><div>12: Dressed To Kill, by Brian DePalma and Campbell Black</div><div>13: The Mistake I Made, by Paula Daly</div><div>14: Insomnia, by Sarah Pinborough</div><div>15: One Eye Open, by Paul Finch</div><div>16: It's Alive, by Julian David Stone</div><div>17: Billingsgate Shoal, by Rick Boyer</div><div>18: The Lizard's Tail, by Marc Brandel</div><div>19: Step Inside My Soul, by N K Curran (Steven Savile) *</div><div>20: Tron, by Brian Daley</div><div><br /></div>* This will be published in the summer of 2023, I read it to critique<br /><br /><div><div><br /></div></div><div>The Top 10 in non-fiction are:</div><div><br /></div><div><div>1:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Making Of Star Wars: The Definitive Story, by J. W. Rinzler</div><div>2:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Python Years: 1969-1979, by Michael Palin</div><div>3:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Definitive Biography Of Billy Joel, by Fred Schruers</div><div>4:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Up Till Now, by William Shatner</div><div>5:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Howard Kazanjian: A Producers Life, by J. W. Rinzler/Howard Kazanjian</div><div>6:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Cinefex 30, by Jody Shay</div><div>7:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Day Of The Living Me, by Jeff Lieberman</div><div>8:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Cinefex 29, by Jody Shay</div><div>9:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Teenage Wasteland: The Slasher Movie Uncut, by J. A. Kerswell</div><div>10:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Incredibly Strange Film Book, by Jonathan Ross</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Stats wise, I've read 88 books - 45 fiction, 11 non-fiction, 16 comics/nostalgia/kids and 16 Three Investigator mysteries.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of the 72 books, the breakdown is thus:</div><div><br /></div><div>4 biography<br />11 horror<br />7 film-related<br />6 drama (includes romance)<br />26 crime/mystery<br />8 sci-fi<br />0 nostalgia<br />10 humour</div><div><br /></div><p>All of my reviews are posted up at <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/798905-mark?shelf=read">Goodreads here</a><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;">In case you’re interested, the previous awards are linked to from here:</span></p><div><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-thirteenth-annual-westies-review-of.html">2021</a></span></div><div><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-twelth-annual-westies-review-of.html">2020</a><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-eleventh-annual-westies-review-of.html">2019<br /></a></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-tenth-annual-westies-review-of-year.html">2018<br /></a></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-ninth-annual-westies-review-of-year.html">2017<br /></a></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/the-eighth-annual-westies-review-of.html">2016<br /></a></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-seventh-annual-westies-review-of.html">2015<br /></a></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/the-sixth-annual-westies-review-of-year.html">2014<br /></a></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/the-fifth-annual-westies-review-of-year.html">2013<br /></a></span><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/the-fourth-annual-westies-review-of.html" style="background-color: white; color: #4d469c; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">2012<br /></a><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/year-in-books.html" style="background-color: white; color: #4d469c; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">2011<br /></a><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/my-top-reads-of-2010.html" style="background-color: white; color: #4d469c; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">2010<br /></a><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/and-this-year-ive-been-reading.html" style="background-color: white; color: #4d469c; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">2009</a></div><div><br /></div></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-35954614499459555082022-12-05T09:00:00.001+00:002022-12-05T09:02:23.619+00:00Nostalgic For My Childhood - Christmas Annuals (part 6)"Christmas is coming!"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9Sy1QnxOUgzisUJzfxs9-oFzxU3VSHJKpk3II0h_UgVd4ENuE0MOyaFMakQbChpsowtt2M_8FMJfj9sSAgIhH_UPKb6dKTOfOANMm4zSFKD1mkCSQZS4ksm4QeAZJugpgbwb3ReAdzE/s1600/1977+christmas+mark+west+tj+childrens+annual+look-in+starsky+%2526+hutch+gran+torino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9Sy1QnxOUgzisUJzfxs9-oFzxU3VSHJKpk3II0h_UgVd4ENuE0MOyaFMakQbChpsowtt2M_8FMJfj9sSAgIhH_UPKb6dKTOfOANMm4zSFKD1mkCSQZS4ksm4QeAZJugpgbwb3ReAdzE/s640/1977+christmas+mark+west+tj+childrens+annual+look-in+starsky+%2526+hutch+gran+torino.jpg" width="620" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me & Tracy, Christmas 1977 - look at how chuffed I am, I've got the new Look-In annual AND the Starsky & Hutch Gran Torino!</i></td></tr>
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<br />
Welcome to the sixth post (you can find the others on these links here - <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/nostalgic-for-my-childhood-christmas.html">2017</a>, <a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2018/12/nostalgic-for-my-childhood-christmas.html">2018</a>, 2019, 2020 and 2021) showcasing one of the Christmas highlights from when I was a kid (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/nostalgic-for-my-childhood-christmas.html">beyond the catalogues I wrote about in 2016</a>), seeing which annual I got that particular year. For those who don't remember them, annuals were (and still are) large size hardback books, designed for children and based on existing properties, generally comics and popular TV shows, as well as the occasional film and sport and pop round-ups.<br />
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The ones based on comics featured the same cast as the weekly editions, while the TV and film ones had comic strips, the occasional short story, fact files and interviews and - brilliantly - in the case of <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/nostalgic-for-my-childhood-fall-guy.html">The Fall Guy</a>, behind the scenes information on stunts and how they were filmed.<br />
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Published towards the end of the year, annuals are cover-dated as the following year to ensure shops don't take them off the shelves immediately after the new year (though, by then, unsold copies are often heavily reduced). Still as popular now, though kids today don't have the choice of comics we did, the only real difference seems to be that they're skinnier (and that's not me being all nostalgically misty - my ones from the late 70s and early 80s are substantially chunkier than the ones I’ve bought for Dude over the past few years).<br />
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Here, then, is another selection of old favourites, ones I received and ones I remember my sister Tracy having. I hope some of them inspire a warm, nostalgic trip down memory lane for you...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6hokHFN28_oiNc-HZi3GoG4Sn3ZqkGG1-a8uem-4W_ZxY-9nPBhIKWhrc0YWkKifnV-Iu8l5321PBa3qbj0SKZRAZEDKZbkBsVRSXnUK74Vod0H7N7AE2vad9fvoCHgbdY4-kWNROmk/s1600/68+captain+scarlet+1968+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="564" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6hokHFN28_oiNc-HZi3GoG4Sn3ZqkGG1-a8uem-4W_ZxY-9nPBhIKWhrc0YWkKifnV-Iu8l5321PBa3qbj0SKZRAZEDKZbkBsVRSXnUK74Vod0H7N7AE2vad9fvoCHgbdY4-kWNROmk/s640/68+captain+scarlet+1968+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" width="456" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1968</i></td></tr>
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One of my favourite TV shows as a kid and this was a favourite annual (though I'm not sure either when Mum or Dad bought it - I wasn't born until 1969 - or I was given it). Cracking book though.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQYgsDSgvG71deDUy9Nf9kVR_bLccNWCDLCGc1uZ1HlwX7UDY5Be2i1hNUAKQvNEUF8inB70tzGxkE3ZO09izIIYCzxxfWilWR1rkEAZ-cUwjYBSB2kLGYRxFAq9-3XRGijtz08-ttYI/s1600/77+1977+pony+club+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="746" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQYgsDSgvG71deDUy9Nf9kVR_bLccNWCDLCGc1uZ1HlwX7UDY5Be2i1hNUAKQvNEUF8inB70tzGxkE3ZO09izIIYCzxxfWilWR1rkEAZ-cUwjYBSB2kLGYRxFAq9-3XRGijtz08-ttYI/s640/77+1977+pony+club+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" width="476" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1977</i></td></tr>
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My sister Tracy (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2013/11/in-memory-of-tracy-after-ten-years.html">who I wrote about here</a>) loved horses for as long as I can remember and went on to be an accomplished rider and tutor.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mNlEeFW1vGLlQQ810cOj5SbEmUo5rCuJ2R46hUEj0yqw6MTRToffMOeUz33316D58wGtKT1-_jbegSmj1LcV8U-lci5JF0xf84xoAqJYPZldSIwFwbghvZb8oAH_Z1kCS_QwoExgr88/s1600/77+New+Avengers+Annual+1977+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="945" data-original-width="614" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mNlEeFW1vGLlQQ810cOj5SbEmUo5rCuJ2R46hUEj0yqw6MTRToffMOeUz33316D58wGtKT1-_jbegSmj1LcV8U-lci5JF0xf84xoAqJYPZldSIwFwbghvZb8oAH_Z1kCS_QwoExgr88/s640/77+New+Avengers+Annual+1977+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" width="414" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1977</i></td></tr>
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That theme music! Gambit! Purdey!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4_tZZSjro842p182YBVMLP4H5w2NenpB_YKTuy09cXd7PJkeA3I77mHlaAPXglVMImy1PHuIndiz3d24DOW1ZqwWBXAR1X_Z6Zj3OajL6ZgO9vxUgeZurpqRLogDU081yNaELei1_aA/s1600/78+charlies+angels+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4_tZZSjro842p182YBVMLP4H5w2NenpB_YKTuy09cXd7PJkeA3I77mHlaAPXglVMImy1PHuIndiz3d24DOW1ZqwWBXAR1X_Z6Zj3OajL6ZgO9vxUgeZurpqRLogDU081yNaELei1_aA/s640/78+charlies+angels+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" width="468" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1978</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJKPrOJR6xy9og7ogvI2DCsRK2yfLBpUcDr_hpzYz01iw50RLbSid3gTK5KXKnejvu6N8xaV_eUGltcWqBNWdEmA840KDqNPXNH2_3WhEAz-VSFUrsePOZcKtsap6NVXAk3-YbHpHnlc/s1600/78+tammy+1978+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+christmas+annuals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="564" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJKPrOJR6xy9og7ogvI2DCsRK2yfLBpUcDr_hpzYz01iw50RLbSid3gTK5KXKnejvu6N8xaV_eUGltcWqBNWdEmA840KDqNPXNH2_3WhEAz-VSFUrsePOZcKtsap6NVXAk3-YbHpHnlc/s640/78+tammy+1978+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+christmas+annuals.jpg" width="448" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1978</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2mSAfIjveRZaCoHkULOFJ2HOlwF6Cg8GJx97BTo2kAat05RJJLbSbfN6Tve-rAvXnO4e5xirerxzqU5ZVpdt1MuI1KcvOrWonjjj8K0ustAF3sKIfg3bRiSdjHN3tFWbDtCKh9tWC60/s1600/79+1979+daleks+dr+who+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="904" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2mSAfIjveRZaCoHkULOFJ2HOlwF6Cg8GJx97BTo2kAat05RJJLbSbfN6Tve-rAvXnO4e5xirerxzqU5ZVpdt1MuI1KcvOrWonjjj8K0ustAF3sKIfg3bRiSdjHN3tFWbDtCKh9tWC60/s640/79+1979+daleks+dr+who+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1979</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jFhPIEyFSYF2A_fcU_R5pgTbD4KW2m2cYcMg1OMhvqZoz3KmtgcbnadYqROBmnwcEeNyGRdLoRL8Zt_-zpxsjbVvKG5rIjTwdRedccrayr8GuFYjcXB_IOC5gg2iaxaauU6Tp68_pkg/s1600/79+The+Wombles+1979+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1487" data-original-width="1071" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jFhPIEyFSYF2A_fcU_R5pgTbD4KW2m2cYcMg1OMhvqZoz3KmtgcbnadYqROBmnwcEeNyGRdLoRL8Zt_-zpxsjbVvKG5rIjTwdRedccrayr8GuFYjcXB_IOC5gg2iaxaauU6Tp68_pkg/s640/79+The+Wombles+1979+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1979</td></tr>
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Sing it - <i>underground, overground, Wombling free...</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_v6-ZvS-9u2pYoaywpZuwc_NuaIUF3Ki2l7WE_0IL4h2IsaNUefZ_QIpYTYuza6Agb2V3iRpuRVDmq5jtADpNZRuIzzTtEPXgOVSsqnh6Cfg7H-7do84oofgrivhxsNLIPn4Aej6fvJM/s1600/80+1980+The+Beano+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1420" data-original-width="1003" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_v6-ZvS-9u2pYoaywpZuwc_NuaIUF3Ki2l7WE_0IL4h2IsaNUefZ_QIpYTYuza6Agb2V3iRpuRVDmq5jtADpNZRuIzzTtEPXgOVSsqnh6Cfg7H-7do84oofgrivhxsNLIPn4Aej6fvJM/s640/80+1980+The+Beano+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1980</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCBKzQ3gDFKlCrOnvPK2nNewhBCmEwQMQt2nWUreHW3lHdWTnmxjKs2PrAvharZmZFMKRHWjZI4T5nz2guvJ8HWCYs6qq9nNoNOzhywqLkBowH9rLwejpAgtD18nmBGGFhECI4vmzUD8/s1600/80+chips+1980+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1187" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCBKzQ3gDFKlCrOnvPK2nNewhBCmEwQMQt2nWUreHW3lHdWTnmxjKs2PrAvharZmZFMKRHWjZI4T5nz2guvJ8HWCYs6qq9nNoNOzhywqLkBowH9rLwejpAgtD18nmBGGFhECI4vmzUD8/s640/80+chips+1980+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" width="474" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1980</i></td></tr>
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If we were out on bikes around this time - my friends, or me and TJ - we'd ride two-abreast and pretend we were Jon and Poncho.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJgz-UuWaidlZ3izvEdGMvU8hiDRZoCctkGtqKVYUntLG6nGtb27sNGviZDG6I5zyrOjApwm0IRhL_Rhy6gcAEt-cBZ4OaYMUdALuSNJNv-vK-H424_db1cxiDRfj0j-ex7ss93ktvU9c/s1600/80+Monster+Fun+1980+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+christmas+annuals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1597" data-original-width="1131" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJgz-UuWaidlZ3izvEdGMvU8hiDRZoCctkGtqKVYUntLG6nGtb27sNGviZDG6I5zyrOjApwm0IRhL_Rhy6gcAEt-cBZ4OaYMUdALuSNJNv-vK-H424_db1cxiDRfj0j-ex7ss93ktvU9c/s640/80+Monster+Fun+1980+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+christmas+annuals.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1980</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQqRTiPsXoPyLUrbY7YfECGdvqECQUnw50kLUJU1SY3nYwAMtnD8GAQnqhd2_WSp_dYmlgpA6L0lh_RCRfSEL_1daP_0c4u6Xu4zyQIwTOVkKUmUIPN7y5b5iawK3KNmwnTygvws6ma7U/s1600/81+1981+Bunty+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="701" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQqRTiPsXoPyLUrbY7YfECGdvqECQUnw50kLUJU1SY3nYwAMtnD8GAQnqhd2_WSp_dYmlgpA6L0lh_RCRfSEL_1daP_0c4u6Xu4zyQIwTOVkKUmUIPN7y5b5iawK3KNmwnTygvws6ma7U/s640/81+1981+Bunty+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" width="438" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1981</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5tZYbiVpfo1Wnb2PnTDsOGXp7aPJljcraa-Y48ccPyk-v9i3Wq8ThyphenhyphenrogNwBcJZvmp5hOBXxsHCO8Cze8NgofycG6km9Ncr8AZi7T5KRByalPkuRVKAek_7qRuUEBcqfc4XUKin5T-sY/s1600/81+Blue+Jeans+1981+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1094" data-original-width="778" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5tZYbiVpfo1Wnb2PnTDsOGXp7aPJljcraa-Y48ccPyk-v9i3Wq8ThyphenhyphenrogNwBcJZvmp5hOBXxsHCO8Cze8NgofycG6km9Ncr8AZi7T5KRByalPkuRVKAek_7qRuUEBcqfc4XUKin5T-sY/s640/81+Blue+Jeans+1981+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.JPG" width="454" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1981</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPFA1AK6YBp_h1hJXSYr2iJuLlO0zcE-diL2v0Z5ELca8M26jdfMnbCFSp-eYelBgwGEJduHNmmGRLR8rB_Iq5LTeZnYbhQagKunYro6Oks9ZdgeqGnXQfLyOd6hiBJ5PU5kY364F_pw/s1600/81+Cheeky+1981+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+christmas+annuals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1429" data-original-width="968" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPFA1AK6YBp_h1hJXSYr2iJuLlO0zcE-diL2v0Z5ELca8M26jdfMnbCFSp-eYelBgwGEJduHNmmGRLR8rB_Iq5LTeZnYbhQagKunYro6Oks9ZdgeqGnXQfLyOd6hiBJ5PU5kY364F_pw/s640/81+Cheeky+1981+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+christmas+annuals.jpg" width="432" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1981</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My favourite "funny" comic when I was growing up, Cheeky Weekly actually finished in 1980 (it was incorporated - <i>"great news for all readers!"</i> - into Whoopee in February)
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgR1FB7jPxrumbL_Z4UByWM5uD_YqJCQZTNOcZZcNYiehaGXNZdxorFGDoXKA7Cq_kK19Hdhyphenhyphenkc1Ur5sJ3XELyq5xAoAZ6NeUSXfm_lxZfvDKzpD0TEjESbV1R_sQnWdhHWzHRVGHLQE/s1600/81+james+bond+1981+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+christmas+annuals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1098" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgR1FB7jPxrumbL_Z4UByWM5uD_YqJCQZTNOcZZcNYiehaGXNZdxorFGDoXKA7Cq_kK19Hdhyphenhyphenkc1Ur5sJ3XELyq5xAoAZ6NeUSXfm_lxZfvDKzpD0TEjESbV1R_sQnWdhHWzHRVGHLQE/s640/81+james+bond+1981+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+christmas+annuals.jpg" width="438" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1981</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2014/10/an-evening-with-sir-roger-moore-in.html"> Sir Roger Moore</a> as James Bond. Do you need any more reason to own this?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJpeDpN428lXluamhI1S1_E0-4XOxeFQrZ-4m6tslVZ3lBr5DGkfD_8DzV443vjrpi9eUSsnMjPL96jbjfZX8pSQpbxIz2AaPP_fNm6hCOvKLoDZ6JPNdBQW2H1obkdDcS1B8Z4AemThs/s1600/84+the+a-team+1984+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="737" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJpeDpN428lXluamhI1S1_E0-4XOxeFQrZ-4m6tslVZ3lBr5DGkfD_8DzV443vjrpi9eUSsnMjPL96jbjfZX8pSQpbxIz2AaPP_fNm6hCOvKLoDZ6JPNdBQW2H1obkdDcS1B8Z4AemThs/s640/84+the+a-team+1984+christmas+annual+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+childhood.jpg" width="474" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1984</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'd moved on from annuals by this time, though I was a huge fan of <i>The A-Team</i> (and still am, as I wrote about <a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2018/07/nostalgic-for-my-childhood-a-team-at-35.html">here </a>and here). I didn't pick this up until much later.<br />
<br />
<br />
Happy Christmas!<br />
<br />
<br />
scans from my collection, aside from the girls titles (thanks to the Internet for those)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/nostalgic%20for%20my%20childhood">You can read more of my nostalgia posts here</a>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-22368904502455629682022-11-21T11:37:00.000+00:002022-11-21T11:37:17.489+00:00Still Waters Run, by Mark West<div style="text-align: left;"><div>I'm pleased to announce that <b><i><a href="https://mybook.to/StillWatersRun">Still Waters Run</a></i></b>, my fourth mainstream thriller published by <a href="https://thebookfolks.com/">The Book Folks</a>, is now available.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-mwyirzWTaF6JDUTnQzA8paZ7GY-fSJThkBbv0s6m6WMRpCy0gbWwL-une9zF78YmgKEIUvGKmsltWJ4zzeLBOkS0Jiezyf4MxrrRLhCUL-Bt9tXhsnQZlzImnksRsWd2GX3gev6fwkS2wTO13qki3m4QEgxRlj1W40DKWr_ZjaGLYMJ4OsFiEvu/s2560/mark%20west%20still%20waters%20run%20strange%20tales%20the%20book%20folks.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-mwyirzWTaF6JDUTnQzA8paZ7GY-fSJThkBbv0s6m6WMRpCy0gbWwL-une9zF78YmgKEIUvGKmsltWJ4zzeLBOkS0Jiezyf4MxrrRLhCUL-Bt9tXhsnQZlzImnksRsWd2GX3gev6fwkS2wTO13qki3m4QEgxRlj1W40DKWr_ZjaGLYMJ4OsFiEvu/w400-h640/mark%20west%20still%20waters%20run%20strange%20tales%20the%20book%20folks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>In late summer, sixteen-year-old Dan and his recently divorced mother head to a Norfolk seaside town’s holiday park for a vacation.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Shy Dan soon strikes up a friendship with a girl of his age, quirky and pretty Charlie, and his mother is swept off her feet by a suave local property developer.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Yet a shadow is cast over their stay when one of the camp attendants, Mia, goes missing. And things go from bad to worse when her body turns up near the town’s derelict lido.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Charlie draws Dan into her efforts to discover the truth about Mia’s death. But as the locals close ranks, cracks begin to show in their new friendships, and he’ll soon find himself in deep water.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>This could turn out to be a holiday that mother and son will remember for all the wrong reasons, if they survive.</i></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vbyJrb2n8EPfp-wtxqSgZ1BXtBJzt4hqnvPuFX9_uvFTEhAg3lmbgkC8Mbw-2AiHRdp5tj4Bn-1FgYFT0CrJjuFfKW-ixkHU2Wbu_8aL9YlBzKtxFG3pDTf6fvQTLuwraMi4smdtO8Ky8eRYjSXGpTWekcCO89QdeG3Iq1sxm633xB6AySKQDKTv/s1200/swr%20book%20folks%20ad2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vbyJrb2n8EPfp-wtxqSgZ1BXtBJzt4hqnvPuFX9_uvFTEhAg3lmbgkC8Mbw-2AiHRdp5tj4Bn-1FgYFT0CrJjuFfKW-ixkHU2Wbu_8aL9YlBzKtxFG3pDTf6fvQTLuwraMi4smdtO8Ky8eRYjSXGpTWekcCO89QdeG3Iq1sxm633xB6AySKQDKTv/w640-h334/swr%20book%20folks%20ad2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">* * *</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_Ln_gxqTdKeijPIaXJ3fnQqGZ4Gn_TuCBWWWQjjRYF59LG6TRjd7oD6zVsQt0Pqb7rWCybH9mFboviltZ19Z0hPttPj_U0qHTFmUXK51bPSxyRm7ot2-EGpc79yPjG9nO9lZP314qBaxYoOZk5nweWsh2PovNc_D0OLAWAoKZVbvbsyN5GLcIPNz/s3216/mark%20west%20strange%20tales%20still%20waters%20run%20ad1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3216" data-original-width="3215" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_Ln_gxqTdKeijPIaXJ3fnQqGZ4Gn_TuCBWWWQjjRYF59LG6TRjd7oD6zVsQt0Pqb7rWCybH9mFboviltZ19Z0hPttPj_U0qHTFmUXK51bPSxyRm7ot2-EGpc79yPjG9nO9lZP314qBaxYoOZk5nweWsh2PovNc_D0OLAWAoKZVbvbsyN5GLcIPNz/w640-h640/mark%20west%20strange%20tales%20still%20waters%20run%20ad1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>STILL WATERS RUN is set in Seagrave, the same seaside location as my debut novel, <a href="http://mybook.to/DontGoBack">DON'T GO BACK</a>. It takes place in 1985 over the course of a week as Jude and her sixteen-year-old son Dan go to stay at the Holidaze holiday camp. There, Dan meets Charlie - a pretty fellow teenager with a keen interest in photography - and Jude meets Paul, a local real estate developer. When a local woman goes missing, all four of them are drawn into a tangled web of mystery that leads to murder.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpyfdp0d72KIWWrtj-mSrB6_2FXILDUclSKjRBma0jpePoYsTN1YMPFGKY9RIWjSeMdAoZdRyepIj3yGvVKVs0YtFGIv58xmcZ_FStbmdUDj2WtYDoE1S57otpqFZmLYL22RnMActxq2Yvm36KkpGM1byPurab8JIijIfL1wFCd7D1xr_64BeeZ1HJ/s1080/mark%20west%20strange%20tales%20still%20waters%20run%20ad2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpyfdp0d72KIWWrtj-mSrB6_2FXILDUclSKjRBma0jpePoYsTN1YMPFGKY9RIWjSeMdAoZdRyepIj3yGvVKVs0YtFGIv58xmcZ_FStbmdUDj2WtYDoE1S57otpqFZmLYL22RnMActxq2Yvm36KkpGM1byPurab8JIijIfL1wFCd7D1xr_64BeeZ1HJ/w640-h640/mark%20west%20strange%20tales%20still%20waters%20run%20ad2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>I started writing this last November (just after I'd signed the initial deal with The Book Folks) and, once again, it was plotted out with my good friend <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/search/label/david%20roberts">David Roberts</a> on our Friday Night Walks. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgcYSRqR5TkUO7CC58hQcv-Db560LdevWZBD3z0xD6JycaMgkrypPsJfyhlIss7j8clIAzJEsDvg1g8ZU0v1XQIXSdmCz4LlPoxHuF4EpPUMOG9yoMc7Tf-jpZrkowARwCByZXRqol1Up6NQlo-T-mZBJWB7SJNuJ951cOuVBKOBl45wMy0PhYpsJ/s1080/mark%20west%20strange%20tales%20still%20waters%20run%20ad3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgcYSRqR5TkUO7CC58hQcv-Db560LdevWZBD3z0xD6JycaMgkrypPsJfyhlIss7j8clIAzJEsDvg1g8ZU0v1XQIXSdmCz4LlPoxHuF4EpPUMOG9yoMc7Tf-jpZrkowARwCByZXRqol1Up6NQlo-T-mZBJWB7SJNuJ951cOuVBKOBl45wMy0PhYpsJ/w640-h640/mark%20west%20strange%20tales%20still%20waters%20run%20ad3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BN1S4QBS/">Buy it from Amazon.co.uk</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BN1S4QBS/">Buy it from Amazon.com</a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://mybook.to/StillWatersRun">click here for the Universal Amazon link</a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyF3c5_yExoN7ESLMcIX8qJBp0d7Oa7ak91lv7i-oR2yO5IEXM14xrvmHh6_35vF-lWBl0vWRsB1kJpAA9_UFrkH3g4LSJHAJIQeCKVtSw0pKCzn6D2lt9gGxZc9mqLX7l7PDSy2Zp8X99zPX6liaEAPDLSokw14xN1mu7U2or7QIHG880tStwnfX/s1200/swr%20book%20folks%20ad1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyF3c5_yExoN7ESLMcIX8qJBp0d7Oa7ak91lv7i-oR2yO5IEXM14xrvmHh6_35vF-lWBl0vWRsB1kJpAA9_UFrkH3g4LSJHAJIQeCKVtSw0pKCzn6D2lt9gGxZc9mqLX7l7PDSy2Zp8X99zPX6liaEAPDLSokw14xN1mu7U2or7QIHG880tStwnfX/w640-h334/swr%20book%20folks%20ad1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Tell all your friends!</i></b></div><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MarkWestWrites">More details on my Facebook Author Page, which you can follow from this link</a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-27599117845525944182022-11-07T09:00:00.038+00:002022-11-07T09:00:00.159+00:00A White Christmas on Winter Street, by Sue Moorcroft<div style="text-align: left;"><div>Regular readers of the blog will know I've been friends with <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/sue%20moorcroft">Sue Moorcroft</a> since we first met at the Kettering Writers Group in 1999 (we genre writers were consigned to the back of the room, where we had a great laugh). Since then she's gone from strength to strength, hitting number one in the Kindle Bestseller charts (with <i><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/the-christmas-promise-interview-with.html">The Christmas Promise</a>) </i>on her way to becoming a Sunday Times Best Seller, while her novel <i><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-summer-to-remember-by-sue-moorcroft.html">A Summer To Remember</a></i> won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel Award 2020. As well as featuring her a lot on blog (<a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/search/label/sue%20moorcroft">to see more, click this link</a>), I'm also pleased to be one of her beta-readers and thoroughly enjoyed her latest novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/White-Christmas-Winter-Street/dp/0008525676/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1665741930&refinements=p_27%3ASue+Moorcroft&s=books&sr=1-2"><b><i>A White Christmas On Winter Street</i></b></a>, which has just been published in paperback and e-book.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbWJgw80ANoNsYJGvXHdek2V9uRIHVhKi5WS7iWWOb9HamkJ10kMUgA3LTl1k-g4CnqQmkx9pwgzRNBdlOiKmJE1JJCLM_dUu1f1rLz9OMUtzj2_gtNGHkyYfECbBWeJTiL3O91atk2TXxQFpvNIJt_VSuhTw_KzECDmxZOaR_h6rNPNJNnVgpYM9/s648/awcows%20sue%20moorcroft%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="418" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbWJgw80ANoNsYJGvXHdek2V9uRIHVhKi5WS7iWWOb9HamkJ10kMUgA3LTl1k-g4CnqQmkx9pwgzRNBdlOiKmJE1JJCLM_dUu1f1rLz9OMUtzj2_gtNGHkyYfECbBWeJTiL3O91atk2TXxQFpvNIJt_VSuhTw_KzECDmxZOaR_h6rNPNJNnVgpYM9/w412-h640/awcows%20sue%20moorcroft%20mark%20west%20strange%20tales.jpg" width="412" /></a></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>When Sky Terran returns to the village of Middledip after losing the job she loves, she anticipates a quiet Christmas getting used to her new life. However, the annual street decoration competition is coming up and this year, the residents of Winter Street are determined to win.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>As she is pulled into the preparations, Sky quickly grows to love the quirky, tight-knit community she is now part of. Including the extremely handsome Daz, who soon becomes more than just a friendly neighbour.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>But when Daz’s ex turns up determined to win him back and it seems he might not be the man Sky thought he was, she remembers how much allowing people into her life – and heart – can hurt. As the snow falls, will she and Daz find a way through – and help win a Christmas victory for Winter Street?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A gorgeously festive novel about love, family and the power of forgiveness from Sunday Times bestseller Sue Moorcroft, perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan and Phillipa Ashley.</i></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">* * *</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div>Sky Terran comes from a broken home and her only real family is Freddy Walker, who was briefly her foster brother when they were in the care of Nan Heather in Middledip village. Sky works for property developer Freddy but when his new girlfriend Minnie causes problems, she resigns and moves into The Corner House in Middledip. She plans to do the house up and make it her home but another local, Daz Moran, had been hoping to get it for a Youth Activity Centre. Soon, Sky and Daz are bumping heads over a lot of things.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sue Moorcroft conjures up another winner with this wintry Christmas tale set resolutely in her wonderful village of Middledip. Characterisation, as always, is strong and vibrant and our lead couple make for a sparky and interesting relationship but the supporting cast is equally well drawn and quirky, from Marietta next door to the lovely Courtney and her brilliant realised son Wilf. </div><div><br /></div><div>Middledip shines and there are plenty of nods to Sue’s previous books - places, venues and especially characters - and each one brings a warm smile as you remember where they popped up before. The novel is sometimes challenging, often very funny and also nicely raunchy on occasion. Told with great pace, a keen eye for detail and a wonderful grasp of location, this is a fantastic read I heartily recommend.</div></div><div><div><br /></div></div><div><center><a href="https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5787687837760913347/2759911784552594418#">Buy the book from Amazon here</a></center><center><br /></center></div><div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAwwczJa9FcJV88PQfu2pYhFXf2SxFbOZIStwORkFUrust16gcxwEPmFYM34A-B3A7YdeYAC0Culc86EmmeiJ20po0__YyYScQ2PwMbJf3gs5SnoIi8M8zkdcCdwSUMVc0B523dRic30/s640/sue+moorcroft+mark+west+blog+interview+2016.jpg" /><br /><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/sue%20moorcroft">Sue Moorcroft</a> is an international bestselling author and has reached the #1 spot on Kindle UK. She’s won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel Award, Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award and the Katie Fforde Bursary. Published by HarperCollins in the UK, US and Canada and by other publishers around the world.<br /><br />Her short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared around the world.<br /><br />Born into an army family in Germany, Sue spent much of her childhood in Cyprus and Malta but settled in Northamptonshire at the age of ten. An avid reader, she also loves Formula 1, travel, family and friends, dance exercise and yoga.</div><div><center><br /></center></div><div>Website: <a href="http://www.suemoorcroft.com/">www.suemoorcroft.com</a></div><div>Blog: <a href="https://suemoorcroft.wordpress.com/%C2%A0">https://suemoorcroft.wordpress.com/ </a><br />Facebook: <a href="http://sue.moorcroft.3/">sue.moorcroft.3</a><br />Facebook author page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SueMoorcroftAuthor">https://www.facebook.com/SueMoorcroftAuthor</a><br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/SueMoorcroft">@suemoorcroft</a><br />Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/suemoorcroftauthor/">suemoorcroftauthor</a><br />LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/suemoorcroft">https://www.linkedin.com/in/suemoorcroft</a><br />Amazon author page: <a href="http://author.to/SueMoorcroft">Author.to/SueMoorcroft</a></div></div></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-74270645663831162552022-10-31T09:00:00.008+00:002022-10-31T09:00:00.148+00:00Halloween Horrors (Painted Movie Posters)It's Halloween, when all the ghosts and ghouls come calling (usually for chocolate), when the evenings are dark and the air smells of woodsmoke and the thoughts of us all turn to the idea of watching or reading something scary and creepy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBum9ZbipfzgKYJkjtZosy_MTXPFtkiVAncyKnFRBGTDb2Q03ZX5dLjEGF9TrTtATihOO_UmiPJq8dBXGT3F-IWnsNwv_Vv-ehM4impPVDiD6kiMMBtYoFXusxYtUfLvMICl9XmI5RnbA/s1600/halloween+mark+west+dude+strange+tales+painted+movie+poster+quad.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="726" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBum9ZbipfzgKYJkjtZosy_MTXPFtkiVAncyKnFRBGTDb2Q03ZX5dLjEGF9TrTtATihOO_UmiPJq8dBXGT3F-IWnsNwv_Vv-ehM4impPVDiD6kiMMBtYoFXusxYtUfLvMICl9XmI5RnbA/s640/halloween+mark+west+dude+strange+tales+painted+movie+poster+quad.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
For my fifth Halloween post (following <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2021/10/halloween-horrors-old-school-horror.html">paperback covers</a>, <a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2019/10/halloween-top-trumps.html">Top Trumps</a>, <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/halloween-horrors-vhs-treasures.html">VHS cover art</a> and <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/halloween-horrors-behind-scenes.html">behind the scenes special effects shots</a>), I've decided this time to go with something else I love, namely <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2017/05/glorious-painted-movie-posters.html">painted movie posters</a>. Looking at some of these again reminds me of being a young horror film fan in the late 70s and early 80s (when BBC2 began showing Universal horrors in the early evening), seeing gaudily gorgeous posters for films I wouldn't get to see for quite some time (and which, sometimes, didn't live up to my imagining of what they'd be).<br />
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So with all that in mind, enjoy this Halloween treat of posters that (very occasionally) promise more than they deliver...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ickIR1AE-sm2br9c9uzwa51m5uAp4a1WhteqSUjdM31xYDUbF706_mRS_TNVJXuTwKX-Uj6rY8rbnldhdrXOmkeZWiPvP8CD5QzA47khwu4TEGlCWo9oy4ax68_OGr1FE1ysTva1mSs/s1600/1959+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+the+giant+leeches.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="932" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ickIR1AE-sm2br9c9uzwa51m5uAp4a1WhteqSUjdM31xYDUbF706_mRS_TNVJXuTwKX-Uj6rY8rbnldhdrXOmkeZWiPvP8CD5QzA47khwu4TEGlCWo9oy4ax68_OGr1FE1ysTva1mSs/s640/1959+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+the+giant+leeches.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1959</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Produced by Gene Corman, this is the perfect horror film poster (something the Corman team did very well indeed). I really want to see this, even though I know the monsters won't look anywhere near as convincing as they do here (which isn't saying a lot, I realise).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHBqN2CAVBNPLbl16ISPdR5Da2ca65-SY6EFrO6_7KxvGsN8d6Kep6_sjYz2vJJTohBZc_t5zlZRJ660m_UKT6aUSGN2gsqA8NFrb8BWLBTMo8Lge5-geb0IQCRZ_WB_oWYtYrx2F14E/s1600/1963+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+man+with+xray+eyes.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1272" data-original-width="1600" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHBqN2CAVBNPLbl16ISPdR5Da2ca65-SY6EFrO6_7KxvGsN8d6Kep6_sjYz2vJJTohBZc_t5zlZRJ660m_UKT6aUSGN2gsqA8NFrb8BWLBTMo8Lge5-geb0IQCRZ_WB_oWYtYrx2F14E/s640/1963+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+man+with+xray+eyes.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1963</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I first read about this in Stephen King's <i>Danse Macabre</i> and couldn't wait to see it, though by the time I eventually did (late one night on BBC2, if I remember correctly), I was waiting for King's suggested last line. He wrote that there was a legend of a lost ending, where Xavier - having plucked his eyes from their sockets - shouts "I can still see!" Unfortunately, it's just a terrific rumour - <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/crab-monsters-teenage-cavemen-and-candy.html">Roger Corman</a> said, in interview, that the scene was discussed but never filmed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAK5s9x-mIIUhRCeq14ouk3RfkBWuS4JIFM0WYDVEMw4o3OxhcHdMot3NAuYfNx6TlhM7o6RexttalJNp0FmnA5hM_h0w_zLnuKSGnfRIWxF05zezTwskEcqtBbpns_8kR326vUi4Woh4/s1600/1965+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+dr+terrors+house+of+horrors.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1192" data-original-width="1600" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAK5s9x-mIIUhRCeq14ouk3RfkBWuS4JIFM0WYDVEMw4o3OxhcHdMot3NAuYfNx6TlhM7o6RexttalJNp0FmnA5hM_h0w_zLnuKSGnfRIWxF05zezTwskEcqtBbpns_8kR326vUi4Woh4/s640/1965+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+dr+terrors+house+of+horrors.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1965</i></td></tr>
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There's so much to love about this film, it makes for perfect Halloween viewing. An anthology film (an Amicus speciality), this features "Werewolf" with Neil McCallum, "Creeping Vine" with Alan Freeman (which is properly creepy, though it'd sound silly if I explained it), "Voodoo" with Roy Castle and his trumpet, "The Disembodied Hand" with Christopher Lee and Michael Gough lending real weight and "Vampire" with Donald Sutherland (and a cracking ending). Peter Cushing plays Dr. Shreck in the framing story.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXWkVR5kLffNQuCIHjj2gYCnHymdylM2N9SNjBEz8euckAlJVgxx4O8qK2G_tNecUZzoqXxq-do2Nx9SEeVX-PgCBmA4avCYJvmP_1Xic-DShKI3UDKM0q9PVQ_pvgJ79SzZfQ7xQoOlA/s1600/1970+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+the+vampire+lovers.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1269" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXWkVR5kLffNQuCIHjj2gYCnHymdylM2N9SNjBEz8euckAlJVgxx4O8qK2G_tNecUZzoqXxq-do2Nx9SEeVX-PgCBmA4avCYJvmP_1Xic-DShKI3UDKM0q9PVQ_pvgJ79SzZfQ7xQoOlA/s640/1970+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+the+vampire+lovers.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1970</i></td></tr>
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A so-so film (it feels very long) but a great <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/glorious-painted-movie-posters.html">Arnaldo Putzu</a> poster<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYKVBCuxzh-VTmRzL6aVLRSZcDNy-J01N4GrBcYnEANlr87iYGlpJ8IDBMwsgLk8k9_0O1h_Wo6RlnyVcw3IEyZJTtsNuI70H8K-V1f4gx6OjNGiHap9f5uramfN7LHVlaDtku92xCM4/s1600/1971+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+countess+dracula.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYKVBCuxzh-VTmRzL6aVLRSZcDNy-J01N4GrBcYnEANlr87iYGlpJ8IDBMwsgLk8k9_0O1h_Wo6RlnyVcw3IEyZJTtsNuI70H8K-V1f4gx6OjNGiHap9f5uramfN7LHVlaDtku92xCM4/s640/1971+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+countess+dracula.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1971</i></td></tr>
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A brilliant poster from Vic Fair which does so much without really doing a great deal. How could you not want to see the film are seeing this?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgahfDy_S7aGz4GpuG_q7Wo-fn0-zcrLJdj3c9riE0vz4Jhuzf9SyZW63_gbhPZRhdMqKuk4-CokmFstng0CtHlEkLQbsBVHfXGeuAN_NVbcZHTdOO0ygccX4Gn4g2FmElz_Cfi4Vcobo3/s1600/tom+chantrell+poster+art+mark+west+dracula+ad+1972.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgahfDy_S7aGz4GpuG_q7Wo-fn0-zcrLJdj3c9riE0vz4Jhuzf9SyZW63_gbhPZRhdMqKuk4-CokmFstng0CtHlEkLQbsBVHfXGeuAN_NVbcZHTdOO0ygccX4Gn4g2FmElz_Cfi4Vcobo3/s640/tom+chantrell+poster+art+mark+west+dracula+ad+1972.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1972</i></td></tr>
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Swinging Dracula on the Kings Road (with added <a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/search/label/caroline%20munro">Caroline Munro</a> gorgeousness).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi26_Wljv-rUOjL0mDLLp5-OWX3qqGNM2Js6hR_Poq3y-SsAyyqor6xwtv0CxueMcwUfMKI1eq8TIza-DJOerMwl4avvT9NAMCqjITzLoiD8wWIhhA9vARUDA4KbcFruxXCMQz6-YcD5WY/s1600/1973+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+vault+of+horror.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="1312" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi26_Wljv-rUOjL0mDLLp5-OWX3qqGNM2Js6hR_Poq3y-SsAyyqor6xwtv0CxueMcwUfMKI1eq8TIza-DJOerMwl4avvT9NAMCqjITzLoiD8wWIhhA9vARUDA4KbcFruxXCMQz6-YcD5WY/s640/1973+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+vault+of+horror.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1973</i></td></tr>
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Another terrific Amicus anthology film, well served by an Arnaldo Putzu poster. This features "Midnight Mess", a creepy vampire story (with some great in-camera effects) with Daniel and Anna Massey, "The Neat Job" with Terry-Thomas, "This Trick'll Kill You" with Curt Jurgens, "Bargain In Death" with Michael Craig (and, in a nice touch, Robin Nedwell and Geoffrey Davies as two trainee doctors - they'd appeared together in "Doctor In The House", an ITV sitcom) and "Drawn And Quartered", with Tom Baker and Denholm Elliot (as well as Terence Alexander, who gets a bigger head on the poster) and some great views of early 70s London. The framing device sees five strangers boarding a descending lift in a modern London office block.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnkWDjynLVq6BcA54CYqHoD4iL2A5eieymUNISOQDrHz1IetHDVmV3ptfFhcR0xoQ_bW9SvdST827Mk-rfv6ga7aSZy-xo09EZ_DEhU4pEYttqX1XIpfx4nsjB0qy0mGlveYsoUsTS-8/s1600/1976+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+food+of+the+gods.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="1280" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnkWDjynLVq6BcA54CYqHoD4iL2A5eieymUNISOQDrHz1IetHDVmV3ptfFhcR0xoQ_bW9SvdST827Mk-rfv6ga7aSZy-xo09EZ_DEhU4pEYttqX1XIpfx4nsjB0qy0mGlveYsoUsTS-8/s640/1976+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+food+of+the+gods.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1976</i></td></tr>
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We can't be sure what H. G. Wells would have thought of this but surely, bearing in mind all the animals they could have chosen for the poster, was a giant chicken really the best one?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SM3yIf70PigNrofr_eVhEG0AmsROQLUP9_qFISs4bWiuRvenQRH303YJz4_ZPw3RFrppblJanJ4MeK4jp8DuUMjI76p_HlzWKLdDKZFvqFce3C6ZVvbHlkfIdLfcp_pNMflSJjM13Tw/s1600/1977+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+shockwaves+almost+human.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SM3yIf70PigNrofr_eVhEG0AmsROQLUP9_qFISs4bWiuRvenQRH303YJz4_ZPw3RFrppblJanJ4MeK4jp8DuUMjI76p_HlzWKLdDKZFvqFce3C6ZVvbHlkfIdLfcp_pNMflSJjM13Tw/s640/1977+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+shockwaves+almost+human.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1977</i></td></tr>
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Also known as "Shocklines" (the title I first saw it under, as a VIPCO release), I was first aware of it when I saw an advert in <a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2018/11/starburst-memories.html">Starburst magazine</a>. The film itself is slow and creepy but those underwater nazis are as effective as the poster art makes them out to be.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5jxnz_xB9ebl5hC-sjShw33GSOxlUYTJ_Mb5vSX8fgl2B_kEEGGol7WIzgViFY7txTl26poV1QebUs3zrQTHAKdejP_4CXagmy5fvdLkGBgmMpofhZq2HEkNTpTjQ7DeEx5dEiON034/s1600/1978+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+piranha.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="921" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5jxnz_xB9ebl5hC-sjShw33GSOxlUYTJ_Mb5vSX8fgl2B_kEEGGol7WIzgViFY7txTl26poV1QebUs3zrQTHAKdejP_4CXagmy5fvdLkGBgmMpofhZq2HEkNTpTjQ7DeEx5dEiON034/s640/1978+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+piranha.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1978</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A cracking little horror film (you'd be better off with this than the remake), Joe Dante is on top form with a John Sayles script, make-up effects by Rob Bottin and piranha effects by Phil Tippett, amongst others.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL10jUYVideRlXX3EYDDBWXCdeNAYTMAD53GTHmN61C9c1zredFcz3Y1epFHJY-d75xahhvSU4zb6iHD593LkpDYtYQS07nfXhAzHVhuRqnj38XPtpP6NscKLQdmav12S74GNS3cKJq-Q/s1600/1981+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+dead+%2526+buried.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="889" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL10jUYVideRlXX3EYDDBWXCdeNAYTMAD53GTHmN61C9c1zredFcz3Y1epFHJY-d75xahhvSU4zb6iHD593LkpDYtYQS07nfXhAzHVhuRqnj38XPtpP6NscKLQdmav12S74GNS3cKJq-Q/s640/1981+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+dead+%2526+buried.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1981</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Unnerving, dark, claustrophobic and frightening, this is an excellent film (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/dead-buried.html">which I wrote about, in detail, here</a>) that was unfairly classed as a Video Nasty for while. Best seen knowing very little about it, you're wrong-footed from the start and all the way through. Great stuff.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3n8Zkp0z1WNCMwj2dRy7BDn7vcd2-ru0Ok-BA6gU3D4udpU0S1ifY1LNcsc9q9UteW-wnUicMVYZuXVNw3RsOh6iwHPiAkqA1Kai3NR7Z5hc0QJaWuSJ7ev7r1kYa5E9noAto5tMDbz8/s1600/1981+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+house+by+the+cemetery.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="887" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3n8Zkp0z1WNCMwj2dRy7BDn7vcd2-ru0Ok-BA6gU3D4udpU0S1ifY1LNcsc9q9UteW-wnUicMVYZuXVNw3RsOh6iwHPiAkqA1Kai3NR7Z5hc0QJaWuSJ7ev7r1kYa5E9noAto5tMDbz8/s640/1981+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+house+by+the+cemetery.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1981</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There's never a great deal of subtlety in a Lucio Fulci film but they're all the more fun for that. I first saw this on a VIPCO tape (and if you remember that label and their claims, then you'll understand why I thought it was a confusing mess), re-watched it on another label and liked it a great deal more.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijifG13g8cJGoD0DsYcBFR1uFLJbXvEedGGwXEuS7j-hVYaH8W-a5pG2TokvPR8803CX4b7oQCo75ozBKCcvXsemtRExJgMCMJG2-rWm8Z-eCfZrglOTx8T33DD2Sd8f37XoL6QfCM1Q/s1600/1981+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+the+monster+club.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="887" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijifG13g8cJGoD0DsYcBFR1uFLJbXvEedGGwXEuS7j-hVYaH8W-a5pG2TokvPR8803CX4b7oQCo75ozBKCcvXsemtRExJgMCMJG2-rWm8Z-eCfZrglOTx8T33DD2Sd8f37XoL6QfCM1Q/s640/1981+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+the+monster+club.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1981</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A wonderful Graham Humphreys poster for a funny little film that was, sadly, a bit out of step with the times for when it was released (though it did get a <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/nostalgic-for-my-childhood-look-in.html"><i>Look-In</i></a> cover).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrP3XDTXbp4BTWMQjeE2ZYskPn3TkFOfgLPrzZgOOU3k-nLfDVFUuyzTeYoMniK9H3RO7G77D4t6_1gQbbXDVgyR3b06aP8RqbA9JIZgShKJSRSfdVxT0s8negeo_NrlH8R_2mVxzEoGY/s1600/1987+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+evil+dead+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="886" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrP3XDTXbp4BTWMQjeE2ZYskPn3TkFOfgLPrzZgOOU3k-nLfDVFUuyzTeYoMniK9H3RO7G77D4t6_1gQbbXDVgyR3b06aP8RqbA9JIZgShKJSRSfdVxT0s8negeo_NrlH8R_2mVxzEoGY/s640/1987+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+evil+dead+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1987</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Graham Humphreys again, giving us some of the highlights from Sam Raimi's bizarre and very funny sequel.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqeh8MRWI_poXdDmfFc63hZ52nA2BFtJ_mfj3tYhQOfD5h8RGE0S3BZ7SO1HbbZXy-k63Bge6G5bfG-hrZ-4O8-atCzjg3yP4XR3uepiKd6iP4nSAbrvBTH1sKehbio3n-Z9eptdDnjqc/s1600/1987+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+near+dark.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="848" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqeh8MRWI_poXdDmfFc63hZ52nA2BFtJ_mfj3tYhQOfD5h8RGE0S3BZ7SO1HbbZXy-k63Bge6G5bfG-hrZ-4O8-atCzjg3yP4XR3uepiKd6iP4nSAbrvBTH1sKehbio3n-Z9eptdDnjqc/s640/1987+painted+cinema+uk+quad+horror+film+poster+halloween+mark+west+strange+tales+near+dark.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1987</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A clever and fairly subtle poster for a darkly intense and unsettling modern vampire tale, long before those creatures of the night got all spangly and sparkling. I love the film (especially the uncomfortable sequence in the bar when you suddenly realise that everyone's in trouble) and I think this poster serves it well.<br />
<br />
<br />
Happy Halloween!Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-81719403573574477752022-10-17T09:00:00.004+01:002022-10-17T09:00:00.143+01:00The Secret Of Phantom Lake, by William Arden2014 marked the fiftieth anniversary of <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/nostalgic-for-my-childhood-three.html">The Three Investigators</a> being published and, to celebrate, I re-read and compiled my all-time Top 10 (safe in the knowledge that it would be subject to change in years to come, of course). <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/my-three-investigators-all-time-top-10.html">I posted my list here</a>, having previously read all 30 of the original series from 2008 to 2010 (a reading and reviewing odyssey <a href="http://mewtti.blogspot.co.uk/">that I blogged here</a>).<br />
<br />
Following this, I decided to re-visit some of the books I'd missed on that second read-through, without any intention of posting reviews of them but, as if often the way, it didn't quite work out like that. Happily, this is on-going and so here's an additional review...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nhI6H8yNDMBkJ7hpuFSZ2hkATjSQ_3Za1Dq4shZp0TZgfNL6K8xlpwt6fLgthMyEbTsFbBmuTU6tgLidQC7ycgb_VJ6ry4kpHkAzvNgZmAaqZoMtxFryUoVAMLQovU4TXHO_QXc6Mgg/s1600/alfred+hitchcock+three+investigators+roger+hall+mark+west+strange+tales+collins.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="736" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nhI6H8yNDMBkJ7hpuFSZ2hkATjSQ_3Za1Dq4shZp0TZgfNL6K8xlpwt6fLgthMyEbTsFbBmuTU6tgLidQC7ycgb_VJ6ry4kpHkAzvNgZmAaqZoMtxFryUoVAMLQovU4TXHO_QXc6Mgg/s640/alfred+hitchcock+three+investigators+roger+hall+mark+west+strange+tales+collins.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Collins Hardback First Edition (printed in 1974 and never reprinted), cover art by Roger Hall</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>"Step carefully and look behind you - mystery and danger await all who follow The Three Investigators to Phantom Lake."</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>That's Alfred Hitchcock's warning...</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Not only do Pete, Bob and Jupiter hunt lakeside phantoms - thy're also haunted by a ghostly gunfighter. Not to mention a piano at plays itself and a saloonful of poker-playing miners - invisible ones!</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Where will the spooky treasure trail to Phantom Lake lead them next?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>You have been warned...</b></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoN-nhui9nqLuJmAdC8gRyK1x16ZeIFm0gRQDE6S_TExG41mabeiUKr6B98PN5IfCV_i2u8jmm4DSAwJW7hdNiXANq8er48kUtjVJtvZnvjorAIwif8i0AXmYcqi_2vheLNNl9i-Z69Y/s1600/19a+phantom+lake+mark+west+strange+tales+peter+archer+alfred+hitchcock+three+investigators+armada+detail.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="849" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoN-nhui9nqLuJmAdC8gRyK1x16ZeIFm0gRQDE6S_TExG41mabeiUKr6B98PN5IfCV_i2u8jmm4DSAwJW7hdNiXANq8er48kUtjVJtvZnvjorAIwif8i0AXmYcqi_2vheLNNl9i-Z69Y/s320/19a+phantom+lake+mark+west+strange+tales+peter+archer+alfred+hitchcock+three+investigators+armada+detail.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail from the back cover of the Armada format a paperback,<br />
art by Peter Archer. There were no internal illustrations<br />
in the UK editions.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The fifth entry in the series by William Arden, pen name for the prolific thriller writer Dennis Lynds (his fourth, <i>The Mystery Of The Shrinking House</i>, was published just prior in this in 1972 and <a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-mystery-of-shrinking-house-by.html">I wrote about it here</a>), this is as well plotted and paced as all his books. There’s some action in the Jones Junkyard (including Jupiter using “Plan One!”), but most of the piece takes place at the Gunn estate, which is well observed and described. With a haunting visit to Cabrillo Island (where Arden really ramps up the atmosphere - it provides the basis of the hardback artwork) and the diverting trip to Powder Gulch (a ghost town which gives the paperback editions their imagery), the book also makes good use of a trip to Santa Barbara (utilising real locations, I was pleased to discover).<br />
<br />
The central mystery - was there actually any treasure and where might Gunn have hidden it? - is well put together and the way the boys unlock the clues is nicely played, though I was amazed at all these businesses that just happened to have one-hundred-year-old documents lying around. Aunt Matilda and Hans have decent sized roles - the latter participating in a few key scenes - and Arden makes good use of the Christmas period, with the boys helping their parents/guardians put up the decorations and seeing them all over town, while the season adds a chill to the air.<br />
<br />
As well written as always, this has some decent set pieces - especially the Santa Barbara and Cabrillo Island sequences - some nice touches of comedy (there’s a bit where Jupiter runs one way, only to see his compatriots coming the other way) and a mention for Ruxton University (where Dr Barrister, who the boys first met in <i><a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-mystery-of-singing-serpent-by-m-v.html">The Mystery Of The Singing Serpent</a></i>, works). Although the ending is perhaps wrapped up a bit too quickly for my liking, this is a solid mystery that works well and gives each of the boys their moment to shine. I would very much recommend it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGfQlVKzhV4l_Wn016bjjYRI5eYxR4AxhPQLyYd1NleNrACRmRskgcSm55J0GcmQVhVN1UjtHet6wrDbD0708o92idsr_OOuq-TMkwppWBFzArg52i_vAngowJJ9Awdwu-AThmmukBHfs/s1600/19a+phantom+lake+mark+west+strange+tales+peter+archer+alfred+hitchcock+three+investigators+armada.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="984" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGfQlVKzhV4l_Wn016bjjYRI5eYxR4AxhPQLyYd1NleNrACRmRskgcSm55J0GcmQVhVN1UjtHet6wrDbD0708o92idsr_OOuq-TMkwppWBFzArg52i_vAngowJJ9Awdwu-AThmmukBHfs/s640/19a+phantom+lake+mark+west+strange+tales+peter+archer+alfred+hitchcock+three+investigators+armada.jpg" width="392" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Armada format a paperback (printed between 1976 and 1979), cover art by Peter Archer</i><br />
<i>(cover scan of my copy)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYoxEd1A5MYIESzkh1NemQuaxc7rNI-UmUm95gzZzA3ClFipKOz8fHy4etMDELByQ_wHi7cDuNzTJc23IG0QVTmp2GxZmqB_Idtnfy2ZyufH7OyugFfzbWX55lmLZ_AoeSmkh9Nn7wV4/s1600/19a+phantom+lake+mark+west+strange+tales+peter+archer+alfred+hitchcock+three+investigators+armadal.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="996" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYoxEd1A5MYIESzkh1NemQuaxc7rNI-UmUm95gzZzA3ClFipKOz8fHy4etMDELByQ_wHi7cDuNzTJc23IG0QVTmp2GxZmqB_Idtnfy2ZyufH7OyugFfzbWX55lmLZ_AoeSmkh9Nn7wV4/s640/19a+phantom+lake+mark+west+strange+tales+peter+archer+alfred+hitchcock+three+investigators+armadal.jpg" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Armada format b paperback (printed between 1980 and 1982), cover art by Peter Archer<br />(cover scan of my copy)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There were no internal illustrations for the UK edition which is a shame, since some of the set pieces used in the US hardback edition would have been ably served by Roger Hall.<br />
<br />
Thanks to Ian Regan for the artwork (<a href="http://seriesbookart.co.uk/t3iuk">you can see more at his excellent Cover Art database here</a>)Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-16703607589203388432022-10-03T09:00:00.005+01:002022-10-03T09:00:00.178+01:00New Nightmares - Horror Writing School<div style="text-align: left;">Alex Davis, the mastermind behind the fantastic Edge/Sledge Lit conventions at Derby Quad (which I've written about extensively, <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/search/label/edge-lit">as you can see here</a>) has now posted the modules in his latest online writing school.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDL7szFHhEdyRk4Q4Qhj2tS3SL5sgx6LR8mDOCpeIJafvaU1B-hkj8LE6rAbF3K0Bx0wJyVB8EcGLlp-3Louj9xeSsdlSzCq96LbyAoKgIPXgohdlka-T4PG1Alj8GTSigVVdyzJbPo7Sgt5uhbplxe9J9R9-PFYeHwjc9br02EvfiVRvfVF5njH9G/s1380/new%20nightmares.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1380" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDL7szFHhEdyRk4Q4Qhj2tS3SL5sgx6LR8mDOCpeIJafvaU1B-hkj8LE6rAbF3K0Bx0wJyVB8EcGLlp-3Louj9xeSsdlSzCq96LbyAoKgIPXgohdlka-T4PG1Alj8GTSigVVdyzJbPo7Sgt5uhbplxe9J9R9-PFYeHwjc9br02EvfiVRvfVF5njH9G/w640-h318/new%20nightmares.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I am thrilled to be involved with such a great line-up of writers and very happy to be putting on a module for "Plotting and Planning" alongside my dear old chum and plotting partner <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/search/label/david%20roberts">David Roberts</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">While we haven't finalised our event yet, we'll be going through the processes that have so far seen the creation of four thriller novels with the fifth just about to get underway. This will cover everything from the initial idea to creating a spine for the set pieces and how to put together compelling characters. There might also be a practical element where we plot out a novella in the session!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">More details on the <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-nightmares-6-week-horror-writing-school-tickets-427950179507?fbclid=IwAR1KKnjVAwQIoqrqGlXtTYEShobPi53LAw5sB656kM51Z_VTdyPM-iWGhTc">event link here</a> and David & I hope to see some of you online.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I can guarantee it'll be fun and you never know, we might even teach you a new trick! Get your tickets and find out!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQxFFL_dU3TU3movJtCce3Geo8PHhPmx3TOsgER7O0KEI6_FZuLkZc3XOGmXPOrDr13Ex3oJmToHGD2VfLO1Xf1yW3vOD-M1ANDedP9SRprt7pbCfPqA1NvkqwScJQfuclEVJhaOiViKGZD354MWM3uyomeqaM_I45gMaWByIKFV9KBEkqnp_xh5h/s4000/241116%203%20Me%20&%20David.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQxFFL_dU3TU3movJtCce3Geo8PHhPmx3TOsgER7O0KEI6_FZuLkZc3XOGmXPOrDr13Ex3oJmToHGD2VfLO1Xf1yW3vOD-M1ANDedP9SRprt7pbCfPqA1NvkqwScJQfuclEVJhaOiViKGZD354MWM3uyomeqaM_I45gMaWByIKFV9KBEkqnp_xh5h/w640-h480/241116%203%20Me%20&%20David.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>David & I in his study standing in front of the white board where we'd just finished bashing out the plan for what became ONLY WATCHING YOU.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-7855250414095083162022-09-20T09:00:00.000+01:002022-09-20T09:00:00.175+01:00An 80s Newspaper Clipping<div style="text-align: left;">A few weeks ago, I was flicking through my copy of <i>Skeleton Crew</i> and found this newspaper clipping. I can only assume I ripped it out of the Kettering Evening Telegraph (dated 20th September 1986 - 36 years ago!) to take into work so my friends & I could plan what we were going to see at the cinema. We went a lot in those days.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbpKW9R7dLfcCwrkISwAXblyW3Fw-Q7NPw-ufRMEzIGdphYXnJOtJawdrWpaZ-_-4Yw9VuQ_c-oZFzyagAYxaOinp_qzv0XSCUn6s6jfJJPOxv7IiMLqcpTFoVvMmUKL4G8tNoda79JcQ/s1600/evening+telegraph+260986+mark+west+strange+tales+cinema+ohio+forum+bentleys+kettering+corby+burton+latimer+listing+print+ad.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="791" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbpKW9R7dLfcCwrkISwAXblyW3Fw-Q7NPw-ufRMEzIGdphYXnJOtJawdrWpaZ-_-4Yw9VuQ_c-oZFzyagAYxaOinp_qzv0XSCUn6s6jfJJPOxv7IiMLqcpTFoVvMmUKL4G8tNoda79JcQ/s640/evening+telegraph+260986+mark+west+strange+tales+cinema+ohio+forum+bentleys+kettering+corby+burton+latimer+listing+print+ad.jpg" width="316" /></a></div>Just look at that terrific selection of films! While <i>Cobra</i> was the first 18 certificate I got into (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/1986-and-all-that.html">as I wrote about here</a>, though according to my diary I saw it in Corby), I managed to see <i>The Evil Dead</i>, <i>Rocky IV</i> and <i>Karate Kid 2</i> at one of the venues shown, at those astonishing prices (I remember a double-bill would cost £2.50 except, I presume, on Mondays and Thursdays).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I loved these places and they held a lot of history for me. Dad took me to see my first James Bond film at Corby cinema (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/live-let-die-at-40.html">as I wrote about here</a>), I saw a lot of great films at Kettering (Dad took me and <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/the-back-garden-play-1982.html">Claire</a> to <i><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/star%20wars">Star Wars</a></i>, Nick & I saw <i><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/raiders-of-lost-ark-at-35-miniatures.html">Raiders Of The Lost Ark</a></i>, which I wrote about in <i><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-gets-left-behind-chapbook-by-mark.html">What Gets Left Behind</a></i>, Dad & I saw <i>ET</i>, the list goes on) and when Bentley’s opened it quickly became a favourite.<br /><br />Attendance must have been falling (probably not helped by the fleapit nature of these cinemas, well past their prime) but the independents were clearly knackered and on their last legs when the multiplexes arrived and did away with them. Sixfields in Northampton dealt the first blow and the Odeon in Kettering finished the job. I'm not a big fan of the multiplex (I still go to them, obviously) because to me they feel like heartless, sterile places, more interested in selling food and drinks than anything else. Yes, Kettering Ohio had holes in the ceiling and seats were missing and it was often better to sit down in the dark so you couldn’t see the state of your seat, but it felt real, like a proper cinema, where everyone there cared about the films.<br /><br />On the bright side, independent cinemas have made something of a comeback and we often go to the Northampton Filmhouse (which was originally called the Errol Flynn), where Jon & I saw a <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/north-by-northwest-hitchcock-at-cinema.html">brace of Hitchcock</a>, <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2019/12/live-baby-live-inxs-on-big-screen.html">Alison & I watched the INXS Live Baby Live film</a> and I took Dad to see <i>Dunkirk</i> where the soundtrack almost rattled the speakers off the wall - it's small and comfortable, well run and shows an eclectic range of films.<br /><br /> And yes, I know I sound like a dinosaur.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aD0OLEsyYxtVl9yYF9BgWlElDZ-y8Dihskjst9DPutS4pyyREsXp7W9sOPUXwfong91eocDcZUsixM6zX6rQ3n1S9tNVvO8PyJFsyVfn9Wdn9UuBnXIe708aUuEzIkD-tACwRzOjtCc/s1600/nostalgic+for+my+childhood+mark+west+cinema+newspaper+ad+posters+retro+vintage+1982+blade+runner+corby+kettering.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="753" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aD0OLEsyYxtVl9yYF9BgWlElDZ-y8Dihskjst9DPutS4pyyREsXp7W9sOPUXwfong91eocDcZUsixM6zX6rQ3n1S9tNVvO8PyJFsyVfn9Wdn9UuBnXIe708aUuEzIkD-tACwRzOjtCc/s640/nostalgic+for+my+childhood+mark+west+cinema+newspaper+ad+posters+retro+vintage+1982+blade+runner+corby+kettering.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><i>Another clipping I kept, this one from 1982<br />If we fancied a change, we'd sometimes go to the ABC Northampton (now a Jesus Army Centre) or the Palace Wellingborough (now a pub called The Cutting Room). Later, when we had our own cars, we'd go to the midnight movie at The Point in Milton Keynes (the only multiplex I ever had any fondness for, it now stands by the MK shopping centre looking knackered and forlorn).</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijIpi3wiI3bIJ0bhaKwxeKdt-yCOHJxFLVgfZOG9i35_aKpWvpY1_GPy29dqFLtDHxQb91Xef-zL1oHBdvx1vyumowhmsvfz-N_pooL8X-JUDiNCEKxISfIZrY69dq3C0fwG8-Wj4RzPs/s1600/savoy+cinema+ohio+kettering+russell+street+1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijIpi3wiI3bIJ0bhaKwxeKdt-yCOHJxFLVgfZOG9i35_aKpWvpY1_GPy29dqFLtDHxQb91Xef-zL1oHBdvx1vyumowhmsvfz-N_pooL8X-JUDiNCEKxISfIZrY69dq3C0fwG8-Wj4RzPs/s400/savoy+cinema+ohio+kettering+russell+street+1.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I took this picture in 2005, knowing that the building<br />would eventually be knocked down and wanting to<br />have a record of it...</i></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Kettering Ohio</b> started life as the Savoy Cinema, opened as a dual purpose cinema and theatre on 21st May 1938 with Spencer Tracey in <i>The Big City</i> plus a variety show on stage. It was built over the remains of the Coliseum Theatre which had opened in 1910 but burned down in 1937.<br /><br />The Savoy had 1,150 seats in the stalls and circle as well as a full stage (the Northampton Repertory Company performed regular seasons between 1949 and 1951) and was taken over by Clifton Cinemas on 25th August 1944. In 1968 the circle was split off to make a smaller (485 seat) cinema called the Studio, with a bingo hall taking over the stalls and stage area. In 1973 the screen was split into two (known as Studio 1 & 2, seating 160 and 140 respectively). After briefly closing in 1986, it re-opened as the independent Ohio and finally closed in 1997 when the Odeon opened.<br /><div><br /></div>The Ohio is a key location in my novel In The Rain With The Dead (Magellan, the baddie, makes his base there) and <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/goodbye-ohio-another-piece-of-history.html">I wrote about the cinema as it was being demolished in 2014</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Bentley’s of Burton Latimer</b> was originally The Electric Palace, which opened in August 1914 with an auditorium that seated 500. It became a Watts Cinema in 1938 but closed in 1960. In 1985, Ashley Wyatt bought the building, renovated it and opened Bentley’s as a 182-seat cinema in January 1986 though it closed the following year. It was re-opened in 1994 by Brian McFarlane (who owned the Ohio) but closed soon after. The venue is now an Italian restaurant.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCm4DK1kWgNQ-08lc0ooToYOIF2B3e4wjf4Ss9jyF9Yw_5q6c8-oJoTqBa0PmR3x4UJQctgVvqs8_7Y0k3zlhTOm_NIX9zZum8xvuNy2hFIdTm5bPt-p2QGL26YoAFQyfSFMg2OSumHjk/s1600/mark+west+strange+tales+corby+cinema+forum+1980s.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="586" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCm4DK1kWgNQ-08lc0ooToYOIF2B3e4wjf4Ss9jyF9Yw_5q6c8-oJoTqBa0PmR3x4UJQctgVvqs8_7Y0k3zlhTOm_NIX9zZum8xvuNy2hFIdTm5bPt-p2QGL26YoAFQyfSFMg2OSumHjk/s400/mark+west+strange+tales+corby+cinema+forum+1980s.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>You can just see the wording "cinema" on the back of the auditoriums.<br />Photograph from the late 80s.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><b>The Forum Cinema</b> opened on 7th April 1973 as a Jerry Lewis Cinema (part of the US based Network Cinema Corporation), featuring two screens (each seating 325) as part of a new shopping centre being built in Corby. It was almost immediately bought out by the Walker chain, re-named Oscar cinema and then, in 1980, Focus cinema before Ashley Wyatt took it over in September 1983 and renamed it Forum Cinema. The number one screen was eventually twinned, with number two becoming a laser quest games centre and the cinema closed (to become an over-25’s nightclub called Talkies) on 24th September 1992. The Forum Cinema site was demolished in the summer of 2005 when the shopping centre was rebuilt.<br /><br />I like to think I sound like a wistfully melancholic dinosaur now...<br /><br />sources:<br /><a href="http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/10892">Cinematreasures.org - Savoy, Kettering</a><br /><a href="http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/37367">Cinematreasures.org - Forum, Corby</a><br /><a href="http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/51006">Cinematreasures.org - Bentleys, Burton Latimer</a></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-63161892815908656272022-09-05T09:00:00.006+01:002022-09-05T09:00:00.166+01:00An Interview and Writing Advice<div style="text-align: left;">A few weeks back, I was lucky enough to be interviewed by the good people at <a href="http://www.thebookshelfcafe.news/">The Bookshelf Cafe</a> News site.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUO1fk4vtH4SAvz9SegcmvoUv3WOuT6XPMhegI7XBG0VjdfjCcCD3v61394AeOUD25FDuswy1k0y4IEJ4SGNMRvi_cwG-2rHPhzC-xBoRrgVLvi2cJfQA46WHp-GjKiOpvgFZqSIXUQxuCgal0CSf-PgO4TLj58P_kUcpm9nSSe5QB2lSKct__JNNl/s680/thebookshelfcafe%20interview%20header.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="680" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUO1fk4vtH4SAvz9SegcmvoUv3WOuT6XPMhegI7XBG0VjdfjCcCD3v61394AeOUD25FDuswy1k0y4IEJ4SGNMRvi_cwG-2rHPhzC-xBoRrgVLvi2cJfQA46WHp-GjKiOpvgFZqSIXUQxuCgal0CSf-PgO4TLj58P_kUcpm9nSSe5QB2lSKct__JNNl/w640-h638/thebookshelfcafe%20interview%20header.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.thebookshelfcafe.news/author-interview-mark-west/">You can read the whole interview here</a> but I thought I'd put up one of my answers on the blog since it deals with a writing related question I sometimes get asked about character names.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>The Bookshelf Cafe: How do you come up with character names for your stories?</div><div><br /></div><div>MW: I usually have a name fairly soon for the male and female leads though sometimes when David & I are discussing them, we use “Fred and Ginger” so we can keep track of who we’re talking about. The problem there is what when the final names settle in, we’re still calling them Fred or Ginger. For the remainder of the characters, I like to keep it really simple by picking a favourite film or TV show and downloading the imdb cast & crew list. For instance, with <a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/p/dont-go-back-novel-by-mark-west.html"><b><i>DON’T GO BACK</i></b></a>, I chose the <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2019/11/novelisation-review-2-professionals-4.html">“Hunter/Hunted”</a> episode from <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2019/11/novelisation-review-2-professionals-4.html"><i>THE PROFESSIONALS</i></a> TV series and that’s why the baddie has Cowley for a surname. By mixing and matching characters, actors and technicians, you have more than one hundred name combinations in front of you instantly and it saves spending too much time trying to think of names for yourself (and, if you write enough stories, you’ll quickly find you tend to repeat names).</div><div><br /></div><div>Over the course of the ten-question interview, I talk about what started me off with writing, how I plot and what music I listen to. <a href="http://www.thebookshelfcafe.news/author-interview-mark-west/">You can find the rest of my answers on this link</a>.</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you're interested, David & I recorded a little snippet on one of our Friday Night Walks where I talk about the same thing. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2114369058724382">You can see it on this link here</a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">To keep up to date with my writing adventures, you can now follow me on Facebook at <a href="http://facebook.com/MarkWestWrites/">facebook.com/MarkWestWrites/</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>You can pick up my books from Amazon on these links:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mybook.to/DontGoBack">mybook.to/DontGoBack</a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mybook.to/OnlyWatchingYou">mybook.to/OnlyWatchingYou</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mybook.to/TheHuntersQuarry"></a><a href="http://mybook.to/TheHuntersQuarry">mybook.to/TheHuntersQuarry</a></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9_qaUI_3eMEaC2ZU_KtRV2evY2yd0eHuOmgqC0wYly0_SF5PppYaZgJm0yBHgZRluXL-n_lXjAAOMK4AiVYBfZrzt53gDvfaFKzDZKCwy0pcOOfpAzdIEzXqOM9UaGCzsAkslRiLx6MA60SmtR_kIAIP_LxFPCSUE_1FDIaD1hbJoidP4DracC2-/s1028/3%20book%20promo%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1028" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9_qaUI_3eMEaC2ZU_KtRV2evY2yd0eHuOmgqC0wYly0_SF5PppYaZgJm0yBHgZRluXL-n_lXjAAOMK4AiVYBfZrzt53gDvfaFKzDZKCwy0pcOOfpAzdIEzXqOM9UaGCzsAkslRiLx6MA60SmtR_kIAIP_LxFPCSUE_1FDIaD1hbJoidP4DracC2-/w640-h482/3%20book%20promo%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-32650723682160018212022-08-22T09:00:00.001+01:002022-08-22T09:00:00.145+01:00The Back Garden Play In 1982Back in November 2020, I blogged about the photo-stories I used to produce (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/photo-stories-little-slice-of-history.html">which you can read here</a>). As well as writing and directing those, I was also one of those annoying <i>"hey, let's put on a play!"</i> kids and, for two summers with friends, forty years ago, I did just that.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVDHjxq0mgjBKE1oFG7VQNOyalKEFb8WdArWywFZCvCh4Bqi_pOOZNHHOP8B-9OaurdQZgYYzQrQ3osdZZBhceNidpNPzXt2zFZ-UsIZUNth_HLhUAwecr_G3uYesiMlfCcmyjHFb5GzI/s1600/mark+west+strange+tales+august+1982+play+back+garden+smith+%2526+jones+kettering+evening+telegraph+rothwell+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVDHjxq0mgjBKE1oFG7VQNOyalKEFb8WdArWywFZCvCh4Bqi_pOOZNHHOP8B-9OaurdQZgYYzQrQ3osdZZBhceNidpNPzXt2zFZ-UsIZUNth_HLhUAwecr_G3uYesiMlfCcmyjHFb5GzI/s640/mark+west+strange+tales+august+1982+play+back+garden+smith+%2526+jones+kettering+evening+telegraph+rothwell+picture.jpg" width="458" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Rasgdale Street Players (from left) - Steven Corton, Claire Gibson, me, Tracy, Caroline Gibson<br />(from the Kettering Evening Telegraph, August 1982)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Ragsdale Street Players (we weren't actually called that but, with hindsight and since we lived there, we really should have been) was formed by me and my friend Claire Gibson (who had been in my class during junior school), along with my sister, <a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/tj">Tracy</a> and Claire's sister, Caroline.<br />
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Our first play, <i>The Evil Of Dr Frankenstein</i>, was performed in the Gibson's back garden during summer 1981. My friend <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/my-friend-nick.html">Nick</a> was going to play the monster but, at the last moment, wasn't able to so he was replaced by a cardboard box robot (as I recall) who thankfully didn't have any lines. The play was successful with its audience (friends, neighbours and relatives who weren't told what was happening when they were invited over) and I loved it.<br />
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After that, I read a book (<i>Graphic Violence On The Screen</i>, by Thomas R. Atkins, which I still have in my library) that included a picture of Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in <i>Bonnie And Clyde</i> (1967). I was really taken with it, got other books out of the library about the duo and decided that would be the basis for the 1982 play. <br />
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Everyone agreed, I did the research and Claire & I began writing the script on 3rd August (I only know this because 1982 was the first year I kept a diary). Later entries record us rehearsing (though not every day) and the <i>"for one night only"</i> performance was Wednesday 11th August (we rehearsed morning and afternoon that day). My diary entry reads:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"The play went down quite well and lots of people came. </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>We raised £3.40 for the church tower appeal fund"</i></div>
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<b><i>Smith & Jones</i></b>, our play, was in two acts and we even had a singalong in the interval - Steve Corton could play the keyboard and knew the tune to <i>We Are The Champions</i>, which helped because Claire had the lyrics in her <i>Smash Hits</i> and we wrote them on boards for the audience to see.<br />
<br />
We took the funds to the church the next day and that, I thought, was going to be it - the play had done well, I basked in the glory, that was us done for another year. Except, on the Friday, I got a phone call from the local Evening Telegraph and dutifully recorded it in my diary:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"This morning, a lady from the Evening Telegraph phoned me up to say that Canon Cox had contacted them to tell them how much we raised etc. She is sending a photographer at 2.30pm. He came earlier and took 5 scenes </i>[I presume I meant poses]<i> but 20 shots. There were two men."</i></div>
<br />
The picture appeared in the Monday 16th August edition, 40 years ago. I'm wearing my Indiana Jones fedora (bought the previous summer in Great Yarmouth), Steve is wearing my dad's St John's ambulance hat and we're all holding toy guns. And seriously, how fantastic is that?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjlpmx8v-_7Jl7NXkRhX3nmpdoMyh3Ckz8TKwlt-fbqaaMJA2wNYyPBSbUXO8Vd257KcZo6iSlEtr_zL8me-8V0dtOX47Z_cz59TCSFrGRwWnLzp3VesBwrEyKMuhOyqwf1hnn8s5DQE/s1600/mark+west+strange+tales+august+1982+play+back+garden+smith+%2526+jones+kettering+evening+telegraph+rothwell+article.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjlpmx8v-_7Jl7NXkRhX3nmpdoMyh3Ckz8TKwlt-fbqaaMJA2wNYyPBSbUXO8Vd257KcZo6iSlEtr_zL8me-8V0dtOX47Z_cz59TCSFrGRwWnLzp3VesBwrEyKMuhOyqwf1hnn8s5DQE/s640/mark+west+strange+tales+august+1982+play+back+garden+smith+%2526+jones+kettering+evening+telegraph+rothwell+article.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My diary says £3.40 and I stand by that...</i></td></tr>
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The Ragsdale Street Players (I really wish I'd thought to tell the reporter from the ET that) bowed out at the top of their game and <b><i>Smith & Jones </i></b>proved to be our final show. I can't remember much at all of the play, or the performance, but looking at that grainy photograph from the paper always makes me smile. Claire and Caroline are both still doing very well, you'll be pleased to hear and I went on to appear in several Youth Club pantomimes with Claire as we moved into our teens. I haven't done much acting since then but, on occasion, I've been known to write the odd thing or two...Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-52678990430891926892022-08-01T09:00:00.004+01:002022-08-01T09:00:00.149+01:00Yet More Look-In Cover ArtIn 2016 I wrote a <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/nostalgic%20for%20my%20childhood">Nostalgic</a> post about <i><a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/look-in">Look-In</a></i> (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/nostalgic-for-my-childhood-look-in.html">which you can read here</a>), a much loved magazine (‘the junior TV Times’) of my childhood. Designed and written for kids, it featured the major film stars, pop acts, sports people and TV stars of the day with comic strips, posters (most of the Six Million Dollar Man ones ended up on my bedroom wall) and <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/behind%20the%20scenes">behind the scenes articles</a>. It also had, through the late 70s and into the early 80s, painted covers by Arnaldo Putzu, an Italian artist working in London who made his name creating cinema posters in the 1960’s for the likes of Morecombe & Wise, Hammer (<i>Creatures the World Forgot</i> and <i>The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires</i>), the Carry On series and <i>Get Carter</i> (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/glorious-painted-movie-posters.html">which I wrote about here</a>). Though other artists sometimes contributed artwork (including Arthur Ranson), his cover reign from 1973 through to 1981 still looks glorious today.<br />
<br />
I’ve posted about the covers before (you can read previous posts <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/look-in-cover-art.html">here</a>, <a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2019/04/more-look-in-cover-art.html">here</a> and <a href="https://markwestwriter.blogspot.com/2020/11/even-more-look-in-cover-art-month-locked.html">here</a>) and so, with a focus on those from 1981 (all of forty one years ago), here’s another small selection of that wonderful artwork.<br />
<br />
Enjoy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHOX1Sbh2RNWLIzQsD1yjna-TzP3N9rUnpSoBG6oVv_n5W7Q6YmON_bks32K8nn5Bz1raKtYLGIcTWO_zCGw5txEK9Ps3YgG1_mQOhK27l7N2BY5Pv8O9ZJcU7PRjoEDXVBD90wgk_jI/s1600/75+look-in+041075+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHOX1Sbh2RNWLIzQsD1yjna-TzP3N9rUnpSoBG6oVv_n5W7Q6YmON_bks32K8nn5Bz1raKtYLGIcTWO_zCGw5txEK9Ps3YgG1_mQOhK27l7N2BY5Pv8O9ZJcU7PRjoEDXVBD90wgk_jI/s640/75+look-in+041075+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia.jpg" width="464" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_SHvBjOQ1eIpVo9FPZV_t3IzvqW2ABwzyd0Nz0d55-6xK-w80laZcMiBPQAZi-jB-bUSjOm6sIUY9E3zUwHcLoE2wdgxEwuFbG5hGPYIQDscW7E_MwZzEsKcl3u9zLh4Rk5IGesJ2dgA/s1600/75+look-in+251075+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="564" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_SHvBjOQ1eIpVo9FPZV_t3IzvqW2ABwzyd0Nz0d55-6xK-w80laZcMiBPQAZi-jB-bUSjOm6sIUY9E3zUwHcLoE2wdgxEwuFbG5hGPYIQDscW7E_MwZzEsKcl3u9zLh4Rk5IGesJ2dgA/s640/75+look-in+251075+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia.jpg" width="464" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>It was clearly a big deal for Bond to be on TV then (Dr No was released in 1962, 13 years prior to this edition. As of today, we're 47 years after this edition, which doesn't feel right at all...)</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPQgkL43WXqJyaBdbCaFg2B5Hw46DW6RY01W6Hfu3vKQ99dXgunljvqGLs64jM5nZXKTIt9iVsB9iFccHt3JDs3hY03R90bZ-Ie8xIR62T-aWZgbfgFFdSqyNhkHfL-7bGlhfffnaWjTw/s1600/76+look-in+170476+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+steve+austin+lee+majors+six+million+dollar+man.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPQgkL43WXqJyaBdbCaFg2B5Hw46DW6RY01W6Hfu3vKQ99dXgunljvqGLs64jM5nZXKTIt9iVsB9iFccHt3JDs3hY03R90bZ-Ie8xIR62T-aWZgbfgFFdSqyNhkHfL-7bGlhfffnaWjTw/s640/76+look-in+170476+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+steve+austin+lee+majors+six+million+dollar+man.jpg" width="454" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man, a major hero of my childhood</i></td></tr>
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<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOYmFbQslVorQZMnDykUlUblsoOXu9oIUiZ4N4VCLxO0dav3rLksOWHGKVJtNbD_6UXruI3b5inM_NvPBQcUTkDZHKxsf_jsgfUjwXTwaqU6Z_yg_750PRmLmgqXcJITvy2d9KPPz8uQ/s1600/77+look-in+050277+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+david+soul.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="948" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOYmFbQslVorQZMnDykUlUblsoOXu9oIUiZ4N4VCLxO0dav3rLksOWHGKVJtNbD_6UXruI3b5inM_NvPBQcUTkDZHKxsf_jsgfUjwXTwaqU6Z_yg_750PRmLmgqXcJITvy2d9KPPz8uQ/s640/77+look-in+050277+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+david+soul.jpg" width="474" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I didn't realise Just William was this old, to be honest - my sister-in-law still jokes about 'scweaming until she maketh herself sick...'</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqK-4AWgN1Jx10YepFYU3AHqduhyMrsP9PlBVZu47FcfESAYX872xfaqNLbUDP6ZIk4rKIhU_3mw7eIY_hkBjy67dxz1WrEnaYmNaCl6T5NcHw6QYcLF5F-JlerbzZyUggFU5Sw-a1dw/s1600/77+look-in+300777+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+fonz.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="864" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqK-4AWgN1Jx10YepFYU3AHqduhyMrsP9PlBVZu47FcfESAYX872xfaqNLbUDP6ZIk4rKIhU_3mw7eIY_hkBjy67dxz1WrEnaYmNaCl6T5NcHw6QYcLF5F-JlerbzZyUggFU5Sw-a1dw/s640/77+look-in+300777+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+fonz.jpg" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Heeeyy"</i></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKvS_skfwv2_gFIPJqrPqzcR2Y5zDGeDbix-Z7z6amDItdMH12_eAiyUh47m5rsM1nZXeXZFSp_pJ93BqwL8ww0OS-_lsG6ZbkaOSsHvb1p-DdzirLBbVnGn_zB2Ltbk4a_ha4lVCIbw/s1600/79+look-in+241179+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+charlie%2527s+angels.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="934" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKvS_skfwv2_gFIPJqrPqzcR2Y5zDGeDbix-Z7z6amDItdMH12_eAiyUh47m5rsM1nZXeXZFSp_pJ93BqwL8ww0OS-_lsG6ZbkaOSsHvb1p-DdzirLBbVnGn_zB2Ltbk4a_ha4lVCIbw/s640/79+look-in+241179+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+charlie%2527s+angels.jpg" width="466" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlNF14kaF0luopVMuH6dgC9MEBF5ZAErZRmEmKLGHH1-x84xaTzJ7i8auLHgc57u0X3RdYJSuEVRDKtPfv4Cyon2HPyzBAfpYflWI-YnJrpKU9lJPbom0S9qLIT4DKKpTLLEz-eNdL8k/s1600/80+look-in+310580+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+the+latchkey+kids.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="620" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlNF14kaF0luopVMuH6dgC9MEBF5ZAErZRmEmKLGHH1-x84xaTzJ7i8auLHgc57u0X3RdYJSuEVRDKtPfv4Cyon2HPyzBAfpYflWI-YnJrpKU9lJPbom0S9qLIT4DKKpTLLEz-eNdL8k/s640/80+look-in+310580+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+the+latchkey+kids.jpg" width="464" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>At the time I didn't realise The Latchkey Children was based on the novel by Eric Allen, but I discovered and read it in 2013 (<a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/the-latchkey-children-by-eric-allen.html">and blogged about it here</a>)</i></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUi5S6_vjr2EDVgh6r0PYH1v2cYAzxOP6Fes3ILZ3j_8PbaAEPxBGn8YgxTYUXljMUIFTWo7I98pLjgwAuqGexHouTra7fG5FMQu11FaThNHNw0emg8aU0bXpMRlopzN9_pB-hhOHOeGc/s1600/81+look-in+070281+chips.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="931" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUi5S6_vjr2EDVgh6r0PYH1v2cYAzxOP6Fes3ILZ3j_8PbaAEPxBGn8YgxTYUXljMUIFTWo7I98pLjgwAuqGexHouTra7fG5FMQu11FaThNHNw0emg8aU0bXpMRlopzN9_pB-hhOHOeGc/s640/81+look-in+070281+chips.jpg" width="464" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTsFi9fw2Sz2MtRQ7cnsW0FxusYzTVoScjize6_-Hn3t5Q9CRa69C-MT1nfpKFd41eukwQip53BWsrb72M2qyPWYtGI7yWViSjjXSFl6RaCg-rkxuLHxecfQgBVTEKpoeSc0KaAH2HQo/s1600/81+look-in+080881+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+indiana+jones+raiders+of+the+lost+ark+harrison+ford.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="532" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTsFi9fw2Sz2MtRQ7cnsW0FxusYzTVoScjize6_-Hn3t5Q9CRa69C-MT1nfpKFd41eukwQip53BWsrb72M2qyPWYtGI7yWViSjjXSFl6RaCg-rkxuLHxecfQgBVTEKpoeSc0KaAH2HQo/s640/81+look-in+080881+mark+west+strange+tales+nostalgia+indiana+jones+raiders+of+the+lost+ark+harrison+ford.jpg" width="474" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My favourite film of 1981, I blogged about <a href="http://markwestwriter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/raiders-of-lost-ark-at-35-miniatures.html">Raiders Of The Lost Ark here</a></i></td></tr>
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for more, there's a great <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/lookinmagazine/">Look-In archive on Facebook here</a></div>
Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com1