tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57876878377609133472012-01-27T15:38:52.632ZThe online presence of Mark WestMark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.comBlogger2441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-64725038979425530202012-01-27T14:21:00.000Z2012-01-27T14:21:12.120Z

When it comes to horror, I’m willing to embrace most of the sub-genres and enjoy them for what they offer. Sometimes I like a good ghost story, sometimes I like a good action-led piece, sometimes (looking at you, Gary McMahon) I like them bleak and sometimes I like them old-school, with lashings of sex and violence. I began reading horror in the mid-80s, when gore was good and over the past few

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-17129901446543159262012-01-25T11:00:00.001Z2012-01-25T11:03:32.039Z

It combines my deep appreciation of the father/son bond and Stormtroopers. How can this not be a win-win situation? (I didn't take this picture, but found it on Facebook via tor.com)

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-32740385602628050182012-01-24T01:02:00.000Z2012-01-24T01:02:36.679Z

(I don't usually have blog tours coming through here but, for the first time ever, I've made an exception for the lovely and hugely talented Cate Gardner. Support her work, folks, you won't be disappointed). "The Travelling Theatrical Tour: Diary of a Horsewoman" Thank you to Mark for allowing me to invade his blog so that I can celebrate the release of my book, Theatre of Curious Acts.

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-10595815342105463212012-01-17T00:34:00.001Z2012-01-17T00:34:50.307Z

...came today, from Ross Warren and Anthony Watson at Dark Minds press, for their "Darker Minds" anthology. My story "Looking At Me, Seeing You" will be sharing space with some excellent names and I can't wait to see the book.

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-76955716841652156592012-01-10T12:10:00.003Z2012-01-10T12:13:58.378Z

Happy New Year to everyone! Hope your festive season went well and now, here we are, in 2012 and January is already 10 days old! Where does the time go? One of my Christmas highlights was an influx of Nerf guns (we bought one design for him and for me, my sister-in-law Flo bought him another design and got me one too), leading to some running battles that were great fun (and often led to

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-5677575559337182332011-12-23T10:02:00.000Z2011-12-23T10:02:59.736Z

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish readers of this blog (and their loved ones) a very Happy Christmas, with all best wishes for the New Year. Thank you for your continued support and interest, let’s hope 2012 is a storming year for all of us!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-70206434965344165172011-12-21T14:15:00.000Z2011-12-21T14:15:14.138Z

Well, it’s that time of the year again, as we gear up for Christmas and remember the good (and not so good) of 2011. Here, I present the now Third Annual ‘My Best Reads Of The Year’ award and my top 20 reads like this: Joint 1st: Love & Freedom, by Sue Moorcroft The Concrete Grove, by Gary McMahon 3: The Silent Land, by Graham Joyce 4: The Hellbound Heart, by Clive Barker 5: Nearly Departed,

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-9225320497366113412011-12-16T13:58:00.000Z2011-12-16T13:58:09.454Z

“The Mill” continues to gather good notices, the latest appearing at The Book Den, where I also contributed a guest blog post on where the story came from. The Review can be found here, whilst my guest blog can be found here. I was also thrilled to discover that the story came at number 8 in the Top 15 Reads of the year, as compiled by Jim MacLeod at the Ginger Nuts Of Horror website. In other

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-16665564838338399492011-12-07T17:19:00.000Z2011-12-07T17:19:18.137Z

..."Fogbound From 5", a new collection from those nice folk at Hersham Horror Books. It features brand new fiction from Alison Littlewood, Adrian Chamberlin, Neil Williams, Peter Mark May and me, with the cover art and design by Neil and myself. My story "Last Train Home" features a monster dear to my heart and the ending was suggested by Matthew. We were driving one day and I was thinking

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-83133377775643236352011-11-24T16:54:00.001Z2011-11-24T16:55:02.903Z

Tomorrow, the 25th, is my Dad’s birthday - he’s a sprightly pensioner now, his life more full of activity than when he was gainfully employed and he has a great time chasing around after his two grandchildren. We’ll visit him tonight, to give him his cards and gifts and wish him all the best. Tomorrow, the 25th, my kid sister Sarah & I will go up to the cemetery, just on the edge of town and

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-25868241808925369932011-11-22T12:36:00.000Z2011-11-22T12:36:19.164Z

Today marks the 14th anniversary of Michael Hutchence's death. I still clearly remember hearing the news on the radio that morning and not quite believing it - he was dead, how could that be? I followed without liking the awful media circus that broke out in the aftermath - the various dysfunctional family activities, the muck-raking, the missing funds, the death of Paula Yates making an

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-11440389577656740372011-11-20T23:18:00.001Z2011-11-20T23:24:13.294Z

On Friday, through a friend’s Facebook update, I found out there was a Memorabilia fair at the NEC, in Birmingham. I’ve wanted to go along to one for years and, after having had a crap few weeks at work, thought it’d be a nice treat. With the promise that there would be plenty of Mario-related toys, I convinced Dude to accompany me. We headed off on Saturday morning and I was overwhelmed with

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-73905351282916904752011-11-18T01:21:00.000Z2011-11-18T01:21:13.985Z

It's taken from "Flasbbacks Of A Fool", a film directed by Bailie Walsh that was, in my opinion, unfairly lambasted on its release. It has a sequence in it, embedded from YouTube below, where the hero and his hoped-to-be girlfriend dance and lip-synch to Roxy Music. It's beautiful, it's nostalgic, it's quite poignant and I really like it.

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-3492695829552949702011-11-16T17:38:00.001Z2011-11-16T22:31:22.921Z

The great Pablo Cheesecake reviews "The Mill" at The Eloquent Page where, amongst other things, he writes, "West treats what could be difficult subject matter with a delicate, reverential touch and it shows. Subtle and affecting, this is a captivating read." The brilliant Shaun Hamilton, over at the Horrifically, Horrifying blog, had this to say, "THE MILL is a haunting tale about loss and grief

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-47583540936104135782011-10-31T13:52:00.001Z2011-10-31T23:08:18.095Z

Note: It’s my opinion that the “Later” experience (for both the short story and the short film) is made all the better by not knowing what’s coming, by letting the piece of work guide you and confound you and move you without prior knowledge. To that end, this review/essay won’t give you a blow-by-blow plot breakdown but there might be minor spoilers within. You’ve been warned! Sometime in

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-30448905568848210752011-10-18T20:54:00.000+01:002011-10-18T20:54:19.862+01:00

It's now public and official, so I can announce that Chris Teague's Pendragon Press will be publishing my 'dark urban thriller' "Drive", probably next year. I have a real soft spot for this (which was inspired when I was driving to Luton airport at 3am to catch a plane for a business trip and found I was the only person on the M1). Chris writes, "A departure from Mark's horror writing, though

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-58770385637567119122011-10-18T10:11:00.001+01:002011-10-18T10:11:58.822+01:00

Anthony Watson has posted a review of "The Mill" at his website and, as a writer, it makes for very pleasant reading. He says, "The emotional content genuinely is moving and is never mawkish or sentimental and the conclusion fits in perfectly with - and is as moving as - everything that's gone before." Can't ask for better than that, can you? Available from Amazon.co.uk here Available from

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-91561411892639181462011-10-10T00:15:00.000+01:002011-10-10T00:15:10.747+01:00

“In The Rain With The Dead” is now available as an eBook from Tim C Taylor’s Greyhart Press. This is a revised, leaner version of the novel, which originally appeared from Pendragon Press in 2005 (an edition that is completely sold out now). “In The Rain With The Dead” features Jim and Nadia, once teenaged sweethearts, reunited now after a decade apart and Magellan, a demon who is desperate to

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-9348850266154730662011-10-06T16:13:00.003+01:002011-10-06T16:33:32.789+01:00

Brighton - 30th September to 2nd October 2011 Friday 30th SeptemberI dropped Matthew at school, then Jay Eales & Selina Lock picked me up and we set off on our ROADTRIP! down to London. We had a playlist of CDs but didn’t need them, chattering all the way, though as the traffic was quite heavy and the sun was very hot, it perhaps wasn’t quite as glamorous as we’d all perhaps expected. Having

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-90574393779219572882011-10-05T21:12:00.000+01:002011-10-05T21:12:19.165+01:00

When Michael Wilson asked me to be involved with his new horror film site, See-Horror, I jumped at the chance. He liked the reviews I'd been doing for VideoVista and asked what I'd like to do. I suggested revisiting old films that had somehow fallen through the cracks, he liked it, so off I went. My first film in the Retrospectives section is "Dead & Buried". You can read the essay/review

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-7917699577887532272011-09-28T21:36:00.001+01:002011-09-28T22:23:51.052+01:00

"The Mill" is now available as an eBook, from Tim C Taylor's Greyhart Press. Previously published in the acclaimed Pendragon Press anthology "We Fade To Grey" (edited by Gary McMahon), "The Mill" is a story about grief, guilt and coughing ghosts and, according to Mark Morris, "is one of the most moving pieces of writing I have read in a long time". If you choose to give it a chance - and I hope

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-79126099423679855902011-09-23T22:51:00.001+01:002011-09-23T23:00:54.567+01:00

The wonderful writer Greg James has just finished reading "Conjure" and left this mini-review on my Facebook wall. I'm really quite chuffed about it! "What really worked for me about this novel was its evocation of the decaying resort towns along the coast of East Anglia that I grew up in as well as supernatural elements that were reminiscent of folktales from the same area. In this way, it is a

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-87371322446405274652011-09-21T00:30:00.000+01:002011-09-21T00:30:22.147+01:00

Thanks to the lovely - and very talented - Angela Slatter, I have a new interview up at her website, as part of her drive-by interview series. Check it out here

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-47106912566148990862011-09-08T23:12:00.000+01:002011-09-08T23:12:55.530+01:00

Freshly available at Amazon right now (in a gorgeous print edition and also as a Kindle eBook) is "Alt-Dead", edited by Peter Mark May and featuring a whole host of cracking writers and stories (including one by me, but don't let that put you off!). It also has some pretty nifty cover art too! Click the link and give some small press writers a chance!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-33852769977867132052011-09-06T01:39:00.002+01:002011-09-06T01:44:00.631+01:00

I’ve been remiss in not posting to this blog more often - we went on holiday, to Caister, the week after the riots (re: lawless opportunism) and I found two terrific bookshops that I intend to blog about (18 books purchased over the course of a week, I loved it), but time hasn’t been on my side. However, to distract from work issues and to further procrastinate from writing anything, I’ve decided

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-82229070056855400662011-08-06T23:59:00.000+01:002011-08-06T23:59:26.531+01:00

For years - literally decades - one of my major writing ambitions has been to wander into a bookshop and see one of my novels on the shelves. Well, today it happened. Kettering Waterstones. Bottom shelf, three copies of "In The Rain With The Dead". Oh yes!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-14757088064614930282011-08-05T22:21:00.000+01:002011-08-05T22:21:07.413+01:00

Another great review, this time from Colum McKnight at Dreadful Tales - read it here. "Ill At Ease could easily pass itself off as the first volume in a series of chapbooks. All of the writers involved brings forth a high caliber writing, and a true understanding of how to scare an audience and, at the very least, how to creep out their audience with seemingly innocent situations gone awry."

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-32306394316299697242011-08-04T14:13:00.001+01:002011-08-04T14:13:42.719+01:00

The August issue of VideoVista is now on-line, where I review “Robot Chicken” and the really rather good “The Devil’s Rock”, co-written by my friend Paul Finch. Plenty of other great reviews too!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-91823056819743635502011-08-03T17:00:00.002+01:002011-08-03T17:00:31.665+01:00

Terror Scribes Gathering The Royal Oak - Chesterfield - 16th July 2011 The message came through from the Terror Scribes Facebook Group - a gathering was going to be held, at the Royal Oak in Chesterfield, on Saturday 16th July. Did I want to go? A Terror Scribes gathering? Organised by the head honcho, John B Ford, himself? In the spiritual hometown of Chesterfield? Oh yes, I was definitely

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-82198817227343344182011-07-15T11:16:00.000+01:002011-07-15T11:16:47.671+01:00

Okay, so it’s a random date - 15th July, a Friday and I’m up at the Terror Scribes gathering in Chesterfield tomorrow (and really looking forward to it) - but I thought I’d share my top-10 reading list of the year so far. To date, I’ve read 20 books in contention and 4 cartoons (Calvin & Hobbes and Snoopy) and I’m almost done with another, Rook Hastings' very good “Nearly Departed” (which, I

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-65661602912241064532011-07-10T16:56:00.001+01:002011-07-10T16:57:01.044+01:00

We worked out, the other day, that my friend Jon & I have known each other for 21 years (half my lifetime). He pops in here, every now and again and mentioned that not many people seem to comment on the entries. I explained that most people commented via Facebook, where these blogs also appear, but he's not on any social networking sites so he didn't realise. Here's a picture of the pair of us,

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-78493094096010174372011-07-06T14:23:00.002+01:002011-07-06T14:23:23.039+01:00

The July 2011 edition of VideoVista is now live. I have two reviews in it, "Dead Hooker In A Trunk" (4/10) and "The Trail Of The Screaming Forehead" (5/10). Hope you enjoy them.

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-14725423558726259452011-07-04T15:01:00.002+01:002011-07-04T15:01:48.373+01:00

Two more reviews posted online for “ill at ease” and they’re very good. Over at The Black Abyss, Colin Leslie calls the collection “excellent anthology of solid horror writing”. Read the review here At The Hellforge, Matthew Fryer says of the collection, “It’s modern horror that understands subtlety, full of real characters and plenty of shivers. These three authors clearly take pride in their

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-5067215594388818482011-07-01T15:40:00.002+01:002011-07-01T15:40:59.575+01:00

A quick interview - as part of the PH4Q series - with me over at David T. Wilbanks’ “Page Horrific”, where I shamelessly name writers whose work I enjoy! Check it out!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-28860204234692846932011-06-29T10:51:00.000+01:002011-06-29T10:51:24.560+01:00

The "ill at ease" gang (me, Steve Bacon & Neil Williams) are interviewed over at Jim McLeod's brilliant Ginger Nuts Of Horror site and I think it makes for good reading - background on the stories, how the project came together and our plans for the future. Check it out here

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-39651928617873517422011-06-21T11:27:00.001+01:002011-06-21T11:28:36.946+01:00

Well, we're doing something right - below are links to on-line reviews of "ill at ease" and the general consensus is good! Pablo Cheesecake’s review at The Eloquent Page "Overall Ill at Ease was a great little collection…I wish that it were a bit longer. Perhaps if we’re lucky there will be an Ill at Ease 2?" Max Wedge’s review at Page Horrific "Suffice it to say, ILL AT EASE lives up to its

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-48315882003672582462011-06-18T01:17:00.000+01:002011-06-18T01:17:34.624+01:00

...as conducted by Michael Wilson at Read Horror.com. I think I come across quite well - why not nip over and take a look? And yes, I do mention "ill at ease"!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-58868966027585418612011-06-15T01:02:00.002+01:002011-06-15T09:23:02.444+01:00

ill at ease is an e-chapbook collection from PenMan Press, available now from Amazon and Smashwords. Combining the talents of Stephen Bacon, Mark West & Neil Williams, ill at ease showcases three new tales of the macabre. Waiting For Josh, by Stephen Bacon Pete Richards returns to his hometown for the first time in years. His childhood pal is dying, and Pete realises he must face the past and

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-32424897856144542922011-06-14T02:23:00.000+01:002011-06-14T02:23:27.727+01:00

PenMan Press will publish “ill at ease” - through Amazon Kindle - on Friday 17th June. It will appear from Smashwords the following week and will be available on all formats. The ebook collection features three original stories of the macabre, from Stephen Bacon, myself and Neil Williams, along with afterwords. For more information, in addition to the publishers website, there’s also a

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-58507108526880780892011-06-09T12:46:00.000+01:002011-06-09T12:46:19.359+01:00

I found out yesterday that I won tickets so Alison & I will be here! Haven't seen INXS since 2002, can't wait!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-67318942766990705222011-06-06T00:36:00.000+01:002011-06-06T00:36:44.640+01:00

Steve Lockley has decided, for the month of June, to open his blog up to various guests, who will each take a day and supply a post on whatever they want to discuss.  I chose editing, one of my favourite writing-related activities. You can read the post here.  Why not pop over, have a gander, give it a read?  And if you like it, let me or Steve know!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-81046117234030939762011-06-05T22:11:00.004+01:002011-06-05T22:13:43.141+01:00

Imagine his little legs, pumping away at those pedals, his bike-helmet slipped back a little, his head forward slightly, concentration writ large on his face. For a few moments, as I chased him down the folly, that kid was born to be wild...

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-65344601034942503912011-06-03T00:20:00.000+01:002011-06-03T00:20:55.816+01:00

...and, amongst some other cracking reviews, contains three of mine. "The Eleventh Aggression" is terrible, a real waste of time. DO NOT WATCH IT (though my review might be quite amusing, for a passing chuckle) "Arachnid" is bad, saved by a cracking Steve Johnson (of xfx) spider. "The Beyond", the Fulci masterpiece from 1981, which I really enjoyed. Check them out - and the other reviews

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-22532261996685704142011-05-28T11:33:00.000+01:002011-05-28T11:33:34.425+01:00

Coming soon, from PenMan Press, an echapbook collection with stories from Stephen Bacon, Neil Williams and me. It's a good package. More details coming soon, but the final cover art is below (designed by Neil) More information at the publishers website - PenMan Press There's also a Facebook group, if you're on the network and fancy hooking up - there'll be a competition, with a nice prize -

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-22644964070215324812011-05-18T11:53:00.000+01:002011-05-18T11:53:03.350+01:00

Support this! My lovely sister Tracy developed MS in the last year of her life and it was devastating, seeing the awful changes it brought about in her body. Thankfully, her spirit was strong and the family rallied around and I like to think we made life bearable for her. Indeed, she was starting to fight back, getting more and more like her old self when, sadly, she passed away in November

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-15726280451476582412011-05-16T23:39:00.000+01:002011-05-16T23:39:51.050+01:00

"It's all fun and games, until someone loses an eye" - Mum So begins this cracking little film, which goes somewhere you don't expect and made me jump on two occasions. Do you like short films? Do you like Australian cinema? Then check this out! http://www.australianshortfilms.com/spider.html Spider from Qoob TV on Vimeo.

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-17603824403602106692011-05-06T22:53:00.002+01:002011-05-06T22:54:37.806+01:00

It's been a boys-night-in tonight, as Alison has got out with the girls. As Dude & I were watching TV, this ad came on featuring the lovely Lisa Snowdon. So I thought I'd do the decent thing and post it on here! Lisa Snowdon, whom I've liked for many a year, is on my list. You know, the list...

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-32907611516495118452011-05-04T23:14:00.001+01:002011-05-04T23:47:41.011+01:00

Coming soon, from the award-winning Pendragon Press - The Lost FilmA Novella by Mark West Gabriel Bird is a private detective. He’s been hired to track down Roger Sinclair, an exploitation film-maker who disappeared in 1976, having just completed his last film. Long since lost, “Terrafly” was reputed to have an adverse, often fatal effect on those who watched it. Sinclair’s producing partner,

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-66129716592405466052011-05-04T09:36:00.000+01:002011-05-04T09:36:01.474+01:00

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-17750641728320298152011-05-04T00:40:00.001+01:002011-05-04T00:40:52.098+01:00

Here's the Dude, throwing himself (literally) into space on a bouncy slide.  Thanks to David Roberts, for the pic. On the writing front, I have some exciting news about The Lost Film novella and will reveal all soon! But suffice it to say, I'm very chuffed!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-14749845278167912532011-04-15T16:15:00.001+01:002011-04-15T16:16:24.236+01:00

Since it’s now been officially announced on the Spectral Press website - http://spectralpress.wordpress.com/ - I’m thrilled to say that my story “What Gets Left Behind” will become Spectral 7, to be published in September 2012. For those who follow this blog, this is the story that originally started life as “The Shrieking Dead”, which both Simon Marshall-Jones (head honcho at SP) and myself

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-68803956162284159252011-04-11T13:42:00.003+01:002011-04-11T13:44:26.583+01:00

From today’s Evening Telegraph - “Kettering General Hospital is considering asking staff to take five days unpaid leave in a bid to cut almost a 10th of its budget. The hospital is also considering buying cheaper medicine and reducing the number of patients staying overnight before surgery as it tries to cut between £12m and £15m from costs.” Wow, this is incredible. Now I have friends (and a

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-54850151592597326522011-04-11T11:44:00.003+01:002011-04-21T00:54:06.815+01:00

There’s a new, quite indepth interview with me up at Jim McCleod’s excellent ‘Ginger Nuts Of Horror’ website. I talk about writing in general, my longer works, doing cover art and my thoughts on electronic publishing. If you’re interested, the direct link is  http://thegingernutcase.blogspot.com/2011/04/mark-west-interview.html I hope you enjoy it and, as always, feedback is welcome!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-15236625101858737032011-04-08T12:36:00.002+01:002011-04-08T12:37:38.269+01:00

A big chunk of “The Shrieking Dead” takes place in 1981 and I researched that year thoroughly, even though I’ve only used a handful of cultural references so far (and doubt I’ll put many more in). I like research, I enjoy doing it and I think if you’re writing something rooted in the easily-remembered past, it’s worth doing properly. At the moment, I’m reading a very good book called “Lovers And

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-73783810052188346752011-04-01T01:09:00.000+01:002011-04-01T01:09:15.841+01:00

Bloody hell!  Somebody's found - and uploaded - a trailer Walt Saxby made for Roger Sinclair's last film.  I thought this had been lost forever but here it is, in all it's glory. (be warned, contains scenes of violence!) Still not sure if I'd like to watch the whole thing though...

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-43328070334540940322011-03-31T01:22:00.003+01:002011-03-31T01:24:43.981+01:00

A time-out from politics and news about writing, for something much closer to my heart - my little Dude. On Monday this week, Dude got his First Aid badge at Beavers (ring an ambulance, was his basic advice to me when I asked). On Tuesday, he was moved up to being a Gold Reader, the only kid in his class to do so. It was difficult to say, when he was telling me, which of us was more chuffed!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-90798703932456486092011-03-27T21:13:00.003+01:002011-03-27T21:18:58.368+01:00

I drove through Market Harborough today and, as usual, I looked up the street where the old Golden Wonder Head Office used to be located. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that the front part of the building, on the main road, was now a ladies clothes shop. The larger part was now a Travelodge. Seeing those two things, a clothes shop and a hotel chain, made my blood boil and now, three hours

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-90674094245585305732011-03-22T00:27:00.000Z2011-03-22T00:28:39.196Z

Colin Leslie, the nice man behind the Black Abyss reviews site, has questioned me as part of an ongoing series he’s running. You can read it here - Mark West - The Inquisition.I don’t think I make too big an idiot of myself…

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-622141902415464652011-03-21T09:37:00.003Z2011-03-21T09:41:03.086Z

Today would have been my sister Tracy’s 40th birthday. It’s 8 years (this year) since she passed away and I still miss her a lot. She was the world’s biggest Snoopy fan and, whilst I used to enjoy it before, I now use Peanuts as a way of keeping her memory alive. Matthew, obviously, never met her - though he knows all about her - and I’ve managed to pass on to him a love for Snoopy. The following

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-72230416586327010292011-03-14T20:59:00.000Z2011-03-14T21:00:48.312Z

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-68667550620043517932011-03-09T17:58:00.002Z2011-03-09T17:59:48.166Z

I am a big fan of books - I love reading them, I love the way they feel and smell - and one of my ambitions, as a writer, is to go into a bookshop, anywhere in the country and find my book on the shelf. So print has always been my preferred reading means and I’ve always viewed electronic publishing a bit warily.However, Generation Next Publishing’s edition of ”Conjure” seems to be doing rather

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-10306441633118753032011-03-09T12:24:00.004Z2011-03-09T12:29:58.413Z

Just bought my convention ticket and booked the hotel room! Woo hoo!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-852456447949141262011-02-23T02:37:00.001Z2011-02-23T02:39:32.527Z

Another old Roger Sinclair find - the copyright lists 1974, but it must be 73 or so (and perhaps explores themes he later used in 'Veronica'?).Anyway, Lynne Frederick stars alongside Sinclair's regulars, Steve Bacon and Mick Curtis, with newcomers Tim Taylor and Paul Melhuish rounding out the cast.

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-80628093691144297222011-02-14T11:14:00.001Z2011-02-14T15:50:50.504Z

Conjure is now listed up at the Generation Next Publications website and is still available for download from the following places:Amazon.comAmazon.co.ukorSmashwordsThe Amazon.com listing also features a new review, a four star one no less (and the reviewers gripe is one I’ve had before, that the book isn’t long enough).I’m pleased with this and very glad that the novel is having the opportunity

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-70870676204965207982011-02-12T16:23:00.002Z2011-02-12T16:28:40.979Z

I'm writing again, thankfully. "Wonderland" is now resting, midway through the second draft - it's a good story and I like it a lot, but I can't get it down to the required 7.5k words and so I'm leaving it for a while. I want to get my sub for Spectral sorted, before I start work on a new novel/novella ("Project Gash", all being well), so I'm focussing on that. The good news is, an idea came to

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-84094111730073370232011-02-12T01:04:00.002Z2011-02-12T01:07:02.432Z

I was reading through the first few posts at the Monster Awareness month being run by Mark Deniz and his team and something caught my eye in the Where Monsters Dwell article by Robert Hood. It was this picture, particularly, that got my attention. I know that image, I thought. I went onto eBay, luckily found a copy on there and ordered it. It arrived today, in probably more of a mint condition

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-34588035919213878892011-02-11T12:35:00.002Z2011-02-11T12:38:10.962Z

I’m a nostalgic person and although I do live very much in the present - it’s difficult not to, with an active and imaginative five-year-old in your life - the past does call to me strongly. This covers a lot of different aspects - family relationships, memories, photographs, films and books and TV - but one that’s easiest to re-capture is with toys. No, hear me out, this isn’t a freshly minted

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-3585045411779863982011-02-07T23:37:00.003Z2011-02-07T23:45:32.520Z

I know that this blog is mainly about my writing (though a fair bit of family stuff seems to get on here, plus odds and ends I find interesting) but once in a while, something crops up that people need to know about.From the Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/27/england-forest-sell-off-activismPlans to sell 258,000 hectares (637,000 acres) of English forest for up to £250m

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-81498409983713123042011-02-07T15:43:00.002Z2011-02-07T15:48:46.331Z

Just a quick heads up that my essay/review of the wonderful Creature From The Black Lagoon is now posted at Mark Deniz’s Monster Awareness Month site. Drop by and hang around for a while, there’s plenty of good stuff already there and more planned (including another review to come from me, on a film that moves a long way from men in rubber suits!).

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-47768324768519740272011-02-07T00:11:00.002Z2011-02-07T13:45:28.594Z

“Conjure”, as you’re probably aware by now, has just been published as an ebook by those nice folks at Generation Next Publications and is now available on Amazon, both the UK and US branches.For a limited time only, GNP are running a competition. Here’re the details:If you purchase this eBook version of Mark West's “Conjure”, you are eligible to win an autographed paperback copy of “In The Rain

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-66182700843900141592011-02-04T20:17:00.002Z2011-02-04T20:26:09.411Z

Further selling out of the Star Wars brand, I agree, but this brilliantly matches the Imperial March with a fine eye for detail, of how little kids act and move. Watch, in particlar, for how he waves off his Dad's embrace and then jumps, right at the end.Fantastic stuff!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-27750466867970446092011-02-03T12:19:00.006Z2011-02-03T12:40:46.710Z

A day of action on the 5th February 2011 - as supported by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals - http://www.cilip.org.uk/ Growing up in the 70s and 80s, long before the Internet came along (we all thought Whiz Kids and "War Games" were cool!), I used our local library a lot. For research, sometimes, for picking up the latest Three Investigator book - all the time!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-53052152659593405752011-01-30T10:34:00.000Z2011-01-30T10:35:19.947Z

I’m really pleased to announce that my short novel “Conjure” has just been re-published as an ebook by those nice folks at Generation Next Publications. This edition features a new cover design by me, though none of the interior artwork from the book version but, to make up for that, it does include my short story “Empty Souls, Drowning”, which first appeared in my “Strange Tales” collection in

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-74498026717777963402011-01-30T00:07:00.001Z2011-01-30T00:09:35.686Z

A blast from the archives. This recently discovered snap was taken by Walt Saxby, on a working visit to New York in the early 70s and shows Roger Sinclair's first major foray into the foreign film market.

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-22685968421650275832011-01-13T02:00:00.005Z2011-01-13T02:05:39.251Z

"The Lost Film Novella" has been picking up some very good comments from my pre-readers, which is very re-assuring. Last week, in the midst of a conversation about something else, Gary McMahon offered to read it and I sent him over a copy. He read the first six chapters that day, emailing me and saying how good it was. Today, he finished it. And sent me a lovely message (calling it the best work

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-68321254687446951712011-01-10T02:07:00.002Z2011-01-10T02:14:03.971Z

"The Lost Film Novella" is picking up some excellent feedback from my pre-readers, much better than I could have hoped for, which I'm really pleased about. Especially since there were a couple of times where I thought "nah, this is stupid" - I'm so glad I carried on! I've yet to read back through it, though I'm looking forward to doing so.And coincidentally enough, I've found another Roger

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-16705563207708023422011-01-04T13:47:00.001Z2011-10-03T00:25:11.172+01:00

More of my pre-readers have come back on “The Lost Film Novella” and, in general, the response has been heart-warmingly good. I’m thrilled and itching to get back into it for the third draft, but I want to get all the readers reports back first. In the meantime, here’s another poster from a Roger Sinclair film. This dates back to 1974 and was, I assume, an attempt by him and Sorrell Eve to cash

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-77447469615494446412010-12-29T16:13:00.002Z2010-12-30T16:34:46.185Z

As 2010 draws to a close, it’s time for the third annual “Mark West’s Top Reads Of The Year”. It’s been a bumper year, has 2010, with a total of 48 books read (30 fiction, 11 non-fiction and 7 ‘comics’) along with 12 Three Investigator titles and there haven’t been too many stinkers either.My Top 20 Fiction titles of 20101. All That Mullarkey, by Sue Moorcroft2. The End - CFF (published 2011) -

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-24510723666679334462010-12-24T22:25:00.002Z2010-12-24T22:27:38.245Z

For everyone who pops along here, thanks for your support and I'd like to wish you and yours a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2011!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-37850423067907666892010-12-22T13:55:00.004Z2011-10-03T00:25:22.949+01:00

This is the movie poster from one of Roger Sinclair's earlier films, made well before he destroyed his career and several lives with 'Terrafly', his magnum opus (from The Lost Film novella)

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-29493549889393965892010-12-20T23:47:00.006Z2010-12-20T23:51:56.122Z

I started to give out my pre-reader copies of “The Lost Film” novella on Friday, with the last couple going on Saturday. I didn’t expect to see anything back much before Christmas and was quite happy with that - it’s not far off being a short novel, I know that people are busy now, I couldn’t see it happening.Andrew Murray, my Antipodean chum, came back on Sunday evening saying it was very good.

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-74222827400064524552010-12-20T15:24:00.002Z2010-12-20T15:25:38.456Z

Just a quick heads up, to those of you out there looking for something dark and supernatural to get your teeth into. I’ve been lucky enough to get an early read of the debut story/chapbook from Spectral Press - “What They Hear In The Dark”, by Gary McMahon.I’m still reeling. Not just from the story, because that is truly a thing of genius, but because I got an early copy to give me an idea of

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-84196623895409986302010-12-17T16:13:00.002Z2010-12-17T16:15:47.193Z

Yes, it’s done! The 2nd draft is now complete, at 47,219 words (yes, it went a little long on my proposed target of 35,000 - I hope Steve Bacon isn’t too annoyed with me!) and I’ve already sent out a couple of pre-reader copies. I’ll leave it to sit for a while (I was 47 days on the 1st draft and 10 on the second, so I can’t see the wood for the trees now) and then read it to Alison and collate

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-74852557476523251932010-12-17T13:43:00.005Z2010-12-17T14:06:34.432Z

Really chuffed to announce that my short "Dreaming Of A Black Christmas" will appear in the Estronomicon Christmas edition e-zine. I'll post the link up when the zine goes live.For those who might recognise the title (thinking of my kid sister, here, nobody else is likely to!), the story originally appeared in the Terror Tales Christmas anthology of the same name back in 2000. It was reprinted in

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-80954445891151390972010-12-08T00:48:00.000Z2010-12-08T00:49:02.153Z

Some writing news - I started the 2nd draft of “The Lost Film Novella” today and managed to cut about 1,000 words from 12,000. Not the best of starts, so I may have to do a draft 2a before I send it out to my pre-readers. I posted this up at Facebook, along with the fact that I didn’t have a title and no less a horror-writing-personage (and literary hero of mine) than Nicholas Royle commented,

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-11723101687298427032010-12-05T00:27:00.003Z2010-12-05T00:31:19.904Z

Jason Morgan, over at the Peter Raft Online Resource, has posted the cover art of some more books by Mr Raft. You might recall I read “Zombie” a little while back and really enjoyed it and these latest additions seem right up my alley (more so that a couple were published by Fontana, so they should be easier to pick up).As good as the stories sound, however, it’s the artwork that I think is

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-73928561854222932532010-11-29T16:34:00.000Z2010-11-29T16:35:41.386Z

That’s it, I’ve done it! Today, I finished the first draft of “The Lost Film Novella” - 47 writing days (from 7th September through to 29th November, which includes the 36 days I took out in the middle to work on the ZoQuNo/Mr Foo pitch) for a grand total of 52,547 words. My original plan was for 30,000 words, but I do have a tendency to overwrite massively on the 1st draft (I’m a taker-outer, to

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-22234617782861018942010-11-24T23:26:00.005Z2010-11-25T00:28:18.653Z

It was seven years ago today that I got the phone call from Mum. I was at work, sitting in the canteen with my workmate. Mum told me that she had bad news and I paused, expecting to hear something about my Gran having fallen over or something.Instead, Mum told me that she was at Leicester hospital, walking back to the car with my Dad and that my sister Tracy was dead. She was 32.Tracy was two

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-59387539131622887942010-11-22T00:15:00.002Z2010-11-22T00:18:24.364Z

The “Lost Film” novella is coming along swimmingly and I’m pretty much keeping up a 1,000 word-a-day output on it, which is brilliant for me. My original plan - certainly, it’s the one I told Stephen Bacon, when he mentioned that he’d never worked on anything novella-length - was for 30,000 words in first draft but I’m currently at 39k words and the ending is still a little way off.But am I

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-24612284744837711092010-11-14T01:39:00.004Z2010-11-14T01:45:01.890Z

We had a family day out with the Roberts today (David, Julia, Alice & Laura) and a great time was had by all. David & I were talking about different things and, combined with my Three Investigator blog, I was thinking about "Star Wars". I decided I'd like a picture of the binary sunset, for me the defining moment of the whole film and discovered a YouTube clip of it. Which is here.I love "Star

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-91695322013984509852010-11-11T23:56:00.002Z2010-11-12T00:01:17.662Z

Terry Grimwood has reviewed "Shoes, Ships & Cadavers" at his website and has some very nice things to say about it. He also really liked my story - "Mark West’s dark and tragic [story was] one of my particular favourites, well told and moving."The full review can be found on his website, here.Thanks, Terry!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-69407349758391886982010-11-11T00:52:00.001Z2010-11-11T00:54:39.180Z

As you may or may not be aware, I’m a big fan of the Three Investigators mystery series, which shaped my reading habits through childhood and have continued - on and off - through adulthood too.In 2008, I decided to embark upon a bit of a reading adventure and work my way through the Three Investigators series (up to book 30, the last to be written when Hitchcock was still alive and the last one

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-44976154575485750602010-11-04T15:13:00.002Z2010-11-04T15:23:32.082Z

Gary McMahon's novel "Pretty Little Dead Things" hits the High Street today and if you like your horror fiction dark and bleak, then this is the book for you.I'm lucky enough to have already read it and I can vouch that it's a corker (easily in my top 10 of the year so far) - go out and buy it! The Dude says so!

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-43470508408943693152010-11-01T18:43:00.003Z2010-11-01T18:50:30.197Z

As a writer, I am very keen on the idea of place - I want the reader to know exactly where they are, I want them to be able to see the location in their head, I want them to feel what it’s like to stand there. I think I’m pretty good at it and it’s something that gets mentioned quite a bit in reviews so I’ll be honest here and say that a lot of it is a cheat - I use real places, wherever

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-12144401387303071242010-10-31T21:18:00.001Z2010-10-31T21:18:42.949Z

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-7970360359234461042010-10-28T20:52:00.002+01:002010-11-14T01:49:37.468Z

As amusing as this is (I love R2's reaction to the video game), it is a little sad to see these icons selling Currys. Ah well, enjoy the dancing...

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-65486700440260811642010-10-28T14:58:00.001+01:002010-10-28T15:00:02.639+01:00

In 1989, my friend Craig Tankard & I went on holiday to Portugal. Whilst there, we experienced something that, to this day, neither of can properly explain.Mark Deniz’s Beyond Fiction website is having a Ghost Awareness Month and he invited me to write a blog entry for him, so I thought I’d publicly tell mine and Craig’s story.All of this is true (I even got Craig to read through the piece, to

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-3751268867636320132010-10-28T11:06:00.002+01:002010-10-28T12:30:23.712+01:00

I had two good films to review for VideoVista this month - the Aussie horror film “The Loved Ones” (which was excellent) and the beautiful, poignant, fun “The Man Who Loved Ygnve”, from Norway. I’ll let you know when both reviews go live, but I just thought I’d mention something about the latter here.As I mentioned before, in relation to “Flashbacks Of A Fool” (you can read my post here, if you’

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-31005935057743157622010-10-25T00:51:00.000+01:002010-10-25T00:52:39.925+01:00

Okay, so ZoQuNo is definitely on the backburner for now - the synopsis (brief and indepth) is complete, the first three chapters are complete (and have been workshopped by the NSFWG, in addition to going through the rigours of my pre-readers), but a leading publisher has passed and so I’m going to concentrate on other projects for the moment.First up, obviously, is the Lost Film novella. It’s

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787687837760913347.post-86538668792387207562010-10-22T15:36:00.002+01:002010-10-22T16:36:24.073+01:00

A bit of an interruption here, from Mark Townsend, bass guitarist of the much lamented “The Blimeys” - best known for their single ‘It’s Criminal Baby’ from the ‘Ironing The Soul’ album.Not web invisible now, are we Towney?

Mark Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12103997496549941279noreply@blogger.com1