Cormac Brown at A TWIST OF NOIR

Cormac Brown returns to A Twist Of Noir is style with a cracking piece of flash fiction called BACON!

A Film For Friday: Bad Timing

Your invitation to the blues ...

The Signal Block by Frank Duffy

News From SIDESHOW PRESS:
The Signal Block and Other Tales - Frank Duffy 

SIDESHOW PRESS is proud to present THE SIGNAL BLOCK AND OTHER TALES by Frank Duffy.  This collection showcases the talent of a truly literate and talented author who is adept at conjuring horrors out of everyday life and rendering seemingly innocuous settings foreboding and threatening through a deft use of atmosphere and description. Duffy’s characters are often dark, haunted people who, transplanted in unfamiliar locales, find themselves feeling alienated and apprehensive as they confront sinister and supernatural goings on. In this collection…

…A photographer researching deserted prisons discovers one small town’s terrifying secret…

…A recently promoted executive leads a team-building retreat at the same seaside resort his mother took her life at…

…Warsaw’s last gas lamp attendant learns that the intrusive harshness of the new electric lamps can reveal horrors better left in the shadows…

…A man’s pilgrimage to a reclusive, deserted church in the Polish hills leads him to find more than the inner peace he seeks…

Includes the following tales:

The Signal Block

The Objects

Scant Offerings for the Birds

And When the Lights Came On

Appearances

The Caretakers (The Trains Will Take You There)

The Seat

The Fog House

Different Sacrifices

The Seventh

Permanent Hunger

Performers

The No Longer Lost

• Deluxe hardcover bound in premium fabrics
• Hand-made endpapers
• Includes MOUNTAINS OF SMOKE, Frank’s debut novelette.
• Fully-illustrated
• Signed by the author and limited to 30 copies
• 350 pages

*NOTE: This title is also available in a limited hardcover format*

BRIT GRIT ! Still Cheaper Than Poundland!

BRIT GRIT is a FIVE STAR,   short and snappy selection of some of my short stories, it really is. 


Here's what those in the know have been saying:


'Brazill's knack for mining life's absurd moments ...  is on full display here, as is his razor sharp dialogue. ' Death By Killing

'PDB comes at you from all angles: sideways, up, down, upside down and backwards like a crazed badger on speed' A J Hayes

'Paul Brazill's writing is a wonderful mix of gritty urban noir stylings, superb dialogue and wonderful one-liners.' Gone Bad

' A window into a gritty world.' Criminal Thoughts 

And you can get it with one click from AMAZON


Or  AMAZON UK

And it really won't break the bank!

Guest Blogger: Robert Swartwood - Serial Killers

What is our obsession with serial killers? 

There certainly has to be one. There are hundreds if not thousands of books and movies focused on them, so much so that serial killers have managed to become a genre in and of itself. We say things like "Oh, that serial killer book was really good" or "Hey, did you see that serial killer movie last weekend?" and it has become so commonplace that we don't even know we're doing it. 

It can't just be an American thing, either. Sure, America is known for some pretty brutal serial killers; in fact, some even happen to have a celebrity status. But look at the Swedish sensation that was The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Despite how you feel about the book (personally, I'm rather lukewarm), the world has become obsessed with this serial killer novel. 

So again, what's our obsession? 

I had a pretty good idea, but first I wanted to ask some crime writers to see what they thought. 

Jack Ketchum, whose latest novel and movie he cowrote with Lucky McKee called The Woman which is out right now, answers this question with a question of his own: 

Is it possible that somewhere in the darkest of our still-adolescent hearts, serial killers represent the ultimate "what can I get away with?" fantasy? 

J.T. Ellison, whose latest novel is Where All the Dead Lie, says: 

I’ve learned that nothing is too out there for a serial killer, because no matter how gruesome or crazy a crime scene I dream up, the realities are always much, much worse. I think it’s important to recognize them for the monsters they are and not celebrate them by making them larger than life, evil genius sorts. Serial killers have egos, make mistakes, and that’s why they can be caught. An FBI profiler once told me serial killers aren’t born, aren’t made. They choose to become killers, choose to hurt, choose to kill. That choice is what makes them so legitimately frightening.

And Joe R. Lansdale, whose latest book is the young adult thriller All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky, says: 

What we fear most is we might have some visceral connection to them. We wonder if there is any of us inside them.

Me, well even before I heard from these great writers, I already had this idea: 

We've always been a culture fascinated by monsters in fairy tale books, but the serial killer is a monster that truly exists. And it could be any one of us. 

So what about you? Let me know in the comments section, and thank you to Paul for letting me take up some space on his great blog. 

Robert Swartwood is the author of The Serial Killer's Wife

OUT NOW! CRIME FACTORY THE FIRST SHIFT

They broke free from their work stations and ran giggling down the factory hallways, stopping only to write crude missives on the walls. Transcribed here for your amusement, the most original voices in crime fiction offer you 27 tales of revulsion, heartbreak, and violence. Welcome to The First Shift.

For all the gory details head over to New Pulp Press, or buy directly at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Indie Bound.  

From established voices Ken Bruen, Leigh Redhead, Charlie Stella, Dave Zeltserman, Dennis Tafoya, Roger Smith, Craig McDonald and Adrian McKinty, to cult favorites Frank Bill, Scott Wolven, Nate Flexer, Andrew Nette, Jedidiah Ayres, Josh Converse, Greg Bardsley, Hilary Davidson, Kieran Shea, Cameron Ashley, Patricia Abbott, Chad Eagleton, Jimmy Callaway, Steve Weddle, Keith Rawson, Anonymous-9, Jonathan Woods, Liam Jose, Dave White, and Chris F. Holm, Crime Factory: The First Shift brings crime fiction to new highs and lows. 

But don't take our word for it. Check out what the people who matter are saying:

“It had been shot in the back, left for dead. But ever since Crime Factory crawled out of its shallow grave and renewed its global rampage, I’ve been hugging my kin just a little tighter, and eyeing the horizon nervously. You’re not going to find a more audacious, innovative and downright twisted crime fiction mag anywhere else on the planet, and this collection features the best of the best. So get our wallet. Because if you turn your back on this anthology, it just might shoot *you* in the back, leave *you* for dead.”
— Duane Swierczynski, author of Fun & Games

“There are new writers in Crime Factory: The First Shift and there are old pros, but they’re all coming to play, and they’re playing for keeps. Sweet and savage, profound and profane, you’ll find everything you want from your crime fiction in here. Kudos to all involved for keeping the short story alive and writhing.”
— Sean Doolittle, author of The Clean Up and Rain Dogs

“Crime Factory is your one-stop source for sociopathic nonconsensual B&D escapades gone-wrong reimagined as syphilitic narcotrafficking docudramas as directed by the bastard offspring of Luis Buñuel and Ida Lupino. Buy it or be condemned to a one-way ticket to Squaresville!”
— Scott Phillips, author of The Ice Harvest andThe Adjustment

OUT NOW! FIND HER BY JOCHEM VANDERSTEEN

A Trestle Press original digital short story series by Jochem Vandersteen:
“ Husband, father, vigilante... Mike Dalmas left Special Forces to become a dedicated family man, but when his daughter gets molested he had his revenge, killing the pervert who committed the crime.

Now the Bay City cops keep him out of jail if he takes care of their dirty work. The things their badge won't allow them to do but for which Dalmas has the right skill set.

Mike Dalmas is blackmailed in saving a young girl from a known sex offender. The cops want him to find her before she dies or loses the will to live. The clock is ticking... Will Dalmas be prepared what is needed to find her in time?”

FIND HER!

JOCHEM VANDERSTEEN IS THE FOUNDER OF THE HARDBOILED COLLECTIVE

I'M INTERVIEWED AT RICHARD GODWIN'S GAFF. DARREN SANT TURNS UP, TOO!

HERE

AND RICHARD'S DRUNK ON THE MOON STORY SHOULD BE OUT SOON, TOO!

The End Of The Wasp Season by Denise Mina

If you pop over to MEAN STREETS, you can find me going on about Denise Mina's The End Of The Wasp Season.

NOIRCON POETRY CONTEST!

Welcome to the First NoirCon Poetry Contest sponsored by NoirCon 2012

What is Noir Poetry?  Noir Poetry is (1)* Poetry that makes reference to the subject matter, dialog or style of film noir or the hardboiled detective genre, or, (2)* Poetry that invokes stark urban landscapes and atmosphere, and which either alludes to crime and perilous attachments or else seems to bear dark knowledge of this territory, or (3) Poetry that tells the story of tortured souls – lovers, psychopaths, obsessives – driven down deadly paths, following desperate plans that are doomed to failure.

What to Submit   Your entry should be your own original work. You must be the poet of the submitted work(s).  Entries must be original and unpublished works (either in print or on-line).  Submitted poems should concern the subject of Noir Poetry and not exceed 2000 words.

English Language Poets of all nations may enter. However, the poems you submit should be in English. If you have written a poem in another language, you may translate your poem into English and submit the translation.

Prizes and Publication First prize: $250 and a copy of the printed program with the winning poem to be read at the NoirCon 2012 Award Dinner on November 9^th, 2012. Second prize: $150 and a printed program. There will also be eight Most Highly Commended Awards winners.   They will receive a copy of the NoirCon 2012 printed program and official NoirCon buttons.  The top 10 entries will be published in the NoirCon 2012 printed program.  The judge of the winning poem will be Robert Polito, Professor of Writing at The New School, New York City, New York.

Entry Fee The fee is $15 for 1 to 3 original, unpublished poems dealing with Noir. Entry fees are not refundable. Entries will be accepted up until March 2, 2012 (postmark dates).

Deadline March 2^nd, 2012. Your entry must be postmarked by this date.

How To Submit   Send poems to: NoirCon 2012 Poetry Contest, c/o Society Hill Playhouse, 507 South 8^th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-1325.  All entries must be postmarked by March 2, 2012.  Omit author's name on manuscript and include a cover sheet with name, address, phone, and e-mail.  Cash or checks (made out to Society Hill Playhouse, 507 South 8^th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-1325) should accompany poetry submission.

Announcement of Winners The winners of the first NoirCon Poetry contest will be announced the week of NoirCon 2012, November 8^th, 2012. Entrants with valid email addresses will receive an email notification. 

Copyright If your entry is selected for publication in the NoirCon printed program, you give NoirCon 2012 a nonexclusive license to publish your work in our publication. You may accept or decline this invitation as you choose. Your entry will not be published in print without your consent, and you retain all rights to your work.

Contact Information NoirCon 2012 c/o Society Hill Playhouse, 507 South 8^th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-1325, (215) 923-0210, Questions: noircon@gmail.com

www.noircon.info

(*)definition by The Los Angeles Poetry Festival "Noir Corridor"

NOIRCON

A Song For Sunday Morning: Burn It Down by Dexy's

A Story For Saturday - The Lion's Share by Kieran Shea

There are  oodles of cracking stories in the Beat To A Pulp archives.


The most recent is this gem from the talented Mr Shea.

It's here.