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Writers on Rejection
I’m one of a series of interviewees discussing writing and rejection on A J Ashworth’s blog. Contributors so far include Alison Moore and A L Kennedy. A sample: AA: You’ve written successfully for television (as well as for radio) many times, but I know that some of the projects you’ve worked on have failed to…
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Victorian Fun (2)
Well, no matter how long you’ve known them, your friends never lose the capacity to surprise you. Jo Armitage, with whom I worked back when I was represented by the Curtis Brown Agency, read my last entry on the British Library’s Victorian Entertainments exhibition and wrote: Well I never, just read the blog about your…
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Victorian Fun
In London for a couple of meetings last Thursday, I called by to spend a few minutes at the Treasures of the British Library permanent exhibition. That’s the beauty of our free museums, as I found in the 70s when I was in the capital looking for a way into film or TV; when you’re…
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Meanwhile at Fantasycon…
Just back from a weekend of frolics, wine and conversation at 2016’s Fantasycon by the Sea in Scarborough, a town of shabby-chic Edwardian charm with a fantastic coastline and some, er, interesting after-dark streetlife. The Grand Hotel made for a highly sociable venue in a spectacular clifftop location. Dining options on the doorstep, and some…
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Shipping Now: The Authentic William James
The book’s now shipping and preorders are being filled. They’re preceded by an interview conducted by Gwenda Bond for Subterranean. It’son the company’s Facebook page; follow the link to see the whole thing. Today we’re bringing you a fascinating new interview with Stephen Gallagher about how he created the character of investigator Sebastian Becker. Gallagher…
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Charlie
Down by the British Museum in Bloomsbury runs Montague Street, a terrace of Georgian townhouses of the classic Upstairs/Downstairs kind. They’re now mostly brass-plate offices and boutique hotels, and I can never walk along it without thinking of Charlie Grant. Charles L to the literary world, Charlie to just about everyone who knew him. The…
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Abroad Thoughts from Home
This is probably the most niche blog post ever, but I wish I’d had access to something like it when the need first arose. It’s the Idiots’ Guide for a British writer joining the staff of a US TV show. How you land the gig is up to you. This is just about the admin.…
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See a Dinosaur Eat a Cow. You Know You Want To.
Here’s a film I’d never seen before, and have finally caught up with. I don’t quite know what to make of it. As you might expect it’s a B-movie through and through, but the production values took me by surprise. With the Mexican locations, and widescreen cinematography, its look is great. Like the later Valley…
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DANCING WITH SHADOWS, the Charles L Grant Blogathon
Neil Snowdon writes: 12th-18th September I’ll be hosting a celebration of Charlie and his work, with contributions from myself, Ramsey Campbell, Nathan Ballingrud, Mark Morris, Gary McMahon, Gary Fry, Christopher Golden, James A. Moore, Lynda E. Rucker, Stephen Bacon, Mark west, James Everington, Thomas F. Monteleone, Nancy Collins, Stephen Bissette, Stephen Gallagher, Jean-Daniel Breque, Tim…
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Jurassic Park, Unearthed
This is weird. While sorting through some old files I came across this film review from the year of Jurassic Park‘s release. I don’t remember writing it, or for whom it was written. But dated references to video (ie, VHS), to the then-unbuilt Universal Studios ride, and to competing movies… they all have the feel…