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Short Story Challenge – Day 316-332

 Tuesday 28th December – Thursday 13th JanuaryAbout Love and other stories – Anton Chekhov I saw in the new year reading more Chekhov. ‘About Love and other stories’ is another selection and translation of his work by Rosamund Bartlett, the editor/translator of The Exclamation Mark collection I enjoyed earlier in this challenge, and like the earlier collection, ‘About Love…’ presents the stories in chronological order and it is possible to trace the development of his short fiction from early works like ‘The Huntsman’ in 1885 to what is probably his short masterpiece, ‘The Lady with the Little Dog.’ Just as I found with ‘The Exclamation Mark’ it is the thematic…

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100 Stories for Queensland

 In response to the worst floods in Queensland for ten years, an anthology of short stories will be released with all proceeds going to the Queensland Premier’s Flood Relief appeal. 100 Stories for Queensland follows in the footsteps of the successful charity collections, 100 Stories for Haiti and 50 Stories for Pakistan. Trevor Belshaw, one of the organisors behind the project, explained on his blog why such a response is needed: Queensland needs help. It will be months or even years before the people of the beautiful Sunshine State can get back to leading normal lives. So bad is the devastation that much of the state’s infrastructure will need to…

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Those Monday feelings

 This made me feel groovy: JONNY (aka Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub & Euros Childs of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci) will release their self titled debut album on January 31st 2011. Their Free EP, which includes Continental is free to download here. This made me feel good about myself: Fellow Ether Books author Rebecca Emin has posted her recommended reading list of stories available on the app which, as well as featuring a fair few stories that I have enjoyed on the app myself, includes my story ‘Half-mown Lawn.’ So great to get that sort of feedback. This made me feel old:

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Ether Books update.

 A bit before Christmas I told you all about my stories being published on the excellent Ether app on iPhone/iPod. Being the epitome of the author cliche who obsessively checks out my own stuff when it appears, I tapped open the app this morning to check if my story ‘Half-mown Lawn,’ had moved from its previous position of 16th on the Best Sellier stories list available on the app. To my great pleasure and surprise, ‘Half-mown Lawn’ is currently 6th on the Best selling list. I would like to shout out a big thank you to anyone reading this who has already downloaded any of my work available on the…

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A few videos that made me smile.

 Can a book save your life? Please….Think of the words…. Seriously though, if you are an artist/illustrator/whatever and fancy providing pictures for those words, contact Dirty Bristow. And one last bit of fun, How to confuse an idiot. How to confuse an idiot found via my mate Rol.

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2010: My fiction of last year

 A list made up of fiction released this year and other years but all of them read by me in 2010: Novels: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob DeZoet – David Mitchell A brilliant, genre-bending, heart breaking, thrilling rollercoaster of a book. Part historic fiction, part thriller, part romance, part heist story, just when you think you have a handle on this book it surprises you again. Which isn’t to say it is a book composed of disparate, ill-fitting parts. The whole thing is crafted as if from a single piece of cloth and the story moves between its varied threads seamlessly. ‘Thousand Autumns’ manages to be that rarest of beasts,…

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2010: My writing year.

 Wave bye-bye to 2010, a pretty good year for my writing. Over the last twelve months I’ve been published in The New Flesh, 100 Stories for Haiti, The View From Here, Eclectic Flash, Metazen, Up The Staircase Quarterly, Litsnack, Chinese Whisperings, Metazen again, 50 Stories for Pakistan, Deck the Halls, Metazen Christmas Charity eBook and have work forthcoming in The View From Here again, Neon and Dirty Bristow. Ether Books started publishing my short fiction on their iPod/iPhone app. My story ‘Where’s Tracey?’ was commended by the judging panel of the Winchester Writer’s Conference Short Story Competition. They described it as ‘stylish.’ Best of all my story ‘Half-mown Lawn’ won…

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Albums of 2010: 1

 Deer Tick’s ‘The Black Dirt Sessions’ isn’t the cheeriest or danciest record released this year. But it is the best. Why? Because no other band hmanaged to craft an album as unflinchingly emotionally honest as this one. Like a great short story, Deer Tick’s songs have the ability to uplift at the same time as they shatter your heart into pieces. Hearing this record made me buy the rest of their back catalogue. They also released a corking Christmas single. Just when I thought they couldn’t get any more brilliant I heard their cover of ‘Still Crazy After All These Years.’ This band are my favourite discovery of 2010, released…

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Albums of 2010: 7…6…5…

 No. 7:Dangermouse and Sparklehorse – Dark Night of the Soul An album by Dangermouse and the brilliant, sorely missed Mark Linkous (aka Sparklehorse). Recorded ages ago. Released this year. A collaboration with James Mercer of the Shins, Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of the Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, David Lynch, and Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel and the Gerbils. If that info doesn’t convince you of its brilliance, then this track will: No. 6:The Black Keys – Brothers Finally Detroit’s Black Keys get…

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Albums of 2010: 10…9…8…

 No. 10:Lost In The Trees – All Alone In An Empty House North Carolina’s ‘Lost In The Trees’ manage to produce an acoustic orchestral sound that avoids the usual cliches. They describe their sound as orchestral folk pop which pretty much fits the bill, but don’t be fooled into thinking this is your run of the mill Nick Drake impressionists. I dare you not to be moved by this standout track from the album. No. 9:These New Puritans – Hidden Quite simply this album sounds like no other band recording at the moment and easily better than any of the other arty bands kicking around now. The recording of the…

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Short Story Challenge – Day 305-315

 Day 305 to 312/17th December to 24th December – Tales for Christmas from the Guardian Short Story PodcastOf the twelve available I listened to the following: Philip Pullman reads ‘The Beauties’ by Anton Chekhov One of my favourite Chekhov stories, read by one of my favourite authors. Pullman in his commentary describes it as ‘a story in which nothing happens, twice,’ which it is, but it is also a story in which nothing happens twice, beautifully.’ I love Chekhov. This examination of beauty and the longing and separation from it we sometimes feel is one of his best. William Boyd reads ‘My Dream of Flying to Wake Island’ by JG Ballard…

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This is Christmas Metazen

 This is Christmas Metazen. The ebook is free to download here as it’s Christmas. As it’s Christmas you might want to donate and help make a little miracle. The collection features my story ‘The Last Year of Father Christmas.’

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Dan’s Top 5 Christmas songs – No. 1

 No.1 Come On! Let’s Boogey To The Elf Dance/Put The Lights On The Tree – Sufjan Stevens There are so many great tracks on Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Songs for Christmas’ that picking just one proved too hard. Hence the double A-side. Hope you are all having a great Christmas. See you in the New Year.

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Literary Mix Tapes Vol 1. Deck The Halls

 Some will have heard me banging on about Deck The Halls on twitter and facebook. Here’s what it’s all about: Literary Mix Tapes is the creative brainchild of eMergent Publishing’s co-founder and Chinese Whisperings‘ Managing Editor, Jodi Cleghorn, based on the experience of recording mix tapes for friends on a double tape deck during teenage years in the 80′s and early 90′s. The quarterly collection is a cross pollination of music and writing, and has roots in Cleghorn’s search for new ways to inspire fiction and encourage writers to work together. ABOUT DECK THE HALLS The catalyst for a Christmas collection of stories (and indeed the entire idea for Literary Mix…

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Dan’s Top 5 Christmas songs – No. 3

 No.3 Christmas All Summer Long – Deer Tick The newest track in my top 5. Deer Tick not only managed to release a contender for album of the year this year with The Black Dirt Sessions, they also released this sh*tkicking Christmas track on their awesomely titled ‘Holy Sh*t It’s Christmas’ EP. Everyone should love this band.

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Dan’s Top 5 Christmas songs – No. 5

 Let’s take is as read that ‘Fairytale of New York’ is the most perfect of Christmas songs. Putting that in my top 5 would be too close to obvious, so I am giving it the Perfect Xmas tune crown and will move swiftly on to number 5 of my Top 5 Christmas listening. No.5 That’ll Be Christmas – Thea Gilmore Thea Gilmore’s ‘That’ll Be Christmas’ is a touching evocation of the classic family Christmas. It might be a little twee in places, but you just can’t get past the winning smile and ‘good will to men’ this song manages to generate in most everyone who hears it. This should have…

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