Bec Zugor

Is it a delf or a shesk? This is the newest addition to my writing corner.

I normally write on an ironing board in a corner of the bedroom, because there’s simply no room for a big desk. I have to fold the ironing board away at night so Mr Z doesn’t trip over it in the dark. Less pain for Mr Z (good), but a pain in the neck for me, because all my writing projects get stacked together at the end of the day and I have to sort it all out in the morning. If only I could leave some of my stuff out, so I could find what I want easily...

My son’s crummy old desk has been stored in our lean-to for some time. It was too long to fit in my writing space, and too full of graffiti to sell or give away, but I reckoned if we cut it down, it’d fit nicely into the corner. After much sanding down, I applied my home-made chemical-free polish to the desk-top and the job was done.

It’s not very deep, and I usually sort my projects into three piles on there, so I use it more like a shelf. Hence, ‘shesk’ or ‘delf’. I still write on the ironing board, but my new addition means I can leave stuff in tidy piles.

So, one desklet/shesk/delf for hardly any cost, and nothing taken to the tip. (And we still have the drawer section of the old desk in our lean-to, to store odds ‘n’ ends).

It passed its first test yesterday, when someone from a magazine rang. I was able to snatch up the relevant stuff from the right pile and zoom downstairs to take the call. No rummaging, no stress. Magic!

Today I'm delighted to welcome science fiction author, R B Harkess, whose Young Adult novel Aphrodite's Dawn has just been published by Proxima. I've already enjoyed some of his fiction, and I'm looking forward to reading more. Thanks for visiting, R B.

R B Harkess:

What’s in a name?

When a friend in my writing group suggested my style would work well with YA stories, I didn’t give it much thought and carried on beating my head against the thing I was working on at the time – ultimately unsuccessfully.

Several months later, I was beating my head against the keyboard again. It was time to start a new story. I had a good idea but wouldn’t plot – no matter how I tried. Then I remembered the YA comment and the story fell into place in, quite literally, a five minute epiphany. I spent the rest of the holiday I was on scribbling detailed plot notes and thoroughly annoying my wife.

So I went off and wrote the story, and it ended up being my debut novel. It’s called Aphrodite’s Dawn, and it has just been launched as an e-book.

But it wasn’t until I had actually sold the story I realised I didn’t have a clue what ‘Young Adult’ was all about. I remembered what I enjoyed reading when I had turned the corner into my teens and I’d read a few examples in the genre before I’d started writing, but that hardly constituted a definition. So I went looking.

And ended up really confused and somewhat surprised. YA doesn’t seem to know what it is. It is a world of extremes, ranging from the overtly moralistic through to tough, angry stories that even made me wince, and yet were included in the genre because the main character was in his or her teens and/or the tale involved ‘rites of passage’. It can’t even decide what age range it encompasses, with the younger boundary being between ten and thirteen, and the ‘older’ end being anything from seventeen to twenty-two!

And, eventually, I realised that this hugely open definition is actually one of the strengths of the ‘Young Adult’ label. People that age are hugely smarter than adults often give them credit for. OK, there is a lack of real-word experience, but they aren’t stupid (on the whole). I remember my ‘youth’, and I still remember the step change when I had read just about every book in the children’s section of the Bristol Central Lending library. I was not quite twelve when they handed me my full adult tickets. And suddenly I’m reading about very grown-up issues. There was no middle ground, not that anyone could point me towards and say ‘you might want to try those first’.

The ‘Young Adult’ genre offers a migration path, lets people progress through at a pace they’re comfortable with, without necessarily diving off the deep end. Every genre and style is there in the YA marketplace, and at just about every intensity you could need.

Many people brush the genre off as just being a marketing ploy, or a simple guide to tell the bookstore which shelf to put the book on. I think ‘Young Adult’ is more than that, and I’m really happy to be contributing to it.

(R B Harkess blogs at www.rbharkess.co.uk. Find his other contact details there. Aphrodite’s Dawn is published by Proxima Books, and is available from Amazon)

If you’re a writer, check out the mags4dorset Creative Writing Awards. This year the categories are:

Short Story (max 1,000 words)
Poem (max 30 lines)
Article (850 words)

Closing date is 7th September 2012, so you’ve plenty of time.  Full details are here. Good luck!

In other news... YA Science Fiction writer, RB Harkess, will be visiting this blog soon...

It’s great to get positive feedback, so I smiled this morning when I saw Craig Smith’s review of K in M is for Monster. Hooray, he liked my story! Check out the review here. You’ll also find some of Craig’s entertaining flash fiction on his website.

Some other stuff I’ve enjoyed reading lately...

Shock Totem #3, especially the stories Drift and Mr. Many Faces.

Stephen King’s Full Dark, No Stars, which contains some of his shorter stories. Loved the book.

Sorrow’s Breast, by Lee Thompson. Beautifully written. I also read this brilliant blog post by Lee. If you’re a writer, check it out.

Writing... I’ve got several pieces ‘out there’ at the moment. Way more than at this time last year, so I’m hoping I can keep up the momentum. I also wrote a brand new ghost story, which is my favourite out of all those I’ve written so far. No news about that one until the end of May. Fingers crossed.

An update: I’m not doing any book reviews for a few months, and here’s why...

It’s been a difficult year (I can’t go into details), which has led to stress-related health problems. It also means I’m way behind on all the stuff I’d hoped to do. So I’m going to spend time catching up on my own writing and other projects. Sorry to disappoint anyone who wanted reviews – but thank you for asking!

Even though I’m not doing ‘proper’ reviews until around April 2012, if I read anything I really like, I’ll give a brief mention on here. Which leads to...

Shock Totem’s special holiday e-book, which I read the other day. It’s full of holiday-inspired dark fiction and true-life tales. All the stories were well-written and entertaining, but I especially liked One Good Turn, and Streamer of Silver, Ribbon of Red. And the excellent Santa Claus Is Coming to Get You will stay in my mind for a long time, as will the unusual story Heartless. Good stuff. If you hurry, you can be in with a chance of winning a copy over at Lee Thompson’s blog.

Happy reading! I’m off to write a ghost story.

Published by Delirium Books
Artwork by Daniele Serra

From the back cover:

In the hills of Pennsylvania, phantoms from the past mingle with those of the present, all swirling in a dark maelstrom over Division. Haunted by the part he played in his brother Mark’s death, John McDonnell takes a midnight hike and stumbles across four dead girls upon the forest floor. Their severed limbs spell Repent. The coroner finds Mark’s onyx skeleton key inside one of the victims, right where her heart used to be. The last time John had seen the key it was clasped in his brother’s hand before they lowered him into his grave.


Torn between protecting his family’s name and giving the girls a proper burial, John digs into Division’s past. As lives shatter around them, and a strange woman tries to steal the key, John and his best friend, Michael Johnston, must find the tools to set things right or break beneath the pressure of these ghosts’ sudden weight.

I love Lee Thompson’s short fiction, so when a copy of his debut novel, Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children, came through the letterbox, I couldn’t wait to read it. Unfortunately I had to wait, because of other commitments. I finally got a chance to start reading it on October 11th... and saw that the story opens on October 11th! So far, so spooky.

Before long, I was hooked. It's a complex tale, and I was confused in places, but this is a well-written and gripping novel. Although things got a little surreal at times, I couldn't put it down. Characterisation is excellent, as you’d expect if you’ve read any of Thompson’s other work. The author does a great job of getting inside the head of these flawed characters, and he really seems to know what makes people tick. I particularly liked this line:  “We don’t know who we are until we dig through all the layers we’ve accumulated to protect us over the years.”

If you enjoy thought-provoking, well-written prose, put Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children on your ‘to read’ list. I highly recommend it.

Find out more about Lee Thompson here.

Darkside Digital (ebook)

Amazon (paperback)

The lovely people at Shock Totem have just had a puzzle contest, and I won! I’m still stunned at the news, because I’m recovering from a heavy cold and the accompanying sleep-deprivation hasn’t helped my concentration levels at all. But what a prize! Have a look at the list here, and you’ll see why I fuelled myself with strong tea and carried on trying to crack the code. For the answer to the puzzle, see here.

My thanks to Ken Wood and everyone at Shock Totem for  such a generous prize. I can’t wait to get my hands on all the lovely goodies.

If you enjoy curious tales of the macabre and twisted, and haven’t checked out Shock Totem yet, the e-version is currently available at a very low price here. But I reckon that once you see the gorgeous cover art, and read the excellent fiction and non-fiction inside, you’ll want a print copy for your bookshelf. Just sayin’.

M is for Monster (the e-book) is available at the special price of only 86p during the month of October. Yes, you read that right. My K (for Kul) story is lurking inside, along with monster tales by Ash Krafton, Jonathan Green, Stuart Neild, Kate Jonez, and many more. If you want to relearn your ABC, treat yourself! At 86p, it’s cheaper than your favourite caffeine fix, but will keep you awake much longer. If you prefer the smell/feel/rustle of real paper, I have a few print copies available for sale, and you can let me know here.

I enjoyed reading Beyond Bermuda, the fantasy tale by Walter Dinjos, the other day. I didn’t edit it, but I was pleasantly surprised to spot my name in the acknowledgments – for friendship! Thanks, Walter. Walter is also a talented singer/songwriter. Check out Beyond Bermuda here.

And last week I read a good novel, Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children, by the awesomely talented Lee Thompson. Another reading treat!

All Souls College is about to celebrate its annual midwinter feast, but this is no ordinary feast. Those adhering to the long-held traditions are hiding a terrible secret, and they’d do anything to stop it becoming public knowledge.

Andy Hughes, a violent ex-con, is offered a job, one which will lead to him confronting an evil beyond his wildest imaginings. The strange goings-on – missing people and a boar that won’t stay dead – could be connected. And asylum inmate Jason Franklin, who tried to destroy the college almost a year ago, is hearing voices again...

I’ve enjoyed reading Adrian Chamberlin’s short stories, and I wondered how he’d make the transition to a novel length tale. Wow. This guy knows how to hook readers from the beginning and keep them turning the pages until the end. At one point I stood in the kitchen, stirring the dinner whilst holding the book in my other hand, so that I could carry on reading. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next!

The Caretakers (Dark Continents Publishing) combines ancient mythology, suspense, and gory horror, with interesting, flawed characters you can care about. It’s complex and thought-provoking; I like the way the book shows how evildoers can have the best of intentions, and how even Society’s “no-hopers” can have a vital role to play – and all “for the love of humanity.” Good stuff.

Settings are well-described, so it was easy to imagine myself at the scene, witnessing the events unfold. Chamberlin tells the tale from the viewpoint of several characters, and cleverly weaves the different strands so that they come together nicely at the end. There was a bit of repetition in places – I was distracted by the repeated use of the word clunch – but not enough to spoil the story. And it has a satisfying ending.

I’d love to see this gripping horror mystery made into a film, although I’d have to look away during the eyeball scenes!

Find out more about The Caretakers here

Last week I was chuffed to spot my name on the longlist of Brighton Community of Writers’ summer competition. Sadly, I didn’t win a prize, but I’m pleased to have been in the top 20 of 127 entries. I’ll send my story elsewhere this week, and keep my fingers crossed.

Book news: I finished reading The Caretakers by Adrian Chamberlin, and hope to write a review soon. I also recently received a signed copy of Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children, by the inspirational Lee Thompson (thanks, Lee!).

One of the editors of Escape Velocity, Geoff Nelder, was staying in Brighton for FantasyCon at the weekend, and nipped over to West Sussex to visit me. He brought along a signed copy of the British Fantasy Society's  Full Fathom Forty. Thanks to all those authors who signed it.  And thanks for visiting, Geoff.