Burying Brian is here!

My new novel, Burying Brian, is now published by Immanion Press. And I'm happy as, well, happy can be!


It's been a long time coming—the first novel, Digging up Donald, was published way back in2004, and the gap is a reflection of how much more difficult it felt to produce the 'right' follow up to Donald.

Donald received some wonderful criticism. There were many glowing reviews, and in all the time the book 'drew interest' I saw only one negative-ish report bemoaning it wasn't that particular reader's cup of tea (and even that review held more good comments than bad!).

Because of Donald's reception, I've felt more pressure to 'produce' with Burying Brian. Of course, whether I've done so successfully is now at the whim of the reading public. And I'll maintain to my dying day that humour is by far the most difficult sub genre in which to write.

Brian has taken six years to write. Oh, I took lots of breaks in that time—more than I should have, probably—so it's not six 'solid' years in the making. In my excuse I'll say that if I wasn't writing I was certainly thinking about the project (if, like with Donald before it, I claimed thought time as well as physical writing time then I doubt I'd ever be able to suggest how many hours the project has taken).

But I'm happy with it. I like to think there's enough clever humour in there compared to Donald, and the style of writing is very concurrent. Like Donald, Brian is a gentle comedy, written almost as if in simpler times. But hopefully it still has enough edge to be relevant today.

I need to thank Storm Constantine and all at Immanion Press for being patient with me. I hope for their sakes if not my own that the novel is a success.

More information, including a preview of the opening thirty pages or so, may be found on my website www.stevenpirie.com

Brian also has his own Blog here: Burying Brian

There you may ask him questions, poke him cruelly in the ribs, or stroke his ego until his spine goes soggy.

Advent Calendar

Peter Tennant and all the nice elves over at TTA Press are running the now annual Advent Calendar, in which during December a story a day is recommended for viewing (and encouraged for discussion in the TTA Forum).

I'm happy to say my story "Sixty Seconds of Christmas in a Victorian London Alleyway" has been selected for 'day 13'.

The Advent Calendar may be found here:

Advent Calendar

Side Show 2

I received my author copies of "Side Show 2: Tales of the Big Top and the Bizarre", published by Sam's Dot. It contains my story: "To Pull a Child From a Woman", which I think is one of the best stories I've ever written.


The tale is of the lowly Hobo and his fear of the Clown Master, Whiteface. But it's also about love, and loss, and longing, and how ultimately simple Hobo yearns for nothing more than the basic thing in life most of us take for granted—a mother's love.

Sam's Dot Publishing

Side Show 2

Ah...ah...ah...chooo!

Don't you just hate the 'flu?

I've been invaded by one of these beasties below. I suspect this is actual size, but I'm no molecular biologist.


It's all very suspicious, but I was reading Cate Gardner's anthology Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits at the time, and mere seconds later Cate reports on Facebook she's feeling poorly herself. Very dodgy. I shall need to mention this in my forthcoming review of said anthology for the Future Fire. "The stories are great, but they will make you ill."

Of course, I've dealt with all this like a man. Which means my wife comes up twice an hour to lift my arm so I might mop my fevered brow. Still, I was excused Hoovering fatigues, so it's not all bad. But why isn't Night Nurse drowsy any more? The drowsy was the best bit.

I think I'm 'on the mend'. But I'm weak as a kitten, bless me. And there's no truth in the rumour that this is mere 'man-flu'. Anyone who says so is in danger of a foppish pelting with a damp handkerchief.

Burying Brian is (almost) here

This is the cover for my new novel, Burying Brian, which will be available from some time in December. The artwork is by Lucas Swann.


Click on the picture for a bigger image...

Bull Spec Issue 3

I should like to thank Samuel Montgomery-Blinn, Editor and Publisher of Bull Spec magazine. Why? Well, he sent me a free Bull Spec issue #3. I like people who send me free stuff :-)


I haven't read it all yet, though I picked it up just to 'glance' through the stories and ended up reading most of the fiction section. Such is Bull Spec's eye for a good story it makes the magazine something of a page-turner.

Bull Spec

Krakow

Well, we went to Poland. And, perhaps more surprisingly, we managed to get back home again. And I spoke Polish—actual Polish—and people understood me; I was even complimented on my Polish—what a thrill that was (I'm a man of simple pleasures).

We flew into Krakow. It's a city in flux somewhat. On one hand, it's a beautiful city blessed with many churches and buildings of fine architecture. But on the other it's also reinventing itself as a vibrant city, of nightclubs and bars and restaurants, and in some ways there's a battle going on between this old and new façade. It made for an eclectic bunch of visitors—young groups on stag and hen weekends alongside mature tourists all cameras and city guides.


It was cold—minus one degree in the evenings, but still hardy souls were to be seen sitting drinking chilled beer under parasols at the pavement cafes along the Rynek or Main Square. Ann and me, well, we're made of lesser stuff, so we drank our beer inside in the warmth.


I'd certainly recommend visiting Krakow. The food was cheap, the beer was cheap, and the majority of people friendly to a fault. Most spoke some English, and even those that didn't still managed to maintain a dignified patience during the ensuing pointing and arm-waving.


There were pockets of poor customer service we were generally warned about before we left. These were remnants of the communist age—the railway station was a somewhat daunting, unfriendly place, with little information and few official people around to ask for help—where wages were poor and paid no matter the attitude of the employee to the task in hand. We also had problems buying paper tissues in a chemist shop, but I suppose even pharmacy workers can have a bad day.


But overall, if you've any thoughts of going somewhere different, you should consider Krakow.