Super 8

I'm really happy today to be able to say that Dirty Old Town (and other stories) has made it through to the Elite 8 in the tournament over at Spinetingler.

It's nice that, in a world that can feel so serious, a competition like this can lighten the mood. 

Mentions for Speedloader and for Harvest Of Ruins who DOT was up against in rounds one and two.  Just to get on the list is very cool, so if you haven't taken at them you should follow the links to see what you think.

This round I'm up against Keith Rawson's 'The Chaos We Know'; followers will know that I really enjoyed that one in the review I placed here towards the end of last year.

The rest of the runners and riders are:

Dead Money by Ray Banks (my review's here)

Rum, Sodomy and False Eyelashes by Scott Phillips

Monkey Justice by Patti Abbott (my review's here)

Just Like That by Les Edgerton

Witness To Death by Dave White

and

Choke On Your Lies by Anthony Neil Smith

It's one hell of a lineup and I intend to read all of the books in the fullness of time (all 32 is my goal).

Other little bits.

I'm still proud of my Blasted Heath page and I really am thinking about getting the tattoo.  I already have a heart on my shoulder (where I wear it) and think that the logo might fit in their snugly.  Mind you, that Snubnose logo is also pretty amazing and I guess I'm entitled after Speedloader.  Maybe I should check with my wife before I go off loose-cannoning. 

I'm reading two books at the moment.  They're very engrossing in different ways.

First off is Hill Country by R Thomas Brown.  It's not your standard scenario by any means and the deeper I go, the darker it seems to get (think about walking into a cave without a torch). 

The other is a book of interviews by Len Wanner called 'The Crime Interviews - Volume 1'. I really enjoy reading interviews with writers and there are plenty of them on the web to be seen and savoured.  What's different here is the depth of knowledge of the interviewer and the ability he seems to have to take the ball and run just at the right time.  He asks the questions that make sense and sometimes comes up with unexpected and tricky once he's lulled his subject into a false sense of security.  It's my first 'on-phone' read and suits it well.  Perfect for dipping in and out of.

And that's about it.

An hour and a half to prepare for arriving parents to talk about their children for a while.  Stressful in the idea of it, but rarely unpleasant in reality.

Till soon.