Rollercoaster by James Essinger BLOG TOUR @JamesEssinger @TheConradPress @RandomTTours #BookExtract

 

Wacky, outrageous, imaginative, bonkers, Rollercoaster is also really rather fun. Written by James Essinger in 1979 when he was a virgin, it tells the story of how warm-hearted would-be hippie Rod Coaster teams up with illustrious senior policeman Chief Superintendent Pickling Fox-Foetus, who has never made a mistake, to try to thwart a terrorist attack on one of West Germany’s most pretentious hotels. After many adventures, Rod finally finds true love with a charismatic Finnish beauty. ‘Rollercoaster’ is a book you won’t easily forget, even if you’re no longer a virgin.

Rollercoaster by James Essinger was published on 8 February 2021 by The Conrad Press. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I'm delighted to share an extract from the book with you today.

Extract from Rollercoaster by James Essinger

The white-haired man 

Late June, 1979. Marseilles. Early on a Friday morning. Already a thick haze of sun, dust and sweat swirling up, climbing above the Canabière. Noise and haste along the 

streets; cars leaping and jumping in starts to the traffic signs. Over everything, the sun, still lying behind cluttered roofs, ready to sweep into the deepening blue sky. On the left of the great city artery, a shanty town of Africans - men and women, boys and girls on the make - shoe-shiners, cripples, cured but maimed lepers and children running for a bite of bread and a bowl of coffee. On the right, the native French side, weary shopkeepers unrolling window blinds, motorbikes slaloming around lorries, vans and cars. Crates slung in the road, fruit baskets flicking rotting tomatoes. 

More dust. The sun rising still. Another summer morn- ing. Far out to sea the rich of the bay breakfast on cereals, chocolate and coffee aboard yachts that sway like slow-mo- tion galleons, guided by the latest navigational equipment, shipped direct from America by one of the hundreds of little firms that scavenge for trade by the walls and seashells of the docks and ports. 

In the midst of such life, a man walked quickly towards a tiny baker’s shop. He had made the journey often. He was buying rolls and butter for the first meal of the day. He might have been French, but his white hair, white skin, and white beard suggested something else. Arriving at the shop, he picked up a small package from the counter, and put a few coins in the package’s place. 

The white-haired man was a regular customer. 

Not bothering to check inside the package, he turned from the counter towards the door. All in a quick motion. It was a promising to be a hot day and there was much to do. 

‘Monsieur.’ 

He stopped, turned round to the counter. The woman there, fat and old as the great ovens at the back of the shop, averted her eyes from his face, in a hurry. 

‘Yes?’ The white-haired man was annoyed now.

‘Monsieur,’ again, but she did not look at him. ‘The telephone.’ 

‘For me? Now?’ 

‘Oui, monsieur.’ There was a guilty tone in her voice. An old customer, and being disturbed with jokes of this kind on a day when there was so much to do. 

‘There must be a mistake. You are perfectly aware I have no calls expected here.’ 

‘Monsieur, the telephone.’ Repeated. 

The door was two metres away. Best thing to simply walk out furiously, and vow never to buy bread from that place again. There were many shops in the quarter that sold the few rolls and croissants he needed each day. That and coffee. But a telephone, ringing for him. Perhaps news, news from the past. Perhaps. 

James Essinger was born in Leicester in 1957 and has lived in Canterbury in Kent since 1986. 

He was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys, Leicester, and at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he read English Language and Literature. 

Since 1988, James has been a professional writer. 

His other works include the novel ‘The Ada Lovelace Project’, the libretto and lyrics for ‘Ada’s Algorithm - the Ada Lovelace musical’, the Young Adult novel ‘The Lost City of Cantia’, and, with Jovanka Houska, ‘The Mating Game’. a widely-praised novel set in the world of chess. 

www.jamesessinger.com

Twitter @JamesEssinger

Boys Don't Cry by Fiona Scarlett @Scarlett_for_ya @FaberBooks #BoysDontCry @laurennicoll_ #BookReview #Giveaway #Win #Prize #Competition

 

Joe is 17, a gifted artist and a brilliant older brother to 12-year-old Finn. They live with their Ma and Da in a Dublin tower block called Bojaxhiu or 'the Jax'. It's not an easy place to be a kid, especially when your father, Frank, is the muscle for the notorious gang leader Dessie 'The Badger' Murphy. But whether it's daytrips to the beach or drawing secret sketches, Joe works hard to show Finn life beyond the battered concrete yard below their flat.

Joe is determined not to become like his Da. But when Finn falls ill, Joe finds his convictions harder to cling to. With his father now in prison, his mother submerged in her grief, and his relationships with friends and classmates crumbling, Joe has to figure out how to survive without becoming what the world around him expects him to be.

Boys Don't Cry by Fiona Scarlett is published on 6 May 2021 by Faber. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

Boy's Don't Cry is the author's debut novel, it's a short book at just over 220 pages, and the praise that it has garnered from well known authors, some of whom are big favourites of mine, has been outstanding. 

I read this in one day, and every single word of praise that I've seen is so well deserved. It's a book that evokes both tears and laughter within just a few pages. It is authentic and sensitive, hard hitting and poignant. It is a story of families, communities and loss, and I loved every single word. 

Growing up in a Dublin tower block is not an easy life. Kids grow up surrounded by the sights and sounds of violence, drugs and despair. The bland concrete area between the tower blocks is the only place to hang out, and is, just like the rest of the surroundings, grey and dank with no hint of beauty or nature. 

Seventeen-year-old Joe and his younger brother Finn have seen more than their fair share of violence and brutality over the years. Their Da is part of a well-known criminal gang, their Ma tries her best to keep her boys on the straight and narrow, but it's difficult to escape the clutches of those who live amongst you. Joe is a talented artist and recently won a scholarship to a private school. Joe does his best to ensure that Finn has treats. Finn is a happy go lucky twelve-year-old, with many friends and a favourite teacher. He's aware of the tensions around him but knows for sure that Joe will always watch out for him.

Unexpected nosebleeds and unexplained bruising on Finn's limbs bring life to a grinding halt, and his world soon becomes a round of needles and chemo and hair loss. Finn's outlook is positive. As far as he is concerned, he will ring that bell to announce that his cancer is gone, and then he'll go back to school, to football and to swinging from the bike rails. 

Finn doesn't make it. It is not a spoiler to reveal this, the author cleverly structures her novel so that the reader is aware from the outset that this happens. The story is told in the 'now' as Joe and his family deal with the aftermath of their loss, and also in the 'then'. It's a wonderful way for the reader to get to know Finn; to hear his dreams and his ambitions, to experience his thoughts as he lay in hospital, and to see the unconditional love between him and Joe. 

This is superb writing, the author really has such a talent. This book is one that will evoke every emotion from anger, to compassion, despair and hope. Utterly wonderful, and sure to be in my top books of this year. 

I have one hardback copy of Boys Don't Cry to give away

Entry is simple, just fill out the competition widget below. UK entries only

GOOD LUCK! 

One hardback copy of Boys Don't Cry by Fiona Scarlett

Fíona Scarlett is from Dublin but now living in Co. Kildare with her husband and two
children. 

She holds an MLitt in creative writing from the University of Glasgow as well as a masters in early childhood education. 

She was awarded the Denis O’Driscoll Literary Bursary through Kildare County Council in 2019 and a Literature Bursary through the National Arts Council Ireland in 2020. 

She works full time as a primary school teacher and Boys Don’t Cry is her debut novel.

Twitter @Scarlett_for_ya

The Best Things by Mel Giedroyc #BookReview #Giveaway @headlinepg #Competiton #Prize #Win

 

Sally Parker is struggling to find the hero inside herself.
All she wants to do is lie down.
Her husband Frank has lost his business, their home and their savings, in one fell swoop. Their bank cards are being declined. The children have gone feral. And now the bailiffs are at the door.
What does an ordinary woman do when the bottom falls out?
Sally Parker is about to surprise everybody.
Most of all herself.

A big-hearted story of a family on the brink, The Best Things is a life-affirming tale of failing, falling and finding a way back up.

The Best Things by Mel Giedroyc was published in hardback on 1 April 2021 by Headline Review. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

This review originally appeared in the S Magazine 

Stella and Frank Parker have it all. Frank’s hedge fund company makes millions, their home is filled to the rafters with expensive fripperies, they have staff on hand to see to their every need. With their three children, one niece and seven dogs, life is fabulous.

The financial market crashes and in one fell swoop, everything is gone. No business, no home, no money. Whilst Stella has to endure the whispers and stares from the women who were once her friends, and who had delighted in partying at her expense, Frank is not enduring anything at all. That strong, loud man who played the markets has disintegrated into a slovenly, tired old wreck. The children no longer have phone contracts, or eyebrow threading appointments and have discovered that food just doesn’t appear on the table magically.

Sally is the one who will, eventually, get everyone through this. Not only does she shock herself with her determination, but those who know her realise that they didn’t really ever see the real Sally.

The Best Things is sharp and witty. The author doesn’t hold back in her description of greed and snobbery and it makes for hilarious, yet awkward reading at times. From the peacocks on the front lawns to the silk carpets flown in from a Far Eastern mosque, every single piece of the Parker’s life is held up and shown to be as see-through as glass. The exploration of a dysfunctional family who have been cossetted and revered by everyone is so well detailed, with characters who are shallow, and some who become heroes. 

Clever, extremely funny and really quite poignant. A big-hearted page-turner.

I have one hardback copy of The Best Things to give away

Entry is simple, just fill out the competition widget below.

The competition will stay open for 14 days. UK entries only please.

GOOD LUCK! 

One hardback copy of The Best Things by Mel Giedroyc

Mel Giedroyc has been entertaining the nation for nearly thirty years. 

A comedian, writer, actor and presenter, Mel is best known for her work with Sue Perkins in the double act Mel & Sue. 

They have presented many TV shows such as multi Bafta-winning The Great British Bake Off (BBC) and Light Lunch (Channel 4). 

Mel has written two non-fiction books and has appeared in sitcoms and panel shows, on radio and on the West End stage. 

Mel and Sue reunited in comedy drama Hitmen for Sky TV. 

Mel lives in London with her husband and two daughters.

The Best Things is Mel Giedroyc's debut novel.

Say Goodbye When I'm Gone by Stephen J Golds @StephenGone58 @RedDogTweets #SayGoodbyWhenI'mGone #BookReview

 

1949: Rudy, A Jewish New Yorker snatches a briefcase of cash from a dead man in Los Angeles and runs away from his old life, into the arms of the Boston mob.

1966: Hinako, a young Japanese girl runs away from what she thought was the suffocating conformity of a life in Japan. 

Aiming to make a fresh start in America, she falls into the grip of a Hawaiian gang dubbed 'The Company'.1967: 

Rudy and Hinako's lives collide in the city of Honolulu, where there is nowhere left for either of them to run, and only blood to redeem them.

Say Goodbye When I'm Gone by Stephen J Golds was published by Red Dog Press on 24 October 2020. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

This novel is just 169 pages long, but every single page is searingly dark, violent and exquisitely written. I never talk about 'triggers' in my reviews, but this story features violent bloody deaths, and not just human deaths. None of it is gratuitous, none of it is written for the 'shock factor', every single horrifying incident within this story is perfectly placed and only goes to show how far the depths of humanity can go. 

The author skips back and forth in time throughout the novel, concentrating on the two main characters. Rudy and Hinako; two people from the opposite ends of life, but who both experience suffering that almost breaks them. 

The story opens in New York City, July 1950. Rudy is in a restaurant, celebrating his daughter Grace's sixteenth birthday. A family affair; Rudy, his wife, Grace and two of their sons. The night begins as a happy joyful occasion although the reader is aware that Rudy is on edge. The celebrations turn to terror and violence and this family will never be the same again. The sins of the father have caught up with them. 

In 1966, Hinako, a young girl is living a drab and dreary life in Japan. She dreams of America and Hollywood. She despises everything about Japan, and the way that people are almost clones of one another. She hates the apartment that she lives in with her almost-silent Mother, her father abandoned them many years ago. When she sees a flyer advertising jobs for Japanese girls in a hotel in the US, she seizes the opportunity. She will leave, she will see the bright lights, she will live her best life. 

Hinako ends up in Hawaii, far away from Hollywood and in a place that is a million times worse than her old life. Her innocence is soon taken from her and her life becomes nothing but a round of violence, screaming and pain, interspersed with the numbness that comes at a price and leaves tracks on her arms. 

Rudy and Hinako's paths cross unexpectedly. Rudy has found refuge in Hawaii, but is a lonely, sad man with many regrets. Hinako sparks memories for him, of his lost family, and he risks everything to try to help her. 

Even though this is such a short novel, the author packs such a lot of history into it. The reader learns everything about both characters; and none of is it pleasant. Interwoven between their stories, we get to know a young boy, alone and damaged by war and what he has seen. This boy grows to be a man who is feared; a dangerous, ruthless man who is turned on by the pain that he can inflict. He is a horrifying creation who is a victim of circumstance, who slips through the net and who goes on to destroy lives.

Say Goodbye When I'm Gone is a stark, dark, brutal and horrific tale of damaged people. It is beautifully written, but often very difficult to read. Not one single word is wasted here and every single page brings new horrors. It is a book that is difficult to forget, with characters who stayed in my thoughts for days after I finished reading. 

Stephen J Golds was born in London, UK, but has lived in Japan for the majority of his adult life.

He enjoys spending time with his daughters, reading books, travelling, boxing and listening to old Soul LPs.

Twitter @StephenGone58

The Last Act of Adam Campbell by Andy Jones BLOG TOUR @andyjonesauthor @HodderBooks @JennyPlatt90 #TheLastActOfAdamCampbell

 

Adam had a good life: a job he enjoyed, a nice house, a loving partner and a bright six-year-old daughter. Then he cheated on his partner. Then she kicked him out of their home. And then he was given approximately twelve months to live.

Despite the devastating news, Adam is determined to turn his life around before it finally runs out. Help comes in the form of an ex-junky, a cantankerous train driver, a nun experiencing a crisis of faith, and a teenager intent on losing her virginity - all living on borrowed time, all desperate to feel alive before their time is up.

The Last Act of Adam Campbell by Andy Jones is published in paperback by Hodder on 29 April 2021. My thanks to the publisher who sent my book to review as part of this Blog Tour.

Sometimes a story will come along and deliver a huge punch in the gut. This is one of those stories. I have gone through an emotional journey with these characters; there are moments when I wanted to cry, there were moments when I winced (hello, the pumpkin scene), and there were moments when I laughed out loud. This is a book that is centred on a group of people who have life-limiting illness. They are not expected to be around for long, but oh my goodness, it's so beautifully and tenderly created that whilst there are great sadnesses, it is also full of joy. 

Adam Campbell is the main character. Adam is an ordinary bloke who did something stupid. He cheated on his long-term partner, the mother of his child and was thrown out of their home. Other than that, he's a normal bloke ... apart from the twelve months to live prognosis that is.

Adam has drive and determination and although he knows that the end is much nearer that he'd ever imagined, he intends to turn life around and fix things. His oncologist tells him about a group that he runs, for people just like him, and despite some misgivings, he gives it a go. He doesn't regret it. 

What a fabulous bunch of incredibly created characters we are introduced to. From a nun who is not too sure whether God actually exists, to a guy whose lived his life at the edge and has the scars to prove it, and of course there is Laura. The youngest of the group, still a child, but with an imagination that drives them all. 

As the group write and rehearse their play based on the deaths written by Shakespeare, they experience awful low times and sadness, but they also form lasting and quite wonderful friendships. The author cleverly reveals snippets about each of them, making them seem real and very relatable. 

This is a magnificent story that may deal with death but focuses on life, and friendship and support and warmth. It really is a magical read and the characters will linger in your mind for days after turning the final page. 

Highly recommended from me, a really special story. 

Andy Jones is the author of five novels for adults, and two picture books for young readers.


His latest project is also his first non-fiction book. ‘Unleash Your Creative Monster – a children’s guide to writing’ will be published by Walker books in October 2021.

In the pipeline are two novels for middle grade readers – look out for a genie, a dog-thief, time travel and zombies.

Andy lives in London with his wife and two little girls. Chances are, he’s writing something.

Follow Andy on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram where he posts as andyjonesauthor.

Or visit his website to read his ramblings, tips, prompts, and various lists.
Visit: www.andyjoneswriter.com

Bluemantle by Karen Langston BLOG TOUR #Win #Bluemantle #KarenLangstonAuthor @RandomTTours #Giveaway #Competition #Prize

 

LIVE MUSIC IS OUTLAWED.

Set in the sun-scorched city of Wydeye, the totalitarian Authority controls its citizens through fear and cultivated dependence. Live music is deemed a threat to order and is forbidden by law. Punishment for participation is severe.

Chase Newell discovers his sister is missing. His search for her leads him to the underground music Scene, with its ageless Troubadours who must risk their lives to perform in order to survive. To do this, they rely on Bluemantle.

As the Authority's control-obsessed leader, Governor Blix, and her evil-incarnate Chief of Command, Wulfwin, step up their efforts to seize the Troubadours and destroy the Scene, the risks escalate.

While the Troubadours are forced to act, will the citizens of Wydeye wake up to Bluemantle's invitation and find choice beyond the caves of their own making?

Bluemantle by Karen Langston was published by Book Guild on 28 March 2021. I'm delighted to offer one paperback copy to one reader today, as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour.

Entry is simple, just fill out the competition widget in this post. UK entries only please

GOOD LUCK!

One paperback copy of Bluemantle by Karen Langston

Prior to becoming a writer, Karen Langston was a secondary school teacher of English, a senior
project manager developing qualifications and training for professionals in the creative media industries and a self-employed property developer. 

Having made the decision to make writing her full-time, long-term career, she has spent the last two years developing her skills through the creation of Bluemantle. 

She lives in Kent with her husband and working cocker spaniel, Cooper.

Instagram @karenlangstonauthor

Author Page on Facebook

When I Was Ten by Fiona Cummins @FionaAnnCummins @panmacmillan @rosiewilsreads #WhenIWasTen #BookReview

Twenty-one years ago, Dr Richard Carter and his wife Pamela were killed in what has become the most infamous double murder of the modern age.

Their ten year-old daughter – nicknamed the Angel of Death – spent eight years in a children’s secure unit and is living quietly under an assumed name with a family of her own.

Now, on the anniversary of the trial, a documentary team has tracked down her older sister, compelling her to break two decades of silence.

Her explosive interview sparks national headlines and journalist Brinley Booth, a childhood friend of the Carter sisters, is tasked with covering the news story.

For the first time, the three women are forced to confront what really happened that night – with devastating consequences for them all. 

When I Was Ten by Fiona Cummins was published by Pan Macmillan on 15 April 2021. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

Fiona Cummins is a magnificent author, I have read and enjoyed all of her previous books. When I Was Ten was originally due to be published in August 2020, but due to the pandemic, publication was delayed. Finally, after all this time, I'm delighted to share my thoughts.

The prologue, set in 1997, sets the scene for what becomes a tension filled story that kept me gripped. I flew through this book, loathe to set it down for even a minute as the story unfolded, with twist upon twist and unexpected reveals creating shivers down my spine. 

A young girl runs through the grass during a thunderstorm ... the grown ups are dead .... she is terrified and horrified, and then lightening strikes.

The reader is then taken to 2018 where we find Catherine Allen, a wife and mother who is also terrified. The urgency of Catherine's thoughts make the heart race as we watch her stumble about, she knows she has to get away, but from what, and why?

The blurb of the book tells us that this story is about the Carter sisters. In 1997 Dr and Mrs Carter were murdered, their ten-year-old daughter was charged with killing them and spent years locked away. In 2018, their older daughter has given her first television interview. She wants to reach out to the sister that she once loved so much, and who she hasn't heard from in years. This interview will bring the Hilltop House murder case into the public spotlight again, and for Catherine, and newspaper reporter Brinley it opens up old and very painful wounds. 

Cummins creates her story using some quite beautiful prose, she deals with the darkest of issues with empathy and sensitivity, but there are some shocking scenes of terrible abuse within the pages. There is a feeling of tense anticipation that builds, page by page, and as the reader discovers what happened in Hilltop House during the years before the murder, the feelings of horror get stronger. 

Interwoven between the narrative are messages sent by an unknown person, to an unnamed character in the story, this is a clever way to expose the workings of a damaged and troubled mind and go some way to allow the reader to understand what may happen, and why. 

When I Was Ten is a meticulously written, compelling novel that drew me in from the first haunting paragraphs. The story raises questions and shines a light on how one tragedy can become owned by the press and public, and how childish adoration and loyalty can destroy whole lives. 

There's a quote from Cries Unheard by Gitta Sereny at the beginning of this novel, and it is clear that When I Was Ten has been loosely based on the Mary Bell case from the 1960s. Cries Unheard is an excellently written book that exposes the detail of Bell's life, often glossed over, as is the case in this novel too. 

This is an accomplished, brutal and moving story, and comes highly recommended by me.

Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former Daily Mirror showbusiness journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing A Novel course. 

She lives in Essex with her family.

Twitter @FionaAnnCummins

The Physics of Grief by Mickey J Corrigan @QuoScript #ThePhysicsOfGrief #MyLifeInBooks #MickeyJCorrigan

 

Seymour Allan, resident of Florida, loses his girlfriend in unedifying circumstances. Short of cash, deeply depressed and drinking too much, he buries himself in a retirement community, a feral cat his chief companion. On one of his periodic forays to a local café he is accosted by the mysterious Raymond C. Dasher, who offers him a job. Seymour’s life changes this instant as he embarks on a new career: that of professional griever. Seymour is now paid to pay respects at the wakes and funerals of some very unpopular people. He cares for a dying criminal who tries to murder him; he attends unorthodox burials that may or may not be legal; he helps to celebrate the deceased in strange and macabre ways. In the Floridan Everglades he encounters trigger-happy gangsters and an alligator in attack mode and meets Yvonne, a sexy redhead mourning her mobster boyfriend.

Raymond C. Dasher puts in sporadic appearances, as elusive as the feral cat. Although Seymour is often irked by his boss, Dasher has shown him there is nothing like sex and danger, guns and gators – and the threat of death itself – to make a man remember how good it feels to be alive.

The Physics of Grief is a unique crime novel: quirky yet with universal appeal, profoundly serious yet engagingly humorous, it wears its wisdom lightly and spiced with frivolity.

The Physics of Grief by Mickey J Corrigan is published by Quo Script on 22 April 2022. I'm delighted to welcome the author here to Random Things today. She is talking about the books that are special to her in My Life in Books. 

My Life in Books - Mickey J Corrigan

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
When I first began frequenting the local library near where I grew up in Boston, I read all three Harriet books by Louise Fitzhugh. I kept one out too long, then snuck it back on the shelf to avoid the fine. I blame Harriet for my early beginnings in crime.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Sounds trite, but Jo was a big influence on me. I knew women could be writers, and after reading Louisa May Alcott's autofiction I accepted the idea that it would be a struggle. No matter the era, it's near impossible to find that work/life balance we all crave.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
I read this classic true crime story in my parents' living room until late at night, too scared to walk down the hall to bed. Truman Capote captured the essential emptiness of two men who committed the kind of random act of violence that could happen to any of us.

Ariel by Sylvia Plath
Even before I began writing poetry myself I was in love with Sylvia Plath's work. Her rage ignites every line while the sensual beauty in her everyday observations makes the poems leap off the page.

The Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger
J. D. Salinger understood what it was like to be an awkward adolescent trying exceedingly hard to seem okay—when one is very apparently not okay. The narrator's voice is amusing, insightful, and so natural it's as if he's talking to you.

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
The only book I still read annually, this beautiful and haunting short novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald seems to me a perfect tale of America. How we eat our young due to the national emphasis on amassing great wealth as an emblem of success.

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
If you read this novel as a metaphor for Wall Street in the roaring '80s, you can avoid the pitfall of judging it on the violence. It's satire and really well done. Like in Bret Easton Ellis's other novels, the view of American culture is not flattering but piercingly honest.

Squandering the Blue by Kate Braverman
Kate Braverman instantly became my favorite stylist when I read this collection of linked stories about a woman trying to make her life work. Braverman's unique application of sensory details helps to create stories as lush as the southern California settings she often uses to convey the problems with living in paradise.

Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson
This series of connected stories follows a troubled young man in and out of more trouble. Denis Johnson's writing is captivating, darkly funny, and immensely readable. Literary fiction at its finest.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahnuik
This book by Chuck Palahniuk really spun my head around. To observe what a writer could do using the voice of a narrator who doesn't know himself has influenced my own work. The short novel was my introduction to the unreliable narrator and I fell in love with that approach to storytelling.

The Waste Land and Other Poems by T S Eliot
What can I say? I don't understand them either, but I love reading these dense poems by T.S. Eliot. Somehow, his language wraps you up and transports you. Like a strange dream you can have over and over again.

My Life in Books - Mickey J Corrigan - April 2021

Originally from Boston, USA, Mickey J. Corrigan writes tropical noir shot through with dark
humour.

Novels include the mystery pandemic tale Songs of the Maniacs (Salt Publishing, 2014), Project XX, which is about a high school shooting (Salt Publishing, 2017), and What I Did for Love, a spoof novel based on Nabukov’s Lolita (Bloodhound Books, 2019). In 2020, Grandma Moses Press released Corrigan’s poetry micro-chapbook Florida Man.

Mickey finds much to write about in the lush pulpy ruins of South Florida.

Physics of Grief is published in April 2021 under the Poisoned Chalice imprint by QuoScript.

www.mickeyjcorrigan.com