Gerard Brennan

So, today’s the day of my first reading. Less than four hours from now I’ll be at the Lock-Keeper’s Inn with T.A. Moore. I plan to read a short story from my chapbook, and if there’s time, a short extract from The Wee Rockets; the novel that earned me an Arts Council SIAP award and a literary agent. I’d hoped to bring copies of Possession, Obsession and a Diesel Compression Engine with me to flog, but (possibly because of the postal strike) they didn’t make it from the printers. Ah well.

I don’t seem to be as nervous as I should be. Maybe it's because I spent a year and a half as a kung fu instructor. I’m kind of used to standing at the top of a room and talking about something I’ve studied inside-out for years. But it’ll be interesting to see how I feel when I actually get to the venue. I doubt it’ll run smoothly, but I think I’m a big enough now to get over myself if my reading isn’t on a par with all the great writers I’ve seen at these things over the past two years.

Speaking of which, after my own reading, I’ll be taking a spin over to Lisburn City Library to see a veteran at work. I haven’t seen Garbhan Downey read before, but his material is top notch. Unless he’s speaking in another language, he’s bound to please the crowd.

After his No Alibis Launch for Mystery Man, (Colin) Bateman explained that he let his writing do the entertaining. He’s gifted with a fantastic sense of humour and his readings always earn real belly-laughter. He’s due back in No Alibis on the 16th November at 6PM, incidentally. I’m reading Day of the Jack Russell now. It could well be even funnier than Mystery Man, so do your best to make it to that one. I’ve encouraged my wife to accompany me for the first time since the Connolly and Hughes reading last year. Really looking forward to that.

I’ve mentioned the James Ellroy event more than once, but it’s a very big deal, so bear with me while I mention it again. In fact, just click here to read my article for International Thriller Writers. I devote the first paragraph to where, when and how to get the tickets for The Demon Dog of American Literature’s visit to the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.

And while I’m linking to other sites, check out this post from BlackWaterTown, who’s written a great article on his recent trip to Ireland. Note that he’s taken a certain someone’s advice and called in to No Alibis... It’s nice when people listen to you.

 

It’s been a very long time since I paid any attention to my writing website, gerardbrennan.co.uk. Truth be told, I’d kind of cut it loose, as my buddy and web-design-guy has been promising me a new look internet presence that’d be “the envy of writers everywhere!” But then he got mad busy with work that people pay him to do and suddenly the prospect of a tray of Carlsberg wasn’t making his priority list. So, over the last few weeks, I’ve been chipping away at the content in my present site. If my mate gets time to breathe in the near future, I’ll be needing the words to go with his new design anyway.

The bulk of the work has been put into the Literature section of the site. I’ve added a bunch of more recent stories. You’ll find:

Tales from the Sweety Bottle

These stories first appeared as a series in the Andersonstown News at the start of 2009.

King Edward

A slice of Norn Noir that first appeared on Christopher Grant's A Twist of Noir in November 2008.

Bloodbath

This little flash fiction piece is the opening tale from POSSESSION, OBSESSION AND A DIESEL COMPRESSION ENGINE; a chapbook written by me with much editorial help from Mike Stone.

Hard Rock

Hard Rock first appeared in issue 29 of ThugLit. My wife called me a sick bastard after she read it. Says it all, really.

Temporary

The story of an office creep -- one of my old school horror tales.

Bouncer

This story first appeared in the August 2008 issue of Verbal Magazine. It's one of my personal favourites.

Read the online versions here. They’re all free, so what have you got to lose?
 

Last week, I received the final story for the Irish mythology anthology I’m co-editing with Mike Stone. Me and Mike are now caught up in a flurry of activity in preparation for sending the manuscript off to the publisher, Morrigan Books. And I’ll tell you what; this editing malarkey is way tougher than I ever thought it would be!

We’ve been very lucky, though, and have received stories from the best of the best. Feast your eyes on this jaw-dropping list of contributors:

Adrian McKinty
Arlene Hunt
Brian McGilloway
Dave Hutchinson
Garbhan Downey
Garry Kilworth
John Grant
John McAllister
Ken Bruen
Maxim Jakubowski
Neville Thompson
Sam Millar
Stuart Neville
T.A. Moore
Tony Bailie
Tony Black
Una McCormack

Frickin’ awesome, right?

Me and Mike are pretty much on track time-wise, so hopefully our projected publication date of Summer 2010 will still stand. Any earlier than that, would be a bonus, of course, but Morrigan Books seem to have a very busy publication schedule on their hands, so we’ll just see what happens, eh?

Stay tuned for more updates!

I've been a bit busy the last few days putting the finishing touches on the screenplay. It's just been delivered to Northern Ireland Screen. One project down (for now), seventy-six(ish) to go.

So, what's been going on in the blogosphere since I've had my head buried in the script?

Well, I've been unforgiveably remiss in failing to mention Mike Stone's excellent news. He's only gone and announced that he's working with super-agent Nat Sobel! I've read the first of the YA trilogy he's putting together, and I tell you, this news was a long time coming. Congrats, Mike. Just remember, I need your help on this Irish mythology anthology, so no slacking off to work on your career.

Declan Burke is on a roll over at Crime Always Pays. Today's post and yesterday's post both make for great reading. Today he's talking about reviewers and hints at their responsibilities, and yesterday he was trying to figure out if he could ever bring himself to not write. Pfft. Good luck with that, Dec. You're as hooked as the rest of us bitter, twisted fools.

And finally, Reed Farrel Coleman put in a guest appearance at the Busted Flush Press blog. A very thought-provoking look at crime fiction reflecting in true crime. It fair gave me pause for thought. Brian McGilloway treaded familiar territory in a Crime Always Pays post quite some time ago. Something to think about, eh?

But the mood is lifted slightly by the revelation of the cover for Reed's collaboration with Ken Bruen; The Tower.

That'll do you for now.

Click the above image to read. This is the sixth of a six-part series of stories based on Brennan family anecdotes. The Sweety Bottle was a Lower Falls shebeen ran by my grandfather in the seventies. The Ladies first appeared in the Andersonstown News on Monday 26th January 2009.

Copyright ⓒ Gerard Brennan 2009
 

Click the above image to read. This is the fith of a six-part series of stories based on Brennan family anecdotes. The Sweety Bottle was a Lower Falls shebeen ran by my grandfather in the seventies. The Rabbit first appeared in the Andersonstown News on Saturday 24th January 2009.

Copyright ⓒ Gerard Brennan 2009

Click the above image to read. This is the fourth of a six-part series of stories based on Brennan family anecdotes. The Sweety Bottle was a Lower Falls shebeen ran by my grandfather in the seventies. The Mexican first appeared in the Andersonstown News on Monday 19th January 2009.

 

Copyright ⓒ Gerard Brennan 2009