Buckle Up (Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle)

On the 15th October 2022 my short story collection, Candescent Blooms, is being published by Salt Publishing. I've previously posted here with regards to the background to the collection, and the fact that twelve Hollywood actors whose lives ended prematurely are the main characters in each of the twelve stories. As stated in that post, the intention in the run-up to publication is to focus on each actor with some snippets of information (both about them and the writing of their stories). These posts will follow the same format for each. Our third character is Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.

1: the reason for the title of the story

Roscoe had what might be considered to be a bumpy career. Playing on his surname, "Buckle Up" seemed a good descriptive.

2: why I chose that actor

Roscoe was one of the highest paid movie stars of his generation until scandal wrecked his career. Whilst he was completely exonerated after three trials, his career never completely recovered. Arbuckle died of a heart attack in 1933 just as a new contract suggested his star might regain ascendance.

3: one 'gift' that enhanced the story

His three trials with three main witnesses in those trials gave me the idea of telling each story simultaneously (twice within the story the text is split into three columns). This enabled me to present all sides at once - without myself forcing an opinion. The reader becomes the jury.

4: one thing I never knew about them

Despite his physical size, Arbuckle was remarkably agile and acrobatic. Mack Sennett, when recounting his first meeting with Arbuckle, noted that he "skipped up the stairs as lightly as Fred Astaire" and that he "without warning went into a feather light step, clapped his hands and did a backward somersault as graceful as a girl tumbler". 

5: an extract from the story

The air is so thick you could swim in it. Roscoe holds another drink, the contents warming in his hand. These are peripheral people, he thinks, surveying the room. Few of them will amount to much. He wonders how they were chosen – for we are all chosen, in some way, to play a part. He watches himself from the other side of the room, a mirrored duplication. It as if he is watching a movie, the gilded frame representing film sprockets. 

6: what music I listened to whilst I wrote it.

Normally I keep an obvious note of the music I write to, however here my note is simply: "Jazz Thing". From memory, my father gave me a triple CD of something he didn't want. I'm not a fan of jazz, and so I subsequently passed it on. I'm expecting it was from that CD that I listened to as I wrote this story, but who or what exactly will now remain a mystery.

Buy Candescent Blooms here.

Honeypot (Rudolph Valentino)

On the 15th October 2022 my short story collection, Candescent Blooms, is being published by Salt Publishing. I've previously posted here with regards to the background to the collection, and the fact that twelve Hollywood actors whose lives ended prematurely are the main characters in each of the twelve stories. As stated in that post, the intention in the run-up to publication is to focus on each actor with some snippets of information (both about them and the writing of their stories). These posts will follow the same format for each. Our second character is Rudolph Valentino.

1: the reason for the title of the story

I can't quite remember which came first, the story title or knowing I would be writing about Valentino. Whichever it was, at one point these two factors gelled and I knew this would be my Valentino title. I can't write without a title, so they are always important to me. A definition of honeypot being "presenting romantic or sexual opportunity, as bait or as continuing motivation" seemed to fit his lothario image.

2: why I chose that actor

Interestingly I found it harder to find male actors who had died unexpectedly early than I did female actors. I think if I were writing about more recent actors then that gender situation would be reversed (think Brandon Crow, think River Phoenix, think Heath Ledger, think Philip Seymour Hoffman just off the top of my head). Yet even considering the paucity of males, Valentino's colourful life was crucial to my decision. Even the ailment which contributed to his death at the age of 31 eventually bore his name: "Valentino's syndrome'.

3: one 'gift' that enhanced the story

There is a tradition of a "woman in black" carrying a red rose who comes to mourn at Valentino's crypt, usually on the anniversary of his death

4: one thing I never knew about them

One hundred thousand people lined the streets of Manhattan for his funeral procession.

5: an extract from the story

I penetrate Rambova and her head shoots back, mouth gapes silent. I stab repeatedly, my hands blemishing her skin. She bucks, forearms collapsing. Further inside, I distend. I am unremitting. She receives me with a little death. The sound excites the crowd. I grip her ankles as she suffocates. Our movements no longer base, but performance art. She submits. My sword, blood slick. I lose count of her wounds and in her final perfect struggle the motion triggers.

From their vantage point the women throw roses.

6: what music I listened to whilst I wrote it.

I alternated between two songs by Marina & The Diamonds: Jealousy followed by Perfect Stranger. Marina can be hit and miss, but these two songs worked the vibe I wanted. Especially Perfect Stranger with its simple voice and piano.

Buy Candescent Blooms here.

Memories of Olive (Olive Thomas)

On the 15th October 2022 my short story collection, Candescent Blooms, is being published by Salt Publishing. I've previously posted here with regards to the background to the collection, and the fact that twelve Hollywood actors whose lives ended prematurely are the main characters in each of the twelve stories. As stated in that post, the intention in the run-up to publication is to focus on each actor with some snippets of information (both about them and the writing of their stories). These posts will follow the same format for each. Our first character is Olive Thomas.

1: the reason for the title of the story

"Memories of Olive" is the title of a painting of Olive Thomas by Alberto Vargas. It's referenced in her story, and can be viewed below.

2: why I chose that actor

Unfortunately, Olive Thomas accidentally poisoned herself after ingesting her husband's syphilis medication, mercury dichloride in a Paris hotel room. Speculation over the circumstances and media sensationalism led to this being one of the first scandals to sweep the nation which was related to a major Hollywood star.

3: one 'gift' that enhanced the story

Olive is purported to have cried out "Oh, my God!" after realising she had drank the medication. I use the same phrase to punctuate each aspect of her life, so that it represents both joy and sorrow.

4: one thing I never knew about them

The ghost of Olive Thomas is reported to haunt the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City.

5: an extract from the story

Jack pulls me backwards into the bedroom. He reaches for the telephone and calls for a doctor. Back in the bathroom Jack fills glass after glass with water. He separates egg whites from yolk and forces the mixture down my throat. He jams his fist in my mouth. Olive. I love. Olive. I love.

6: what music I listened to whilst I wrote it.

I wrote "Memories of Olive" whilst listening to the album, "Gravity Pulls", by Echobelly on repeat. This is a favourite album of mine to write to. It's perfect for setting a scene.

Buy Candescent Blooms here.

H is for Hollywoodland (Peg Entwistle)

On the 15th October 2022 my short story collection, Candescent Blooms, is being published by Salt Publishing. I've previously posted here with regards to the background to the collection, and the fact that twelve Hollywood actors whose lives ended prematurely are the main characters in each of the twelve stories. As stated in that post, the intention in the run-up to publication is to focus on each actor with some snippets of information (both about them and the writing of their stories). These posts will follow the same format for each. To begin with, though, our first character is actually the thirteenth. After the twelve stories were written, I decided to include a short introduction. This is provided by Peg Entwistle.

1: the reason for the title of the story

In 1932 Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler had decided to invest in an upscale real-estate development called Hollywoodland, which capitalized on the growing recognition of Hollywood as a movie-industry mecca. The sign wasn't shortened to Hollywood until 1949, when the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce took over ownership and decided to use it more for tourism than selling real-estate. Having previously written a book titled O For Obscurity I think the (slight) alliteration was on my mind. It also echoes the popular song Hooray For Hollywood, and of course it sets out a stall for the contents of the book.

2: why I chose this actor

Tragically, Peg Entwistle leaped to her death from the H in the Hollywood Land sign in 1932. She was twenty-four years old.

3: one 'gift' that enhanced the story

There are thirteen letters in Hollywoodland and thirteen central actors in the stories in this book. 

4: one thing I never knew about Peg

Unfortunately, I never knew she had existed until researching this book.

5: an extract from the story

The evening forms a cool September, nothing yet to bite. My jacket hangs loosely over both shoulders. My knees, bent in this position of departure, remember those stepladder rungs, the indentations in my soles. Nine months previously, the first official snowfall had been recorded in the United States Weather Bureau’s fifty-four year existence in Los Angeles. The snowstorm had begun at 5 a.m. and continued for over two hours.

Today it is I who shall fall.

6: what music I listened to whilst I wrote this story.

Whilst I normally write stories whilst listening to music, my concentration for this one (which incorporates elements of all the other stories in just 1202 words) demanded greater attention. Therefore Peg had no musical accompaniment.

Buy Candescent Blooms here.

Candescent Blooms

On the 15th October 2022, Candescent Blooms, my tenth short story collection, will be published by Salt. If you enter your email address in the space provided to the right of this web page then you'll receive notification when the book is available. Personally, I feel Candescent Blooms is my best collection. I'm normally a writer of ideas, with characters taking a back seat to odd scenarios, but in this collection characters are right in the foreground. And some of these characters you will already know, as the inspiration for these stories comes from the lives of Hollywood actors who left us far too soon.

As it says in the blurb, Candescent Blooms is a collection of twelve short stories which form fictionalised biographies of mostly Golden Era Hollywood actors who suffered untimely deaths. From Olive Thomas in 1920 through to Grace Kelly in 1982, these pieces utilise facts, fiction, gossip, movies and unreliable memories to examine the life of each individual character set against a Hollywood background of hope and corruption, opportunity and reality.

The inspiration for the book came after reading "Blonde" by Joyce Carol Oates, which is a fictionalised biography of Marilyn Monroe (and - coincidentally - is shortly to be released as a Netflix film). I'd only had a passing interest in Monroe - I'd seen a few movies - but generally those who are idealised have limited appeal for me. I tend to be skeptical of success. Having been recommended "Blonde", however, I wasn't prepared for what an absolutely brilliant read it was: compelling, fascinating and ultimately heartbreaking. It also elevated Monroe above the cliche and rounded her as a real person (ironically,  perhaps, considering it isn't all true, but I always identify greater with fictional constructs than I do with reality). Immediately after reading it I wanted to write my own Monroe story, and eventually I did. That piece "The Girl With The Horizontal Walk", was originally published as a chapbook through Salò Press, was reprinted in Best British Short Stories 2020 edited by Nicholas Royle, also for Salt, and of course is also included in Candescent Blooms. Before it was published, however, I had already embarked on several stories in the same vein, until ultimately I had enough for a collection.

My intention as we roll to publication and beyond is to write a series of posts that will feature each of these characters. Each post will follow the same format: 1: the reason for the title of the story; 2: why I chose that actor; 3: one 'gift' that enhanced the story; 4: one thing I never knew about them; 5: an extract from the story; and 6: what music I listened to whilst I wrote it. Hopefully some of these posts will intrigue the reader sufficiently for them to then buy the book. It would be nice. I sincerely believe it's my best work, but - more importantly - I also believe I've done justice to my subject matter. These aren't exploitative stories, but wholly respectful. Often when writing the final sentence to each story, I felt a sensation of someone looking over my shoulder. Whilst I don't believe in an afterlife, I feel the cumulative effect of the writing process for these stories did connect me with - at the very least - the sensation that I was being guided - whether by my 'muse' (the method of writing) or the characters themselves. There's life here in their deaths. Have a read.

Here's another reminder of the purchase page.

Secondhand Daylight

I've previously written about how the writer Eugen Bacon came to know my fiction and vice versa in this blog post about a short story, "Messier 94", that we collaborated on which was published last year. Following the writing of that piece, Eugen had suggested we work together on something longer, a novel or a novella. I parked that idea for a moment - we were both busy - until one early morning cycling before work along Marriott's Way in Norwich the sunlight was channeled through the trees to the extent that it both illuminated but also obliterated the surroundings.

"Secondhand Daylight" is the second studio album by Magazine. It's also my favourite record of theirs. Released in 1979 it's lyrical and rough. A real intelligent delight. I'd considered using the title for a novel a few years earlier, but it came to nothing. I no longer remember what that original idea was, but I had one now -- the full structure manifesting itself in my head.

Somewhere else

Something else

On my mind

It was the 5th August, 2021. I emailed Eugen that evening:

"We each begin with one character. Mine in the story’s past, yours in the future. My character senses that he is time travelling forwards (of course, we all do this, but he will do it faster). It’s a natural organic process – no machine. It happens to him without control, subtle changes.

 

"However, in your future, my character is seen as an innovator of time travel because he was the first to appear from the past into the future, but no one knows how it has been done. In your future, people can only time travel back to the past. Your character is sent into the past to investigate how I’ve done it.

 

"My character’s arc will therefore go from past to future, yours from future to past. They will meet at the middle point – but only a glance of recognition (if you’ve seen the film “The Double Life Of Veronique” by Krzysztof Kieślowski you’ll have an idea of how intangible I’d prefer that meeting to be). No more than a puzzlement. Once they’ve made this brief connection, my character continues travelling into the future and yours into the past, realising that mine had no special machine (I sense a feeling of disappointment here as yours won’t be able to return ‘home’) until they each reach the other’s starting point."

Eugen responded quickly:

"Gollygum, I don't know I understand it all, but I certainly get your enthusiasm!"

____________________________________________________________________________

Somewhere here

Someplace other

on my mind 

My original idea was for me to wholly write 'my' character, Green, and for Eugen to write 'Zada'. I even had this intention: "Thinking of structure, I was considering alternate chapters, but then that would disrupt the story too much, so how about something radical. My story runs linear forwards through the book, but if you turn the book the other way around and upsidedown your story runs parallel backwards. i.e: the book can be read in either direction depending on which way the book is held and the reader has a choice of which to read first."

However, what this translated into was neither of us having the right impetus to begin the story. It wasn't until mid-January 2022 when time spent on other projects was cleared that we agreed to write as we had done with "Messier 94", in alternative scenes, following on from each other, getting into a roll with it until the story could properly start to snowball. A first draft was written by the end of March. Looking back, I'm amazed it was only two months. Whilst this is a short novel, 50,000 words, it's intense. Subsequent edits honed it, defined the right pace, took out some of the introspection and made it more relatable. We even changed the entire POV from third person to first for Green's section. It gave it a new dynamic.

____________________________________________________________________________

Somewhere there

Someone other

on my mind 

No doubt there'll be subsequent blog posts from both Eugen and me as the book nears publication. I don't want to go into too much detail yet, save to say that this is where it all began and that the structure I envisaged when I proposed the book to Eugen is intact. There are two journeys here, two stories, one ending.

So, why posting this now? Because yesterday we signed a contract with Cosmic Egg Books, the Speculative Fiction arm of John Hunt Publishing, newly acquired by Watkins Media, owners of Angry Robot Books. "Secondhand Daylight" is coming...

Something To Believe In

My short story titled "Something To Believe In" has just been published in Crossing The Tees (The Fifth Short Story Anthology). This is an anthology compiled of the shortlisted and winning entries to the annual Crossing The Tees competition. I rarely enter competitions, because there's normally a submission fee, however this one was free and I decided it was worth a go. And as usual I'm writing a few words discussing how the story came to be written. There may be spoilers within.

If you read my story, you'll notice there are several references to Ramones. The reason for this is simple, I originally wrote the story with the hope that it might be accepted for Gabba Gabba Hey: An Anthology of Fiction Inspired by the Music of The Ramones, published by Fahrenheit Press. Unfortunately it didn't make the book, so I was left to shop it elsewhere, however because Ramones were my starting point this explains the genesis of the story. I wanted a Ramones song title as the story title, and after discarding the obvious (Sheena Is A Punk Rocker, Rockaway Beach, The KKK Took My Baby Away, etc), I happened upon Something To Believe In. Here was a title I could work with. Combined with the title, I'd recently discarded the opening of a novel where one of the characters, Klein, becomes romantically obsessed with a girl he passes on his daily commute. I decided to have this character relate his obsession to another character, Streckfus, who we then follow through their own thoughts into a similar scenario which also shaped their life.  I wanted to explore how we map our could-have-beens onto other people, totally without their knowledge - or permission - and how transitory interactions can dominate regular thought.

With this simmering in my mind, I happened to rewatch the film Citizen Kane, which included this quote from one of the characters, Mr Bernstein: One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that girl.

You can see how that fits my story perfectly. So much so, that I use it as an epigraph at the beginning.

The piece is also a commentary on the male gaze, which, from a feminist viewpoint, is the masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the heterosexual male viewer. Whilst my story reflects this, it does additionally suggest that unknowingly to the female, it is herself who represents the powerful, and that the gaze can be purely idealised romanticism without the sexual imperative being to the fore or even present at all. However, my character, Streckfus, also acknowledges that: He was no different from Klein, appropriating others for validation, but equally blaming others for the shitshow his life became.

Crossing The Tees (The Fifth Short Story Anthology) is published through the Crossing The Tees Book Festival. It retails at £10.00 in paperback. There are thirty two contributors. I believe the book is widely available throughout the festival, and is also available through Drake bookshop.

As regular readers are aware, I write my short stories listening to music on repeat. In this case, throughout the entire writing session, I naturally played Ramones' "Something To Believe In" on a loop. Not sure how many times I heard it, but it was several. Here it is: