Saturday 22 July 2017

Reading List Update - Celebrity Gulag finished & reviewed - A Life Removed by Jason Parent next

You can check out my indie review for Celebrity Gulag here - it was a surprisingly good read from a fellow Brit. It has some British eccentricities, which seems to be putting some Americans off if the reviews are anything to go by, but why I don't know. If you're a reader, by default you have an open mind in my book, willing to experience new and different things - that's half the point! Anyway, it's definitely worth a read.

I'm a few chapters into A Life Removed by Jason Parent now, something completely different; a detective novel with some gruesome murders to solve. Very tightly written so far with some compelling characters!

Added to the list are two interesting titles: My Dead World by Jacqueline Druga, a novel about a dangerous virus in India; and The Dead Silence by Jane B, about the dark side of motherhood.

Currently reading


Detectives Bruce Marklin and Jocelyn Beaudette have put plenty of criminals behind bars. But a new terror is stalking their city. The killer’s violent crimes are ritualistic but seemingly indiscriminate. As the death toll rises, the detectives must track a murderer without motive. The next kill could be anyone… maybe even one of their own.

Officer Aaron Pimental sees no hope for himself or humanity. His girlfriend is pulling away, and his best friend has found religion. When Aaron is thrust into the heart of the investigation, he must choose who he will become, the hero or the villain.
If Aaron doesn’t decide soon, the choice will be made for him.




Reading list



Under the Amoral Bridge by Gary Ballard

Artemis Bridge is the know-who, go-to guy, the amoral fixer in 2028 Los Angeles with the connection for any illicit desire no matter how depraved. You need it, he can get it without questions or judgment. He prides himself on staying detached from the depravity, untouched by the filth, untouchable by the law. When a young hacker is assassinated before his eyes, he is burdened with a scandalous video of the mayor on the eve of the city's most important election of the century. With digital assassins and murderous thugs dogging his every step, he has only days before the corrupt mayor is re-elected, handing the Chronosoft Corporation complete control of the city. Unable to sell the video, he is forced further into a complex conspiracy.



Indigo by DL Young

For over twenty years, Indigo Cruz has worked the markets of the Texas wastelands, hustling wares, cutting deals, and earning a hard-won reputation as a tough, shrewd trader. In a dangerous, brutal world, she's managed to carve out a comfortable, safe existence...

...until the day the Fundamentalist Church of Divine Wrath shows up on her turf, throwing her world into chaos.
Forced by the violent cult's leader to serve as a guide for a mysterious mission, Indigo finds herself trapped between factions warring for control of the Republic. But when she crosses paths with the runaway mind-reader Soledad Paz, will their chance meeting be the key to Indigo's survival or the final nail in her coffin?




The Method by Duncan Ralston


How hard would you fight for the one you love?

Frank and Linda's marriage is falling apart. When old friends tell them about an "unconventional therapy retreat" called The Method, they jump at the chance to attend.

Dr. Kaspar's Lone Loon Lodge is a secluded resort deep in the Montana wilds. The staff is friendly. The other couple joining them is intense. But when a death occurs events quickly spiral out of control, leaving Linda and Frank unable to trust anyone but each other.

Nothing is what it seems, and only one thing is certain: Love Is Pain.




Caleb, a 17-year-old boy, survived the zombie uprising, but he didn’t come out of the ordeal unscathed. He’s been scarred—both mentally and physically. The rest of humanity is trying to rebuild, to make the world normal again. Caleb is trying to return to a normal life also, but after all he’s seen, after the loss of his family and friends, the transition is difficult. The darkness that led him down a path of self-doubt and self-harm keeps trying to creep back into his mind.
Things only become worse when he discovers he’s immune to whatever makes a zombie a zombie. Fighting zombies was predictable. He knew what to expect. Fighting humans is volatile. They are malicious and treacherous. They won’t stop to get what they want, and Caleb has to figure out exactly what that is.


Lacy Dawn's father relives the Gulf War, her mother's teeth are rotting out, and her best friend is murdered by the meanest daddy on Earth. Life in the hollow is hard. But she has one advantage -- an android was inserted into her life and is working with her to cure her parents. But, he wants something in exchange. It's up to her to save the Universe. Lacy Dawn doesn't mind saving the universe, but her family and friends come first. Rarity from the Hollow is adult literary science fiction filled with tragedy, comedy and satire.





The Mask of Sanity by Jacob M Appel


On the outside, Dr. Jeremy Balint is a pillar of the community: the youngest division chief at his hospital, a model son to his elderly parents, fiercely devoted to his wife and two young daughters. On the inside, Dr. Jeremy Balint is a high-functioning sociopath--a man who truly believes himself to stand above the ethical norms of society. As long as life treats him well, Balint has no cause to harm others. When life treats him poorly, he reveals the depths of his cold-blooded depravity.







Since childhood, Nila Carter is made to spend every weekend at the family cabin. In her teenage years she believes it to be a prison, as an adult it becomes her sanctuary and means to survive. When a mysterious outbreak occurs in India, Nila’s brother, Bobby, a virologist with the CDC, places the family on a precautionary alert to be ready to bug out. Unlike anything he’s ever seen, the rabies like virus is not just deadly, it causes extreme violent behavior in those infected. Following her brother’s advice, Nila begins to stockpile. After months of preparing, just as it seems the virus is over, everything implodes and Bobby informs his family to leave the city. With her family, Nila heads to the mountains and to her father’s isolated land.
The book explores the complex psychological issues relating to the dark side of motherhood. Its subject is rarely written or discussed even in the protected privacy of a psychiatrist’s care. People prefer to keep it deep inside and don`t dare to speak it aloud.

But there are those who are not able to say a single word even if they wanted to. Those who were deprived not only of childhood, but sometimes their life itself. They are destined to the silent suffering, trying to survive in the chilling embrace of the "dead" mother.

Film Review: Ozzie Horror Killing Ground - Brutal


If you go down to the woods today, make sure it’s not in Australia. Or New Hampshire, or that one in The Forest for that matter. Heck, I could go on. There’s no cabin in this woods, just a couple trying to have a nice romantic time, and we can’t be having none of that.

Written and directed by Damien Power, Killing Ground stars Harriet Dyer and Ian Meadows as two lovebirds looking to spend some quality time away from the bustle of urban life.

See more: https://culturedvultures.com/killing-ground-review-brutal-satisfying/

...


Killing Ground is a brutal and realistic thriller with characters that lead the story. Intelligent, and beautifully shot, with an uneasy score, it is satisfying viewing.

8/10



Book Review: Celebrity Gulag by MA Rice - Horror Thriller

It is the future and Dr Phillip Bruno finds himself on the brink of nuclear fusion success, only for things to take a sinister turn. We are introduced to the dystopian society of Celebrity Gulag by M. A. Rice, as Phillip regales his tale to us; at first through interchanging chapters that switch between the gruesome present of his apparent escape from incarceration and subsequent chase, and the events that lead up to them.

See more: https://culturedvultures.com/celebrity-gulag-m-rice-review/

...

An expressively written tale of a man of science fighting to stay alive in a dystopian, alt-future society, where fame and fortune take precedence over altruism. A society for the one.

9/10

Saturday 15 July 2017

Get ready for a Goodreads Giveaway!

In 3 days time I'll be opening a Goodreads Giveaway for 5 paperback copies of Hereafter & Other Short Stories - be sure to enter!

Within those pages will be something for everyone: the yearning of lost love and youth within the boys left to fend for themselves in the wake of the Lisbon suicides; the transformative effects of the Frontier; coming clean with your need to strip to your Birthday suit; the horror of discovering that Big Brother has lost control; how easy it is to tie yourself up in the intricacies of time; and a story to show what can happen when possessions start owning you.


Goodreads Book Giveaway

Hereafter and Other Short Stories by Adam J.  Smith

Hereafter and Other Short Stories

by Adam J. Smith

Giveaway ends August 26, 2017.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter Giveaway

Fiction into Art: Wings

Coming soon to issue 5 of GRAPHITE Magazine is Eliza Ivanova's narrative tutorial for this evocative artwork created from my dailyflash fiction piece, Wings.



Artist: Eliza Ivanova
Site: www.elizaivanova.com

Text:
“Instinctively touching her back, she felt coarse feathers bristling
through her skin, like acupuncture needles she was once
compelled to touch. That had been weird, but nothing compared
to this. She pulled on one nascent shaft and felt her skin peel
towards it. It was stuck, but she got the feeling that if she pulled
a little harder, it would pop, and come out in her fingers.
In the mirror, she shrugged her shoulder blades and feathers, black
– highlighting the opalescence of her pink skin – blossomed like a
blast of sudden spring. They grew, forming wings, knocking toiletries
from shelves and slamming like a fist against the window pane.
The window. The sudden urge to open it was overwhelming.”

Friday 14 July 2017

DailyFlash: Loose

It's bright in the rat room; strip lights illuminate from above and heatlamps glow from within each of the glass cages. The cages form a grid against the wall, a row of seven at the bottom and eight running up: fifty-six in total. Of course, up and down is relative in the space station. On the opposite wall the vast blue ocean shimmers majestically through the port window. And rats seem almost to swim on the surface; white rats with long tails that have escaped their cages, all the doors open. Rats floating, bouncing off walls or gnawing at cables that dangle from flashing instruments. The scientist in white chases, the coattail of her jacket trailing like a cape, one arm flailing and the other hugging fluffy white bundles to her chest. 

Fiction into Art: Eltish Vale

The latest piece of awesome artwork to be created from my text is The Eltish Vale. Loving the colours below.


Artist: Eduardo Vieira
Web: www.eduardovieirartportfolio.tumblr.com

A full tutorial for this image can be found in issue 4 of GRAPHITE magazine.

Text: 
“After a day spent trekking through dark forests and fighting off
giant spiders, it was down-time for the adventurers. They set camp
next to the hot springs of Eltish Vale and stretched their limbs,
placing helmets on stakes and shrugging armor from shoulders.
The elf watched on disapprovingly as the dwarves bounded into
the lake, shedding layers, while the halflings unburdened the cart
of its ale cask. The wizard used his staff to create a campfire, and
in its glow a hog roast slowly turned. And in the darkness of the
trees a creature lurked, firelight flashing dark intent in its eyes.”

DailyFlash: Dead-End Drive In

On the screen, a knife glinted in 90-feet of reflected light, and then was dull. The movie cut to laughing mouths; round Os above quivering, smooth necks and plunging necklines. I looked right, to my own private cleavage on offer, and she caught me glancing, catching my stare with her bubblegum eyes, lip gloss glistening and making Os as she chomped on popcorn, smiling. Nancy's ponytail reflected back in the rolled up window, a speaker dangling from the one-inch gap at the top. Sudden screams pierced in stereo, and I put a hand on my own speaker to my left to quell the pain of the sound. On the screen, blood gushed and splattered as the knife tore through skin and teenagers fell like ragdolls. But my ears were already bleeding; I trailed a wet fingerprint down from my lobe to my collar, pulling it away and glaring at darkness dripping from my fingertip. This ain't right, I tell myself. The screams from the speakers have ceased, but my head is gripped in a vice that won't stop tightening. I look at Nancy through tear-stricken eyes but the lights, the blinding lights, they force me to squeeze my eyelids closed. Even if I try to prise them apart, it hurts. I'm groaning and moaning but I can't hear myself. I feel a reassuring hand on my wrist that travels up to my elbow and around the crook up to my hand pressing into my temple. I feel breath on my cheek. I feel a slick wetness on my neck which, if not for the migraine, would have tickled. That wetness became sucking as lips cupped my lobe and - something long and not at all tongue-like - burrowed into my ear.



Tuesday 11 July 2017

DailyFlash: Time to sleep

Like daddy before, who always said it was best to let the poor souls rest in peace and free up resources for those who really needed it, it was time to get to work again. He was a hospital janitor, my daddy. Washing the halls with his mop by night while the oldens slept. Used to say he was the corridor horror, for jokes. But that didn't stop the papers taking it literal. The Corridor Horror will never strike again, ran the headlines after he was caught.

Well, like daddy, like daughter, I suppose. It was time to put this poor soul out to pasture. The mop bucket sloshed as I kicked it into the janitor's cupboard one last time, catching a glimpse of my irradiated baldness in the mirror before switching off the light.

I gently pushed on the door of room 5 and whispered, "What do you say, old timer? Wanna join me?" He slept peacefully, face bathed in a soft yellow din that my shadow darkened as I stood over him. "I need to borrow this," I said, pushing an air bubble into his IV and watching it travel calmly, innocently, down the tube and into his hand.

"May God have mercy on our souls." I pulled the intravenous needle from his hand and found the pulsating vein in mine - they always have been prominent - and inserted it. I sat on the armchair beside the bed, trying not to cough. I felt blood in my mouth. The Lord's Prayer muttered under from my struggling lips as my blood became filled with air.



Friday 7 July 2017

Review copies available - Hereafter & Other Short Stories

Hereafter & Other Short Stories, an eclectic collection, is due for release on 25 August. If you'd like a review copy in return for your honest Amazon and Goodreads review, drop me an email at aj.smith@writeme.com.

Reviews are the lifeblood of indie authors. We love 'em and hate 'em and sit endlessly perched on the edge of our seats for 'em. Or maybe just me.

More about Hereafter: https://www.amazon.com/Hereafter-Other-Short-Stories-Smith-ebook/dp/B073Q67J4S/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

The Risen - Novel - Free Download Weekend

This weekend is a chance to get a hold of my apocalyptic novel The Risen on Amazon and Kindle for free. You have from Friday through to Sunday - and if you do grab it, for better or worse, please remember to leave a rating/review; they are the lifeblood of any indie writer, and it would be very much appreciated! Get it here.



If it does take your fancy, you may also enjoy my collection of short stories currently on pre-order; an eclectic mix of straight literary, fantasy, sci-fi and humour. Hereafter & Other Short Stories is available here.

Wednesday 5 July 2017

Book Preorder: Hereafter & Other Short Stories

Exciting news, folks. You can now preorder my upcoming collection of short stories. You know you want to! Here's some links:

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546448780
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073Q67J4S

The release date is the 25 August. If you do grab a copy - THANK YOU! Please remember to add a review, for better or worse, as these are the indie author's lifeline!

Discover how the boys grew into men forever influenced by the suicides of the Lisbon sisters. How the Frontier is transformative for a group of modern families. How sometimes the urge to strip to your birthday suit is a force you have to release. How even Big Brother can be murdered, and how easy it is to tie yourself up in time. Finally, discover what happens when possessions own you. 
Take the journey through an eclectic array of short stories designed to make you think and wonder.

Monday 3 July 2017

DailyFlash: Empty Empathy

The silence after the chaos was as deafening as it was deep: moonlight reigned near the window where the blinds had been pulled from the rail (the blood spattered on them dark in shadow, still so red in the glow); and glass from the table lay shattered on the stained carpet.

I hadn't slept properly for two days, stuck in the crawlspace at the top of the house after neighbours had called the police on me. But the friends were already dead by then. Let the failed APBs continue. I could wait it out a little longer.

The wheelchair was empty now, I saw. Misery purged. I sat where he had sat before his final release. Looking out, the remnants in the room of his friends' bursts of violence called to me; a sofa toppled in half-darkness; a hoist no longer necessary resting on the wall: bullet holes and blood across the paintings on the wall.




Celebrity Gulag up next! Reading list update

So I finished A Traitor's War and gave it 9/10 on Cultured Vultures (see here). Now begins the long wait for part 3 of the Metaframe War! In the meantime, I'll have to satisfy myself with a plethora of awesome (I'm sure) indie work making up my reading pile. Next up, a cyberpunk-y sounding Battle Royale-type Hunger Games. I enjoyed both Battle Royale and Hunger Games (:P) so looking forward to sinking my eyes into this.

Currently reading


‘Celebrity Gulag: only the biggest, most famous, most watched show in the land. Imitated worldwide but never bettered, it is the biggest star vehicle known to humankind...’
Even in darkness, the megalopolis never sleeps.
The internet is gone, engulfed by the virtual flames of an online inferno.
In its place, tawdry tabloids titillate with tales of television talent shows where contestants are literally dying to be famous.
For Dr. Philip Bruno, an unassuming life is about to take a remarkable turn.
Hunted by a delinquent prince, an ever-present audience bays for blood.
How does a modest man survive stardom?
How does he survive Celebrity Gulag?


Reading list


Detectives Bruce Marklin and Jocelyn Beaudette have put plenty of criminals behind bars. But a new terror is stalking their city. The killer’s violent crimes are ritualistic but seemingly indiscriminate. As the death toll rises, the detectives must track a murderer without motive. The next kill could be anyone… maybe even one of their own.

Officer Aaron Pimental sees no hope for himself or humanity. His girlfriend is pulling away, and his best friend has found religion. When Aaron is thrust into the heart of the investigation, he must choose who he will become, the hero or the villain.
If Aaron doesn’t decide soon, the choice will be made for him.



Under the Amoral Bridge by Gary Ballard

Artemis Bridge is the know-who, go-to guy, the amoral fixer in 2028 Los Angeles with the connection for any illicit desire no matter how depraved. You need it, he can get it without questions or judgment. He prides himself on staying detached from the depravity, untouched by the filth, untouchable by the law. When a young hacker is assassinated before his eyes, he is burdened with a scandalous video of the mayor on the eve of the city's most important election of the century. With digital assassins and murderous thugs dogging his every step, he has only days before the corrupt mayor is re-elected, handing the Chronosoft Corporation complete control of the city. Unable to sell the video, he is forced further into a complex conspiracy.



Indigo by DL Young

For over twenty years, Indigo Cruz has worked the markets of the Texas wastelands, hustling wares, cutting deals, and earning a hard-won reputation as a tough, shrewd trader. In a dangerous, brutal world, she's managed to carve out a comfortable, safe existence...

...until the day the Fundamentalist Church of Divine Wrath shows up on her turf, throwing her world into chaos.
Forced by the violent cult's leader to serve as a guide for a mysterious mission, Indigo finds herself trapped between factions warring for control of the Republic. But when she crosses paths with the runaway mind-reader Soledad Paz, will their chance meeting be the key to Indigo's survival or the final nail in her coffin?




The Method by Duncan Ralston


How hard would you fight for the one you love?

Frank and Linda's marriage is falling apart. When old friends tell them about an "unconventional therapy retreat" called The Method, they jump at the chance to attend.

Dr. Kaspar's Lone Loon Lodge is a secluded resort deep in the Montana wilds. The staff is friendly. The other couple joining them is intense. But when a death occurs events quickly spiral out of control, leaving Linda and Frank unable to trust anyone but each other.

Nothing is what it seems, and only one thing is certain: Love Is Pain.




Caleb, a 17-year-old boy, survived the zombie uprising, but he didn’t come out of the ordeal unscathed. He’s been scarred—both mentally and physically. The rest of humanity is trying to rebuild, to make the world normal again. Caleb is trying to return to a normal life also, but after all he’s seen, after the loss of his family and friends, the transition is difficult. The darkness that led him down a path of self-doubt and self-harm keeps trying to creep back into his mind.
Things only become worse when he discovers he’s immune to whatever makes a zombie a zombie. Fighting zombies was predictable. He knew what to expect. Fighting humans is volatile. They are malicious and treacherous. They won’t stop to get what they want, and Caleb has to figure out exactly what that is.


Lacy Dawn's father relives the Gulf War, her mother's teeth are rotting out, and her best friend is murdered by the meanest daddy on Earth. Life in the hollow is hard. But she has one advantage -- an android was inserted into her life and is working with her to cure her parents. But, he wants something in exchange. It's up to her to save the Universe. Lacy Dawn doesn't mind saving the universe, but her family and friends come first. Rarity from the Hollow is adult literary science fiction filled with tragedy, comedy and satire.





The Mask of Sanity by Jacob M Appel


On the outside, Dr. Jeremy Balint is a pillar of the community: the youngest division chief at his hospital, a model son to his elderly parents, fiercely devoted to his wife and two young daughters. On the inside, Dr. Jeremy Balint is a high-functioning sociopath--a man who truly believes himself to stand above the ethical norms of society. As long as life treats him well, Balint has no cause to harm others. When life treats him poorly, he reveals the depths of his cold-blooded depravity.

Flash fiction art: A Demonic Birthday

Gina Nelson has created this cool fantasy artwork based on more of my flash fiction. You can check out the tutorial on 3dtotal.