Another Goodreads review of Heidi Seek

I'm chuffed that Valancourt Books 5-starred Heidi Seek and other stories here on Goodreads review
They know a thing or two about the horror genre, publishing classic horror novels alongside more contemporary books in the genre. I'm also pleased that "Kafka's Chair" was picked out as one of their favourite stories in the collection as it is also one of mine, based as it is on a surreal trip to Prague some time ago. Of course, no one really died on my surreal trip, as far as I know...

AFM

Recent review of "Heidi Seek and other stories" @goodreads

It's quite short, positive and recommended here:Goodreads review
Thank you Karl in Arizona!

Newspaper feature on me, ghosts, records and who I'd invite to dinner (dead or alive!)

One of my dinner guests

Below is a recent newspaper article about me, my writing, why I like living in Tankerton/Whitstable and what 'celebrities' (dead or alive) I would theoretically invite to dinner :
Whitstable /Canterbury Times

It was a very difficult decision as to who to have around for dinner. In the end, I decided that 'dead' people had an advantage over the 'living'; not least because dead people don't usually come to dinner so it was an opportunity not to be missed... I also interpreted 'celebrity' loosely.

To find out who came to my dinner party from the grave, and why I asked them to come, please click the link above. The feature includes other pieces of personal information: have I ever seen a ghost? What was the first record I ever bought? etc.

 AFM

Talking with John Gordon Sinclair

Well, WhitLit 2014 drew to a close on Sunday ending with a public talk with JGS at the Horsebridge in Whitstable. It was very well-attended, the atmosphere congenial, the audience appreciative and the conversation (hopefully) informative and entertaining. There were certainly plenty of laughs during the hour or so that we chatted; John is a relaxed and natural entertainer with a wicked sense of humour.

In between the laughs there was, I think, a casual drilling down to what makes John tick as a crime writer: what or who are his inspirations, how he made the transition from acting into writing novels, what the themes of his work are (forgiveness, redemption, truth and lies, love and loss, how people deal with grief and crisis etc) and how he fashions his fast, bloody and complex hard-boiled crime thrillers (the twisting plots he keeps all in his head, and beer is kept in a fridge in his writing hut in the garden). Elmore Leonard's novels are, of course, a huge influence on him, but also Dickens and Cormac McCarthy.

We discussed the various levels of violence in his own novels, the reasons for it, and how he tries to balance this by injecting pathos into the relationships of his protagonists, male and female. There is, he agreed, a subtle shift in the emotional core of his second novel, Blood Whispers, perhaps aided by having a strong central female character. His writing is 'hard-boiled' in style, but there could be a soft centre.

I enjoyed reading  his very filmic novels (Seventy Times Seven and Blood Whispers) and was not surprised to discover that he is a fan of Tarentino and that he would love to see either or both of his books turned into films. There was even a hint that "Jack" (Nicholson) has a copy of one of his books.

In the meantime, John will be promoting Blood Whispers at a number of crime festivals around the UK including Bristol and Edinburgh later in the year, and is already working on a third novel. We were privileged in having a preview of Blood Whispers in Whitstable at the weekend, as the book is not officially out until early June.

John Gordon Sinclair has come a long way since Bill Forsyth's 1981 film, Gregory's Girl, not least living in Surrey with his wife and two daughters. He still acts now and then, and will probably be appearing in the West End again later this year, but as he said during our talk, novel-writing is his love and passion now, and I wish him all the very best with everything he goes on to write. This, as it might turn out, is not only crime novels. Somebody in the audience asked if he ever considered writing for children, and he suggested he had ideas for a book aimed at young adults; something his own children might get to read as they begin to grow up.

It was a pleasure spending time with John, not only on stage, but in the green room beforehand. From my conversations and observations on the night I came to the conclusion that John's passion for writing is driven by an instinctive interest in people, the problems our world can throw at them and how they may be overcome. These are the things that make him tick.

On reflection, JGS makes everything look quite effortless, be it acting or writing, but I suspect he puts a great deal of thought and work into all that he does, be that acting in musicals, writing crime thrillers or fitting a new bathroom. He is pretty handy at DIY apparently, and is a fully qualified electrican.

I hope the evening sparked new ideas for any would-be crime writers in the audience, and that WhitLit goes from strength to strength after its inaugural year!

AFM

Newsflash: John Gordon Sinclair appearing on ITV Meridian News tonight from 6pm-ish

John Gordon Sinclair (famous actor-turned-crime writer who will be appearing at the Whitstable Literary Festival this Sunday evening) will be talking about his writing on ITV Meridian News tonight (Friday) from 6pm-ish. Should be interesting...

I'll be talking to John in more detail about his transition from acting to writing and his influences/ inspirations this Sunday at the Horsebridge, Whitstable, from 7-30pm.

AFM

Harbour Books and WhitLit, May 2014

Countdown to the inaugural WhitLit has begun (festival starts tomorrow and continues through to Sunday night). If you are around Whitstable for an event, or just  passing through, I thoroughly recommend a visit to Harbour Books, 21 Harbour St.. Harbour St. is itself full of great little shops. Harbour Books shall be selling books at the events too (no mean feat given the number of writers descending on Whitstable at the weekend).

I was at Harbour Books only yesterday and met the very helpful Liz Waller who also gave me a quick guided tour of her quirky and charming bookshop. They also sell cool posters and greetings cards. It's a must, and is very close to the hub of the festival, the Horsebridge Centre. 

Don't forget - I shall be hosting a couple of interesting events: "Transformers" on Saturday 4-30pm, and an interview with actor-turned-writer, John Gordon Sinclair, on Sunday 7-30pm; both events at the Horsebridge. For details of these, please see an earlier post. 

I hope to see you there!

AFM

Living with Lyme Disease

Prior to my recent publication of Heidi Seek and other stories, some people who know me (or know of me as a writer/tutor), may have asked themselves...well, what exactly happened to A.F. McGuinness between 2011-2013? After all, he had been teaching creative writing at two universities in Canterbury...hadn't he? And he was working on a new novel...wasn't he? And then...just silence..

Perhaps I didn't want to be labelled, but this is the first time I've ever talked about my illness beyond the confines of close family and friends during the past three and a half years (the word "nightmare" cannot possibly do justice to the life I and my wife were forced to lead), but a recent tweet/ link to a story of a Lyme disease- sufferer Lyme story in Daily Mail  has convinced me to break my own silence, and talk about Lyme disease and how it can destroy lives. Stories like this make my blood boil.

The true story in the Daily Mail brought home - as if it needed bringing home -  the hell that I endured (and to a degree still endure), from initial signs of bacterial infection, to an acute neurological phase involving brain inflammation, during which I felt genuinely close to death; periods of hospitalisation; and later, learning to live with a chronic condition that may or may not be curable. All beginning with a little bite from a tick! If living with Lyme disease and its symptoms are not bad enough, many NHS patients are made a double victim by poor medical/ clinical diagnoses, and intransigence regarding treatment. This is well documented nationally and worldwide. I am not alone when I say that I am a survivor not because of NHS treatment, but rather despite it. If you want to know more about Lyme disease in general, and read some true stories, and find important information about how you can avoid the disease in the first place (with summer almost upon us, you really must find out how to protect yourself from ticks), please visit the Lyme Disease Action group here:Lyme Disease Action

Every Lyme patient has their own unique story to tell, but it is truly scandalous just how many times the same story recurs: signs of illness, misdiagnosis, confusion, delay in treatment or no treatment at all. The repercussions of late treatment or non-existent treatment, as I sadly know only too well, are potentially disastrous in the extreme. The likelihood for me (and for thousands of others in the same boat) is that I will have to tolerate or accommodate a life-long bacterial infection that follows a pattern of "relapsing-remitting" pain and fatigue. This is really why I was unable to write much from 2011-13; I was genuinely trying to stay alive. It was not until little green shoots of recovery showed themselves in late 2013/early 2014 (after appropriate antibiotic treatment) that Heidi Seek was finalised, and I am now cracking on with my second novel. I am well enough to do that.

My experiences during the past past three and a half years have been harrowing...so harrowing in fact that I am compelled to write about them. Of course, I first tried to write a "Lyme memoir", exploring every creative non-fiction avenue, but in the end the reality of events were so painful, and too close for comfort to complete. Rather than writing a memoir, I was digging my own grave with every page.

Which is why, in time, I have distanced myself from the nightmare, in the form of fiction. After all, fiction is what I write. This time, it will be semi-autobiographical. It can be no other way. The story has to be told through the eyes of another.

To anybody out there who suffers with Lyme disease, all I can say is hang on in there. You are not alone. You can feel better in time. Seek advice and appropriate treatment where and when you can. Visit Lyme Disease Action too. It is a mine of useful up-to-date information.

Good luck, and good health,

AFM

FAN - a book review

Last night, I attended the Canterbury book launch of FAN, a novel by Danny Rhodes. Danny and I go back a few years, first working together promoting writing in Canterbury and its district as part of a Laureate programme. We also teamed up as mentors, guiding and advising aspiring first-time novelists from the region. So I know how good he is...

Danny has written three novels of his own, the most recent of which is FAN.  

Set in 2004 and semi-autobiographical in nature, the novel follows the fortunes of John Finch, a school teacher in the midst of a nervous breakdown. The reason? Well, John is still struggling to come to terms with what he and friends witnessed during the atrocious football tragedy at Hillsborough in 1989 (Danny himself was at the ground that day as a Nottingham Forest fan). Fifteen years on from that disaster, struggling to focus at work and at home, John Finch hears of a tragedy befalling an old friend who stood beside him on the terraces at Hillsborough that day, and this proves to be the catalyst for Finch's journey back to his northern roots (the town of Grantham), his old relationships (male and female), and back to face the feelings that are somehow holding him back in life. To move forwards, though, Finch must go back and revisit his past, like the scene of a crime. What Finch must try to do is lay some ghosts...and do some deep soul-searching in the process. Can he right any of the wrongs of his past? Can he make sense of his present and move contentedly into a new future...? (although contentedly is not the right word) These questions form the backbone of the story.

Danny does very well moving the narrative to and from the 1980s and 2004. As someone who stood on football terraces in the 1980s (albeit Upton Park!), I can vouch for the authenticity and grit. Likewise, as someone raised on a council estate in the 1970s/80s, I can feel my own past in Danny's descriptions of a certain class. This novel is not like anything the author has ever written before. At his launch last night, he spoke of "catharsis", and a burden he has carried as a witness who walked away from the horrors of Hillsborough (though, as he says, psychologically one cannot ever walk away); and yet, at the same time, he also manages to conjure the brotherhood that came with being a devoted football fan in the 1980s. Much was wrong with football back then (draconian policing, dangerously decaying and cramped stadiums, hooliganism etc), but  deep friendships were also forged in fanaticism. For Danny (and John Finch) Hillsborough changed all that. 

Yes, there are a lot of football references in this novel (the match details at times are astonishing), but this novel is also about Thatcher's Britain. Not just the ruthless application of her policies of the 1980s, but the legacy she has left behind. Fan is a comment on these things, among others. Despite a bleakness that runs through the book (how can it not given the subject-matter?), there is deep respect for all of the victims of Hillsborough and their families, and importantly there is also a note of hope. In the end, FAN, for me, is as much about trying to survive as it is about making sense of human tragedy. The writing is fast-flowing and riveting, the details amazing, and the moral purpose sure-footed. 

Danny said last night that he was trying to be as honest as possible in his novel; being true to himself and to the facts of the past. He has acheived this so brilliantly. For more on the author and FAN, please visit his site here:  Danny Rhodes

Danny will also be appearing at the WhitLit festival, Whitstable, on Sunday, May 11. Details here: WhitLit/Danny Rhodes

AFM

WhitLit Festival, Whitstable, May 8-11.

This May, in the bustling seaside town of Whitstable, a wonderful new Literary Festival will be born, and it's name is WhitLit. The hard-working and visionary creator, Victoria Falconer, has organised an amazing variety of writers and events. It opens with a play about the life of Somerset Maugham who had a strong connection with Whitstable (Thursday 8) and concludes on Sunday 11 with  a full interview with actor-turned-crime writer, John Gordon Sinclair. If you'd like to see exactly who and what is on throughout this literary extravaganza, and purchase tickets, please follow this link:WhitLit

You won't be disappointed.

I am thrilled to be hosting two very exciting events at WhitLit. The first is called "Transformers" to be held at The Horsebridge Centre, Whitstable, on Saturday 10, 4-30 to 5-30pm. It will consisit of a full discussion about transformations in society (good and bad) during the Victorian era, as viewed by three exceptional historical crime writers: D.E. Meredith, Lloyd Shepherd and Wendy Wallace. I have read much of their work, all of it thoroughly intriguing and enjoyable, and each writer has a different 'take' on the period itself. Their historical novels are mesmerising. As a former historian, now fiction-writer, I for one have many questions to ask them, not least why and how they set their books in this period. Why not come along and ask your own questions too..? For more details about the event, the authors and their books, please follow this link:"Transformers" event, Sat May 10

D.E. Meredith

Lloyd Shepherd

Wendy Wallace

I shall be wrapping up WhitLit this year with a BIG interview with the very talented John Gordon Sinclair. Those as old as me (though this isn't too old!), might remember John as the affable and lovesick "Gregory" in the successful Bill Forsyth film, Gregory's Girl. Since then, he has gone on to win acclaim for performances on the stage as well as featuring in Hollywood blockbusters such as World War Z alongside Brad Pitt. But what's this got to do with Literarature...? Well, the buzz around John at the moment is his amazing talent as a crime writer. His first novel, Seventy Times Seven, has been called "one of the finest debuts of the decade", and his second, Blood Whispers,  is sure to be just as well received. I can honestly say that both books are the best films I've read in many years, so visual is his style.

As his host and interviewer (Sunday 11 May, 7-30 to 8-30pm), I was allowed privileged access to Blood Whispers before its official release by Faber and Faber in May/June. All I can say is...if you like your crime novels fast-paced and unpredictable, your characters rounded, and are not too squeamish about violence, you must buy this novel...it is a hell of a ride!

I shall be talking to John about his transition from acting to crime writing, the style and substance of his two exciting novels, his influences and motivations, and maybe even his new image! This is John Gordon Sinclair as you probably haven't seen him before. Why not come along and hear what he has to say too? Details as follows: John Gordon Sinclair event

John Gordon Sinclair

I can't wait to host my two events at the inaugural Whitstable Literary Festival. This town has a lot of writers, but come May, it will be full to the rafters with them...hurrah!

AFM

Heidi Seek and other stories is published today..!

I'm very excited to announce the publication of my debut short story collection, Heidi Seek and other stories with Red Sail Press. From today, this is available as an eBook from Amazon here: Heidi Seek

and will be rolled out to all other e-reading devices during the next couple of weeks. But don't fret if you don't own a Kindle reader or i-Pad; the paperback will be available later this month. 

Heidi Seek and other stories is inspired by some of my favourite writers who wrote in the genres of mystery, imagination and horror: Edgar Allan Poe, M.R. James and Franz Kafka. Kafka is included because of his love of the nightmarish and surreal, James for his natural affinity with ghosts, and Poe for his psychological suspense and terror. As is mentioned in the foreword to this collection, each story explores the thin line between light and dark, good and evil, dream and nightmare. Lurking inside my book are ghosts and murderers, misfortunates, a penitent priest, and a curse that lasts more than a hundred years...not to mention a macabre doll with a life all of its own! But don't be too frightened; the collection is less of a gory bloodfest and more of a psychological horror book, appealing to a reader's innermost thoughts as well as their emotions. That way a story may linger longer in the mind...

Some of the stories have been published before in literary magazines, others are brand new, but even the previously published stories have been substantially re-written for the purposes of this particular book. For a flavour of one of the stories (the title story in fact), please click the link above and look inside Heidi Seek. 

And no, I'm not playing an April Fool's Day trick...!


AFM

  

   

R.I.P. Michael Baldwin

I was extremely saddened by the news that the wonderfully talented writer and creative writing teacher Michael Baldwin has died at the age of 83. The Guardian obituary can be found here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/19/michael-baldwin

A full listing  of his works (novels, poetry, autobiography and non-fiction) blogged by writer and Baldwin fan, RJ Dent, can also be found here:
http://rjdent.wordpress.com/2010/09/04/michael-baldwin-1930-2014/

My first connection with Michael didn't come via any of his work, however, bur rather through his role as a creative writing tutor in Canterbury 2003-2005. I was only starting out on the fiction road back then - having already had a career as a history lecturer -  and Micheal was a charismatic guide. Not only did he have an abundance of experience in all forms of writing and teaching; he was also incredibly wise, funny, gregarious and something of a compulsive raconteur. Someone I was fortunate enough to have with me on my journey, even if only for a few years.

Michael had a clever, instinctive nose for a good story, an eye for detail, and an ear for dialogue. One always had the impression he understood the purpose of a particular story and could read the sub-text of complicated narratives. During our one-to-one tutorials (I sometimes wish I could transport myself back to that room and talk with him again), we would chat about almost anything in life, and his comments on my work were always sensitive, profound and to the point. Despite a wealth of knowledge and experience, Michael did all of these things without an ounce of self-importance. He had a passion for writing, was generous with his time, and considered with his opinion. When he talked about famous poet and dead friend, Ted Hughes, it was never name-dropping, but rather I think from a long philosophy of learning. Michael had learnt a great deal about being a writer from his friendship with Ted, and he passed this knowledge on willingly. Now a writer, tutor and fiction mentor myself, I try to do the same; though Michael is quite incomparable.

Perhaps what I shall miss the most, though, is sitting in a local public house with him, discussing all manner of writing and writers. His personal stories were always mesmerising and joyful; his humour boundless. In my mind, he is still sitting at a table, a glass of red wine before him, a clever observation ready on his lips. And perhaps, somewhere, he will be with Ted Hughes...

Cheers, Michael. Thank you for all of the things you said, and wrote.

AFM







 

A Happy New Year

This is a lovely calendar to buy for 2014, if you don't already have one hanging on your kitchen, study or office wall. I'm a little biased, as the beautiful dog in the month of May is my own bearded collie, Bella, photographed on the beach by my talented wife. All 12 photographs have been taken by local people in the local area of Whitstable in Kent, and some are truly stunning. Calendars can be bought online here:  http://365projects.co.uk/shop/  at only £7.


I didn't make any new year's resolutions at the end of 2013 for a change. Resolutions, in any case, are more like "intentions", and sometimes things turn out other than one intended; so 2014 is about being relaxed about personal plans, thereby preempting disappointment.

One should always have good intentions, though. And for the record, I intend to complete at least one novel in 2014. Yes, at least one.  I've been carrying it (them) around in my head and various notebooks for three years...a reasonable gestation period...and now birth is imminent.  I say "at least one", only because it could be twins. I draw the line at triplets...but who knows...?

Writers often draw on this analogy of producing a novel like a baby. The conception is always beautiful, the gestation of countless trimesters bewildering, frustrating, anxiety-inducing and exciting, and the labour painful; what the baby looks like at the end, however, is due to a mysterious union of a hybrid of influences. A mingling of autobiographical experience, research and creative imagination.

So, here's to new creations in 2014, and living the year with good intentions.

AFM