Tag: books
-
Book Launch
YOU ARE INVITED TO A BOOK LAUNCH. In 2020, I was so excited to have a book launch for Happiness Is Wasted On Me. Covid seemed so far away and I was planning something really spectacular. Of course you all know what happened next. We’re now in 2022 and I have a brand new novel […]
-
Teenager by Bud Smith
I love writing that’s deceptively simple, the sort so easy and effortless that you can’t imagine a lot of work going into it. But here’s a secret: that sort of writing, when it works, is usually the result of hard work and a lot of time, because writers usually work towards a certain style, constantly […]
-
The YA Years / 2013-2018 / what the fuck was that all about?
I got my start in the Scottish publishing industry writing books for teenagers. They weren’t normal YA books but the weirdest, stupidest, strangest most cult fiction for teenagers ever – at least that’s what I told myself. Like most readers, I started reading as a child, visiting my local library every day, taking days off […]
-
Cover reveal!
At last, I’m able to present the cover artwork for Sadie, Call The Polis. I wanted something that recalled the old Faber & Faber/Flamingo book covers of the late 80s/early 90s, which is an aesthetic I love. Strange, disembodied images, striking bright colour, and bold typography. Those novels looked like CULT FICTION to me, and […]
-
I prefer American book art and here’s why…
The list of sites on my bookmark is precisely four strokes of my fingertip long. One touch takes the page halfway. The second goes further. By the fourth I’m at the bottom of the list. My bookmarked sites are literally all about books. Most of them American literary pages that I read every day, keeping […]
-
Money matters, he said
The worst question you can ask an author is how much we make. Oh, the question can vary slightly, but the reply is almost always the same. “Don’t expect money if you want to be a writer,” I say, my tone always on the mild side of weary. If writers were paid by the hour […]
-
Off The Page 2022
I’ve always wanted to do Off The Page and now I am. I’m appearing live at Fallin Library on 27th May at 17.30. You’ll get the full experience. Tickets are limited so book soooooon. I’ll see you there. #OffThePage #books #shows #Stirling @stirlinglibraries
-
Oh Marina Girl by Graham Lironi
I look back at Oh Marina Girl, the Glesga cult novel that I felt never got the attention it deserved…
-
The weirdness of Penguin Classic Crime art
Whoever said you should never judge a book by its cover clearly has ugly cover art on their books. I like artwork to say something, even if I can’t understand what it’s trying to tell me. When Happiness was picked up by Fledgling, I immediately knew what I wanted: “Make it ’90s inspired brutalism with […]
-
I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan – an examination
SPOILERS AHEAD! Lois Duncan was a household name if your house was home to kids with library memberships in the 70s and 80s. Her books for young people were Young Adult before the genre became mainstreamed. Looked down on, these books were known back then as Juvenile Fiction. Not that Lois Duncan ever wrote fiction […]
Kirkland Ciccone 