MO' GARDOT

As a footnote to the LADY SINGS posting below, I opened my copy of the Observer -- one of the UK's leading Sunday broadsheets -- today to find a large advert in it for Gardot's latest album, 'My One and Only Thrill'. And according to a friend, there's a piece on her as well in London's top listings magazine Time Out. A year ago, I hadn't even heard of her. As for you, dear reader? Remember where you heard about her first.

ON LINE

Raine's Landing might be an old-fashioned kind of town, with very little in the way of computers. But I don't live in such a place, and neither does anyone else much in the Western world (the rest of the world soon?) these days. And so I've just claimed a page on the HorrorWorld site. And I've joined the relatively new fantasy social site Wonderlands, and immediately got some replies. What friendly people!

LADY SINGS ... WONDERFULLY!

Went out last week -- with my old friend music writer Andy Snipper -- to see Philly-born jazz/blues songstress Melody Gardot, the second time I've attended one of her performances in less than a year. And it might seem unusual for an American singer to visit our shores so frequently, but Ms. Gardot -- who has a very interesting background --lives in Paris these days. So hopefully, we will be seeing a whole lot more of her during the next few years. That's great news for fans of real music and real talent, rather than the manufactured garbage that gets thrust on us so much these days via The X Factor and similar shows.

The first time I saw her, at the Bloomsbury Theatre, she performed with a three-piece backing band in front of an audience that had struggled in despite a Tube strike taking place that day, and was so brilliant she brought the house down. On this occasion she was at the Union Chapel, N1, a stunningly beautiful church in Islington which continues to hold Sunday worship, but which doubles as a music venue during the less Godly days of the week. It wasn't quite as great a show as the previous one. This time, along with the jazzmen, Gardot was backed up by an eight-piece string section, and the formality of that arrangement hampered her a little. But make no mistake, she is a terrific singer, with the lyricism of a Julie London and the fire and passion, when needed, of a Peggy Lee. And she's no mean songwriter either. If you get the chance to check her out, then take it. And in the meantime, here is Andy's review of the evening's performance for Music-News.com. (*The album cover displayed is from Wikipedia, and appears here under the Fair Use rule.)

THE DEMONS ARE COMING

I've just got the final confirmation from my editor -- Diana Gill at Eos -- that Raine's Landing Book #2, 'Night of Demons', is good to go. In fact, that was pretty much a foregone conclusion, since I've already seen the back cover blurb and the front cover artwork. And the latter is brilliant, so very good that I can't wait to post it on this blog. I'll have to wait, though. Publishing can be a slow business, and all kinds of people have to give the nod to things like covers before they are finalised. But as soon as I can, I'll share it with you.

I can't tell you too much, either, about the plot of 'Night of Demons'. But suffice to say it continues the story of Ross and Cassie, introducing a lot of previously unknown detail about Cass's troubled past. It brings in several brand-new characters I personally like a lot, as well as fleshing out some who only got the briefest mention in Book #1. And there's a spectacularly nasty and murderous new villain, with a good sized repertoire of unpleasant tricks up his sleeve, for our heroes to face down. The book will be out in November of this year.

I'VE BEEN WIKI-ED

In earlier days, when I needed to do some research, I'd drag my shoes on and walk down to the local library to rummage through the reference section there. But for a good while now, my shoes have needed re-soling much less than they used to. I've used Wikipedia for everything from the mythology behind Manitous (Saruak in Dark Rain) to the likelihood of there being a Jewish family in Massachusetts in the Sixteen Hundreds (Judge Samuel Levin in the same book). Additionally, there are dozens of links to the great online reference tome on this very blog. And now there's a brand-new entry ... Tony Richards (author). Ah, true fame at last!

SKETCHES OF SPAIN

No, this isn't another entry wholly about movies, although it is inspired by one. Went to see the latest Woody Allen last night. And thank heavens, after the disasters of Match Point and Scoop, the Grand Chief Nebbish has stopped setting his films in London ... my home city, sadly, doesn't seem to inspire him in quite the right way. Vicky Cristina Barcelona marks a partial return to form. It's nothing like his greatest hits -- but hey, the guy is in his seventies by now -- and is structured rather more like a short story than a movie, which might be intentional. But it's beautifully filmed and acted and enjoyable to watch, a meditation on the old Chinese curse 'may you live through interesting times' viewed through the medium of (what else?) tangled interpersonal relationships.

But the real point is this. The film is largely set in two Spanish cities, Barcelona, which I've visited and set fiction in, and Oviedo, which I haven't yet, although having watched this movie I plan to change that as soon as possible. People tend to think of Spain merely in terms of its beach resorts, the costas, with their massive commercialism and their pandering to British diets/drinking habits. But the fact is, get away from these artificial constructs (which the Spanish don't even regard as a genuine part of their nation) and you'll find yourself in one of the most unique countries in Europe, with amazing architecture, great food and wine, terrific culture and an enviable lifestyle built around staying up half the night and enjoying yourself amongst friends ... and that's the case if you're seventeen or seventy. I know people in several cities out there, and have been lucky enough to visit (several times in some cases) Madrid, Seville, Valencia, Bilbao, Granada, Toledo, Segovia, Cordoba, Tarragona, the astonishing Salamanca, and the aforementioned and utterly wonderful Barcelona. If all you've ever done out there is fried on a beach then, believe me, you don't know what you're missing. If there are any other Hispanophiles out there, why not drop in with your thoughts? (The accompanying photo -- mine -- is of the Gaudi House in Barcelona, and there are plenty more from all around the world in the photo gallery on my official website.)

BLACK STATIC

I've contributed more than a few short stories to first the excellent, groundbreaking The Third Alternative, and then to its new incarnation Black Static, the UK's leading dark fantasy magazine. But in Issue #9 of the latter, I have the honour of being the Featured Author, with reviews of both the first Raine's Landing novel, 'Dark Rain', and my collection 'Shadows and Other Tales', plus a lengthy interview ... I just can't stop my lip from flapping sometimes ... with the magazine's reviews editor, Peter Tennant. If you haven't yet come across this superb publication, at least give it a look. The links are right here. And I know that times are tough at the moment. But where else can you get so much entertainment for so little money? If you're into dark and supernatural fiction, a magazine like this one deserves your support. (The cover of Black Static #9 is reproduced here by kind permission of TTA Press).

Oh, and news about all this has just been posted on the Eos Blog.