tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35927820826243021212024-03-13T12:42:33.531-07:00Gordon's BlogGordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-61040546714699419192011-05-19T10:19:00.000-07:002011-05-19T10:19:12.452-07:00My Blog Has Moved!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wGZwe6ITpAE/TdVQxSszHtI/AAAAAAAAAPI/4L6rLL_9tkk/s1600/newblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wGZwe6ITpAE/TdVQxSszHtI/AAAAAAAAAPI/4L6rLL_9tkk/s400/newblog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Hi everyone! My blog has now moved over to my brand new website, which you can find here:<br />
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<a href="http://www.alexandergordonsmith.com/blog">http://www.alexandergordonsmith.com/blog</a><br />
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This will be my last post on this blog, so be sure to follow me over!<br />
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Thanks for reading!Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-34173512930913719272011-04-06T13:25:00.000-07:002011-04-06T13:25:07.578-07:00Haunted Hotels and Clown Slugs!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4CrOBo7PvXk/TZzL-hb9W2I/AAAAAAAAAPE/zIO8Y4aXJYA/s1600/clown-nudibranch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4CrOBo7PvXk/TZzL-hb9W2I/AAAAAAAAAPE/zIO8Y4aXJYA/s320/clown-nudibranch.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My worst fear: a slug dressed like a clown!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Check out my post about scary things over on <a href="http://www.trappedbymonsters.com/2011/04/haunted-hotels/">Trapped By Monsters</a>!Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-69450745884763222142011-04-04T13:02:00.000-07:002011-04-06T13:21:53.799-07:00Shiny New Things!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cZsGlWQr5qU/TZzKcSjnX_I/AAAAAAAAAPA/_XmFAq4TwgQ/s1600/header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="98" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cZsGlWQr5qU/TZzKcSjnX_I/AAAAAAAAAPA/_XmFAq4TwgQ/s320/header.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Hi everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend! I had a pretty cool one! On Friday I met up with the brilliant <a href="http://sarwatchadda.blogspot.com/">Sarwat Chadda</a>, author of Devil's Kiss and Dark Goddess. We had a burger and a good old natter about writing. I love the fact that Facebook and blogs and Twitter et al let you communicate with other writers twenty-four hours a day, but nothing beats meeting up face to face the old fashioned way! Sarwat's new series, the Ash Mistry Chronicles, comes out next year and it sounds AWESOME!!! It's going to be huge.<br />
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Now that the tour is out of the way I'm throwing myself into a few new projects, and this weekend I started writing not one but two new books. The first is something I haven't tried before, and I don't really want to say anything about it yet because the chances are it won't work! The other one is a book for younger readers that I'm writing alongside Lynsey and Lucy. It's going really well so far, and we should hopefully have the first book finished in a couple of weeks. I'll tell you more about it soon!<br />
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The weekend was also spent doing Fear Driven Films things as we're planning a new film project which should be quite interesting. We've got a title, Sola Gratia, and a script, and we've even begun casting for it. I'll fill in more details as they emerge! Anyway, lots of shiny new things!<br />
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Have a lovely week!Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-22088547174978039892011-03-31T06:56:00.000-07:002011-03-31T06:56:17.256-07:00Fabulous (But Not Quite Fabulous Enough...)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dr_Epql1Kes/TZSESkm8MeI/AAAAAAAAAO4/nbw8CbplQbU/s1600/IMG_0020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dr_Epql1Kes/TZSESkm8MeI/AAAAAAAAAO4/nbw8CbplQbU/s320/IMG_0020.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I didn't win the award, but I got a slice of this awesome cake,<br />
so really I'm the winner!!!!</td></tr>
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This week I was honoured to be able to attend the wonderful Wandsworth Fabulous Book Award ceremony for the second year in a row! Last year Furnace Lockdown was shortlisted, and came second (after Rachel Ward's Numbers), and this year it was Death Sentence's chance to vie for the coveted award.<br />
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It was an absolutely wonderful morning, with pupils from seven local schools taking part – including Ashcroft Academy, my second home in London. Each school did a presentation on their favourite book (or books) from the shortlist, and the highlight of my morning was when the awesome pupils from Graveney did their presentation on Death Sentence. They even acted out the scene where Alex, Zee and Simon make it to the control room and face off with a Blacksuit. It was brilliant! They also held a Furnace quiz, and I won a Mars Bar for getting an answer right (although I kind of felt like I was cheating, since I wrote the books...)!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XcUQ-JNyMvY/TZSFhoR9cnI/AAAAAAAAAO8/vcGs8HMv1C4/s1600/IMG_0021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XcUQ-JNyMvY/TZSFhoR9cnI/AAAAAAAAAO8/vcGs8HMv1C4/s320/IMG_0021.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some awesome comments about Death Sentence!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After the presentations and some discussion groups the winner was announced. And it wasn't me!! I wasn't even in the top three this year!!! But I managed to ignore my urge to grab the award and run away and settled for a lovely bottle of bubbly and a piece of the awesome Fab Award cake. The winner was Alyxandra Harvey for <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Lies-Bleeding-Drake-Chronicles/dp/1408803402">My Love Lies Bleeding</a>, which is a vampire book. I guess you really can't compete with lovelorn vampires! But she lives in America, and although they are sending her the award I doubt she'll get a bit of cake, so who's the real winner? Me!<br />
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Anyway, congratulations Alyxandra, and thanks to Susan and everybody at the award for a wonderful day! Maybe I'll be back next year, and you never know – one of these days I might be the bride instead of the bridesmaid!!Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-117239983203601982011-03-25T05:15:00.000-07:002011-03-25T05:15:29.402-07:00Furnace Epilogue!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mhB6_-WOb8c/TYyHF4WHEGI/AAAAAAAAAO0/i94ZANJPA9o/s1600/EP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mhB6_-WOb8c/TYyHF4WHEGI/AAAAAAAAAO0/i94ZANJPA9o/s400/EP.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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This is a message to everybody who has finished reading Furnace 5 – everybody else, look away!!!<br />
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Okay, the epilogue that is promised at the end of Furnace 5 has been written, but it hasn't quite made it online yet. This is one hundred per cent my fault, and I offer a million apologies to those of you who are waiting to find out what happens after the end of the story! The epilogue is now with my publisher, and it should hopefully be available to read sometime next week. I'll keep you posted on how it goes, and let you know as soon as it's online!<br />
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I'm really sorry about that!! It's worth the wait!!Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-38112205204691594872011-03-24T03:22:00.000-07:002011-03-25T05:12:37.684-07:00Aberdeeeeeeeeenshire!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O9js5QF21mI/TYyFm_O917I/AAAAAAAAAOw/D42G-gg5h-c/s1600/Britain%252C+Dunnottar+Castle+near+Stonehaven+in+Aberdeenshire%252C+Scotland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O9js5QF21mI/TYyFm_O917I/AAAAAAAAAOw/D42G-gg5h-c/s320/Britain%252C+Dunnottar+Castle+near+Stonehaven+in+Aberdeenshire%252C+Scotland.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Aberdeenshire B&B... Not!</td></tr>
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I'm just back from a whirlwind tour in Scotland to celebrate the launch of Furnace 5 this month. I had a fantastic time! I was back in Aberdeenshire, where I was last year for the Grampian Book Awards. It's absolutely gorgeous up there, with the countryside and the coast and the hills (we don't have hills where I'm from so it's always nice to see them)! A trip up north always feels more like a holiday than a tour!<br />
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I didn't get to relax, though, far from it! I did twenty-two shows during the week across Inverurie, Fraserburgh, Ellon, Newburgh, Turriff and Meldrum, speaking to well over a thousand people. I also did a few creative writing sessions for teachers and probationary teachers, which was great fun! By the end of the week I was exhausted but exhilarated, and I'd just like to say a HUGE thanks to everybody in Aberdeenshire – especially the pupils, the teachers, the librarians and Marion, who organised it all for me – for being so friendly and so welcoming and so enthusiastic about reading and writing. Aberdeenshire is fast becoming my second home, and I'm looking forward to coming back next year!<br />
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I was really looking forward to staying on in Aberdeen afterwards to spend some time with my Uncle Frank and cousin Allie, but on the Friday I was feeling really, really ill so decided to head straight home (ten hours of puking on the train, fun!). I had to save my strength because on Tuesday I was straight back into the fray with another return trip, this time to the wonderful Ashcroft Academy in Wandsworth. I was there last year for the Fab Book Awards, and it was great to see everybody again and speak to this year's Year 8s. Hi everyone, and thanks for making me feel so welcome again! I'm back in London for the Fab Book Awards next week – Death Sentence has been shortlisted. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!<br />
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Until then, though, it's nice to be back at home for a few days, putting my feet up, writing and trying not to get too addicted to Sims 3... :-)Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-42756185279813799142011-03-23T02:55:00.000-07:002011-03-25T05:00:02.762-07:00Poniżej niebios rozpościera się piekło, a na dnie piekieł czeka Otchłań!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-YPlqKvqMvPo/TYyDIRpm5rI/AAAAAAAAAOs/OO2RJUgDnCo/s1600/polish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-YPlqKvqMvPo/TYyDIRpm5rI/AAAAAAAAAOs/OO2RJUgDnCo/s320/polish.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am MASSIVELY EXCITED because today is the launch day for <a href="http://www.otwarte.eu/index.php/news/show/180">Furnace Lockdown in Poland</a>!!! I've been away on tour (which I'll be blogging about soon), and I got back from London today to find a big box of Polish books waiting for me! They look absolutely AWESOME!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've had a few foreign rights deals for my books, but this is the first one that I've seen. It's utterly surreal seeing your book in a different language – a story that you wrote, but which you can't actually read. I've tried going through it, but I can barely understand a word! I remember when I was a kid my mum and dad used to have a picture book in Polish, it was about penguins, and I used to look through it marvelling at how their words looked so different to ours. I've been doing the same today. It really is a beautiful language. I've got some Polish friends so I'll give a copy to them and see what they think.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I just want to say a hug<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">e </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">dziękuję (I really hope I've got that right!!!) to everybody at Otwarte for doing such an amazing job on the book. It really does look absolutely sensational and I'm so delighted with it! And hopefully I'll be over in Poland soon doing some signings!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Awesome!!!</span></div>Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-74199123569713670772011-02-11T08:21:00.000-08:002011-02-11T08:21:08.178-08:00A Polish Wheezer (and a Great Review!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rVWKDAc1pMk/TVVgmp4V5hI/AAAAAAAAAOk/6Uo-tPrKp0M/s1600/FurnacePoland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rVWKDAc1pMk/TVVgmp4V5hI/AAAAAAAAAOk/6Uo-tPrKp0M/s320/FurnacePoland.jpg" width="212" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As my Facebook friends will know from my constant whining, I've been horribly ill for the last couple of weeks. What started with the flu fast became an evil attack of tonsillitis, and to top it all off I managed to put my back out too – which meant that I couldn't talk or walk for a few days. I'm still feeling groggier than a drunken, one-legged pirate trying to walk from bow to stern in a storm, but I think I'm slowly on the mend.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span>Two pieces of good news helped cheer me up this week, though. The first is that I saw a visual for the cover of the Polish Furnace, which I've posted above. Isn't it awesome?! I was absolutely blown away when I saw it. For those of us who don't speak Polish, Otchlan means 'Abyss' and Potrzasku (according to Google Translate) means 'Trapped'. I'm so excited to see the finished book – I'll let you know as soon as I hear a release date!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span>The second piece of good news is that I saw the first review of Execution (the fifth and final Furnace book, which comes out in a couple of weeks). And it's a great one! A HUGE thanks to John Lloyd and The Bookbag for this review, and all the other Furnace reviews over the last couple of years! :-)<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span>Oh, and there are spoilers here for anyone who hasn't read Death Sentence and Fugitives!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>"And so to the end. Alex and his closest friends have escaped the Furnace Penitentiary, that mile-deep hell-hole cum nightmare scientific experiment writ large. He's arisen to find the country in tatters, as the nasty creatures born there are in charge and decimating the population. There is only one thing to do - kill the man responsible. And Alex, eight feet tall, with an obsidian blade for an arm and muscles upon his muscles, will still face his hardest battle yet.</b></span><br />
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<div style="background-color: white; color: black; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span>The title is most apt, for even though the prison called Furnace is but a jagged memory, the man Furnace has to be sought, even beyond all his mind-controlled monsters. And the Execution part? That has greater bearing on the story than you might think.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: black; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span>Unfortunately for me, I wasn't keen on the first third of this book. Alex wakes from his latest battle in hospital. He's again penned inside an institution, for the sake of the 'goodies', we at first think. But in his half-awake, half-asleep, half-alive, half-dead state, every second chapter slips away into a fantasy realm, a flashback-cum-dream-cum-exposition. Yes it's all completely relevant, and suitably dark and horrific, but for me the series is better in dealing with the more concrete - the body horror, the battles, the most perfectly tangible senses of dread, nightmare and threat. Yes, those emotions do come solid in writing this good.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: black; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Beyond that extended, divisive opening, things definitely return to form. The action, the black mood, the carnage, all continue, and the writing conveys it all brilliantly. It's actually quite a rich, literary style. Monsters </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>bask</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b> in darkness in subterranean lairs. There are lots of quality turns of phrase here, to show Smith's consummate skills expertly, should you wish to see beyond the kinetic, page-turning qualities and witness them.</b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: black; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span>And the approach to the whole cycle is one of merit too. It is one that can bear the burden of being loaded down with copious references and genres, and still come out the far end its own creature. A few, to whet your appetite - the crime thriller, the mid-apocalyptic war movie, the mad scientist genre, the Nazi allegory, the Fall of Man - it's an odd mixture, but the conviction with which it appears on the page makes everything gel.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: black; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span>And so I'm left with the end of it all here (or, actually, elsewhere - read the last page for further details). While I didn't find perfection in any one volume, and didn't enjoy the beginning here, I did successfully admire it all, and what Smith has achieved - combined, a solid week's worth or more of the most literally visceral teen reads I can think of."</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: black; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 5px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span>Awesome! Thanks again, John!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: verdana, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 5px;"><br />
</div>Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-88842386621107244812011-02-09T06:37:00.000-08:002011-02-09T06:37:40.732-08:00Beware The Fury...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TVKjJZtgZ4I/AAAAAAAAAOc/8L5Q0aku9dw/s1600/fury.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TVKjJZtgZ4I/AAAAAAAAAOc/8L5Q0aku9dw/s400/fury.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Hi everyone! I've spent the last month working solidly on the book I started in November, and have finally got it finished! It's pretty epic, at 150,000 words, but it's a hell of a story. It still doesn't have an official title, but it's looking more and more like it might be called THE FURY. This may change, though! I signed the contracts for it last week, so I can officially give you a teaser of what the book is <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">about:</span><br />
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<div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 23.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Imagine if one day, out of the blue, the entire human race turns against you.</b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 23.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Every single person you meet becomes a bloodthirsty feral, hell-bent on killing you – and </b></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>only</b></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b> you.</b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 23.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Friends, lovers, even your mum and dad, brothers and sisters – they will turn on you, and they will murder you.</b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 23.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>And when they have, they will go back to their lives as if nothing has happened.</b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 23.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>The world has the Fury.</b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 23.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>It won't rest until you're dead.</b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 23.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 23.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There's a lot more to the story than this, but I don't want to give too much away just yet! There's also a snippet of press blurb:</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 23.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Fury is a brutal, gore-packed, relentless roller-coaster ride of excitement, mystery and supernatural terror. A zombie book without zombies, it turns the rules of the horror genre upside down, providing a fresh take on the apocalypse story.</span></span></b></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 23.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, I just thought I'd let you all know what was coming after Furnace! I'll post some more information soon!</span></span></div>Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-39265249312000488992011-01-05T09:18:00.000-08:002011-01-05T09:18:51.626-08:00Trapped By Monsters!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TSSntUkNbyI/AAAAAAAAANs/pUObzOmj8nM/s1600/images-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TSSntUkNbyI/AAAAAAAAANs/pUObzOmj8nM/s1600/images-1.jpeg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://www.trappedbymonsters.com/2011/01/writing-to-music/#content">Check out my post about writing to music over on Trapped By Monsters!</a>Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-48214724513475927102011-01-02T07:19:00.000-08:002011-01-05T09:41:58.879-08:00Happy New Year!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TSSsLgcgi4I/AAAAAAAAANw/wcGRaXzSo30/s1600/2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TSSsLgcgi4I/AAAAAAAAANw/wcGRaXzSo30/s1600/2011.jpg" /></a></div>Happy 2011 everybody! I hope it's a fantastic year for all of you, and that you get everything you could ever desire!<br />
<br />
I was planning to blog a roundup of 2010, but the year just went so bloody quickly that I never got the chance. Suffice to say it was an excellent year with some great writing, a new book, wonderful times with friends and family and the beginnings of some very exciting new projects. But out with the old and in with the new, as they say, and my sights are now firmly on the year ahead!<br />
<br />
So what are my plans for 2011? Well, one thing that didn't go so well last year was my attempt to write eight books... I wrote two. And a half. Yes, it was a little ambitious and maybe I shouldn't have been quite so tipsy when I announced it. So this year I'm not going to rush to try and finish a certain number of books. Instead I'm going to divide the year up into projects. Twelve of them.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure what they all are yet, but I've already begun work on a few. The first is my new YA horror novel, which is so new that it doesn't even have a title yet. The second is probably the screenplay I'm working on for The Inventors. An Inventors film would be SO AMAZING and because there hasn't been much interest I thought I'd just have a go at it myself. There's also a short horror film I'd like to make, and of course the feature film Stagnant, which will hopefully finally begin shooting this year. There are a couple of much smaller projects that I'd like to work on as well, which I'll tell you about if they ever happen! In all, these twelve projects will probably involve more work than the whole eight-books-one-year debacle, but planning it this way makes it seem like less hard work.<br />
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Another thing I'll be doing more of this year is blogging! I've got a US blog tour starting on the 5th January and lasting all month, and I'll be sure to link to all my posts from here. It's going to be ace!<br />
<br />
Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break, and here's to a brilliant 2011!Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-36376443268111253122010-12-06T07:37:00.000-08:002010-12-06T07:37:55.500-08:00The 12 DEATHS of Christmas!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TP0BmbBUQwI/AAAAAAAAANk/xeQWjPey5Zw/s1600/Evil_Santa_by_Black_Charizard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TP0BmbBUQwI/AAAAAAAAANk/xeQWjPey5Zw/s1600/Evil_Santa_by_Black_Charizard.jpg" /></a></div>Christmas is almost upon us – just 19 days to go until the jolly old fat bloke squeezes down our chimneys and deposits sweet little droppings beneath the tree. I can't wait! It's my favourite time of year! I've already got a Christmas tree (actually I got two this year, one for the front of the house and one for the back) and everywhere you go there are sparkling lights, cosy greetings and merry music.<br />
<br />
Well, <i>almost</i> everywhere you go... Because this year, to celebrate Christmas, the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Chainsaw-Gang/163890106969850?ref=mf">Chainsaw Gang</a> (the group of bloodthirsty YA horror writers to which I proudly belong) have decided to shun colourful baubles and fluffy red stockings and celebrate with our very own version of The 12 Days of Christmas. Rest assured there are no pipers piping, maids a milking or turtle doves in this version (not unless you count the pie that Sarwat cooked for us all to eat whilst we were writing it), just plenty of... You'll have to wait and see!<br />
<br />
Starting today, and running for the next 12 days (duh!) we'll reveal our masterpiece on some of our favourite blogs, along with our answers to a whole bunch of questions the bloggers posed to us (if you want to know which of us has really seen a ghost then check it out)! The schedule, and first line, can be found on the wonderful <a href="http://myfavouritebooks.blogspot.com/2010/12/12-deaths-of-christmas-chainsaw-gang.html#more">My Favourite Books</a> blog, along with instructions for the next stop!<br />
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Enjoy, and have a very bloody Christmas!!Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-4166087990683643852010-11-17T05:48:00.000-08:002010-11-17T05:51:40.306-08:00Solitary is Here!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TOPc8AZ3b0I/AAAAAAAAANg/P7fwcj6jm-U/s1600/Photo+on+2010-11-17+at+13.37+%25234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TOPc8AZ3b0I/AAAAAAAAANg/P7fwcj6jm-U/s320/Photo+on+2010-11-17+at+13.37+%25234.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">There was a package waiting for me outside my door this morning, and when I opened it I found myself face to face with just about the best looking book I've ever seen in my life!! The hardback US version of Furnace 2: Solitary, is absolutely stunning, and I'm so thrilled to finally see it. It's only six weeks now until it's released in the States, but I wanted to give you a sneak preview of what it looked like!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I've also had another couple of reviews in for Solitary, which I've pasted below. Right, I'm off to sit and drool over the book for a few more hours!</span><br />
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</span> <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks to everyone at FSG for making this so AWESOME!!!</span><br />
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</span> <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The first review if from the School Library Journal:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Alex Sawyer, 14, is in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. He tried to escape the horrors of the underground prison known as Furnace in </span><span class="ital1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Lockdown </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(Farrar, 2009), and now he must battle the nightmare that is solitary confinement. The cells open from the top through a sort of manhole cover, and they are more like coffins standing on end than cells. Alex must fight the monsters and mutants that are his captors and tormentors, including the dreaded wheezers that have gas masks sewn to what should be their faces and the vicious rat and doglike creatures that spoiled their escape attempt. Alex’s friend Donavan was thought to be dead, but as it turns out is part of the horrors going on in the infirmary. There are several disturbing episodes when Alex is alone with his thoughts in his cell, and his fatalism or depression leads him to contemplate suicide. The rest of this story is fast paced and packed with nail-biting scenarios, and the gross-out factor is high in many sections. Alex is coaxed into a leadership role by some of the creatures and his friend Zee, who occupies an adjoining cell, and through their attempt at another escape, discovers what is really happening to inmates in the infirmary. This is a dark story with a dark ending, but the gritty action and compelling characters will have reluctant readers enthralled.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;"><span class="AuthName" style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Loveland</span></st1:city></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, CO</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;"><span class="AuthName" style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;"><span class="AuthName" style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;"><span class="AuthName" style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;">And the second is from Booklist:</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In a sequel to Lockdown (2009) that is just as breathlessly paced and soaked with blood, mucus, and less </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">savory substances, teen jailbird Alex’s escape from the futuristic underground prison and experimental lab </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">called Furnace leads first to recapture and then to a second flight that involves frantic chases through dark </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">caverns and tunnels, face-to-face encounters with flesh chewing human-rat hybrids, and visits to a </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">gruesome “Infirmary,” in which prisoners are modified into hideous monsters. Readers who relish lurid </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">imagery and melodramatic prose will continue to be riveted and left eager for the next disgust-o-rama </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">episode.</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">John Peters</span></span></div></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">"Disgust-o-rama" I love it!</span></span></div></span>Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-90831669860656594832010-10-26T06:18:00.000-07:002010-10-26T06:18:46.880-07:00I've been Chainsawed!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TMbVFCDIFHI/AAAAAAAAANc/thDL3sqDBI4/s1600/sf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TMbVFCDIFHI/AAAAAAAAANc/thDL3sqDBI4/s320/sf.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><br />
Brilliant Changeling author Steve Feasey has reviewed my books and given me the infamous Chainsaw Gang interrogation over on his blog! Check it out!<br />
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<a href="http://rantsteverant.blogspot.com/2010/10/interview-with-alexander-gordon-smith.html">Steve Feasey's Blog</a>!<br />
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Thanks Steve!Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-12326411362996159352010-10-26T06:15:00.000-07:002010-10-26T06:15:31.380-07:00Solitary Reviews!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TMbTlsmenGI/AAAAAAAAANY/rWtSh-xZDG8/s1600/solitarynew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TMbTlsmenGI/AAAAAAAAANY/rWtSh-xZDG8/s320/solitarynew.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br />
Two great reviews for Solitary have just come in. The first is from the Voice of Youth Advocates:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span class="623544617-21102010"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Alex Sawyer has been sent to Furnace Penitentiary, a place where teenagers are sent to disappear. Alex and his friends have seen many horrors—the wheezers with their black suits and gas masks, the monstrous dogs that chase them through the corridors of Furnace, and the infirmary where the inmates are turned into creatures that are far from human. Alex wants out, and in a bad way. He and his compatriots have managed to blast their way even deeper into the confines of Furnace, but a way out still eludes them. Alex and Zee have now been sent to solitary, a place where most prisoners lose their minds. In the small confines of his cell, Alex begins to hallucinate, seeing the ghostly image of his friend Donovan who was captured by the warden. Donavan tells Alex to snap out of it, and thankfully he does, recapturing what little sanity he has left to formulate a plan. Will the plan work? There’s no way of knowing, since everything in Furnace has a way of going horribly wrong.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;">Once again, Smith has created a thrill ride that will leave the audience wanting more. Smith’s prose is fast paced, witty, and sometimes downright terrifying. Some of the images he creates could manifest into a nightmare or two. Teens who are looking for a great thriller/horror story will definitely want to pick up these novels. </span>Look for the third installment in this series to debut in June of 2011.—Jonatha Bayse.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And the next, slightly less positive review, is from Kirkus:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>After being swept away in an underground river moments after escaping from Furnace Penitentiary, Alex is quickly recaptured by the cruel blacksuit guards and placed in an isolation cell. Though confined, he clings to hope through tapped communiqués with his fellow failed escapee Zee, hallucinatory appearances from his friend Donovan and strange visits from a mysterious creature named Simon. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;">Adrenaline-fueled action infuses the narrative as it did in </span></b><em><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;">Lockdown</span></b></span></i></em><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;">(2009), keeping the pages turning. </span>Alex's forays into self-reflection are less convincing; in Smith's effort to create an antihero, he has given Alex too many flaws to generate much sympathy. Donovan's dialogue is an especially transparent device to create emotional growth. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;">The twisted monsters that patrol the prison are still satisfyingly brutal, however, even though readers now know to expect them lurking around dark corners. While the revelations and ending are not surprising, the author knows what keeps his readers locked to the page and delivers it soundly. </span></b><em><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><b>(Thriller. YA)</b></span></i></em><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><b><br />
</b></span></i></em></span></span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;">Donovan's dialogue wasn't an attempt to create emotional growth at all, it was Alex's (subconscious) way of staying sane and staying alive, but never mind!</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Awesome reviews, though, thanks everyone!</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
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</span></span></div></span>Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-12535966531610811942010-10-12T01:54:00.000-07:002010-10-12T07:15:29.921-07:00THE CHAINSAW GANG TOUR! STOP TWO...<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TLQV0hXg_qI/AAAAAAAAANE/okmko-xmOrQ/s1600/chainsaw+gang+masthead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TLQV0hXg_qI/AAAAAAAAANE/okmko-xmOrQ/s1600/chainsaw+gang+masthead.jpg" /></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It gives me great pleasure today to host the second stop in our gore-soaked</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Chainsaw Gang tour</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">!</span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For those of you who don't yet know, the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Chainsaw Gang</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> is made up of </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">the most twisted and talented horror and dark fantasy authors writing for young people today. If you like adventure, action and most of all horror then you're right at home here – demons, zombies, ass-kicking Knights Templar, monsters, dragons, gunfights, sword fights, explosions, quests to hell and back, werewolves, armageddon, yetis, witches... The list of cool stuff is <b>endless</b>!</span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Remember to check the bottom of this post for a chance to win the Chainsaw Library!</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">During the tour each Chainsaw Gang author will introduce and interview another member of the club, and I'm absolutely thrilled that I get to give you one of the best YA horror writers ever to dip his quill into a pot of blood and guts, a writer so well versed in horror that he may as well have invented the genre. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">DAVID GATWARD</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">!</span></span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TLQde_fvYTI/AAAAAAAAANU/cyeT4EOJxzk/s1600/Profile_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TLQde_fvYTI/AAAAAAAAANU/cyeT4EOJxzk/s1600/Profile_4.jpg" /></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I've just finished reading Dave's debut YA horror novel, </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Dead</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, and my ears still feel like they're ringing. Why? Because this is just about as good as horror novels get. Let me start with a quote: </span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TLQdbrIBtLI/AAAAAAAAANQ/cVrTHJGMMbA/s1600/dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TLQdbrIBtLI/AAAAAAAAANQ/cVrTHJGMMbA/s200/dead.jpg" width="130" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"The figure’s body was bathed in firelight, the rocking chair horribly still. Its head was bald, the skin ripped away in strips and in places Lazarus, horrified and scared beyond anything he’d ever experienced in his life before, could see the milky glow of bone. Its ears were gone, nothing more than stumps that looked like melted candles. The face was a mass of tears and cuts, slicing across it this way and that, the nose severed in half. The mouth had no lips; just great, bloody wounds where they looked like they had been torn off. Its teeth reflected the fire."</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">How awesome is that?! The figure in the quote is Red, and one night he tells Lazarus Stone – the brilliantly named teenage hero of the novel – that the thin veils between the land of the living and the land of the dead are failing. And what happens when they fail? </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Dead can cross over...</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> Without wanting to give too much away – the plot is full of twists and turns that you'll want to experience for yourself – Lazarus discovers a terrifying secret about his own father, and finds himself on a quest that will literally take him to hell and back!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">There are so many reasons why I love this book, and one of the main ones is that David Gatward is so obviously a horror junkie. There are references in the book to some of my favourite movies (if you're a horror fan too see if you can spot them) and it's clear that he really, really loves the genre. What this means for the writing is that this isn't just an all-out mindless gore-fest (although it is very bloody and gory, don't get me wrong) but a beautifully crafted tale that can stand proudly amongst the stories and movies that inspired it. There is nothing about The Dead that feels like it's copying what's gone before, it really is uniquely unnerving and thrilling.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So, in short, if you want a book you can't put down, if you like to be scared and excited at the same time, then read The Dead! Or click </span><a href="http://davidgatward.com/webyep-system/program/download.php?FILENAME=15-1-at-AttachedFile.pdf&ORG_FILENAME=The-Dead_pdf.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> to read Chapter 3 and see for yourself. And the good news is that there are two sequels to follow, the first of which, The Dark, is already out (and trust me, at the end of this book you will </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">need</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> to go straight out and get this)!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And now, so you know more about the man behind The Dead, here are his answers to the critical Chainsaw questions...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1. What's your favourite book?</span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I can't say I've ever come across a book that's my all out favourite. Why? Because I fall for so many different books for so many different reasons. Biggest influence might be Weirdstone of Brisingamen, by Alan Garner. It was the first book I didn't just read, but experienced. I was 11. It made me want to write stuff that would make people feel the same way I did when I read it. Particularly the bit in the cave, where they're being chased by the svarts and the cave gets narrower, they can hardly move... then they come up against water and they've no choice but to go through. Unreal! And terrifying! I loved Lord of the Rings. I was really in to the Dragon Lance Chronicles. I think Bravo Two Zero is tremendous. If I want to be somewhere hot and lovely and delicious I'll read Under a Tuscan Sun. Then, if I want to go dark and feel like the world's seeping in through the cracks in the walls of my house, I'll grab something by Lovecraft. Joe Hill's 20th Century Ghosts is annoyingly good. Jack Ketchum can confuse and horrify all at once. I've just read Mr Hands by Gary Braunbeck and loved it, the world he's created, his writing, the sentences that go on for not just a few paragraphs but a few pages. Clive Barker's Hellbound Heart, Books of Blood, Damnation Game. Arthur C Clarke's Songs of the Distant Earth. See my problem?</span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2. Who's your favourite monster?</span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I love Pinhead! Something about that crazy cat just makes me shiver. It's that at his centre is not simply mindless evil, but humanity twisted and gone wrong, our own primitive drives left to go wild. I love that. I'm all for mindless killing machines, like Jason, but Pinhead does it for me.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">3. Who's your favourite bad-ass monster-slayer?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Well, it's not a literary one this, and it's a pretty short-lived moment, but in a film by Peter Jackson, called "Dead Alive" he has a crazy vicar who goes all karate on some icky undead creatures. Just before the fight begins (and despite the fact he gets totalled during it) he yells out, "I kick ass for the Lord!" I love that! Brilliant!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">4. If you could make a pact with the Devil, what would you want in exchange for your immortal soul?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Does it have to be one thing? I'm guessing not, because this is my immortal soul we're talking about, right? So, here's a few things to start with:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">- A house with a deep, dark wine cellar that would never run dry of the best fermented grape juice known to humanity. And a plentiful supply of candles to place on the little table I'd have down there to sample them at.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">- A hotline to serious cheese. Seriously. I love the stuff. And I'd want the best and rarest I could find. Even that maggoty one that's illegal...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">- The ability to fly. Surely I don't need to explain why...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">- A chainsaw that never runs dry or falls blunt.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">- The house off the film Casper the Ghost.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">- My own creepy graveyard.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">- A ghost called Gerald who enjoys horror movies and lives in the attic.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">- A room dedicated to my record deck and my drum kit.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">- A climbing wall.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">- If you've read my book, the vehicle driven by Arielle.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I'll stop, but trust me, that list could go on!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">5. The Chainsaw Gang are all trapped on a desert island with no food. Who would you eat first and why?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Well, of all the Chainsaw Gang, I've only met Sarwat in person, so I think it would only be polite to at least consume him as a starter to the main course. Like the rest, though, I'd have to tenderise him first, so I'd have to dig a big pit and thrown them all in to it. With no way to escape, they'd go crazy, beat each other up to get out, and that'd get them all nice and soft and juicy. Then, when they were exhausted, bleeding in to the sand beneath them, I'd despatch them as cleanly and humanely as possible, then bury them in the sand to not only continue with the maturing process, but also preserve them. I might also consider distilling some sea water to a brine and seeing what effect that had on the meat. And wouldn't it be great if the desert island had some coconuts on? Boil the meat up in some coconut... yum. Ooh, I'm salivating already.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks Dave, those were awesome answers! Right, I'm off to go baste myself in some tikka spices. But just before I do, here are the rules for the Chainsaw Gang competition – it's free to enter, and it's really worth it because </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">you could win a set of signed books from every single Chainsaw author</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">!!!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><br />
</div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; line-height: 24px;">Here’s how the competition works:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; line-height: 24px;">To win the Chainsaw Library you need to score votes. Each vote goes into a vast hat at the end of the competition and one winning name will come out. The great thing is you can enter per blog: that’s nine chances to win! So make sure you visit each and every blog on the tour. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; line-height: 24px;">Votes are scored as follows:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">+1 if you link this blog/website to yours</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">+2 if you stick our Chainsaw banner (found at the top of this blog) up somewhere (and let us know)!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">+1 if you’re a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Chainsaw-Gang/163890106969850?ref=mf">Facebook fan/friend</a>.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">+1 if you comment on this blog post.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">+1 if you reTweet this competition.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">+1 if you follow us on Twitter.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The closing date of the competition is Friday 5th November and the competition is open to UK residents only. Good luck!</span></span></div>Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-52271837031498597332010-10-11T05:09:00.000-07:002010-10-11T05:09:27.285-07:00The Carnage Begins...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TLL7PFl3bPI/AAAAAAAAAM0/RkSV0moK8Us/s1600/chainsaw+gang+masthead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="129" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TLL7PFl3bPI/AAAAAAAAAM0/RkSV0moK8Us/s640/chainsaw+gang+masthead.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Prepare for bloodshed, screams, spattered brains and the nostril-burning stench of gasoline... The Chainsaw Gang tour has begun! It begins today on <a href="http://sarwatchadda.blogspot.com/2010/10/meet-chainsaw-gang-sarah-silverwood.html">the blog of our gang leader Sarwat Chadda</a>, who is interviewing fellow death merchant Sarah Silverwood. Tomorrow I'll be interviewing Lord of the Damned David Gatward, and over the next couple of weeks the rest of the gang will be introducing each other. It's going to be </span><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">bloody</span></b></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> brilliant...</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span>Not only will you get to know some of the best up and coming writers in the genres of horror and dark fantasy, you will also stand a chance of winning signed copies of the latest books by every single Chainsaw author! That's a lot of books.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; line-height: 24px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b; line-height: 24px;">Here’s how the competition works:</span><br />
<br />
<div style="color: #29303b; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">To win the </span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Chainsaw Library</span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> you need to score </span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">votes</span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. Each vote goes into a vast hat at the end of the competition and one winning name will come out. The great thing is you can enter per blog: that’s nine chances to win! So make sure you visit each and every blog on the tour. Votes are scored as follows:</span></div><div style="color: #29303b; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">+1 if you link the blog/website to yours</span></div><div style="color: #29303b; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">+2 if you stick our Chainsaw banner up somewhere</span></div><div style="color: #29303b; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">+1 if you’re a Facebook fan/friend</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></div><div style="color: #29303b; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">+1 if you comment on the blog</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></div><div style="color: #29303b; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">+1 if you reTweet this competition.</span></div><div style="color: #29303b; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">+1 if you follow us on Twitter</span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></strong></div><div style="color: #29303b; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The closing date of the competition is Friday 5th</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> November and the competition is open to UK residents only.</span></div><div style="color: #29303b; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Good luck!</span></div><div><br />
</div>Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-85652773042718826902010-10-06T06:19:00.000-07:002010-10-06T06:19:33.487-07:00Workshop Part Four!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TKx3VHDeMlI/AAAAAAAAAMw/ISaEiev4atM/s1600/bgr_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TKx3VHDeMlI/AAAAAAAAAMw/ISaEiev4atM/s1600/bgr_logo.png" /></a></div><br />
Part Four of my horror-writing workshop is now live over on the Trapped By Monsters site!<br />
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Have fun!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.trappedbymonsters.com/2010/10/write-your-own-scary-stories-part-four/">http://www.trappedbymonsters.com/2010/10/write-your-own-scary-stories-part-four/</a>Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-31346900340859752072010-10-05T08:23:00.000-07:002010-10-05T08:23:00.597-07:00Fantastic Review! :-)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TKtCMCaSR2I/AAAAAAAAAMs/dtLnc8a5Ppw/s1600/header+new+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="95" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TKtCMCaSR2I/AAAAAAAAAMs/dtLnc8a5Ppw/s320/header+new+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>A fantastic review of Lockdown can be found on the awesome Book Zone for Boys site. Thanks Darren!!!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://bookzone4boys.blogspot.com/2010/09/review-escape-from-furnace-lockdown-by.html">http://bookzone4boys.blogspot.com/2010/09/review-escape-from-furnace-lockdown-by.html</a>Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-44917708978450629152010-10-04T04:18:00.001-07:002010-10-05T08:19:39.103-07:00Fugitives<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>A great review for Fugitives has just appeared on the Bookbag website. Thanks John! :-)<br />
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<a href="http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Furnace:_Fugitives_by_Alexander_Gordon_Smith">http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Furnace:_Fugitives_by_Alexander_Gordon_Smith</a>Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-85518517531999407132010-10-03T07:35:00.000-07:002010-10-05T08:15:00.574-07:00My Riviera Tour!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TKs_FkNw9OI/AAAAAAAAAMk/3nT6HCXB95U/s1600/stonehenge10a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TKs_FkNw9OI/AAAAAAAAAMk/3nT6HCXB95U/s320/stonehenge10a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I had an amazing time this week during my whirlwind tour of the south coast! Five days, seven cities and 800 kids, awesome! I started off driving to North Swindon Library on Monday where I did a show for two schools followed by a brilliant Headspace horror-writing event in the evening. After that I headed to Calne, then the following morning did another show in the local library there. A quick trip to Trowbridge followed, together with awesome event number four, then without pausing for breath I headed south.<br />
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I had a bit of spare time so I popped over to nearby Stonehenge on the way. It was full of tourists to start with, but it was quite late in the day so by the time I'd walked around it there were only a handful of people left and it was easy to imagine that it was just me and the stones. Spooky! It's really well worth a visit to Stonehenge if you get the chance – over 5,000 years of history and some amazing stories. Try and come up with your own mythical explanation for why the stones are there!<br />
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An hour or so later and I was in Bournemouth. I've never been before so I left my clifftop hotel and wandered down to the beach in the dusk. It's a gorgeous place, beautiful gardens right next to the beach and even a tethered hot air balloon you can float up in! I grabbed some fish and chips (it's law that when by the sea you have to indulge in fish and chips) then headed back to the hotel. Unfortunately, thanks to my neighbours, it was the worst night's sleep ever! They were arguing until six in the morning, throwing things around the room and at one point the police showed up! Nightmare!<br />
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I started again first thing on Wednesday, doing two school events in Kinson Library, both of which were great fun. After a lovely lunch with Denise (my minder!) I returned to the library for another event in the evening – not just any old event but the opening of the library's Headspace area! The Mayor of Bournemouth was there (in some incredible Mayoral bling, I have to say), as well as a huge crowd of teenagers, parents and librarians. I talked for nearly an hour about my love affair with horror, and everybody seemed to enjoy it! It was a great honour helping to open the Headspace area, especially as the people in the steering group had done such an amazing job setting everything up. Well done, and I hope you have loads more cool events there in the future!<br />
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On Thursday, after a bacon butty on the beach in glorious sunshine, I drove across to Poole for two more school events, this time in the Hamworthy Library. I even managed to get another quick trip to the beach in between them, this time glimpsing Poole Harbour. It is beautiful around there! I wanted to drive to Sandbanks and eye up a future mansion for myself, but in the end I drove to Corfe Castle and had a nosey around there. Even though it's a ruin it's an amazing place to visit, full of history. After that I bolted down to Swanage for an evening event with a fantastic group of readers and writers.<br />
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I drove across to Chichester that night, doing my best not to fall asleep in the car... After a night in a Premier Inn (always really comfy) I headed to Kingsham Primary School where I met up with the incredibly enthusiastic Colin and his boy's reading group. They were recording a podcast and asked me some brilliant questions. If it goes online I'll let you know where to find it. They even changed the tone of my voice to make me sound like a demon (and a chipmunk, although the demon sounded better)! Awesome! I did a talk to the year 6's, then to the year 5's (and some girls from the nearby girl's school), and all in all had a fantastic time! After lunch (a MacDonald's...) I zoomed over to the Chichester High School for Girls and did a show for about a billion year 7's, which was a brilliant way to finish off the tour!<br />
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I just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone who helped organise the tour, and who came to listen to me speak. I had a fantastic time! :-)<br />
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See you all again soon!Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-66756548166996205932010-09-16T05:44:00.000-07:002010-09-16T05:46:04.637-07:00Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TJIAjH3iJjI/AAAAAAAAAMU/DfTKnx1TpdM/s1600/chainsaw+gang+masthead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="130" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TJIAjH3iJjI/AAAAAAAAAMU/DfTKnx1TpdM/s640/chainsaw+gang+masthead.jpg" width="640" /></span></i></span></b></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<b><u><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> </i></u></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 3px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 3px;"><b><u><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></i></u></b></span><br />
<b><u><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> </i></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Like most horror writers, I love chainsaws. Nothing quite sums up the concept of a relentless, inescapable, gut-wrenchingly terrifying threat as a man charging after you with a roaring engine of death gripped between his fingers. I can't really imagine a more agonising way to die, either... As far as horror icons go, chainsaws are up there with the best of them.<br />
<br />
Which is why it gives me immense pleasure to announce that I am officially a member of what is probably the coolest club in existence – the Chainsaw Gang. The Brainchild of author Sarwat Chadda, this exclusive, blood-splattered, chainsaw wielding, nightmare inducing gang of goremasters includes some of the best new wave YA horror writers around today. You won't find sparkly vampires or cuddly werewolves here. No, they've all been chopped up and eaten by the real monsters, the genuinely scary ones. Because that's why the Chainsaw Gang is here – to rescue you from the PG rated horror of recent years and give you some old school frights that will truly inspire nightmares!<br />
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Let me introduce you to the rest of the gang: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 3px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span> </b><br />
<div style="display: inline !important;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">First there's our founder and grand master, <a href="http://www.sarwatchadda.com/">Sarwat Chadda</a>, author of the amazingly awesome Devil's Kiss and Dark Goddess. Devil's Kiss was one of my favourite books from last year, genuinely unputdownable, and trust me when I say there are scenes in there which will keep you awake for nights on end. Chainsaw of choice is the MS 880 STIHL Magnum, the beast of chainsaws.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span>Next in line is <a href="http://www.stevefeasey.com/">Steve Feasey</a>, author of the Changeling books and wrangler of some of the nastiest werewolves you'll ever meet, not to mention djinns, demons, vampires and sorcerers. You want fear? You want adventure? Then he's your man. Chainsaw of choice probably a Efco MT4100S, good for instant decapitation.<br />
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Following Steve through the exhaust fumes is none other than <a href="http://www.samenthoven.com/">Sam Enthoven</a>, one of my all time favourite authors. The Black Tattoo was incredible, TIM Defender of the Earth was astonishing, but Crawlers is his best yet – a book so utterly horrifying that you'll never want to leave the house again, especially on a school trip... Don't believe me, just check out the cover! Chainsaw of choice, the CS 536163 Pneumatic, designed to cut through walls, floors and columns in a single pass.<br />
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Don't be fooled, boys aren't the only ones who can handle a chainsaw. Take <a href="http://www.alex-bell.co.uk/">Alex Bell</a>, for example. Author of The Ninth Circle and Jasmyn she delivers real, blood-chilling grown up horror scary enough to send even us running for cover. Chainsaw of choice is a MS 460 R STIHL "Rescue" chainsaw, although if you think she'll be using it to rescue you you're in for a nasty shock.<br />
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Next to march down the hallowed Chainsaw Boulevard is the fantastic <a href="http://www.mythical9th.com/">Alex Milway</a>, author of the Mousehunter books and the brand new Mythical 9th Division. Now Alex wouldn't call himself a horror writer, but with pirates, monsters, killer mice and yetis in his books he's perfectly at home in the gang. Chainsaw of choice is most likely to be a two-person tree saw powered by nothing but elbow grease, but don't let the lack of an engine fool you, it's as deadly as they come.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">There's still more to come, with <a href="http://www.witchfinderbooks.co.uk/">William Hussey</a> emerging from the smoke. Bill is the author of some genuinely creepy adult horror books – which I love – and he's brought his twisted imagination to younger readers with Witchfinder. But if you think these are any less scary, or any less gory, then forget it. You won't know what's hit you. Chainsaw of choice an </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">AirFORCE F4 Diamond Chain – designed to cut though solid rock.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And last but certainly not least is <a href="http://www.jonmayhew.co.uk/">Jon Mayhew</a>, master of the macabre. His new book, Mortlock, is fantastic, but not for the faint hearted! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Enter dark, fog-bound Victorian London and the scariest circus since Cirque du Freak, but be sure to leave a light on... Chainsaw of choice, a steam-powered Victorian nightmare of a machine that billows smoke and blood in equal measure.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">What about my choice of chainsaw, you ask. Well I'd probably go with a</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> Homelite Zip chainsaw. Rusty, smoky, noisy and old school.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Chainsaw Gang will be blitzing the UK over the Halloween period. This is our 'beta-testing' phase, so we're going to go nice and easy on you. We'll crank it up later. The website will be up later this month and there'll be additional stuff galore, but I wanted to give you a heads up NOW, so you can get your diaries out and mark these dates in </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">RED</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></span><br />
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I will be here:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">9th October 11.00, Cheltenham Festival Screenwriting Workshop</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">13th October, 4.00, Thornton Heath Library, Croydon</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">14th October, 4.00, Coulsdon Library, Croydon</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">19th November, 4.00, Worksop Library</span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
Jon Mayhew will be ruling the north.<br />
21st Oct: Crosby Civic Hall: Scarefest<br />
26th: GobbledeBook Festival Chester: Teen Panel AM, Full Event PM<br />
27th: Newport Big Read, Riverfront Theatre Newport<br />
29th: Booka Bookshop Oswestry: A Hallowe'en Party<br />
30th: Lancaster Castle<br />
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Steve Feasey will be at the </span><a href="http://cheltenhamfestivals.com/literature-2010/after-twilight/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Cheltenham Festival</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> on Oct 10th.<br />
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Sarwat Chadda be at GobbledeBook Festival, Chester on Monday 25th, 2.30pm to 4.30pm.<br />
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Then, there are the BIG THREE events. True and pure Chainsaw.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.palacefestival.org/?page_id=40">Crystal Palace Children's Book Festival</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> on Sat 23rd October with Jon Mayhew, Alex Bell, me, Sam Enthoven, Steve Feasey and Alex Milway and Sarwat Chadda. Honestly, be there or be forever disappointed that you weren't at THE author gathering of the year, so far! This event is ticketed (tickets are free) so BOOK NOW!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.theforumnorwich.co.uk/index.htm">Norwich Millenium Library</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> on Friday 29th October, 2.30pm with me, William Hussey, Sam Enthoven and Sarwat Chadda. There's even a poster for this one!</span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TJILHnuT4GI/AAAAAAAAAMc/WpvxbcokqjE/s1600/NML+-+Chainsaw+Gang+Horror+Tour+-+29.10.10+LS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TJILHnuT4GI/AAAAAAAAAMc/WpvxbcokqjE/s400/NML+-+Chainsaw+Gang+Horror+Tour+-+29.10.10+LS.jpg" width="400" /></span></span></a></div><div class="post-body entry-content" style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.foyles.co.uk/events.asp?">Foyles, Charing Cross Road</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. Their big Halloween Angels and Demons extravaganza running Saturday and Sunday, 30-31st October. Guess which side we're representing on Saturday? It'll be the experts in all things demonic: William Hussey, Sam Enthoven and Sarwat Chadda. There will be others, prepare to be surprised! Contact the store and book your place now.</span> </div><div class="post-body entry-content" style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So there you have it, the Chainsaw Gang. There will be more events listed throughout the year, so keep your eyes peeled for a show near you.</span></div><div class="post-body entry-content" style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And beware the sound of chainsaws in the night...</span> <br />
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</span> </i></u></b>Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-13162004795155134022010-09-14T08:26:00.000-07:002010-09-14T08:26:06.869-07:00Cover News! (Again!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TI-TYysPSRI/AAAAAAAAAL0/ejB2eQej9NA/s1600/DeathSentence_AG_v0%231DCCDE6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TI-TYysPSRI/AAAAAAAAAL0/ejB2eQej9NA/s320/DeathSentence_AG_v0%231DCCDE6.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The brand new cover for Death Sentence has just been sent to me, and I love it! Okay it's certainly not as creepy as the original (posted below), but I do agree that it will appeal more to teenage readers, plus it definitely catches the dark, action-packed tone of the novel and it won't give me so many nightmares by being on my shelf!<br />
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What is everyone's verdict? Veiny Alex or scary warden?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TI-Tfp7hgYI/AAAAAAAAAL8/NZBEafE7Fok/s1600/DS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TI-Tfp7hgYI/AAAAAAAAAL8/NZBEafE7Fok/s320/DS.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Also FSG, my publisher in the States, have just sent through this awesome advert showing all the covers together. I like!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TI-Twb7ibMI/AAAAAAAAAME/Mb38-Od13X4/s1600/Lockdown+for+CATS4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TI-Twb7ibMI/AAAAAAAAAME/Mb38-Od13X4/s400/Lockdown+for+CATS4.jpg" width="194" /></a></div>Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-34739143252872173892010-09-10T08:57:00.000-07:002010-09-10T08:57:17.182-07:00Cool Advert!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TIpVAV-n50I/AAAAAAAAALs/5MJnOqiUauw/s1600/ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TIpVAV-n50I/AAAAAAAAALs/5MJnOqiUauw/s320/ad.jpg" /></a>Thanks so much to Liz at the awesome <a href="http://myfavouritebooks.blogspot.com/">My Favourite Books</a> for sending me an email this morning pointing out the <a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/09/visiting-the-wizarding-world-of-harry-potter">new advert for Lockdown</a> over on Tor.com. You might have to refresh the page a few times before it comes up, but it's worth it!<br />
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<a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/09/visiting-the-wizarding-world-of-harry-potter">http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/09/visiting-the-wizarding-world-of-harry-potter</a><br />
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(And no, it doesn't have anything to do with Harry Potter!)<br />
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Thanks Liz!Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3592782082624302121.post-23377354367047889802010-09-07T04:23:00.000-07:002010-09-07T04:23:12.594-07:00New Poster!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TIYgbLVub8I/AAAAAAAAALI/jDUvL6dgwyg/s1600/posterlores.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EamDXPJtsZw/TIYgbLVub8I/AAAAAAAAALI/jDUvL6dgwyg/s640/posterlores.jpg" width="420" /></a></div><br />
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I've just put together a new poster for the Furnace series, what do you think?Gordy's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030505640767293876noreply@blogger.com2