Wednesday 2 January 2019


Despair





“Hey! Wake up, you can’t sleep here.”

“Huh?”

“Come on, up!”

“Okay, okay, give us a sec’,” he said, wiping sleep from his eye.

“I’ve told you before you can’t sleep here. If I catch you again I’ll arrest you. Understand?”

He pulled himself up into a sitting position and nodded. He glanced up quickly at the uniform and looked away quickly, unwilling to make eye-contact. It was not just the guard, he rarely made eye-contact with anyone anymore.

“This is a public park not a doss house, how do you think it looks to a young mother with little kiddies coming for a play in the park only to find you sprawled all over a bench?”

“Sorry,” he mumbled an apology.

“Look at the state of you, I could smell your stink before I saw you.”

“Sorry.”

“Five minutes… if you’re still here when I get back I’ll have your sorry arse before a judge.”

He nodded once, but the policeman had already turned on his heel and moved on. His head throbbed, his throat was parched, his stomach felt queasy. It was a warm summer’s day and yet—despite wearing a heavy winter coat—he shivered from the cold. He brought a hand up to his temple, it came away sticky with blood. How had that happened? A fuzzy image came to mind of being heckled and pushed around by a gang of faceless youths, dressed in hoodies and tracksuits.

His arms, legs and back ached, a cramp knotted in his stomach and lower abdomen, he wasn’t sure if he needed to eat or shit, or both. He reached for the bottle beside him, cooking sherry, he held it by the neck and tipped it back, he wretched and then drank some more, draining the bottle.

“Eww! Mummy, that man is so smelly.”

He no longer flinched with shame when young mothers pulled their children out of his way. It hurt at first, cutting him to his very core, especially the little ones, the fear and disgust in their eyes. Blocking out the memories was the first thing he had to do, the booze helped with that.

“Keep walking, you’re scaring the kiddies.”  The guard was back. He nodded and shuffled on his way, keeping his eyes low. He wondered where he would sleep tonight, best not come back for a day or two.

He walked on, leaving the calm and peace of the park behind. All around him the sounds and smells of the city assaulted his senses, buses and trucks belched out noxious fumes, people hurried past all giving him a wide berth. A car screeched to a halt, the driver shouting and gesticulating at him. He hadn’t even realised he was in the middle of the road. He shuffled on, not answering, not looking back.

“Oi, you, fuck off!”

He looked up from the skip, a man dressed in a chef’s aprons had come out of a doorway into the alleyway and was shouting at him, he dropped the leftover food back into the bin and moved on.

He rummaged through the on-street bins for whatever he could find, scavenging whatever food he could get his hands on or anything he could use. A piece of cardboard he dragged from one bin would make sleeping on the cold streets a bit more bearable.

He felt dizzy and disorientated most of the time now, his body ached for food and sleep, his mind craved drink. Drink to take him away, drink to help him find the oblivion he constantly sought.

“Malone?” He looked up from the bin. “Jesus, Malone, is that you?” A man dressed in suit and tie addressed him.

Malone? That was his name once. Not anymore. He shrugged off the man and shuffled on. The man followed.

“It is you, Malone. What the hell happened to you?”

He pushed him away and tried to move on, but the well dressed man was persistent.

“This used to be my boss,” he laughed, turning to his friends.

“Come on, Freddie, leave him alone, he stinks,” a woman’s voice said.

“Seriously, this was my manager at the bank. He got fired when he came into work drunk one day and told all the customers to go fuck themselves. Apparently his wife had taken the kids and buggered off with another man.”

“Please, Freddie, I want to go.” He could hear the fear in her voice.

“Jesus, Malone. Here,” the man said and shoved a tenner into his hand.

He looked up when the couple walked away, tears blurred his vision. He looked down at the ten euro note, he wanted to run after them and tell them to keep their fucking money, tell them he didn’t need it, or them and tell them to go fuck themselves. He scrunched the note up tightly in his fist, his knuckles turned white. A sob escaped his throat, a harsh guttural noise, a mournful wail of despair.

He wiped away the tears and snot and unfolded the note, calculating how much booze he could get with it.

He wanted to forget.

Wednesday 4 May 2016


So, my new novel is a story of the vampire apocalypse. Here’s what it’s about.



No one knew where they came from or why they chose that moment to crawl out from the shadows. In a devastating orgy of terror and violence blood-drinking monsters rose from the dark to gorge themselves on the blood of humans. Facing this threat, mankind turned on itself in a devastating wave of self-destruction.


Twenty years after the Fall and what’s left of mankind is eking out an existence in a post-apocalyptic world. With much of the Earth now a nuclear wasteland, civilization has been knocked back two hundred years. By day the remnants of humanity gather together in small groups drawing from the land what they can in their new technological wasteland. By night they hide behind walls and bank up fires in an attempt to ward off the evil stalking the land during the hours of darkness.


The world needs a savior. A hero unafraid to face his own fears and terror of the vampires. An ex-preacher disillusioned by the world and his god is not that man… or so he says.

And here's where you can buy it.

Amazon US click here
Amazon UK click here
Amazon CA click here
Amazon AUS click here
Amazon DE click here 

So there you go!

Sunday 10 May 2015


TAXI

 
So, from the time of writing this there will be only five days to go before Taxi will be published. It’s been quite the journey I’ve taken with Danny Coyne. Although I’ve had some fantasy and horror books published and contributed to a number of anthologies, Taxi was actually written before all of them. A Harper Collins editor commented that the best thing about Taxi was the writing, but it didn’t fit into one of their predefined boxes. Several agents made similar comments, ‘the writing’s good but it’s not  crime, it’s not a thriller….’ Blah blah blah…  Well Here it is. It’s gritty and raw. It’s real.

 Taxi is currently available for pre-order, so go pre-order it. From the 14th of May it’ll be available for purchase, so go buy it then.

 
A moment in time, unforeseen, unavoidable, can change a life forever.
A Dublin taxi driver’s life pivots on a moment of insanity when a teenage girl loses her life.
 So begins a dark journey for Danny Coyne; he’s not responsible for her death, yet he carries the guilt. He seeks solace in drinking and pushes away those closest to him as he steps into the life of the dead girl and forms a bond with her best friend. His self control will be tested to the limit as he seeks to mete out justice on those responsible and fight his own inner demons.
 Every choice has a consequence.
 
 
 
 
 
Cover design by Selestiele Designs
Buy Taxi on Amazon.com here
                     Amazon.co.uk here
 

Wednesday 7 January 2015

For a limited time, Tribesman will be reduced to $0.99!

A warrior in exile seeks a path home.
Banished from his homeland, a warrior of the Northern Clans grows weary of life in a harsh, alien land.
With the dark god Morrigu haunting his dreams, and a desert princess as a companion, Culainn, a warrior and champion sets forth on a journey north in search of a merchants daughter abducted by clansmen and taken back across the mountains. Through a land baked by a scorching sun, where bandits roam free and dark beasts stalk the night.
An ancient evil is rising from the desert. A Benouin myth of a ghost city inhabited by the souls of their ancestors, a bridge to the Underworld is unleashing demonic creatures on an unsuspecting world. Culainn and Persha, warrior and mage stand alone against a tide of darkness. All the while, Morrigu, the dark war god of the north seeks to use Culainn as her own tool, her own champion.

Amazon Kindle US
Amazon Kindle UK
Amazon Kindle CA
Amazon Kindle DE
Amazon Kindle AU

Monday 25 August 2014


Book Review - Poets in Hell

 

It’s hard to know what to expect from a book titled ‘Poets in Hell’, at least I hadn’t a clue until I turned the first page. What I got was something quite mad, that’s mad in an absolutely wild, clever, surreal and brilliant way.

I like fantasy, and I like it dark, this is probably what attracted me to a book set in the vast expanse of hell, what a brilliant playground for a group of writers to unleash their imaginations. Of course, the idea of a collection of stories about poets doesn’t exactly conjure an image of action and adventure, but I can say, this group of wordsmiths may have lived sedate, studious lives, but death gets seriously real for them. There is such a wild, eclectic mix of characters in this collection, all bound together with a common theme, and a running consistency that speaks of very clever world building, behind the scenes. Although each author has his or her own take on hell and the, madcap adventures they put their characters through, there are also common themes and characters binding the collection together and giving the book a strong feel of oneness, giving the reader the feel of roving through the many layers of hell, like some kind of traveller roaming through space and time witnessing all of the action up close.

 As I said there are consistent rules running through the collection. Wars are fought in hell, murders committed, anything that happened in life can happen in hell, but generally with horrible consequences. Food tastes like shit, literally, nothing is as it seems, if something appears good it’s most likely just a trick of the devil’s to torment the soul even further. Shakespeare, Yeats, Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte, Helen of Troy… the cast is endless and limitless. They live, love and lose all in hell.

 
A good book? Hell yeah!

Sunday 10 August 2014


Cover Reveal For Shadow King


I'm happy to be part of the cover reveal for Jennifer Eifrig's Shadow King, sequel to Discovering Ren. Here is my review of Discovering Ren:



Isadora Ambrosine is an archaeologist with a speciality in Ancient Egypt. Charged by the director of her museum to put on an exhibition of magic in the museum, she travels to Cairo to research her subject. While walking through a packed market, she has a strange encounter with a mysterious woman who gifts her a collection of, what appear to be, ancient amulets. On her return to the US, she and her husband are attacked by a group of would be assassins, during the ensuing struggle she discovers a hidden gift for magic. And so it begins.

While her husband lies in a coma in hospital, Isadora begins a journey of self discovery where she learns she is an incarnation of the goddess Isiss, her responsibilities include the small matter of the defence of mankind against a horde of demons, vampires, and the biggest villain of all, her own brother in law Seth, who is an incarnation of the god Set. Although Set/Seth is a despicable bad guy, who allows his petty jealousies and paranoia to take control of him, you can’t help but feel a little sorry for him, and get the feeling his role had been pre-ordained, mirroring previous incarnations in an endless battle with his sister in law whom he both longs for and despises.

This book is jam-packed with magic, myth, and action. Isadora is a real super hero who must quickly assimilate her new role as defender and champion of humanity against the darkness, with her old life as wife, and research archaeologist.


And here is the cover for Shadow King... Ta - da!



So rush out and grab a copy of Discovering Ren and get ready for book 2, Shadow King!

Discovering Ren US
                            UK

Wednesday 6 August 2014


FREE!!!!!

Tribesman is currently free on Amazon until Thursday 8th August.

A warrior in exile seeks a path home.
Banished from his homeland, a warrior of the Northern Clans grows weary of life in a harsh, alien land.
With the dark god Morrigu haunting his dreams, and a desert princess as a companion, Culainn, a warrior and champion sets forth on a journey north in search of a merchants daughter abducted by clansmen and taken back across the mountains. Through a land baked by a scorching sun, where bandits roam free and dark beasts stalk the night.
An ancient evil is rising from the desert. A Benouin myth of a ghost city inhabited by the souls of their ancestors, a bridge to the Underworld is unleashing demonic creatures on an unsuspecting world. Culainn and Persha, warrior and mage stand alone against a tide of darkness. All the while, Morrigu, the dark war god of the north seeks to use Culainn as her own tool, her own champion.

Buy it here:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon AUS

Amazon CA

Amazon DE