GRIFT is coming...

Issue one of Grift Magazine is set to hit the virtual shelves any day now. You will want to pick up a copy. On the non-fiction side we've got Lawrence Block on storytelling techniques, John Kenyon's interview with Chris Offut, and my interview with Julie Morrigan. Plus stories from Court Merrigan, Alec Cizak, Ken Bruen, Matt Funk, Todd Robinson, Keith Rawson and a whole bunch more.

Aftermath by Jake Hinkson

I read Jake Hinkson's "Maker's and Coke" in Beat to a Pulp: Round One last year and it blew me away.

I'll say the same thing about "Aftermath," which is up at The Flash Fiction Offensive.

This is a seriously powerful story about a witness to a robbery gone wrong. One of the golden rules of writing is that the main character can't sit around -- he or she must do something, they must affect the outcome in some way. Hinkson violates this rule with great purpose. It's central to the story that his character does not respond to the situation around him.

Hinkson's novel Hell on Church Street is published by New Pulp Press, and I'm going to go buy it.

13 Shots of Noir by Paul D. Brazill

Paul D. Brazill's got his bartending license and he's serving up 13 Shots of Noir. 

So man up and gulp down that poison!

The first story in here is "The Tut" and it's my favorite. This badboy was nominated for a Spinetingler Award. Sometimes awards mean nothing, but certainly not in this case. This is one mean motherfucker. Tight in all the right places, bizarrely funny, and more than a little unbalanced. It's about a man who kills his wife... but that's no escaping her. You'll be hearing that dead woman "tut" well into eternity.

Along with Kieran Shea, Brazill is a leading practitioner of the all-dialog story. "Thump" is a one-sided dialog that somehow works beautifully. Suspenseful and creepy and brilliant.

13 Shots is dose after dose of the top-shelf stuff. Stories about the losers and the weirdos. True Brit Grit.

Only question is, when's PDB's novel coming out?

New Reviews!

You know it's a good day when you get not one, but two stellar reviews.

Thanks R Thomas Brown and Julie Morrigan for checking out Watch You Drown and telling the world about it.

Show No Mercy by Julie Morrigan

Julie Morrigan's debut short story collection Gone Bad made waves in the world of short fiction, landing on many a year-end short list. Her latest, Show No Mercy, is an equally compelling read, full of the lewd, dark, and swear-filled stuff we've come to expect from Morrigan.

My favorite in here is "The Birthday Present." I saw this once somewhere else (not sure where...) but it certainly was worth a second read. A pathetic, middle-aged bloke has decided to treat himself on his birthday--he wants to lose his virginity to a gorgeous, elegant escort. Things don't quite go like how he imagined, and, in the end, his delusions get the better of him. A darkly funny and well-told tale.

"Be Anything You Want to Be," one of the flash pieces in the mix, is another stand out. Nothing brings out bitterness like family--especially when those arseholes make a bunch of money and don't share it.

Julia Madeleine has called Morrigan the "Queen of British noir," and I would agree. Every entry in Show No Mercy is pure story. Check it out at Amazon and Amazon UK.

At All Due Respect: Court Merrigan

Court Merrigan is up at All Due Respect with "Two Brothers," a haunting tale about Thailand and loyalty. I found out about Merrigan's writing last year and since then he's made a splash in the online crime fiction world.

You can find out more about him at his blog.

The Stain Carrier by Sophie Littlefield

Over at Beat to a Pulp, Sophie Littlefield has a searing story of suburban noir with "The Stain Carrier." 

Nancy Jackson's chosen to go off her meds and on a path of restrained destruction--futile attempts to rid her friends of their psychological and physical prisons. The whole piece radiates desperation.

And the writing is simply brilliant. Detailed, lyrical, and stylish, everything rolls off the tongue. Makes me very jealous.

This is the first of Littlefield's stories that I've read. It won't be the last.

You People Suck

A while ago, a bunch of morons complained about a perfectly good story by Graham Smith over at Thrillers, Killers, 'n Chillers. They were all offended or something and TKnC removed the story because of the complaints.

Now these annoying pricks (or people exactly like them) are back and they're all up in arms over a story by Richard Godwin.

I fail to understand how people can get angry about a story available for free that it is at a site with a warning and is called Thrillers, Killers, 'n fucking Chillers... but that's just me.

This is a brilliant story, but even if it wasn't, TKnC should be able to publish whatever they want. The internet is the home for the kind of boundary-pushing fiction not available in commercial markets.

So if you want to keep deviant fiction alive (and I think most everyone who reads DBK does), go and lend your support to Godwin and TKnC.

AND go buy his new collection of stories from Pulp Metal Fiction about everyone's favorite culinary serial killer, The Mustard Man.

What They're Saying...

WATCH YOU DROWN

For obvious reasons, no one should believe me when I say I've got a book you should invest your time in. But you should trust these fine folks...


"Watch You Drown is a dark, realistic and funny collection of tarnished gems from a very talented craftsman. Highly recommended." -- Paul Brazill


"It's a really poweful mix you'll find here and I hope that your prepared to jump into its icy waters (for dark and chilled they mainly are) - I guarantee that you'll be woken up with a start and that you'll be diving straight back for more." -- Nigel Bird


"Chris is a master at the art of suspense and his stories are chock full of it like a warm fully loaded semi-automatic." -- Julia Madeleine


"The tortured people he writes about are earning minimum wage at best and their crime are driven by drugs. booze, desperation and the like. They feature people on the edge of the precipice who fall off more than hang on." -- Patti Abbott


"Watch You Drown is more than a collection of short stories, it’s a gateway to a world of pulp fiction that Rhatigan rules." -- Katherine Tomlinson

At The Slaughterhouse...

Hey folks,

You should swing by The Slaughterhouse, where I'm talking with Richard Godwin's small time criminals, short stories, and the future.

Sincerely,
Chris Rhatigan

At All Due Respect

Allerton Mead's got the first fortnight of February with "All My Dirty Clothes," a vivid story about a few young punks who are in way over their heads.