Eight Bottles of the Good Stuff Later...

It's been a good week for Hall of Mirrors in the USA, Listeners. HoM has held in the top ten all week. Its highest point has been number 7, which was a thrill (well, at least I was thrilled, I doubt your aura so much as even wobbled, but still...) Many, many thanks to Listeners in the US for making that happen. Falling is inevitable, but it's been really nice to have a run at the high end of things. You are, to coin a popular term, awesome.

In other news, Hair and Skin part three is recorded in its raw state and I'm going to spend today editing it together. Each voice has its own track and has to be edited into the main narrative track. This will take some time. I also have to record my bumpers (the intro at the start and chatty bit at the back) so that too will take a bit of time. But once those things are done, Part 3 can hopefully be online faster than a rat out of an aqueduct. I say this as we just got a proper phone line connected, so no more Ethernet blues (a network cable has been unplugged... the signal was reset automatically... etc).

H and S #3 won't be the conclusion however. I realised as I was doing the re-write that there was more to it than the skinny yoke I'd anticipated: it's chunky. Expect part 4 - and that really will be the end of it.

Also, there's now a Listener Group on Facebook; here you can hang out with other MB Podcast Listeners and share thoughts on such exciting topics as who should play whom in the film of OAtS. So far only I have commented on that, and frankly it's getting embarrassing: if someone doesn't say something soon I'm going to have to delete for fear of looking like Martin in the Simpsons trying to get the attention of Bart or whoever. For God's sake, don't Martin me, Listeners! I beg you!

Oh, and talking of low Listener response, look left. See that? That's the voice recording thing that's going to put you in The Hall of Mirrors, forever. Leave a message, I'll copy it and put it on an episode of HoM in the outgoing bumpers. This podcast is an Internet artifact in the making, when it's done, it'll be here for as long as the Internet exists - and you can be part of it. An installation in the Hall of Mirrors, as sure as Charles and deVere, Lucky Jim Haslet, Jack and Dave or Martin and the Trolls. So come on, Listeners, say something about the Hall of Mirrors. You can say something about the show, the stories or the Hall itself, after all, you're going to be in it: talk about the decor, the fact that the step needs cleaning, the smell of fear that lingers on your clothes even after you've left and gone home... Brrrr, that's chilly, man.

Today: iTunes USA


Oh, yeah. I'm opening a bottle of the good stuff tonight.

Happy Halloween: Hair and Skin 2

I remember the original tag line for the film 'Phantasm', it was: 'If this one doesn't scare you, you're already dead.'

Er, well I wouldn't go that far (and neither should Phantasm's producers), but I will go out on a limb and say, if this one doesn't entertain you, you've got your earbuds in the wrong holes.

Direct link to media file

Hair and Skin Part 2: Update

Hello Listeners

I’ve been working on Hair and Skin Part 2 for three days now and I’m still not even half way through. I can honestly say it’s the toughest podcast I’ve ever done. Rich in character voices, lengthy and featuring strange vocal effects; it’s big, it’s bad and it should be completed in the next few days. Thanks for your patience and I apologise for the delay.

Hall of Mirrors Now on Podiobooks

Hall of Mirrors is now available from Podiobooks.com, so now you can get it from there as well as from Podshow.com

This means that you can go to Podiobooks and give me a nice bunch of fives - five stars that is - across the board. Of course, you could give me less than that, but as I say on Hair and Skin #1, you could also plunge a rusty knife through my heart. To me, it'd feel the same. So be a buddy and gimme 5s. Thanks.

p.s. A few kind words would also be greatly appreciated. I need this stuff like a rose bush needs a good heap of horse manure once in a while if it's to flourish. Just don't get confused - the roses want the manure, I want the kind words. Same goes for iTunes reviews. Thankee kindly, guvnors.

Cheerful Man with a Minor Headache

Oooooh! My Head is giving me the dull throb that comes after a night out with visiting chums from England. Went to pub, drank too much, then went to burger restaurant to scoff junk food a-plenty. After a night of indigestion, I wake to mosey around the web while the head aches merrily. Then, something to put the headache out of, or at least to the back of my head, as an impromptu celebration breaks out. One Among the Sleepless has entered the Australian iTunes top ten lit podcasts.

This is the first time I know of that I've risen above The Classic Tales Podcast, which always seems to be at the top of everything, everywhere (so well done, B.J. Harrison). If you haven't listened to that yet, do, it's well worth a listen. Among others, he's done the The Monkey's Paw, which is a wonderfully creepy yarn.

In addition, to Sleepless's charting in Oz, Hall of Mirrors: Tales of Horror and the Grotesque has also entered Australian chart at number 68... which is fab.

So, many thanks to listeners down under. Since the chaps are over for another night, we'll raise a glass of the amber nectar, or more likely the black nectar, to you this evening. Cheers.

Hair and Skin - Part 1

After nearly three weeks (and literally 24 hours of failed upload attempts using my home Internet connection with Irish f****** Broadband), the latest episode of Hall of Mirrors is now live at Podshow. In the end I had to come down to my local library and use their wi-fi connection. Bingo! Uploaded in 30 minutes. This morning I was uploading for an hour and a half and it still wasn't uploaded when I had to go to work; I left it running, and when I got back, sure enough, the connection had broken and the episode had gone nowhere.

Anyway, I got it up (ho ho) eventually and now it's there for you to retrieve and have a listen to. The story is Hair and Skin, originally written in 1997 and extensively re-written for this podcast airing. It's going to be a multiple episode affair; maybe as many as three (or even four!!) installments. The 'horror' content of the story really starts to roll later in the story, so if you find yourself un-horrified, don't despair - it's coming ;-)

Hall of Mirrors' Highest iTunes USA Position to Date

OK, so number 23 isn't exactly number 1, but it made my day. I'm sitting here re-writing Hair and Skin (again) and getting sick to death of the damn thing. I'm thinking of trashing it and moving to another story. But then I think, but what about the really great bits that come once the tale gets going? And I return to persevere with it... because the great bits, really are great bits. Click this link to see H.o.M.'s position in relation to its peers. Nice one!

New Series of 'Down the Line' on Radio 4

The new series of Down the Line started last night on BBC Radio 4. It's a bogus call-in show from the makers of the Fast Show, it's very funny and you can check out the site here:

Down the Line

Then click the 'listen to the latest edition' button near the top of the page.

"That's political correctness gone mad!"

Hair and Skin - Delayed by Re-Writes

Unhappy with the original 1997 text, I re-wrote the next entry into the Hall of Mirrors, Hair and Skin, while on holiday. Now however, I feel I've lost some of the rich vein of 'sick and twisted' that the original had, so I'm re-writing the re-write. This wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have to get up early and go to work (I know, I know, so do you) only to come home and nod-off over the keyboard every day.

What I'm saying here is: don't bust my chops. It's coming, it might just be a little delayed... But then, I did say this podcast was going to be 'irregular' time-wise. So expect it when it comes. Sign up for the mailing list at www.oneamongthesleepless.com and get the heads-up when my head is up - off the keyboard and uploading the finished product.

As for the story itself, it's one of my personal favourites. I can only say that when it hits your earbuds, I hope you'll agree. I also hope you like this other cover I knocked up over the weekend. I'm not sure of whether or not to use it on any potential book releases or not. Any feedback welcomed. And if you've got any ideas for cover art, I'd love to see them. I can't promise I'll use them, but I will put them on the website.
Cheers
M

Hey, Hey, Back from Holiday.

And so, lightly tanned and with a headful of sick and unpleasant ideas for stories, novellas and even a novel (it's amazing what your head can get done lying still on a beach and staring at the sand under your nose for hours on end), I got back from the holliers this afternoon.
We had a nice time (a few pics available here)and I'm all set to get back to work on Hall of Mirrors. The next story will be 'Hair and Skin', written 7 years back and currently being tarted up for podcast. In fact, it's being largely re-written as its original form is... well, let's just say it's a bit strong.

The Haslet Technique

After ten years of rotting in a tatty file under my bed, The Haslet Technique (the third story I ever wrote) is now online and available for the world to hear. Written back when I was riding dustcarts and mowing the road verges of Brighton, Burgess Hill and Hayward's Heath. It's a document of its - and my time, though precisely of what in that time, I cannot say: I'm not there any more. However, I release it as I originally wrote it, with only the necessary edits. Bon appetit.

As I say on the podcast, I'm off to Spain again for a couple of weeks, so if i don't respond to email, forgive me - I'm not around.

Return of the Zazzle panel

I had some trouble with my Zazzle products. I published a typo 'One Among the Sleepeless' that I didn't notice. Then when I did notice I screamed, Homer Simpson-like, and quickly took the panel offline to prevent anyone buying anything (as the typo was pretty hard to see coz your eye is caught up in the design and doesn't expect to see errors, etc).
Anyway, errors are now fixed and One Among the Sleepless merchandise is back online - the ideal gift for the one you REALLY love... yourself, you suave devil. Now, with you wearing this fiendishly attractive gear, all the ladies - or the lads - will run to your house for some funky cold medina. Or some tea and biscuits ... if you're out of medina.

The Grave: Part Two

Find out just what 'wrong boy' Dave did next, in the conclusion of 'The Grave', online now.

No other news. Went out today with a friend and his son to Eddie Rockets, a Dublin 'American Diner' chain and had burgers and fries and thick shakes. Lovely to indulge occasionally. The young fellow's 15. Eats like a horse, doesn't bat an eyelid. He's growing so fast you can almost see it happening as the food goes into him.

As for my own physique, I see it happening alright - in all the wrong places. I Felt fat as a Zeppelin leaving, but going out with youngsters gives you the perfect excuse. Er,... I think.

MB interviewed in strange other-worldly circumstances

I was interviewed recently by the fantasy author, Jennifer Rahn. Now, you'd think that one interview is pretty much like another, wouldn't you? Well, think again, ladies and gentlemen. Strange stuff was going on all around me that I, being the Earthbound clod that I am, couldn't even begin to perceive. Intrigued? Go here to read it for yourself:
Jennifer Rahn Interview
Fans of the fantasy genre may be interested to know that Jen's book, The Longevity Thesis is published by Dragon Moon Press in just 4 days.

Sick

I came down with a fever on Friday night and on Saturday managed to control it by exceeding the safe amount of paracetemol you're supposed to take in a day. However, yesterday, having got my episode up, I allowed myself to succumb to the unpleasantness this mystery virus. It feels like flu, but without the sore-throat, coughing and nose-blowing. I limited myself to safe amounts of the heavy duty pain killers prescribed by the surgeon and just sat around being hot-cold-hot-cold all day before eventualy throwing in the towel and going to bed at 5pm. I slept through till about 5 this morning and now I'm up and about again, dosed up on pills and feeling - I'm happy to say - a bit better.

The Grave

The stories in the Hall of Mirrors were all written about nine or ten years ago. At that time I was doing various temp jobs in and around the Brighton area: dustman, hotel porter, gardener etc. At one stage I was mowing the grass in cemeteries, and occasionally I'd help out digging graves. No one I worked with bore any resemblance to Jack though... thank heavens.

Ma! Look what that they done to ya beautiful boy!

Look, I'm out, and this is my stomach this afternoon. As you can see, they drew an arrow on me just to make sure they went to work on the right bit. And there's a bit of blood on that little wound covering thingy there, that'll be all the struggling out of bed and trying to go pee. I couldn't pee properly for ages, apparently a common problem when you get the full knockout anasthesia, which I did. Another symptom is that you puke, which I nearly did, but didn't because I got an injection in the butt cheek to stop me. Then I had to get pills for the pain, not in my guts but in my butt. Owwww!
How do I feel today? Like I've been shot, that's how. I read this dumb web site that said I could be out on the same day as the op and ride home on a bike. Ha! Don't believe it people. If you're getting this done, your ass is in overnight (and it'll smart too). On the bright side, it's done and dusted and they've given me a ticket to a week off work to lie on my back and think up sick tales.
Which is nice.

Hospital

I go into hospital tomorrow for that hernia op. They were supposed to send me a date for a pre-op consultation, but that hasn't happened. I checked if things were still on and they are, so I guess it wasn't too important (famous last words). Anyway, I'm not too worried, everyone tells me it's pretty routine and I've got nothing to worry about. They're going to keep me in overnight, so I can't do any work on the podcast for 24 hours or so. However, I'll be back in the saddle on Friday afternoon.

Like Trolls, The Grave (Hall of Mirrors episodes 3 and 4) is a two-parter. But this time I'm going to try to get them up back-to-back, so both parts will go online at the same time. This way you can listen to the first bit on the commute in to work (or whatever) and the second bit on the commute home again. Or, of course, you can just do the whole thing at the same time.

It's not a horror thing, but it has its horrible moments (how could it not?).

Hall of Mirrors - Trolls Part 2

Phew! That was a close one. Just when I thought I was all set to upload, I listened through to make sure there were no mistakes... and there was one - and it almost slipped through. At one stage Martin was talking to Janice and Janice answered a question... that Martin hadn't asked!! I checked the manuscript and there it was - Martin's question. Somehow I'd managed to edit it out, so I had to go and record it and drop it in and re-tag and everything else all over again. So, hopefully now all answers have questions and all questions have answers.
It took a long time to make it, but I think the end result was worth it. I hope you'll agree.