Strictly Come Dancing Live

Well, folks, I’ve been taking a little bit of time away from writing and computer building and been to Newcastle to see Strictly Come Dancing at the Newcastle Metro Arena.

It was well worth the four hour train journey and the overnight in Newcastle to see the live show. And, of course, we managed to include a tour of the shopping area in Newcastle. We never made it to the Metro Centre which is a famous shopping mall, but we did hit the Eldon Square Shopping Centre which covers most of the centre of Newcastle and contains over 150 shops including what is said to be the biggest Marks and Spencer in Britain. No prizes for guessing we shopped until we dropped.

You will have guessed by this time that I’m a Strictly fan. Can’t stand the X Factor, but wouldn’t miss a screening of Strictly Come Dancing. I love the glitz and the glamour of it all, the dresses, the dancing, the makeup, the whole shebang. Mind you, I wouldn’t be seen dead in any of the fancy gear they parade round the dance floor, I’m strictly a shirt and jeans type of person. But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy watching it on the show.

The Metro Arena was a large venue with loads of stairs and only one lift. Our seats were excellent with a great view and the show was out of this world. The dancers performed brilliantly, as they always do, and the celebrities performed well too.

At the interval we all had a chance to vote for our favourites and, I did what Len Goodman advised and voted with my heart. Len said that was more important than voting for the best dancer, so I did what I was told and voted for Jason Donovan – I’ve got a soft spot for him. However the best dancer won, yet again. And who was that, I hear you ask. Well, if you can’t guess why should I tell you?

Oh, okay then, you’ve twisted my arm and you can let go now. It was Harry Judd, of course.

There was a bit of competition going on between Harry and Robbie Savage for the glitter ball, but that was probably staged to add spice to the show. Then there was the banter between Nancy Dell’Ollio and Craig Revel Horwood, with Nancy convinced she and Craig were ‘meant for each other’ and that was why he gave her such low marks, so he couldn’t be accused of showing favouritism. No amount of convincing that she really wasn’t his type, could change her mind.

I suppose the only disappointment was that Russell Grant wasn’t part of the show. That was because he is appearing in the West End as the wizard in the Wizard of Oz. Despite that, it was a great show and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I returned home happy, but knackered, and I'll probably need a week to recover!

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk

Did Santa put a Kindle in your Stocking?

Well, did he? Last year I got so fed up waiting for Santa to bring me one that I gave myself a Christmas present, a lovely brand new Kindle which I quickly clothed in a swish red leather jacket. I was in book heaven, and my fingers just itched to load it up with books.

 
So, I imagine that if Santa was good to you and brought you one, you’ll be looking forward to filling it with books. Well, you’re in luck because Amazon has loads of free books in their Kindle store, some of them good, some of them not so good, and some of them downright awful. So how do you choose?
 
I played safe and downloaded some classics. You can’t go wrong with them. I went for things like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – The Legends of King Arthur – Pride and Prejudice, although I’m not really a Jane Austen fan, and there were several more. But being a crime writer I then turned to The Picture of Dorian Gray – The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – and of course, I couldn’t resist one or two horror novels like Dracula, - Frankenstein, - and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Now I don’t know what your tastes are, but when you get tired of reading the classics – and who wants to read nothing but classics? Well, maybe you do, but I’m afraid my tastes veer towards fast paced modern fiction so it didn’t take me long to start exploring the lists of other books. And there are plenty to choose from with a variety of prices from the ridiculously cheap to the over the top expensive.
 
I discovered that a lot of traditional publishers have something which is called the Agency Agreement which keeps their prices higher and does not allow Amazon to sell them cheaper. But there are loads of authors out there who are writing what is termed Indie books, it just means independently published books, by authors who are bypassing the publishers. Now, you can find loads of good books published by Indies, and also some, which to be polite, are not so good.
 
So how can you tell the difference? Well, a lot of the books on Amazon allow you to ‘Look Inside’ and by clicking on the cover you can read a short part of the book on the Amazon website. There is also the facility to download samples onto your Kindle, although I’ve always resisted this because I don’t want to clutter up my lovely Kindle with loads of samples.
 
There are also some websites and blogs, like The Famous Five Plus http://famousfiveplus.blogspot.com/ and Loveahappyending.com, although this latter one is not solely for ebooks and promotes authors with print books as well. Here is my page on Loveahappyending.com http://loveahappyending.com/chris-longmuir/ although there are many more authors to choose from. I’m sure if you root around the internet, you’ll find a lot more. It’s also worth googling the author’s name and title of the book you are interested in, and checking up on the reviews, because there are lots of reviewers out there.
 
So, whether Santa brought you a Kindle, or whether like me, you decide to give yourself a Christmas present, happy reading. And I hope you’ll cast your eyes over my selection of ebooks when you’re looking around.

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk

Wish I Was Here

Oh what I wouldn’t give to be here again, setting off for Venice on the Orient Express. Following in the footsteps of Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot, and even sharing Rupert, the same cabin steward David Suchet had when he went adventuring on this famous train.

Waiting for my Bellini at Victoria Station

If I close my eyes I can imagine sitting in an Orient Express carriage at Victoria station, in London, waiting for my Bellini and lunch as we pull out on the first stage of the journey to Venice. The British Orient Express takes me to Folkstone to change to the luxury coaches which will transport us via the Channel Tunnel to Calais Ville, where I will board the continental Orient Express. This is the real deal, the train that David Suchet travelled on, and before him, Agatha Christie. This was the inspiration for her novel Murder on the Orient Express, and I can see why.

Departure from Venice - Now which one is Poirot and which one the victim - hmm

Two days of luxury, good food, pampering, and great entertainment, await before arriving in Venice for a lovely five day holiday. Pure bliss. Then home again on the return journey by Orient Express, from Venice to London.

Rupert, my lovely cabin steward - I'll let you into a secret, they don't actually use the seats at the end of the carriages any more. They have a cabin instead. But Rupert obliged by sitting in the seat for me.

The price for this holiday was quite horrendous, of course, but it’s a once in a lifetime experience. And I had money to burn. I had the fabulous check I received as part of my prize when I won the Dundee International Book Prize with my crime novel Dead Wood. So, for a week, I could pretend I was another Agatha Christie, off looking for murders and Hercule Poirot, or maybe a detective of my own. Off to write Another Murder on the Orient Express, and while doing so I was living the high life.

I would do it all over again in a blink.

Hmm, there’s a thought. I wonder if there are any more prizes I can enter for, and maybe instead of wishing I was there, I could actually go. And if I do go, Reach for the Stars is the book I will take to read this time instead of Murder on the Orient Express, because I'll be reaching for the stars and fulfilling my dream all over again.

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk

Recognition at Last (I think)

Why am I so excited today? Well last night when I browsed Amazon on my iPad, my eye was caught by the cover of my crime thriller Dead Wood. It was in a Listmania list, apparently posted by Poison Pixie Publishing, and no, they are not my publishers. Dead Wood was published by Polygon. I have no idea who Poison Pixie Publishing are, but they’re my new heroes. Thanks, Poison Press Publishing.

So, my curiosity stimulated, I clicked on the list, and the first name I saw in it at number 1, was Barbara Vine. Below that was Nicci French at number 2 and 3, number 7 was PD James, and number 10 was Michael Connelly. I fully expected to be number 100 or even 1,000, because these are very successful, well established crime writers. But what was that at number 14 – Eek, it was my Dead Wood. I couldn’t believe it. My book was number 14. Further down the list were other fabulous writers, Jo Nesbo, John Connolly, Ruth Rendell. Surely it couldn’t be true.

I’m still rubbing my eyes and I go back frequently to the saved page on my iPad to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. And I wasn’t dreaming. I’m there at number 14. Thank you Poison Pixie Publishing and thank you to all the readers who enjoyed Dead Wood so much that it warranted a place on this list.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Fiction-Picked-By-Amazon-Readers-Part-2/lm/R1KL44OD8AJRUE/ref=cm_srch_res_rpli_alt_1

Recognition at last. How sweet it is.

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk

Readers Where Would a Writer be Without Them

This is only one of my bookcases - multiply this by about 10



I’ve been a reader ever since I was big enough to hold a book. As a child I devoured books and lived in a magical fantasy land conjured up by my current reading material. I danced round fairy rings, fought dragons, became a princess, had pillow fights at boarding school, joined the Chalet girls in Switzerland. Then, of course, when I was older, among other things I became a spy, detective, femme fatale, gentleman burglar (even though I was a girl). I solved crimes with Hercule Poirot, and Sherlock Homes, I visited Miss Faversham, made love to Heathcliffe, hid from Dracula and Frankenstein. In fact, I did everything but live in the real world. So is it any wonder I became a writer.

Being such an avid reader gives me something in common with my readers. I want to please them in the same way that I have been pleased with all the books I’ve read over the years. I love to hear from readers, get to know their likes and dislikes, have conversations about characters, mine and those of other authors.

So, one of the joys of my life as an author is going out to meet readers, luckily, libraries often invite writers to come and talk, and local groups often ask me along, some of these talks are paid and some are not. But my reason for accepting all these invitations is not based on finance, it is because I truly love talking with readers.

So. Don’t be shy, come along and talk to me, whether it is face to face, on Facebook, or on Twitter. I’m here and I’d love to hear from you.

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/index.html

Book Launch Competition Results

I want to thank all those who entered the competition for a free ebook. It was a names in the hat draw with the winners randomly selected, and to ensure there was no favouritism I made sure the person selecting the winners, was totally objective. Well, the draw has now been done, all fair and square, by the President of Angus Writers’ Circle at their meeting last night.

And the winner of Ghost Train & Other Stories is ……….(long pause, wait for it)……….Gilly Fraser.

And the winner of Obsession & Other Stories is …………(another long pause, wait for it)………….. Myra Duffy.

Happy reading, ladies, and don’t scare yourselves too much as I cannot be held accountable for panic attacks, heart attacks or anything of that nature!

Until the next time.

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk

Love A Happy Ending Book Launch

This is the official launch of my two short story collections, however readers may be disappointed if they are looking for happy endings in these two ebooks because the stories fit better into the scary or dark type where happy endings are not guaranteed. So be warned - if you suffer from unexplained fears, panic attacks, or have an adverse physical reaction after reading them, I cannot be held responsible. On the other hand, if you like a good scary read, then these are the books for you.

Both books have been published to Kindle and Smashwords, plus they can be found at most outlets that sell electronic books, including the Apple iBookstore for the iPad.

Now what can I say about the stories in these two books. Well, Ghost Train & Other Stories is probably the scarier book of the two and is mostly horror stories. While Obsession & Other Stories has a mix; there are some really scary stories, some dark and gritty crime stories, and a couple of gentler ones.

So let's have a look at some reviews and maybe that will give you an idea of what you are in for!

Reviews for Ghost Train & Other Stories

Stories that creep into your head
As another reviewer said, these aren't horror stories of the vampire, slasher, gore-fest type and, as a result, they lever themselves more insidiously into your consciousness. Even though you know that's the genre you're reading, Longmuir lulls you into accepting the normality of what she's describing. Her characters are normal, relatively `ordinary' people in mostly familiar contexts, but as you get to know them, they or the contexts warp, twist, take us further and further into what becomes a nightmare for them, and/or for us. My own favourite here is Brainpower, but they're all good, scary reads.

Horror stories at their best
This collection of horror stories has no vampires or werewolves nor the blood and gore that the horror genre has taken on in recent years. These stories get inside your head and stay there.
Definitely not for the faint-hearted but if you love to be scared when you read, then this collection is for you.

Insomniacs Beware
Ghost Train and Other Stories by Chris Longmuir is a collection of short stories that is sure to have you sleeping with the lights on, providing you can get to sleep in the first place. We've all heard horror stories that scare us but we can dismiss them as fanciful. The truly horrible are those stories that take a normal fear well beyond the comfort level where you really don't want to go; to a place where maybe you can see it actually happening.... have fun, horror fans.

 Reviews for Obsession & Other Stories

Gripping

Chris's collection of stories is both dark and gritty, with a couple of gentler ones added to help ease that looking over your shoulder feeling.
The title story Obsession is about a stalker and told from his point of view - not the vicitim's. Scary indeed. This short story was the basis for Chris's crime novel Night Stalker.
This is an excellent collection of stories which works well for those who don't like to read longer works.

The Darker Side of Human Nature
Obsession and Other Stories by Chris Longmuir is a dark and thought-provoking collection of short stories that touch on the seamier side of life. There's a touch of history, a touch of mystery and a fanciful tale with a very real theme. All six stories are told in Chris's no-holds barred, gritty style.
The featured story, Obsession is a disturbing tale of a stalker told from that viewpoint - the stalker, not the victim. Very creepy being in that head! This is the story that lead to the novel, Night Watcher, an excerpt of which follows after the collection.
If you like to read but prefer short stories, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

If you decide to give these books a try they won’t break the bank because, as an introductory offer I’ve priced them at less than a pound or dollar. There will also be a prize draw of one book from each selection, but please bear in mind they are ebooks. If you want to enter the draw please leave a comment below, but I will need your email address and which electronic version you prefer, for example, Kindle, epub or PDF. Now I know that Blogger has been having problems and some folks seem to be prevented from leaving comments, so if that happens to you, then send me an email either directly or through the Contact page on my website http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/contact/index.html and put Book Launch in the subject line.

Once you have read them it would be awfully nice if you could leave a brief Amazon review and maybe mention what you liked or didn’t like in the stories. No obligation though, just if you feel like it. Now I know that not everyone has the same tastes in reading so if you really don’t like the books tell me why, but please don’t be cruel, we authors are sensitive people, and we don’t like our babies to be abused.

Now that you’ve found your way to my blog why don’t you check out my website http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/index.html

Nice talking to you.