Fiction | Punked Books

Sep

In defence of Chris Morton’s English Slacker

The Guardian’s Sam Jordison reviewed English Slacker as part of the Not the Booker Prize process. Obviously, the author Chris Morton and I were hoping for a positive review, but it wasn’t to be. C’est la vie. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t respond to a negative review, but Sam Jordison, in his role as prosecutor, asked for a defence of ‘English Slacker’, so I thought that it would be most negligent of me not to do so.

Thank you for your review Sam, I thought that your parody of ‘English Slacker’ was quite amusing, although obviously I very much disagree with your conclusions. I will use this blog post to present my own very different reading of ‘English Slacker’, which will go some way to explain why I nominated it for the Not the Booker Prize. This will, of course, be my own personal view of the novel, which readers are welcome to either accept or dismiss if they so choose. So @JohnSelfsAsylum, you can relax, as I’ve no intention of forcing my interpretation upon you or anyone else who has disliked ‘English Slacker’.

Thank you also Sam for highlighting the misspelling of ‘Marlboro’. However, it is just that – a mere spelling mistake. Admittedly, it’s quite an embarrassing one on both my and Chris’ part, since Marlboro is the biggest selling brand of cigarettes in the world. Then again, one could argue (with tongue firmly embedded in cheek) that this vindicates the policy of successive UK governments of restricting tobacco advertising, if some literary types can no longer spell their brand name. Although one could also playfully argue that it’s Philip Morris International who can’t spell, since they named this brand after the site of its original London factory: Great Marlborough Street. I’m in two minds as to whether I should correct this error in the book, since I don’t really want to give Marlboro any more free advertising than you’ve done in your review. Yet ‘Marlborough’ makes this brand sound too dignified, too Churchillian; I will correct the spelling as soon as possible in the e-book editions.

So Sam, I will award one gold star for the spotting of this elementary spelling mistake. However, if you can find me a full-length book that has absolutely no typos or inaccuracies in it, then I will give you ten gold stars. For I’m afraid, that no matter how hard we publishers try, we will never be able to remove all typos from a book. For instance, within this thread, I’ve noticed that @JulianGough writes “owch” instead of “ouch”:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/discussion/comment-permalink/12535677

This spelling of “owch” has also made it on to page 5 of ‘Jude in London’. Admittedly, “owch” is an alternative spelling of “ouch”, but it’s rather an archaic one, but I’m not going to dismiss ‘Jude in London’ without having read it in full (as @JulianGough seems all too ready to do with regards to ‘English Slacker’). In a similar light, my close reading of Zadie Smith’s ‘On Beauty’ upon publication revealed that the Haitian artist Hector Hyppolite’s painting ‘Maitresse Erzulie’ had been incorrectly ascribed to the similarly named (but unrelated) French philosopher Jean Hyppolite within the text, which is a little unfortunate since the painting played a pivotal role in the drama. Whatever its importance, this typo didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the text as a whole, or devalue its deserved win of the Orange Prize in my eyes (although other critics may choose to disagree with that!).

Although I did enjoy Sam’s review, I did think that it was a bit lazy (although the parody is quite clever, it wouldn’t be beyond the capabilities of one of Chambers’ friends to write something similar in one of their English exams). Admittedly, I have been known to spend a whole week performing a close reading of a literary text before reviewing it. Obviously, this is certainly not something that I would expect an average reader to do, but a paid reviewer ought to be far more meticulous than the casual reader. Then again, Sam’s disparaging of Chambers’ voice is fair enough, as it’s not to everyone’s taste. However, several contributors to this forum have come forward to say that they that think that Chambers’ dialect is authentic, and not the artificial construct that Sam believes it is.

It should go without saying that Chambers’ dialect certainly isn’t the most challenging in literature, since Irvine Welsh’s version of Scots language in ‘Trainspotting’ is far more testing, as it’s quite a startling contrast to Standard English text. However, like many novels written in dialect, ‘Trainspotting’ most definitely becomes more rewarding once you’ve fully immersed yourself into its voice. For most casual readers, Chambers’ dialect should also be far more accessible than that say, of Celie in ‘The Color Purple’.

Yet, as Sam relates, it’s not just Chambers’ dialect that will be a barrier to some readers feeling empathy for him, it’s also his mannerisms, as Chris Morton hasn’t perhaps made it easy for himself by casting Chambers in the role of the unreliable narrator throughout ‘English Slacker’. For instance, as early as page 63 (chapter 17), Chambers relates how Colin has stated that it isn’t easy being dead, yet later in the novel, Chambers is still chatting away to Colin and talking about him as if he’s still alive (much to Alex and Paul’s derision in chapter 38). Then there’s the question of Colin’s suicide note; at first, Chambers states that he wrote it, but then he contradicts this by saying that Colin may have slipped it into his pocket during their last meeting. So, Chris Morton’s utilisation of the unreliable narrator may well prove alienating for some readers, but for others, it’s indicative of Chambers’ very confused state of mind throughout much of ‘English Slacker’.

I have a great deal of affection for Chambers, because I can imagine how I’d feel if I were 18 (again), with the rush of hormones in my veins, looking forward to my last summer of freedom by partying with my mates (and finally asserting my manhood by hopefully copping off with some girls along the way), when lo and behold, my former best friend ruins it all by topping himself at this pivotal moment in both our lives. Thus ‘English Slacker’ is concerned with how Chambers copes with the emotional trauma that visits him in the wake of his bereavement. No one seeks to ease Chambers’ suffering by offering him counselling, and, with all that testosterone pumping through his veins, asking for help is just something that doesn’t occur to Chambers, as this would offend his new-found masculine sensibilities, because for him (and many blokes) it doesn’t come naturally to him to express his emotions as Celie does in ‘The Color Purple’. Beyond this, the shock of Colin’s death means that he’s very much in denial about what has happened. However, Chambers is rather endearing in this regard, as rather than expressing his own trauma, he often chooses to empathise with the feelings of others instead, especially with regards to Charlotte in chapter 5, and Sereme in chapter 19, who are both treated somewhat insensitively by Graz.

It doesn’t help Chambers in his struggle to overcome his grief and his guilt that he’s not very articulate (not that the latter helped Hamlet much in his sufferings), especially as Chris Morton has chosen to represent him as an everyman, rather than someone blessed with verbal dexterity, as say the characters in Lars Iyer’s ‘Spurious’ are. Chambers’ narrative voice also dispenses with the various literary tricks that @JulianGough’s Jude deploys in his tale. However, that is not to say that ‘English Slacker’ is bereft of such devices, just that Chris Morton is subtler in his approach. For instance, the dream that features Chambers wiping blood from the front of Alex and Paul’s van on top of the cliffs isn’t pointless (as Sam thinks it is), as it’s one of the first times that Chambers expresses guilt over Colin’s death. Since Chambers is fairly inarticulate, and averse to talking about his sufferings, one of the ways in his psyche deals with the shock of Colin’s death is by metaphorically symbolising his feelings via dreams and visions. (One extreme reading of ‘English Slacker’ could be that Chambers did knock Colin off the cliff edge with Alex and Paul’s van.) However, in this instance, I believe that the van is not literally meant to represent an actual murder weapon, although like Lady Macbeth’s dagger, it does represent Chambers’ guilt over the death of another human being; even if Chambers didn’t murder Colin, it feels to him as if he did by not following Colin up on to the edge of the cliffs that fateful night.

Yet, if we cast our minds back to when we were 18, would any of us have been any more receptive than Chambers was when listening to philosophical bullshit from another 18-year-old after a shitty day at work? Especially when the said friend in question had a habit of coming out with such philosophical bullshit? Chambers also feels guilty for having allowed himself to gradually drift so far away from Colin as he strove to assert his own identity, rather than be forever labelled as being a joint entity with his former best friend. (Having written that, Chambers does seek refuge with Alex and Paul, an older version of the Chambers/Colin joint entity, who end up aimlessly wandering through the town.) With teenage hormones rushing through his veins also, Colin asserts his identity as well (and fears the loss of it) to such an extent that he discards his girlfriend and all his other friends and interests, all because he only feels ‘real’ when sitting on the cliff tops, listening to the sound of the sea and the wind. Such is Colin’s nihilistic vision, that he extinguishes his own life. Yet one might argue that since Colin is still a work in progress, since his body and mind haven’t yet reached maturity: he may well have had a more positive aspect on life a few months or years down the line. Indeed, despite your inexperience at this age, life does seems far more dramatic when you’re a teenager, and it’s Colin’s tragedy that he doesn’t get to realise this. (Sam did rather let his usually higher standards down, when, in a rather desperate effort to provoke discussion further, he wrote: “If your book had less to say about human tragedy than my turds, don’t put it forward for an award” – I’ve not had the pleasure of interviewing Sam’s turds, so I’m not quite sure what they have to say about life, but hopefully I’ve done enough thus far to persuade you that ‘English Slacker’ does indeed have some insights into the human condition.)

The visions that Chambers experiences aren’t enough in themselves to assuage his feelings of shame for not having listened to Colin properly that night, and so, to make some sort of closure, Chambers demonstrates his emotional intelligence by reconstructing what Colin may have said by writing the contentious suicide note (chapter 47). If Chambers did truly write it, then not only does it display his empathy, but he can quite coherently express his thoughts in prose. However, as noted earlier, this is an instance where Chambers slips into ‘unreliable narrator’ mode, as he later states that Colin may also have written this note, and passed it to him surreptitiously before killing himself. This is an example of one of the alternative readings of ‘English Slacker’ (with the most likely reading being that all the events are going on in Chambers’ drug-addled head), as is the possibility that Colin passed his suicide note to Chambers after death.

For instance, one could argue that the fizzing sound in Chambers’ head is just a by-product of smoking weed. However, there is another argument that this is an example of Colin’s haunting of Chambers, as during chapter 20, the same fizzing noise emanates from Colin’s mouth in a dream. In the suicide note, the sound of the wind and the sea at the top of Colin’s beloved cliffs are explicitly described as “fizzing”. So, when Chambers hears the fizzing noise in the book, this is possibly a sign that the spirit of Colin is looking over him at this time. Beyond the various flashbacks, Colin also manifests himself as a ghost from time to time. Yet he’s rather subtler than Marley, as he doesn’t resort to wearing heavy, clinking chains, but instead to perhaps signify his spiritual nature in chapter 10 by allowing a halo-like light to encircle his shaven head (it’s my belief that the cutting of his locks occurred during the autopsy). Nor is Colin as structured in his approach to haunting as Marley, as he doesn’t present Chambers with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Instead, he chooses to intervene in Chambers’ life when he sees fit. Not that his manifestations are without purpose though; as stated in his suicide note, Colin was very much afraid of losing his identity when he went out with Tanya. Thus he appears to interfere when Chambers becomes close to a girl, during those peculiar blackouts that Chambers suffers after both Charlotte and Holly have kissed him. Indeed, Chambers links these two events in chapter 28 and speculates that the reason Colin may have brought the blackouts about was because he was angry with Chambers for some reason, although Chambers doesn’t know why, because he hasn’t written\read the suicide note yet. (Although admittedly, these blackouts could just be a result of the drink and drugs that Chambers has taken).

In the vision that occurs during his blackout with Holly, Chambers sees himself metaphorically wrestling with Colin, but for some reason, Chambers lets Colin win, which is possibly another step in his recovery from the trauma caused by his bereavement. Once Chambers has recalled and understood Colin’s anguish, and has realised that he is blameless for Colin’s demise, Chambers can finally move on. Now that he’s no longer haunted by Colin’s death, this doesn’t mean to say that he has accepted Colin’s nihilistic vision, merely that it was true to his friend, and that it was this that led to his death. Although, I like the fact that, despite the fact that he’s gone through this major trauma, Chambers demonstrates that he still has a lot more growing up to do as he seriously contemplates what is obviously a scam advertisement in the newspaper, which offers to give him with all the skills he would need to become a Private Investigator!

Hopefully I have demonstrated to you that once you’ve pulled all the workings of ‘English Slacker’ apart, Chris Morton’s novel is a lot more complex than it initially seems, and that it works on a variety of levels, as a literary novel should do. ‘English Slacker’ also provides a great insight into the workings of the average English teenage male, albeit when beset by a major psychological struggle. I hereby now rest the case for the defence, as I’m afraid that I’m going to have to spend the rest of the day paying out royalties. However, I’ve also put together a reading guide to what I consider are the most salient parts of the novel online:

http://authortrek.com/punked-books/2011/09/28/english-slacker-reading-guide/

Sep

English Slacker by Chris Morton – a reading guide

Chapter 5 pp. 22-23 – the first time anyone (Charlotte) asks about Colin – we still get the impression that he’s still alive. P. 24 – Chambers shows empathy for Charlotte with regards to Graz’s insensitive behaviour + p. 26 – Chambers doesn’t make many emotional outbursts, and is more concerned with other people’s feelings, rather than revealing his own emotions. P. 25 Chambers blacks out for the first time just after Charlotte’s kissed him – he’s thinking about Colin for some reason

Chapter 7 p. 30 After Charlotte departs, Chambers wants to see Colin, who he thinks is probably on the cliffs. Then he has a dream about waking Colin up on the cliffs, who asks Chambers why he didn’t come back for him, before Colin jumps off the edge of the cliffs, thus revealing the location of his death (the manner of it is debateable though)

Chapter 10 Chambers wakes up with the fizzing sound in his ears for the first time. P. 36 – Chambers sees Colin again in the High Lanes pub, with a halo of light behind him, and with shaven hair – perhaps as a result of the autopsy? Although Colin is quite cold and aggressive to Chambers, in this first encounter after Chambers tried to meet him up on the cliffs

Chapter 12 p. 44 There’s a note on Duncan’s door saying that he and Colin have gone to London for the week, thus suggesting that Duncan thinks that Colin is alive (or more likely, this is evidence of Chambers’ confused state due to the shock of Colin’s death). This is also possibly the same note on Duncan’s door that’s referred to in chapter 48, which Chambers saw on the night of Colin’s death, and which had no reference to his dead friend (as this note also wouldn’t do in reality)

Chapter 17, p. 63 Chambers meets Colin again, who says it’s a bit of a drag “being dead”. This is a better meeting, as Chambers enjoys getting stoned with Colin

Chapter 18 pp. 68-69 Chambers has a dream where he and the red haired girl from Price-Savers (Holly) are being led naked across the beach by the four robots he’d seen on the TV in Tim’s house

Chapter 19 p. 75 Chambers gets over his feelings of isolation and finally joins the beach party, and thinks that he might now be getting over Colin’s absence, and that he’s not feeling guilty any more

Chapter 20, p. 77 However, Chambers has an uneasy feeling that there’s something more about Colin’s departure that he’d forgotten about, and then he has the dream about Alex and Paul’s bloody van on the beach, which he’s trying to wash, while they stand around laughing. This is a metaphor of Chambers having blood on his hands. Chambers turns around to see Colin there with the fizzing sound emanating from his mouth…

Chapter 21, p. 81 Chambers reckoned he would have been arrested if he’d called a policeman a “dozey twat” instead of Bradby

p. 82 Chambers specifies that he dreamt that he’d driven Alex and Paul’s van up to the cliffs, which leads Neale to suggest that this dream may have been real, and on p. 83, this idea comforts Chambers, as it makes it easier to not worry too much about making sense of a lot of what he remembers from the whole Colin incident (although one would have thought that it would have caused more turmoil if Chambers had actually killed Colin! However, there’s no other evidence in the book that Chambers murdered Colin, so I think this reading is most likely quite groundless)

Chapter 28, p. 105 Chambers has a vision of a big guy hitting him just before he passes out, just after he’s just been kissing Holly. P. 106 Chambers thinks the reason why he passes out after making out with girls may be because Colin was angry at him for doing this for some reason, but he doesn’t know why. Pp. 106-107 Chambers has 2 visions during his blackout, the first involving him having some kind of sumo wrestle with Colin, the next, they’re both racing the toy robots, but in each event, Colin is winning because Chambers is letting him do do. P. 108 Chambers doesn’t really know why Holly likes him, which displays a distinct lack of confidence when it comes down to his relations with would-be girlfriends. P. 109 Chambers reveals that his mum’s told him to get a job or else he’ll have to move out

Chapter 30, p. 116-117 – In a flashback, Chambers complains about Colin to a girl in a club, about how Colin always got everything, and that Chambers is sick of living in his shadow – when Colin comes over, Chambers immediately feels ashamed, and mishears Colin, thinking that he says that “you can’t live without me”. This is one time when Chambers does get his emotions off his chests, but it’s in a negative way, as it reveals his spiteful jealousy when a girl chooses to get off with Colin rather than him

Chapter 32 pp. 122-123 Colin turns up again just as Chambers is going through the job supplement. Unlike all the other times, Chambers doesn’t want to see him this time. Colin isn’t all that supportive in Chambers’ moves to get a job, so it almost seems like Colin is holding Chambers back. P. 124 Chambers reminds us that Colin is dead again, and so can’t eat toast, but offers him some anyway. This seems to be an earlier version of Colin, who’s still enthusiastic about music (something which he lost interest in just before he’d died). But then Colin just vanishes, and it seems to Chambers that he’s gone forever

Chapter 37 The fizzing sound starts again when Chambers is making himself sick at Duncan’s house. Duncan’s fallen asleep and looks a bit like Colin just before he died.

Chapter 38 p. 145 Drunk on the rum, Chambers talks about Colin as if he’s still alive, much to Alex and Paul’s derision

Chapter 39 p. 151 – the fizzing sound gradually stops when Chambers is with Alex and Paul. Chambers tells Alex and Paul about his possibly failed relationship with Holly, without relating his feelings about her or bragging either

Chapters 39-40 Pp. 152-155 Alex and Paul suddenly get all serious and confront Chambers about Colin – although, this is just before one of Chambers blackouts, so he’s not sure that it happened. Chambers asks why he feels so guilty about Colin, and Alex says that it’s because Chambers was there when Colin died… Again, this is possibly a reference to Chambers murdering Colin, but again, I don’t think this idea has any real basis, as Chambers has no motive to do so, with the most likely explanation that this is merely a reference to Chambers’ meeting with Colin that night, or one to Chambers’ metaphorical feeling that he’d effectively murdered Colin by not paying enough attention to him. This scene reiterates the idea that Alex and Paul are sort of like metaphorical alternatives to Colin and Chambers, and provides a vision of how aimless their future might have been together had they remained friends

Chapter 41 p. 156 Chambers finally admits to himself that he has to relate what happened the final day that Colin was alive, and to stop avoiding it

Chapter 42 p. 159 Colin rings Chambers when he’s on the deli counter. Pp. 160-161 Chambers relates that Colin and he had drifted apart in the months before he died, and that Chambers was glad that Colin had found new friends, since this meant that he no longer had to be his sidekick

Chapter 44 p. 169 Chambers notices how thin Colin has become, and states that he looks a bit like Duncan – that analogy again. I’m not sure why Duncan and Colin are compared with each other in this way, or if Chris intends us to read any more into this analogy. Chambers notes how similarly he and Colin have dressed. Chambers is a bit taken aback when he hears Colin say that he doesn’t want to know about his problems – he’s obviously picked up on Chambers’ unreceptive mood

Chapter 45 p.171 Chambers relates how he’s having problems expressing himself in an English exam. P. 172 – the weird dream where there’s smoke coming out of Julie’s mouth, and then Chambers says he’s Colin.

p. 173 – dream featuring Colin and Tanya at the Bowman’s about how Colin is leaving

Chapter 46 pp. 176-177 Chambers finally relates the final conversation, with Colin saying that “I don’t feel like I’m really here any more.” Chambers relates how he acted like a disinterested arsehole in this conversation. Colin goes on about how all of us are avoiding the reality of what’s going on in our minds. Colin describes a horror of losing himself in another person like Tanya (maybe this is why “he” makes Chambers black out when he’s kissing girls). P. 178 Colin says he goes up to the cliffs to experience “what reality actually is” – maybe the sound of the wind and the sea that he hears is the source of the fizzing noise that haunts Chambers?

Chapter 47 p. 179 Since the ghost of Colin has now disappeared, Chambers never gets the opportunity to ask him if it would have made any difference if he had accompanied him up to the cliffs. So, in order to gain some closure, Chambers writes the letter… or does he? Pp. 180-181 – The root of Colin’s existential angst is the question: “Are we really here? Why are we always trying to escape? What’s left in our lives if we take away our distractions? P. 181 Chambers describes the sounds of the wind and the sea as fizzing. P. 182 Colin says he’s already gone, and Chambers relates how he may have found this self-written note in his pocket…

Chapter 48 p. 183 After the pub meeting, Chambers goes to Duncan’s flat (where he sees the note about Duncan only going to London)

Chapter 49 p. 186 The fizzing sound stops once Chambers gets on the train to Firkinton

Mar

New Beginnings by Rebecca Emin

Sam Hendry is not looking forward to starting at her new school. Things go from bad to worse as the day of truth arrives and all of her fears come true… and then some. When Sam meets a different group of people who immediately accept her as a friend, she begins to feel more positive. With her new friends and interests, will Sam finally feel able to face the bully who taunts her, and to summon up the courage to perform on stage?

New Beginnings is the debut novel of Rebecca Emin. New Beginnings was published by our children’s imprint, Grimoire Books, on January 23rd 2012, and retails at £6.99. However, you can already order the paperback of New Beginnings directly from us for only £6.49 including postage & packaging (please allow a few working days for delivery to UK addresses, and a few weeks for the rest of the world). Secure payment via your credit/debit card is provided by PayPal, and you don’t need to register to PayPal or log into PayPal to pay. If you have any problems with your order, please contact editor@authortrek.com. You can order your copy via the button below.

New Beginnings paperback

New Beginnings by Rebecca Emin (paperback)

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A synopsis of this book can be found at:

http://authortrek.com/punked-books/2011/03/10/new-beginnings/

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Did you know that John Barrowman (of Torchwood fame) has a cameo appearance in New Beginnings? However, there are no aliens involved, as it’s in his guise as a stage show performer that John Barrowman makes his appearance here. So a big thank you goes out from us to John Barrowman and his agent Gavin Barker for agreeing to his walk-on role in Rebecca Emin’s debut novel.

Read Stephanie Parker’s review of New Beginnings

Parents in Touch – their review of New Beginnings

Nayu’s Reading Corner – their review of New Beginnings

Life Between Pages – a great review of New Beginnings

Thoughts from the Hearthfire – read Beth Kemp’s review of New Beginnings

Read Cee Martinez’s review of New Beginnings

Jeremy Mark Lane – his review of New Beginnings

Susan K. Mann – her review of New Beginnings

Bookworm Ink. – their review of New Beginnings

Praise for New Beginnings:

TJ King (8)

“I love the book so much that I just can’t stop thinking about it + can’t wait for the next time I can get back to reading it.”

Eilidh Carlisle (11) on Facebook via her mum, Louise

“Eilidh got her book this morning and started reading it and is so excited, she even asked if you’d written any other books and was gutted to hear you don’t have a huge series.”

Aimee Tennison (12.5) via Facebook

“Joint first with Jacqueline Wilson.”

“Just read one of the best books ever!”

“It is sooooo goood! I couldn’t put it down.”

Also from adults:

Kate Bodle

“Great story with a strong message! Well done!”

Gay Bosley

“I have just finished reading New Beginnings and really enjoyed it. It might be aimed at children but I found it very readable! What good advice for anyone being bullied. I think Rebecca will have a great future ahead of her if she keeps writing books like that.”

Donna Butler

“My lovely shiny new book arrived today!

am already half way through it, it’s one of those books that you really want to keep reading to see what happens next! Unfortunately after nearly 2 hours, I am going to have to leave it and get ready for work tomorrow

“

Rachel Tennison

“The book was amazing! I started it last night and finished it today, amid smiles, tears and sadness that I had reached the end. I loved the personal feel to it, I know how that poor girl felt, but could understand how the bully felt, you described her so well. I loved the drama twist, suspense and joy at her coming out so well, loved how you tackled the bullying…”

Kathleen Kirkland

“Today I started reading New Beginnings by Rebecca Emin. Finished it in just a few hours. It was fantastic, and I am not just saying that. So well written, you have a talent. I could not begin to write a book for teenagers, I would not have the vocabulary for it. Such a fantastic story about two very important issues in growing up, bullying and confidence building, keep producing them.”

Bridget Smith

“I bought your book and took it away with me to read when I went to Devon 2 weeks ago. It’s a charming read with a good story line and deals so well with the problem of bullying well done you!”

Feb

English Slacker by Chris Morton, ISBN 9780953317288

English Slacker Chris Morton front cover Chris Morton’s debut novel, English Slacker, was shortlisted for the Not the Booker Prize!

Chambers is an eighteen-year-old student living in the small town of Bracksea, England. Fresh from his final college exams, he is now ready for what is to be his last summer of freedom, which involves going to parties, smoking dope and getting drunk with all his friends. However, what begins as a seemingly innocent and routine set of social events soon turns into a nightmare for Chambers as a suppressed memory – which may or may not be related to the recent disappearance of his best friend Colin – begins to surface. The more Chambers immerses himself in the distractions around him the more he begins to find that he is losing his whole sense of reality…

Visit our Chris Morton page - Visit Chris Morton’s blog

The paperback’s rrp is £7.99, but you can buy it for only £7.25 with free p&p via the shopping basket below. Orders for UK customers will usually arrive within a few working days, while orders for other countries will usually arrive in within a few weeks. Secure payment via your credit/debit card is provided by PayPal, and you don’t need to register to PayPal or log into PayPal to pay. If you have any problems with your order, please contact editor@authortrek.com.

English Slacker

English Slacker by Chris Morton (paperback)

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Read Lucy Cunnington’s review of English Slacker

Slacking off with Brighton author Chris Morton – Caroline King’s interview with Chris Morton for Contrary Life

Eight Cuts Gallery – Dan Holloway’s interview with Chris Morton about English Slacker

Aug

Without Alice promotional video

Watch the promotional video for Without Alice, which was commissioned by author D. J. Kirkby from Jamieson Wolf:

Jun

The Green King by Stephanie Parker

The Green King is Stephanie Parker‘s debut novel.

When her parents move from London to a country town on the edge of a massive wood, Charlotte is sad to be leaving her city friends behind. Yet she’s entranced by the spectral image of a green man who seems to metamorphose before her very eyes… Slowly but surely, Charlotte finds herself being inexorably drawn into a magical world of dark and light, good and evil; a world where something mysterious, something wonderful and something terrible is happening in the woods.

Together with her shadowy neighbour – a boy who has spent his life exploring the woods – and another who was inexplicably lost there as a child for a week, the three unearth a terrible secret that threatens to destroy not only the woods but also potentially our whole world; and in exposing the mystery they discover their destinies.

Any publications interested in featuring Stephanie or The Green King can contact the publisher via email: editor@authortrek.com

Visit our Stephanie Parker page

Mr. Ripley’s Enchanted Books – their review of The Green King

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Green King

The Green King by Stephanie Parker

A synopsis of this book can be found at:

http://authortrek.com/punked-books/2010/06/22/the-green-king-by-stephanie-parker/

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Green King airmail dispatch

Apr

Without Alice by D. J. Kirkby

Without Alice is D. J. Kirkby’s debut novel is available to order from all good bookshops priced £7.99. Without Alice is available to order direct from Punked Books for only £7.49 with free p&p. UK Orders are usually delivered within 3 or 4 working days, while international orders can take approx. 10 working days, depending on stock levels. You can order your copy below.

Have you ever had a secret? One so important that it feels as if it will tear you in two? Stephen’s got one. He’s also got a great job, beautiful wife and an adorable son. Outwardly his life seems perfect but it means nothing without Alice. Read Without Alice and meet a man who you will love to hate until you learn to love him.

Read Denyse’s interview in the Daily Express!

Watch the Without Alice promotional video.

“Governed by duty, lost without love. A truly insightful narrative, controlled by a delicate hand” – Caroline Smailes, author of Like Bees to Honey

“D.J. Kirkby takes us on a dramatic journey from birth to death, through love, betrayal and tragedy, to an unexpected redemption. A riveting read” – Peter May, author of Virtually Dead

“I loved this book. DJ Kirkby is a gifted storyteller who draws you in with her silky narrative – then tightens her grip, forcing you to face uncomfortable truths” – Diane Hayman, Powder Room Graffiti

“It is ultimately a book about the redemptive and creative power of forgiveness. But any spirituality in this is firmly secular – these are strong, broken but finally good people” – Simon Kartar

“It’s one of the best novels I’ve ever read. It’s harrowing, suspenseful, personal and moving. And it will leave you wanting more” – Jamieson Wolf, author of The Valentine Chronicles

Visit our D. J. Kirkby page

16 months after publication, Without Alice got its highest Amazon.co.uk rating yet in January 2012, with over 500 copies sold this month alone!

Without Alice by D.J. Kirkby

Without Alice by D.J. Kirkby (paperback)

A synopsis of this book can be found at:

http://authortrek.com/punked-books/2010/04/24/without-alice/

Without Alice airmail dispatch

Without Alice by D.J. Kirkby airmail dispatch

Review of Without Alice by Deb Carrs
Review of Without Alice by Helen M. Hunt
Review of Without Alice on the A Dust Bunny in the Wind blog – please note that this is a blog that deals with adult issues
Review of Without Alice on The View From my Garret blog
Review of Without Alice on The Nut Press website
Review of Without Alice by Alice Fenwick
Gabrielle Kimm included Without Alice in her list of her Favourite Books of 2011 – “DJ Kirkby so obviously has an empathetic and wise understanding of the human condition. It’s a terrific story.”

See Without Alice at Diesel eBook Store

Denyse has a signing session for Without Alice at Winchester Waterstones (97 High Street, SO23 9AH) on Saturday 14th May from 1pm-4pm.

Dec

Abattoir Jack by Christopher Neilan ISBN 9780953317233

Abattoir Jack Cover Christopher Neilan Published by Punked Books in paperback on 1st December 2009 priced £6.99

At the age of 22, Jack is going nowhere. Stuck in a New Mexico backwater, slicing dead cattle for a living, he is ready to seize any opportunity to make something of his life. So when his workmate Ed tells him about the $25,000 stashed in a bus station locker in San Francisco, and when he meets and falls for the beautiful De S’anna, a sweet Italian supernova of sweat and lips and purple-black hair, the two events propel him into a journey of love, drugs, madness and determination as he tries to make real those two seductive mirages, the accidental fortune and the perfect love. Christopher Neilan’s debut novel is a coruscating tale told in vibrant, visceral prose. Funny, sexy, poetic, thrilling and endlessly inventive, Abattoir Jack is a very impressive achievement.

Christopher Neilan began writing seriously when he realised it was unlikely that anyone would pay to hear him play guitar, and yet more unlikely that anyone would pay to hear him explain in detail his favourite Tom Waits songs. He has been ‘working’ in TV comedy since 2005, when Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, writers of Peep Show, managed to get him a job on a sketch show.

He has written several short stories, has worked for producers Phil Clark (Peep Show) and Ash Atalla (The Office), and has been affiliated with a number of terrible short films (and a few alright ones). He plays his guitar at night and works behind a bar. He’s studying an MA and he does not have a car. He’s moved three times in three years but he’s not moved very far. Christopher has a degree in Film Studies from the University of Kent, a diploma in Filmmaking from the Brighton Film School, and has one pair of jeans that fit rather well. He lives in Brighton.

Abattoir Jack is the first novel to be published by Punked Books, a new paperback imprint for trade fiction and non-fiction.

UK customers can buy this book for £6.99 (free p&p). Overseas customers pay an additional £3.00 for airmail dispatch. Click here to buy.

Secure payment via your credit\debit card is provided by PayPal. Please contact editor@authortrek.com if you have any problems with your order.

Posts from the ‘Fiction’ Category

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