Stealing Moments...

Some ideas come from nowhere you can properly our your finger on. They seem to leap into your mind as if they were hiding behind that door wanting to make you jump. Or they feel like they've always been there, sneaking into your thoughts to the point where you can't actually remember not having the idea in your head at all.

Then there's the idea which comes from a word or a phrase or a picture or TV show. One that pops like a lightbulb and gets it's claws into your brain and refusing to shake its grip. 

Last year, I went to the Manchester Ethiad stadium to see Bon Jovi.  It was a concert is wanted to go to for years and I have to admit I wish I'd done it years before as it didn't live up to expectations. But that's as may be. 

One if the support acts was excellent. James Walsh, ex of Starsailor, was grey and a pleasure to watch and listen to. One of his songs was Precious Stolen Moments, and an idea formed. 

Or the hint of an idea, at least. 

In fact, I don't think it was even that. I think it was more like the title dug in for the winter, hibernating until the spring came and it could germinate into something much more. 

Well, spring is here. 

And the idea is germination and blossoming. 

Only the other day something was said about 'stolen moments' in a conversation with my wife, and that became the fertiliser I needed. 

Last week, I finished my story Secrets, the latest entry for my Darker Places collection - the follow up to Dark Places. My intention was to finish off Puddlebrain and continue to work on Mortal Sin, the sequel to Sin. 

Things don't always happen as I intend, and I felt the need to finally begin the story about these 'stolen moments'. 

And so it begins. I keep writing little bits as time allows, thankful for finally discovering OneNote on my iphone to let me keep track of such scribblings. 

Here it is so far. It's not much but, and this is something which happens very rarely, I know where it's going. I've even, after a fashion, written the ending. 

-

Stolen Moments

 

I help people. I help them. 

 

I don't kill them. I... I help them. I...

When they have nowhere to go except into the hearafter, I bring the hand of Death and theirs together, to be led peacefully wherever they would be taken.  

When the edge of night threatens to darken their day, I bring a torch with which to guide them on.

I don't kill them. 

I don't...

It started…  Oh God, when did it start?  It seems so long ago. Another lifetime. Another me. Another town. Another…

Well. Just 'another' everything.

Then things changed. Things changed so much. It was as if space and time were spinning about their singularity and one dipped its toe into the chaotic waters and I was one of the ripples. 

The crow, I think. 

It started with the crow.

-

I hope it shows promise. I think it does. It has its claws in me anywho, so I'm stuck with finishing it. I'll let you know when we're done! 

Rocking the Ages...

It was a wet and dreary day in Grimsby.

 

No, they’re actually not all like that.  It started bright and sunny.  I popped off into town to have my eyes tested (no, not to be able to see the weather properly, thank you) and then we dropped our youngest off at her nanna’s for the day.

 

Why?

 

Because we were going on a road trip!  Manchester, here we come!

 

But before I get to that, let’s take a moment to step back in time.  Not too far back, but, without a big blue police box, we’ll do our best to return to a day in 2012

 

Now, music is a big thing in our house.  Once or more of us is prone to bursting into song (badly in my case), or dance to something on the TV.  Only the other day, my 10 year old and 2 year old were singing the songs from Disney’s Frozen, and acting them out.  Whilst out driving somewhere, my 2 year old will ask for anything from Over the Rainbow to Cyndi Lauper to ACDC (one of her current favourites is Highway to Hell, which she’ll happily be air guitaring to).  My 10 year old is much the same.  My wife and I regularly go to concerts or The Yardbirds, our local rock club.

 

As such, it won’t be a surprise to tell you my wife was eager to see the film Rock of Ages.  So, being the wonderful husband I am, I took her.  At the beginnng, I was unsure.  A bit too cheesy.  It didn’t take long, however, for me to be swept up in the music, the comedy and the fact that Tom Cruise was actually decent in this.  I took the gleeful burst of applause she gave at the end as a sign she’d enjoyed it.

 

Unfortunately, when it came to be attempting to get tickets for the actual stage show, I was disappointed to find it had closed.  Ah, but it was on tour!  Yay!  Christmas was coming so tickets for the show would make a perfect present for my wife and ten year old.  As the best venue for us was Manchester (Palace Theatre), that’s what I booked.

 

Only to find out, a couple of weeks later, it was coming to Hull.  Manchester is 2½ hours away.  Hull is less than 45 minutes.

 

Oh well.  It would be a nice trip out, and we could grab something good to eat on the way.  A proper night out.

 

My girls were overjoyed when they opened the present to find the tickets inside.  None of us could wait.

 

So, tick, tick, BANG!  And we’re back to last weekend.  A dreary day that began quite pleasantly.

 

Manchester and Grimsby are virtually opposite sides of the country.  There’s a pretty straight road (the M62) which stretches across and it’s one we’ve travelled many times to various concerts and shows (30 Seconds to Mars, Snow Patrol, Bon Jovi and more).  It’s not an unpleasant drive.  The scenery is beautiful – and we like the little house stuck firmly where it always has bene, causing the road to split around it.  Yes, there’s roadworks.  Yes, there’s 50 mph limits with average speed cameras.  None of it matters.  Only once, when we went to see Snow Patrol the first time (excellent, though the second time we saw them thye were amazing), was the weather really bad.

 

Saturday, the weather was bad again.  It rained, heavily, for most of the way and when it didn’t, we were attacked by the spray from the cars on the wet roads.  Not nice, indeed.

 

But we got there and it was in time for that nice bite to eat.  There was only one choice for us, really.  Nandos!  Yum.  The car park, Nandos and the Palace Theatre were only around the corner from each other (luckily because of the weather, which had reduced form an onslaught to a drizzle), so we made it to the theatre in good time.

 

Our seats were two rows from the front, next to the aisle, and were well worth the extra money they cost.  We were in a prime place for the way the cast would come down to the front of the audience (singing to my daughter atone point), and the guy who was running along getting everyone to do a Mexican wave etc..

 

As for the show itself...?

 

Well, we we surprised, initially, to find it didn’t follow the film – or rather the film didn’t follow the show.  We weren’t expecting that, thinking it was the one story.  That didn’t matter though, it was still all great fun.

The band were brilliant, smashing through rock classics with the whole audience, more or less, singing along.  The cast were excellent too.  We were surprised (again) to see the lead was Noel Sullivan, whom we’d only seen fairly recently in Pricilla, Queen of the Desert.  It was a dramatic change of character for him, but one he handled admirably, and proved he can definitely sing.

The rest of the cast were great too, including the scantily clad backing singers and dancers.  In particular, Stephen Rahman-Hughes, who played Lonny and the NarratOR, shone.  He was hilarious and had everyone laughing and genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself.  Daniel Fletcher as Donnie Dupree was very good too, and came down to the audience throwing bits of silver foil about – and had a little battle with it with ym daughter.

Of course, when the finale of Journey’s Don’t Stop believing started, everyone was on their feet, clapping and singing, testament to the fact we weren’t the only ones having a great time.

 

I liked the various touches where the narrator would talk directly to the audience, for example with his Dummies book and when he spoke to Drew as Noel (named after Christmas).  They added a quirkiness to a show that had already won us over easily.

We arrived home at around 1:30 am after leaving at just after 3 in the afternoon.

 

Was the journey worth it?  You’d better believe it!

Finding a Fox...

On Saturday, my wife and I were planning an adventure.  We were going to find a fox!

 

Well, we were going to Manchester (a two-and-a-bit hour drive away) to watch Foxes perform.  Same thing.  Almost.

 

Either way, it was certainly an adventure, though not entirely how we imagined or intended.

 

We'd booked the tickets some time ago, as I've mentioned in a previous blog post.  We'd seen the new Debenhams advert, Shazamed the song, downloaded all she had and then I went online to see if she was touring.  We are completely convinced that the website for the venue - the Roadhouse in Manchester - said the date was Saturday the 5th of October.  My wife even booked the day off work.  I did the same - though I don't normally work weekends.  I've been working ten hour days, seven days a week for the past month and Saturday 5th would be my first day off.  I was looking forward to it!  I'd be back at work on the Sunday, but Saturday was my day off and this was a great way to spend it.

 

I said as much on Twitter, including Foxes (@iamfoxes) in the tweet.  And I felt a right TWITter when she responded, telling me she didn't actually have a gig that night...

 

No gig?  Surely not.  It was the 5th.  The Saturday.  That was what the website said when we booked.  We know it did......?

 

We wouldn't have both got it wrong, would we?

 

I checked the tickets.  When they came, we simply shoved them in a drawer.  We knew the date.  Why look?

 

Well.  The tickets said the concert was the next night.  The Sunday.

 

Ah.  Not only was I meant to be working until 5:30pm and the gig was due to start at 6:00pm - and it was a good couple of hours drive - but we'd arranged a babysitter (my wife's wonderful grandmother) to come and stay the night.

 

So.  Change of plan.

 

I tried to ring to cancel Nanna.  There was no answer.  I returned to my house from town to find them already there.  OK, it was fine, Nanna would still come the next day.  In the meantime let's all go out for tea.  Yum!

 

The next morning - Sunday the 6th - I was up at 6:00pm for work.  At 3:30pm, my wife came to my place of work and we jumped in my car, leaving hers there, and made our way to Manchester. Google Maps is our friend, and we found the place and a car park easily, and we were there with a half hour or so to spare.  There was a small queue outside the venue, a small door, so off we went for a wander.

 

We walked up aways, just to kill time (though I'm not sure what Time did to deserve such a severe punishment).  On the way back, there was a loud BANG.  A taxi had mounted the curb at a pedestrian crossing on a bend and hit the railing.  He'd been texting on his phone (naughty boy!).  It served him right, really, that his wheels no longer wanted to point in the same direction and he had to struggle to move the car away as it couldn’t make its mind up which way it wanted to go.

 

Back to the queue for the last few minutes before doors opening.  The queue was fairly short, but Foxes is fairly new, so it was to be expected.  This relative newcomer status was reflected in the £7 ticket price.  A couple of lovely ladies came out to hand out flyers and take email addresses for a mailing list.  OK, so they were there to promote, but they were very pleasant in doing so, and it helped pass the time.

 

We hadn’t been to the Roadhouse before.  Our previous concert outings in Manchester were limited to the MEN Arena and the Ethiad stadium for the likes of Snow Patrol (twice – amazing!) and Bon Jovi (not bad), amongst others.  I’ve said before about the Yardbirds rock club in Grimsby.  It’s a great place with some excellent music.  The Roadhouse was, I suppose, a similar place – in a way.  It was small and dark.  And it was, effectively, a basement.

 

The Yardbirds isn’t very big, and it is fairly dark (it’s run by the Warlocks, so I wouldn’t expect it to be bright and colourful), but it has a fantastic atmosphere.  The Roadhouse was ok.  Apparently, the toilet light was a faint glimmer surrounded by flies and there were cobwebs on the toilet roll.

Still, we were there for the music.

 

Fyfe were the support.  They weren’t bad, though not entirely my ‘thing’.  That was fine, though.  We were there for Foxes.  We loved her voice and her look and her songs.  Warrior, Youth and Echo in particular.

 

She came on just after 8, and I have to say, she performed her heart out.  She danced and jumped and sang and it was a pleasure to hear that her voice didn’t need tweaking or auto-tuning.  Foxes can sing, definitely.

My only criticism is that it was so short.  I suppose, Foxes doesn’t have too extensive a repertoire currently.  She has some great songs, but not a huge back catalogue to choose from.  After around 45 minutes, she was gone.  One encore and she disappeared with barely a goodbye (though she did come out and do a great meet-n-greet).  It was a long way to go for such a short gig, I have to admit.

But, it was good.  We, my wife and I, really enjoyed it.  As time goes by, Foxes will increase her song list and the time she’s on stage.  Next time I see her – and I’m sure I will go see her again, so that’s a good sign – hopefully she’ll be up there for longer.

 

After the gig, we went for another wander and grabbed a bite to eat.  We ate our kebabs (mine being donner and my wife’s chicken) sitting on a wall, watching people come and go.  A quick pop to Tesco for a drink, and a pub for the toilet, and we returned to the car park – to find I was 7 minutes over 4 hours p to a cost of an extra £5!  Ouch!  £13 in total to park!  Oh well, we enjoyed ourselves so fair enough.

 

We arrived home at just after midnight.  A long day.  A long weekend in fact.  But a good one.

 

So.  Foxes.  Hopefully the exposure from being the music to the Debenhams advert will bring in a lot of attention.  She’s already been played on Radio 1, which is fab and well deserved.  I predict good thing for her.  I hope I’m right.  She has a great voice is a real talent.

 

If you get chance, check her out.

 

Here’s a couple of videos I uploaded to Youtube of her performance.  Forgive the quality – they’re from my phone and I was enjoying the show so my hand may not have kept up with Foxes movements!

 

Enjoy.

 

http://youtu.be/qOhL58R09Co

 

http://youtu.be/hS_AyaWByW8

 

http://youtu.be/R4fvIAdqCmk

Like a Moth to the flame...

Sin again, hijacking away!  Today, I’m chatting to a fiery red-head named Scarlett.  Scarlett is a woman of many talents and it’s a pleasure to have her with me.  I think, perhaps, she enjoys this asylum more than she possible should...

 

What’s your name?

Scarlett Flame

 

Interesting name.  It fits.  Where are you from?

Manchester, England, UK, The World lol

 

Do you like living there?  If not, where would your favourite place to live be?  Is yes, where would you least like to live?

Yeah I do love living here because my friends and family are here.  But I would love to live somewhere near to a beach (I love the sea you see!).  Not somewhere too hot though as being a redhead with freckles I would burn too easily.  I am open to suggestions though.

 

I used to live near the sea, before my current residence, of course.  You sort of get used to it and forget it’s there!  If you’re a writer/film-maker, is this your ‘day job’?

No, I wish it was but I am still a struggling writer

 

I wonder if even Stephen King and Dean Koontz see themselves, still, as ‘struggling writers’?  Not financially, I’m sure – but struggling with the ideas and wrestling the words?  So, tell me about your latest project.

I have two projects on the go at the moment (three if you include my blog!).  The first is my novel The Prophecy Unfolds (Dragon Queen).

 

The second is an Anthology of short erotic stories, I haven’t decided on a title yet!

 

They sound intriguing.  Two differing versions of ‘fantasy’!  How do you feel about bacon?  A crazy person once said it was the food of the gods.  OK, I admit that person was myself...

I love bacon.  Yum.  Crazy about the stuff - especially smoked bacon.

 

Good girl.  That’s what I like to hear.  What is your favourite film?

Hard one this.  I love Avatar (I want to be about 10ft tall and blue after watching it!).  But also love all the Lord of the Rings films too

 

Avatar is excellent, but I would have to veer towards LOTR myself.  I wanted to be Gandalf, though a younger and less ‘beardy’ version.  Have you always wanted to be a writer, or is it something you found yourself doing one day?

No, as a child I wanted to be a vet but I have always kept diaries and wrote some poetry too.  I started to write due to my love of reading really, with the thought that I too could produce a work of fiction equal to or excelling them.

 

I’m sure you can.  That’s exactly the right attitude.  Do you have so many ideas they dribble out of your nose if you don’t get them down, or do you have to hunt around the floor and the back of your sofa to find where your Muse is hiding?

Ha-ha.  Yeah I have epiphanies sometimes as I am driving or when I wake up and then I have to write down scenes I have dreamt.

 

At least it’s not waking up as you’re driving.  I hope not, anywho.  If you were in an asylum, what would your particular delusion or psychosis be?

Being watched I think.  I used to imagine pictures could watch me as a child, lol.

 

You should be glad you didn’t go to school at Hogwarts, then, with all those moving paintings!  What genre(s) do you write?

Lots.  Paranormal Romance, Erotica, Fiction, Steampunk (really a subgenre).

 

Wow!  You’re head must be swimming with ideas!  What genres(s) do you read?

Virtually everything from scifi, thrillers, erotica BDSM, paranormal romance, nonfiction, cook books, you name it.

 

Do you have time to sleep?  Oh, that’ll be where the sleeping whilst driving comes in, I suppose...  If these are the same, what attracts you to them.  If they’re different, why do you think that is?

I am better at writing in my own genre (I think), but I intend to test this by writing in some of the others too.  But I still enjoy other genres, especially thrillers and horror too.

 

Bacon – just cooked or crispy?

Crispy of course!!

 

Of course.  How else?  Now you’re in the asylum with me, how do you aim to get out?  Do you have an escape plan?

Well, in real life I am a nurse, so maybe I could pretend to be a member of staff and sneak out by pinching someone else’s uniform!

 

A woman in uniform, hmmm?  Well, good luck with that plan.  It may even work!

 

-

 

My pen name is Scarlett Flame, and as well as writing my first novel I write a Blog under my pen name (don't forget it's two t's!).  My Blog includes book reviews, band, hotel and restaurant reviews around the area of Manchester where I live. Music is a bit of a passion of mine, so I include information of venues and live music. If you follow me on twitter you will often find me playing at being a DJ.  Writing and reading are my two main passions.

 

My interests include reading, writing, especially the genres Paranormal Romance, Thrillers, Scifi and anything that involves fantastical beings. I also like going to the gym, especially weight training and Pilates!

 

Some of my favourite books are The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings Trilogy and books by authors such as Anne Rice and Dean Koontz (especially the Brother Odd Series).

 

The working title of my first book is The Prophecy Unfolds (Dragon Queen). This is the first in a series of books and is an erotic Paranormal Romance set on a Steampunk world called Syros. In my book there are werewolves, dragons, dragon riders and many other paranormal characters.

 

Website:http://missscarlettflame.blogspot.co.uk/

Blog: https://twitter.com/ScarlettFlame2

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ScarlettFlame2

Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/scarlettflame2

An excerpt from The Prophecy Unfolds (Dragon Queen) by Scarlett Flame:

 

I'd sat there enjoying my book for about ten minutes when two things happened.

 

Firstly, I became aware that a hush had suddenly descended on the forest and I could no longer hear the scampering of the squirrels or the birds singing. When I looked up I could no longer see any of them around the area they had occupied only a few minutes earlier.

 

The second thing was the sound I did hear. I can only compare that to the sound of a barrier being broken, a whoosh and a slight popping noise. Yet immediately after this, the birds and squirrels were back, chirping and moving through the grass once again.

 

I shrugged, went back to the page in my book and continued to eat. However, after a while a feeling of uneasiness descended on me. I raised my head to find myself being watched.

 

The watcher was a tall, broad-shouldered man with dirty blonde hair tied at the nape and vivid blue eyes. I estimated him to be about 25-30 years old. He was regarding me silently and with intensity. His odd clothing caught my eye. Old fashioned garments, dark trousers laced up the front, a long-sleeved suede jacket of a similar material, and leather boots.

 

I turned my head to look for any cars or vans on the car park and jumped as I spotted two more men - one to my left and one I could see in my peripheral vision to the right.

 

The man on the left was dressed similar to the first, but had sandy hair and sea green eyes. In contrast he wasn't quite as broad, although equally tall (all three were over six foot). The last had dark hair to his shoulders that hung loose, and the most amazing violet eyes.

 

The appearance of these men with no noise and staring at me in rapt fascination, not uttering a word, spooked me. My heart was beating so loud and fast I thought that I was having some kind of heart attack.

 

But the most unnerving thing of all was all three men looked familiar, a déjà vu sort of moment. I had dreamt about these three men for so long. I knew immediately these were the shady characters from my dreams. Dreams that repeatedly haunted my sleep.