#GhostsOfBelfast Contest: The Shortlist!
Finally, more than two weeks late, here are the ten finalists for the #GhostsOfBelfast twitfic contest. For those who missed it, the idea was to write a scary story in a single tweet, including the hash tag #GhostsOfBelfast so I could find it. There were hundreds of entries, but due to a glitch with Twitter some of them were lost. Apologies to those whose tweets fell through the cracks, and thanks to those with the patience to tweet again so I could find you.So, without further ado, here in alphabetical order are the ten tweets that most shivered my scary-bone:@current_self: The long fingers pressed inexpertly at my thro

#GhostsOfBelfast Emergency Contest Judgment Contingency Plan
So, Twitter is a big bag of arse. When I launched the #GhostsOfBelfast TwitFic contest just over a month ago, I assumed the entries would be available for searching in perpetuity. Apparently not. Therefore, I propose the following:If you entered the #GhostsOfBelfast contest, just tweet the hash tag #GhostsOfBelfast one more time before midnight on Saturday, and I will spend Sunday finding all the entries using a third party website that can look back further given a username and a search term. It'll be a bit of a slog, but there were so many great entries that I don't want to let any slip past.With any luck, I'll have the finalists some time on Monday. Apologies to a

What are you doing this Saturday night? Going to see James Ellroy in Belfast, of course.
This Saturday evening, I'll be talking with a certain James Ellroy on stage at Belfast Waterfront. By sheer coincidence, Mr. Ellroy just happened to be reading at the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver, Colorado, on the day I flew in to see Betsy Dornbusch. So Betsy, her husband Carlin and I all trooped over that evening to se

My Big American Adventure, Part I: New York and Indianapolis
So, it’s been a while. As you may be aware, I’ve been on a jaunt across the United States of America to promote THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST, and as of this writing I find myself in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Tech Center in Denver, Colorado. Outside it’s snowing, and inside there is an entire world of bizarre. But I’ll come back to that... I landed in New York just less than two weeks ago, and I’ve intended on blogging ever since then, but just haven’t had the opportunity. Nor have I answered many of the emails I’ve received since then. Frankly, every spare moment I’ve had has been spent trying to catch up on some sleep. So, here is a summary of my adventures so far

#GhostOfBelfast: The Contest that Took on a Life of its Own
Just a very quick post to say that I am amazed at some of entries to the #GhostsOfBelfast contest. The way some people can paint a picture in those 124 characters is really something to behold.And I'm not just saying that. Seriously, use this link to search Twitter, and use the "more" button to see all the entries. There is some very, very good writing going on there. I already have some favourites, and to be honest, that shortlist of ten is going to be tough...Come and have a go if you think you're hard enou