Tag Archives: Indie

A Day in The Life of Sandy Hogarth

Posted on by

Sandy Hogarth is the acclaimed Indie author of The Glass Girl which Frost will be reviewing shortly. 

 

Breakfast and a beautiful day. Perfect for the Nidderdale Show – an arch temptress. I have a lot to do today. The Glass Girl must go off tonight. I will feel a little lost when Ruth, my protagonist, goes. She has a troubled life but she’s tough.

 

‘Say thank you to your sister for me were his words. So Ruth fled, first to Australia, then to the outback.

 

Sisters. I am fascinated by families; by their honesty, their brutality, their love. And fascinated also by only-ones, so I have made Ruth’s lover an only-one: gorgeous Daniel. Everything she is not.

 

Music and voices from the loudspeaker drift up the hill, scrambled. Enticing

I give in, cease checking my MS and hurry down the hill with Ruth still in my head. And her sister Alexis.

 

Cars are queuing. I Pay my £10 and walk through the ancient turnstile.

In the first judging arena I come to is a magnificent bull with curls behind his horns. I wonder if it will win.

 

Sandy 1.jp

I remind myself that I must not stay long.

I pass a pig that is bored or asleep. They say pigs are the most intelligent of animals.

Sandy 2

My head is still with Ruth.  I especially loved writing the early part: Ruth’s time in the Australian desert.  I love the deserts there with their dunes of red dirt scattered with spinifex, and occasional wild camels.

I try not to laugh out loud when I see a cow receiving a final back-combing to the last 8 or 9 inches of its tail.

Sandy 3

Some of the sheep waiting in pens are shivering. It’s a hot day so it must be fear.

One puts up its head to me to have her curls admired.

Sandy 4

In the next tent, I find the winner of my ‘best hairdo competition’.

Sandy 5

Odd, this fixation on hairdos. From one who often forgets to brush her own.

I’m hungry so I get fish and chips from a van. We are almost as far from the sea as it is possible to be but they taste great.

 

The sisters take over my head again. And the glass girl. An old man in the desert gives it to Ruth.

 

“an exquisite glass girl, a dancer, with straight back and proud posture. Her body is draped in a mid-calf-length pink dress, the folds caress her long legs and her feet are encased in delicate oyster pink ballet shoes, the ribbons winding round her slender ankles. Her dark hair is shoulder length, her face tranquil and her hazel eyes as fathomless as the ocean. A brittle beauty. He says that it carries the desert within itself.’

6.Sandy

The Glass Girl calls. I walk/run back up the hill.

 

The Glass Girl is available here.

 

 

 

APE|MEN – Zero | Music Profile

Posted on by

ape men zero music news profileBand/Artist: Ape Men (stylized APE|MEN)
Location: Industrialized world, South Eastern Fringe of the European Union
Styles: Indie, Indietronica, Alternative, Indie Pop
Similar to/RIYL: Kasabian, Nine Inch Nails, AWOLNATION, Beck, Panda Bear
CD: APE|MEN – ZERO (2015, debut EP)

Accolades: This outfit hasn’t gigged outside clubs, but is a trio formed from indie band Gravity co. which has over 18 top musical achievement awards in South Eastern Europe, has opened for the Prodigy, Fun Loving Criminals, Stereo MCs, Kosheen, and others and has played festivals at EXIT (Serbia), Sziget (Hungary), Eurosonic (Holland), Bestfest (Romania), Spirit of Burgas (Bulgaria), and others.

Members/Instruments: Bobby, Ivo, and Petar
Bobby Cheshirkov – Vocals, guitar
Ivo Chalakov – Guitar, vocals
Petar Samanliev – Computers & gadgets
Production:
Composed by Ivo Chalakov
Lyrics by Bobby Cheshirkov
Co-produced by Ivo Chalakov & Petar Samnaliev
Arranged by APE|MEN
Mixed by Petar Samanliev & Ivo Chalakov
Mastered by Plamen Yotov

Tracklisting:
1. Pictionary
2. Bye-Bye Devil
3. Up Is the New
4. Cash
5. Zero Pictionary

Bio:
Ape Men (APE|MEN) are an edgy indietronica trio from the post Iron Curtain fringes of the European Union formed in 2013. The band paint an urban soundscape with gritty scuzz guitars and moody lyrics over saturated synthesizers and thumping electo beats.

The band’s debut EP “ZERO” was released independently on Feb 19th, 2015. The EP is accompanied by a single and music video release for “CASH”. The video was directed by Ruscen Vidinliev.

 

 

THE FAERIE TREE: A Book In The Making

Posted on by

faerietreejanecableImbolc: When the days are getting longer and the earth is getting warmer, a time of fertility and fire, and of focussing on our own magical gifts and abilities.

Being an author is in some ways akin to parenthood. Although not, of course, quite so important. But it is an act of creation (albeit solitary), nurture, and then letting your offspring go to make its own way in the world.

The last part is the hardest. Time and again while checking the proofs for The Faerie Tree I was assailed by awful thoughts: it’s not good enough; nobody’ll like it; it will fail. Time and again I had to remind myself to have faith in my editor’s view – and in the opinions of others who have read it.

But when your book makes its way into the wider world it isn’t enough to hover at the school gates for twenty minutes then go home and cry. You have to shout about it – tell the world – make them want to buy it.

So the last month has been focussed on marketing – which isn’t necessarily one of my own magical abilities. I know the theory, but somehow I don’t have the knack of pushing myself that some other authors have. I just don’t know how to stand there and say “Buy my book – it’s amazing.”

The first step in marketing is getting your book into places where people can buy it. Matador does a great deal of this for me, particularly the online stuff. On 21st March (or maybe a little before) it will miraculously appear on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Google, Waterstones & WH Smith online. It will be sitting on marketing platforms like Goodreads and I’ve Read That. It will be available for bookshops to order through the industry’s main wholesalers – but the job of persuading them to actually stock it will be down to me.

While the cut price books offered by the big retailers are great for readers they aren’t so good for writers because they have pushed many local booksellers out of business. The chain stores have a stocking policy which rules out local decision making, leaving independent authors and many traditionally published ones out in the cold. Even where they exist the independent book trade can be timid too – before giving it valuable shelf space they have to be sure a book will sell. It’s not their fault – most of them are living hand to mouth and cannot afford to take potentially costly risks. Even on sale or return.

Inevitably many sales are online (The Cheesemaker’s House sales to date are about a 50:50 split ebook and paperback, with half the paperbacks being sold through Amazon) so the marketing focus has to be here too. The first thing I did was organise a blog tour so I am at least guaranteed some coverage around the launch date. The next thing is to make sure the book is available for reviewers, booksellers and librarians to download via Netgalley. And book a Netgalley promotion to make sure it stands out from the crowd.

Other marketing musts are updating my website (www.janecable.com) ready for the beginning of March; moving my Amazon author profile to their new format (long overdue); and polishing up my Goodreads profile, Twitter masthead and Facebook page.

And if that wasn’t enough I’ve also got this really crazy idea to create a faerie tree for my home city of Chichester. I’ll certainly need more than a little help from the hidden folk to pull that one off…

 

 

 

Scottish Indie Rock Band The Phantoms Release New Single ‘Wasting Time’

Posted on by

Based in West Lothian, Scotland, The Phantoms formed in May 2012, quickly winning an army of fans with their huge sound and infectious on-stage energy.

Scottish Indie Rock Band The Phantoms

It didn’t take long for Scotland’s most influential DJs to pick up on the buzz around the band with debut EP ‘This Is How It Should Be’ earning widespread airplay.  A UK tour and support slots for Catfish and the Bottlemen and We Were Promised Jetpacks preceded the release of the anthemic ‘Revolution’ a single that was played by radio stations across the UK, earning praise for its sweeping guitars and driving beat.

Influenced by Kasabian, Royal Blood, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Arctic Monkeys, their new single ‘Wasting Time’ is a perfect example of the sound that has earned The Phantoms the reputation as one of Scotland’s most exciting prospects.

The Phantoms are:
Colin Simpson – Vocals and Rhythm Guitar
Colin McKillop – Lead Guitar
Peter Stewart – Bass Guitar and Backing Vocals
Blair Cullen – Drums

Gigs:
Saturday 14th March – Glasgow’s King Tuts supporting Cold Ocean Lies

The video for ‘Wasting Time will be released on Monday 16th February.

 

 

The Stages of Writing a Book

Posted on by

writing, the stages of writing a book, writing, writer, author, self publishing, writer, despair, first draft.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am in the process of writing my third book. Three-quarter of the way to be more precise. Which puts me at number 7 on this list. Writing and publishing a book is amazing. The feeling when you have your published book in your hands is like no other. You did it. It is not easy however. It took me years to get my first book published. Mostly due to procrastination. My next one was finished and published within five months. Not bad for someone with acute morning sickness. My third has so far taken seven days to get three-quarters of the way through the first draft. Which is not bad. You can check out the first two here. I will get into how tedious and hard it is writing a book with my list of the stages below, but before we get to the list I will leave you with this amazing quote from Amy Poehler in her amazing book Yes, Please.

“Everyone lies about writing. They lie about how easy it is or how hard it was…No one tells the truth about writing a book…the truth is, writing a book is this: hard and boring and occasionally great but usually not. Even I have lied about writing. I have told people that writing this book has been like brushing away dirt from a fossil. What a load of shit. It has been like hacking away at a freezer with a screwdriver.”

The Stages of Writing a Book

 

  1. Hopefulness.
  2. Excitement.
  3. Despair.
  4. First quarter done. Glimmer of light.
  5. Despair.
  6. Epic melt down. Tell everyone you give up and would burn the book if it wasn’t on your computer.
  7. Resignation, decide that since you started you should finish.
  8. Wonder what breathing in fresh air is like.
  9. Get into the flow of it, it might be okay after all.
  10. Finish first draft. realise it is only the first draft. Cry.
  11. Read first draft. It’s awful. Cry some more.
  12. Despair.
  13. Start editing. Ignore the boredom and the fact there are so many more fun things to do than this.
  14. Realise that it’s not actually that bad.
  15. Finish editing first draft.
  16. Hope
  17. Happiness
  18. The possibility of it all being over soon
  19. Get draft back from proof reader.
  20. Despair
  21. Try to ignore the amount of grammar and spelling mistakes you made.
  22. Final edit, go through all suggestions and edit accordingly.
  23. Finish book: go on week-long champagne binge.
  24. Get cover back from designer. Has spelling error. Cry.
  25. Get cover fixed.
  26. Get book formatted for the different eBook and print versions.
  27. Despair.
  28. Finally see finished book: elation.
  29. Publish book and it starts selling: happiness like no other. Feel huge sense of achievement.
  30. Start writing next book.
  31. Despair.

 

What do you think? Are you a writer? What do you think are the stages of writing a book?

 

 

d.oh Hole in my Sock | Music News

Posted on by

Band/Artist: d.oh
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Styles: Electronic, Indie
Similar to/RIYL: James Blake, The Weeknd, BANKS, Made In Heights, Chet Faker
CD: Hole In My Sock
Release date: January 15, 2015
Accolades: Performed on Canadian Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo 2010, Toured Cuba

Members/Instruments: Daniel Oh – everything
Production: Daniel Oh

d.oh "Hole in my Sock"

Tracklisting:
Run With Me (feat. Adam Noble-Marks)
Alien Rooster
A carver’s love song
Tear Fall
Mountains of Glory
Only to Kill


Bio:
d.oh is a musical project that was created in 2012 while Daniel Oh was experimenting with music in his bedroom. Between and during classes at the University of Toronto, Daniel has been fervently pursuing his true passion – music. Though his sound has evolved into something that is more electronic, he draws from his influences in rock, blues, jazz, and pop.

 

 

Le Fear II: Le Sequel Review By Jason Croot

Posted on by

After reading BFI advice on writing a review of your own film I thought why not!

Le Fear II- Le Sequel Review By Jason Croot

Le Fear II: Le Sequel is a 90 minute 100% improvised feature film about the making of a film. Based in London U.K it follows the journey of hapless 22 times film director Carlos Revalos [Kyri Saphirs] who is about to embark on his biggest movie yet Le Fear II: Le Sequel a film noir horror love story. Carlos’s journey starts with a meeting with the shrewd movie executive Dirk Heinz [Andrew Tiernan] who agrees to back Carlos’s film as long as Revalos puts up some of his own cash as collateral, one other condition is that Carlos intertwines his movie with Nollywood  [Nigeria] the fastest growing film industry in the world. Dirks Secretary Helga [Shona McWilliams]does the paperwork and the deal is done commence the movie.

Le Fear II: Le Sequel Review , Catherine Balavage. actress, Scottish actress, actor, British, actor, Scottish, Jason Croot

The world’s worst director Carlos Revalos meets the world’s worst film producer Efi womonbogo [Seye Adelekan] the clash of the titans or rather the clash of the tits, because these guys each are as clueless as the other about filmmaking. Efi has his entourage, Africa special effects [Roxy Sternberg], Femu [Schee Bell] the runner and Witch Dr Charles [Sean Earl McPherson] none of which really have a clue what to do. Carlos has his film crew Jacques the French cinema photographer, [Hadien Mekki], Jessie [Leila Reid], the production assistant Chafarafa the Script Supervisor [Jay Croot] Berwyn [Catherine Balavage] the stunt coordinator and Queenie [Victoria Hopkins] the Makeup artist. Hollywood meets Nollywood this is where the fun begins, and Conflict time! Everything Carlos wants, romance, film noir and horror is not delivered by Efi who has a different take on it with his motley crew. Africa the vibrant special effects girl, who apparently worked on big movies, Efi Tells Carlos “Avatar and Pride and plagiarist”. Africa brings Carlos nothing but cheap sci-fi effects which she believes is the best thing since sliced bread. That’s the problem with the Nollywood guys they believe their shit is good shit, and Carlos the man who has his own money on the line £500000, is in deep lumber. Bring on the Piece de résistance the actors within the film. We have the fiery French actress Racquel [Denise Moreno] and the green drama school first time film actor Oliver[Jack W. Carter] they cause poor Revalos’s pain to deepen not only is he combating of a motley crew from Nollywood he has disgruntled actors to please now can it get any worse? YES. The film set is not a beautiful purposed built location but a make shift set the input of Efi, “I wanted to make a film noir not a camping film” Jacques tells Carlos. The plot thickens and Carlos calls Dirk to sort out this rabble “Dirks going to have your arse” Carlos tells Efi who replies “My ass is he gay?” Dirk arrives and puts Carlos straight, the movie continues we now bring in two other actors within the movie these hired by Efi Vanessa [Vampire] Eleanor James Dr Strange [Julian Lamoral Roberts] Bmovie actor, Vanessa drives Berwyn the stunt coordinator barmy and proceeds to act more like a L’Oreal shampoo advert than scare people. We also have a student filmmaker Mickey [Warren Taylor] who is filming behind the scenes of the film within the film.

Le Fear II- Le Sequel

The night scenes have to be the most classic and funniest ones we have Witch doctors, Lesbian Vampires, Alien Explosions and a very angry actress “SUSHI DE MERDE Carlos you are a piece of shit little man! I’m going back to Paris right now” Carlos now one actress short of a picnic or rather of making his worst movie, and now without a location when disgruntled land owner Tom Dickinson[Ian Cullen] arrives and kicks them off “my land what are you doing in my land are you filming one of those pornographic films?” Efi replies “I swear on my father’s grave and my mother’s goat”

Le Fear II: Le Sequel will go down in history if Carlos can manage to complete it won’t be the classic he longed for but his worst yet. Bring on a new actress Racquel replacement Lucy Lou [Aiko Horiuchi] a Japanese actress brought in by Efi she joins the madness. “Can we use it?” Carlos asks Jacques about the new location, “Yes but I don’t want my name on that movie” Jacques replies “At this stage fuck your name” Carlos tells him the film gets more crazier and continues to deliver humour right until the end.

Summary Comedy is complex some people laugh at Dad’s Army, Fawlty Towers and Porridge all classic British Comedies others won’t get the humour of those classics! some will love Flight of the conchords and Curb your enthusiasm and others won’t, you can’t make everyone laugh no matter how good the comedy is, Le Fear II: Le Sequel has already made a few people smile and laugh and we hope to continue to do so, I’m not going to say we created the best film within film the world but we have made a film that me and the producers are very proud of we are proud of the cast and how hard they worked to create the humour the crew and how hard they worked to get the camera lighting and sound to be as good as it is the editor who has done a great job and the musicians who have supplied us with a great soundtrack.

 

I will leave you with some other funny lines from the film Le Fear II: Le Sequel

Cast Lines

Carlos Revalos [Kyri Saphiris]

“They Buy a bloody blow up doll, stick some sparklers up its arse, and call it special effects of a high budget production”

Dirk Heinz [Andrew Tiernan]

“You’ve got a fucking film to make, so pull it out of the bag”

Lucy Lou [Aiko Horiuchi]

“My English is very little”

Jacques [Hadrien Mekki]

“You’re just crazy fucking English people who want to drink tea; I just want to make a good film”

Racquel [Denise Moreno]

“If we die what happens? Because I don’t feel I’m going to come out this film alive”

Africa [Roxy Sternberg]

“It’s beyond Hollywood, Nollywood, Woody Allen my gosh we have it”

Dr Strange [Julian Lamoral Roberts]

“If Crossed I get cross if cross I need Blood”

Jessie [Leila Reid]

“Can you teach Carlos to keep the fire inside of him”

Vanessa [Eleanor James]

“I’m a professional actress I have been in god knows how many movies”

Queenie [Victoria Hopkins]

“Do you like it wet? I bet you do I bet you like it real moist Don’t you?”

Berwyn [Catherine Balavage]

“Oh I’m swishing my hair like I’m in a 1970’s fucking porn film”

Witch Dr. Charles [Sean McPherson]

“Ring Nigerian now £5, no problem”

 

Twitter https://twitter.com/Lefear2lesequel @lefear2lesequel

Facebook Like Page https://www.facebook.com/Lesequel

Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/163431550389968/
IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1982759/

 

[Editorial note: Frost Magazine founder and owner Catherine Balavage played Berwyn in Le Fear, Le Sequel]

 

 

 

A Day In The Life of An Indie Bookshop By The Chorleywood Bookshop

Posted on by

Some people have the rather quaint idea that an independent bookshop is a rather dusty place, run by an elderly woman who spends all her time with her feet up, stroking a cat and reading. Others imagine it like the bookshop in Notting Hill, a rather more boutique-style place which sells coffee table books and travel guides.

If there were shops like this they would have closed by now. To be a successful independent bookshop in 2014 you need to be so much more than just a bookshop.

A day in the life of an Indie Bookshop By the Chorleywood Bookshoppic1

At Chorleywood Bookshop the owner, Sheryl Shurville, opens up at the crack of dawn, invoicing schools with their orders and organising the first of the deliveries. On the way she’ll be picking up a children’s author from the station to take to the school for an event.

Back at the shop a team of three will be unpacking boxes of books. Some will be for a literary lunch, others will be for customers who have ordered them the day before and others will be temporarily displayed in the window ready for the upcoming literary festival.

Along with our customers the staff meet so many authors and it’s like kids being let loose in a sweet shop. We love it. Here’s our owner, Sheryl Shurville with Ben Collins, The Stig.

A day in the life of an Indie Bookshop By the Chorleywood Bookshoppic2

The shop is busy with customers, many have come to buy greetings cards, others will be buying their tickets for the literary festival and some, of course, are just browsing the new titles.

Behind the scenes, one of the staff is now writing an article about an author event for the local magazine, someone else is pricing a box of children’s toys and gifts and the third member of staff is back and forth serving customers at the till, while working her way through a batch of books to be returned to the publishers and researching an out of print book for a customer who wants a second hand copy.

Sheryl returns and sorts out the banking and float for the author event later that day. Then she begins work on her introductory speech, sandwich in hand. No one stops to eat for more than 10 minutes, there simply isn’t time.

More customers orders placed, more cards sold, more personal book recommendations given-cups of tea are made and left to go cold.

Refreshments for customers are packed, shop signs and books loaded in the back of car, a bouquet for the author collected and on to the evening event… See Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman signing copies of A Very Pointless Quiz Book.

A day in the life of an Indie Bookshop By the Chorleywood Bookshoppic3

This may sound like exaggeration but this is exactly what  it’s like at an indie bookshop, well, unless it’s Halloween,Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day….when it gets a whole lot busier.

Chorleywood Literary Festival November 10 – 16th. http://chorleywoodbookshop.co.uk/chorleywood-literary-festival-2014