A quick plug for DEATH BY KILLING before we move on. Many visitors to this site are keen fans of the short story. It's a wonderful form and seems to fit the world we inhabit rather well - great for downloading, there are brilliant anthologies in print and online, you get a big kick or real emotional rides when they work for you, you can fit them in during a lunch break or while you wait for the bus or in between the needs of your kids.
Great to see DBK putting together list of favourites from the year and well worth a visit to check whether you agree, disagree or just need high quality recommendations from writers and readers alike.
My favourite 5 are up there now, so go and throw something at me via the comments box if you feel like it.
And now, a lady with the handle Pop Culture Nerd (can she really be that nerdy?) interviews herself for our entertainment. A warm hand please...
Q) Who are you and why are you here? This feature is only for talented writers who wear pants.
A) That's what I said! But Nigel asked nicely and I'm a fan of his short stories. ’An Arm And A Leg’, ’Beat On The Brat’ and ’Taking A Line For A Walk’ are all terrific. Oh, and he offered me a used Jacuzzi.
Q) Say what?
A) Now I can have hot tub parties! It fits 17 people. More if they're 5' 4" and under.
Q) I am bowled over by that useless information. Can we get back to my original question?
A: I'm a blogger covering pop culture. I work in the entertainment industry and get to see/read a lot of things before they're released. In my past life I've been a news reporter, radio DJ, actor, Baskin-Robbins employee, book editor and undercover stringer for a private eye.
Q) Seriously?
A: Yeah, I worked on a case for a big movie-star client. Then my boss got arrested. That ended my P.I. days.
Q) Why are you attracted to crime fiction?
A) To me, almost everything is crime fiction. The first books I can recall reading are Tintin and Smurfs. Tintin was always facing off against nefarious characters and the Smurfs had to contend with the evil Gargamel. Star Wars is crime fiction; so are the Harry Potter books. I'm inspired by stories of people who try to do the right thing at great risk to themselves. I also enjoy explorations of the dark side, something we all have, whether it's anger at life in general or the driver who just cut you off. We may have to repress it in life but in crime fiction, we sometimes get to give in to it and fulfill our revenge fantasies.
Q): Your blog title says you're a nerd. What gives you nerd cred?
A: I'm good at chess, play the violin, excel in math, love electronic gadgets, enjoyed being on the debate team, wear thick glasses, can recite all the dialogue from Star Wars, love comic books and superheroes, obsess about correct grammar, and was never ever asked out on dates in high school. In a nerd-off, you should put money on me.
Q): OK, that's pretty nerdy.
A: And you're the pot calling the pot black. But being a nerd is great. If you're cool, you have to do certain things to live up to the image, like wear tight jeans or something. If no one expects that of you, you're free to do whatever you want. Once, I wore a home perm, jazz shoes and bicycle shorts all at the same time. Betcha Clooney can't pull that off.
Q) I'm sure he frets about it every day. You mentioned you like superheroes. What superpower would you want?
A) The ability to slap loud talkers at the cinema without being seen.
Q) That would be an AWESOME power. Of all the celebs you've encountered, who's the coolest?
A) Chuck Norris, no doubt. Nice and generous beyond the call.
Q) What about your hopes and dreams?
A) I'd like a sandwich named after me at Sizzler.
Q) Fears?
A) Dodgeball.
Q) Terrifying. Any questions for me?
A) If something is bigger than a pet peeve, is it called a wild peeve? Why do people say "needless to say" and then say that needless thing anyway? Isn't it better to acknowledge the huge zit on someone's nose than pretend it isn't there? What do you do at a dinner party when the host serves octopus and you've always been terrified of giant killer octopuses?
Erm, I think I'll just wrap this up and submit your queries to the general public. Thanks for reading and if you've got answers to these burning questions, please leave them in the comments.
http://popculturenerd.com
Great to see DBK putting together list of favourites from the year and well worth a visit to check whether you agree, disagree or just need high quality recommendations from writers and readers alike.
My favourite 5 are up there now, so go and throw something at me via the comments box if you feel like it.
And now, a lady with the handle Pop Culture Nerd (can she really be that nerdy?) interviews herself for our entertainment. A warm hand please...
Q) Who are you and why are you here? This feature is only for talented writers who wear pants.
A) That's what I said! But Nigel asked nicely and I'm a fan of his short stories. ’An Arm And A Leg’, ’Beat On The Brat’ and ’Taking A Line For A Walk’ are all terrific. Oh, and he offered me a used Jacuzzi.
Q) Say what?
A) Now I can have hot tub parties! It fits 17 people. More if they're 5' 4" and under.
Q) I am bowled over by that useless information. Can we get back to my original question?
A: I'm a blogger covering pop culture. I work in the entertainment industry and get to see/read a lot of things before they're released. In my past life I've been a news reporter, radio DJ, actor, Baskin-Robbins employee, book editor and undercover stringer for a private eye.
Q) Seriously?
A: Yeah, I worked on a case for a big movie-star client. Then my boss got arrested. That ended my P.I. days.
Q) Why are you attracted to crime fiction?
A) To me, almost everything is crime fiction. The first books I can recall reading are Tintin and Smurfs. Tintin was always facing off against nefarious characters and the Smurfs had to contend with the evil Gargamel. Star Wars is crime fiction; so are the Harry Potter books. I'm inspired by stories of people who try to do the right thing at great risk to themselves. I also enjoy explorations of the dark side, something we all have, whether it's anger at life in general or the driver who just cut you off. We may have to repress it in life but in crime fiction, we sometimes get to give in to it and fulfill our revenge fantasies.
Q): Your blog title says you're a nerd. What gives you nerd cred?
A: I'm good at chess, play the violin, excel in math, love electronic gadgets, enjoyed being on the debate team, wear thick glasses, can recite all the dialogue from Star Wars, love comic books and superheroes, obsess about correct grammar, and was never ever asked out on dates in high school. In a nerd-off, you should put money on me.
Q): OK, that's pretty nerdy.
A: And you're the pot calling the pot black. But being a nerd is great. If you're cool, you have to do certain things to live up to the image, like wear tight jeans or something. If no one expects that of you, you're free to do whatever you want. Once, I wore a home perm, jazz shoes and bicycle shorts all at the same time. Betcha Clooney can't pull that off.
Q) I'm sure he frets about it every day. You mentioned you like superheroes. What superpower would you want?
A) The ability to slap loud talkers at the cinema without being seen.
Q) That would be an AWESOME power. Of all the celebs you've encountered, who's the coolest?
A) Chuck Norris, no doubt. Nice and generous beyond the call.
Q) What about your hopes and dreams?
A) I'd like a sandwich named after me at Sizzler.
Q) Fears?
A) Dodgeball.
Q) Terrifying. Any questions for me?
A) If something is bigger than a pet peeve, is it called a wild peeve? Why do people say "needless to say" and then say that needless thing anyway? Isn't it better to acknowledge the huge zit on someone's nose than pretend it isn't there? What do you do at a dinner party when the host serves octopus and you've always been terrified of giant killer octopuses?
Erm, I think I'll just wrap this up and submit your queries to the general public. Thanks for reading and if you've got answers to these burning questions, please leave them in the comments.
http://popculturenerd.com
