Diary of a Dizzy Deviant - A.S.Chambers: monster

Thursday, 4 June 2020

A very big thank you!!!

Welcome to June’s blog!

I want to use this as an opportunity to say a big “thank you” to all those who have helped me out with my Kickstarter for Sam Spallucci: Troubled Souls. It was launched on Monday 1^st June and, quite incredibly, reached its target in under two hours! Needless to say, I was totally blown away by this. You guys are all incredibly generous and it has been wonderful to see people getting so excited about my new work.

The Kickstarter will run until the end of June. All the large rewards have now gone. These were the ones where your name appeared as a victim of the Bare Lane Butcher in the book or the sponsor had a talking role before being despatched by the serial killer’s cut throat razor. The most popular reward has been the signed copy of Troubled Souls accompanied by the signed copy of Children of Cain. There are only a few of these left now, so if you want that deal, you had best get in quick. Also running low are individual signed copies of Troubled Souls. I think there may only be about twelve left of these for the Kickstarter. To hop over to the Kickstarter, click here.

Once the Kickstarter has completed, there will be about two weeks where it will be finalised as payments come in. After that, the book will go to the printers and I am looking at a publication date at the beginning of August. Ideal timing for the summer!

But Troubled Souls is not the only book that I have coming out this year. In November, my next short story anthology Hide Not Thou Thy Face will hit the shelves. Following my usual anthology format, it will contain about eight or nine shorts of varying length. There will be two more prologues for Sam Spallucci 6 (Bloodline – due next year) as well as another “Dragon” short. One to really watch out for though is a short story set post-Divergence entitled The Virtuous Man. Those of you who have read Dark Justice should recognise the title from the prophecy concerning the individual who is supposed to be the hope for humanity after the rise of Kanor. More on that another time.

Something else to watch out for is an online store that I am currently putting together. I get asked a lot to post out signed books to my readers. Once this site is up and running, it should make accessing my signed books a lot easier. Again, watch this space for details.

Stay safe and look for what lurks in the shadows,

Austin.

www.aschambers.co.uk

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Thursday, 7 November 2019

Embarrassed? You and me both...

What is it with us Brits and being embarrassed? This idea is used so much in films, books and television, isn’t it? I know, I’ve been guilty of using it as a device myself in my own stories. Are we all sufferers from the severe case of, “Err, um, scuse me?” I am, definitely. A case in point: there is a café that I frequent which has two

unisex toilet cubicles. One of these is wider than the other and contains a washbasin. The other is narrow and you have to use the washbasin which is in the vestibule shared by both cubicles. So it is that I often find myself coming out of the larger cubicle having already washed my hands to be confronted by someone who is stood mid-ablution. Now, the rational part of my mind says, everyone who drinks and eats here knows that there is a washbasin in the larger cubicle. It’s no biggie. However, the major part of me is cringing at the supposed look of disgust from the other toilet user as I leave the vestibule, apparently not washing my hands. What should I do? Should I just use the smaller cubicle and therefore have to use the shared wash basin? Should I, if there is someone in the vestibule, wash my hands for a second time even though they are perfectly clean? Or, perhaps I should explain that my hands are germ free, clean and indeed ready for inspection?

You see my predicament?

There seems to be the inbuilt genetic defence mechanism which compels us to do what we deem to be socially acceptable. When our actions come into conflict with this mechanism, then profound embarrassment ensues.

Perhaps it has always been there? If you look back through history, there are possible examples. The English reformation is a suitable candidate. King Henry VIII found himself in a situation which he believed to be socially unacceptable. He had married his dead brother’s wife and no children were forthcoming. Feeling that he had committed a spiritual misdemeanour which would end his lineage and cause another War of the Roses, he appealed to the Pope for an annulment. However, perhaps because he was embarrassed with the situation, Henry sent his minions in his place, rather than tend to the matter himself. Perhaps, if the monarch had not been so red-faced over the matter, then he could have sat down with his Holiness and discussed the matter face to face, come to a political agreement and hey presto, one annulment, no English Reformation.

Now, this isn’t to say that embarrassment can’t be overcome. In fact, there is a simple method that dispels all inhibitions and worries: strong liquor! A few pints or a number of shots and you don’t care that you were walking butt naked down the high street wearing a pair of fake breasts on your head late one Saturday night. But, the relief from our genetic mechanism is only short-lived, especially in this age of social media and our wanton acts will always come back to bite us on the same butt that made that group of nuns tremble when they were out ministering to the homeless one cold, wintry night.

So, perhaps there is nothing we can actually do about our inbuilt need to worry and fret? Perhaps our fear that whatever we do is the wrong thing will always be there?

Indeed, the best thing we can do is just sit back, peer over the top of a large squishy cushion at our raging insecurities and have a secret chuckle at just how daft we actually are?

In case you missed it, I recently gave my short story Needs Must a fresh outing in Kindle format. My most popular story when I read at signings, it is all about a creature named Odd Bod who lives down the bottom of a dark, dank well. Unfortunately for Odd Bod, his human food supply appears to have run out and he has to climb up out of the well to see what has happened. When he reaches the world above, he discovers that he might be the only monster in the neighbourhood...

Until next time, keep looking for what lurks in the shadows.

A.S.Chambers.