Children In Need…

Children In Need

Children

Here in the UK, we’ve just endured the annual ‘Children In Need’ charity event on BBC television.

You know the sort of thing?

Where lots of filthy-rich celebrities come on and try to extort money from the poor viewers, aided and abetted by heart-wrenching video clips of every possible childhood-related tragedy you could think of.

It’s not that I’m against raising money for charity. Far from it. I have jumped out of perfectly serviceable aircraft to raise money for good causes.

I even ran the London Marathon for children with cancer, raising around £5,000 in the process and knackering my knees for what I suspect will be the rest of my life.

And I have no issues with children either, being a proud father and uncle.

It’s just the way they go about it that really winds me up.

So, in an attempt to let off some ‘literary’ steam and to avoid doing my REAL work of finishing my latest thriller, I have written a tiny magic-realism piece about Children In Need.

Gingerbread House

 

The wizened old woman stretched out a bony arm and switched off the radio with a relieved sigh, stretching her tired back for a moment before turning her attention back to her hot stove.

She flicked the tattered red hood away from her lined face before deftly trimming the uncooked pastry from the edges of the pie and rolling it into several balls, about the size of little breadcrumbs.

She threw the first of these across the odd-looking kitchen and watched as her Staffordshire bull terrier leapt into the air and snatched it, his strong jaws snapping shut with all the finality and violence of a gin-trap.

‘Children in need,’ she exclaimed to the dog.

‘Children in need, Wolfie?

In need of precisely what, I ask you?

In need of some manners, maybe.

In need of an education, of a backbone, moral fibre, respect for their elders, where do I stop?

Most of all, Wolfie, they’re children in need of a bath.

Tasty though…’

Wolfie just licked his lips and smiled.

 

Alex x

PS: I am still working on the 4th Ridge Walker adventure thriller and I promise it will be published later this year.

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If you’re looking for some dark and gritty writing then check out my thriller THE DEVIL YOU KNOW. There’ll be a sequel in the very near future.children

Not for the faint of heart but it’ll reward you for reading it. 

“I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something a little bit different.”

“The effort was worth it. More than a story, I recommend this book to readers who appreciate good writing. I am truly impressed and hope to see more books by Alex Breck.”

 

Have you listened to my Podcast show Alex Breck’s Banter yet?

ferry

Who’s The Daddy?

Who’s The Daddy?

Daddy

Today is National Poetry Day in Scotland.

Sadly, much as I enjoy a good poem, writing them isn’t my forte, to put it mildly.

So, in place of a poem, I have something else for you.

Not quite a poem, but not really a short story either, you can make of this little piece of writing just what you wish.

I hope you enjoy!

 

Who’s The Daddy?

 

Wow! I have led a sheltered life, I think.

Never seen one that big, not up close anyway.

And not pointing right at me.

He senses my apprehension and smiles. He turned to the side and lowered it somewhat and I immediately felt less threatened. At least he hadn’t thrust it in my face the way Andy liked to do. Mind you, he had always been all about posture and bravado. When it came down to it, he was never able to fulfil the early promise that I can now barely even remember seeing in him. That probably explained the aggression and the drunken beatings.

‘Would you like to touch it?’ he said, reading my mind again.

But instead, I let him control it for a minute more as I tentatively stroked its length. It was a monster next to the sad facsimile I’d find waiting for me back home.

Then I took it fully in my hands and felt the heft of it for the first time. It surprised me and he smiled again. He was obviously used to this reaction from his new customers, especially ones like me who had never thought that they’d find themselves in this embarrassing situation.

‘I offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee to all my customers, but obviously I wouldn’t want you to be recommending me to your sewing bee or anything and-’

‘-Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure,’ I said, gripping it more firmly now and feeling the latent power in my fingertips. My hours of covert practice in the field behind the old shed at home hadn’t prepared me for this. The young boys from across the road would freak out if they could see me now.

We shared a cigarette after his brief but earth-shattering demonstration and I felt my hands shake as I handed over my rolled up wad of damp notes. He nodded and left me standing there alone, a silhouette of vengeance, unmoved by the vortex of autumn leaves encircling me.

Daddy

 

‘Oh yeah baby, I decided, sliding in a twenty round magazine. This will do nicely. This time, we’ll see who’s the daddy…

 

 

 

Alex x

PS: I am still working on the 4th Ridge Walker adventure thriller and I promise it will be published later this year.

Find me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

If you’re looking for some dark and gritty writing then check out my thriller THE DEVIL YOU KNOW. There’ll be a sequel in the very near future.ferry

Not for the faint of heart but it’ll reward you for reading it. 

“I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something a little bit different.”

“The effort was worth it. More than a story, I recommend this book to readers who appreciate good writing. I am truly impressed and hope to see more books by Alex Breck.”

 

Have you listened to my Podcast show Alex Breck’s Banter yet?

ferry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Son Of A Gun

Ferry stories Sea Passages

I am privileged and humbled to have played a small part in getting this new book of short stories into the water. Each piece revolves around a ferry journey.

Harvested from the creative talents of writers who have dropped anchor in and around the waters of the West Highlands of Scotland, this little gem will appeal to readers who love boats, the Highlands or just the thrill of setting out on a new adventure.

Here you will discover stories of those passing purposefully over the water and those being swept by the tide. There are people lost and people found, stories of birth and death. Tales of whales, the bleat of sheep and the unmistakable tang of salt air.

When researching ideas for this project, originally for my Creative Writing group at Argyll College, I was intrigued by the superstitions, traditional customs and strange beliefs of mariners.

Most of these are associated with bad luck and as a thriller writer, I had to learn more.

Did you know that if the words ‘good luck’ were to be uttered on a boat, then the only way to reverse the ‘curse’ was to punch someone (most probably the person who had just said it) and draw blood?

Women on boats

We are all familiar with the naming ceremony for important new ships and a part of the cultural tradition demands that a woman performs the champagne christening as a way of ensuring prosperity and good luck for the vessel.

So, if a woman’s hand was deemed to be good luck during the naming ceremony for a boat, then why was it considered bad luck to have a women on board?

The answer to this lies in basic human nature and the fact that until recently, the sea-faring industries were totally male-dominated and so having a female among their ranks would have been a dangerous distraction. Although it did happen on many an occasion.

And this is where the wonderfully wicked curse, ‘son of a gun’ comes from. Imagine a busy and crowded vessel at sea with the additional presence of a woman on board. Should a besotted sailor wish to consummate his love, then the location for such a dalliance would very often be done in the relative privacy of the gun deck.

These affairs would often result in the birth of an illegitimate child – the son of a gun.

Just to confuse matters further, seafaring folk used to believe that nude women were actually a calming influence on the sea which is why you will see so many figureheads of naked women on old sailing ships.

If you pay close attention to our book ‘Sea Passages,’ you might discover in one story that there is a brief physical ferry encounter between a young couple deeply in love. Those of you who are particularly alert and read the book all the way through to the very last nautical nugget might also find out that this event has an impact on another story in the book.

I live on a tiny island and so I appreciate the excellent work the Royal National Lifeboat Institution do for our safety, every day of the year. They assisted a good friend of mine only last week, further south in the English Channel.

And so, all the profits from this book are going to the RNLI.

I hope you enjoy each and every one of the eleven stories and one poem.

Alex x

PS: I am still working on the 4th Ridge Walker adventure thriller and I promise it will be published later this year.

Find me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

If you’re looking for some dark and gritty writing then check out my thriller THE DEVIL YOU KNOW. There’ll be a sequel in the very near future.ferry

Not for the faint of heart but it’ll reward you for reading it. 

“I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something a little bit different.”

“The effort was worth it. More than a story, I recommend this book to readers who appreciate good writing. I am truly impressed and hope to see more books by Alex Breck.”

 

Have you listened to my Podcast show Alex Breck’s Banter yet?

ferry

 

So Has The Cat Killed Curiosity?

curiosity

Before, I start, just let me say I’m a huge fans of cats and if the rest of my family weren’t allergic to them, I’d have a house-full.

There’s something about their aloofness and the way they don’t hide the fact they like nothing better than to bask in the warmth of a sunny room and have the rest of the world running around after them. A bit like teenagers… more on them later.

But I’m much more of a lover of curiosity than anything else on this planet! A good old-fashioned yearning to find out more about stuff. Anything!

As a lad, I was happy to sit for hours on my own reading massive encyclopedias and even a dictionary would help me swallow up a rainy afternoon in Scotland.

And we get them a LOT!

Libraries were always a sanctuary for a wee boy like me who’d been forced to move house too many times due to his dad’s occupation. Making new friends in school always took a certain amount of time, but there would always be the serried ranks of familiar books to instantly reconnect me to my disjointed geographical timeline.

So it pains me greatly to tell you that my teenage son’s new 21st Century state-of-the-art high school – which he is moving into in a few weeks time – does NOT possess a LIBRARY!

 

curiosity

Now I am not a Luddite, by any means.

I make my living from a laptop for Pete’s sake…!

And I know you can store a gazillion books on a tiny hard drive.

But what happens when there’s a power outtage?

I mean, we get power cuts up here in the Highlands almost as often as we get rain.

And what are the chances of a teenage school kid making the effort to look up the history of cats in ancient Egypt when there is an online Call of Duty battle to be had?

Or the catching up of who did what to whoever, where, why and when on Social Media.

It just won’t happen.

Curiosity will slowly die.

At least the curiosity to learn about books. About words. Where they came from and why they were chose above others on a page.

I’m proud to say that an excellent book of short stories from the West Highlands of Scotland will soon be published by my imprint, Seilachan Fort. It germinated from an idea of mine to help foster a sense of shared purpose and thereby encourage a group of local College evening class students to keep coming back for more writing classes.

But we recently had a discussion where one of the talented author-contributors wanted to include a glossary of some of the more unusual Scottish words.

The rest of us vetoed this.

Our argument was that it is healthy to have words which might be unfamiliar and it’s even better when the reader is forced to do a little research and find out about them on their own.

That’s how we learn.

Curiosity.

But now, instead, our kids will just lie back on the sofa and keep on surfing YouTube or maybe gaze vacantly at yet more cat photos…

Alex x

PS: Do YOU think it’s acceptable to have a new high school built without a library? I’d love to find out out if this is a Scottish issue or a wider problem.

Find me on Facebook

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If you’re looking for some dark and gritty writing then check out my thriller THE DEVIL YOU KNOW. There’ll be a sequel in the autumn.curiosity

Not for the faint of heart but it’ll reward you for reading it. 

“I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something a little bit different.”

“The effort was worth it. More than a story, I recommend this book to readers who appreciate good writing. I am truly impressed and hope to see more books by Alex Breck.”

 

Have you listened to my Podcast show Alex Breck’s Banter yet?

Alex Breck's Banter Podcast Show

 

Can I Count On Your Vote?

Can I Count On Your Vote?


Can I Count On Your Vote

I’m so excited because my Ridge Walker book ‘The Piper’s Promise’ was just nominated for the 2017 Readers Choice Awards!

Please vote for it at www.tckpublishing.com/readers-choice-voting.

[It’s in the Thriller section which is on page 9 out of 16]

Or if that doesn’t work GO HERE TO VOTE

One happy author!

Alex x

PS: You can get your own copy of ‘The Piper’s Promise’ HERE!

Find me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

If you’re looking for some more dark and gritty writing then check out my thriller THE DEVIL YOU KNOWvote

Not for the faint of heart but it’ll reward you for reading it. 

“I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something a little bit different.”

“The effort was worth it. More than a story, I recommend this book to readers who appreciate good writing. I am truly impressed and hope to see more books by Alex Breck.”

 

Have you listened to my Podcast show Alex Breck’s Banter yet?

Alex Breck's Banter Podcast Show

My Books On Book Store Shelves

Book Store ShelvesMy Books Are Now In Book Store Shelves!

Ever since I wrote my first Ridge Walker adventure thriller back in 2012, my biggest goal was to see my work displayed on the shelves of real bona fide bookstores.

Very quickly, I came to understand that this goal, as a self-published indie author, was going to be extremely hard to achieve.

Don’t get me wrong. I knew that I could make a genuine living from being a self-published author despite having no illusions about being the next Ian Rankin or J.K. Rowling.

My idea was never to beggar myself trying to get an agent and then a publisher. As a late entrant to the world of book writing, I couldn’t afford to wait 10 years for the gate-keepers to finally deign to accept my manuscript.

In addition to writing Ebooks and self-publishing through Amazon, I also embarked on a career in online marketing and then coaching, all of which has been exciting, unpredictable and a lot of fun.

So, I was happy to publish online.

Apart from one thing.

When friends, family and others who knew me were sceptical about my ‘online activities,’ that was perfectly fine. They couldn’t see my growing bank balance. I didn’t need their accreditation.

But when they thought I was just ‘playing’ at being a writer – that hurt. A lot.

I wanted to be able to walk into Waterstones, which is our biggest UK bookstore and point to my books. My son was around ten years old and I wanted him to see my books and be proud of his old dad.

I appreciate that I won’t be shifting a ton of books through these stores. That’s not what it’s about with me. It’s just good old-fashioned pride and recognition of a job done.

So my goal has been achieved this week. My books are on bookstore shelves. Waterstones now sell my print books and I am doing a book signing even in December. One happy author.

Alex

Find me on Facebook

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If you’re looking for some dark and gritty writing then check out my full-length thriller THE DEVIL YOU KNOWhalloween

Not for the faint of heart but it’ll reward you for reading it. 

“I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something a little bit different.”

“The effort was worth it. More than a story, I recommend this book to readers who appreciate good writing. I am truly impressed and hope to see more books by Alex Breck.”

 

Have you listened to my Podcast show Alex Breck’s Banter yet?

Alex Breck's Banter Podcast Show

 

The Black Hand Of Death – A Halloween Tale

My Halloween Short Story – The Black Hand Of Death

 

Halloween - the black hand of death

Here’s a cheery (not) Scottish tale just in time for #Halloween.

You’ll be quite safe. No marauding ghosts or ghouls but I think there’s more than enough malevolent spirit for one old Highland house to take.

So, do you believe that bad things always come in three’s…?

And can young Campbell Black throw off the family curse that hangs over the town like a funeral shroud?

Enjoy my gritty story which is not without its dark humour!

But perhaps not the best time for you to have the builders’ in, methinks…

Have a spooky night wherever you spend Halloween!

 

Alex

Find me on Facebook

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If you’re looking for some more dark and gritty writing then check out my full-length thriller THE DEVIL YOU KNOWhalloween

Not for the faint of heart but it’ll reward you for reading it. 

“I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something a little bit different.”

“The effort was worth it. More than a story, I recommend this book to readers who appreciate good writing. I am truly impressed and hope to see more books by Alex Breck.”

 

Have you listened to my Podcast show Alex Breck’s Banter yet?

Alex Breck's Banter Podcast Show

 

Why Did I Cross The Road For A Chicken?

You know the one about the chicken crossing the road, right?

 

chicken

As a holiday weekend treat for you, I’ve got a little short story about a chicken.

It’s a true story and it’s about both myself and the chicken.

You’ll find it here >>  More Chicken  <<

The story is currently being featured in a #ScottishBookTrust writing competition for which the theme was ‘Nourish.’

Let me know what you think of it.

If you like it, then please share, recommend or comment as the greater the interaction on the story then the greater the chances of it making the final cut for publication.

 

Talking about publication – if you fancy an ebook thriller for the holiday weekend, I should tell you my latest thriller THE PIPER’S PROMISE is available on Amazon for less than the price of a coffee.

Here’s a recent review excerpt: “Absolutely superb and one you won’t want to miss.”

the pipers promise ebook

 

Let me know which type of book you’ll be reading more of this summer!

Catch up soon!

Alex x

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Real Books versus Ebooks

The ‘battle’ between ebooks and real books is an old one now.

 

Real Books

 

And it’s not an argument that I’m wanting to kick-start here this morning.

I believe there’s a place for both and I certainly don’t share the view that the paper and ink real book will become obsolete like the cassette tape or camcorder.

In a few weeks, I’ll be leaving my wee island for sunnier climes. And I’m looking forward to lying on a beach and reading lots of good books. Where I live, we don’t lie on the beach. It’s very handy at the bottom of my garden. But still, we tend to march purposefully across our beach. At certain times of the year, we traverse it with great caution, often walking at a forty-five-degree angle against the biting wind.

So, being completely horizontal with a good book in my hands will be a glorious experience. But here’s the rub. Do I take bulky paperbacks or my amazing Kindle Fire?

For me, I much prefer the heft of a good book but the practical issues of transporting two dozen books on a plane means I’ll be reading both varieties of book this summer.

And even though I sell far more ebooks than paperback books, I was still pleased to read that in the UK the sales of ebooks has crashed by 17% last year while at the same time sales of real books were up 8% to £3 billion, the highest since 2012.

old real book

I don’t think we can write-off (excuse the pun…) the physical printed book just yet then.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the way digital books have opened the doors for so many new authors like myself and allowed more people than ever to read books easily and cheaply.

via GIPHY

But do you not feel sometimes, that’s it’s so much more refreshing to take your eyes away from all those pixellated screens and allow your tired brain to absorb the printed words from a real book?

Looking for real books?

In case you’re looking for some holiday reading yourself, why not grab my Gift Bundle of ALL four of my paperback thrillers at a massive discount.

Each one is personally autographed by me too!

real book versus ebook

 

But if you still fancy an ebook, I should tell you my latest thriller THE PIPER’S PROMISE is available on Amazon for less than the price of a coffee.

Here’s a recent review excerpt: “Absolutely superb and one you won’t want to miss.”

 

 

Let me know which type of book you’ll be reading more of this summer!

Catch up soon!

Alex x

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Join My ‘Street Team!’

Hey, everyone! How would you like to join my ‘Street Team?’

 

Street Team

How is everyone this Monday?

I’m great thanks. We’ve had weeks of unprecedented good weather for the West Coast of Scotland and I have been relaxing with family and reflecting on the recent launch of my third Ridge Walker thriller, The Piper’s Promise.

street team

Whilst it’s been the most successful book launch I’ve ever had, I’m still learning that I have a lot more to learn about marketing my books better.

There’s a whole marketing niche relating to book launches and I’m only now just realising why- with four books published already!

So with that in mind, I want to ask you if you’d like to be part of my Alex Breck’s Diamond Dogs Street Team?

If you’re anything like me, you’ll be asking, ‘What the hell is a ‘Street Team?’ 

I’m glad you asked.

Here’s what Google said:

A street team is a group of volunteers who band together to promote an author and his or her book. Members of a street team are motivated by their love of an author’s work to promote it to as many people as possible. Street teams originated on the music scene before the digital age.

 

So, you’ve got to like the books.

I’m not asking you to compare me to legends like Ian Rankin, Chris Brookmyre or anything like that, let’s be realistic! This isn’t about bullshitting. It’s just about helping an indie author get his books in front of more readers, that’s all.

Depending on the size of an author’s fan base, a successful Street Team should be able to do the following:

  1. Recruit willing volunteers who are able to promote on social media
  2. Have members post and encourage others to post reviews of the author’s books
  3. Motivate and challenge members to engage in promotional activities and have fun
  4. Provide feedback on new book ideas, sample chapters and cover art

Good authors should be happy to provide copies of the books for review. They’re called advanced review copies or ARC’s but in no way are people being rewarded for giving biased or overly favourable reviews as this is totally against Amazon’s terms and conditions and will only result in both the author and the reviewer getting closed down.

That said, I’ll be giving away signed paperbacks, autographed bookmarks and all sorts of author swag to my Street Team, depending on how much they get their sleeves rolled up.

You can find out a wee bit more about our Street Team over on a dedicated page on my blog.

>>  If YOU want to be part of the ‘Diamond Dogs Street Team’ then click HERE  << 

I’m really excited about my new Street Team and if you’re an aspiring or struggling author then I’d thoroughly encourage you to start your very own team! If you do, please let me know how you get on!

Catch up soon!

Alex x

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Have you listened to my new Podcast show Alex Breck’s Banter yet?

Alex Breck's Banter Podcast Show