Product DescriptionBeat On The Brat (And Other Stories) is the second collection to be released by prize winning author Nigel Bird, following the success of his debut, the critically acclaimed Dirty Old Town (And Other Stories). Here are 9 more pieces from the shadows.Contents BEAT ON THE BRAT Winner of the Watery Grave Invitational Contest 2011Published in Needle Magazine Summer 2010Nominated for ‘Best Story Online’, Spinetingler Awards 2011 MIND YOUR STEP Published in Microw,Winter 2010 BACK IN BLACK 5th place, Watery Grave Invitational Contest 2011 SNOW-ANGEL First published at ‘Not From Here Are You?’ 2011 SUGAR AND SPICE First published at ‘A Twist Of Noir’ 2010 HOODWINKED First published at ‘All Due Respect’ 2011 REGRET DANCE WITH ME KILLER HAIKUThe lead story, Beat On The Brat, was the winner of the prestigious Watery Grave Invitational competition of 2010. It went on to be published in the highly-regarded Needle Magazine and was nominated for Spinetingler’s ‘Best Story Online’ earlier this year. In 2010, his success in 2010’s Watery Grave Invitation was followed by a 5th place story entitled ‘Too Much Too Young’. The story appears here as ‘Back In Black’ as a dedication to the wonderful Amy Winehouse who died on the weekend before release.‘Hoodwinked’ appeared at ‘All Due Respect’, ‘Mind Your Step’ at Microw, ‘Sugar and Spice’ at A Twist Of Noir’ and ‘Snow Angel’ at ‘Not From Here Are You’. His work has appeared recently in the collections ‘The Mammoth Book of Best Of British Crime Stories’ and the debut release from Snubnose entitled ‘Speedloader’.This follows appearances in Crimefactory; Dark Valentine; Beat to a Pulp; Pulp Metal; Crimespree; and a number of other wonderful homes.Later this year Nigel is to put out the anthology ‘Pulp Ink’ with co-editor Chris Rhatigan. He is confident that the names involved and the quality of the work will make it one of the finest short fiction collections of the year.His blog ‘Sea Minor’ is currently running the ‘Dancing With Myself’ series of interviews. He hopes to complete his novel by the end of 2011.Praise for the work of Nigel Bird:‘A rare talent.’ Allan Guthrie‘The incomparable Nigel Bird opens the collection with the gripping “You Dirty Rat”, a WWI-era tale of revenge that manages to be beautifully layered and thrilling at the same time. I’ve not seen Bird take a misstep yet.’ Heath Lowrance‘Big money messing with people's heads. Cheating. Murder. Blackmail. Deception. Great stuff.The narration sets a good mood, and the little bits of description tossed out by someone intimately familiar with his subject, but not working too hard to prove it provide that perfect amount of setting to draw you in without slowing the story.’ 

Product DescriptionDIRTY OLD TOWN is the debut collection from the prize-winning writer Nigel Bird. His brilliantly observed slices of life allow us to visit places we may not normally choose to enter and to walk a few miles in the shoes of others. Though his tales have darkness at their core, they are also full of a heart and spirit that one rarely finds in the world or ‘noir’ or ‘crime-writing’.There are 9 stories here: Drinking Wine (Spo-Dee-Oh-Dee); Dirty Old Town; Sea Minor; Sisterhood; One Hundred And Ten Per Cent; Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight); Three Little Birds; and Silver Street. Each will remain with you for days after you’ve read it. Some will be around for weeks. In this collection we meet a frustrated housewife who needs to let her hair down; an elderly school janitor who can’t see the wood for the trees; a group of Muslims intent on revenge; a young girl whose father has just left home; a father and son breaking-and-entering partnership; a young man working on a city farm; and a pimp who’s fallen in love. All of them struggle to meet life’s demands and some of them cope better than others.Five of the stories here have been published by the highly respected editors of The Reader Magazine, A Twist Of Noir, Beat To A Pulp, Title Fights, Static Movement and Dark Valentine. The collection also includes two pieces that are being given their first outing and another that was put together put for the Big Beat From Badsville's Ramones series.In 2010 Nigel Bird was the winner of the prestigious Watery Grave Invitational competition hosted by the Drowning Machine. Since then he has gone on to win the Things I’d Rather Be Doing fairytale/crime-story competition.Praise for Nigel Bird and his work includes:'The stories have well written plots and all have unexpected endings which are not obvious when reading them. I found the stories to be well conceived and ideal to read in ebook format. I hope that Nigel is able to write a full size novel to further develop his writing skills. Some of the short stories here could easily have been the base for a much longer book.' Paul Blackburn (at Euro Crime)‘This is crime writing at its best. Read this collection, it is a crime not to do so.’ Richard Godwin (Apostle Rising)'Each story is short and sweet, most with a nice wicked twist at the end. The blurb accompanying the collection says that the stories will stay with you for a while. A couple of them have certainly been rattling round my head for a few days. I did have one complaint, however – I wanted more of them! A nice collection.' Rob Kitchin (View From The Blue Room)‘I was surprised by every story. These are short, punchy, thoughtful, hard as a punch, but sometimes they dig in and squeeze. It's dirty stuff, done beautifully.Nigel is also responsible for the too-cool "Dancing With Myself" interview series at his blog, Sea Minor.” Anthony Neil Smith (Yellow Medicine, Psychosomatic, Hogdoggin')‘Taking A Line For A Walk’, included here, was listed among the top 5 stories of 2010 by Bill Hayes and Naomi Johnson over at Death By Killing.'It won't take long to realise he is also one of the best writers out there on the noir scene' Ian Ayris (Abide With Me)‘A rare talent.’ Allan Guthrie (Bye Bye Baby, Hard Man, Slammer)‘So nice to read a story with this much heart in it.’ Patti Abbott (Discount Noir, Pattinase)‘Great Stuff.’ Charlie Stella (Charlie Opera, Johnny Porno)‘Brilliantly razor-sharp, jagged slice of life.’ Paul D Brazill (ubiquitous, You Would Say That Wouldn’t You)‘I sought out everything I could from him. I dare you to read and not do the same.’ Chris F Holm (8 Pounds)‘Took my breath away...Powerful.’ Kathleen A Ryan (Playing With Matches, Women Of Mystery)‘Nigel Bird continues to amaze,’ Naomi Johnson (The Drowning Machine)

IN LOCO PARENTIS - 'In Local Parentis is terrific, start to finish.' Charlie StellaIN LOCO PARENTIS is the debut novel of the prize-winning author of the critically acclaimed Dirty Old Town (And Other Stories).Joe Campion is the kind of teacher that any child would want for their class.He's also the kind of teacher that lots of mothers want to have. And some of them do.When he becomes aware of the neglect and abuse suffered by a pupil in his care and witnesses an explosion of rage from the music teacher in the school, he decides the systems in place to deal with such instances aren't fit for purpose.His impulsive nature, dedication to his pupils and his love of women lead him into a chain of events that would cause even the most consummate professional to unravel.'I consider Bird to be an heir to a British literary tradition: the works of Alan Sillitoe, John Braine, and others from the late 1950s and early '60s...[featuring] young anti-heroes who clash with staid society.'...

Product DescriptionBeat On The Brat (And Other Stories) is the second collection to be released by prize winning author Nigel Bird, following the success of his debut, the critically acclaimed Dirty Old Town (And Other Stories). Here are 9 more pieces from the shadows. The lead story, Beat On The Brat, was the winner of the prestigious Watery Grave Invitational competition of 2010. It went on to be published in the highly-regarded Needle Magazine and was nominated for Spinetingler’s ‘Best Story Online’ earlier this year. In 2010, his success in 2010’s Watery Grave Invitation was followed by a 5th place story entitled ‘Too Much Too Young’. The story appears here as ‘Back In Black’ as a dedication to the wonderful Amy Winehouse who died on the weekend before release. ‘Hoodwinked’ appeared at ‘All Due Respect’, ‘Mind Your Step’ at Microw, ‘Sugar and Spice’ at A Twist Of Noir’ and ‘Snow Angel’ at ‘Not From Here Are You’. His work has appeared recently in the collections ‘The Mammoth Book of Best Of British Crime Stories’ and the debut release from Snubnose entitled ‘Speedloader’. This follows appearances in Crimefactory; Dark Valentine; Beat to a Pulp; Pulp Metal; Crimespree; and a number of other wonderful homes. Later this year Nigel is to put out the anthology ‘Pulp Ink’ with co-editor Chris Rhatigan. He is confident that the names involved and the quality of the work will make it one of the finest short fiction collections of the year.His blog ‘Sea Minor’ is currently running the ‘Dancing With Myself’ series of interviews. He hopes to complete his novel by the end of 2011. Praise for the work of Nigel Bird: ‘A rare talent.’ Allan Guthrie ‘The incomparable Nigel Bird opens the collection with the gripping “You Dirty Rat”, a WWI-era tale of revenge that manages to be beautifully layered and thrilling at the same time. I’ve not seen Bird take a misstep yet.’ Heath Lowrance ‘Big money messing with people's heads. Cheating. Murder. Blackmail. Deception. Great stuff.The narration sets a good mood, and the little bits of description tossed out by someone intimately familiar with his subject, but not working too hard to prove it provide that perfect amount of setting to draw you in without slowing the story.’ Criminal Thoughts, R Thomas Brown ‘nigel bird is the bomb diggity’ Steve Weddle ‘In crime fiction shorts, I've rarely seen stories with multiple narrators. I would speculate that this is because it's tough to execute and, more often than not, confuses the reader. But Bird manages to pull it off in this piece with three different narrators. It took me a second to realize what was going on, but when I did it was worth it. Bird uses this technique to an interesting effect with all of the characters witnessing the same events from different perspectives. And each character has a distinctive voice--absolutely essential for this kind of piece.’ Chris Rhatigan ‘Excellent. Sharp lines and a great ending!’ – David Barber ‘Nigel’s, Dirty Old Town, is superb.’ - AJ Hayes ‘So nice to read a story with this much heart in it.’ - Patti Abbott ‘Great Stuff.’ Charlie Stella ‘Brilliantly razor-sharp, jagged slice of life.’ - Paul D Brazill ‘I sought out everything I could from him. I dare you to read and not do the same.’ - Chris F Holm ‘Took my breath away...Powerful.’ - Kathleen A Ryan 'The stories have well written plots and all have unexpected endings which are not obvious when reading them. I found the stories to be well conceived and ideal to read in ebook format. I hope that Nigel is able to write a full size novel to further develop his writing skills. Some of the short stories here could easily have been the base for a much longer book.' Paul Blackburn

She came into the bookshop. That was it. That was the beginning.Great read, great book, great story, great escapism.....just a really solid Sunday read when you need to get away from it all.' Bracken3275 (Amazon reviewer)

This isn't the first romantic story to feature a balcony, nor is it likely to be the last. Even so, what takes place in 'How To Choose A Sweetheart' is a modern, fresh take on an old-fashioned tale.

Max is a bookseller. Since his relationship with Jazz ended, he's struggling to find purpose in life. That all changes when a beautiful woman, Cath, walks into his shop and pins up an advert asking for a piano teacher for her daughter, Alice.It's almost perfect. Max takes down the details and gets in touch immediately. Within a short space of time he manages to secure the position as Alice's piano teacher and establish that Cath's a single mother.What could be better?Well, he might be able to play the piano for a start.Or his newly acquired piano teacher might...

Nigel Bird and his stories have appeared in so many places that it's about time the best of them were brought together in one collection.His work has also received so much praise that this collection should be a must for the fan of the short story, particularly those fans with a taste for noir, crime or unusual fiction.Praise for his work and, indeed, for some of the stories collected here includes:'A tremendous writer.' Donald Ray Pollock (The Devil All The Time)'A rare talent.' Allan Guthrie (Bye Bye Baby)'I was surprised by every story. These are short, punchy, thoughtful, hard as a punch, but sometimes they dig in and squeeze. It's dirty stuff, done beautifully." Anthony Neil Smith (Yellow Medicine, Psychosomatic, Hogdoggin')'It won't take long to realise he is also one of the best writers out there on the noir scene' Ian Ayris (Abide With Me)'So nice to read a story with this much heart in it.' Patti Abbott (Discount Noir, Monkey Justice)'Great Stuff.' Charlie Stella...

When Sam hears that the storms along Scotland's east coast, there's only one thing he wants to do - catch the surf. Missing out is not an option. Taking his board out to sea is full of risk.The storms are even heavier than Sam expects and he doesn't escape unscathed. Nor do the local towns and beaches which are left battered, damaged and covered in the detritus of the sea, including some rather strange looking rocks the likes of which nobody has ever seen before.It becomes clear that the local councils will need help in tidying up and the Surfers Against Sewage step forward to restore normality.In the storm's aftermath, however, there are a series of unusual events.First of all, there are the missing dogs, followed closely by the disappearence of some young children who were last seen playing on the sand. Not to mention the unusual noises that have been keeping people awake at night.Talk on the streets of Dunbar is that it's Black Agnes returned to take revenge. Others fear environmental catastrophe. Still more cite ancient visions of the end of the world.The Rocks Below is a tale suitable for adults, young adults and older children. It contains a subtle yet powerful message relating to environmental issues. Fusing elements of crime fiction, science fiction and adventure stories, this is a book that entertains and stimulates thought in one exciting read.About the AuthorFrom lowly beginnings as the co-editor and producer of The Rue Bella magazine, I've been able to grow as a writer and extend my efforts to short-stories, novellas and a novel. My work has been included in some of the biggest and best anthologies and magazines around (Mammoth's Best British Crime; Crimespree; Protectors; Speedloader; Crimefactory; True Brit Grit; Both Barrels; Off The Record; Grimm Tales) In those collections, I've appeared alongside such greats as George Pelecanos; Kate Atkinson; Stuart MacBride; Alexander McCall Smith; Bateman; Val McDermid; Peter James; Mark Billingham; Seamus Heaney; Ian Rankin; Joe Lansdale; Scott Wolven; Zoe Sharp; Allan Guthrie; Reed Farrel Coleman; Ray Banks and a list of other notables that have me pinch myself when I think our work is considered related in any way, shape or form. As well as writing, I'm a Support For Learning Teacher and am the proud father of 3 young children. The bulk of my work is listed below: Bibliography As Editor: 2012 Pulp Ink 2 published by Snubnose Press (co-edited by Chris Rhatigan) 2011 Pulp Ink published by Needle Press (co-edited by Chris Rhatigan) 2011 Where The Wild Things Were (The Best Of The Rue Bella) Novels: 2012 In Loco Parentis Novellas: 2013 The Rocks Below 2012 Mr Suit 2012 Smoke Short Story Anthologies: 2013 Lee (the Lee Marvin anthology) published by Crime Factory 2012 Nightfalls (story Greene Day) published by Dark Valentine Press 2012 Both Barrels (story, The Rhythm Of Life)published by Shotgun Honey 2012 Protectors (Stories To Benefit Protect) (story, Baby's In Blue) published by Goombah Gumbo Press 2012 Crimefactory 11 (story, Horse) published by Crime Factory 2011 True Brit Grit (story, Stones In Me Pockets) published by Guilty Conscience 2011 Off The Record (story, Super Trouper) published by Guilty Conscience 2011 Grimm Tales (story, Sing A Song Of Sixpence) published by Untreed Reads 2011 Pulp Ink (story, A Whole Lot Of Rosie) published by Needle Publications 2011 Speedloader (story, You Dirty Rat) published by Snubnose Press 2011 Mammoth Best British Crime 9 (story, Sisterhood) published by Robinson 2011 Mammoth Best British Crime 8 (story, An Arm And A Leg) published by Robinson Short Story Collections (Individual) 2011 With Love And Squalor 2011 Beat On The Brat (and other stories) 2011 Dirty Old Town (and other stories) Poetry Collections (Individual) 2011 The Day My Coat Stuck On My Head 2011 Busted Flat

Things haven't been going well for Natalie Swift. Ever since she witnessed the murder of her boyfriend she's been struggling to keep her world together. Her vacation in Florence should allow her to soak up the culture she loves and get some rest, but her plans go awry as soon as she arrives in town.Rory's also in Florence. He's Natalie's dead boyfriend and he can't seem to leave her alone.His plan is to coax her to join him on the other side. The worrying thing for Natalie is that he has always been very persuasive.Arturo is a street artist. His pictures are of the highest quality. They're also the portals through which he collects souls. He's dishy, romantic and immortal and he's turning Natalie's head in a way that Rory doesn't appreciate one bit.And Barabbas? He's an imp with a heart of darkness sent to sort things out when Natalie interferes in the soul collection of a young child.Drawn In is an engaging tale that follows what happens when mere mortals start meddling with...

George has been in Copenhagen for months and has failed to make any real friends. His dreamy images of Europe shattered and all desire to discover his true-self gone, the only way he sees to make a name for himself is as an eccentric outsider.Distracted from drilling in the frozen fish pond in preparation for a New Year party, he takes himself off to the Chimpanzee Bar where he meets a beautiful young student.What follows is a wonderful afternoon, the consequences of which will puzzle the partygoers for years to come.Written by the author of the critically-acclaimed debut collection DIRTY OLD TOWN and winner of 2010's Watery Grave International Contest, Nigel Bird presents a rather unexpected slice of his work in the form of this existential romance.A short story from The Lab, our experimental and abstract line.

"Grim, but really good" Ian Rankin Carlo Salvino returns home missing an arm and a leg. He's keen to win back the affections of his teenage girlfriend and mother of his child. If he can take his revenge on the Ramsays, so much the better. The Ramsay brothers are keen to move up in the world and get the hell out of town. They gather all their hopes in one basket, 'The Scottish Open' dog-fighting tournament. In Leo they have the animal to win it; all they need to complete the plan is a fair wind. The Hooks, well they're just a maladjusted family caught up in the middle of it all. A tale of justice, injustice and misunderstanding, 'Smoke' is a 22,000-word novella that draws its inspiration from characters introduced in the short story 'An Arm And A Leg' (first published by Crimespree Magazine and later in 'The Mammoth Book Of Best British Crime Stories 8'). PRAISE FOR SMOKE "Nigel Bird takes his readers to some dark places, but there is also beauty in this harsh reality. The twin...

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Product DescriptionDIRTY OLD TOWN is the debut collection from the prize-winning writer Nigel Bird. His brilliantly observed slices of life allow us to visit places we may not normally choose to enter and to walk a few miles in the shoes of others. Though his tales have darkness at their core, they are also full of a heart and spirit that one rarely finds in the world or ‘noir’ or ‘crime-writing’. There are 9 stories here: Drinking Wine (Spo-Dee-Oh-Dee); Dirty Old Town; Sea Minor; Sisterhood; One Hundred And Ten Per Cent; Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight); Three Little Birds; and Silver Street. Each will remain with you for days after you’ve read it. Some will be around for weeks. In this collection we meet a frustrated housewife who needs to let her hair down; an elderly school janitor who can’t see the wood for the trees; a group of Muslims intent on revenge; a young girl whose father has just left home; a father and son breaking-and-entering partnership; a young man working on a city farm; and a pimp who’s fallen in love. All of them struggle to meet life’s demands and some of them cope better than others. Five of the stories here have been published by the highly respected editors of The Reader Magazine, A Twist Of Noir, Beat To A Pulp, Title Fights, Static Movement and Dark Valentine. The collection also includes two pieces that are being given their first outing and another that was put together put for the Big Beat From Badsville's Ramones series. In 2010 Nigel Bird was the winner of the prestigious Watery Grave Invitational competition hosted by the Drowning Machine. Since then he has gone on to win the Things I’d Rather Be Doing fairytale/crime-story competition. Praise for Nigel Bird and his work includes: 'The stories have well written plots and all have unexpected endings which are not obvious when reading them. I found the stories to be well conceived and ideal to read in ebook format. I hope that Nigel is able to write a full size novel to further develop his writing skills. Some of the short stories here could easily have been the base for a much longer book.' Paul Blackburn (at Euro Crime) ‘This is crime writing at its best. Read this collection, it is a crime not to do so.’ Richard Godwin (Apostle Rising) 'Each story is short and sweet, most with a nice wicked twist at the end. The blurb accompanying the collection says that the stories will stay with you for a while. A couple of them have certainly been rattling round my head for a few days. I did have one complaint, however – I wanted more of them! A nice collection.' Rob Kitchin (View From The Blue Room) ‘I was surprised by every story. These are short, punchy, thoughtful, hard as a punch, but sometimes they dig in and squeeze. It's dirty stuff, done beautifully.Nigel is also responsible for the too-cool "Dancing With Myself" interview series at his blog, Sea Minor.” Anthony Neil Smith (Yellow Medicine, Psychosomatic, Hogdoggin') ‘Taking A Line For A Walk’, included here, was listed among the top 5 stories of 2010 by Bill Hayes and Naomi Johnson over at Death By Killing. 'It won't take long to realise he is also one of the best writers out there on the noir scene' Ian Ayris (Abide With Me) ‘A rare talent.’ Allan Guthrie (Bye Bye Baby, Hard Man, Slammer) ‘So nice to read a story with this much heart in it.’ Patti Abbott (Discount Noir, Pattinase) ‘Great Stuff.’ Charlie Stella (Charlie Opera, Johnny Porno) ‘Brilliantly razor-sharp, jagged slice of life.’ Paul D Brazill (ubiquitous, You Would Say That Wouldn’t You) ‘I sought out everything I could from him. I dare you to read and not do the same.’ Chris F Holm (8 Pounds) ‘Took my breath away...Powerful.’ Kathleen A Ryan (Playing With Matches, Women Of Mystery) ‘Nigel Bird continues to amaze,’ Naomi Johnson (The Drowning Machine)

Product DescriptionWhen ‘An Arm And A Leg’ was published by Crimespree Magazine in January 2010, we were to witness Nigel Bird’s debut as a crime-writer. Soon afterwards, the story was chosen by Maxim Jakubowski for the Mammoth Best British Crime Stories 8.Since then, Bird has been the winner of the Watery Grave Invitational competition, won the Things I’d Rather Be Doing fairytale crime competition and been nominated for the Best Story Online in the Spinetingler awards for 2011.‘With Love And Squalor’ is his 3rd collection of stories. In it, we see the range of his talents, a spread of individual pieces which combine to provide readers with a powerful and emotional experience that they aren’t likely to forget in a hurry.Among praise for Nigel Bird’s work includes:‘Nigel Bird is one of our most skilful and insightful short story writers’ Heath Lowrance‘The real deal.” Les Edgerton‘A rare talent.’ Allan Guthrie‘Really good.’ Ian Rankin‘What an excellent storyteller Bird is.’ McDroll‘I’ve enjoyed Bird’s short fiction for years.’ Thomas Pluck‘Yeah, Smoke by Nigel Bird, is everything a good story should be.’ Sabrina Ogden‘Ever since I first read Dirty Old Town by Nigel I have been a fan of his short stories.’ Darren Sant‘A definition of noir itself’ Lifelongdagger‘Complex characters, a well-constructed story and very fine writing.’ Chris Rhatigan‘Your eyes and your heart are filled with one single shining jewel called, Hope.’ AJ Hayes‘Exciting up-and-coming talent.’ Maxim Jakubowski

Liza is at the end of her tether. The only way she can see out of her situation is to turn to her husband's ex-boss, the gangster Mr Suit, for help.In doing so, she sets in motion a chain of events that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat from beginning to end.The latest in the series of tremendous work from the author of DIRTY OLD TOWN (AND OTHER STORIES); IN LOCO PARENTIS; and SMOKE who is also the co-editor of volumes 1 and 2 of PULP INK.'The prose is tight rope taut and the plotting first class. The central character of Liza is well drawn and the drip feed of her commentary about Archie's feelings is brilliantly done. Mr Suit is suitably odious without straying in to cliché...'Mr Suit' is a tense and thrilling novella which deserves a place on your bookshelf.' Crimesquad.com'I can whole-heartedly recommend this one.' Heath Lowrance (City Of Heretics)'At the risk of setting expectations too high let me say that it's something along the lines of...