Ten Questions - Paul D. Brazill

Interviews are great but sometimes they don't ask the important questions, the nitty-gritty if you like. I'm starting an irregular series of interviews where the questions we want answers to are finally asked.

First up, the legend that is Mr Paul D. Brazill. The godfather of Brit Grit, wherever you find Noir, Pulp and Grit on the internet, he'll be lurking nearby.

Tiswas or Swap Shop?

Swap Shop. We couldn’t get Tiswas on Tyne Tees telly. It was a southern thing.


What's your latest book about?

This is what the publishers Byker Books say:

'Guns Of Brixton by Paul D Brazill is a tale of dirty rotten scoundrels engaged in what they do best. Stealing, killing and setting each other up. Think ‘Lock, Stock...’ crossed with ‘Love, Honour and Obey’ and you won’t go far wrong.  An absolute treat.'

Chips and cheese or chips and gravy?

Gravy. Chips and cheese is too continental.


Where do you write?

Wherever I plug in the lap top.


Bungle or Zippy?

Zippy. I worked with a bloke that was like Bungle and he was a twot.

Is your writing inspired by real events or does it come from a dark place in your head?

It’s a mish-mash of both. Reality with a twist.


A Team or Knight Rider?

A- Team and I pity the fool who says otherwise.



Physical book or e-book?

Horses for courses. If it has a tasty cover then physical book but ebook for eease.

Prisoner Cell block H or H from Steps?

Prisoner. Vinegar Tits specifically.

Where can we find you?

In the blog house: http://pauldbrazill.wordpress.com/

You can also find Paul's work on his amazon page http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paul-D-Brazill/e/B004D5CFYW/

and Byker Books can be found at http://www.bykerbooks.co.uk

Back in the allotment

It's been a few weeks since the last update, but much has been done in the way of allotmenteering.

Few pics of last time (about middle of May) to now:

Mid May

6 Weeks later

A few changes. Amazingly, the shed is still standing. From front to back there are French beans, Broad beans and 100 onions. Apple trees have fruit on then as do the strawberries.











Looking the other way.

From front to back: parsnips, potatoes, beetroot, cauliflowers, swedes then sprouts.

The covered hole on the right isn't a man-trap, it's been dug out for sweetcorn which should be planted this weekend.






There are a few problems. Firstly, anything uncovered seems to attract grass and weeds which grow quicker than I can shift them. Secondly, I had a big pile of soil and rubbish in the middle (where most of the pictures are taken from) which I tried to move at the weekend. Twenty barrows full of soil and a bad back later, I've barely touched it. This is a bit worrying as I'm running out of room down the bottom to dump it and I've only got one back which may take a while to heal.

The good news is apart from sweetcorn and a few courgettes, I'm all planted up so can now concentrate on the ever growing greenery and putting paths and more plastic / weed protection down. Might even get a chance to sort the shed out in August.

National Flash Fiction Day

Tomorrow, 22nd June, is National Flash Fiction Day.

As I'll be up the allotment sorting me sprouts and beans out tomorrow (rock and roll, eh?), I'll post this a day early. It's a little piece of flash I wrote a year or so ago. This was the original version, I also cut it down to 100 words, but I think this one works better.

Buy Me and Stop One

Rain pounded the car’s roof. Twenty-second of July, sixty degrees and rain. British summer: the worldwide joke.

Ricky left the car and walked to the ice-cream van. The man inside yawned.

“First customer today, what’ll it be?”

“I’ll be your last customer.” Ricky pointed his gun through the hatch. The server’s face contorted, eyes narrowed as he stared.

“You from the council? I was gonna get a licence. I swear I was.”

Ricky shook his head.

“Shit. You’re Carrie’s dad?”

Ricky nodded. Holiday memories from last year came back when he heard her name. Carrie’s sixteenth birthday. All grown up. Her first proper boyfriend. Then, back home. The pregnancy. The useless piece of shit of a boyfriend who wouldn’t return her calls. She was determined to keep the baby. Then the complications. The labour problems. Both of them dying in childbirth.

“I’m sorry,” the boyfriend shook his head.

“So am I.” Ricky pulled the trigger.

Short review - Desperation by Stephen King

Continuing the series of short book reviews, here's Desperation by Stephen King.

Though Stephen King is the master of creating characters, the start to this always blows me away. Husband and wife driving across America, a cop with serious issues stops then arrests them on jumped up charges. In the space of ten pages you're hooked. I had to know more about these people, had to find out what happened to them. The further you read into the book they're joined, maybe even replaced, by other well defined characters.


Of course, being Stephen King, it goes all supernatural - a strong theme of good versus evil and religion emerges. This may not be to everyone's taste, indeed had I known I may not have started reading it. By then though it was too late: I was so hooked on the characters, I couldn't have stopped if I'd tried.

A week in...

I was going to say it's nearly seven days since the release of Seven Daze, but I won't.

From the highlight of the Allotment shed e-book launch where I couldn't get a mobile signal to the lowlight of, actually there haven't been any lowlights. Not wanting to get all tearful or whatever, but when you start writing you do have a certain dream of holding a copy of a book in your hand one day.

A bit like that really.


The first of review Seven Daze is in. You can read the review in full on Daz Sant's website.



I was on BBC Radio Derby on monday afternoon talking about Seven Daze and a few books that have inspired me to write. Obviously it was both an exciting and nervous day, it being my first appearance of any kind on radio.

You can listen to it here on the author page of Caffeine Nights website.

BBC Radio Derby Interview

In case you missed it, I was on BBC Radio Derby yesterday. They had an outside broadcast at the Greenhouse Gardening Centre in Burton-upon-Trent and invited me along to talk about Seven Daze and also the books that I read.

Have to admit, as this was my first time on radio, I was a tad nervous for days prior to the event. But once there, the nerves went, I had a great time and also picked up some sweetcorn for the allotment.




The link to listen again is here I'm on from about 2 hrs 15 minutes onwards.

In the booth

Today, I'm in the booth with Ruth.

Fellow Caffeine Nights author, Ruth Jacobs whose book Soul Destruction was released a few months ago interviews me about writing and all that.

You can see the interview here...

Seven Daze now out as e-book

Well, the release is here.

Seven Daze is now available on kindle for £2.04 in the UK

or for $3.09 in the US


The paperback version is available from Caffeine Nights    Amazon  Waterstones and others

Released from prison, and hacked off with a life of petty crime, Jim takes a new job: contract killing. But, what happens when your first hit fails? When the target has a heart attack before you can pull the trigger?

Charlotte, a keen city worker, jumps to the victim’s aid in South London’s busy streets. Should Jim carry out the contract and also kill Charlotte? What he shouldn’t do is help her save his life.

The man saved, Jim has a problem; not only does his boss want his advance back, he also expects compensation. Immediately. With seven days to make ten grand, Jim starts a one-man crime spree in the heart of London. But will his budding relationship with Charlotte prove to be a help or a hindrance as he struggles to stay alive?