================================
The first in a series of contents lists in landmark Small Press magazines of the eighties and nineties:
In 1988, Mark Samuels edited and published a wonderful magazine entitled: THE STYGIAN DREAMHOUSE.
Its contents were original publications of these stories:
Metempsychosis – Mark Samuels
Connections – DF Lewis
Howls From A Blinding Curve – Simon Clark
The Dirty Picture – Peter F Jeffery
Before God – Steven Samuels
As well as an editorial by Mark, there was some amazing artwork by Desmond Knight and Steven Samuels.
Mark Samuels website: HERE.
==========================
The amazing NEMONYMOUS ARK speeches: HERE.
===========================
DFL's 1974 novel THE VISITOR is being presented HERE.
===========================
PF Jeffery's developmentally sensitive and significant speculative novel OF BONDLINGS AND BLESH (written during the eighties and nineties and now being rewritten in 2006) is presented HERE.
===========================
www.nemonymous.com
Des Lewis - GESTALT REAL-TIME BOOK REVIEWS
A FEARLESS FAITH IN FICTION — THE PASSION OF THE READING MOMENT CRYSTALLISED — Empirical literary critiques from 2008 as based on purchased books.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Monday, June 12, 2006
The Core Mythos &c.
========================================
I have now reached part 10 of 'publishing' my novel THE VISITOR on the internet: HERE.
This comprises the first embodied set of the then contemporary epistolary comments upon the novel by PF Jeffery (whom I first met in 1966 at Lancaster University after which we have been regularly letter-corresponding to the present date). These comments seem to prove that the novel was written in 1974, not 1973! They also refer to my then 'core mythos' which, in retrospect (I suppose), is central to my brand new trilogy of novels (THE TENACITY OF FEATHERS: The Hawler, Klaxon City & The Angel Megazanthus) which can be read for free from here: http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/the_hawler.htm.
PF Jeffery (inter alia, the Red Brain in the much acclaimed and late-lamented DAGON magazine) is himself in the process of 'publishing' a currently re-written version of his novel THE SLAVE-GIRL OF SURREY (now entitled OF BONDLINGS AND BLESH) which, I feel, develops into a very sensitive and significant literary work of modern times, scandalously little read ... until now: http://www.bondlings.blogspot.com/.
===========================================
I have now reached part 10 of 'publishing' my novel THE VISITOR on the internet: HERE.
This comprises the first embodied set of the then contemporary epistolary comments upon the novel by PF Jeffery (whom I first met in 1966 at Lancaster University after which we have been regularly letter-corresponding to the present date). These comments seem to prove that the novel was written in 1974, not 1973! They also refer to my then 'core mythos' which, in retrospect (I suppose), is central to my brand new trilogy of novels (THE TENACITY OF FEATHERS: The Hawler, Klaxon City & The Angel Megazanthus) which can be read for free from here: http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/the_hawler.htm.
PF Jeffery (inter alia, the Red Brain in the much acclaimed and late-lamented DAGON magazine) is himself in the process of 'publishing' a currently re-written version of his novel THE SLAVE-GIRL OF SURREY (now entitled OF BONDLINGS AND BLESH) which, I feel, develops into a very sensitive and significant literary work of modern times, scandalously little read ... until now: http://www.bondlings.blogspot.com/.
===========================================
Friday, June 09, 2006
Classical Music
I feel that Classical Music - in all its forms and times - is fiction injected straight into the vein.
For much music bracketed under the term, 'Classical' is not really the right word.
I know nothing about it technically but it is a continuous comfort and non-definable inspiration to me and my work.
This is an article I wrote about six years ago: HERE.
My favourite composers (among many) include: Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler, Shostakovich, Philip Glass and, in particular, any number of modern composers to whose music I acclimatise myself by repeated listenings.
My personal definition of Classical Music:
A formless area (defaulting towards an aspirationally cultural & predominantly exact art form) within the universal, uncompartmentalised, wholly accessible language of sound commonly known as music: encouraging spirituality and/or various permutations of all human emotions -- centring on and radiating from the serious deployment of an ostensibly organised pattern of acoustic sounds as produced by orchestral instruments and voices (performed normally by established or qualified interpreters/musicians, from one to very many). The question of taste and the unknowable relativities of disharmony and harmony are no part of this description, because such affective considerations differ from individual to individual. I shall tailgate any preconceptions...
IMPORTANT
For much music bracketed under the term, 'Classical' is not really the right word.
I know nothing about it technically but it is a continuous comfort and non-definable inspiration to me and my work.
This is an article I wrote about six years ago: HERE.
My favourite composers (among many) include: Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler, Shostakovich, Philip Glass and, in particular, any number of modern composers to whose music I acclimatise myself by repeated listenings.
My personal definition of Classical Music:
A formless area (defaulting towards an aspirationally cultural & predominantly exact art form) within the universal, uncompartmentalised, wholly accessible language of sound commonly known as music: encouraging spirituality and/or various permutations of all human emotions -- centring on and radiating from the serious deployment of an ostensibly organised pattern of acoustic sounds as produced by orchestral instruments and voices (performed normally by established or qualified interpreters/musicians, from one to very many). The question of taste and the unknowable relativities of disharmony and harmony are no part of this description, because such affective considerations differ from individual to individual. I shall tailgate any preconceptions...
IMPORTANT
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Important
The post-Nemo bios will now continue on another site, starting here with Rhys Hughes & Daniel Pearlman:
HERE
This blog will now return to my daily musings and some recent ones you may have read or want to re-read:
CLARITY OF SIGHT: HERE
THE RED BRAIN: HERE
TRANSNEMONISATION: HERE
NEMONYMOUS AGAIN: HERE
WEIRDMONGER WHEEL SELECTION: HERE
NEMONYMOUS SEVEN: HERE
GRUESOME: HERE
OLD FAMILIAR PLACES: HERE
DOES AN AUTHOR EVER KNOW: HERE
BIRD FLU: HERE
DIFFICULTY: HERE
FICTIPATHY: HERE
OBSCURANTISM / NORRELL: HERE
PUBLISHING / INTERNET PROMOTION: HERE
LADIES: HERE
RHYS HUGHES: HERE
FREE FICTION: HERE
STYLE IN FICTION: HERE
SELBICUDDERI: HERE
CHASING THE NOUMENON: HERE
PUBLICATION-ON-READING: HERE
WORDY WEIRD: HERE
NEW DFL FICTION: HERE
FREE GIFT: HERE
TAMAR YELLIN: HERE
DFL OBITUARY: HERE
SMALL PRESS: HERE
HORROR FICTION: HERE
STEFAN GRABINSKI: HERE
NON FICTION: HERE
FICTION AS MAGIC: HERE
THE NEMO: HERE
CARRYING HIS OWN SKIN: HERE
LIFE ON MARS: HERE
FOR EASTER: HERE
YELLOW PATCH ON THE WALL: HERE
THE FALLS: HERE
IRREDUCIBLES: HERE
ANONYMITY: HERE
CLASSICAL MUSIC: HERE
THE CORE MYTHOS: HERE
THE STYGIAN DREAMHOUSE: HERE
TALES AFTER DARK: HERE
TWISTED: HERE
NEMONYMOUS SIX: HERE
THE NEW MAGIC: HERE
WORLD CUP / DR WHO / BIG BROTHER: HERE
THE EGNISOMICON (1967): HERE
THE SELF-MYTHOLOGISER: HERE
MODERN ART / WORLD CUP: HERE
REVISITING THE VISITOR: HERE
MODERN ART / WORDY WEIRD HERE
THE (NEO)-OMINOUS IMAGINATION: HERE
THE MISSING VISITOR: HERE
MAGIC FICTION (CONTINUED): HERE
PROUST AND MAGIC FICTION: HERE
THE NEMOPHILE: HERE
EXTREMITY IN FICTION & PREJUDICES: HERE
MISCELLANEOUS ON THIS PAGE: HERE and HERE and HERE
==============================================
DFL's new novel THE HAWLER still starts for free: HERE
One of my favourite fiction writers, Brent Zirnheld, has just said this about it:
It's just impossible to write a review of such a unique experience. It's really the only book I've ever read that totally defies a rating on a five star scale. It's good, it's sometimes great, it's baffling, it's thought-provoking, it's infuriating, it's a bundle of emotion that leaves you thinking for quite some time afterward. It will never be published in the so-called "mainstream" press because it is so inaccessible for those who are used to linear narratives...or even experimentally non-linear narratives that wrap up by book's end. It's a gutsy performance that at times reads as though it was all made up as you went along, but then at other times feels like it has an impeccable internal logic that I was *this* close to deciphering if only I'd paid a bit more attention. In short, I enjoyed this baffling piece of work.
=====================================================
At present, DFL is laboriously typing out his 1973 novel THE VISITOR: HERE
=====================================================
HERE
This blog will now return to my daily musings and some recent ones you may have read or want to re-read:
CLARITY OF SIGHT: HERE
THE RED BRAIN: HERE
TRANSNEMONISATION: HERE
NEMONYMOUS AGAIN: HERE
WEIRDMONGER WHEEL SELECTION: HERE
NEMONYMOUS SEVEN: HERE
GRUESOME: HERE
OLD FAMILIAR PLACES: HERE
DOES AN AUTHOR EVER KNOW: HERE
BIRD FLU: HERE
DIFFICULTY: HERE
FICTIPATHY: HERE
OBSCURANTISM / NORRELL: HERE
PUBLISHING / INTERNET PROMOTION: HERE
LADIES: HERE
RHYS HUGHES: HERE
FREE FICTION: HERE
STYLE IN FICTION: HERE
SELBICUDDERI: HERE
CHASING THE NOUMENON: HERE
PUBLICATION-ON-READING: HERE
WORDY WEIRD: HERE
NEW DFL FICTION: HERE
FREE GIFT: HERE
TAMAR YELLIN: HERE
DFL OBITUARY: HERE
SMALL PRESS: HERE
HORROR FICTION: HERE
STEFAN GRABINSKI: HERE
NON FICTION: HERE
FICTION AS MAGIC: HERE
THE NEMO: HERE
CARRYING HIS OWN SKIN: HERE
LIFE ON MARS: HERE
FOR EASTER: HERE
YELLOW PATCH ON THE WALL: HERE
THE FALLS: HERE
IRREDUCIBLES: HERE
ANONYMITY: HERE
CLASSICAL MUSIC: HERE
THE CORE MYTHOS: HERE
THE STYGIAN DREAMHOUSE: HERE
TALES AFTER DARK: HERE
TWISTED: HERE
NEMONYMOUS SIX: HERE
THE NEW MAGIC: HERE
WORLD CUP / DR WHO / BIG BROTHER: HERE
THE EGNISOMICON (1967): HERE
THE SELF-MYTHOLOGISER: HERE
MODERN ART / WORLD CUP: HERE
REVISITING THE VISITOR: HERE
MODERN ART / WORDY WEIRD HERE
THE (NEO)-OMINOUS IMAGINATION: HERE
THE MISSING VISITOR: HERE
MAGIC FICTION (CONTINUED): HERE
PROUST AND MAGIC FICTION: HERE
THE NEMOPHILE: HERE
EXTREMITY IN FICTION & PREJUDICES: HERE
MISCELLANEOUS ON THIS PAGE: HERE and HERE and HERE
==============================================
DFL's new novel THE HAWLER still starts for free: HERE
One of my favourite fiction writers, Brent Zirnheld, has just said this about it:
It's just impossible to write a review of such a unique experience. It's really the only book I've ever read that totally defies a rating on a five star scale. It's good, it's sometimes great, it's baffling, it's thought-provoking, it's infuriating, it's a bundle of emotion that leaves you thinking for quite some time afterward. It will never be published in the so-called "mainstream" press because it is so inaccessible for those who are used to linear narratives...or even experimentally non-linear narratives that wrap up by book's end. It's a gutsy performance that at times reads as though it was all made up as you went along, but then at other times feels like it has an impeccable internal logic that I was *this* close to deciphering if only I'd paid a bit more attention. In short, I enjoyed this baffling piece of work.
=====================================================
At present, DFL is laboriously typing out his 1973 novel THE VISITOR: HERE
=====================================================
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Eric Schaller / JaNell Golden
===================================================
ERIC SCHALLER
The Assistant to Doctor Jacob (Nemo 2)
Being published in Nemonymous convinced me to return to writing fiction, having taken a happy detour into illustration work for several years with little writing produced during that time. TATDJ had been languishing in a virtual drawer after collecting a few rejections, but I blew the bytes off the story and submitted it to Nemo, hoping that it might fit into Des’s vision for the magazine. When the story was accepted and came out in Nemo #2, it looked so damn good in its final form — a tribute to the professionalism of Nemo — that I almost didn’t care about the story any more just the beauty of words that I had ordered tumbling like acrobats down the page. The on-line discussion of the issue and its anonymous authors was eye-opening, and to me was the true benefit of nemonymity. Then, getting word that TATDJ had been chosen by Ellen Datlow for The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, sealed the deal. I wanted to get more stories out there. Since then I‘ve published stories in Sci Fiction, Polyphony, and Lady’s Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, with one forthcoming in The New Book of Masks.
===================================================
JANELL GOLDEN
Gold coin picture on front cover (Nemo 3)
My essay on VIOLENT CASES, "Pay Attention: There May Or May Not Be A Man Behind The Curtain", will be in The Neil Gaiman Reader this fall (it's available for pre-order at Amazon now). If you want to know more
about the book (and get a web scoop on the contents because I rock like that), go to http://www.squidoo.com/neilgaimanreader.
Let's see, I've been working on my store at CafePress, JaZilla:
http://www.cafepress.com/jazilla?pid=80428.
I've also been selling microstock photography, raising kids, serving coffee at my favorite coffee shop, and had my appendix burst on my 40th birthday.
JaNell, soon to be the answer to life, the universe, & everything.
===================================================
ERIC SCHALLER
The Assistant to Doctor Jacob (Nemo 2)
Being published in Nemonymous convinced me to return to writing fiction, having taken a happy detour into illustration work for several years with little writing produced during that time. TATDJ had been languishing in a virtual drawer after collecting a few rejections, but I blew the bytes off the story and submitted it to Nemo, hoping that it might fit into Des’s vision for the magazine. When the story was accepted and came out in Nemo #2, it looked so damn good in its final form — a tribute to the professionalism of Nemo — that I almost didn’t care about the story any more just the beauty of words that I had ordered tumbling like acrobats down the page. The on-line discussion of the issue and its anonymous authors was eye-opening, and to me was the true benefit of nemonymity. Then, getting word that TATDJ had been chosen by Ellen Datlow for The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, sealed the deal. I wanted to get more stories out there. Since then I‘ve published stories in Sci Fiction, Polyphony, and Lady’s Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, with one forthcoming in The New Book of Masks.
===================================================
JANELL GOLDEN
Gold coin picture on front cover (Nemo 3)
My essay on VIOLENT CASES, "Pay Attention: There May Or May Not Be A Man Behind The Curtain", will be in The Neil Gaiman Reader this fall (it's available for pre-order at Amazon now). If you want to know more
about the book (and get a web scoop on the contents because I rock like that), go to http://www.squidoo.com/neilgaimanreader.
Let's see, I've been working on my store at CafePress, JaZilla:
http://www.cafepress.com/jazilla?pid=80428.
I've also been selling microstock photography, raising kids, serving coffee at my favorite coffee shop, and had my appendix burst on my 40th birthday.
JaNell, soon to be the answer to life, the universe, & everything.
===================================================
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Scott Tullis / Gary Couzens
================================================
SCOTT TULLIS
The Death Knell (Nemo 4)
The Hills Are Alive (nemo 5)
In the scant few years since my two appearances in Nemonymous (I'm a relative newbie, having appeared at the tail end of the burgeoning Neumonemon) I've written mucho but published zippo. No excuses, really, other than the fact that I got married, bought a house, and am currently in the process of renovating portions of it (the house, not the marriage). I have a piece of fiction due out around the end of the year from Ash Tree Press, but let's face it: who doesn't? Am I right? Huh, kids? Upon publication of that piece I intend to begin shopping around my first short story collection, which I hope to name after one of my two Nemonymous contributions.
What difference has appearing in Nemonymous made? A huge personal one, considering that I've been an enormous fan of DF Lewis ever since reading "My Giddy Aunt" in a beat-up paperback copy of Year's Best Horror Stories many moons ago in a local used book store in Indianapolis, Indiana. Now that's one mighty tentacle across the Atlantic! The mind numbs. Since that day I set about collecting everything of his I could find, which was next to impossible, considering that the bulk of his output existed only in the UK small press (and this was in the days before
widespread personal computing, when the Net was still a fledgling, squishy little thing). But, I was resourceful, and persistent, and after spending many hundreds of dollars in shipping costs, I soon had a vast quantity of small press publications with which to fill my closet. It was like, heaven in a closet or something.
And then DF Lewis decides to publish everything he's ever written on the Internet for free. So there you go.
Des' note: Sorry, Scott! Still, I shall probably be deleting all the blogs before long - as a happening!
==============================================
GARY COUZENS
"A Smile in the Sky" (Nemonymous #1)
It's always an honour to have the opening story in the first issue of any magazine, let alone one as well presented as Nemonymous and with as consistently high a quality of fiction contained in its pages. I can't pretend that "A Smile in the Sky" is at all typical of my work - at 900 words it's the shortest story I've ever had published, shorter even than my contribution to the Thackery Lambshead Disease Guide anthology.
I'd like to be upbeat and say that my writing has gone from strength to strength since "Smile" appeared in 2001, but that wouldn't be true. I think I'm certainly writing better than before - well, anyone would, as all writers worth their salt are still learning until the day they stop. However, productivity has been hit; add the fact that certain stories that have originated in the 20th century ("Smile" among them) have finally found homes in the 21st, and the number of stories available to send out is countable on one hand - until I write some more! This is partly due to other interests, such as being the Chairman of the British Fantasy Society for three years, and the Awards Administrator for four. I've also written a large number of DVD, film and book reviews for various venues. But no excuses.
However, I'm nearing the end of the first draft of the first novel-length work I've completed since 1992 (and the first story since 1994 over 20,000 words). I was proud to have a short-story collection published in 2003 by Elastic Press that was well received, and I've just completed editing an anthology for the same publisher, Extended Play: The Elastic Book of Music, which is due to be published in November.
So I'm still active, and I do intend to write more. Part of this is due to passing the "landmark" age of 40 and deciding what's important and what's less so. So let's draw a line over the last half-decade and move on.
I still live in Aldershot and work for a major telecommunications company. When relaxing, I'm teaching myself to play the bass guitar.
================================================
SCOTT TULLIS
The Death Knell (Nemo 4)
The Hills Are Alive (nemo 5)
In the scant few years since my two appearances in Nemonymous (I'm a relative newbie, having appeared at the tail end of the burgeoning Neumonemon) I've written mucho but published zippo. No excuses, really, other than the fact that I got married, bought a house, and am currently in the process of renovating portions of it (the house, not the marriage). I have a piece of fiction due out around the end of the year from Ash Tree Press, but let's face it: who doesn't? Am I right? Huh, kids? Upon publication of that piece I intend to begin shopping around my first short story collection, which I hope to name after one of my two Nemonymous contributions.
What difference has appearing in Nemonymous made? A huge personal one, considering that I've been an enormous fan of DF Lewis ever since reading "My Giddy Aunt" in a beat-up paperback copy of Year's Best Horror Stories many moons ago in a local used book store in Indianapolis, Indiana. Now that's one mighty tentacle across the Atlantic! The mind numbs. Since that day I set about collecting everything of his I could find, which was next to impossible, considering that the bulk of his output existed only in the UK small press (and this was in the days before
widespread personal computing, when the Net was still a fledgling, squishy little thing). But, I was resourceful, and persistent, and after spending many hundreds of dollars in shipping costs, I soon had a vast quantity of small press publications with which to fill my closet. It was like, heaven in a closet or something.
And then DF Lewis decides to publish everything he's ever written on the Internet for free. So there you go.
Des' note: Sorry, Scott! Still, I shall probably be deleting all the blogs before long - as a happening!
==============================================
GARY COUZENS
"A Smile in the Sky" (Nemonymous #1)
It's always an honour to have the opening story in the first issue of any magazine, let alone one as well presented as Nemonymous and with as consistently high a quality of fiction contained in its pages. I can't pretend that "A Smile in the Sky" is at all typical of my work - at 900 words it's the shortest story I've ever had published, shorter even than my contribution to the Thackery Lambshead Disease Guide anthology.
I'd like to be upbeat and say that my writing has gone from strength to strength since "Smile" appeared in 2001, but that wouldn't be true. I think I'm certainly writing better than before - well, anyone would, as all writers worth their salt are still learning until the day they stop. However, productivity has been hit; add the fact that certain stories that have originated in the 20th century ("Smile" among them) have finally found homes in the 21st, and the number of stories available to send out is countable on one hand - until I write some more! This is partly due to other interests, such as being the Chairman of the British Fantasy Society for three years, and the Awards Administrator for four. I've also written a large number of DVD, film and book reviews for various venues. But no excuses.
However, I'm nearing the end of the first draft of the first novel-length work I've completed since 1992 (and the first story since 1994 over 20,000 words). I was proud to have a short-story collection published in 2003 by Elastic Press that was well received, and I've just completed editing an anthology for the same publisher, Extended Play: The Elastic Book of Music, which is due to be published in November.
So I'm still active, and I do intend to write more. Part of this is due to passing the "landmark" age of 40 and deciding what's important and what's less so. So let's draw a line over the last half-decade and move on.
I still live in Aldershot and work for a major telecommunications company. When relaxing, I'm teaching myself to play the bass guitar.
================================================
Jorge Candeias / Iain Rowan
=================================================
JORGE CANDEIAS
The Place Where Lost Things Go (Nemo 3)
After having had a story accepted to Nemo 3, I lost my job as a journalist and became part of the unemployed world. The story was actually published already during my... hm... labour break. Since I had lots of free time, in the beginning of 2003 I wrote a novel that was rejected when I tried to publish it (not really hard: I only tried one publisher), and went on writing a few short stories (a couple of them in english) until the harsh realities of life settled in. If you think the Brits are world experts in quiet desperation, try being unemployed in the poorest country of Western Europe in the middle of an economic recession. Anyway, eventually I ceased writing altogether, focusing my energy in survival, although some of the stories I had written before eventually got published here and there, mostly in electronic media but also in some magazines - I had a few jobs and took some time to earn some money in professional formation, nothing worth mentioning, really. Now I'm translating. I translated a few Howard short stories (Conan and the Puritan), a novel by James Runcie and I'm now working on an alternate history novel. So I'm back writing... sort of. And to be completely faithful to truth, I did write some very short (and very unsophisticated) stories during my recess.
Regarding the influence Nemo had in my career, since I don't quite have a career at the moment, the question isn't applicable. I got to have my name in Wikipedia and a number of English-speaking SF&F databases, though, and had my story read by a number of influential people, so one never knows what the future might bring. At least my name isn't equal to absolute zero in the English-speaking world anymore. It's close, but not quite absolute. It's worth, say, half a degree Kelvin...
===============================================
IAIN ROWAN
Ice Age (Nemo 2)
Driving In Circles (Nemo 5)
How Am I Getting On?
I've published a fair few stories in various places since Ice Age, such as Postscripts, Polyphony, Black Gate, Ellery Queen's, and Alfred Hitchcock's. My writing's always split between weird fiction and crime fiction, and in the last year or two the latter's taken the upper hand.
I'm now concentrating on longer fiction: I've just finished the revisions to a YA novel, 'Sea Change', and my novel in progress, 'One of Us', has been shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger.
What difference Nemo made:
Ice Age was the first story that anybody paid me money for. The thought that someone considered that my writing was worth that, was a real boost when I was getting started. Somebody believed. And that helped me believe.
I remember talking with Des when Nemo was just a gleam in his eye; it was great to see it become (sur)real, and I was proud that my stories appeared in it. While one of the good things about Nemo was that the anonymity focussed your attention on the stories themselves, there's an irony in that one of the things about it that I loved most was Nemo as an artifact. Beautifully designed and printed, it was nice just as an object. I'm shallow that way.
=====================================================
JORGE CANDEIAS
The Place Where Lost Things Go (Nemo 3)
After having had a story accepted to Nemo 3, I lost my job as a journalist and became part of the unemployed world. The story was actually published already during my... hm... labour break. Since I had lots of free time, in the beginning of 2003 I wrote a novel that was rejected when I tried to publish it (not really hard: I only tried one publisher), and went on writing a few short stories (a couple of them in english) until the harsh realities of life settled in. If you think the Brits are world experts in quiet desperation, try being unemployed in the poorest country of Western Europe in the middle of an economic recession. Anyway, eventually I ceased writing altogether, focusing my energy in survival, although some of the stories I had written before eventually got published here and there, mostly in electronic media but also in some magazines - I had a few jobs and took some time to earn some money in professional formation, nothing worth mentioning, really. Now I'm translating. I translated a few Howard short stories (Conan and the Puritan), a novel by James Runcie and I'm now working on an alternate history novel. So I'm back writing... sort of. And to be completely faithful to truth, I did write some very short (and very unsophisticated) stories during my recess.
Regarding the influence Nemo had in my career, since I don't quite have a career at the moment, the question isn't applicable. I got to have my name in Wikipedia and a number of English-speaking SF&F databases, though, and had my story read by a number of influential people, so one never knows what the future might bring. At least my name isn't equal to absolute zero in the English-speaking world anymore. It's close, but not quite absolute. It's worth, say, half a degree Kelvin...
===============================================
IAIN ROWAN
Ice Age (Nemo 2)
Driving In Circles (Nemo 5)
How Am I Getting On?
I've published a fair few stories in various places since Ice Age, such as Postscripts, Polyphony, Black Gate, Ellery Queen's, and Alfred Hitchcock's. My writing's always split between weird fiction and crime fiction, and in the last year or two the latter's taken the upper hand.
I'm now concentrating on longer fiction: I've just finished the revisions to a YA novel, 'Sea Change', and my novel in progress, 'One of Us', has been shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger.
What difference Nemo made:
Ice Age was the first story that anybody paid me money for. The thought that someone considered that my writing was worth that, was a real boost when I was getting started. Somebody believed. And that helped me believe.
I remember talking with Des when Nemo was just a gleam in his eye; it was great to see it become (sur)real, and I was proud that my stories appeared in it. While one of the good things about Nemo was that the anonymity focussed your attention on the stories themselves, there's an irony in that one of the things about it that I loved most was Nemo as an artifact. Beautifully designed and printed, it was nice just as an object. I'm shallow that way.
=====================================================
Monday, June 05, 2006
Joel Lane / Antony Mann
===============================================
JOEL LANE
'The Drowned', Nemonymous 2
What's happened since? Leaving aside some difficult years in my life, there's been:
+ a second novel, The Blue Mask (Serpent's Tail, 2003), in which the protagonist changes his name and identity;
+ a Lane-edited anthology, Beneath the Ground (The Alchemy Press, 2003), featuring a story by the mighty Captain Nemo himself;
+ a new collection of poems, Trouble in the Heartland (Arc Publications, 2004), including a poem lamenting the closure of Andromeda Bookshop;
+ a new collection of supernatural horror stories, The Lost District and other stories (Night Shade Books, 2006), including a de facto denemonised reprint of 'The Drowned'.
What has Nemonymous done for me? Reminded me that, like a love letter on a whitewashed wall, fiction is about getting your message across - not about attaching your name to some words. As Scott Walker said:
Extensions through dimensions
Leave you feeling cold and lame
Boy child mustn't tremble
Because he came without a name
================================================
ANTONY MANN
Mighty Fine Days (Nemo 2)
It was great to see Mighty Fine Days appear in Nemonymous - as a story about losing one's identity, it seemed very apt. My short fiction has appeared in other places since - Crimewave, Interzone, Ellery Queen's, Poe's Progeny - and in 2003 Andy Hook of Elastic Press fame very kindly published my first collection, Milo & I. I've been working on drama since then. My short film Billy's Day Out won at Edinburgh in 2004, and last year I was commissioned to write an adaptation of the Peter Grimes story. My current project is a black comedy called Friends Like These, being developed through Screen South's Good Foundations Plus programme.
JOEL LANE
'The Drowned', Nemonymous 2
What's happened since? Leaving aside some difficult years in my life, there's been:
+ a second novel, The Blue Mask (Serpent's Tail, 2003), in which the protagonist changes his name and identity;
+ a Lane-edited anthology, Beneath the Ground (The Alchemy Press, 2003), featuring a story by the mighty Captain Nemo himself;
+ a new collection of poems, Trouble in the Heartland (Arc Publications, 2004), including a poem lamenting the closure of Andromeda Bookshop;
+ a new collection of supernatural horror stories, The Lost District and other stories (Night Shade Books, 2006), including a de facto denemonised reprint of 'The Drowned'.
What has Nemonymous done for me? Reminded me that, like a love letter on a whitewashed wall, fiction is about getting your message across - not about attaching your name to some words. As Scott Walker said:
Extensions through dimensions
Leave you feeling cold and lame
Boy child mustn't tremble
Because he came without a name
================================================
ANTONY MANN
Mighty Fine Days (Nemo 2)
It was great to see Mighty Fine Days appear in Nemonymous - as a story about losing one's identity, it seemed very apt. My short fiction has appeared in other places since - Crimewave, Interzone, Ellery Queen's, Poe's Progeny - and in 2003 Andy Hook of Elastic Press fame very kindly published my first collection, Milo & I. I've been working on drama since then. My short film Billy's Day Out won at Edinburgh in 2004, and last year I was commissioned to write an adaptation of the Peter Grimes story. My current project is a black comedy called Friends Like These, being developed through Screen South's Good Foundations Plus programme.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Jay Lake / Tamar Yellin
===================================================
JAY LAKE
Past Nemo writer Jay Lake ("Apologising to the Concrete", Nemonymous 4) is pleased to report that words continue to flow. Of late he has sold novels to Night Shade Books and Tor, whilst his Nemo story has just been translated into Esperanto. He also reports loose marmosets in the bathroom, but this should probably be discounted.
===================================================
TAMAR YELLIN
The Unmiraculous Life Of Jackie Mendoza (Nemo 1)
Genie (Nemo 3)
In The Steam Room (Nemo 3)
My novel 'The Genizah at the House of Shepher' was published last year by The Toby Press and was shortlisted for this year's Wingate Prize. My collection, 'Kafka in Brontëland and other stories' appeared from Toby in April and has been longlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. Stories have appeared in 'The Nine Muses' (Wheatlands Press) and the journal 'Maggid' and in the forthcoming 'New Book of Masks.'
Appearing in 'Nemo' was an aesthetically satisfying and also a very interesting experience. The contents were more widely and no doubt more honestly reviewed than any other magazine I've been part of (most magazines I've appeared in don't get reviewed at all!). Nemonymous is a unique and landmark publication and in the long term scheme of things, whatever Des says, not a failure in the least. I've no doubt its five+ issues will become collector's items, not to mention Issue Six, which future bibliomaniacs will surely seek endlessly to their own madness.
=================================================
JAY LAKE
Past Nemo writer Jay Lake ("Apologising to the Concrete", Nemonymous 4) is pleased to report that words continue to flow. Of late he has sold novels to Night Shade Books and Tor, whilst his Nemo story has just been translated into Esperanto. He also reports loose marmosets in the bathroom, but this should probably be discounted.
===================================================
TAMAR YELLIN
The Unmiraculous Life Of Jackie Mendoza (Nemo 1)
Genie (Nemo 3)
In The Steam Room (Nemo 3)
My novel 'The Genizah at the House of Shepher' was published last year by The Toby Press and was shortlisted for this year's Wingate Prize. My collection, 'Kafka in Brontëland and other stories' appeared from Toby in April and has been longlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. Stories have appeared in 'The Nine Muses' (Wheatlands Press) and the journal 'Maggid' and in the forthcoming 'New Book of Masks.'
Appearing in 'Nemo' was an aesthetically satisfying and also a very interesting experience. The contents were more widely and no doubt more honestly reviewed than any other magazine I've been part of (most magazines I've appeared in don't get reviewed at all!). Nemonymous is a unique and landmark publication and in the long term scheme of things, whatever Des says, not a failure in the least. I've no doubt its five+ issues will become collector's items, not to mention Issue Six, which future bibliomaniacs will surely seek endlessly to their own madness.
=================================================
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Lavie Tidhar / Monica O'Rourke
===============================================
LAVIE TIDHAR
The Ballerina (Nemo 3)
Grandma's Two Watches (Nemo 5)
My story in Nemonymous #3 was my first proper sale, and it made a big difference. Since then I've sold stories to Sci Fiction (sadly, the last one published before it folded last year) and to two other Ellen Datlow-edited anthologies (look out for my story, "My Travels with Al-Qaeda" in Salon Fantastique – co-edited by Datlow and Terry Windling – towards the end of the year), to Strange Horizons, Postscripts, and a fair number of others. My novella "An Occupation of Angels", was published in paperback in the UK by Pendragon Press, and I was a finalist for Writers of the Future last year. I've also been making a documentary film about SF which is currently in pre-editing – it will take some time to be finished! – and I keep being published semi-regularly in countries such as Greece, China and Poland, with some new French translations coming soon.
My story in Nemonymous #5, "Grandma's Two Watches", has a particular meaning for me, both for being a very personal story, and for being my first Hebrew story to be published in an English translation – I don't write many stories in Hebrew, and I'm delighted that they seem to do as well as the ones written in English – Ellen Datlow is taking another one for a new SF anthology from St. Martin's.
I enjoyed my "Nemonymous Experience", the beautiful production of the books, the high quality of the stories, Des' more-than-occasional ramblings, and the whole debate it sometimes stirred across the Internet. I also loved making up user-names to send Des stories with. CaptainNemo101 and Nemo Nymous and all the rest of the crew. It's been fun! And I'm delighted Des is re-launching Nemo – may it live long, and prosper.
==================================================
MONICA O'ROURKE
The Rest Of Larry (Nemo 3)
Huntin' Season (Nemo 5)
How Am I Getting On?
Well, Just last month I won the Nobel Prize for my discovery of how malaria enters an organism. I also would have won the National Book Award, but they told me you actually have to have a book published currently for that to happen. Dammit. I studied Mermaids in Calcutta, which wasn't easy, believe me. They were damned hard to find. Other than that, same old, same old.
What difference Nemo made:
What do you mean? Was I in Nemonymous???
LAVIE TIDHAR
The Ballerina (Nemo 3)
Grandma's Two Watches (Nemo 5)
My story in Nemonymous #3 was my first proper sale, and it made a big difference. Since then I've sold stories to Sci Fiction (sadly, the last one published before it folded last year) and to two other Ellen Datlow-edited anthologies (look out for my story, "My Travels with Al-Qaeda" in Salon Fantastique – co-edited by Datlow and Terry Windling – towards the end of the year), to Strange Horizons, Postscripts, and a fair number of others. My novella "An Occupation of Angels", was published in paperback in the UK by Pendragon Press, and I was a finalist for Writers of the Future last year. I've also been making a documentary film about SF which is currently in pre-editing – it will take some time to be finished! – and I keep being published semi-regularly in countries such as Greece, China and Poland, with some new French translations coming soon.
My story in Nemonymous #5, "Grandma's Two Watches", has a particular meaning for me, both for being a very personal story, and for being my first Hebrew story to be published in an English translation – I don't write many stories in Hebrew, and I'm delighted that they seem to do as well as the ones written in English – Ellen Datlow is taking another one for a new SF anthology from St. Martin's.
I enjoyed my "Nemonymous Experience", the beautiful production of the books, the high quality of the stories, Des' more-than-occasional ramblings, and the whole debate it sometimes stirred across the Internet. I also loved making up user-names to send Des stories with. CaptainNemo101 and Nemo Nymous and all the rest of the crew. It's been fun! And I'm delighted Des is re-launching Nemo – may it live long, and prosper.
==================================================
MONICA O'ROURKE
The Rest Of Larry (Nemo 3)
Huntin' Season (Nemo 5)
How Am I Getting On?
Well, Just last month I won the Nobel Prize for my discovery of how malaria enters an organism. I also would have won the National Book Award, but they told me you actually have to have a book published currently for that to happen. Dammit. I studied Mermaids in Calcutta, which wasn't easy, believe me. They were damned hard to find. Other than that, same old, same old.
What difference Nemo made:
What do you mean? Was I in Nemonymous???
Friday, June 02, 2006
The Visitor 1973
Just to announce that the complete novel I wrote in 1973 entitled:
THE VISITOR
is about to be blogged. Watch this space.
Never submitted anywhere and, so far, only read by two people.
Meanwhile, please have a go at reading my latest novel THE HAWLER (2005) that is now achieving more and more positive feedback: HERE.
===========================
STOP PRESS (3 June 2006):
Prologue of The Visitor here:
http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/the_visitor.htm
THE VISITOR
is about to be blogged. Watch this space.
Never submitted anywhere and, so far, only read by two people.
Meanwhile, please have a go at reading my latest novel THE HAWLER (2005) that is now achieving more and more positive feedback: HERE.
===========================
STOP PRESS (3 June 2006):
Prologue of The Visitor here:
http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/the_visitor.htm
Neil Williamson / Brendan Connell
=================================================
NEIL WILLIAMSON:
"Well Tempered" (Nemo 5)
How I am getting on:
Things are going well. Those who enjoyed 'Well Tempered' can find it, and others like it, in my collection, "The Ephemera", which was published by Elastic Press on May 1st (and those who weren't so keen on 'Well Tempered' can also find lots of stories that aren't like it at all in the same collection). Currently I'm putting the last coups de grace to a novel that has put up a hell of a fight, but I think I've pretty much got it tamed now.
What difference (if any) Nemo made :
Every story publication makes a difference, I suppose, but what was different about Nemo? I suppose those readers that like playing the game of who wrote what might have guessed that any number of authors wrote 'Well Tempered' (and it'd be interesting to know what their guesses were - although I'm pretty sure none of them would have guessed right!). Perhaps, then, Nemo readers pay more attention to the author names when they are finally revealed?
All that aside though, the whole process was FUN!
==================================================
BRENDAN CONNELL
Sirens (Nemo 3)
Maledict Michela (Nemo 4)
How am I getting on?
Well, since my last appearance in Nemonymous, I have had a couple of books published: "The Translation of Father Torturo" (Prime), and "Dr. Black and the Guerrillia" (Grafitisk). I have also had a number of short stories published in some good places, including 'McSweeney’s' and 'Adbusters'. Other than that, finishing up a couple of new novels and collections. Also, my story "Maledict Michela", which appeared in Nemo 4, is due to be translated into Portuguese in a magazine called 'Phantastes', and into Greek in a magazine called 'Universe Pathways'.
What difference Nemo made:
I don’t know. Two of my stories were published in the magazine, so surely it has made some difference, for the better. But I will leave it to greater minds than my own to calculate what the difference
has been.
NEIL WILLIAMSON:
"Well Tempered" (Nemo 5)
How I am getting on:
Things are going well. Those who enjoyed 'Well Tempered' can find it, and others like it, in my collection, "The Ephemera", which was published by Elastic Press on May 1st (and those who weren't so keen on 'Well Tempered' can also find lots of stories that aren't like it at all in the same collection). Currently I'm putting the last coups de grace to a novel that has put up a hell of a fight, but I think I've pretty much got it tamed now.
What difference (if any) Nemo made :
Every story publication makes a difference, I suppose, but what was different about Nemo? I suppose those readers that like playing the game of who wrote what might have guessed that any number of authors wrote 'Well Tempered' (and it'd be interesting to know what their guesses were - although I'm pretty sure none of them would have guessed right!). Perhaps, then, Nemo readers pay more attention to the author names when they are finally revealed?
All that aside though, the whole process was FUN!
==================================================
BRENDAN CONNELL
Sirens (Nemo 3)
Maledict Michela (Nemo 4)
How am I getting on?
Well, since my last appearance in Nemonymous, I have had a couple of books published: "The Translation of Father Torturo" (Prime), and "Dr. Black and the Guerrillia" (Grafitisk). I have also had a number of short stories published in some good places, including 'McSweeney’s' and 'Adbusters'. Other than that, finishing up a couple of new novels and collections. Also, my story "Maledict Michela", which appeared in Nemo 4, is due to be translated into Portuguese in a magazine called 'Phantastes', and into Greek in a magazine called 'Universe Pathways'.
What difference Nemo made:
I don’t know. Two of my stories were published in the magazine, so surely it has made some difference, for the better. But I will leave it to greater minds than my own to calculate what the difference
has been.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Adrian Fry / D Harlan Wilson
==============================================
DESLY PREAMBLE
Every writer's life is either pre-Nemo or post-Nemo.
Nemo's Ark
For those appearing here in pairs as the current post-Nemo Bios, I'm suggesting that each pair (as shown already or in the future) write a story collaboration! As Tony Mileman was the first bio in, his prize is collaborating with me! :-)
Not a commission, but a suggestion!
Actually, the pairings happen purely on the timing of the bios appearing in my in-box. So they are random.
Interesting exercise? Maybe. But no pressure, of course!
Random literary catalysms?
==============================================
ADRIAN FRY
Determining The Extent (Nemo 4)
The Nemonymous experience was a good one for me. I had several positive reactions to DETERMINING THE EXTENT by email and some perplexed reactions from friends who felt the story didn't seem like mine at all. Though I continue to have occasional competition pieces published in The Spectator, New Statesman and The Oldie, my 'serious' output has entirely dried as I squander my time watching Quizmania and thinking about death.
Additional note from Des:
'Determining The Extent' is an all time favourite of mine in or out
of Nemo.
===================================================
D HARLAN WILSON
Since my Nemo publications, "Digging for Adults" (Nemo 3) & "The Rorschach Interpreter" (Nemo 4), I have continued to publish short stories regularly; I published a book, "Pseudo-City" (Raw Dog Screaming Press 2005), I have another book coming out, my first novel, "Dr. Identity" (RDSP 2007); my first book, "The Kafka Effekt" (Eraserhead Press 2001), is currently being translated into Spanish by a Mexican publisher; I took over as editor-in-chief of 'The Dream People: A Journal of Bizarro Literature' (http://www.dreampeople.org); I graduated with my Ph.D. in English from Michigan State University (2005); I have a number of critical literary essays coming out on films such as 'Vanilla Sky', 'Dark City' and 'Army of Darkness'; I may be publishing a book of literary theory, "Technologized Desire", based on my dissertation; I landed a tenure-track position teaching literature and writing at Wright State University-Lake Campus in Ohio; and I got married! That's me in a nutshell over the past 2 years ...
http://www.dharlanwilson.com
=================================================
DESLY PREAMBLE
Every writer's life is either pre-Nemo or post-Nemo.
Nemo's Ark
For those appearing here in pairs as the current post-Nemo Bios, I'm suggesting that each pair (as shown already or in the future) write a story collaboration! As Tony Mileman was the first bio in, his prize is collaborating with me! :-)
Not a commission, but a suggestion!
Actually, the pairings happen purely on the timing of the bios appearing in my in-box. So they are random.
Interesting exercise? Maybe. But no pressure, of course!
Random literary catalysms?
==============================================
ADRIAN FRY
Determining The Extent (Nemo 4)
The Nemonymous experience was a good one for me. I had several positive reactions to DETERMINING THE EXTENT by email and some perplexed reactions from friends who felt the story didn't seem like mine at all. Though I continue to have occasional competition pieces published in The Spectator, New Statesman and The Oldie, my 'serious' output has entirely dried as I squander my time watching Quizmania and thinking about death.
Additional note from Des:
'Determining The Extent' is an all time favourite of mine in or out
of Nemo.
===================================================
D HARLAN WILSON
Since my Nemo publications, "Digging for Adults" (Nemo 3) & "The Rorschach Interpreter" (Nemo 4), I have continued to publish short stories regularly; I published a book, "Pseudo-City" (Raw Dog Screaming Press 2005), I have another book coming out, my first novel, "Dr. Identity" (RDSP 2007); my first book, "The Kafka Effekt" (Eraserhead Press 2001), is currently being translated into Spanish by a Mexican publisher; I took over as editor-in-chief of 'The Dream People: A Journal of Bizarro Literature' (http://www.dreampeople.org); I graduated with my Ph.D. in English from Michigan State University (2005); I have a number of critical literary essays coming out on films such as 'Vanilla Sky', 'Dark City' and 'Army of Darkness'; I may be publishing a book of literary theory, "Technologized Desire", based on my dissertation; I landed a tenure-track position teaching literature and writing at Wright State University-Lake Campus in Ohio; and I got married! That's me in a nutshell over the past 2 years ...
http://www.dharlanwilson.com
=================================================
Andrew Hook / Richard Gavin
==========================
ANDREW HOOK
Vole Mountain (Nemo 4)
Like A Slow Motion War (a collaboration with Allen Ashley in Nemo 4)
How am I getting on.
This year is looking good with autumn seeing the publication of "Residue", a collection of some of my non-genre stories from HalfCut Publications, and "Slow Motion Wars", a collection of collaborative stories written with Allen Ashley appearing from Bradan Press. I'm still looking for that elusive major novel sale, however, although short stories remain my true love. My web address is http://www.andrew-hook.com.
What difference (if any) Nemo made?
The main difference was in my approach to anonymity. When Nemo first arrived it seemed little more than a gimmick, but getting into such a lovely-looking (and even lovelier paying) publication changed my view. It was exciting to know that my work had been chosen without any preconceptions, and interesting to see reviews formed on the same basis. My writing "career" continues to trundle on regardless, however being published in Nemo was rather special and a feeling that I hope to replicate at some point in the not too distant future!
Note from Des: Andrew is also founder of the very successful fiction publisher: Elastic Press.
===================================================
RICHARD GAVIN
Berenice's Journal (Nemo 2)
In many ways my 2002 appearance in 'Nemo' marked the beginnings of an upwards trajectory with my writing.
Since then I have had a full-length book of horror tales, CHARNEL WINE, published by Rainfall Books, to much critical acclaim, (even garnering a preliminary recommendation for the British Fantasy Society Award). Another collection, OMENS, is currently poised for release by Mythos Books. I've also written an on-line illustrated narrative, PALACE OF SHADOWS. My short stories have earned Honorable Mentions in THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR series and continue to appear in various anthologies; POE'S PROGENY (Gray Friar Press) and HORRORS BEYOND (Elder Signs Press) among the more recent. I've recently completed a novella of supernatural horror that is under consideration by a U.S. publisher. In addition, I am a frequent contributor of articles and book reviews to 'Rue Morgue' magazine and am currently working on a novel of psychological horror.
Last but not least: in 2004 I had the distinct pleasure of collaborating with our noble Nemo Czar, (a.k.a. Des Lewis) on a tale of Lovecraftian musical mutation, 'Variations on the Vile.'*
My appearance in 'Nemonymous' was helpful in the sense that it proved to me that small-press publications can demonstrate the highest artistry, both in production value and content. 'Berenice's Journal' remains a favourite of mine and is thus far the only tale I've written where other authors have, of their own accord, penned a sequel.
*Note from Des: This was published in "Book Of Dark Wisdom"
==============================================
ANDREW HOOK
Vole Mountain (Nemo 4)
Like A Slow Motion War (a collaboration with Allen Ashley in Nemo 4)
How am I getting on.
This year is looking good with autumn seeing the publication of "Residue", a collection of some of my non-genre stories from HalfCut Publications, and "Slow Motion Wars", a collection of collaborative stories written with Allen Ashley appearing from Bradan Press. I'm still looking for that elusive major novel sale, however, although short stories remain my true love. My web address is http://www.andrew-hook.com.
What difference (if any) Nemo made?
The main difference was in my approach to anonymity. When Nemo first arrived it seemed little more than a gimmick, but getting into such a lovely-looking (and even lovelier paying) publication changed my view. It was exciting to know that my work had been chosen without any preconceptions, and interesting to see reviews formed on the same basis. My writing "career" continues to trundle on regardless, however being published in Nemo was rather special and a feeling that I hope to replicate at some point in the not too distant future!
Note from Des: Andrew is also founder of the very successful fiction publisher: Elastic Press.
===================================================
RICHARD GAVIN
Berenice's Journal (Nemo 2)
In many ways my 2002 appearance in 'Nemo' marked the beginnings of an upwards trajectory with my writing.
Since then I have had a full-length book of horror tales, CHARNEL WINE, published by Rainfall Books, to much critical acclaim, (even garnering a preliminary recommendation for the British Fantasy Society Award). Another collection, OMENS, is currently poised for release by Mythos Books. I've also written an on-line illustrated narrative, PALACE OF SHADOWS. My short stories have earned Honorable Mentions in THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR series and continue to appear in various anthologies; POE'S PROGENY (Gray Friar Press) and HORRORS BEYOND (Elder Signs Press) among the more recent. I've recently completed a novella of supernatural horror that is under consideration by a U.S. publisher. In addition, I am a frequent contributor of articles and book reviews to 'Rue Morgue' magazine and am currently working on a novel of psychological horror.
Last but not least: in 2004 I had the distinct pleasure of collaborating with our noble Nemo Czar, (a.k.a. Des Lewis) on a tale of Lovecraftian musical mutation, 'Variations on the Vile.'*
My appearance in 'Nemonymous' was helpful in the sense that it proved to me that small-press publications can demonstrate the highest artistry, both in production value and content. 'Berenice's Journal' remains a favourite of mine and is thus far the only tale I've written where other authors have, of their own accord, penned a sequel.
*Note from Des: This was published in "Book Of Dark Wisdom"
==============================================
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Simon Clark / Bruce Golden
==============================================
SIMON CLARK
The Idiot Whistled Dead (Nemo 1)
How Am I Getting On?
I've been writing full-time since 1995; it's a wonderful if precarious way to earn a living (sometimes crazily so). To be published by Nemo anonymously was a departure for me but gave me an opportunity to take off the Simon Clark mask and don another that allowed me to venture into a place where there were no limits, and no precedents to write in a certain way. Since my appearance in Nemo 1 I've continued writing horror novels and short stories.
In 'Vampyrrhic Rites' I got the chance to name-check Nemo and mention the fictionalised editor, Mr. Siwel -- ok, as codes go it won't win prizes. My latest novel is 'London Under Midnight' and deals with my fascination / phobias of urban rivers and hidden, underground places. And it's places that often latch onto my imagination to the point I find myself writing about them. Last year I made the short film, 'Inspired', about how a walk along a Roman road near where I live helped trigger a story. If you want to take a look it can be found at doncaster.tv
What difference Nemo made:
I am proud to be part of such a courageous venture as Nemo. If anything Nemo has become a little voice in the back of my head telling me to be more courageous and more adventurous with my writing. Lately, I've ventured into a more experimental fiction that fuses horror with science fiction. 'Death's Dominion', due out in November is inspired by a bizarre mix of Frankenstein, graveyards and the music of Jacques Brel.
================================================
BRUCE GOLDEN
"The Withering" (Nemo 4)
How I Am Getting On:
Shortly after "The Withering" was published in Nemo #4 back in 2004, my part-time job as a communications director for a non-profit youth group ended. The good news was that, since then, I’ve been able to write full-time. The bad news, I’m trying to live on a meager savings and the pittances I make from my fiction. I now list my occupation as "starving artist." Since Nemo I’ve sold stories to 'Farthing', 'Forgotten Worlds', 'Lenox Avenue', 'Reflection’s Edge', 'Leafing Thru', 'Aberrant Dreams', and 'Shadowed Realms'. My story "Moonlight Serenade" (based on the mysterious disappearance of bandleader Glenn Miller) will be published in 'Oceans of the Mind' June/2006. My story "I Found Love on Channel 3," which won the Firebrand Fiction award, will be included in the anthology 'North of Infinity II', which is also due out June/2006. After nine months of writing and more than two years of searching for an agent or publisher, my second novel 'Better Than Chocolate' was acquired by Zumaya Publications. It will be out early in 2007. My third novel, 'Evergreen', is complete, and currently making the rounds to find itself a publishing home. And, despite its release by a tiny publisher with absolutely no marketing or distribution, my first novel 'Mortals All' (http://shamanpress.tripod.com) has now sold more than 500 copies – a minor miracle of sorts.
What Difference (if any) Nemo made:
What my Nemo sale was to me was another tidbit of encouragement to keep at it. A reward for the hard work, because, even though I’ve managed to sell much of my writing, we all know it’s not an easy process, and often takes years for even a short story to click with an editor and find a home.
=========================================
SIMON CLARK
The Idiot Whistled Dead (Nemo 1)
How Am I Getting On?
I've been writing full-time since 1995; it's a wonderful if precarious way to earn a living (sometimes crazily so). To be published by Nemo anonymously was a departure for me but gave me an opportunity to take off the Simon Clark mask and don another that allowed me to venture into a place where there were no limits, and no precedents to write in a certain way. Since my appearance in Nemo 1 I've continued writing horror novels and short stories.
In 'Vampyrrhic Rites' I got the chance to name-check Nemo and mention the fictionalised editor, Mr. Siwel -- ok, as codes go it won't win prizes. My latest novel is 'London Under Midnight' and deals with my fascination / phobias of urban rivers and hidden, underground places. And it's places that often latch onto my imagination to the point I find myself writing about them. Last year I made the short film, 'Inspired', about how a walk along a Roman road near where I live helped trigger a story. If you want to take a look it can be found at doncaster.tv
What difference Nemo made:
I am proud to be part of such a courageous venture as Nemo. If anything Nemo has become a little voice in the back of my head telling me to be more courageous and more adventurous with my writing. Lately, I've ventured into a more experimental fiction that fuses horror with science fiction. 'Death's Dominion', due out in November is inspired by a bizarre mix of Frankenstein, graveyards and the music of Jacques Brel.
================================================
BRUCE GOLDEN
"The Withering" (Nemo 4)
How I Am Getting On:
Shortly after "The Withering" was published in Nemo #4 back in 2004, my part-time job as a communications director for a non-profit youth group ended. The good news was that, since then, I’ve been able to write full-time. The bad news, I’m trying to live on a meager savings and the pittances I make from my fiction. I now list my occupation as "starving artist." Since Nemo I’ve sold stories to 'Farthing', 'Forgotten Worlds', 'Lenox Avenue', 'Reflection’s Edge', 'Leafing Thru', 'Aberrant Dreams', and 'Shadowed Realms'. My story "Moonlight Serenade" (based on the mysterious disappearance of bandleader Glenn Miller) will be published in 'Oceans of the Mind' June/2006. My story "I Found Love on Channel 3," which won the Firebrand Fiction award, will be included in the anthology 'North of Infinity II', which is also due out June/2006. After nine months of writing and more than two years of searching for an agent or publisher, my second novel 'Better Than Chocolate' was acquired by Zumaya Publications. It will be out early in 2007. My third novel, 'Evergreen', is complete, and currently making the rounds to find itself a publishing home. And, despite its release by a tiny publisher with absolutely no marketing or distribution, my first novel 'Mortals All' (http://shamanpress.tripod.com) has now sold more than 500 copies – a minor miracle of sorts.
What Difference (if any) Nemo made:
What my Nemo sale was to me was another tidbit of encouragement to keep at it. A reward for the hard work, because, even though I’ve managed to sell much of my writing, we all know it’s not an easy process, and often takes years for even a short story to click with an editor and find a home.
=========================================
Allen Ashley / Paul Kane
==========================================
ALLEN ASHLEY
("The Quiet House" in Nemonymous 1)
("Like A Slow Motion War" collaboration with Andrew Hook in Nemonymous 4)
How I am getting on:
After years and years of (figuratively) knocking on doors, my writing career is finally in a decent state of health. My debut collection "Somnambulists" (Elastic Press, 2004) has sold out and my next collection "Urban Fantastic" is published by Crowswing Books in June 2006. The story "The Quiet House" features in "Urban Fantastic". In 2005, I edited "The Elastic Book Of Numbers" for Elastic Press. In May 2006, I also published a non-fiction collection, "The Days of the Dodo" (Dodo London Press). Current projects include a collaborative collection with Andrew Hook – "Slow Motion Wars", due from Bradan Press late 2006 and a possible reprinting of my Science Fiction / Slipstream novel "The Planet Suite" (original publication – TTA Press, 1997). I've also finally acquired a web site at: http://www.allenashley.com.
What difference (if any) Nemo made?
Being published in such an unusual and great-looking publication was a real thrill, particularly as I was in the very first issue. All acceptances, appearances, publications and royalty cheques are always a valued and, indeed, necessary part of the confirmation that a writer is doing some things correctly. Long live Nemo!
==============================================
PAUL KANE
Strobe (Nemo 1)
Where does all the time go? A hell of a lot has happened since my story 'Strobe' appeared in Nemo 1, in November 2001. Back then I'd only just had my first collection published - Alone (In the Dark) - and a handful of short stories. I've been lucky enough in the intervening time to see two more collections published in trade paperback, and more recently a novella called "Signs of Life" introduced by Stephen Gallagher. My website http://www.shadow-writer.co.uk went online the same year 'Strobe' was published and had a lot less on it then than it does now (I've known people get lost in there for days sometimes now, and we have to send in search parties). Along with my good friend John B. Ford we took Terror Tales online into its print format - recommeded for a BFS award last year - and I got to edit a couple of anthos gathering together Guest Writers from my site (which nowadays has contributions from authors like Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Michael Marshall Smith, Kim Newman, Christopher Fowler etc). I also became Special Publications Editor for the BFS and have worked over the past few years on projects involving writers like Clive Barker, John Connolly, Muriel Gray, Graham Masterton, Poppy Z. Brite, Stephen Laws and Kelley Armstrong. I'm working on some non-fiction stuff, graphic novels and short film projects too (I was even asked to be in a documentary talking about my work). Needless to say I love my job...
I remember jumping for joy when 'Strobe' was accepted. I'm a bit self critical of my work (show me a writer who isn't) and there are only a few of my pieces that I personally can look at and say, I really like that one; that one doesn't need anything else doing to it... 'Strobe' is one of those pieces. And although Nemo published it without my name attached, I really liked the concept of the work being judged more for what it was than who had written it. Of course, I was desperate to see who I had appeared alongside, and the wait nearly drove me mad - but it was worth it. I can honestly say I'm proud to have featured in the first edition of Nemo, especially as - at the time - real print markets (and paying ones too) were pretty few and far between. It definitely gave me more confidence to try my stories with other bigger anthologies, and who'd have thought it - some of them actually published me! You're all very nice people :-) I have no idea where the story for 'Strobe' came from - the notion of a man with photo sensitive epilepsy becoming addicted to the fits - but it was very different for me. And I've tried to do more stories in this style since that date, which can't be a bad thing. So thanks Des for starting the ball rolling.
========================================
ALLEN ASHLEY
("The Quiet House" in Nemonymous 1)
("Like A Slow Motion War" collaboration with Andrew Hook in Nemonymous 4)
How I am getting on:
After years and years of (figuratively) knocking on doors, my writing career is finally in a decent state of health. My debut collection "Somnambulists" (Elastic Press, 2004) has sold out and my next collection "Urban Fantastic" is published by Crowswing Books in June 2006. The story "The Quiet House" features in "Urban Fantastic". In 2005, I edited "The Elastic Book Of Numbers" for Elastic Press. In May 2006, I also published a non-fiction collection, "The Days of the Dodo" (Dodo London Press). Current projects include a collaborative collection with Andrew Hook – "Slow Motion Wars", due from Bradan Press late 2006 and a possible reprinting of my Science Fiction / Slipstream novel "The Planet Suite" (original publication – TTA Press, 1997). I've also finally acquired a web site at: http://www.allenashley.com.
What difference (if any) Nemo made?
Being published in such an unusual and great-looking publication was a real thrill, particularly as I was in the very first issue. All acceptances, appearances, publications and royalty cheques are always a valued and, indeed, necessary part of the confirmation that a writer is doing some things correctly. Long live Nemo!
==============================================
PAUL KANE
Strobe (Nemo 1)
Where does all the time go? A hell of a lot has happened since my story 'Strobe' appeared in Nemo 1, in November 2001. Back then I'd only just had my first collection published - Alone (In the Dark) - and a handful of short stories. I've been lucky enough in the intervening time to see two more collections published in trade paperback, and more recently a novella called "Signs of Life" introduced by Stephen Gallagher. My website http://www.shadow-writer.co.uk went online the same year 'Strobe' was published and had a lot less on it then than it does now (I've known people get lost in there for days sometimes now, and we have to send in search parties). Along with my good friend John B. Ford we took Terror Tales online into its print format - recommeded for a BFS award last year - and I got to edit a couple of anthos gathering together Guest Writers from my site (which nowadays has contributions from authors like Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Michael Marshall Smith, Kim Newman, Christopher Fowler etc). I also became Special Publications Editor for the BFS and have worked over the past few years on projects involving writers like Clive Barker, John Connolly, Muriel Gray, Graham Masterton, Poppy Z. Brite, Stephen Laws and Kelley Armstrong. I'm working on some non-fiction stuff, graphic novels and short film projects too (I was even asked to be in a documentary talking about my work). Needless to say I love my job...
I remember jumping for joy when 'Strobe' was accepted. I'm a bit self critical of my work (show me a writer who isn't) and there are only a few of my pieces that I personally can look at and say, I really like that one; that one doesn't need anything else doing to it... 'Strobe' is one of those pieces. And although Nemo published it without my name attached, I really liked the concept of the work being judged more for what it was than who had written it. Of course, I was desperate to see who I had appeared alongside, and the wait nearly drove me mad - but it was worth it. I can honestly say I'm proud to have featured in the first edition of Nemo, especially as - at the time - real print markets (and paying ones too) were pretty few and far between. It definitely gave me more confidence to try my stories with other bigger anthologies, and who'd have thought it - some of them actually published me! You're all very nice people :-) I have no idea where the story for 'Strobe' came from - the notion of a man with photo sensitive epilepsy becoming addicted to the fits - but it was very different for me. And I've tried to do more stories in this style since that date, which can't be a bad thing. So thanks Des for starting the ball rolling.
========================================
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Michael Kelly / Keith Brooke
Post-Nemo bios are now pouring into Nemo HQ. And there is a number of corkers among them. It is true to say, I feel, that any writer's life must be either pre-Nemo or post-Nemo...
=========================================
MICHAEL KELLY:
"The Bluest of Grey Skies" (Nemo 3)
How I Am Getting On:
For the past three years I've been fiction editor at "The Chiaroscuro/ChiZine" (www.chizine.com). I've also placed a number of stories in some very fine journals and anthologies, including "All Hallows", "Flesh & Blood", "Surreal", "Alone on the Darkside" (Roc/NAL), and "Dark Arts" (Cemetery Dance). I've co-written a novel, "Ouroboros", and my first collection of short fiction, "Scratching the Surface", will be published February 2007.
What Difference (if any) Nemo made:
After it was revealed that I'd appeared in Nemo, I got a few e-mails from readers and writers familiar with my work saying that my contribution didn't seem typical of most of my work. Indeed, I was riffing off Rhys Hughes, who was riffing off Italo Calvino. It made me realize that fiction is an experiment. And that I shouldn't just settle for my "typical" stories. I need to challenge myself each time I sit down at the keyboard.
===============================================
KEITH BROOKE (aka NICK GIFFORD):
Embrace (Nemo 4)
How they are getting on:
2006 has been a good year for me, with two novels out in the first two months: "Erased" (written under my teen fiction pen-name Nick Gifford, Puffin, Jan 2006) and "Genetopia" (adult SF, Pyr February 2006; a
novel 15 years in the writing, and which is now picking up excellent reviews all over the place - it's good to be back!). To cap it all, the movie option on "Piggies" (Nick Gifford, Puffin 2003) has just been renewed and it looks like there will be a new 2007 edition of "Parallax View", my collaborative collection of stories written with Eric Brown. Outside writing, I stood for the Green Party in the council elections in May (coming a noble, erm, fifth), and we're currently pursuing our efforts to live a sustainable, yet relatively normal, lifestyle, as documented at http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/kbrooke/shifting.
What difference (if any) Nemo had on their career or whatever:
To be brutally honest, I've been knocking around for so long that appearing in Nemo isn't going to make much difference to my career. However, it was a venue where I dearly wanted to appear: beautifully produced, with high quality content and the boldness to be different - so much better than some bland publication where every story's going to be okay (*those* are the publications that are truly anonymous, not Nemo!). I was thrilled to get in, and it's still a magazine I'm proud to tell people about.
=============================================
=========================================
MICHAEL KELLY:
"The Bluest of Grey Skies" (Nemo 3)
How I Am Getting On:
For the past three years I've been fiction editor at "The Chiaroscuro/ChiZine" (www.chizine.com). I've also placed a number of stories in some very fine journals and anthologies, including "All Hallows", "Flesh & Blood", "Surreal", "Alone on the Darkside" (Roc/NAL), and "Dark Arts" (Cemetery Dance). I've co-written a novel, "Ouroboros", and my first collection of short fiction, "Scratching the Surface", will be published February 2007.
What Difference (if any) Nemo made:
After it was revealed that I'd appeared in Nemo, I got a few e-mails from readers and writers familiar with my work saying that my contribution didn't seem typical of most of my work. Indeed, I was riffing off Rhys Hughes, who was riffing off Italo Calvino. It made me realize that fiction is an experiment. And that I shouldn't just settle for my "typical" stories. I need to challenge myself each time I sit down at the keyboard.
===============================================
KEITH BROOKE (aka NICK GIFFORD):
Embrace (Nemo 4)
How they are getting on:
2006 has been a good year for me, with two novels out in the first two months: "Erased" (written under my teen fiction pen-name Nick Gifford, Puffin, Jan 2006) and "Genetopia" (adult SF, Pyr February 2006; a
novel 15 years in the writing, and which is now picking up excellent reviews all over the place - it's good to be back!). To cap it all, the movie option on "Piggies" (Nick Gifford, Puffin 2003) has just been renewed and it looks like there will be a new 2007 edition of "Parallax View", my collaborative collection of stories written with Eric Brown. Outside writing, I stood for the Green Party in the council elections in May (coming a noble, erm, fifth), and we're currently pursuing our efforts to live a sustainable, yet relatively normal, lifestyle, as documented at http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/kbrooke/shifting.
What difference (if any) Nemo had on their career or whatever:
To be brutally honest, I've been knocking around for so long that appearing in Nemo isn't going to make much difference to my career. However, it was a venue where I dearly wanted to appear: beautifully produced, with high quality content and the boldness to be different - so much better than some bland publication where every story's going to be okay (*those* are the publications that are truly anonymous, not Nemo!). I was thrilled to get in, and it's still a magazine I'm proud to tell people about.
=============================================
Len Maynard & Mick Sims
LEN MAYNARD & MICK SIMS
WARP (Nemo 3)
WARP was published in 2003, since when our writing has been very satisfying. Our first novel SHELTER is being published by Leisure on July 4th 2006 (http://www.dorchesterpub.com/Dorch/authordetail.cfm?Author_ID=428), we have got an agent, our second novel, DEMONEYES, is being read for (hopefully) publication, our collection FALLING INTO HEAVEN has been very well received, our third novel is 50% written, a movie script from "Shelter" is being written, one of our stories was in an anthology that won World Fantasy Award (Strange Tales from Tartarus), another has been optioned for a US movie, another was in "Best New Horror 16" from Stephen Jones, and a new novella DOUBLE ACT is being published in 2006. All the details can be found at http://www.maynard-sims.com.
"Warp" was originally written in 1990 and went through various guises, at one time being 8500 words long. The finished piece at 3300 was always fun to read but never really fitted in with any of our other stories and that is why it never appeared in any of our collections. Getting WARP published, well the acceptance actually, provided a lovely underscoring of our many years of writing and helped propel us to the things we are doing today. Our thanks will always be to Des for liking the story and publishing it in such an elegant and eloquent publication as Nemo.
========================================
WARP (Nemo 3)
WARP was published in 2003, since when our writing has been very satisfying. Our first novel SHELTER is being published by Leisure on July 4th 2006 (http://www.dorchesterpub.com/Dorch/authordetail.cfm?Author_ID=428), we have got an agent, our second novel, DEMONEYES, is being read for (hopefully) publication, our collection FALLING INTO HEAVEN has been very well received, our third novel is 50% written, a movie script from "Shelter" is being written, one of our stories was in an anthology that won World Fantasy Award (Strange Tales from Tartarus), another has been optioned for a US movie, another was in "Best New Horror 16" from Stephen Jones, and a new novella DOUBLE ACT is being published in 2006. All the details can be found at http://www.maynard-sims.com.
"Warp" was originally written in 1990 and went through various guises, at one time being 8500 words long. The finished piece at 3300 was always fun to read but never really fitted in with any of our other stories and that is why it never appeared in any of our collections. Getting WARP published, well the acceptance actually, provided a lovely underscoring of our many years of writing and helped propel us to the things we are doing today. Our thanks will always be to Des for liking the story and publishing it in such an elegant and eloquent publication as Nemo.
========================================
Monday, May 29, 2006
Rachel Kendall / Simon Kewin
Two more in the occasional series depicting the Post-Nemo Bios of the eighty Nemonymous writers in issues 1-6:
==========================================
RACHEL KENDALL:
So, for the info on what I am up to now (this is a great idea by the way):-
"Leaves Like Hearts" (Nemo 4)
"Solid Gold" (Nemo 5)
How I am getting on:
I have had a number of short stories published since "Solid Gold", mostly flash fiction though, as I am working on a new novel. I have also been editing the art and lit zine "Sein und Werden" (http://www.kissthewitch.co.uk/seinundwerden/sein.html) since 2004 (see here for the interview with Des Lewis (http://www.kissthewitch.co.uk/seinundwerden/archive3/page9.html). Currently I am also working on an ongoing photoproject, updating my journal (http://www.xanga.com/kissthewitch/), and collaborating on three art and music projects. My self-published short story collection 'Her Black Little Heart' came and went in 2005, and later this year should see a new collection published by D-Press (Whispers of Wickedness).
What difference (if any) Nemo made :
"Leaves Like Hearts" was my first 'proper' paid short story (aside from "Connections" and my very first short story for which I was paid with a herbal tea bag). I had been in a deep depression/creative block and wrote the story when my therapist told me to 'Just write. Write something for me. Anything'. There were two stories that came out of that time. I happened to send Leaves to Des, despite being rejected for Nemo numerous times before. Being accepted at that time, by a magazine I considered one of the most important of the small press, gave me the motivation I needed to keep on writing.
=============================================
SIMON KEWIN:
"Earthworks" (Nemo 2)
How I am getting on :
I'm still writing, whilst being a full-time software developer and, indeed, father at the same time. I've had several other stories and poems published since Earthworks, none of them really in the same mold. I'm currently working on a novel, which I plan to complete this year. My web site is at http://www.simonkewin.co.uk should any one want to browse on by. As well as other delights you can read my poem "Tribute to John Cage", which predates Des's own 4'33" by some way ...
What difference (if any) Nemo made :
Getting published in Nemo was a major lift to me as a writer. I had been published before, but Nemo felt like my first professional sale and remains one of those that I'm proudest of.
==========================================
RACHEL KENDALL:
So, for the info on what I am up to now (this is a great idea by the way):-
"Leaves Like Hearts" (Nemo 4)
"Solid Gold" (Nemo 5)
How I am getting on:
I have had a number of short stories published since "Solid Gold", mostly flash fiction though, as I am working on a new novel. I have also been editing the art and lit zine "Sein und Werden" (http://www.kissthewitch.co.uk/seinundwerden/sein.html) since 2004 (see here for the interview with Des Lewis (http://www.kissthewitch.co.uk/seinundwerden/archive3/page9.html). Currently I am also working on an ongoing photoproject, updating my journal (http://www.xanga.com/kissthewitch/), and collaborating on three art and music projects. My self-published short story collection 'Her Black Little Heart' came and went in 2005, and later this year should see a new collection published by D-Press (Whispers of Wickedness).
What difference (if any) Nemo made :
"Leaves Like Hearts" was my first 'proper' paid short story (aside from "Connections" and my very first short story for which I was paid with a herbal tea bag). I had been in a deep depression/creative block and wrote the story when my therapist told me to 'Just write. Write something for me. Anything'. There were two stories that came out of that time. I happened to send Leaves to Des, despite being rejected for Nemo numerous times before. Being accepted at that time, by a magazine I considered one of the most important of the small press, gave me the motivation I needed to keep on writing.
=============================================
SIMON KEWIN:
"Earthworks" (Nemo 2)
How I am getting on :
I'm still writing, whilst being a full-time software developer and, indeed, father at the same time. I've had several other stories and poems published since Earthworks, none of them really in the same mold. I'm currently working on a novel, which I plan to complete this year. My web site is at http://www.simonkewin.co.uk should any one want to browse on by. As well as other delights you can read my poem "Tribute to John Cage", which predates Des's own 4'33" by some way ...
What difference (if any) Nemo made :
Getting published in Nemo was a major lift to me as a writer. I had been published before, but Nemo felt like my first professional sale and remains one of those that I'm proudest of.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Dr Who (Maureen Lipman)
Last night's episode of DR WHO on BBC television was a masterpiece. With Maureen Lipman playing the best Dr Who monster ever!!
Being five at the time, I do remember everyone crouching around the few available black and white TVs (tiny screens embedded in huge consoles: a very new medium at the time) to watch the 1953 Coronation. It has haunted me ever since - and many of my stories published since 1986 have been inspired by the act of contemporaneously watching Fifties TV rather than by Fifties TV itself.
This is just one example: BLACK CEILINGS.
==========================
Being five at the time, I do remember everyone crouching around the few available black and white TVs (tiny screens embedded in huge consoles: a very new medium at the time) to watch the 1953 Coronation. It has haunted me ever since - and many of my stories published since 1986 have been inspired by the act of contemporaneously watching Fifties TV rather than by Fifties TV itself.
This is just one example: BLACK CEILINGS.
==========================
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