Thursday 31 October 2013

Night & Day Cafe Gig with The Bedroom Hour

The Bedroom Hour




I attended a gig recently at the Night & Day Café to watch a band I know well from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube the band are The Bedroom Hour. The gig took place on Saturday the 10th of August 2013 at the Night & Day Café. I have to give a shout out to Harriet and Jules on the bar that evening. Thanks girls you worked hard that evening



 


The Night & Day Café is an intimate venue in The Northern Quarter in Manchester and well worth a visit. It is situated on Oldham Street.


This was to be The Bedroom Hour's debut performance in Manchester and what a performance it was. Also playing on that evening were The Reveres and Narcosis.


The band members comprise of  Stu Drummond Lead vocals, Mark Dudley keyboards, Dan Rider bass and backing vocals, Rob Payne guitar and backing vocals and finally but not least Lewis Cosham drums.







The band have a number of songs available to download. A particular favourite of mine being X marks the spot with an extremely well polished video.



 
 

They played a number of tracks on the night and their set included x marks the spot, Nocturnal, Submarine, Midnight Game, Heart Will Haunt and Shadow Boxer. All in all the band are headed for big things.


Their debut E.P. is available to download "Themes" and if you ask the lads they will describe themselves as psychedelic rock but that are much more than that too. They have been compared to a number of bands including Elbow. All I know is they were magical to watch and all eyes were fixed on them, as they used their emotionally charged numbers in order to keep the audience entertained.



 
 

The night was an outstanding success with a fabulous atmosphere. Resulting in a further visit to the Night & Day Café lined up for the  Saturday the 2nd of November 2013 with special guests to be announced.



 
 
You will find them on Twitter
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Reveres

 
 
The Reveres also played that evening. They are a four piece band from Greater  Manchester. The line up includes Oliver Lomax - vocals, guitar & Harmonica, Paul Hesketh - Guitar & vocals, Josh Stewart (described as a Ronnie Wood lookalike!) Bassist, and last but no mean least Tim Hewitt - drums.



Their E.P. Pale was released on 25th February this year and also an Acoustic E.P.





 
 

The band are an alternative Indie rock band with influences from many sources including The Smiths, The Rolling Stones and the Jam to name but a few. Quite an eclectic mix.






The numbers they played that evening included Riders from Zero, Chase the light, Kick your Maker, Love in Vein and The Death of Miss X amongst others



You will find them on Soundcloud.
 
 
 
 
 

Narcosis

 
The final band in the line up was Narcosis.  This is a three piece band from Hinkley in Leicester.
The line up being Richard Brown - vocals, Christopher Cropp - guitar and Stephen PGB King on drums.
 
 
 
 
 
 
There record label is Lazy Llama Records.
 
 
Some of the tracks they played were Abusing Ron, Beautiful Ally, Mechanical Face and Flames are Forgotten
 
Three of these tracks are available here on myspace
 
 
Unfortunately it sounds as if this band are no longer on our shores
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Saturday the 2nd of November 2013
 
The Bedroom Hour are once again at The night & Day Café in
 
 Manchester
 
 
I will be there Will you?
 
 
Scarlett
 
xXx
 
 
 
 
 



 

Saturday 26 October 2013

BOTYA 2014


Voted one of the top ten Bloggers of 2014 on Skelat



I have had amazing news this week as I have been voted one of the top ten bloggers of 2014 ( yes I know it is only 2013), on the site Skelat and I am so excited and honoured by this news that I had to share it with you


I hope to receive some votes, although I am up against some stiff competition. Also, some of those in the running with me are also friends of mine, which makes this doubly difficult


This award is voted for by my own peers therefore other bloggers, making it a prestigious award indeed



 




the link for this is here
 
 
Blogger of the Year 2014


Vote now your Blogger of 2014!
 First round begins 1st Novemeber and ends on the 10th of December.
Round two then begins on the 12th and ends on New Years Day!

Entries are now CLOSED!
We can now reveal the top ten!

In no particular order:

Jonathon Fletcher
Carol Hedges
Dallas Dixon
Garrard Hayes
K.M. Francoeur
Christa Simpson
Carole Remy
Marie Gilbert
Claudia Burgoa
Scarlett Flame

Congratulations to our top ten! You have been the most voted for over 2013! 

2014 could be YOUR Year!

*The top ten bloggers will be randomly drawn on the First of November, the Semi-Final will begin on the 20th of November and end 1st January

What can you do now? Share this on your blog and meet the others, on November the first voting will open and you will have to secure as many votes as you can, to become Blogger of the Year 2014!


Read more: http://www.skelat.com/the-top-ten.html#ixzz2iq5Znduk



 
 

Monday 14 October 2013

From Professional Hockey Player to Published Novelist Guest Blog by Luke M. Murphy Author

 
 
 
 
 


From a family of avid readers, even as a child I always had a passion for books. Whether it was reading novels on road trips or writing assignments in school, literature was always part of my life.


In the winter of 2000, after sustaining a season ending eye injury while playing professional hockey in Oklahoma City. I found myself with a lot of time on my hands, and a new hobby emerged.


I didn't write with the intention of being published. I wrote for the love of writing, through the years, honing my craft, making time between work and family obligations.


Then I made the decision to take my interest one step further. I've never been one to take things lightly or jump in half way. I took a full year off from writing to study my craft.


I constantly read, from novels in my favourite genre to books written by experts in the writing field. My first two purchases were "Stein on Writing", a book written by a successful editor Sol Stein, and "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" by Renni Browne and Dave King.


I read through these novels and highlighted important answers to my questions. My major breakthrough from Stein's book was to "Show don't Tell". I had to trust my reader. I even wrote that phrase and put it on a sticky note and put it on my computer monitor.


The self-editing book helped me to learn how to cut the FAT off my manuscript, eliminating unnecessary details, making it more lean and crisp, with a better flow. I learned to cut repetition and remain consistent throughout the novel.


I continually researched the internet, reading up on the industry and process "What is selling? and "Who is buying>" were my two major questions.


I attended the "Bloody Words" writing conference in Ottawa,, Canada, rubbing shoulders with other writers (published and unpublished), bombarding them with questions, learning what it took to become successful.


Feeling that I was finally prepared, in the winter of 2007, with an idea in mind, and an outline on paper. I started to write DEAD MAN'S HAND. It took me two years (working around full time jobs) to complete the first draft of my novel.




 
 
 

The first person to read my completed manuscript was my former high school English teacher. With her experience and wisdom, she gave me some helpful advice. I then hired McCarthy Creative Services, to help edit DEAD MAN'S HAND, to make it the best possible novel


I joined a critique group, teaming up with published author, Nadine Doolittle and Kathy Leveille, and exchanging manuscripts and information. Working with an editor and other authors was very rewarding and not only made my novel better, but made me a better writer.


When I was ready, I researched agents who fit my criteria (successful. worked with my genre, etc.) an sent out querying letters. After six months of rejections, I pulled my manuscript back and worked on it again. Then in my next round of proposals I was offered representation by Jennifer Lyons Literary Agent.


After months od editing with Jennifer, and more rejections from publishers, my dream was finally realised in April 2012, when I signed a publishing contract with Imajin Books (Edmonton, Alberta).



Back cover text for DEAD MAN'S HAND


What happens when the deck is stacked against you…


From NFL rising-star prospect to wanted fugitive, Calvin Watters is a sadistic African-American Las Vegas debt-collector framed by a murderer who, like the Vegas Police, finds him to be the perfect fall-guy.


…and the cards don't fall your way?


When the brutal slaying of a prominent casino owner is followed by the murder of a well-known bookie, Detective Dale Dayton is thrown into the middle of a highly political case and leads the largest homicide investigation in Vegas in the last twelve years.


What if you're dealt a Dead Man's Hand?


Against his superiors and better judgment, Dayton is willing to give Calvin one last chance. To redeem himself, Calvin must prove his innocence by finding the real killer, while avoiding the LVMPD, as well as protect the woman he loves from a professional assassin hired to silence them.


Short Bio:


Luke Murphy lives in Shawville, Quebec with his wife, three daughters and pug.


He played six years of professional hockey before retiring in 2006. Since then, he’s held a number of jobs, from sports columnist to radio journalist, before earning his Bachelor of Education degree (Magna Cum Laude).


Murphy`s debut novel, Dead Man`s Hand, was released by Imajin Books on October 20, 2012.


For more information on Luke and his books, visit: www.authorlukemurphy.com, ‘like’ his Facebook page www.facebook.com/#!/AuthorLukeMurphy and follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/#!/AuthorLMurphy


Review Blurbs:


"You may want to give it the whole night, just to see how it turns out."
—William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Lincoln Letter


"Dead Man's Hand is a pleasure, a debut novel that doesn't read like one,
but still presents original characters and a fresh new voice."
—Thomas Perry, New York Times bestselling author of Poison Flower


"Part police procedural, part crime fiction, Dead Man's Hand is a fast, gritty ride."
—Anne Frasier, USA Today bestselling author of Hush
 
 
 
 
 
Well I hope you all enjoyed reading my guest blog this week, and many thanks to Luke and good luck with the book.
 
 
I found this a particularly interesting blog post as I am always intrigued as to how other writers came in to writing in the first place.
 
 
I see Luke also uses on of my little tricks, I always have a highlighter pen at the ready so that I can highlight a particular snippet of information that catches my eye. As a student at university my notes were always dotted about with highlighter and also sticky notes.



Love to you all

Scarlett

xXx











 
 



 

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