Aidan Thorn: Tales from the Underbelly

Aidan Thorn’s got a new book out and it’s something a little bit different from him. Typically Aidan’s been a short story writer or a novella man – this time he’s putting all that into one book. Tales from the Underbelly is a series of linked stories of varying length centered around a few criminal characters but more importantly it’s about the people that get caught up in their world, some willingly, some unfortunately and innocently, and some without ever realising it.

Tony Ricco and Jimmy O’Keefe are rival gang leaders running the streets of a gritty UK city. Throughout Tales from the Underbelly the reader follows the lives of those touched by Ricco and O’Keefe through Chinese takeaways, gyms, run down council estates and fancy suburban houses – the places you and I visit daily – but hopefully never encounter the underbelly that’s never far away.

Aidan’s linked collection includes six short stories, a novelette and the second half of the book is a novella, Worst Laid Plans. Throughout these stories we learn about the world in which Ricco and O’Keefe operate and their reach and influence over the city that they vie for power over. In many ways this collection is the British Pulp Fiction – 20 plus years after that Quentin chap came up with the idea, but you can’t blame Aidan for that, he was just a boy at the time.

Tales from the Underbelly is available now: get it here.

Paladins: Got Mine!

A good day in the mail! Got PALADINS and KILL ME QUICK! Lots of reading ahead for my break. Whoohoo! Get yourself copies, too. You deserve it.

Here’s my tale, Inevitable.

Paladins: Out Now!

Click on the image to buy: ebook or paperback, the choice is yours.

Paladin: noun, historical – a warrior that is fully devoted to kindness and ridding the universe of evil. Paladins is an apt description for the contributors to this charity anthology. This publication has been put together by a whole community of writers who have each written a story especially for this title. The stories all feature a person, or persons in distress and with someone, the knight-errant coming to their aid. Sounds cosy doesn’t it? Well, did I mention that the contributors write gritty tales and have crazed imaginations? Expect pain. Expect violence. Expect…the unexpected. But most of all, expect great stories, written with heart. This anthology was inspired by a very special lady called Henrietta Furchtenicht who was given six months to live when she was diagnosed with Mulitple Myeloma over four years ago – Henri’s battle continues. All proceeds from this book will be going to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

Pre-order Paladins!

You can now pre-order the crime collection in honour of Henrietta Furchtenicht, for which all proceeds will be donated to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. A whole bunch of crime fiction writers who know the real hero is the one who has empathy for those who fight every day in small ways.

Pre-order here!

Also that man Darren Sant has been busy recording audio teasers for the collection; check them out [my story ‘Inevitable’ up soon]:

 

Paladins: Linda Angel

Coming soon: Paladains – Stories for Henri charity anthology in support of Craig and Henrietta Furchtenicht and the Multiple Myeloma Foundation.

On the latest featured author, editor Aidan Thorn says:

What I’ve loved most about putting this collection together is the variety. Deathsmell from Linda Nagle is a quite brilliant piece that I’ve really enjoyed reading… Imagine if Dr Seuss wrote stories for adults with imaginative swearyness… That!

“…a shitsack scumbag pantshitter…”

See the trailer:

Paladins: The Trailer!

Mark Wilson has cut a trailer to get you hyped for the release of Paladins. This charity anthology is going to be big!

      More teaser images to come!

Coming Soon: Paladins – David Jaggers

Look for the Paladins, warriors who protect. Balancing the scales of justice is just part of the job for David Jaggers. From a new anthology put together by Aidan Thorn to honour of the courage of Henrietta Furchtenicht. These gritty stories have one other thing in common: they’re all about people who step up to the fight because they see someone in need. All proceeds from the sales will be donated to Myeloma Foundation.

Coming Soon: Paladins

About the end of February there will be a new anthology put together by Aidan Thorn to honour of the courage of Henrietta Furchtenicht. These gritty stories have one other thing in common: they’re all about people who step up to the fight because they see someone in need. All proceeds from the sales will be donated to Myeloma Foundation.

From Henrietta’s foreword:

A few years ago I would have never imagined myself writing these words on the night before Christmas 2015. When my oncologist first diagnosed me with Multiple Myeloma in June of 2012 he only gave me 6 months to live. I was already in the last stage of this rare form of blood cancer that attacks the plasma cells found in the bone marrow. At the time of my diagnosis I had seven broken ribs on my left side. He told me that there was no cure for my type of cancer. We could only treat it to the point of remission with high doses of chemotherapy and stem cell transplants. This is when I was first introduced to Dr. Guido Tricot, the finest oncologist that Belgium has ever produced. He has kept me alive, though at times I thought he was trying to kill me in the process…

Table of Contents

Foreword – Henrietta Furchtenicht
Heir to the Throne – Keith Nixon
Jabs and Uppercuts – Jason Beech
Free Fall – Bill Baber
Strangers in Vegas – Aidan Thorn
Regarding Henri – Darren Sant
Uncle Jim – Ryan Bracha
The Caller – Cal Marcius
Deathsmell – Linda Angel
Pass the Parcel – Robert Cowan
Then Tommy Came Home – Craig Furchtenicht
The Burned Earth – Gareth Spark
Take My Pain – Matt Mattila
Inevitable – Graham Wynd (Kate Laity)
Low and Outside – Christopher Davis
Balancing the Scales – Dave Jaggers
Back in the Day – Gabriel Valjan

My story ‘Inevitable’ is a creepy tale of nuisance neighbours that gets more and more dangerous as the hours pass by and the vengeance escalates. Yes, of course it’s also a Fall song title.

In the coming days I’ll give some more teasers of what’s in store from this great slate of writers, writing from the heart — and kicking you in the gut.