Rogue in Print!

Rogue Bonkers in PhoenixHey kids! Near to the Knuckle’s Rogue collection is out in paperback now for those of you not into the whole digital business. Get 22 knuckle-dusting tales that will knock the stuffing out of you:

The book you’re holding in your hands, flipping across your screen or pirating, is a bold statement by a group of authors who are committed to controlling their own literary destinies. To representing themselves and their stories the way they want to. To producing quality literature without constraints, or middle-management foibles, or decisions based on what will appeal to this demographic or best reflect that group. To give you raw, uncompromising stories from the depths of their filthy imaginations. More punk than Cowell-esque candy pop, this collection captures a group of writers, writing in a spectacularly diverse myriad of styles at the very top of their game. You can feel the enthusiasm for the project and the license they’ve been given to indulge themselves laser from the page. These men and women, these Indie-writers, have jabbed a metaphorical mid-digit at an industry too enamoured with money and derivative diluted-down novels, and collected into this astounding anthology a hurricane of unique and distinct voices, deliciously, grubby, violent and uncompromising in each of their contributions. No money-men, no committees, just the desire, the skill and the talent to bring you a collection of depraved, emotionally-draining, twisted and deliciously funny tales from their black hearts.

Get it Amazon UK or US (or all the other ones, too).

Rogue: Keith Nixon

Keith Nixon knows The Fix and has been said to play Russian Roulette, so he’s a rogue for sure —

1) Who’s your rogue?

The name he goes by these days is Konstantin Boryakov, he’s ex-KGB and hides in, of all places, Margate. Konstantin had a small, but significant part in my debut novel, The Fix. Since then he’s developed into a main character and has his own series of books. A man with a dark past and a darker future he spends his days attempting to avoid trouble because he’s been in more than the average person. The trouble is Konstantin can’t help himself…

2) What crime would you really want to get away with?

Who says I haven’t already?

3) What author can’t you do without?

The trouble here is my tastes have changed over the years. Who was big for me 20, 10 or 5 years ago isn’t necessarily now. I used to read loads of sci-fi – Moorcock and Asimov in particular – but I’ve shifted to thrillers and crime in the last decade. At one time I read everything by Robert Ludlum, these days he does my head in!

4) What movie best captures the criminal life?

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

5) Are you a criminal mastermind or just a mild-mannered dreamer?

In the real world unfortunately I’m a wage slave, which just goes to prove I can’t be that much of a criminal mastermind!

Find Keith online:

Buy it at Amazon US or UK.

Rogue: Ryan Bracha

The very artsy Ryan Bracha, who came up with all the promo for this anthology and its trailer, too, shares a few facts with us today.

Who’s your rogue?

He’s an unnamed dad, estranged from the kid’s mum, taking his son out for his birthday. What starts out as a bitter reminiscence turns into something altogether more sinister.

What crime would you really want to get away with?

Big time hustler stuff, like, in a team of grifters, pulling huge cheeky scores over any one of the crooked scumbag millionaires we’re overrun with. I’d be known as The Wizard’s Sleeve.

What author can’t you do without?

Irvine Welsh. No question. His inventiveness with bringing a tale to life knows no bounds. If we’re talking crime fiction, I think Elmore Leonard takes some beating.

What movie best captures the criminal life?

Requiem for a Dream, or Trainspotting. The extreme lengths that people will go to, to feed addiction. That’s crime for me. The highs and lows of resorting to petty crime for a short term buzz.

Criminal mastermind or mild mannered dreamer?

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.

Www.Facebook.com/ryanbrachaauthor

@ryanbracha

Www.ryanbracha.webs.com

Buy it at Amazon US or UK.

Rogue: Cal Marcius

Cal comes with an eyepatch and this ominous advice: when you’re doing DIY, wear goggles! I suspect some sort of caper behind this really…

Who’s your Rogue?

Something Rotten is about Barnes, a single father who wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his son. He’s not a rogue as such, just a father who will do anything to protect the things that are close to him, at whatever cost.

What crime would you really want to get away with?

When it comes to children, wouldn’t we all like to be a little bit like Barnes?

What author can’t you do without?

Arthur Conan Doyle. Thanks to his Sherlock Holmes stories I became obsessed with reading mysteries, and later crime in all its many forms. My parents gave me a kid’s version of his collected stories when I was about nine, and my cousin and I would send each other letters as Holmes and Watson. Now, I read anything by Michael Marshall, Christopher Fowler and J.A. Kerley. The list could go on, but I can’t name everyone.

What movie best captures the criminal life?

Wild Bill, a depressingly realistic British film by Dexter Fletcher, well worth watching. On a more light hearted note, RocknRolla by Guy Ritchie. [Ed: a fave of mine too]

Are you a criminal mastermind or just a mild-mannered dreamer?

A dreamer, but there’s still time to become a criminal mastermind.

Twitter: @CalMarcius

Buy it at Amazon US or UK.

Rogue: Gary Duncan

Gary Duncan photo.jpgSpelk Captain, Gary Duncan is our Rogue of the day; check out his site for fine flash fiction you can read when you only have a little time — and enjoy when you have a little more.

  1. Who’s your Rogue?

An Imperfect Arrangement is about bad people doing bad things. Bill: the once-feared but now fearful gang boss. Don: the hired muscle who may or may not know the whereabouts of Bill’s missing £10,000. Rick: Bill’s idiot son who has never let common sense get in the way of a stupid idea. And Frank: the fixer, enforcer and confidant whose loyalty to Bill is matched only by his own instinct for self-preservation. An Imperfect Arrangement is about doing whatever you have to do to get by and survive.

  1. What crime would you really want to get away with?

Whisper it softly, but I think I already have.

  1. What author can’t you do without?

James Ellroy. If I could have more: Don Winslow, Lee Child, Dennis Lehane. Non-crime, Martin Amis.

  1. What movie best captures the criminal life?

I was going to say Carlito’s Way, but I see Aidan Thorn has already bagged that. I’ll go with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid [Ed: an awesome film]

  1. Are you a criminal mastermind or just a mild-mannered dreamer?

I’d like to say the former, but I’m afraid it’s the latter.

Gary Duncan – contacts:

Buy it at Amazon US or UK.

Rogue: Paul D. Brazill

Today’s Rogue is Mr B, the godfather of Brit Grit, Paul D. Brazill: readers of this blog will already be familiar with the mastermind behind Roman Dalton, Gumshoe and of course Exiles. It won’t surprise anyone that he’s a Rogue, too…

Who’s your Rogue?

Diggsy in ‘Route 66 And All That’ is a small-town postman who occasionally dips his toes into the dirty and shallow waters of small-time crime.

What crime would you really want to get away with?

I’ve always thought that ‘crimes against humanity’ would sound impressive on a rap sheet. Better to be hung for a herd of sheep etc


What author can’t you do without?

Askey. Sorry, what was that, I’m a bit mutton …


What movie best captures the criminal life?

Wild Bill: Former tough guy Bill returns home to his dreary flat in a London tower block, after 11 years in the nick, only to find out that his wife has done a runner to Spain, leaving their two young sons to fend for themselves. Writer Danny King, director Dexter Fletcher and a collection of great performances turn what could have been merely grim social realism into a splendid, funny and moving film.

Are you a criminal mastermind or just a mild-mannered dreamer?

A criminally minded dreamer.

Find Brazill across all media:

Facebook

Twitter

Brit Grit Alley

Buy it at Amazon US or UK.

Rogue: Matt Mattila

I think he may be the youngest in the bunch, but Matt Mattila has proved plenty tough.

1.Who’s your rogue?

Take the outcast boys you didn’t talk to in high school, put them out on cordoned-off city streets late one night in the middle of the largest protests in the past decade, throw in a little betrayal and brotherhood and four bullets and a thousand dollars in loot from the pawn shop they just broke into, and you’ve got “The Straggler and the Yes-Man.”

2. What crime would you really want to get away with?

I’d wanna get away with a straight-up cash robbery-not a diamond heist, not an art theft like some stuffy asshole, because the whole complex operation would be pretty useless if I couldn’t sell the stolen shit, right? In a cash robbery, I’ve already got the money. Easier done than said.

3. What author can’t you do without?

From writers still living, there’s too many to count, and I don’t want to leave names out, so I won’t namedrop anybody. From dead ones: Jim Thompson, David Goodis, Faulkner (bit of a stereotype, I know), just to name a few.

4. What movie best captures the criminal life?

“Pulp Fiction” captured the absolute unpredictable chaos of the criminal world, “The Town” brought psychology and regret to the table, “Gun Crazy” brought suspense and originality and is probably the finest noir flick I’ve ever seen. “Goodfellas” has been on for the past two hours and I have no idea why I’m still pretending to watch it, so it must be good.

5. Are you a criminal mastermind or just a mild-mannered dreamer?

To be a criminal mastermind and also to be a writer, you have to be as much a planner as you are a dreamer. Who you calling “mild-mannered”?

FB: https://www.facebook.com/matt.mattila.77
Tumblr: http://mattmattila.tumblr.com/

Buy it at Amazon US or UK.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/matt.mattila.77
Tumblr: http://mattmattila.tumblr.com/

Rogue: Benedict J. Jones

Pennies cover1. Who’s your Rogue?
“Old Times” is the story of Danny, a petty criminal from south London who steps into the bigger leagues to fund his American dream. This dream turns to a nightmare on the back roads of Colorado as the winter closes in and we get to see that being a bit of a rogue isn’t the worst thing in the world – there are much worse lurking out there…

2. What crime would you really want to get away with?
Well, a big bag full of used bank notes would be nice.

3. What author can’t you do without?
There are a few but some of those I find myself going back to time and time again are; Jim Thompson, David Peace, Chester Himes, Phillip Kerr and Cormac McCarthy.

4. What movie best captures criminal life?
For me it is films like “The Friends of Eddie Coyle”, “Mona Lisa” and the like that portray the grimy low-level stuff. A lot of crime movies depict the criminal life at the higher echelons, “The Godfather” etcetera, and that’s fine but I like to see crime depicted at its most base.

5. Are you a criminal mastermind or just a mild mannered dreamer?
Oh, mild mannered dreamer – but then a criminal mastermind would probably say that, wouldn’t he?

Links:
Website benedictjjones.webs.com
Twitter @benedictjjones
Facebook www.facebook.com/BenedictJJonesWriter

Buy it at Amazon US or UK.

Rogue: Gareth Spark

  1. Who’s your Rogue?

Hi. My rogue is John Lee Dixon, a deserter from the US Army hiding in the Underworld of blitzed out and war beaten Britain. After his girl is murdered, he takes on the gangsters and spivs of the East End the only way he knows how, with ol’ fashioned Appalachian retribution and a LOT of bullets.

  1. What crime would you really want to get away with?

I’d like to ramraid the Bestseller list with a novel filled with furious anger…either that or rob a casino…preferably whilst wearing a tuxedo.

  1. What author can’t you do without?

The early Hemingway is kind of a spiritual big brother of mine, and always will be (this is pre-Safari and millionaire lifestyle Hem)…but I’d give up all the Hemingway in the world rather than lose Cormac McCarthy….

  1. What movie best captures the criminal life?

The criminals I’ve known have been more along the lines of Trainspotting than Goodfellas: tracksuit wearing predators, haunting the dole queue and the off licence and, above all, avoiding the dentist. Sexy Beast , however, best approximated the lives of some retired ‘gentlemen’ I knew in Spain, particularly in the opening third of the movie. It was quite authentic.

  1. Are you a criminal mastermind or just a mild-mannered dreamer?

Both probably, depending on who you asked.

Find Gareth on line:

@garethspark1

garethspark.blogspot.co.uk

Buy it at Amazon US or UK.

Rogue: Craig Furchtenicht

  1. Who’s your Rogue?

The Brat Snatcher is a twisted little tale about a guy who scratches out a living by terrorizing delinquent children back to the straight and narrow. Sort of like a street level Dr. Phil, if you will. The fact that the parents of his victims pay for his services only helps him justify his choice in professions. He thoroughly enjoys the brutal aspect of his job and loses not a single wink of sleep when things get out of hand. His one redeeming quality is unveiled as the story winds down and we get to see that even the most sadistic bastard has a little compassion locked away inside them somewhere.

  1. What crime do you really want to get away with?

If they were giving out free passes for crimes of my choice, I would go with assault by shopping cart. The old lady at the checkout line with a fistful of coupons, ten rolls of pennies and way more time on her hands than I have patience for. I would take out more screaming children and annoying A-holes with cell phones than Frankenstein on Death Race 2000. It would be sweet.

  1. What author can’t you live without?

A few years ago I would have said Chuck Palahniuk, because his stuff is truly phenomenal. These days most of my reading material comes by way of the indie scene. The words crafted by my fellow Rogues as well as many other independent writers have stuck with me in a way that traditionally published books cannot.

  1. What movie best captures the criminal life?

I would have to say that Natural Born Killers pretty much sums up the criminal way of life. Who wouldn’t want to spend a day in the boots of Mickey or Mallory Knox?

  1. Are you a criminal mastermind or a mild-mannered dreamer?

On paper I am a master manipulator with a knack for bringing my devious plans to fruition. In reality I would probably get caught before I even stepped out of the house.

http://feartheindie.blogspot.com/

Buy it at Amazon US or UK.