Behind today's advent calendar window is a free sample of Babble and Squeak by Mark Kotting.
The novel is a quirky, dark comedy involving humour and life-changing events, and has been described by comedian Sean Lock as 'darkly comic and moving'.
Lucy
Babble and Squeak are available to order by clicking here
Author Mark Kotting will be speaking about his novel Babble & Squeak with Robert Elms on BBC Radio London today at around 1:30pm.
Visit the site and listen live by clicking here
Mark will also be interviewed on Talksport on the Ian Collins show on 6th June.
Lucy
Babble and Squeak by Mark Kotting has been chosen by Holt Jackson as their Book of the Month. Holt Jackson is one of the UK's biggest library suppliers, so we hope to see copies all over the country arriving soon!
See the feature by clicking here!
Joe Carhill's a fish and chip man; he's had a bad year. He finds himself at a silence retreat. Unbeknown to him he holds a murderous secret. Hospital, prison and grief follow him like the fish he's dipped.
A loyal wife and a daughter with secrets of her own, but will it be enough. Joe's frying, down but not out. He'll need friendship, loyalty and a borrowed nighttime prayer.
'Darkly comic and moving' - Sean Lock, Comedian
Lucy
I once lived with a zealot. He sprinkled Bible words, like sugar on cereal, believing they moved his family up to a higher ground. Breakfast and dinner and any free time in between, one big, palms together pray fest. Any problems and the zealot would be up and at it, reaching for the bible and its answers. He had no time for a TV or gadgets. No, the Bible was where it was at. TV was a sin and sinners watched that.
How he ever thought he’d get to God only he knew. He must have had a plan or hidden the key. He wasn’t getting there through goodness. He liked his meat hot out of the oven after the Lord’s Prayer, the bible was his book, he stuck with that. For me one books never been enough.
Mark
Mark's novel Babble and Squeak is out tomorrow! It is a fantastic quirky must-read for Spring!
Mark Kotting, author of Babble and Squeak embarked on a voyage around the world with his family a few years ago, which he wrote about in regular articles for the Guardian. The features are available to read by clicking here! Oh to be on a sunny beach!
Below is a taster of Mark's first blog:
I don't like the word journal and I don't like the word soccer, so we're writing a diary and soccer's called football. I know how lucky we are, and thank whoever is looking over us.
Already a tourist. Bags bumping Wednesday night backs. Silver screws holding the slatted District line floor. All change, Piccadilly line. And Heathrow's knackered under the strain of fingernail biters, mobile phone thumb flickers' paranoia. But it sells good teddies, so my girls say.
Boom, blast off, the best bit, the plane's going down the runway and Etta looks up and says, has the trip started yet? I smile and say, I guess it has. She's reading the menu. She says, what are we having first breakfast or dinner? Whatever you want, I say. Yeah we're on holiday, she says, closing her eyes as the plane tips back, taking us higher.
We bounce our way over, one with her head in a sick bag, the other changing channels. The woman behind has never been so uncomfortable, the man in front, me, is the same, cattle class. We arrive, you either do or don't. Billie's sick again, walking through the terminal we catch it in a bag, given to her on the plane, her toys and chocolate are ruined. Passengers stare walking by, we crouch, stroke her head, we're here, Bangkok.
We're driven downtown by a man who doesn't stop talking. He says the girls should swim with crocodiles, ride elephants, drink Coke, and do it all with him, him cheap. Billie taps me and says doesn't he realise we're tired, what have we got daddy? Jet lag love, I say. Yeah, she says and stares at the man who hasn't stopped talking.
Bangkok's hot, very hot, and we're here when it's cold, the taxi driver just told us, rubbed his arms and shivered. We got out and a man saluted us. I saluted back, the girls asked why'd he do that? No idea, I replied.
We're in the red light district, that's where the hotel is. Billie's already noticed how many men from England come over and fall in love with Thai women, so many, she says. See, she says every time we walk past another one. It all makes perfect sense to her. When we're out walking, the child's grip gets tighter, over every crack of the pavement, beggar and parlour door. I'm having trouble looking around because of the words being spoken from the end of my hand. Read more
The kids are being hit by heat, dust and noise, smiles and touching hands. They're in shock, they've seen Blue Peter and it's not like this.
Babble and Squeak the fantastic new novel by Mark Kotting is out this weekend! We are really excited about the launch of our first book of the year and this novel looks to be a real cult hit.
The novel has been described by comedian Sean Lock as 'Darkly comic and moving'.
Mark Kotting was born and bred in London, and moved to Sydney for a while to look at the surf. He is the author of Nappy Rash, published by Wrecking Ball Press in 2005. He has written TV and radio comedy including two plays for BBC Radio The Match, 2007 and Gulf, 2008. Mark is a London Cab Driver, who once played second division Rugby League.Mark has just completed an epic motorcycle ride 10,000 miles in 10 weeks from London to Beijing, through France, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia on his trip to China.
Blurb:
Joe Carhill knows fish and chips. Running the Codfather with his wife, Joy believes he needs a break - and could anywhere be better than a secret retreat? The answer would be yes. Run by city-hustler turned Guru, Dave, plagued by wind-up merchant, Raymond, Joe somehow finds himself on a greasy slope into grief, pain and being labeled a murderer.
With a bad year looking to turn into something unthinkably worse, he has to rely on his loyal wife, daughter – whose secret life finds an increasingly large audience – and a borrowed night-time prayer as he looks for the timeless hope of redemption.
Pre-order your copy of Babble and Squeak now - £7.99
Lucy
What was your favourite childhood book?
I didn’t read but my granddad read me cowboy books and I looked at the bloodshed and the shootouts, they had words and pictures.
Which book has made you laugh?
Any Kurt Vonnegut
Which book has made you cry?
I’m not a weeper
Which book would you never have on your bookshelf?
If I found any instruction leaflets or manuals, I’d feel unhappy, because of the memories they’d evoke.
Which book are you reading at the moment?
Sam Shepard, Great Dreams of Heaven.
Which book would you give to a friend as a present?
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
Which other writers do you admire?
Raymond Carver, Carol Shields, Jo Carson, Philip Roth, Flannery O’connor, Harry Crews, John Cheever, Peter Carey, Patricia Highsmith, Richard Ford, Graham Green, Somerset Maugham, Paul Auster, Jim Thompson, Bukowski, Carl Hiaasen, Fred Voss, John Berger, Nick Cave, Joe Queenan, the list can go on and on.
Which classic have you always meant to read and never got round to it?
Charles Dickens.
What are your top five books of all time, in order or otherwise?
Raymond Carver Elephant.
Carol Shields, Stone Diaries.
Cormac Mccarthy The Road
Jim Thompson Pop 1280
Flannery O’connor Wise Blood.
Mark Kotting's novel Babble and Squeak is out on 27th February.
Lucy
On the 31st October we are publishing Mark Kotting's novel 'Babble and Squeak'. We are very excited about publishing this quirky, dark humoured novel. Some of you will already know Mark from our 2009 short story collection '8 Rooms' in which he contributed a story. (Submissions for the 2010 collection are now open, details can be found by following the link on the right).
Here is the blurb:
Joe Carhill knows fish and chips. Running the Codfather with his wife, Joy believes he needs a break - and could anywhere be better than a secret retreat? The answer would be yes. Run by city-hustler turned Guru, Dave, plagued by wind-up merchant, Raymond, Joe somehow finds himself on a greasy slope into grief, pain and being labelled a murderer.
With a bad year looking to turn into something unthinkakbly worse, he has to rely on his loyal wife, daughter – whose secret life finds an increasingly large audience – and a borrowed night-time prayer as he looks for the timeless hope of redemption.
The book is now available to pre-order using the link below!
Pre-order your copy of Babble and Squeak now - £7.99
Lucy
Mark Kotting, whose novel Babble and Squeak is published with Legend Press in October is about to embark on a very exciting roadtrip. Mark will be motorbiking with friends from London to Beijing. The journey will cover 10,000 miles over 10 weeks, a very adventurous journey covering many interesting countries.
Mark will be documenting his journey (internet cafe pending) on his new blog www.thestumbler.co.uk and we will be posting guest blogs on our own site.
We are looking forward to hearing news of the trip!
Lucy
