Breaking news...

It's been a busy old bunch of months and as well as some video projects I've also continued writing my novels. The latest ones are THE MIDNIGHT MAN, featured in this blog, and VENGEANCE CHILD, a story of a child haunted by the ghosts of mass-murder victims. Next up will be GHOST MONSTER. Then just before Christmas sees the appearance of WHITBY VAMPYRRHIC. This is a return to the Vampyrrhic mythos, Viking legend, and vampires of course. But vampires with a difference.

Clive Barker has sanctioned and provided a cover for a new anthology called HELLBOUND HEARTS (edited by Paul Kane and Marie O'Regan). I'm thrilled to have a story in there. It's called OUR LORD OF QUARTERS and is set in Byzantium, some six hundred years ago. The book is out in September 09.

You'll also notice commercials on this blog now. Any money generated here, less taxes, I'm donating to charity.

All the best,

Simon Clark

The Midnight Man video

Vincent Van Gogh lived in London for a while in his youth. His experiences there in that turbulent, and sometimes mysterious city, one that Van Gogh likened to a ravenous beast, became the inspiration for THE MIDNIGHT MAN, published by Severn House. It's a story of murder, madness and ghosts. Blending fact and fiction, it imagines the dramatic events that engulfed the artist in 1888.

Here is the link to THE MIDNIGHT MAN video that features the extraordinary maze of streets that Van Gogh would have known - and which would become the haunt of Jack the Ripper.

The Midnight Man video

This follows on from the post below this one. The link to the video isn't working, but if you visit YouTube and enter 'The Midnight Man wmv'in the search engine it should take you right there. Maybe the ghost is already in the machine...
By the way, the photo is of a Whitechapel street - a place Van Gogh would have known in his youth.

The Midnight Man video

To mark the imminent release of THE MIDNIGHT MAN in paperback I've made a short film that looks at the London streets that were familiar to Van Gogh in his youth. I talk a little about the writing of the book and there is a short reading. To view the film hit the link:

Writing the novel was a labour of love, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those who've written to tell me how much they enjoy the book, including some who have told me this is their favourite Simon Clark novel of all. Cheers and thanks again.

Haunting version of Starry, Starry Night...

Hey, just a quick look what I found item. For a guitar instrumental version of McClean's Starry, Starry Night cut and paste following into your browser bar. Chet Atkin's version of the song is both haunting and mellifluous


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsePsTEgiqU&feature=email
I was watching an interview with one of my favorite musicians, Bill Nelson, when he mentioned that Atkins was one of his inspirations. Once your appetite's been whetted the temptation is to go over to YouTube and find a clip.

Coming soon on the blog: another 'murder your darlings' entry where I'll reveal a scene from The Midnight Man that didn't make it to the final edit.

Until next time, take care.

Van Gogh self-portraits animation, and Lucifer's Ark

It's going to happen one day: there will be a big budget CGI film made that uses Van Gogh's paintings, no doubt with the artist himself being brought to life on screen. Then a little way down the line there'll be 3D hologram projections, where we can enter the world of Van Gogh, perhaps in the Arles of 1888, and interact with the artist and the townspeople. And, who knows, maybe even have our own portrait painted in the man's vividly explosive style. Until that does happen, however, here's a short film using a morphing computer program to animate Van Gogh's self portraits.
Van Gogh

My previous book to THE MIDNIGHT MAN is LUCIFER'S ARK, a horror-thriller set aboard a ship that carries psychopathic criminals to a foreign jail. Writers work hard to create an entertaining story, but we only know whether we've succeeded when people read the book, we get feed-back, or we see the reviews. A writer's pulse always beats that bit faster when we begin to read the review; will it be a bloody butchery job or will it praise? Recently, I got this one from BookList, and it is one to warm the cockles of an author's heart!
Author: SIMON CLARK

Title: LUCIFER’S ARK

Publication: BOOKLIST

Issue: 1ST MAY 2008


Lucifer's Ark. Clark, Simon (Author), May 2008. 256 p. Severn, hardcover, $28.95. (9780727865809).

Clark, author of several vampire-themed thrillers, shifts gears in his new novel. It’s set aboard a ship owned by a Russian mining company transporting miners’ wives to meet their offshore mates for the Christmas holidays. But unbeknownst to the passengers—in particular, Tanya Rhone, the novel’s central character—the ship is also transporting hardcore offenders who are being sent to a secret prison. Naturally mayhem ensures. Clark is extremely good at this kind of thing, plunking realistic characters into a surrealistic environment and seeing what happens. The novel is violent, but in a clever way that demonstrates the author’s respect for his readers.


The trade paperback of LUCIFER'S ARK is released this summer.

Until next time,

Simon

Van Gogh - self portraits animation

It's going to happen one day: there will be a big budget CGI film made that uses Van Gogh's paintings, no doubt with the artist himself being brought to life on screen. Then a little way down the line there'll be 3D hologram projections, where we can enter the world of Van Gogh, perhaps in the Arles of 1888, and interact with the artist and the townspeople. And, who knows, maybe even have our own portrait painted in the man's vividly explosive style. Until that does happen, however, here's a short film using a morphing computer program to animate Van Gogh's self portraits.
Van Gogh

My previous book to THE MIDNIGHT MAN is LUCIFER'S ARK, a horror-thriller set aboard a ship that carries psychopathic criminals to a foreign jail. Writer's work hard to create an entertaining story, but we only know whether we've succeeded when people read the book, we get feed-back, or we see the reviews. A writer's heart always beats that bit faster when we begin to read the review; will it be butchery job or will it praise. Recently, I got this one from BookList, and it is one to warm the cockles of an author's heart!


The trade paperback of LUCIFER'S ARK is released this summer.

Until next time,

Simon

Salt Lake City and Scorsese as Van Gogh

Hi, I'm back from Salt Lake City where I was toastmaster for WHC 2008. The people at the convention were so incredibly hospitable and friendly that it was a wrench to leave at the end of the four days. Many attendees were in awe of the mountains that seem to cradle the city in their arms. More than one person admitted to 'being drawn to the mountains.' Now those snow-covered summits were surely the subject for a great painting. But lacking any ability whatsoever with a paintbrush here's a photograph from my hotel room window.

I promised films I'd found on the internet when I was researching The Midnight Man. Here's one: 'Crows' by Akira Kurosawa, which is an extract from a longer work, 'Dreams.' A visitor to an art gallery finds himself drawn through a painting into Van Gogh's world. He meets the artist in a cornfield where he speaks to him. After that, he hurries through a landscape that turns into Van Gogh paintings. Although there isn't a great deal in the way of plot it is visually interesting as reality melts into Van Gogh's vivid art.

For the film, follow this link:

http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=VG6ddwi9ABg&feature=email

If the link doesn't take you there directly copy and paste it into your browswer bar.

The Cover Arrives....

When Severn House began production on THE MIDNIGHT MAN to transform my computer files into a living, breathing book I kept my fingers crossed that the art director would deliver a great cover. There’s a kind of default setting for covers for books that involve murder in the 19th Century - and that is slap on an image of a gent in silhouette wearing a top hat.

So, all through writing the novel I had this mantra playing the back of my head, ‘Don’t let it be the gent in the top hat, don’t let it be…’ etc. They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but I yearned for a great cover that would proclaim to the world its Vincent Van Gogh story-line.

Now I’m delighted to announce that the Severn House art director has done the book justice and delivered the beautifully Van Gough-ian cover you see pictured here.

It’s derived from the artist’s The Sower With Setting Sun. Painted in the summer of 1888. This is Van Gogh’s attempt to create an image that he must have seen in his mind’s eye for many a year. There are sketches for the Sower theme at the beginning of his career. More than anything he wanted to produce a painting that spoke ‘a symbolic language through colour alone.’ On one level The Sower is a representation of the peasant working the field. However, Van Gogh was interested in evoking the eternal cycles of life as much as the seasons of nature. The Sower’s companion piece is The Reaper where the farmer might be harvesting souls rather than gathering wheat.

It’s such a great cover I’ll be taking it to the framers this week. Then all I have to do is to decide which wall to hang it on.

By the way, the link to the virtual tour of the Yellow House can be found below.

The Yellow House virtual tour & tribute videos

When I was doing the research for THE MIDNIGHT MAN I used books and walked London’s mysterious back streets. Sometimes, however, I had the more leisurely option of sitting here at my computer. Internet research revealed fascinating sites that featured Vincent Van Gogh. I’ll be adding more of my favourites here in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, here’s three fascinating examples.

Go here to take a virtual tour of Van Gogh’s Yellow House.
http://www.vangogh3d.co.uk/

On YouTube video there are an amazing number of tributes to the artist. Many use Don McLean’s 1971 hit ‘Starry Starry Night.’ Incidentally, the sheet music of the song, together with a set of Van Gogh’s brushes is buried in a time capsule under the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. This is one of the best tribute videos: -.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gCORHq_-2Y The film-maker employs Van Gogh’s own paintings to tell the artist’s life story in an original and, at times, emotionally powerful way.

Here’s an extended live version of ‘Starry Starry Night’ with painting slideshow:-
http://www.don-mclean.com/articles/vincentslideshow.asp


Until next time,

Simon Clark

So... THE MIDNIGHT MAN, what's it all about, then?

Two things give you an immediate taste of a book - the cover and the description (often called a ‘blurb’ - suggestive of an unfortunate, yet spectacular, spillage).

I’d been to the supermarket to hunt for one of my favourite films, LUST FOR LIFE, starring Kirk Douglas. I didn’t find the DVD but it ended up one of those trips where I find myself picking up a lot of stuff I didn’t even need (garlic olive oil, spare shoelaces, novelty fridge magnet). But I got home to find a pleasant surprise, an e-mail from the publisher with the finalized cover copy for the novel, and here it is:-

THE MIDNIGHT MAN
1888. The Yellow House, Arles: Vincent van Gogh paints works of transcendent genius, while in London a killer launches a reign of terror.
Nidabi is attacked by her sadistic master but is rescued just in time by saintly Pastor Hux, a man who befriended Van Gogh many years ago. On a mission to help those most in need Hux is relentless in his attempts to save the souls of those he rescues.
In Arles, Van Gogh is helped by prostitute Ty and they quickly form a special relationship. Both are outsiders and she struggles to protect the artist as his passion to create threatens to shatter his mind.
But why are these two men haunted by the spectre of failure? How can loyalty endure in the face of evil? Soon a deadly momentum will draw two old friends back together – into a withering storm painted in madness, fear and death.

Van Gogh in London - a p.s.

Embedding the video mentioned in the Feb 8 entry below this one didn't work, unfortunately, so I've uploaded to YouTube. Kindly step this way to watch: BTW you'll need to copy and paste this address into your browser bar

www.youtube.com/user/Vampyrrhic

Van Gogh In London

When I researched Vincent van Gogh's stays in London in the 1870s I did what always works best for me. Get out there on the ground and visit the place, walk through it, smell the air, look at the buildings, savour its atmosphere. It always surprises me that when I visit a location for a book that's when the inspiration starts to flow.

So I headed for London and walked around the areas that Van Gogh had visited when he worked for Goupil's London Art Gallery and later as an assistant at a school. When Van Gogh was 23 he wrote from London to his parents, describing his own experience of the city. Here's an extract of the letter, 'Tomorrow I must be in the remotest parts of London: in Whitechapel - that very poor part of London which you have read about in Dickens... then to Lewisham.' He wrote part of the letter as he undertook this long trip on foot, even resting in a cabbage field to complete his account!

When I explored Whitechapel, with its surprisingly quiet maze of narrow streets, and buildings that still bear violent gouge marks in the brickwork from bombs that fell in WW2 I took some camera footage. This came in useful for describing buidlings and so on. Here's a clip of fairly raw video, which gives you an idea of Whitechapel (Jack the Ripper territory) and how it is today, but most of the buidlings you see will have existed when Van Gogh explored those backstreets.