| Author | Message | ||
     Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
I've immersed myself in Stalin's Russia of 1929 for a month, looked at the work of Ilf and Petrov and many other Russian authors. I've read Bulgakov to my heart's content and have written a story - just accepted by Dan of Ex Occidente. It is for THE MASTER IN CAFE MORPHINE: A HOMAGE TO MIKHAIL BULGAKOV http://www.exoccidente.com/morphine.html I loved writing this story. | ||
| Steve Jensen (Stevej) Username: Stevej Registered: 07-2009 Posted From: 82.0.77.233 |
Great news, Ally, well done!  That's quite an achievement, as the subject matter is quite difficult, I feel (I've read extensively about Stalin's interference in Soviet arts yet the theme of the Ex Occidente anthology seemed rather daunting to me). | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
Thanks Steve! The research became fascinating. | ||
| Karim Ghahwagi (Karim) Username: Karim Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.196.50.16 |
Congrats Ally! I'm also very fond of Bulgakov's work. We'll each have a story in the anthology then. :-) | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
Looking forward to it Karim! Dan told me that you were in just before you announced it on here. Pleased for you, too. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
Nice one, Ally (and Karim) | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
Thank you Caroline! | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
The story is still short of the right title yet but it is one of two stories set in Odessa - one in 1929 and one in 2009. The other will be going to another publisher soon. | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
Well done, Ally! I am sure all your fellow Ex Occidente writers will be pleased for you as well. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.106.220.83 |
Well done Ally & Karim! | ||
| Alexicon (Alexicon) Username: Alexicon Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 88.106.98.142 |
Ally and Karim,many congratulations on the Bulgakov antho coup! I know both your pieces will be elegantly and authoritatively written. I realise that I keep banging on about the talent available on this board; please forgive me for that. Small wonder then,that I feel quite sick after reading that our esteemed Lord Jeffrey Archer has just landed a contract worth 18-million pounds for five novels. Apparently,they will be likened to Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga. Yes,I don't doubt it. The crass venality of big publishers,eh? | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
Thanks Ramsey and Mick! Appreciated Alex. There is so much going on in Bulgakov's stories that can be read on many levels. And as for Archer and the celebs raking it in with inane subject matter, well... | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
Forgive my inattentiveness! Equal congratulations to Karim! | ||
| Karim Ghahwagi (Karim) Username: Karim Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 193.89.189.24 |
Thanks very much. I am at the Copenhagen Climate Summit- We're trying to get 8000 diplomats, mayors, presidents to agree on something, and things here are a little intense to say the least- And all this is happening when I've just had a death in the family this weekend- Someone very dear to me, so your congrats are heartening. I'm basically on call 24/7 these next weeks, so little posting on the board I'm afraid, well until the Christmas break, where I'll finally read 'Creatures of the Pool' next to the Christmas tree in the countryside- which is a bloody tough wait. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
Sorry to hear about the bereavement - Karim and I hope there is some progress at the conference. | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
Sorry to hear that, Karim. My condolences. | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 142.179.13.171 |
"Well done, Ally! I am sure all your fellow Ex Occidente writers will be pleased for you as well." Nice one, Ramsey! | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
Thank you Barbara! "Well done, Ally! I am sure all your fellow Ex Occidente writers will be pleased for you as well." Should hope so | ||
| Karim Ghahwagi (Karim) Username: Karim Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.196.50.102 |
Ally and Ramsey- thank you for the condolences. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.179.87 |
Hearty congratulations to Ally and Karim. This should be a fascinating book! Karim, sorry to hear of your loss. Good for you, getting involved in Copenhagan. I hope you enjoy Creatures of the Pool (I, too, am going to read it at Christmas, along with Just Behind You). Take care! | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.179.87 |
Ahem! CopenhagEn. from Huw in Taiwen | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.253.174.81 |
Well done Ally & Karim - that's an admirable achievement! And as for Archer and the celebs raking it in with inane subject matter, well... I'm starting to think a thinly fictionalised version of my memoirs might be the direction to head in  | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
Thank you Huw and John! | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Ally & Karim, I only recently came across a second hand copy of 'The Master And Margarita' by Bulgakov in my local Oxfam and felt drawn to buy it from the satanic looking cover and the Faustian blurb. I take it I'm in for a treat then? | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
'Ally & Karim, I only recently came across a second hand copy of 'The Master And Margarita' by Bulgakov in my local Oxfam and felt drawn to buy it from the satanic looking cover and the Faustian blurb.' Steve - Put it to the top of your reading list! Here is an interesting article I just found on Bulgakov. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/aug/18/featuresreviews.guardianreview19 | ||
| Karim Ghahwagi (Karim) Username: Karim Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.196.50.102 |
Huw- that's my double bill for sure. The summit is insanely busy, but the Mayor of Cairo -for whom I was a liaison, cancelled the trip to Copenhagen- so slightly less busy! But not much. Stephen: The Master and Margarita changed the direction of my literature degree in college. I ended up leaving 18th century English lit and wrote my thesis on Bulgakov's novel- so it had a huge effect on me. If you love the infernal, the symphonic, the dark fantastic and colourful, memorable, surreal, sometimes very funny characters, then I think you'll love it! It also has madness and cats, and Pontius Pilate, and the devil. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
Karim - I've just ordered HEART OF A DOG for someone who hasn't read Bulgakov yet. Great Christmas present :>). | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Oh, Ally, you really shouldn't have bothered. And I haven't got you anything... | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
Congrats to me from Zed | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
Hang on I'll put these on for you, too   | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
 Congrats to you both. I have a reprint in their Haunted Histories book...if it ever comes out. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
Looking forward to it Zed and also to Black Static with your interview! 14th - not long now. Bit like Christmas. BTW - I will have some facial scars from that fall :>( | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Scars are cool. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
I know | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 142.179.13.171 |
I have a new story in the HAUNTED HISTORIES antho, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for the book's appearance. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.13.159 |
THE MASTER IN CAFE MORPHINE A Homage to Mikhail Bulgakov I. Beloved Chaos that Comes by Night, Jonathan Wood II. The Horned Tongue, Stephen J. Clark III. A Country Doctor, Adam Golaski IV. Amerika, Karim Ghahwagi V. A Certain Power, Mark Valentine VI. The Princess of Phoenicia, Colin Insole VII. Mad Matinée in Baku, Albert Power VIII. The Darkest White, Rhys Hughes IX. Red Green Black White, John Howard X. Chaconne, Nina Allan XI. Judas of Kiev, Liviu Radu XII. Archaic Artificial Suns, D.P.Watt XIII. Only for the Crossed-Out, Adam S. Cantwell XIV. The Black Swan of Odessa, Allyson Bird XV. Heart of a Man, Justin Isis XVI. The Philosophy of the Damned, Reggie Oliver XVII. The Tsarina's Wintercoat, Des Lewis XVIII. The Exquisite Process of Gala Gladkov, R.B. Russell XIX. The Heroes of the Soviet Union, Steve Duffy XX. A Thesis on the Splendor of Satan, Geticus Polus XXI. The Farewell Letter, George Berguño plus new untitled yet stories by Ekaterina Sedia, Michael Cisco, Mark Beech, Eric Carlson Stener, Ron Weighell and two other authors to be confirmed in the next few days. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.13.159 |
Should have added that they are taking preorders. Details about the book: The Master in Cafe Morphine is a large sewn hardcover book of tentatively 530-570 pages with deluxe textured endpapers, cloth boards with folio, a full-colour frontispiece and a dust-jacket. Frontispiece illustration is done by the artist and Mikhail Bulgakov connoisseur C.C. Askew. Edition limited to only 250 copies. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Is this the anthology of wrestling stories? | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
No Chris Barker story in there Ally? | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.13.159 |
Nah - just a homage to Bulgakov. Zed - as I've just said on facebook I'm going to come over to Leeds and twist something in a minute...I'll ask Emily to do it! | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
She's already twisting my melon. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
you know she talks so hip now | ||
| Steveduffy (Steveduffy) Username: Steveduffy Registered: 05-2009 Posted From: 86.156.102.61 |
Nice to see that my story "Heroes of the Soviet Union" (no definite article at the start of that title, btw) is listed as appearing in this antho. First thing I knew about it... (shakes head wearily) | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 188.146.82.98 |
Hey Ally, forgot to tell you, but my uncle who has lived in Russia for 20 years or so, visited one of the homes said to be one of Bulagkov's former residence. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.109.185 |
Frank - I'd love to have done that. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.10.77 |
On the site now, too. http://www.exoccidente.com/morphine.html | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.104.140.73 |
Not long now, Karim...probably next month. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.104.140.73 |
And Rhys, Des, Steve...I'd forgotten that John Howard and Nina Allan are in there. | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.122.209.76 |
Sadly I won't be buying this as at £50 a throw Mr Ghetu has now put his books into the price range I personally classify as 'daft'. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.104.140.73 |
£40.47. Many authors in this, with original stories, so I think it worth it ...especially as it is a homage to Bulgakov. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.104.140.73 |
Not long now until this comes out.... | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.166.117.210 |
£40.47? Sorry, but that's ludicrous. I can get a week's shopping for that. | ||
| Karim Ghahwagi (Karim) Username: Karim Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 193.89.189.24 |
A whole week! I can barely get three days worth of shopping here in Denmark for 40 pounds! Maybe I should move across the water. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.104.140.73 |
The artist is C.C. Askew. http://sekretcity.com/ | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.104.140.73 |
Are you getting excited Karim? : >). | ||
| Rhysaurus (Rhysaurus) Username: Rhysaurus Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 212.219.233.223 |
I'm excited... Bulgakov was an absolute master. In fact I intend to read this volume while drinking a margarita. I don't know why, but it seems appropriate somehow... Right, now I'll go back to chewing the heart of my veggie hotdog... | ||
| Karim Ghahwagi (Karim) Username: Karim Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 193.89.189.24 |
Terrified... Seriously with airfares today, I could pop over across the water, do my grocery shopping, fly back and save money. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 129.11.76.230 |
£40 does me for the whole year. It's amazing how much mileage you can get out of 15 bins of beans and five loaves of breads. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 129.11.76.230 |
Speaking of Stalinist Russia, have you guys read Arthur Koestler's Darkness At Noon? Masterly. | ||
| Rhysaurus (Rhysaurus) Username: Rhysaurus Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 212.219.233.223 |
Not yet, Gary. But I will. Here's my recommendation: A World Apart by Gustav Herling. A devastating true account of life in a gulag. http://www.amazon.com/World-Apart-Penguin-Modern-Classics/dp/0141187956 | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.104.140.73 |
'Speaking of Stalinist Russia, have you guys read Arthur Koestler's Darkness At Noon? Masterly.' I can see a book order...on the horizon, for me. | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.78.35.185 |
"Child 44" is an otherwise pretty standard murder mystery that gets to a much higher level thanks to its portrayal of 1950s Stalinist Russia. Worth reading. | ||
| Nathaniel Tapley (Natt) Username: Natt Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 78.149.182.87 |
'Darkness At Noon' is excellent; for non-fiction Orlando Figes' 'The Whisperers' is absolutely brilliant. If you can ignore his desperately juvenile Amazon-pranks... | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.111.129.71 |
Mid -September release ..but to be wrapped in decorated silk...will be worth it. Happy. I am. 'A few words about The Master in Cafe Morphine: A Homage to Mikhail Bulgakov now. I apologize for the lack of originality but I am going to say the exact things I've said to those who gently asked me about it en private, for which I thank them. I am afraid the homage to the Apocalyptic Russian will not see the light of our eyes until mid September. Bluntly put, the book is immense. At almost 2.5 kg, this is not a tome to be treated lightly. In the past month we have been trying a lot of formats and versions of packing, paper materials, textures and so on. I can at least say that the book will not be released in the classical Ex Occidente Press house format, but in a rather more special style. Some of you know by now that The Master in Cafe Morphine will come veiled in a decorated silk banner. Just one of the many unholy flags of Sathanas. And that's all I am saying for now. I do know that the waiting time will be worthy and I will make sure you will agree with me once the volume will be out.' |