Mark Waddell is a man to watch. His poems are being met with both sober and drunken applause. 'On the Cusp of Greatness', a collection of poetic intoxications and hare-brained illustrations, was published in April 2016 by Valley Press.
Below are descriptions of his novels, novellas and short stories - along with opening paragraphs to give you a flavour... enjoy!
LIZARD LUCK
Lizard Luck is the story of Leonard, a mischievous lizard bottled in pure hallucinatory alcohol behind a bar, who plays with
the heads of the drinkers to mind-blowing effect.
Lizard Luck was published in Latitude - writing from the Philippines and Scotland by Anvil Fiction (ISBN 971-27-1725-9).
In 2011 it was made into a soundtrack with music by the infamous Scott McMahon and has been performed at venues ranging
from the Edinburgh International Book Festival to the Cobden Club, London and The Torriano, London.
R.J. Ellory, best-selling author described this work as: If Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer in Bladerunner) wrote a book and set it
to music, this is what it would be like.
Listen to Lizard Luck here: http://www.markwaddell.com/audio.
Opening paragraph:
Jake scanned the endless rows of deliciously tempting bottles and, for a moment, he had to admit a grudging respect for man’s ingenuity. For all appeared to hold within them the promise of other worlds. But most of all they held the twisted kiss of comfort, a gleaming half-way house somewhere between the twins of oblivion and pleasure. Tall and short bottles, fat and skinny ones stood side by side with those that had been chiselled from pure diamonds. And each was stamped with labels as diverse as human desires.
SOLID GONE
Solid Gone is a contemporary crime novel with a supernatural twist.
Jane used to live in the same American hostel where she now finds herself trapped. But things are very different this time. She fears she may be invisible, mad or dead. Forced to become a seemingly impotent witness to the brutality of The Assholes who rule the place with an iron fist, she plots revenge, enlisting help from the vulnerable tenants whilst her searching husband employs the moonlighting detective Buck Stein and spiritualist Rescue Mission to find his wife. Surging through the city of Hudd as a hitman stalks his prey and the cops and Jane get closer to the truth, Solid Gone kicks open a rotten door to the 'care' industry in a quest for love that never dies.
Gripping, pacy and impossible to put down. One helluva book. - Toni Davidson, author or Scar Culture and The Gradual Gathering of Lust.
I read over 140 books whilst travelling around the world. Solid Gone is up there in my top-ten. It's like biting into a ripe peach. I want to read more by this author. - Richard Abbot, founder of 3D Twin.
Expect a completely absorbing novel of bereavement, lost love and friendship - all heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.
- Jenny Reide, freelance marketing professional.
Opening paragraph:
I imagine the past. Good things like barbeques. I guess I must have always loved them. After all, who doesn’t love a barbecue on a hot Summer’s day? I think this whilst watching smoke drift slowly over the neighbour’s garden fence from my vantage point at the window. Making patterns against the blistering sky. I hear myself shouting ‘Bill, don’t burn those sausages to a cinder, we’ll all need new teeth!’ And his quick response, fuelled by beer and the joy of being outdoors with friends, ‘Ah, what’s the matter darling, can’t you trust a man to cook properly? Are we only good for one thing?!’ I shudder. It’s too painful. Knowing that Bill may not even exist.
That he may be a figment of my imagination. That I am grabbing at loose straws. Inventing a life I might never have had. Living one I might not have.
BOOZE SHADOWS
An addictive tale of fucked-up dreams and murky acquaintances gone wrong. Set in London, it tells the tale of Dev who lives
his life anonymously in his favourite bar The Disc. But things start to go wrong when strange faces become known to him and this group of misfits plot their own demise, planning to go out in the biggest bang since time began! As Film Star puts it: 'we are all supernovas in the making'.
Opening paragraph:
It all started in a bar. It always does. I’d been kicking around the Disc for a month or so, melting into the booze shadows, letting the alcohol and music and people mingle into a scene from a film, any film. Some nights were quiet with nothing more to watch than the odd drunk flirting with a barmaid’s rear. Other nights it changed, with no warning, like the time two out-of-their-heads circus girls performed cartwheels in the middle of a surprised floor, illicit substances roaring through their veins. I can still rememer leaning against the bar, letting the bubbles of beer snake their way to my brain and smiling broadly. Then there was the miraculous appearance of a belly-dancer in turquoise sequins whose hips teased out the secret morse code of desire.
THE WEATHER REPORTS
Mark took part in a environmental art project with LondonFieldWorks on Sanda Island off the west coast of Scotland. Syzygy brought together a bunch of scientists, world class stunt kite-fliers (try saying that after a few drinks!), computer programmers, musicians, artists and writers to find parallels between the phenomena of mind and weather. Taking on the cloak of a gonzo-journalist, Mark shadowed the crew as they set about their tasks. Writing from the Weather’s chaotic and ever-changing point of view, he watched these crazed investigators surf into the eye of a storm, disrupting their mind-bending business with his antics.
Mark’s The Weather Reports was later published in Syzygy/Polaria by Black Dog Publishing Ltd.
To purchase a copy follow the link below to Amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=Syzygy/Polaria&x=0&y=0
Opening paragraph:
For me, mood is everything. When I am angry you run for cover. When I am happy you strip off and lie naked before me. Here in Scotland I am often both of these at the same time. Sometimes I bring the four seasons (not that pop group) into being. I am not linear. I’m chaotic but hold rational secrets to my underbelly. I also have a great sense of humour with many tricks up my sleeve. But more of that later.Continuity is not my strong point. I am energy. Always on the move suprising, sometimes wiping you out, boosting the coffers of funeral directors, sometimes making you cry, increasing the sales of hard liquor. In Campbeltown the off-licenses open at 8 a.m.
For more information and further writing contact Mark Waddell - [email protected] or go the contact page on this website.
Below are descriptions of his novels, novellas and short stories - along with opening paragraphs to give you a flavour... enjoy!
LIZARD LUCK
Lizard Luck is the story of Leonard, a mischievous lizard bottled in pure hallucinatory alcohol behind a bar, who plays with
the heads of the drinkers to mind-blowing effect.
Lizard Luck was published in Latitude - writing from the Philippines and Scotland by Anvil Fiction (ISBN 971-27-1725-9).
In 2011 it was made into a soundtrack with music by the infamous Scott McMahon and has been performed at venues ranging
from the Edinburgh International Book Festival to the Cobden Club, London and The Torriano, London.
R.J. Ellory, best-selling author described this work as: If Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer in Bladerunner) wrote a book and set it
to music, this is what it would be like.
Listen to Lizard Luck here: http://www.markwaddell.com/audio.
Opening paragraph:
Jake scanned the endless rows of deliciously tempting bottles and, for a moment, he had to admit a grudging respect for man’s ingenuity. For all appeared to hold within them the promise of other worlds. But most of all they held the twisted kiss of comfort, a gleaming half-way house somewhere between the twins of oblivion and pleasure. Tall and short bottles, fat and skinny ones stood side by side with those that had been chiselled from pure diamonds. And each was stamped with labels as diverse as human desires.
SOLID GONE
Solid Gone is a contemporary crime novel with a supernatural twist.
Jane used to live in the same American hostel where she now finds herself trapped. But things are very different this time. She fears she may be invisible, mad or dead. Forced to become a seemingly impotent witness to the brutality of The Assholes who rule the place with an iron fist, she plots revenge, enlisting help from the vulnerable tenants whilst her searching husband employs the moonlighting detective Buck Stein and spiritualist Rescue Mission to find his wife. Surging through the city of Hudd as a hitman stalks his prey and the cops and Jane get closer to the truth, Solid Gone kicks open a rotten door to the 'care' industry in a quest for love that never dies.
Gripping, pacy and impossible to put down. One helluva book. - Toni Davidson, author or Scar Culture and The Gradual Gathering of Lust.
I read over 140 books whilst travelling around the world. Solid Gone is up there in my top-ten. It's like biting into a ripe peach. I want to read more by this author. - Richard Abbot, founder of 3D Twin.
Expect a completely absorbing novel of bereavement, lost love and friendship - all heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.
- Jenny Reide, freelance marketing professional.
Opening paragraph:
I imagine the past. Good things like barbeques. I guess I must have always loved them. After all, who doesn’t love a barbecue on a hot Summer’s day? I think this whilst watching smoke drift slowly over the neighbour’s garden fence from my vantage point at the window. Making patterns against the blistering sky. I hear myself shouting ‘Bill, don’t burn those sausages to a cinder, we’ll all need new teeth!’ And his quick response, fuelled by beer and the joy of being outdoors with friends, ‘Ah, what’s the matter darling, can’t you trust a man to cook properly? Are we only good for one thing?!’ I shudder. It’s too painful. Knowing that Bill may not even exist.
That he may be a figment of my imagination. That I am grabbing at loose straws. Inventing a life I might never have had. Living one I might not have.
BOOZE SHADOWS
An addictive tale of fucked-up dreams and murky acquaintances gone wrong. Set in London, it tells the tale of Dev who lives
his life anonymously in his favourite bar The Disc. But things start to go wrong when strange faces become known to him and this group of misfits plot their own demise, planning to go out in the biggest bang since time began! As Film Star puts it: 'we are all supernovas in the making'.
Opening paragraph:
It all started in a bar. It always does. I’d been kicking around the Disc for a month or so, melting into the booze shadows, letting the alcohol and music and people mingle into a scene from a film, any film. Some nights were quiet with nothing more to watch than the odd drunk flirting with a barmaid’s rear. Other nights it changed, with no warning, like the time two out-of-their-heads circus girls performed cartwheels in the middle of a surprised floor, illicit substances roaring through their veins. I can still rememer leaning against the bar, letting the bubbles of beer snake their way to my brain and smiling broadly. Then there was the miraculous appearance of a belly-dancer in turquoise sequins whose hips teased out the secret morse code of desire.
THE WEATHER REPORTS
Mark took part in a environmental art project with LondonFieldWorks on Sanda Island off the west coast of Scotland. Syzygy brought together a bunch of scientists, world class stunt kite-fliers (try saying that after a few drinks!), computer programmers, musicians, artists and writers to find parallels between the phenomena of mind and weather. Taking on the cloak of a gonzo-journalist, Mark shadowed the crew as they set about their tasks. Writing from the Weather’s chaotic and ever-changing point of view, he watched these crazed investigators surf into the eye of a storm, disrupting their mind-bending business with his antics.
Mark’s The Weather Reports was later published in Syzygy/Polaria by Black Dog Publishing Ltd.
To purchase a copy follow the link below to Amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=Syzygy/Polaria&x=0&y=0
Opening paragraph:
For me, mood is everything. When I am angry you run for cover. When I am happy you strip off and lie naked before me. Here in Scotland I am often both of these at the same time. Sometimes I bring the four seasons (not that pop group) into being. I am not linear. I’m chaotic but hold rational secrets to my underbelly. I also have a great sense of humour with many tricks up my sleeve. But more of that later.Continuity is not my strong point. I am energy. Always on the move suprising, sometimes wiping you out, boosting the coffers of funeral directors, sometimes making you cry, increasing the sales of hard liquor. In Campbeltown the off-licenses open at 8 a.m.
For more information and further writing contact Mark Waddell - [email protected] or go the contact page on this website.