Indie film-making veteran Roger Corman is 90 years old today!

This man's incredible CV stretches back to the 1950s. Since then, he's brought us the likes of The Little Shop Of Horrors (1960), The Pit And The Pendulum (1961), Dementia 13 (1963), Death Race 2000 (1975), Pirahna (1978), Galaxy Of Terror (1981), Frankenstein Unbound (1990) and so very many more. He continues to make films to this day, with Death Race 2050 in production as we speak.

​And here's a fact that only early adopters of my book The Last Days Of Jack Sparks will already know: Roger Corman and Jack Sparks once crossed paths!

Yes, I can finally reveal that the two men met briefly in November 2014, when journalist Jack was in Hollywood, obsessed with tracking down the creator of a mysterious and seriously creepy 40-second YouTube video that had appeared on his channel. I'll say no more here, but the meeting is documented in the book.

When it came to clearing his appearance in The Last Days Of Jack Sparks, Roger and his lovely representative Cynthia Brown at New Horizons Pictures could not possibly have been more accommodating. Over the years, I've found that the most successful people tend to be the easiest to deal with. So often, those who've achieved comparatively little are the ones surrounded by parasitic bureaucrats who just get in the way. I realised this as early as the year 2000, when dealing with Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons, who provided the afterword for my 2001 biography on the band Slipknot. Here were two absolute icons of rock who simply helped out, without any hint of contracts or red tape.

Two further film-makers appear in The Last Days Of Jack Sparks, who I also very much consider to be horror legends. I'm going to keep their identities to myself, however, so that maybe you can discover them for yourselves.

Happy birthday Roger Corman, you tremendous legend, you!

1) iBOOKS LOVE IT
The good people of Apple's iBooks store were early adopters, making The Last Days Of Jack Sparks one of their books of March 2016! And oh my good God, that was not out of all the ‘genre’ books – that was all the books. So Jack Sparks rubbed shoulders with the likes of Maestra by LS Hilton, What Happened, Miss Simone? by Alan Light and Tracy Chevalier’s At The Edge Of The Orchard. The iBooks editors’ review called TLDOJS, “a whip-smart and impulsive thriller”, concluding, “Fans of breathless horror: meet your new favourite book”.

​2) IT’S NOT JUST FOR HORROR FANS
Many enthusiastic reviewers state up-front that they’re not horror nuts per se, but got into Jack Sparks regardless. “I'm not a big reader of horror, in fact I haven't read much at all in the last couple of decades,” writes Amazon US reviewer Jane Dahle, handing the book five stars. And Holland’s Lattes And Literature writes: “I think it was the first book I've read that features exorcism and demonic possession in a long looooong time and I'm glad Jason Arnopp hooked me up! I don't think I've come across this theme since reading William Peter Blatty's classic The Exorcist back in high school.” More recently, a reviewer known only as 'Amazon Customer' declared that they "hate horror", yet called Sparks "the book release of the year"! Basically, it seems that this book functions as well as a thriller as it does as horror...
 
3) ... BUT OH DEAR LORD, IT’S SCARY
Yes, it definitely creeps people out. One of my favourite lines on this theme comes from Goodreads reviewer Bethany: “There were even times when I had to put it down because of fright”! That’s the stuff we want. Amazon UK reviewer Owen P calls it “genuinely creepy as hell”, while one Jon Oliver phrases it “scary as hell”. I’ll take either. “Right!” tweets Goldboro Books' Harry Illingworth, “#jacksparks has now officially freaked me the fuck out just before I'm going to try and sleep. Cool.” And Christ, the mighty author Christopher Brookmyre tweeted me to say, “It’s a lot to freak me out, but Jack Sparks did the trick”. Hell of a compliment, coming from this guy! Mr Brookmyre also states that this book is, “The Omen for the social media age”. I may never stop quoting this to people.

​4) OH AND IT’S FUNNY TOO
While The Three author Sarah Lotz describes it as “Scarier than watching The Exorcist in an abandoned asylum”, she also notes that it’s, “Wittier than the lovechild of Stephen Fry and Charlie Brooker”. Reviews have called it “hilarious” and “laugh out loud funny”. Obviously I can pass all this information on without fear of immodesty, because I didn’t write The Last Days Of Jack Sparks. Jack did. He’s the one who wrote the main body of this book, delivering what veteran crime writer Ken Bruen has called, “the last word in gonzo journalism”.
 
5) THERE ARE CAMEOS FROM REAL PEOPLE
Obviously, Jack Sparks was a real person – a journalist, author and minor TV celebrity seen on panel shows such as Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Shooting Stars. We all know that. But The Last Days Of Jack Sparks also features a few real living people who gave permission for their encounters with Jack to be included in the book. I won’t name them here, so as not to spoil the surprise, but there are three of them and they’re all connected with horror films. Including one particular found footage gem. Wait and see! When these people gave their permission, it rather blew my mind.

UPDATE: Hey, one of these people is legendary filmmaker Roger Corman! I wrote a blog about that here.

​8) SAIL THE SEVEN SEAS OF SPARKS
The Last Days Of Jack Sparks isn’t just a book: it’s a rabbit hole that runs deeper than you might think. After reading the book (or maybe before, I don’t think it’s really that spoilery) you can check out the official Jack Sparks website, which stands in tribute to Jack. Celebrities line up to recall their meetings with Jack, whether good or bad, and some of Jack’s final posts on social media have been lovingly preserved. You can see me delivering a heartfelt eulogy at a secret wake! And, as of this weekend, you can hear me interviewing Jack’s brother Alistair Sparks! Plus, make no mistake: there’ll be lots of discussion and debate to be had about this book. 

9) IT’S A SPEEDY READ
People seem to burn through this book. This is mostly due to a special chemical that Orbit Books have applied to the front and back cover. Once you put both hands on it, you’re physically and psychologically unable to let go until you’ve mentally absorbed every word within. Radio 1 DJ Daniel P Carter says, “I smashed through it in a couple of days. If you enjoy smart supernatural thrillers then read this book”. Goodreads reviewer Josie says, “Brilliant, finished in less than 24 hours because I couldn't put it down.”
 
10) BARNES & NOBLE LOVES IT
The US bookseller’s Sci Fi & Fantasy Twitter account branded it, “2016’s most twisted new fantasy”. I’ll buy that for a dollar!

11) EARLY ADOPTERS ARE COOL
The main release of The Last Days Of Jack Sparks is in July 2016 in the UK and Europe, followed by September in the US and Canada. So the first edition that snuck out on March 3 is primarily for super-cool early adopters like you. As the esteemed Irish broadcaster Rick O'Shea has said, "This should be lying on sun loungers everywhere this summer and flying off shelves". But why wait till summer when everyone's quacking about Jack Sparks? Plant your flag on this exciting new moon right now! You'll be carried through the streets on people's shoulders and showered with gold! (No, not in that way.)

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon Canada | Amazon Australia

iBooks UK | iBooks US | iBooks Australia

UK: Waterstones | WH Smith | Sainsburys

​Check out this site’s Jack Sparks page for all the links to places where you can grab yourself a copy.  Do this AT ONCE, before I set the Devil on you! 

Jack Sparks, the pop culture celebrity-journo and broadcaster, died under mysterious circumstances in late 2014. 

And yet today, in the pages of his book The Last Days Of Jack Sparks, he is reborn.

Publication day is a bitter-sweet affair for me on this particular title, because I was lucky enough to meet Jack before his terrible downward spiral began. Oh, we never really became friends - I kinda got the impression that Jack didn't really have any, apart from maybe his flatmate Bex - but we'd run into each other every once in a while, back when we were both music journalists. We'd escape some tedious press junket and sneak off for a beer or 27.

Jack Sparks really polarised opinion. People loved him or people hated him, there was no in-between. He had many faults - not least a habit of talking almost exclusively about himself. But he made me laugh, both on the page and in person. How could I not laugh at this larger-than-life hybrid of Richard Dawkins and Hunter S Thompson? Jack was a one-off, and I was so sorry to hear of his death, 18 months back. 

When the news broke, of course, the internet was flooded with accusations and hearsay and all the usual hysteria. So I'm very glad (happy's certainly not the right word) to have been involved with The Last Days Of Jack Sparks, which finally reveals what happened to the man I once knew. Even though it ain't pretty.

Why did Jack decide to turn his latest non-fiction book into a tireless quest to debunk the supernatural?

Why was he so convinced the exorcism he attended in Italy was fake?

And why did he become so determined to hunt down the makers of the creepy 40-second YouTube video that appeared on his channel? 

The Last Days Of Jack Sparks answers these questions and many more. I, for one, was shocked by just how deeply it delves into Jack's true psyche. Prepare to laugh, to wonder, to question, to fear and to be horribly entertained.

The reactions to the book have been incredible so far.

Christopher Brookmyre has called it, "The Omen for the social media age." Sarah Lotz reckons it's, "Scarier than spending the night in an abandoned asylum and wittier than the lovechild of Stephen Fry and Charlie Brooker". And M.R. Carey has said it's, "Chilling and utterly immersive."

One thing's for sure: if you don't enjoy The Last Days Of Jack Sparks, then you'll only have Jack himself to blame. And sadly he has no forwarding address. But if you do enjoy it, please forward all credit and praise and champagne to me. Thank you.

Now, here is a procession of links:

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon Oz

There are loads more retailer links on this site's own Jack Sparks page.

Read a PDF extract from the start of the book.

The Jack Sparks tribute site, featuring words from me, Jack himself and Jack's brother Alistair, plus touching memories of Jack from various celebs.

Audible's exclusive audio interview with me, about The Last Days Of Jack Sparks, the appeal of dark stories, Doctor Who and writing in general. 

Last June, I was super-psyched to announce my two-book deal with Orbit Books for the UK and Commonwealth territories.

The US publisher, though, has remained shrouded in mystery, like some kind of cloaked hitchhiker waiting on a moonlit grass verge to rip out your spleen and shove it in your glove compartment.

I can now reveal that the publisher for The Last Days Of Jack Sparks and the next book in the US and Canada is... Orbit Books!

Which is such great news. Here are just three of the many reasons why:

• Orbit's a wonderful publisher, having been responsible for greats like MR Carey's The Girl With All The Gifts and Claire North's The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August.
• It's ideal to have this kind of synchronicity across territories.
• And I get to work with shooting stars like editor Kelly O'Connor (new to Orbit, from Harper Voyager) and publicist Ellen Wright!

It's just great all round. And if you're in the US or Canada and like ebooks, there's no need to wait before getting your hands on The Last Days Of Jack Sparks: it's out this coming week, just like in the UK and Australia. Same goes for the audiobook. The US paperback then hits in September.

In the UK and Oz, of course, the C-format paperback, the ebook and the audiobook all come out next week.
For a list of retailers and e-tailers, all over the place, refer to this site's Jack Sparks page. 

In the last week alone, we've had some great comments on The Last Days Of Jack Sparks...

Comedian, steampunk riff machine and one-man empire Andrew O'Neill has branded it, "quite brilliant - an assured, ultra-modern occult story with real depth of character, a compelling and satisfyingly twisted narrative and a streak of genuine malevolence."

Comedian Tiernan Douieb has dubbed it "brilliantly unnerving", while Radio 1 DJ Daniel P Carter reckons it's, "really smart supernatural fiction". And the Irish broadcaster Rick O'Shea calls it "a cracking thriller", going so far as to review it twice: here on his blog, and then here on Radio RTE1's RTE Arena show.

While you're waiting to read The Last Days Of Jack Sparks, you might want to whet your appetite with one of the Free Books I've released over the past few months. Enjoy! And good day to you.
​

I have a free book for you: a brand new short story called American Hoarder. 

It comes hot on the heels of December's equally free novelette Auto Rewind. 

Why all the free books, you may well ask?  It's to celebrate the release of my new book for Orbit, The Last Days Of Jack Sparks, which chronicles the downfall of the titular writer and social media celebrity.

American Hoarder finally reveals what really happened during the making of episode 223 of the hit US Reality TV show American Hoarder. Events which ensured no-one would ever see this particular instalment. It's neither for the faint-hearted, nor for clean freaks.

As with Auto Rewind, I'm making American Hoarder available for free at various outlets as follows...

iBooks (epub): grab it in your local iBooks store
​
Kobo (epub): UK | US | CA

Smashwords (all formats): Click here

Inktera (epub): Click here

Scribd: Click here​

Payhip (all formats, auto-emailed to you): Click here

More outlets to follow! If you do grab yourself an American Hoarder, I hope you enjoy.  It may, or may not, be tangentially linked to a certain something-else I've written.  That's all I'm sayin'.  Good day to YOU.

Orbit Books UK have been toiling away on the creation of special advance review copies of my novel The Last Days Of Jack Sparks.  Look at them here, in these pics, going the extra mile.

And here's a quick Vine-based flick through the book.  Backwards.

Lastly, here's a nice piece at Tor.com, about the announcement of the book.

And here's a page at the Jack Sparks tribute site, where you can read an extract.

Good day to you!

Hello!  As The Bookseller revealed yesterday, I now have a two-book deal with Orbit Books.

​This is a great big bag of wonderful.

Founded in 1974, Orbit have published the late Iain Banks’ work.  As if any more Impressive Info were needed, they’ve also published some of the finest genre novels I’ve read in recent times.  I’m talking about the likes of MR Carey’s The Girl With All The Gifts, which I absolutely loved, and Claire North’s mind-bogglingly great novels The Fifteen Lives Of Harry August and Touch.

My God.  Talk about esteemed company.

This deal was the result of a four-way auction between publishing houses, which confirmed my long-held suspicion that my AM Heath agent Oli Munson is an evil genius, disguised as a charming and dapper gentleman. 

The two Orbit books will be unrelated standalones.  The first, The Last Days Of Jack Sparks, finally tells the full story of tragic celebrity journalist and social media star Jack Sparks, who died in mysterious circumstances in 2014.  Many questions will be answered.  For instance: why was he so convinced that the exorcism he saw in Italy was fake?  And what was the true origin of the creepy video which he insisted he didn’t make himself, despite it having appeared on his YouTube account?  

It’s been an honour to work on this project, because I’ll admit to having always seen redeeming features in Jack, however controversial and even hated he often was.  Back when I was a rock journalist writing for Kerrang! magazine, and he was working on the NME, Jack and I would often find ourselves waiting to interview the same bands.  This became a running gag and we’d often have a drink afterwards (or even before.)  There's no question that Jack strutted vainly along the thin line between confidence and arrogance, and his forthright views certainly upset a lot of people of faith, but he was also a very funny guy with his head screwed on in many ways.  It’s been an incredible, if disturbing and often upsetting process, to work on Jack’s final book alongside his brother Alistair, and I sincerely hope it brings some form of closure to the millions of Jack Sparks fans worldwide.

Jack’s personal website remains online at JackSparks.co.uk in an edited and curated form, as an enduring tribute to him.  Take a look and you’ll get an idea of his personality.  Maybe a sense of the downward spiral his life took during his final year on Earth.  You’ll also read anecdotes about meeting Jack from the likes of multi-talented Derren Brown collaborator Andy Nyman and the tremendous authors Sarah Lotz, MR Carey, Christopher Brookmyre and John Higgs. 

The first editions of The Last Days Of Jack Sparks, for quick-on-the-draw early adopters, will be the trade paperback and ebook in March 2016.  These will be followed by the main release, a mass-market paperback in July.  There will of course be plenty more exciting details to come, but for now I just wanted to finally announce this deal – on Halloween!  I’m very excited to have found the ideal publishing partner for my first original novels as a ‘solo’ writer.  One of the greatest things about the news being out, is I can now publicly thank legends like Oli, who ‘got’ the Jack Sparks project from the very beginning, and my brilliant editor Anna Jackson who helped take it to new levels, again and again.

For irregular non-spammy updates, plus the insider’s view on what’s going on with The Last Days Of Jack Sparks, sign up for my e-mailing list The Necronoppicon here.  Also be sure to sign up to Orbit’s own Jack Sparks list, in order to be one of the first to read the full book!

​Oh, and one of the pages at JackSparks.co.uk contains a link to a hearty extract from the start of the book: the Foreword and the whole of Chapter One, to be precise.  If you enjoy it, feel free to spread the word and/or the link, using the Twitter hashtag #JackSparks if you’re so inclined.  Thank you!