What's For Launch?

A Visceral Romp Through A Beautiful Mind

LOST ANGELES

Amazon.com Review

This book is not about vice, or about the vacant. It's a story of lost hope turning in on itself to be birthed as triumph. Yes, there are bucket loads of drugs, sex and mayhem. All in the course of people finding themselves out. A dive into the abyss to find the sun. If you enjoy Bukowski or Palahniuk you'll love this author. Just be warned it is very difficult to put down.

Wanna Review White Mexicans?

THE LIST

White Mexicans

Death RRP $19.99

The Greatest Cock That Ever Lived!

Nazi Doctor

A Short Story for Creationists

The Trouble with Jimmy

Sometimes There's Just Nothing on Television

Advice From a Dog

Being Marcus Toberman

Like New

Ultra-Belfast

Fuck-a-versary

My Dog, Bosco

Heroes of Hollywood Boulevard

Daddy

three-b

Us Depressives Know the Truth, You Should Too

Boy with Horn

The Angel of I-580

That Old Black Bastard

Talking to Myself

Alan Noble

And This Other Time in Show Low

Tea for Three

Joey Schaff (aka Genes and Seafood)

The Front Page

They Were Different Times Back Then

Short Stories That Are Definitely Happening in July

The third book from the author of Lost Angeles and Bone Idol [bohn ahyd-l], David Louden, is to be released by Venice Books, CA on Monday July, 13th 2015.  Having explored life through the eyes of his semi-biographical alter ego Douglas Morgan, Louden turns to the short story to further his Roman á clef oeuvre.

Short Stories That All Definitely Happened* has already garnered many gloriously glowing reviews from short story enthusiasts and writers across the internet and will hopefully prove to be as well received by fans of paperback and e-books alike.

FEATURING

Advice From a Dog

Death RRP. $19.99

The Greatest Cock That Ever Lived

Nazi Doctor

A Short Story for Creationists

Ultra-Belfast

The Front Page

Being Marcus Toberman and loads more.

Get some advanced reading done [here].  Still not convinced?  Here's some strategically placed reviews!

“Original, hilarious and very clever.”

-Hugh Cron 

“Really funny.”

-Nik Everleigh

“Not for the faint hearted […] a well constructed, vivde piece of writing.”

-Diane Dickson

“It will divide opinion […] very powerful.”

-Nik Everleigh

“Powerful and thought provoking.”

-Hugh Cron

“Some great lines.”

-Nik Everleigh

“A whiff of Bukowski’s attitude and to the point style.  Snappy and earthy.”

-Adam West

“A witty, self deprecating humour […] the final sentence did make me grin and wince at the same time.”

-Diane Dickson

“Well written and flowed humorously […] masterful design.”

-Willie Douglas

“A rare voice.”

-Anthony Wobbe

“Another entertaining piece of writing.”

-Hugh Cron

“An entertaining read.”

-Kate Smart

“A lot of style to it and dark humour in abundance […] tackles every story subject with ferocity and without fear.”

-Nik Everleigh

* The statement that all stories “definitely happened” is one used for entertainment purposes and should not be considered factual or legally binding.  All too often Mr. Louden is full of shit.

Free Bone! [bohn]

This weekend Bone Idol [bohn ahyd-l] is free on Amazon Kindle.  Grab a copy while you can or face the weighty price of $0.99 in the future!  You have been warned.

Synopsis [sɪˈnɒpsɪs]

The sophomore follow-up to Lost Angeles is the semi-biographical tale of author David Louden's alter-ego Doug Morgan as he struggles to connect with his father Jack, his mother Ruth and the working class ideology of "a real job". 

From his early adventure filled days in Poleglass through to the alcohol induced haze of his early twenties Doug's life (much like the city) is one at conflict with itself. Bone Idol [bohn ahyd-l] is filled with humour, sex, guilt and the shameful dream of a boy wanting to create more than a family of haunted heirs.

Literally The Greatest

New book, new look.  With the website overhauled to reflect the forthcoming third release from me-self, Short Stories That All Definitely Happened, I’ve sent a few of my stunted short children out into the world to gather comment, criticism and where possible acclaim.

Advice from a Dog was featured in the September 2014 issue of Chase The Moon [paperback purchase] and is available [here] to read online.  The Front Page was published exclusively on Literally Stories [here], and Ultra-Belfast will be another exclusive with the UK’s official Alcohol and Rock & Roll magazine, The Carouser publishing shortly. 

Now, with Short Stories That All Definitely Happened a matter of months away, Literally Stories has published one of the earliest stories to make an appearance on this site; The Greatest Cock That Ever Lived.  Featuring semi-biographical alter-ego Doug Morgan (Lost Angeles, Bone Idol [bohn ahyd-l]), Cock takes the recent bloodied and intolerant history of Northern Ireland and transposes it against the backdrop of a fantasy/sports narrative.  It can be read by clicking [here].

“Original, hilarious and very clever.”

“Not for the faint hearted […] a well constructed, vivde piece of writing.”

“Powerful and thought provoking.”

“A whiff of Bukowski’s attitude and to the point style.  Snappy and earthy.”

“A witty, self deprecating humour […] the final sentence did make me grin and wince at the same time.”

“Well written and flowed humorously […] masterful design.”

“A rare voice.”

A pugilistic cockerel, an attention-seeking God, a tune that you can't get out of your head, a talking pug, a dead father, accidental oral, drunken indiscretion after drunken indiscretion and a digestive biscuit.

Short Stories That All Definitely Happened

Though 2014 has passed by without so much as a sniff of any new work it has been a busy year...honest! Since April I've been working on a Noir-Comedy set in Belfast, for which I received an Independent Writer Award from the Arts Council (via NI Screen).  This has gone a long way to help explain what appears, at least on the surface, to be a year of inactivity.

This forthcoming year will hopefully see the realization of months, upon months (upon months) of drafting, redrafting, scrapping, rewriting and hair pulling, as Henry Roscoe hopefully finds a home and I, a regular writing gig.  That being said, in the midst of all the Noir-based antics of Fast City there has been just enough downtime to scrape together a few short stories; just enough to dare to call them a collection and to give that collection a name; Short Stories That All Definitely Happened.

If you're in any way a regular visitor or a frequent Twitter-er you've probably read at least one.  Short Stories will be unleashed in 2015 (date TBC) through Venice Books, CA.  A sample of stories can be founds via the links below, though some will change between now and the finished piece.

Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

Death RRP $19.99

The Greatest Cock That Ever Lived

Nazi Doctor

A Short Story for Creationists

Advice From a Dog

Being Marcus Toberman

“Original, hilarious and very clever.”

-Hugh Cron 

“Really funny.”

-Nik Everleigh

“Not for the faint hearted […] a well constructed, vivde piece of writing.”

-Diane Dickson

“It will divide opinion […] very powerful.”

-Nik Everleigh

“Powerful and thought provoking.”

-Hugh Cron

“Some great lines.”

-Nik Everleigh

“A whiff of Bukowski’s attitude and to the point style.  Snappy and earthy.”

-Adam West

“A witty, self deprecating humour […] the final sentence did make me grin and wince at the same time.”

-Diane Dickson

“Well written and flowed humorously […] masterful design.”

-Willie Douglas

“A rare voice.”

-Anthony Wobbe

“Another entertaining piece of writing.”

-Hugh Cron

“An entertaining read.”

-Kate Smart

“A lot of style to it and dark humour in abundance […] tackles every story subject with ferocity and without fear.”

-Nik Everleigh

Own The Bone!

Kind Words From Good People

“BUKOWSKI COMPARISONS ARE JUSTIFIED. LOUDEN HAS A TURN OF PHRASE THAT COULD PUT BIGGER NAMES TO SHAME…” Thom Fell – author of ‘Acceptable in the Eighties’

“TRULY IMPRESSIVE…A WORK OF ART!” Wendy Powers – author of ‘The Testament of Judith Barton’

“A DEBAUCHED, TOUCHING, MESSED UP LOOK AT LOVE & LOSS. FABULOUS.” Inanity & the Girl

“MOVING, BIG-HEARTED AND OFTEN HILARIOUS.” – GoodReads review

“EMOTIONAL, HEARTBREAKING, THOUGHT PROVOKING […] A GREAT BOOK.” – GoodReads review

Available on Amazon Kindle through limited pre-launch release.

Short & (Bitter) Sweet

Some of the most striking, powerful, and down-trodded prose you're ever likely to read. Memorising and maniacal in equal measure. One or two shorts show the influence of Fante's work in a way that's beautifully evolutionary.

Pulp'd

Noir with a heavy dose of the surreal and the metaphorical PULP is Bukowski's finally gift to the world before his passing. Nick Belane is old school, old Hollywood and hot on the straight of a French writer presumed dead and the Red Sparrow, amongst other things. Most interesting Hank penned this having made BARFLY and written HOLLYWOOD. What do you think that says?

The Mad Old Man With Fire In His Belly

There's a richness to old Hank's flirtations with insanity on the edges of skid row. Some of the short stories contained are the manic old man at his absolute best, some are so chaotic and dense that the true value will only be unearthed with multiple readings and others are written for magazines for money. He's a writer unlike any other, polarising sure but intense. He feels every word and doesn't just ponce around in the shallow waters of fashionable genres like so many writers who got/get fat and rich and lazy.

Another 5 Star Review for Doug

Doug Morgan is a young Irishman in Los Angeles with ten grand in his pocket and self-destruction in mind. With this premise, you could be forgiven for thinking that David Louden's 'Lost Angeles' would be little more than a comical booze-fuelled odyssey through the low (and high) life of Noughties Hollywood. But what Louden achieves is much greater than this. By contrasting and paralleling Morgan's misadventures in the acid neon glare of the clubs and dives of L.A.with the unravelling relationship in wintryBelfast that led him there, Louden has created a work of depth and warmth that means for once, Bukowski comparisons are justified. Louden has a turn of phrase that could put bigger names to shame, and an eye for detail that means his Belfast and North Hollywood are as sharply-defined as the well-drawn characters. Moving, big-hearted and often hilarious, Louden has produced something genuinely special. Not to be missed.

Barfly

It's not often that what I scribble about on Knifed in Venice can be applicable here but I recently watched Barbet Schroeder & Charles Bukowski's Barfly.  Here's the start of the review for anyone interested and if you want to read more you can drop over to KiV and check it out.

Certificate: 18

Running time: 100 mins

Director: Barbet Schroeder

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Faye Dunaway, Alice Krige, Frank Stallone

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Country: USA

Henry Chinaski is a barfly.  He spends his time drinking, fighting and dancing with words in the twilight hours of 1980’s Los Angeles.  Legendary writer Charles Bukowski lends his incredibly distinctive voice to the screen in the roman á clef styled narrative of his alter ego and the life one lives in the pursuit of something more than the consumer ideal.

Barfly is a film we’ve been wanting to feature on Knifed in Venice for some time now.  The trouble was figuring out how to confine discussion of someone like Bukowski into a few thousand words.  There comes a time though when you have to let go and decide to commit, Hank of all people would appreciate that.  There are few writers in history, and even the future of history that have or will ever have the kind of effect that Charles Bukowski had.  Barfly coming from his typer is the closest, and most honest, thing you’ll ever see with regards to addiction and adaptation.  Granted it is not based on any of his novels, short stories or even poems but it is based on the man, and like all of his work it shines with humour and a matter of factness that can’t help but be endearing... [Click here for full review]

Long Looks at Women

I LOVE Bukowski and I love his prose but Women is a tough book to love, not because of his treatment of the fairer sex I've read worse but because of the repetition. Unlike Factotum or Ham on Rye for example there wasn't anything that will drag you back to this 304 pager other than your love of him. He's a fantastic writer, a real one of a kind but Women isn't the finest example of his greatness.  I should point out that the three star is based on the Henry Chinaski standard as any Bukowski book is better than any other book that isn't.

Hanks For The Memories

NINETEEN years ago today the world of literature got a little more safe (and bland).  The man, the legend that was Charles Bukowski passed away on March 9th 1994 a few months shy of his seventy-fourth birthday.  Six years off the target Hank but you fucked enough for a man of two hundred.  Tonight I drink to you.

Lots of love and a vodka-7.

Grape Expectations

Fante's Brotherhood of the Grape is billed as his most mature work...because it is.  It's a powerful piece of literature about a family and how there's always another chance to make a connection.  What it creates in emotion and maturity it somewhat loses in the passion you'd get from a character like Arturo Bandini but you can see how every word is beautiful, carefully hand picked and perfect.  There are echoes of 1933 Was A Bad Year and you can see the chapters that influenced Bukowski so greatly.  The man was something truly special, the most important American writer since Henry James?

Extra rye, easy on the eye

There's a lot made of the fact this is Bukowski's most autobiographical work but there's so much more to it than that.  I was disappointed in Hollywood, I had expected more the first time I read it and the second it just felt a little inflated towards the end but Ham on Rye is a masterclass in writing.  Perfect storytelling, perfect humour and the writing is as tight as lazer guided as it's ever going to be.  It has echoes of Fante without coming across as an imitation, it's beautifully penned and realistically romantic with every sentence.  I wish I could read it again for the first time.

This man is magical...fact

Bukowski is magical.  I'm still amazed how he manages to sum up in a handful of throw away words what other writers take pages and pages to flirt with and still can nail.

Going Postal

POST OFFICE - Charles Bukowski [1971]

Bukowski has a way of underwriting a story that cuts passed the posturing and delivers the raw unflinching truth.  Post Office is the first example of how a fantastic brain can create a pleasure for the eyes.  A hero for all us working class stiffs.