Raise the Blade walking tour #1

My first book ‘Raise the Blade’ was also set in and around Birmingham. Unlike ‘Gravy Train’ the locations tend to be more widely scattered so it’s harder to gather them together into tours, but I’ve come up with a handful that should take an hour or so and will hopefully be quite interesting. The first is a circuit of Edgbaston Reservoir, which was constructed in the 1820s as a canal feeder for the city’s many, many miles of canal.

Walk #1: Edgbaston Reservoir

Distance: just under 2 miles

Route:

There used to be a car park at the Reservoir Road entrance but it may have been closed due to ‘antisocial behaviour’. Instead, you can park at or near one of the other entrances on Rotton Park Road, Gillott Road or Icknield Port Road. I’m going to start the walk from Rotton Park Road simply because that’s the one I’m most familiar with.

At the entrance to the reservoir there’s a fence, gate, and slightly worrying sign listing all the things you’re not allowed to do during your visit. I’m assuming it’s been altered by someone with a sense of humour…

Walk down the slope to the water’s edge, then turn right. A short distance further on, a high fence marks the garden boundary of several large houses that back onto the reservoir. It was one of these that I used as a location for Brian’s gruesome discovery, although another set of houses on the other side of the lake would work just as well. Watch out for great crested grebes on the water along here.

Keep following the path around the lake shore past the Birmingham rowing club and various sets of parallel bars and other outdoor activity equipment. Just beyond the Reservoir Road car park is the Tower Ballroom, a nightclub and local landmark which used to cater for gay men and was known by one and all as the ‘Gay Tower’. It’s possible that the club is called after the famous tower at Edgbaston Waterworks a short distance away, which was the inspiration behind one of the Two Towers in The Lord of the Rings.

At the edge of the reservoir dam pause for some spectacular views out across the city (see first photo above). Then walk along the dam, which is 330 metres long and 10 metres high with a sluice part way along. This feeds the Icknield Port Loop, which in turn keeps the levels up in the rest of the canal network.

Just over the dam, turn left again and pass by the Midland Sailing Club. If you’re lucky (and the weather is good enough) there might be some yachts out on the water, which makes it look very scenic.

Keep walking along the western shore, past some steps up to Gillott Road and one of the small streams that feeds the reservoir. I don’t know if they’ve cleaned this up but it used to smell very chemical-y and odd! After a large gentle bend through semi-open woodland the path runs behind the houses I’ve already mentioned above and returns to the entrance onto Rotton Park Road.

This is a nice ‘Sunday morning’ stroll taking about an hour. If you really want to push the boat out (sorry) you can leave the reservoir by the Icknield Port Road entrance, turn left and follow the road for just over a mile for a view of HMP Birmingham (Birmingham Prison, originally known as Winson Green Prison). This is where Cheryl visited convicted killer Eric Suggs. Return by retracing your steps, or by turning right into Gillott Road, then taking the footpath back to the reservoir shore.

I hope you enjoy the walk but please remember that lockdown means we’re still being asked to stay in our ‘local areas’. And if you fancy learning more about Brian, Cheryl, Suggs and the other characters who are linked by serial killer Duncan, then you can find ‘Raise the Blade’ here.

The Makovesky elephant

It’s official! There really is a Makovesky elephant! Anyone who’s read my books knows I try to insert at least one elephant in each (several in ‘Raise the Blade’). And now it’s started following me about, and appearing at random where I least expect it. Apparently it’s standing on the banks of a lake, and you can see the reflection underneath its feet.

(Cough. For the practically-minded, this was actually a random water pattern on our garage door after rain. But I rather like the idea of a fictional, mystical elephant popping up every now and again…)

Review of 2020 – such as it was…

I don’t need to tell anyone what a strange and unpleasant year 2020 has been. Lockdown after lockdown; concerts, trips away and writing events postponed, postponed again then cancelled; hardly even able to meet friends for a cuppa; it’s been depressing, demoralising, and (quite frankly) crap.

We’ve got off lightly compared to many, but even so I’ve found it increasingly difficult to watch or read crime, let alone write it. I’ve taken refuge in the comforting fluffiness of romance, and Tess has got rather neglected in the process.

It hasn’t been a complete washout. I got the rights back on my dark novella ‘Raise the Blade’, re-edited it, designed a spiffing cover (if I do say so myself) and self-published it during the summer. It’s here, if you haven’t yet tried it yet and fancy giving it a go. I hope you like it! I’ve also written one short story – a sequel to Singing From the Same Sheet, which was published in the Rogue anthology by Near to the Knuckle – which I’m hoping might see the light of day at some point next year. And I’ve also been working, at times, on editing a new novella, probably called Embers of Bridges (yes, more Pink Floyd I’m afraid!), which follows a gang of petty thieves as they rob and bicker their way round the hot tubs and canals of Birmingham. There’s a long way to go on it yet, but again, I’m hopeful it might put in an appearance at some point next year.

In terms of TV we’ve tried various new drama series, and given up on several of them. Mystery Road 2 was a particular disappointment (filled with unrealistic scenarios and procedural WTFs), and The Valhalla Murders was just… hysterical. For all the wrong reasons. But there’s a new series of Spiral coming soon which ought to be good, and I’m determined to finish catching up on Brassic 2, Tin Star: Liverpool and The Vienna Blood.

But while this wretched virus continues to run rampant around the world, it just might not be any time soon…

Raise the Blade ebook available now!

Great news today. After a brief delay while Amazon checked my rights, my darkly humorous psychological noir ‘Raise the Blade’ has gone live on both Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

I designed the cover art myself, using a wonderful photograph by Twilightzone on Pixabay.com. The rest of the book has had a quick spruce up but is otherwise unchanged from the version published several years ago now by Caffeine Nights.

So if you missed it first time round, or were put off by the paperback price, or just fancy the ebook to add to your collection, now’s your chance. The Kindle version is available for only £2.99 (or the equivalent in your currency) whilst the book is completely free on Kindle Unlimited.

Here’s a couple of handy links for you to buy on Amazon UK or Amazon US. And if you do take the plunge then thank you, and I hope you enjoy the read.

Cover reveal: Raise the Blade

I promised this a few days ago but things have been getting in the way ever since. However, at last I’ve knuckled down and got everything updated and I’m now all set to say…

*drum roll*

*fanfare*

Here it is, in all its gory glory! The new cover for ‘Raise the Blade’. I hope you like it – and don’t forget, the re-badged, re-published book is coming very soon! So keep checking back for more news.

Sad news – and good

Publishing giveth and publishing taketh away, quite often on the same day. And that’s been the case today.

On the one hand I’ve had the sad news that my first ever book, ‘Raise the Blade’, is no longer available for sale. It happens; contracts come up on their sell-by date. I think what makes this sad for me is the fact that it was my first book, which makes it feel that little bit more special. However, I will be mulling over the possibilities of re-publishing it in the next few months, so keep checking back for further updates.

And the good news? Well, I’ve had a short story accepted in the latest (fourth) Shotgun Honey anthology. This is still very much in the early stages of preparation so I can’t reveal too much – but again, if you check back in a week or two I’ll have all the details of who’s in it, what it looks like, what my story’s about, and when it’ll be available. Don’t go anywhere in the meantime!

Head to Fred’s

Just a quick update today, with some news I forgot to mention a couple of weeks ago. This is that signed copies of both ‘Raise the Blade’ and ‘Gravy Train’ are now available to buy at Fred’s Bookshop (formerly Fred Holdsworth Books) in Ambleside. So if you’re in the Lake District over the coming weeks/months, on holiday or just visiting, you can pop in and pick up a copy to read in your hotel/guest house/tent.

The bookshop is well worth a visit anyway. It may be tiny, but it’s in a nice old building and is absolutely crammed with books. Many of these have a local connection (local authors, Cumbrian settings, walk books, cycling books, books about sheep etc etc) but there’s also a good range of more general stuff, both fiction and non-fiction, to browse. And manager Steve is both friendly and knowledgeable, and always ready to help with queries or recommendations.

 

Where the heck Wednesday: Tess Makovesky

Great news everyone, the semi-regular Wednesday feature is back, with some fascinating guests planned over the next few months. And I’m kick-starting it with a quick look at myself, because I realised I never took that opportunity last time round. So, without further ado, let’s stoke the engines, release the brakes, and let the ‘Gravy Train’ steam into town…

Book Title: Gravy Train

Setting: Birmingham (UK)

Author: Tess Makovesky

http://www.tessmakovesky.com / Facebook / Twitter

So, why pick Birmingham as a location, I hear you ask? After all, it’s the dullest place on earth – nothing but Spaghetti Junction, motorways, factories, and endless 1960s concrete.

Well, no, actually. Birmingham is the UK’s second city – and quite probably the one with the least-deserved reputation. There is concrete (show me a British city without the stuff), but there’s also so much more. The tightly-packed city centre is a wonderful assortment of old and new, with everything from the gleamingly modern Grand Central station/shopping mall to the Town Hall, designed by the same bloke who came up with the Hansom cab.

Beyond that there are swathes of Victorian and Edwardian suburbs, scattered with gems from earlier times: churches, medieval manor houses, a mill that made it into The Lord of the Rings, even an ancient pub or two. And then – pure joy for crime writers like myself – there are the maze-like back streets, the vast parks, and best of all the canals. Birmingham has more miles of canal than Venice; they stitch the industrial towns of the Black Country together and form their own pasta-like sprawl across the landscape. There are canal-feeder reservoirs, bridges, tunnels; there are places where one whole canal system goes over or under another; there are entire sections in the city centre that are almost lost, and only reappear as ghostly imprints in the canyons between office blocks every now and again.

When I lived in Birmingham I found it hard to write about the city. There was a sense of it being a comfortable place to call home, rather like an old pair of slippers, and it was hard to see past that to view the place objectively. However, once I moved away the over-familiarity wore off and I began to set more of my stories and books there. ‘Wheel Man’ in the Drag Noir anthology from Fox Spirit Books uses the suburb of Acocks Green. My novella ‘Raise the Blade’ is set in various locations including the well-hidden Edgbaston Reservoir and Highgate park. ‘Gravy Train’ starts and terminates in the inner city district of Hockley (home of the world famous Jewellery Quarter) but stops off at Cannon Hill Park, the leafy suburb of Moseley, and Broad Street’s “entertainment quarter” along the way.

And, oh, those canals. The Worcester & Birmingham branch has a body fished out of it in ‘Raise the Blade’. And ‘Gravy Train’ makes equally good use of them, for all sorts of nefarious purposes. The old Gas Street basin, originally used for turning narrowboats around, gains a new function as a handy dumping ground for incriminating evidence. And when crime bosses George Leary and Vernon Ball set up a meeting to hand over some stolen cash, it’s the basin they choose, with all sorts of unexpected consequences.

I had a lot of fun writing about the various locations, and more fun re-visiting them recently to take lots of photographs. I’ll be posting those on my blog over the next few weeks and months, but in the meantime if you’d like to find out more about Birmingham, then take the train. Just please make sure it’s the ‘Gravy Train’!

Fantastically creepy…

I’ve only just spotted this super new review of ‘Raise the Blade’ on Amazon, but it certainly made my day.

Many thanks to the lovely Kerry Parsons for posting it. It’s always a bonus when readers enjoy a book I’ve written this much.

Do pop along and check out the review for yourselves – and don’t forget that the book is available for as little as 99p (Kindle version) or £4.99 (paperback) if you’d like to try it too.

Raise the Blade locations: 2 – City Centre Gardens

This is a really dull name for a surprising little space tucked away behind some of Birmingham’s most well-known buildings.

Follow an unprepossessing alley-way between the new city library and the white bulk of Baskerville House and you come to an unappealing (if useful) multi-storey car park on the corner of Cambridge Street. So far, so ordinary, as are the high-rise blocks of flats beyond.

But just across the road from the car park is a small, but surprisingly attractive, city park. It must only measure around a quarter of an acre, if that, but it includes shrubs, trees, manicured lawns, flowerbeds, and a circular pillar-thing in the middle with more flowers inside.

Annoyingly, I can’t find out a single thing online about the gardens or their history. How big are they? Who designed them? When were they opened? Are they on the site of a special building, landmark, or former park? I have no idea, which is quite frustrating. If anyone knows anything about them, please pass it on in the comments here because I’d love to know.

The paths are lined with benches and in good weather it’s a favourite lunchtime hang-out for office workers and staff from the nearby International Convention Centre/Symphony Hall complex, as well as locals and a scatter of visitors who’ve tripped over it.

And it’s a lunchtime sandwich that proves pivotal for Nigel, the second victim in ‘Raise the Blade’. Noticing a foul smell, and realising it doesn’t come from his sarnie, he and colleague Vannie track it down to the space between their bench and the encircling wall.

‘Over there’ proved to be behind them, in the narrow space between bench and road, bounded by thick bushes and a low stone wall. At first, craning over the back of the bench, he couldn’t see anything that might be causing the niff. Then, behind a thicket of twiggy stems he caught a glimpse: black plastic, something spilling out.

When I visited last year to take some photos, the bench that best illustrates this was occupied by a couple of teenagers making out. Not wanting to look like I was taking an unhealthy interest in them, I snapped the benches further along instead. They don’t match the description in the book quite as well, but hopefully it gives some idea of the scene…

As for hiding the body in the first place, well, this is an out-of-the-way corner but with main roads only yards away. After dark there’s probably not many people about, and there’s that multi-storey car park just across the road… Perfect for offloading, and either dragging the body in through the nearest entrance, or for someone strong, even lobbing it straight over the wall.

It put Nigel off his lunch, and caused him a bit of bother afterwards. But if you’re in this area of Birmingham with a few minutes to kill, make the effort to track the gardens down. And head to my website if you want to find out more about Nigel, the bodies, and ‘Raise the Blade’.

“Brilliantly dark humour”

I’m extra happy today, because the wonderful Jen of JenMed’s Book Reviews has tackled ‘Raise the Blade’ – and loved it!

She’s been particularly complimentary about the book’s ultra-dark humour, and also about the Birmingham locations, which I’d only just started to blog about in detail on here.

If you’d like to see more about what she liked and why, then head over to the review. (And have a good rootle around her site while you’re at it, because it’s simply stuffed with books.)

If you’d like a bit more information on those settings, then check out my most recent post, and keep your eyes peeled because I’ll be adding more in the next few weeks.

Raise the Blade locations: 1 – Edgbaston Reservoir

It occurred to me recently that I’d never really blogged in depth about the Birmingham settings in ‘Raise the Blade’, which is a shame for two reasons. One, Birmingham is full of amazing – and often surprising – locations, and two, they’re really important to the book. So, to set the record straight, and hopefully provide something of a guided tour around the city’s less-well-known nooks and crannies, I’ll be writing about various locations over the next few weeks.

The first is Edgbaston Reservoir, which forms the backdrop to the discovery of the very first body in ‘Raise the Blade’. I first came across the reservoir in the mid-1980s, soon after I’d moved to Brum, when a couple of friends took me there for a walk. I was pretty cynical at first; the suburb it’s set in is leafy enough, but tends towards streets lined with houses rather than huge open spaces that you can use for long walks. Just how much of a lake could there be in such a relentlessly urban location, I naively thought. Well, it just shows how wrong you can be. A short stroll down a path between two properties took me to a whole new world. A world of wide open vistas stretching out all the way to the city centre skyscrapers and beyond; a world of yachts and ducks and great-crested grebes; a world of trees that feels a million miles from the busy, traffic-choked streets just a few hundred yards away.

The reservoir was built (or at least commissioned – I don’t suppose he lifted a shovel himself) by Thomas Telford, the great canal engineer, in the early nineteenth century, and it was built for one purpose – to provide water for Birmingham’s vast network of canals. A small stream was dammed, and water was also piped from another reservoir around three miles away, and together they formed a lake covering some 58 acres – although the overall site including a round-the-lake footpath, grassland, woodland, and the dam, covers as much as 70 acres.

Although the reservoir itself is open to the cross-city views and skies, the surrounding trees give it an enclosed, secluded feel, particularly in summer when the leaves are fully out. At the end furthest from the dam, large houses back onto the site, their gardens barely visible over high fences, often topped with wire. It was this location in particular that I used in ‘Raise the Blade’. Rotton Park Road, with on-street parking, is only a few hundred yards away, and the path from there slopes downhill, so it would be easy enough for a strong murderer to drag a body into the undergrowth. In the book, one of the fences has been damaged – enough for the foxes to get through – and this is presumably where the murderer gains access to Mrs Rai’s garden, and where hapless victim Brian finds the body and decides to hide it, setting the book’s characters off on a chain reaction of their own.

This is just one of Birmingham’s many hidden gems. Dashing past on the surrounding streets you’d barely know it was there, which is another reason why it might be useful for disposing of unwanted evidence. All that nice deep water (40 feet, apparently); all those trees. And when the leaves are out, it’s barely overlooked. Of course, I’m not condoning leaving dead bodies there myself, but all things considered you can see why Duncan did!

You can find out more about the reservoir, its facilities, and the various events it hosts at the Birmingham City Council webpage here. And to find out more about ‘Raise the Blade’, its victims, and the other locations I used, head for my webpage here.

All photos in this article are my own. Thanks for reading – there’ll be another unusual location along soon.