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Gunpowder, reason and plot
The nights are drawing in, there are plenty of leaves to swish through when taking Drake the big fat lab out for a walk, and those beautiful golden days of the summer are but a memory. This time of year has always been special to me because it reminds me of my husband Del and our first few heady, icy weeks together after meeting in Nottingham. To my father, an ex-market gardener, autumn is a time of gloom and inertia and dying. To me though, there is something magical in the clean, crisp air, the fire coloured leaves, and the sense of winter...
read moreNew Novel: ‘Cyber Circus’
September, and its all about the dust, greasepaint and profanities because my new novel, Cyber Circus, is coming out as a paperback and special edition hardback through Newcon Press (http://newconpress.co.uk/). The book will be launched on Friday 30th of September at Fantasycon in Brighton (http://www.fantasycon2011.org/) alongside ‘Diary of a Witchcraft Shop’ by Liz Williams and Trevor Jones. I am beyond ecstatic to see the release of Cyber Circus and to have such wonderful support in the form of Newcon Press, particularly because Cyber...
read moreBooks and short stories
"Kim Lakin-Smith's dark, lyrical prose flows towards the poetic, making you sigh with pleasure." Graham Joyce
read moreWriting, Fear and the Other
What scares you? What creeps beneath your skin? Makes you check back over your shoulder every few steps? Keeps you awake at night, watching the shadows for signs of movement?
read moreI, Zombie
Rob Zombie – ‘hellbilly' rock star, film and video director, inductee of the ‘Splat Pack', vegetarian, comic book illustrator and author, graphic artist, shameless self-promoter, and ruler of a worldwide merchandise empire. Whether invested with a Godzilla sized ego or just the drive to try his hand at anything that has ever inspired him, Rob is a modern phenomena in the vein of a few other brash individuals who refuse to be boxed – Gene Simmons, Richard Branson, Paris Hilton…Thankfully, Hilton's love of horror died with her in 2007's box-office meltdown, The House of Wax. In contrast, Rob has paid homage to the visuals and visceral of 1930s/40s horror movies in every aspect of his colourful career.
read moreBlood Ties
Do you ever find yourself fighting against the tide of self-doubt? I’m pretty sure its something most writers suffer now and again – even those who seem eternally buoyant with the combined self-marketing prowess of Walt Disney, Katie Price and Jedward. In the current publishing climate, it’s not enough to write well. It’s also essential to believe in yourself with evangelical conviction. I am forever locked in a mental battle between wanting to embrace the delightfully pretentious single-mindedness of the tortured aka...
read moreNew beginnings, notebooks and learning to share nicely
So, yes, I have failed dismally to keep my blog updated over the past year. There have been a few reasons for this, but still no excuse bar the fact that I am more of a listener than a sharer. Still, it's a habit I'm trying to break, so here goes ;-)
read moreI AM AUTHOR. HEAR ME ROAR
A short while ago, the lovely Sharon Ring of Dark Fiction Review contacted me and asked me to take part in a series of author posts she was collating on the subject of negative reviews. She asked all authors the same series of questions and left it up to the reader to compare and contrast. Here are my answers: How do you feel about negative reviews of your work? Wow, it certainly is painful to read a negative review! Its also humbling, which I think is essential to developing as a writer. I have a number of self-support mechanisms I levy at...
read morePriest
Okay, so it’s hardly news that I’m a sucker for post-apocalyptic genre fodder. After the so-so Legion, the latest movie from the grim-and-bare-it combination of actor Paul Bettany and director Scott Stewart is Priest. The movie is set in a grim gothika of a future where humans have been plagued for centuries by vampires of the none-beautiful variety. Enter Bettany, one of a league of warrior priests who is forced to turn against his own kind and reap personal revenge on the evil bloodsuckers…so far so excellent. And while the...
read moreThe Birth, Death and Resurrection of the American Muscle Car
When it comes to muscle car action, it doesn't get much more iconic than Steve McQueen as Bullitt in a 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 CID Fastback chasing two hit-men in a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T 440 Magnum. From the guttural roar of the engines as experienced from inside the cars to the jaw-jarring seesaw of suspension up and over the hills of San Francisco, the chase encapsulates the muscle car experience - and it's fast, mean and dirty.
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After attaining a first class honours degree in English Lit and Creative Writing from the University of Glamorgan, Kim was awarded a Studentship to study for her MA in Writing at Nottingham Trent. There she was tutored by Graham Joyce, thrice winner of the British Fantasy award. She also became fascinated by the Internet, skills she later put to use in her work as a copywriter, advertising exec, and website designer. But it was her desire to write fantasy and science fiction novels which soon took precedence. 