Tess Makovesky

There's a lot of it about. I regularly get scam emails from some outfit called CHAMPS trying to sell me conferences/hotels for conferences. Keep marking as spam & unsubscribing but they keep on coming...

How many stories of “automated systems” and AI end up just being people in other countries paid peanuts to work remotely?

Birmingham event to celebrate region's role in origin of 2 Tone The event marks the broadcast of Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight’s new BBC drama.

New event in Birmingham in May to celebrate 2Tone music - not sure if tickets still available...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This Town: Birmingham's tower blocks gorgeous, Steven Knight says The writer talks affectionately about his home city ahead of that start of his new series This Town.

Will be giving this new series a go on Sunday, if only to see Birmingham in the 80s (which is when I first moved to the city). Pleased it's being filmed in Brum, too, unlike the TV series of Peaky Blinders. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Always welcome. x

How it started / how it’s going

Back in School Again, Maxwell Plays the Fool Again* In my last post, I mentioned some of the terrible parents we find in crime fiction. There are a lot of them, so that post barely scratched the proverbial surface. Bad parents are definitely woven into...

Today on my blog: margot-kin-berg.com/2024/03/28/b...

I just published The Shortest Distance on
#Medium link.medium.com/ydiQymmilIb #AuthorsOfBluesky #HorrorCommunity #Life #Money #NYC #PoetryCommunity #StressManagement #WritingCommunity

Me and my writer pals.

I might have to try to get over there and sample it. :)

What even is it???

Lovely! I recently saw the outside of Gladstone's Library for the first time - it's such a beautiful building/setting. Good to see they do grub too. ;)

Burn, baby. Burn. #bishopriderlives
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1643...

I'm really struggling to understand what people think GenAI would help with on the screenwriting or novel writing front. If we wanted to lower the quality and double the amount of films and books that are made, we could EASILY do that with the books/screenplays submitted by humans TODAY(1/?)

Cadbury's Bournville plant remains heart of the business - owner Owners Mondeléz International say Bournville is the home of the business as Cadbury marks 200 years.

Two hundred years of chocolate in Birmingham!!
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-engl...

Crooked House owners appeal against rebuild order An enforcement notice was issued in February requiring the owners to rebuild the demolished pub.

The article doesn't explain what grounds the owners have to appeal... but I'm still hoping that somehow, the Crooked House will rise from the literal ashes again.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Vintage Marvel comics found in Sutton Coldfield sell for £13k The collection of 1,600 comics sold for more than double its estimated value.

One for the Marvel and/or comic fans!
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

OMG that cat looks determined... :D

Confusion after Birmingham canal turns green to test for leaks Social media users are confused about why the Tame Valley Canal north of Birmingham changed colour.

A bright green canal? And to think I thought all the bodies and bags of money were the biggest surprise - so much so they inspired both Gravy Train and Embers of Bridges! All in a good cause, though... #birmingham #canals
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

cast of netflix series The Gentlemen, posing in a posh drawing room

cover art for Raise the Blade featuring a bloody knife in a sink

cover art for Gravy Train featuring a pub on a street corner at night

cover art for Embers of Bridges featuring a helicopter hovering over a bridge against an orange sky

Loving Netflix's The Gentlemen? Why not try one of my darkly humorous noir books with a similar vibe? There's 3 to choose from, all set in Birmingham:
- psychological noir Raise the Blade
- chasing-the-money Gravy Train
- canal boat getaway Embers of Bridges
www.tessmakovesky.com/books.html

cast of netflix series The Gentlemen, posing in a posh drawing room

cover art for Raise the Blade featuring a bloody knife in a sink

cover art for Gravy Train featuring a pub on a street corner at night

cover art for Embers of Bridges featuring a helicopter hovering over a bridge against an orange sky

Loving Netflix's The Gentlemen? Why not try one of my darkly humorous noir books with a similar vibe? There's 3 to choose from, all set in Birmingham:
- psychological noir Raise the Blade
- chasing-the-money Gravy Train
- canal boat getaway Embers of Bridges
www.tessmakovesky.com/books.html

Like so much else of their stuff!

Noir City Hollywood, the Home Game: NO ABRAS NUNCA ESA PUERTA and THE WINDOW - Christa Faust Another year of exile up here in the Northern Fausthaus, away from Noir City Hollywood. I miss my gang of brilliant weirdos and hardcore Noirhounds who always sat in the same row every single night. I...

First night of #NoirCityHollywood is in the books. Check out my write up here: NO ABRAS NUNCA ESA PUERTA and THE WINDOW christafaust.com/noir-city-ho...

• X-Men is about civil rights. If you didn't get that, you didn't get X-Men. • Black Panther is about civil rights. If you didn't get that, you didn't get Black Panther. • Captain America literally fought the Nazis. He is the embodiment of fighting the alt-right. If you didn't get that, you didn't get Captain America. • The Empire in Star Wars is fascist. The Rebel alliance is Anti-Fascist. If you didn't get that, you didn't get Star Wars. • The Punisher isn't meant to be a role model for police or armed forces. So much so that the writers of The Punisher made him actively speak out against it in a comic. If you didn't get that, you didn't get The Punisher. • Deadpool is queer. He's pansexual. Fact. If you didn't get that you didn't get Deadpool. • Star Trek is about equality for all genders, races, and sexualities. As early as the mid-60s it was taking a pro-choice stance and defending women's right to choose. One of its clearest themes is accepting different cultures and appearances

I don’t know who wrote this, but it’s absolutely perfect

Oho I recognise that lyric in the title... ;)

Birmingham: Female-led contemporary art gallery to open The art gallery will be a space where

New female-led art gallery to open in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter (the setting for my darkly comic novella Embers of Bridges):
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Bid to protect funding to 25 under threat libraries in Birmingham People across Birmingham are planning a

Sad to see that libraries are under threat again. #birmingham #literacy #funding
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Peaky Blinders movie to start filming in September Creator Steven Knight tells reporters Cillian Murphy will reprise his role in the forthcoming film.

Good news for all the Peaky Blinders fans out there - and this time they're filming it in Birmingham!
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

It's surprisingly depressing - kids' stuff is usually uber jolly and brightly coloured...

Birmingham ‘birthplace of heavy metal’ the Crown secures listed status Pub where Black Sabbath played their first gig gains Grade II status after thousands sign petition

Such good news for lovers of Birmingham, heavy metal, Victorian architecture - and pubs!
www.theguardian.com/culture/2024...