Dead Men Talk

In the first true 'crossover' episode of both of his main shows, Chris welcomes fellow wrestling fan and author, Steven Farrugia. Steven shares just some of his crazy memories during his 30 years following the 'one true sport', including the famous Summerslam '92 event at Wembley Stadium, four WresleMania's, two Wrestle Kingdom shows in Japan, following and becoming involved in his local promotion...

Chris is joined by US rap music star Scan Man, to discuss (among other things) his early musical influences, his time spent as a member of the rap/hip-hop super-power Three 6 Mafia through to launching his own label and distribution platform, Nephilum Muzicc and Nephilum Distribution.  We even get to take a dive into Scan Man's love for heavy metal and working with Marilyn Manson!   This...

What better way for Chris to start a new year - and a new season - than going right back to the beginning and welcoming back the first-ever interview guest he ever had - author Richard Ayre. As well as talking about other things that have happened in their respective lives since they last spoke in summer of 2020, Richard discusses his newest release, Jack The Ripper-inspired crime thriller, 'Shado...

Chris closes off the podcast for 2021 with a bang, as he welcomes by far his biggest guest to date! Stuart Davis is one of the most unique and inspirational songwriters in the world, and has drawn praise and critical acclaim from influential figures worldwide. Amongst them, Chris' own musical idol Ed Kowalczyk (from the band +LIVE+) once described Stuart as 'the greatest lyricist I've ever heard',...

Chris has the pleasure of speaking to singer-songwriter Maryen Cairns, whose debut single 'Too Young To Die' achieved worldwide acclaim in the 90s.    As well as her early work getting her noticed by FISH from Marillion (which led to Maryen being chosen to provide backing vocals on one of his albums!), her unique and captivating style has continued to attract fans worldwide and has led t...

'Dead Men Talk' comes full-circle with this latest guest, returning to Chris' passion for delving into the 'stories behind the stories'. Harking back to one of the first folk gigs he attended back in 2007, Chris finally gets to talk to one of the musicians and songwriters that spurred his own desire to write. Having been a TV director, film-maker, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist - and eve...

Ray Tizzard has worked alongside some of the greats in British comedy and been able to make them laugh, so it is little wonder that this episode turned out to be one of the funniest (and most fun) Chris has done to date! To many, Ray will be remembered as Joe Pasquale's hapless twin-brother Raynard, who joined him on stage in countless acts of pure comedy genius. Ray was also the hand behind (or b...

In this episode, Chris delves once more into the Devonian talent pool as he welcomes Torbay-based guitarist & singer-songwriter, Robin Hann. Robin discusses his earliest memories of music, the artists who inspired him to want to become a musician himself, performing on the local pub/club circuit and through to real-life experiences which helped shape his tremendous album, 'Alone At Least'. Be...

In this episode, Chris welcomes "peanut taxidermist" and toy creator Steve Casino to the show! As soon as a video of Steve's work landed on Chris' social media news feeds recently, he knew he had to get him on as a guest. Steve is famous for his artwork and has garnered a massive following and national TV exposure in the States. From turning peanuts into well-known characters, to his truly amazing...

You'd be hard-pushed to find anyone who hasn't at least heard of 'Frankenstein', quite possibly the most well-known gothic horror tale in the world and what is also heralded as the first-ever science fiction story. But how much do you know about the 'story behind the story', and in particular about Mary Shelley herself? In this episode, Chris has the honour of chatting to Chris Harris and Jonathan...

Matt Steady is an independent singer-songwriter from Leicestershire who is responsible for a number of astounding albums, including 'Here Be Dragons' and 'Chasing Down Wolves' which have been on Chris' own rotating playlist for a while now! In this brand-new episode, Chris has the pleasure of sitting down and talking to Matt about his musical influences, the roots of his unique sound which masterf...

Guess who's back!  After something of an extended break, Chris returns with a brand-new episode of Dead Men Talk and with a very, very special guest. Clare Helen Welsh is one of the most respected children's writers in the South West with hugely popular releases such as 'Poo! Is That You?', 'Wee? It Wasn't Me', 'The Tide' and of course 'Aerodynamics of Biscuits. Clare pops in to chat about he...

The podcast reaches a natural conclusion as Chris brings his writing journey bang up-to-date by discussing his shift from writing horror fiction to children's books, starting with the release of 'It's A Long Way To The Moon' in September 2019, up to his recent release 'It's A Long Night for Santa.' And what better way to mark the occasion than with an exclusive interview with the man who helped tr...

This week, Chris dissects the writing of the final instalment of Blackgang: the Trickerjack Trail - the eerily-titled Queen of Scars - as well as rounding out the series by discussing how and why he decided to amalgamate the previous two books into what exists now as A Necessary End. What fond and dark memories from within Blackgang Chine Amusement Park lingered on, leading to the all-new backstor...

To conclude the series of episodes delving into the pages of his horror release A Necessary End, Chris treats everyone to the final story from the audiobook in full! Narrated by Dave Jackson, we introduce to you 'The Ginger Man'. Enjoy! Grab your copy of A Necessary End here, available in Kindle, paperback and audiobook formats on Amazon! To keep up-to-date with all of Chris' news and info, follow...

In January 1994, Blackgang was rocked by a major landslide and part of the village fell into the sea. How did Chris take this event and weave it into the Trickerjack's tapestry? The result was the next story that exists in A Necessary End , The Road To Nowhere . Hear Chris explain how and why he drew inspiration from this life-altering event for the villagers and made it fit into his own twisted u...

The journey into the stories behind A Necessary End continues with a look at ' Passenger 29 '.  Join Chris as he discusses how a planned family holiday to the Isle of Wight back in 2016 spurred old childhood memories and a new fascination with the history of the village of Blackgang - in particular the true events of a 19th-Century shipwreck - and in turn set in motion the next chapter of his...

Chris recounts how the final part of House of Courtenay came together with the writing of the third and final story, The Killing Floor .  Where did the initial idea or need for this story come from? How and why did he link them to Ummidia and The Trickerjack ? And as has become a staple of his work, what silver-screen and personal influences played a part in what this story became by 'the end...

It's time to take a deep-dive into one of Chris' most famous creations to date, and his own personal favourite - the Trickerjack !  In this episode, Chris discusses which singer-songwriter is most responsible for the idea behind this story and which two actors contributed to his vision for the character himself, leading to what Chris considers to be his most personal body of work to date. Gra...

For the final summer drop-in session (it is still technically summer, right?) I have the honour of chatting to Jillian Rose, author of the remarkable contemporary romance novel, Don't Kiss & Sell.  Jillian already has stories to tell of her own and it was fascinating to hear how her work and life experiences have inspired her own writing and ambitions. Don't Kiss & Sell is available in eBook and p...

In this season's opener, Chris revisits the first - and possibly most notorious - of the stories he wrote for A Necessary End . For any of you with a certain eight-legged phobia, maybe you'll want to listen to this with the light on? That's right...it's Ummidia ! Find out the emotional, physical and visual influences behind this chilling tale, where fear turns into obsession. Grab your copy of A N...

On this special 'drop-in' episode, I had the pleasure of chatting to multi-genre, and award-winning, author Andrew Hess. Nicknamed "The King of Cliffhangers" by his readers, Andrew is a true inspiration to anyone who loves reading, writing, or both! I urge all listeners to go and check out one - or many - of his titles after listening to this episode! To find out more about all of Andrew's work, b...

"Singer. Songwriter. Actor. Artist. Writer. Poet. Dreamer." Is there anything this guy can't do? For this special bonus summer episode, I had the absolute honour of talking to Chuck W. Chapman about his upcoming novel Family Man: The Unreal Story of Charles Manson's Right-Hand Man , an incredible alternate take (or is it?) on the infamous 'Manson Family Murders' at Cielo Drive.  Believe me wh...

For this bonus 'Summer Drop-in' session, I have the pleasure of speaking to Linda Robson-Burrell, who has been doing some remarkable things for our local community here in Newton Abbot. Recently Linda has opened her very own 'Little Free Library' in her front garden, helping to give joy and happiness to local residents during this time of need.  Linda drops in to chat about how her Little Fre...

School's out. Summer's here. But there's no rest for the wicked as I drop the first of 3 bonus episodes to help get you through the holidays! In this episode, I welcome Ray Rumsey; voice actor and host of the widely-revered podcast 'The Leo Affects'. I cite Ray's podcast as one of the two main influences behind me creating my own and I was so grateful to have the chance to speak to him again, only...