Dream Livings

Martin Livings (born 1970) is an Australian author of horror, fantasy and science fiction. He has been writing short stories since 1990 and has been nominated for both the Ditmar Award and Aurealis Award. Livings resides in Perth, Western Australia.

Livings' short fiction has appeared in the award-winning anthology Daikaiju! (Agog! Press), as well as in Borderlands, Agog! Terrific Tales (Agog! Press) and Eidolon, among many others. His work has been listed in the Year's Best Horror and Fantasy Recommended Reading, and reprinted in Year's Best Australian SF and Fantasy Volume 2 (MirrorDanse Books, 2006), Australian Dark Fantasy and Horror, 2006 Edition (Brimstone Press, 2006), and The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015 (Ticonderoga Publications).

His first novel, Carnies, was published by Lothian Books in Australia in June 2006. Carnies was nominated for an Aurealis Award and won the 2007 Tin Duck Award for Best Novel by a Western Australian. His collection of short stories, Living With the Dead, was released in 2012 by Dark Prints Press, and an original story from the collection, 'Birthday Suit', won the Australian Shadows award for Best Short Fiction that year.

• 1Bibliography

Bibliography[edit]

Novels and Books[edit]

• Carnies, Self-published on Amazon, 2017
• Living With the Dead, Self-published on Amazon, 2017
• Rope, Self-published on Amazon, 2017
• Carnies, Cohesion Press, 2014
• Living With The Dead, Dark Prints Press, 2012
• Rope, Dark Prints Press, 2012
• Carnies, Lothian Books, 2006

Short fiction[edit]

• “El Caballo Muerte”, The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2015, 2017

• “The Circle Line”, Between the Tracks, 2017
• “Tradition”, Hell’s Bells, 42705
• “Stillegeist”, Dead of Night, 42705
• “Boxing Day”, At The Edge, 2016
• “Piggies”, 100 Lightnings, 2016
• “In Nomine Patris”, 100 Lightnings, 2016
• “Running”, The Mammoth Book of Kaiju, 2016
• “The Death of a Cruciverbalist”, Smashwords on its own, or in Refuge Volume 1, 2015
• “A Red Mist”, Bloodlines, 2015
• “Closer to God”, Antipodean SF, issue 200, 42036
• “El Caballo Muerte”, Fat Zombie, 2015
• “La Mort D’un Roturier”, The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2013, Late Nov 2014
• “Birthday Suit”, Focus 2012, 2013
• “Stillegeist”, Midnight Echo Issue 10, 2013
• “You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet”, Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2012, 2013
• “In His Name”, Coins of Chaos, 41548
• “La Mort d’un Roturier”, This is How You Die: Machine of Death 2, 2013
• “Black Peter”, Midnight Echo Issue 9, 2013
• “Cause and Effect”, Next, 2013
• “Art, Ink”, Antipodean SF Issue 180, 2013
• “The Ar-Dub”, Living With the Dead, 2012
• “You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet”, Living With the Dead, 2012
• “Birthday Suit”, Living With the Dead, 2012
• “Trick Or…”, Eclecticism Issue 17, 2012
• “Unwanted”, Surviving The End, 2012
• “Home”, Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror Volume 1, 2011
• “The Rider”, Dead Red Heart, 2011
• “The Tide” (creator and co-contributor), Dead Red Heart, 2011
• “The Last Gig of Jimmy Rucker” (with Talie Helene), More Scary Kisses, 2011
• “Blessed Are The Dead That The Rain Falls Upon”, Devil Dolls and Duplicates in Australian Horror Fiction, 2011
• “Home”, Scenes from the Second Storey, 2010
• “Crawling”, Macabre, 2010
• “Ascension”, The Year’s Best Australian SF & Fantasy, Volume 5, 2010
• “Little Arkham”, Worlds Next Door, 2010
• “Downtown”, Eclecticism Issue 13, 2010
• “Hearts of Ice”, Blade Red Dark Pages, 2010
• “The Valley”, Scary Kisses, 2010
• “Lollo”, Close Encounters of the Urban Kind, 2010
• “I’m Dreaming…”, Festive Fear, 2009
• “Silence”, Midnight Echo Issue 3, 2009
• “Zero Point”, Antipodean SF, Issue 137, 40118
• “Smiley”, In Bad Dreams 2: Where Death Stalks, 2009
• “Ascension”, Grants Pass, 2009
• “Blessed Are The Dead That The Rain Falls Upon”, New Ceres Nights, 2009
• “There Was Darkness”, Australian Dark Fantasy and Horror Volume 3, 2009
• “The Velocitous and the Vexed”, Hope Issue #2, 2009
• “Bedbugs”, Voices, 2008
• “The Dead Priest’s Tale”, Canterbury 2100, 2008
• “Piggies”, Midnight Echo Issue 1, 39722
• “Catharsis”, Black Box, 39508
• “3:17AM”, Black Box, 39508
• “Skin Songs”, 2012, 39508
• “An Evil Twin”, Antipodean SF Issue 113, 39356
• “Tangled”, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine Best Of Horror, 2007
• “There Was Darkness”, Fantastic Wonder Stories, 39173
• “Silence”, Horror Day Anthology 2006, 38991
• “Hooked”, Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2006 edition, 38991
• “Dwar7es”, Ticonderoga Online, 38961
• “The Dark Dimension”, Antipodean SF issue 100, 38961
• “Running”, The Year’s Best Australian SF & Fantasy, Volume Two, 2006
• “Mine”, The Outcast anthology, 2006
• “Killing Time”, “Robots and Time” anthology, 2005
• “Playtime”, Shadow Box e-anthology, Halloween 2005
• “Hell Desk”, Antipodean SF Issue 85, July/August 2005
• “In Nomine Patris”, Shadowed Realms issue 5, May/June 2005
• “Future Shock”, Mitch? 4: Slow Dancing through Quicksand: Stories from Aussie writers who should’ve known better, 38412
• “Running”, Daikaiju Anthology, 38412
• “Hooked”, Borderlands Issue 5, 38412
• “M’Boy Cain”, Ticonderoga Online Issue 3, 38412
• “I, Assassin”, Shadowed Realms Issue 2, Nov/Dev 2004
• “Armageddon for Dummies”, Antipodean SF Issue 75, 38200
• “Maelstrom”, Agog! Smashing Stories, 2004
• “Tangled”, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine issue 11, 2004
• “Wood Whispers”, Fables and Reflections 6, 2004
• “The Art of Suffering”, Ticonderoga Online, 38047
• “Know-It-All”, Antipodean SF Issue 67, 2003
• “Mrs Mary Unicorn”, Borderlands: Trilogies convention book, 2003
• “House Call”, Antipodean SF Issue 62, 2003
• “Sigmund Freud and the Feral Freeway”, Agog! Terrific Tales, 2003
• “The Proverbial”, Fables and Reflections 4, 2003
• “The Last Dolphin”, Fables and Reflections 4, 2003
• “The Last Laugh”, Borderlands: That Which Scares Us convention book, 2002
• “Into the Valley”, Borderlands: That Which Scares Us convention book (winner of short story competition), 2002
• “Halo”, AustrAlien Absurdities, 2002
• “Quicksilver”, Mitch? Hacks to the Max, 2002
• “Alternator”, Mitch? Tarts of the New Millennium, 2001
• “Sweetheart”, Antipodean SF issue 35, 2001
• “Wrevelation”, Mitch? Short Stories for Short Attention Spans, 2000
• “Hunters”, published on the Ticonderoga web site, 1999
• “Living With the Dead”, Eidolon issue 16, 1995
• “Ghost Card”, Eidolon issue 10, 1992
• “Shifter”, Aurealis issue 9, 1992

Awards[edit]

• Honorable Mention, Ellen Datlow’s Year’s Best Horror, 2012, “Birthday Suit”, Living With the Dead, 2013
• Australian Shadows winner for Best Short Fiction, 2012, “Birthday Suit”, Living With the Dead, 2013
• Australian Shadows finalist for Best Collection, 2012, N/A, Living With the Dead, 2013
• Aurealis Award nomination for Best Collection, 2012, N/A, Living With the Dead, 2013
• Tin Duck nomination for Best WA Professional Short Written Work, 2012, “Birthday Suit”, Living With the Dead, 2013
• Tin Duck winner for Best WA Professional Short Written Work, 2011, “The Last Gig of Jimmy Rucker” (co-written with Talie Helene), More Scary Kisses, 2012
• Honorable Mention, Best Horror of the Year Volume One, 2008, “Piggies”, Midnight Echo Issue 1, 2008
• Listed in Recommended Reading List, Horrorscope Editorial: Dark Fiction in 2008, “Skinsongs”, 2012, 2008
• Listed in Recommended Reading List, Years Best Fantasy and Horror volume 21, 2008, “There Was Darkness”, Fantastic Wonder Stories, 2007
• Nominated for Tin Duck, Best Short Work, 2008, “There Was Darkness”, Fantastic Wonder Stories, 2007
• Nominated for Australian Shadows Award, 2008, “There Was Darkness”, Fantastic Wonder Stories, 2007
• Listed in Recommended Reading List, Years Best Fantasy and Horror volume 20, 2007, “Mine”, The Outcast, 2006
• Nominated for Ditmar award, Best Novel, Carnies, Lothian Books, 2006
• Tin Duck award, Best WA Professional Long Work 2007, Carnies, Lothian Books, 2006
• Runner-Up for Tin Duck award, Best WA Professional Short Work 2007, “Dwar7es”, Ticonderoga Online, 38961
• Shortlisted for Aurealis Awards, Best Horror Novel, Carnies, Lothian Books, 2006
• Nominated for the AntiSF Awards 2004, “Know-It-All”, Antipodean SF Issue 67, 2004
• The Year’s Best Australian SF & Fantasy One, Recommended Reading List, “Wood Whispers”, Fables and Reflections 6, 2004
• The Year’s Best Australian SF & Fantasy One, Recommended Reading List, “The Art of Suffering”, Ticonderoga Online, 38047
• The Year’s Best Australian SF & Fantasy One, Recommended Reading List, “Armageddon For Dummies”, Antipodean SF Issue 75, 38200
• Highly Commended Notice in KSP SF Awards, “Deadline”, N/A, 2005
• Listed in Recommended Reading List, Years Best Fantasy and Horror volume 18, 2005, “Maelstrom”, Agog! Smashing Stories, 2004
• Chronopolis Short Story competition 2003, “Killing Time”, N/A, 2003
• Shortlisted for Aurealis Awards, Best SF Short Story, “Sigmund Freud and the Feral Freeway”, Agog! Terrific Tales, 2003
• Shortlisted for Ditmar Awards, Best Novella, “Sigmund Freud and the Feral Freeway”, Agog! Terrific Tales, 2003
• Shortlisted for Tin Duck Awards, Best Short Story, “Sigmund Freud and the Feral Freeway”, Agog! Terrific Tales, 2003
• Borderlands: That Which Scares Us short story competition winner, “Into the Valley”, Borderlands: That Which Scares Us convention book, 2002
• Winner, Tin Duck Award, Best Short Story, “Living with the Dead”, Eidolon issue 16, 1995
• Listed in Recommended Reading List, Years Best Fantasy and Horror 1993, “Ghost Card”, Eidolon issue 10, 1992

References[edit]

• Aurealis Awards winners archive Retrieved 17 February 2008.
• Inkspillers Ditmar Awards archive. Retrieved 17 February 2008.

External links[edit]

• Martin Livings at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Living the Dream is Slash's fourth solo album, the third to feature Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators. Slash released it September 21, 2018, on his own record label: Snakepit Records. The album was produced by Michael Baskette, who also produced the previous record World on Fire.^[1]

Background and recording[edit]

After reuniting with Guns N' Roses in 2016, the possibility of a third record for Slash and Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators was in question, let alone if they would stay together. Slash stated in multiple interviews, including on Eddie Trunk's show, that he would like to make the next album as he is always writing riffs, and had some written already but had to find time on the Guns N' Roses tour; the record was completed on the tour.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

He later appeared a second time on Trunk's podcast to talk further on an array of subjects including travel, doing press, and the new record, which he started jamming in 2015 and picked back up in 2017.^[7][2][6]

Some thought the album title Living the Dream was in reference to Slash 'living the dream', but Slash clarified: 'Well, you know, the album title is actually meant to be a sarcastic statement about the world we're living in at the moment [...] it was just something that came to mind—this tongue-in-cheek thing directed at social political events across the globe.'^[5]

Reception[edit]

Living the Dream has received mostly positive reviews from online and magazine sources. According to Allmusic, it is the first positive review to receive three and a half stars out of five stars stating, 'This is the sound of a working band locking in on their groove.' The album sold around 20,000 copies in its first week and debuted at 27 on the billboard 200.[2]

Music and lyrics[edit]

This was the first record in which Frank Sidoris played rhythm guitar, on Apocalyptic LoveMyles Kennedy played rhythm guitar and on World on Fire Slash played all guitars. Slash on the dynamic of the band: 'It's been an amazing ride so far; as a band we continue to get better, which is great. With the addition of Frank [Sidoris on guitar] since the World on Fire tour, I feel we have hit a creative stride.'^[13] It is also the first recorded digitally because tape recording has become expensive.^[14]

When interviewed by The Classic Metal Show about continuity between this record, singer Myles Kennedy explained: 'Yeah, it definitely has those sonic hallmarks, I think, that started to evolve. [...] It's 12 songs, and there aren't a lot of epic journeys [...] these are very concise, and there's an uptempo quality to a lot of the tracks that I think bode well for this band.'^[15]

Slash also commented on the musical direction by saying: 'It's a natural progression from World On Fire [...] I think it has a little more diversity—some of the ideas are not really what I would consider to be predictable. At the same time, the record is also a bit more structured, with songs that are shorter and more to the point than last time..... 'It's just a snapshot of where we're at which is what we're going for with each new album — to be present in what we're doing and come up with something that is representative of and reflects this moment in time.'^[5]

Track listing[edit]

Personnel[edit]

Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators

• Slash – lead guitar, acoustic guitar
• Myles Kennedy – lead vocals
• Todd Kerns – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Brent Fitz – drums, percussion, keyboards
• Frank Sidoris – rhythm guitar

Production

• Michael 'Elvis' Baskette – production, mixing, engineering
• Ron English – artwork
• Ted Jensen – mastering

Charts[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators: 'Living The Dream' Artwork Unveiled; 'Driving Rain' Single Available'. Blabbermouth.net. July 25, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
2. ^ ^ab'Guns N' Roses Guitarist Slash Interviewed By Eddie Trunk!'. Guns N' Roses Central. August 4, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
3. ^Hiatt, Brian (August 14, 2018). 'Slash Speaks! Inside the Guns N' Roses Reunion and His New Album'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
4. ^'Slash Is Recording a New Solo Album'. Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
5. ^ ^abc'Listen to New Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators Song 'My Antidote''. Blabbermouth.net. September 17, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
6. ^ ^ab'Metal Talks Slash, a playlist by Spotify'. Spotify. Retrieved 2018-09-29.
7. ^'Slash Appears on Eddie Trunk's Radio Show....Again!'. Guns N' Roses Central. August 26, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
8. ^ ^ab[1]
9. ^Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. 'Living the Dream - Slash'. Allmusic. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
10. ^https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/slash-featuring-myles-kennedy-and-the-conspirators-living-the-dream-album-review
11. ^https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/sep/21/slash-feat-myles-kennedy-and-the-conspirators-living-the-dream-review-more-careful-than-feral
12. ^https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/review-slash-reminds-us-of-his-glory-days-on-living-the-dream-727709/
13. ^Leight, Elias (March 22, 2018). 'Slash Details New Album With Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
14. ^Ustaer, Feyyaz (August 25, 2018). 'Slash Recorded His New Album With Digital Equipment Because Of A Surprising Reason'. Metalhead Zone. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
15. ^'MYLES KENNEDY Says 'There Aren't A Lot Of Epic Journeys' On SLASH's New Album, 'Living The Dream''. Blabbermouth.net. June 21, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
16. ^'Australiancharts.com – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Living the Dream'. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
17. ^'Austriancharts.at – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Living the Dream' (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
18. ^'Ultratop.be – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Living the Dream' (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
19. ^'Ultratop.be – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Living the Dream' (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
20. ^'Slash Chart History (Canadian Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
21. ^'Czech Albums – Top 100'. ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201839 on the field besides the word 'Zobrazit', and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
22. ^'Dutchcharts.nl – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Living the Dream' (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
23. ^'Slash: Living the Dream' (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
24. ^'Offiziellecharts.de – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Living the Dream' (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
25. ^'Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2018. 39. hét' (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
26. ^'Irish-charts.com – Discography Slash'. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
27. ^'Italiancharts.com – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Living the Dream'. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
28. ^'Charts.org.nz – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Living the Dream'. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
29. ^'Norwegiancharts.com – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Living the Dream'. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
30. ^'Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart'. OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
31. ^'Portuguesecharts.com – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Living the Dream'. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
32. ^'Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
33. ^'Spanishcharts.com – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Living the Dream'. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
34. ^'Swedishcharts.com – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Living the Dream'. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
35. ^'Swisscharts.com – Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – Living the Dream'. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
36. ^'Official Albums Chart Top 100'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
37. ^'Slash Chart History (Billboard 200)'. Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
38. ^'Slash Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
39. ^'Slash Chart History (Top Rock Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2018.