Coming Through in Waves, an anthology of crime fiction inspired by Pink Floyd is now available for preorder. It concludes with “Waiting for the Worms,” my 62nd published story. There are not many bands that could inspire a collection of short fiction and fewer that might inspire writers to contribute.

Rolling Stone once described Pink Floyd as “purveyors of a distinctly dark vision.” For me “Waiting for the Worms”, which comes from their 1979 album The Wall, is a perfect illustration. By coincidence I recently reread Exodus, the second Doctor Who New Adventure which depicts a Britain ruled by Germany in the 1950s. “Waiting for the Worms” toys with the horrors of that scenario, tapping into the racist undercurrents that I, four-years-old in 1979, would soon see in the society around me. It also explores other disturbing themes before the most powerful four-letter word ever expressed in music, “Stop.”

Some of the proceeds from this book will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a very worthy cause. It is released on 15 February and available for pre-order now in paperback and electronic format.