interview

Global Vice President of Security Research at Trend Micro, Rik Ferguson, discusses the issue of child sex abuse images on Facebook

August 5, 2013 // 10 Comments

As well as working with law enforcement, Facebook also works closely with organisations like the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). They do take this very seriously, but I think they have a technical challenge...

Founder of Once Upon An Eden and survivor of extreme child abuse, Michelle Carmela, gives her opinion on Facebook’s issue of child sex abuse images

August 2, 2013 // 19 Comments

I can understand Facebook wanting to protect freedom of speech. I can understand the company at times feels like their hands are tied. However, when children are seen being violated and exploited, it is essential Facebook remove these images. They must use common sense and seek to promote safety...

LA Reggae Band, Arise Roots, Bring Music to the Booth With Their Album ‘Moving Forward’

July 25, 2013 // 0 Comments

About ninety per cent of the music we create comes out of jam sessions. We get together and just start playing without any guidelines or barriers. The feel, the mood, the vibe itself is what dictates what we play. It doesn't take long to tell if it is a tune worth keeping. The ones that we dig get developed a little more until we have a song...

In the Booth with Ruth – Rachel Moran, Author and Survivor of Prostitution

July 23, 2013 // 11 Comments

I wanted to tell people the truth about all that I had seen. I wanted to record the degradation and the simple human suffering that’s an inevitable and intrinsic part of sexual exploitation, and I wanted, most importantly, to talk about how we can put a stop to it.

Chong Kim, a Survivor of Sex Trafficking, Talks About Eden, The Newly Released Film Based On Her Life

July 21, 2013 // 9 Comments

Eden is based on the real life story of sex trafficking survivor, Chong Kim, who was abducted at 19 years of age from Dallas, Texas. I met up with Chong in London to talk about the film and her life as a survivor and advocate.

Author, Tom Gillespie, is in the booth with his People’s Book Prize Finalist novel: Painting by Numbers

July 21, 2013 // 4 Comments

When I started, I had a very loose idea of where I wanted my story to go. I had a beginning, a few sketches around the middle and then a few months in, I had the ending. Then I would juggle stream of consciousness writing with a more controlled, editorial approach, slowly crafting and shaping the narrative structure out of the mess of scribbles, notes, words and ideas. As PBN is fairly complex, I used post-it notes on a big board to keep track of everything that was going on...

Crime writer, Paul D. Brazill, is in the booth with his latest books: Guns of Brixton & Gumshoe

July 15, 2013 // 10 Comments

Byker Books have published Guns Of Brixton as part of their Best Of British series. It’s a knockabout, foul-mouthed and violent gangster yarn... Pulp Metal Fiction have just published Gumshoe, a blackly comic story of a middle aged divorcee living in a run-down English seaside town who decides to become a private eye.

Child trafficking survivor & advocate, David Zimmerman, speaks out about child sex abuse images on Facebook

July 13, 2013 // 10 Comments

Facebook could start by including better options for reporting violations of policy and criminal activity. There could be direct links to appropriate agencies for the range of crimes committed online, from child sexual abuse images and trafficking to cyber stalking and bullying. Facebook could employ a moderator system that allows faster detection and timely responses. There could be an active law enforcement presence...

In the Booth with Ruth – Gabriella Apicella, Screenwriter

July 11, 2013 // 2 Comments

I strongly believe that film is one of the most powerful tools for communication, and when iconic images stand in for real-world complexity this can reduce anything to stereotype. So much so that prostitution is all too frequently romanticised as in ‘Pretty Woman’, or demonised as in ’Monster’...

In the Booth with Ruth – Howard Linskey, Author

July 8, 2013 // 7 Comments

I enjoy writing crime because it gives you the opportunity to place your characters in pretty extreme, stressful situations involving death or injury, imprisonment or betrayal and it brings emotion to a story when so much is at risk for the characters.

In the Booth with Ruth – J. Andrew Taylor, Author

June 30, 2013 // 4 Comments

I began writing various short stories and study pieces since I was in my teens and, over the years, it has evolved into novels. As far as inspirations go, I will categorise all of the great stories that have fascinated, captivated and taken me to magical places.

In the Booth with Ruth – Barb Jungr, Singer & Songwriter

June 25, 2013 // 4 Comments

I like metaphor in song and I love language. I guess that’s part of - for me - the appeal of, especially, Dylan and Cohen - that magic they both have of using words like knives, scalpel like precision - I envy that. I like narrative. Last Orders is a story of an affair in Stockport before I left the town, the summer of my goodbye, and it’s a song of lost youth and love...

In the Booth with Ruth – Gladys Lawson, Author

June 20, 2013 // 4 Comments

I don’t really categorise what I write about. I love writing about important issues but structuring them in ways that people can relate to. I write mysteries, thrillers, suspense and romance – sometimes all in the same book.

In the Booth with Ruth – Robert Wuagneux, Singer, Songwriter & Musician

June 18, 2013 // 7 Comments

Strange Voo Doo is about self–discovery. It is the coming face to face with the past choices one has made and how those choices have led to certain consequences. Discovering self-love is freedom from convention. In the bridge of the tune the singer realizes that self-discovery has freed him from those self-imposed[...]