What are we?
We are a brand new literary website
What makes us different?
High Tensile is all about psychological thriller fiction: the kind that happens between your hands, on a Kindle, or on well-worn printed paper. We discuss, review, critique, analyse, engage, inform, mock, take apart, dissect, enjoy, appreciate, swear undying devotion to, and digitally publish works of the genre.
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If you’re a new reader, that’s all you need to know for the moment. Take a look at some of our favourite features, and come back once you feel we’ve earnt your attention.
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If you’re still here, it’s probably because you think you’re High Tensile too. Maybe you’re right. Only time will tell.
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Let’s start with the basics.
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How did we come up with the logo? And...uh...what is it supposed to be? The High Tensile logo is just one of many Rorshach tests. The inkblot test, as it is more commonly known, is used by psychologists to reveal hidden thought processes.
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As to what it’s supposed to be? Well, that’s up to you and your subconscious. Some see hints of a skeletonised chicken carcass, others a kind of insectoid creature. Personally I see an eldritch abomination, like you’d find in a forgotten Lovecraft story.
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There’s a reason Rorshach tests pop up throughout psychological thriller stories, it’s because they stress the importance of individual perception and thought processes. More commonly, it shines a light on flawed perceptions and flawed thought processes. In other words, the unfathomable and ever-changing nature of our beloved logo is a direct parallel to the unfathomable and ever-changing human mind.
Want to test your mind?
Have a go at these Rorschach tests.
Where have all the colours gone?
The High Tensile webspace is made up of washed out colours and shades of grey because real world space is made up of washed out colours and shades of grey. I mean this in both a literal sense (In Britain, there is nothing so grey as the average winter day) and in an artistic sense. If colour corresponds to emotion, then the restrained actions we take daily aren’t strong enough to be described with bright colours. However, the existence of these restrained actions, and these muted colours, hints at something more violent. Ordinary greed and frustration hides away extraordinary ambition and rage.
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So, even if our design scheme might be seem threatening, what it actually represents is everyday safety. Just hope we never unleash the bright colours underneath.
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What’s in a name?
As defined by Oxford dictionaries, to be high tensile is to be ‘very strong under tension’. High tensile metal is used in some of humanity’s most important constructions, from huge highway bridges to the cradle that holds safe our children. To be a follower of High Tensile is therefore to be a person of great mental fortitude.
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Tensile strength is only proven through testing, and how is it tested? By pulling it apart. To put you through your paces, we curate works of psychological thriller fiction that evoke the feeling of being pulled apart. To read something high tensile is to feel a force that wants to stretch, twist or bend your mind out of shape. This is what we feel is the truest form of psychological thriller fiction, the kind that needs to be celebrated.
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Under current conditions, this simply isn’t happening. Between misrepresentation by publishing and the flood of derivative bestsellers, the genre is in danger of losing everything that makes it so synapse-burningly terrific. As long as great original manuscripts moulder away in a publisher’s basement, as long as writers feel that they can’t write unless they mimic the current flavour of the month, High Tensile will continue to do what we do.
We hope that by building a platform where the right stuff shines through, psychological thrillers will get the literary attention they deserve.
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Psychological thrillers are a transcendent force that can’t be contained within the boundaries of a novel or a short story. Our love affair with psychological thriller fiction is ingrained in human nature, lurking deep and dark and dangerous. It’s universal. It’s l’appel du vide, the irrational urge to jump. It’s the moment that you look into the eyes of your own reflection, and don’t recognise who or what stares back.
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Welcome to the High Tensile community.
Name: Lee Armstrong
Lee is a mature student, in the final year of his English and Creative Writing degree. He’s worked as a bouncer, a civil servant, a plasterer, a caterer, a personal trainer, a lorry driver, and far too many other things to list. After running out of options, he’s decided to try his hand at writing. What could possibly go wrong?
Likes: Family, dogs, books, gym, cycling, food (all of it), gin, graffiti, music (everything from Golden-age Hip Hop to Death Metal).
Dislikes: Pore Gramma
Favourite Psychological Thriller: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane.
Name: Harrison Jones
Originally from North Wales, Harrison’s passion for English (both language and literature) has dragged him all the way to rugged Birmingham. You might not see his name dotted around the site too much, but he’s the brains behind High Tensile’s twisted design. Always behind the scenes, but rarely seen – it’s the perfect alibi.
Likes: Translation studies, music, Italy, football, pancakes, dogs, carpet – never go laminate.
Dislikes: Sausages, unnecessary mess, wasted time.
Favourite Psychological Thriller: Gone Girl.
Name: Harrison Jones
Originally from North Wales, Harrison’s passion for English (both language and literature) has dragged him all the way to rugged Birmingham. You might not see his name dotted around the site too much, but he’s the brains behind High Tensile’s twisted design. Always behind the scenes, but rarely seen – it’s the perfect alibi.
Likes: Translation studies, music, Italy, football, pancakes, dogs, carpet – never go laminate.
Dislikes: Sausages, unnecessary mess, wasted time.
Favourite Psychological Thriller: Gone Girl.
Name: Kasper Larsen
Kasper is studying English Literature with the (possibly futile) hope of making a living out of it one day. Born overseas to a hippy and a sailor, Kasper made his way to England to experience characteristic British grumpiness. He has not been disappointed.
Likes: cinnamon, peanut butter, dragons, history, long reads on the beach.
Dislikes: Stubbed toes.
Favourite Psychological Thriller: The Cabin at the End of the Woods by Paul Tremblay.
Name: Sadiya Iqbal
Sadiya is studying English Literature and Creative Writing and has dreams of writing and writing until she’s told to get up and find a real job. Reader by day and writer by night, it’s a wonder how she gets anything else done at all. The only regret she has is not coming up with the idea of Harry Potter herself.
Likes: dark twisted stuff, Rumi, chocolate (lots of it), FRIENDS, the Ancient Egyptians.
Dislikes: Sushi
Favourite Psychological Thriller: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane