IT'S A CRIME! (OR A MYSTERY...)

Reminder: March crime fiction author events in South Wales

The Ladykillers: Tuesday 13 March, Barry and Port Talbot

Vale of Glamorgan Libraries: Face2Face. An afternoon with The Ladykillers, crime novelists Lesley Horton, Priscilla Masters, Danuta Reah and Zoë Sharp.  2.30 pm, the new Barry Library.  Tickets priced £2.00.  For details contact 01446 709737.  Supported by Academi (contact 029 2047 2266 for information on funding for events).

The location is Barry's new library which opens in the first week of January 2007.

Update: later in the day, the ladies are moving on to Cwmafan Library, Port Talbot at 18:30.  Tickets are £1.50.  Contact details here.

Margaret Murphy: Monday 19 March, Cwmbran Library

Monday 19th March, Cwmbran Library, Torfaen, South Wales. Margaret will be doing two events: 2.30 p.m., a writers’ workshop – Developing Character and at 7.30 p.m., a talk entitled The police inspector, the crook, the mortuary technician and the writer – a light-hearted look at research.
Venue for both events: Cwmbran Library, Gwent House, Cwmbran, Torfaen, South Wales. Contact Stephanie Morgan or Dorothy Carpenter Tel. 01633 483240

Fallen Angel (TV adaptation) / The Roth Trilogy (the novels)

News from Andrew Taylor - UK airing dates for the three part TV adaptation of The Roth Trilogy have been announced.

"Fallen Angel, starring Charles Dance and Emilia Fox and a host of other talented actors, is due to be broadcast in the UK on ITV1 on the evenings of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, 11-13 March.  The Behind the Scenes documentary follows on Wednesday 14 March on the digital
channel ITV3, and the DVDs are due for release on March 19.

Fallen Angel is  based on the award-winning Roth Trilogy, which moves backwards in time, tracking the secret history of a murderer from effects to causes.  Its rewind structure is almost certainly unique.

The omnibus edition of the trilogy is also available from Amazon and all good booksellers."

World Book Day & St David's Day

Today is World Book Day.  Don't forget to check out the online book tokens; the £1 books; the Quick Reads and the Quick Reads in Wales.

Interestingly, in Wales there's a quick read from Fiona Phillips (of GMTV fame) called "A Day to Remember" - is this a fiction début  for Phillips?

But, for the crime fiction related/interested, Wales offers "Bring It Back Home" from Niall Griffiths; "The Rubber Woman" from Lindsay Ashford (also a Megan Rhys story) and "The Corpse's Tale" from Katherine John (which I believe was part of last year's offering).

Today is also St David's Day in Wales.  This is the day when the young ladies of Wales get to dress up in the Welsh National Costume (and if they're lucky, they have a half day holiday at school).

I did this too (in my time) and I have the black and white photos to prove it.  Alas, even though it was fun, I never smiled for the camera (a habit that started even before I could walk and something I'm famous for in my family). 

Masters Jones, Jenkins, Davies, Griffiths etc. don't have this fun, but their national pride is usually based on the size and quality of the leeks they adorn on their chests.  And competition can be rife, let me tell you.  (When I was at school, we were astounded one year when a fellow female turned up wearing a real leek, extending to almost the full extent of her torso.  The rest of us lacked imagination and had stuck to the felt replicas that were no more than three inches in length.  We also remained "fragrance-free", however and it's good that we had the afternoon as a holiday, which was a standard then.)

Today is also the day that Welsh singer, personality and more lately "chat show" presenter Charlotte Church has chosen to announce her pregnancy.  Congratulations to her and her rugby playing boyfriend Gavin.  Another talented Welsh offspring will launch later this year, no doubt.  Where the nightclubs of Cardiff may lose out, I'm sure Mothercare and Welsh based JoJo Maman Bébé will gain.  Church will lead in her new role and life as she has before.

Have a good World Book Day and St David's Day!