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

Update

Due to some impending commitments involving no or severely limited internet access, this blog will not be updated until the end of November, or possibly 1 December.  This will include any comments awaiting moderation.

Books to come later include two from Mike Ripley's comic crime Angel series: Angel on the Inside and Angel in the House.  Plus Melanie Whitehouse's The Tail of Angustus Moon (non-crime and classified as "romance" just in case you are wondering).

Reality TV and celebs and budding-celebs in action and READING

I could have been watching Strictly Come Dancing earlier, but this has become my Saturday night and weekend mode: catch up on who is out of Strictly by way of Digital Spy's forums after 22:30 and then watch the main show later (in the week) on Virgin's available replay service with the luxury of fast-forwarding over Brucie's (sad) gags and (intrusive) ramblings, as well as Tess Daly's bland presence.

Jane Hill - writer of psychological suspense and up & coming stand-up comic

  Peter at Detectives Beyond Borders recently asked if we knew of any other crime authors out there who used to do stand-up comedy.  (He cited Mark Billingham in his post.)  I mentioned Jane Hill in the comments there, as someone who is actually doing it now.  Indeed, she has just reached the final of thelondoncomic, a contest "to find the best budding stand-up star".  The live final will take place on Sunday 30 November at the Soho Theatre in London.  The winner's prize will be a 10 minute supporting slot for a top comedian and another slot at the same theatre on Friday 27 February (2009) supporting BBC Radio 2 host Russell Kane.  You can see a clip of Jane in action here.  (Tickets for the final are available after Monday 24 November.)

To date, Jane has three novels published and she is currently working on her fourth.  Good luck to Jane!

The Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Awards 2008 - the shortlist

Yep, it's that time of year again and thanks to The Bookseller we get to know the shortlisted tomes considered worthy of the award in 2008.  The winner will be announced next Tuesday, November 25th at the Naval and Military Club on Piccadilly in London - commonly known as the "In and Out" Club.

The purpose of the award is to "draw attention to the crude, tasteless, often perfunctory use of redundant passages of sexual description in the modern novel, and to discourage it".  (Click that link to see last year's beauties.)

The 2008 shortlist:

All in the Mind  by Alastair Campbell (Hutchinson); The Gate of Air by James Buchan (MacLehose Press); Sashenka by Simon Montefiore (Bantam Press); The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike (Hamish Hamilton); To Love, Honour and Betray by Kathy Lette  (Bantam Press); Shire Hell by Rachel Johnson (Penguin); Attachment by Isabel Fonseca (Chatto & Windus); Triptych of a Young Woolf by Ann Allestree (Book Guild Publishing); The Reserve by Russell Banks (Bloomsbury); and Brida by Paulo Coelho (HarperCollins).

The Guardian has some excerpts from this year's crowd here.

Breaking news - John Sergeant pulls out of Strictly Come Dancing

Within the last hour The Press Assocation has reported that John Sergeant is pulling out of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing competition show.  In a statement he said "The trouble is that there is now a real danger that I might win the competition. Even for me that would be a joke too far."

So, John does the honourable thing; that's good old-fashioned BBC standards for you.  (Let's see more of them.)  John has charmed and he has entertained, but it really is time to let the competition proper take over.

Judge Arlene Phillips has claimed that John does not put in the effort of the other contestants when in training and that he "sits and reads the Guardian".  For someone with two left feet, it seems appropriate reading.

John and his Russian dance partner Kristina Rihanoff will perform a farewell dance during this Saturday's show.  Rule changes are afoot for next year: if a couple finishes at the bottom of the leader board as a result of the judges' marks, for three weeks in a row, they will be out.

And finally, dare I say it, but the production team has set itself up for this controversy by allowing Bruce Forsyth to constantly encourage viewers to "vote for your favourites" as opposed to "vote for the best dancers".  Is it pure entertainment or a dancing competition?  I am with the latter and I still think Colin Jackson was robbed a couple of years ago.  Not that I'm bitter...

Costa Book Awards 2008 - the shortlists

The shortlists were announced yesterday.  The award winners in all five categories will be announced on 6 Jan 2009, with the announcement of the overall 2008 Costa Book of the Year announced later on 27 Jan 2009.

First Novel
Poppy Adams, The Behaviour of Moths
Sadie Jones, The Outcast
Jennie Rooney, Inside the Whale
Tom Rob Smith, Child 44

Children’s
Keith Gray, Ostrich Boys
Saci Lloyd, The Carbon Diaries 2015
Michelle Magorian, Just Henry
Jenny Valentine, Broken Soup

Biography
Diana Athill, Somewhere Towards the End)
Judith Mackrell, Bloomsbury Ballerina
Sathnam Sanghera, If You Don’t Know Me By Now
Jackie Wullschlager, Chagall

Novel
Sebastian Barry, The Secret Scripture
Chris Cleave, The Other Hand
Louis de Bernieres, A Partisan’s Daughter
Patrick McGrath, Trauma

Poetry
Ciaran Carson, For All We Know
Adam Foulds, The Broken Word
Kathryn Simmonds, Sunday at the Skin Launderette
Greta Stoddart, Salvation Jane

National Year of Reading in the UK - 2008

Believe it or not, it's almost over with only a few weeks to go.  (Where did that year go?)  Did you notice any major steps forward?  Any big thrusts from those who carried the torch to get people (and, more importantly, children, especially boys)  reading?  Any significant changes leading to improvement in your area?

If so, The National Year of Reading wants to hear of your "Reading Heroes".  There will be 25 of them.  Criteria to be met are:

• The impact and contribution a nominated Reading Hero has made to the reading lives of others and/or themselves.
• How a Reading Hero’s contribution reflects the overall aims of NYR in promoting reading to particular audiences, and in supporting reading as an essential tool for life.
• The creativity and resourcefulness of the nominee, and personal challenges they may have had to overcome.

Nominations are sought in the following categories (from their website):

GUEST BLOG: Jeri Westerson, author of Veil of Lies, medieval noir

Here, Jeri tells the tale of how she came to write her medieval mystery series and how she came to be published.  A big welcome to Jeri as a guest blogger:

Writing Medieval Mysteries
 
The pleasures of reading were introduced to me early in life. My mother always spoke of getting "lost in adventure." And she was right. When our eyes track words on a page, our brains transport us somewhere else, into the minds of these characters and on to rich Manhattan apartments or lowly alleyways, slick with the darkness of wretched souls.
 
When I sat down and decided to write novels for a living some fourteen years ago, there was little decision to be made. I would write historical fiction. Why? Let's go back a bit.
 

Spivs - a movie from 2004

I recently watched Spivs, the cast of which included Ken Stott, Linda Bassett, Kate Ashfield, Jack Dee, Paul Kaye, Dominic Monaghan, Roshan Seth, Nick Moran.  Little known Rita Ora and Christos Zenonos played Rosanna and Anton, two illegal immigrant children, and I think they may have excellent acting careers ahead of them.

Spivs may appear to concentrate on the wheeling and dealing of London east-enders Jack, Steve and Goat, but it quickly turns into the story of a life change for Jack.  As they find themselves inadvertently embroiled with a bunch of gangsters when a lorry container unexpectedly contains illegal immigrants, two of the illegal immigrants remain - both children -  and fall into Jack's hands.  He faces up to responsibility and does what he can for them.  He also has to deal with the evil gangster Villa, who is obviously upset that he lost his precious cargo.

Fancy an early read?

Tom Bale's Skin and Bones is due to be published by Preface on Jan 1st, 2009.  If you can't wait, you can have a proof copy.  See the bottom of this post for how to get your mitts on it.  (Because I think a little work should be involved.)

The synopsis runs:

On a cold January morning, a nightmare awaits in a small Sussex village. A deranged young man goes on the rampage, shooting everyone in his path before taking his own life. It is a senseless, tragic event, but sadly not an unfamiliar one. At least, that's what everyone thinks. Only Julia Trent - believed to be the sole survivor - knows that there was a second man involved. But after being shot and badly injured, her account of the massacre is ignored. But she cannot let it rest there. Together with Craig Walker, the journalist son of one of the victims, Julia sets out to find the truth. As they peel back the layers of a dark and dangerous conspiracy, they discover the slaughter didn't begin on that bitter day in January. And worst of all, it won't end there.