It's bothered me for a while. And when those delightful people at HarperCollins asked me for a guest blog for their Killer Reads site I felt the need to pose the question. Following a revamp of the site, said guest blog is now posted up. What do you think? Please add your comments there. I'd love to know who feels the same as me and if not, why you disagree...
October 2010
28 October 2010
Want to write crime and be published? Want to learn from the professionals?
And want to have fun while you do so? Well if you do, you'll pleased to know of the second authonomy workshop from HarperCollins coming on Saturday, 11 December. The information communiqué is reproduced below. And do click on the link for more information. You'll find of bags of it to assist in your decision-making and plans. As Oscar Wilde said, the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it, so book soon before it's too late!
INTRODUCING THE SECOND AUTHONOMY WRITERS WORKSHOP:
CRIME AND THRILLER WRITING
On Saturday 11th December 2010, authonomy.com will go live once again for the next in its fantastic series of writing workshops.
The first workshop ran in July and was hugely successful and enjoyable, with great feedback across the board from the attendees. This time around, the day will focus on Crime and Thriller Writing, offering writers in those genres expert advice and guidance from authors, agents and publishing industry professionals.
The day will cover topics such as characterisation, plot and suspense, as well as a Q&A session in which attendees can find out everything they want to know about publishing in general.
With exclusive access inside one of the UK’s biggest publishing houses, the authonomy workshop series is one of the most exciting and interesting around, not least because it offers the best value, with tickets priced at just £150.
Tutors for the Crime and Thriller workshop include:
- bestselling authors Meg Gardiner and Claire Seeber
- literary agent Camilla Wray from the Darley Anderson agency
- HarperCollins Publishing Director (not to mention Agatha Christie’s publisher) David Brawn
- HarperCollins editors Kate Bradley and Rachel Rayner (who is also an editor on the Killer Reads website)
Tickets are selling fast, but there is time to book your place. Click here to find out more.
27 October 2010
Think of a Number – John Verdon
Dave Gurney, a celebrated but now retired New York detective, caught a few notorious serial killers in his years of service. In retirement he lives with his wife Madeleine in the country, where he pursues the artistic side of his character, drawing on his experiences as a cop. The two are peas from the same pod, can complete one another’s sentences and each can guess how the other is thinking (with Madeleine the highest achiever here). However, beneath the surface of the apparently idyllic in-retirement relationship, tectonic plates are shifting. Something is causing tension in this marriage.
Gurney’s life is suddenly pierced by contact from an old college ‘friend’, seeking his advice. Mark Mellery has lived through the bad side of life but is now renewed and reinvented as a modern day disciple, spreading the word of good life and how to achieve it, at a complex owned by his wealthy wife. Mellery has been shaken by some personal mailings he has received, from someone who appears to know his life far too intimately and this person becomes menacingly threatening.
10 October 2010
The Holy Thief – William Ryan
Published in May, The Holy Thief was the launch novel for Macmillan’s new imprint Mantle, home to editor, Maria Rejt, the keen-eyed woman responsible for Colin Dexter, Minette Walters, C J Sansom and Sue Grafton, amongst others. It’s another novel set in Stalinist Russia – do not stop reading please – and, as I said for The Eye of the Red Tsar, deserves to be read on its own merits and not to be overlooked for fear it’s another one in the post-Child 44 trend entering the market this year. William Ryan’s The Holy Thief is an excellent read.
Opening with a scene of horrific torture leaving a dead woman lying in a deconsecrated church, the case is allocated to Captain Alexei Dmitriyevich Korolev of the Moscow Militia’s Criminal Investigation Division. Assisted by his young colleague Junior Lieutenant Ivan Ivanovich Semionov, Korolev soon discovers that the victim was an American citizen and this leads to the involvement of the NKVD, Stalin’s secret police tool of political repression feared by all. Korolev then finds his investigation ‘guided’ by the NKVD and his own actions and movements followed in detail.
CWA Gold, Ian Fleming Steel (Thriller) and John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger Winners 2010
Well, this year we have some names to watch. The New Blood is obviously for an author’s debut novel, but we have the same circumstance with the winner of the Gold, and the winner of the Steel is also in the early days of his writing career. Many congratulations to Ryan David Jahn, Belinda Bauer and Simon Conway respectively. In addition to finally meeting Ryan, I also met New Blood finalists Simon Lelic and William Ryan. All are wonderful people and all are writing excellent novels, so please check out their books if you have not already done so.
Sadly, I did not get to meet Diane Janes on the night as the opportunity did not arise. While it has been noted that Belinda Bauer was the runner-up for the Debut Dagger two years ago, Diane Janes was ‘highly commended’ for the same award in 2006, with the book that became ‘The Pull of the Moon’, on this year’s New Blood shortlist. Don’t miss this one either.
There is a little controversy brewing over the Gold and New Blood winners. Both Blacklands and Acts of Violence are capable of polarising opinion; thus I urge you to read them and make up your own mind.
Due to the judging, I didn’t quite find the right time to post up a review of William Ryan’s The Holy Thief. This will follow shortly.
Enjoy your reading!
[Picture is of the New Blood winner, Ryan David Jahn.]
09 October 2010
03 October 2010
Books for Christmas 2010
This weekend sees us twelve weeks from Christmas.
Back in 2007, in the lead up to Christmas, I ran a series on this blog where some of our favourite published authors offered up their festive book picks; their selections for books ‘not to be missed’ from that year, which made ideal presents. I plan to bring this back in 2010 and I have started sending out invitations for contributions. There will be a couple of ‘enhancements’ this year: it will remain mainly crime fiction, but I’ll be inviting some non-crime authors too, and the book recommendations can be of any type.
[If you don’t receive an invitation in the coming three weeks and would like to contribute, please get in touch. This also applies to anyone representing authors in the various formats. My email address is in the contact section, if you don’t have it already.]
So, if you’re looking for some fabulous recommendations for books for Christmas presents this year, keep your eyes peeled for the above picture from the 1st of November 2010. (That’s about eight shopping weeks by the way.) I’ll post later in October with news of some of the wonderful people who will be contributing.
Let’s all make 2010’s festive book presents extra special!
(Reminder of the 2007 series here.)
02 October 2010
crimeficreader
UK-based reader of crime fiction for many years.
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