Lisburn City Library presents....

Anybody in and around Lisburn on the 24th February next - it would be terrific to see you at this event with myself and Eoin McNamee!!

Cracking Crime at the Courts!

For fascinating insights into the Elaine O Hara Murder Trial with Niamh O'Connor down at the courts visit HERE  Or follow on Twitter @crackingcrime

Niamh O’Connor was a crime reporter with the Sunday World newspaper for more than ten years before becoming a full-time author in 2014.

Not Your Week???

In the words of a good friend of mine, who happened to reflect on my week that has just past,  she said....'Oh Jesus Wept, not your week.'

It certainly has had it's lows, but thankfully the most troubling, worrying part  is not so bad. Other incidentals are that book number 4 is moving along, slow, steady, not always altogether sure-footed, but moving forward.

Added to the trials and tribulations of the last few days, I had another visit to the orthodontist, a man who happily told me that on the next visit, he will be putting a metal retainer on the inside of my lower teeth - that makes 3 lengths of metal inside my mouth, and not exactly what I signed up for, but he did say, I was making progress.  24 months later, I suppose that's something????  #painkillers

2015 Edgar Award Nominees

A fantastic line up of Edgar Award Nominees, including our own Jane Casey and Stuart Neville......

Best Novel

 

 This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow) 

Wolf by Mo Hayder (Grove/Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (Simon & Schuster – Scribner)
The Final Silence by Stuart Neville (Soho Press)
Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown)
Coptown by Karin Slaughter (Penguin Randomhouse – Ballantine Books)

 

Best First Novel

 Dry Bones in the Valley by Tom Bouman (W.W. Norton)

Invisible City by Julia Dahl (Minotaur Books)
The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens (Prometheus Books – Seventh Street Books)
Bad Country by C.B. McKenzie (Minotaur Books – A Thomas Dunne Book)
Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh (Crown Publishers)
Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver (Minotaur Books – A Thomas Dunne Book)

Best Paperback Original

 The Secret History of Las Vegas by Chris Abani (Penguin Randomhouse – Penguin Books)

Stay With Me by Alison Gaylin (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
The Barkeep by William Lashner (Amazon Publishing – Thomas and Mercer)
The Day She Died by Catriona McPherson (Llewellyn Worldwide – Midnight Ink)
The Gone Dead Train by Lisa Turner (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters (Quirk Books)

Mary Higgins Clark

 

A Dark and Twisted Tide by Sharon Bolton (Minotaur Books)
The Stranger You Know by Jane Casey (Minotaur Books)
Invisible City by Julia Dahl (Minotaur Books)
Summer of the Dead by Julia Keller (Minotaur Books)
The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day (Prometheus Books – Seventh Street Books)

Best Fact Crime

Kitty Genovese: The Murder, the Bystanders, the Crime that Changed America

by Kevin Cook (W.W. Norton)

The Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest for Primitive Art by Carl Hoffman (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
The Other Side: A Memoir by Lacy M. Johnson (Tin House Books)
Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood
by William Mann (HarperCollins Publishers – Harper)
The Mad Sculptor: The Maniac, the Model, and the Murder that Shook the Nation
by Harold Schechter (Amazon Publishing – New Harvest)

Best Critical/Biographical

 The Figure of the Detective: A Literary History and Analysis

by Charles Brownson (McFarland & Company)
James Ellroy: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction
by Jim Mancall (Oxford University Press)
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands: Classic Film Noirby Robert Miklitsch (University of Illinois Press)
Judges & Justice & Lawyers & Law: Exploring the Legal Dimensions of Fiction and Film
by Francis M. Nevins (Perfect Crime Books)
Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe
by J.W. Ocker (W.W. Norton – Countryman Press)

Best Short Story

"The Snow Angel" – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Doug Allyn (Dell Magazines)
"200 Feet" – Strand Magazine by John Floyd (The Strand)
"What Do You Do?" – Rogues by Gillian Flynn
(Penguin Randomhouse Publishing – Ballantine Books)
"Red Eye" – Faceoff  by Dennis Lehane vs. Michael Connelly (Simon & Schuster)
"Teddy" – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Brian Tobin (Dell Magazines)

Best Juvenile

 Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

Space Case by Stuart Gibbs (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Greenglass House by Kate Milford
 (Clarion Books – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers)
Nick and Tesla's Super-Cyborg Gadget Glove by "Science Bob" Pflugfelder
and Steve Hockensmith  (Quirk Books)
Saving Kabul Corner by N.H. Senzai (Simon & Schuster – Paula Wiseman Books)
Eddie Red, Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile by Marcia Wells
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers)

Young Adult

  The Doubt Factory by Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano (Penguin Young Readers Group – Kathy Dawson Books)
Fake ID by Lamar Giles (HarperCollins Children's Books - Amistad)
The Art of Secrets by James Klise (Algonquin Young Readers)
The Prince of Venice Beach by Blake Nelson (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Hibernation...

The hibernation continues.....I am now somewhere in the middle of the story, but with no idea how far it is to the end...this may be a good or bad thing.....

Want to Write or Finish that Crime Novel???

There are some great upcoming courses at the Irish Writers' Centre, but if you want to work on a crime novel, here is the blurb about the course I will be facilitating from the 5th February....

CRIME WRITING WORKSHOP at the IRISH WRITERS CENTRE with LOUISE PHILLIPS

Over 10 weeks, commencing the 5^th February, this course will cover many elements of successful crime writing – creating tension, pace, memorable characters, effective dialogue, plot and a gripping page-turning story.

Workshop exercises and editorial critique will also sharpen your fictional voice, and as research is a huge component of crime writing – the course will look at how much, how little, and where do you go to find the answers you're looking for?

During the course, we will have visits from detectives who will take you step-by-step through crime scene evaluation and the gathering of forensic evidence.

Since commencing workshops, two of Louise’s students have achieved publishing deals and another two are signed with agents.

If you’re looking to start or finish your crime novel, this course will get you closer to the finish line.

Louise Phillips is the bestselling author of psychological crime thrillers, Red Ribbons, The Doll’s House (Winner of the Irish Crime Fiction Book of the Year) and Last Kiss.

Contact the Irish Writers Centre at 19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1. 

Tel: +353 1 872 1302, Email: info@writerscentre.ie   or visit HERE

Starts Thursday 5th February

6.30pm–8.30pm - Duration: 10 weeks

Cost: €280/€260 members

Winter Island Bliss!!

Today was a good day! It's part of my New Year Resolutions, to celebrate the positives. 

I got up early, getting some of the day job out of the way, and managed to squeeze in over 2,000 words, and I actually have an idea as to what I plan to write about tomorrow (so feeling a little less pressured). 

And even though I have only finished the day job now, and only managed to get part of the Christmas decorations down, I got a lovely review from a new reader, and two sets of 5 stars from Goodreads.

To top it all off, because most writers are mad, I've just booked a weekend away on an island off the coast of Ireland in the middle of winter for research purposes!!

Life is good.....

To Plot or not to Plot....

Some writers plan out their entire novel before they start, others do outlines for chapters as they progress. Sadly I do neither, which gets me into a whole lot of trouble plot wise...I've written myself into a cul-de-sac or two on this current one, maming U-turns inevitable! It will be an early start in the morning, when brain function will be required at optimum level!!

10 Questions??????????

This is an old post, but seems to be a popular one of late!!


Never mind the 12 days of Christmas, here's 10 Questions to get you thinking. 

(originally from a French series,'Bouillon de Culture' hosted by Bernard Pivot)

1. What is your favourite word?  Creativity.

2. What is your least favourite word? Rat.

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? The woods.

4. What turns you off? Loud Arguments.

5. What is your favourite curse word? Crap.

6. What sound or noise do you love? The wind across the valley while snuggled up in bed.

7. What sound or noise do you hate? The phone ringing while I'm writing.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Oil painting.

9. What profession would you not like to do? Bin man/woman.

10.If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?  Your Mam and Dad are here.