Bloody Scotland Crime Book of the Year

The 2015 shortlist for the Bloody Scotland Crime Book of the Year (formerly Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year) has been announced.

The shortlisted titles were chosen by an independent panel of readers and will now go on to a judging panel. Sitting on the judging panel for 2015 are Magnus Linklater, journalist and former newspaper editor, writer and broadcaster Sally Magnusson, and Caron Macpherson of Waterstones Argyle Street.

The winning book will be announced and the prize awarded on Saturday 12th September at a gala dinner as part of the Bloody Scotland festival, in Stirling.

IRISH DAILY STAR!

"I'm not superwoman...."

Nice piece in the Irish Daily Star about working smarter from home!!

Eoin Mc Namee to launch THE GAME CHANGER!

I am both honoured and delighted that the very talented Eoin Mc Namee will be launching THE GAME CHANGER at 6.30 pm on the 8th September at The Gutter Bookshop in Cow's Lane in Dublin!!

And in case you have been in hiding for the last decade, here's a little bit about Eoin. If you haven't picked up his latest book, Blue is the Night, it is a tour-de-force!

EOIN MC NAMEE's novels include Resurrection Man, later made into a film, The Blue Tango, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, and Orchid Blue, described by John Burnside in the Guardian as 'not only a political novel of the highest order but also that rare phenomenon, a genuinely tragic work of art.'

His latest novel, Blue is the Night, won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award 2015.

The Barking Crow!

I'm absolutely delighted that one of my crime fiction students, the wonderful Niamh Brennan, has been long listed for...

No Exit Press Short Story Writing Competition 

Devised as part of the celebrations for 30 years of Oldcastle Books, the competition was open to any unpublished writer with a passion for crime fiction. The intention was to find original voices that epitomise the No Exit Press List: strong, compelling writing that resonates long after the final page.

All the participants should be congratulated on their engaging and original entries, but the writers who have made it through to the longlist are:

Rachel Wolfreys – Vagrant Heart

Philip Willans – The Suspect

Niamh Brennan – The Barking Crow

Marie Henderson-Brennan – The Power of Four

Eric T Johnsson – Clay

Ian Robinson – Rubicon

Liz Kershaw – The Valentine Murders

Sarah Mclean – A Piece

Tom Leins - The Brief History of Bad Men

The judging panel, headed by Oldcastle Books MD Ion Mills, includes bestselling author of the Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson series, Leigh Russell; A is for Authors literary agent, Annette Crossland and one of Britain's finest noir critics, Barry Forshaw, author of Nordic Noir and Euro Noir.

The shortlist will be announced on September 1st and the winner, who will have the opportunity to meet with Barry Forshaw, Leigh Russell and Annette Crossland, with the possibility of being signed by No Exit Press, will be announced on November 1st. 

One Way Ticket to Budapest!

This day next week our last child will fly the nest on a One Way Ticket to Budapest. I think I know how I'm going to feel, but I'm wary all the same. Life can throw you curve balls....

Finding Freedom with Jax Miller

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW!

Jax Miller talks to writing.ie about the journey to creating Freedom's Child....read all HERE

And you all know how I love trailers. This one does not disappoint!!!

CLICK BELOW

Spaces...

Sitting in front of the fire (as you do in Ireland in the middle of summer) listening to this amazing artist Eileen Keane  - Listen in HERE 

4 ducks in a row!!

I'm still not sure how this happened, but nice seeing the 4 ducks in a row!!

Sean O Faolain International Short Story Competition....

THE SEÁN Ó FAOLÁIN SHORT
STORY COMPETITION

2015 competition now open for submissions! Deadline 31 July.

First Prize: €2,000

(approx $2153/£1431 in April 2015), publication in the literary journal Southword, AND a week-long residency at Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat. 

Second Prize: €500 and publication in Southword.

Four more shortlisted entries will be selected for publication 
in Southword and receive a publication fee of €120

READ FULL DETAILS HERE

THE BOOK GRRL Review of LAST KISS!

"There is a twist – which I did see coming – but that did nothing to lessen how enthralled I was with the story.Louise Phillips once again delivers the goods in this heart-stopping thriller. This book is an absolute must-read!"

READ FULL REVIEW HERE

A cover is born!!

And without further ado ....here is the cover of THE GAME CHANGER.......

What if you went missing and couldn't remember anything?

So here it is, the blurb of THE GAME CHANGER

What if you went missing and couldn’t remember anything?

When Dr Kate Pearson was twelve years old she was abducted,

but she has no memory of the time she was held.

Over twenty years later, an anonymous note is pushed under her door…

I REMEMBER YOU, KATE

And suddenly Kate’s distant past becomes her present.

When Kate discovers that her parents lied to her about the length of time

she was missing, she is forced to question everything about her childhood,

including the involvement of her father in a secret group in the 1980s.

Is the suspected suicide of an ex headmaster in Dublin and a brutal

murder in New York connected to her abduction all those years ago –

and how was her father involved?

While Kate delves deeper into the recesses of her memory to uncover the

truth, a cold-blooded killer and sinister cult leader, is bearing down on her.

THE GAME CHANGER is out for revenge. Someone has to pay for

the sins of the past.

Watch this space!!!!

The cover of THE GAME CHANGER will be revealed very shorty.....I was thrilled when I saw the full layout today during a meeting with my editor at Hachette. It's looking really good and everything feels so real now...roll on September 3rd...watch this space!!!

Your genre chooses you, instead of the other way around!

It is always wonderful to hear about an author's writing journey, especially debut authors, and crime authors at that!! Put on the kettle and enjoy Kelly Creighton's story over at www.writing.ie..

 

* * * * *

 

 

I never saw myself as a crime writer. To begin with all I wanted to do was write a book; it was a personal challenge I'd set myself after not writing at all for ten years. Looking back, maybe it would have been helpful to ask myself early on what I liked to read, and what kind of writer I aspired to be, to try to direct my output better. For two years I worked on a (now shelved) novel, attended a course and many workshops. I started submitting my poems and short stories to journals, gaining a few acceptances out of a huge mountain of rejections. Any positive feedback that anyone gave me about my work, I wrote down and kept to look at when I got another rejection, so I wouldn’t be tempted to pack it all in......READ MORE HERE

 

Focal Literary Festival 2015!

Always good to talk books and writing......Focal Literary Festival Wexford 2015....

Interview with Paula Wiseman - LAST KISS!

TO LISTEN TO FULL INTERVIEW CLICK... HERE

Proof reading....

Final proof read of THE GAME CHANGER.....

Cill Rialaig Residency!!! - Exciting news!!

Over the moon about this!!!

We've some exciting news to announce, too...

We are delighted to reveal the seven recipients of our Cill Rialaig residencies which will take place over 10 days in October this year: 

- Andrea Carter 
- Anthony Glavin 
- Catherine Dunne
- Lia Mills 
- Louise Phillips
- Maria McManus 
- Seán Hardie 

Congratulations to the lucky writers who will get to soak up the remote and idyllic surrounds of Cill Rialaig. It's going to be humming with heavyweight literary activity this autumn!

TO SEE A VIDEO OF THIS FANTASTIC PLACE CLICK HERE

Irish Crime Novels - July 2015!

2nd July – Sinead Crowley ‘Are you Watching Me?’

7th July – Ken Bruen ‘Green Hell’

26th July – John Mc Allister ‘Barlow by The Book’

30th July – Jax Miller ‘Freedom’s Child’

30th July – Jane Casey ‘Hide & Seek’

READING IRELAND

It is always great to discuss Irish crime fiction, so I was delighted to be a contributor in this month's READING IRELAND - THE LITTLE MAGAZINE. The article is titled 'Irish Crime Fiction - Emerald Noir or Emerald Diversity?' 

The aim of the journal and website is to provide in-depth analysis of Irish literature, past and present, through a series of essays and articles written by Adrienne Leavy (editor) and other Irish and American writers and academics, along with opening a window onto the best of contemporary Irish poetry, prose and drama.

Well worth supporting!!