NEWS ALERT - September 10th 2019!!

First up, the launch of THE HIDING GAME is happening September 10th at the Gutter Bookshop!!

It will be launched by the fabulous Colm Hayes of Radio Nova!!

Time: 6.30 p.m.

Venue: The Gutter Bookshop, Cow's Lane, Dublin 8 (close to Dublin Castle)

I would be absolutely delighted if you could attend. ALL ARE WELCOME! There will be free vino, great company and lots of books!

You can take the below as your special invite!!

Also, I know I'm bias, but how gorgeous do these look!! Lovely copies for media arrived today... literally can't wait for publication & launch night SEPTEMBER 10th - DATE FOR THE DIARY!!

Finally, if you want a personalised signed copy of THE HIDING GAME, and you can't make the launch, then simply contact The Gutter Bookshop, Cows Lane, Dublin 8, Ireland. (01) 6799206 and it will be organised for you!!

Looking forward to seeing you on the night!!!

Women Writing Crime | Workshop Programme with Louise Phillips

I am super excited about these workshops supported by Droichead Arts Centre and the Irish Writers Centre. Get your name in the hat early as places are limited!

Date: Mon 16 Sept / 23 Sep / 30 Sept / 7 Oct / 14 Oct / 21 Oct | Time: 7pm | 

Tickets: €95 for 6 workshops

Venue: Droichead Arts Centre Café/Bar

Full Details HERE

Steve Cavanagh Wins Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2019

Steve Cavanagh has been announced as the winner of The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award for 2019.
Now in its fifteenth year, the Award is considered the most coveted crime writing prizes in the country, and one that receives substantial interest from authors, publishers, book sellers and fans of the genre in equal measures.
Thirteen is the Lisburn author’s fifth book in the Eddie Flynn series of crime thrillers, serving up a delicious twist to the traditional courtroom thriller, where in this instance the real killer is not the one on trial, but a member of the jury!
Cavanagh was presented the award by title sponsor Simon Theakston at the event hosted by broadcaster Mark Lawson at the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, staged by Harrogate International Festivals in the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate.
He was one six shortlisted authors vying for the title from an original longlist of 18 crime novels, published by UK and Irish authors, available in paperback from May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019.
The 2019 Award is supported by title sponsor T&R Theakston Ltd, WHSmith, and The Mail on Sunday.
He collected a £3,000 cash prize, as well as a handmade, engraved oak beer cask crafted by the coopers at Theakston’s Masham brewery.
The winner was decided by the panel of judges, comprising of literary and media figures chaired this year by Mari Hannah, alongside a public vote.
A special presentation was also made to James Patterson - the winner of the tenth Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award.
James Patterson - whose books have sold in excess of 300 million copies and has been the most-borrowed author of adult fiction in UK libraries for the past 11 years in a row - joins John Grisham, Lee Child, Val McDermid, Sara Paretsky, Lynda La Plante, Ruth Rendell, PD James, Colin Dexter and Reginald Hill as recipients of the Award.

Moon landing through a crackly black and white telly!

At a little before 4 a.m. in the morning, our time, fifty years ago, I was woken by my father to witness the moon landing with my siblings. It was one of those bursting with excitement moments that is embedded in my childhood. It certainly lifted our family from the gloom of life in a dark and damp Dublin tenement.

I remember too, later that day, sitting on the stone step outside our flat, and being shocked that my best friend, Betty, didn’t know anything about the moon landing. No one had told her about this small step for man and this giant leap for mankind. Somehow, in my young brain, the fact that Betty didn’t know anything about this momentous event, has always stayed with me. Call it an early lesson in social awareness, realising how some people, because of circumstance, can miss out on certain things that others take for granted.

Recently, my older brother, was appointed by the government as the astronomer representing Ireland on the ESO Council, Europe’s intergovernmental astronomy organisation. I know my brother’s fascination with astronomy began within those early Apollo years, so I am very glad, for so many reasons, that as small children, bleary-eyed, we watched this on our crackly black and white television, half a decade ago.

The Voice of THE HIDING GAME will be the fantastic Jennifer Woodward!

NEWS ALERT!!!

I’ve just heard the fantastic Jennifer Woodward, actress and narrator, will be the voice of THE HIDING GAME Audio book, and I am absolutely thrilled!

Jennifer has worked on books by Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardner, Jeffrey Deaver, Jodi Picoult and Laura Lippman to name but a few!

I am quite a big audio fan, and I can’t wait to hear Jennifer bring the story come to life!

Restoring the glory of the short story!! CWA Anthology!

Flame Tree to publish Crime Writers’ Association anthology

Flame Tree Publishing have agreed a deal with the Crime Writers’ Association to publish the latest anthology of stories by CWA members, to be edited by Martin Edwards. Vintage Crimes will be a CWA anthology with a difference, celebrating members’ work over the years. The book will gather stories which members have contributed to CWA anthologies from the mid-1950s until the twenty-first century. Publication is scheduled for summer 2020.

Martin Edwards

“There are many gems of crime writing in the CWA archives,” Martin Edwards commented. “This book will contain stories by great names of the past, great names of the present together with a few hidden treasures by less familiar writers.”

Nick Wells, Publisher at Flame Tree Publishing said "We're absolutely thrilled to work with the CWA and Martin Edwards, setting out a path to bring back the best writing by the best writers in crime from the past 70 years at the CWA. We aim to restore the glory of the short story and inspire the next generation of mystery writers, readers, reviewers and bloggers."

The first CWA anthology, Butcher’s Dozen, appeared in 1956, and was co-edited by Julian Symons, Michael Gilbert, and Josephine Bell. The anthology has been edited by Martin Edwards since 1996, and has yielded many award-winning and nominated stories in the UK and overseas.

Big Happy Smile Today!!

Big Happy Smile on my face today to let you know that the utterly amazing, all round great guy, and friend, COLM HAYES will be launching THE HIDING GAME at THE GUTTER BOOKSHOP on the 10th September 2019 at 6.30 p.m.

Many of you will know Colm very well, but below is a small flavour of the man, with some fab questions via Radio Nova and a small intro…..

Q. Someone or something that strikes you as beautiful?

A. I’m an early bird, so the miracle of sunrise always gets me.It’s like we get re-invented every day.

Q. You’re on Death Row, what’s your last meal?

A. Chicken wing with blue cheese dressing from Elephant and Castle and chips.

Q. Which words do you overuse?

A. “Stay where you are”. I use it a lot on-air.

Q. The worst job you’ve ever done?

A. While in college I worked as a part-time grave digger.

Q. What keeps you awake at night?

A. The whispering voices of doubt and the stifled screams of lost opportunity. Well, you did ask!

Q. Your idea of hell on earth?

A. Trumpland, The Theme Park.

Q. What do some people think about you that isn’t true?

A. That I don’t care, but I do, I really do and that I’m French – which I’m not.

Colm Hayes, co-presents the Colm & Lucy show with Lucy Kennedy on Radio Nova weekdays 6am to 10am. He had a 10-year partnership with James ‘Jim-Jim’ Nugent on the FM104’s Strawberry Alarm Clock and on the 2fm breakfast show. He officially joined Radio Nova in 2017 as programme director.

(PLEASE PUT DATE AND TIME IN DIARY, AS YE ARE ALL INVITED TO PARTAKE IN THE FREE VINO/BOOK FUN etc)

Available Now on Netgalley

In case you missed it, I’m THRILLED TO SHARE that THE HIDING GAME, introducing Attorney Heather Baxter, is NOW available to request via NetGalley. GO GET IT!!

https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/169304

Abby Jones, a young nanny from a small town outside Boston, is the last person with infant Jacob Rotterdam when he becomes seriously ill. Within hours, he dies, and Abby is charged with his murder.

Heather Baxter, her defense attorney, knows the case is not as clear cut as the Assistant District Attorney claims, and with enormous media attention on the trial, the stakes couldn't be higher.

When Heather digs deeper, the shadows of her own past, and her mother's unsolved murder 25 years earlier, in the same small town, begin to unravel with deadly consequences, placing both Heather, and her young client in danger.

Will Heather find the link between Abby and what happened to her mother all those years before? And will Abby walk free?


Liz Nugent
“Phillips is back with a most intriguing and compelling story of grief, loss, memory and the quest for the truth. With rich characterisation and a lively setting, this story will enthral you to the end.”

Patricia Gibney
“The Hiding Game is filled with characters who will grab you by the throat from beginning to end. Absolutely gripping storyline, expertly crafted, an addictive page turner. I loved it.”

Karen Perry
“The Hiding Game has everything you would expect from a Phillips novel – a pacy crime procedural full of twists and turns, with poignant insights into the emotional bond between mother and child. A cracking good read.” 

Catherine Ryan Howard
“A riveting, ripped-from-the-headlines legal thriller set in a small town in the USA with dark secrets and murky lies…which Phillips has pulled it off not only with authenticity, but aplomb.

Arlene Hunt
“Phillips is at the top of her game. The Hiding Game is riveting, thought provoking and compulsive. A five-star read.”

Andrea Carter
“A gripping courtroom drama with a courageous new heroine in Heather Baxter. Pacy, tightly plotted and full of suspense. The Hiding Game was worth the wait!”

Cormac O Keeffe
“Phillips sends us down into a rabbit hole of buried trauma, disjointed memories, fractured relationships and ruptured lives in the search for justice and redemption. An undoubted master of the psychological thriller.”

Sinead Crowley
“Phillips makes a very successful trip Stateside with ‘The Hiding Game’. The oppressive nature of life in a small town adds tension as Phillips draws together the strands of this tightly plotted family thriller.”

Academic Case Study - Louise Phillips: Serial Domestic Noir

They say write what you know, but when it comes to crime writing, how much can you know???

That being said, I'm absolutely delighted with many aspects of an academic study on my writing (on the Kate Pearson Series of novels) which is soon to be published....

More details to follow, but here are a couple of choice excerpts..

"Examination of Phillips' series demonstrates how her work offers insights into contemporary Irish society, with particular reference to women's lives and feminist issues, and helps to define the parameters of domestic noir...."

"Crime fiction such as the psychologically-oriented investigations of Louise Phillips' Dr. Kate Pearson series can show how the roots of contemporary crime lie in past abuse that was either papered over or accepted as normal at the time."

CWA's Margery Allingham Short Story Competition!

CWA’s Margery Allingham Short Story Competition to Continue....

The Margery Allingham Society has agreed with the Crime Writers’ Association that the popular short mystery competition will run for at least another five years, until 2024. The Society, set up to honour and promote the writings of the great Golden Age author whose well-known hero is Albert Campion, works with the CWA to operate and fund the writing competition that opens for entries in the autumn on the CWA’s website and closes every February.

Each year the competition attracts many entries, and the winners are announced at CrimeFest, the international crime writing convention, in May. The short story can be up to a generous 3,500 words long and must echo Margery Allingham’s definition of a mystery.

This year the winner was Ray Bazowski, with ‘A Perfect Murderer’. Ray wins £500 and two passes to CrimeFest for 2020. Ray says: ‘Aspiring writers are routinely told to write what they know. Such advice is less plausible for writers of murder mysteries, especially those who take the point-of-view of murderers, or at least I hope so. In my case, what knowledge I have of the subject is speculative, and entirely incidental to my regular job of teaching politics at York University in Toronto.’ Ray is considering writing a novel next.

Runner-up with ‘Decluttering’ was Rosie de Vekey, a teacher who lives with her family in east London.  As she has a passion for acting, she came to writing through plays and has written a number of pieces for Network Theatre, Waterloo. As a teacher and mum, she often writes children's fiction too. Decluttering is one of a collection of stories Rosie has written, set in the near future, on aspects of mental health.

Next year’s competition will emphasise the definition of mystery by Margery Allingham with more points allocated to how well the story matches it, and, just to reinforce the point, it will be renamed the Margery Allingham Short Mystery competition.

Barry Pike, Chair of the Margery Allingham Society, says: ‘We’re very happy to be able to continue our co-sponsorship, along with the CWA, of our short mystery competition for another five years.’

Linda Stratmann, Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, says: ‘We are delighted that the CWA’s very rewarding association with the Margery Allingham Society is going to continue. 

We congratulate Ray and Rosie and look forward to helping other talented mystery writers with their careers in the years to come.’

Note to Editors

Margery Allingham’s definition of a mystery is as follows:

‘The Mystery remains box-shaped, at once a prison and a refuge. Its four walls are, roughly, a Crime, a Mystery, an Enquiry and a Conclusion with an Element of Satisfaction in it.’

Margery’s best known crime novels include The Tiger in the Smoke and The Crime at Black Dudley, which first introduced Albert Campion (later winningly played by actor Peter Davison in the TV series) to readers.

The Margery Allingham Society was founded in 1988 to celebrate the life and works of Margery Allingham, one of the four great Queens of Crime from the ‘Golden Age’ of detective fiction, largely seen as the period in the twentieth century between the world wars. https://margeryallingham.org.uk/

The competition is read by authorities appointed by the Margery Allingham Society and the CWA, and is judged by an expert panel from the Society. Entry costs £12.

Paramount Pictures Acquire Film Rights to The Chain by Adrian McKinty!!

Irish author, Adrian McKinty, will appear as part of Murder One Festival (http://www.murderone.ie/tag/adrian-mckinty/) in Dublin on the 23^rd July 2019, where he’ll be interviewed by Steve Cavanagh.

McKinty’s lastest news is however a great ‘rags to riches’ story!
Paramount Pictures has acquired the screen rights to McKinty’s latest novel The Chain in a deal that will generate a guaranteed low-seven-figure payday for the author.

The Chain tells the story of Rachel, whose 11-year-old daughter is kidnapped, and the only way she can get her back, is to kidnap another child. Her daughter will be released only when that next victim’s parents kidnap another child. If Rachel doesn’t kidnap another child, or if that child’s parents don’t kidnap a child, her daughter will be killed. She is now part of The Chain, a terrifying and meticulous chain letter-like kidnapping scheme that turns parents from victims into criminals.

The book tells Rachel’s harrowing story as a victim, survivor, abductor and criminal. What the masterminds behind The Chain know is that parents will do anything for their children, however, what they don’t know is that Rachel is both smart and tough enough to attempt to beat them, having survived cancer, she is now determined to break The Chain while getting her daughter back.

This is an amazing turn of events for the Irish Crime Author, who up to this point was doing odd jobs from construction to picking up fares as an Uber driver to support his family.  He had reached out to writer Don Winslow in the past, both as a fan, but also to express his frustration that as a writer, McKinty wasn’t yet able to support his family financially. Winslow, urged McKinty not to give up. He referred him to Salerno, who with tough negotiating and brash marketing campaigns helped Winslow become a perennial bestselling author with several seven-figure movie and TV deals under his belt.  Together, Salerno and  Winslow, convinced McKinty to give it one more try, and that book turned out to be The Chain. 

The Chain was acquired by Little Brown/Mulholland in another pre-emptive deal, and it became a hot book at Frankfurt that has been sold in 35 countries. It is getting strong reviews and has drawn supportive quotes from authors that include Stephen King and Dennis Lehane.

McKinty in a statement said - “My story is a story of never giving up. It’s a story about writers helping fellow writers. I hope it inspires other writers who may be thinking about quitting, to never give up. I never imagined any of this could happen, but I hoped it would. I had hope. I am so grateful, and I hope my story inspires others.”

Advance Review Copies of The Hiding Game DOWNLOAD FOR FREE

Lovely Bloggers/Reviewers/Netgalley folk...

If you're on NetGalley....You can NOW download THE HIDING GAME Pre-Publication via this link -  Here


Yes, you can...

PLEASE do...

Crossing fingers, toes, eyes, and everything else that you like it!! 😎##

A Cracking Good Read!!

As the publishing date of Sept 5th for THE HIDING GAME gets ever closer, the nerves are starting to set in...but I am so thrilled with these words from Karen Perry Author....

Full cover reveal front and back later this week...

Thanks again everyone for your support...

"THE HIDING GAME is full of twists and turns, along with poignant insights into the emotional bond between mother and child - A CRACKING GOOD READ" - KAREN PERRY

Exciting News!!

I am THRILLED to announce that THE HIDING GAME will be available very soon in Audio....more details to follow!!