“Declan Burke is his own genre. The Lammisters dazzles, beguiles and transcends. Virtuoso from start to finish.” – Eoin McNamee “This bourbon-smooth riot of jazz-age excess, high satire and Wodehouse flamboyance is a pitch-perfect bullseye of comic brilliance.” – Irish Independent Books of the Year 2019 “This rapid-fire novel deserves a place on any bookshelf that grants asylum to PG Wodehouse, Flann O’Brien or Kyril Bonfiglioli.” – Eoin Colfer, Guardian Best Books of the Year 2019 “The funniest book of the year.” – Sunday Independent “Declan Burke is one funny bastard. The Lammisters ... conducts a forensic analysis on the anatomy of a story.” – Liz Nugent “Burke’s exuberant prose takes centre stage … He plays with language like a jazz soloist stretching the boundaries of musical theory.” – Totally Dublin “A mega-meta smorgasbord of inventive language ... linguistic verve not just on every page but every line.Irish Times “Above all, The Lammisters gives the impression of a writer enjoying himself. And so, dear reader, should you.” – Sunday Times “A triumph of absurdity, which burlesques the literary canon from Shakespeare, Pope and Austen to Flann O’Brien … The Lammisters is very clever indeed.” – The Guardian

Sunday, September 14, 2008

999: The Mark Of The Feast

Yep, it’s ‘Post # 999’ for Crime Always Pays. I don’t know about you, but that one caught me broadside and shivered me timbers when I realised how much time I’ve been spending on ye olde blogge. If every post is only 200 words long (and most of them are at least that), and bearing in mind that my novels come in around the 75,000-word mark, I’d have had the best part of three novels written for the same amount of time and effort invested over the last 18 months. A scary thought …
  Mind you, I don’t begrudge a second of it. It’s been terrific fun, I’ve met a veritable horde of brilliant people, and CAP has put me in regular touch with some of the best writers of their generation. Nice. And not only that, but Crime Always Pays has taken our humble tome THE BIG O from its lowly status as a co-published novel with the tiny but perfectly formed Hag’s Head Press in Ireland to within two weeks of a hardcover release in the U.S. courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  Anyhoos, to celebrate the impendingness of both CAP’s one thousandth post and THE BIG O’s release in the U.S., I’m running a BIG O-style ‘Best Things In Life Are Free … Books’ competition this week. And not only that, I’m tossing in a copy of EIGHTBALL BOOGIE to boot. First, the blurb elves, aka THE BIG O’s back-cover big-ups:
“Declan Burke’s THE BIG O is one of the sharpest, wittiest, and most unusual Irish crime novels of recent years.” – John Connolly, author of THE UNQUIET

“Declan Burke’s THE BIG O has everything you want in a crime novel: machine-gun dialogue, unforgettable characters, and a wicked plot. Think George V. Higgins in Ireland on speed.” – Jason Starr, author of THE FOLLOWER

“No such thing as coincidence! Don’t tell that to the glorious band of cast-offs and misfits that populate the pages of Declan Burke’s uncanny THE BIG O. With a deft touch, Burke pulls together a cross-genre plot that’s part hard-boiled caper, part thriller, part classic noir, and flat out fun. From first page to last, THE BIG O grabs hold and won’t let go.” – Reed Farrel Coleman, author of THE JAMES DEANS

“It’s hard to praise THE BIG O highly enough. Excellent writing, great characters, superb storytelling – all played out at a ferocious tempo. By turns it’s dark, funny, moving, brutal, tender and twisted. A book that makes one hell of an impact. More Declan Burke, please.” – Allan Guthrie, author of SAVAGE NIGHT

“Declan Burke’s crime writing is fast, furious, and funny, but this is more than just genre fiction: Burke is a high satirist in the tradition of Waugh and Kingsley Amis, and his stories pulse with all the contradictions of contemporary Ireland. Burke has a deep respect for and understand of the classic traditions of the hardboiled school but he never forgets that his first duty is to give us a damn good read.” – Adrian McKinty, author of THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD
  So there you have it. To be in with a chance of winning one of three copies of THE BIG O and EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, just answer the following question. Exactly how cute is the Princess Lilyput (right)?
(a) Cute;
(b) Very cute;
(c) Wow, she’s gorgeous;
(d) Hey Dec, that’s a good-looking child – are you sure she’s yours?
  Answers via the comment box, including an email contact address that uses (at) rather than @ to confuse the spam munchkins, before noon on Tuesday, September 16. Et bon chance, mes amis

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Deffo (C).

999 posts - hugely entertaining Declan as I have been logging in now for the past few months.

Started and finished the BIG O this weekend. It had been sitting on the TBR pile, and I finally decided to give it a go. Excellantly paced - Very very funny and very good. Rossi Callaghan is the absolute biz. Well done and thanks. And the very best of luck with the US publication.

P

Declan Burke said...

Much obliged, P ... really appreciate the kind words. And God bless Rossi ... Cheers, Dec

Anonymous said...

e) The fairest of them all, actually. I hope you can throw her in as an extra?

About blogging; you're quite right. I calculated that lazy old me has blogged the equivalent of a novel, too. Scary.

Declan Burke said...

Sorry, Ms Witch, Lilyput ain't going anywhere ... Cheers, Dec

Anonymous said...

Where is the entry for 'most adorable smiley makes a grown woman go 'squeeee' baby ever'? Because I'm pretty sure that's the one I would pick.
Arlene

Unknown said...

Seriously Dec, there can be only one answer:
(d) Hey Dec, that’s a good-looking child – are you sure she’s yours?

Lilly is truly blessed to have have her mother's genetics to make up for . . .well, your genes.

I'm, of course, kidding. I think every father in the world has this little joke made at their expense. Even my own mother cracked wise with that one.
Anyway, concrats on making it so long at the whole blogging thing, and thanks for providing me buckets of entertainment and news of the irish crime writing world when I'm zoning out at my desk at work at 5 o'clock in the morning. Monday through Friday, Crime Always Pays goes right along with my first cup of coffee.

Mack said...

Well, since you are a handsome devil yourself I can't go with d) so I will settle on c) Wow, she's gorgeous. That cannot be denied.

I thank you for your blog. Reading it has pointed me to many excellent books and authors and made me a devoted fan of Irish crime fiction.

malundy(at)gmail.com

Uriah Robinson said...

Dec the answer is (b) (c) and (d).
Princess Lilyput is definitely very photogenic.

Mind you we were told that my son aged 25 was 'gorgeous not at all like you two' and that was by a nun !

Ellen Clair Lamb said...

Since I don't know what you look like in person, I have to go with C. But A and B are, of course, equally valid...

LambLetters(at)gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Def not (d) as Lily certainly has the facial structure from your line. I go with (c). She is a very happy baby with a beautiful smile. I love that pic. Lily looks like she's doing a mix of peek-a-boo and an almost horizontal can-can, with the bottom end of her gorgeous dress up near her face. Was she wildly kicking her legs just before the pic was taken? If yes, prepare for early walking and a lot of rushing around on your & Aileen's part! (That comment is based on an anthropologist's research on baby development: Desmond Morris's Babywatching. I bought that book for a friend when she was expecting her first and I read it myself - now about a decade ago. Fascinating reading!)

Anonymous said...

PS
Congrats on the book deal, Dec, and all the best for the US launch. I know you've had your doubts about the value of blogging on times, in the light of your original objectives, but it seems worth it now, surely?
I wish you even more success.

Anonymous said...

"Hi, my name is Lily. My dad calls me Lilyput but he's a big Sillyput and I wish you wouldn't all encourage him. Thank you for all the very nice things you've said about me, but sometimes a girl wishes her daddy spent more time with her than his silly old books. I mean, most of them you can't even chew! Really, what good is a book you can't have a good yomp on? Boopy-doop!"

Dana King said...

Since I have already read THE BIG O and just last week purchased a copy of EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, I will pass on the contest. No one in his right mind passes on a chance to comment on the adorableosity of Princess Lily.

Corey Wilde said...

I already have THE BIG O on order from my independent folks, and I have to keep them in business of die of withdrawal.

On the multiple-choice question I gotta go with (d). Because she's not only gorgeous, she's very clever to have her own blog at her age.

Anonymous said...

I would have said (d) but actually in the chiaroscuro (as opposed to the cigar-and-sunglasses one)you come off pretty nicely,so I'll go with c)Wow, she's gorgeous.

I second the praise for the blog.
May it live to see many of these days,and your books be translated in many languages.

Btw,yesterday I finally began the Likeness (Which I won in the last competition I entered here).

bye
Marco

marcolin(at)lillinet.org

Declan Burke said...

Many thanks for the kind words, folks ... and especially to those of you who have already bought THE BIG O ... That never ceases to amaze me.

Cheers, Dec

Gerard Brennan said...

I'll take a leaf out of Dana's book and answer the question, but refrain from entering the competition. My sis bought me a copy of Eightball Boogie for my birthday last month and I'm the proud owner of a signed Hag's Head edition of The Big O.

The answer is c

gb

Anonymous said...

I'd say (c) but translated into Texan which is, "Ohmygoodness, she is precious!"

lawlis42(at)yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Has to be D!

macbeaner said...

why the answer is D of course!

macbeaner(at)gmail dot com

Amy said...

great blog, beautiful baby, so (c) naturally

Darragh said...

I'm going to say (a), (b), (c) and (d) sir, that is one cute child!

Great blog and I look forward to reading more :-)

Email address is darraghdoyle (at) gmail (dot) com and blog is http://thisiswhatido.org :-)

Best of luck with the book sales!

Peter Rozovsky said...

A, b, c and d!
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

Declan Burke said...

Hi folks - Thanks for all the entries and the kind words ... and Lily has instructed me to say, 'Boopy-doop' to one and all!

The winners of the books are Answergirl, Diane Lawlis, and Marco in Italy …

Cheers, Dec