“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

Thursday, December 13, 2007

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?” # 1,097: John McFetridge

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...
What crime novel would you most like to have written?
SWAG – or really anything by Elmore Leonard.
Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
I read all over the place and I don't feel guilty about any of it.
Most satisfying writing moment?
When the ending to DIRTY SWEET presented itself. Up till that moment I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Now it’s closer to just no idea.
The best Irish crime novel is …?
THE WHORE MOTHER by Shaun Herron – despite the title (and it not being technically a crime novel. Also the story ‘Black Hoodie’ in Roddy Doyle’s THE DEPORTEES).
What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
Could I make this an Irish-Canadian novel and say Brian Moore’s THE REVOLUTION SCRIPT?
Worst / best thing about being a writer?
The best thing is when a scene is really working, when all the parts come together and it reads exactly like I want it to. The worst part is when a scene isn’t working.
The pitch for your next novel is …?
A late-’70's rock band, The High, reunite to play the casino nostalgia circuit – and rob a few along the way (I tried out some characters in flash fiction on www.muzzleflashfiction.net).
Who are you reading right now?
Mario Puzo and Linwood Barclay.
The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Sex. Violence. Profanity.

John McFetridge’s EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE will be published in July 2008. DIRTY SWEET is available at a good bookstore near you.
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