“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

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

John and Dec’s Most Excellent Adventure

I’ve mentioned once or twice in passing that I’ll be heading to the good ol’ US of A for the Baltimore Bouchercon (October 9-12), flying over a week early and into Toronto to take a road-trip with one John McFetridge, he of the ‘Canadian Elmore Leonard’ fame (rough itinerary, right). The basic plan is to meet as many crime fic readers and writers as possible, and generally accumulate some stories to tell the grandkids. It may be a cliché, but it’s been an ambition of mine to drive through New England in the Fall ever since, as a young boy, I came across a book called ROBERT FROST’S COUNTRY (published as ROBERT FROST’S NEW ENGLAND in the States), which juxtaposed snippets of Frost’s poetry with superb photography. Wonderful, wonderful stuff.
  It’s very early days yet in terms of planning, especially as John and I are about as organised as writers tend to be, but even before we’ve officially announced the trip, David Lampe-Wilson of Mystery on Main Street, in Brattleboro, Vermont, has signed us up for a reading event on Monday, October 5. Which is very, very nice indeed.
  I don’t want to overstate the significance of the trip, but here’s the truth – if I could somehow go back in time 25 years and tell that spotty, angsty, wannabe writer Declan Burke that he would one day be standing in a Vermont bookstore talking about books and writing, and specifically his own book, which had just been published in the U.S., and particularly in the company of a writer as fine as John McFetridge, then that poor unfortunate 14-year-old would very likely spontaneously combust in a paroxysm of joy. So it’s just as well I can’t.
  The point being, and again it’s a cliché, but the forthcoming trip to the States, to promote THE BIG O, is literally a dream come true.
  If all of that sounds embarrassingly naïve and gauche, I do apologise. But it would be dishonest to pretend to be cool about all of this. I spent my entire youth, and a goodly portion of my adulthood, striving to be cool, as most people tend to do. But now that I have the opportunity to live out a life-long dream so precious that for years I couldn’t even tell anyone about it? Screw cool.
  Anyhoos, the basic itinerary is in place – Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Brattleboro, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore. If you’re a crime fic fan and you’d like to suggest an interesting venue where John and I might find a few sympathetic ears, we’d love to hear from you. If you’re a bookstore owner, ditto. And if you’re neither, but simply want to suggest some interesting book-related diversions off the beaten track, please feel free.
  Finally, a word from Mr Frost, aka ‘stories to tell the grandkids’. And, yes, it’s another cliché …
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a road and I ––
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.

9 comments:

adrian mckinty said...

Dec,

I know the southern NH area pretty well as my wife's fam is from Newburyport MA. I've always loved the fact that there's a Derry New Hampshire and a Londonderry New Hampshire within a few miles of each other. Those crazy ass Derry Micks couldnt even live with each after three thousand sea miles. Both towns have big Robert Frost links.

If you're an HP Lovecraft fan Newburyport is the place to go.

Have a good trip.

Adrian...

Stuart Neville said...

This sounds fantastic. It's my one regret in life not to have done more travelling, but I'm hopeful the book thing might give me a second chance. It's my own secret wish to travel by rail from New England down the east coast to wind up in Texas, or thereabouts.

Adrian - This NH Derry and Londerry you speak of - do they have a big wall between them where hooded youths gather to chuck stones at each other? And 'community workers' who 'calm the situation'?

BTW - I just made a little announcement on my blog. :)

Stuart Neville said...

Also, Declan, any more word on that literary festival you mentioned last week? I've been Googling and come up with nothing.

adrian mckinty said...

Stuart I wish that were the case. Things are peaceable nowadays but every time I go there I try to stir up trouble, molotov cocktails can be made just as easily with a Jack Daniels bottle as with Bushmills.

Famously kids from either Derry or L'Derry (I forget which) vandalised Frost's house a few months ago. Doesnt he have a poem about the importance of maintaining big walls around your house or something? The irony, the irony...

I have made no announcement on my blog, but it is my birthday today. Yipee!

Declan Burke said...

Jaysus, lads, you can take the boy out of Norn Iron, but you can't take Norn Iron out of the boy ... Stuart - hearty congrats on the Harvill Secker deal, squire; nice one indeed. As for the literary festival, the official website was due to go up this week ... I'll have more on the blog whenever I get the green light. Adrian - vandalising Robert Frost's house? Bring back the birch, I say. Oh, and many happy returns, squire - what are you now, 29? Cheers, Dec

adrian mckinty said...

29 exactly. for the eleventh year running.

Anonymous said...

I'm 29 too, Adrian. It's a good age. I've been 29 a few times before and like it. Did Declan give you any diamonds?

adrian mckinty said...

diamonds, I should be so lucky, I spent my birthday cleaning up cat vomit.

And you know what's weird?

We dont have a cat.

Declan Burke said...

Of course you don't have a cat, squire. The cat has you. Cheers, Dec