News: THE LOST AND THE BLIND Finds Its Way Home

Hark, the herald angels parp their trumpets, etc. I was very pleased indeed yesterday when copies of THE LOST AND THE BLIND (Severn House) arrived in the post – it will always, I think, be a childishly thrilling moment to hold a copy of your book in your hands for the very first time. Long may it run …
  Anyway, as announced here, THE LOST AND THE BLIND will be published on December 30th, although I’m reliably informed that you can pre-order a copy (or, if you’re of a mind to go completely crazy, copies) here …
  It’s been a good couple of weeks, actually. For starters, there’s been some very nice early word on the new book, which is available via NetGalley for those of you who subscribe. Also, I was in Germany last month for a tour to promote the publication there of ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL, and this week the book pole-vaulted itself into the ‘Krimi-Zeit-Bestenliste’, with which I am very happy indeed, not least for the good people at Edition Nautilus, my German publishers.
  Finally, I’m not sure when it happened, as I’ve been pretty busy over the last few weeks, but ye olde Crime Always Pays page counter slid past the million-and-a-half mark in the last month or so. As always, I’m hugely grateful to the Three Regular Readers of CAP for constantly pressing their refresh buttons, and to everyone else for taking the time out to come here. Much obliged, folks …

Tour: ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL In Germany

It’s off with yours truly to Germany next week, for a brief tour to promote the publication of ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL (Nautilus), when I’ll be reading in tandem with the translator of AZC, author Robert Brack, in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Dortmund. To wit:

Nov. 13th, 8 p.m.
Festival “Der Krimi ist politisch” (Crime novels are politics)
Buchladen in der Osterstraße, Osterstraße 171, Hamburg

Nov. 14th, 8.30 p.m.
KULT Kinobar, Zum Quellenpark 2, Bad Soden (Frankfurt)

Nov. 17th, 8 p.m.
Festival “Moabiter Kriminale”
Dorotheenstädtische Buchhandlung, Turmstraße 5, Berlin

Nov. 18th, 8 p.m.
Buchhandlung transfer, An der schlanken Mathilde 3, Dortmund

  If the spirit moves you to share this information with your German friends, I will be very grateful indeed …

The 12 Days of Kindle: Declan Burke

Due to the good works of the folk at Liberties Press, I have two titles included in the current ‘12 Days of Kindle’ promotion, SLAUGHTER’S HOUND and ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL, both of which are available as e-books for the princely sum of £0.99. Both books were shortlisted for the Irish Books of the Year awards in recent times, and ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL won the Goldsboro Award for comic crime fiction at Bristol’s Crimefest in 2012. If you feel moved to share this information with anyone you know, I would be very grateful indeed …
  For all the details, clickety-click here …

House Rules

I’m very pleased indeed to announce that my next book, CRIME ALWAYS PAYS, will be published by Severn House early next year (actual house not pictured, right). The book will be published in the UK in March and the US in July, and I’m hugely looking forward to working with the Severn House team, and particularly Kate Lyall Grant.
  It’s an exciting time, although there’s an element of sadness involved too, because I’m leaving behind some terrific people at Liberties Press. I’ve had a few wonderful years at Liberties: they published ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL in 2011 when virtually every other publisher passed on it, and I hope the fact that the book went on to win the Goldsboro ‘Last Laugh’ award at Bristol’s Crimefest in 2012 justified their decision to publish. Liberties also published SLAUGHTER’S HOUND, which was subsequently shortlisted for Best Crime Novel at the Irish Book Awards, and the non-fiction title DOWN THESE GREEN STREETS: IRISH CRIME WRITING IN THE 21ST CENTURY. It’s been a whirlwind few years, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time.
  I sincerely hope that my time with Severn House will be every bit as productive and enjoyable. I know that I’m joining a stable of very fine writers, and a publishing company with a superb record of putting books into the hands of readers. And really, that’s what this game is all about when it all boils down: putting good books in front of people who love to read.
  Speaking of which: if you fancy reading the first chapter of CRIME ALWAYS PAYS, you’ll find it right here …

On Milestones, Bargains And The Future Of Irish Crime Fiction

I mentioned last week that the Crime Always Pays blog was about to pass the 1,000,000 point for page views, which is a milestone of sorts that I’d like to mark. Of course, the whole point of this blog is to bring to readers’ attention new and interesting Irish crime writing, my own included. In that spirit, I’d like to refer to you this post on the Irish crime novels of the year, and also point out that the e-book versions of my novels are retailing at the recession-busting price of $2.99 / £2.50 for the month of July.
  If said spirit moves you to mention this on Twitter, Facebook et al (all you need do is click the buttons beneath this post), I’d be very grateful indeed …

THE BIG O $2.99 / £2.50
“Imagine Donald Westlake and his alter ego Richard Stark moving to Ireland and collaborating on a screwball noir and you have some idea of Burke’s accomplishment.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

EIGHTBALL BOOGIE $2.99 / £2.50
“I have seen the future of Irish crime fiction and it’s called Declan Burke. Here is talent writ large - mesmerizing, literate, smart and gripping. If there is such an animal as the literary crime novel, then this is it. But as a compelling crime novel, it is so far ahead of anything being produced, that at last my hopes for crime fiction are renewed. I can’t wait to read his next novel.” - Ken Bruen

ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL $2.99 / £2.50
Winner of the Crimefest 2012 Goldsboro ‘Last Laugh’ Award. “Among the most memorable books of the year, of any genre, was Declan Burke’s ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL ... a fiendishly dark thriller that evokes the best of Flann O’Brien and Bret Easton Ellis.” – Sunday Times

SLAUGHTER’S HOUND $2.99 / £2.50
“Many writers of crime fiction are drawn to the streetwise narrator with the wisecracking voice – Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett have a lot to answer for – but only a handful can make it credible and funny. Irish writer Burke is one who has succeeded spectacularly well … From the arresting opening image to the unexpected twist at the end, this is a hardboiled delight.” – The Guardian

“Publish Or I’m Damned.”

So spake Karlsson, a hero-of-sorts of ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL, a novel published by Liberties Press in 2011. Ironically, given that the tale incorporates a writer’s struggle to get published, Karlsson and AZC had been rejected by a whole slew of publishers – to the point where I was roughly six weeks away from self-publishing the story – before Sean O’Keeffe of Liberties Press stepped in.
  The novel, described as a cross between Raymond Chandler and Flann O’Brien by John Banville, was subsequently shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2011, and won the Goldsboro ‘Last Laugh’ award for comic crime novels at Crimefest in 2012.
  So it’s entirely apt, I think, that yours truly, Sean O’Keeffe and Liberties Press’ marketing manager Alice Dawson will be talking about the tricky path to publication at the Dublin Writers Festival later this month. To wit:

Publish and Be Famed
You’ve slaved away over your keyboard for months, if not years. You’ve researched and imagined, reworked and revised and now, at last, your book is finished. But what happens now? Who guides you down the path to publication? How is your book designed, edited, marketed and promoted? In association with the Dublin Book Festival, Dublin Writers Festival brings together Declan Burke, author of the Harry Rigby Mysteries and one of the most innovative voices in Irish crime fiction, with key personnel from his publishers, Liberties Press, to look at the process of publishing a novel from first idea to the printed page. For anyone interested in unpacking the mysteries of publishing, this event is a must.

Venue: Smock Alley Theatre
Date: Friday May 24th
Time: 1:05 pm
Tickets: €10 / €8

  For all the details, clickety-click here.
  The full programme for the Dublin Writers Festival can be found here.

Harry Rigby: ‘A Master of Situational Ethics’

It’s not often I get a nice review in Booklist (no link, sadly – subscription only), so if it’s okay with all of you I’m going to go ahead and broadcast this review of SLAUGHTER’S HOUND in full. To wit:

Slaughter’s Hound. By Declan Burke. Mar. 2013. 384p. Dufour/Liberties, paper, $24.95 (9781907593499).

Honest jobs are hard to come by when you’re released from a mental institution after killing your brother. So Harry Rigby gets by driving a cab and delivering drugs in the Irish town of Sligo. One of his best customers is former cellmate Finn Hamilton--until the night Finn drops onto Harry’s cab from his ninth-story balcony. The police are very interested in what Harry saw that night, as are Finn’s pregnant girlfriend, patrician (and terrifying) mother, and his possibly insane teenage sister. A master of situational ethics, Harry initially has no problem getting paid to retrieve certain items from Finn’s apartment. It turns out, though, that Harry’s not the only one nosing around. He tries to keep his ex-wife and son out of the investigation, but his two worlds can’t help bleeding into one another. Burke (Absolute Zero Cool, 2012) has always been known for black humor, and he has found a wonderful new outlet for it in Harry Rigby. -- Karen Keefe

  Incidentally, if there’s anyone out there who would like to receive an e-friendly review copy of SLAUGHTER’S HOUND or its predecessor EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, please feel free to drop me a line at dbrodb[at]gmail.com. And if the spirit moves you to click the Twitter or Facebook link below, I would be very grateful indeed.

Harry Rigby: The ‘Lost Get Back Boogie’ Years

I was ‘down home’, as we say, in Sligo last weekend, and went for a stroll on the shores of Lough Gill early on Sunday morning, which was where my good lady wife took the photograph above. It was incredibly still and peaceful, as the shot suggests, and it got me thinking about a ‘lost’ Harry Rigby novel, which is largely set around and on the lake.
  For those of you unfamiliar with Sligo’s geography, by the way, Lough Gill is about five miles from Sligo’s city centre; the Garavogue river empties out of Lough Gill and wends its leisurely way through Sligo and on out to the Atlantic.
  Anyway, I got back to Wicklow from Sligo and had a rummage through my old files, in search of the ‘lost’ Harry Rigby. And lo! It transpires that there are in fact three Harry Rigby novels gathering dust in the files, as well as a standalone thriller set in the Greek islands.
  The books were actually written when I was living in Sligo. I wrote EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, the first Harry Rigby story, while living in Dublin; when I heard it was going to be published, I thought it’d be no harm to take a little time off from the day job and write another book, to have it ready when (koff) publishing’s ravening hordes came kicking down my front door.
  And so, being single and with no great financial commitments, I took a year off and worked part-time as a teacher, and wrote a sequel to EIGHTBALL. It wasn’t published due to reasons far too boring to get into here, but by the time it wasn’t published I was two years into my sabbatical and writing like a demon. During that period I wrote the three Harry Rigby novels and the Greek islands thriller mentioned above, roughly 80% of what became ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL, and all of THE BIG O. I also wrote a heap of short stories and about two drafts of a book I like to call THE GOD OF LIGHT AND MICE, which has since received three or four more drafts, and which will be my next writing project – if I can find the time.
  In the meantime, I’m sorely tempted to publish the Harry Rigby novels as e-books. I bought back the rights to EIGHTBALL BOOGIE a couple of years ago, and e-published that, and the other three books – well, they’re just lying around gathering dust. I’ve since written SLAUGHTER’S HOUND, a Harry Rigby novel published last year by the good people at Liberties Press, but the three unpublished stories are of a piece with EIGHTBALL and SLAUGHTER’S HOUND, and would work well as a series, I think.
  Given how well EIGHTBALL has done for me as an e-book, I have to say it’s the classic no-brainer. What that then means in terms of my future vis-à-vis the publishing industry, however, I have no idea.
  I think it might be fun to find out, though.

The Gosling Has Landed

It’s been something of a quiet week on Crime Always Pays, largely because I’ve bought a new computer and I’m currently engaged in a technological version of mutually assured destruction with Windows 8, to the victor the spoils, etc.
  Other than the minor mental breakdown, however, it’s been a pretty decent week for yours truly. SLAUGHTER’S HOUND was reviewed last weeked in the Sunday Independent, with the gist running thusly:

“[Harry Rigby] journeys through this twisting, turning yarn with a semi-concealed propensity for ultra-violence, like a more lippy, chain-smoking version of Ryan Gosling’s character in Drive. He shoots to kill, beats to a pulp and even gets imaginative with a lit cigar and an eyeball … Aside from the mischief and black humour, the dialogue is just as smoky … this is perfectly pitched, rhythmic crime speech that lounges about the page … The denouement may be mucky and rather fatalistic, but it could only be so. Angels are hard to come by in Burke’s noir wonderland.” – Hilary White, Sunday Independent

  With which, as you can imagine, I was very quietly pleased. For the rest, clickety-click here …
  Indeed, the last couple of weeks have been very good to my humble tomes, with SLAUGHTER’S HOUND and ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL turning up in more than a few end-of-year Best Of … lists. I don’t have a link to the Sunday Times one, sadly, but the rest look like this:

http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.ie/2013/01/my-favourite-books-of-2012.html
http://www.elizabethawhite.com/category/top10-2012/#.UOvbpeTtTTo
http://januarymagazine.blogspot.ie/2012/12/best-books-of-2012-crime-fiction-part-i.html
http://danaking.blogspot.ie/

  So there you have it. All going well, I’ll have wrassled Windows 8 into a half-nelson submission in the next day or so, when normal-ish service will be resumed. Don’t say you weren’t warned …

Crime Fiction and Contemporary Ireland: The Truth!

It’s off to Maynooth University with yours truly next Tuesday, for an event titled ‘Crime Fiction and Contemporary Ireland’, which will be hosted by one Rob Kitchin of Blue House fame. I’m really looking forward to it, even if it’s the case that I’ll stuck between two of Ireland’s finest journalists (and equally fine novelists) in Gene Kerrigan and Niamh O’Connor, both of whom, it’s fair to say, have their fingers firmly on the erratic pulse of that intensive care patient known fondly to the world’s financial markets as Ireland, Inc. Meanwhile, I’m a guy who reviews books and movies for a living. I’ll be so far out of my depth I may wind up with a crippling case of the bends.
  I think it’ll be an interesting event, though. Last year, when DOWN THESE GREEN STREETS came out, one negative review more or less sneered at Irish crime writing on the basis that it feeds like a parasite off the misery of the country without offering any solutions to the mess. Which I thought was a bit rich, seeing as how a whole raft of politicians and economists are paid to come up with solutions to various economic messes, and fail miserably at every hand’s turn.
  Anyway, there are a number of Irish crime writers who are engaged with charting the woes of contemporary Ireland through their fiction, although there are as many again who haven’t the slightest interest in doing so. It’s all valid, I think. The most important thing any book can offer is an interesting story, well written. If a writer chooses to give that story an immediacy and urgency that derives from a timely investigation of the setting’s current ills and travails, then that can add another dimension. By the same token, agit-prop is no one’s idea of good art. So there’s a fine line to be negotiated.
  My current book, ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL, has a bit of fun with the notion of agit-prop, setting up a hospital as a metaphor for the country itself, with a demented hospital porter hell-bent on blowing it up in order to alert the nation to the dangers of depending too heavily on the kindness of strangers. My new book, SLAUGHTER’S HOUND, which I’ve just finished, is also influenced by current events - I find it very difficult to ignore that kind of thing, simply because it would be unrealistic for characters not to be engaged on a daily basis with the wider context of how their lives are being lived, or - more accurately, perhaps - how they are forced to live their lives.
  The extract below is from SLAUGHTER’S HOUND, and comes when the main character, and narrator, the former private eye Harry Rigby, is conversing with a previously wealthy woman, Saoirse Hamilton, whose son, Finn, has committed suicide two days previously, due to his financial circumstances. Saoirse Hamilton, as you can imagine, is rather bitter, and keen to foist the blame for Finn’s death (and by extension Ireland’s woes) onto someone, anyone, other than herself:

  ‘This is an old country, Mr Rigby. There are passage tombs up on the hills of Carrowkeel and their stones gone mossy long before the pyramids were built. There were Greeks sailing into Sligo Bay when Berlin was still a fetid swamp in some godforsaken forest. Take a detour off our shiny new roads and you’ll find yourself in a labyrinth, because no Roman ever laid so much as a foundation brick on this island. Hibernia, they called it.’ A wry smile. ‘Winterland.’
  ‘Well, the roads run straight enough now.’
  ‘Indeed. Irish tyres hissing slick on the sweat of the German tax-payer, who will tell you that he has paid for every last yard of straight road built here in the last forty years. You know,’ she said, ‘there have always been those who turned their back on Brussels and Frankfurt, and not everyone who professes to ourselves alone is a Sticky or a Shinner. But I could never understand that. I quite liked the idea that Herr Fritz was spreading around his Marshall Plan largesse to buy himself some badly needed friends.’ She shrugged. Her voice gone dead and cold, as if she spoke from inside a tomb. ‘Perhaps I was wrong. Herr Shylock has returned demanding his pound of flesh, and it appears he is charging blood debt rates. Straight roads, certainly, and more suicides in the last year than died in traffic accidents.’
  ‘It won’t last,’ I said. ‘Nothing ever does.’
  A hard flash of perfect teeth. ‘My point entirely, Mr Rigby. I’m told that the latest from Frankfurt is that our German friends are quietly pleased that the Irish are not Greeks, that we take our medicine with a pat on the head. No strikes, no burning of the bondholders, or actual banks. Apparently they’re a little contemptuous, telling one another as they pass the latest Irish budget around the Reichstag for approval that we have been conditioned by eight hundred years of oppression to perfect that very Irish sleight of hand, to tug the forelock even as we hold out the begging bowl.
  ‘They are children, Mr Rigby, our German friends. Conditioned themselves, since Charlemagne, to believe want and need are the same instinct. Hardwired to blitzkrieg and overreach, to forget the long game, the hard lessons of harsh winters bogged down in foreign lands.’ Tremulous now. Not the first time she’d delivered this speech. ‘The Romans were no fools. Strangers come here to wither and die. Celt, Dane, Norman and English, they charged ashore waving their axes and swords and we gave up our blood and took the best they have, and when they sank into our bogs we burned them for heat and carved our stories from their smoke and words.’

  SLAUGHTER’S HOUND is due to be published in June, which is around about the time when the Irish people will be going to the polls to vote in a referendum on whether Ireland should change its constitution to allow for the EU’s new fiscal treaty pact to take effect here. Essentially, I think, the battle for Yes and No will be fought on the basis of how steaming mad the Irish people are at their loss of economic sovereignty at the hands of a German-dominated EU - which isn’t strictly true, by any means, and ignores the extent to which Ireland was culpable in its own downfall (SLAUGHTER’S HOUND is to a large extent a novel about the consequences of not taking responsibility for your actions).
  Contrary to the doomsayers, I believe the Yes vote will edge the referendum, this on the basis of ‘that very Irish sleight of hand, to tug the forelock even as we hold out the begging bowl’ - we’ll be offered a deal on the debt Ireland has been burdened with, and we’ll vote pragmatically, if not on behalf of ourselves, then on behalf of our children.
  But I digress. Where was I? Oh, yes - ‘Crime Fiction and Contemporary Ireland’, Maynooth University, March 6th, 5pm. If you’re in the vicinity, we’d love to see you there …

SLAUGHTER’S HOUND: A Shaggy Dog Story

The more eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that I haven’t posted anything here for the last three or four days, in large part because I’ve been struggling in the death throes of the latest book, which felt a lot like howling at the moon whilst wrestling a tank full of giant squid, naked. That’s me who was naked, not the squid. They were all wearing Kevlar.
  Anyway, it’s done now, for good or ill. Or pretty much done, because the book will go off to an editor, and the editor will pick up on all the glaring plot holes and the occasional damp tentacle draped across a page, not to mention (so why mention it?) the complete lack of anything approaching cohesive grammar and punctuation. So, yes, there will be changes to make, and commas to fiddle obsessively with, and no doubt the occasional stray tentacle will come in very useful for the purpose of self-flagellation.
  But to all intents and purposes, the book - SLAUGHTER’S HOUND - is done. And so am I. This has, by some distance, been the toughest book I’ve ever written. I think that that’s in part because I was writing against my previous / current offering, ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL, which is a tongue-in-cheek take on the crime novel, and wanted SLAUGHTER’S HOUND to be very much a straight crime novel; and while it’s nice to bounce around the genre and play games and have fun, there’s something very satisfying in playing the game straight and hard and clean. Not that SLAUGHTER’S HOUND is very ‘clean’ - it’s a filthy, grimy slice of noir, or so I hope.
  The main reason it was a tough book to write, though, is that it’s the first book I’ve written since the light of my life, aka the Princess Lilyput, grew old enough to climb the stairs on her own and come tapping on the door of my lair and demand I come play with her. Which meant that most of the book was written between the hours of 5am and 7am, while Lily is still asleep, and before the day proper begins. It’s a lovely time to write, because there’s absolutely no danger that you’ll be disturbed by anything except the occasional (frequent) realisation of your own limitations, but that kind of schedule, when you’re also running a full-time freelance journalism schedule, just isn’t sustainable in the long run. Right now I feel blitzed to the bone, utterly exhausted, as if I’ve burnt the candle at both ends and taken a flamethrower to the middle. The prospect of sleeping in until 7am tomorrow morning is so delicious as to verge on sinful.
  There’s a slump coming, I know. The nervous energy (and buckets of coffee) that sustain me through the final, frenzied stages of a book requires payback, the mental equivalent of crawling into a cave and curling up in the foetal position, fingers stuffed in my ears. And there’s an emotional price too, if you’re in any way engaged emotionally with your characters - right now it feels as if I’ve been living for the last few weeks with one foot in reality and the other in the makey-uppy world, some kind of half-assed Atlas shouldering a sky of his own making. Yes, I know it’s only a detective novel, but that’s not really the point: if you’re committed to it, then it takes a certain amount of psychic energy to bring it into being and (koff) keep it real - and once it’s done and you step away, hoping the architecture is such that it stands alone without your support, then that can be a very draining experience.
  And then, of course, there’s the girding of the metaphorical loins to hear the offer for your work, and the kick in the metaphorical groin when you realise just how little all that effort is worth, in cash terms at least.
  It’s traditional at this point for me to announce that that’s it, I’ll never write another book again; but at this stage, who would I be kidding? Already there’s an asp’s nest stirring and hissing in the back of my head, the vague outlines of another story coming together.

So I’ll suck it all up, and get some sleep, and in a couple of months time I’ll slap myself around the chops and sit down at the desk again. For good or ill.
  Finally, and given that SLAUGHTER’S HOUND is a sequel to my first book, EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, I’m going to celebrate finishing the former by making the ebook of the latter available at the knock-down, recession-friendly price of $3.99 / £2.50 for the next 30 days. A private eye-of-sorts tale featuring ‘research consultant’ Harry Rigby, it was described on its publication as ‘the future of Irish crime fiction’ by no less an expert on the future of Irish crime fiction as Ken Bruen. For all the details and links, clickety-click here …

The Kindleness Of Strangers

I had a piece published in the Irish Times today on ebook pricing, which featured contributions from Stuart Neville, Arlene Hunt, Allan Guthrie, Eoin Purcell and John Mooney. The gist, essentially, can be summed up by the pull-quote used for the piece, which runs as follows: “Isn’t it reasonable for readers to expect ‘deep discounts’ on ebooks, given that a publisher’s costs are comparatively lower than for a print edition of exactly the same book?” The answers, as you might expect, were many and varied, and in some cases quite surprising. For the full piece, clickety-click here …
  As it happens - and this may be a good omen - today was also the day that Liberties Press delivered a ‘deep discount’ on the ebook version of ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL, which is now retailing for $2.99 on Amazon.com, and (roughly, as I can’t see the pricing for ebooks on Amazon.uk) £2.50 on Amazon.uk.
  I’d suggested the price drop about three weeks ago, to coincide with the North American publication of AZC, but things being what they are, and everyone being so busy, it’s taken until now for the price reduction to kick in. Which is a pity, because it would’ve been nice to have AZC arrive in North America with a little wind in its sails - but hey, the important thing is that it’s now abroad on the high seas, as it were, and bound for ports unknown, heavily dependent on the (koff) kindleness of strangers …
  If I may be so bold (koff-koff) as to offer you the most recent reviews for said humble tome:

“Metafiction? Postmodern noir? These and other labels will be applied to Burke’s newest; any might be apt, but none is sufficient. ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL is largely a literary novel that draws on history, mythology, and literature … Noir fans may not care for this one, but lovers of literary fiction will find much to savour.” - Booklist

“Burke sprinkles his way-outside-the-box noir with quotes from Beckett, Bukowski, and other literary names as he explores the nature of writing and the descent of personal darkness. Those looking for a highly intellectual version of Stephen King’s THE DARK HALF will be most satisfied.” - Publishers Weekly

“ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL starts a slow burn that ultimately builds to a literally explosive conclusion … Wickedly sharp, darkly humorous, uncommonly creative and brilliantly executed.” - Elizabeth A. White

“Stylistically removed from anything being attempted by his peers … [a] darkly hilarious amalgam of classic crime riffing (hep Elmore Leonard-isms and screwballing) and the dimension-warping reflections of Charlie Kaufman or Kurt Vonnegut. Like the latter’s SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE, ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL sees another Billy “come unstuck” in what is, frankly, a brilliant premise.” - Sunday Independent

  The book is currently at # 240,091 on the US Kindle charts, and # 37,514 on the UK Kindle charts, and is currently working off a five-star average on eight reviews, so it’ll be interesting to see if the drop in price drives up the sales rate - or, put another (and more important) way, gives more people the opportunity of reading the book. Which would be very nice indeed. I’ll keep you posted as to how it goes …
  Oh, and while I have you - I’ll be appearing at the Hodges Figgis Crime Night tomorrow night, Wednesday, February 22nd, in the very fine company of Arlene Hunt (THE CHOSEN) and Conor Brady (A JUNE OF ORDINARY MURDERS). If you’re around Dublin tomorrow evening, we’d love to see you there …

UPDATE: As of Wednesday afternoon, 4pm, ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL is currently # 20,885 on Amazon.com, and # 7,463 on Amazon.uk. Oh, and apparently the book is priced at £1.95 on Amazon.uk, and thanks for the tip-offs, chaps.

Survival Of The Figgis

I ended up nearly walking into a lamppost yesterday on Dawson Street, as I glanced into the front window of Hodges Figgis (right) and did a comedy double-take. It’s a rare but pleasurable experience to see one of your books in the front window of a bookshop, but it’s very weird indeed to see the cover of your book blown up to poster size. Anyway, said poster was part of a display in the Hodges Figgis window designed to promote ‘Crime Night!’, the details of which runneth thusly:

Crime Night! Hodges Figgis kindly invite you to a Crime Fiction Night taking place in our store on Dawson Street, Dublin 2, on the 22nd of February at 7.30pm. We have three well known Irish authors taking part: Declan Burke, Arlene Hunt and Conor Brady. The night promises to be an interesting one, with some extract readings and a questions-and-answers session based on what special qualities an Irish writer brings to the genre. Contact one of our Booksellers or our Secretary to book a free place to avoid disappointment.

  So there you have it. I’ll be reading from ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL, Arlene from THE CHOSEN, and Conor Brady from his debut title, A JUNE OF ORDINARY MURDERS. Will we come through the experience unscathed, fired in the kiln of public scrutiny? If you’re out and about in Dublin on the evening February 22nd, it’d be great to see you there.

ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL: The Booklist Verdict Is In

It’s been a while, although not nearly long enough, some might say, since we’ve had some ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL-related flummery here, but the book officially goes on sale in the United States and Canada next Friday, February 3rd (where the hell did January go?), so it’s incumbent upon me to point you in the direction of some recent reviews of said tome. I’ve already mentioned that Publishers Weekly gave it the thumbs up, and Elizabeth A. White was also good enough to say some very kind things about AZC a couple of weeks ago. With which, as you can imagine, I am mightily pleased.
  Meanwhile, the most recent review comes courtesy of Booklist, with the gist running thusly:

“Metafiction? Postmodern noir? These and other labels will be applied to Burke’s newest; any might be apt, but none is sufficient. ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL is largely a literary novel that draws on history, mythology, and literature to insightfully discuss writing, books, parenting, relationships, health care, and dying with dignity. Bits of Burke’s comic noir (THE BIG O, 2008) appear, but they serve to subvert the form. Noir fans may not care for this one, but lovers of literary fiction will find much to savour.” — Thomas Gaughan, Booklist

  Which is, again, very nice indeed, and I thank you kindly, Mr Gaughan.
  Incidentally, THE BIG O picked up a review the other day, and one which touches in part on an issue raised here a few weeks back, given that the reviewer announces at the beginning of the review that he / she gave up reading halfway through, largely put off by the fact that the book is infested with sexism. “I wouldn’t normally review a book I disliked this much,” the review concludes, “but it’s frustrating to find an author who can clearly write, but who can’t make an intelligent creative decision.” Which may well be the epitome of the back-handed compliment.
  Anyway, back to ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL. The book gets its official North American release on Friday, as I say, and loath as I am to ask favours of CAP readers, I’d be obliged if you could spread the word by any means available to you. Tell a friend (or an enemy, if you read it and didn’t like it), mention it on your blog, post a review to Amazon, etc, or simply send up a barrage balloon with the book cover emblazoned on the side (or both sides, if your budget will stretch). As always, any and all help would be very greatly appreciated.
  Here endeth the flummery.

ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL: So It Goes

Is it really five months since the publication of ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL? Jayz. Seems like it happened only a couple of weeks ago, and at the same time it feels like half a lifetime ago. Weird. Anyway, 2012 is off to a good start, review-wise; my cup fairly ran over last weekend.
  First up was the inimitable Glenn Harper of International Noir, who opened his review by referencing a number of authors who dabbled in meta-fiction, most of whom (to be perfectly frank) I’d never even heard of. Glenn finished up something like this:

“Among the many crime fiction references, it’s [Patricia] Highsmith that resonates most with ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL (for me) … Declan Burke has cemented his central position in the current wave of neo-noir and contemporary crime fiction.” - Glenn Harper, International Noir

  As you can imagine, I was pretty pleased with that; Glenn Harper knows of what he speaks. Then a review popped up from an Irish blogger, Alex Donald. Now, I should declare an interest here: about 18 months ago, Alex and I were two of a quartet of writers who sat down to establish a writing group, essentially to motivate one another into finding the time to write. As it happens, I was working on a different book entirely for that writing group, and only managed to make it along to two sessions; despite the writers being a smart and funny bunch, the truth was that I didn’t have the time to devote to any motivational sessions designed to find me time to write. Anyway, cutting a long and not very interesting story short, Alex was kind enough to review AZC over at her blog, with the gist running thusly:

“Darkly funny, superbly written, meta-fictional and with more than a passing nod to Paul Auster, Flann O’Brien and (dare I say it) Chuck Palahniuk’s FIGHT CLUB, ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL fuses literary and crime fiction to create something utterly original.” - Alex Donald

  Last weekend, incidentally, Dufour Editions was good enough to declare AZC its Book of the Week. I’m not really sure what that means, to be honest, although it was very nice indeed of the Dufour people to republish the Publishers Weekly review of ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL that compares it (favourably) to Stephen King’s THE DARK HALF.
  Also last weekend, the Sunday Independent carried a review of AZC, under the headline, ‘Darkly hilarious classic takes modern crime writing to a whole new level’. As you can probably imagine, the review that followed was broadly positive. To wit:

“Stylistically removed from anything being attempted by his peers … [a] darkly hilarious amalgam of classic crime riffing (hep Elmore Leonard-isms and screwballing) and the dimension-warping reflections of Charlie Kaufman or Kurt Vonnegut. Like the latter’s SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE, ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL sees another Billy ‘come unstuck’ in what is, frankly, a brilliant premise.” - Hilary White, Sunday Independent

  I have to say, it’s all getting a little confusing in terms of the references. Patricia Highsmith, Paul Auster, Flann O’Brien, Chuck Palahniuk, Stephen King, Elmore Leonard, Charlie Kaufman, Kurt Vonnegut … that’s a pretty wild brew.

  I should also say that Hilary White was inspired, in terms of references, in his choice of SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE. The Billy in AZC is so called as a homage to Billy Pilgrim in Vonnegut’s classic, which is one of my favourite novels from one of my favourite writers; Vonnegut is one of those very rare writers who combines hugely entertaining and accessible stories with great profundity. In my head, Kurt Vonnegut’s fingerprints are all over AZC, to the extent that I went out of my way to erase all traces of his influence in the final drafts - apart, of course, from renaming Karlsson ‘Billy’.
  God, I wish I had the time to go read a Vonnegut RIGHT NOW …

ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL: The ‘Publishers Weekly’ Verdict Is In

Well, now. You’ll excuse me, I hope, for running two ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL-related posts in a row, but I woke this morning to a very nice early Christmas present indeed. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, AZC has gone off on its travels to the North American continent; and while the book has received a very gentle handling on this side of the Atlantic, so far at least, I did wonder as to how it might be received in the spiritual home of the hard-boiled crime novel.
  Here’s hoping that the first review sets the tone, because Publishers Weekly has stepped into the breach early, with its verdict running thusly:

In this ambitious meta-thriller from Irish author Burke (THE BIG O), the unnamed narrator, a stand-in for the author, meets a character from an unfinished novel of his, Karlsson, “a hospital porter who assisted old people who wanted to die.” Karlsson, who now likes to be called Billy, is intent on blowing up the hospital with everyone in it, but he has more cerebral concerns. Author and character meet again and again in online chatfests, where they discuss their options, and soon start Sermo Vulgus, a novel-within-the-novel. Should fictional characters live, die, or never be born? Burke sprinkles his way-outside-the-box noir with quotes from Beckett, Bukowski, and other literary names as he explores the nature of writing and the descent of personal darkness. Those looking for a highly intellectual version of Stephen King’s THE DARK HALF will be most satisfied. (Feb.) - Publishers Weekly

  Crikey. Stephen King? ‘Ambitious meta-thriller’? ‘Highly intellectual’? That’s the Christmas ruined for everyone around me. I’ll be bloody insufferable after that little lot …
  Meanwhile, one of the hardest working men in crime fiction, J. Kingston Pierce of The Rap Sheet and January Magazine fame, includes DOWN THESE GREEN STREETS in his round-up of the best ‘books—all of which were published this year, but none of which has yet seen print in the States—that would be worth your crossing the Atlantic to buy’ for the Kirkus Reviews blog. Herewith be the gist:

“Using essays, interviews and short stories, DOWN THESE GREEN STREETS seeks to prove the distinctiveness of Irish crime writing (that its DNA, for instance, includes “extra chromosomes for metaphor, legend and wit,” to quote from Michael Connelly’s introduction) at the same time as it makes the case that mysteries concocted by authors who bleed Guinness can be appreciated by readers who live half a world away from the Old Sod.”

  For all of J. Kingston Pierce’s choices, clickety-click here …

On Keeping Things Just The Right Side Of Ridiculous

And on flows the flummery. ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL has had a pretty decent run of it in the last couple of weeks (furiously blushing cover, right), with some very nice reviews popping up here, the Sunday Times declaring it one of its Books of the Year here, and the book itself setting sail for the continent of North America, as recounted here.
  Last weekend was particularly good for our humble tome, however, as Stuart Neville popped up in the Irish Times’ round-up of writers’ favourite books of the year, in which he gave a fully deserved big-up to Tom Franklin’s wonderful CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER, and then went on to say this:

“Declan Burke’s ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL (Liberties Press, €12.99) is a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a cigarette paper. A story in which a character steps into the real world to guide a novelist through a rewrite of his own tale could easily veer into the realm of the pretentious in the hands of a less able author, but Burke manages to keep things just on the right side of ridiculous. I recently found myself trapped on a delayed train for six hours. Thank God I had this sublimely crazy book to keep me sane.”

  I thank you kindly, Mr Neville, not least for allowing me to associate with such august company.
  On Sunday, the Sunday Independent published a very nice interview with yours truly, courtesy of Hilary White, in which I held forth on writing, giving up cigarettes, becoming a dad and why crime writers are a pretty nice bunch of people, possibly because they leave all their nasty stuff on the page. To wit:

“There is a theory that goes along those lines, yeah, because you’re venting all the dark aspects of your psyche on to the page, and when you walk away you’ve left your vices behind. ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL toys with that idea, that the writer’s psyche is split and the good person he wants to be is writing this bad character that he could easily be -- and may already be -- out of his system.”

  For the rest, clickety-click here …

ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL: We’re Coming To (North) America

It’s been a very busy week, I have to say, but even so there’s really no excuse for my having missed out on the fact that ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL was officially made available in North America on last Monday, November 28th. Be assured that I’ll be placing myself very firmly on the naughty step just as soon as I’ve finished writing this post …
  But less of the self-flagellation, and more self-promotion. As all Three Regular Readers will be aware, AZC received a very nice big-up last weekend, when it was selected as one of the Sunday Times’ ‘Best Books of the Year’, in a short but perfectly formed précis that began, ‘One of the most memorable books of the year, in any genre, was Declan Burke’s ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL …’.
  Erm, you had me at ‘memorable’.
  Meanwhile, and continuing on a theme of shameless self-promotion, there are quite a number of reviews of said tome available to your left. It has also garnered a number of reviews on Amazon.uk and Amazon.com, all of which are of the five-star variety, and not one of which (I promise) was written by yours truly, or any of my family or friends, or indeed, any of the book’s publicists. It’s a little sad that you need to actually say these kinds of things these days, but it appears that that’s the way the world is going, or has gone. Oh, and by the way - if you’ve read the book, and liked it, please feel free to post a review to Amazon. Your reward will be in heaven.
  AZC is also available in e-format here, and if you prefer not to shop with Amazon, it’s also available via Book Depository here.
  Finally, if you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, and / or you’re a reviewer for a media outlet, website or blog, and you’d like to receive a review copy of AZC, drop me a line at the email address above and I’ll do my level best to ensure you get a copy. Don’t all rush at once, of course, or else you’ll crash the serv -
  Gah. Too late. Oh well, normal-ish service will be resumed as soon as possible …

My Gast: Well And Truly Flabbered

I had an unusually busy Sunday yesterday, given that my good lady wife had taken herself off for a well-deserved relaxing weekend in Beirut (!), so it wasn’t until late in the evening, killing time waiting for Match of the Day 2, that I got to glance at the Sunday Times’ Culture section, and particularly the ‘Best Books of the Year’ feature flagged on the cover. Ho, said I, what’s the chances of ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL popping up there?
  Erm, quite good, as it happens. For lo! AZC was the lead-off title in the Crime Fiction round-up. To wit:

“Among the most memorable books of the year, of any genre, was Declan Burke’s ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL (Liberties Press). A writer is talked into rewriting an unpublished novel about a hospital porter who dishes out mercy killings - by a one-eyed man claiming to be that same porter. Burke splices insights into the creative process into a fiendishly dark thriller that evokes the best of Flann O’Brien and Bret Easton Ellis.”

  Consider my gast well and truly flabbered. Given the reviews it has received to date (see left), and its short-listing for the Irish Book Awards, AZC had already wildly over-achieved on expectations. But a ‘Best Book of the Year’ in the Sunday Times? Truly, my cup runneth over …

ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL: This Week’s Flummery In Full

It’s been a funny old week, folks. A real roller-coaster. As all Three Regular Readers will be aware, Alan Glynn’s BLOODLAND took home the Crime Fiction gong at the Irish Book Awards last Thursday night, which was no great surprise to anyone who has read it, but was something of a disappointment on the night, given that ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL was also on the shortlist.
  Mind you, if you can’t take the occasional disappointment, you’ve really no right getting involved in writing books. And as I’ve said before, and will continue to say just so long as anyone will listen, BLOODLAND is a terrific novel.
  Happily, that disappointment was mitigated on the night by the news that AZC will be published in India in the near future. Now, I haven’t the faintest idea of how lucrative (or otherwise) such a deal might be, but to be honest, I’m more fascinated with the idea of my book being published in India. How will it translate, literally and figuratively? Will the story of Billy Karlsson have resonance on the sub-continent? Will they change the cover? Questions, questions …
  This week I also had some very good news on a project I’ve been working on for a few months now, in tandem with another Irish crime writer, a non-fiction title that may well pique your interest when I’m in a position to go public with the news in the next couple of weeks or so. For now I’ll simply say that the project features a stellar cast, and a concept that’s very close to my heart. Trust me - this is one you’re going to be hearing a lot about. Well, on this blog, at least.
  Elsewhere, it’s been a pretty good week for reviews. For starters, the inimitable Book Witch weighed in with her verdict on ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL, which runs thusly:

“It’s weird. It’s different. But if you can keep several balls going at the same time in this juggling act, it’s a fun read. Shows you what publishing can be like.” - The Book Witch

  If you’re not familiar with the Book Witch, that’s actually very high praise indeed. Especially when it comes to yours truly.
  Meanwhile, over at Booksquawk, Bill Kirton had this to say:

“I don’t want to stress the analytical aspects of the book or get tangled in the complexities of having two narrators, both fictional and yet one of them also the author himself, because this is also a bloody good thriller. It’s also funny, thought-provoking and very satisfying. Some reviews refer to it as possibly becoming a cult classic; I think it deserves to be more. It’s consciously set in a literary and philosophical tradition of which the writer is constantly aware and on which he draws. He’s an intelligent, sensitive novelist who’s comfortable with the form, willing to explore its wider possibilities and simultaneously a creator of great characters and an assured story-teller.” - Bill Kirton

  I thank you kindly, Mr Kirton.
  Finally, John J. Gaynard reviewed AZC at length over on Good Reads, in the process invoking the post-structuralism of Derrida and Lacan, as you do, with the gist running thusly:

“A challenging, pleasing, provocative, wise-cracking read … ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL contains more than enough material for a couple of thousand conventional novels … In his first novel, EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, Burke demonstrated his mastery of the hard-bitten, wise-cracking noir novel and he has, so far, made his name in the framework of Irish crime fiction. With this novel, he has moved into a larger, perhaps more challenging, league. Where does Declan Burke go from here? Will he slip back into the genre of the crime novel, or will he pick up another gauntlet, and become Ireland’s answer to Michel Houellebecq? ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL shows that if he does decide to write the great tragi-comic Irish 21st century novel, it is a task for which he is well-equipped.” - John J. Gaynard

  Personally, I’d disagree with that last line, although it’s a very nice thing for Mr Gaynard to say . What’s most resonant there, though, is the line, ‘Will he slip back into the genre of the crime novel …?’ That’s because I’m currently redrafting a novel that’s a far more straightforward crime novel than AZC; in fact, it’s a sequel to EIGHTBALL BOOGIE. I didn’t have to pick that book to redraft, because there’s two or three other stories I could be working on right now, but I eventually decided to rewrite the current story because, having played around with narrative and all the rest in AZC, I felt like I wanted to prove to myself that I could play a straight-ish bat when required. It’s also true that AZC has been reviewed on more than one occasion along the lines of its ‘transcending the genre’, which is not a phrase that I’ve ever taken to, and I suppose I wanted to make a statement of sorts, with the current story, that I started out writing crime novels because I love the crime novel, and that I’ll always be a crime novelist, no matter how I try to bend the tropes and conventions out of shape.
  Anyway, that was the week that was. Here’s hoping next week is every bit as roller-coastery. As the Chinese say, may you live in interesting times …