The Embiggened O # 9,012: Some Weeks Are Better Than Others

Yep, it’s feast or famine here at the coal-face of independent publishing, folks. Not only did Reed Farrel Coleman give us a serious hup-ya yesterday, but Bill Crider has been kind enough to plug us on his blog – we’ll bring you the gory details when modesty prevails – AND the latest issue of Crime Spree Magazine has weighed in with a review, courtesy of uber-fox Jennifer Jordan (right). The juicy bits runneth thusly:

“It takes some big cojones for a writer to slap a title like [THE BIG O] on a piece of crime fiction. With Declan Burke, there is no lack in the cojones department. For those that have partaken in Burke’s EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, this book is utterly different. Burke has grown as a writer and THE BIG O is everything fans of dark, fast, tightly woven crime fiction could want … What could be an overly complicated and confusing book is well structured and well paced. By using clearly marked narrative separation, Burke skilfully lets the reader know what is going on with the entire cast, event by event. He does this seamlessly and with mordant humour. As each scene unfolds, tension mounts and hilarity ensues. And guess as the reader might, there is no way to predict how the finale will unfold.”

Jen? If we weren’t already married, you’d be applying for a restraining order right about now. Meanwhile, two of the generous souls over at Shots Mag – aka Ali Karim and Tony Black – have seen fit to post up a feature about our humble offering over at their interweb page thingagummy, lobbing us into the middle of some distinctly dubious-looking company that includes Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, Cathi Unsworth and Robert Ferrigno. Consider our gob well and truly smacked. As for our gast, well, it’s never had a flabbering quite like it …

“No, WE’RE Brian. And So Are Our Lovely Mothers-In-Law.”

Mike Ripley, blogging over at Shots Mag, has some rather (ahem) cross words about crucifixion, to wit:

“Now I hate to be a spoilsport, but by Midsummer Day this year I had already read three crime novels involving crucifixion (Ken Bruen, Allan Guthrie and Frenchman Arnaud Delalande, you know who you are.) … I can understand the gruesome appeal of this method of execution, widely attributed to the Roman Empire, although they borrowed the technique from the Greeks, who had in turn stolen the idea from the Persians. But enough is enough. Can’t we just look on the bright side of life for once?”

Mike? You just might want to avert your eyes from Paul Charles’ forthcoming The Dust of Death, and Brian McGilloway’s 2008 follow-up to Borderlands, Gallows Lane. Meanwhile, can anyone out there nail down (ouch) any more examples of crime fiction crucifixions? The comment box is officially open, people …

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moths

The momentum behind ex-boxer Nick Stone’s (right) King of Swords is becoming well-nigh irresistible, folks. Over at The Rap Sheet they report that Nick’s debut, Mr Clarinet, is making its debut bow in the States courtesy of William Morrow, and that it’s already been nominated for a Best First Novel by the International Thriller Writers crew (winners to be announced mid-July, during ThrillerFest in NY). Meanwhile, Penguin’s UK editor Beverly Cousins is throwing her entirely metaphorical weight behind King of Swords over at Shots Mag, to wit: “It is a masterpiece of crime fiction, rivalling some of the greats of the genre for my favourite thriller of all time.” Criminy! If you fancy catching up on the whys and wherefores of Mr Clarinet before King of Swords appears, Peter Wild interviews Nick over at Book Munch, while Pulp Pusher is threatening to publish a Nick Stone short story in the next issue of its ezine. Where does Nick get the time to shave that beautiful dome, eh?