On Mammoths And Woolly Thinking

I was thinking of writing a post full of mock-bluster and bravado about the inclusion of a story of mine in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST BRITISH CRIME 8 (ed. Maxim Jakubowski), claiming that, all things considered (other than the fact that I’m not actually British, unless you’re talking about how the UK and Ireland together make up the British Isles), I’m perfectly entitled to consider myself on a par with very fine writers like Ian Rankin, Colin Bateman, Kate Atkinson, Simon Kernick, Louise Welsh, Andrew Taylor, et al.
  I’m not, of course. I’m long way off par with those writers, and many others in the compilation, and all false modesty aside, I’m not entitled to delude myself that I am either.
  That said, it’s a massive shot in the arm. Not a shot of confidence, but the far more dangerous speedball-style blend of hope and conviction. Because the story wasn’t written as a conventional crime story, and remains, to me at least, something of an oddity - and right now, I have a novel out on spec that wasn’t written as a conventional crime novel, and is something of an oddity. And not only that, but I’m currently in the early stages of rewriting a novel that wasn’t written as a crime novel, which looks as if it too will become - my best intentions of lashing it into genre straitjacket notwithstanding - something a little off-kilter.
  And while it’s a massive leap of faith to believe that the publication of one story will necessarily lead to the publication of a novel, or novels, the inclusion of my story in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST BRITISH CRIME 8 offers just enough hope to give me the courage of my convictions.
  They do say, of course, that it’s the hope that kills you in the end …
  Anyway, I’m off back to the writing. In the meantime, here’s the full rundown on THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST BRITISH CRIME 8 - and congrats, by the way, to fellow Irish Brits Gerard Brennan and The Artist Formerly Known as Colin Bateman on their inclusion:

The must-have annual anthology for every crime fiction fan – the year’s top new British short stories selected by leading crime critic Maxim Jakubowski. This great annual covers the full range of mystery fiction, from noir and hardboiled crime to ingenious puzzles and amateur sleuthing. Packed with top names such as: Ian Rankin (including a new Rebus), Alexander McCall Smith, David Hewson, Christopher Brookmyre, Simon Kernick, A.L. Kennedy, Louise Walsh, Kate Atkinson, Colin Bateman, Stuart McBride and Andrew Taylor. The full list of contributors is as follows: Sheila Quigley, Nigel Bird, Jay Stringer, Paul D. Brazill, Adrian Magson, Colin Bateman, Gerard Brennan, Matthew J. Elliott, Andrew Taylor, Lin Anderson, Christopher Brookmyre, Ray Banks, Declan Burke, Liza Cody, Simon Kernick, Stuart MacBride, Allan Guthrie, Ian Rankin (two stories, including a new Rebus), Nick Quantrill, Edward Marston, Nicholas Royle, Zoe Sharp, Robert Barnard, Simon Brett, Peter Lovesey, A.L. Kennedy, Roz Southey, Phil Lovesey, David Hewson, Amy Myers, Marilyn Todd, Peter Turnbull, Keith McCarthy, Alexander McCall Smith, Stephen Booth, Denise Mina, Mick Herron, Kate Atkinson and Louise Welsh.

Lock ‘N’ Load

Sean Black publishes DEADLOCK this month, the follow-up to last year’s LOCKDOWN, which tome garnered the following paeans:

“Sean Black writes like a punch in the gut. Funny, tough, and furiously paced, LOCKDOWN explodes off the page.” -- Jesse Kellerman

“A thrilling debut that locks you in and loads up the tension.” -- Simon Kernick

“Sean Black writes with the pace of Lee Child and the heart of Harlan Coben.” -- Joseph Finder

  All of which is very nice indeed. Meanwhile, the blurb elves have been wibbling thusly about DEADLOCK:

His mission should have been straightforward: to keep one man alive for one week. One prisoner - super-intelligent and brutally violent, Frank ‘Reaper’ Hays is a leading member of America’s most powerful white supremacist prison gang. One bodyguard - ex-military bodyguard Ryan Lock has been hired to protect him. His mission is to keep Reaper alive for a week until he can be brought to trial. One week to stay alive - but Lock soon realises that he faces the toughest assignment of his career - just to survive ...

  Call me a cynic, but I’m betting he makes it …

Newsflash: Ruth Dud In ‘No Dud’ Shocker!

Yesterday’s CWA nominations for best crime writing threw up very few Irish nominees, surprisingly enough, given that 2009 was a particularly fertile year for Irish crime fiction, although the New Blood, Ian Fleming Steel and Gold Dagger nomination lists won’t be published until later in the year, so hopefully we’ll see a nod or two when they appear.
  In the meantime we’ll have to console ourselves with the news that Ruth ‘Cuddly’ Dudley Edwards has received a nod in the Non-Fiction category for her monumental work, AFTERMATH: THE OMAGH BOMBING. The book also made the longlist for this year’s Orwell Prize, but didn’t make the shortlist, so here’s hoping the CWA peeps do the right thing.
  Meanwhile, it’s hearty congratulations to Declan Hughes and Brian McGilloway, who yesterday made the long-list for the Theakstons Old Peculier ‘Crime Novel of the Year’ Award, for THE DYING BREED and GALLOWS LANE, respectively. Strange to say, but these award nominations are a little frustrating, given that both Hughes and McGilloway have published new titles in the last month or so, both of which are - in my rarely humble opinion - superior to their previous offerings. In other words, and fine novels though THE DYING BREED and GALLOWS LANE undoubtedly are, you’d rather see the chaps judged on where they are now rather than where they were then. Anyway, it looks like it’ll be a pretty tough competition: also making the longlist are Val McDermid, Mark Billingham, Ian Rankin, Peter James, Peter Robinson and Simon Kernick, among others. For more, clickety-click here …
  Finally, the paperback release of Gene Kerrigan’s DARK TIMES IN THE CITY gets a nice big-up from Arminta Wallace in today’s Irish Times, with the gist running thusly:

“Gene Kerrigan’s third novel, following LITTLE CRIMINALS and THE MIDNIGHT CHOIR, is another intelligent, highly readable instalment of the kind of urban neo-noir that is fast making Dublin as recognisable to readers of crime fiction worldwide as is Ian Rankin’s Edinburgh.”

  For the rest, clickety-click here …

Black Is The Colour Of My True Love’s Pseudonym

Yet another week, yet another Irish crime fiction writer … Sean Black’s debut LOCK DOWN is published by Transworld Ireland in July (smashing cover, right), and already it’s attracted some heavyweight big-ups. To wit:

“Sean Black writes like a punch in the gut. Funny, tough, and furiously paced, LOCK DOWN explodes off the page.” – Jesse Kellerman

“A thrilling debut that locks you in and loads up the tension.” – Simon Kernick

  Mmmmm, nice. So what’s it all about, then? Quoth the blurb elves:

It may be Christmas in New York, but for ex-soldier turned elite bodyguard Ryan Lock it’s business as usual: his mission is to protect one of America’s most ruthless businessmen. A bloody shoot-out - suddenly gunshots ring out. People run for cover. Innocent people are mown down. Amid the chaos, Lock’s hunt for the killers turns into an explosive game of cat and mouse. A deadly secret - Lock’s search for the truth takes him from the rooftops of a New York skyscraper to a heavily fortified warehouse on the Hudson where he confronts one of the world’s most dangerous women. As the clock ticks towards midnight on New Year’s Eve, all routes into and out of Manhattan are sealed, and Lock realizes that not only is his own life in terrible danger but so are the lives of millions of others ...

  Sean Black isn’t actually Irish, as it happens, and he isn’t even ‘Sean Black’, but he lives here, he sounds as if he could be Irish, and we’re not overly fussy and / or pedantic about such things, especially since the Good Friday Agreement pretty much says you can be Irish if you close your eyes and wish to be Irish whilst clicking your red kitten-heels together.
  Anyway, that’s Sean Black, Benjamin Black and Ingrid Black … all Irish crime writers, and all pseudonyms. Isn’t it time we had a pseudonymic White? Eh?

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?”: Martin Edwards

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?
A FATAL INVERSION by Ruth Rendell. Absolutely brilliant.
What fictional character would you most like to have been?
Maybe Dr Watson. Quite something to observe genius at such close quarters. I’d have said Paul Temple, but I couldn’t cope with all those dry Martinis.
Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
Agatha Christie and the much less well known Golden Age plotsmith Rupert Penny. Much pleasure, minimal guilt.
Most satisfying writing moment?
Last week (believe it or not) when I was at the CWA Dagger Awards and Lesley Horton announced that I’d won the award for best short story of the year, ahead of the likes of Michael Connelly and Laura Lippman. The stuff of dreams.
The best Irish crime novel is …?
I’m not very well read in Irish crime, to my shame, but THE SILVER SWAN by John Banville is a very good piece of writing.
What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
BORDERLANDS by Brian McGilloway.
Worst / best thing about being a writer?
Worst: The vagaries of the publishing business, especially the focus on celebrities and the depressing neglect and often abandonment of countless good ‘mid-list’ writers. Best: Readers and reviewers who really ‘get’ what I'm trying to do with my writing.
The pitch for your next book is …?
Dr Crippen tells how it really was
Who are you reading right now?
Simon Kernick’s SEVERED and Andrew Taylor’s BLEEDING HEART SQUARE.
God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?
Aaaaaghhh. Write. I think ...
The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Entertaining; getting better.

Martin Edwards’ WATERLOO SUNSET is published by Allison & Busby

Book ’Er, Danno

Femme fatale Sandra Ruttan’s (right) spanking new website, At Central Booking – ‘For Those Committed to a Life of Crime’ – goes live sometime around now, with the results of the inaugural Spinetingler Awards going up on the board at some point today, if we’re not very much mistaken, which we very frequently are. A sprawling, epic offering, At Central Booking features a host of devilishly clever ways of winkling information out of writers, including Lie Detector, Video Surveillance, Snitch, Death Row, Repeat Offenders and Parole Board. Among the contributors are Sandra herself, Russel D. McLean, John McFetridge and the Grand Vizier of Crime Always Pays, Declan Burke, but don’t let that put you off because the site is already featuring pieces about / from writers such as Simon Kernick (hurrah!), Tess Gerritsen (woo-whoo!!), Anne Frasier (hot diggety-damn!!!) and Ray Banks (erm, boo). Do yourself a favour and scoot yourself on over to At Central Booking (or ACB, as we in the trade like to call it), and leave, y’know, disparaging comments about Ray Banks, Canadians and that veritable prince of no-mark wastreling, Declan Burke. Trust us, you’ll feel a whole lot better about yourself once you get it off your chest …