Job:- Author/ Member Fun' Lovin' Crime Writers,
Website: https//www.markbillingham.com
Facebook: MarkBillinghamAuthor
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Introduction:
Mark Billingham is an award winning crime writer. His first novel Sleepyhead was published in 2001 and introduced readers to Tom Thorne. So far there are 18 books in the series. He has twice won the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year. In 2004 with Lazybones and in 2009 with Death Message.
In 2010 Sky 1's adaptation of Thorne was broadcast with actor David Morrissey as Tom Thorne.
He has been nominated and won a various number of awards. His second Thorne book Scaredy Cat which was published in 2002 won the Sherlock Holmes award for best Detective Novel created by a UK author. It was also nominated for the CWA Gold Dagger. His 2005 novel Lifeless was nominated for the BCA Crime Thriller of the Year.
He is also the author of a number of standalone novels and short stories. His standalone novel In The Dark was nominated for the Gold Dagger in 2009. It was also made into a television series by the BBC in 2017.
2023 saw the start of a new series with the novel The Last Dance which features Declan Miller a rather unlikely hero who is a detective, dancer and has no respect for author. The second book in the series The Wrong Hands was published earlier this year.
He was inducted into the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2011. Mark Billingham has been shortlisted 3 times for the CWA Dagger in the Library in 2015, 2019 winning the award in 2022.
After taking part in an open mic session in The House of Blues in New Orleans in 2016 whilst attending Bouchercon along with Stuart Neville and Doug Johnstone Fun Lovin' Crime Writers came into being in 2017 with the additional members being Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre and Luca Veste. They have so far twice played at Glastonbury.
Current book? (This can either be the current book that you are reading or writing or both)
My current read is the forthcoming novel by Chris Brookmyre, who was one of the speakers at last year’s St Hilda’s. The Cracked Mirror is a truly extraordinary detective novel which is blowing my mind in the very best way possible.
Favourite song:
On any other day, I might have chosen Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell, God Only Knows by the Beach Boys or He Stopped Loving Her Today by George Jones, but instead I’m going to cheat (ever so slightly) by picking my favourite single. It’s the double A-side released by the Beatles in 1967: Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever. Two incredible songs, one by Lennon and one by McCartney, combined on the greatest 45 rpm masterpiece in music history.
Which two musicians would you invite to dinner and why?
Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney, although I would be too awestruck and quivering with Fanboyish glee to say anything much beyond, “Twiglets, anyone?”
How do you relax?
I play the guitar (not as well as I should), I play poker (probably somewhat better than is good for me), I read and I listen to music from the 70s and early 80s.
Which book do you wish you had written and why?
Well, there’s that book about a boy wizard which did fairly well…but setting financial remuneration aside, if I’d written The Maltese Falcon I could go to my grave a happy man. Still fizzing and fat-free almost a century after it was published, it remains a masterclass in characterisation and dialogue and is one of those refreshing narratives in which pretty much everyone is morally corrupt to one degree or another.
What would you say to your younger self if you were just starting out as a writer.
It wasn’t as if I was particularly young when I started, but I would definitely tell that middle-aged me to make his central character younger. Oh, and that stepping out of your comfort zone is usually a very good idea.
How would you describe your latest published book?
The Wrong Hands is the second in a new series, featuring Blackpool-based detective, widower, rat-fancier and ballroom dancer, Declan Miller. Like its predecessor, it’s lighter in tone than my earlier books; dare I say it…tragi-comic. So, there are jokes for which I probably should apologise but refuse to, along with a foxtrot or two, a psychotic welder and a weaponised Cadbury’s crème egg.
With A Dance to the Music of Crime: the artful crime to murder being the theme at St Hilda's this year, which are you three favourite albums?
In no particular order: Revolver by the Beatles, This Year’s Model by Elvis Costello and The River by Bruce Springsteen.
If you were given the ability to join a band which, would it be and why?
Well, I’ve been given (just) enough ability to be a member of The Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, which enables me to live out rockstar fantasies alongside my pals, Chris Brookmyre, Luca Veste, Doug Johnstone, Stuart Neville and Val McDermid. But if I could join ANY band…? It would obviously be the Beatles, but then I’d instantly ruin it because it wouldn’t be the Beatles anymore and I’d be the weak link that would destroy the greatest band in history. So, I’ll probably just stick with the FLCW…
If you were to re-attend a concert, which would it be and why?
I saw Springsteen in 1981 in Birmingham on the River tour. It was an amazing show, with the Boss at the height of his powers playing almost every track from what remains a favourite album. Pete Townshend came on towards the end! I’d like to go back simply to experience again those three (or was it even four) unbelievably exciting hours.
What are you looking forward to at St Hilda's?
All of the sessions sound unmissable, but as always, at any gathering of crime writers and readers, it’s the conversations before and after the sessions that will probably be the highlight. Hanging out with friends, colleagues and lovers of our genre is rarely anything less than a joy.
This is one case Miller won't want to open . . . unconventional Detective Declan Miller has a problem. Still desperate to solve the murder of his wife, a young man has just appeared on his doorstep with a briefcase . . . containing a pair of severed hands. Miller knows this case is proof of a contract killing commissioned by local ne'er do well Wayne Cutler - a man he suspects might also be responsible for his wife's death. Now Miller has leverage, but unfortunately he also has something that both Cutler and a villainous fast-food kingpin are desperate to get hold of. Chuck in a Midsomer Murders - obsessed hitman, a psychotic welder and a woman driven over the edge by a wayward Crème Egg, and Miller is in a mess that even he might not be able to dance his way out of.
Information about 2024 St Hilda's College Crime Fiction Weekend and how to book online.
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