Unexpected Inspiration by David Mark

Today’s guest blog is by David Mark whose third novel, SORROW BOUND, has just been released to critical acclaim. The novelist explains how inspiration can strike in the unlikeliest of places and at unexpected times.

I think I was on my way to Bridlington. Life gets you like that, sometimes. You’ll be at home, watching a Poirot for the umpteenth time, and your brain hands you the suggestion “go to Bridlington”. So we did. Me, my partner, and a couple of dogs. Set off up the coast road in the Suzuki with a pint of coffee and a Kit-Kat. We didn’t make it, of course. You never make it to Bridlington. A tractor breaks down or a boy-racer has a crash or another part of the East Coast tumbles into the sea before you’ve got halfway. In many ways, trying to get to Bridlington is a metaphor for life.

On this particular day, we’d got tired of sitting in traffic. We weren’t even halfway. One of the dogs was whining for a pee. So we turned inland. Drove down a few country roads and tried to find somewhere vaguely pretty to go for a walk. We failed. So we scaled back on our ambitious criteria, and instead we stopped at the first lay-by that offered a place for the dogs (and me) to relieve ourselves.

That place was the tiny little village of Watton, a mile or two from the teeming metropolis of Hutton Cranswick, which is not too far from the Capitalist emblems of Driffield and Wetwang. Remote? A tad. But it has a bloody good lay-by.

We took a walk down a little footpath. I remember there were trees on either side that met above our heads, making it feel a little like walking through a green tunnel. There were a lot of flies. My partner nettled her ankles. There was dog muck. And then we were in a field and I was looking at an abandoned building with its roof open to the sky and barbed wire snaking around its crumbling remains. It half obscured the stunning manor house behind it. I could hear the sound of water trickling over stones. There was a little church to my right and the ground was damp and tangled.

About thirty seconds later, I had a plot.

It happens that way, sometimes. Writers carry snippets of stories in our heads all the time,

but there’s a big difference between a story and a book. At that time, and in that place, Sorrow Bound crashed into my skull like a fist. It sent me reeling. I saw the whole damn thing. Saw the manor house transformed into an expensive mental hospital. Saw the red-brick building beneath the lime trees burning at the hands of an escaped patient. I saw a family screaming. Saw a showdown in the darkness beneath a sky teeming with rain.

I managed to get a signal on my mobile phone and Googled my location. Serendipity smiled. This place had seen blood. An abbey had stood here, home to both nuns and monks. It had seen scandal when two of the residents fell in love. A monk had been dealt with by the nuns in an eye-water manner and left to bleed to death while the unborn baby miraculously disappeared. It had been a site of pilgrimage for centuries. And the big manor house belonged to a Tory MP. Oh I could have some fun with this ….

So I wrote it. I went home, opened up a Word document, and started writing. Five months later, I put the final full-stop and realised it has been a while since I’d had a pee or a sandwich. But I’d written the third in the McAvoy series. That was about 18 months ago. It’s on shelves now. It’s being downloaded. People are picking up copies with their groceries and I’m talking about it in bookshops and libraries and on radio stations.

Surreal? I’m way past that. My whole life has been decidedly peculiar since the moment my friend and agent Oli Munson broke the news that people were decidedly interested in my first book, Dark Winter. It got weirder when Richard and Judy picked it for their book club and Val McDermid picked me for the New Blood panel at Harrogate. I’m on the organising committee now. My heroes are my friends. My first book is being adapted for TV and I just saw a bus go past with a huge banner on the side advertising my second paperback, Original Skin.

Right now I’m sitting in my office at my house in North Lincolnshire and trying to decide whether I should sketch out a character background for the villain in the fifth McAvoy book (Dead Pretty, out in 2016) or go and watch a cowboy film on Channel 4. Inspiration has already hit me for that one. I’ll fill you in on the mad story behind book four when it comes out next year. For now, I can only suggest that you read Sorrow Bound and remember that it all started with an abortive trip to Bridlington and a dog that needed a pee.

David Mark’s SORROW BOUND was published by Quercus on 3 April, hardback £16.99

More information about David Mark and his writing can be found on his website.  He can also be found on Facebook or on Twitter @DavidMarkwriter

Win Tickets to the New Blood Panel at Harrogate Crime Festival!

Anya Lipska, has been selected by Val McDermid to appear on her New Blood Panel at this year's Theakstons Crime Festival in Harrogate and to celebrate the occasion, The Friday Project is offering the chance to win a pair of tickets to the event.

To enter the competition, answer the following question:  

What is the name of the fictional Polish private investigator in Anya Lipska's debut novel Where the Devil Can't Go?  

The pair of tickets can be sent anywhere in the UK.  They will allow entry for two people to the New Blood Panel, taking place at The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate, at 12 noon on Saturday 20 July 2013 - for full details of the panel and other festival events click here http://harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/crime/events/

The prize does not include travel, accommodation or other expenses that the winners incur in attending the festival.  Answers to the competition should be sent to shotscomp@yahoo.co.uk.

Please remember to include your full contact details.

The closing date for the competition is Thursday 8 July 2013.

The Relentless American

I’ve enjoyed Simon Kernick’s crime and thrillers for over a decade now, being energized by his early police procedurals featuring corrupt cop [turned hit-man] Dennis Milne. Simon debuted with ‘The Business of Dying’ in 1991, and followed up his furious London-based police action with The Murder Exchange, A Good Day to Die and The Crime Trade. I always wonder where the time went, as I recall vividly going to my first Bouchercon in 2003 with Simon in Las Vegas. We also went, with Sarah Weinman to the very first Harrogate crime writing festival in the same year. We found time to record a lengthy interview with Paul Johnston at the last Dead-on-Deansgate Crime Convention, meet up and interviewed Lawrence Block when he was presented with the Diamond Dagger Award by the British Crime Writers Association. We even went to a waste oil recycling plant in the East End of London. Our visit to this industrial plant was integral to the plot of one of his novels. During the visit, the hard-man of crime fiction felt somewhat queasy due to the pervading stench produced in the chemical process.

Simon changed writing direction radically in 2007 turning his hand away from the police procedural into thriller territory, with Relentless, a novel printed on solidified adrenaline. It was greeted to great acclaim winning the Richard and Judy Award in 2007, other winners in the crime and thriller category have been R J Ellory [A Quiet Belief in Angels], Linwood Barclay [No Time for Goodbye], Gregg Hurwitz [You’re Next] among others. The Richard and Judy Award in the UK is akin to the Oprah Winfrey Book Club awards.

So while at Harrogate earlier this year I got talking to Simon asking when would his thrillers finally surface in US; as several of my American colleagues were asking when they could access these titles, so I asked Simon to let us know -

Relentless, which is released on ebook in the US on September 18th at a special introductory price of $2.99, is my fifth novel, and my first one published in the States for seven years. I’ve recently signed a four book deal with Simon & Schuster, which will see Relentless and The Last Ten Seconds out in ebook this year, before my latest, Siege, is released in paperback next spring.

And I’ve got to say, after all this time it’s good to be back. I’ve still got a lot of readers and friends in the US from the time when my early books were published, and I’m looking forward to renewing acquaintances. I’ve also had a huge amount of encouragement from American writers like Harlan Coben and Lee Child, who’ve said some really nice things about my work, so I’m hoping to reach a lot more people with the books this time round.

Relentless is a good great one to be starting with too, as it was my breakout book. To date it’s sold over 400,000 copies in the UK, and 300,000 more copies overseas. It’s a high-octane, twisting and turning, thriller about an ordinary suburban man, Tom Meron, who suddenly finds himself on the run from a group of ruthless killers. With his wife missing, and wanted for murder, Tom only has hours to find out why he’s being targeted before his luck runs out.

Take a look at it. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Following Relentless, he continued his thriller theme with Severed which was based upon a nightmare Kernick suffered, which he detailed here. Long known for his late nights and drinking, one night when Mike Stotter, Micheal Marshall, Simon Kernick and I were drinking late at the opening party on Thursday at Crimefest 2008; at 4am Friday Morning, the Shots Editor-in–Chief Mike Stotter asked if [when Simon had the nightmare that lead to the plot of Relentless] he had wet his bed? We all roared laughing, especially Simon, as he has very good sense of humour, something he deploys to bring relief to the unbearable tension he ratchets up in this thriller novels. 

Though full of life and fun, Simon Kernick takes his writing very seriously, and is on the board at The Crime Writers Association and always working hard promoting literacy.

I urge you to explore the threatening world of Simon Kernick’s thrillers now that they are available in the US in eBook editions.

More information is available here

Top Photo of Richard and Judy Award Winners Linwood Barclay and Simon Kernick at Theakston’s Crime Writing Festival Harrogate  © 2011 A Karim 

Bottom Photo of Simon Kernick being interviewed by ITV3 at Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival 2011

Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival – Harrogate day 3 & 4

The third day of the festival started with an interview of the best-selling author Tess Gerritsen. The interviewer was broadcaster Dame Jenni Murray. Once again a phenomenal success it was clear that she is still a firm favourite. One just had to look at the massive queue of people who waited patiently to get their books signed. The queue was so long that I wisely waited until the end before getting my copy of her latest book signed.

Under the able hands of Andrew Taylor the panel The Outer Limits took a look at the phenomena that is the growing popularity of novels, which blend paranormal elements with crime fiction.

One of the most anticipated panels was the New Blood panel. Once again introduced by Val McDermid who is well known for championing debut novelists, the members of New Blood panel this year were SJ Watson whose novel Before I go to Sleep has been receiving rave reviews since it was published earlier this year. Julia Crouch whose first novel Cuckoo delivers a psychological chill, Gordon Ferris whose novel The Hanging Shed was a major success initially as an eBook before being published in print form. The final member of the panel was Melanie McGrath whose novel White Heat is set in Alaska. As interesting as the panel was and it was extremely good, in my opinion the most fascinating thing was watching Val McDermid dancing to Madonna’s Like a Virgin on stage!

Some of the other panels that took place in the afternoon included Legal Eagles, which featured MR Hall, Frances Fyfield, Martin Edwards and Helen Black. The panel were accused of bringing their profession into the world of the fictional courtroom. It was up to Peter McCormick whose is the senior partner at McCormick Solicitors to act as judge. One of the most intriguing panels off the afternoon was Vice Society. Authors James McCreet, Val McDermid and Adam Creed were joined by Jackie Malton (the real life inspiration Jane Tennyson) panel as they discussed the depiction of sex and vice in crime fiction. The panel as moderated by S J Parrish.

The early evening panel saw David Baldacci in conversation with Joseph Finder.

One of the highlights of the conference saw MC Beaton celebrate her 75^th Birthday. The celebration was done in conjunction with the Criminal Consequences Dinner. Tables were hosted by crime writers which included Helen Black, C J Box, Alison Bruce, Charles Cumming, Christa Faust, James Forrester, James McCreet and Danny Miller to name a few. With the help of the crime writer on the table the other guests on each table played a game of Criminal Consequences.

Prior to the quiz taking place late on Saturday night special guest Lee Child braved Room 101 to declare what his crime writing pet hates were. So what went into Room 101? For starters bad reviews. Lee particularly mentioned Persuader (book 7) in the series, which had received a number of bad reviews. It was not that Lee had a problem with bad reviews it was more along the lines of the fact that the bad reviews did not make sense and were more akin to someone not willing to write a constructive review.

The next one that did not actually make it into Room 101 was author’s who lie about themselves. The others included authors who describe their characters who are looking at their reflection in a mirror and those who actually say, “there is a murder”. Listening to Lee Child was extremely good fun and interesting. He regaled us about the time that he met President Obama who bummed a cigarette off him and also enlightened us all as to why Reacher is rootless! As he explained, it is an alternative to a rooted series and he wanted to be different from everyone else. As can be expected there was a massive queue of people wanting to get their books signed by Lee Child.

Val McDermid and Mark Billingham hosted the late night quiz. Sadly, the Shots team that was made up of myself, Ali Karim and his wife Muriel, his son Alex and daughter Miriam and author Joseph Finder did not win. We did however have a fantastic time.

As usual after the quiz everyone congregated either in the bar or outside (the weather was so good) and stayed up talking to the small hours.

The Final Day

Surprisingly, I did not have too late a night on Saturday thus I was able to get up bright and early for the final two events. The first event saw authors CJ Box whose books are set in Wyoming, Anne Zouroudi (Greece); Urban Waites (Seattle) & Elly Griffiths (Norfolk) discuss under the title No Place Like Home their different series. All the authors set their books in different locations and they have each managed to stake their own claim on their specific area. The panel was moderated by author Laura Wilson who also sets her books in London.

Of course the one event that I am sure that everyone was looking forward to was special guest Dennis Lehane being interviewed by 2012 programming Chair Mark Billingham. It was standing room only for this event. Dennis Lehane who is known for being the author of such novels as Gone Baby Gone, Shutter Island and Mystic River spoke in a wide ranging interview about his work. He talked about his background, what drew him to writing, the reason why he stopped writing the Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro series and what made him decide to go back to them after a 10 year break and write Moonlight Mile. He also spoke about his work on the acclaimed HBO television series The Wire. The interview was extremely well received and one could tell not solely because it was packed but also due to the way in which he received an ovation.

So what were the highlights! I am not going to say because I think it will be unfair. The whole festival was a brilliant well run affair. What I can say is that it was lovely to catch up with the delightful Christa Faust and if you have not read her novel Money Shot then you should do so. Katy Wild the Editorial Director of Hard Case Crime and the large number of reviewers and bloggers that were also in attendance.

The one thing I will admit to is losing my voice late on Sunday. It was a shame because it was not due to excess alcohol but rather me laughing and talking so much!

If the way in which the festival was run this year is anything to go by then 2012 will be smashing! Mark Billingham will be the Chair and a number of the special guests have already been announced. These are Harlan Coben, John Connolly and Charlaine Harris. The festival is due to take place between 19 & 22 July 2012. So book the date in your diary.

One must not of course forget to say a big thank you to Sharon Canavar and Erica Morris along with the rest of the team for putting on such a fabulous event.

Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Harrogate Day 2

Friday 22 July was the second day of Theakstons Old Peculair and it certainly started with a bang. The first event was Martina Cole being interviewed by the 2011 Programming Chair Dreda Say Mitchell. They could not have started the full day off with a better event. Martina Cole was a brilliant interviewee. Via some interesting questioning Dreda Say Mitchell managed to illicit some very interesting bits of information from Martina. She talked about her books (she was 21 when she wrote her first book), her television work (she has done programmes on girl gangs and female serial killers), her television production country, her work in prisons and the adaptation of her books for television. Her interview certainly went down a storm with those attendees that turned up for the 9am start.

The Old Blood panel that took place was a look back on what had happened to some authors that had taken part in the festival’s renowned “New Blood” panel. The authors who took part were Nick Stone whose third book Voodoo Eyes has just been published, Mark Mills, Allan Guthrie and Cathi Unsworth. With Martyn Waites as the moderator it was a freewheeling event that saw the authors discussing topics such as self-publication, what had changed for them, eBooks and writing in general.

A CWA/ Thriller Award event also took place on Friday where a number of awards were given out and long-lists announced.

CWA Chair Peter James said: “Crime fiction is today more popular throughout the western world than any other form of fiction writing. This is because through this medium the authors write in depth and with the greatest intelligence about human life, the human condition, and issues that affect the lives of each and every one of us. That is what great writing always has been about and always will be.”

The winners, presented here with the judges’ comments, are as follows:

THE CWA INTERNATIONAL DAGGER

For crime, thriller, suspense or spy fiction novels which have been translated into English from their original language, for UK publication between June 1 2010 and May 31 2011. Prize money £1000 for the author and £500 for the translator.

Winner

Three Seconds by Anders Roslund & Börge Hellström, Tr. Kari Dickson (Quercus)

Judges’ comments: The Swedish duo’s usual maverick cop takes a back seat to a riveting exploration of a deniable operation involving an undercover agent deep inside a criminal organisation. Their new character, doomed to betrayal by political manoeuvring, fights for his life with great intelligence and courage.

Shortlisted

The Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri, Tr. Stephen Sartarelli, (Mantle)

Needle in a Haystack by Ernesto Mallo, Tr. Jethro Soutar (Bitter Lemon Press)

The Saint-Florentin Murders by Jean-François Parot, Tr. Howard Curtis (Gallic)

River of Shadows by Valerio Varesi, Tr. Joseph Farrell (Maclehose)

Death on a Galician Shore by Domingo Villar, Tr. Sonia Soto (Abacus)

THE CWA GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

Any non-fiction work on a real-life crime theme or a closely-related subject by an author of any nationality, as long as the book was first published in the UK in English between between 1^st June 2010 and 31^st May 2011. Prize money £1000.

Winner

The Killer of Little Shepherds by Douglas Starr (Simon & Schuster)

Judges’ comments

The judges were this year very impressed with the quality of the seventeen submissions for the Non-Fiction Gold Dagger. The subjects were particularly notable for their international coverage; not only the United States and Britain, but also France, Japan, Mexico, Spain and Bali. The winner of this year’s dagger is commended for its excellent style and its appeal to the general reader. The judges would like to give a honourable mention to In The Place of Justice by Wilbert Rideau (Profile).

.

Shortlisted

In The Place of Justice by Wilbert Rideau (Profile)

The Invention of Murder by Judith Flanders (HarperPress)

Slaughter on a Snowy Morn by Colin Evans (Icon Books)

The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo (Michael Joseph)

Mr Briggs’ Hat by Kate Colquhoun (Little, Brown)

CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER

Any crime short story first published in the UK in English in a publication that pays for contributions, or broadcast in the UK in return for payment, between 1^st June, 2010 and 31^st May, 2011. Prize money £500.

Winner

Homework by Phil Lovesey - The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime Vol 8 - Ed Maxim Jakubowski (Constable and Robinson)

Judges’ comments – A cleverly structured piece with clever narration allying character situations to Hamlet. A neat and original study of relationships and revenge taking the form of a girl’s school project that gradually reveals to us the devious game that she was up to.

Commended (second place)

East Of Suez, West Of Charing Cross Road by John Lawton (Corvus) from Agents Of Treachery edited by Otto Penzler.

Judges’ comments – Funny and enjoyable tale with a sense of mischief that is set against the solid historical background of the Cold War and the slow crumbling of the Empire

Third place

The Dead Club by Michael Palmer and Daniel Palmer (Corvus) from First Thrills edited by Lee Child.

Judges’ comments – An inventive game of chance with a medical background, which is not as it seems and proving that what goes on in Las Vegas does not always stay in Las Vegas.

Shortlisted

The Princess of Felony Flats - by Bill Cameron - First Thrills - Ed. Lee Child - (Atlantic Books)
Wednesday’s Child by Ken Bruen - First Thrills - Ed. Lee Child (Atlantic Books)

CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY

Sponsored by The Random House Group.

Nominated and judged by librarians and awarded to an author for a body of work, not one single title. Prize money £1,500 plus £300 to a participating library readers’ group.

Winner

Mo Hayder

Judges’ comments

Twisting, hard-hitting crime novels with a haunting emotional pull on the reader. Damaged detective Jack Caffery and police diver Flea Marley are one of the best pairings in current crime writing with each story leaving fans clamouring for more.

Shortlisted

SJ Bolton

RJ Ellory

Jason Goodwin

Susan Hill

Philip Kerr

CWA DEBUT DAGGER

Sponsored by Orion

The Debut Dagger is a new-writing competition open to anyone writing in the English language who has not yet had a novel published commercially. First prize is £700 plus two free tickets to the prestigious CWA Dagger Awards. All shortlisted entrants receive a generous selection of crime novels and professional assessments of their entries, and have also been invited to the Dagger Awards presentations.

Winner

What Hidden Lies – Michele Rowe (South Africa)

A tense psychological mystery set on the spectacular Cape Town coast.

Michele is a scriptwriter for television and film. Projects she has researched, originated, written or directed have been nominated for, or won, various International awards. This is her first novel.

Judges comments: Fluid and descriptive writing with an attractive setting.

Highly commended

The Outrageous Behaviour of Left-Handed Dwarves – Graham Brack (UK)

Sunderland born Graham Brack works as a pharmacist. He has produced plenty of technical writing but this is his first work of fiction (unless you count the answer to question 4 in his final paper in pharmacology)

Judges comments: Appealing lead character and a fresh and interesting setting.

Shortlist

A Burial Place for Strangers – Sharon Hunt (Canada)

A Quiet Night in Entebbe – Peter Wynn Norris (UK)

A Vicious Indulgence – Annie Hauxwell (Australia)

Biographies of a Victim – Gunnar Lange-Nielsen (Norway)

Hide and Seek – Sarah Darby (UK)

Men of the Rose – Jessica Ramage (UK)

The Boy Who Loved Penguins – SWC Webb (UK)

The Greengrocers and Fruiterers’ Convention – Martin Ungless (UK)

The Temp – Luke Melia (UK)

Unveiled Threats – Stephanie Light (UK)

At the ceremony the Short list for the John Creasey Award was also announced. The shortlisted authors are –

The Dogs of Rome by Conor Fitzgerald

The Dead Women of Juarez by Sam Hawken

The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly

Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson

Sister by Rosalind Lupton

Or The Bull Kills You by Jason Webster

Kiss Me Quick by Danny Miller

Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

The Shortlist for the Steel Dagger was also announced and the nominated authors are –

The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming (HarperCollins)

The Cobra by Frederick Forsyth (Bantam)

The Good Son by Michael Gruber (Atlantic Books)

The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton (Orion)

An Agent of Deceit by Chris Morgan-Jones (Mantle)

Cold Rain by Craig Smith (Myrmidon)

Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson (Transworld)

Savages by Don Winslow (Heinemann)

The nominated authors for the Gold Dagger –

The Gold Dagger nominations are

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Thomas Franklin

The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton

Snowdrops by Andy Miller

The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina

The Hanging Hill by Mo Hayder

Cypress House by Michael Koryta

The Lost Daughter by Lucretia Grindle

White Heat by MJ McGrath

Other panels took place and I rather sadly managed to miss Linwood Barclay in Conversation with Lisa Gardner as I ended up going out to dinner with the lovely people at Constable and Robinson. I did however get the opportunity to chat to debut author Danny Miller who has been shortlisted for the John Creasey Award. I also later on in the evening spoke to Conor FitzGerald who has also be shortlisted for the same award. Conor arrived on time to hear the announcement from his home in Rome where he has lived for 20 years.

The big draw for the evening was however Howard Marks. There was an extremely long queue of people who turned up to listen to the former drug dealer talk about his former life and his debut novel. His autobiography Mr Nice was recently adapted for film.

As can be expected lots of us stayed up until really late catching up and chatting. There were a lot of people who were there for the long haul and it was nearly 2am when I wandered back to my hotel. It was clearly evident and I am in no doubt that the mingling and drinking would be going on for quite some time.