My TWO articles in the Canvas magazine of today's Weekend Herald (New Zealand's biggest newspaper)

It was certainly a nice way to start what is a lovely blue-skied winter weekend here in Auckland, by popping out to the dairy (our term for a convenience store, for those with a puzzled expression on their faces) to pick up the weekend newspaper.

After a bit of a hiatus, I've started writing author features for the Weekend Herald (the weekend edition of the largest-circulation newspaper in New Zealand) again. In fact, I've got several features coming out over the next few weeks. It's great to see crime fiction getting decent coverage in such an important Kiwi newspaper - UK-based Stephen Jewell also regularly writes some great crime fiction author interviews for the Canvas magazine (the glossy lifestyle etc supplement to the Weekend Herald that includes the books section).

I've also started with a bit of a bang. In this weekend's Canvas, I have TWO articles; a large feature on mystery maestro James Lee Burke (pictured above), and a book review of THE FALLEN, the debut thriller from nascent Kiwi crime writer Ben Sanders, a 20-year-old Auckland engineering student, that is released this coming week.

If you're in the northern part of New Zealand, I hope you grab a copy of the Weekend Herald and have a read. Let me know what you think. It was an absolute privilege to interview James Lee Burke, and I only help my feature, "Philosopher of Crime" does the old master justice.

As for those of you outside of the Herald's distribution area, as I noted recently thanks to the generosity of Linda Herrick, the Books Editor for the Herald, I am now able to republish my Canvas magazine articles on Crime Watch (as its a glossy supplement, the articles usually aren't put online by the Herald). As such, I will republish the full James Lee Burke feature "Philosopher of Crime" here later this week. In the meantime, to give you taste, here's a short snippet from my story:

"Burke’s eighteenth and latest Robicheaux novel, The Glass Rainbow (released in New Zealand next week), is ostensibly the reason for our interview, but just like his rich and layered tales themselves, my conversation with Burke ends up being a bit deeper and more philosophical, and laced with history, politics, social commentary, and literary references.

Throughout, the 73-year-old laughs easily and often, almost explosively at times. He is unfailing polite, yet not at all stuffy or formal. He answers the phone with a jovial “Is this New Zealand calling?” then tells me to call him “Jim”. Down-to-earth and humble, his soft-spoken manner and measured cadence belie some strident opinions when it comes to several things he cares deeply about, including the environment, “people of humble origin”, and the purpose and importance of art."

As for my review of Ben Sanders' debut, THE FALLEN, I really enjoyed his first Sean Devereaux tale. Regardless of his age, it's very slick and well-written crime, with some very nice touches throughout. Hopefully readers here will give it a go; I think they'll be pleased if they do.

You can read a synopsis/blurb for THE FALLEN here.

As with the James Lee Burke feature, I will republish my Weekend Herald review of THE FALLEN online here on Crime Watch later this coming week.

In the meantime, here's my concluding comment from the 500+ word review: "The young man from the North Shore has added to the mounting evidence that New Zealand can produce native, compelling crime fiction to match the international offerings readers buy and enjoy in droves".

Come on - did any of you really expect me to write a review of a well-written Kiwi crime novel for the biggest newspaper in the country (who rarely do such longer reviews of crime titles - usually just doing snippet round-ups) without getting in a comment about the state of the genre here in general? I couldn't resist, especially since it's 100 % true.

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So, what do you think of my double-feature, so to speak, in Canvas/The Weekend Herald today? Are you a James Lee Burke fan? Do you like crime writers who layer in more than just fast-moving plot and action? Do you like the sound of THE FALLEN? Is Kiwi crime really on the rise, or am I just deluded? I'd love to read what you think. Please share your thoughts.

Acclaimed crime novel reimagines Ernest Hemingway's death as a murder mystery

I was tootling around on the Internet today, as you do, when I stumbled across an interesting news story about an Ohio crime writer who re-imagined Ernest Hemingway's famed suicide death for his latest crime novel, PRINT THE LEGEND, which was published earlier this year.

It got me thinking a little about weaving reality into fiction, and the use of real-life characters in crime fiction. Some authors do this, and some completely refrain (even having fictional versions of famous people in minor roles, like the current President in the novel, etc). What do you think of novelists who use reality in their work?

According to the Columbus Dispatch, author Craig McDonald writes crime novels that are really "sardonic examinations of the way history - particularly literary history - is rewritten by the survivors" In PRINT THE LEGEND, McDonald (who was an Edgar and Anthony nominee for his 2007 debut, HEAD GAMES) brings back his protagonist Hector Lassiter, a crime novelist himself, in a re-examination of Hemingway's suicide.

The blurb for PRINT THE LEGEND reads:

"It was the shot heard 'round the world: On July 2, 1961, Ernest Hemingway died from a shotgun blast to the head.

It's 1965: two men have come to Idaho to confront the widow Hemingway—men who have doubts about the true circumstances of Hemingway's death. One is crime novelist Hector Lassiter, the oldest and best of Hem's friends...the last man standing of the Lost Generation. Hector has heard intimations of some surviving Hemingway manuscripts: a "lost" chapter of A Moveable Feast and a full-length manuscript written by a deluded Hemingway that Hector fears might compromise or harm his own reputation. What Hector finds are pieces of his own, long-ago stolen writings, now in danger of being foisted upon an unsuspecting public as Ernest Hemingway's work.

The other man is scholar Richard Paulson, a man with a dark agenda who sets out to prove that Mary Hemingway murdered Papa. Paulson and his young, pregnant wife Hannah, herself an aspiring writer, travel to Idaho to interview Mrs. Hemingway who believes Paulson has come to write her hagiography. As Hector digs into the mystery of his and Hemingway's lost writings, he uncovers an audacious, decades-long conspiracy tied to J. Edgar Hoover's FBI.

A literary thriller about Hemingway's death and the patina that perceived suicide lends the author's legend...an exploration of the sinister shadow play and co-dependence that binds authors and their academics...a novel that could forever change how readers regard the death of Ernest Hemingway. When legend becomes fact, print the legend."

You can read an excerpt from PRINT THE LEGEND here.

You can see a YouTube trailer about the book here:



I hadn't even heard of McDonald before today, but he's got some great praise from writers like Michael Connelly and Laura Lippman, among many others. And it's an intriguing premise.

Cool song in the YoutTube video too. Might have to try to dig out who it's by... update: I believe the song is The Sun is Rising (Help Me Son) by Mickey Newbury.

What do you think of authors weaving fact and fiction together in this way? Have you read PRINT THE LEGEND or any of Craig McDonald's other Hector Lassiter books? Do you like the idea of a Hemingway-tinged crime novel? Thoughts and comments welcome.

9mm: An interview with Faye Kellerman

Welcome to the latest instalment in Crime Watch's ongoing series of quickfire author interviews; 9mm - 9 MurderMystery questions put to a variety of New Zealand and international crime, thriller, and mystery authors. I hope you're enjoying the series. Thanks to all of the authors who've generously given their time, allowing us to have such a magnificent and ever-expanding line-up of fantastic participants.

Thanks also to all of you Crime Watch readers who took the time to place some feedback about the series as a whole. Feel free to place more comments and give more suggestions - I'm always open to hearing what the readers of this blog want to read about.

For the 26th instalment in the 9mm series, Crime Watch is featuring popular international bestseller Faye Kellerman, matriarch of the high-achieving Kellerman family of writers, and creator of a series starring Jewish couple Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus. Faye Kellerman debuted back in 1986 with THE RITUAL BATH, which won the Macavity Award for the Best First Novel from the Mystery Readers of America. There have been another 17 books in the Decker/Lazarus series since, along with several other standalone novels (including two co-written with her husband, fellow bestseller Jonathan Kellerman).

Faye is also the mother of authors Jesse Kellerman (SUNSTROKE, THE EXECUTOR etc) and Aliza Kellerman (PRISM). What a remarkable family! I was fortunate enough to interview both Faye and Jonathan (by phone from their LA home) late last year for an article that appeared in the February 2010 issue of Good Reading magazine. Despite their massive success and remarkable achievements, both were completely down-to-earth, generous with their time, laughed easily, and were a lot of fun to chat to. I could feel a real passion for books, writing, and life in general, coming down the phone line.

Hopefully we will see Faye (and perhaps some of the rest of her family too) back down here in New Zealand for a tour at some stage in the future - it has been a while since she has visited. But for now, Faye Kellerman stares down the barrel of 9mm.

The Crime Watch 9mm Author Interview: Faye Kellerman

Who is your favourite recurring crime fiction hero/detective?
Besides Alex Delaware who is my absolute favorite I love Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone and James Lee Burke – Dave Robicheaux

What was the very first book you remember reading and really loving, and why?
The first book I remember reading as a very young child was Blueberries for Sal - A picture book that I now read to my granddaughter.

The first real book I remember reading were the Laura Ingalls Wilder series – Little House in the Big Woods.

Before your debut crime novel, what else had you written (if anything;) unpublished manuscripts, short stories, articles?
I was a math major and have a DDS in Dentistry. Writing came later.

Outside of writing, and touring and promotional commitments, what do you really like to do, leisure and activity-wise?
I love to garden. Growing things is great because it takes time, effort and patience – but not too much patience especially if you do starts. I also love puzzles and I love to go hear live music. Lately, Jonathan and I have began with formal dance lessons. We both really enjoy that.

What is one thing that visitors to your hometown should do, that isn't in the tourist brochures, or perhaps they wouldn’t initially consider?
LA has some great gardens . Things are always in season here and it’s well worth the visit to check them out. We also have wonderful canyons and mountain hiking trails. And of course, we have the Pacific Ocean. We also have the typical bars and clubs for more of a night life.

If your life was a movie, which actor could you see playing you?
No one. And that’s the honest truth. I’m not much of a movie person to begin with. I do like the smaller or independent movie. We’re in Santa Fe at current and the city has two independent movies theaters. They always play interesting stuff. Sometimes it’s terrible, but more often the films are different and thought provoking.

Of your books, which is your favourite, and why?
I honestly don’t have a favorite. It’s like asking which of your children do you like the most.

What was your initial reaction, and how did you celebrate, when you were first accepted for publication? Or when you first saw your debut story in book form on a bookseller’s shelf?
Golly, that was a long time ago,. I don’t even remember exactly what we did, but I will tell you that when I’m done with a book, I still get a charge out of it. The commercial part is nice but it is very much associated with work and stock signings. My favorite thing is fan feedback. I appreciate each and every one who enjoys my books.

What is the strangest or most unusual experience you have had at a book signing, author event, or literary festival?
Usually they’re really pretty straight-forward. The fans are just great, God bless each and every one of them. I do remember a signing I had at a fan festival in Germany. Beforehand they had a trivia quiz on my books. The people who played the game knew WAY more about my books than I did. It was weird having a jeopardy of things you made up.

I also remember speaking in Dallas, having to hurry things along because a massive storm was about to hit. I also remember being driven in a tropical storm/hurricane where there were just sheets of rain banging down at the windshield of the car. You could not see an inch in front of you. The driver was completely stoic.

Thank you Faye Kellerman. We appreciate you taking the time to talk with Crime Watch.

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So what do you think of this 9mm interview? Have you read Faye Kellerman's Decker and Lazarus series? Or any of her (or her husband, son, or daughter's) other novels? What do you think? Do you enjoy the way she weaves her Jewish culture into her crime tales? What do you think of a family of four successful writers? Please share your thoughts...

Currently Reading: SLAUGHTER FALLS by Alix Bosco

After reading quite a few international titles recently, I've turned my attention back home to locally-based writers in the past few days. Over the weekend I read DEATH IN THE KINGDOM by Andrew Grant. I really enjoyed it (review will follow soon), and was very tempted to immediately go onto the next in the Daniel Swann series, SINGAPORE SLING SHOT - which looks equally enthralling - when Alix Bosco's upcoming SLAUGHTER FALLS arrived on my desk.

I couldn't resist starting this upcoming book immediately, so right now I'm reading the second in Bosco's Anna Markunas series. As I've noted before here on Crime Watch, Alix Bosco is a pseudonym for a "successful writer in other media", reportedly based in Auckland.

In SLAUGHTER FALLS, "when Anna Markunas comes to Brisbane to watch a rugby test, two members of her tour party die sudden, violent deaths. Anna tries to track down the elusive family of one man, but each discovery about his past leads her further into the dark world of Queensland's corrupt underbelly. Soon Anna is running for her life – she has discovered the secrets of those who will stop at nothing to silence her."

I enjoyed Bosco's debut, CUT & RUN, last year. You can read my review here.

I've been in touch with Bosco's publicist, and hope to be able to bring you an interview with her soon. She hasn't really done any/many media interviews yet (wanting to keep her privacy behind the pseudonym), but I'm hoping she'll agree to an email interview, to be published on Crime Watch. So keep an eye out for that potential exclusive.

Did you read CUT & RUN? Are you looking forward to giving SLAUGHTER FALLS a go? What do you think of Bosco's Kiwi-set crime thrillers? Thoughts and comments welcome.

What book/author deserves the 2010 CWA Gold Dagger?

Well it was pretty full-on this past weekend in terms of crime writing in Britain, thanks to the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.


Along with all the magnificent events being held (including events with NZ-based authors Paul Cleave and Liam McIlvanney), soon-to-visit-New Zealand author RJ Ellory scooped the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, the winners of several of the 2010 CWA Daggers were announced (including Johan Theorin winning the International Dagger), and the shortlists for three of the biggest Dagger Awards were announced: the CWA Gold Dagger; the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger; and the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger.

Today I wanted to focus on the shortlisted authors and books for the CWA Gold Dagger, being:

CWA GOLD DAGGER 2010

• Blacklands, Belinda Bauer (Corgi)
• Blood Harvest, S J Bolton (Bantam Press)
• Conman, Richard Asplin (No Exit Press)
• Rain Gods, James Lee Burke (Orion)
• Shadowplay, Karen Campbell (Hodder & Stoughton)
• The Strange Case of the Composer and his Judge, Patricia Duncker (Bloomsbury)
• Still Midnight, Denise Mina (Orion)
• The Way Home, George Pelecanos (Orion)
  

According to the CWA press release, "the finalists in each category will be announced on Monday 9th August to coincide with the launch of the completely integrated Crime Thriller promotional period which will see posters and stickered books in shops and supermarkets, coverage in the press, and trailers on ITV1 and ITV3" in the leadup to the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards on ITV3 later this year. ITV3 will also start a six-week run of brand new crime and thriller documentaries on Tuesday 31st August. These hour-long documentaries will focus on TV’s greatest detectives and showcase the shortlisted books in the other categories.

In this major new TV campaign, in the six weeks leading up to The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2010, the British public will get the chance to vote for their favourite TV detective of all time. Over the six-week season of documentaries on ITV3, twelve different fictional detectives will be profiled - each of them a nominee for ‘The People’s Detective’ Dagger, which will be presented at The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards.


I will of course be blogging more about this latter point in future. It should be interesting, especially to compare the results with the 'World's Favourite Detective' competition run by Jen Forbus of Jen's Book Thoughts earlier this year (won by Harry Bosch).

But for now, who do you think should win the CWA Gold Dagger (considered by some to be the Oscar of crime writing)? Which books have you read? Which do you intend to read? Who would you like to see win? Please share your thoughts...

9mm Quickfire Author Interviews: Taking stock

Well yesterday the Crime Watch 9mm series celebrated its 25th instalment, when the multi-talented Stella Duffy, who grew up in the rural North Island of New Zealand, was featured. The series has now been running for four months, so I thought now might be an opportune time to pause for reflection, look back on all the great interviewees thusfar, and get some feedback on how to make it even better in future.

I've got to be honest, when I started the series in March, I never really thought I'd get to 25 interviewees this quickly, nor that I'd be going so well with my goals of mixing up the big-name international bestsellers with local authors and lesser-knowns from here and overseas. I'm pretty happy with the series overall, and would just like to say thank you to all the authors who've generously given their time to be part of the series, and answered all the 9mm questions, no matter how random they may seem at times.

There are already some great future instalments 'in the can' so to speak, including 9mm interviews with James Lee Burke, Mark Gimenez and PD James (I know, I've been talking about the latter one for a while - I've been saving it to publish on the day of her 90th birthday), and some others already organised on the horizon, including with Michael Connelly, Peter Robinson and Michael Robotham. I'm fairly confident I will soon also be able to provide 9mm interviews with Peter James, RJ Ellory, Val McDermid, Simon Kernick, Paul Thomas, Liam McIlvanney and Neil Cross - all of whom I will be meeting in the coming couple of months at the 2010 The Press Christchurch Writers Festival or other New Zealand events.

The 25 published 9mm interviews thusfar are:

1. Lee Child
2. Paddy Richardson
3. Jack Kerley
4. Paul Cleave
5. Margot Kinberg
6. Vanda Symon
7. Dennis Palumbo
8. Andrew Grant
9. Rob Kitchin
10. Linwood Barclay
11. Lou Allin
12. Declan Burke
13. Craig Russell
14. Joan Druett
15. Martin Edwards
16. Shamini Flint
17. Gregg Hurwitz
18. C. George Muller
19. John Connolly
20. Roy Vaughn
21. Mark Billingham
22. Stuart MacBride
23. Michael Koryta
24. David Carnoy
25. Stella Duffy
    

A FEW OBSERVATIONS:

• Gender split: we've had 18 male authors and seven female ones (although out of the first 16 interviews the split was a more even 10/6 ), so clearly I need to work harder to include more female crime and thriller writers moving forward. Other than upcoming interviews with PD James and Val McDermid, I have also been in touch with Lisa Unger, Faye Kellerman and Donna Moore, so hopefully that will help kick-start a better balance.
• NZ and international: this is also an 18/7 split, or 17/8, depending whether you count Stella Duffy as a Kiwi author. That probably isn't too bad (and isn't as much of an issue as the gender split), but still, a good reminder that I should keep up my earlier efforts to sprinkle as many Kiwi authors throughout the series as possible - since they may not be covered as much elsewhere, unlike the big-name international bestsellers. Including female Kiwi writers like Lindy Kelly, Dorothy Fowler, Cat Connor, Jeannie McLean and Alix Bosco will obviously help on both fronts.
• Geographic/national diversity: so far there have been seven New Zealand-based authors (the equal most of any country, which mitigates the above issue I guess), seven US-based authors, three Irish authors, three England-based authors, two Canadians, two Scottish authors, and one from Singapore. Seven countries isn't too bad, but I could definitely improve the diversity on this front. Clearly I need to target a few Australian authors, along with some from continental Europe, Asia, South America and Africa (although language differences will hamper things slightly with these latter regions).
  

So those are some of my thoughts, given the series so far. What are yours? What do you think of the mix? Who have been your favourite interviewees? Who would you most like to see join the series? How could it be improved? I'd really love to have your feedback, so please share your thoughts, and leave a comment or two.

Forgotten Kiwi crime writer: Elizabeth Messenger

As I noted last week, and some of you would no doubt have already been aware of, for some time now I have been gradually searching out lesser-known Kiwi crime, mystery and thriller writers from both modern times and days gone by (and where possible, acquiring some of their books). It has been quite a surprising journey, especially as I have come across several lesser-known or otherwise forgotten Kiwi writers who produced several crime novels in their time. Many were even quite popular, but have now been largely (completely?) forgotten.

Regular readers may recall the completely unexpected comments and happenings that eventuated after I stumbled across the works of Wellington writer Laurie Mantell (five Steve Arrow murder mysteries, 1978-1984, plus a standalone in the lates 1990s) earlier this year, and I have also previously touched on the likes of Freda Bream (who while retired published 13 murder mysteries starring the Rev Jabal Jarrett between 1982-1997), Edmund Bohan (who wrote five historic Inspector O'Rorke novels between 1996-2003), and Carol Dawber (who wrote three Top of the South-set mysteries around the same period), amongst several others.

Another such forgotten author I recently 'discovered' thanks to a fair bit of random Internet and second-hand bookstore browsing, is Elizabeth Messenger, who wrote several crime thrillers in the late 1950s and early/mid 1960s. Messenger was a journalist, cookery writer, and crime novelist (you can read a full bio here) born in the Coromandel in 1908. According to the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Messenger's thrillers, "which she produced at the rate of one or two a year from 1958, were set in tourist spots such as the Marlborough Sounds (Murder stalks the bay), Lake Taupo (Material witness) and the Bay of Islands (A heap of trouble)."

Like most Kiwi writers of the time, and many of the 'genre' writers in much more recent times, Messenger was published by an overseas publisher (Robert Hale in London). "Elizabeth Messenger’s novels, once popular enough to be serialised and translated into other languages, are now difficult to obtain," says DNZB.

I've certainly found that - even after trawling through countless online and real-life second-hand bookstores, and regularly searching the Internet and other resources as part of my unofficial research into New Zealand crime, mystery, and thriller writing, I only just found out about her recently. Now that I've been alerted, and can search in a more precise way, I've managed to get hold of a couple of her books, including A HEAP OF TROUBLE (pictured above), and am in the process of acquiring a couple more. But copies are pretty hard to find.

According to the cover jacket of my copy of A HEAP OF TROUBLE, Messenger also wrote:

• MURDER STALKS THE BAY
• MATERIAL WITNESS
• DIVE DEEP FOR DEATH
• LIGHT ON MURDER
• THE WRONG WAY TO DIE (this is the other one I already have)
• PUBLICITY FOR MURDER; and
• GOLDEN DAWNS THE SUN.

Thanks to the back cover of a V.Merle Grayland book from the same era, I've also discovered another Elizabeth Messenger 'Crime and Detection' title; YOU WON'T NEED A COAT.

Have any of you heard of Elizabeth Messenger? Read any of her work? Do you like stumbling over long-forgotten crime writers? Seeing the difference between crime writing then and now? Thoughts and comments welcome.

9mm: An interview with Stella Duffy

Welcome to the latest instalment in Crime Watch's ongoing series of quickfire author interviews; 9mm - 9 MurderMystery questions put to a variety of New Zealand and international crime, thriller, and mystery authors. I hope you're enjoying the series.

Today is something of a mini-milestone, marking the 25th instalment in our regular series of quickfire author interviews. Given the series has been going for just on four months, this isn't too bad I think - close to three interviewees every fortnight on average - and certainly the calibre and breadth of the authors involved is much more than I could have imagined or hoped for when I started the series in March.

I'll be doing a 9mm overview post this week, so please take the opportunity to give some feedback as to what you've liked/disliked, and how I could make the ongoing series even better in future.

For the 25th instalment in the 9mm series, Crime Watch is featuring the mult-talented Stella Duffy, who grew up in the small rural town of Tokoroa in New Zealand (a town revolving largely around the forestry industry). From a crime-writing perspective, Duffy is most famous for her Saz Martin series. However Duffy is also a writer of other ‘styles’ of books, an actress, comedian and improviser, and has also written for radio. She is the author of twelve novels (five in the Saz Martin series), over thirty stories, and eight plays.

Duffy' novel STATE OF HAPPINESS was longlisted for the 2004 Orange Prize. She has also worked on screenplays and teleplays, and co-edited the crime collection TART NOIR with Lauren Henderson (Duffy’s story in that collection, “Martha Grace”, won the 2002 CWA Short Story Award). She was the Stonewall Writer of the Year in 2008 for THE ROOM OF LOST THINGS.

Her latest work (released just last month) is THEODORA: ACTRESS, EMPRESS, WHORE, a novel based on the story of Theodora of Constantinople, who "rose from nothing to become the most powerful woman in the history of Byzantine Rome", and became a saint of the Orthodox Church. The book has been receiving some great reviews. In a recent review in The Guardian, Tom Holland said "Duffy certainly makes the most of her material: not only is Theodora herself engagingly brought to life as a sassy, wise-cracking tart with a heart, but Constantinople, the great imperial capital whose crowds she woos and seduces, is also a pulsingly vivid presence."

Duffy also blogs about writing and life in general at "Not Writing But Blogging".

But for now, Stella Duffy stares down the barrel of 9mm...

The Crime Watch 9mm Author Interview:

STELLA DUFFY

Who is your favourite recurring crime fiction hero/detective?

Very fond of Marlowe. Also read a lot of Miss Marple as a kid (not Poirot, think I was looking for girl role models and Hercule doesn't quite manage 'lady' as well as Miss M!), and - speaking of girl role models - I devoured the Trixie Belden books when I was a kid (buying them from Tokoroa Mackenzies if I remember rightly), hardly known at all in the UK where Nancy Drew (soppy and posh as far as I was concerned) got much more of a look in, the Trixie books were a staple for me from about age 8 to 12/13.

What was the very first book you remember reading and really loving, and why?

Wow, that's hard. Possibly the Magic Roundabout book, which I still have. Was also very fond of the big hardback/hard pages ABC. And two pop-up books (one about kittens in a flower garden I think) which belonged to my older siblings.

Before your debut crime novel, what else had you written (if anything) -unpublished manuscripts, short stories, articles?

Before coming to UK in 1986 - several plays, parts of plays, revue sketches for Victoria University Drama Club (which a bunch of us re-founded in 1981,and called a club because we thought 'society' sounded too poncey - I see they've changed that now!) We also did the first Vic Uni summer Shakespeare, the Midsummer Night's Dream Adrian Kiernander directed in the summer of 1982/83, I was production asst ... we must have been fairly enterprising youth. After Vic I wrote sketches for a Town & Country Players show at the Depot (as was) in 1984, and then Vital Statistics (women's theatre company)in 1985/86. Then once in UK, was writing (and improvising) more theatre, eventually in about 1989 I started one (unfinished) novel, one short story (published in Me & Marilyn Monroe, Daphne Brassell Assoc - NZ press), and then I wrote my first book which was published fairly quickly. (And the longlist of work I'd written previously, though not novels, might explain whythat 'first' novel was relatively easy to sell - because it certainly wasn't my first writing!)

Outside of writing, and touring and promotional commitments, what do youreally like to do, leisure and activity-wise?

Well, given that I turned my youthful 'hobbies' - theatre and writing - into my work, I don't tend to have a lot of leisure time. My main activity is writing (primarily novels, then stories/theatre, am working on a film idea right now), and so in 'leisure' time I tend to work in theatre. The past few years I've really enjoyed directing (most recently for London-based NZ theatre company Shaky Isles) and also performing (Improbable's Lifegame, this summer, at the Lyric Hammersmith.) I love my garden, so I work on that when I can (40 foot of south London fruit tree idyll, great cherries this year) and cooking, I like to cook.

What is one thing that visitors to your hometown should do, that isn't inthe tourist brochures, or perhaps they wouldn¹t initially consider?

The hometown that is Tokoroa - stop. Don't just drive through (there's moreto SH1 than Taupo). Check out the lakes (Whakamaru, Arapuni, Maraetai), the forests, the people - I gather there's a pretty cool Polynesian festival every year now.

The hometown that is Loughborough Junction/Brixton - stop. Just just get tube/bus through. Brixton market is great, the Red Gate Gallery in Loughborough Junction is cool, the Cambria pub has excellent food, the Rtzy is a fine cinema and has a great balcony for drinks overlooking Windrush Square.

Interestingly, both places loved far more by locals than their reputation might suggest!

If your life was a movie, which actor could you see playing you?

Bette Davis, c All About Eve/Margot Channing, please.

Of your books, which is your favourite, and why?

Always the last book - am really excited about having written my first historical novel in Theodora. In literary terms, The Room of Lost things (about the Brixton/Loughborough Junction) area is probably the 'best' written, and in crime terms, Mouths of Babes is def the best structured of my crime novels, Parallel Lies has the best narrator, and Wavewalker (my 2ndnovel) is the best-most-unsung book!

What was your initial reaction, and how did you celebrate, when you were first accepted for publication? Or when you first saw your debut story in book form on a bookseller's shelf?

I was rehearsing a play in a cold church hall in south London, my then-partner/now-wife Shelley arrived unexpectedly, I excused myself from rehearsal thinking something dreadful must have happened, she'd driven across the city to let me know there'd been a phone call saying Serpent's Tail were going to publish Calendar Girl. I screamed, then went back to rehearsal.

What is the strangest or most unusual experience you have had at a booksigning, author event, or literary festival?

Um ... Being asked to sign a pair of (clean, new!) knickers for someone's sister. Being asked out on a date. Being forced to sit in a book tent along with five other authors when NO ONE was buying any of our books in a French festival, while outside the market and life was all going on, so grabbing US crime writer Vicki Hendrix and forcing her to run off and play with me (US crime writers are far better behaved than UK ones).

Being told repeatedly how great my poetry is, by a (young, drunk) woman who simply would not accept that I wasn't Carol Ann Duffy.

Thank you Stella Duffy. We appreciate you taking the time to talk with Crime Watch.

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So what do you think of this 9mm interview? Of the 25-instalment series (thusfar) as a whole? Have you read Stella Duffy's Saz Martin series? Or any of her other novels? Does the story of Theodora intrigue you? Please share your thoughts and comments.

Larsson joins Patterson atop the e-book heap...

Further to my post earlier this month noting that crime writer James Patterson had been reported as the first author to sell more than 1 million ebooks, news has now come through that another crime writer has become the second author to top the 1 million ebook mark.

Who? Well, who do you think? That's right, the Stieg Larsson juggernaut continues. This past week Hillel Italie of The Associated Press reported that publisher Alfred A. Knopf had said the late Swedish author's blockbuster 'Millennium Trilogy' thrillers have sold more than 1 million copies in the e-book editions. "We are witnessing record-breaking sales for 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' in trade and mass market paperback as well as in audio, so it is not surprising that this trend is being mirrored with e-books," Knopf spokesman Paul Bogaards was reported as saying.

Amazon.com, the biggest player in the growing e-book market, also told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Larsson's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," the first book in the Millennium trilogy, is the all-time top seller on the e-book reading device the Kindle.

Bogaards also backed up a report earlier this week by Amazon that said the Internet retail giant was selling more e-books than hardcovers.

So, what do you think of the e-book (r)evolution? Will it mean the slow death of paper publishing? Or will it be a good thing, leading to more readers and reading overall - and existing alongside traditional print media? Do you like reading onscreen, or prefer 'real' books? Is it just the words and stories that matter, or does the tactile experience play a part too? Thoughts and comments welcome.

Auckland University starts Classic Detective Fiction course

Somehow I missed this, which is a shame because I usually keep an eye on the University of Auckland's Continuing Education courses (I've previously done a couple of travel writing and screenwriting courses there), but this past week a new CCE course on 'Classic Detective Fiction' just began - it's six weeks of night classes on appreciation for the crime fiction genre.

Is it just me, or does crime fiction seem to be slowly creeping into the wider consciousness in New Zealand? Dr Siv Jansson, who teaches English at the University, is taking the course, and "admits to being somewhat of a fanatic herself" when it comes to crime fiction. "This course is an opportunity for her to spend time talking about and sharing her love for her favourite genre."

As Dr Jansson says: “Crime fiction readers are extremely discerning and knowledgeable about their books and I anticipate that I will learn a lot myself during the six weeks of the course. While there will be discussion of form, technique and generic aspects, the course is also a celebration of the pleasure of reading crime fiction.” Should the course prove a success, Dr Jansson plans to follow it with further courses on different aspects of detective fiction.

The 'learning outcomes' for the course are that: "On completion of the course learners will be able to demonstrate a wider knowledge of crime fiction; describe the comparative elements of different crime writers; identify the elements of form, narrative, plot, character and the different strategies of classic and contemporary classic crime fiction."

What I am interested in, is what do you, the knowledgeable crime fiction readers out there, think of the reading list for this course? If you were doing a 6-week course on crime fiction, a kind of introductory, overview course, how would this list of books/topics/examples stack up?

Recommended Reading:

• Marsh, Ngaio, Died in the Wool
• Doyle, Arthur Conan, The hound of the Baskervilles,
• Christie, Agatha, Murder on the Orient Express
• Doyle, Arthur Conan, The adventures of Sherlock Holmes & the memoirs of Sherlock Holmes,
• Christie, Agatha, The murder of Roger Ackroyd
• Hammett, Dashiell, The Maltese falcon
• Chandler, Raymond, Farewell my lovely
• George, Elizabeth, With no one as witness
• James, P. D., Devices and desires
• Mankell, Henning, Before the frost
• Rankin, Ian, The naming of the dead
• Walters, Minette, The ice house
• Reichs, Kathy, 206 Bones

Now of course if you got 100 crime fiction fans in a room and asked them to pick the dozen or so crime novels that should make up an introductory, overview of the genre reading list for such a 6-week night course, you'd probably end up with 100 completely different lists. But overall, what do you think of the list? Is it a good balance, a good spread, even if you'd change a few books here and there?

Personally I think if you're doing a quick overview, then it's got some of the must-haves (Conan Doyle, Christie, Hammett, Chandler, PD James), and it's great they've got a Ngaio Marsh book there too. For modern stuff then Rankin and Mankell are reasonably understandable choices, but I'd question Walters, Reichs and George as being the best representatives of 'modern crime fiction'... especially when there are other authors (eg James Lee Burke, Sarah Paretsky and Michael Connelly, just off the top of my head) who are perhaps much more important and influential to the genre etc.

If there's any weakness in the overall course content/line-up, that would be where I'd see it. But that's just my opinion, and that's the great thing about these types of things. They are great debate starters - and it's the conversation that's more important than the answer.

What do you think of the course? The recommended reading list? Would you take such a night course on appreciation of crime fiction? Thoughts and comments welcome.

Great article on Theakstons winner RJ Ellory in The Guardian

As I noted yesterday, bound-for-New Zealand (on an upcoming author tour, which also takes in our neighbours across the Tasman in Australia) crime writer RJ Ellory has won the 2010 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award at this weekend's crime festival in Harrogate, beating out Crime Watch reader favourites like Tom Rob Smith (CHILD 44) and Mark Billingham (IN THE BLOOD). Ellory won for his novel A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE.

Today (NZT) there is a great article by Alison Flood in The Guardian, with some comments from RJ (Roger) Ellory following his Theakstons win, as well as some very interesting points about the nature and appreciation of crime writing. Flood opens by noting that after "winning four literary awards in France and one in the US, British author RJ Ellory has finally been rewarded in his own country". Ellory was reportedly "completely and utterly gobsmacked and speechless" at his win, after being nominated for several British awards in the past, but never winning.

Describing his style of writing, Ellory says, "The two best descriptions which have ever been levelled at me are that I write human dramas which have crime as a central issue, but are more to do with its consequences on bystanders. And in France one newspaper journalist said I wrote slow motion thrillers, which I thought was a great description".

I also particular like a section of the article where Ellory talks about the lack of strict divide between crime and literary fiction in places like France, and how crime can be about many things - there are so many issues that "you can thread through a crime novel that you can't do with other genres". This is a great point, and one which I've discussed with other crime writers like Gregg Hurwitz, Craig Russell, Linwood Barclay, James Lee Burke, PD James and others. It's something that is overlooked by many reviewers, literarati and academics etc who look down their noses at crime, but is realised by readers and writers.

Ellory says he uses crime to "create a canvas within which I can put my characters through the spectrum of human emotions. That's what fascinates me."

I must say, I'm getting more and more enthusiastic about Ellory's upcoming New Zealand visit - I think he will be wonderful to meet and interview. You can read Flood's full article (highly recommended) here.

So what do you think of RJ Ellory's response to his Theakston win? Of him finally winning an award in Britain? What do you think of his thoughts on crime being a prism for human emotion and stories of many types? I'd love to read your thoughts.

Theorin wins CWA International Dagger!

A couple of hours ago (NZT), the winners of several of the CWA Daggers were announced at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, along with the finalists for the CWA Gold Dagger, the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, and the CWA John Creasy (New Blood) Dagger, the winners of which will be announced at the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2010 later this year.

Here is the press release regarding the winners of the International, Gold (Non-Fiction), Short Story, and Debut Daggers, along with the Dagger in the Library. As a side note, it's a shame that New Zealander Bob Marriott didn't win the Debut Dagger this year, but as has been shown in the past (Louise Penny, Allan Guthrie etc), being shortlisted can be as good as winning, career-wise.

THE CRIME WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION DAGGER AWARDS 2010

The Crime Writers’ Association tonight (Friday July 23) announced the winners of a number of this year’s Daggers - the prestigious awards that celebrate the very best in crime and thriller writing. The winners were announced during an event staged as part of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Harrogate.

The CWA International Dagger for best translated crime novel went to Swedish writer Johan Theorin for The Darkest Room, translated by Marlaine Delargy (Doubleday). This is Theorin’s second Dagger triumph in as many years: last year he scooped the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger for best first novel.

Irish author Ruth Dudley-Edwards won the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction for Aftermath: the Omagh Bombing & the Families’ Pursuit of Justice (Harvill Secker). The judges described it as, ‘an outstandingly good book, vividly told by one of the campaigners.’

Other winners were Ariana Franklin, who won the CWA Dagger in the Library for her Mistress of the Art of Death series of medieval whodunits (Random House). The CWA Short Story Dagger went to "Can You Help Me Out There" by Robert Ferrigno from the anthology Thriller 2, edited by Clive Cussler (Mira). The CWA Debut Dagger, for an author who has not yet had a novel published commercially, was awarded to Patrick Eden for the opening to his atmospheric noir tale A Place of Dying.

The CWA Dagger Awards are the longest established literary awards in the UK and are internationally recognised as a mark of excellence and achievement.

CWA Chair Tom Harper said: “These Daggers recognise every aspect of crime writing, from books which don’t yet have publishers to authors who have already entertained millions. We had high quality shortlists again this year and the winners represent the very best in modern crime writing.”

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 2009 and May 31 2010. Prize money £1000 for the author and £500 for the translator.

Winner
The Darkest Room Johan Theorin Tr. Marlaine Delargy (Doubleday).
Four plot strands whorl around the vortex of an unexplained death. It is impossible to reduce this mysterious novel to ghost story, a police procedural or a gothic tale.

Shortlist:

Badfellas Tonino Benacquista Tr. Emily Read (Bitter Lemon Press).
August Heat Andrea Camilleri Tr. Stephen Sartarelli (Picador).
Hypothermia Arnaldur Indriðason Tr. Victoria Cribb (Harvill Secker).
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest Stieg Larsson Tr. Reg Keeland (MacLehose Press)
Thirteen Hours Deon Meyer, Tr K.L. Seegers (Hodder and Stoughton) - originally written in Afrikaans)

Judges
Ann Cleeves, non-voting chair, is an award-winning crime writer. Karen Meek is a library assistant and founder of the Euro Crime website: http://www.eurocrime.co.uk/ Ruth Morse teaches English Literature at the University of Paris. She is a frequent contributor to the Times Literary Supplement.John Murray-Browne is a bookseller.


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 June 1, 2008 and May 31, 2010. Prize money £2000.

Winner: Aftermath: the Omagh Bombing & the Families’ Pursuit of Justice by Ruth Dudley Edwards (Harvill Secker)

Judges Comments: Outstandingly good book about the landmark case in which bomb victims' families' won a civil case against Irish terrorists (the first such action anywhere). Vividly told by one of the campaigners, an authoritative author who is a long term campaigner against terrorism.

Highly commended: The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi

Shortlist:
David Cesarani: Major Farran’s Hat (Heinemann)
David R. Dow: Killing Time (Heinemann)
Jeff Guinn: Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie & Clyde (Simon & Schuster)
Alex McBride: Defending the Guilty (Penguin/Viking)

Judges
Brian Innes, Chairperson. Graduated in chemistry, and worked for some years in biochemical research. He is the author of over 40 books, mainly on criminal matters, and in 16 foreign languages.

Lesley Grant-Adamson. Lesley Grant-Adamson’s 20 books include crime novels, non-fiction crime, travel, and ‘Writing Crime and Suspense Fiction’. She writes short stories and poetry, teaches creative writing, and was Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at Cambridge.

Don Hale. In 2001 Don won an International Peace Prize, and was voted Journalist of the year. He was later made an OBE for campaigning journalism. His more recent books include the true story of the first Royal Detective – Don’s great grandfather.

Professor Allan Jamieson, Director of the Forensic Institute in Glasgow. Widely recognised as an expert in forensics science, he is also co-editor in chief of Wiley’s Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences.

Helen Pepper. Helen’s first job was with the Forensic Science Service. She currently works as a senior lecturer in Police Studies at Teesside University.

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. There is an additional prize of £300 to spend on books for the reading group who nominates the winner. Three reading groups nominated this year's winner, and therefore share the prize. They are:
Canterbury WI Pageturners - Canterbury, Kent
Henry Bloom Noble Library - Douglas, Isle of Man
Falkirk Library Book Group - Falkirk, Scotland

Winner
Ariana Franklin (Random House)
Wonderful cast of characters. Wears her research lightly and highlights new aspects of the era.

Highly commended: Simon Beckett (Bantam)

Shortlist
R J Ellory (Orion), Mo Hayder (Bantam), Denise Mina (Orion), Chris Simms (Orion)

Judges
John Martin is a veteran librarian in Leicestershire.
Helen McNabb is the stock manager for the Vale of Glamorgan libraries.
Cheney Gardner is the Reader and Community Services Manager at the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames.
Karen Fraser is Customer Service Librarian with Shetland Library, Britain's most northerly library service.
Mark Benjamin (Chair) Worked as a Team Librarian with Northumberland libraries from 1980 until 2009 and is now a freelance online bookseller.
Viki Lagus is developing the library community in South Tyneside.
Deborah Ryan works at RNIB's National Library Service where she manages a team who help blind and partially sighted readers to get the best out of the meagre 5% of books published in accessible formats.

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 1st June, 2009 and 31st May, 2010. Prize money £500.

Winner
"Can You Help Me Out There" by Robert Ferrigno from Thriller 2 edited by Clive Cussler (Mira)
In "Can You Help Me Out There", Robert Ferrigno has showcased an ability to mix humour with suspense along with having a knack for creating villains that make you smile even as they send chills down your spine.

Highly commended:
"The Weapon" by Jeffery Deaver from Thriller 2 edited by Clive Cussler (Mira)

Shortlist
"A Calculated Risk" by Sean Chercover from Thriller 2 edited by Clive Cussler (Mira)
"Boldt's Broken Angel" by Ridley Pearson from Thriller 2 edited by Clive Cussler (Mira)
"Like a Virgin" by Peter Robinson from The Price of Love (Hodder and Stoughton)
"Killing Time" by Jon Land from Thriller 2 edited by Clive Cussler (Mira)
"Protecting the Innocent" by Simon Wood from Thriller 2 edited by Clive Cussler (Mira)

Judges
Ayo Onatade, Chairperson, writes for a number of crime fiction websites including Shotsmag.co.uk, Mystery Women and Crimespree Magazine. Simon Brett is the author of more than eighty books, many of which are crime novels, including the Charles Paris, Mrs Pargeter, Fethering and Blotto and Twinks series. He is also President of the Detection Club.
Adrian Magson is a freelance writer, crime author and reviewer, with more than 300 short stories published in magazines and anthologies in the UK and overseas.

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 £500 plus two free tickets to the prestigious CWA Dagger Awards and a night’s stay for two in a top hotel. 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
A Place of Dying Patrick Eden (UK)
In small town America a boy’s murder rips away the mask of civilised behaviour revealing prejudice and simmering hate. Compelling and emotive with strong characterisation.

Highly Commended
Case No 1 Sandra Graham (Australia)

Shortlist
All the Precious Things Jan Napiorkowski (UK)
A Murder in Mumbles Rick DeMille (USA)
Chinese Whispers Alan Carter (Australia)
In the Lion’s Throat Bob Marriott (New Zealand)
Legacy Rebecca Brodie (UK)
Lockdown Danielle Ramsay (UK)
Pretty Preeti Stephanie Light (India)
Safe Harbour Rosemary McCracken (Canada)
The Beggar’s Opera Peggy Blair (Canada)
The Chameleon Factor Kathleen Stewart (Australia)

Judges
Stefanie Bierwerth – Editorial Director, Michael Joseph
Angus Cargill – Fiction Editor, Faber and Faber
Tom Harper – Chairman, Crime Writers’ Association
Kate Parkin – John Murray (Publishers)
Genevieve Pegg – Senior Commissioning Editor, Orion Publishing
Gordon Wise – Literary agent, Curtis Brown

For press enquiries or more information on the CWA, please visit the website, www.thecwa.co.uk, or contact John Dean at media.enquiries@thecwa.co.uk or Michael Stotter on dagger.liaison@thecwa.co.uk.

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So, what do you think of the winners?

Crime Fiction in the news and on the 'Net: Weekly Round-up

There's been some more great crime fiction stories on the Web this past week - from newspapers, magazines, and fellow bloggers. Hopefully you will all like finding an interesting article or two linked here, that you enjoy reading.


Crime Watch Weekly Round-Up: In the News and on the 'Net

• In a well-written and intriguing feature that is well worth a read, Andrew Taylor of The Independent examines why Agatha Christie remains so popular and influential in the crime genre, when so many people go out of their way to make clear their dislike of her work".
• Corey Hague of ABC.net interviews Australian crime fiction blogger Karen Chisholm about the attraction of crime fiction and the impact of digital publishing and social media.
• K. Austen in the Squamish Chief takes a look at the stories that may have started various 'genres' of storytelling, and asks whether the Egyptian stone tablet recordings of the legend of Osiris and Isis, almost 4,000 years ago, was the first murder mystery?
• The Telegraph reports that Baronness Ruth Rendell has accused television broadcasters of corrupting young people, with the routine broadcast of torture scenes and a tendency to be over-violent on screen.
• In a Sydney Morning Herald opinion piece looking at the place of morality in modern society, columnist Elizabeth Farrelly makes the interesting observation: "Why are crime stories and westerns the most popular fiction genres of all time? Because they dramatise and even (like Dickens) melodramatise the implacable necessity of doing what is right."
• The Washington Post takes a look at how the recent Semana Negra Festival seeks to break down publishing barriers for Spanish-language writers, and aims to lure new readers and prevent existing ones from looking down on crime-writing, science fiction, fantasy and other novel forms often referred to in a dismissive fashion by literary snobs as "genres."
• Tim Oglethorpe of the Daily Mail takes a closer look at the modern-day TV reincarnation of the classic Sherlock Holmes character in the new BBC series Sherlock.
• The Bookseller reports on RJ Ellory's Theakston win, with Simon Theakston, T&R Theakston executive director, calling A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE "a most impressive, fascinating and surprising book and a worthy winner".
• JC Patterson in the Madison County Herald takes a look at the latest releases from two of the biggest-name female crime writers, Tess Gerritsen and Karin Slaughter.

What do you think of the round-up? Which articles do you find interesting? Is TV crime becoming too violent? What do you think of Agatha Christie's status in the genre? Was the legend of Osiris and Isis really the first murder mystery? What types of stories, articles, and reviews would you like me to focus on in future round-ups? Thoughts and comments welcome.

Author soon to tour New Zealand wins Theakston!

As I noted back in May, acclaimed British crime writer RJ Ellory (pictured right) will be touring New Zealand in early September in support of his latest book, SAINTS OF NEW YORK.

Now today (NZT - Thursday night in the UK) news filtered through from the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, England that Ellory's book A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE has won the coveted Theakston's barrel. I should note that although only one of the voters on Crime Watch's 'Who should win the Theakston?' poll voted for this book, I have heard many great comments about Ellory's writing in general - so it's great to see hime given this accolade.

Further to my May email, the specific details of when and where Ellory will be appearing during his four days in New Zealand (8-11 September) are still not available. However a run-down of which cities he will be in on which days has been made available - so keep an eye out for events coming your way if you are in or near any of these locations:

• Auckland, Wednesday September 8
• Nelson & Wellington, Thursday September 9
• Wellington & Dunedin, Friday September 10
• Dunedin & Auckland, Saturday September 11

The blurb for RJ Ellory's Theakston winning novel, A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE, states: "Washington, embroiled in the mid-term elections, did not want to hear about serial killings. But when the newspapers reported a fourth murder, when they gave the killer a name and details of his horrendous crimes, there were few people that could ignore it. Detective Robert Miller is assigned to the case. He and his partner begin the task of correlating and cross-referencing the details of each crime scene. Rapidly things begin to complicate. The victims do not officially exist. Their personal details do not register on any known systems. The harder Miller works, the less it makes sense. And as Miller unearths ever more disturbing facts, he starts to face truths so far-removed from his own reality that he begins to fear for his life. This is a novel about trust, loyalty, and beliefs that are so ingrained which, when challenged, they leave people with nothing."

I don't have a copy of A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE yet, but I do have copies of each of Ellory's latest two books, THE ANNIVERSARY MAN and SAINTS OF NEW YORK (an advance copy of the latter). I'm looking forward to reading both in the lead-up to his New Zealand tour.

Have you read any of RJ Ellory's work? What do you think of him winning the Theakston over the lifes of Mark Billingham's Gold Dagger-shortlisted IN THE DARK and Tom Rob Smith's much-acclaimed and awarded CHILD 44? Are you going to head to any of his events in New Zealand (or Australia and other tour stops)? Thoughts and comments welcome.

Feature on legal thriller writer Mark Gimenez

Today an article based on my recent interview with acclaimed legal thriller writer Mark Gimenez was published in the print issue of NZLawyer magazine (issue 141, 23 July 2010). NZLawyer is the independent magazine of the New Zealand legal profession - distributed to thousands of lawyers, judges, law professors and politicians around New Zealand every fortnight.

I am reprinting the interview-based feature here for your information (since unless you are a Kiwi lawyer, judge or politician, you're unlikely to have access to the print version of NZLawyer magazine - and the review section articles aren't placed online).

Gimenez was a very polite, down-to-earth guy, with a mild Texan accent. He loves sports, his family, law, and writing. I interviewed him by phone (he lives near Fort Worth). I enjoyed his latest book THE ACCUSED, and I'm looking forward to reading some of his earlier work too. He has a good knack for legal thrillers, upturning a few cliches (e.g. the out-to-screw-everyone prosecutor), and creating a page-turning plot.

I hope you enjoy this feature.

Commercial lawyer to criminal attorney: fact and fiction Texan Mark Gimenez may be a property and tax attorney, but it’s his legal thrillers set in the criminal courts that are grabbing attention worldwide, Craig Sisterson discovers

Atticus Finch, that fictional ideal of a lawyer (and perhaps of a human being), has in many ways had some serious influence on Texan lawyer Mark Gimenez’s life. The small-town Alabama attorney at the centre of one-shot novelist Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning To Kill A Mockingbird – which celebrated its fiftieth anniversary earlier this month – has been an inspiration for both of Gimenez’s careers: lawyer, and now acclaimed thriller writer. His soft Southern drawl resonating down the phone line from his home outside of Fort Worth, Gimenez says To Kill A Mockingbird was the first book he remembers reading and really loving. “That book inspired me since I first read it when I was 14 or 15, and I’ve probably read it a dozen times since.”

Gimenez has now written five novels himself, all legal thrillers. His latest, The Accused, was published in New Zealand earlier this year, and marks the return of the lawyer-hero from his acclaimed 2005 debut, The Colour of Law. In The Accused, former big-money corporate lawyer A. Scott Fenney receives a devastating phone call from his ex-wife Rebecca; she’s been arrested for the brutal murder of her boyfriend, the club golf pro turned PGA star she abandoned Fenney and their daughter for years ago. Can Fenney defend the woman who betrayed him? Can he find a way to put aside his still conflicted feelings and try to save his ex-wife from life in prison?

Gimenez, himself a former partner at a big Dallas firm who now fills his working life with commercial, property, and tax law on a project basis (writing thrillers in between big legal projects), admits A. Scott Fenney’s first outing in The Colour of Law was a little bit of an homage to his all-time favourite book, both in terms of basic themes and plot, and the name and traits of its hero. “I worked with a lot of names to come up with A. Scott Fenney,” says Gimenez. “I wanted the name to have a similar rhythm and sound of Atticus Finch.”

A little bit like Finch, who “does wills and things like that and gets appointed to do the criminal case”, in The Colour of Law, Fenney is a commercial lawyer who finds himself appointed by the Court to defend a black defendant in a serious criminal trial – a heroin-addicted hooker accused of murdering the son of a wealthy Texas senator and presidential hopeful. The idea of a commercial lawyer being appointed to represent a criminal defendant may seem bizarre to many lawyers, especially those coming from jurisdictions that have public defenders, but it was in fact quite common in Dallas until fairly recently, says Gimenez. He had such a situation during his days with the big Dallas firm. “I was appointed to represent a woman in a criminal case, and so I went through that process, which of course you’re always worried, ‘My God, is she getting competent counsel? I’m not a criminal defence lawyer’, but I mean, that’s how it was done. So [years later] when I decided to write The Colour of Law, that’s exactly the situation I have, a commercial lawyer is appointed by the Federal Court to represent this indigent criminal defendant.”

Like Finch’s kids, Jem and Scout, Gimenez grew up in a small Southern town – in his case La Marque, Texas (population: 13,700) – but says he never seriously considered becoming a lawyer until he was accepted to several prestigious law schools and his college professors told him “people die to go to those law schools, you have to go”. He ended up earning his JD degree at Notre Dame. “I didn’t know what being a lawyer was about, I had no concept,” he says with a laugh. “When I walked onto the Notre Dame campus I’d never met a lawyer. The only lawyer that I sort of knew was Atticus Finch, and my idea was that I would come back and become a small-town lawyer and a small-time judge, live an Atticus Finch-type life.”

Instead, the chance to more quickly pay off his hefty student loans led to a different legal career at a giant commercial firm (perhaps a fairly recognisable situation for many Kiwi lawyers). “You know, I thought, ‘I’m going to go to this big law firm for just a few years, pay off my debts, and then I’m going back to Hill Country to a small-town’,” says Gimenez with a chuckle. “And of course, once you get going, and you’ve got clients, and you start down a path...”

Gimenez rose through to partner at his large Dallas firm (as an aside, Dallas has approximately twice as many lawyers as the entire New Zealand profession), before eventually heading out on his own. He had started writing some (unpublished) novels near the end of his time at the big Dallas firm, but it wasn’t until his son brought a copy of To Kill A Mockingbird home from school that everything clicked, and The Colour of Law was born. The family were talking about Harper Lee’s book at dinner, and Gimenez’s son asked whether such a situation could happen today – could an innocent person go to prison just because he’s black?

“I remember saying, ‘Well, he would if he’s poor’,” says Gimenez. “It’s the same for a poor person of any colour; a black person, a brown person, a white person. A poor person will go to prison and a rich person will go home. I remember saying ‘the colour of law today is not black and white, it’s green’. When I said that, I thought ‘that’s a story’.” It took Gimenez seven or eight months to write The Colour of Law, six months to find an agent, and only two days to sell it to a publisher. “It was astounding,” he admits. Acclaim quickly followed (unsurprisingly, Gimenez has been favourably compared to the likes of John Grisham), and his writing career took off.

As his global readership has grown, the down-to-earth Texan has found himself fielding complimentary emails from the likes of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, hearing about Bill Clinton giving New York diners a “you’ve got to read this guy” recommendation about his books, meeting the Governor of Texas at a literary event and finding out he’d stayed up late reading The Colour of Law the night before, and even visiting Judge Joyce’s class at Auckland Law School on his last visit to New Zealand in 2008. There has also been talk of making one or more of his books into movies. But despite such success, Gimenez says he has no plans to retire from the law any time soon. “I just closed a ranch deal on Thursday – that sounds like such a Texas deal, doesn’t it? I still practice, and you know, I probably always will. I’ve got clients I’ve had for a long time, and I wouldn’t abandon them.”

A man of principle – just like Atticus Finch.

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What do you think of my feature article? Of Gimenez's comments? Have you read any of his legal thrillers? Do you like courtroom thrillers, in books or on TV/film? Please share your thoughts and comments.

'Tis the season: Upcoming Kiwi crime novels...

Hmm... maybe there's something in the air, but as we start heading towards Spring here in New Zealand, there certainly seems to be some crime fiction momentum building down this way. Along with the upcoming Setting the Stage for Murder event at the upcoming 2010 The Press Christchurch Writers' Festival, where the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel will be announced, and some other great crime/thriller events at the festival, there are also several other international crime fiction authors visiting New Zealand in August and September (RJ Ellory, Val McDermid, Peter Robinson, and Peter James), and there are some new Kiwi crime novels (and authors) hitting the shelves too!

Snowball, anyone?

Today, I thought I'd highlight a couple of the new Kiwi crime releases that will be available very soon - one from a debutant author, and the other the second novel from a 2009 debutant.

Last month I published the press release from HarperCollins about its new author, 20-year-old engineering student Ben Sanders, whose debut crime thriller, THE FALLEN, will be instore 2 August. Now here is the back-cover 'blurb' for THE FALLEN:

"When local cop Sean Devereaux, who enjoys skating close to the edge, does a favour for his attractive neighbour, he unwittingly exposes a web of deceit and corruption.

As he investigates the murder of a 16-year-old Epsom ′princess′ in his day job, his after-hours efforts have him stumbling into the aftermath of a scam involving senior colleagues, and he is soon enmeshed in an escalating cycle of kidnapping, murder and violent mayhem.

With his unconventional ex-colleague-turned-security-specialist John Hale, Devereaux slowly begins to unravel the truth as the body count climbs and the stakes become personal. As an outwardly terse, street-savvy operator, Sean Devereaux emerges as an engaging and irreverent hero, becoming the catalyst for an absorbing, strangely uneasy murder mystery, set in unnervingly familiar surroundings.

A superb blend of international standard crime-writing with a strong local ambience that lures you in and delivers a strong and emotionally satisfying read."

I have read an advance review copy of THE FALLEN, and it is very good read. I won't say any more right at the moment, because I have a 600wd review of the book being published in the Weekend Herald (NZ's biggest-circulation newspaper) in the coming weeks, and I don't want to pre-empt that.

August also sees the return of Alix Bosco and her legal researcher heroine Anna Markunas. This time last year Bosco was in Sanders' shoes, being the new kid on the Kiwi crime writing block, with her very good debut thriller CUT & RUN hitting the local bestseller list. Now she's back with SLAUGHTER FALLS:

"When Anna Markunas comes to Brisbane to watch a rugby test, two members of her tour party die sudden, violent deaths. Anna tries to track down the elusive family of one man, but each discovery about his past leads her further into the dark world of Queensland's corrupt underbelly. Soon Anna is running for her life – she has discovered the secrets of those who will stop at nothing to silence her."

In addition, August will also see the welcome return of award-winning Kiwi crime writer Paul Thomas, whose Detective Ihaka trilogy is being re-released as a fantastic value one-book set.

There should also be another Kiwi crime novel, and another Kiwi crime writing debutant, on the horizon, with Donna Malane's NZSA Pindar Publishing Prize winning manuscript SURRENDER due to be published in the near future as well. I will share more information about the publication of SURRENDER as it comes to hand.

So, it seems crime fiction in New Zealand is definitely on an upward curve.

Are you going to get your hands on any of these books? Head along to Setting the Stage for Murder? What is the next Kiwi crime novel you intend to read? Thoughts and comments welcome.

Aussie crime fiction blogger interviewed by ABC!

Today on ABC.net.au (the website of one of Australia's biggest broadcasters) there is a great interview by Corey Hague with Australian crime fiction afficianado and book blogger Karen Chisholm, creator of AustCrimeFiction.org, described as "one of the best resources of its kind on the web".

In the interview, "Murder she reads and writes", Chisholm talks about the inspiration for starting her blog, the attraction of crime fiction, being honest with reviews when it comes to books you don't enjoy, and the impact of the digital world and social media on the relationship between authors and readers, amongst other things.

"I've always been a dedicated reader, but very early on crime fiction increasingly became my books of choice," says Chisholm. "I'm very drawn to good characterisation, good plots, a purpose to the narrative and some insight into humanity. Good crime fiction ticks all of the boxes and then some. You can learn a lot about yourself and about other people from reading crime fiction."

Chisholm also refers to the 1,000 True Fan Theory, when discussing the impact of social media. You can read more about that theory here.

You can read the full ABC interview with Chisholm here. It's a good read for book bloggers and book bloggers, no matter where you are on the planet. What do you think of the interview? Of mainstream media taking a closer look at the impact of book blogging? Have you visited AustCrimeFiction? Have you read any Australian crime novels? I'd love to read your thoughts and comments.

Setting the Stage for Murder...

Back in April I said that crime fiction fans should "watch this space" when it came to the upcoming 2010 The Press Christchurch Writers' Festival, because unlike the Auckland Writers Festival, it looked like there would be plenty of crime and thriller fiction happenings this year in the city that was home to Dame Ngaio Marsh.

Well, the 2010 Programme has now been published, and I'm pleased to say that this year's Festival looks like it will be another absolute cracker - both in terms of crime/thriller content, and many other fantastic events for booklovers of all types. Later this week I will highlight all the crime/thriller fiction related events on the programme, but for now I just wanted to point out the granddaddy of them all, the Friday night feature: Setting the Stage for Murder.

Here is the blurb from the Festival website:

Setting the Stage for Murder
With the presentation of the 2010 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel
Come dressed to kill and looking daggers for this gory gathering. The Court Jesters will open a night to remember by giving all amateur sleuths and armchair gumshoes the chance to construct and solve a murder most foul.

Then four of today’s outstanding crime writers will discuss the state of the modern crime novel with well-known book blogger and crime aficionado, Graham Beattie. This nefarious night will culminate with the presentation of the first-ever Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel.

A panel of local and international judges has been considering the best of locally written crime and thriller fiction published in 2009, and will produce a three-book shortlist in the lead-up to The Press Christchurch Writers’ Festival, with the winner to be announced on the night. It is fitting that New Zealand’s first-ever crime fiction award will be presented in Christchurch, given the city’s status as the hometown of New Zealand’s own doyenne of the mystery writing genre, Dame Ngaio Marsh, who was renowned worldwide as one of the four ‘Queens of Crime’ of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

So find out whodunnit and whowunnit and have a murderously marvellous evening.

Friday 10 September, 7.00pm, Limes Room Christchurch Town Hall, $25/23

The four crime writers on the panel with Graham "Bookman" Beattie are Michael Robotham (Australia), Simon Kernick (UK), Neil Cross (NZ/UK), and Vanda Symon (NZ) - so it should be a fantastic night. You can read more about the evening, and each of the four authors, here.

I urge any crime fiction fans in New Zealand, both those in Christchurch and further afield, to head along to the 2010 The Press Christchurch Writers' Festival. Along with the above-mentioned quartet, other crime writers like Liam McIlvanney, Paul Thomas, and Paul Cleave will also be in attendance for events, and other budding and published local crime writers may be in the audience and generally hanging out (hopefully).

Hopefully Setting the Stage for Murder, and the other crime fiction events, will be a great success, and this will encourage more such events to be held in future.

So, what do you think of the Setting the Stage for Murder event? Of the 2010 The Press Christchurch Writers' Festival line-up in general - crime fiction and otherwise? Who are authors you would love to see/meet? What events most excite you? What do you think of the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. I'd love to read your thoughts.