A Murder of Scribes

Thanks to Tony Bailie for sorting us out with a copy of this picture. It first appeared in the Irish News the day after the Requiems for the Departed launch and I think it's a cracker. Pictured below we have the motley crew that showed up to read at No Alibis that night and me. Proud editor that I am, I'm the only one not holding a copy of the book. I was hiding my beer behind my back like a nabbed teenager, in fact.

Anyway, from left to right we have Stuart Neville, John McAllister, T.A. Moore, Arlene Hunt, Tony Bailie, Brian McGilloway and me.

I reckon we all scrub up pretty well.

It's a nice pic to have. A reminder of one of the highlights of my year, only to be topped next week when the newest member of the Brennan household is due to arrive.

An Introduction to FISHERMAN'S BLUES by BRIAN MCGILLOWAY

The myth of Finneagas is one that has always stuck with me and, as may be evident from the story I wrote using it, it is the one key incident that really stood out; the blistering of the fish skin and the nature of accident. I also liked the idea that the fish confers knowledge, as this is what a policeman is constantly seeking. In this case, it’s not so much the fish as the character of Finneagas who has the knowledge, of the river and those who fish it. And the pressing of the blister struck me as something that a man who means well but often makes mistakes would do — perfect for Devlin then. As for the nature of accident in crime? Not all killings are planned, nor are they motivated by the promise of millions.

Image by Brian Boylan.

Requiems for the Departed is now available worldwide, with a 28% discount in the US through Barnes & Noble and free shipping worldwide through The Book Depository. So no matter where you are in the world, you can get your hands on some top quality Irish Crime and Irish Myths easily! Our paperback edition is also still available at the Morrigan Books site too, along with the limited edition hardback (now down to less than 30 copies available).

Brian McGilloway

This interview first appeared on CSNI on 24th March 2008


Brian McGilloway hails from Derry, Northern Ireland. By day, he teaches English at St Columb's College, Derry. By night, he’s an NI crime fiction writer. McGilloway's debut novel is a crime thriller called Borderlands. The sequel, Gallows Lane, was published in 2008. Borderlands, was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger in 2007.

Q1. What are you writing at the minute?

I’ve started planning the fourth Devlin book, The Rising, at the moment. In addition to that, I’m doing a little follow-up work on the third book, Bleed A River Deep.

Q2. Can you give us an idea of Brian McGilloway’s typical up-to-the-armpits-in-ideas-and-time writing day?

My typical writing day starts usually around 8.30 pm. I work full time as the Head of English in a large, all boys school in Derry which means I leave the house at eight in the morning and get home after five most days. Having a young family, little is done about the house until after the children go to bed around eight. Then, a mug of tea, a quick check of e-mails and I get started. I write for an hour or two per day for the months during which I’m actually writing. I aim to write 1000 words per day, though frequently I manage 2500, and sometimes I struggle to make 250.

Q3. What do you do when you’re not writing?

I teach full time and have two young children. That fairly much takes care of it. That and the Playstation 3 which is taking up a lot of those wee small hours when I should be writing book 4.

Q4. Any advice for a greenhorn like myself trying to break into the crime fiction scene?

I’m a green-horn myself, so I’m hardly in a position to advise. I’ve read crime fiction constantly for nearly a decade before starting to write. To be a writer, I think you need to be a reader first – to see what has been done and is being done.

Q5. Which crime writer(s) have impressed you this year?

I really liked Declan Burke’s The Big O. Ian Rankin and James Lee Burke’s most recent were both superb. And I rocketed through CJ Samson’s Sovereign.

Q6. What are you reading right now?

In addition to Year 12 English coursework, Prayers For Rain by Dennis Lehane. I recently saw Gone Baby, Gone and it reminded me how much I enjoyed the Kenzie & Gennaro novels. Sadly, I’m struggling with time to read it at the moment so I might have to save it for the Easter holidays.

Q7. Plans for the future?

Pan Macmillan has signed up to Devlin 5, which will keep me going for another year or two yet. After that will depend on whether or not anyone wants to read more of my books and whether or not I have more stories to tell. I’d like to develop some of the other characters from the Devlin books into stories of their own at some stage. I’m happy to take it a book at a time and see how they go.

Q8. With regards to your writing career to date, would you do anything differently?

No – I’m perfectly happy with the way things have gone. Had I done anything differently, it would have changed the knock on effect that has been part and parcel of the Devlin books path to publication.

Q9. Anything you want to say that I haven’t asked you about?

Not that I can think of, thanks!

Thank you, Brian McGilloway!

An Introduction to FIRST TO SCORE by GARBHAN DOWNEY

I wrote this piece in late 2004 for a book of short stories I was finishing, called Off Broadway (Guildhall Press, 2005). The collection, set in the North’s post-ceasefire underworld, owes considerable stylistic debt to New York’s finest son Damon Runyon. And in deference to the master, most of the yarns were blackly comic escapades, loosely based on unprintable stories I’d come across as a working journalist.

First to Score was a little different. As a ten-year-old Horslips fan, I’d become enthralled by the legend of Diarmaid and Grainne after hearing their take on the story in the song Warm Sweet Breath of Love (Book of Invasions, 1976). So, almost thirty years on, in a bid to leave a subtle Celtic stamp on my new book, I thought it’d be fun to transfer the couple’s doomed elopement to present-day Derry, to see if they’d fare any better.

Image by Pamela Silin Palmer.

Requiems for the Departed is now available worldwide, with a 28% discount in the US through Barnes & Noble and free shipping worldwide through The Book Depository. So no matter where you are in the world, you can get your hands on some top quality Irish Crime and Irish Myths easily! Our paperback edition is also still available at the Morrigan Books site too, along with the limited edition hardback (now down to less than 30 copies available).

Garbhan Downey

This interview first appeared on CSNI 28th April 2008

Garbhán Downey has worked as a journalist, broadcaster, newspaper editor and literary editor. He lives in Derry with his wife Una, and children Fiachra and Bronagh. His fourth novel, the comedy-thriller Yours Confidentially: Letters of a would-be MP, has just been published by Guildhall Press.

Q1. What are you writing at the minute?

Lots - a historical biography, two novels (at advanced draft stage), two plays about smuggling, and I’ve just been asked to edit a troubles-related book.

Q2. Can you give us an idea of Garbhán Downey’s typical up-to-the-armpits-in-ideas-and-time writing day?

Every weekday, I try to spend between nine and six in the study – and while it doesn’t always work out that way, I’m pretty disciplined. When I was in full-time journalism, I worked long weeks and late hours that kept me away from my wife and young children. Happily, I copped myself on and remembered that no-one ever looked back on their deathbed and wished they’d spent more time in the office.

Q3. What do you do when you’re not writing?

Ferry youngsters to soccer, Gaelic, swimming and Irish dancing. Sky Sports also features occasionally, though less and less since the weans learned how to use the remote control.

Q4. Any advice for a greenhorn trying to break into the crime fiction scene?

Stick at it and the breaks will come. Oh – and be lucky!

Q5. Which crime writer(s) have impressed you this year?

Chris Brookmyre, Carl Hiassen, Colin Bateman and Brian McGilloway.

Q6. What are you reading right now?

Nell McCafferty’s autobiography, Penance for Jerry Kennedy by Boston crime great George Higgins, Deterring Democracy by Noam Chomsky, and The Cat in the Hat (nightly) by Dr Seuss.

Q7. Plans for the future?

Carry on chopping wood and carrying water.

Q8. With regards to your writing career to date, would you do anything differently?

No. Of course, I’ve made mistakes - you have to. But the great part is learning from them - that way you never get the same slap in the mouth twice.

For more information on Downey’s books, visit http://www.garbhandowney.com/

Thank you, Garbhán Downey!

An Introduction to THE FORTUNATE ISLES by DAVE HUTCHINSON

I think the first time I heard of Tir-na-nÓg was on the sleeve notes of The Book of Invasions by Horslips. That would have been back in the late 70s, and Tir-na-nÓg wasn’t actually mentioned by name, if I remember correctly, but the story of the Tuatha Dé Danann outlined in the notes stuck in my mind. And it really is a cracking album, too.

The next time I heard of Tir-na-nÓg was sometime in the mid-80s, in the booklet that accompanied a computer game called, reasonably enough, Tir Na Nog. If you were a Spectrum or Amstrad gamer in the mid-80s, the chances are you know what I’m talking about.

The idea of this land of the ever-young, this far-off place beyond the edges of the map, has stuck with me for years.

Requiems for the Departed is now available worldwide, with a 28% discount in the US through Barnes & Noble and free shipping worldwide through The Book Depository. So no matter where you are in the world, you can get your hands on some top quality Irish Crime and Irish Myths easily! Our paperback edition is also still available at the Morrigan Books site too, along with the limited edition hardback (now down to less than 30 copies available).

Requiems for the Departed goes Worldwide!

After a successful launch at No Alibis in Belfast, Requiems for the Departed is now available worldwide, with a 28% discount in the US through Barnes & Noble and free shipping worldwide through The Book Depository. So no matter where you are in the world, you can get your hands on some top quality Irish Crime and Irish Myths easily! Our paperback edition is also still available at the Morrigan Books site too, along with the limited edition hardback (now down to less than 30 copies available).

It WAS All Right on the Night... Frickin' Brilliant, Actually

I'm a little bit strapped for time today, and slightly hungover, so this is going to be a pretty short report. But I feel like I should let you all know how the launch for Requiems for the Departed went last night.

Frickin' brilliant, as the title suggests.

The shop was packed, six of the contributors came along to read, copies were sold and signed, and I got to have a few sociable pints with a group of great people.

It was a pleasure to meet John McAllister and Arlene Hunt for the first time, and Arlene's hubby, Andrew. And it was great to see Brian McGilloway, Stuart Neville, Tony Bailie and Tammy Moore again (and congrats to Stuart and his lovely fiancee, Jo, who he introduced us to last night). Unfortunately, Garbhan Downey didn't make it, but I think he was there in spirit alongside Peter Rozovsky and Sean Patrick Reardon.

Adrian McKinty didn't make it either, citing the pitiful excuse that he lives in Melbourne... BUT I was delighted to see Adrian's mum and sister there. Two absolute angels.

I met Wayne Simmons for the first time too. Look out for this guy. He's brought Zombies to Belfast!

Old and new friends showed up and I think I managed to get a couple of minutes with each of them. If I missed anybody, I apologise.

Oh, and there was beer.

By the way, if you're into pub quizzes, you want to get Stuart and Jo on your side. We won a £10 voucher! Go team No Alibis.

All Right on the Night?

We're just hours away from the launch of Requiems for the Departed at No Alibis Bookstore. The books are at the store, there's wine in the boot of my car, we've generated as much buzz as we could manage and there's nothing much I can do now but wait for 6:30pm to come around...

Damn you, Father Time. Give that egg-timer a shake, will you?

Anyway, I hope we get a decent crowd and that Dave sells a boatload of books. And I hope we don't run out of white wine. I nicked a bottle from the stash last night and would feel a bit wick if anybody's left wanting.

By the way, I was interviewed by the cool, elegant and scarily intelligent Marie-Louise Muir on BBC Radio Ulster last night. If you missed Artsextra, here's a link to the Listen Again thingy. It turned out quite well, I thought.

An Introduction to DIARMAID AND GRAINNE by ADRIAN MCKINTY

When I was eight years old I read the novel The High Deeds of Finn MacCool by Rosemary Sutcliffe. The most compelling part of the story for me was the tale of Diarmaid and Grainne. I’ve never forgotten it and I liked the idea of putting a contemporary spin on this classic.

You can buy your copy of Requiems for the Departed exclusively at No Alibis today!

What are you waiting for?

Adrian McKinty

This interview first appeared on CSNI 7th April 2008

I also interviewed Adrian on Allan Guthrie's Noir Originals

Adrian McKinty was born and grew up in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles. He studied politics at Oxford University and after a failed legal career he moved to the US in the early 1990s. He found work as a security guard, postman, construction worker, barman, rugby coach and bookstore clerk before becoming a school teacher in Denver, where he now lives.

Q1. What are you writing at the minute?

A novel called Fifty Grand about a cop from Havana who comes to America to investigate a suspected murder.

Q2. Can you give us an idea of Adrian McKinty’s typical up-to-the-armpits-in-ideas-and-time writing day?

I’m not one of those up at six and write 1000 words before breakfast types. For me its more like an hour here and an hour there in between dealing with the kids and school (I’m a teacher).

Q3. What do you do when you’re not writing?

I play rugby when I get the chance and lately I’ve been doing a bit of skiing here in Colorado.

Q4. Any advice for a greenhorn trying to break into the crime fiction scene?

Read tons and not just in the genre.

Q5. Which crime writer(s) have impressed you this year?

I’ve discovered James Ellroy’s later fictions The Cold Six Thousand and American Tabloid and they’re both fantastic.

Q6. What are you reading right now?

Take a Girl Like You by Kingsley Amis

Q7. Plans for the future?

I’d like to write a book about the year I spent in Jerusalem but what exactly I don’t know.

Q8. With regards to your writing career to date, would you do anything differently?

I’d do everything differently. If I’d known how important promotion was going to be I’d have gone mad promoting Dead I Well May Be. The book got starred reviews in all the trades but Simon and Schuster didn’t spend a dime on advertising so the starred reviews meant nothing. I should have stopped everything and gone around the country promoting the book on my own dollar and really tried to make a big splash. The lesson is you can't rely on the publisher, you have to work all the angles. Writing the book is only half the story, you have to go out there and sell the bloody thing with or without the help of your publisher.

Q9. Anything you want to say that I haven’t asked you about?

Nope, not really. When you read Dead I Well May Be you’ll have some questions about knee capping, but until that happy time…ciao…

Thank you, Adrian McKinty!

Tony Black

As he lives in Scotland, Requiems for the Departed contributor, Tony Black, won't be able to make the launch in Belfast tomorrow night. But check this out (well worth going to if you're in his neck of the woods):

MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE USE
ISSUED: 8-june-2010

Two of the country's leading crime writers are teaming up to pass their know-how on to the next wave of upcoming authors.

Edinburgh-based Tony Black and Allan Guthrie have had 10 novels published between them. Now they're getting together to present a unique workshop in the Scottish capital, called Writing Your Crime Novel - Seven Steps to Success.

Crime-writing is one of the most popular genres among readers in Britain and beyond, and it remains one of the very few growth areas in publishing. With many new writers eager to turn their hand to this area, the workshop is designed to help authors hone their skills by providing a unique insight in the creative process of planning and writing a crime novel. It covers such key areas as plot development, story structure and characterisation.

Tony says: "The potential market for crime writers is massive these days, but finding a pathway through it is more difficult than ever.

“Publishers are all looking for the next big thing - but are very specific about what they want. This course is aimed at pointing out just what it is they’re looking for, and how to go about delivering it."

Tony will host of the majority of the event, while Allan will present a section dealing with how to go about attracting the interest of a literary agent.

Tony says: "This is probably the most valuable insight you can afford a new writer as without an agent, there’s simply very little chance of being published."

Writing Your Crime Novel workshop takes place at the Royal Over-SeasClub, 100 Princes Street, Edinburgh, on Friday 16 July. For more details, go to http://www.theideasspace.co.uk/

And Tony is due to launch the fourth Gus Dury novel, Long Time Dead, at Blackwells Bookshop, Edinburgh, on the 1st July at 6pm.

An Introduction to CHILDREN OF GEAR by NEVILLE THOMPSON

I liked the Children of Lir, as a child. I never was really into the folklore but I liked that one.

For me to totally relate to most things I have to bring them back to what I know.

So in this day and age I reckon that three children getting lost for years to normality could only mean one thing, drugs.

Once I thought of that concept the story kind of wrote itself.

You can buy your copy of Requiems for the Departed exclusively at No Alibis today!

What are you waiting for?

Neville Thompson

This interview first appeared on CSNI 22nd September 2008

Neville Thompson is the best selling author of Five Novels and has edited three books of short sotries. His work has been translated into French, German and Greek. The French are making a film of his first novel and he has also written and directed plays.

Q1. What are you writing at the minute?

Fuck all. And its not writers block I am just organising a festival in Castlecomer Kilkenny. I went down to do a writers workshop and the group ended up writing a play and a book of short stories. To celebrate their success we are having a festival and that is taking up all my time. But its good fun I am enjoying it.

Q2. Can you give us an idea of Neville Thompson’s typical up-to-the-armpits-in-ideas-and-time writing day?

When I write it takes up nearly a whole day. Normal writing day I get up and doss till around nine thirty, then work through on writing til five, only breaking for endless tea. At five I eat, check emails and watch tv for a while to chill, usually until ten and then its back to the writing again until two in the morning. I have terrible sleeps when writing cause I am thinking it all out, so I cant wait to get back and get it finished. It usually takes a twelve week stint once a year so I guess I am lucky.

Q3. What do you do when you’re not writing?

The gym is big for me, I get very low if I don’t exercise so I like to stay fit. If I am in the money I like to holiday for a few weeks but I also do a lot of workshops with Poetry Ireland and Fetac so most of the school year I am working. Other than that you will find me sitting drinking tea on the boardwalk in Dublin.

Q4. Any advice for a greenhorn trying to break into the crime fiction scene?

Believe in your work and fuck the begrudgers. Don’t get caught up with trying to be smart, just write it straight and to be honest don’t get caught up with the idea of getting published it seems to be getting harder every year and to get a good story on paper you can’t get too caught up with it. I would say don’t get genre driven. Don’t pigeon hole your work. To be honest I don’t think my work is crime I think it’s life, its’s just nowadays there are a lot of crimes happening.

Q5. Which crime writers have impressed you this year?

I really haven’t read anyone in ages, I love Irvine Welsh but his books have all disappointed since Filth, I kep buying hoping he will do something amazing but I think his edge is gone. I reread George Dawes Green’s Caveman and just think it’s amazing.

Q6. What are you reading right now?

How to make a film on a micro budget. I am trying to make movies and noone is interested in bring any of my work to screen here, it seems Fair City is as cutting edge as RTE want to go. So I am trying to make a film on a budget of zero and show what I can do so I will get a shot at something decent. The book is great. I am also reading a play called “Clerical Errors” that I am directing in the Castlecomer festival.

Q7. Plans for the future?

Just keep on working. Or win the Lotto but I will probably just keep on doing what I do. I am talking about starting a publishing house for small runs on new writers to be a stepping stone for the next big thing. I hate the devastation to Irish Writing that the Arts Council and the Chic Lit have done, they have ruined years of great work and stopped true talent emerging, I would like to try and stem that tide.

Re my own writing I have all the groundwork done for two books one I think is going to be very controversial as it is about a rape, the other is a lighter comedy type.

Q8. With regards to your writing career to date, would you do anything differently?

Yes. I would have taken the money originally offered for Jackie Loves Johnser the film and stopped being self righteous about doing the book justice. I would not have allowed an editor run me out of Poolbeg because I do believe I could have made a bigger break having stayed with them. But life is about life choices its only a mistake if you don’t learn from it and I have learned.

Q9. Anything you want to say that I haven’t asked you about?

Naw, I rant when given my space I think Pennys having their Christmas shop up so early is a disgrace and I think the fact that Pat Ingoldsby is selling his books on the bleeding street is a disgrace, when he dies they will all say what a great man he was and start spouting about him but he is alive they ignore him. I think someone has to stop the Arts Council funding shite, get the Abbey to realise that there are Irish writers who are still living and are not called Brendan or Roddy and make RTE realise that they can’t do comedy!

I would also like to know why I never get asked to do the Dublin Writers Festival or why this year is my 14th unsuccessful bid to get a grant from the Arts Council.

Like I say, I rant.

Thank you, Neville Thompson!

An Introduction to THE DRUID'S DANCE by TONY BAILIE

The legend of Tuan Mac Carrell is found in an 11th century manuscript called Lebor na hUidre (The Book of the Dun Cow). Tuan tells a Christian monk that he was born 2,000 years earlier and witnessed many of the waves of invaders who came to ancient Ireland — the Nemedians, Firbolg and the Tuatha de Dannan. As an old man he crawled off into a cave and fell asleep and when he awoke he had been reborn as a vigorous young stag. The process repeated itself each time he became old and he was reborn variously as a wild boar, an eagle and eventually as a salmon. However, during his existence as a salmon he was caught and eaten whole by the wife of a chieftain called Carrell and passed into her womb to be reborn again as Tuan Mac (son of) Carrell. The myth clearly suggests that there was a belief in reincarnation among our Irish ancestors.

So, if Tuan was reincarnated over a 2,000 year period up until the early Christian era in Ireland (circa 600-800AD) who is to say that the process didn’t continue? That leaves the possibility that someone could still be running around today claiming to be the reincarnation of the ancient chieftain (although they fail to mention the bit about also being a fish). It is a scenario that was just crying out to be turned into a gory police procedural story with (at least in my head) a soundtrack by Horslips.

Tony Bailie

Interview first appeared on CSNI 31st March 2008

Tony Bailie lives in Co. Down and works as a journalist in Belfast. He has previously published a collection of poetry, Coill (Lapwing, 2005) The Lost Chord is his first novel.

Q1. What are you writing at the minute?

I’ve finished my second novel which is provisionally called ‘ecopunk’ and which is basically about an eco warrior throwing himself in front of whaling ships, hanging from trees and generally trying to save the planet – and that is before he has even had lunch. Still tinkering with it and tightening it up

Q2. Can you give us an idea of Tony Bailie’s typical up-to-the-armpits-in-ideas-and-time writing day?

I work full time as journalist/sub editor for a daily newspaper in Belfast which means that I spend a lot of time rewriting other people’s stories, designing news pages and writing headlines. I would love to say that I do what all good writers are supposed to do and set aside an hour every day to work on my novel but that is of course bullshit. I seem to write in intense bursts which can be very productive but which then leaves me lethargic for a while until I get a fresh burst of energy.

Q3. What do you do when you’re not writing?

Feel guilty because I am not writing. I read a lot but in the same way that I write – devour books and then for a few weeks find it hard to read a few paragraphs without my mind wandering. In between I walk and listen to music – rock, trad, African and lots of Dylan, Nick Drake and Leonard Cohen.

Q4. Any advice for a greenhorn trying to break into the crime fiction scene?

It would be far too patronising of me to do that.

Q5. Which crime writer(s) have impressed you this year?

I wouldn’t restrict myself to crime writers as such... but Jason Johnson – who is a good hack as well – seems to be pushing out the boundaries in that particular genre.

Q6. What are you reading right now?

The Black Soul by Liam O’Flaherty which was first published in the 1920s. It’s quite literary but superb.

Angels and Rabies by Manchan Magan which is a travel book with a difference about a very disorientated Irishman travelling in South America and later Canada and the US.

Q7. Plans for the future?

Get ‘ecopunk’ published, try to get an overseas deal for ‘The Lost Chord’ and do some more work on a new novel which has been kicking around for a while now.

Q8. With regards to your writing career to date, would you do anything differently?

No. You have to find your way as you go along and learn from your mistakes.

Q9. Anything you want to say that I haven’t asked you about?

The Lost Chord is available online from the publisher: www.lagan-press.org.uk/

Thank you, Tony Bailie!

Book Launch!

You can buy your copy of Requiems for the Departed exclusively at No Alibis today!

What are you waiting for?

Requiems for the Departed
Thursday 10th June at 6:30PM

Come and Meet…

Brian McGilloway, Stuart Neville, Arlene Hunt, T.A. Moore, John McAllister, Tony Baillie and Garbhan Downey

No Alibis Bookstore is pleased to invite you to the launch of Irish crime fiction anthology, REQUIEMS FOR THE DEPARTED, edited by Gerard Brennan and Mike Stone, on Thursday 10th June at 6:30PM.

Irish Crime. Irish Myths.

Requiems for the Departed contains seventeen short stories, inspired by Irish mythology, from some of the finest contemporary writers in the business.

Watch the children of Conchobar return to their mischievous ways, meet ancient Celtic royalty, and follow druids and banshees as they are set loose in the new Irish underbelly, murder and mayhem on their minds.

Featuring top shelf tales by Ken Bruen, Maxim Jakubowski, Stuart Neville, Brian McGilloway, Adrian McKinty, Sam Millar, John Grant, Garry Kilworth, T.A. Moore and many more.

Along with co-editor Gerard Brennan (of Crime Scene NI fame), we're expecting appearances from the following contributors: Brian McGilloway, Stuart Neville, Arlene Hunt, T.A. Moore and Garbhan Downey, so this is sure to be an evening to remember.

NO ALIBIS BOOKSTORE
83 BOTANIC AVENUE
BELFAST BT7 1JL
david@noalibis.com
ph. 02890-319601
fax. 02890319607

An Introduction to THE SEA IS NOT FULL by UNA MCCORMACK

The setting for ‘The Sea is Not Full’ is based on Drumanagh, a headland fifteen miles north of Dublin, where Roman artefacts have been found in the past. The question of the Romanization of the Celtic world is of course a thorny one; however, the headland is in private hands, and legal proceedings on the part of the owners have prevented any further archaeology at the site or investigation of the artefacts already found. While all this mystery must be frustrating for archaeologists and historians, it is fertile territory for a fantasist interested in historical imagination and national mythmaking. David Thomson’s memorable book The People of the Sea (Canongate, 1996) — an account of his journeys around the Hebrides and the west coast of Ireland and the stories that he heard there — was also a source of inspiration.

People who do not fit into their skins, the slippery line between civilization and barbarism, and the bringing of law from across the sea (look closely and you may glimpse St Patrick coming): all of these are questions which I hope this story examines.

Image by Mark Tedin

UNA MCCORMACK

Una McCormack: I’m a science fiction writer. I’m the author of three Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novels, published by Simon and Schuster: The Lotus Flower, Hollow Men, and The Never-Ending Sacrifice. A Doctor Who novel, The King’s Dragon, will be published by BBC Books in the summer. My short fiction has appeared in Glorifying Terrorism (ed. Farah Mendlesohn), Subterfuge (ed. Ian Whates), The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Vol. 25 (ed. Gardner Dozois), and in various other places including Doctor Who Magazine. I live in Cambridge with my partner, Matthew, and our small army of Daleks.

Q1. What are you writing at the minute?

Right now, I’m finishing up an academic project, a collection of essays on Doctor Who that I’m co-editing. That’s called Impossible Worlds, Impossible Things, and it’s due out from Cambridge Scholars Publishing later this year. When that’s done, I want to wrap up a couple of short stories (one fantasy, one science fiction). After that, I’ll most likely go back to my current novel project – a political thriller set in an alternate post-Roman Britain where history has followed a different course.

Q2. Can you give us an idea of Una McCormack’s typical up-to-the-armpits-in-ideas-and-time writing day?

I’m at my best first thing in the morning. I try to work from eight till twelve. Then I do email and other procrastinations over lunch, and I try to do a couple more hours’ writing in the afternoon, usually 3-5pm. It probably sounds a bit dull, but the only way I get anything done is to switch off the internet and hit my word count targets.

Q3. What do you do when you’re not writing?

I teach sociology at a local business school. And read. A lot.

Q4. Any advice for a greenhorn trying to break into the crime (or science) fiction scene?

Find yourself a good writing group, whether online or in your local area, and make sure it’s one that understands your genre. Set one up if there isn’t one. Get support and be supportive. Go to conventions and conferences and meet people. Decide whether you’re pursuing commercial success, in which case treat it like any other business venture, and research markets and so on, or whether you’re content to write primarily for pleasure.

Q5. Which crime writers have impressed you this year?

I recently discovered Edmund Crispin, and have been working through the Gervase Fen novels. I think they’re fabulous and I wish someone would adapt them for television. I loved Ruth Newman’s Twisted Wing, which is set amongst the cloisters of Cambridge.

Q6. What are you reading right now?

I usually have several books on the go. Right now, I’m reading Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin, Zero Moment by MG Harris, and Conflicts, a science fiction anthology edited by Ian Whates and published by NewCon Press, in which I happen to have a story! I’m also halfway through rereading all the Sherlock Holmes short stories and novels (just reached The Hound of the Baskervilles). I found a collected Holmes as an iPhone app, and I read while I’m exercising.

Q7. Plans for the future?

Finish Lavinia? I’m terrible at planning. My chief goal is to publish a novel that isn’t a tie-in novel. It’s enormous fun writing both Star Trek and Doctor Who, but I’d love to publish a novel set in a world of my own devising (or possibly even our own world). I’d also very much like to try writing children’s fiction.

Q8. With regards to your writing career to date, would you do anything differently?

I’m starting to think that I should have got myself a plan! So far I’ve been very lucky – projects have turned up just as I’ve been turning round looking for something to do.

Q9. Do you fancy sharing your worst writing experience?

I honestly can’t think of anything. While writing is frequently a frustrating process, it’s worth it when you see the book in print, and particularly when people are complimentary about something you’ve written.

Q10. Anything you want to say that I haven’t asked you about?

I think we’ve covered everything! I hope readers enjoy the anthology and that it does well.

Thank you, Una McCormack!

George McFly Day

Well, I received the first print run of Requiems for the Departed. A good chunk of the books will go straight to No Alibis for the launch, details as follows:

No Alibis Bookstore is pleased to invite you to the launch of Irish crime fiction anthology, REQUIEMS FOR THE DEPARTED, edited by Gerard Brennan and Mike Stone, on Thursday 10th June at 6:30PM.

Along with co-editor Gerard Brennan (of Crime Scene NI fame), we're expecting appearances from the following contributors: Brian McGilloway, Stuart Neville, Arlene Hunt, T.A. Moore, Tony Bailie, John McAllister and Garbhan Downey, so this is sure to be an evening to remember.

Book your spot now by emailing David, or calling the shop on 9031 9607.

So, if you're in or close to Belfast, come along, guys. These books won't be around forever. They've already started to sell. Check out this pic of the first two customers.