tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160907056447793603.post9121617976086774733..comments2023-11-15T04:03:13.741+00:00Comments on Crime Scene NI: The Twelve and Twenty ThousandGerard Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18301381067485712366noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160907056447793603.post-72862849569414642382008-11-27T22:56:00.000+00:002008-11-27T22:56:00.000+00:00Colin - You're an evil genius.gbColin - You're an evil genius.<BR/><BR/>gbGerard Brennanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18301381067485712366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160907056447793603.post-22848925506730283042008-11-27T22:40:00.000+00:002008-11-27T22:40:00.000+00:00Of course, given the business we're in, that was i...Of course, given the business we're in, that was in fact a double bluff. Belfast titled books sell MILLIONS but I'd really prefer to keep the field all to myself. Too late now, suckers!Colinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08433332584935362768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160907056447793603.post-78947065887732557112008-11-27T21:56:00.000+00:002008-11-27T21:56:00.000+00:00Stuart - No problem at all, sir.Colin's original c...Stuart - No problem at all, sir.<BR/><BR/>Colin's original comment was <A HREF="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=160907056447793603&postID=4840418689948053080" REL="nofollow">here</A>.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, Colin's work was the first I'd ever read that approached the aul Troubles thing from an original point of view, so I reckon he was the first to do it. And if he wasn't, the other guy wasn't good enough to grab my attention. I guess Mister Bateman's owed respect or something for that.<BR/><BR/>Cheers<BR/><BR/>gbGerard Brennanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18301381067485712366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160907056447793603.post-56740220911731081092008-11-27T19:23:00.000+00:002008-11-27T19:23:00.000+00:00Thanks for the plug, Ger.The title had been an iss...Thanks for the plug, Ger.<BR/><BR/>The title had been an issue for a while, but it just so happened that a change was put to me again a few days after Colin commented on a blog about Belfast being a hard sell. I can't remember if it was here or over at Crime Always Pays.<BR/><BR/>There is a perception, as Michael points out above, that anything from NI is going to be more dour self-important worthy social commentary. If I'm honest, I'll tend to give stuff about here a wide berth, unless I know it's going to be something different (like Colin's work, for instance). I think that's a preconception NI crime fiction is going to have to struggle against if it is to really break through.<BR/><BR/>For American readers it's an entirely different proposition. The very connotations of Belfast that might turn off UK readers will have a resonance for those across the Atlantic.Stuart Nevillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03883631620345577504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160907056447793603.post-3249616401760343962008-11-27T16:28:00.000+00:002008-11-27T16:28:00.000+00:00John - It's all a puzzle to me, man. But like you,...John - It's all a puzzle to me, man. But like you, I'm just looking forward to what's behind the title.<BR/><BR/>gbGerard Brennanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18301381067485712366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160907056447793603.post-90606685715524735362008-11-27T15:52:00.000+00:002008-11-27T15:52:00.000+00:00The title Elmore Leonard wanted to use for "Up in ...The title Elmore Leonard wanted to use for "Up in Honey's Room," was "Hitler's Birthday," but the publisher told him Hitler didn't sell anymore.<BR/><BR/>Funny though, the title of the French edition is going to be, "Hitler's Birthday."<BR/><BR/>It's interesting that the US will still go with "The Ghosts of Belfast." I wonder which we'll get in Canada. Oh well, I'm really looking forward to it, no matter which title is used here.John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160907056447793603.post-77162422301864135532008-11-27T14:19:00.000+00:002008-11-27T14:19:00.000+00:00Mike - Yeah, Colin Bateman said that a few times. ...Mike - Yeah, Colin Bateman said that a few times. Harvill Secker have proven him right, it seems. Glad to hear you're more enlightened, and I think as time goes on, you'll be at the tip of the spearhead, thanks to the likes of Bateman and Neville and the rest.<BR/><BR/>Colin - Speak of the devil, eh? I don't know, though. The Back Alleys of Strabane has a ring to it.<BR/><BR/>gbGerard Brennanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18301381067485712366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160907056447793603.post-26954287776939407702008-11-27T09:51:00.000+00:002008-11-27T09:51:00.000+00:00And to be fair, LA Confidential sounds a lot sexie...And to be fair, LA Confidential sounds a lot sexier than Belfast Confidential. And Streets of Laredo is a lot more hummable than Back Alleys of Strabane. I could go on, but won't.Colinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08433332584935362768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160907056447793603.post-71951511571434168172008-11-27T00:16:00.000+00:002008-11-27T00:16:00.000+00:00Someone said here recently that Belfast in a title...Someone said here recently that Belfast in a title was commercial suicide (it might have been Stuart Neville quoting Colin Bateman, but I'm not sure).<BR/><BR/>At the time I kinda wrinkled my nose at it, but if I cast my mind back a few years, I can recall a time when my perception of NI was very different to what it is now. Probably the only "Irish" book I'd read up to five years ago was Eamonn Dunphy's earnest bollocks biography of U2. So yeah-- <BR/>NI = religion and politics = snoozefest. <BR/><BR/>I'm a much more enlightened man now, though. (c:Michael Stonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14362324064346137974noreply@blogger.com