Hard Rock on CrimeCityCentral

Hard Rock is the short story that keeps on giving.

A brief history:

It was published on ThugLit in 2009 (before the relaunch it was in issue 29).

I got paid with a badass T-shirt that I still wear.

It attracted the attentions of a New York agent (though at the time I was already in talks with another).

It was reprinted in The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime vol. 8 (currently on sale).

It appears in my Blasted Shorts collection, Other Stories and Nothing But Time.

It's pretty sick and definitely not safe for work or suitable for the fainthearted.

And now, it's available for download over at the CrimeCityCentral podcast!

Why not have a listen and see what all the fuss is about?

Incidentally, I listened to this version myself about a week after I watched Filth, based on the novel by Irvine Welsh and starring John McAvoy, on Netflix. There are certain parallels that make (narrator) Kenny Park's Scottish accent all the more fun.

And again, this one is pretty hard core.

NOT FOR THE FAINTHEARTED!

Best of the Brits (and a few Irish)

Today's the official release date of The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 8. And they're flogging it on Amazon for a measly £5.11 in paperback... And what are you getting for this sum? Here's the official info from the publisher's website:

Over 35 new short stories from the UK's leading crime writers. The must-have annual anthology for every crime fiction fan – the year’s top new British short stories selected by leading crime critic Maxim Jakubowski.

This great annual covers the full range of mystery fiction, from noir and hardboiled crime to ingenious puzzles and amateur sleuthing. Packed with top names such as: Ian Rankin (including a new Rebus), Alexander McCall Smith, David Hewson, Christopher Brookmyre, Simon Kernick, A.L. Kennedy, Louise Walsh, Kate Atkinson, Colin Bateman, Stuart McBride and Andrew Taylor.

The full list of contributors is as follows: Ian Rankin, Mick Herron, Denise Mina, Edward Marston, Marilyn Todd, Kate Atkinson, Stuart MacBride, David Hewson, Alexander McCall Smith, Nigel Bird, Robert Barnard, Lin Anderson, Allan Guthrie, A.L. Kennedy, Simon Kernick, Roz Southey, Andrew Taylor, Sheila Quigley, Phil Lovesey, Declan Burke, Keith McCarthy, Christopher Brookmyre, Gerard Brennan, Matthew J. Elliott, Colin Bateman, Ray Banks, Simon Brett, Adrian Magson, Jay Stringer, Amy Myers, Nick Quantrill, Stephen Booth, Paul Johnston, Zoë Sharp, Paul D. Brazill, Peter Lovesey, Louise Welsh, Liza Cody, Peter Turnbull and Nicholas Royle.

So, come on now! Get your copy today, people. Click here.

Best Week Ever!

Well, maybe not the best week ever. This kind of stuff doesn't surpass the births of three wonderful kids, or marrying the girl of your dreams in Cyprus (I'm a very lucky guy in the family department). But in terms of writing achievements, this is the kind of week that's up there alongside signing with my agent, Allan Guthrie, working with so many of my favourite writers as a co-editor, publishing a novella to Pulp Press and those ever-important nods from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in the form of SIAP awards.

This week I wrote 'The End' on a manuscript that's taken over a year to get close to right (from planning to writing), received my contributor copies of The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 8 and found out that Requiems for the Departed has been nominated for a Spinetingler Award. So frickin' sweet.


If you want to vote for Requiems for the Departed, click here.

If you want to pre-order The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, click here.

If you want to read a recent article about me and my writing, click here.

And as if things couldn't get any better, I've read the first few chapters of Adrian McKinty's Falling Glass today. Why the hell did I wait so long to crack open that one? Well, I'll tell you why. As with all of McKinty's books, I knew I wouldn't have been able to put it down once I started it. It was already hard enough to open that damn manuscript I was working on every night after the kids went to bed (every night? Really, Gerard? ed.). I didn't need to make it even easier to slack on it. (Shut up, ed. gb.)

The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 8

Thanks to Paul D. Brazill for the heads up on this. From the Constable and Robinson website:

Over 35 new short stories from the UK's leading crime writers. The must-have annual anthology for every crime fiction fan – the year’s top new British short stories selected by leading crime critic Maxim Jakubowski.

This great annual covers the full range of mystery fiction, from noir and hardboiled crime to ingenious puzzles and amateur sleuthing. Packed with top names such as: Ian Rankin (including a new Rebus), Alexander McCall Smith, David Hewson, Christopher Brookmyre, Simon Kernick, A.L. Kennedy, Louise Walsh, Kate Atkinson, Colin Bateman, Stuart McBride and Andrew Taylor.

The full list of contributors is as follows: Sheila Quigley, Nigel Bird, Jay Stringer, Paul D. Brazill, Adrian Magson, Colin Bateman, Gerard Brennan, Matthew J. Elliott, Andrew Taylor, Lin Anderson, Christopher Brookmyre, Ray Banks, Declan Burke, Liza Cody, Simon Kernick, Stuart MacBride, Allan Guthrie, Ian Rankin (two stories, including a new Rebus), Nick Quantrill, Edward Marston, Nicholas Royle, Zoe Sharp, Robert Barnard, Simon Brett, Peter Lovesey, A.L. Kennedy, Roz Southey, Phil Lovesey, David Hewson, Amy Myers, Marilyn Todd, Peter Turnbull, Keith McCarthy, Alexander McCall Smith, Stephen Booth, Denise Mina, Mick Herron, Kate Atkinson and Louise Welsh.

Flippin' heck, would you look at that list of talent? I have books on my shelf by Colin Bateman, Christopher Brookmyre, Ray Banks, Declan Burke, Allan Guthrie (who is also my agent) and Denise Mina. Why I haven't invested in an Ian Rankin or Stuart MacBride novel yet is as much a mystery to me as anybody else, but hey, I'm still a whipper-snapper. There's time to rectify this.

I've also read short stories by Paul D. Brazill, Nick Quantrill and most recently, Nigel Bird. Needless to say, I'm humbled by the company my tale now keeps.

According to the website, the collection will be released in April 2011 so I've plenty of time to get acquainted with some of the writers that I've yet to read. Must get on to that ASAP.