Writing Crime: Panel Discussion

This Thursday, 22nd September 2016, I'm hosting an event at The Aspect Literary Festival in Bangor. Here are the details:

Venue: North Down Museum

Time: 6 pm

Tickets: £7

Get an insight into the minds and practice of crime-writing authors Brian McGilloway and Steve Cavanagh as they talk to Gerard Brennan (crimesceneni.blogspot.co.uk).

Brian McGilloway is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Inspector Benedict Devlin and DS Lucy Black series. In 2014, Brian won BBC NI’s Tony Doyle Award for his screenplay, Little Emperors, an award which saw him become Writer In Residence with BBC NI. His latest novels in 2015 were The Forgotten Ones and Preserve The Dead.

‘Preserve the Dead is storytelling of the highest order from one of Irish crime writing’s most unassuming masters’.
Irish Independent

Steve Cavanagh writes fast-paced legal thrillers set in New York City featuring series character Eddie Flynn. His debut novel, The Defence was long-listed for the Crime Writer’s Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, and shortlisted for two Dead Good Readers Awards. His new book, The Plea, was described by Ian Rankin as, ‘A gripping twisty thriller’.

‘Lively, clever and enjoyable . . . Cavanagh writes vividly about American injustice . . . The constant action is interrupted only by absorbing courtroom scene’.
The Times

Book your place here.

Five Questions -- Brian McGilloway

Brian McGilloway was born in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. After studying English at Queen's University, Belfast, he took up a teaching position in St Columb's College in Derry, where he was Head of English.

His first novel, Borderlands, published by Macmillan New Writing, was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger 2007 and was hailed by The Times as 'one of (2007's) most impressive debuts.' The second novel in the series, Gallows Lane, was shortlisted for the 2009 Irish Book Awards/Ireland AM Crime Novel of the Year. The third Devlin, Bleed a River Deep, was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of their Best Books of 2010. The first DS Lucy Black novel, Little Girl Lost, became an Amazon Kindle No 1 Bestseller in 2013. The follow-up novel featuring Lucy Black, Hurt, is published in November 2013.

Brian lives near the Irish borderlands with his wife and their four children.

Gerard: Preserve the Dead features Lucy Black, your PSNI series character. Now, I very much enjoy your Inspector Ben Devlin books (set on the other side of the Irish border), but I really do prefer DS Black. She has a little more grit in her belly, I think. Have you heard this often? Do you have a favourite yourself, or is that like ranking your kids?

Brian: Thanks Gerard. It’s strange because there's no consensus. The Lucy books have obviously done better in terms of sales and that, but I still get emails from people saying they like the books but would love another Devlin again soon. I suppose the books have different qualities. The Devlin books tend to be more reflective on account of being a first person narrative whereas the Lucy books move faster because they’re third person. In terms of which I prefer, I couldn’t say. I do miss Devlin, and I like writing in that voice which is, truth be told, not a million miles away from my own, with a few minor differences. But I enjoy writing the Lucy books very much and like her as a character and the way in which she’s developing across the series - and I do have a definite ending for her story. And I’m very fond of her mum, even if she isn’t. The Devlin books are constrained a little by his family life and by the fact that his kids are growing up and have to impact on the narrative; Lucy is freer to do things than Devlin is because there’s no one waiting for her to be home at a certain time. That probably means that Devlin would have a much healthier work/life balance!

Gerard: I suppose you could argue, though, that Devlin has a hell of a lot more to lose than Black... Time will tell, I suppose. So you've an ending in mind for Lucy? That's interesting. Are you able to project/predict how many more volumes it'll take to complete her tale?

Brian: To an extent, I guess. Devlin has mostly managed to keep his family and professional life separate - though what happens in one is normally reflected in the other. It’s a deliberate choice - it’s too much of a cliche to have the family in peril in every single story. It happened in Borderlands, which was my first, and I think that’s really it. Much more interesting for me is how he balances the two sides of his life, like plates spinning. As for Lucy, she does have her own network of sorts and, as the books go on, that will continue to grow. She was an outsider in Little Girl Lost. By this new book, she’s beginning to make friends, some in more forced situations than others and is having to be more honest with some others about her relationship with her mother. Lucy has withheld one too many secrets in this book and gets called out on them. She needs to learn to be more trusting. As for the ending, I had thought 5 books, but as I’m working on the fourth at the moment and I’m no much nearer the ending, that might change. Ultimately, Lucy’s story will be tied to the story of Mary Quigg, the little girl who is lost in the book of that name. From the start I knew where I wanted the Lucy books to end; I don’t have that with Devlin. I guess in both cases, they’ll end when I have no more stories to tell for those characters.

Gerard: Two multi-novel series seems like a hell of a lot of story to hold in your head. Do you ever wish that you could write a standalone just to take a break from the long game? Maybe even write in a different form?

Brian: Yes. To be honest, Little Girl Lost was intended as a stand lone for a break from Devlin, but I found that after I’d finished it, I wanted to find out more about Lucy and her story still had some distance to go. I do have an idea for a standalone that I started last year but the story wasn’t ready - I intend to revisit that when it’s more fully formed. I suppose the big problem with two series is trying to ensure that one does;t end up morphing into the other. Keeping them distinct, with the voices of the main characters clear and different is a major concern when I’m writing them. And at times I have an idea and think it’s great, then realise the next day that I already used something similar in one of the Devlins. As for writing outside of crime - I’ll write whatever the story is that I have to tell. If it so happens that that story isn’t a crime one, then so be it. In term of forms, I’m doing some screenwriting at the moment which I’m enjoying very much. It’s more concentrated than writing the novel as you have to know where it’s going from the start, whereas I rarely do with a book. The timeframe is much tighter, too, though it’s much more collaborative than a novel. Certainly its something I’d like to develop further if I can.

Gerard: Something I noticed about Preserve the Dead is that there seemed to be a little more tongue-in-cheek humour than in the prequels. You had a little fun at the expense of English teachers in an early chapter that made me smile. Was this intentional? Perhaps a way to further separate Lucy Black from Ben Devlin?

Brian: I think the first two Lucy books were quite cold - especially Little Girl Lost. Part of the reason for that was that both books dealt with crimes against or involving children. Nothing about that topic suggests humour to me and as a result, both books feel a little cold to me. The Devlin books, I think, have a warmth from Devlin’s voice and from his family life which, again, the Lucy books don’t have - her family is anything but warm, although there is a thawing between her and her mother. The other thing which struck me is that, by this third book, the various agencies and teams know one another now and would be fairly comfortable with one another, so that hopefully is reflected in the banter between them. Of course it’s also a Northern Irish thing - humour in the face of horror. The English teacher joke is about all poems being about sex or death from what I remember. I’ve used that line myself in class and I know of several other English teachers who subscribe to the same theory. The poem he mentions was one that was taught to me by my own teacher, who was a poet called Paul Wilkins. Paul was a superb teacher, a fine poet and a good friend. He died a few months before Borderlands was published, but he was hugely influential in my wanting to be a writer when I was at school. The scene with Fleming is a personal light hearted nod to Paul who I imagine would appreciate the joke.

Gerard: So who gets the next outing? Inspector Devlin or DS Black?

Brian: It’s another Lucy. To be honest, I started it as a Devlin - the book is about hate and complicity in crime; a religious pastor who makes some inflammatory comments about homosexuality in the wake of which a gay youth is killed. The problem was that I made it to chapter 15 and hit a brick wall. So many of the sub plots I wanted to introduce to parallel the main plot didn’t suit the border setting or Devlin’s family life. After three weeks of struggling to move it forward I started it again as a Lucy novel and it just seemed to work - the sub plots make more sense and the setting seems more appropriate to the storyline. I would like to revisit Devlin again when he has another story, but for now the next one is a Lucy. I had played with the idea of them meeting earlier in the series, and Jim Hendry appears in Little Girl Lost, so they exist in the same world. In fact, the first draft of LGL ended with Lucy phoning Devlin to ask for help in tracking down  Mary Quigg’s killer. Henry refers to a friend over the border earlier in the book. But the two series were optioned by two different TV companies and I was warned that they couldn’t appear in a novel together or it would cause all kinds of complications with who owned the rights to which character. They shared a one off story called The Sacrifice, which I wrote for Radio 4 as part of the Derry City of Culture celebrations, but I suspect that will be it with regards a crossover.

Brian McGilloway has a brand spanking new website that you've got to check out. Right now! Also, he can be found on Twitter, and the really privileged might be able to befriend him on Facebook.

What are you waiting for?

Hurt by Brian McGilloway

Brian McGilloway now writes two different police procedural series. His Inspector Devlin series, set in Lifford, Donegal, launched his career. It seems as if his second series, featuring DS Lucy Black (a PSNI officer operating in Derry), has boosted him to higher echelons. And for good reason.

HURT is the second in the DS Lucy Black series and now that I've read it, I'm counting the days until I can get my hands on part 3.

As much as I love the Ben Devlin books, and am eager to read more from the Gadra Inspector, I think Lucy Black is my favourite of the two. Devlin's uniqueness of character comes from the fact that he's an ordinary man, which in itself is a neat trick, but I identify more fully with the flawed Lucy Black. And her flaws became more apparent in HURT. She has her secrets (the fact that her mother is the current Assistant Chief Constable in the PSNI being one) and she has hang-ups (like how she often feels as if she's not being taken seriously), and she seems more unpredictable than Devlin.

HURT's premise is a dark one. An examination of the type of men that prey on teenage girls with self-esteem problems. And then there's the continuation of the major plot point laid out at the end of LITTLE GIRL LOST, which is far from resolved by the end of HURT, but is looking good for some development in part 3. Dammit, when is part 3 out?

Get yourself on the McGilloway wagon right now, people. Though I've a feeling that I might be preaching to the converted. Two great developments in the Derry scribe's career certainly suggest that he's far from operating in obscurity. In recent weeks McGilloway has landed the Tony Doyle Award for screenwriting and LITTLE GIRL LOST has stormed the New York Times Bestseller list. And CSNI congratulates him.

Keep 'er lit, Brian.

KILLER BOOKS!

So, this is happening:

The Derry Journal wrote about it yesterday, and you can see that article right here thanks to the wonderful world wide web. It's really whet my appetite for the event. I'll be there as an author and a fan.

Brian McGilloway includes a longer list of authors who are due to take part in the event on his Facebook page. For those of you who don't do the social media thing, fair play to you, and here's what Brian said yesterday:

"I'm hugely excited to be curating Killer Books at the Verbal Arts Centre in Derry, supported by Easons, from 1-3rd Nov. Guest authors include Lee Child, Ann Cleeves,Colin Bateman, Stuart Neville, Claire McGowan, Declan Burke, Declan Hughes, Louise Phillips, William Ryan, John McAllister, Gerard Brennan, Andrew Pepper, Alan Glynn, Arlene Hunt, Paul Charles, Dave Barclay, Garbhan Downey, Des Doherty and more. I'll also be launching Hurt on Friday 1st in the Verbal Arts at 7pm. There will also be CSI demonstrations, Victorian murder tours of the city walls, story telling, special kids events and much, much more. 

For further details about all the events and to book tickets call the VAC on 028 71266946."

There's going to be SO MUCH FUN! If you love crime fiction as much as I do, like.

A Bit About The Other NI Crime Writers...

This is meant to be a blog that promotes writers from Northern Ireland. It hasn't been fulfilling that brief lately. That's mostly down to spending more time writing and promoting my own work, but I'm still a fan of Northern Irish crime fiction, and since my timetable is going to change dramatically in the next few weeks allowing me more time for the blog from October onwards, I should address this imbalance. And maybe look at editing that last sentence.

No time!

Okay, so, at long last I've started reading Anthony Quinn's DISAPPEARED. So far so good. I'll mention it again when I'm finished.

Earlier this year, I read and loved Claire McGowan's THE LOST. It's the first of a series featuring Paula Maguire. Get on it now.

I also read Stuart Neville's RATLINES. It's much different than the "Belfast Trilogy" (which I'm hoping will become a quadrilogy some day), but also a great read. It's Neville in James Ellroy mode.

And then there's Brian McGilloway. I read THE NAMELESS DEAD most recently, but I have to mention LITTLE GIRL LOST since it recently dominated the Kindle charts ahead of the release of HURT, a new Lucy Black novel, and one I'm very excited about.

And I never talk about NI crime fiction without mentioning Adrian McKinty. The last of his I read was I HEAR THE SIRENS IN THE STREET. Another Sean Duffy novel, and a step-up in cool for the character. Must be down to the "evidence" he smokes. Also looking forward to the third installation of the Duffy series.

So there. I still read and appreciate the contemporary crime clique. And I'm hungry for more. Bring it on.

No Alibis Event - Michael Connelly

There won't be many tickets left to this event so phone David Torrans now to avoid dissapointment - 02890 319601


No Alibis are very pleased to welcome Michael Connelly back to Belfast, and invite you to spend an evening with him, to celebrate the launch of his latest novel THE DROP, on Thursday 27th October at 7:00PM in the Lecture Theatre of the Ulster Museum, Botanic Gardens, Belfast. Tickets, priced £6 each, are now on sale.

Michael will be interviewed by Brian McGilloway.

Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing, a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews.

After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written.

After three years on the crime beat in L.A., Connelly began writing his first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch. The novel, The Black Echo, based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles , was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. Connelly has followed that up with 18 more novels. His books have been translated into 31 languages and have won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Shamus, Dilys, Nero, Barry, Audie, Ridley, Maltese Falcon (Japan), .38 Caliber (France), Grand Prix (France), and Premio Bancarella (Italy) awards.

Michael lives with his family in Florida.

Harry Bosch is facing the end of the line. He's been put on the DROP - Deferred Retirement Option Plan - and given three years before his retirement is enforced. Seeing the end of the mission coming, he's anxious for cases. He doesn't have to wait long. First a cold case gets a DNA hit for a rape and murder which points the finger at a 29-year-old convicted rapist who was only eight at the time of the murder. Then a city councilman's son is found dead - fallen or pushed from a hotel window - and he insists on Bosch taking the case despite the two men's history of enmity. The cases are unrelated but they twist around each other like the double helix of a DNA strand. One leads to the discovery of a killer operating in the city for as many as three decades; the other to a deep political conspiracy that reached back into the dark history of the police department.

Brian McGilloway is author of the critically acclaimed Inspector Benedict Devlin series. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. After studying English at Queen’s University, Belfast, he took up a teaching position in St Columb’s College in Derry, where he is currently Head of English.

His first novel, Borderlands, published by Macmillan New Writing, was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger 2007 and was hailed by The Times as ‘one of (2007’s) most impressive debuts.’ The second novel in the series, Gallows Lane, was shortlisted for both the 2009 Irish Book Awards/Ireland AM Crime Novel of the Year and the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2010. Bleed A River Deep, the third Devlin novel, was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of their Best Books of 2010. Brian's latest novel, Little Girl Lost, which introduced a new series featuring DS Lucy Black, won the University of Ulster's McCrea Literary Award in 2011.

Brian lives near the Irish borderlands with his wife and their four children.

The event will take place in the Lecture Theatre in the Ulster Museum. Entrance will be gained through the Stranmillis Road entrance (opposite Cafe Conor).

Brian McGilloway on Point

Another day, another blurb. Brian McGilloway made me smile on this grey, dreary, damp day in Belfast.

"The Point is the real deal -- the writing is razor sharp, the characters engaging, the ending a blast. From start to finish it's true Northern Noir, crafted with style and wit." - Brian McGilloway

Brian's work is top notch, especially his latest offering, Little Girl Lost, which just about broke my black heart. As with the previous blurbs I've received for The Point, I've been reading this one over and over and pinching myself to make sure I'm not having some sort of cruel coma dream. It all seems legit, though.

Another Fine Night

Yesterday I attended the No Alibis launch of John Connolly's The Burning Soul and Alan Glynn's Bloodland with a musical intro from the uber-talented Isobel Anderson. The authors drew such a crowd that David Torrans had to pull a few strings and get the event moved to the Crescent Arts Centre for the sake of public safety. And I'd wager that every person who showed up enjoyed the evening as much as I did


I've been to a number of John Connolly readings and he was as charismatic and entertaining as usual. His talk raised more than a handful of chuckles, though it was a few shades darker than his usual quasi-stand up routine. But it was a fitting tone, considering the hard-hitiing nature of his latest tome


Alan Glynn read two stand-out passages from Bloodland. He fared very well in the company of the seasoned Connolly and his excerpts drew perfect responses from the tuned-in audience. What really made my night was his introduction, though. He quoted from my review of his most recent offering! Little hat-tips like that can be a powerful motivator to continue my often waning mission to spread the word about the quality Irish crime fiction that is out there. I was chuffed to bits

David Torrans then hosted an interview with the scribes that covered a range of subjects. From Alan Glynn's Hollywood experiences on the set of Limitless to John Connolly's eye-opening episodes amongst the London Irish in the years he worked as a journalist, the content was far-reaching, to say the least. What really captured my imagination was the subject of violence in crime fiction and the degrees of responsibility utilised within the genre. Fascinating stuff.

Author spotters would have been delighted to see Stuart Neville and Brian McGilloway in the audience.

Can't wait for the next event!

A Wee Review - Little Girl Lost by Brian McGilloway

Brian McGilloway gives Inspector Ben Devlin a bit of a holiday and introduces us to his new protagonist, DS Lucy Black of the PSNI Personal Protection Unit in Derry. During an investigation into the kidnapping of a local businessman's teenage daughter DS Black discovers a little girl wandering through a forest on a snowy night in nothing but her nightdress. It soon becomes apparent that the girl has been witness to something incredibly traumatic. So traumatic, in fact, that she retreats into herself and is unable to communicate. DS Black takes it upon herself to take the girl under her wing and try to get her to speak, but can she deal with an additional responsibility? She already cares for her senile father and has more than enough on her plate trying to crack the kidnapping case.

Little Girl Lost is quite a different book from anything McGilloway has written in the Devlin series. From the protagonist to the writing style, McGilloway has made a lot of changes, and all for the better. It should come with a warning, though. This one tugs, pulls and gnaws at your heart strings. Prepare to invest a lot of emotion into this read and don't expect to be paid back with the perfect Hollywood ending. McGilloway has gone all out. Little Girl Lost is darker than a Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

Word on the street is that this is the start of a new series (though we can expect a new Devlin book in the coming year) and this book proves that DS Black will be a welcome addition to the Northern Irish crime scene.

LA Noire

There's an interesting article over at Culture NI on the art of video gaming, penned by Peter McCaughan. He takes a look at the latest Rockstar Games offering, LA Noire, and contemplates its artistic value. James Ellroy is cited as an influence...

In the last few weeks, I've taken advantage of some writing downtime to get reaquainted with gaming. I'm currently button-mashing my way through Red Dead Redemption, LA Noire's Rockstar Games predecessor, and enjoying the mind-numbing stress relief it brings. The cut scenes are too long and you spend a hell of a lot of time trotting from one place to another on your trusty steed but all in all it's pretty good fun. I'll probably give this LA Noire one a turn when the price drops in a few months time, provided I'm not neck deep in a new project.

And yes, I realise I'm almost 32 years old, but hey, I'm from the Super Mario generation.

Anyway, to bring this back to Northern Irish crime fiction, Culture NI are also hosting an article by Garbhan Downey on Brian McGilloway's latest release, Little Girl Lost. Check that out too.

Emerald Noir - Val McDermid on Irish Crime Fiction

My "Irish Crime Fiction" Google alert has been pinging me with links to this listen again link all day.

Peace in Northern Ireland and the economic boom and bust in Southern Ireland have led to a recent rise in crime fiction.

Val McDermid looks at the way real life violence has been dealt with in the work of authors including Tana French, Eoin McNamee, Ruth Dudley Edwards, Stuart Neville and Declan Hughes. We meet David Torrans - whose bookstore in Belfast has been fictionalised in Colin Bateman's series of crime novels. Declan Burke - author of the blog Crime Always Pays - takes us on a tour of Dublin locations featured in crime novels from the modern Docklands offices which inspired Alan Glynn's novel Winterland to the hotels and shops of 1950s Dublin featured in the crime fiction of Booker winner John Banville - who writes under the name Benjamin Black.

I had a listen and enjoyed it very much. It's great that the Irish crime fiction movement has garnered this level of interest. Kudos to Val McDermid for her efforts.



If you listen to the show and your interest is piqued, there's a collection of crime fiction short stories that ties into it nicely. Requiems for the Departed features stories from Brian McGilloway, Stuart Neville, Arlene Hunt and Ken Bruen, to name just those who were mentioned in the programme. It was also blurbed by Colin Bateman, 'Taut, terrifying, terrific.' and reviewed by Declan Burke at Crime Always Pays. And it was launched at No Alibis. Could it be more Emerald? How about this...? It's stories are based on Irish mythology...



Why not give it a lash?



I've also come away from my listening experience with an unsettled feeling. It's about time I was finished with my latest novel-in-progress. If I can get this ending sorted out, it might stand a chance in the publishing world. The Irish crime fiction bar has been set extremely high, though. I'm beginning to worry that I might not reach it.

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!

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.

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

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.

No Alibis Event Tonight!

Wednesday 5th May
7pm
No Alibis Bookstore, Belfast.
Brian McGilloway and Declan Hughes
Book Launch, Chat & Reading

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

Feckin' Traffic! Bet it wouldn't have held Jack Reacher back, though...

As I rattle out this short post I'm missing what promised to be another great No Alibis event. I was in attendance for the Michael Connelly and James Ellroy ones in 2009 and loved them. And right at this very second Brian McGilloway is chatting to Lee Child in Belfast and I'm not there.

Why?

Because some wing nut crashed his feckin' car on the M1 which led to a queue of rubberneckers coasting along my homeward route at a snail's pace. As a result, I was late home and didn't have enough time to get a quick bite to eat, kiss the kids goodnight and hit the tarmac trail.

So, if you happen to be reading this, Motorway-Prang-Boy, thanks a lot, you tool.

I'd really like to hear how the night went from anybody who managed to make it. If you fancy it, please drop a comment here or even email me a few paragraphs and I'll give you your own post.

In the meantime, I'm going to watch a bit of telly with the missus.

There are worse ways to spend an evening.

Lee Child Competition

(Pictured above, Lee Child, writer and handsome devil.)

David Torrans of No Alibis got in touch with me this morning to offer some giveaway tickets to the Lee Child event in Belfast on Wednesday night (full venue and ticket information here). There are five of these beauties up for grabs.

Since we're strapped for time, I'm going to keep the competition simple. First five people to comment on this post get a ticket. Because you might want to bring a significant other with you, I'll allow a maximum of two entries. Simply comment twice if you want two.

Entrants will need to make their way to No Alibis to collect their tickets before the event (and do Dave a favour -- don't leave it to the last minute, please).

Also, you should know that Brian McGilloway is interviewing Child. How could you not want a ticket to that?

Get in there!