Monday Night Tipple

I have a few good reasons for enjoying this glass of plonk (it's got ice in it 'cause I'm dead classy that way) on a Monday night. First off, I'm taking leave from the day-job tomorrow. Secondly, I've a pretty exciting trip to Dublin planned. I managed to blag my way into Declan Burke's excellent Down These Green Streets and it's getting the launch treatment down at the Gutter Bookshop, Temple Bar, at 6PM -- and they've not barred me yet (full details can be found at CAP). And thirdly, I got word today that my short story, Aul Yellah Belly, will be included in Maxim Jakubowski's Mammoth Book of Best British Crime Volume 9 (due to be published in Spring 2012).

Yes.

YES.

YES!

Not too shabby for a Monday.

I'll need to get my finger out from Wednesday, though. Danny from Pulp Press sent me a wee email today to let me know there's an edit coming my way. And as of last week I've got a shit-tonne of work to do on the novel-in-progress. You see, uber-agent, Allan Guthrie (happy birthday, Al!), has had a read and pointed out the bits that need a spit-shine as well as the chunks that need the chainsaw treatment.

But for right now... glug, glug, glug.

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.

Sex, Dubs and Rock 'n' Roll

Thought I'd share the cover of an upcoming anthology one of my short stories has made it into. Purty, ain't it? Edited by Maxim Jakubowski, SITC: Dublin also features stories by Ken Bruen, Colin Bateman, Sean Black, Stella Duffy and others... Pretty good company, am I right?

The collection, I'm very reliably informed, is due back from the printers in a matter of weeks and is on schedule for a September release. It can already be pre-ordered now at Amazon, though...

And in other quite related news, I've also managed to blag my way into the Best British Crime antho (the 8th volume) that features crime fiction stories published in 2009. My story's a crazy little tale of Rock 'n' Roll excess. This collection is also edited by Maxim Jakubowski and the 7th volume had stories by Alexander McCall Smith, Colin Dexter, Christopher Fowler, Robert Barnard, Anne Perry, Peter Lovesey, Ken Bruen and Allan Guthrie. I'm more than a little excited about this sale. Can't wait to see the table of contents for this new one. I heard a rumour that Nick Quantrill has a story in it but that's all so far...

An Introduction to A PRICE TO PAY by MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI

Mea culpa. I’ve only been to Dublin twice. The first time was a fleeting visit which involved taking a cab from the airport to the railway station and then a train to County Westmeath to work with J. P. Donleavy on a book he was writing for the publishing house I then worked for. We completed our edit discussions, had smoked salmon sandwiches and I got back to Dublin around midnight to find my hotel reservation had been lost. The next occasion, two decades later, was for New Year’s Eve and I inevitably made my way to Temple Bar. Felt like the right things to do, even though I’m a non-drinker (purely taste; no principles involved). So, I’m no expert but the spirit of the city did somehow connect with me.

I’m also a die-hard fan of the way that traditional Irish music has influenced so much of modern folk and rock ‘n’ roll in strange and wonderful ways that speak to my heart and guts. So, when the invitation to write this story came about, I knew it had to be a ballad of some sorts. A dark ballad, with death and soul heartbreak at its centre. I was working on a novel about an involuntary private eye seeking a missing young Italian girl, a story that took both characters to Paris and Rome, amongst other places, and couldn’t get the theme out of my mind. So the new tale subconsciously became a variation on this story I couldn’t escape, albeit with both characters somewhat changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty.

As for the Morrígan, I needed an angel of death, and three for the price of one was a temptation I could not resist. I willingly succumbed.

Image by Greg Staples

Edited by Gerard Brennan & Mike Stone

Requiems for the Departed
Irish Crime, Irish Myths.

Requiems for the Departed can now be pre-ordered on the Morrigan Books website.

Maxim Jakubowski

Maxim Jakubowski is a Paris-educated British writer and editor. For 14 years he has edited the bestselling Mammoth Book of Erotica series, as well as two volumes of erotic photography. In his own right, The Times once labelled him 'the king of the erotic thriller' for his provocative novels, and Time Out featured him as one of London's most sexy writers, alongside Chaucer, Shakespeare, JG Ballard, Hanif Kureishi and very few contemporaries. He teaches creative erotica writing for the Faber Academy.

Q1. What are you writing at the minute?

I am just about to embark on a companion novella to my THE STATE OF MONTANA, published many years ago, which went into several foreign editions and sold film rights, so about time to follow up on it. My last novel, the first in 4 years, I WAS WAITING FOR YOU, was completed in December and appears 1st November 2010 from Accent Press.

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

I'm an early riser, and tend to do all my writing end editing work in the morning between 7 am and midday. Afternoons are usually devoted to reading and movies.

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

Read, listen to music, watch films, travel, collect books, CDs, DVDs and magazines.

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

Just write and don't talk about it.

Q5. Which crime writers have impressed you this year?

The new Toby Litt and Scott Turow novels, and a book by Noah Boyd (alias Paul Levine), but am way behind on crime, as have been reading a lot of stuff outside the genre recently.

Q6. What are you reading right now?

About to begin Justin Cronin's THE PASSAGE.

Q7. Plans for the future?

To keep writing, editing, reading and living

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

Everything and nothing, depending on my mood and the day

Q9. Do you fancy sharing your worst writing experience?

I wrote a novel THE PHOSPHORUS WAR, which sold to 3 publishers and they all went under and the book was never published. Although I still have a set of galleys. Maybe a good thing, in retrospect as it's not very good and much too episodic (but then a lot of my stuff is...). But it held my confidence and career back for at least 5 years.

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

No. At least you didn't ask unanswerable questions... And I know of several.

Thank you, Maxim Jakubowski!

Short Stories

Hey, hey. I have some good writing news for a change.

Writing short stories can be pretty therapeutic for me. It's a smaller challenge than a novel, but there's a disproportionatly sweet buzz to be had from nailing one. Last week I finished a story for an upcoming Maxim Jakubowski anthology. I had a blast writing this racy little tale. My good friend and first-time reader, Mike Stone, gave it the thumbs up then helped me rewrite the ending. And Mister Jakubowski liked it enough to include it! Woo hoo! It's due out in April 2010. I'll post more information as and when it becomes available, but for now; it's called Sex in the City, the city is Dublin and it's rumoured that two of my favourite writers also have stories in it. Colin Bateman and Ken Bruen.

I also got two very kind invitations to contribute to a couple of webzines this month. One's brand new and the other is a relaunch of an old classic with a worthy reputation. These short story venues will get dedicated posts in the near future.

And finally, if you'd like to read one of my brand new shorts, hop on over to Pulp Pusher and read Nothing But Time. Tell the pusher I sent you (but don't piss him off).