An Introduction to RED HAND OF ULSTER by SAM MILLAR

Of all the bloody scenes in Ireland’s past, none was as personal as The Red Hand of Ulster when the High King, O’Neill, and a man named Dermott both wished to be king of that coveted piece of Ireland. The High King suggested a horse race, and first to touch the land would become the winner and sole owner of Ulster. As the two came in sight of the ending point, it seemed that Dermott would win, so O’Neill cut his hand off and threw it. It reached the goal ahead of Dermott’s horse, winning for O’Neill the crown of Ulster.

For me, this was the perfect background for Belfast PI, Karl Kane, when he went in search of the elusive Red Hand of Ulster serial killer. I enjoyed the story so much I decided to expand it into a full length novel in the Karl Kane series, due for 2011.

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.

Sam Millar

This interview first appeared on CSNI 17th March 2008


Yes, it's St Patrick's day, but crime doesn't take holidays, and neither does CSNI. Unless you count yesterday. Ahem. So here's a very special treat to mark the day that doesn't involve shamrocks or green Guinness or whatever else the eejits in green foam hats enjoy. It's an interview with Sam Millar.

Sam Millar has a huge list of achievements -- Author of three best-selling novels; Dark Souls, The Redemption Factory, The Darkness of Bones. His newest novel, Bloodstorm, has been selected by Eason and The Sunday Times to mark the 10^th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

“Bloodstorm is a powerful, relentless page-turner of a book, leaving you gasping for more…”

BBC Radio Ulster

He’s also the author of the best-selling memoir, On The Brinks, recently acquired by Warner Brothers.

Mr Millar has won the prestigious Aisling Award for Art and Culture, the Martin Healy Short Story Award, the Brian Moore Award for Short Stories and the Cork Literary Review Writer’s Competition. There’s more, but I’ll let him talk about it.

Q1. What are you writing at the minute?

A: The Dark Place and Searching For The Dead. These are the follow-ups to Bloodstorm. I have a couple of stand-alone projects in the oven, but they are not fully baked yet.

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

A: Right now it’s 5am. That’s when I usually hit the screen (unlike cops hitting the street). I am blessed with insomnia - a writer’s dream (notice I didn’t write cursed with an ailment!). I’m eating marmalade and toast because my wife says it’s good for me, even though my doctor has firmly advised me never to touch the stuff as I am allergic to oranges, and it could cause a massive heart attack. Hey, always trust your wife, right…? I can’t be too precise as to where my ideas come from, because they usually sneak up on me. But sometimes the most mundane incidents can be the spur to kick-start the next paragraph. They say the greatest ideas are always accidental. Unfortunately, I haven’t had too many accidents, lately…

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

Er, you really don’t want to know. Trust me on that…

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

Stop being so modest, Mister Brennan. We’ve all seen your work – and damn good it is too. For those just starting in this dirty, bare-knuckle business my advice is simple (a bit like myself): write. Keep writing. There is no wrong time to write. Have balls as big as the Hulk’s. Believe in yourself and with a good bit of hard grafting, you will make it. Never forget luck. You need plenty of that, as well. Oh, did I mention the Hulk…?

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

A: Er…have to skip that one…sorry any crime writer reading this…(bang goes the promised eye-catching blurbs for my next book).

Q6. What are you reading right now?

A: No Country For Old Men. (I think this is the tenth time) and The Road (the twentieth time.) I’ve been a big follower of Cormac McCarthy for years. ‘Discovered’ his work about ten years ago while I was resting in the penitentiary in America. It’s great seeing him getting the recognition he deserves so richly (boy, is he rich). In a strange twist of fate, my French publisher, Fayard, translates the great reclusive man’s work, and as I have a notorious brass neck, I have numerous signed copies from Cormac – I mean Mister McCarthy. I would kill anyone who dared touch them. No seriously. I would.

Q7. Plans for the future?

A: That’s a secret, in case my publisher is reading this…(which he probably is). Very sneaky of you, Steve…

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

A: Wouldn’t we all?

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

A: You haven’t asked me the million-dollar question, the one everyone else normally asks: what did you do with all the money from the biggest robbery in American history? Well, seeing you didn’t ask, I’m sure as hell not telling. Buy On The Brinks…

Thank you, Sam Millar!

A Bastard Evil Twin Stole My Chapbook!

As I normally do before reviewing a book, I've been ignoring (as much as possible) the internet activity promoting Sam Millar's The Dark Place. Which is why I missed this extract from his interview with Critical Mick:

CM: Have you read Gerard Brennan's short story collection, Possession, Obsession and a Diesel Compression Engine?

SM: Not yet, because he keeps saying he's going to send me a signed copy, but never does. Too tight, the tight-arsed git. He had a great run of 'short stories' in the AndyTown News, a while back. Everyone was talking about it, saying how great it was. I have to admit, he scares me sometimes, what's going on in his head...

Read the rest of that very funny interview here.

Thanks to Mick raising the question in the first place, and Sam reminding me that I did very little to push it, I've been thinking. Maybe I should have promoted that wee short story collection a lot harder. But its publication just happened along at the wrong time. I'd just finished writing a book that had taken me well away from the black-humoured horror I'd been working on in the years before. I wasn't sure if the collection was really representative of the kind of writer I wanted to be.

But now I've found this rather alarming news report on the Baysgarth Publications website telling me that some pup, who claims to be my evil twin, has swiped the chapbook and taken control of it. According to a tweet I came across, Garner claims that he's 'always been sicker' than me. It's a weird situation, and I'm not sure how I'm meant to deal with it just now... I'm just going to ignore Brendan Garner and hope he goes away.

A Wee Review - The Dark Place by Sam Millar

Sam Millar could be labelled Northern Ireland’s answer to Edward Bunker. But I wonder if it’s a disservice to Millar and his craft to describe him as a man who writes what he knows intimately -- has lived 'the life'. Certainly, in the case of The Dark Place, there is very little that could be gleaned from time spent in Long Kesh or even an American prison.

There are humorous references within The Dark Place describing it as ‘the Belfast version’ of Silence of the Lambs and even night-vision goggles play a part in the tale. But this is no cheap spoof. It’s a brutal and ugly tale. Merciless in its nihilism. Exploring loss and misery is what Sam Millar does best in his maturing Karl Kane series.

Karl Kane is a Belfast private investigator and a martyr to his haemorrhoids. He has a knack for saying the wrong thing at the worst time. The bookies love to see him. Kane’s tendency to operate outside the law means he’s not a hot favourite with the cops... Kind of a PI prototype circa 1950. Apart from the arse scratching, that is.

Plot-wise, homeless, drug-addicted young girls are disappearing off the Belfast Streets. Karl Kane takes a slightly unwilling interest in the case. Homeless people are practically invisible in Millar’s Belfast, so not much of a fuss is made when bodies start to show up. But with the slight chance of some cash and pressure from debtors always on his mind, Kane tries to engage with the homeless. His less than subtle methods lead him to... If you’re still interested, read The Dark Place. Millar tells this one better than me.

As with my previous experience of Sam Millar’s work, I was disturbed by The Dark Place. Millar has a way about him; like he’s smiling and shaking your hand while he cocks the .45 to shoot you in your gut. Be aware of Millar’s intentions (and the cover makes them pretty clear) before you crack the spine. He’s the anti-cosy. You have been warned...

News Scraps – A Chain of Linkage

Stuart Neville is officially a Rising Star. If you’ve read The Twelve, please stop off at Amazon UK and leave a review for him. More reviews he gets, the more chance he has of becoming THE Amazon Rising Star. A kingpin of debut novelists, so to speak.

Tony Bailie has a story up on the Verbal Magazine website. That’s a prestigious spot to occupy, especially now that the magazine is bi-monthly and they only run one piece of fiction per issue.

And Sam Millar is making waves on the blogosphere ahead of the release of The Dark Place. See what they have to say about him on Liffeyside and Sons of Spade. I’ll have to crack the spine of my copy soon.

I doubt anybody will forget that James Ellroy is coming to Belfast in November. (I’ve a suspicion that Stuart Neville has some impressive news to reveal on that score, but I’ll not speculate on what it might be. Wouldn’t want to steal his thunder, you know?) Tickets will be on sale soon, according to the Waterfront website.

Here’s another big event that slipped under my radar -- Ian Rankin at the Belfast Waterfront as part of the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's.

So there you have it, plenty going on in and around these parts crime fiction-wise.

It'll Be Dark Come September

Sam Millar's tormented PI, Karl Kane, returns! The Dark Place, published by Brandon, will hit the shelves on the 2nd of September. Here's some nifty pics of the cover. Click the images for an extreme close-up.

Poussière Tu Seras

I'm don't speak a lot of French... well, not any. But if you do, you might be interested in this. Sam Millar's French translation of The Darkness of Bones is due out next week. And here's the snazzy cover. C'est fantastique, or something. Click on the image to get a proper look.


Sacrebleu.

The Dark Place -- Coming in October 2009

Check out this pretty disturbing cover for what is sure to be a very disturbing read if the first Karl Kane novel is anything to go by. And of course, the blurb gives you a hint or two:

“Young homeless women and drug addicts are being abducted before being brutally mutilated and murdered, and a city is held in grip of unspeakable terror. The cops are unable – or unwilling – to apprehend the elusive killer, and corrupt politicians turn a seemingly blind and almost approving eye to the catalogue of murders.

The perpetrator is cunning, wealthy and influential. More importantly, he has never once made a mistake in his grisly calling – until now. By abducting Katie, the young daughter of legendary private investigator, Karl Kane, the killer has just made his first mistake, which could well turn out to be his last.”

Incidentally, you might be interested to know that Sam's contribution to the anthology I'm editing with Mike Stone is also a Karl Kane story. Just saying...

Sam Millar - Event Reminder

A major reading event will take place on March 25th from 6-8pm at Belfast Central Library. It will have an invited audience of reading group members from all the Belfast libraries, but also be open to the general public. Admission is free. Sam Millar will read a chapter, exclusively from his new book, The Dark Place due out this year. This is the follow-up to his best-selling and critically acclaimed Bloodstorm.

Sam will also be doing a six-week crime writing workshop beginning on March 26th –April 30th, at 4:30-6:30 in the CWN Boardroom. It is advised to book early for this, as places will be limited and we expect a great deal of interest.

(This info came to me via Joe Murray, PR and the CWN newsletter.)

Sam Millar To Move Into Belfast Central Library

Most writers wisely invest time into readings and signings to launch a new book, which is great for the fans, and I think the majority of writers enjoy it too. I don't believe I've ever seen anything as hardcore as this, though. Sam Millar will have to invest in a couple of cases of Red Bull to keep him going through his busy schedule over the coming weeks:

Wednesdays/Thursdays 2pm to 4pm, 18th, 19th, 25th, 26th. Members of the general public will be invited to come and meet Sam, and talk about their memories of Belfast Central Library.

Open Mic Poetry Event on Tuesday, March 31 at 7pm in Chapter One Cafe, chaired by Sam.

City Tales Storytelling Event Tuesday April 23rd with Fra Gunn and Sam 8pm

A major reading event will take place on March 25th from 6-8pm. It will have an invited audience of reading group members from all the Belfast libraries, but also be open to the general public and be free. Sam will be reading a chapter, exclusively from his new book, The Dark Place due out this year. This is the follow-up to his best-selling and critically acclaimed Bloodstorm.

Sam will also be doing a six-week crime writing workshop beginning on March 26th –April 30th, at 4:30-6:30 in the CWN Boardroom. It is advised to book early for this, as places will be limited and we expect a great deal of interest.

Quite a bit going on there, eh?

Hopefully I'll get to attend a couple of these things. The writing workshop sounds very interesting...

Millar Crime

Sam Millar has recently launched a new website running under the delightfully tongue-in-cheek title, It’s Millar Crime. Have a wee shuftie and read a little about his crime books, including his most recent Bloodstorm, and his memoir, On The Brinks.

And you’ll also find an article by Sam’s in issue 21 of Verbal Magazine. Check out pages 20 and 21 for his musings on the Brian Moore Award and some advice on trying to make it as a writer, including his ‘seven commandments of writing’:

1) Never ever show your manuscript to family and friends (they’ll always tell you what you want to hear).

2) Type each and every day – even when your fingers have fallen off (use toes).

3) All excuses are inexcusable.

4) Never handwrite a manuscript. It isn’t right.

5) Never tolerate writer’s block. It’s for blockheads.

6) Avoid vanity printing. You might love it, but no one else will.

7) Avoid self-publishing. The writing fraternity will despise you for taking the coward’s way out. Fight the good fight of self-belief and eventually you will win. We all had to do it, and have the bruises to show for it.

You can read the rest if you download the issue 21 PDF on the Verbal Magazine website. Just click the link on the left of the page et voila.

If this ain't crime fiction...

Apologies for the poor image quality folks. Tried to convert the flier from PDF on photoshop. First time I've used it. No idea what I'm doing. The things you do when you should be writing. If you click on it, it's easier to read.

Top Stuff 2008

Saturday brought good news for Sam Millar in the form of much lauding. The Belfast Telegraph (or Belly Telly in some quarters) did a top-ten-reads-in-2008 piece. Millar’s Bloodstorm took the top spot. To put this in perspective, he beat Maeve Binchy and Frank McCourt to get there.

Meanwhile, I’ve been thinking about my own top ten for 2008. Declan Burke over at Crime Always Pays beat me to the punch last week. John McFetridge did well there, didn’t he? Note to self; hurry the hell up and read his books. I’ve started reading his meta-fiction series on his Bouchercon road trip with Dec Burke to tide me over. It’s a lot of fun.

Also, Adrian McKinty posted Stephen King’s top ten albums for 2008, which is a bit of a cop-out if you ask me (sorry, Ade, going for that controversy thing). However, since a precedent has been set, I’ll give myself a bit of a cop-out top ten. You see, I’ve read a lot of great books this year, and it’d take ages to judge my best reads of 2008. And I don't have that kind of time. So, here’s a list of my favourite CSNI interviews – and it’s a baker’s dozen, rather than a top ten:

Ken Bruen
Colin Bateman
John Connolly
Lucy Caldwell
Ian Sansom
Declan Burke
Adrian McKinty
Brian McGilloway
Garbhan Downey
Arlene Hunt
Neville Thompson
Stuart Neville
Aifric Campbell

Honourable mention to Sam Millar for being the first CSNI interviewee. And the circle is complete.

Speaking of Which - A Bit About Sam Millar & The CWN

Did you know that Glen Patterson judged the Brian Moore Short Story Award last year? Well, he did. And Sam Millar won it ten years ago, and believes it was a turning point in his writing career. He even told the folks at BBC Radio Ulster's Artsextra programme all about it. You can listen to it on the Artsextra website for the next five days. Better hurry.

Interviewed alongside him is Mark Madden from the Creative Writers Network. They run the Brian Moore competition every year. Although I've never won the award, I have benefited greatly from my membership there. They introduced me to Ian McDonald two years ago on their mentoring course, told me of an Ian Sansom workshop before I discovered The Mobile Library Series, and tipped me off on a Colin Bateman reading where he signed my copy of Divorcing Jack. I even attended a writing for radio course hosted by Annie McCartney last year. Ah, good times. So, thanks CWN. Keep on truckin'.

Oh, by the way, Tammy Moore did a lot of work for the CWN in her time. Nowadays she can be found writing for Morrigan Books, a new publishing house going from strength to strength in genre fiction. Best of luck to the lot of them.

Tammy's first publication, The Even, can be purchased from the publisher, Amazon or Waterstones. Take your pick.

Sam on the Lam - Another US Bloodstorm Review

Sam Millar continues to do us proud on the review front. Here's one that appeared in Booklist for the US release of Bloodstorm:

Irish crime writer, Sam Millar (The Redemption Factory) is back with a brand new anti-hero, Karl Kane…

Thirty years ago Robert Mitchum and Michael Winner reprised The Big Sleep, setting their version of Raymond Chandler’s classic California crime novel in modern-day London. Surprisingly, the change of venue worked. In Bloodstorm, Millar’s wisecracking PI Karl Kane, though navigating the cockeyed lanes of twenty-first-century Belfast, could just as well be rambling the mean streets of prewar L.A. in tandem with Philip Marlowe. Private-eye-novel conventions that no longer are believable in the U.S.—the presence of an admiring (and foxy) Girl Friday, who draws a paycheck and does nothing, for example, or the hero’s habit of spouting off for the heck of it to the police (in the age of Homeland Security)—somehow seems right at home in the context of Millar's contemporary Belfast...

Millar’s story line, too, will remind fans of the Marlowe stories; it’s as masterful as anything Chandler concocted by stitching together unrelated short stories. Crime noir doesn’t get much darker or grittier than this shocking tale of corruption and revenge...

Altogether, Bloodstorm is a real find for aficionados of the classic hard-boiled novel who would like to see the form updated without it smelling like an anachronism.

— Steve Glassman, Booklist

And at the weekend Sam dropped me a line to ask that I pass on a thank you to all those who attended the Take Two for Crime event in Dublin featuring Sam and Paul Charles and "special thanks to song master extraordinaire Paul Brady for his excellent contribution to the show," says Sam.

Happy days.

Two for Crime

You heard it here second, because the knavish Dec Burke of CAP infamy posted about it earlier with a funnier title. But sure, no harm repeating the pertinent info. Click the pic for a closer look.


I'd love to attend this one myself, but again, the pesky dayjob interferes. What can you do?

Uncle Sam Wants Reviews...

And it looks like Sam Millar is getting them. And by all accounts, the US release of Bloodstorm is making crimson waves across the pond. Have a look at these two latest excerpts:

“The storm of unapologetically dark violence, brooding angst and unexpected poetry that's been raging through Irish crime fiction the last few years shows no signs of abating, and may even be rising in intensity. Certainly, that seems to be the case with Sam Millar's new novel, the ambitious Bloodstorm, which seeks to crank it up even further. Like protagonists from contemporaries Ken Bruen, John Connolly, and Declan Hughes, Millar's Belfast private detective hero Karl Kane is damaged goods--an uneven mess of substance abuse and psychological scars that simply won't heal. Not surprising, perhaps, since he won't stop picking at them.

Bloodstorm begins with a dynamite opening--one of the most gripping I've read in a while - and when the pieces finally fall into place, they do so with considerable narrative force.

When Millar lets up on the overwhelming gloom and doom, hints of poetry, wit and even a begrudging sense of humanity begin to creep in. There's enough promise in here to keep me waiting anxiously for the next instalment. Millar's willingness to grind his readers' faces in the dirt is clear--now let's see what will happen if he lets them see a sliver of light.”

Mystery Scene Review, USA

“Bloodstorm is a real find for aficionados of the classic hard-boiled novel who would like to see the form updated without it smelling like an anachronism.”

Boston Book Review

You could do a lot worse, right? Great work, Mister Millar!

An Interview - John McAllister

John McAllister holds an M.Phil. in creative writing from Trinity College, Dublin and has being doing readings and giving lectures in creative writing for some years.

He has published poems and stories worldwide, and has read in places as far apart as Cork and Boston, Mass.

Major Publications:
THE FLY POOL and other stories (Black Mountain Press, 2003)
LINE OF FLIGHT, a novel (Bluechrome Publishers, 2006)

John was also joint editor for: BREAKING THE SKIN, twenty-first century Irish writing, (Black Mountain Press, 2002), and the editor of HOMETOWN (ABC Writers Network, 2003)

Q1. What are you writing at the minute?

The news is catching up with me. I am writing a novel (working title THE MAFIA FUND) about a Russian attempt to control the economies and judiciaries of the Western World. This is the Cold War all over again, but now the ‘big guns’ is the Russian Mafia. Their first step is to take control of the only other international crime organisation, the Italian Mafia. As a sideline, the Russian plan to steal the contents of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

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

My day starts at six o’clock. I write until seven then I take my wife a cup of tea. At seven thirty we argue who is going to get up first. I start writing again at eight thirty and usually stop at eleven to take the dog a walk. I work and rest and correct Open College assignments for creative writing students until tea time. Serious planning of my writing I do for ten minutes before I go to bed at about eleven thirty. I actually plotted my published novel LINE OF FLIGHT (Bluechrome) that way. Ten minutes a day for three months and the story as finally told was more or less complete.

Two day as week I go into my old accountancy firm and work from eleven to five. Wednesday afternoons I attend the Queens writing classes. Usually on a Tuesday night and one Thursday a month I facilitate writing classes.

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

Read books, visit friends, chase greyhounds, watch whatever my wife wants to see on television. Currently it’s ‘Hairspray’. I slid out of that one to write this. I usually, more or less, take the weekends off.

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

Forget the crime. Focus in on character. Think of it this way. What would happen if a gunman pulled a gun on?

A You
B The hero of ‘Die Hard’
C Mother Theresa of Calcutta.

You’d probably faint with shock. ‘The Die Hard’ hero would put the gunman’s lights out. Mother Theresa would pray for him.

As I say: Character – Character - CHARACTER

Q5. Which crime writers have impressed you this year?

R. J. Ellory’s book ‘A Quiet Vendetta’ An absolutely fantastic book. I read it on holiday and went straight back to page one and started again. Ellory writes beautiful English and his plotting is absolutely superb. I came home and bought the rest of his published books.

I think ‘A Quiet Vendetta’ is based on ‘The Ice Man’ by Philip Carlo. The biography of a horrendous Mafia killer. Ellory’s hero is quiet and controlled where the real hit man was pretty unstable.

Having said that, I had intended to keep Sam Millar’s latest book ‘Bloodstorm’ for my holidays. Unfortunately, I couldn’t resist having a peek – and of course I finished it. More of ‘Karl Kane’ Sam, please. Say for my Christmas holiday.

Q6. What are you reading right now?

R.J. Ellory’s ‘Ghost Heart’ I’ve just got a few pages read so I can’t tell you much about it. I have just finished a reread of Jennifer Johnston’s novel ‘Foolish Mortals’. Her writing is so far removed from anything I do that I can only read and admire.

Q7. Plans for the future?

This sounds a bit daft. I finished the first draft of THE MAFIA FUND at Christmas. I intended to take January off then re-plot and do characterisation and get back into the second draft by Easter. However, a few years ago I published a collection of short stories, THE FLY POOL (Black Mountain Press). The first five stories were about an old policeman in the nineteen-fifties, Sergeant John Barlow. A friend of mine kept nagging for a new Barlow story – and I’ve got to admit that most people who mentioned the collection, focused in on Barlow - so in January I sat down to write one more. 56,000 words and six months later the third draft of that story(?) is finished. I’ve just sent it off to a publisher. I call it A SOFT HANGING. My friend who encouraged me to write the story in the first place, helped me come up with that title. It was the least he could do.

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

To be honest, I don’t think so. I’m not being arrogant when I say that. I had to grow up the way I did, mature the way I have. Make every stupid mistake in the book and then invent some more. I think, if anything, I’d have done a lot more structured reading.

Q9. Worst writing experience.

Reading a story about date rape (SCORING) to a room full of women.

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

Writing isn’t easy. It’s like banging your head off a wall. Lovely when you stop. BUT when you’ve done a solid piece of writing you can get a lift that transcends any high available in drugs. The wonderful thing is that it can be repeated day after day after day. And it is utterly utterly addictive.

Finally to paraphrase Damon Runyon. If you want to be a writer, what are you doing reading this? Why aren’t you writing?

Thank you, John McAllister!

Old News, New News and a Wee Bit of Both!

First, some Link Love. A new site by the name of Scandinavian Crime Fiction in English has hit the webosphere running, and put me in mind of the recent K O Dahl novel I read; a dark, noir trip into Norwegian detective fiction. And when you're in the mood for Viking chills why not check out the sister blog, Scandinavian Crime Fiction?

Talking about bleak crime fiction, guess what's happening with Sam Millar? Bloodstorm's only gotten itself some excellent reviews on its US release (and check out the new cover above). Look:

Bloodstorm is the first in a powerful new crime series from Irish author Millar. Extremely original, it is a chillingly gripping book, and the consistently tough prose should help gain Millar more fans in the U.S. with a taste for the hard-boiled.

Publisher Weekly, USA

Irish crime writer, Sam Millar (The Redemption Factory) is back with a brand new anti-hero, Karl Kane…crime noir doesn’t get much darker or grittier than this shocking tale of corruption and revenge…

Booklist, USA

And not to be outdone, Brian McGilloway is blogging for the week at Moments in Crime in preparation for his own US release. Borderlands will be available in across the pond on 2nd September 2008. And here's what they're saying about him:

The pacing of the book never falters and McGilloway builds suspense gradually but inexorably... This is an excellent new procedural series, especially notable for its realistic and sensitive portrayal of life in modern Ireland. Essential for mystery collections.

Booklist Starred Review

McGilloway skillfully weaves Irish politics - from the shadow of the IRA in the North to the tensions between the travellers and the locals in the South - into his multilayered story. A keen observer, Devlin has just enough flaws to make him an empathetic hero. An assured debut.

Publishers Weekly

Exceptionally mature prose and a hero as charismatically volcanic in his own way as Louisiana's Dave Robicheaux.

Kirkus Reviews

This debut novel, which was shortlisted for the 2007 New Blood Dagger, will appeal to readers who like clean plotting and characters facing the complexities of modern life while still living the old ways.... [A] worthy addition to the growing body of police procedurals set in Ireland.

Library Journal

Of course, this would all have been much more impressive if that lousy so-and-so from Crime Always Pays wasn't the scooping devil that he is.

An Interview - Eugene McEldowney

Eugene McEldowney is a former journalist, now retired, with plenty of time to do what he enjoys most, which is writing. He grew up in the Ardoyne area of Belfast but spent all his career in Dublin on the staff of The Irish Times. He now spends his time between Dublin and Spain.

Q1. What are you writing at the minute?

I’m writing a mainstream novel which looks at how the past has a way of catching up with the present. It is coming along quite well but it keeps changing which I regard as a good thing because it means the characters are coming to life. So I don’t know how it will turn out in the end.

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

When I’m writing, I set myself a target of 1000 words a day. Some days when a novel is going well, I can write much more but other days it might be less. When I’m engaged on a novel I try to spend four or five hours at the word processor, preferably in the morning when my mind is fresh but any time will do.

My method of working is to get the novel finished in a hard spurt and then go back and retune and refine. My novels tend to be around 100,000 words long which means I should get a first draft completed in 100 days ie about 3-4 months. The rewriting is less enjoyable than the initial draft when the creative ideas are flowing.

Often when I’m working on a project, ideas for other novels will come to me. So I may be working on one novel and thinking about another one and taking notes and doing research.

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

I read a lot and watch cop dramas. I also go for long walks which gives me an opportunity to think about plot and character development. I have a wide circle of friends and try to keep in touch with them all. My other big interest is traditional singing and I am a member of several singing clubs which meet in Dublin. I get to a singing club at least once a week. I’m kept busy, believe me.

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

The best advice for any aspiring writer is to sit down and write. The other advice is to read widely. If an author impresses you with a novel, ask yourself how he/she managed to do it. Study a book from a technical point of view. Writers tell stories and everybody has experiences which is what a writer draws on. But you can also borrow ideas from other writers. There is nothing wrong with this. All writers including William Shakespeare have done it.

Be prepared for rejection. Most writers get turned down at the beginning unless they are either geniuses or extremely lucky. So be prepared for the long haul. Listen to good advice. Plot and pace are very important in crime fiction and these can be learned. But for me, character is supreme. If you can manage to create interesting characters, your reader will care about them and get drawn into the book.

Work hard and set targets and deadlines. A thousand words a day may sound like a lot but it can be achieved. Some writers manage much more. Writing is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.

Q5. Which crime writers have impressed you this year?

There is a crop of Northern Ireland writers who are producing very good work – Sam Millar, Adrian McKinty and Brian McGilloway. I read widely from Martina Cole to James Lee Burke to Graham Greene. My favourite crime writer is James Ellroy and Agatha Christie is always worth returning to particularly for plot construction.

This year I reread Peter Hoeg’s Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow which is one of my all-time favourite crime novels.

Q6. What are you reading right now?

I usually have several books going at once. I’m reading Antony Beevor’s The Battle for Spain which is a history of the Spanish Civil War and Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks. I also have In the Woods by Tana French waiting to get started.

Q7. Plans for the future?

Keep writing. I have several plot ideas swirling around in my head.

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

I would take my time. I think some of my books could have done with more refinement but I’m told that all writers think this. Publishers’ deadlines are fine for getting your ass in gear but I think a finished novel will always benefit by being left aside for a few months before final editing. It’s a balancing act.

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

There is a massive market for crime fiction so sit down and get started… there are a thousand stories…….

Thank you, Eugene McEldowney!