FIREPROOF -- Out Now!

My second novel from Blasted Heath is officially out now. So far the reaction has been crazy-positive. I'm loving it but I'm kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop. No doubt there are many out there who will be offended by the irreverent treatment of religion in the book. Grand so. Nothing I can do about that. And until the crazies gather with pitchforks and torches, I'll just enjoy the ride.

If you want to download a copy and enjoy or take offence, here's the hub of activity -- Blasted Heath FIREPROOF page.

And should the book inspires you to start your own religion/cult just do me one favour:

Book Events to Die For

I've got my tickets. Have you?

BOOKS TO DIE FOR is a unique, must-have anthology for any fan of the mystery genre, featuring personal essays from 120 of the world’s most beloved and renowned crime writers on the mysteries and thrillers that they most admire, edited by two of their own—John Connolly and Declan Burke.

Tana French on The Secret History by Donna Tartt; Jo Nesbø on Jim Thompson’s Pop. 1280; Kathy Reichs on The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris; Michael Connelly on Raymond Chandler’s The Little Sister, and Charlaine Harris on Geoffrey Household’s Rogue Male: these are just a few of the 120 internationally bestselling mystery writers showcased in this collection—a book every reader of crime fiction should own.

In the most ambitious anthology of its kind ever compiled, each author pays a deeply personal tribute to one mystery that means the most to them, explaining why that book affects them and how it has influenced their own work.  This collection presents a treasure trove of works in the mystery genre by the people who know it best, and is an essential guide for all readers and writers.

Thursday, August 30 at 6:30 p.m.
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Belfast launch of THE WRATH OF ANGELS, BOOKS TO DIE FOR, and SLAUGHTER’S HOUND by Declan Burke
The Ulster Museum
Botanic Gardens, Belfast
Tickets Available from No Alibis Bookstore—free event!
44 (0) 28 9031 9601
Email: david@noalibis.com

Thursday, September 6 at 6:30 p.m.
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin launch of BOOKS TO DIE FOR
Dubray Books Grafton Street
36 Grafton Street
Dublin 2
(01) 677 5568
dublinbookshop@dubraybooks.ie

Christ-Like

The Sweety Bottle -- my granda's shebeen circa 1974

And as of today I'm the same age Jesus was when he was crucified. Kinda freaky because the next book I release through Blasted Heath takes the piss out of religion a little bit... It's all in good fun, though. Hopefully it won't inspire a lynch mob.

Anyway, my 33rd year is off to a great start. I'm almost done with my creative writing MA and I found out last week that the play I wrote with my da, The Sweety Bottle, has received major funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. This means an all Ireland tour in 2013 with the best actors Brassneck Theatre Company can hire. It's going to be so awesome.

And I'm off work tomorrow. Tonight I will mostly be working on tomorrow's hangover.

Happy birthday to me.

No Alibis Event -- Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben

Wednesday 18th July at 6:30PM

Venue: Ulster Museum, Botanic Gardens, Belfast

Tickets: £5/£3

 

No Alibis Bookstore is very pleased to invite you to an evening with Harlan Coben in the Ulster Museum on Wednesday 18th July at 6:30PM. Tickets are now available price £5 each (£3 concession).

Harlan will be signing and chatting about his two most recent novels “Stay Close” & “Shelter”.

Harlan Coben was born and raised in New Jersey. After graduating from Amherst College as political science major, he worked in the travel industry. He now lives in New Jersey with his wife, Anne Armstrong-Coben MD, a pediatrician, and their four children.

Coben is the first author to win all three of the most coveted literary awards: the Edgar Award, Shamus Award and Anthony Award. His books include the Myron Bolitar series, as well as other standalone novels, including Play Dead, Miracle Cure. Tell No One, Gone for Good, No Second Chance, Just One Look, The Innocent, Hold Tight, and Caught. Harlan Coben's books have been published in more than twenty-two languages.

Book your spot now by emailing David, or calling the shop on 9031 9607.

Been Thinkin' and Tinkerin'

How do I get the Fifty Shades of Grey readers to buy my books?

So, it's time to put the second phase of my self-publishing experiment into action. I gave POSSESSION OBSESSION AND A DIESEL COMPRESSION ENGINE away as a Kindle freebie for one day last month. The aim was to get it onto a few thousand Kindles out there in the hopes that it would yield some reviews, maybe encourage people to take a chance on my other books (published by Blasted Heath and Pulp Press).

Just over 200 copies were downloaded that day. I'm not sure about the knock-on sales effect but I do know that the only review I got came from a reader already familiar with my work (Hi, Katy! You're the best!) so in that respect, the experiment kind of failed.

But I've assessed the damage and come up with a slightly different plan. First of all, I've decided to make use of the sites out there that give shout-outs to Kindle freebies. Some need to be contacted ahead of time so I did that on Monday (I feel so organised). The rest I'll need to hit up on Saturday, the first day of the giveaway. Hopefully that'll draw a little more attention to the book. The fact that it's going to run for two days might improve my odds at getting that download figure in the thousands as well. So basically the same as last time but I've (hopefully) picked a better set of days, extended the freebie time period and told more people.

Well I didn't say it was a great and original plan. Just slightly different.

Whatever the case, I'll report the download figures here early next week.

It's Here!

EDIT: FREE THIS WEEKEND -- 7th and 8th July 2012

POSSESSION, OBSESSION AND A DIESEL COMPRESSION ENGINE is now available on Kindle.

Possessed by the Devil. Obsessed with Rock and Roll. Under the spell of a charismatic Ford Focus driven by a diesel compression engine and a thirst for motor oil. This little collection of horror stories spruced up by a healthy splash of Northern Irish smart arsery revisits some classic themes and tips its hat to some new ones. You'll laugh, gasp and cringe, at times all at once.

UK version.

US version.

Enjoy!

Fade to Black

Top writer and general slick motherfecker Tony Black has just released a novella by the name of THE STORM WITHOUT. I've the great fortune of having both a print and Kindle version of this latest Black offering and if his track record is anything to go by, I'll likely read both versions.

Check out this super-slick video trailer (and spot the Northern Irish connection) right now.

The Storm Without from Quick Off The Mark Productions on Vimeo.

The Self Pub Rub

So, with the release of Possession, Obsession and a Diesel Compression Engine on Kindle (appropriate links in the post below), I've dipped my toe into the self-publishing ocean. Figured I'd keep a bit of a journal on my experiences here.

I've signed up to Kindle Select and used one of my promotional "free" days. Not a massive success. 200 copies shifted between Amazon UK and US. Wee Rockets shifted a hell of a lot more than that when Blasted Heath offered it for free for three days. But then, they know what they're doing... I did it on the Jubilee bank holiday because I was about the house that day, but I might have been better off doing it on a weekend. I still have a lot to learn.

The next step in my (laughable) strategy will be to wait until I get a few reviews on there (if I'm lucky enough to get them, like) and then offer it for free for another few days. If anybody reading this wants to help me out with reviews, please drop me a line and I'll mail you an e-copy.

I might play about with pricing too... It's a very short book and 0.77p seems a fair price to me but other people have different philosophies on pricing and I'm happy to experiment with all of them. It'll be fun to see where this thing goes.

Coming Soon

POSSESSION, OBSESSION AND A DIESEL COMPRESSION ENGINE will be available on Kindle soon.

Possessed by the Devil. Obsessed with Rock and Roll. Under the spell of a charismatic Ford Focus driven by a diesel compression engine and a thirst for motor oil. This little collection of horror stories spruced up by a healthy splash of Northern Irish smart arsery revisits some classic themes and tips its hat to some new ones. You'll laugh, gasp and cringe, at times all at once.

Tumbleweed

So... not much going on here at the minute. I'm still working on that goddamned novel, now in it's nth draft, and am trying to limit distractions. And then there's the MA stuff I'm working on. Plus we got some bearded dragons and another puppy in the last few weeks... I'll get back on track as soon as things settle down.

In the meantime, another Northern Irish writer is working his tats off. Wayne Simmons has landed two awesome reviews lately. Stop by his site to read reviews with Lawrence Block and Charles Ardai! Then buy his book, FEVER.

Be cool.