Declan Burke wrote about the relatively recent resurgence of Irish crime fiction, with the likes of John Connolly, Tana French, Ken Bruen and Declan Hughes (among many others). Burke states, "It's an impressive roster, but it does beg the question -- why now?" To find out, you just may have to join him at the BOOKS 2008 crime series, September 5 to 7, with such seminars as "Forty Shades of Grey: Real Fiction, Real Ireland."
Harlequin’s Mira Books division recently threw a party in honor of debut thriller writer Jason Pinter, who recently signed a 3-book deal. What was so newsworthy about just another publisher party for an author? Executive editor Margaret Marbury explained that even though Mira has been publishing thrillers for years and has a number of male authors on its lists, "People still only think we’re category romance and it’s a little bit frustrating."
The International Thriller Writers organization has eliminated the Paperback Original (PBO) category from its annual awards. As Michelle Gagnon lamented on the Kill Zone Authors blog, she was "actually surprised there wasn’t more of an outcry. PBO is a treasured category, in that it gives writers who aren't necessarily guaranteed a spot on the bestsellers' lists an opportunity for some recognition."
The historic Clavell Tower was rescued from the brink of disaster in the UK, thanks to an 18-month project. The monument was the inspiration for PD James' novel The Black Tower and the mystery author backed the campaign to save the building, also known as the Tower of the Winds.
The British Association for the Advancement of Science’s Festival of Science is being held in Liverpool between September 6 and 11, in a bid to show how thriller writers and forensic scientists can fight real crime. Participants include several scientists as well as crime novelists Margaret Murphy, Val McDermid, Peter James. One of the attending scientists, Dr. Lorna Dawson, was asked if the writers get close to real life? to which she replied, "There is a great difference between some of these vehicles of communication. You get very good authors like Margaret (Murphy), who makes absolutely sure that she gets the facts right. On the other side, you get the sensational type of movie, which gives crime fiction a bad name."
In another page from the "it pays to know someone" book of opportunity, Tod Goldberg recounts in the LA Times how he came to write original novels based on the popular USA series Burn Notice, despite having what he called the kind of notoriety one rarely reads about, "I've lost all the awards I've ever been nominated for, my most ardent fans number in the tens of hundreds, and I'd need the Jaws of Life to pull me onto the bestseller list. In short, a career in the literary fiction trenches, where acclaim is something you hang your hat on, since you haven't made enough money to buy a hat rack." Then came the call from his very successful brother Lee Goldberg (Monk, Diagnosis Murder) about Burn Notice. The article includes anecdotes from other tie-in author like James Rollins (Indiana Jones) and Max Allan Collins (CSI novels).
And from the life imitates art department, crime writer Lance Black turned crime fighter to stop a would-be thief, chasing down the perpetrator after he swiped a mobile phone from an employee at the Union Street Orange shop. Coming soon to his next novel, perhaps?
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