News
After the excitement of my debut novel, Fallen Idols, my
second book, Lost Souls, is now in the shops. It is the second book in the Jack
Garrett and Laura McGanity series, and follows their move to the north. Lost
Souls will also be released in the German language by Weltbild, and further
details of this will be announced nearer the time. For those of you who prefer to have stories read out to you, either through
visual impairment, or because it is the perfect way to unwind on holidays
and lazy afternoons, the audio-book version of Fallen Idols will be
released on 15th September, narrated by the hugely-talented Jack Paulin. Fallen Idols was nominated
for the Book To Talk About Award, in conjunction with World Book Day 2008. This was a great honour, more than I could have expected from my debut novel, and hopefully Lost Souls will attract similar acclaim. I am now working hard on my third book, which will be published in the spring of 2009. I have also been selected by the Wakefield Library
Authority as their chosen author in relation to National Reading Year, which is a great campaign, as there are so many distractions in todays busy world that people can forget the simple joy of a good book. It has been a very busy summer though, with the press and radio interviews following the release of
Lost Souls, as well as major crime fiction events. In June, there was Crimefest in Bristol, a few days of crime
fiction chat and drinking, and it was great to share the bar with people whose names I had only seen on book covers, like Jeff Lindsay (the Dexter books)and Zoe Sharp, and my fellow Avon authors Lee Weeks and Helen Black were good company throughout. The Crimefest organisers did a fine job of putting on four days of varied panels and guest appearances. I even made a panel appearance myself, on sidekicks in crime fiction, to appear on one myself, although it was the dreaded 9am Sunday slot. Despite that, it was well attended, and it was an interesting
discussion, despite the hour.
Dagger Awards 2008: with me, Claire Seeber, Lee Weeks and Helen Black
The Dagger Award Ceremony at the Four Seasons on July 10th was another chance to rub shoulders with the wealth of talent in British crime fiction, and the list of winners made it a satisfying evening. Three stood out for me: Francis Fyfield, Martin Edwards and Tom Rob-Smith, although all for different reasons.
Francis Fyfield is (or maybe "was" by now) a fellow prosecutor, so it was nice to see her win the Duncan Lawrie Dagger, the main award, for her novel Blood from Stone. Tom Rob-Smith won the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for his book, Child 44, and I was pleased to see him win as it is just a damn good book.
And thirdly, and most pleasing for me, was Martin Edwards, who won the short story Dagger for The Bookbinder's Apprentice.I was particularly pleased for Martin, because he is a thoroughly pleasant person, and also a great student of the genre. He was my moderator on my panel at Crimefest, a real steady hand (although he didn't seem too steady when I saw him tottering across Oxford Road at 1am -I had ditched the tuxedo by then and gone looking for a bar - but I suppose he could be forgiven that on an award-winning night), and we also share a common bond: Laura McGanity.
Martin Edwards still works as a lawyer in Liverpool, and my long-standing college friend works with him. My friend's wife works in Martins department. And her name: Laura McGanity. I liked the name and asked her if I could use it for a character, and she agreed.
The rest of the year should calm down a bit now. I am working hard on my third book, due for release next year, and I might even squeeze in a holiday.