You Call That A Book Launch? THIS Is A Book Launch.

Big Daddy's doing a Booze And Bands Book Launch for SEX, THUGS AND ROCK & ROLL, the latest Thuglit anthology (which includes a story by the bald headed guy all over this page). Jason Starr, Justin Porter, Sarah Weinman, Patrick Lambe and Big Daddy Thug himself are all going to do readings from the book before they stage dive into the mosh pit.

I'd be there, but I'm half way across the globe and I've gotta see a man about a dog.

Details in the flyer above.

If you're scared of bricks and mortar, you can grab a copy of the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powells, Indiebound or Kensington.

SEX, THUGS AND ROCK & ROLL is now available

Smack bang in the middle of a fine collection of thuggery related literature is my story, BUDDHA BEHIND BARS. It's my first publishing credit so I'm celebrating by dehydrating a bottle of Johnnie Walker and snorting it off the belly of ... okay, I'm just having a glass of Coke. But still, I'm hoping this will kick my arse on to a chair and force me to write some more.

With an intro penned by Sarah Weinman, followed by a love letter from Big Daddy Thug, the collection includes stories from the broken keyboards of Patricia Abbott, Jonas Knutsson, Jedidiah Ayres, Justin Porter, Albert Tucher, Joe R. Landsdale, Scott Wolven, D.T. Kelly, Marcus Sakey, Steven M. Messner, Hugh Lessig, Lyman Feero, Gary Carson, Matthew Baldwin and Jason Starr.

The faint of heart and the high of morals need not apply.

Around The Traps

Sure, I've been in hibernation, I've been having all of my creative juices sucked out of me by a ludicrous amount of over-engineering and lack of communication at my workplace, but I've still kept my nose to the screen.

Time for some bullets.

• Stephen Blackmoore has himself an agent in the shape of one Allan Guthrie. I'd like to think it was because of my amazing work in critiquing Stephen's novel, but I know it's all on his own back.
  
• Patrick Shawn Bagley's gone and done it too, with some firm that's based in some city called "New York".
• Murdaland is dead. I'd like to know who shot them, but I have a feeling it just was what it was.
• Jason Starr and Ken Bruen are launching their new collaboration, THE MAX, in New York. I'm going to be there, even if I'll have to rush off to catch Tricky on the same night.
• Christa M. Miller has a new short story up over at Mouth Full Of Bullets. Go read it before you get some yourself.

That'll do for now. Back to the hard slog.

The Lineup: Poems On Crime, Issue 1 Out Now

"...every word has purpose: to plant clues, reveal character, move toward resolution."
Gerald So

Edited by Gerald So of Thrilling Detective, with Patrick Shawn Bagley, R. Narvaez, and Anthony Rainone.

Including the hard-hitting poets Patrick Shawn Bagley, Ken Bruen, Sarah Cortez, Graham Everett, Daniel Hatadi, Daniel Thomas Moran, R. Narvaez, Robert Plath, Misti Rainwater-Lites, Stephen D. Rogers, A.E. Roman, Sandra Seamans, Gerald So, KC Trommer.

Now available in paperback from Lulu.com and Murder By the Book (Houston, TX)



Get the lowdown at poemsoncrime.blogspot.com

Hatadi Is Notable

I feel like the hitchhiker in Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas that says, "Hot damn. I never rode in a convertible before." Of course, it's a slightly different feeling in that I can legitimately say,

"Hot damn. I never been notable before."

Jamie Ford let me know that my name was on the Story South list of notable short stories online for 2007.

I seem to be getting a lot of mileage out of BUDDHA BEHIND BARS. It feels good. I should write more short stories, but I've been putting my meagre energies into the novel.

Other notables include Anthony Neil Smith, Katherine Tomlinson, Scott Wolven, Paul Guyot and Fleur Bradley.

Thanks to whoever nominated me and also to the judges over at Story South.

Hard-Hitting Poets Arrested For THE LINEUP

"...every word has purpose: to plant clues, reveal character, move toward resolution."
Gerald So

Edited by Gerald So of Thrilling Detective, with Patrick Shawn Bagley, R. Narvaez, and Anthony Rainone

Including the hard-hitting poets Patrick Shawn Bagley, Ken Bruen, Sarah Cortez, Graham Everett, Daniel Hatadi, Daniel Thomas Moran, R. Narvaez, Robert Plath, Misti Rainwater-Lites, Stephen D. Rogers, A.E. Roman, Sandra Seamans, Gerald So, KC Trommer

In paperback spring 2008 from www.lulu.com - $6.50

Get the lowdown at poemsoncrime.blogspot.com

Nothing Wrong With Him That $100 Won't Fix

One of these days I hope to have a book published that has multiple copies in the library. Not just for the recognition, or the ability to casually lead friends to the correct aisle in the library when we're all getting together for drinks in the library ... okay, maybe not. But there is a chance I'll get paid, thanks to the Public Lending Right program.

The Age newspaper tells me that I can earn $1.47 per book, although it's not clear how that relates to the number of times it's been borrowed. Looking through the list, Matthew Reilly is doing pretty well for himself, but then he's doing far, far better in the bookstores. I'd venture to say he was paid the highest amount from the PLR program, at somewhere between "$80,000- $89,999."

But out of the "$7.090 million in the 2006-07 financial year" that went to publishers and "8866 eligible writers", I have a feeling I may slot into the largest bracket "of authors, 2466," who "got only between $100 and $199."

Things could be worse, though. I might earn less than $50 a year, which would be no skin off anyone's back, since "Amounts of less than $50 are not payable."

Lucky I'm in this for the love of it.

Smokin' Steinhauers!

Olen Steinhauer, well known among those of us that like our crime fiction bleak and real, is mostly linked with his series of Cold War novels set in a fictional Eastern European country that remains nameless. I'm guilty of only having read the first novel, but the second and third are already in waiting.

Why am I mentioning all this?

Word around town (this translates to 'from the horse's mouth'), is that Olen's done and got his upcoming novel, THE TOURIST, optioned by an unknown actor's production company called Smoke House. They say one of the people responsible is related to George Clooney, but I don't think that's true: he must be a distant cousin of Steinhauer himself.

I mean, I can't tell the difference, can you?

More Publisher Laziness

Rickards has copped it twice now. The Rap Sheet has been keeping an eye out for it. Now it seems to be Olen's turn, although at least his book came out first. I only noticed it because I'm still reading Olen's previous novel and I was surprised to see what I thought was his book in the wrong part of the crime section.

I have to ask: Has it always been this way, or are we all just noticing it now?

Murdaland Hits Australia

It's been a while since I've attached a book to my face and affected a cheesy, noirish stare. So when my first copy of Murdaland showed up on the great shore of Terra Australis, I figured the time had come again. And it was a great excuse to improve my Photoshop skillz.

The book itself is beautifully designed, complete with a satiny matt feel that my grubby hands love running over. I'm such a sucker for a good cover. To tell you the truth, I haven't even read a word of it yet, just skimmed through to get a feel for it. I want to devote my complete attention to Murdaland's first issue (right now that's taken up by Ray Banks' SATURDAY'S CHILD), because it's the type of crime fiction that excites me. And I may be the only one in Australia with a copy, so it feels somewhat exclusive.

It amazes me that what is supposed to be a magazine is, in reality, a book. A whole goddamned book of short crime fiction. And they're going to do it twice a year. I'm really looking forward to more issues, and I may just make it my personal mission in life to get one of my stories in there.

Crimespace Goes Live

Eight days ago I read an article in the local paper that talked about 'DIY social networking', mentioning a new service called Ning. Having been both fascinated and repulsed by Myspace, I was intrigued. What unites people on the internet are their common interests, so the idea of having a social network dedicated to a single theme sounded very appealing to me.

I tapped into "that nebulous part of the universe where all the real ideas are," pulling the word 'Crimespace' out with me. Seemed like a good idea, a name that can describe the site in one word, dragging along the entire world's knowledge of Myspace to do so.

After playing around with Crimespace for a couple of days, getting familiar with the tools, and making it pretty, I thought, hey, I'll email a few friends. That turned into a few more, they invited some friends of their own, I got excited and started asking various bloggers and crime fiction news sites to spread the word and, after only six days, membership has already shot past the 60 mark.

What am I talking about, you say? Here's the blurb:

Crimespace: A place for crime fiction writers, readers and lovers to schmooze, booze and draw up plans for the heist to end all heists. Find new authors to delve into and discuss the latest in crime fiction. Join up and enter the forums. Share photos, videos and make some friends. Pull up a chair at the bar and share your poison.

I'm really excited about Crimespace. If I'd thought about it some more before I went ahead and started, I might have chickened out. Instead, I've decided not to be half-arsed about it. I'm making a concerted effort to spread the word. Both Spinetingler and Crimespree will be running news items soon, and a few blogs have joined the fray, among them, Murderati.

Feel free to spread the word yourselves. I really want to make this place into a virtual bar where readers and writers can hang out together and make crime fiction bigger, better and badder than it already is.

If anyone wants a press release and logo to promote the place, feel free to contact me. It's easy. Just move the mouse up. A little more to the right ... up ... that's it.

Oh, So NOW It's In Fashion

Went to the exhibition over a year ago, bought the book around the same time, love to sniff through the pages every so often. Even spent the last six months writing most of a novel inspired by the photos, but now that Peter Doyle's CITY OF SHADOWS has been published overseas I really did need someone like Karl Lagerfeld to tell me the book was good.

Amazing what passes for news these days. If fame, fortune or good looks aren't attached to something, it's as if it isn't even valid.

Article and photo from the Sydney Morning Herald

The Distance Of Promotion

There's often talk around the blogosphere on how much promotion is enough or too much, how writers should be spending their time writing and leaving the promotion to someone more qualified, and there's even more talk without a lot of figures about the need to have an author blog in the first place.

Like many of the writers in my neck of the sphere, my blog isn't much of a promotional tool other than encouraging some brand recognition of my name. Its main purpose is to help me connect with like-minded writers and learn about the publishing industry. Maybe along the way, people who read my stories will ask me to contribute to anthologies or other projects, and that can only lead to more reasons to write.

Thing is, if I ever get to a point where I have a few novels behind me and I'm starting to see Steven King, Michael Connolly or even John Connolly sized sales numbers, I doubt that I would keep this blog in the same format.

Unless I'm out there providing a service like J. A. Konrath or Sarah Weinman, the only reason for maintaining a blog like this would be to provide a connection for my readers. The personal side of my internet presence would shift over to community forums and email. With large numbers of readers, I think a forum would be a better fit, kitted out with an 'ask the author' section. Main news would be shifted to the front page of the author website (okay, enough fantasising already). Part of the reason for a change like this would be privacy and security related (I'm just so tired of all these nymphomaniac stalkers), but the other reason would have more to do with image.

And professionalism.

I desperately hope I don't offend any of my fellow bloggers with this comment, but I don't see it as extremely professional for a big name author to be detailing personal issues in a public forum, unless it happens to relate to their status as an author.

Different methods work for different authors. Michael Connelly has his forum as does Mark Billingham and Steven King. All of these authors are blogless. Janet Evanovich has her own questions and answers page, and as far as I can tell, maintains her entire website herself. Tess Gerritsen is one author who I think gets the balance just right. She blogs enough to stay in touch with her fans, gets out there and promotes, but is always aware of the writing.

I find the idea of a reclusive and enigmatic author rather appealing: it lends an air of mystery to their work and lets them stand on that work alone. I recognise their name because it's already plastered all over their book, and when they bring a new novel out I have a good idea of what it will be like, based on their previous work.

All that being said, the flipside is that I've found more than a handful of authors through their blogs, looked into their work, and decided I want to read more.

I love the crime and writing blogging community. Without it, I wouldn't be tackling a writing career with anywhere near the dedication I have now. I'd still be floundering on my own, probably turning up to writer's groups composed of fellow flounderers, and learning the ropes through an unnecessary amount of trial and error.

But if I make it big, you'll probably see me keeping just a little distance.

NEWS: Ruttan. Bruen. Steinhauer. Bagley.

Bombshells and grenades are dropping all around the world of crime fiction. None of this 'order a personal rocket launcher and have it delivered to a house in the suburbs within a few days'. No, this is all above board. And the news is brilliant.

SANDRA RUTTAN AND KEN BRUEN TO VERY QUITE POSSIBLY (AND THEY BETTER BLOODY WELL) COLLABORATE ON A NOVEL.

PATRICK SHAWN-BAGLEY TO CO-EDIT MYSTERY ANTHOLOGY.

OLEN STEINHAUER NOMINATED FOR AN EDGAR AWARD.

And that's not all:

CORNELIA READ, CHARLES ARDAI, BILL CRIDER AND MANY MORE NOMINATED FOR EDGAR AWARDS AS WELL.

Bloody hell. What a week in the world of crime fiction news. It's going to be a great year all round.

(Editor's note: the order of all items is chosen randomly and without favouritism, except for the bit about Bruen, which is just too fucking cool.)

Released: SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES by Sandra Ruttan

Since I met Sandra at the now defunct Mystery Circus, I knew she would be a force to be reckoned with. Like all Canadian leprechauns, she's shorter than me, but I still have to say that I look up to her.

She puts in so much time and energy into her work and the promotions for it, and yet she still goes round to all the blogs and gives people gentle and optimistic pushes. I've said before that I can't wait for her novel to come out and now that day has finally arrived.

Credit card, prepare yourself.

Here are all the details:

A suspicious death. A missing baby. A corrupt police department.

When a man shows up in reporter Lara Kelly's office with a video that appears to show a woman falling to her death, Lara is intrigued but suspicious. The man claims he went to the police, but that they refused to investigate.

Under pressure from her editor to use the video to build a story about the incompetence of the local police captain, Lara gathers enough evidence to print a story about a suspected suicide.

Detective Tymen Farraday, the newest cop in a precinct plagued by scandal, is ordered to investigate and discredit the reporter if necessary. When potential evidence is stolen and Lara is attacked, Farraday is forced to put his grudge against reporters aside and work with the journalist to solve the murder while trying to protect her from the killer.

Just when they think they have the evidence to arrest a suspect, two more murders turn the investigation in an unexpected direction.

The guilty have already shown that they'll stop at nothing to protect their secrets.

In a town where one person holds all the power, not even the police can be trusted.

And the prime suspect isn't the only person Lara and Farraday need to worry about.

"SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES has to be one of the most satisfying mysteries going that grips the reader from beginning to end."
- Clive Cussler

"..there is never a dull moment. It's a hard book to put down."
- Tony Hillerman

"Here is the new voice, and what a voice! Eloquent, sassy, compassionate and written with a style so assured it’s hard to believe it’s a debut... This is talent writ huge."
- Ken Bruen

Buy the book at:

Amazon
Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble

PALE IMMORTAL by Anne Frasier

I am seriously psyched to read this, so that's why I'm part of the PIMP SQUAD for Anne Frasier's new vampire extravaganza of a novel, PALE IMMORTAL, which comes out today.

Read the first two chapters and learn more at the book's chilling blog:

http://paleimmortal.blogspot.com/

Here's a detailed synopsis to whet your appetite:

Welcome to Tuonela, a sleepy Wisconsin town haunted by events of 100 years ago, when a man who may have been a vampire slaughtered the town's citizens and drank their blood. Now, another murderer is killing the most vulnerable...and draining their bodies of blood.

Evan Stroud lives in darkness. The pale prisoner of a strange disease that prevents him from ever seeing the light of day, he lives in tragic solitude, taunted for being a "vampire." When troubled teenager Graham Stroud appears on Evan's doorstep, claiming to be his long-lost son, Evan's uneasy solitude is shattered. Having escaped Tuonela's mysterious pull for several years, Rachel Burton is now back in town, filling in as coroner. Even as she seeks to identify the killer, and uncover the source of the evil that seems to pervade the town, she is drawn to Evan by a power she's helpless to understand or resist....

As Graham is pulled deeper and deeper into Tuonela's depraved, vampire-obsessed underworld, Rachel and Evan team up to save him. But the force they are fighting is both powerful and elusive...and willing to take them to the very mouth of hell.

And a music video:



I'm going to find a way to get hold of this book, even if it means flying half way across the globe. Or at the very least, getting someone else to fly for me. Like, you know, the U.S. Postal service. Yeah, they'll do.

Lastly, this will probably ruin my future writing career, but here's my pimp name:

Your Pimp Name Is...

Prince Mystery

What's Your Pimp Name?

Go Aussie Go!

From SarahWeinman.com:

It may be too early to call this a bona fide trend, but then again, so often we get a trend of one these days. But considering Kathryn Fox's debut MALICIOUS INTENT will be out next month in the UK (from Hodder Headline) with US publication to follow soon, and now this new deal just announced, it may be safe to say that the next group of rising stars is female, and from Australia ...

Read more: Crime Writers Down Under

Now, if only I can figure out a cheap and easy way to become female.

Covet Not Thy Cover

I'm right in the thick of my first-pass revision of the novel. The idea is to clean up the current prose so that when I come back to it after a month's break, it'll be a bearable read. Then I can look at the Big Picture and see how to improve the novel.

This can get pretty boring.

As a distraction, I've spent time dreaming of fame and fortune. One way of playing out my fantasies is to imagine what my book covers will look like. Today, instead of imagining, I tried my hand at book cover design. Here are a couple of the results:



If you want to see some examples of book covers done right, complete with critiques, have a look-see over at Most Coveted Covers.

Australians Buy 80 Million Books

No, not each of us. Even if they were a cent each, that couldn't be done. Why did you even think that? What are you, crazy?

Here are the stats (skip 'em if you hate 'em) in more detail, and for even more detail than that, you can click on the link that I ripped it all from, down the bottom of the post.

Australians bought more than 80 million new books worth almost $1.5 billion in the 2003/04 financial year. 67 per cent were through 561 bookshops, department stores - 19 per cent, supermarkets and other businesses sold 8 per cent. 98 per cent were printed books. That probably makes the 2 per cent as eBooks.

What does this mean to me?

Aussies like reading. These are new books mind you, so that doesn't count second hand sales and borrowing. That means a lot of reading. If someone happens to like one of those borrowed books, chances are they'll buy the author's next book for themselves (or their librarian-friend).

Considering how much crime tv is on the telly, I'd say a sizeable proportion of those books are crime related, whether fiction or true crime.

I reckon there's a living to be made in amongst all that.

That's what I aim to do.

Data from "Australians buy 80 million books" - AAP