SOME VERY KIND WORDS ABOUT MY PENNY DREADFULLS ON THE INTERWEB AT THE MOMENT.
OVER ATBRIT GRITSPINETINGLER AWARD NOMINEEALAN GRIFFITHS TAKES A LOOK AT MY STORY THE NIGHT WATCHMAN, WHICH IS IN RADGEPACKET VOLUME FOUR.
ALAN SAYS IT HAS 'a wonderfully descriptive narrative, gritty dialogue sprinkled with deliciously dark humour' MORE HERE
MEANWHILE OVER AT THE ACE NEW REVIEW BLOG DEATH BY KILLING, Chris Rhatigan HAS A ARTICLE ABOUT 'STAYING IN SCENE' AND GIVES MY STORY ANGER MANAGEMENT AS 'a good example of storyteller voice'
Sunderland crimewriter Julie Lewthwaite has had cracking hardboiled stories published in print and online at classy places like OUT OF THE GUTTER MAGAZINE, BULLET MAGAZINE, RADGEPACKET ONLINE, A TWIST OF NOIR & THRILLERS KILLERS N CHILLERS.
She stopped supping Double Maxim just long enough to answer a couple of questions.
Q1: The editor of Byker Books suggested that you write under different names as a DSS scam. Is it true?
Aye, of course! I’ve also got a dozen kids and a six bedroom detached house, all paid for by the taxpayer!
Seriously, since ‘Lewthwaite’ goes on the business books, I wanted to use a different name for fiction when I started writing it, so I used ‘Wright’, which is my family name. Then, when my marriage broke up, I decided to pick a new name altogether and stick to it. I started using ‘Morgan’ because I like it and it’s easy to spell. Then I was told that was boring, so I’m back to square one!
Any suggestions?
Q2: Which of your stories would you choose as the best example of your writing?
Gawd, now you’re asking! It depends. I recently won a ghost story competition run by the Literary and Philosophical Society in Newcastle with a story someone described as being ‘a classic ghost story in the style of M.R. James’. (Read it here: www.litandphil.org.uk/html_pages/documents/TheBlackDog.doc) As you can imagine, the style in which that story was written was very different from the approach I take to writing for Out of the Gutter, say, and yet both styles are clearly my voice and equally good fun to write.
I’m also pulling together some old, forgotten tales and putting them on a wee blog, here: http://gonebadonlinestories.blogspot.com/ There’s just one up so far, but I aim for it to grow.
Q3: How did you get into the crime writing game?
I saw a wee article in ‘Writers’ News’ about Bullet magazine, so I ordered the back copies, read them, and was absolutely knocked out by it. I’d never read anything like it before, and I loved it! I immediately started writing something for submission, thinking I had loads of time, since I had just missed a deadline.
Anyway, there was a launch party coming up and I got an invite. It was at the editor’s house, which turned out to be walking distance from where I lived! (He’s since moved…) Keith Jeffrey and I had a good old natter, and he invited me to submit for the upcoming issue even though the deadline had passed. I went into overdrive to get something finished, as you can imagine! In the end I sent him two stories, thinking that doubled my chances of getting one accepted, and he took them both.
So, my first published stories were in issue 6 of Bullet, alongside Charlie Williams, Ray Banks and Allan Guthrie. I was made up!
Q4: What do you do in the real world?
Exist in penury. I’m trying to establish myself as a freelance writer, copy-editor, proofreader, you-name-it-I’ll-do-it. I also make and sell jewellery at craft fairs and online. I wrote a business book last year, which is due out at the end of next month and I’m picking up whatever freelance gigs I can get. I may yet have to admit defeat and go back to having a proper job, but I hope not.
Q5: Do you listen to music while you write?
Hell, yeah! I love rock and blues mainly, but my tastes are fairly eclectic. My fave band is Led Zeppelin, but I’m currently listening to the rather wonderful ‘Dark Night of the Soul’, by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, which I believe was Mark Linkous’s last project before he shot himself. (I’ve also dug out and am working on a previously abandoned novel that has lots of musical references in it – great fun!)
Q6: What's on the cards for you as far as crimewriting goes?
I have begun outlining a new novel, which is quite dark. Abduction, murder, religion… all good fun! (Of course, what I really need to do is write the damn thing, all of it, not just half, as has happened with others, and then send it out to see if anyone loves it. Wish me luck!)
I also must write something to submit for Radge 5 – I’d love to be in there, so fingers crossed I make the grade (and the deadline)!
And finally…
Thanks for the interview, Paul, I was chuffed to bits to be asked, even if I do feel like a fraud next to all these proper writers! I’m always overwhelmed by the generosity of the crimewriting community – what a lovely bunch of people!
And it’s brilliant to see your own career taking off so well. Congratulations on your success!
Jools'
Ta much Julie!
Julie Lewthwaite-Morgan-Wright-Sackville-West's blog is here
Nick Quantrill's fantastic first novel, BROKEN DREAMS (published by Caffeine Nights), was released to great acclaim in March this year.
The Hull based writer will also have a story included in Maxim Jakubowski's prestigious The Mammoth Book Of Best British Crime 2011.
And he was STILL decent enough to give me an interview...
Q1 :What was it like when you actually got a copy of ‘Broken Dreams’ in your hands?
I think I’d describe it as a real mix of emotions. On one hand it felt like a real milestone. It was like I’d climbed a mountain and made it to base camp, so I was full of pride and excitement. It was a real pleasure to be able to give early copies of the book to my friends and family to mark their support.
On the other hand, I always knew it was just the start of an even harder road. The day you allow yourself to sit back with a self-satisfied smile is the day you should stop, so I’m always striving to do more. I could probably be knighted for services to literature and I still wouldn’t feel like I’d done enough. It’s always a case of looking ahead.
Q2: What has the response been to ‘Broken Dreams’?
The response has been great. People have really responded well to the lead character, Private Investigator Joe Geraghty, and the ideas which underpin the story. My only worry was how well a story set in such an unfashionable city like Hull would travel, but I’m delighted it has done. People have turned up to signings and events, so it’s all good. In a wider context, I’ve had great support from media, especially in the Yorkshire region, so the message is starting to spread. It really just comes down to working hard and seeking out opportunities.
Q3:Do you enjoy the promotional side of being a writer?
I’ve learned to embrace it. The first couple of events were absolute torture, but I feel a lot more relaxed now talking about my work or reading from it in front of people.
I think it’s part increased confidence on my own part and part realisation that people are genuinely interested in hearing about my work. I can’t deny that it’s also good fun. Maybe the most pleasing aspect has been reaching people in the more surprising places. I’ve done a few street festivals around Hull and people seem more prepared to stop and have a look at the book and a chat than if it was part of maybe a literary event.
Q4: Joe Geraghty is a true underdog. Do you think you’ve made him so believable because you’re a Hull City supporter?
That’s a low blow, Brazill...very low indeed. I suppose you could draw a parallel between Hull City and Joe Geraghty. Both have taken some beatings over the years and in some ways have seen better days. I can’t deny that being a Hull City supporter in recent years hasn’t been a lot of fun, though. We’ve had a peek at the top division and mixed it with the best of the country, but these days we’re freshly relegated and in all kinds of financial difficulty. No doubt some would say we’re back where we belong. Although Joe’s more a rugby man, I suppose we both seem to have an attraction to self-inflicted misery...
Q5: The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime. What the hell is all that about?
You tell me! In fact, it’s your fault, as you sent me the email from the editor, Maxim Jakubowski, asking for short story submissions for his anthology. Given that the 2009 edition features Colin Dexter, Alexander McCall Smith and Peter James, I thought my chances of getting a story included for 2010 were pretty remote, but I sent a couple of stories off anyway, more in hope than expectation and it was a great feeling to hear my Joe Geraghty story, ‘Sucker Punch’, had been selected.
The big hitters for 2010 include Ian Rankin, Simon Kernick and Kate Atkinson, so I fully appreciate how privileged I am to have made the cut. It’s also pleasing to know that some of my writing pals, Nigel Bird, Gerard Brennan and your good self have also been selected.
It’s fantastic that some space is found for new and emerging writers and I’ll be working hard to take advantage of any opportunity it gives me.
Q6: How’s the follow up to ‘Broken Dreams’ going?
Nearly done (he says hopefully...). I’m all but there with getting the next Geraghty novel, ‘The Late Greats’, into a state I’m comfortable with and then it’ll be off to the publisher to start the editing and crafting process.
‘The Late Greats’ sees Joe searching the city of Hull for a missing musician before his band’s big comeback is compromised. It’s a story about friendship, loyalty and asks what really counts as success.
I think it also shows a darker to Joe’s character, as things start to change for him on a personal basis. He definitely develops in this book and proves he’s capable of making bad decisions as well as good ones, even when he’s trying his best. He’s maybe not the judge of character he thinks he is. It certainly sets me up nicely for the novel after that...
'Sheila Quigley became a national news story when Random House acquired her first novel, Run For Home, with major coverage throughout the press and television. A documentary about Sheila and the making of Run for HomeBBC1. Her latest novel, Road to Hell, was published by Tonto Books on November 5, 2009.' was broadcast on
That was back in 2004 and since then she's published six more best selling novels -which take place in the fictionalSEAHILLS ESTATE, with more on their way
Sheila was kind enough to answer a few of my questions as part of HIT THE NORTH! where I talk to crime writers from the North of England.
Q1: Has your childhood had an influence on your writing?
Perhaps being an only child with huge dreams, I would say yes. Although I was equally happy with a book in my hand or climbing a tree.
Q2:Is the Seahills Estate based on anywhere in particular?
The Seahills is set on a large empty field opposite the estate called the Homelands that I used to live on. Although the Seahills does resemble the Homelands in some respects ie, working class people, everything about it is fiction. I would still be living there today if they had not pulled the place down around me. Yes there was trouble towards the end with drugs and booze, but the laughs and the good times far outweighed everything else.
Q3: Isn’t crime writing an unsuitable job for a woman?
No, I don't think so. Woman are reportedly more the victims of crime than men. I read horror and that's what the first thing I sent out was,a horror novel. It's still in the bottom drawer. I suppose that crime, especially violent crime is the nearest thing to horror. And women can write about it every bit as good as men.
Q4: So which horror writers are you a fan off?
The first horror I read was Dracula by Bram Stoker. I was fifteen, started reading it at five o clock and finished it at one in the morning. The house I lived in had a long passage way with the light switch at the other end. I stood there screaming for my dad to switch the light on. Then I moved to Denis Wheatly, thought his stuff was great. But my all time favorite is Steven King.
Q5: The spiderwebs of a small community is a very important part of Kings's writing. Is it the same for you?
Oh yes. Every character should be well rounded even the minor players, this is what makes you feel part of the place you are reading about. Or, perhaps I'm just to damn nosy!
Q6: Do you watch a lot of crime shows on television and what interest has there been in adapting your books for TV?
Don't really watch much TV, except for Emmerdale. There has been a lot of talk from a few companies, but that's all it is up until now. Talk.
Q7: When and why did you start writing fiction?
When I was 11 I wrote my first play. Which I and a friend performed , without an audience in our shed. Why I started writing fiction is because I simply cant not write. It's like breathing, something you have to do.
Q8: Which crime writers float your boat these days?
So many good ones out there that I can't really pick one. When I have time I mostly read horror.
Q9: Do you see yourself as a Northern writer?
I think my books can be set on a housing estate any where around the world. People are people where ever you go. And I honesty got sick of reading about either middle class hero's or hero's with penthouses and big flash cars.
My hero's are your ordinary guy off the street, struggling to make ends meet every day of the week.
Q10: What's on the cards for 2010?
September 30, sees the first book in the Mike Yorke series, that starts off on Holy Island. Thorn In My Side.
I'm really excited about this book.
I'm now working on Stand By Me, another Seahills story and thinking about Nowhere Man, a Mike Yorke story.
I read THIS a few weeks back and it's a pretty damn powerful collection. The synopsis says it all:
'Almost everyone will be affected by crime at some point in life, either directly as a victim or witness of a crime or indirectly through family, friends or work colleagues. Few events in a person's life are more traumatic and that's why the work of Victim Support Scotland (VSS) is so important. Since 1985 VSS has helped more than one million people around Scotland and it is recognised throughout Europe as one of the most effective and successful organisations in the field of victim support. Written from the perspective of the victim, this collection of stories by some of Scotland's leading crime writers illustrates the devastating impact of crime on the lives of ordinary people. The crimes featured range from fraud and house break-in to domestic abuse, rape and murder, and the stories focus on the victims of crime rather than the perpetrators and the investigators - a completely different take on the usual crime book. All the writers have donated their royalties to the charity, Victim Support Scotland. The Stellar line up includes: Lin Anderson, Ray Banks, Christopher Brookmyre, Karen Campbell, Gillian Galbraith, Alex Gray, Allan Guthrie, Stuart MacBride, Denise Mina and Louise Welsh, with an introduction by Ian Rankin.'
Allan Guthrie has also expanded his brilliant story into an ebook called BYE BYE BABY which you can get here
'It's what you've been waiting for, the final results are in. Before announcing the winner and runner-up, my hat's off to each of the finalists. Each story was top notch, which made it very difficult to decide. So, after careful scrutiny and consideration, the winner and runner-up is... drum roll...
WINNER($100): "My Asshole Brother" by Eric Beetner
RUNNER-UP($50): "A Long Fall Into Nothing" by John Mantooth
The stories will appear in ISSUE #6 of CRIMEFACTORY.
Thanks to all the contestants for their excellent stories, it was a pleasure to read them. Thanks again to the judges Aldo Calcagno, Steve Weddle, John McFetridge, Stacia J.N. Decker, and David Hale Smith, and to the Crimefactory crew Cameron Ashley, Liam Jose, and Keith Rawson. And finally, congratulations to the winners Eric and John.'
Friday's Forgotten Books: Run For Home by Sheila Quigley
RUN FOR HOME is a thriller about a family and a community that harbour dark secrets.
Like all of Sheila Quigley's books it takes place in the Seahills Estate, a fictitious housing estate in the North-East of England.
RUN FOR HOME, Sheila Quigley's first novel, kicks off in 1985 with a slice of North Eastern Gothic as a man desperately tries to escape a female assassin known as The Head Hunter.
We then cut to 2001 and the Lumsdon family, a rough tumble crew who are watched over by sixteen-year old athlete Kelly, strong willed and short tempered and fighting to keep her family's head above water. When Kelly's younger sister is kidnapped she has to to fight all the harder.
RUN FOR HOME is fast paced and full of Northern warmth and humour and a fine example of BRIT GRIT.
It's the first Sheila Quigley book that I've read and it certainly won't be the last.
FRIDAY'S FORGOTTEN BOOKS is hosted by Patricia Abbott and links to more mislaid classics can be found HERE.
Easing myself back into BLOGLAND but I have spotted this via Keith Rawson at Facebook: Kent Gowran's TOP 25 short story writers at his blog BLOOD SWEAT & MURDER.which includes lots of proper writers like Keith, Frank Bill,Joe Landale, Hilary Davidson and even me!
It'sHERE
Thanks very much Kent.He's a pretty tasty short story writer himself, too. Check out the links on BLOOD SWEAT & MURDER.
DEATH BY KILLING is a blog that's new to me which reviews short crime fiction. I WILL be digging into that later today.
At CRIME ALWAYS PAYSDeclan Burke gives us some writers' favourite last lines from novels.
The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 8 ed.Maxim Jakubowski
Over 35 new short stories from the UK�s leading crime writers. The must-have annual anthology for every crime fiction fan – the year’s top new British short stories selected by leading crime critic Maxim Jakubowski.
This great annual covers the full range of mystery fiction, from noir and hardboiled crime to ingenious puzzles and amateur sleuthing. Packed with top names such as: Ian Rankin (including a new Rebus), Alexander McCall Smith, David Hewson, Christopher Brookmyre, Simon Kernick, A.L. Kennedy, Louise Walsh, Kate Atkinson, Colin Bateman, Stuart McBride and Andrew Taylor.
The full list of contributors is as follows: Sheila Quigley, Nigel Bird, Jay Stringer, Paul D. Brazill, Adrian Magson, Colin Bateman, Gerard Brennan, Matthew J. Elliott, Andrew Taylor, Lin Anderson, Christopher Brookmyre, Ray Banks, Declan Burke, Liza Cody, Simon Kernick, Stuart MacBride, Allan Guthrie, Ian Rankin (two stories, including a new Rebus), Nick Quantrill, Edward Marston, Nicholas Royle, Zoe Sharp, Robert Barnard, Simon Brett, Peter Lovesey, A.L. Kennedy, Roz Southey, Phil Lovesey, David Hewson, Amy Myers, Marilyn Todd, Peter Turnbull, Keith McCarthy, Alexander McCall Smith, Stephen Booth, Denise Mina, Mick Herron, Kate Atkinson and Louise Welsh.
It's HERE next year.Chuffed to be in, I am.Good to see some mates in there too.
You can find cracking stories from Ray Banks, Chris F. Holm, Colin Graham, Al Guthrie, Dave Zetltserman, Frank Bill and many more if you follow those links.
Our final judge, David Hale Smith, has made his picks and they are:
For the #1 spot:
SEVENTY TWO HOURS OR LESS by Michael J. Solender
MY ASSHOLE BROTHER by Eric Beetner
For Runner-up:
A LONG FALL INTO NOTHING by John Mantooth
STAKEOUT by Rob Kitchin
I will decide the winner and runner-up by next week. The crew over @CRIMEFACTORY want to officially announce the winner and runner-up in whichever issue they decide to publish the stories in, but I will get with the winner and runner-up offline once I've made my decision.
A huge, resounding THANK YOU to all the contestants, to PAUL D. BRAZILL for hosting the contest on his blog YOU WOULD SAY THAT, WOULDN'T YOU, and to our judges ALDO CALCAGNO, STEVE WEDDLE, JOHN McFETRIDGE, STACIA J.N. DECKER with Donald Maass Literary Agency, and DAVID HALE SMITH with DHS Literary Inc. '
Congrats to all! The full list of entries is over on the right
