PRATTLE: Murder Mile

Two uber talented students from Ayr College - Leanne Jamieson and Nicola Smith - have made a very nice wee video of me prattling on about Murder Mile.

PUSH-UPS: Emlyn Rees

So, what you pushing right now?
My new race-against-the-clock thriller, HUNTED.

What’s the hook?
One Innocent Man VS 500,000 Misguided Angry Cops.  Danny Shanklin wakes up slumped across a table in a London hotel room he's never seen before. He's wearing a black balaclava, a red tracksuit and a brand new pair of Nikes. There's a faceless dead man on the floor and Danny's got a high-powered rifle strapped to his hands. He hears sirens and stumbles to the window to see a burning limousine and bodies all over the street. The police are closing in. He's been set up. They're coming for him...

And why’s that floating your boat?
Because that’s what London could turn into in the blink of an eye.

When did you turn to crime?
1997 and 1998 when I published The Book of Dead Authors and Undertow. Then I went a bit soft and co-wrote rom-coms like Come Together with my wife. But now I’m back doing what I like best.

Hardboiled or Noir, classic or contemporary?
Contemporary.

And, what’s blown you away lately?
The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. Truly enjoyable research. And Episodes on TV. I still like a good British comedy for taking my mind off the dark side.

See any books as movies waiting to happen?
Danny Miller’s brilliant new slice of 60's noir, Kiss Me Quick. It’s very now (even though it’s set in the 60’s!), very Mad Men, only with murder and intrigue thrown in. I’d love to see it as a Sunday night series.

Mainstream or indie - paper or digital?
I think there’s a time and a place for all of these things and the barriers between them are getting increasingly blurry.

Shout us a website worth visiting …
Here’s a link to a great new band I saw at Brighton’s Great Escape music festival. They’re called Melodramas. Brilliant EP out too. (And don’t worry, this isn’t an ad. I don’t know them, just think they’re pretty darned good.)

http://musicalcpr.com/2012/03/05/melodramas-kids-ep/#comment-99

Finally, tell us any old shit about yourself …
I came 4th in this year’s Fiery Food Festival National Chilli Eating Contest. And just in case you don’t believe me, here’s a photo in the local rag that proves it (I’m the gurning bald bloke on the left):







:: Find out more about Emlyn Rees at: http://emlynrees.com/

QUICK-FIX: Paul D. Brazill

Right now I’m reading …

I’ve literally just finished William Ryan’s The Bloody Meadow, which is beaut, and I’m about to start Mr. Glamour by Richard Godwin.

Three things I can see from my writing chair are …

A record player, a piano, a demi-john filled with bubbling red wine.


The biggest time-suck that stops me writing is …

The internet and all its bastard offspring.

It might surprise you but I like reading …

Happy endings.

The fictional character I’d most like to meet is …

Kilgore Trout - a writer of pulp novels, a man who has travelled to other planets and a very funny man. What could be nicer than that?

One writer who should be much better known is…

Ian Ayris -with his brilliant début novel, Abide With Me, Ayris has given us a book that can be enjoyed by fans of crime fiction, social realism, football and people who don't read that much at all.


:: Paul D. Brazill is the co-editor of the anthology TRUE BRIT GRIT. 
Visit Paul at: http://pdbrazill.blogspot.co.uk/

REVIEWS - Murder Mile

Yes, it's blow your own trumpet time again here at Pusher Towers with the latest update in the seemingly endless rave reviews for MURDER MILE - as presented in all its finery to my left here.

Keeping up the trumpet metaphor for a wee mo', I'd have to say I'm blown away (yes, see what I did there? etc, etc) by the kindness of reviewers. God bless each and every one of you!

I'm still scratching my head as to what it is I've done to attract such raves, so just putting it all down to the natty cover of the cop zipping up after a quick wizz!

Anyway, in reverse order, with newest one from SHOTS on the end, here's the latest list of reviews:

"Tony Black's Edinburgh makes Ian Rankin's version seem sedate, polite and carefree … DI Rob Brennan, in his second outing, makes a strong case to assume the mantle of Edinburgh's leading fictional detective, vacant since the retirement of Rebus … he's immensely well drawn, and Black's dialogue and atmosphere crackle with authenticity."
- The Times

"This up-and-coming crime writer isn't portraying the Edinburgh in the Visit Scotland tourism ads ... a convincing portrayal of Edinburgh low-life and police rivalries."
- The Sun

"Comparisons with Rebus will be obvious. But that would be too easy ... Black has put his defiant, kick-ass stamp on his leading man, creating a character that deftly carries the story through every razor-sharp twist and harrowing turn. DI Rob Brennan is my new star on the capital's murder mile. And you can't help but think Rebus would approve."
- Daily Record

“An authentic yet unique voice, Tony Black shows why he is leading the pack in British crime fiction today. His deeply disturbing previous books have been labeled tartan noir, but Murder Mile is in a class of its own, from gripping beginning to shocking end. Atmospherically driven, the taut and sparse prose is as near to the bone you are ever likely to encounter in crime noir. Powerful.”
- New York Journal of Books

"Murder Mile is the second outing for DI Rob Brennan, a complex and brooding character who makes Rebus look positively chipper by comparison ... With Murder Mile Tony Black has put the heart back into the serial killer novel. It’s dark, yes, and deeply unpleasant in places, as it should be, but he hasn’t played to shock and there’s a refreshing lack of cheap gore. Rob Brennan is the perfect guide to follow through the criminal underworld, a bundle of rage and righteousness, and after reading Murder Mile the next fictional DI you come across will have a lot to live up to."
- Crime Fiction Lover

"This is no ordinary police procedural, folks. This is for those discerning readers who want more than a puzzle, it’s for those readers who want their intellect nudged while they plunge headlong into the whodunit. Murder Mile is a hugely satisfying read on all levels and comes highly recommended."
- Crime Squad

"What makes this book from Tony a wonderful read is his tight prose, solid arc and when backed with a character that is fully fleshed that feels like a familiar friend after a short time, makes this a title that is not only hard to put down but nigh impossible."
- Falcata Times

"Although Black's creation walks the same beat as Ian Rankin's DI Rebus, this representation of Edinburgh is much grittier and desolate ... a superior crime read."
- Hull Daily Mail

"Murder Mile is a terrific, unflinching, intense and harrowing look into the heart of the city's darkness, digging deeper than simple social realism and confirming Tony Black’s position as a master of Tartan Noir."
- You Would Say That, Wouldn't You

"Murder Mile is not only a tight, well written and thought provoking hunt for a serial killer but it is also a novel that shows you the dark side of Edinburgh ... a well-paced police procedural that has a twist to the end that will leave you astonished at the ingenuity of it." 
- SHOTS

:: Read more reviews of MURDER MILE at Amazon

LAUNCH: The Storm Without

PUSH-UPS: Wallace Stroby

So, what are you pushing right now? What’s the hook?

The new book is KINGS OF MIDNIGHT, a sequel to last year’s COLD SHOT TO THE HEART. It’s my second novel about a female professional thief named Crissa Stone. In KINGS, she and an old-school wiseguy are chasing after $5 million in cash stashed away by a mob boss following the 1978 Lufthansa heist at New York’s JFK Airport. 

And why’s that floating your boat?

If you’re writing about high-end armed robbery in the United States, the Lufthansa heist was certainly the real deal in that respect. At the time, it was the largest cash robbery ever on American soil, with an estimated take of $8-$10 million (no one knows for sure). Almost none of the money was ever recovered. And being that almost all the principals are now dead (most of them murdered shortly after the robbery), it allows for a lot of fictional license. 

When did you turn to crime? 

I think what you write chooses you more than you choose it. As a kid, I read a little bit of everything, but as a teenager I gravitated toward crime fiction, especially after discovering Dashiell Hammett and James M. Cain. Later on, it was John D. MacDonald, Donald Westlake, Lawrence Block and their contemporaries, then James Crumley, James Lee Burke and others. For me, crime fiction was both an escape from the world, and a way to help make sense out of it. 

Hardboiled or Noir, classic or contemporary? 

In the end, definitions aren’t that useful. Genuinely classic novels feel contemporary, regardless of when they were written. “Hardboiled” is an egg recipe. And “noir” is just the French word for black, right?

And, what’s blown you away lately?

Finally catching up with the dark brilliance of BREAKING BAD on DVD. Best television crime writing since THE WIRE. Equally haunted by recent viewings of Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1969 film ARMY OF SHADOWS, about the French Resistance.

Mainstream or indie - paper or digital?

Human beings love narrative, in whatever form. It’s in our DNA. Regardless of the technology involved, a good story well told will always find an audience.

Shout us a website worth visiting … 

There are lots of great sites filling the gap left by the drop in books-related coverage in mainstream media. In a lot of cases, the online writing is far superior, especially when it comes to covering crime fiction. I’m fond of the newly launched Los Angeles Review of Books (http://lareviewofbooks.org/), as well as sites such as Pulp Serenade (www.pulpserenade.com) and The Violent World of Parker (http//violentworldofparker.com). 

Finally, tell us any old shit about yourself …

Here’s five things, One of them is a lie:

1.) I’ve seen TAXI DRIVER fourteen times.

2.) Bruce Springsteen once borrowed my DVD of Monte Hellman’s TWO-LANE BLACKTOP.

3.) Years ago, I had a conversation with Stephen King while standing at adjoining urinals at the New York Hilton.

4.) I went skydiving once, landed in a tree and had to be rescued.

5.) I once hit a Catholic nun in the back of the head with an orange (by accident).

Anyone who wants to take a guess as to which one's a lie can drop me an e-mail at wallace@wallacestroby.com. I’ll pick two winners at random from the correct responses, and send them signed copies of the new trade paperback of COLD SHOT TO THE HEART. But be warned, I’m a good liar.

QUICK-FIX: Les Edgerton

Right now I’m reading …
I usually have several books at a time open. Presently, those are Stagger Bay, Dead Man’s Dust, and The Bastard Hand. Just finished Paul D. Brazill’s amazing anthology, Drunk on the Moon featuring a bunch of great writers.


Three things I can see from my writing chair are …
The street in front of me with some screaming kids, my calendar which is showing the month of February, and Gordon Ramsey on the television screaming at some loser chef... Everybody seems to be screaming…


The biggest time-suck that stops me writing is …
All those times when I have to come up with an alibi and wait for them to check it out… Cops just seem to be naturally slow…


It might surprise you but I like reading …
No surprises at all. I’m at the age I don’t read to impress anyone else and only read what I enjoy and mostly I enjoy reading noir and crime fiction. About the only departures are whenever Chris Moore comes out with a new novel.


The fictional character I’d most like to meet is …
Fireball Roberts. If you don’t know that is, you’re at the wrong blog…

One writer who should be much better known is…
A lot! For just one, I’ll go with Jake Hinkson. Amazing frickin’ writer. One more—Sean Carswell.

:: Visit Les at: 

www.lesedgerton.com 

http://www.lesedgertononwriting.blogspot.co.uk/

THE STORM WITHOUT - June 2012

If you've been reading the Ayrshire Post these last 30-odd weeks you might have stumbled across The Storm Without which has been serialised there.

If not, well, here's the hook:

Still recovering from the harrowing case that ended his police career, Doug Michie returns to his boyhood home of Ayr on Scotland’s wind-scarred west coast. He hopes to rebuild his shattered life, get over the recent failure of his marriage and shed his demons, but the years have changed the birthplace of the poet Robert Burns.

When Doug meets his old school-day flame Lyn, however, he feels his past may offer the salvation of a future.  But, Lyn’s son has been accused of murder and she begs Doug to find the truth. 

Soon Doug is tangled in a complicated web of corrupt politicians, frightened journalists and a police force in cahoots with criminals.  Only Burns’ philosophical musings offer Doug some shelter as he wanders the streets of Auld Ayr battling The Storm Without.

I had an absolute blast with this one, which I set in my old home town. (I tried to be as kind as I could, folks!)

Doug is a an ex-cop who falls into the investigator's role - so he's sitting somewhere between DI Rob Brennan and Gus Dury. But, I'd say less morose than Rob, and a bit more even-tempered than Gus. A bit.

Oh, and the dude on the jacket is Chris Taylor - an actor and dramatist from Ayr - who you might have seen on the telly once or twice.

THE STORM WITHOUT is being published by McNidder & Grace in paperback in June, and in eBook by Blasted Heath. You can pick up both versions on Amazon.

True Brit Grit On The Box And Big Screen

By Paul D. Brazill

A bit back, I wrote an article for The Sabotage Times about Brit Grit television. I took a gander at three shows in particular, Public Eye, Gangsters and Cracker. All were in-your-face, hard-hitting crime dramas from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s respectively.

And now, it looks like a bunch of the writers that have contributed to the True Brit Grit  charity anthology that I co-edited (with Luca Veste)  are going to be putting the grit back on the box.

Pulp Pusher’s own Tony Black, for example, is due to have his intense crime novel Long Time Dead made into a film, directed by Richard ‘Jobbo The Yobbo’ Jobson. And Black’s debut, Paying For It, is due to have the television treatment.

And there’s more.

Howard Linskey’s critically acclaimed The Drop is being adapted for the small screen by JJ ‘Layer Cake’ Connolly, no less!

Sheila Quigley’s Seahills Estate debut, Run For Home, has been scheduled to be made into a telly series, too.

Adrian Magson’s first Harry Tate novel, Red Station, is due to blast out on to big screen as the start of a franchise to equal that of Jason Bourne!

So, whose next?

Certainly, Matt Hilton’s Joe Hunter thrillers would make great high-octane action cinema and wouldn’t someone like to be able to get a handle on Charlie Williams’ blackly-comic Mangel books or Ray Banks’ poignant Cal Innes Quartet?

So, if you want to get a taste of these stars in the making, you could do worse than pick up True Brit Grit- A Charity Anthology.

Here’s the blurb:

"The BRIT GRIT mob is coming to kick down your door with hobnailed boots. Kitchen-sink noir; petty-thief-louts; lives of quiet desperation; sharp, blood-stained slices of life; booze-sodden brawls from the bottom of the barrel and comedy that’s as black as it’s bitter—this is BRIT GRIT!"

45 British writers, 45 short stories. All coming together to produce an anthology, benefiting two charities...

Children 1st - http://www.children1st.org.uk/

and

Francesca Bimpson Foundation - http://www.francescabimpsonfoundation.org

The line up...

Introduction by Maxim Jakubowski

1. Two Fingers of Noir by Alan Griffiths
2. Eat Shit by Tony Black
3. Baby Face And Irn Bru by Allan Guthrie
4. Pretty Hot T’Ing by Adrian Magson
5. Black Betty by Sheila Quigley
6. Payback: With Interest by Matt Hilton
7. Looking for Jamie by Iain Rowan
8. Stones in Me Pocket by Nigel Bird
9. The Catch and The Fall by Luke Block
10. A Long Time Coming by Paul Grzegorzek
11. Loose Ends by Gary Dobbs
12. Graduation Day by Malcolm Holt
13. Cry Baby by Victoria Watson
14. The Savage World of Men by Richard Godwin
15. Hard Boiled Poem (a mystery) by Alan Savage
16. A Dirty Job by Sue Harding
17. Stay Free by Nick Quantrill
18. The Best Days of My Life by Steven Porter
19. Hanging Stanley by Jason Michel
20. The Wrong Place to Die by Nick Triplow
21. Coffin Boy by Nick Mott
22. Meat Is Murder by Colin Graham
23. Adult Education by Graham Smith
24. A Public Service by Col Bury
25. Hero by Pete Sortwell
26. Snapshots by Paul D Brazill
27. Smoked by Luca Veste
28. Geraldine by Andy Rivers
29. A Minimum of Reason by Nick Boldock
30. Dope on a Rope by Darren Sant
31. A Speck of Dust by David Barber
32. Hard Times by Ian Ayris
33. Never Ending by McDroll
34. Imagining by Ben Cheetham
35. Escalator by Jim Hilton
36. Faces by Frank Duffy
37. A Day In The Death Of Stafford Plank by Stuart Ayris
38. The Plebitarian by Danny Hogan
39. King Edward by Gerard Brennan
40. This Is Glasgow by Steven Miscandlon
41. Brit Grit by Charlie Wade
42. Five Bags Of Billy by Charlie Williams
43. It Could Be You by Julie Morrigan
44. No Shortcuts by Howard Linskey
45. The Great Pretender by Ray Banks

Get stuck in there!

Sugar by Jake Nantz

First time I saw her, she was steppin’ on my action. I was okay with it though, ‘cause she was hot. Strolled through the door in spikes and a skirt, little grey sweatshirt hanging off a shoulder. Nothing but a bikini top under it.

Oh yeah, and holding the heater.

Fucking gun was as big as she was. Walks in, shoots the guy behind the counter, points it at me. I tried to play it cool, wasn’t the first time I stared down a barrel, but my hard-on didn’t help things. Fuck, she was hot. Popping her chewing gum, too. That shit gets me every time.

“You s’posed to put your hands up and scream, honey.”

“Nah, not my style.” That’s right. Straight cool, hands at my side.

She wagged the gun at me. “Gimme whatever you got, I might let you live.” Snap. Pop.

“Sugar, you’re either gonna shoot me or not. You want what I got…” —that’s right, dig that innuendo— “…then you can come over here and take it whether I’m breathin’ or not.” Took a breath, studied her. “So, do you want it?”

She smiled. A little. “Got that right.” Pop. Snap. “Whas’ your name, tough guy?”

Hell yeah. “Keesey. Mike Keesey,” I lied. “You?”

A glance at my crotch. “Don’t look like you much care.” Another smile. Bigger. Time to take a shot of my own.

“Okay Sugar, I’ll call you whatever you want. But right now I need to know what you’re gonna do, ‘cause I just got out a couple months back and I don’t feel like getting caught with you just ‘cause you’re gonna fuckin’ stand there.”

She took her damn time deciding. Finally lowered that big Smith and Wesson, gave me a sly grin. Snap. Pop. “What, you wanna get in on this?”

I lifted my jacket in back, pulled my Glock. Grinned myself. “Planning to rob this place anyway, Sugar.”
Startled her when I showed my piece, but she recovered well. Snap. Smile and wink. Pop. “You got a car here?”

I shrugged, looked at the pool of blood creeping around the side of the counter. “No, but I bet he does.”

Grin. Pop.

She got his keys, I got the register and pulled the surveillance tape. She stopped me on the way out the back, grabbed a box of jimmies and winked again. Fuck yeah.

The clerk’s car was a shitty little blue Ford Escort. Pretty sure it was older than Sugar. I smeared some mud on the plate and we were off.

We made three stops that first night. Once to switch cars, twice to switch license plates with some other shitty cars. By the time we got to a motel to crash, I could barely zip my jeans back up for all the gum. Still gives me wood just thinkin’ about it.

The drawer only had a couple hundred bills in it, so we picked a cheap spot. Low rent.

“So, Sugar. You got any big master plan you wanna let me in on? Or we just gonna small time it for a while?”

A pout. Her lower lip stuck out, a little of me still glistening on it. “Who said I gotta tell you anything? You got a problem with how it’s gone so far?”

“Nope. Just thought I’d get to be more than a dildo with a gun.”

She rolled her eyes. “Keep talking like that, the dildo’s all I’ll take with me.”

I held my hands up. “Okay Sugar. Okay. I just thought some of my expertise might help here, that’s all.”

Her lips curled up. A smile, but it was ugly and mean. “You were in the joint, right? Sounds like your expertise ain’t so expert.”

Bitch. I thought about shooting her, but then she popped that gum again. I gotta stop thinking with my dick.

She rolled over and kissed me hard enough to draw blood. “Relax, Keesey. Tomorrow we hit a mom-and-pop on route 74 I know of. The safe is theirs, so they have to know the combo. I’ll even let you do the shooting this time, once we got the money.” She winked, her eyes a deep pool of mischief.

Satisfied I was gonna get my gun off, I pulled her to me and yanked up her skirt. Nothing underneath 'cept them heels. Fuck yeah.

****

Next day we paid cash for the room, walked across to the shitty strip mall. I hotwired a gray Honda while she switched the plates with another gray Honda. There’s an assload of ‘em on the roads these days, so we thought it’d be easier to hide in one. We agreed to find another gray one and switch plates again before the job. She said there wouldn’t be enough time after, and I figured she was probably right.

Two hours and a plate-switch later, she pulled into the mom-and-pop gas station. I didn’t see anyone but the cashier inside, a little old man. Good. I pulled my Glock, put it in my belt under my shirt.

“Ready, Sugar?”

“You go in first, take the clerk in the back where the safe is. I’ll come in after and man the front. That way if someone comes in, it looks legit.”

I thought that was pretty smart. Turns out it was, but not like I figured.

I went in. The old geezer bent over a newspaper, barely looked up when the door chimed. He didn’t even flinch when I shoved my piece in his face. Just kinda sighed. Guess he was used to it.

“Where’s the safe?”

His shoulder slumped. “In the back.”

“C’mon Geezer.” I wagged the gun toward the back and he led the way. He walked like his whole body hung from a meat hook. I was doing him a favor and putting him out of his misery, poor bastard.

We walked past the shitters on the way to the little office. Man, roadside gas stations have the nastiest bathrooms on earth, and this one was no different. The smell assaulted me. Geezer didn’t seem to notice. The offending odor was probably his anyway.

‘Bout the time we got to the office, I heard the door chime. Sugar was coming in to cover the front.

The office wasn’t much bigger than a closet. A desk with more paper and shit than a redwood forest dominated the room. Behind it was the safe.

“Open it, and do it fast.”

Geezer nodded and bent down, worked the combo dial. When he opened it, I saw he had a little .380 in there waiting for me. You just can’t trust these clerks at all, man. I called Sugar in there, and she took the loot from the safe out to the car. I kept the .380 and the old man with me.

When I heard the chime twice, I knew she was back in the building. Asked Geezer if he had any last requests. He said a prayer, then nodded. Thought that was pretty nice of me, tell ya the truth, to let him pray and shit. Then, I shot him in the back of the head.

That’s when shit went wrong. Real wrong.

I heard a siren out front, and a scream. Sugar was screaming, and I knew we were caught. Well, I was right about the caught, just not the ‘we.’

I left the money and bolted out the back, right into the arms of a State Trooper. I tried to bring my gun up, but he slugged me right in the balls. After the hard riding I had the day before, my Johnson wasn’t up for that. I dropped the Glock and hit the ground grabbin’ my crotch and whimpering. Yeah, I whimpered, you gonna say something about it? Didn’t think so.

Next thing I know, my hands are locked behind me and I’m being pushed back through the store. And there’s Sugar, talking to the cops outside and cryin’ her eyes out.

My fucking money in that gray Honda, and she’s sobbing to some fat trooper. I even caught her smiling at me for a second when that porker turned his head. Snapped her gum, too. Sneaky fucking whore.

So she plays like she just pulled up in her gray Honda right before the smokies did. Bitch tripped the silent alarm when I went in the back, and here comes the heat. She cries for half an hour, they don’t even search her, and I go up for murdering some old coot I didn’t even know.

That’s alright, though. The guy in the next cell has a way to get out of here. And the first thing I plan on doing is finding me some chewing gum.

REWIND<< This story first appeared on the original Pulp Pusher site.

Another top-notch review for MURDER MILE in from The Sun ... was in a few days ago but just got a nice cutting sent through:



"This up-and-coming crime writer isn't portraying the Edinburgh in the Visit Scotland tourism ads ... a convincing portrayal of Edinburgh low-life and police rivalries." 

- The Sun

The reviews are stacking up nicely on Amazon as well, and a couple on Goodreads, if you're one of the reviewers who thought enough about the book to write up a few pars, my everlasting thanks! These things really do make all the difference, so ta muchly!

All the reviews for murder mile are up at www.tonyblack.net

R.I.P Robbie Silva

Next cab of the rank from me is, R.I.P Robbie Silva, a bit of a heist novel and definitely the most fun I have ever had in the writer's chair. Here's the hook ...

Jed Collins, fresh from jail, is struggling to go straight when he hooks up with  wild child Gail. Before long Jed's back to blagging - with Gail in tow. But Jed has a past, and Gail has a secret about her gangster father she wants to keep under wraps. In R.I.P Robbie Silva, one week in the Scottish capital for Jed and Gail turns into a bloody rollercoaster ride that leads straight to hell.

Early reads have been beyond generous, with Irish noir master Ken Bruen coughing up this beaut of a blurb:

 
''Tony Black is the Tom Waits of Crime fiction, yes, that good.''  -Ken Bruen 

How could I not be chuffed to bits with that?

:: R.I.P Robbie Silva is coming soon from Blasted Heath

Murder Mile has been in the shops a couple of weeks now and the reviewers - God bless them - have been very kind. Here we go with the pick of the crop ...

"This is no ordinary police procedural, folks. This is for those discerning readers who want more than a puzzle, it’s for those readers who want their intellect nudged while they plunge headlong into the whodunit. Murder Mile is a hugely satisfying read on all levels and comes highly recommended."

- Crime Squad

"Murder Mile is the second outing for DI Rob Brennan, a complex and brooding character who makes Rebus look positively chipper by comparison ... With Murder Mile Tony Black has put the heart back into the serial killer novel. It’s dark, yes, and deeply unpleasant in places, as it should be, but he hasn’t played to shock and there’s a refreshing lack of cheap gore. Rob Brennan is the perfect guide to follow through the criminal underworld, a bundle of rage and righteousness, and after reading Murder Mile the next fictional DI you come across will have a lot to live up to."

- Crime Fiction Lover

"Tony Black's Edinburgh makes Ian Rankin's version seem sedate, polite and carefree … DI Rob Brennan, in his second outing, makes a strong case to assume the mantle of Edinburgh's leading fictional detective, vacant since the retirement of Rebus … he's immensely well drawn, and Black's dialogue and atmosphere crackle with authenticity."

- The Times

“An authentic yet unique voice, Tony Black shows why he is leading the pack in British crime fiction today. His deeply disturbing previous books have been labeled tartan noir, but Murder Mile is in a class of its own, from gripping beginning to shocking end. Atmospherically driven, the taut and sparse prose is as near to the bone you are ever likely to encounter in crime noir. Powerful.”

- New York Journal of Books

"Comparisons with Rebus will be obvious. But that would be too easy ... Black has put his defiant, kick-ass stamp on his leading man, creating a character that deftly carries the story through every razor-sharp twist and harrowing turn. DI Rob Brennan is my new star on the capital's murder mile. And you can't help but think Rebus would approve."

- Daily Record




:: The fine reviews continue over at Amazon

PUSH-UPS: Kimberley Chambers

So, what you pushing right now?
The Schemer. It comes out June 21st.

What’s the hook?
It's a nostalgic look back at the eighties, first love, betrayal, and skulduggery. Has a bit of a whodunnit theme too.

And why’s that floating your boat?
I feel The Schemer has the best ending out of all my books. It's also the first with my new publisher, so that's exciting stuff too.

When did you turn to crime?
Many years ago. I first got arrested at fourteen : ))

Hardboiled or Noir, classic or contemporary?
Gritty family sagas

And, what’s blown you away lately?
Mandasue Heller's "Lost Angel". Top girl !! Top book !!

See any books as movies waiting to happen?
My trilogy. The Feud, The Traitor and The Victim.

Mainstream or indie - paper or digital?
Paper.

Shout us a website worth visiting …
Best Crime Books.co.uk

Finally, tell us any old shit about yourself …Every one of my novels have been written with good old pen and paper. I can't, and wouldn't want to
write any other way.

QUICK-FIX: Doug Johnstone

Right now I’m reading …

Just finished How Soon Is Now? (Faber) by Richard King, a brilliant history of British indie music. Currently re-reading Stona Fitch’s fantastic Printer’s Devil (Two Ravens) and also just started William Gay’s Twilight (Faber) which my editor recommended to me.

Three things I can see from my writing chair are …

Piles of books. Piles of old Casio keyboards. My sunburst Fender Stratocaster.

The biggest time-suck that stops me writing is …

Kids. Bless 'em.

It might surprise you but I like reading …

Maps.

The fictional character I’d most like to meet is …

Begbie. I’m sure I’d be able to find his softer side. If not, at least we’d get served at the bar quickly, eh?

One writer who should be much better known is…

Matthew F Jones. His novel A Single Shot was the best book published last year. It’s apparently getting the Hollywood treatment, so he probably will be much better known soon.





:: Visit Doug at: http://dougjohnstone.wordpress.com/

Murder Mile - reviews

Couple of very nice reviews in over the weekend for Murder Mile.

"Comparisons with Rebus will be obvious. But that would be too easy ... Black has put his defiant, kick-ass stamp on his leading man, creating a character that deftly carries the story through every razor-sharp twist and harrowing turn. DI Rob Brennan is my new star on the capital's murder mile. And you can't help but think Rebus would approve."

-Daily Record

"Murder Mile is the second outing for DI Rob Brennan, a complex and brooding character who makes Rebus look positively chipper by comparison ... With Murder Mile Tony Black has put the heart back into the serial killer novel. It’s dark, yes, and deeply unpleasant in places, as it should be, but he hasn’t played to shock and there’s a refreshing lack of cheap gore. Rob Brennan is the perfect guide to follow through the criminal underworld, a bundle of rage and righteousness, and after reading Murder Mile the next fictional DI you come across will have a lot to live up to."

-Crime Fiction Lover

Huge thanks to Shari Low at the Daily Record and Eva Dolan at Crime Fiction Lover. Really is fab to get such feedback!

Tone

PUSHED FOR ANSWERS: Bob Mayer

Bob Mayer is a man who knows something about selling eBooks - having shifted half-a-million of them in the space of a year.

Being a NY Times bestselling author and having a backlist of 40 titles helped, but there is more to his success - he's emphatic about that.

In the latest in a series of articles about the future of publishing (Mick McCann, Aaron Wise, Kevin Duffy) Pulp Pusher talked to Bob about how he views the changing landscape.




PULP PUSHER: You’ve had an interesting experience with eBooks since dipping your toe in the murky waters in Jan 2011 … What do you put this success down to?

BOB MAYER: I have to be honest and say having the rights to over 40 titles from my backlist gave me a huge advantage. But the real key was making a commitment. Making the 100% leap from traditional to indie publishing. It was a gamble.

Also, it was key to form a team. I think it’s very hard to make it on your own. Between Jen Talty and me we had the expertise in both publishing and the digital world to succeed. We’ve written The ShelfLess Book: The Complete Digital Author chronicling our experiences going from selling 347 eBooks in January 2011 to almost half a million for the year.

Can anyone emulate those results?

As noted, over 40 titles of backlist traditionally published makes it hard to emulate if you don’t have that. But there are certainly people who’ve started from scratch and been very successful. The things I see that are key are consistency and focusing on content rather than promotion. Realizing it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

That sounds contrary to many eBook author’s tactics … do you think some authors are over-selling themselves?

Definitely. The focus should be on building community, not marketing. Especially for new authors. I get a dozen or so “check out my books” emails from Goodreads every day and it’s numbing. People are getting overwhelmed with writers promoting themselves. You have to be different. You have to find a niche and then establish yourself there by contributing, not by marketing.

You run a publishing venture called WHO DARES WINS … tell us about that?

The first thing is that we’re changing the name. We’ve grown so quickly and changed so much, that we feel that’s a bit too military. We’re changing over to Cool Gus Publishing (Gus being my yellow lab). We’ve got eight authors. Right now we’re looking for authors who were traditionally published and have backlist and for nonfiction authors who have a solid platform.

We’re a real publisher, not a service, meaning that money flows from us to our authors. So we’re also very selective on how we contract with.

Tell us about some of the titles on your lists?

We have Colin Falconer, a bestselling author in Australia whose agent was never able to get him a deal with one of the Big 6 here in the US. Jen Talty’s romances along with Mary Reed McCall’s romances sell well.

Our biggest sellers are my Area 51 and Atlantis series. My Black Ops thrillers also sell well along with my Green Beret series.

How did you come by your authors?

Most came to us. I find that authors, overall, are very afraid of the digital world. I’ve had some authors shy away and I feel like they missed out on a great opportunity. Fear rules a lot of the industry and the rewards go to those who are willing to take risks. We give the highest royalty rates in publishing and we’re very responsive. We can get a backlist title up and selling usually within a month.

Are you looking for anything in particular in terms of genre or content?

As mentioned—no new fiction. Backlist and nonfiction with platform.

You’re not exclusively selling eBooks, some are paper titles …

We do print on demand, which is great because we can order as few as one book if need be. However 99% of our fiction sales are eBooks. For nonfiction we handsell quite a bit at conferences of the ShelfLess Book; Write It Forward and The Novel Writers’ Toolkit.

Do you see the importance of paper publishing diminishing?

Yes. Shelf space will diminish. But there will always be a demand for print books. Especially in nonfiction where people tend to want the actual product in hand.

In general, how do you see the publishing landscape in the future, short and long term?

I believe it’s going to go digital much faster than most expect. The distance and time between author and reader is wifi and almost instantly. Distribution is no longer king, discoverability is.

Traditional paper publishers aren’t doing so well at the moment, are they doing something wrong?

They’re actually doing all right because digital sales are making up for their losses in paper sales. They’re changing over and will survive, but they will be leaner and more efficient. They are going to have to change the way they treat authors. Before their focus was on distribution. Now their focus has to be on facilitating author-reader relationships.

If you were to give the Big 6 some advice/tips about facilitating author-reader relationships, what would it be?

Pay attention to backlist. Consider erasing advances that haven’t earned out and do profit sharing with authors, otherwise your authors have no incentive to promote. Actually they have a disincentive to promote in the vain hope of getting their rights back. Or do reverse royalties, giving the rights back to authors and then having them pay you a percentage.

No one walks into a bookstore and says “I want the next Random House” yet publishers act that way. Readers want the next book from their favorite author or in their favorite genre.

Consider doing aggregates for similar authors.

Bottom line: consider your midlist authors as important parts and realize that distribution is no longer key. Discoverability is.

It’s a time of massive change for readers, writers and publishers … is it a good time to be any of the above?

It’s the best time ever to be a writer. You are no longer constrained by distribution and the gatekeepers. The field is very crowded, but if you have determination and focus on building content (writing) and building community (instead of promotion), you can succeed.

---

:: Find out more about Bob at his website http://www.bobmayer.org/

Launch: MURDER MILE

QUICK-FIX: Cathi Unsworth

Right now I’m reading …

…White Chappell, Scarlet Traces by Iain Sinclair. I’m re-reading a lot of London fiction for a lecture I’m giving in June at Gresham’s College about contemporary London crime fiction. This 1987 novel is pretty pivotal to the shape of things that came after, perhaps because it addresses the most potent things that came before – Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes, Dickens, Hawksmoor, the old Jewish East End…

Three things I can see from my writing chair are …

…my garden, which is a shady, basement garden, the steps that lead to street level, and an assortment of people walking by, from little old ladies going to the church at the end of the street, to local flaneurs who have a circuit they follow at the same time every day. One of which always stops at the top of my steps and stares at me without smiling.

The biggest time-suck that stops me writing is …

…having to do a day job.

It might surprise you but I like reading …

…about gardening and the countryside. Yes. You can take the broad out of Norfolk, but…

The fictional character I’d most like to meet is …

…Miss Smith from Beverly Nichols’ The Wickedest Witch in the World. She’s sort of my role model.

One writer who should be much better known is…

…Jayne Joso. Check out her books The Perfect Architect and Soothing Music for Stray Cats. They are not crime novels, but Jayne has a way of writing about contemporary life that is both clever and compassionate and takes note of all the little cracks and crevices most of us walk straight by. Her writing reminds me of another vastly underrated author with an ear for those who struggled to get heard, Jean Rhys.

:: More about Cathi at her website: http://cathiunsworth.weebly.com/

PUSHED FOR ANSWERS: Len Wanner

For the last few years Scotland's crime writers have been mercilessly stalked.

The perp, who dresses in natty leather shorts and handle-bar mustache, allegedly, is known as Len Wanner - a German Irishman with enough time on his hands to be a PhD student.

Pulp Pusher tried to speak to the man, but got nowhere. The few useable bits of that conversation are featured below, minus the stuff about Wanner's love of the Swiss-German television series Heidi.

PULP PUSHER: Why is such a nice, sensible fellow as yourself interested in all these crime-ridden minds?

LEN WANNER: Self-preservation. A few years ago I asked myself: “How will I survive the literary revolution?” That’s when I decided to talk to crime writers.

Tell us about your current university studies?

Why? So it’s my fault when people fall asleep on your website? Ah sure, I aim to please: Currently, I’m finishing a PhD on Scottish crime fiction at the University of Edinburgh, charting the genre to and through 30 writers at work today. You’re one of them, so it might be your turn to be nice and sensible.

And a little about your background?

Where to start? Most biographies are boring until you get past the childhood chapters, so I’ll skip mine. All you need to know is that charm school held me down while my hoor’s ear strapped an Irish accent into Lederhosen. You’re picturing that, aren’t you? Pervert.

I believe the title, THE CRIME INTERVIEWS, has a story attached?

Have you been reading my diary, again? Well, as you know, Ken Bruen gave me the title ‘Dead Sharp’ for the paperback edition, which I liked, until it got the book shelved in the fiction section, where it seems more dead than sharp.

‘The Crime Interviews’ is as direct as crime writing, which I like even better, and it’s as close to ‘The Paris Review Interviews’ as copyright allows, which I like best of all. Why? Because the purpose of this collection is to do for crime fiction what The Paris Review Interviews have done for literature at large.

Did your subjects in THE CRIME INTERVIEWS match your expectations of them?

Not until you ordered that piper to play during our interview. Thanks for that. Do you have any idea how much fun I had transcribing your gravelly answers to his dulcet tones? I’ve been reading your books to that Teuchter sound track ever since. Result.

Which writer surprised you the most?

Apart from the piping surprise? Well, I didn’t expect you to give me a tour of Ayr in a lightning blue lady’s race car, nor did I expect to interview you in a shrine to Robert Burns. So the answer is probably ‘you’, though I was surprised by how often Allan Guthrie cries about his favourite movie, how naked Stuart MacBride is when he does his best writing, and how convincingly Craig Robertson bromanticises his indiscretions with black pudding. The ladies only surprised me when they weren’t surprised to hear any of this.

Did you find your interest in the subject had intensified or diminished after the book was finished?

Given the nature of the subject, do you really think the two should be mutually exclusive? I’ve spent so much time trying to get straight answers from your bipolar band of bards, it seems I’ve contracted your Caledonian Antisyzygy. So yes, my interest in Scottish crime fiction has intensified and diminished, and no, I’d rather not say in whose writing I’ve found and lost interest. What I will say is that William McIlvanney’s Strange Loyalties explains my relationship with Scottish crime fiction in more ways than its title.

The route to publication looked swift; was that linked to public appetite for crime fiction?

Did it? Well, I pitched this collection to my publisher long before it was complete and long before he was a publisher, so it doesn’t feel like we took the swift route. We’re both part of the public, though, so it’s a confident ‘yes’ to the second part of your question.

The tag, TARTAN NOIR, has become much derided; what's your opinion of it?

SPOILER ALERT. (That’s the answer to my PhD.)

And one from left-field: I believe Allan Guthrie conducted his interview in ladies underwear?

Do you want it back? Al told me you mailed that cheeky ensemble to him along with a note, saying: “If you don’t wear this, I’ll start drinking again.”

Nevertheless, he did sign you up for BLASTED HEATH...

He did, yes… Wait, so our wrestling session wasn’t filmed for Macbeth, the Musical? Oh, you little minx! Now I’m definitely sending you the bill for that leotard you ruined.

Will there be more works to follow from you soon?

Do you have a lot more questions? I’m a busy man. The Crime Interviews, Volume Two, should be out by the time I’ve answered your questions. It includes interviews with 10 more Scottish crime writers, ranging from the patron saint of Tartan Noir, William McIlvanney, to his legions of disciples, Tony Black, Craig Russell, and Gordon Ferris, all the way to the Marie Magdalene of Scottish letters, Denise Mina.

What about fiction ... fancy a stab?

Is that how you do things on the West Coast? Tempt the innocent to the dark side with a pun? I hope it’s a pun. If it isn’t, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE’S TALKING ABOUT, YOUR HONOUR.

As for the fiction, it seems I’m more comfortable asking questions than answering them, so perhaps I should stick with the interviewing for now. There’s a third volume in the making, so watch this space.

The Crime Interviews is published by BLASTED HEATH

Len Wanner was born in the Alpine Republic of Bavaria in 1985. When his academic and civil service kept interfering with his reading, he left the country, and when University College Dublin, better known as the All-star Republic of Ireland, gave him a degree at the price of an accent, he left that country, too. Now moving in literary circles, he says he is no longer available as racket stringer, holiday animator, or Lederhosen model, though calls will still be charged at standard network rates. Having found his lady friend in the Almost Republic of Scotland, Mr Wanner is finishing a PhD on crime fiction at the University of Edinburgh, and freelancing as translator, interviewer, and editor of the literary journal, www.thecrimeofitall.com

REVIEW: The Times

"Tony Black's Edinburgh makes Ian Rankin's version seem sedate, polite and carefree… DI Rob Brennan, in his second outing, makes a strong case to assume the mantle of Edinburgh's leading fictional detective, vacant since the retirement of Rebus … he's immensely well drawn, and Black's dialogue and atmosphere crackle with authenticity."

-Marcel Berlins, The Times

MURDER MILE - Edinburgh launch

If you're in Edinburgh on Tues 17 April come along for some Tartan Noir chatter, maybe a glass of wine.

PUSH-UPS: Jochem Vandersteen

So, what you pushing right now?
Redemption (A Noah Milano Novelette)

What’s the hook?
Twenty years ago he tortured and killed a young boy. Now he is out of prison, ready to find redemption confronting the victim's parents. He hires Noah Milano, security specialist and son of LA's biggest mobster to protect him. When the unexpected happens it's up to Noah Milano to do what he thinks is right and make sure justice is done.

And why’s that floating your boat?
It’s a cool story and it’s got the best cover of my books so far.

When did you turn to crime?
After I read my first Spenser novel.

Hardboiled or Noir, classic or contemporary?
Contemporary hardboiled.

And, what’s blown you away lately?
Timothy Hallinan’s Simeon Grist novels.

See any books as movies waiting to happen?
Little Girl Gone by Brett Battles is a fantastic action movie on paper.

Mainstream or indie - paper or digital?
Digital indie.

Shout us a website worth visiting …
My own Sons of Spade of course and CrimeSpot which will take you to a lot of great crime blogs.

Finally, tell us any old shit about yourself …
I’m really happy with my group The Hardboiled Collective, a great group of writers who promote each other’s work. Also, I recently got a blurb from James W. Hall about a Noah Milano short story I was really happy with: 'The writing is fresh and vivid and lively, paying homage to the past while standing squarely in the present.'

That’s the kind of stuff that keeps me writing…



:: Visit Jochem at Sons of Spade

A PAGE TOO FAR: Andrez Bergen

By ANDREZ BERGEN

Ever pushed yourself a page too far?

I used to laugh at these sporty types, especially the marathon runners, who literally ran themselves into the ground. From the comfort of my couch I could lob popcorn at the silly buggers – you’d never, ever, catch me stretching myself thin like that.

Then there were the paratroopers over-extending themselves in that old ‘70s war flick, A Bridge Too Far, which also cheekily over-extended itself in length.

Anyway, I thought I pushed myself reasonably hard, with a lot of late nights and early mornings, finishing off my first novel Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat (TSMG).

That, I told myself, was bloody hard yakka.

But I have one word to utter here, a simple three-letter beastie that best captures how I currently feel: Hah!

It’s 5:40 a.m. in Tokyo, dark outside, and the temperature is 1ºC – which is not too bad, since winter is finally on its way out.

I have ten days in which to finish off my second novel.

Yep, March 31 is my self-imposed deadline to finish off a rambling, off-the-wall tale that looks like including in the mix the Graf Zeppelin, geisha, yakuza, nuclear weapons, B-29s, death, revenge, and a mystery.

The thing is currently titled One Hundred Years of Vicissitude.

Ye gods. I fret at the idea of tying it all together, which is one of the reasons I’ve conveniently ditched the manuscript this morning, to have more fun here.

Whining.

See, I committed myself to this deadline for the sake of a few things: (1) the affection of my daughter, a six-year-old who’s getting downright annoyed with the amount of time I’m spending on this novel; (2) the grand master challenge of completing a book in six months, whereas my first one took about 20 years; (3) a whole lot of other ideas that’re currently infusing in my woe-begotten headspace.

One of these is an anthology I’m putting together for Another Sky Press (the publishers of TSMG).

Titled The Tobacco-Stained Sky: An Anthology of Post-Apocalyptic Noir, it’s going to bring together a whole wad of current, cool cat noir/hardboiled writers, and their comic artist brethren. Some parts will be regular written words, others black-and-white artwork. The whole caboodle will focus on the near-future Dystopia of last-city-standing Melbourne.

We’ve already started on this project.

Plus there are music commitments (I do stuff under aliases like Little Nobody and Funk Gadget), a string of short stories I’ve promised to do, some articles that won’t write themselves, and my regular day job – the one that actually pays the bills.

My daughter Cocoa will wake up soon, sit on my knee in front of the computer, look at me wisely, and say “Two minutes,” just like she always does. A time limit does wonders for progress.

She’s a league smarter than me – I’ve become one of these silly people on the telly, the ones that push themselves too far.

Where’s the popcorn?


:: Explore Andrez's work, here...

Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat

One Hundred Years of Vicissitude

The Tobacco-Stained Sky: An Anthology of Post-Apocalyptic Noir

Coming soon - events

Got a few events lined up in the coming weeks and months.

Mostly I'll be talking about the new DI Rob Brennan novel, MURDER MILE, but there will also be some chatter - no doubt - on the Ayrshire coast about THE STORM WITHOUT and my new protagonist Doug Michie.


Thursday, April 12, 7pm

Dundee, Steps Theatre

With Alex Gray and Doug Johnston.

This is a free event but booking is essential on 01382 431500.

Tuesday, April 17, 6.30pm

Blackwell's Book Store, North Bridge, Edinburgh

Launch - MURDER MILE

Free entry


Friday, June 1, 12.30

Ayr Town Hall

As part of the Burns an' aw That Festival

Free entry


Wednesday, June 27, (Time to be confirmed)

Carnegie Library,
Ayr

Free entry


Tuesday, August 14, 8.30pm

Edinburgh book Festival

With Gordon Ferris.

Peppers Theatre, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh.

PUSHED FOR ANSWERS: Howard Linskey

Howard Linskey is a happy man.

But not content to have a runaway success story on his hands - in the form of his debut novel The Drop - the Herts author has more to celebrate: his Newcastle gangster story is soon to make its way to the screen, via some very big names.

Producer David Barron (Harry Potter) and JJ Connolly (Layer Cake) are in Linskey's corner - so what's not to smile about.

Pulp Pusher spoke to Linskey about his 'ludicrously long slog' to success and his preference for the Sig Sauer over Walthers, Webleys and Berettas.

TONY BLACK: The Drop was your debut novel, tell us how it feels to know it's making its way to the screen?

HOWARD LINSKEY: It’s a bit of a dream come true if I’m honest. It is very rare for a debut novel from a complete unknown to be snapped up by a top producer like David Barron. I think I’m still in shock.

The TV adaptation is being done by Runaway Fridge Films, who have quite a pedigree.

David has an unbelievable CV, including five moderately successful films that feature a character you may have vaguely heard of called Harry Potter. His first TV production with Runaway Fridge was ‘Page Eight’ and he managed to assemble a cast that included Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Michael Gambon and Ralph Fiennes, which isn’t a bad start. It shows just how much clout he brings to a project.

Are you worried he may want to turn your protagonist, David Blake, into a boy wizard?

Well he did want to replace Blake’s Glock with a wand but I fought him hard on that one and he finally backed down.

Ah, the old Glock, it’s become a bit of a Brit-crime staple these days …

My villains use Makarovs, the cheap eastern European imports and a Sig Sauer was too flashy for David. Walthers, Webleys and Berettas are a bit old fashioned these days, so I wasn’t sure what gun to give a suave man-about-town like David Blake. I probably settled on a Glock because I needed a word other than gun and it was easy to spell.

You have JJ Connolly writing the screenplay, he has a rep for gritty crime drama having written Layer Cake. You must be chuffed with that?

I couldn’t imagine a better choice than JJ Connolly to adapt ‘The Drop’. I loved ‘Layer Cake’ and I was thrilled when he came on board. We share an agent, so I was aware of his possible involvement from an early stage but I kept quiet about it and just hoped it would happen.

For those living under a rock, give us the rundown on The Drop ...

‘The Drop’ is set in Newcastle and it’s the story of a white collar gangster who thinks he has it sussed because he never gets his hands dirty. One day, a large sum of money he is responsible for goes missing, along with a man who works for him called Geordie Cartwright, and nobody has a clue what has happened. Blake’s boss gives him 72 hours to retrieve the money or he’s a dead man

Where did the desire to write 'crime' come from?

I love classic British gangster films like ‘Get Carter’ and ‘The Long Good Friday’ and I wanted to write something like that. My story is about a man who thinks he can enjoy the trappings of a criminal life without any of the consequences. By the time he realises he can’t, he is in way too deep. That was my starting point for The Drop.

Did you have an easy route to print, or the traditional long slog?

A ludicrously long slog. I could paper my walls with the rejection letters. Most of them were pretty complimentary though, which was probably what kept me going. I didn’t realise it at the time, when my early stories were being turned down, but I was paying my dues with a particularly long apprenticeship.

I know the feeling, somehow, it feels beneficial in the end. I’m no doubt it made me a better writer: do you think that’s something which is going to affect the quality of future novelists with so many going straight to Kindle?

I suppose it could. I always think I am my own worst critic but I have learned over the years that a few sets of professional eyes on a manuscript can make a big difference. Both my editor and agent will ask me difficult questions about plot, characters and dialogue and they make me fight my corner. If I can’t convince them, I’ll seriously consider ditching stuff. I took two whole chapters out of my new book ‘The Damage’, which stung a bit but they were slowing down the story. It can be a bruising process sometimes but I am more than compensated by a better book at the end of it. It is better to have no ego about your writing because everyone wants the book to be as good as it can be. Hopefully the reader benefits from all of that brutal editing and I’ll know soon enough as ‘The Damage’ is about to be launched.

With the sudden screen interest, do you see yourself jumping ship or is screenwriting not something that interests you?

In an ideal world I’d like to do both. A book will give you a purer end result, as it is less collaborative. A script might be taken off your hands and a producer or director could make a lot of changes to it but I would quite like to sit in a darkened cinema thinking ‘I wrote that’. I’ll have to practice my false smile though, for when I fail to win an Oscar for Best Screenplay, as it is apparently bad form to mouth ‘but that was shit’ when someone else picks up a golden statue instead of you.

The Drop is published by No Exit Press - another outfit making quite a name for themselves of late.

I reckon I’ve got a very cool publisher. No Exit publish Lawrence Block, Ed Bunker, James Sallis and William Hjortsberg who wrote ‘Fallen Angel’, better known as the movie ‘Angel Heart’, which is still one of my favourite films. I’m honoured to be included on their list.

Angel Heart is without doubt a little-known classic - easily Rourke’s best movie - you’re clearly very influenced by film …

Yeah, I’m more influenced by film than books. I always think in terms of writing scenes, as opposed to chapters, because that is how I visualise the book in my head. I could probably recite every line of ‘Angel Heart’. I agree it was Rourke’s best movie and De Niro was still good then, before he switched to a policy of accepting every film he was offered. He used to read the script in the eighties not the pay cheque.

Back to No Exit - from the outside - it look like an edgy indie, is that the reality?

They couldn’t be nicer people to deal with. I think the edgy reputation comes from their choice of material. No Exit are noted for publishing gritty stuff that more mainstream publishers shy away from, because it doesn’t fit into some target demographic.

There seems to be a race to the bottom among mainstream publishers these days: how do you feel about their output these days?

I know publishers are motivated primarily by sales but I was baffled they would pass on something because it was set in Newcastle not London. My agent received rejections from female editors who said they loved my book but didn’t think that other women would, which I think is strange, bordering on condescending. Most of the women I know are pretty feisty and very far from the shrinking violets implied by that statement. Women of all ages seem to really like ‘The Drop’ thankfully. If we are slaves to demographics or formulas we will never produce anything new.

Your publishers must be quite pleased to see another one of their novels being adapted for the screen after Sallis's Drive.

They are delighted. I think the adaptation vindicates their faith in ‘The Drop’ and it has already boosted the profile of the book. The movie of ‘Drive’ was hugely successful, so I imagine the book has been walking off the shelves lately. The TV deal has helped us drum up more interest in ‘The Damage’ because it has become more newsworthy, which should help us launch the new book in April.

:: For more information on Howard's work - and details of his new release, THE DAMAGE, visit: www.howardlinskey.com

PUSH-UPS: Brett Selmont

So what you pushing?
My debut novel I-35 is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and Smashwords as an ebook for just $2.99, in print for $9.99 at Amazon, etc and $11.95 in book stores in New York and L.A. I’m working on Route 66 now, the follow up to I-35, and that should be out around May.

What’s the hook?
Here’s the synopsis with an added teaser…
I punched in the secret code and waited. There was one saved voicemail. The only decipherable words amongst the static and terrifying screams were my name and the words Children, Devil, Tattoo’s, One, and I–35, followed by a woman’s gut-wrenching scream in the background, “PLEASE GOD NO!” My brother’s voice sounded as if it was coming through a distortion pedal. It barely resembled him at all, but I knew it was…

I-35 is the story of David, a loner in his late 20’s from New York City who suffers from black out migraines and has a penchant for painkillers. He wakes one morning, freezing in the backseat of his car 1,500 miles from home with no idea how he got there. After hearing a horrifying voicemail he embarks on a harrowing journey through America’s heartland searching for his estranged brother, and his brother’s wife, while attempting to piece together his own fractured memory.

Along the road David meets a cast of odd characters who become suspects in his clouded and paranoid mind. And just as the clues begin to add up; a chance encounter at a seedy Oklahoma diner leads him to Shawna--a beautiful girl, shrouded in mystery, who escorts him down a vertiginous path to the end of the I-35 Highway…where a shocking truth is revealed.

Why’s that floating your boat?
Well, it’s my first published novel so I’m very excited and so far the response has been really great. John Lutz, the NY Times best seller, former president of the Mystery Writers Association and Edgar and Shamus winner wrote this about I-35: “Tough, incisive, tough, evocative, tough, adroit, tough. Selmont will take you on a genuinely gripping journey down a highway that will inspire you to lock your car as automatically as you buckle your seat belt. Hard boiled fans, you’ve been waiting for this one. A nifty piece of work by a talented writer.”

And Don Bajema who was with Henry Rollins’ publishing company and now with City Lights wrote this: "Selmont’s I-35 is a car trip with Jim Thompson and the Brothers Grimm down a specific highway through the dark heart of America."

When did you turn to crime?
Probably when I was 13 and I broke into a liquor store…no, my former agent actually got me started after I murdered...kidding. My first novel, which never sold, but got me an agent, was called Lower. It was literary fiction with a little crime in it. He shopped it around and everyone had the same response. “He’s a talented writer but were not gonna make $hit off this.” He suggested I write in a genre so I started a weird road mystery that became I-35.

Hardboiled or Noir, classic or contemporary?
Really it’s all centered on my mood but if I had to choose I’d say classic. The biggest influences on my career would be A Clockwork Orange, Naked Lunch, On The Road and the films of David Lynch. I started reading in grade school doing book reports on Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, American Psycho, Less Than Zero -- I think I freaked out most of my English teachers. Then I moved to fantasy with Lord of The Rings and this other series I can’t remember the name of but the cover had an evil looking guy with a skull and deer antlers coming out of it as he rode a horse and I was hooked. At 13 I found Anthony Burgess, Burroughs, Kerouac and Bukowski and started writing more when I wasn’t borrowing cars and robbing liquor stores…

And, what’s blown you away lately?
I just moved from New York to Los Angeles and I’ve been working on the follow up to I-35 called Route 66 so I haven’t been reading much lately. I’d say Russell Banks’ Trailer Park was pretty funny and great to check out if you’re a writer because it has great characters to study. Don Bajema’s Boy in the Air is a quick and fantastic read as well. But really, I’ve been so focused on my own writing. It’s been hard to pick up anything else. A friend recommended Kealan Patrick Burke’s Kin, though, so I’ll check that out when I get a minute.

See any books as movies waiting to happen?
I’d love to make I-35 into a movie. I’ve had a lot of feedback from readers saying that it would make for an amazing film. You know how Marilyn Manson did that eerie cover of Sweet Dreams by The Eurythmics? I’d love to do an eerie version of The Sun Also Rises. 1920 Paris with Jake Barnes eating brains along the Siene… It would be awesome!

Mainstream, indie – paper or digital?
I’d go indie since I’m indie but really anything that’s good should be read. And as far as the whole paper vs digital thing goes I don’t care either way. I prefer to hold a book and turn the pages but as long as people are reading and buying books I’m happy, especially if they’re buying mine!

Shout us a website worth visiting…
My friends Jeremy Buhler and Gus Rodriguez made a kickass short fiction film called The Kingdom of Ultimate Power staring Bas Rutten the former fighting champion, UFC Heavyweight Champion. The guy is insane and gives a tremendous performance. You can check it out at pilotlightpictures.com

Finally, tell us any old shit about yourself…
I was born in New Haven, Connecticut. My mom was from The Bronx and my parents met in Manhattan. I started going there when I was four or five to visit my grandparents and fell in love. The lights, the excitement, the graffiti on the subway cars it all grabbed a hold of me and never let go. I moved there as soon as I could and began writing. I never thought about writing as a career though, I went to college for TV and worked at MTV and HBO but I used to skip class at Hunter College in NYC because I’d get so involved in working on a story. One day I began writing articles and got some published in various papers and wrote for the New York Press and the rest is history. I moved to Paris for a year and wrote my first novel Lower and when I got back to NYC I submitted my book to 100s of agents. After a year and a half of rejections I met an agent at a party who actually had rejected my book. We talked and he thought the book had promise and agreed to read it again, then took me on as a client after he finished it. My agent has since retired and I’m trying to decide if I should get another. I’ve worked odd jobs, sold beer for a distributor in the East Village for a while and got drunk a lot. Now I’m pushing I-35 and the follow up Route 66 so I can hopefully write full-time for a living…and get drunk a lot.