FALL BACK - October '08
The sharp eyed among you will notice the conspicuous absence of your International column last month in The Big Thrill. This was due to a number of factors, not least of which being that your host was hurtling over the Atlantic ocean in a tin can with wings trying not to scream with agony at being made to endure the recent Get Smart remake in an even more truly bastardized form than even the original cut of the movie (ie, all the violence and rude jokes - all that made it bearable - were edited out).
In part, I was on my way to Baltimore for this year's Bouchercon, run by the magnificent Ruth Jordan of Crime Spree Magazine and her equally splendid co-chair, Judy Bobalik. All told, it was one of the most packed con's I've attended and the first time I found myself unable to sneak away and recharge midway through the festivities.
Let me say that the convention was absolutely wonderful with some very strong panels and an excellent British toastmaster in the form of Mr Mark Billingham.
Speaking of Bouchercon, I was trying to figure a way to tie the festival into the international theme of this column. And then I remembered that the excellent John Harvey - author of the Charlie Resnick novels - was International Guest of Honour at the festival this year. And was then sent a link to this wonderful clip from the festival (I say clip, its almost an hour - but worth it) as John was interviewed by his US publisher, Otto Penzler. So for your delight and delectation - and more importantly to run it in for those who weren't there - we present John Harvey in conversation with Otto Penzler, featuring a guest appearance from co-chair Ruth Jordan:
Is This A Dagger I see Before Me?
Congratulations due to Laura Wilson who has won the Ellis Peters Hitsorical Dagger (mere hours before this column was finally edited) for her novel, Stratton's War. Managing to beat out strong competition from the likes of CJ Sampson and Andrew Taylor, this makes third time lucky for Wilson who has - deservedly - been shortlisted twice before.
From ITW Scotland HQ, we raise a glass of the good stuff in Wilson's honour.
E-xcellent
This was supposed to make last month's column, but I figured it was interesting enough I'd bring it up now, regardless.
One of the UK's leading booksellers, Waterstones, has been firmly behind the UK launch of the Sony E-Reader. A remarkable wee bit of kit, the reader manages to make even a doubting Thomas like me see the light with its non-glare screen, its clean and easy interface and its lightweight design. Of course, I still haven't actually got one.... Oh, no, I'd need to be earning actual money for that.... but I've had great fun playing around with one for a couple of hours.
But of course, any e-reader is of no use without books, and Waterstones.com have gone all out to get publishers on board with books designed for the Sony Reader. And it's interesting to note the first top ten download list has a large preponderance of crime novels:
1) The Private Patient, P D James
2) The Skeleton Man, Jim Kelly
3) The Reckoning, Sue Walker
4) Blindsighted, Karin Slaughter
5) Fractured, Karin Slaughter
6) Dead Run, P J Tracy
7) The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
8) The World According to Clarkson, Jeremy Clarkson
9) Edge of Battle, Dale Brown
10) Stone Cold, David Baldacci
Check the figures: that's 8 thrillers on a list of ten. Not bad going.
Something Fishy...
Why on earth would a column on international thriller writing be talking about a romance novel called The Fisherman's Daughter by a woman called Molly Jackson? Has your esteemed host lost his marbles? Has something crossed over in the madness of the interweb? Has April Fools come early?
It could be all of the above, but the estimable Sarah Weinman - hostess at Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind - recently pointed to this article in the UK newspaper, The Guardian that indicates ex-SAS hardman, Chris Ryan is... writing saga fiction?
"It took me two years to get it right," he says, implying that the book is a one-time deal and that it was merely a challenge to himself to see if he could do it right. The book has already been published in Australia to positive reviews, so clearly all that hard work paid off even if it taught one of the toughest men in thriller writing that even he has his limitations. In the meantime, if you don't fancy Ryan the saga author, you can indulge in a more typical outing with latest offering, Firefight.
A Thrilling Ceremony
And we couldn't let it pass (even if it was way back at the beginning of October) without acknowledging the winners of the ITV3 Crime and Thriller Awards. Ian Rankin was author of the year. Stuart MacBride was Breakthrough author of the year (with these two wins proving that the Scots truly are crime lords) and the late Steigg Larsonn won International Author of the year for Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the first in his three part Millennium trilogy which will shortly be followed by The Girl Who Played With Fire. In case, like me, you were out of the country at the time and didn't even realise the date had passed, you can find out more here at http://www.itv.com/crimethriller/ along with the other winners of the evening.
Next month we should be back to our regular schedule. I'm going to be spending a lot of this month blatantly promoting my UK crime debut, The Good Son and learning about life on the other side of the tills.
But I'll be keeping my ear to the ground just for you and I'll be back here next month, same thrilling time, same thrilling channel.
UK contributing editor Russel D McLean is a Scottish bookseller working for a national chain. He has run webzines, agonized over reviews for various publications both in print and online, and written several short stories, several of which have been published in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine as well as various other crime and noir markets. His debut noir novel, THE GOOD SON, will be available in the UK in November 2008 published by Five Leaves Press.
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