MURDER MILE

DI Rob Brennan's second outing MURDER MILE is making its way through the proofing stage at the mo' ... delighted to have found only one typo in first 50 pages!! (Well done copyeditor, Lis!)

It'll be hitting shops next April, but in the meantime here's the gist from Amazon:

In a cold, windswept field on the outskirts of Edinburgh, lies the brutally mutilated body of a young woman. As DI Rob Brennan looks at the tangled mass of limbs and blood, he feels his heart freeze. Like Fiona Gow five years earlier, this girl has been strangled with her own stockings, sexually mutilated and her eyes have been gouged out. Is this the work of an Edinburgh Ripper? The press certainly think so.Rob Brennan is determined to uncover the truth - however painful that might be. But truth is hard to come by in a world of police rivalries, media hysteria and copycat crime.

And if you need a wee intro to DI Brennan, then here's Pete Martin's excellent book trailer...

PUSH-UPS: Chris Rhatigan

So, what you pushing right now?
PULP INK. It’s a collection of 24 short stories from some of the best writers in crime fiction. Allan Guthrie, Reed Farrel Coleman, Patti Abbott, Hilary Davidson, Ian Ayris, Paul D. Brazill, Eric Beetner, Gary Phillips and many more. If you dig noir/hardboiled stories, look no further.

What’s the hook?
Nigel Bird (co-editor) and I sent out prompts (bits of dialog, soundtrack titles) from Pulp Fiction to all the writers The writers found some creative ways to use those prompts. The collection has a Tarantino flavor to it – violent, sweary, often funny and packed with action.

And why’s that floating your boat?
What’s floating my boat is the quality of the stories. The source material is cool and all, but in the end, the stories are what matters.

When did you turn to crime?
About two or three years ago. I started reading Robert Parker again (I was a big fan back in middle school) and moved onto Harlan Coben. Before you know it, I was reading Chandler, checking out all these great zines, and writing my own stories. Sometime in there I started a blog about the world of short fiction, Death by Killing. The crime fiction community has been very welcoming.

Hardboiled or Noir, classic or contemporary?
Don’t care. Just needs to be alive. But I will say that there few pleasures greater than reading classic noir authors like Cain, Thompson and Highsmith.

And, what’s blown you away lately?
Everything Thomas Pluck is doing. The Crime Factory collection is ridiculously good. Katherine Tomlinson’s new collection, Toxic Reality, is freakin awesome too.

Mainstream or indie - paper or digital?
Digital and indie for me. That’s just want I’m reading right now. It’s much easier for quality short fiction to find its way into the digital indy world. Chris F. Holm, Nigel Bird, Pablo D’Stair and Keith Rawson are good examples of writers working alone (or with small outfits) and kicking ass.

Shout us a website worth visiting …
R. Thomas Brown’s Criminal Thoughts. Everything about short fiction that you ever wanted to know.

Finally, tell us any old shit about yourself …
I live in Iowa right now, but by this time next year I hope to be far, far away. Melanie, my wife, and I are applying to teach at an international school next year in Asia or the Middle East.

Thanks for having me!

PUSH-UPS: Declan Burke

So, what you pushing right now?
I’m pushing ‘Absolute Zero Cool’, Sisyphus-like, up the hill towards its official launch on August 10th, and thanks for asking.

What’s the hook?
Deranged by logic, and concerned that too much compassion is fatally undermining the human race, a hospital porter decides to blow up the hospital where he works.

And why’s that floating your boat?
Well, it’s blowing shit up, isn’t it?

When did you turn to crime?
That would be when I stole my first library book. I believe it featured Bill Badger defending his canal barge against a dastardly gang of water-rats. As for writing the stuff, that would be when I thought it would be hilarious to set a Chandleresque private eye story set in contemporary rural Ireland. Oh, how I laughed. For two years. Then I stumbled across Ken Bruen’s ‘The Guards’. That, my good sir, was the day the laughter died.

Hardboiled or Noir, classic or contemporary?
Any and all. My only criterion when reading a book is that it’s well written. Time, place, style, character - I’m up for anything.

And, what’s blown you away lately?
If by ‘lately’ we can say the last six months: ‘Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter’ by Tom Franklin; ‘The Glass Rainbow’ by James Lee Burke; ‘The Troubled Man’ by Henning Mankell; ‘City of the Dead’ by Sara Gran; ‘Top Loader’ by Ed O’Loughlin; ‘Falling Glass’ by Adrian McKinty; ‘The Fatal Touch’ by Conor Fitzgerald; ‘The Watchers’ by Jon Steele; ‘The Trinity Six’ by Charles Cumming; ‘The Caller’ by Karin Fossum. And, two not recently released, but recently read: ‘The Given Day’ by Dennis Lehane, and ‘1980’ by David Peace.


See any books as movies waiting to happen?
Not really, because I don’t really read that way. They’re two very different kinds of storytelling, internal and external, and my personal preference is for books that appeal to the internal imagination. That said, I’d be shocked if ‘The Watchers’ isn't adapted for film; and I think ‘Crooked Letter’ would make a very good film indeed. The same goes for ‘The Given Day’.

Mainstream or indie - paper or digital?
I’m totally on board with both paper and digital, and I don’t believe it’s an either-or scenario. I think, ultimately, digital will become the reading format of choice, simply because convenience tends to drive success in most business models. But books are a little bit different to most businesses, and I think you’ll find that over time, people will read most of their books on e-readers, but that they’ll buy their ‘keepers’ in dead tree format. And, given that said books will be ‘keepers’, I actually believe digital will contribute to the hardback making a comeback. The mass-market paperback is the format most under threat from digital, I think. As for mainstream or indie, again, I don’t care where a book comes from so long as it’s a good story well told.

Shout us a website worth visiting … I like Peter Rozovsky’s Detectives Beyond Borders. You can catch him at http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

Finally, tell us any old shit about yourself … I have a tattoo of Wile E. Coyote, in that moment when he’s stepped out off the cliff and is staring at the camera, his little sign held aloft. I got it because I wanted a cartoon take on Beckett’s mantra of ‘Fail. Fail again. Fail better.’ Which isn’t just a good philosophy for a writer, it’s not a bad one for life in general. On the sign, by the way, it says ‘Mi vida’, which was a message for my then girlfriend. We split up not long after. But now we’re married and have a beautiful baby girl. So there you go - ‘fail, fail again, fail better’.

~~

Declan Burke’s ‘Absolute Zero Cool’ is published by Liberties Press. http://t.co/euIRNfE
http://crimealwayspays.blogspot.com

Money's Too Tight to Mention

By Paul D. Brazill

I grew up with debt. One of my earliest memories is going to Blooms’ pawn brokers, a dark and dingy shop that you entered from a cobble-stoned back street, so as to avoid the shame of being seen going in. And I clearly remember regularly sticking my skinny kids’ fingers into the back of the television’s Ten Bob metre to snaffle enough coins to put the gas or electric on. Or searching down the back of sofa for Embassy cigarette coupons to take to the corner shop and exchange for chopped pork for sandwiches. And when the rent man cometh he didn’t always get paid. And more, of course.

So, that may be why I love these two rough and ready Polish films; both starring Andrzej Chyra; both about debt; both based on painfully true events.

The Debt ( 1999), directed by Krzystof Krause and written by Krause and Jerzy Morawski, stars Robert Gonera, Jacek Boruch and the splendid Andrzej Chyra.

It takes place in Poland’s dark economic hinterland after the fall of communism and tells the story of Adam and Stefan, a couple of young turks from Warsaw, who come up with the smart idea of manufacturing Italian scooters in Poland and making a fortune from the Italians.

They first go to the bank for a loan and are refused but they encounter a well- off acquaintance, Gerard(Chyra),who offers to lend them the funds in exchange for a share of the company profits.

So far, so good but when they later decide that Gerard is asking for too much and back out of the proposal things really go pear shaped.

Gerard bizarrely starts harassing them for the money that he never even lent them, saying that they were already too far into the deal to back out. It then becomes painfully clear that Gerard is a vicious gangster and things spiral horribly out of control from then on.

The Debt is like a knee to the gonads - a naturalistic, hard hitting and chilling story with a great performance from Chyra..

The Debt Collector (2005), is directed by Feliks Falk with a screenplay by Grzegorz Loszewski.

Andrzej Chyra play Lucek a hard-hearted debt collector, working in one of Poland’s most deprived areas, who mercilessly repossesses anything he can - including vital machines from hospitals and even a statue of the Virgin Mary. But, as the film progresses, Lucek starts to have doubts and he pulls so hard on the strings of his life that the whole thing unravels as he experiences an 'epiphany' that turns him into a decent human being.

The Debt Collector is also naturalistic and very well acted but, although it does have a more optimistic ending then The Debt, it’s just as effective in showing the hard side of life.

~~

Spinetingler Award-nominee Paul D. Brazill was born in England and lives in Poland. His stuff has appeared in the 2011 Mammoth Book Of Best British Crime. His noir/horror series Drunk On The Moon and short story collection Brit Grit are out now and 13 Shots Of Noir is out soon.

Little Sister by Thomas Pluck

"Hey, Ceecee."

Rodrigo squatted on our three step stoop every morning, flanked by pit

bulls with wide black smiles puffing steam. I jogged down the steps,

leaned against a parking sign. Warmed my hands with my breath. Tugged

my crop top down.

"Girl, you gonna freeze." He peeled off his hoodie. Held the coat open.

I shook my head.

"C'mon, you can play with Salvador."

I sighed, let him wrap me in it. Smelled of cigars and dogs. "Thanks."

I gathered the sleeves up by my elbows, and followed him down the

piss-stained alley between brownstones, the dogs barrel bellies

rattling past the trash cans. His crooked garage stood in dead yellow

grass with newspaper-taped windows. Rodrigo whistled sharp, opened the

door. Yips and barks rose to a song and a herd of brown and white

huddled against our thighs.

Sallie sauntered up and I dragged my long bright nails through her tan

fur. "How much for her, 'Drigo?"

"I usually get two hundred, but..."

My brother kicked a trash can in the alley. "Celia! Get your ass out

here. Got a job."

Sallie barked, nose sighting on the sound. Rodrigo grabbed her scruff

to hold her back, snapping. "She's got thing for you pobrecita," he

said.

I got my strut on and hit the street. My brother Ray had his arm

around a man in dirty jeans. I went and did the job in our room.

After I washed myself out, I got hell for the hoodie. Ray liked to

pinch and twist. Make me cry. "Why you hiding your goods for? No

wonder I gotta hunt down tricks."

"It's cold out there."

"You give him some for this?" Ray's face scrunched up. He tugged the

hoodie off, tossed it in the tub. Took out his scarred thing and

pissed on it. His nails dug into my wrist. Dragged me to the toilet

seat. "Show me why Daddy liked you better."

****

Mommy slept on the couch, her special juice staining her robe.

Cigarette dead between yellow fingers. That's when Daddy taught me the

shower game. Said he had to wash his dirty little girl before bedtime.

It was tingly. I didn't know better.

RayRay was older. He should've known. I woke with him sitting on my

flat chest, telling me to do it for him too. Rubbing me through my

jammies. "Do it, or I'll tell mommy and she'll hate you."

When I told Daddy about RayRay's games, he dragged him into the

bathroom and clipped Mom's curling iron to his thing. Made me watch.

Ray started wetting the bed, whimpering. Watching us through the

steamed glass shower door.

Next thing I remember is the fire. Choking on the smoke. Ray dragging

me out the door by my jammies. Foster homes after that. New Daddies,

same shower game. Ray found new sisters to show his scars. At sixteen

he dropped out and took me with him.

I knew the game was wrong. Not much I could do. Ray was bigger. Taught

me how to work. Said I was no good for anything else.

****

Had me a stash I kept in my tampon box. Ray wouldn't touch them, said

they were nasty. My money for doing extra for my johns, the things I

told Ray I'd never do. Things he wanted to do, that I told him made

him queer for thinking about.

Rodrigo drove cabs at night, raised pit bulls in the day. Raised

family dogs, who loved children and would die to protect you. On the

porch, he held a brindle male by the scruff. "Salvador. She's for you.

Protective."

I tucked my wad of bills into Rodrigo's hand, and brought her to my

room. Poured her a bowl of water, and went back down, leaned on my

street sign.

Big truck rumbled down our Ironbound street. Ray hung out the

passenger side, snapped his fingers, gave me his dead-eye smile. "Game

time."

"He'll watch your truck." I walked up the stairs, rolling my hips.

RayRay and the trucker followed, the john whistling.

Time for them to meet my little sister.

PUSH-UPS: Gerald So

So, what you pushing right now?
STONES, a collection of three stories featuring 1930s aviator C.J. Stone, available for Kindle and Nook.

What’s the hook?
Old-fashioned adventure in the vein of Tales of the Gold Monkey and Indiana Jones, but with a more roguish protagonist.

And why’s that floating your boat?
Writing about this character and period engages my creativity and sense of adventure like no other, maybe due to the added imaginative leap I make to get to the 1930s.

When did you turn to crime?
In 1993, halfway through my first year of college, I read Hammett, Chandler, Gregory McDonald. By the next fall, I had read all the Spenser novels by Robert B. Parker.

Hardboiled or Noir, classic or contemporary?
I'll say all of the above, only because the noir label may have been stuck to some of the books I've enjoyed lately.

And, what’s blown you away lately?
LIQUID SMOKE by Jeff Shelby. It takes his wisecracking surfer P.I. Noah Braddock to a very dark place, and I'm not sure where he'll go next.

See any books as movies waiting to happen?
I can see COUNTY LINE by Bill Cameron becoming a movie, maybe by the Coen Brothers.

Mainstream or indie - paper or digital?

I've used all of the above routes for different projects, but my preferred route is traditional paper because of the editorial, promotional, and distribution support that come with it. In indie publishing, authors often have to be their own editors and promoters, too.

Shout us a website worth visiting …
www.thrillingdetective.com. Chock full of P.I. fiction's finest.

Finally, tell us any old shit about yourself …
I'm also a poet who helped found a journal of crime-themed poetry called THE LINEUP. I'm now accepting crime poetry for a weekly website called THE 5-2 (http://poemsoncrime.blogspot.com) which will publish its first original poem on September 12.