PUSH-UPS: Cathi Unsworth

So, what you pushing right now?

Weirdo, my new novel, out now on Serpent’s Tail.

What’s the hook? 

Female transgression and teenage trauma in a Norfolk seaside town in the Eighties, reinvestigated thanks to changes in DNA technology nearly 20 years later. Split into two timeframes; the year of the last British Civil War, 1984, and the days leading up to Tony Bliar’s Iraq crusade, 2003. A tale of cults and clans, locals and outsiders, oppression and suppression, the things that unite us and the things that divide us. 

And why’s that floating your boat? 

This is the place where I spent my childhood. The idea had been floating around for a while, investigating the causes of teenage violence, spurred by the vicious murders of Mary Anne Leneghan in 2005 and Sophie Lancaster in 2007; and a documentary on unfortunate women mistaken for Maxine Carr and persecuted like a modern day witch hunt. The vilification of women who transgress – why is it so much more visceral than the hatred directed towards male offenders? In a landscape haunted by witch trials, rural uprisings and civil war, how much have we really changed? 

When did you turn to crime? 

To be able to ask questions like this and analyse them, to show multiple perspectives and to travel freely in both time and space. To try and give a voice to those who are usually ignored. Inspired by my hero Derek Raymond, who changed my life when I met him nearly 20 years ago and impressed upon me the importance of the noir novel, both in what he wrote and the person he was. 

Hardboiled or Noir, classic or contemporary? 

As Oscar Wilde said, there are only good books and bad books. The time they were written doesn’t matter – if you read a stunningly brilliant account of crime in the Thirties – like They Drive By Night by James Curtis or Night and the City by Gerald Kersh – you can see it, feel it, smell it and hear it as if it was going on around you. It’s all about the author’s voice – and how much they listen.  

And, what’s blown you away lately?

Contemporary – How I Killed Margaret Thatcher by Anthony Cartwright It’s set in the same time as Weirdo and investigates The Witch Queen’s crimes in destroying whole communities in the West Midlands, an area close to my heart as half my family come from there. The voice – of a nine-year-old boy learning quickly how to hate the Prime Minister – is utterly authentic and the plot devastating.

The House of Rumour by Jake Arnott, which I have just finished reading. Life, the universe and everthing in a multi-dimensional narrative that stretches back 70 years and takes in Jack Parsons, Ian Fleming, Aliestair Crowley, L Ron Hubbard, Rudolph Hess, the McCarthy witch hunts, Jim Jones, the New Romantics… Jake is such an inspiration.

Recently republished – The Lowlife by Alexander Baron. I read this a while back but am still haunted by it. If you want a time tunnel back to how it really was in London, 1963, described by a Zola-reading habitué of the dog tracks revelling in the wonderful name of Harryboy Boas, look no further. A beautiful reprint by Black Spring press, with an introduction by Iain Sinclair.

See any books as movies waiting to happen

Apart from my own, you mean? The Lowlife – with Bob Hoskins as Harryboy. In the right hands – I’m thinking Nick Moran, as his period detail and obvious love of the subject made his Joe Meek biopic Telstar such a joy to behold – it would be even better than The Long Good Friday. 

Mainstream or indie - paper or digital?

Indie and paper. The subject of ebooks is obviously a fraught one for any author. I can see all the good points and the benefits they have had for people who have been unjustly neglected. But at the same time, I don’t quite see this as a punk rock, DIY thing because of the enormous corporate juggernauts that are behind the whole enterprise. I could be wrong but I have a fear that this is going to end up doing exactly what Murdoch did at Wapping – making thousands of good, skilled, talented people redundant and the working conditions for those left made more and more unbearable – just so that a tiny handful of already wealthy people can roll around in even more cash. And vastly to the detriment of the quality of what is now produced by the overworked, underresourced and unrespected people left trying to do three people’s jobs at once. I say that as a working journalist who has seen these things happen to my industry in the 23 years since I began my career.

Shout us a website worth visiting …

For hours of fun that just go on giving:

http://www.briansewell.co.uk/brian-sewell-written-word/brian-sewell-soundboards.html

White Eunuch is my particular favourite.

Finally, tell us any old shit about yourself …

I can’t stop listening to I, A Moon by North Sea Radio Orchestra. It is bliss.

Visit Cathi's site at:  http://www.cathiunsworth.co.uk/

PHOTO CREDIT: Fenris Oswin

MURDER MILE - audio book out

Well, it's that time again folks: audio book of the last book is out.  And here it is in all its CD-shaped splendour to the left.

It's read by the gravelly-voiced Scottish actor Garth Cruickshank who did such a fine job on my Dury series and comes in at a whopping 10 hours and 21 minutes.

If you need any reminding of the storyline for MURDER MILE, here's those fine blurbists at 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.

MURDER MILE the audio book is available from Amazon at £11.84 to download.

PUSH-UPS: Jay Stringer

So, what you pushing right now?

My first foray into crime. Well, crime fiction. Not my first foray into crime itself because I’m from the midlands and- wait this could be used against me, right? Okay. I’m pushing my debut crime novel, OLD GOLD.

What’s the hook?

Social Pulp Fiction. Hardboiled fiction for the credit-crunch era. Featuring a half-Romani detective who walks the mean streets of the Black Country, it’s a murder mystery that tries to sneak in a few moments of social commentary.

And why’s that floating your boat?

Because it has my name on it, and all of my words inside it, and other people get to read it. Also (serious voice) because I’m proud to have written a book about the Midlands. The place usually gets ignored in the media.

When did you turn to crime?

Though one to answer. I can look back and see that my tastes were always evolving in that direction. I was drawn to stories that we could call (and it’s becoming almost cliché to do so) social fiction, and that road inevitably leads to crime. A key moment was in the mid to late 90’s, when in the space of about two years I saw THE USUAL SUSPECTS, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL and JACKIE BROWN. You could throw NIL BY MOUTH in, too. They lead me to the books of Ellroy and Leonard, eventually Lawrence Block. After that I was never long between reading crime novels, and most of what I wrote had crime in it, too.

Hardboiled or Noir, classic or contemporary?

All of it. Except the bad bits. I like writers who know not to put too many words on a page. I like crime that’s done for a reason. Doesn’t matter when it was released, that shit never gets old.

And, what’s blown you away lately?

Being late to the party as usual, I just read SAVAGES. Loved it. But that was predictable, right? I like writers who move the words around on the page, it feels fun and exciting, like early Bruen. I tried to move the words around a lot in OLD GOLD, but to be honest I was talked down off that ledge in most cases.

My friend Steve Weddle has been working on something called COUNTRY HARDBALL, and I know it’s cheating to plug something that doesn’t have a release date yet, but I’m really stoked for when people get to see what he’s doing. He’s finding a voice that’s half James Sallis and half Charlie Huston. I can’t wait until people see what he’s up to.

See any books as movies waiting to happen?

All of mine. Right now. Please. I’m thinking of changing my name to Don Winslow, that seems to be the trick. Actually –and I’m surprised by this- I’ve stopped thinking about it. I was inspired by movies (and comics, and music) long before I was inspired by prose, and I’ve always enjoyed thinking about who would play which characters and which director should tackle which book. But now that I have a chip on the table, I never think about it. Books are books, films are films, and I’m not fussed about one becoming the other. Boring, eh? I’m interested to see what they do with the Matt Scudder film though, because one of the few things I still hold onto is my idea for how to adapt WHEN THE SCARED GINMILL CLOSES.

Mainstream or indie - paper or digital?

Wherever the honest story-telling is. I think we manufacture a lot of these divides. I’m part of that because I write for a crime fiction website, and it’s blogs and websites that fuel these divides. If we look at the music industry we see certain things; the money men still always figure out a way to make money, hacks always find a way to hack and artists always find a way to…art. (I kinda trampled that sentence there, didn’t I?) Bands and solos musicians find ways to make their music available in almost any format the listener wants, and the fan has access to whatever floats their boat. We as writers just need to get on with writing and connecting with people. I think I should let the reader choose whether they read my work on paper or digital.

Shout us a website worth visiting …

This is a kind of two-for-one deal, because it’s a website about a podcast. See, I’m all about the new media, huh? People could do far worse than check out http://fuzzytypewriter.wordpress.com/ My buddy Paul has a podcast up there that talks about story and storytelling, and they focus on different topics with each show; sometimes a film, or a series of films, sometimes a book, sometimes a comic. There was a very good episode recently on JUSTIFIED, and I’m just about to start season 2 of that.

Finally, tell us any old shit about yourself …

Depending on who you ask, I was named after either Jimi Hendrix or Irish Whiskey.

:: PULP PUSHER has a freebie copy of Jay's OLD GOLD to give away to one lucky bastod, so, how to do it fairly? It has to be a multiple-choice question....

Jay's blistering debut is called OLD GOLD, but which klarsy aftershave does oor Jay prefer himself?

a) Blue Stratos.
b) Denim for men.
c) Old Spice.

The first person to post (c) in the comments box will be the proud owner of one - slightly Old Spice-smelling copy - of OLD GOLD.

PUSH-UPS: Michael J. Malone

So, what you pushing right now?
My debut crime . It’s called BLOOD TEARS in case you were wondering.   

What’s the hook?
Glasgow detective, Ray McBain becomes the prime suspect in the case he started investigating. He escapes police custody and goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence. Its got “the banter”, nasty Nuns and lots of x-rated language.

And why’s that floating your boat?
'Cos its my debut, dude – and it’s taken me a feck of a long time to get here.

When did you turn to crime?
I started writing BLOOD TEARS in 2003 – so, 2003 then.  Until then I didn’t think I had the chops to write a crime novel as I didn’t think I could come up with a decent plot. Turns out focusing on the character was the way to go. Who knew?

Hardboiled or Noir, classic or contemporary?
Noir. Contemporary.

And, what’s blown you away lately?
There are sooooo many good books out there – including yours (no sycophancy, just truth) but the standout recently has been William Gay’s “Twilight”. Wonderful stuff. Beautiful writing, fascinating characters and a beguiling voice. Buy it.

See any books as movies waiting to happen?
Hey, wouldn’t it be cool to see The Storm Without on the telly? Get the home town on the screen. I’m also thinking BLOOD TEARS is a movie waiting to happen. That opening scene would look fantastic on the big screen.

Mainstream or indie - paper or digital?
Depends what you mean by “indie”. That term has been hi-jacked of late by the self-pubbing crowd and if that’s where you were going, I prefer to go mainstream for the moment. But that may change. I think self-publishing has lost its stigma lately, thanks in the main to Kindle. Well it has with writers. Not so sure about readers. I’ve come across a few derogatory comments on Amazon lately along the lines of “what do you expect, its self-published? So the “indies” still have some way to go to completely win over the masses.

As for paper or digital? Its paper for me, every time. I have bought the device and I have bought over 50 books for it. But I’ve only read 6 of them and I keep returning to paper. I just love having a house full of books, I love wandering round bookshops and man, I would so hate a world where I couldn’t do that any more.

Shout us a website worth visiting …
The only website I seem to visit these days is facebook. Sad, innit?

Finally, tell us any old shit about yourself …
I was the poet in residence for an adult gift shop. Yeah, you read that right. And it lasted for at least a week.

The owner was a fan of my poetry and she was going for a “we’re all adults here” kind of approach, rather than the nudge-nudge-wink-wink-blush-blush idea that we Brits tend to go for. Her thinking was that that biggest sex organ is the brain, so why don’t we go for some erotic poetry – frame it – and sell it right next to the dildos and whips?

Unfortunately, the city fathers of Glasgow wouldn’t give her a shop with a window, so nobody knew she was there.

It was fun while it lasted.



:: Michael J. Malone blogs at: http://mickmal1.blogspot.co.uk/

PUSH-UPS: Adrian Magson

So, what you pushing right now?

‘Death on the Pont Noir’, the 3rd in my Insp. Lucas Rocco series set in France in the 1960s, and about to start pushing ‘Retribution’ – the 4th in the Harry Tate spy series (out in August).

What’s the hook?

(In ‘Pont Noir’) could a bunch of English gangsters have been involved in an assassination attempt on President Charles de Gaulle? Well, why not – lots of other people were, with over 30 attempts in all. (How’s that for being unpopular?) Lucas Rocco thinks there’s a connection, but his bosses don’t believe him. And when the English gang get him suspended with photographic evidence of him allegedly taking a bribe, he knows he’s got very little time before something nasty happens. He also knows just where the assassination attempt will take place. The only thing is, can he get there and stop it without being shot by his own force, the president’s bodyguards or the English gang… ?

And why’s that floating your boat?

The idea just appealed to me in a quirky kind of way. I like to use a historical backdrop for my books if I can, and this one popped up, so I jumped on it. Maybe it’s why they didn’t want us in the Common Market. Lack of trust.

When did you turn to crime?

When I was a kid, I devoured crime novels and thrillers.  And it always seemed such a cool way to make a living, to me, making up stuff for people to read. It took me a while to get my first crime novel published, but now I know I was right all along. And thanks, mum and dad for encouraging me to read.

Hardboiled or Noir, classic or contemporary?

Contemporary, but with touches of noir. I like flashes of darkness rather than total gloom.

And, what’s blown you away lately?

‘Spiral’, (French TV series), and ‘The Killing’ (original Danish version). Completely hooked, albeit late in the day. I enjoy ‘Burn Notice’ on a different level because it’s fun. And I’ll sit and watch any of the ‘Bourne’ films at the drop of a hat.

See any books as movies waiting to happen?

I recently reviewed Nick Santora’s ‘Fifteen Digits’ and can imagine that hitting the screen. It’s a glorified heist story, with disparate gang members working in a law firm with access to vast money market information. I’d describe it as ‘Reservoir Dogs’ meets ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’.  And Jason Webster’s ‘A Death in Valencia’ would make a good TV series. The sticky heat and corruption just leap off the page.

Mainstream or indie - paper or digital?

Both – but I think the mainstream are in danger of losing ground. People want to read stuff whenever and wherever they are, and they care less and less about who produces it and whether they just signed up XYZ celeb. If recent pronouncements on the speed with which digital publishing is taking hold are correct (take websites like this, for example), then for a large segment of the reading public, paper books seem less of a good deal and not so convenient in our flash-read society.

Shout us a website worth visiting …

David Foster’s http://www.permissiontokill.com – a great fun site for all things spy and crime in books, tv and film. Some of it seems incredibly cheesy now (films and books from way back when), but it’s nice to revisit characters and stuff I’d forgotten about – and to know it wasn’t just me who liked it!

Finally, tell us any old shit about yourself …

I once designed a knock-down/pop-up cats-eye post which was used on motorways for a while. It was a once-in-a-lifetime idea, never to be repeated. The design rights allowed me to buy my first decent car – a Mini.


:: Visit Adrian at: http://www.adrianmagson.com/