Category: Guest Posts

Posted in 12 Words, Author Q&A's

12 Words with Lucy Cameron

Posted on by J

Lucy Cameron was born in London and having lived in South Wales, Liverpool, York and Nottingham, currently lives in a shed in her Dad’s garden in Scotland where she wears thermals for warmth and writes by candlelight.  Her debut novel Night Is Watching is published by Caffeine Nights and is available to buy now.

Today, as part of the LifeOfCri.me Harrogate countdown she’s taking on our 12 word challenge.

 

Rules

All answers must be complete sentences and completed in no more than 12 words

Contractions Count.  It’s = 2 words

LOC: You’ve recently released your debut novel Night Is Watching, what can you tell us about it?

LC: It is a dark horror tale set in reality and the mind.

LOC: How would you describe your writing process?

LC: Wordy rambling first drafts heavily edited.

LOC: How would you describe getting your first book deal?

LC: Without a doubt the most spectacular moment of my life so far.

LOC: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt in your writing career so far?

LC: Believe in yourself, you can be as good as everyone else.

LOC: What words of wisdom do you have for aspiring authors?

LC: Keep going even when it is really tough, you will get there

LOC: What’s the best book you’ve read in the last 12 months?

LC: Behind Her Eyes – Sarah Pinborough

LOC: Why?

LC: The best end twist to a book I have ever read.

and finally just for laughs..

LOC: Thanks to the author Leigh Russell you’ve just woken up on stage in front of the judges of Britain’s Got Talent, with only A Stick of Celery, a Panda and a Top Hat.  What do you do?

LC: Tickle the panda with the celery stick whilst wearing the top hat.


Can You Feel Your Blood Drain…

Couples are being slaughtered in their homes; women drained of blood, men violently beaten. There are no clues to track the killer, no explanation as to why an increasing amount of blood is being removed from the crime scenes.

Detective Sergeant Rhys Morgan is seconded to the ‘Couples Killer’ investigation. Tormented by vivid nightmares, he hasn’t slept soundly for weeks becoming convinced a creature from these nightmares poses a threat to him and his family. His behaviour becomes increasingly erratic causing his bosses to wonder if he’s the right man for the job.

As clues to the killer’s identity are uncovered, the line between what is real and what cannot be starts to blur and Rhys discovers the answer to catching the killer and exorcizing his own demons, may be as irrational as he fears.

Posted in 12 Words, Author Q&A's

12 Words with Tony J Forder

Posted on by J

On 1st February 2017, Tony signed to Bloodhound Books, who will publish his new edgy crime thriller Bad to the Bone in April. It is the first in a series.

Later this year, Tony’s second novel for Bloodhound Books, Degrees of Darkness, featuring ex-detective Frank Rogers, will be published.

Today he takes on the LifeOfCri.me 12 word challenge…

 

Rules

Answers should be complete sentences, and completed in no more than 12 words (unless otherwise stated)

Contractions count. It’s = 2 words.



LOC: What can you tell us about your recent release Bad To The Bone?
 
TJF: Gritty crime thriller, a dead case brought alive, featuring murder and corruption.
 
LOC: How would you sum up the partnership between DI Bliss and DC Chandler?
 
TJF: Sarcastic and witty, but also serious and professional. Friendly, caring and loyal.
 
LOC: What’s your writing process like?
 
TJF: Once haphazard, now measured. Furious typing followed by contemplation. Seat of pants.
 
LOC: What inspires you?
 
TJF: Good writing. A hunger to improve as a writer myself. Cold beer.

LOC: Describe your perfect getaway
 
TJF: A cabin, deck overlooking a lake, mountains beyond, breeze, cold beer (again).
 
 LOC: Whats the best book you’ve read in the last twelve months?
 
TJF:  The Poet by Michael Connelly
 
LOC: Why?
 
TJF: An oldie. A classic crime novel from a master of the genre. 
  
and finally Just for laughs….
 
LOC: Thanks to the author Howard Lynskey you’ve just woken up on stage in front of the judges of Britains Got Talent with just A beach ball, a performing seal and a pint of beer.  What do you do? 
 
TJF: Let the seal drink the beer and then watch the mayhem ensue.

 

A skeletal body is unearthed in a wooded area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. DI James Bliss, together with DC Penny Chandler, investigate the case and discover that the young, female victim had been relocated from its original burial site.

A witness is convinced that a young female was struck by a vehicle back in the summer of 1990, and that police attended the scene. However, no record exists of either the accident or the reported victim. As the case develops, two retired police officers are murdered. The two are linked with others who were on duty at the time a road accident was reported.

As Bliss and Chandler delve deeper into the investigation, they start to question whether senior officers may have been involved in the murder of the young women who was buried in the woods.

As each link in the chain is put under duress, so is Bliss who clashes with superiors and the media.

When his team receives targeted warnings, Bliss will need to decide whether to drop the case or to pursue those responsible.

Will Bliss walk away in order to keep his career intact or will he fight no matter what the cost? 

And is it possible the killer is much closer than they imagined?

Posted in 12 Words, Author Q&A's

12 Words with Rob Ashman

Posted on by J

It took Rob twenty-four years to write his first book. He only became serious about writing it when his dad got cancer. It was an aggressive illness and Rob gave up work for three months to look after him and his mum. Writing Those That Remain became his coping mechanism. After he wrote the book his family encouraged him to continue, so not being one for half measures, Rob got himself made redundant, went self-employed so he could devote more time to writing and four years later the Mechanic Trilogy is the result.

Today, as he prepares for the release of Those That Remain on the 22nd June, Rob takes on the LifeOfCri.me 12 word challenge

Rules

Answers should be complete sentences, and completed in no more than 12 words (unless otherwise stated)

Contractions count. It’s = 2 words.

 

LOC: What can you tell us about your upcoming release Those That Remain?

RA: It’s set in Florida about a serial killer codenamed Mechanic

LOC: What was behind the decision to write a trilogy?

RA: A catastrophic lack of planning, or that’s what my wife says.

LOC: Whats the most surprising challenge you’ve faced in your writing career?

RA: Being unable to switch off, the voices in my head are relentless.

LOC: How would you sum up your writing process?

RA; Hanging onto the coattails of a story being told by others.

LOC: Describe your perfect day

RA: Having friends over for afternoon fizz, a curry and lots of nonsense.

LOC: What’s the best book you’ve read in the last 12 months?

RA: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes.

LOC: Why?

RA: The interlacing of the plot lines is genius, it kept me gripped.

and finally Just for laughs….

LOC: Thanks to the author Anna Smith you’ve just woken up on stage in front of the judges of a TV talent show, with just A recorder, a bag of dirty laundry and a bottle of cheap wine.  What do you do?

RA: Play Frère Jacques, drink the wine and get off.

Lucas is coasting to retirement in a mundane Florida police precinct when a brutal serial killer, codenamed Mechanic, lands on his patch. 

Three years ago they thought Mechanic was dead. But Mechanic is very much alive and no family is safe from the savage, ritualistic murders that this sadistic killer is compelled to commit.

Mechanic is always one step ahead and Lucas is forced to operate outside the law. 

But who can he trust and who is Mechanic? 

Soon Lucas will learn that the truth is more terrifying than he could ever imagine and in order to find the answers he needs, he might just have to put his life on the line… 

 

 

Bloodhound Books will also be publishing the next two books in The Mechanic Trilogy over the course of 2017.  Keep your eyes peeled for more info by following us all on Twitter….

@LOCrime   @Bloodhoundbook  and @RobAshmanAuthor

Posted in Blog Touring, Guest Posts

#BlogTour – Sweet After Death by Valentina Giambanco – Exclusive extract

Posted on by J

Prologue

The woods pressed into the town from all sides. The bite of land that had been scooped out of the wilderness by the original residents was barely visible from above during the day, and at night – when the only lights were a few scattered street lamps – it was all but gone.

The deer raised its snout, sniffed the cold night air and took a couple of steps. It paused by the line of trees and waited. Somewhere much higher up on the mountain the winds howled and shook the firs for what they were worth, but in the hollow of the valley the town of Ludlow lay silent and still. The deer ambled into the middle of the empty road and three others followed it out of the shadows. They made no sound as they padded on the veil of snow and their reflections crossed the windows of the shuttered stores on Main Street. The town stirred in its sleep but it did not wake: a dog barked from inside a house, a porch light – triggered by a faulty motion sensor – came on and went off in one of the timber-frame homes, and one of the town’s three traffic lights ticked and flickered from red to green to marshal the nonexistent 3 a.m. traffic. And yet, tucked away in an alley, a thin shadow tracked the progress of the deer and matched them step for step. They didn’t pick up its scent because it smelled of forest and dead leaves, and they didn’t hear any footsteps because it made no sound as it wove between the houses. The deer followed a familiar route that would lead them to the woods at the other end of Main Street, and it wasn’t until they had almost reached their destination that they caught the ugly scent. It was a few hundred yards away yet sharp enough to startle them. For an instant they froze and then, one after the other, they bounded out of sight. The acrid smoke spread through Main Street, reaching into the alleys and the backstreets, under the doors and into the gaps of the old window-frames. But the car burning bright by the crossroads would not be discovered until morning, and by then the thin shadow was long gone.

A few miles away Samuel shifted his weight on the thin mattress and listened out for birdsong: he couldn’t hear any, and it could only mean that it was still pitch black outside. He sighed and tried to grasp the tail of a half-remembered dream. Something had woken him up, though, and it took him a moment for the notion to sink small, keen teeth into his mind – dulled, as it was, by sleep and the warm cocoon of his blankets. Then a rough hand grabbed his shoulder and Samuel flinched and understood. He sat up without a sound, eyes peering through the gloom.

The bedroom – such as it was – was plain, with pallets for beds and a wooden stove in the corner. Embers from last night’s fire lit the bundles of blankets lying on the other pallets, and a cold draft found Samuel as soon as he threw off the covers.

He didn’t have much time, and he knew it. His heart had begun to race and his mouth was a tight line as he pulled on his boots and snatched his satchel from the side of the bed. The tip of the boy’s finger brushed against his good-luck charm, hidden in the folds of the satchel, and he felt a crackle of pleasure.

Two minutes later, Samuel walked out into the night and the door closed softly behind him. He looked up: the sky was low with heavy clouds, and he could almost taste the snow that was about to fall. He ran across the clearing and straight into the forest. He knew each tree and boulder and rock, and the dusting of white on the ground showed him the way. They had always called him ‘Mouse’ because he was small for his age – fifteen years old the previous November – small and fast. He needed all the speed and cunning he could muster now.

Speed, cunning and the spirit of the mountain on his side. He was three hundred yards away when the bell clanged and shattered the silence. They would be waking up then, rushing and scrambling after their things, and when the door opened to the night they would fall out and come after him. And God forbid they should catch him. The black raven feather in the boy’s satchel would have to work hard to keep him safe.

In the dead of winter Homicide Detective Alice Madison is sent to the remote town of Ludlow, Washington, to investigate an unspeakable crime.

Together with her partner Detective Sergeant Kevin Brown and crime scene investigator Amy Sorensen, Madison must first understand the killer’s motives…but the dark mountains that surround Ludlow know how to keep their secrets and that the human heart is wilder than any beast’s.

As the killer strikes again Madison and her team are under siege. And as they become targets Madison realises that in the freezing woods around the pretty town a cunning evil has been waiting for her.

Posted in Articles, Blog Touring, Guest Posts

#BlogTour Don’t Wake Up by Liz Lawler and the Inspiration Behind It

Posted on by J

As part of her blog tour for her debut novel Don’t Wake up, today on LifeOfCri.me Liz Lawler talks about the inspiration behind the book.

 

 

 

 

Inspiration behind Don’t Wake Up

I wish I could tell you that I heard a particular story or read an article in a newspaper that inspired me to write Don’t Wake Up. But it wouldn’t be true. Something obviously triggered it, but I suspect it was many things that I heard or read or thought or even experienced and my mind accepted and stored a place for all this imagery to settle before becoming fully focused. I use the word imagery, because when I think of a story it is always in full technicolour with people having conversations or crying or running away. I do remember exactly what I was doing when this story came to me, and it came with a bit of a whoosh. The body of the story was inside my head by the time I had vacuumed my house one day. I then needed to give it legs and arms and a head to fully function. I have found that I never think up stories when I’m at rest, it is always when I’m physically busy with my mind at a bit of a wander.

So what triggered it, I now ask it myself? Was it the fact that I have worked in a hospital for so many years and am as familiar with that type of surroundings as I am in my own home? Possibly. It would certainly be a logical conclusion. Or was it witnessing the vulnerability of so many patients as they walk onto a ward and place their trust in you.

Yet as I write that last sentence, my stomach clenches at the thought of how vulnerable we are when we place our trust in people that we are encouraged to trust.

And this thought, I suspect, is the trigger that made me want to write a story like Don’t Wake Up. The horrific story that came to light about Winterbourne care home in recent years, that uncovered acts of abuse being meted out to people with learning difficulties, sadly didn’t shock me. It enraged me that it happened, but I wasn’t shocked. The debase behaviour of humans has always existed and it always will. It pushes me to ask questions and each probe will inevitably begin with – How could someone. How could someone do that, say that, think that. I think everyone is susceptible to carrying out an unkind act, even if it is only in thought, and for most of us it will be only ever amount to that. But for many of us we have met that unkind person, the one that we think or say about, ‘I wouldn’t let her look after my dog, let alone my child, my father, my mother.’

Every form of mental and physical cruelty is abhorrent to me and they take their ugly shapes in so many forms. It is relentless. We are saturated every single day by what we hear in the news of acts of horrendous cruelty being carried out and before we have even processed one shocking story another story has taken precedence. Sometimes a singular story will stay in our minds for ever – the images of the Chinese migrants labourers drowned on Morecambe Bay beach . . . the image of those two innocent babies in the arms of their father having been gassed with sarin. These stories stop us in our tracts, bring tears to our eyes and have us shaking our heads in despair. I am listening to the news as I write this, and in the background Teresa May is speaking of PC Palmer and his colleagues are speaking from the heart about how they felt about this man and my throat is clogged at thought of so many people hurting from this loss.

So in the writing of this blog, I have kind of worked out what inspired me to write Don’t Wake Up – a fictional story of psychological torture – I am not anaesthetized by the atrocities that the human race carry out. I am not numb to that tone of voice I hear when a child is harshly rebuked for crying, or to that heavy sigh of impatience given when that elderly woman or man asks for the toilet again.

Death should never be a cruel act. It should be natural and where possible, surrounded by love. I was very privileged to nurse my father at his home, because I had the ability to carry out this care and if death can be a beautiful thing to witness when someone is ready to face it, I was fortunate to witness it with my own father. He died in the early hours as dawn was breaking at the age of 96 with his wife beside him and me merely there as their interpreter. There is humour even in this memory as in their last conversation to each other neither were wearing their hearing aids and so I had to shout clearly the messages they gave to each other.

Alex Taylor wakes up tied to an operating table.

The man who stands over her isn’t a doctor.

The offer he makes her is utterly unspeakable.

But when Alex re-awakens, she’s unharmed – and no one believes her horrifying story. Ostracised by her colleagues, her family and her partner, she begins to wonder if she really is losing her mind.

And then she meets the next victim.

Posted in Articles, Blog Touring, Guest Posts

#Blog Tour Deadly Alibi by Leigh Russell

Posted on by J

As part of her blog tour for the latest in the DI Geraldine Steel novels, Leigh talks to LifeOfCri.me about the ins and outs of writing a serial character.

Writing a series​

​I have written elsewhere about my inadvertent and very sudden transformation from an avid reader to a compulsive writer. My career as a writer really arose out of a ‘light bulb’ moment, a flash of inspiration. Having no ambitions to write, when an idea occurred to me one day and I started to write it down, I surprised myself by finding I was unable to drag myself away from it until the story had written itself out. Having completed my story, I sent the manuscript to a publisher, just on the off chance that someone might take a look at it. I didn’t really expect that anyone would, but the first person to read it turned out to be the acquiring editor at my publisher’s.

​There I was, unexpectedly faced with signing a three-book deal, and only one story written. It amazes me now that I wasn’t terrified, but the whole experience was exhilarating and quite surreal. Of course, there was a lot of work to be done on that first rather amateurish manuscript before it was actually published as Cut Short, by which time I was well on my way with the second book in the series, Road Closed. The ninth in the series, Deadly Alibi, is about to come out in paperback, the eleventh is written and currently being edited, and I am about a quarter of the way through the twelfth – just at the stage where I realise what I should have written and am about to rewrite what I’ve done so far… Somehow my plans always seem to go out of the window once the writing begins…

​So what began as a random idea for a story has turned into a fairly substantial series. With three series now to my name, and well on the way to delivering the final title in my sixth, three-book publishing deal, I’ve written quite a few books since the idea for Cut Short occurred to me. My next publishing deal will take us up to fifteen Geraldine Steel books, and I’m hoping the series will run to twenty books.

​A question I’m often asked is, does it become easier as you write more books? Like a politician’s equivocation, my answer isn’t straightforward. It’s a yes and a no. The actual writing process becomes easier as you grow accustomed to the editing process and all the associated stages in finalising the manuscript. At the same time, in some ways the pressure increases. With over a million books sold, there are a lot of people waiting to read the next Geraldine Steel story and with each book I worry that this will be the one that bombs, the book where all my fans say I’ve completely lost the plot. Thankfully that hasn’t happened yet, and I like to think I’m getting better at this writing lark. But who knows how the next book will be received? With so many readers’ expectations to satisfy, it’s a more daunting prospect than when my first book came out and I wondered whether anyone would actually read it, apart from my acquiring editor. ​

​Fortunately I have a fairly foolproof way of dealing with the pressure. It’s how I cope with any problems that arise in my life in the real world. I can simply retreat into my fictional world and write about the challenges faced by my detective, Geraldine Steel. And she has some tricky situations to deal with in Deadly Alibi. Hopefully her loyal fans are going to enjoy reading this latest story, and readers new to the series will find this an exciting introduction.

A hand gripped her upper arm so suddenly it made her yelp. Biting her lower lip, she spun round, lashing out in terror. As she yanked her arm out of his grasp, her elbow hit the side of his chest. Struggling to cling on to her, he lost his footing. She staggered back and reached out, leaning one hand on the cold wall of the tunnel. Before she had recovered her balance he fell, arms flailing, eyes glaring wildly as he disappeared over the edge of the platform onto the rails below. . .

Two murder victims and a suspect whose alibi appears open to doubt… Geraldine Steel is plunged into a double murder investigation which threatens not only her career, but her life. And then her previously unknown twin Helena turns up, with problems which are about to make Geraldine’s life turn toxic in more ways than one.

Posted in Articles, Blog Touring, Guest Posts

#blogtour Lie In Wait – GJ Minett

Posted on by J

Today as part of the blog tour for his latest release, Lie In Wait, author G J Minett talks to LifeOfCri.me about the unexpected amount of extra work that comes with being a newly published author, while we readers are all sitting at home expecting them to be hard at work on their next book…

 

 

What They Never Told Me

OK. So this is how I saw it at the time. Please don’t snigger at the simplistic way in which I viewed things back then because I can guarantee that most of those authors you follow religiously and who now appear like demi-gods on the literary stage will have been no different when they first started. At least, I hope it’s not just me.

So you finally get your agent and, in due course, your first deal with a publisher – in my case, a two-book deal. All downhill from here on in, isn’t it? The publishers welcome you with open arms, promise to take care of everything from now on. You just go away and get on with writing the next one and don’t worry about a thing. Leave it all to us. 

In your dreams.

I am at present 57,000 words into book 3, which probably equates to two-thirds of the way through. I have another 6 weeks to finish the first draft which, a few years ago, would have been a stroll in the park. Not even 1000 words a day. Piece of cake. But . . . what they didn’t tell me is that finding time to write the next book is not the simple matter of choice that it was before I got a publishing deal. New writing time has to fight its corner against serious incursions from a number of other areas which are also very important and fall within the author’s remit. In case you’re not aware of these competing demands, let me list some of them for you – and please be aware that this is far from a comprehensive list.

  • Social media. When I had my first meeting with Bonnier Zaffre my editor asked me what I was like with social media and I gave him my best smug expression and announced in true authorly fashion oh, I don’t do that sort of thing. His response was you do now. I spend something in the region of two hours a day, creating my own tweets and posts, re-tweeting others, sending direct messages, deciding which people to follow, thanking others for kind comments or RTs and, inevitably, watching that panda clutching the zookeeper’s leg.
  • Website. Didn’t have one. Do now. And it needs to change every so often or no one will come and look at it. And it doesn’t change itself.
  • Blogs. I’d heard of them but wasn’t sure what purpose they served. Now I’ve discovered a whole world out there of bloggers who are prepared to include you and your book and anything you want to say about it for no better reason than that they love what they do. But they have to be fed.
  • Reviewers. In my naïve way, I assumed you write your book and wait to see what the reviewers in the national press think of it. The answer is they don’t – or at least they haven’t so far. You’re very fortunate if they even read it. But there’s a community of reviewers out there who not only read as many as 250 books a year – I thought I was doing well with 70 to 80 – but also write wonderful reviews which play a significant role in getting your name and your book out there. They need to be reminded how much they’re appreciated.
  • Personal appearances. Not complaining for one moment. I love these and having the chance to talk about your book with people who’ve been good enough to buy it and invite you along is one of the real joys of being an author. Just saying . . . if you go to Liverpool to meet your readers, it’s probably a couple of days out of your writing time.
  • Editing. You don’t just write your book once. You do it about half-a-dozen times with rewrites that can take weeks. Then you read it again for line edits and final edits and by the time everyone agrees it’s as good as it’s going to be, you’re starting to have doubts about whether it’s as good as you once thought
  • Life. Whether it’s work or bringing up young children or working at your own relationship, life has a way of tapping you on the shoulder and reminding you that it’s there, waiting not always very patiently for you to get your priorities sorted out.

As I said, it’s not a comprehensive list – I haven’t for instance mentioned what it’s like to sit down and try to be creative and sparkling after you’ve just watched Wolves get beaten at home by Birmingham – but it should give you an idea of the many different directions from which distractions descend upon any author trying to meet a deadline.

Just as well we love what we do.

 


A man is dead. A woman is missing. And the police have already found their prime suspect…  

Owen Hall drives into a petrol station to let his passenger use the facilities. She never comes back – and what’s more, it seems she never even made it inside.

When Owen raises a fuss, the police are called – and soon identify Owen himself as a possible culprit – not least because they already have him in the frame for another more sinister crime.

Owen’s always been a little different, and before long others in the community are baying for his blood. But this is a case where nothing is as it seems – least of all Owen Hall…

Posted in Author Q&A's, Blog Touring

Death Games #blogtour Q&A with Chris Simms #SpicerIsBack

Posted on by J

1014case-files-versionimg_0584As a long time fan of Chris Simms, Michael Wood, author of the DCI Matilda Darke novels, and CrimeSquad reviewer puts his questions to Chris for today’s stop on the Death Games blog tour…..

 

 

 

MW: It’s been a while since the last DI Spicer novel, Sleeping Dogs, what have you been doing?

CS: I’ve been busy, scribbling away in my shed – but not on detective novels. I’ve always enjoyed writing dark psychological thrillers (my first two novels fell firmly into that category), so I decided to take some time away from Spicer to write two more that had been festering in my head. Sing Me To Sleep is about a lady called Laura Wilkinson who moves to an isolated cottage and immediately starts hearing faint echoes of a bird singing. She fears tinnitus. But Laura’s also suffered psychological problems in the past and can’t be sure if the noise isn’t a manifestation of mental illness or something more sinister… It’s just been optioned for a film.Dead Gorgeous follows a beautiful and fame-hungry young woman, Mandy Cost. To attract the attention of the paparazzi, she has a salon fit her with the longest, palest hair extensions they can find. Mandy appreciates the best extensions are made with human hair – but doesn’t question where hers came from. It’s something she comes to regret. Bitterly.   

MW: Where did DI Spicer originate? 

CS: As is often the case with characters, Spicer is a blend of various traits I’ve seen in different people. He’s one of those men who, though powerfully built, exude a strength that’s more than just muscular. He’s fiercely loyal, highly tenacious and not good at etiquette. A lot of people – characters in my books and readers of them – find him quite infuriating. Not that he’d be bothered.  

MW: You’re known for writing your stories by hand, explain your process.  

CS: The truth is, I’ve always fancied myself as a bit of an artist. So my initial planning is on A3 sheets; I’ll sketch the principal characters and add little comments and observations, all in pencil. Then comes mind-maps of the plot. It seemed natural to extend this approach to the actual writing – so I use a lined A4 pad and only write on one side. (With a Blackwing pencil.) That leaves the facing page free for later amends, additions or general thoughts. I love doing it this way – until I have to type up 90,000 words of spider-like scrawl. 

MW: Manchester is key in your novels. Do you create the setting around the plot or the other way round? 

CS: Both. Hell’s Fire came about because my train into Manchester passed what looked like a massive, derelict, charred church. Who would wreck such a majestic building, I began to wonder. In Savage Moon, I wanted to explore the scenario of someone being killed by what, at first, appears to be an Alien Big Cat (like the Beast of Bodmin). For a setting, you don’t get much more bleak and creepy than Saddleworth Moor that overlooks the city.  

MW: Death Games is a change of direction for DI Spicer. What made you decide to move him on?

CS: His own pig-headedness forced me into it! Essentially, he ran out of bosses in the Major Incident Team willing to have him as their responsibility. Kicked out and demoted to Detective Constable, it was a case of ‘any port in a storm’ when the Counter Terrorism Unit made contact.  

MW: For your new novel you’ve brought together your two series characters – DI Spicer and DC Kahn – why? 

CS: DC Khan was already in the CTU – and struggling with its macho, testosterone-fuelled culture. I thought: what a great pairing. Her: measured, intuitive and diminutive in size. Him: a great big bull in a china shop. Plus, the CTU allows me to deal with plots on a grander scale than before.  

MW: You write many short stories, very different to the crime novels, which do you prefer to write? 

CS: I love short stories for their brief, self-contained nature. Before the actual writing, you can hold them in the palm of your hand and look at them from every angle. If you want to experiment with something, you can. Novels, in contrast, are vast, sprawling things. George Orwell said writing them was like a long bout of painful illness. But when it’s finished? The scene of achievement is mighty.  

MW: What are you working on next? 

CS: The screenplay of Sing Me To Sleep is almost done. I got a short story in the bag over Christmas. So next…it’s novel time. I have a nice Manchester-based idea, but can’t decide whether to toss it Spicer’s way or hand it to a brand new character.

death-games-low-res

Manchester: an injured survivor from a motorway pile-up flees the scene, leaving behind evidence that a terror attack is being planned…

Jon Spicer, newly trained as a Specialist Firearms Officer, has joined Manchester police’s Counter Terrorism Unit. Thrown out of his previous department and demoted to Detective Constable, he is being kept in the force only because he’ll take on the most dangerous of jobs.

Iona Khan is struggling to find respect and recognition in the male-dominated Counter Terrorism Unit. Her mind might be sharp, but many of her colleagues value physical strength above anything else.

As the investigation quickly snowballs, Spicer and Khan are thrown together. The two officers must learn to trust each other – and fast. Because in this chase, any wrong move could be your last.

Posted in Articles, Blog Touring, Guest Posts

The Thrillers That Inspired ‘Lies’ by T M Logan #blogtour

Posted on by J

tm-loganThrillers that inspired LIES

Who can say where stories come from? For me, they start with a tiny core, a single idea. Maybe a character or a single situation, a point of crisis or a relationship I want to know more about. Wrap a few more ideas around the core, then a few more, check its pulse to make sure it’s starting to live and breathe. Then sit down and start writing.

The core idea of LIES came to me while we were driving to Brittany for our summer holiday. I was supposed to be navigating but got so caught up with the idea – and scribbling it down in my notebook before it disappeared – that we got lost. We had to go on a bit of a magical mystery tour to pick up our route again, but the story of LIES was already starting to live and breathe (in my head, at least).

Like everyone else, though, I’ve been inspired and influenced over the years by thrillers that I’ve loved and the people who have written them. My favourite authors include Michael Connolly, Harlan Coben, Linwood Barclay, Tana French, Lee Child, Sophie Hannah, Bernard Cornwell, Peter Swanson, Stephen King, Gillian Flynn and Ken Follett. I’ve missed lots out, but that might give you an idea of the kind of stories that I love to read – and write.

In no particular order, here are a few of the stories that inspired LIES:

I remember being bowled over by Harlan Coben’s Tell No One. It was the first time that I’d read one of his thrillers and it featured his trademark combination of a cracking story, great dialogue, compelling bad guys and a protagonist you’re rooting for from page one. Coben is also adept at bringing in technology and making it a turning point in his story, as when the hero sees an image of his wife – supposedly dead for eight years – on his computer screen.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn was one of many great recommendations from my wife, Sally. I loved this book. The slow unravelling of the truth about Amy Dunne takes the story in ways you can’t predict. Is she alive or dead? Is her husband involved in her disappearance? Is the truth simply what we believe it to be? The blurring of fact and fiction, the creation of different versions of the truth, feature strongly in LIES.

I have lots of favourites by Stephen King but Misery is at the top. It’s so simple, basically two characters in a house for 95 per cent of the story, and yet he manages to make it utterly gripping and terrifying. Stephen King is the master at that sense of ‘creeping doom’, at building the tension slowly, as Paul Sheldon comes to realise that there is something very, very wrong with the situation in which he finds himself.

A Simple Plan by Scott Smith grabbed hold of me in such a way that it became like an addiction. A real high concept premise – three guys find a bag full of money in the woods – but so many twists and turns that it was impossible to put down. At its heart it’s about the terrible things people will do in pursuit of what they think is right, and the crimes they will justify on the way.

Last but definitely not least (and not a book, either), I tip my hat to Les Diaboliques, a French film about betrayal, obsession, and murder. Check it out if you ever get the chance. It has a killer twist – when it was shown in cinemas, a title screen appeared at the end of the movie asking the audience not to reveal it to others, so they wouldn’t spoil the surprise. I hope the twist at the end of LIES has a similar impact!

What are your favourite thrillers? Let me know @TMLoganAuthor

lies

 

WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS BASED ON LIES? 

When Joe Lynch stumbles across his wife driving into a hotel car park while she’s supposed to be at work, he’s intrigued enough to follow her in.

And when he witnesses her in an angry altercation with family friend Ben, he knows he ought to intervene.

But just as the confrontation between the two men turns violent, and Ben is knocked unconscious, Joe’s young son has an asthma attack – and Joe must flee in order to help him.

When he returns, desperate to make sure Ben is OK, Joe is horrified to find that Ben has disappeared.

And that’s when Joe receives the first message . . .