We are happy and proud – overjoyed, really! – to share with you a few lines from a letter that the great American post-modernist writer Richard Kalich wrote to us and the Irish writer Colin O’Sullivan after having read his work for the first time (Colin’s novel, The Starved Lover Sings). Such an endorsement, coming … Continue reading “A Poet of Darkness”
Les Edgerton about his novel “The Death of Tarpons”
"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." —Sigmund Freud Les Edgerton in conversation with a Trinity College Dublin graduate Kelly O'Brien: —The Death of Tarpons takes the form of bildungsroman and is written in the first person narrative. Given that you also grew … Continue reading Les Edgerton about his novel “The Death of Tarpons”
Donald Finnaeus Mayo about women’s fiction, spycops and divided societies (Interview, Part II)
KOB: Both of your novels are driven by strong female characters. Would you consider your work to be “Women’s Fiction” and if so, how do you feel your position as a male novelist impacts your female-centric writing? DFM: I have noticed that women seem to respond well to my work, which I'm happy about because … Continue reading Donald Finnaeus Mayo about women’s fiction, spycops and divided societies (Interview, Part II)
Donald Finnaeus Mayo about journalism, modern history and inspiration (Interview, Part I)
Kelly O’Brien: Both of your novels, Francesca and The Insider’s Guide to Betrayal are set in the 1970s and 1980s, is this period of time significant to you? What interests you in the writing of historical fiction? Donald Finnaeus Mayo: Most decades have something interesting to offer, and if you have lived through them your … Continue reading Donald Finnaeus Mayo about journalism, modern history and inspiration (Interview, Part I)
Interview with Colin O’Sullivan in Your Secret Library
A few days before the release of Colin's third novel, THE DARK MANUAL, a Trinity College Dublin graduate Polly Young interviews her fellow Trinity College alumnus for Your Secret Library Magazine: Colin O’Sullivan is a poet and a novelist, author of Killarney Blues (2013), The Starved Lover Sings (2017), and The Dark Manual (May 2018), … Continue reading Interview with Colin O’Sullivan in Your Secret Library
Colin O’Sullivan wins the “Prix Mystère de la critique” in France for “Killarney Blues”
Congratulations to Colin O'Sullivan, Winner of a prestigious crime fiction award in France: the Prix Mystère de la critique! Previous winners include: Don Winslow, Daniel Woodrell, Dennis Lehane, Boris Akunin, Donald E. Westlake, Henning Mankell, James Ellroy, Michael Connelly, Thomas Harris, and many other fabulous writers from around the world.
“Silk for the Feed Dogs” at the Franco-Irish Literary Festival
This Friday, March 31st, the 2017 Franco-Irish Literary Festival begins and will continue right through the weekend. Organised by Alliance Française and the Cultural Service of the French Embassy in Ireland, this annual festival celebrates the unique relationship between Ireland, France and other francophone nations through highlighting the work of their writers. With fashion as … Continue reading “Silk for the Feed Dogs” at the Franco-Irish Literary Festival
“The Death of Tarpons”: A journey into darkness
On the occasion of the new release of Les Edgerton’s debut novel, The Death of Tarpons, in paperback format by Betimes Books and in electronic format by Endeavour Press, we are taking a look back at what makes Edgerton’s first work of fiction so special. For something which, at first glance, seems so different from … Continue reading “The Death of Tarpons”: A journey into darkness
Craig McDonald about the challenge of writing a series
Not the end of something? By Craig McDonald In autumn 2007, HEAD GAMES was published by Ben Leroy and Bleak House books. It went on to earn best first novel nominations for the Edgar Award, the Anthony, and the Sélection du prix polar Saint-Maur en Poche in France, among others. It also launched a series … Continue reading Craig McDonald about the challenge of writing a series
Hadley Colt about her second novel for Betimes Books, a reinvention of the timeless legend of Sherlock Holmes
From Hadley Colt's blog: PUBLISH OR PERISH? (THE RED-HANDED LEAGUE DEBUTS) “I am lost without my Boswell.” —Sherlock Holmes The Red-Handed League, my new thriller about Sherlock Holmes, debuts this week. Hewing to a Doylean naming strategy, this little essay might be called, The Matter of the Murdered Biographer. It could also be titled, The … Continue reading Hadley Colt about her second novel for Betimes Books, a reinvention of the timeless legend of Sherlock Holmes
Craig McDonald’s reading in Dublin as if you were there
Thanks to all who attended last night's reading in Dublin! For those who weren't there, here is a recording of the event: https://www.periscope.tv/w/1ypKdPmjArRKW If you want to read the excerpt that Craig read last night, the first chapter of Head Games, click here: viewBook.at/HeadGames_McDonald And here is Craig McDonald's speech and a few pictures of … Continue reading Craig McDonald’s reading in Dublin as if you were there
Literary suicides: excerpt from PRINT THE LEGEND by Craig McDonald
"Hector sat in a booth alone in the back of the Italian restaurant. The freezing rain was lashing the windows and the trees lining the streets of Georgetown looked like glass sculptures. He took another sip of red wine and pulled the letter from his pocket. He read it five times: Poor dearest Pickle: There … Continue reading Literary suicides: excerpt from PRINT THE LEGEND by Craig McDonald
Interview with Richard Kalich in AM FM Magazine
"High Art can of course be found in all the disciplines, music, painting, all creative writing, film, etc. For me…all that I define as High Art has but one categorical imperative. It makes as its inherent demand and calling that we, as humans, stand before it and surrender ourselves wholly and completely to it. It … Continue reading Interview with Richard Kalich in AM FM Magazine
An Interview with Craig McDonald: The Hector Lassiter Series
An exceptional, in-depth, interview with Craig McDonald by Steven Powell, a researcher at the University of Liverpool, UK.
Steven Powell is the editor of Conversations with James Ellroy (2012) and 100 American Crime Writers(2012). He has written several articles for the British Politics Review, blogs about crime fiction at VenetianVase.co.uk, and co-organized the “James Ellroy: Visions of Noir” conference at the University of Liverpool. His most recent work is James Ellroy: Demon Dog of Crime Fiction (Palgrave Macmillan 2016).
“If you are not already initiated, I hope this interview will persuade you to start reading the Lassiter novels. They are compelling, thrilling and darkly humorous.
Lassiter is a brilliant creation…”
Craig McDonald is an author and journalist. He has written fourteen novels, including, to date, nine books in the award-winning Hector Lassiter series. I have kept up a correspondence with Craig these past few years as we are both avid readers of James Ellroy. I’m also a massive fan of the Lassiter novels, and when Craig agreed to be interviewed by me, he also kindly supplied an advance copy of the final novel in the Lassiter series, the forthcoming Three Chords and the Truth. If you are not already initiated, I hope this interview will persuade you to start reading the Lassiter novels. They are compelling, thrilling and darkly humorous. Lassiter is a brilliant creation– a crime writer who learned his trade with Ernest Hemingway and the Lost Generation in Paris in the 1920s. He is also a man who seems dangerously prone to violent intrigue, doomed love affairs…
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Jackie Mallon about the aftermath of the Paris attacks and “A Moveable Feast”
We’ll Always Have Paris It is still difficult to comprehend what happened in Paris last weekend. Tonight as I write this there are reports of terrorist threats on cities as diverse as Brussels and Atlanta. Inside a crowded downtown Manhattan cafe, we hear a police siren and fire truck pass and all of us raise our … Continue reading Jackie Mallon about the aftermath of the Paris attacks and “A Moveable Feast”
Translation rights news: PRINT THE LEGEND to be published in Mongolia
Craig McDonald's novel PRINT THE LEGEND (#8 in the internationally acclaimed Hector Lassiter series) is going to be translated into Mongolian and published by Bolor Sudar Publishers in 2016. Hector Lassiter novels have been translated so far into French, Italian, Spanish (Mexico), Japanese, Korean and Russian. Listen to an excerpt read by Craig McDonald and … Continue reading Translation rights news: PRINT THE LEGEND to be published in Mongolia
“DEATH IN THE FACE is my love letter to that strange sad man Ian Fleming”
Craig McDonald about his new novel: DEATH IN THE FACE: THE YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE FACTOR (Caution: Mild spoilers ahead for the James Bond novel and film, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.) In 1962, a gravely ill Ian Fleming went to Japan to research what would result in his penultimate James Bond novel, YOU ONLY LIVE … Continue reading “DEATH IN THE FACE is my love letter to that strange sad man Ian Fleming”
DEATH IN THE FACE: THE STRANGE LIFE & DEATH OF YUKIO MISHIMA
Craig McDonald about Yukio Mishima, one of the characters in his latest Hector Lassiter novel, Death in the Face: "Yukio Mishima (born Kimitake Hiraoka) was a gifted novelist and one of Japan’s great literary figures. He was a true renaissance man who composed nearly three dozen novels, nearly as many books of essays, more than … Continue reading DEATH IN THE FACE: THE STRANGE LIFE & DEATH OF YUKIO MISHIMA
“A quixotic endeavour with an unclear goal”. Colin O’Sullivan interviews David Hogan.
Colin O’Sullivan: The Last Island covers important issues like “environmentalism, animal rights, and the costs of capitalism”. What made you want to write about these issues? David Hogan: I believe that these are among the paramount issues of our time, and that our responses to them will shape the future. So it would’ve … Continue reading “A quixotic endeavour with an unclear goal”. Colin O’Sullivan interviews David Hogan.
Writing, reading, music, and “far-awayness”. David Hogan interviews Colin O’Sullivan
David Hogan: You're in the long tradition of writers leaving Ireland in order to write about it. Is there something unique about the country that pushes you away while at the same time drawing you back? Colin O’Sullivan: The Irish have always been a migrant race as you know, for many reasons too long to … Continue reading Writing, reading, music, and “far-awayness”. David Hogan interviews Colin O’Sullivan
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