“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?”: Bill Crider

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...

What crime novel would you most like to have written?
I could make you a very long list, but the two at the top every time would be THE BIG SLEEP and THE MALTESE FALCON. They’d just switch places every now and then.

What fictional character would you most like to have been?
Again, a very long list. Odysseus for the adventures and the cleverness, Spenser for the self-assurance, Superman for the . . . what the heck, let’s go with Superman.

Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
I never feel guilty about anything I read. I have enough other problems with guilt as it is, though sometimes I do feel a little guilty about rereading old books when I could be reading new ones.

Most satisfying writing moment?
When something clicks and I know that what I’m writing doesn’t entirely suck.

The best Irish crime novel is …?
I’m partial to Ken Bruen’s work, so today THE GUARDS would be my pick.

What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
I think THE BIG O would make a terrific movie, don’t you? It’s by some guy named Burke.

Worst / best thing about being a writer?
There are plenty of good things. Getting paid is one that I enjoy. Finishing a book and liking what you’ve done is another. Worst thing? Having to do the actual work. Why can’t the book just spring from my brain like Athena from the forehead of Zeus? Maybe that would be too painful, but so is writing a book.

The pitch for your next book is …?
Wild hogs. Murder. More wild hogs.

Who are you reading right now?
Just finished reading an oldie, BACKFIRE, by Dan J. Marlowe. Not rereading, so no guilt involved.

God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?
I’d have to say “read.” Writing is good, but reading is better. And a lot easier.

The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
You should probably be asking my readers. But I’ll go with smooth, clear, and amusing. Well, it amuses me, anyway.

Bill Crider’s MURDER IN THE AIR is published by Minotaur Books. Bill Crider is the editor of DAMN NEAR DEAD 2, a collection of ‘geezer noir’ short stories published by Busted Flush Press.

DAMN NEAR DEAD 2: David Thompson Lives On

The late and very much lamented David Thompson casts a long shadow over DAMN NEAR DEAD 2, the collection of ‘geezer noir’ stories which was published by Busted Flush on November 30th. I haven’t seen a copy yet, but it’s a hell of a line-up: CJ Box, Joe Lansdale, Ed Gorman, Marcia Muller, Christa Faust, SJ Rozan, Don Winslow, Denise Mina, Bill Pronzini and Cornelia Read all make a contribution, along with many more, one of whom is your humble host. Bill Crider is the editor, and the final package was put together in the wake of David’s death, which makes it a rather poignant collection. The last I heard, authors’ fees and all proceeds were to be donated to a fund designed to commemorate David’s massive contribution to crime fiction, although I’ve been out of the loop for the last couple of months, so maybe those plans have changed. Either way, it looks like a terrific compilation, so congrats to all involved in making it happen and bringing David’s project to fruition. Meanwhile, if you fancy nabbing a copy for a Christmas gift for the crime fan in your family, all the details can be found here …

It’s A Shortlist, So It Must Be Tana French

It’s been good week for shortlists, nominations and generalised prize-winning flummery amongst the Irish crime fiction fraternity, people. First up is Derek Landy, whose SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT scooped the prestigious Red House Children’s Book Prize at the Hay Festival over the weekend, with The Guardian wibbling thusly:

“The Dublin writer Derek Landy owes much to his zombie detective, Skulduggery Pleasant. First Landy’s creation helped him to leave behind the cauliflower fields of his family farm, and now it has won him the coveted Red House children’s book prize, announced yesterday evening at the Hay festival by some of the children who voted for the book.”

Kids can vote now? Crumbs – next thing you know they’ll be passing laws to stop us sending them up chimneys. Anyhoo, onward to shortlists and nominations, and the ever-radiant Sarah Weinman reports on The Barry Awards. John Connolly’s THE UNQUIET is up for a gong in the Best Novel category, while Tana French’s IN THE WOODS gets a nod for Best First Novel, the latter news causing us to wonder if it’s even legal to have a shortlist that doesn’t feature the Edgar-winning Tana these days. For the full list of nominees, jump over here … The ever-fragrant Bill Crider, meanwhile, features the Anthony Award shortlists, where – quelle surprise – Tana French’s IN THE WOODS has been nominated for Best First Novel, and the Ken Bruen / Jason Starr collaboration SLIDE has been nominated for Best Paperback Original. Again, for the full list of nominees, slide on over here …

The Embiggened O # 2,019: Is There Such A Thing As Too Much Good Karma?

Being the continuing stooooooory of a quack who has gone to the dogs … or our increasingly laboured attempts to get THE BIG O published in America. YOU decide! Anyhoo, the gist is that we’ve been persecuting writers to blurb our humble offering THE BIG O in order to get one toe in the door of the room where they make the bottom rung for the metaphorical ladders of the publishing industry. To date we’ve been fairly overwhelmed by the generosity of the response, with Allan Guthrie, Reed Farrel Coleman and Jason Starr all being kind enough to offer their opinions. Bill Crider went one better: not only did he respond in gratifyingly positive fashion, he even posted his review to his interweb page thingagummy. Bless you, Mr Crider, sir. If you haven’t time to juke over there, the juicy bits runneth thusly:

“THE BIG O is a very entertaining crime novel. It’s fast-moving, it has snappy dialogue, and it’s wickedly funny. It’s told in short chapters that concentrate on the individual characters and their situations. The plot builds and builds, and the climactic scenes really pay off … The book’s not yet available in the U. S., more’s the pity, but I was lucky enough to snag a review copy. Check it out if you get the chance.” – Edgar-nominated author Bill Crider

Bill? Our first-born is yours for the asking …

The Embiggened O # 9,012: Some Weeks Are Better Than Others

Yep, it’s feast or famine here at the coal-face of independent publishing, folks. Not only did Reed Farrel Coleman give us a serious hup-ya yesterday, but Bill Crider has been kind enough to plug us on his blog – we’ll bring you the gory details when modesty prevails – AND the latest issue of Crime Spree Magazine has weighed in with a review, courtesy of uber-fox Jennifer Jordan (right). The juicy bits runneth thusly:

“It takes some big cojones for a writer to slap a title like [THE BIG O] on a piece of crime fiction. With Declan Burke, there is no lack in the cojones department. For those that have partaken in Burke’s EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, this book is utterly different. Burke has grown as a writer and THE BIG O is everything fans of dark, fast, tightly woven crime fiction could want … What could be an overly complicated and confusing book is well structured and well paced. By using clearly marked narrative separation, Burke skilfully lets the reader know what is going on with the entire cast, event by event. He does this seamlessly and with mordant humour. As each scene unfolds, tension mounts and hilarity ensues. And guess as the reader might, there is no way to predict how the finale will unfold.”

Jen? If we weren’t already married, you’d be applying for a restraining order right about now. Meanwhile, two of the generous souls over at Shots Mag – aka Ali Karim and Tony Black – have seen fit to post up a feature about our humble offering over at their interweb page thingagummy, lobbing us into the middle of some distinctly dubious-looking company that includes Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, Cathi Unsworth and Robert Ferrigno. Consider our gob well and truly smacked. As for our gast, well, it’s never had a flabbering quite like it …

Guns, Gams And Gratitude: Dashiell Hammett Remembered

"I've been as bad an influence on American literature as anyone I can think of," Dashiell Hammett once said, but there's a writer or twenty over at January Magazine who begs to differ. "I think there is the truth of the streets in Hammett that Chandler never got to," says Ed Gorman, somewhat controversially, while, "the writing pummelled me," says our own Ken Bruen of his first Hammett experience, The Dain Curse. Others contributing include George Pelecanos, Bill Crider, Peter Robinson and Ray Banks, who likes to think of Hammett "as one of the first great growlers of crime fiction." Which is nice ...