Monday 19 June 2017

BEST OF CRIME with Graham Minett

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 



Today I'm delighted to welcome 

GRAHAM MINETT


to share his BEST OF CRIME ... 



... AUTHORS
I first got into crime through the obvious US authors such as Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Robert Crais, James Ellroy. Lately I’ve found new US favourites including John Hart, Neely Tucker, Ace Atkins and especially John Sandford. How he turns out two a year of such quality is beyond me. Over here my favourites would be Ian Rankin, PD James, Graham Hurley and I’m becoming more than a little enthusiastic about David Mark. 


... FILMS/MOVIES
Se7en and The Usual Suspects take some beating. The original version of Sleuth with Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine takes some beating too. 


... TV DRAMAS
So many. Breaking Bad, The Wire and The Sopranos for the US. Line of Duty, Prime Suspect, Between The Lines, Happy Valley and The Missing over here. The Bridge, Engrenages (Spiral), Braquo and The Killing from Europe. I’ll have missed out some excellent ones though. 


... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford in Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me. Genius.


... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES
In no particular order:
  • Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport (John Sandford)
  • Harry Bosch (Michael Connelly)
  • John Rebus (Ian Rankin)
  • Dave Robicheaux (James Lee Burke)
  • Aector McAvoy (David Mark)
  • Elvis Cole and Joe Pike (Robert Crais)
  • Quinn Colson (Ace Atkins)
  • Kurt Wallander (Henning Mankell) 

... MURDER WEAPONS
To be honest, I’m not really interested in murder weapons. It’s more the psychology behind it that gets my attention .
    

... DEATH SCENES
A bit of a cheat here, because it’s not an actual death scene but that final shot in Se7en took my breath away when I first saw it and even now, after several times, I find the build up to the moment when Brad Pitt opens the package almost unbearably tense, especially when Morgan Freeman works out what’s going to be in there. If you’ve seen it you’ll know what I mean.
  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
NHS Choices – if I can’t find what I need for my characters I can always check I’m doing OK personally.


... WRITING TIPS
  • Act out your dialogue and check how authentic it sounds
  • Respect the intelligence of the reader
  • Put the reader on the street corner alongside your characters – what can they hear, smell, feel?
  • Listen to as much advice as you can but only act on it if you’re convinced it’s right for you


... WRITING SNACKS
  • Walnuts
  • Banana
  • Cereal bar
  • Small pack of raisins
  • Can of diet coke/pepsi

Every morning at 11
Well, wouldn’t do for us all to be the same, would it? 


About GRAHAM MINETT
Graham Minett was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and lived there for 18 years before studying for a degree in Modern and Medieval Languages at Churchill College, Cambridge.
He taught for several years, first in Cheltenham and then in West Sussex before opting to go part-time and start an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Chichester. Completing the course in 2008, he gained a distinction for the dissertation under the guidance of novelist, Alison Macleod and almost immediately won the Segora Short Story Competition with On the Way Out.
Other awards soon followed, most notably his success in the 2010 Chapter One novel competition with what would eventually become the opening pages of his debut novel. He was signed up by Peter Buckman of the Ampersand Agency, who managed to secure a two-book deal with twenty7, the digital-first adult fiction imprint of Bonnier Publishing. The Hidden Legacy was published in eBook in November 2015 and paperback in August 2016. Lie in Wait was published as an ebook in August 20116 and paperback in March 2017. The One That Got Away will be published as eBook in November 2017.

Find Graham Minett on his website, FB page and on Twitter - @GJMinett


About LIE IN WAIT




Publisher's description
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...


Lie In Wait was published in paperback by Zaffre in November 2017.


Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

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