BEST OF CRIME WITH C.M. (Chris) Ewan

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 

C.M. (CHRIS) EWAN

to share his BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

I think it’s hard to beat Michael Connelly. His books deliver brilliantly, year after year. How many writers create truly iconic series characters like Harry Bosch, Mickey Haller and Renee Ballard? How many deliver brilliant standalone thrillers, too? Not many, obviously, but Connelly does. The Poet and The Lincoln Lawyer are two of my all-time favourite reads.

... FILMS/MOVIES

I’m going to go with Panic Room starring Jodie Foster. It’s tight, lean and brilliantly structured. And hey, if you like Panic Room, I hope you’ll enjoy A Window Breaks.

... TV DRAMAS

It’s super-glossy and totally implausible, but I got totally swept up in season one of How to Get Away With Murder. I loved the flash forwards and flashback sequences, the clever dovetailing of the plot, the sneaky reveals. Total escapist fun. 

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

How do you look past Tom Ripley? He’s such a devilishly appealing character – showing us where the hint of darkness in us all might lead. Plus, he travels to some seriously appealing locations in Patricia Highsmith’s novels. The sequences set in Venice in The Talented Mr Ripley get me every time.

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 

I am a sucker for Sara Gran’s Claire DeWitt – the self-styled “Best detective in the world.” She’s a true one of a kind. Unconventional, unpredictable and wholly fresh. Everything she does is a surprise. 

... MURDER WEAPONS

It’s impossible to give details without giving away a major spoiler, but I’ve long admired the murder weapon Lee Child came up with in The Visitor. How is a killer murdering ex army high-fliers? The answer is wildly ingenious, deeply satisfying and like no murder weapon I’ve read of before. 

    

... DEATH SCENES

When I worked as a film lawyer with the Isle of Man Film Fund, we helped finance a little-known comic crime movie called Big Nothing starring David Schwimmer, Simon Pegg and Alice Eve. It’s about a blackmail gone wrong and during the course of the movie, the corpse of a nasty vicar is dragged by one bad guy into a septic tank to be hidden. When the other bad guy comes back, he wants to know where the vicar has gone. Turns out he wasn’t actually dead …  

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

Most days I like to Google random webcams around the world. No real reason, other than I’m curious and I like to see what’s going on at a given time in, say, Times Square, New York, or at the top of a random Swiss mountain. You can probably chalk this up to procrastinating.

... WRITING TIPS

Stephen King’s ON WRITING contains the best writing tip I’ve ever come across. It’s a simple formula. The second draft of your work in progress should = the first draft, minus 10%. It works!

... WRITING SNACKS

On a good day, some kind of trail mix. On a realistic day, too many chocolate digestives.

About C.M. EWAN

C. M. Ewan is a pseudonym for Chris Ewan, the critically acclaimed and bestselling author of many mystery and thriller novels. Chris’s first standalone thriller, Safe House, was a number one bestseller in the UK and was shortlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. 

Born in Taunton in 1976, Chris graduated from the University of Nottingham and llater trained as a lawyer. After eleven years living on the Isle of Man, herecently returned home to Somerset with his wife and their two children, where he writes full-time.

Find Chris Ewan on his website and on Twitter - @chrisewan

About A WINDOW BREAKS

Publisher's description

You are asleep. A noise wakes you. 

You stir, unsure why, and turn to your wife.

Then you hear it. 

Glass. Crunching underfoot. 

Your worst fears are about to be realized. 

Someone is inside your home. 

Your choices are limited. 

You can run. Or stay and fight. 

What would you do?

A Window Breaks was published by Pan Macmillan on e-book on 31 October 2019. Paperback will be published on 20 February 2020.

Here's a snippet from my review: "I read this book so quickly - I barely took a breath and could feel my heart pounding throughout."

To read my full review click here.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

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MY PUBLISHING LIFE with Sam Humphreys

Welcome to my latest MY PUBLISHING LIFE feature, an interview with a literary agent, publisher, publicist or editor about their publishing career to date. Some serious questions, and some just for fun!

Today I'm delighted to welcome 

SAM HUMPHREYS

Associate Publisher

at
Mantle (imprint of Pan Macmillan)

What and when was your first job in publishing?
I actually started as a temporary editorial secretary, at Pan Macmillan, in 2002. I’d done a couple of weeks’ work experience and an editorial assistant left. There was a recruitment freeze at the time, so I was taken on as a temp, working across the commercial fiction and Picador lists, and, at some point, made permanent. When my original boss left, my new boss changed my job title to editorial assistant, as that was essentially the job I’d been doing anyway. 

How long have you been working in your current job/role?
I’ve been at Mantle, with Maria (Rejt, Publisher) and Josie (Humber, Assistant Editor) since September 2014, and have been gradually building my list since then. I now have about 15 authors. 

Which books have you worked on recently/are you working on?
I only publish fiction, and have mainly acquired debuts. Last year, I published the paperback of a book called Miss You by Kate Eberlen, which was a Richard & Judy pick. I seem to be publishing lots of books this year, including Only Child by Rhiannon Navin (March) and The Man Who Didn’t Call by Rosie Walsh (June), to name but two (which feels a bit like only mentioning two children when you’ve got a whole houseful!)…  

Which qualifications/life skills/experience have helped you get to where you are today?
I was a primary school teacher before I worked in publishing and I definitely think the skills I acquired as a teacher have stood me in good stead. I also firmly believe that the only real experience you need to become an editor is being a(n avid) reader: if you read, you can pick the good stories (and story tellers!) and you can edit. I don’t have an English literature degree and I don’t think it’s ever held me back.

How do you relax after a busy working day?
Probably a nice meal and a glass of wine – or two… I tend to spend my evenings reading submissions, but that’s not exactly strenuous. 

What was the last book you read for pleasure?
Joanna Cannon’s THREE THINGS ABOUT ELSIE; I loved THE TROUBLE WITH GOATS AND SHEEP, so was really looking forward to this – and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. 

Describe your job in 15 words or less...
I actually have no idea what I do! I publish books – whatever that means – and champion them where-ever and however possible. 

What have been the highlights of your publishing life so far
I was lucky enough to publish Emma Donoghue’s Room, which was an amazing experience, from winning the auction for it, to meeting and working with Emma, to the media response to the book, to the Booker dinner and beyond. It was especially lovely because it wasn’t Emma’s first novel, and it’s always heartening to be reminded that authors can become hugely successful (Emma had been critically successful previously, but not commercially so – or at least, not in comparison to Room) at any stage of their career. But there are many other highlights too. When I was first working at Pan Macmillan (possibly while I was still a temp), I can remember coming into the office one morning, and I had a voicemail message from Don DeLillo, saying he liked the cover for his latest book, which I’d just sent him… That was definitely a high point. As was getting to travel to both India and China for work. (I looked after both Picador India and Picador Asia for a while.) And there’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when you read a submission and you absolutely love it… 

If you could try out any other job for one day (with no limits on money, travel etc.), what would you choose?
I always used to say that my plan b, if ever publishing failed, would be dog walking – but perhaps somewhere warm and sunny rather than the UK. Or else teaching in a commune in San Francisco. Failing that, I think I’d make a great receptionist in a GP surgery. 

If your publishing life was a book, what would the title be?
The Never-Ending Story – because it’s not over yet, and also, because I’m a fiction editor, my publishing life has been all about stories… 

Thanks so much for taking part, Sam!

Look out for more MY PUBLISHING LIFE features coming soon.

Click here to read more MY PUBLISHING LIFE features.

If any literary agents, publishers, publicists or editors would like to take part, please contact me through my blog or Twitter for the full list of questions.

BEST OF CRIME with Fiona Cummins

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 

FIONA CUMMINS

to share her BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS
There are so many brilliant crime writers out there it's almost impossible to narrow it down to one, but I know I must so I will choose Agatha Christie. She was my introduction to crime novels – I would, ahem, borrow my mum's library books and read them under the covers by torchlight, long after I was supposed to be asleep. Christie had an unrivalled talent for weaving a compelling story within an intricately crafted framework, all while making it seem effortless.

... FILMS/MOVIES
Gah, this is so difficult. But Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill had a profound effect on me. Is there anything more kick-ass than a bride who seeks to avenge the wrongs wrought upon her in the most brutal of ways? I know some will balk at the violence, but there is something incredibly powerful about a woman getting it done (or maybe it's only me who has dark revenge fantasies...).

... TV DRAMAS
I don't watch a whole lot of television but I loved American Horror Story, about a family who move into a house with a dark past. For me, it contained the perfect ratio of psychopathic killings and the supernatural. The opening credits were so creepy I had to fast-forward them, though. 

... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Dr Hannibal Lecter. No-one else comes close. 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
Hmmm. Tough one. By rights, I should say Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, but I want to spread the love so I'm going to say  John Connolly's Charlie Parker, a private investigator and ex-cop with a tragic past, who has to confront supernatural foes as well as human ones.

... MURDER WEAPONS

Lamb to the Slaughter, a short story by Roald Dahl. Is there anything more genius than a housewife who kills her husband with a frozen leg of lamb and then serves up the murder weapon to the detectives investigating his violent demise? 

    

... DEATH SCENES
Initially, I was going to talk about the ice pick in Basic Instinct, but that got me thinking about the infamous rabbit scene from the 1987 film Fatal Attraction starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. Close's character Alex, who has a fling with happily married Dan (played by Douglas), places his family's pet in a pot of boiling water on the stove. It's not a death scene as such (well, I guess it is for the rabbit), but the threat is so implicit and so shocking that it spawned the phrase 'bunny boiler', dictionary definition: a woman who acts vengefully after having been spurned by her lover.

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
I often use forensic guides from individual police forces to help me with procedural elements, and the internet is the perfect research tool. That's how I discovered Dr Britt Raubenheimer, an oceanographer who answered some questions for me about tidal patterns in my second novel The Collector.

... WRITING TIPS
Keep going.

... WRITING SNACKS
Biscuits. Or crisps. Or both.

About FIONA CUMMINS

Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former Daily Mirror showbusiness journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course. Rattle, her bestselling debut novel, received international critical acclaim when it was published earlier this year. It is also in development as a six-part TV series by the producers of Kick-Ass and Miss Sloane. Her second novel The Collector will be published in February. Fiona lives in Essex with her family.

Find Fiona Cummins on Twitter - @FionaAnnCummins

About RATTLE

Publisher's description

A serial killer to chill your bones

A psychopath more frightening than Hannibal Lecter.

He has planned well. He leads two lives. In one he's just like anyone else. But in the other he is the caretaker of his family's macabre museum.

Now the time has come to add to his collection. He is ready to feed his obsession, and he is on the hunt.

Jakey Frith and Clara Foyle have something in common. They have what he needs.

What begins is a terrifying cat-and-mouse game between the sinister collector, Jakey's father and Etta Fitzroy, a troubled detective investigating a spate of abductions.

Set in London's Blackheath, Rattle by Fiona Cummins explores the seam of darkness that runs through us all; the struggle between light and shadow, redemption and revenge.

It is a glimpse into the mind of a sinister psychopath. And it's also a story about not giving up hope when it seems that all hope is already lost. 

Rattle was published in paperback by Pan on 24 August 2017.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

The Collector by Fiona Cummins - VERY EARLY REVIEW

I don't usually do such early reviews. So apologies. This isn't out until 2018 but I couldn't wait to read it. Now I've read it, I couldn't wait to review it. If you haven't read Rattle, Fiona Cummins' first book, I suggest you buy it now (out in paperback on 24th August). Then the wait for The Collector won't seem quite so long.

The Collector
By Fiona Cummins
Published by Pan Macmillan

Publisher's description

Jakey escaped with his life and moved to a new town.
His rescue was a miracle but his parents know that the Collector is still out there, watching, waiting...

Clara, the girl he left behind, is clinging to the hope that someone will come and save her.

Life has fallen apart for Clara’s mother as she starts to lose hope.

The Bone Collector has a new apprentice to take over his family’s legacy. But he can’t forget the boy who got away and the detective who had destroyed his dreams

Detective Etta Fitzroy’s life collapsed when the Collector escaped. With Clara still missing, and a new wave of uncannily similar murders beginning, will she be able to find him again?

The Collector is back and this time he has nothing to lose . . .

My verdict
Fiona Cummins is one of the most talented crime writers I've stumbled upon in recent years. Not only is she a plotting genius, but her writing is sublime. I loved Rattle - an outstanding crime thriller - and couldn't wait to read The Collector. Well, not only has Fiona done it again but she's totally surpassed herself.

The Collector is harrowing, gruesome, chilling, terrifying, horrific, gripping, compelling... I could go on. This is a very dark plot, and descriptions may turn your stomach, get right under your skin and (dare I write this) rattle your bones. BUT the horror is dabbled with moments of tenderness and hope, with characters to believe in and invest in. This is a return to old characters and an introduction to new ones. Could this be read as a standalone? Probably. Yet why do so, when you can read Rattle too?

The plot moves at a cracking pace, with short concise chapters - I barely took a breath all the way through. This is a book that's hard to put down once you've started reading. It tackles all of your senses in one go, with such powerful writing in every word, every sentence, every paragraph, every page...

Fiona Cummins' books are perfect for fans of top authors Mo Hader and Thomas Harris. I suspect in years to come, though, that Rattle, The Collector and many more of Fiona's books themselves will be on the lists of crime fiction masterclasses to study pace, tension and creepiness.

The Collector is, without doubt, going to be a top recommendation of mine for 2018, just as Rattle has been this year. I can't wait to see what Fiona Cummins writes next - unfortunately, I suspect I'll have to wait a while, considering this book isn't out for several months.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher.

Here's the link to my review of Rattle: http://off-the-shelfbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/rattle-by-fiona-cummins.html

My Typical Writing Day by Michelle Davies - Blog Tour

I am delighted to welcome Michelle Davies to my blog today talking about her 'typical writing day', as part of her blog tour.  Michelle's book Gone Astray is published in paperback by Pan Macmillan today (20 October 2016).

My typical writing day

By Michelle Davies

The title of this blog post is a bit of an oxymoron because, in my world, there is no such thing as a typical writing day!

My day job is that of a journalist – I write features for women’s magazines such as Marie Claire and Stylist and I also do copywriting for some high street retailers. So my writing day usually depends on what freelance commissions I’ve got on the go and which looming deadline must be met first.

Being an author has to fit around my day job, so I am – for want of a better description – a ‘binge writer’ when it comes to novels. I usually spend two or three weeks working flat-out on my book, then stop and go back to the day job when the work demands it.

But when I’m in a novel phase, so to speak, my writing day is pretty consistent. First I drop my daughter off at school around 8.50am – luckily for me, her school is on our street so our commute is about a minute on a good day, two minutes if we’re dawdling! Then I’m at my desk at 9am, ready to start.

I’ll have a quick read of what I’ve worked on the previous day but I refrain from tinkering with it too much; I edited Gone Astray as I went along, which I now realise made the process much more drawn out than it needed to be. With my second novel, Wrong Place, out on 27 February, I bashed out the first draft in six months, then got stuck into editing it.

I tend to write until about noon when I break for lunch, which is usually a sandwich in front of the telly watching an episode of Friends – I find it gives my brain the break it needs! Then I write for another couple of hours before my daughter needs collecting from school at 3.30pm. If I’m in the mood, I’ll carry on while she’s in bed, but the reason I went freelance in the first place was to spend more time with her, so I make sure my writing fits around her, not the other way round.

Thank you for hosting me on my first ever blog tour and for supporting Gone Astray. I hope you enjoy the book!

About Michelle Davies

Michelle Davies is a freelance journalist, having worked in house on magazines including Elle, heat magazine, and Grazia. She now writes for lots of different magazines, including Marie Claire and Stylist, on lots of different subjects, in between writing novels.

Find out more about Michelle on her website and also on Twitter - @M_Davieswrites

Going Astray

By Michelle Davies

Published in paperback by Pan Macmillan (20 October 2016)

ISBN: 978-1447284185

Publisher's description

Lesley and her husband Mack are the sudden winners of a £15 million EuroMillions jackpot. They move with their 15-year-old daughter Rosie to an exclusive gated estate in Buckinghamshire, leaving behind their ordinary lives - and friends - as they are catapulted into wealth beyond their wildest dreams.

But it soon turns into their darkest nightmare when, one beautiful spring afternoon, Lesley returns to their house to find it empty: their daughter Rosie is gone.

DC Maggie Neville is assigned to be Family Liaison Officer to Lesley and Mack, supporting them while quietly trying to investigate the family. And she has a crisis threatening her own life - a secret from the past that could shatter everything she's worked so hard to build.

As Lesley and Maggie desperately try to find Rosie, their fates hurtle together on a collision course that threatens to end in tragedy . . .

Money can't buy you happiness.

The truth could hurt more than a lie.

One moment really can change your life forever.

Read my review here

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