A Life of Crime

It was Nathan Fillion, in his role as Richard Castle in the highly entertaining television series Castle, who said, “There are two kinds of people who sit around all day thinking about killing people . . . mystery writers and serial killers.” I rather hope I fit into the first category and not the second.

It was this fascination with crime, both reading and writing, that led me to write my first nonfiction book, and it was launched this weekend. It is called Crime Fiction and the Indie contribution, and here is what it’s all about:

Serial killers, private eyes, cops, and bodies inhabit this guide to crime fiction in the electronic age, where reading habits are undergoing change with the growing use of e-books and e-readers.

The book takes the reader on a fascinating trawl through the many sub-genres of crime fiction, including a history of the genre and how it has developed over the years to include a much darker reading experience. Mystery and detection novels are still popular, but many readers now turn to dark crime stories, and the rise of noir novels has been spectacular.

This guide considers murder and mystery, from the cosy to the noir, and how it has developed over the years, stretching from The Newgate Calendars, through the dime novels and penny dreadfuls, covering the golden age authors typified by Agatha Christie, the hard-boiled era of Hammett and Chandler, and on to the modern crime and thriller novels.

There are sections on e-books and e-readers, the indie author and publisher, and publishing options. There are also sections on many subgenres of crime fiction including mystery, cosy, romantic suspense, historical, paranormal/supernatural, psychological, humour, medical, legal, political, hard-boiled, female sleuths, police procedural, noir/dark, tartan noir, and serial killers.

Over the last few years there has been a noticeable change in the reading habits of many people. This book looks at the development of the e-book – it’s been around longer than you think – and the way many people are choosing to read books on electronic devices. It considers the advantages and disadvanges of both print and electronic books, as well as a history of electronic publishing. It also considers the reasons many authors now choose to become an indie, by publishing independently.

This book looks at the rise of the indie publishing phenomenon which includes the good, the bad and the ugly, and how to choose between them. It considers many types of crime novel with examples drawn from sixty-one indie published books, and how they compare to traditionally published books.

The focus is on e-books and the independent authors, known as indies, who write them, and the aim is to introduce indie crime fiction to discerning e-book readers.

Chris Longmuir is an award winning writer as well as an established short story, and article writer. Her crime novels have won the Pitlochry Award, and the Dundee International Book Prize. She is the author of the popular Dundee Crime Series, and the Kirsty Campbell Novels.

Chris Longmuir

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

Available from:

Amazon.co.uk

 Amazon.com