The Long Wait is Over Dangerous Destiny has Arrived

These are strange times, and I'm having to adapt to living in isolation in the same way as everyone else. But at least I have my imaginary friends to keep me company. They talk to me and live in my imagination, and then I write them down and share them with you. Sometimes I think my characters are more real to me than other people, although they don't always do what I want them to. And they astonish me by what they say.

So, for the past year, I've been living with my suffragette characters and, with a great deal of trepidation, I've launched them out into the wide world. I wonder how they'll fare there? Will my readers like them as much as I do? Or will they wave them away with a disparaging gesture? Time will tell.

No doubt you've guessed by now that my new historical murder-mystery 'Dangerous Destiny: A Suffragette Mystery' is now available to buy. It's out in paperback and Kindle, and in view of the strange times we live in, I've done something I've never done before. I've made the Kindle version available for Kindle Unlimited, which means that if you subscribe, you can read it for free. Otherwise, it's the same price as the others £3.99 in the UK and whatever that converts to in the US.

Here is a view of the cover, designed by Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics. She does a great job.

The story is a combination of coming of age with a murder-mystery at its heart. It's a story about three suffragettes who come together to try to solve the mystery of who is killing suffragettes in Dundee, Scotland. They are frustrated because the police are doing nothing to investigate the murders, taking the view that suffragettes are a nuisance and society would be better without them.
First we have Kirsty, a naïve young girl with a secret in her past, who is trying to break free from her controlling family. Then we have Ethel, trying to escape her vicious and abusive father. Martha, a seasoned suffragette, takes them under her wing and introduces them to women's suffrage.
Of course, they run into danger before everything is solved. And in the process, we find out whether Kirsty and Ethel will break their family bonds and forge a new destiny for themselves.

You can find the Kindle version by clicking HERE.
And the paperback version by clicking HERE. 
If you are in the US, just change the .co.uk part of the link to .com

There will be no physical launch for this book at Waterstones, and I'll miss meeting all my lovely readers and supporters. So, now I need to get back to my lonely isolation but, hopefully, there will be some imaginary friends waiting for me. I do hope you have some imaginary friends as well and if you don't, I'd be delighted to share mine with you.

Take care.

Chris

Website
Amazon Author page

Scottish Authors Infiltrate Crimefest

Another year and another Crimefest, and no matter where I turned this year I kept bumping into Scottish authors. They were all over the place. You can’t keep a good Scot down!

So, this year I’m not going to write about all the various panels and what a good time I had. I’m just going to entertain you with a rogues gallery of the writers who weren’t fast enough to escape from me. So, here goes, in surname alphabetical order:

Lucy Cameron

Lucy Cameron. It was great to see Lucy on a panel this year after many years of attendance as a spectator. Lucy has just published her debut novel Night is Watching and I have it on my reading list. I talked to her before she took part in her first panel Nightmares and Trauma and she admitted to shaking in her shoes. But she put up a brilliant performance and I’m sure by her second debut authors’ panel she would have been in her stride.

Mason Cross

Mason Cross. I often meet Mason at CWA (Crime Writer Association) lunches so it’s always a pleasure to see him take part in these events. His Cat and Mouse: Playing with your readers on Friday, was a delight.

Doug Johnstone

Doug Johnstone. Author, journalist, and musician appeared early in the programme on Thursday, talking about the dark side of human nature in the panel What are you hiding?

Michael Malone

Michael Malone. It’s always good to catch up with Michael whom I’ve known for many years and it’s great to observe his success as an author who now has eight books to his name. I read his most recent one A Suitable Lie and it was a cracker, joining the relatively new domestic noir category of crime fiction.

Wullie McIntyre

Wullie McIntyre, who currently writes as W. S. McIntyre. I’d never met Wullie before although I’d brushed shoulders with him on Facebook, and I hadn’t realised he was a criminal defence lawyer. You would expect someone in this career to be somewhat formal but his presentation was humorous and it led me to start reading one of his books Present Tense, and I must say that although it is quite definitely crime fiction, I haven’t stopped laughing since page one.

Caro Ramsay

Caro Ramsay. Another author I’ve known for a long time and count as a friend, floated past me a couple of times with the promise from both of us that we’d meet up. But it didn’t happen, we both seemed to be spiralling in different directions. Next time, I’ll nail her to the floor.

Anne Randall

Anne Randall. I haven’t known Anne quite as long. I’m not sure whether it was last year or the year before we met. But she’s a lovely person and generated enough interest on her author panel, when she spoke about her books and writing, for me to download her first book Riven to my Kindle. I’ve made a mental note to myself that I must read this one ASAP.

Of course, I was also there having a whale of a time and, naturally, I’ve already paid my deposit for next year.

 

Chris Longmuir

Chris Longmuir

https://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

Amazon:   Author page

Murder, Mystery, and Munitions: Devil’s Porridge hit Amazon’s shelves this week

This book has been nagging me to write it for a long time now, but I kept putting it off to write other books. However, it’s been niggling at me, and nagging me, demanding to be written.

I suppose one of the reasons I kept putting it on the back burner was the simple one, that it wasn’t one of my Dundee crime books. All my previous murder, mysteries have been set in Dundee, either in the present day, or in the past. But this one is set in Gretna, where the government built a massive munitions factory in 1916.

My main character is Kirsty Campbell, you might remember her from The Death Game as Dundee’s first policewoman in 1919. This time I’ve taken Kirsty back two years to 1917, and based her in Gretna as one of the lady police who were based there during the First World War. Ever since I read about these policewomen providing a service in Britain’s munitions factories, I’ve been fascinated by them, and that’s one of the reasons this book nagged me to write it.

Devil’s Porridge is a complex story with quite a lot of characters, and I write in my usual multi-viewpoint style. It’s about my pioneering policewoman, Kirsty Campbell, who teams up with Beatrice Jacobs, a Belgian refugee, who is on a spying mission at Gretna for MI5. They come together to protect Sally, a young munitionette, who has witnessed the aftermath of a crime when the Silverwood Munitions Factory, in East London, explodes. Sally, who lost her home and all her possessions in the explosion, which flattened most of Silvertown, is sent to work at Gretna. But the killer, the man she can identify, is at Gretna as well. In the process of protecting Sally, Kirsty and Beatrice become embroiled with saboteurs, Irish revolutionaries, a German spy, and a killer without a conscience.

I’m not telling you any more about the story because I don’t want to spoil it for you. But Chill with a Book described it as ‘a criminally good read’.

Chris Longmuir

You can buy Devil’s Porridge as an ebook or a paperback:

UK         Amazon.co.uk – ebook               Amazon.co.uk – paperback

US          Amazon.com – ebook               Amazon.com - paperback

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

http://chrislongmuir.blogspot.co.uk/

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

Invitation to a #crimechat just for you

How do you like your crime fiction?

Do you like the dead bodies piling up as an intrepid hero or heroine faces ever increasing dangers which make you shout “Don’t go in there” or “Turn the light on” or “He’s waiting to kill you” or even the famed pantomime shout “He’s behind you?”

Or maybe you like an international thriller with a Bond type hero.

Or maybe something a little bit cosier like romantic suspense.

And let’s not forget the mystery and suspense thriller.

Well, if you accept the invitation you can chat with four authors who are expert in all these fields. You can ask them anything you like, such as: “How many people have you killed?” “What kind of weapon do you prefer?” “Who mops up the blood?” “What do you do when you’re face to face with a killer?” “Will your hero/heroine ever meet the man/woman of their dreams?” Then there are the writerly questions, such as “Where do you write?” “When do you write?” or after you’ve killed someone (on paper) “Do you sleep at night?” I’m sure you’re capable of thinking up any number of questions, and we’ll do our best to answer them.

The authors:

Wendy H Jones: She writes police procedurals with a humorous touch, and her policemen are always eating. If you aren’t hungry when you start reading one of her books, you’ll be ravenous by the time you reach the end. Shona McKenzie, her gun-toting detective inspector is a tough cookie. Oh, and I’d better warn you, the body count is high in her books.  http://www.wendyhjones.com/

Mark Leggatt: An exciting new voice in crime fiction whose first book is an intense, page-turning, fast paced international thriller, that moves between Paris, Zurich, Morocco and Tehran. He has been described as a blend of Bourne, Bond, and Indiana Jones.  http://www.markleggatt.com/

Fiona Veitch Smith: A versatile author who writes children’s picture books as well as dabbling in crime. She has a contemporary romantic thriller set in South Africa, as well as her Poppy Denby Investigates series, set in the 1920s, I would guess this author is probably a bit cosier than the rest of us.  http://fiona.veitchsmith.com/

Chris Longmuir: Yes that’s me! I write psychological thrillers which are also police procedurals, and although I use the same police personnel in each book the main characters are actually the people directly involved in the crime. You know, the victims, the perpetrators, or anyone connected to the crime other than the police. Despite this, my readers have developed an affection for D S Bill Murphy, who appears in each book. Don’t ask me why, because he’s a bit of a loser. But I also write historical crime and have started a new series featuring Kirsty Campbell, Dundee’s first policewoman in 1919. She is a truly original character unlike any other I’ve come across and I think this series is going to be a winner.  http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

So make sure you come along and chat with us. We’ll be waiting with bated breath and hoping you don’t trip us up with your questions.

Put the date in your diary now

Date: - Friday 19 February 2016

Time:- 9pm GMT

Place:- Twitter using the hashtag #crimechat

Chris Longmuir

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

http://chrislongmuir.blogspot.co.uk/

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

Countdown to Blast Off

I’m counting down the hours, days and minutes to the launch of my latest book. My finger is hovering over the upload button, and as soon as my cover illustrator sends me the cover, that finger will go into immediate action and push the button. Then my new book will be blasting off into the virtual world of ebooks and ereaders.

This book is different. It’s not one of my contemporary Dundee Crime Series books, nor is it a historical saga like A Salt Splashed Cradle. I hope I’ve got you curious.

This new addition is crime all right. But it’s historical crime. It’s set in Dundee in the year after the Great War, 1919. And the main character is Kirsty Campbell, Dundee’s first policewoman. After I press the button I will tell you a bit more about her.

In the meantime you can have a sneaky peak at the book cover concept supplied by my cover illustrator, the very talented Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics.

Now, join the countdown with me, and hopefully you won’t have to wait too long.

Chris Longmuir

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

Amazon Author Page

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

My Writing Process #mywritingprocess

I am a member of the excellent Authors Electric group. If you haven’t checked it out online then you’re missing a treat. Click on Authors Electric to have a peek. Why am I telling you this? Well, it’s because a request was made by Ann Evans, one of my Authors Electric colleagues for willing guinea pigs to produce a blog post for the “My Writing Process” blog tour. And in my usual jump before you think mode, I stuck my hand up and said “me, me”. After which came, “groan, groan”, I’m going to have to write it now. Well, time has rolled on in its usual relentless fashion, and today is my day to answer the questions I’ve been given and to impose the answers on you.

You can check out Ann’s blog at http://annsawriter.blogspot.co.uk/. Thank you for inviting me to join the blog tour, Ann.

1) What am I working on?

As you probably already know I’ve written three books in The Dundee Crime Series, which to my surprise have been tremendously popular. I’ve also written a historical saga set in the 1830s. Now you might think given the popularity of The Dundee Crime Series, my new book would be number four, a contemporary crime novel set in Dundee. But you would be wrong. Oh, the book is set in Dundee, so no surprises there. And it’s crime, again no surprises. But it’s a historical one this time – got you! You see, I decided to combine my two interests, crime and social history, into a new novel which might just be the start of a new series.

The story was inspired by Dundee’s first policewoman, although that is where the similarity ends. My policewoman starts out in London, but is sent to Dundee at the request of the Chief Constable. When the women police (a voluntary force) were formed in 1914 she was one of the first to join. And like a lot of the early policewomen, she has a suffragette background. I bet you didn’t know that the origins of the women’s police included suffragette organisations, such as the Women’s Freedom League (WFL), and the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). Anyway, she gets sent to Dundee and is immediately embroiled in a murder with satanic undertones, while at the same time fighting against prejudice from the male police force.

This novel was originally written several years ago and it was one of the twenty winners of an international competition for the best crime novel by an unpublished crime writer, all this was before I was published. However, a succession of editors insisted on changes which tore the heart out of the novel, and in my opinion completely destroyed it. At the end of the day it had become such a mess that it wasn’t published. So, this year I have torn it to pieces, completely rewritten it, and I hope my readers will like it. I’m currently at the revision and editing stage and just about ready to send it out to my two editors, one edits for content and the other for grammar. These editors are far superior to the ones supplied to me by the publishing firm that organised the competition, so there’s no danger they will spoil the book.

I reckon this book will probably be published in late February or March, so watch this space.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

All writers think their work differs from that of other writers, and I certainly wouldn’t want to mimic another writer, no matter how successful. I write in different genres, but considering I’m known mainly as a crime novelist, I will focus on the Dundee Crime Series. As far as I’m concerned I think this contemporary crime series does differ from many others. The books are often listed as police procedurals, but although many of my police characters remain the same in each book (it would be a nonsense to change the Dundee Police Force each time), they are not really the main characters. My main characters are the victims, the suspects, or the perpetrators, which means the books also fit into the noir genre. The other thing is that each book is different because the police are not the main characters. Night Watcher is a revenge thriller. Dead Wood is a cross between a police procedural, and a woman in peril thriller. While Missing Believed Dead is a psychological thriller as well as a police procedural. I like to get into the heads of my characters, and the more twisted the character, the better.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I suppose I write about what interests me. I’ve always been interested in social history, not the kings and queens and lords and ladies stuff, but how the ordinary people lived and survived in times gone past. So that’s where my saga and historical crime comes from. As for my contemporary crime, I suppose that’s because it has always been my favourite reading, from my teenage devourment of Agatha Christie, on to my more modern favourites Jeffrey Deaver, Val McDermid, Mo Hayder, Denise Mina, and loads more.

The suspense in my writing probably originates from my horror phase, starting with Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and on through James Herbert, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz. Koontz in particular is a master of suspense. The darkness of my characters arises from my interest in psychology and what makes someone do something evil.

I’m sure there are many more influences, but those are the main ones.

4) How does your writing process work?

This is a really difficult question to answer because I really don’t know. I’m what is known as a pantster. I do not plot or plan the book I am writing, which I am told is unusual for a crime writer. I start out with one scene involving a character and take it from there. I write the scene, and then play the “what if” game, and so the next scene is born, and I carry on in that fashion until the end of the book. I reckon if I can’t surprise myself by what will happen, then I won’t surprise the reader.

One thing I do believe is that a writer has to write. It’s like any job of work, there may be days when I am not in the mood, but I have to force myself into the chair and force my fingers onto the keyboard, or if you’re a pencil and paper writer, you must grasp the pencil firmly and write. It’s possible what has been written may have to be junked, but it is important to keep the writing muscle active. It’s like any other muscle – you use it or lose it.

The other thing that is really important is the editing phase, and I don’t mean checking for spelling and grammar mistakes. Editing is dissecting what has been written and deciding if it can be improved. It involves a lot of rewriting, and when I am satisfied it’s as good as it can be, I send it out to my editors whose opinion I value.

* * * *

Next week the following three authors will be telling you about their writing process

Melanie Robertson King will be talking about her writing process on Monday 20th January, on her blog, which is here – http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/

Melanie lives in Canada, and she writes time travel and contemporary romance set in Scotland.

Pauline Barclay will be writing about her writing process on Monday 20th January on her blog, and you’ll find her at – http://paulinembarclay.blogspot.co.uk/

Pauline says “My passion is to write about events that happen in life and change everything for those involved as well as those caught up in the maelstrom. I want my characters to sit at your side, steal your attention and sweep you up in their story.”

Tanya J Peterson talks about her writing process on Monday 20th January, on her blog at http://tanyajpeterson.com/blog/

Tanya J Peterson is a columnist for HealthyPlace.com as well as a novelist. The themes of her novels address the impact of mental illness on people as well as the human capacity for healing.

* * *

Thank you for visiting my blog and reading about my writing process.

 Chris Longmuir

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

Amazon Author Page

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

Dundee Book Prize Winner Announced

Chris Longmuir, winner of the Dundee International Book Prize 2009

As a past winner of the Dundee International Book Prize, I always take a keen interest in the current winner, so when I spotted the headline ‘Dark Tale Lands City’s Book Prize’ in the Dundee Courier and Advertiser, I had to read on.

Nicola White, winner 2013

This year’s winner is Nicola White, with a book called ‘In the Rosary Garden’, and the book sounds as if it’s right up my street. It is a crime story set in Ireland, but if you want to know more about it, do what I did and hop over to Amazon to read the blurb. The kindle ebook is on sale now, and the paperback will be available soon. And if you want to know more about Nicola you’ll find her on the Dundee International Book Prize website Winners’ Page.

Nicola is the ninth author to win this prestigious prize, which is claimed to be the biggest cash prize for an unpublished book, in Europe. If you want to see the previous winners you can access them on the Winner’s page as well, and if you click on 2009, you’ll find me.

One thing I did notice when I looked down the list of past winners was the prevalence of Scottish writers. Five of the nine winners were Scots. The year I won it, I remember one review commented that the prize was always won by a Dundee writer, and this took the pleasure of the win away. In my case the comment wasn’t true because, although I base my crime series in Dundee, I don’t live there. However, when I looked down the list of previous winners the strange thing was that the first three were all based in Dundee. Number four lived in France, I was number five and live in Angus. Number six came from Wigan, and number seven from Dublin. Last year’s winner was from New York, and this year’s winner is well travelled, because although she lives on the Clyde coast, she grew up in Dublin and New York.

Since winning the prize I haven’t given much thought to the comment about all the winners being Dundonians. But thinking about it now I feel that this is actually a compliment. It means Dundee is full of talented writers, because I cannot imagine the judges will know the geographic location of the authors who submit entries.

Nicola's winning book

I can understand what Nicola is feeling right now, because it will be similar to my feelings back in 2009. A blend of excitement and disbelief. The feeling you are going to wake up the next day and it was all a dream. All I can say to Nicola is, ‘Enjoy it while it lasts, and if there are any snide comments in the reviews your book gets, ignore them. You know your book is good, the judges knew it was good, and now the readers will get their chance to find out how good it is.’

I can’t wait to read it.

Before you go, one of the runner ups to the Dundee Book Prize is offering her short listed book as a free ebook download today. I'm not sure how long this offer will be up there so I would advise you to check it out right now. The author is Elizabeth Kay, and the book is titled 'Beware of Men with Moustaches'. It looks like a cracking good read, and I've already downloaded my copy.

Chris Longmuir

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

Amazon Author Page

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

It’s a Crime

I was thrilled to be accepted as crime writer in residence for the Edinburgh eBook Festival because crime in all its aspects has always intrigued me, and I think I have been reading crime fiction and nonfiction most of my adult life. I even went to the extent of studying a course in criminology which I passed with flying colours.

So what is it about crime that fascinates me so much? Well, it’s simply my way of trying to understand what makes the criminal what he or she is, but at the end of the day it often comes back to the nature/nurture argument. Are criminals born to commit crime, or is it the influence of their parents, the type of parenting they had, the influences of their peer group, or what? I honestly don’t think there’s an easy answer, but the mindset of people who commit crimes is something I endeavour to understand.

Of course there have been various theories over the years. There were the physiological and biological theories which indicated that a criminal could be identified by the way he looked. Llombroso in particular believed that criminals were evolutionary throwbacks whose physical features included enormous jaws, high cheekbones, ape-like features, among other things. At one time it was thought that feeling the bumps on someone’s head could reveal whether or not they were a criminal. If only it were so easy! The biological theories in respect of criminology have now been largely discredited, but elements linger on in eugenics, as well as some popular ideas that ethnicity is linked to criminality. This is illustrated in the belief of some ethnic groups that they suffer from discrimination as well as police harrassment.

I find the psychological theories of more interest. There are humanistic, behavioural and cognitive theories through which crime and the criminal can be studied. And we are back to nature and nurture, with a bit of conditioning thrown in for good measure. But I’m sure you don’t want to know all the different theories, and which of those theories should take precedence when we consider criminals and crime. It is enough to state that the study of the criminal and the crimes they commit, continue to interest many people. Maybe that is the reason we read crime fiction and nonfiction. On the other hand, maybe it’s just because we like a puzzle to solve.

I gave a lot of thought to what I could do to interest you in crime writing in all its aspects and I thought I would study a spectrum of crime fiction. But where would I start?

Well, one of the main elements of most crime novels, is mystery. The story has to keep the reader guessing. So that’s where I thought I would start. Then I’ll work my way through the genres, starting from cosy crime, or as our American friends refer to it – cozy crime. As this is the Edinburgh eBook Festival though, I’ll stick to British spelling. So my first two posts will be mystery, followed by cosy, then I’ll work my way through all the different crime novel categories, finishing with noir crime, which is the darkest form of crime available, and a final post about serial killers in crime fiction.

But this involved an awful lot of reading and I didn’t want to dish up the authors everyone has heard about. I wanted new authors, the independent ones known as Indies, and I wanted to explore what was on offer. Now, it’s not possible to consider every author who has to published to Kindle so that meant I would have to compile a reading list, and I wanted the selection to be fairly random, maybe some authors I’d vaguely heard about, plus a good smattering of ones I knew nothing about.

I set about my task by checking the Amazon lists for different kinds of crime fiction, visiting the review sites to garner recommendations, then inspecting my choices. I read the Amazon reviews, and used the ‘Look Inside’ feature, then built my list. Now this can be risky because, although there are loads of good books published electronically, there can also be some that are somewhat lacking. So I decided that, if I hit any of the latter, I would read no further than I had to in order to make a decision, and would not include them in my posts. The only thing to remember is that the books I included are my choices, which may or may not appeal to you, but I hope it will give you encouragement to explore the world of Indie fiction, and I hope you won’t be disappointed.

It’s still time to come with me on this journey where I hope to discover many new authors along the way. And of course I’ll introduce them to you. So, let’s get started and hop over to the Edinburgh eBook Festival.

Chris Longmuir

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

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

A Reader Has Her Say

I am happy to host a guest blog by one of my readers, Julie Merrilees Watters. Julie has never written a blog post before, but when I saw this on the Montrose Memories Facebook page, I pleaded with her to allow me to post it. Happily, she agreed, and I haven’t altered anything in her post except for separating it into paragraphs. So now I’ll hand the blog over to Julie.

Julie Merriless Watters

It was great to be able to attend Waterstones in Dundee for the launch of Chris Longmuir's new book Missing Believed Dead, along with my Mum on Thursday night.

As book launch virgins, we weren't sure what to expect. We were very pleasantly surprised to find an area in the bookshop was set out with chairs; there were welcome nibbles & drinks to keep any pangs of hunger or thirst at bay. Talking of welcomes - Chris, who was at a desk at the front, spotted us coming in & she came all the way to the back to say "Hello," have a wee chat & a hug, as well as take the time to sign a few copies of her previous books for us.

I asked Chris if she was nervous about the event. She had actually been anxious that nobody would turn up! However, people trickled in & there were no seats left by the time Chris was due to take the floor. Waterstones staff quickly had to bring in more chairs to try & accomodate everyone.

After an opening welcome, Chris gave us a hint or two about Missing Believed Dead's plot, along with few verbal appetizers about some of the characters. She chose to highlight the D.S. in her story & I was left with the feeling that I wanted to mother this chappie or fend off some of the blows bound to come his way via his new boss.

Chris asked us if we wanted to hear the first chapter read & shared some advice she'd been given as a writer. That advice was to basically hook the reader in that first chapter. She very cleverly set the scene & I was able to picture myself there witnessing the event as it unfolded & thinking "which one is going to prevail here?"

Later, Chris asked if anyone had any questions they wanted to ask. There were quite a few ranging from "Do you base your characters on real people that you know?" "How do you keep track of your characters?" "Will you please sort out the D.S. in the stories with a good woman?" "Do you write for 6,8,10 hour stretches per day?" I asked on the quiet "Do you keep a notebook with you all the time to write lines down, so you won't forget them?" Chris held the interest of the audience easily & concluded her talk to a healthy applause.

I had the pleasure of meeting Chris' family afterwards & we had a lovely time discussing Montrose Memories, the people we had met as a result of it & the things we had since learnt about our town that we hadn't known before. It really was such an enjoyable night. Well done, Chris! XX

 

Getting a hug from Julie

And thank you, Julie, for such a wonderful description of a wonderful night where I got to meet so many of my readers.

Links

Missing Believed Dead – UK

Missing Believed Dead - US

You Tube video

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

http://chrislongmuir.blogspot.co.uk/

Amazon author page UK

Amazon author page US

Sink or Swim – It’s Launched

I didn’t have a celebrity to smash a bottle of champagne over the bows of Missing Believed Dead, as it slipped down the runway into the world wide web. Or should that just be the world? There was just me and some friends, all tooting as loud as we could, and hoping to draw some attention.

So, I want to thank the people who supported me. People like J.B.Johnston, who featured a cover reveal on Brook Cottage Books. Click here if you want to see it. Then she followed it up by a review, where she described it as “a gritty, suspense filled and extremely clever thriller”. Not only that, but she said she was so drawn into the story, she dreamed of the characters one night. In my opinion that might have been better described as a nightmare! Sorry for the dreams, Jonty, but thanks for the suport. If you want to read the review for yourself, then click here.

I found another review on the Eclectic Electric, the Authors Electric eBook review site. Thank you Julia Jones for taking the time to write and submit it, and for considering me a competent, confident crime writer. High praise indeed.

Famous Five Plus, a fantastic group that supports quite a few authors, didn’t fail me either. They published several posts, starting with Have You Heard? They’re Missing Believed Dead, in June. this was followed up by Are You Ready For It? on the day of the online launch. And this weekend they’re featuring it in their Hug a Book competition, where a lucky reader can win a copy by answering a simple question. Thanks Famous Five Plus.

Then there was my interview with another great crime writer, Bill Kirton, where he made me bare my soul on his blog. Thanks, Bill.

And there’s still another blog to come. My good friend, and debut author, Melanie Robertson King, plans to feature a post her blog Celtic Connexions, on the day of my Waterstones paperback launch, which, in case you’ve forgotten, is on Thursday 11th July. Thanks in advance, Melanie.

But there are others I need to thank. There are all the people who read pre-publication copies of Missing Believed Dead, and provided reviews. Thank goodness they all loved the book, although I was prepared for the worst if they didn’t. They weren’t obliged to write good reviews. And all the people who tweeted and shared my posts on Facebook. Emails and good luck wishes can’t be ignored either. It gives me such a buzz when someone takes the trouble to drop me an email, leave me a message or put up a comment on Facebook, or makes it known in any number of ways that they enjoy my book. That’s what we write for. If I’ve forgotten anyone, I apologize. Put it down to an increase in senior moments, but I thank you anyway.

Maybe this is the place where I should share with you the dedication I put at the beginning of Missing Believed Dead. It’s “This book is dedicated to all my faithful readers who give me support and provide me with the encouragement to keep on writing. Without readers, a writer is nothing.”

Now listen to the first chapter of Missing Believed Dead.

And check out the other books in the Dundee crime Series

Chris Longmuir

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

Amazon Author Page

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

Why are we Waiting?

The long wait is over. The wait for what? I hear you ask. Well, it’s the wait for the launch of my new book Missing Believed Dead. I’ve been counting down the days to the launch on the first of July, and today I’m pressing the upload button for both the Kindle ebook and the paperback, just to make sure they both appear on the scheduled date. And maybe, with a little bit of luck, Amazon won’t be too slow and they’ll appear early.

Take a look at the cover. Brilliant isn’t it? The lovely Cathy Helms, of Avalon Graphics designed it, and it’s a stunner. You can have another look at it if you pop over to Brook Cottage Books, where the site is doing a cover reveal. It’s also got the blurb to tell you a little bit about the book. And there’s more coming. Brook Cottage Books are doing a review of the book on Monday 2nd July, and Famous Five Plus are doing something as well. I’ll post the links when they appear.

Then,of course, there’s the launch of the paperback at the Dundee branch of Waterstones on 11th July. and, if you’re within spitting distance of Dundee on that date, remember to pop in. I’ll be giving a wee talk and signing books.

If you want to know more about the book, visit the links as they are put up. In the meantime I’m going back to Brook Cottage Books to do some more drooling.

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

Amazon Author Page

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

What is Tartan Noir?

(This post was originally published on the Authors Electric site "Do Authors Dream of Electric Books?)

You’ve probably come across references to Tartan Noir on the internet and various other places, and if you walk into a bookstore in Scotland, the chances are you’ll see a display labelled Tartan Noir. But what is Tartan Noir?

The name is an odd mix. The tartan part of the name smacks of tourism, kilts, heather and bagpipes, all the stuff that attracts people to Scotland, although it is not all that relevant in today’s modern world. The second part of the title –Noir – is more reminiscent of blood and gore, and all the horrible things that happen in the darkest of crime fiction. So it is an odd mix indeed.

It was actually James Ellroy who coined the name when he referred to Ian Rankin as the King of Tartan Noir in the 1990s. Since then it seems to have been taken up to describe Scottish crime fiction in general, and has now been given historical antecedents.

The origins of Tartan Noir in Scottish literature are claimed to be rooted in the works of James Hogg, Robert Louis Stevenson and William McIlvaney.

 

James Hogg’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner, written in 1824, seems to be the earliest influence. This novel has been variously described as a psychological case study; a gothic novel with elements of horror; a satire of extreme theology; plus an early example of crime fiction. It is said to be the earliest example of a novel using an alter-ego, and involves a battle between good and evil. It is considered to be an influence on Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde, as well as James Robertson’s novel, The Testament of Gideon Mack, and various others.

Jekyll and Hyde, written by Stevenson in 1886 uses split personality, and continues the theme of the battle between good and evil. He claims the idea came to him in a nightmare and he called it ‘a fine bogy tale’. In her essay The Dark Threads of Tartan Noir, Carole E. Bannerman writes –

‘Like every noir writer since then, Stevenson situates evil in the heart of man, and then places that man in the heart of a city. The city becomes a manifestation of the moral hypocrisy and the mock respectability that the noir writer attacks.’

Tartan Noir was also heavily influenced by American writers such as Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and James Ellroy, who were all writing hard-boiled detective fiction, and many Scottish authors followed in their footsteps, probably beginning with William McIlvaney, who has been termed the Godfather of Tartan Noir, a title that bemuses him. When he wrote Laidlaw, he said he had no intention of writing a crime novel. He wanted to write a story that was real, not one where the book was taken up with a murder and whodunit. It just happened that the character he chose was a detective with a troubled past and present.

Many Scots have a fascination for gruesome events, particularly those that have happened in the past, therefore it is not surprising that Burke and Hare, the body snatchers who operated in Edinburgh between 1827-1828, and Deacon Brodie, a respectable town councillor by day and a housebreaker at night, are considered influential in the rise of the type of dark writing labelled noir. In fact, Deacon Brodie is considered to be one of the influences behind the writing of Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde.

So where does that take us in defining Tartan Noir? Is it the broad sweep of Scottish crime fiction, or is it a subset of hard-boiled and dark crime, that takes the reader to a dark and scary place?

Maybe if we look at the issues Tartan Noir novels explore, that will help us decide. These include psychological and socio-economic issues, hard-boiled crime, and dark crime. The characters are invariably flawed, often with split personalities and they are anti-heroes rather than heroes. So does this rule out cosy crime? And how dark does dark crime have to be? Or is it safer to include all Scottish crime? I don’t know. Do you have an opinion?

Oh, and before I go, would anyone like to comment whether I fit into the Tartan Noir category with my Dundee crime series of books? I’d love to know.

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

Amazon Author Page

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

Who invited the Night Watcher to the party?

Bill Murphy turns the invitation over, trying to see who has sent it, but all it said was, ‘Meet me at Donovan’s at 7pm’. He snorts and throws it into the waste bin. He isn’t in the mood for the pub tonight, and he’s sworn off the drink. But curiosity gets the better of him, and he fishes the gilt edged card out of the bin, and now here he is, outside Donovan’s.

 
The noise hits him as soon as he opens the door, and the place looks different. It’s like New Year's Eve, with balloons and bunting everywhere. Someone releases a party popper, and the paper streamers erupt over his head.
 
‘I knew you’d come.’ Sue does a little jiggly dance in front of him.
 
‘What’s the celebration?’ Bill accepts the glass she thrusts into his hand.
 
‘You mean you don’t know?’ Sue throws up her hands in mock horror and produces a book. ‘Why, it’s the launch of Night Watcher in paperback.’
 
‘So what’s so important about that?’
 
‘You, mate. It’s where you were born, inside the pages of Night Watcher.’
 
‘But Night Watcher’s been on ereaders for yonks now, so why are we celebrating the paperback?’
 
‘Don’t you think it’ll be better for you if the pages can be turned as paper, instead of being poked with a finger?’
 
Bill shrugs. ‘I’ve been in paper before. I was in Dead Wood, remember?’
 
‘Ah, but Dead Wood wasn’t your birthplace. You were born in Night Watcher, and we’re celebrating your birth in print.’ Sue removes the umbrella stick, and sips the blue coloured concoction in her glass. ‘And everyone’s here to celebrate with you. Look, there’s Julie over there, you like her, don’t you?’
 
Bill looks, but Julie is deep in conversation with a guy who has a rope dangling round his neck.
 
A surge of jealousy courses through him. ‘Who’s that with her?’
 

‘That’s her husband, Dave. Nice looking guy, I could go for him.’

 
‘But didn’t he die in Chapter Two?’ Bill stares, he’d never seen the guy when his face wasn’t distorted.
 
‘Yeah! But he said he liked a good party and didn’t want to miss it.’
 
Bill looks round the room. Everyone is here, right enough. Nicole and Scott are seated in the corner. Bill is tempted to go over and speak to them but he isn’t sure if they know what is in store for them and he doesn’t want to provide them with any spoilers. Better they don’t know anyway.
 
‘Hang on a minute, Sue. Who’s that hooded chap over in the corner, the one sitting on his own, the weird looking guy?’
 
Sue looks over the rim of her glass. ‘Oh, him, that’s the Night Watcher. I had a bit of a job convincing him to come, but I felt he should be here, it’s his story as well. But it’s better if he’s left alone, he’s not very sociable.’
 
‘This is the weirdest party I’ve ever been at,’ Bill grumbles, taking a sip of his whisky. ‘Why am I drinking this stuff? I don’t like whisky. I wish someone would give me a rum and coke.’
 
‘That’s something you’ll have to take up with your creator. Oh, and speaking of the devil, here she comes now.’
 
‘Damn and blast, she’s bound to spoil the party.’
 
‘What happened to the “F” word you’re so fond of using?’
 
Bill shrugs. ‘Well it is a celebration and we are appearing on Chris’s blog, so I’m on my best behaviour.’
 
Sue snorts into her drink. ‘Best behaviour? Now I’ve heard it all.’ She looks up. ‘Watch out, here she comes.’
 
Bill looks moodily into his drink. ‘Yeah, Miss Goody Two Shoes, the party will go downhill from now on. She doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, doesn’t even swear, although she puts plenty of swear words into my mouth.’
 
‘Shh, she’ll hear you. Remember she has the power of life and death in those fingers of hers.’
 
Bill shudders. ‘Yeah, we spend our days hunting for killers and she’s the biggest killer of them all.’
 
Bill looks up and smiles. ‘Hi Chris, glad you could join us. D’you think you could sign my book?’ He produces the copy of Night Watcher that Sue had given him earlier.
 
‘Just put, Bill, the great detective.’
 
Sue chokes on her drink and turns away to hide her smile.
 

****

I hope you’ve enjoyed the party, and now I’ll tell you a little bit about Night Watcher. But first, I have an invitation for you to attend the launch. It's over on loveahappy ending.com and I'd love to see you there.

 

 Night Watcher is the first book in my Dundee Crime Series, although the second book in the series, Dead Wood, was actually published first. So in some ways you could call it a prequel, although I prefer to say it’s the first in the series.

 

A large part of the action takes place in Drake's department store, which Christopher Brookmyre felt was a gothic setting with a character all of its own.

 
The main character in Night Watcher, is Julie who is devastated when her husband Dave is found dead. She blames Nicole, the woman he left her for and seeks to destroy her life in the same way she thinks Nicole destroyed Dave.
 
The main police character is Detective Sergeant Bill Murphy, however in my books the police are secondary characters to the victims and the bad guys.
 
Here is a look at the cover and how the book is described on Amazon:-

 
Two stalkers - one target

A mysterious stranger arrives in Dundee, with a mission to find a new Chosen One to punish. He selects Nicole, a woman with a weakness for men.
 
One of Nicole's paramours is found hanged and everyone assumes he has committed suicide. However, his estranged wife, Julie, knows better and blames his death on Nicole. Obsessed with the need to punish Nicole, Julie stalks her, unaware that there is another stalker, the deranged and dangerous Night Watcher.
 
Who will exact punishment on Nicole first? What price will Nicole have to pay for her misdemeanors?
 
Will Julie's mind games drive Nicole over the edge? And what price will Julie have to pay for her obsession.
 
Only the Night Watcher knows!
 
Night Watcher is the first book in the Dundee Crime Series -Dead Wood is the second.

Review quotes:-

Night watcher is the sort of novel that keeps the reader glued to its pages, frantically guessing as the plot takes numerous twists and turns. Alex Gray, Crime Writer

 
This is a complex and very well crafted tale, beautifully put together -full of a sense of foreboding, and full of menace. Catherine Czerkawska
 
Chris Longmuir is an award winning novelist as well as an established writer of short stories and articles. Night Watcher won the Scottish Association of Writers' Pitlochry Award, and the sequel, Dead Wood, won the Dundee International Book Prize, as well as the Pitlochry Award.
 
Amazon UK

Night Watcher (paperback)

Night Watcher (kindle)

 
Amazon.com

Night Watcher (Paperback)

Night Watcher (kindle)

 

Web site –  http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

Blog –  http://chrislongmuir.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Twitter –  @ChrisLongmuir

UK Launch:- http://loveahappyending.com/bells-whistles-flags-banners-for-night-watcher/

US Launch:- http://www.stephaniekeyes.com/book-launch-the-night-watcher-by-chris-longmuir-chrislongmuir/