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

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Highlights of Harrogate Crime Festival

The audience at Harrogate. Were you there?

Special Guest: Ruth Rendell who was interviewed by Jeanette Winterson

Special Guest: William McIlvanney in converstion with Ian Rankin

Forensics: Val McDermid in converstion with Sue Black – it was hilarious

Special Event: Vera – Brenda Blethyn, actress; Elaine Collins, producer of Vera; and Ann Cleeves who writes the Vera books – fantastic

Brenda Blethyn and Ann Cleeves signing books after the event. The queue had to be seen to be believed

Special Guest: Lee Child who was interviewed by the comedienne, Sarah Millican. One of the liveliest reviews I’ve seen Lee do

Special Guest: Kate Atkinson who was interviewed by BBC 4 Front Row’s Mark Lawson

Late Night Quiz: The Scarlet Ladies Team

Late Night Quiz: The winners – the Scarlet Ladies

And so we come to the end of our photo parade of this year’s Harrogate Crime festival. I can’t wait for next year. I’ll see you there if you’re going.

Chris Longmuir

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

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

Amazon UK

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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/

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Dead Wood, Night Watcher & All That Jazz

Bill Murphy is returning on the 11th July in a new crime novel, Missing Believed Dead, and it’s not that long ago he was interviewed by the fabulous Peggy Stanton, so with Peggy’s permission I’m replicating the interview here. It’ll give you a feel for Bill, if you haven’t already met him.

This interview was originally published on Famous Five Plus

Peggy – Leaning forward for a chaste kiss on the cheek – ‘Do sit down, I’ve ordered us a pot of tea.’

Bill Murphy – Sitting down in the chair opposite. ‘Thanks, Chris asked me to pop along here for an interview.’

           

Peggy – ‘Chris, she’s like me, one for words, mind I’m more for speaking them. Anyway, thanks for coming along, Bill. You don’t mind if I call you Bill?’

Bill – Nodding a smile. ‘That’s okay. I’ve been called worse.’

           

Peggy – ‘I’ve been doing a bit of ferreting around and it seems you’re a Detective Sergeant. So I take it no uniform then? Pity!’

Bill – ‘Hmm, no, but you’re right, I’m a DS with the Dundee Police Force. That’s in Scotland, in case you didn’t know.’

Peggy – ‘You’ll not catch me out on my geography, we’re quite multi national here, Bill. We’ve got writers and characters from lots of countries, down under, that’s Australia, even across the pond, I can see you’re with me, yes it’s USA.’

Bill – Raising an eyebrow. ‘I had a look at your Books room while I was waiting. It’s quite impressive, looked a bit like my local bookstore. I’d tell you the name of it but we’re not allowed to advertise.’

Peggy – ‘You can always advertise us in any book store, that’s very kind of you. Now, from what Chris has told me, you’re a bit like myself, you don’t like following the rules much.’

Bill – ‘She has her own opinions, but I follow the rules, provided they don’t get in the way.’

Peggy –  Smiling. ‘It’s not what I’ve heard, I get the impression they get in the way quite a lot. A little birdie told me you’ve added the word bend to your set of rules!’

Bill – Shifting in his seat. ‘I’m not sure where you’re coming from on that one, but let’s just say, I get the job done. Anyway, there’s more to me than detective work, I’m quite a nice guy at the end of the day. A bit lonely sometimes. In fact I believe there are some readers who’d like to see me settled with a nice woman. Not that I’d mind that, I just never seem to be lucky with women.’

Peggy –  Raising her hand to her hair, gently strokes it. ‘I love a saddo, if you know what I mean. There’s nothing wrong in being lonely, but do tell me about the women in your life? I’m sure it’s more fascinating then the men in mine.’

Bill – Flicking some invisible fluff from his trousers leg. ‘Not much to tell. I was married once, you know. But like a lot of cop marriages it didn’t last. Not my fault, you understand. Evie, her name was. She had a roving eye and a taste for alcohol. She ran off with my best friend.’

Peggy – Notices the pained look in Bill’s face. ‘I don’t think she was the only one with a roving eye a good looking man like you must have cast your net out from time to time, surely there have been other women?’

Bill – Casting a glance across the room at the video playing, he smiled. ‘One or two, but they didn’t come to anything much.’

Peggy – Leaning forward in a conspirator tone. ‘Do tell me about them, I’m the soul of discretion?’

Bill – Raising his hand and counting on his fingers. ‘There was Julie. I met her in Night Watcher. I really thought that might have come to something, but when the case was over she went back to Edinburgh. She said she would phone, but she never did. Then I met Louise in Dead Wood, and that was developing nicely until the fiasco in Templeton Woods. That gave her quite a fright and she went home to her mum for a while. She’s back now, but Sue told me she wanted some space.’

Peggy  – ‘My my, you’re one for scaring them off , what with night watching, dead wood and what’s the other, templeton wood. Anybody since then?’

Bill – With a far away look. ‘Well, there’s someone I’m quite attracted to in the new book Chris is writing. Diane, her name is. The problem is her daughter vanished five years ago and it kind of messed her up psychologically. I really like her, she brings out the protective side in me, but there’s an even bigger problem because I think she might have committed a murder.’

Peggy  –  Stifling a chuckle ‘You like to live in the fast lane, good grief what happened to nice girls next door. Never mind, I can see this Diane could be a bit of a handful, particularly in your job.’

Bill – Shifting in his chair.  ‘Are we done yet? It’s just that my new DI isn’t very understanding and I didn’t tell her where I was going.’

Peggy – Placing a reassuring hand on Bill’s knee ‘I’m sure I can talk with your DI, better still I’ll invite her for an interview, as a senior officer, she’ll understand how important it is to answer questions. Maybe she can enlighten me more on what goes with her staff, so stop fretting. My, for a policeman out of uniform you’re a worrier, well, if you’re in a hurry, I guess that will do for now. But do come back another day when you have a bit more time. I’d like to know more about this mad woman who could have murdered someone. Also I’ll be wanting to know if you are seeing her, nothing like some excitement to talk over coffee with my lady friends.’

Bill – Standing up, amusement crossing his face, just what had he subjected himself to with this Peggy interview?. ‘Of course, provided you clear it with Chris. I like to let her think she controls me, although to tell the truth I’m afraid I just do my own thing.’

Peggy – ‘I think you’ve got that wrong Bill, whoever this Chris is seems a pussy cat compared to your DI, never mind, run along and hurry back.’

Peggy Stanton

Newsflash – Chris Longmuir's new crime novel, Missing Believed Dead, featuring Bill Murphy, will be launched at Waterstones, Dundee branch, on 11 July, 2013, at 6.30pm. Hope to see you there.

Chris Longmuir

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

Amazon Author Page

Amazon UK

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When is the End not the End?

Book Launch after I won the Dundee International Book Prize

I need a pat on the back. Why? Well I wrote The End on my work in progress. It’s finished. Completed. I’ve written the final chapter, and even better, the final sentence. And I must say there was a wee tear in my eye as I wrote it.

Tears! From a dark crime writer! What next? Well, even though my books are not renowned for happy endings, I do have a soft side. I’m sure I’ll be deafened by the mutterings out there when this is read. But I do, honestly. And, although my crime books may not have very many happy endings, things do work out. Anyway, would you really want a happy ending to a dark crime book?

Once I stopped dancing because I had written The End, I had to knuckle down to some more work. You see, when a writer writes The End to their work in progress, it’s not really the end. Next comes the hard work of revision, editing and proofing, and I do all that before it goes out to my editors for fresh eyes to look at.

Revision comes first. The entire manuscript is read, and while reading I am looking out for clumsy writing, places where I’ve told the story rather than showed the action, although there are places where telling is okay. If I reach a tell section, I consider it. Would it be better if I turned it into show, or should I leave it the way it is? A lot depends on what is happening in the story at that point. If it’s a fast paced section then there is no argument – it has to be show. But tell is great if you want a quick way to sketch in background or move the story through time. However, given that the action in the new book takes place over a period of 6 days, time gallops.

Then, there is the hunt for weasel words. That is, words that are unnecessary, words where the sentence would make the same sense if they weren’t there. I’m thinking about words like – just, that, actually, basically, extremely, almost, simply – there are loads more, including the word ‘then’ which starts this paragraph, and the Find command in Word is excellent for rooting them out. However, each word has to be considered before removal, because in some cases they are needed.

Then a hunt for quotation marks. Word’s Find command is great here too, but this is laborious, and you only realize how many you use when you search them out. So what am I looking for? I’m checking that dialogue is both opened and closed, and that apostrophes are in the correct place. Speaking of apostrophes, I also do a find on words like ‘its’ just in case it’s the one that needs the apostrophe. Then there’s the hunt for ise, and ize endings to ensure the correct one is written. I use the Oxford Dictionary for Writers & Editors, and they stipulate the correct usage for words that can be written either way. Their preference is for ize endings, with some exceptions, for example, ‘realize’ is an ize ending but ‘surprise’ is an ise ending. However, as I have a tendency to use the ise endings in preference to ize, this means hunting out every ise ending and converting it if it’s needed. I’m getting better though, because when I’m writing my brain has become trained to write ize instead of ise.

After that, another read through is needed before it goes out to my editors. And that’s where the book is at the moment. And, of course, another read through once the corrections are in, then a speak aloud read through – it’s amazing the errors you can detect when you read the manuscript aloud, although after 92,000 words I reckon I’ll be hoarse!

Oh, nearly forgot to say, the cover has been commissioned, but I have no idea what it will look like yet. I’m waiting for my cover artist to surprise me.

I suppose you want to know what the book is about, but I’ll leave that until later. What I will tell you though, is that it is the third one in the Dundee Crime Series, and I should be ready to launch it in early July.

Watch this space!

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

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