I’m very excited that the launch of my fourth fiction title, The Birdwatcher, is going to take place at Goldsboro Books in London on May 18 2016 at 6.30pm. They’re a superb bookseller and it’ll make for a lovely event. If you would like to come please contact jane [at] williamshaw.com and if there’s still space on the list, we’d love to see you there.

This sees the release of A Book of Scars in paperback. To celebrate, I’m curating the social media streams for @Britcrime. Follow @Britcrime on Twitter this week AND sign up to my readers’ bulletin by completing the form below, you could win a signed copy of the first two books in the Breen & Tozer series, A Song from Dead Lips and A Book of Scars.

Complete the form on the right of the page by close of play on Sunday March 13 and you’ll be entered into a draw for the prize.

If you’re already following @Britcrime you’re all set! I’ll pick a winner on Monday March 14.

 

 

 

Quercus publish the A Book of Scars paperback on March 10 2016. The edition looks great and it contains all sorts of bonus content, including a list of very erudite Book Club questions and an exclusive preview of The Birdwatcher, which will be released in hardback in May 2016.

Pre-order a copy of A Book of Scars here.

On April 2 2016, I’ll be taking part in Deal Noir.

As The Birdwatcher is set in Kent, it’s a nice one for me. This is the second Deal Noir. I heard lots of great things about the first one.

More here

I was guest tutor on a Crime Writing weekend on Sunday. Leaving things to the last minute, I thought, what would I like to have known about crime writing before I sent off my first manuscript?

So I sent off this tweet in the morning:

And, within no time,  this is what the brilliant hive mind of crime writers answered:

1. David Hewson
   Stay off the internet when they invent it.
2. Isabelle Grey
   If, when you hit a dead end, you make your characters more complex, then plot solutions will follow.
3. Denise Mina
   You will be expected to generate your own publicity content.
4. Fergus McNeil
   Ensure each book has a compelling hook. 2. Don’t care too much about your characters. 3. Have lots of book-blogger friends.
5. Jane Lythell
   [responding to Fergus] But you have to care about your #characters so that the reader believes in them. Agree it makes it harder to kill them off…
6. Laura Wilson
   Choose a surname with a mid-alphabet first letter.
7. Elizabeth Haynes
   It sounds inane but how about ‘you can do this’?
8. Cath Staincliffe
   Read your work aloud.
9. Jon Courtney Grimwood
   Experts are always surprisingly helpful.
10. MD Viliers
    Finish the 2nd book before your 1st is published. I wish I’d done that!
11. Rebecca Whitney
    Concentrate on the story first, then the genre.
12. Tamar Cohen
    [Agreeing with Rebecca] Yes! And if yours doesn’t lend itself to genre don’t try to squish it into one. Oh, and take more risks.
13. Jane Casey
    Seek out fellow crime writers; you can learn a lot.
14. Marnie Riches
    My gem would be learn how to wait patiently.
15. Anya Lipska
    Research is never a waste of time: it’s great material.
16. Adrian McKinty
    Don’t quit your day job
17. Vanessa O’Loughlin/Sam Blake
    Don’t let the words get in the way of the story.
18. Steve Cavanagh
    Rejection is part of the game.
19. Martin Waites/Tania Carver
    Don’t expect to become known overnight… or even after twenty years.
20. Claire McGowan
    … the importance of hook and concept, I think.
21. Frances Brody
    Don’t ask for advice till you’ve written it.
22. Neil White
    Don’t order the yacht just yet.
23. John Rickards/Sean Creegan
    If you’re going to back into a story, you’d better have a great-looking ass.<
24. Alison Joseph
    That bit about two thirds through where you think – this is rubbish. It happens with every book. And every time it passes.
25. C. L. Taylor
    Trust your gut instinct. If something about the story feels wrong it probably is.
26. David Mark
    Put some money away for Tax! It saves a difficult conversation when your debut does well. “Tax? Why? I wrote it. No! But…. that’s not fair! I’ve spent it!”
27. Mel Sherratt
    Always think the one you are writing is going to be the best book you’ve written. I learn with every new book.
28. Steven Dunne
    The quality of your writing is as important as the quality of your plot.
29. Emlyn Rees
    Read more Ira Levin and other 50s masters/mistresses.
30. William Shaw
    People throughout the publishing work mostly for love rather than money and deserve respect. Don’t take your frustrations at not being an instant best-seller out on them. It’s not all their fault. Only some of it.
31. Melanie McGrath
    Complex good, convoluted bad. Applies equally to plot and characters.
32. Susan Wilkins
    Whatever story problem you have, stop thinking, go for a walk/do housework and your subconscious mind will solve it.
33. Simon Toyne
    Turn up. That’s all you need to do – turn up and keep turning up. Everything else will eventually follow.
34. Sinéad Crowley
    Don’t tell anyone you’re writing it until it’s finished.
35. P D Viner
    Take yourself seriously. Be ambitious, plan to give up the day job and live by your imagination. Don’t self-censor or give in to the fears.
36. Jessie Keane
    That you will need the hide of a rhino, the staying power of a Fell pony, and a ton of self-belief.

There you go. From the practical to the heartfelt. Thanks so much everyone for responding. I read out the ones that had arrived in time out to the would-be writers and they are wiser for it.

(They were also impressed by my ability to summon the instant opinions of such great writers.)