Savage Games by Peter Boland - Q&A with John Savage

On Monday, author Peter Boland shared the inspiration for his protagonist, John Savage, who features in Savage Lies (review here) and Savage Games which is published tomorrow. Both books are fantastic. Today, I'm absolutely thrilled that John Savage himself has stopped by the blog to answer a few questions! But before we move on to that, let me remind you about Savage Games.

The Blurb:

A body concealed high up in a tree.
A dark forest that holds many secrets.
One man determined to discover the truth.

"Basically, I loved everything about this book!" Suze Reviews

Deep in the New Forest, a body is hidden in the branches of a towering fir tree in an area known as Dead Maids Wood. When John Savage learns that the body belonged to an old school friend, he sets out to discover who was responsible.

Together with brilliant computer hacker Tannaz, he discovers his friend was down on his luck, living among those who society would rather forget - the dregs, the desperate and the homeless. Entering this dark and hidden world, Savage soon discovers that the death of his friend was just the tip of the iceberg...

Savage Games is a fast-paced action thriller for fans of Lee Child and David Baldacci.

It will be published by Adrenalin Books on 4th April 2019 and is available to pre order here.

Right, moving on:

John, thank you so much for being here! I 'm delighted you've found the time to stop by, and I'd like to ask you a few questions if that's OK?
- Thank you, it's great to be here! Fire away! 

First, the serious stuff!

Please can you tell us a bit about your background.
- I was born in 1960. Grew up in London on the notorious Elmington Estate in Camberwell, where I learned how to fight. You had to, otherwise you wouldn’t last very long. Wasn’t much good at anything else, never bothered with school so I joined the army. Served in Northern Island. I always thought of myself as stupid until I applied to join the SAS. You need to think on your feet. Be smart, resourceful and improvise. Never knew I had it in me until the SAS brought it out.   

And your family?
- None, sad to say. My wife Dawn and my daughter Kelly passed away. Dawn from cancer and Kelly from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. She was in the Royal Engineers. I miss them every day. 

Are you working just now? Do you have a job?
- I’m retired. Thankfully my wife Dawn was very good with money. Invested it well so I’m pretty comfortable, unlike a lot of ex-soldiers who have been let down by the system. If it wasn’t for my wife’s financial nous, I’d be in the same boat.

Tell us about your relationship with Tannaz. How did that come about?
- I met Tannaz when I needed someone with I.T. skills to help me find a missing girl. She’s the smartest person in the room. Smartest person in the postcode. We’ve become really close. It’s a father/daughter thing we have going. She’s got no family either having fled Iran years ago. They didn’t like her lifestyle choices so she made the brave decision to come over here on her own when she was still a teenager. She keeps me sane. I have PTSD due to all the action I’ve seen and hear a voice in head, usually persuading me to kill myself. She doesn’t know this, but her presence keeps the voice away. I call her my kryptonite. Don’t know what I’d do without her. 

You seem drawn to people in need, to help them - why do you think that is?
- I’ve always liked helping people. And I’ve seen what human beings can do to each other. I don’t like bullies, and feel I need to step in. But recently, my desire to help people has definitely been fuelled by guilt for all the people I’ve killed for Queen and country. I guess I’m trying to atone for my sins. 

Do you think you attract trouble?
- I don’t mean to, but I don’t suffer fools lightly and I think my sarcastic sense of humour doesn’t help. It definitely rubs people up the wrong way. 

Your 'investigations' lead you to some pretty dark places - how do you deal with that?
- I’ve seen some pretty awful things in my time. War is as bad as it gets. So I guess it’s another day at the office. If I’m honest, I’m not dealing with it very well at all. I still have a voice in my head, Jeff Perkins as I call him. It doesn’t look like he’s going away any time soon.

Let's lighten things up a bit: -

What music do you listen to?
- The Jam. Best band in the world. But also anything from that era. Post punk, new wave. The Clash. Killing Joke. More recently I like Kasabian, Sleaford Mods and Slaves.

Are you currently reading anything? What?
- SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard. I find history fascinating and this explains the empire’s rise to power.

And who is your favourite author?
- Last book I read that really blew me away was All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. It’s about a blind girl in World War Two. Amazing how a book can be both harrowing and incredibly beautiful at the same time.

What three things would you take to a desert island?
- An industrial-sized sack of teabags. An Ipod loaded up with my favourite music and a waterproof solar charger to power it. 

And finally, where can we read more about your adventures?
- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Peter-Boland/e/B00J6P8O08

Thank you so much, John. It's been great to do find out more about you!

I will be finishing my wee focus on John Savage tomorrow when I'll be sharing my review of his latest outing, the fantastic Savage Games. Join me then! 

The Passengers by John Marrs

I am so thrilled to be on the tour today for The Passengers by John Marrs. I have only read one other book by him, which I loved, but the others are all on my TBR pile, and I have only heard good things about them.  And the premise for this book was so good I couldn't say no! Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton (who appears in all John's books) for inviting me on to the tour, and the publishers for my review copy.

The Blurb:

Eight self-drive cars set on a collision course. Who lives, who dies? You decide.

'Provocative, terrifying and compulsive. Another savagely clever near future thriller' Cara Hunter, bestselling author of CLOSE TO HOME

The new gripping page-turning thriller for fans of BLACK MIRROR from the bestselling author of HER LAST MOVE and THE ONE - soon to be a major Netflix series.

When someone hacks into the systems of eight self-drive cars, their passengers are set on a fatal collision course.

The passengers are: a TV star, a pregnant young woman, a disabled war hero, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife - and parents of two - who are travelling in separate vehicles and a suicidal man. Now the public have to judge who should survive but are the passengers all that they first seem?

The Passengers was published as an eBook on 31st March 2019 by Ebury Digital. You can purchase it from here.

My Review:

I have been so lucky this year. I have read about 26, 27 great books so far and know that there maybe three which will feature in my end of year highlights. Well, with The Passengers, I can make that four. Original, bold, controversial in places and beautifully written, it's just fabulous.

Marrs has written a number of books, all standalones. Before this, I had only read one other of his books, When You Disappeared (formerly entitled The Wronged Sins), which I really enjoyed (still to be reviewed here). In it, he created a character that I hated so much I still get angry thinking about him, so I knew going into this one what a strong writer Marrs is.

The Passengers is set in the near future and fully automatic driverless cars have been introduced. A top secret jury meets one week out of every month to decide where the fault lies with any car accidents. It consists of four regular members and a nominated member of the public. Libby is not a fan of driverless cars and doesn't want to be there, but is determined to hold her own in the sessions.

Whilst the jury is in session, 8 seemingly random cars are hacked by 'The Hacker', and forced into a collision course with each other. The jury members, and the general public, have the power to change things, by voting for who should live and who should die, via social media.

The advance of technology fascinates me and terrifies me in equal measure and this book plays on those fears. When the cars are hacked, the Passengers have absolutely no control over what's going to happen. Marrs also highlights our obsession with social media, as we see votes, articles, and quizzes pop up almost immediately regarding the fate of the Passengers. And he touches on prejudices that really shouldn't exist in society, but still do.

Almost every character has some kind of secret, and I never really knew how to feel about them, which was brilliant. Libby was The only one I was sure about, and for me she was like an anchor in a crazy, but all too plausible, story. 

I really can't tell you any more about the story because it's a treat you should discover yourself. As it's a standalone you don't need to have read his other works, although there are references to The One (which will be moving up my TBR list). It's brilliantly, tightly written with surprises all over the place. The characters are beautifully drawn, and the claustrophobic setting of both the jury room and the car interiors are wonderfully described.

It's original and brave and more than a little frightening, set in a plausible future, touching on the advance of technology, the power of social media and mob rule. But it's very human and emotional too and shows how little we need to know about people before we make judgements on them. It still has me thinking about it says after finishing it. Can't recommend the Passengers highly enough - go read it!

The Author:

John Marrs is a former journalist from Northamptonshire, England, who spent 25 years interviewing celebrities from the world of television, film and music for national newspapers and magazines.

He wrote for publications including The Guardian’s Guide and Guardian Online; OK! Magazine; Total Film; Empire; Q; GT; The Independent; Star; Reveal; Company; Daily Star and News of the World’s Sunday Magazine.

He recently gave up his job to write novels full time. His first car at the age of seventeen was a three-door, Ford Escort with a Batman sticker in the rear windscreen. He thought the sticker was cool at the time. 

Author Social Media Links:

Follow  John on Twitter @johnmarrs1, Facebook @johnmarrsauthor, Instagram: @johnmarrs.author, and
Website: johnmarrsauthor.co.uk

Savage Games by Peter Boland - Guest Post

Regular visitors to my blog may recall that one of my standout books of 2018 was Savage Lies, the first in a new series featuring John Savage, by Peter Boland. If you check out my review, you'll see that it blew me away. So I'm thrilled that the follow up, Savage Games, is published on Thursday of this week, and I will be sharing my review on the same day.

John Savage is not your average hero and I was curious as to  where the inspiration for him came from. So I'm absolutely  delighted to welcome fab author Peter Boland to the blog to tell us about it. And it's such a brilliant and poignant piece!


Why I turned to a life of crime.

"I’d always been interested in thrillers, especially the action and crime variety. The only thing that put me off writing them was a lack of confidence. I was always in awe of thriller authors. How did they manage to weave plots more twisty than an eighties perm? I could never do that. So I stuck with writing my YA sci-fi space opera, The Spiral Arm, believing I just didn’t have the brain capacity for thrillers. 

After its release, The Spiral Arm series was well-received and gained small but loyal following. However, by episode five I could tell it wasn’t going to sell. Reluctantly, I made the decision to switch to a different genre, taking a chance on writing a thriller. I felt really bad about leaving my Spiral Arm series hanging in mid-air, especially as I had the whole series mapped out. But everyone has to earn a crust, right? So thrillers it was.

But what sort of thriller? I’d always loved Lee Child and his character Jack Reacher. The books are so addictive. Probably the only ones I would read while walking around the house attempting to do other things like make the kids’ tea (very badly, I might add). Literally unputdownable. I knew I wanted to do something like that. A vigilante, but I didn’t want a carbon copy of Reacher or all the other lone-wolf-type heroes. No, He needed to be different. He needed to be British for a start. And he needed to drink tea. Lots of it. But what would he be like?

Inspiration came in the form of a movie. I watched an amazing film called I, Daniel Blake, and instantly fell in love with the character. If you haven’t seen it, it’s brilliant, and is about people stuck in the benefits system. So Daniel Blake really inspired me. A decent guy, older, had lost his wife, and just wanted to help people and do the right thing. He was vulnerable too. And had poor health. 

I don’t like the way older people are treated in this country. So I loved the idea of making an older guy who could kick the asses of those much younger. I still wanted him to be vulnerable, though. I wanted him to have some mental health issues, because so many of us suffer from that nowadays, especially our ex-servicemen. 

The other thing I was adamant about is I wanted humour in it. Most, if not all thrillers I read are deadly serious and the protagonists are more like superman, invulnerable and infallible. Thing is, life’s not like that. People are stupid and muck things up. Also, Savage is ex-SAS. Yes, it’s an elite force but they’re also a bunch of blokes. And whenever you get blokes together they take the piss out of each other. So I gave Savage a sharp, acidic tongue. 

There’s also a bit of my dear old dad in Savage. A carpenter by trade, the guy could wield a saw like a scalpel, and always had a cup of tea in his hand and a joke on his lips. He was a real eccentric. Worked on building sites all his life, never drank alcohol, cycled everywhere and sung opera in the shower. Everyone loved him for his generosity and warmth, a warmth that meant even complete strangers took a shine to him. But my mum, my sister and I knew him better. His jolliness hid a terrible childhood of abuse he suffered when he was evacuated at a very young age during the war. Like Savage, a darkness dwelt in him, which he buried deep down, and kept well hidden with humour. 

I lost my dad to cancer several years ago, and miss him every day. But one of the nicest things about writing is that I can keep him alive by putting a bit of his personality into my character, John Savage. "

Thanks so much, Peter! It's always good to find out more about a character, where they came from and how they were formed. For me, at least, it helps shape them in my mind.


Here's a wee bit about Peter:

After studying to be an architect, Pete realised he wasn't very good at it. He liked designing buildings he just couldn't make them stand up, which is a bit of a handicap in an industry that likes to keep things upright. So he switched to advertising, writing ads for everything from cruise lines to zombie video games.

After meeting his wife Shalini and having two awesome children (their words), he was amazed when she sat and actually wrote a book. Then another and another. They were good too. Really good. So he thought, I'll have a go at that.

He soon realised there's no magic formula. You just have to put one word in front of the other (and keep doing that for about a year). It also helps if you can resist the lure of surfing, playing Nintendo Switch with your son, watching America's Next Top Model with your daughter and drinking beer in a garden chair.


And here's the info on Savage Games:

A body concealed high up in a tree.
A dark forest that holds many secrets.
One man determined to discover the truth.

"Basically, I loved everything about this book!" Suze Reviews

Deep in the New Forest, a body is hidden in the branches of a towering fir tree in an area known as Dead Maids Wood. When John Savage learns that the body belonged to an old school friend, he sets out to discover who was responsible.

Together with brilliant computer hacker Tannaz, he discovers his friend was down on his luck, living among those who society would rather forget - the dregs, the desperate and the homeless. Entering this dark and hidden world, Savage soon discovers that the death of his friend was just the tip of the iceberg...

Savage Games is a fast-paced action thriller for fans of Lee Child and David Baldacci.

It will be published by Adrenalin Books on 4th April 2019 and is available to pre order here.

Do come back on Wednesday 3rd April when none other than John Savage himself will be stopping by the blog to answer some of my questions. I can't wait! Hope to see you back here then. 

The Courier by Kjell Ola Dahl (translated by Don Bartlett)

It's an absolute pleasure to be taking part in this blog tour. I have not read any of the previous books by this author, and I don't usually read books set in the past. However, the blurb intrigued me, and I know the quality of books which come out of the Orenda stable, so decided to give this one a go. And I 'm so glad I did! Huge thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Blog Tours for inviting me to take part and to Karen Sullivan at Orenda for my review copy.

The Blurb: 

In Oslo in 1942, Jewish courier Ester is betrayed, narrowly 

avoiding arrest by the Gestapo. In great haste, she escapes to Sweden whilst the rest of her family is deported to Auschwitz. In Stockholm, Ester meets the resistance hero, Gerhard Falkum, who has left his little daughter and fled both the Germans and allegations that he murdered his wife, Åse, Ester’s childhood best friend. A relationship develops between them, but ends abruptly when Falkum dies in a fire.

And yet, twenty-five years later, Falkum shows up in Oslo. He 

wants to reconnect with his daughter Turid. But where has he been, and what is the real reason for his return? Ester stumbles across information that forces her to look closely at her past, and to revisit her war-time training to stay alive… 

Written with Dahl’s trademark characterisation and clever 

plotting, The Courier sees one of Norway’s most critically acclaimed authors at his best, as he takes on one of the most horrifying periods of modern history. With its sophisticated 

storytelling and elegant prose, this stunning and compelling 

wartime thriller is reminiscent of the writing of John Le Carré and William Boyd.

The Courier was published by Orenda Books on 21st March 2019. You can purchase it from Orenda, Waterstones and Amazon. 

My Review: 

I really didn't know anything about Norway's involvement in the Second World War or the persecution of Norwegian Jews, so this book was fascinating. Whilst it is fiction, it has clearly been well researched. 

The story opens and closes in 2015, but the main part jumps between 1942 and 1967, and primarily features the same three characters - Ester, Gerhard and Sverre. I liked the switches between the two different times, as we meet these people twenty-five years apart, and I read the book pretty much in one sitting. 

Ester was a fantastic character. A young woman who obviously believes passionately in doing what is right, and is active in the Resistance, putting herself in danger. She sees her father arrested and their house taken by the Germans, and is already apart from the rest of her family. Shortly afterwards, she herself is almost caught but manages to escape to Sweden, with no news of her family. This obviously has a profound effect on her, but she continues to work with the Resistance. She is strong, passionate and determined, and easy for the reader to like. 

Gerhard and Sverre were different. I was never entirely sure about either of them - my thoughts changed as the story progressed. But all three characters, and the supporting cast are all exquisitely drawn - the characterisation is superb. 

This brings me on to the scene setting. I was a little thrown initially when the story was written in the present tense, but soon got used to it. Dahl writes incredibly descriptive scenes, often using short staccato sentences to include the smallest details. The result is a rich, character driven text, and it felt like I was there, watching - I could picture everything and everyone in my mind. It's screaming out to be made into a film.

The Courier was not my normal kind of read - it's a historical slow burner. But it's so beautifully written, well paced with wonderful characters and with an ending I didn't see coming. I'm so pleased I took the opportunity to read it, and look forward to reading more by this author. 

The Author:

One of the fathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Kjell Ola Dahl was born in 1958 in Gjøvik. He made his debut in 1993, and has since published eleven novels, the most prominent of which is a series of police procedurals cum psychological thrillers featuring investigators Gunnarstranda and Frølich. In 2000 he won the Riverton Prize for The Last Fix and he won both the prestigious Brage and Riverton Prizes for The Courier in 2015. His work has been published in 14 countries, and he lives in Oslo. 

Heartlands by Kerry Watts

Having enjoyed a previous standalone book, The Reckoning (see my review here), by Kerry Watts, I was excited to see this, the beginning of a new series featuring Jessie Blake. Huge thanks to Noelle Holten for inviting me to join the tour and to Bookoutre for my review copy which I received via Netgalley.

The Blurb:

Call it mother’s intuition, but I knew she was dead the moment she was late home. As I listened to her phone ring and ring, that’s when I knew for sure. My little girl was gone. 

Twenty years ago, Sophie Nicoll never came home from school. Days later her body was found in a shallow grave on a remote farm a few miles from her hometown. Two boys from her school were found guilty. The press called the boys evil. Sophie’s family wanted them dead. The judge promised they’d never walk free.

Two decades later and schoolgirl Shannon Ross has vanished from a small town in the Scottish Highlands.

It’s Detective Jessie Blake’s first big case since she joined Perthshire Police. Having recently arrived from London, Jessie lives in fear of people finding out about her past and her reasons for moving north.

When Shannon’s body is found in the river on the outskirts of Inverlochty, Jessie discovers she’s not the only one with something to hide. As the small community begins to crack under pressure, people begin to point fingers. And soon, the big secrets hidden within the small town are revealed – with devastating consequences.

This shocking crime thriller set in the dramatic Scottish Highlands will have you reading well into the night. If you like LJ Ross, Cara Hunter or Robert Bryndza, you will absolutely love this.

Heartlands was published by Bookoutre on 21st March 2019 and you can purchase it here. 

My Review:

This is the second book I've read by this author, and is the beginning of a new series featuring Detective Jessie Blake. It's a very promising start.

There is a shocking opener in the prologue set in the past before we jump forward to the present day in Inverlochty. From then on, the story flips between now, and the older timeline, which begins in 1996 and moves steadily forwards until it crosses the newer story. That was such an OMG moment for me, I actually exclaimed out loud! A genuine shock that I absolutely didn't see coming.

There are lots of characters and I really had to pay attention early on to get to know everyone, and where they fitted in.

Obviously, Jessie is the standout character here. Recently promoted, this is her first case as senior office. A man with mental health difficulties harms himself, but the blood of a teenage girl is also found in his house. And she hasn't been seen since entering his house. When the police speak to him, he says the 'voices made him do it'. But what have they made him do?

Jessie is dogged and determined. And resolute about doing the right thing. But she has her own demons in a dark back story, which is starting to be teased out and looks to have legs to run and run. Her sidekick Dylan is a great guy - solid and dependable and just perfect for Jessie to bounce her ideas off.

There is a large cast of supporting characters, some more likeable than others. Standouts for me were Jason, the missing girl's father, and her young uncle, Ben. The anxiety and anguish that everyone, but especially these two, suffers exquisitely described.

The pacing is fabulous. We learn little bits of the story as we go, building up to the shocking ending. And a wee hint that there might be more to come about Jessie's personal story. A brilliant beginning to a new series, with a great protagonist. I'm already looking forward to the next book! 

The Author: 

Kerry Watts was born and grew up in a small town in the East of Scotland where she still lives today. She is always writing and carries a little notebook and pen with her wherever she goes because at her age ideas need to be captured before they disappear. 

Kerry specialises in crime fiction because she enjoys pushing the boundaries of what it is to be human. The nature versus nurture debate.

Author Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KerryWattsAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Denmanisfab

A Body in the Lakes by Graham Smith

Having loved the first Beth Young book The Silent Dead, now retitled as Death in the Lakes, from Graham Smith (see my review here), I was excited to see where this new book took Beth, so jumped at the chance to join the blog tour. My thanks to Noelle Holton and Bookoutre for providing my review copy, which I received via Netgalley.

The Blurb:

The woman’s limbs were so thin; the skin on her arms as translucent as tracing paper. Around her neck lay a faint string of purple bruises. In one so frail, darker, angrier marks might be expected but Beth knew the bruising would have stopped the moment her heart stopped beating.The

When a walker finds the body of a woman by the shores of Lake Ullswater, the police are put on high alert. Felicia Evans was known to be a tough character, but who would have strangled her?

Detective Beth Young quickly spots the links to three cold cases. Three women strangled and discarded in the stunning, wild hills of the Lake District.

As Beth begins tracking down witnesses, the team receives an anonymous letter claiming the charming mayor of Carlisle is behind the murders. There’s pressure from the top to clear his name. But Beth is determined to find the truth no matter whose feathers she ruffles in the process.

Beth knows the clock is ticking. The killer is hunting again. And it’s down to her to find who’s responsible before another woman becomes his prey…

A gripping edge-of-your-seat thriller from bestselling author Graham Smith, perfect for fans of Joy Ellis, LJ Ross, and J.R. Ellis. 

A Body in the Lakes was published by Bookoutre on 15th March 2019, and you can buy it here. 

My Review: 

Following the discovery of the naked body of an elderly woman Beth finds links to three other murders in the last few years. Following the clues and with dogged determination, Beth and her colleagues in the FMIT dig through clues and evidence in the hope of tracking the killer. And Carlisle's handsome mayor looks like he might not be as squeaky clean as everyone thought....

Throughout the book are occasional diary entries from an unknown author and I loved the mystery behind that - trying to guess each time whose diary it was. I failed miserably!

I love Beth, she's a marvel. I just love how her brain works - the way she seems to see things differently from her colleagues, often enabling the team to move forward with the case. And she is so determined and dedicated - her sense of justice and desire to do the right thing mean she just keeps going. And she often feels guilty when she does take a break. That said, I was delighted to see a nice wee storyline develop for her, and look forward to seeing where that goes.

The rest of the FMIT are brilliant characters too. I love that the boss O'Dowd is another strong woman. The small moments of light relief with Unthank are welcome in a dark story like this one, but I thought my heart might break for Thompson.

As with The Silent Dead, The Lake District itself plays a huge part in the story, almost a character in itself. Beautiful  scenery but often desolate places proving ideal for body dumps. I occasionally found myself shivering when reading.

The descriptions of the murders themselves don't necessarily make for easy reading, but are handled with delicacy. There are many suspects and lots of dead ends, and I was kept guessing right to the end.

The pacing and tension was just right - we're thrown head first into the investigation, and I enjoyed uncovering the truth along with the team. It's an original and beautifully written story. And it left me wanting more.

The Author:

Graham Smith is the bestselling author of four explosive crime thrillers in the Jake Boulder series, Watching the Bodies, The Kindred Killers, Past Echoes and Die Cold. Watching the Bodies spent over two weeks at number one in the Amazon UK chart and Amazon CA charts. Graham is also the author of the popular DI Harry Evans series and has collections of short stories and novellas. His latest novel with Bookouture is set in Cumbria and the Lake District, featuring DC Beth Young.

He is the proud father of a young son. As a time served joiner he has built bridges, houses, dug drains and slated roofs to make ends meet. Since 2000 he has been manager of a busy hotel and wedding venue near Gretna Green, Scotland. 

An avid fan of crime fiction since being given one of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books at the age of eight, he has also been a regular reviewer for the well-respected review site Crimesquad.com since 2010.

When not working, his time is spent reading, writing and playing games with his son. He enjoys socialising and spending time with friends and family.

Author Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grahamnsmithauthor/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/GrahamSmith1972
Website: https://grahamsmithauthor.com/
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5446655.Graham_Smith?from_search=true

Thunder Bay by Douglas Skelton - Edinburgh launch, 13th March 2019

So on Wednesday evening I ventured east to Edinburgh for the launch of Thunder Bay by Douglas Skelton. Regular visitors to the blog will know that I am a big fan of Douglas and his work, and I think this might well be his best book yet. Released by his new publishers Polygon (who get a shout out for providing wine at the launch!) on 7th March, you can see my review here.

Anyway, Wednesday's event was hosted by Blackwell's Bookshop in Edinburgh, and Douglas was quizzed by friend and fellow crime author Neil Broadfoot. And when these two get together, you know it's going to be a fun night!

This is Douglas' eighth novel (he has also written 11 non fiction true crime books) The four Davie McCall books and the two Dominic Queste ones, all set in Glasgow and last year's The Janus Run which was set  in America. All of these are action packed, full of guns and fights, with black humour running through them (particularly the Dominic Queste books). Thunder Bay is very different from all other these. Neil asked about the change in direction. Douglas replied that he'd wanted to push himself. He had never had a female protagonist before, so wanted to do that. Thunder Bay introduces us to Rebecca Connolly, a twenty something journalist. And having moved away from Glasgow with The Janus Run, he wanted to invent a place which he has now done with the Scottish island of Stoirm (Gaelic for 'storm').

Neil asked Douglas about what research he did for this book. As a former journalist, Douglas didn't need to do much work on that, but did have to update his knowledge on current procedures. He explained that whilst Stoirm is fictional, he has visited many of the Scottish islands and all of them influenced him in the creation of Stoirm. And he moved Schiehallion (meaning 'hill of the fairies) from Perthshire to the island. He researched island vegetation, sought help with the Gaelic language and looked at legends and folklore from all over Scotland and used some of it in the story. And he moved something that actually happened on a group of Scottish islands onto Stoirm.

He talked about how it was for him writing something so different.  He has always followed the Raymond Chandler suggestion of two men with guns kicking down a door. Things here are very different. Things that happen in Thunder Bay are more introspective, claustrophobic and sinister. The story starts dark and gets darker, and he did worry it would be too dark in places. At one point, he walked away from it for a while. His usual response to darkness is to inject some humour, but that has also been toned down here. He said he looks at it now and wonders who wrote it, which raised a laugh from the audience because Neil had been joking all along that someone else must have written it!

Neil asked Douglas about planning. From hearing these guys speak before, I knew neither were big planners, but Douglas surprised everybody by explaining that there was literally no planning for him! He just had an idea about a guy coming back after a long time to an uproar. He didn't know the story, the ending or who was involved. There were times he finished up for the day with no idea where it was going next. He can't jump around the story either, and there's alot going on here, he just has to keep going.

As it is so tonally different from his other work, Neil was interested if he had done anything different from usual when writing this. Douglas always listens to music when he is writing, often film scores. But he changes what he's listening to depending on what he's writing. In this case, he listened to Rachmaninov's Isle of the Dead & work by Sibelius.

The audience was interested to hear how he found writing a female protagonist because, as Douglas himself pointed out (to much laughter), he is not a twenty something woman! He found that it came organically as he wrote. He didn't want her to get into trouble where she would need the help of a man. Mainly she's a conduit and the jeopardy happens to other people around her. He was careful not to sexualise her, or get clumsy when writing about her, as many lesser male writers do when writing female characters. For the record, he's very successful in this.

Finally, Neil asked Douglas if he had written this as the start of a series. That hadn't necessarily been the plan, but Douglas realised when writing that it could be a series. The next one won't be set on the island, but will have recurring characters and a mention of Scottish folklore and history.

Of course, there was lots more discussion than is covered above, together with great questions from the audience, lots of jokes and loads of laughter. Amongst all the fun Douglas talked at length about the book and the work that went into writing it, without giving away any spoilers, obviously!

The audience all enjoyed it, and Douglas chatted to many of them and signed books.

If you missed Wednesday's event but would like to hear Douglas speak about Thunder Bay, it's not too late to reserve a space at tomorrow's Glasgow launch in the Mitchell Library. The link is here. Straight after that, he will be joining C L Taylor and Anna Mazzola for an Aye Write panel featuring books set on Scottish islands. You can buy your ticket for that here.

And if you would like to purchase Thunder Bay, and I heartily recommend you do, you can do so here.

Finally, the copy of Thunder Bay at the top of the pile above, which is signed, could be yours if you enter my forthcoming giveaway to celebrate my first blog birthday! Details to follow soon so watch this space.