Swearing is Big and Clever: Cussing in Bruges

For anyone who enjoys some spirited comedy cussing, the movie In Bruges is a treat. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as a pair of inept hitmen exiled to Belgium in the wake of an assassination-gone-wrong, with Ralph Feinnes as their cockney boss. The best extra feature on the DVD is this little compilation of all the swearing in the film.

Warning: not for those with delicate ears. Seriously.

My First Foreign Sale - to Japan!

Today I received word from Judith Weber (my agent Nat's business partner and wife, who handles the agency's foreign rights) that THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST has sold to Random House Kodansha in Japan.

This is a wonderful surprise, of course. Japan has long been on my list of places I hope to visit one day, and I have always been fascinated by its mix of ancient and ultra-modern culture. You never know, I might fulfil that ambition yet. :)

I'm also curious as to how some of the book's more colourful language and colloquialisms will translate...

THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST to be published by Harvill Secker!

Some of you have known about this for a while, but I've kept a lid on it - until now. My ever excellent agent Nat Sobel tells me it's okay to let the cat out of the bag, so here goes:

THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST will be published in the UK and Commonwealth by Harvill Secker, an imprint of Random House, late 2009, as part of a two-book deal. The nitty gritty contract stuff is still being sorted, but that's the gist of it. :)

Needless to say, I'm thrilled and excited. Harvill Secker is a prestigious imprint with a reputation for literary fiction, and international thrillers. Some of the stable's best known European crime writers are Jo Nesbo (The Redbreast has been a huge success in Europe) and Henning Mankell, and many others. My editor is Geoff Mulligan, who as it happens originally hails from Belfast.

More to follow.