Launch Night

I promised a proper report on Friday's joint launch with John Connolly at No Alibis in Belfast, and I'm going to do my best to summarise things here. It might be a bit ramshackle, but two days on my memory is a little hazy. There was so much happening, so many people I met, that I'm now struggling a little to keep it all straight.

Anyway, I arrived at Belfast's famous Europa Hotel (the world's most bombed hotel, fact fans) about an hour or so before heading to No Alibis, which is about ten minutes walk away on Botanic Avenue. I got myself all dressed up and headed off. It was a warm evening, so I had a good idea things were going to get sweaty. David Torrans had told me to expect a large crowd, and No Alibis isn't the biggest shop in the world.

I arrived at No Alibis a little less than an hour before kick off to find David and his crew getting the place ready for the event. David has designed his shop very cleverly in that all the book cases are on wheels and can be pushed out of the way to open up the entire shop floor for seating. In addition, a newly constructed stage was positioned half way down the venue, allowing people to sit around it, rather than just in front of it. See, this is why David Torrans is well known for hosting the best author events around.

My PR, Hilary Knight, arrived shortly after, along with her husband Michael who was taking photos for local papers. Gerard Brennan was also an early bird, and I managed to capture him on video (see below). Things started to get a bit hectic as the venue rapidly filled up, and a photographer from Ulster Tatler magazine snapped the comings and goings, including me with my mum, some old friends of mine, and author Brian McGilloway. John Connolly arrived fashionably late, but redeemed himself by bringing the beers.

The event itself went brilliantly. Of course, it was really John's reading, and I was the support act, but Mr. Connolly was very generous in introducing me and allowing me time to read and involving me in discussions. If you ever get the chance to attend a John Connolly reading, then you should most definitely go; John is a great entertainer, and his readings are a lesson in delivery, plus his wit and skill as a speaker make the whole thing an enjoyable experience. It would be fair to say John carried my sorry arse for the evening, and I deeply appreciate it.

As it turned out, this was the biggest ever turnout for an in-store event at No Alibis, with just over a hundred people in attendance. This was more to do with John's presence than mine, but I'm not complaining. We sold a load of books, and I lost count of how many I signed. I met loads of nice people from as far away as Texas and Los Angeles, as well as old friends I hadn't seen in years, and a lovely couple who used to live across the road from my mum - I was particularly touched that they made the effort to come.

Afterwards, it was off for a drink with John Connolly, David Torrans, Brian McGilloway and some of the crew who'd helped out. You really couldn't ask for better company over a pint or three. All in all, it was a great night, and I must express my deepest gratitude to David Torrans for organising such a wonderful event, John Connolly for his continued generosity, and everyone who turned up - particularly those who bought my book.

I'm hoping to have a video diary of the day put together some time this week, and also some photos from David, so stay tuned.

In Other News...

A very nice review appeared at the Shots Magazine website over the weekend, and Publishers Weekly named THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST (aka THE TWELVE) as one of the top Fall debuts. What's also notable about the PW feature is that my agent represents not only one author on that list, and not two, but THREE books selected by PW out of the hundreds of debuts to be published in the USA this fall, the other two being Eugenia Kim and Lou Manfredo. This is why Nat Sobel is a legend in the publishing business.

A Crazy Day

It's coming up on midnight, and I've been sat on this chair (aside from meal, toilet, and exercise bike breaks) since around 9:45am. And how much progress did I make on the new novel?

None. Nada. Sweet Fanny Adams.

Not that I'm complaining, really. I got a lot of promo stuff done today, not least of which was revamping my home page and getting THE SIX, my free downloadable short story collection, online. I also set up a contest while I was at it. Simply by entering your email address at the point of downloading the collection, you could win one of five of the limited run of fifty signed and numbered paperback editions of THE SIX.

There was also some good news today from the publicity folks at Random House, namely that THE TWELVE was named as one of fifty best summer reads in Saturday's Independent. This might explain the sudden spike in my Amazon sales rank that happened over the weekend. The publicity department tells me there is more good news to come, so I shall keep you posted.

Oh, and there's that fabled extra special giveaway I've been bleating on about here for a while. That took a step nearer reality today, so I'm hoping I can post about that towards the end of the week. I've been thinking about the contest - it's going to be something extra challenging, as befits the prize.

And speaking of the end of this week - it may have escaped your attention, but this Friday evening, 26th of June, THE TWELVE will be officially launched at No Alibis, Belfast's famous crime bookstore, on Botanic Avenue. It's a joint event with none other than John Connolly, who will read from his latest sure-fire best seller, THE LOVERS, which Declan Burke reckons is his best yet. Although it's a free event, high demand for seats means it will be ticketed. To be honest, I don't know if David Torrans has any tickets left, but you could always give him a try on 028 9031 9601.

If you can make it, do say hello.

Friday Night in Belfast: Good Times at No Alibis

Friday night past was one of the best evenings I've had for a very long time. Due to a string of coincidences and a special alignment of the planets, my agent Nat Sobel and his lovely wife Judith Weber happened to be in Belfast on the same day that Colin Bateman launched his latest novel, MYSTERY MAN, at No Alibis on Botanic Avenue. Nat and Judith had been touring Ireland for most of the previous two weeks, driving almost the entirety of its coastline from Dublin to the south, then up the west coast to the north. Unfortunately it rained constantly, but again due to sheer blind luck, the skies cleared for their visit to Belfast.

I met Nat and Judith at the Crown Liquor Saloon, opposite the Europa Hotel (Europe's most bombed hotel, fact fans) on Great Victoria Street. The Crown is a Belfast landmark and a must-see for anyone visiting the city, and after a quick drink there we strolled towards Botanic Avenue and No Alibis while we talked about the city and its recent history.

We were welcomed at No Alibis by its excellent proprietor, David Torrans, and the man himself, Colin Bateman. This was the first time Colin and I had met in person, and I'm happy to report he's a thoroughly nice chap, even if he has an irrational aversion to jazz. The reading was a resounding success with the shop filled to bursting. And who says humour doesn't travel? Nat and Judith, both native New Yorkers, just about bust a gut laughing with the rest of us at Colin's unique brand of Ulster comedy. Comedy is, of course, one of the hardest things to pull off in a novel, but Mr. Bateman showed us all how it was done, and his delivery in front of an audience is something to behold if you ever get the chance. Although Colin Bateman is easily Northern Ireland's most successful novelist, and he's a big name throughout Europe, his profile in the USA isn't high. With MYSTERY MAN being picked up by Richard & Judy for the summer season, I think that could be about to change; my American friends, keep your eye out for this book.

Another coincidence is that Mystery Man is in fact set in a crime bookshop on Botanic Avenue called No Alibis. David Torrans is absolutely insistent that the novel's narrator is not him. Regardless, I know David and his fantastic independent bookshop left a big impression on Nat and Judith, especially the great success he'd made of the reading. Nat was truly delighted to see not only an independent bookshop thriving in such turbulent times, but also the great support of the people of Belfast. He positively marveled at the turnout, and the queues of fans waiting for Mr. Bateman to sign their books. So well done to David Torrans and all at No Alibis - it takes some doing to wow a hardened publishing veteran like Nat Sobel, but you certainly did it. Roll on the 15th of May when American thriller scribe Michael Connelly comes to town, which will be another triumph for David.

After the event, Nat and Judith departed for their hotel. I stayed on at No Alibis to get a pint and a catch-up with the man behind Crime Scene NI, Gerard Brennan. To my delight it turned out that John Connolly also happened to be in the audience, so the evening wound up with John, Colin, Gerard, David and I heading out for dinner and drinks. Good food, good beer and good company; our conversation was polite and wholesome and involved absolutely no dirty jokes or swearing. Honest. *cough*

And finally...

I'm just a couple of entries away from my 200th blog post and I'd like to make it a special occasion. As I've previously posted, I have in my possession an advance copy of James Ellroy's latest, BLOOD'S A ROVER. So for my 200th post, I'm going to write a special essay about the new book (over and above a straight review, which I hope to supply to the aforementioned Gerard Brennan when I've finished reading it). What I will say for now is that Blood's a Rover is a most surprising novel. I had wondered if it would be closer in style to AMERICAN TABLOID or THE COLD SIX THOUSAND, and on first impression it was the former. But as I sink deeper into Ellroy's intoxicating murk, I'm beginning to realise it's like neither. It marks a departure for Ellroy in many ways, but the greatest is its tenderness; don't worry, Ellroy hasn't gone soppy on us, but where I am now in the book, it's exhibiting something his previous works could be described as lacking: a human heart.

Oh, and here's little tidbit for Ellroy fans: after the upcoming memoir focusing on Ellroy's relationships with women (apparently turned in hot on the heels of BLOOD'S A ROVER), his next work of fiction will travel back in time to 1948 Los Angeles and feature a certain Irish cop who loomed large over THE BIG NOWHERE, LA CONFIDENTIAL and WHITE JAZZ...

God Bless John Connolly, Part 2

I got a very pleasant surprise yesterday evening courtesy of John Connolly, via Declan Burke, by way of Jeremy Duns (whose debut Free Agent will appear next year). It seems this weekend's Irish Times ran a feature where various public figures, some literary, some otherwise, chose their books of 2008. One of those figures was John Connolly, and he said the following:

"Meanwhile, this was a good year for Irish crime fiction, with strong additions from Declan Hughes, Tana French, Paul Charles and Brian McGilloway, among others. I suspect, though, that one of the crime novels of the year in 2009 will be Stuart Neville's stunning debut, Twelve (Harvill Secker, £12.99), which is, I think, the best mystery to have emerged so far from the aftermath of the Troubles. I read it in a single sitting, and it marks a major step forward for the genre in this country."

I am happy.

The full article is here.

God Bless John Connolly

I met John Connolly, the hugely successful author of the Charlie Parker series as well as such stand-alones as THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS, at the Dun Laoghaire crime writers' weekend last month. I was a bit cheeky and asked Mr. Connolly if he wouldn't mind giving THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST a quick once-over, and I was surprised when he graciously consented. My editor at Harvill Secker, Geoff Mulligan, promptly whisked a manuscript off, and a few weeks later I was shocked and delighted to receive this quote from John:

"Ghosts of Belfast is not only one of the finest thriller debuts of the last ten years, but is also one of the best Irish novels, in any genre, of recent times. It grips from the first page to the last, and heralds the arrival of a major new voice in Irish writing. I don't know how Stuart Neville is going to improve upon such an exceptional first novel, but I can't wait to find out..."

I am flabbergasted.