Some great news - Why I Kill enters the top 100 bestsellers, short stories

Something odd has happened. Anyone that has read this blog more than once might have noted my marked appreciation of the venerable Paul Auster. I think he rocks as a writer. So imagine my sheer astonishment and pure joy upon seeing my works of short fiction, Why I kill (The Confession of a Serial Killer) at number 94 in the top 100 best selling short stories, with Mr. Auster at 91 with his New York Trilogy. I'm a very happy man this day. Let it be known! Click the image to the right for bona fide proof :)

Midsommar, murder, and green streets...

Having spent yet another 'Midsommar' in Sweden (where it was perfected as a celebration of the pagan gods and the summer solstice) I have to wonder about the name. Midsommar (or midsummer, if you are an anglophile) seems to be, well, a little too 'early' for my liking. I'd prefer to see it in mid-July, when one has a slightly better chance of getting some sunshine and blue skies....

But hey - as my previous post on the 'summer sale' declares it is summer - and vacation time will shortly be upon us.

So.... what will you be reading? I got another Paul Auster book that seemed new (the title escapes me right now) and I'm getting a copy of Down These Green Streets (hopefully one of the signed ones) shortly...

But my main effort this summer (and I'm telling you this to remind myself) will be to try to complete the follow-up novel to my first ever crime novel, Ganglands.


Ganglands was written in 1995 while I was holding down a job as editor of three local newspapers in Dublin, Ireland. The papers were a mix of re-hashed press releases, fashion pics, hastily written film reviews, a recipe or two and lots of advertising. I used to write an entire newspaper in one day. I did three (sometimes four) a month and it paid enough to keep me alive, sated and writing.

Ganglands was the result of this intensive effort over the winter of 1995 and early 1996. The book was published and on the shelves by October 1996 and got some pretty good reviews for a first novel in the small circle in which it was released.

The book sold out its first print run by early 1997 and has not been re-printed yet (though curiously there are 'hardback' versions of the book available through some sellers on Amazon - even though it was only ever produced as a paperback). It has been selling quite well in eBook format since it was released last year along with my other works.

I've never quite gotten away from the characters in that book. They're with me all the time, and I know that I have to share them. I don't want to spoil Ganglands for you, but suffice to say, things don't end well. The follow-on novel (let's call it XXX) picks up around 10 years after the end of the first book and the main characters get back into their stride within the first chapter...

Writing this book is odd. It's like meeting up with old friends (though these guys are true-to-form psychos) and everything being just like it was the last time you met them... True friends...

So, if you are in the mood for past and future, grab a copy of Ganglands while it is still on sale (0.99) and get ready for the next chapter in the underbelly of Dublin City.

Candy Says: "Make a Killing, Friend"

For the summer months almost all of my work in eBook format is on special offer.

In the U.S., UK and EU my crime novels and literary works now cost $0.99/£0.99/€0.99

Think of this as a cheap-trick marketing ploy designed to part you from your money, and you'll be right. But as I'm dropping the price of my novels by around $2 for a limited time it is designed to be a gentle kind of crime.

In the spirit of the summer solstice I wish you a very merry vacation and lots of sunshine and fun. Remember to take your kindle on holiday - as they hate being left alone at home.

Cuban Chandler?

When I find something interesting I like to share - unless, of course it is a new beer....

So without any ado whatsoever...

Leonardo Padura - a link to Carto's Library Blog where he disseminates a potential replacement for our dearly departed master Raymond Chandler.

Whilst I'm on a Cuban binge (a glass of rum beside me) - I'd like to draw your attention to Pedro Juan Gutierrez - author of the most Henry Miller-ish tome I've been delighted to stumble across in an age. You can get a flavour for his style and purpose here at Words Beyond Borders. The Dirty Havana Trilogy is the book I'm referring to.

It really depends upon what you like you fiction served with - crime, death, sex, social realism or all of the above... I'm a gourmand in such respects. Hope you're hungry!

80% Proof

After a heads up from a reader who spotted a couple of typos in my novel Killing a Friend (which was 'professionally' edited) I've had the novel re-proofed and so the eBook version is now as close to perfect as anything I could possibly produce could ever plausibly be....

The print on demand version will also be updated in the coming weeks.

Sincere apologies to those of you that took the time to and effort to buy and read the book.

Every day, in every way I am getting better. The pills help.

Saluté!