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.
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.
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