Charlie Williams's Blog, page 17

Deadfolk will be back

Please check out this new cover for Deafolk, which will be reissued on on 10th May (US/UK):


We're on the cusp of a new era, ladies and gents. Royston Blake is coming back and he is coming back hard.

**** folk

Nearly end of Dec and I still haven't done a post for this month. AFAIK, I have done at least one for every month from Jan 2005, so I'd better pull something out of the bag. But you know how it is, right? I'm either in a blogging mood or not, and the nots can go on for weeks. And there's nothing worse than a post about nothing, unless you're Jerry Seinfeld. So here's a little fact for Royston blake afficionados:

I almost called Deadfolk "Simple Folk".

It's true. I sent it out under that title to an agent and he rejected it, saying various vaguely derogatory things about it. I decided he must be criticising the title and not the text, so I gave it a new one and hit the jackpot with my next submission. But here's another fact:

When people ask me why it's called Deadfolk, I don't know what to say.

I could go into some artsy explanation but I end up telling them it's just called that. Curiously, the ones who ask tend to be the ones who haven't read it yet, so the answer must be in there somewhere.

A happy new year to all you folks, be you dead, simple or just normal.

Papa's got a brand new pigbag

Been a bit slack here of late. But you know that means I've been busy, right? Or just drunk. You decide.

Next spring sees the publication of my novella GRAVEN IMAGE by Five Leaves Press. It's crime but it's also a bit out there, as all my stuff probably is. It also has a great cover. To mark the occasion I will be taking part in an event to do with Derbyshire Readers' Day. Details TBC.

The re-launch of Royston Blake (Deadfolk, Booze and Burn*, King of the Road plus the new one - ONE DEAD HEN) is coming along nicely, with a new set of covers being worked on as we spead by the world's top artists and designers. Hopefully I'll be able to unveil those some time soon, but until then you could bookmark the pages and maybe think about pre-ordering. Either way, they're coming out one month after the other starting next May. It's gonna be a summer-long carnival of Royston Blake.

I've done a piece about getting Deadfolk published for You're Booked, the writing-related website from the good people at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival. Make sure you check out the other stuff on there too by folks such as Lee Child, John Harvey and Colin Bateman. But only after reading my one.

Other than that, let's just keep on rocking and rolling. And writing.

*Fags and Lager

Pulp of the Day: WHITE TRASH by Beulah Poynter

"Mattie Horn might be bawdy and direputable--but she was still beautiful enough to draw the town's most respected citizens down to the Hollow where she lived. And if her own charms failed, there was always her daughter Hagar--not yet eighteen, and pretty as a picture. The trouble was, Hagar wanted to be a respectable citizen herself. Tiring of visits on the sly, she took up right out in public with the preacher's son. Her boldness, and a slight dip into sin by Deacon Elihu Spry, brought down the wrath of the whole brutal community on the heads of the scarlet woman and her daughter"

Interestingly IMDB has

FAC 5

Check out Crime Factory 5, which is dedicated to the memory of Dave Thompson. In there amongst the great features and fiction by top people is a chapter of the next Royston Blake novel ONE DEAD HEN. Here we find Blakey getting interviewed by one D.I. Dave Borstal.

Kudos to Keith Rawson, Cameron Ashley and Liam Jose for doing a sterling job on this one. Not mention the great contributors: Sandra Ruttan, Stephen Blackmoore, Paul D. Brazill, Richard Godwin, Patti Abbott, Jim Winter Matthew C Funk and many more!! With features by Andrew Nette, Gary Lovisi, Jimmy Callaway, Eric Beetner and the Nerd of Noir.

Joke funnies

"Show me a novel that's not comic and I'll show you a novel that's not doing its job."

Booker Prize winner Howard Jacobson

Stuff City

Doesn't the world feel like a better place now? Royston Blake is free, and will be making an appearance in book form next August. It's a bit like when Nelson Mandela was released. Or when the Berlin Wall came down (except we did it without the help of David Hasselhoff). So, a reminder for anyone who didn't hear me shouting about it a few days ago - Mangel book #4 WILL be published, as will the first three (again).

Elsewhere, a nice review of Fags and Lager by Brian Lindenmuth at Spinetingler. BTW, Fags and Lager will be retitled BOOZE AND BURN when it comes out again next June. I'm sure you can guess that this is to do with "fags", which is obviously UK slang for cigarettes but in the USA means "banana", which is just a crazy mix-up and leads to the original title been auto-censored by an army of heavily-armed internet bots. "Burn" is obscure UK prison slang for ciggies, in case you haven't been a guest at one of Her Majesty's obscure establishments.

Also check out this interview with myself, ably conducted by Len Wanner at www.thecrimeofitall.com. Top questions.

Crime Express

I'm going to post more about the exciting new Royston Blake situation this week, but in the meantime check out this top cover for GRAVEN IMAGE, my contribution to the Crime Express series of short books from Five Leaves Press. It is slated for April 1st 2011 along with three others by Ray Banks, Danuta Reah and Stephen Booth - all of whose covers are also ace. Check those mothers out!


I'll post more info about GRAVEN IMAGE nearer the time. Until then, let it bask in an aura of mystery.

A Book in your Face

Ladies and Gents, the FREE THE MANGEL ONE Facebook campaign has worked. Royston Blake is on his way back! Lock up your daughters, your drinks cabinet and your toolbox!

More here.

And have a top weekend.

The 14/4 Lit Dinner

Hey, do you like food? Do you like books? How about The Rainbow Trust children's charity, which provides support to families who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness? You think that's a good thing too, right? OK, here's the clincher... can you be in Windsor on the 22nd October? If the answer to all of those is yes, have I got a thing for you...

The 14/4 Lit Dinner

14 authors and a 4 course meal. One author per table and they rotate between each fabulous course, so you get to...