F.R. Jameson's Blog, page 16
June 11, 2018
The Hunt for the 60s’ Ripper by Robin Jarossi
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The Jack the Stripper/Nude Killings case of the early 1960s was a huge deal at the time. Seven murders, hundreds of policemen deployed, masses of press coverage. But it was never solved. And the culprit is the most prolific, never caught serial killer in Britain of the Twentieth Century. Actually, he would seem to be the most prolific never caught serial killer this country has ever produced. Ahead even of the other more famous Jack. It is strange how little this case is remembered. Even ten years later it had apparently largely been forgotten
Between 1962 and 1965 (although there may have been another victim in 1959), the bodies of seven murdered prostitutes were found in West London. Initially their bodies were left in The Thames, but then the killer changed M.O slightly and abandoned them outside various commercial premises. One of the biggest manhunts in British history was launched, but despite the arrived of legendary Chief Superintendent John Du Rose, the killer just vanished into the ether.
Robin Jarossi’s book is the best guide to the case I have ever come across. One which examines it in a great deal of detail and with a magnificent amount of empathy.
That last point is important, as Jarossi really does go far out of his way not to portray the victims as just victims, but actual people themselves. That’s particularly hard to do (and thus particularly impressive) as it seems the police at the time, and the press reporting on it, often saw them as nothing more than common prostitutes and not people to be mourned. They were still condemned, even as their deaths were being investigated. But Jarossi does his best – sometimes with only scattered fragments of information to go on – to make them real and not just grainy photos on a police investigation room wall.
Of course, he doesn’t solve the case, but he sets up some interesting theories and dismisses some other theories, and – without a doubt – gives the best oversight to this strangely forgotten case there’s ever been.
My new thriller, EDEN ST. MICHEL – the second in my ‘Screen Siren Noir’ series – is available for pre-order now. You can reserve your copy here.
June 8, 2018
Thinking about Plots – part 2
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Here’s something I didn’t notice until it was pointed out to me.
Two of my favourite films are SUNSET BOULEVARD (from 1950) and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE (from 1962). As a fan of thrillers about film stars (ahem, see banner picture above) I have watched each of them dozens of times and know them both intimately.
(And yes, I know that WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE was also a book published in 1958, I have it on my Kindle, but shamefully have never read it)
Now here’s the thing, despite having seen both films many, many times, it had to be pointed out to me that part of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE’s plot is lifted directly from SUNSET BOULEVARD.
Both stories feature delusional ladies of a certain age, who become involved with men who portray themselves as more firmly rooted in the entertainment industry than they actually are. These ladies start collaborating with the man, while also being smitten with him, and the man ends up betraying them.
It’s actually, when you take a step back and stare at it, quite blatant. Yet because it’s done so well, most people never notice.
After all, when one generally thinks of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE, it isn’t the Victor Buono part of the movie which comes to mind. But that plot does make up a large portion of the film, and is taken straight from SUNSET BOULEVARD.
BABY JANE is a great film, but part of its plot is stolen.
Well, stolen is a loaded word.
As is plagiarism.
But the thing is, there are only so many plots in the world, and they are there for anyone to borrow.
Yes, borrow. That’s it!
Borrow is a lovely word.
And borrowing is something all us creatives can do.
We just have to do it well.
Next time, adapting existing plots for our own purposes.
June 6, 2018
Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings
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There’s been a bit of talk in some quarters of the BBC bashing tabloid press about KILLING EVE and its success on BBC America. Why, oh why, they ask (because they’re British and they love to moan), have we – the licence fee payers – not seen this hit show before our American cousins?
Now, I don’t understand enough about BBC America funding to know whether it’s actually self-sufficient these days and can now fund its own programmes. But I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt. What this delay has done however, is enable me to read the book before I watch it, and what a great read it is.
The tale of a beautiful hit-woman and her counterpart, the female spook who is tracking her down, CODENAME VILLENALE has incredibly vivid and well realised characters, a great eye for detail which lends a fantastic verisimilitude to the whole thing and – more importantly of all – wields its tension like a surgeon with a scalpel. Ratcheting it up at exactly the right pace to make every muscle in this reader’s body feel tense.
Having got to the end I can’t help but feel envious. Envy which comes with a creeping, terrible dread that maybe the tabloids are right after all. I can’t wait to read the next part of this, and I cannot bloody wait to watch the adaptation.
Where is it BBC? Why, oh why are we waiting?
You can read the opening of my thriller, EDEN ST. MICHEL right here!
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June 4, 2018
Mr Dodge, Mr Hitchcock, and the French Riviera: The story behind To Catch a Thief by Jean Buchanan
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Basically, we have here a genial, gentle ‘making of’ of a genial, gentle film. TO CATCH A THIEF is that rare Hitchcock film which lacks any overt darkness, the kind of movie you could put on Sunday afternoon and not offend Grandma. This short tale of its creation – which features no stroppy actors storming off sets, or movie threatening fights, or sordid affairs – is much the same.
What I found fascinating about it though, was the background tale of David Dodge, the author of the book the film was based on.
Now I was one of those people who was only vaguely aware that TO CATCH A THIEF was based on a book, but I’m so glad I now know his story. An itinerant American who split his time between travel writing and thrillers, he came up with TO CATCH A THIEF after he himself fell under suspicion of being a cat burglar while living on the South of France.
Never a household name (although he did rather well from the tie-in edition of the film), Dodge could serve as an inspiration for a great many writers. An author who honed his craft, who wrote what he knew while making it commercial and who managed to make a living for it. A living decent enough that he could live in a large house on the French Riviera, even if finances were occasionally tight. And then one day a bit of luck came along in the form of Mr Hitchcock, and he had the high-profile film adaptation too.
The bit of luck we can’t legislate for, but everything else – the dedication, the work – is something all writers can emulate. We just have to hope that when we come up with stories about theft or murder, it’s not because we’ve actually been accused of those crimes.
Fancy reading a taster of my latest novel? The first couple of chapters of EDEN ST. MICHEL are available for free here!
June 2, 2018
Author Interview – F. R. Jameson
And, as a follow-up to yesterday’s review, I’ve now had a chat with Rebecca about my writing and my heroines, Diana Christmas and Eden St, Michel. If you get chance, check it out!
I was recently contacted by Mr Jameson with a request to review Diana Christmas, his first of a series of screen siren noir books. The book was published in March this year – and it is a completely new genre for me to explore. I gladly accepted!
Firstly I’d like to say a huge thank you to anyone that has already taken the time to check out that post (and if you haven’t already, you can do so here!)
So, now you’ve had the opportunity to read my thoughts about the book, it’s time to introduce you to the author himself. Sharing his answers to my questions about the novel, he tells us a little of what inspired the story:-
Tell us all a little about yourself and give a brief summary of the book.
I’ve written for a long time, for most of my life in fact, but there was…
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June 1, 2018
Book Review: Diana Christmas – F. R. Jameson
I’ll be honest, I’ve been caught up with other work and haven’t written as much about plots as I would have liked – so the promised post will now appear next week. Instead, well, I was thrilled this morning to find a lovely review of DIANA CHRISTMAS by Rebecca (fantasyst95) over at her ReviewsFeed blog. It made my day! If you get chance, check it out…
***I was very kindly provided with a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions stated below are my own ***
In 1959, Diana Christmas – the beautiful, vivacious redhead – was a major star in Britain. It was her moment. She was on the cusp of making it big in Hollywood. Then, she simply walked away from the limelight. Vanished from an industry that adored her.
Twenty years later, Michael, a young film journalist, arrives at her suburban home and discovers the still vibrant and alluring Diana. Between her sheets, he hears for the first time the reason for her disappearance – a tale of coercion, shame and blackmail.
To his shock, he learns that those who destroyed her career and ruined her life still have their claws in her.
Totally smitten, he promises to help…
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May 30, 2018
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
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Reading a one-time ever so shocking novel a good fifty years after its release is always going to require that book to stand on its own merits. Society will have moved on and so whatever was once salacious enough to set tongues wagging, is likely to be low-proof beer now. Certainly, VALLEY OF THE DOLLS’ frankness about drugs, sex and sexuality now seems particularly tame. I’m sure there are YA novels these days which feel rawer than this.
So, stripped of the whiff of scandal which once surrounded its name, is the book any good?
And the honest answer is: I’m not really sure.
I’ll say without a doubt that it’s annoyingly superficial and facile. It really does take an odd kind of talent to follow characters across twenty years, let us know their hopes and dreams and frustrations, and still make them seem like ciphers. Although it’s a talent I’m not sure most writers would want.
As such reading VALLEY OF THE DOLLS was for me a frustrating experience – and yet read it I did. I didn’t give up. Even as I grumbled with frustration at it, I persevered. And I’m not quite sure why. All I can think is that there’s something compulsive and hypnotic in its badness that wouldn’t let go.
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS really isn’t a good book. It’s not awful, but it’s undoubtedly a bad read. It is however held out as one of the first of the big trashy blockbuster novels, and trash it most definitely is.
Maybe then that’s the reason why I read all of it. As with proper, unashamed trash – be it a TV show or a film or a novel – if you’re in the right kind of mood, you’ll stick with it no matter how many braincells you think it’s costing you.
Would I recommend it?
No, not at all.
Do I regret reading it?
You know what, I don’t. I made my bed, took my red pills, and I was more than happy to lie in it.
If you want to read my own tale of film stars, my novel DIANA CHRISTMAS is available now!
May 28, 2018
Introducing… Eden St. Michel
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Exciting times!
I’ve said since the publication of DIANA CHRISTMAS, that my next novel will be the second in the ‘Screen Siren Noir’ series and will be called EDEN ST. MICHEL.
Well, that day is getting closer.
Not only do I now have the fantastic cover above, but the book is also available for pre-order on Amazon.
It will be out the 18th of July, and will be available for the bargain price of $1.99/£1.99 for the first two weeks.
What’s more, the first few chapters are now available for you to read on Instafreebie. Just follow this link and they will be yours.
This is a novel I’m really proud of and am thrilled that the day of publication is getting closer. Obviously I’ll post more about it here as the date gets closer, but for now – and to whet your appetite – here is the synopsis:
“Eden was a film star, Joe was a stuntman. They met in a Soho nightclub in 1962 and the passion between them was intense.
Quickly they fell in love, but their romance was dangerous.
He couldn’t resist being a hero for her, and – as much as she might have hated it – she was a sucker for a big, strong man who’d try to save her.
Before long, the two of them had careered into trouble. And then, because they couldn’t resist each other, they did it again.
But the worst lay ahead.
Real and terrifying troubles – exploding into a celebrity-fuelled scandal which gripped the whole of Britain.
For Eden and Joe though, it was a scandal which could end on the gallows.
Eden St. Michel, a new tale of film stars, gangsters and death from F.R. Jameson.”
Available for pre-order on Amazon.
With the first few chapters available for free download on Instafreebie.
Enjoy!
May 25, 2018
Thinking about Plots – part 1
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I’m going to start talking about plots by quoting an incredibly smug man who makes the seemingly proud boast that he has only ever read one book.
(An article I read the other day said that President Trump is only thought to have read three pieces of fiction. And you really don’t want to be behind Donald Trump in the well-read stakes.)
This man who claims to have only read one book?
It is largely insufferable and very much past his prime, Ricky Gervais.
But the reason I bring him up, and will now quote from him, is his rationale for why he hasn’t read more:
“I open a book, I’ll read the first line, ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…’ I think, ‘Ooh, that’s a good starter’, then I’m off on my own ideas.”
Now, I think everybody should have read more than one book (although, I would say that, wouldn’t I?), but if you’re thinking creatively, then that strategy is not a bad one to adopt.
Let’s say you’re watching a show on Netflix and it has a compulsive first scene with great characters who respond to instantly. It’ll be tough, as you’ll want to know what happens next, but maybe just pause it for a minute and work out where you’d take the characters next if you were in charge. Don’t necessarily write anything down, but think through – from that starting point – where you’d go with the story.
When you press play again, you can then compare your version with their version. There’s a fair to good chance that since we live in the golden age of TV and this show is made by professionals who have persuaded hard-headed businessmen to give them millions of dollars, that their plot will be better than yours. But you may surprise yourself. You may hit an idea which is better and sleeker and which you’d much rather watch. Or you might think of an equally interesting direction the show could have taken. Or you may have just thought of a nugget, some little twist of the plot that isn’t there.
Once you’re thinking creatively about what’s in front of you, then you can get to the end of the show and write down what your idea would have been, what your nugget would have been, and build it out. You can start working with your version of those characters – putting them in a room and having them confront each other – and start creating a story.
In one way, Ricky Gervais is right, if you are getting inspiration – no matter from where – then you should be using it. Don’t worry, it’s not stealing, it’s having your creativity open to all the ideas around you.
Next time – Why you should actually be stealing.
You can read some free short stories of mine if you like, just click here for your copy of SOMETHING WENT WRONG & OTHER STRANGE TALES!
May 23, 2018
Succubus Dreams by Richelle Mead
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Even though I’ll easily go a year without reading books in this series, I really enjoy Richelle Mead’s Succubus novels. Heading back to Seattle to hang out with Georgina Kincaid, succubus supreme, is something I look forward to and which – if I’m honest – I feel like I’ve delayed far too long.
In some ways, the third of this series, SUCCUBUS DREAMS is more of the same. But there’s nothing wrong with that. These are great hang out novels, books to just drop into, with fun other-worldly characters that are great to catch up with and find out what they’re up to.
Being the kind of supernatural creature she is, Georgina works for Hell taking men’s souls through sex, but her main concern is really the bookshop she works at, and her friends, and her ongoing relationship with her boyfriend, Seth. Each of these novels has a threat – the plot kicking in – that could tear her apart from this fun Seattle lifestyle. But, much like you know James Bond is going to save the day, you know that Georgina will sort things out and it will be back to coffee and book talk by the end.
This one is slightly different though. Intriguingly different.
As this isn’t really an urban fantasy novel about succubuses and demons and angels, instead it’s a book about relationships. It’s about Georgina and Seth, about Georgina and the other people in her life. Hitherto, I’d have said that the supernatural stuff was the plot to the novels, Here, it’s a window dressing for a plot about a couple and their relationship needs.
I’m sure there’ll be some who are disappointed by this, who just want the fantasy stuff and don’t care for the gooey bits. But I loved it. Yes, this is still a novel about a succubus and demons and angels, but – impressively – it’s so much more than that.
If you’re interested, a collection of my own dark fiction, SOMETHING WENT WRONG & OTHER STRANGE TALES, is available exclusively free here!
