Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 309

Short & Not So Sweet

Keeping track of short stories is really tricky. Publication dates shift and books undergo title changes, and not all all of my stories get gathered into collections. The biggest problem now is that it’s hard to sell collections at all. In response to the previous piece’s comments, though, I’ll at least try for a current [...]

What Are You So Afraid Of?

Well, I’ve just finished the next Bryant & May book. Breaking with the authors’ tradition, I don’t light up a fag and have a brandy, but usually go out to dinner. Tonight we’ll be hitting a restaurant at midnight (I know, Spanish hours, a killer) and celebrating, but not for long. Next week I start [...]

This Just In…

‘Bryant & May and the Invisible Code’ has now been nominated for four national book awards, three new ones thanks to Crimefest here, and one from the CWA as mentioned before. ‘Invisible Ink’ has also been nominated.

Maybe I should only write books with the word ‘invisible’ in the title…

Try Lingual: Why It’s Hard To Speak In Tongues

I’m in a restaurant in Barcelona. Using my newly learned handful of Spanish words, I order what I think is cod, and get eggs in some kind of pink sauce. I think I used the right words but my accent was appalling – not enough lift to the Rs, no lilt – I sounded like [...]

No Fun Please – We’re British

Part of the next Bryant & May novel is set in a London park. I grew up right next to the large and beautiful Greenwich Park – although back then the naval college had no tall buildings behind it. Apparently London has more greenery than any other city in Europe, which surprises me as I [...]

A Stab At An Award

I’ve been longlisted for the 2013 Dagger in the Library Award from the Crime Writer’s Association. This is the only Crime Writers Association award that’s voted for by library staff and users.

There are thirteen nominations, and theshortlist will be announced at the CWA reception at Crimefest, in Bristol. The winner will be announced at the [...]

No Cannes Do – Again!

In ‘Film Freak’ I lead off a chapter about the Cannes Film Festival with this sentence;

‘Every Cannes Film Festival is announced with the same pair of newspaper headlines. If it’s going to be a good year, the line is ‘In The Cannes’. If it’s bad, it’s ‘No Cannes Do’. ‘

Well, ‘No Cannes Do’ is the [...]

Whatever Happened To The Art Of The Con?

Here’s an article I wrote for yesterday’s ‘Independent’ on confidence tricksters. The Indie had to edit it for lack of space, but now you can see the full piece here:

The invention seemed just plausible enough to work. Sold in thousands, it was a bogus bomb detector made of parts cribbed from a novelty golf ball [...]

Well Worth A Deep Sea Diver

The fiver has a new face – Sir Winston Churchill. He’s certainly had his detractors in the past, but what a life! His ‘History of the Second World War’ is not only a staggering achievement but also very funny. Setting aside his governance of Britain and roles in two world wars for a moment (because [...]

Word Of The Week: ‘Skeuomorphic’

I love this word. It means;when something copies the original functional image of what it’s replicating. So, for example, a Kindle protective cover has cross-stitching that makes it look like a book, or an electric kettle continues to look like one that belongs on a stove even though it doesn’t go near a flame. When [...]