Keith Dixon's Blog, page 4
July 30, 2014
Support your local writer
A couple of months ago I heard about Pubslush, a site that is like a Kickstarter for books. If you don't know it, Kickstarter is a site where creative people can get financial backing from ordinary folk for their creative projects. Pubslush aims at achieving the same result for writers.
So, seeing as I'm well into writing the fifth Sam Dyke book, The Strange Girl, I thought I'd give it a go. The result is the page I'm linking to here. If you're so disposed, and have money to spare, you can donate some of it to a worthy cause - me - and in return, when the project is finished you'll get a reward of some kind, assuming I reach a minimum attainment.
I'm not anticipating lots of take-up, to be honest, but I'll treat it as an experiment and if it works, that's great. If not, meh.
Here's the link to my project page:
The Strange Girl project
So, seeing as I'm well into writing the fifth Sam Dyke book, The Strange Girl, I thought I'd give it a go. The result is the page I'm linking to here. If you're so disposed, and have money to spare, you can donate some of it to a worthy cause - me - and in return, when the project is finished you'll get a reward of some kind, assuming I reach a minimum attainment.I'm not anticipating lots of take-up, to be honest, but I'll treat it as an experiment and if it works, that's great. If not, meh.
Here's the link to my project page:
The Strange Girl project
July 28, 2014
The Alliance of Independent Authors
I'm proud to say that I've just been granted Professional Membership of the Alliance of Independent Authors, a body that has been founded to promote and protect the interests of independent and self-published authors.
This is the first time I've been a professional member of anything and it gives me great pleasure that this first occasion should be for something that I love doing.
You have my permission to stare at and admire the badge on the right-hand side of this page.
This is the first time I've been a professional member of anything and it gives me great pleasure that this first occasion should be for something that I love doing.
You have my permission to stare at and admire the badge on the right-hand side of this page.
July 25, 2014
Exciting news
This is just a placeholder post before I get around to reviewing James Lee Burke's latest book, Wayfaring Stranger.
There have been a couple of exciting developments recently, involving translation. First, I joined a site called Fiberead, who asked if I'd be interested in having one of my books translated into Chinese. Well, frankly, what writer wouldn't? China is currently the third-largest user of ereaders at the moment, and I guess that user-base will only increase with time. Getting my book into a form that will be readable should only be a good thing. The site is currently recruiting translators for Actress.
The second translation is coming from a site called Babelcube, who have put me in touch with a lady called Silvia Jurado Hermida, who is going to translate Actress into Spanish. Obviously this is also a large potential market, with Amazon having Kindle stores available for Spain and Mexico, for example. It's promised to be completed within 70 days - which will be some going.
Finally, just a nod towards Wayfaring Stranger, James Lee Burke's latest contemplation of The Way We Live Now. This book takes the Holland family strand that he's written about before and is positioned during and just after WWII. Although not evidently a 'crime' novel there are certainly strong plot elements in it that get the pulse racing, with Burke's usual mix of extraordinary villains and unusual characters. More later.
There have been a couple of exciting developments recently, involving translation. First, I joined a site called Fiberead, who asked if I'd be interested in having one of my books translated into Chinese. Well, frankly, what writer wouldn't? China is currently the third-largest user of ereaders at the moment, and I guess that user-base will only increase with time. Getting my book into a form that will be readable should only be a good thing. The site is currently recruiting translators for Actress.
The second translation is coming from a site called Babelcube, who have put me in touch with a lady called Silvia Jurado Hermida, who is going to translate Actress into Spanish. Obviously this is also a large potential market, with Amazon having Kindle stores available for Spain and Mexico, for example. It's promised to be completed within 70 days - which will be some going.
Finally, just a nod towards Wayfaring Stranger, James Lee Burke's latest contemplation of The Way We Live Now. This book takes the Holland family strand that he's written about before and is positioned during and just after WWII. Although not evidently a 'crime' novel there are certainly strong plot elements in it that get the pulse racing, with Burke's usual mix of extraordinary villains and unusual characters. More later.
July 7, 2014
Digital Book Day
Just a note to say that July 14th will not only be Bastille Day, marking the beginning of France's freedom from oppression, but also Digital Book Day, marking the freedom of a number of ebooks from the oppression of having a price attached to them ...
You can go along to this site and on that day, download books from a number of wonderful writers for FREE! What could be better? OK, maybe a hot tub, but apart from that? Not much, I warrant. Here's the link, so put it in your diary:
Digital Book Day
You can go along to this site and on that day, download books from a number of wonderful writers for FREE! What could be better? OK, maybe a hot tub, but apart from that? Not much, I warrant. Here's the link, so put it in your diary:
Digital Book Day
June 20, 2014
Marlowe rises from the grave ... then sinks into it again.
It's been called literary ventriloquism - the ability to write in the 'voice' of another writer. That idea, once a jeu d'esprit, has now become big business. I guess it began with Kingsley Amis writing a James Bond novel - Colonel Sun - after Fleming's death, following his own critical examination of the Bond phenomenon, The James Bond Dossier. Subsequently, Wikipedia provides a frighteningly long list of Bond books written by other writers, culminating most recently with William Boyd's poor effort, Solo.
Recently, the Booker-Prize winning author John Banville, writing in his guise as Benjamin Black, has produced a Raymond Chandler 'continuation', The Black-Eyed Blonde, apparently a title that Chandler had earmarked in his notes for future use. This follows a couple of attempts at Chandler follow-ons from the prolific and often excellent Robert B. Parker - Poodle Springs and Perchance to Dream, neither of which met with much approval from hard-boiled fans. But then, expectations are high when it comes to Raymond Chandler.
More »
Recently, the Booker-Prize winning author John Banville, writing in his guise as Benjamin Black, has produced a Raymond Chandler 'continuation', The Black-Eyed Blonde, apparently a title that Chandler had earmarked in his notes for future use. This follows a couple of attempts at Chandler follow-ons from the prolific and often excellent Robert B. Parker - Poodle Springs and Perchance to Dream, neither of which met with much approval from hard-boiled fans. But then, expectations are high when it comes to Raymond Chandler.More »
May 23, 2014
And the hits keep coming ...
Now I've published the fourth in the Sam Dyke series, it seemed appropriate to offer the first three as a so-called 'Box Set'. It's available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple and probably lots of other places, too. What's more, buying this set is cheaper than buying all three separately!
Here's the cover and some links ...
From Amazon US: Amazon.com
From Amazon UK: Amazon.co.uk
From Barnes and Noble: (coming soon)
Kobo: Kobobooks.com
Here's the cover and some links ...
From Amazon US: Amazon.com
From Amazon UK: Amazon.co.uk
From Barnes and Noble: (coming soon)
Kobo: Kobobooks.com
And the hits keep coming ...
Now I've published the fourth in the Sam Dyke series, it seemed appropriate to offer the first three as a so-called 'Box Set'. It's available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple and probably lots of other places, too. What's more, buying this set is cheaper than buying all three separately!
Here's the cover and some links ...
From Amazon US: Amazon.com
From Amazon UK
Here's the cover and some links ...
From Amazon US: Amazon.com
From Amazon UK
May 7, 2014
A new Sam Dyke - The Bleak
I've just published my new Sam Dyke novel, The Bleak. Here's the blurb (that's technical speak):
For P.I. Sam Dyke, taking this particular case is not
promising. A secretary is worried that her boss is cracking up, and she doesn’t
know why.
It doesn’t take Dyke long to discover that it’s not just the
pressures of work that are getting to this man, a scientist. It’s his
colleagues, too. Their
For P.I. Sam Dyke, taking this particular case is not
promising. A secretary is worried that her boss is cracking up, and she doesn’t
know why.
It doesn’t take Dyke long to discover that it’s not just the
pressures of work that are getting to this man, a scientist. It’s his
colleagues, too. Their
April 7, 2014
Public Service Announcement
Tammy Moore from New Writing North, the writing development agency for the North East of England, has asked me to circulate the following info to anyone who's interested in crime writing - especially if you're based in the north.
Crime Story
A weekend festival for crime writers and readers
Spend a weekend getting under the skin of a fictional crime with top crime writers, criminologists, lawyers, police and forensics experts. New Writing North and Northumbria University invite crime writers (aspiring or established) and readers to Crime Story – a weekend of discussion and workshops focusing on a fictional crime and how it would be investigated in real life.
Ann Cleeves, prize-winning author of the Vera Stanhope series (now a major ITV series) and Shetland Island Quartet series, has created a crime especially for this weekend. Throughout the Crime Story weekend criminologists and forensic scientists will give insights into how labs work, experts in policing will talk you through scene of the crime procedure and journalists will discuss the moral responsibility of reporting on heinous crimes. There will also be prize-winning crime writers at the festival – Louise Welsh, Margaret Murphy (AD Garrett) and Ann Cleeves – who will talk about how to incorporate the forensic facts into fiction. Participants will be guided ably throughout the weekend by author and former crime fiction critic for The Observer Peter Guttridge.
This is an unmissable opportunity for any lover of crime fiction, whether you’re an aspiring writer or want to dig deeper into your favourite, fictional world. To find out more about Crime Story, and to book your place, go to www.crimestory.co.uk.
I'm sorry I won't be able to make it because it looks like a great event.
Crime Story
A weekend festival for crime writers and readers
Spend a weekend getting under the skin of a fictional crime with top crime writers, criminologists, lawyers, police and forensics experts. New Writing North and Northumbria University invite crime writers (aspiring or established) and readers to Crime Story – a weekend of discussion and workshops focusing on a fictional crime and how it would be investigated in real life.
Ann Cleeves, prize-winning author of the Vera Stanhope series (now a major ITV series) and Shetland Island Quartet series, has created a crime especially for this weekend. Throughout the Crime Story weekend criminologists and forensic scientists will give insights into how labs work, experts in policing will talk you through scene of the crime procedure and journalists will discuss the moral responsibility of reporting on heinous crimes. There will also be prize-winning crime writers at the festival – Louise Welsh, Margaret Murphy (AD Garrett) and Ann Cleeves – who will talk about how to incorporate the forensic facts into fiction. Participants will be guided ably throughout the weekend by author and former crime fiction critic for The Observer Peter Guttridge.
This is an unmissable opportunity for any lover of crime fiction, whether you’re an aspiring writer or want to dig deeper into your favourite, fictional world. To find out more about Crime Story, and to book your place, go to www.crimestory.co.uk.
I'm sorry I won't be able to make it because it looks like a great event.
Public Service Announcement
Tammy Moore from New Writing North, the writing development agency for the North East of England, has asked me to circulate the following info to anyone who's interested in crime writing - especially if you're based in the north.
Crime Story
A weekend festival for crime writers and readers
Spend a weekend getting under the skin of a fictional crime with top crime writers, criminologists,
Crime Story
A weekend festival for crime writers and readers
Spend a weekend getting under the skin of a fictional crime with top crime writers, criminologists,
