Mason Cross's Blog, page 6

Bouchercon

I made my first trip to Bouchercon this month.

For the uninitiated, this is basically the biggest crime fiction festival in the world. It's held every year in the USA (with occasional excursions to Canada), and this year it was in the beautiful St Petersburg, Florida.



It's a tough life, but sometimes you just have to knuckle down and do the author events.

I flew in via Philadelphia on the Wednesday evening, and had to spend an extra hour waiting on tarmac until the lightning went away. Having been travelling all day, I hit the sack early in order to be up in good time for day one of the festival. Luckily, those of us from across the pond have the advantage of being five hours ahead, so an eight o'clock start wasn't as painful as it usually would be.



I headed down to the con hotel (the Vinoy Renaissance) and registered. They gave me the biggest damn bag of books I've ever seen, and then free pastries. Good start.


I was pleased to get fellow-Glaswegian Abir Mukherjee's second novel in the bag, and doubly pleased to run into the man himself at the refreshments area.

After lunch at a British pub (I know) with some fellow authors, I headed into my first panel: Martini with a Twist of Plot. It was a great lineup: Alafair Burke, Meg Gardiner, Jennifer Hillier and Neil S Plakcy, ably hosted by Kristopher Zgorski. We discussed serial killers, techniques for building tension and lots more. We also got leis (the flowery necklace things) and coconuts, making this easily the best-accessorised panel I've ever done.



It was great company to be in and the forty-five minutes flew by.

My publisher was attending in force, so I got to catch up at the bar and then dinner with my editor Francesca and Katie, Sarah and Sam from Orion.

On Friday I went to a couple of panels then got lunch at a waterfront place, which somehow involved pina coladas. I went to see Michael Connelly interview Mark Billingham and finally got to meet one of my biggest writing heroes afterwards. He was very understanding about me being a fawning fanboy. No restraining order yet.


We took some time out for a quintessentially American trip to the Friday night ball game - the Tampa Bay Rays playing the Baltimore Orioles. The game was a blowout and the hot dogs were disappointingly small for America, but it was a fun evening.


Saturday morning kicked off with the Drawing Inspiration from Our Kids panel, moderated by Joe Clifford with Shannon Kirk, LynDee Walker, Tom Pitts, Emily Carpenter and yours truly. No prizes for guessing why I made it onto this panel.

This one was quite different from the standard book discussion, since we were talking about our kids. The other authors were all Americans, but I wasn't surprised to learn that most aspects of balancing child-rearing and crime writing are universal.

After that, I signed some books for a very friendly bookseller from Mystery Mike's in Indianapolis (yep, an indie from Indy).


The rest of Saturday was spent pleasantly socialising, hanging out with old friends, meeting new ones and generally sitting in the sun with a few of these.



Sunday at book festivals is always the Long Goodbye, with everyone going their separate ways and promising to catch up at the next thing. In this case that's Bloody Scotland, this very weekend.

I sat at the bar and had a beer with Ian Rankin and Mark Billingham. The beer turned into three or four, and then a few more after Mark had to catch his taxi to the airport. Very cool just hanging out with nothing to do, downing a few cold ones with a couple of crime writing masters.



And on Monday before flying home, I had a solo breakfast with a good book, which turned out to be exactly the right way to relax after a full-on weekend.

Labor Day Weekend special offer

It's Labor Day Weekend in the USA, which I have no real clue about other than... something about wearing white?

However, it does mean that PRESUMED DEAD has been selected for a 99¢ Kindle deal, so if you don't have it yet, go get it. If you do have it, tell your friends. If you've already done both of those things and you're feeling generous, write a review!
As usual, the other ebook emporia are matching the deal, so you should be able to get it from your preferred source:

KindleNookiBookKobo

What I've been doing lately

I wonder how many blog posts in the year 2018 being with "Sorry I haven't blogged in a while..."? Well, this is another.

Anyway, I thought it would be good to post an update of what I've been up to over the last while. First up, the annual Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Festival in Harrogate.



As usual, this was a great opportunity to chat to other writers, catch up with my editor Francesca and generally mingle with book people.

Following on from last year's success, Orion did another great job with the Incident Room - a suite in the Swan Hotel they booked out for the weekend and decked out with some gruesome props, and a bunch of great events.

I arrived at the festival fashionably late on the Friday, in time to be one of the jurors grilled by Steve Cavanagh for Thirteen Live, along with Neil White, Stuart Neville and Martyn Waites.


Saturday started with The Hungover Gameshow, hosted by the Two Crime Writers (aka Luca Veste and Steve Cavanagh) and for legal reasons, bearing absolutely no similarity to Pointless.

I had a pretty good teammate...




We didn't quite manage to win, making it to the final round before being defeated by Val McDermid and Mark Billingham's superior crime fiction knowledge. The whole thing was recorded, and it will be available to listen to sometime soon on the Two Crime Writers website.

My last event of the weekend was a panel on series fiction, hosted by the excellent Marnie Riches. It was me, Rob Sinclair, Emma Kavanagh and Daniel Cole. We got to discuss the challenges of writing a series character, our inspirations, how much research we do, and how we plot the books. 75% of us used spreadsheets to keep things straight. I felt at home.

Sunday and the long train journey home, during which I was able to catch up on my edits for book 6 (which isn't a Carter Blake book).



...and then I was straight into the next thing, which was filming an episode of the brilliant CBS Reality series Written in Blood with my fellow author Simon Toyne.





If you haven't seen it, the series involves Simon talking to a crime writer about a case that has inspired something in their work, or that they have a local connection to. I ended up discovering a serial killer almost literally in my back yard...

The episode will air in the UK as part of the new series in the autumn, and I'll be sure to let you know as soon as I have a date. The whole experience was fascinating, and Simon was a terrific host.

I rounded off a busy couple of weeks with a talk to the Waterstones Durham reading group, followed by a signing. It was nice to actually stop in Durham for once, rather than just seeing it from a train window. A cool city and a great store.





I even got to fix the mistake on p288 of Don't Look For Me.



Next up on the festival front, I'm going to be making the trip to St Pete's, Florida for my first Bouchercon in a few weeks, at which I'll be on a panel with Meg Gardiner, Jennifer Hillier, Elizabeth Little and Neil S. Plakcy, moderated by Kristopher Zgorski. Can't wait to hit my first US festival.

And before that, I'm going to be making a short research trip to the Scottish Highlands for that non-Carter Blake book I mentioned earlier.

I'll have a lot more to say about that one soon. Watch this space...

Presumed Dead on sale, and Harrogate

I'm off to the wonderful Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival at Harrogate this weekend, and to join in with the festivities, my publisher is offering my new book for only 99p in UK ebook this weekend.

It's not even out in paperback yet, so this is a big £7 saving, and I hope you'll find it an offer you can't refuse.

You can get it at all the usual ebook outlets:

KindleKoboGoogle Play iBooks
As for my itinerary at Harrogate, I'll be on a panel on series fiction chaired by Marnie Riches, and taking part in the hungover quiz show on Saturday.

Aside from that, I'll be generally socialising/drinking, so if you're at Harrogate, please come and say hello.

McIlvanney Prize longlisting

So pleased to report that Presumed Dead has been longlisted for the 2018 McIlvanney Prize!

It joins a stellar lineup of books from authors including Craig Robertson, James Oswald, Chris Brookmyre and Caro Ramsay.

You can read the full announcement on the Bloody Scotland website. The shortlist is announced later this summer, but in the meantime I'm very happy that the new book is in such great company. Big congratulations to everyone else who made the list.

Some pics from the launch

Presumed Dead had a brilliant welcome into the world at Waterstones Argyle Street a couple of weeks ago. I've been too busy with next year's book to blog about it, but here are a few snaps of me being quizzed ably by Douglas Skelton.
I've been delighted by the response so far, and it's easily been the best-reviewed of all my books. If you want to see what people love about it, you can get it from all good bookshops.

Presumed Dead - reviews

Presumed Dead has been out for a week and I've been blown away by the response from readers so far! A huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time to let me know how much you enjoyed it, or left a review.

It's always scary when something you've spent months working on goes out into the world, and it's a massive boost when people seem to love it.

Here's a roundup of some of the best quotes:


First up, a pair of my fellow crime writers. Both of whom come highly recommended by me too:

Jenny Blackhurst said "I absolutely LOVED it."

Eva Dolan:

Loved this one! A driving thriller about loyalty and lies in small town America. Get entering, folks... https://t.co/1DfdwG2fX5— eva dolan (@eva_dolan) April 18, 2018

"The final twist knocked me sideways!" - Peterborough Evening Telegraph



"Multi-layered deceptions slowly unravel, and the suspect spotlight falls on a number of people towards the end of what is an atmospheric, brooding and compelling thriller." - Tony Forder

"It’s quite the rollercoaster ride let me tell you. Add to that small town blues, a suspicious Sheriff, more death, a bit of action and some cliff hanging shenanigans and you are onto a good thing. Then we have perhaps one of the best endings in a thriller novel I’ve come across for AGES." - Liz Loves Books

"Carter Blake is an excellent character – plausible without being a parody, with enough skills to be excellent at his chosen role and a back story in the shadows which is alluded to but never quite revealed." - Crime Fiction Lover

"Brilliant, brilliant story telling from Mason Cross. If you have not yet discovered the Carter Blake books then this is the perfect opportunity to find out why readers look forward to each new release." - Grab This Book

"I read it very quickly because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next, but then was sad when I finished it cos it was over! But I wasn't disappointed by the ending. OMG, the last couple of chapters! Wow! Absolutely fantastic." - Suze Reviews


There's also a bunch of great Goodreads and Amazon reviews too. So far, 100% positive (that won't last).

So thanks again to everyone who's read Presumed Dead and said nice things about it - you all rock.

Presumed Dead - publication day

World, please welcome Presumed Dead - be nice to it!

If you're in the UK, Ireland, Australia and NZ, you can get the new Carter Blake book in all the usual places, but to make it extra easy, here are some links:

Click here to get the trade paperback in your home territory
or
Click here to get the Kindle version

UK trade paperback (large format)WaterstonesAmazonWHSmithHive

UK ebookKindleKoboGoogle PlayiBook
UK audioAudibleKobo Audio
I'm hoping to have an idea of US release date soon, so watch this space. In the meantime, you can get the other four books right now.

A deleted scene...

Presumed Dead is published in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in just one week.

In the meantime, here's a deleted scene from the book. This was the original prologue. I cut it from the final version of the book for a few reasons, but I thought it would be nice to post it here, as it sets the story up, and introduces one of the main characters, Isabella Green.





 Prologue
Isabella Green

November 24th

‘Come for a visit, stay for a lifetime.’

That’s what it says on the sign at the town limits. People make jokes about it. Bethany is a nice place to live, mostly. But then I say that like I know what it’s like to live anywhere else, and I don’t, not really.

Lake Bethany, to give the town its Sunday name, is just about big enough that you can always find somewhere to be alone if you need to, but small enough to feel like a real community. The kind of place where folks look out for one another. Invite their neighbours over for a cookout in the summer, help to dig out driveways in the winter, check in on the older people who don’t have family. That kind of thing. Of course, just like in any community, there are people who take more of an interest in their neighbors’ business than others, but I guess you can find that anywhere.

There’s enough to keep you busy. We have all the stores you need: food, hardware, a couple of restaurants. Jimmy’s Bar has a band on every Tuesday night, and sometimes it’s even a good one. Not a bookstore, of course, that closed down a long time ago.

It’s quiet. Rarely any real trouble these days, and I would certainly know. Oh sure, there’s the occasional bar fight in Jimmy’s, the occasional DUI, the occasional teenage kegger getting a little out of hand, but mostly Sheriff McGregor keeps things shipshape.

No, if there’s trouble, it tends to come from outside.

Weekend hunters from the city, or farther afield. College kids stopping off for a night on their way down to Macon or Atlanta. Even normally well-behaved hikers can get a little high-spirited on their day off. Anyway, the sheriff makes sure that if the out-of-towners step out of line, they only do it once.

That’s the way it is in most towns the size of Bethany I guess. You’re a long way from backup, so you have to make sure you keep people in line. You can’t afford to let things get out of hand.

There’s been no real trouble worth the name in Bethany for years now. Not since the summer of ’03. Folks around here don’t like to bring that up, and any visitors who do tend to be politely but firmly moved on to other topics of conversation. Besides, that wasn’t about Bethany, even though you could argue our town bore the highest cost. The past is past, that’s what people say around here.

Except, that’s never quite true, is it?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the past over the last year or so. Ever since Mom got sick. It forced me to think about my father, and what happened to him. It’s funny how one person can just change everything. About you, about the people you know, about the place you live in. Like in high school chemistry, adding a catalyst to a solution. And then just like that, their absence can change everything all over again.

David Connor is another one thinking about the past, though in his case that’s really nothing new. He’s been different, the last couple of months. We had barely exchanged a word since high school, ever since it happened. Then all of a sudden, a few weeks ago, he wanted to talk about it. I don’t know why he reached out to me then. Maybe he thought we had some kind of shared bond, because we both lost someone that night. I didn’t need that. Back then, after it happened, everybody told me I needed people around me to get through it, but that’s not true. Truth is, for better or worse all I’ve ever needed is myself.

But David Connor only wanted to talk about Adeline, not my dad. He got it into his head that she was alive, somehow. Crazy.

I listened, and I told him no way. Adeline is as dead as all the others. And that was when it struck me for the first time. It’s funny how all the most important people in Bethany are dead.

David didn’t want to hear it, so I left him to it. I figure it’s harmless, to everyone else at least. Just David’s way of dealing with the grief. Or perhaps his way of not dealing with it.

I can tell the sheriff isn’t happy with him digging into ancient history, though. Like I said, this town prefers the past in the past, and Jim McGregor doesn’t like people who go looking for trouble.

That reminds me. Do you remember when I said most of the trouble in Bethany comes from outsiders? That’s true.

It seemed like things were going just fine until Carter Blake came to town.



UK trade paperback (large format)WaterstonesAmazonWHSmithHive

UK ebookKindleKoboGoogle PlayiBook
UK audioAudible
Kobo Audio

Author copies, and the first reviews of Presumed Dead

Author copies! Or, as we call it round these parts, George McFly Day.
I love the cover of Presumed Dead so much - it's easily the best cover I've ever had. Nothing to do with me, other than saying "Yep, that looks just about perfect." 
It's always a thrill to get the pre-publication delivery of a box full of books that you actually wrote, and this time was no exception.




Presumed Dead is published in the UK and associated territories (which means, I think, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland) next week, on April 19th. You can pre-order right now, or if you're going to be near Glasgow on the 18th, there's still tickets for the official book launch.

I've already had some great reviews and blurbs. The excellent Jenny Blackhurst, author of How I Lost You, The Foster Child and other thrillers, all of which you should definitely read, said:

"I absolutely LOVED it, move over Reacher, I have a new favourite hero."

Liz Barnsley  is first off the blocks from the blogger scene:

 "It’s quite the rollercoaster ride let me tell you. Add to that small town blues, a suspicious Sheriff, more death, a bit of action and some cliff hanging shenanigans and you are onto a good thing. Then we have perhaps one of the best endings in a thriller novel I’ve come across for AGES. "

Over on Netgalley, Trev T says:

"a fast exciting ride as Blake attempts to be accepted, into this rural community, by a suspicious population and police force who do not welcome the interference of outsiders. It soon becomes clear that a killer is still active and as the body count mounts the lines between the past and present become increasingly blurred. Mason Cross performs the very skilful task of shielding the real killer until the final pages and that disclosure is nothing short of ingenious. "

I'm stoked the book is going down well so far. Can't wait to hear what readers think when it's out for real...



UK trade paperback (large format)
Waterstones
Amazon
WHSmith
HiveUK ebook
Kindle
Kobo
Google Play
iBookUK audio
Audible