William Sutton's Blog, page 26
November 4, 2016
Have yourself a very atheist Christmas
After a year off the King of British Chanson is back with his ever-popular Christmas Extravaganza – the show where you, the audience, get to chose the set list.
Tickets: £15
Website: www.jeays.com
FB excitement
For the uninitiated, and you know who you are, this is how it works: at the door you will be given a raffle ticket.
During Philip’s two hour gig he will be pulling numbers from out of a hat and if you have that number, you chose the next song. And don’t worry if you are not familiar with Philip’s oeuvre (for it must be one of own songs), you can still join in by selecting a song from a list by simply shouting out a number.
The atmosphere is always warm and friendly and fun so why not join us to help celebrate a very atheist Christmas.
Phil will be backed by his full band.
Food and drinks available from the bar.
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November 2, 2016
Shhhh (Day of the Dead iv)
See also Charlotte Comley’s Day of the Dead,
Victoria Leslie’s preview of DarkFest,
Lord Byro’s poems in the Square Tower,
Fab photos of the Event by Reka Dongo.
What can we say about Day of the Dead iv: Shhhh? I honestly think this is the best audience anywhere, and this was our best Day of the Dead show yet.
“She’s just hilarious.”
“Genius.”
“Where else can we see him?”
“Best yet.”
There was facepaint, there were masks.
There were poison bottles, there were skeletons.
Camaraderie, beer, dressing up, frivolity, morbidity:
A character summoning the devil, dying from his wish come true.
President Marcos’s embalmed body alleged a fake.
A therapist locked up by client in four verses and a catchy chorus.
The Collective Unconscious of Machines conspiring to gun down the whole audience.
Fun and frolics all round. See you again next year.
Or at Valentine’s Day Massacre at The Wave Maiden.
And even this Sunday, at the Square Tower: Dark Songs.
DAY of the Dead
1st Half:
William Sutton
Tony Noon
Maggie Sawkins
Charlotte Comley
Alan Morris
Jacqui Pack
James Bicheno
Lord Byro
Justin MacCormack
Philip Jeays
2nd Half:
Christine Lawrence
Tom Harris
Gareth Rees
VH Leslie
Tom Sykes
Sue Spiers
Jamie West
Diana Bretherick
Matt Wingett
Stalls
Lawn of the Dead
Eyecandy
Head Case Curios
Blackwell’s Bookshop
Square Tower
Dark Songs, 6pm Sunday 6 November 2016, Square Tower. DarkFest events until 30 November.
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October 31, 2016
Shhhh
What can I say about this year’s Day of the Dead iv: Shhhh (line-up below)?
I’m about to look in awe through the photos people are sending in, the warm wishes of the wonderful writers, and compliments streaming in from our joyously wackadoodle audience.
Before I do, and before I post photos of our spectacular extravaganza, let me just say what a joy it has been to see the audience grow, to hear friends write better and better stories, to see newcomers become old-hands, to marvel at the development in performance skills, and to end up with a show I would feel proud to present anywhere from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House.
Wow. A terrific night of wild words, intriguing scenes, compelling plots.
DAY of the Dead
1st Half: William Sutton, Tony Noon, Maggie Sawkins, Charlotte Comley, Alan Morris, Jacqui Pack, James Bicheno, Lord Byro, Justin MacCormack, Philip Jeays
2nd Half: Christine Lawrence, Tom Harris, Gareth Rees, VH Leslie, Tom Sykes, Sue Spiers, Jamie West, Diana Bretherick, Matt Wingett
See you next week for Dark Songs, 6pm Sunday 6 November 2016, Square Tower, and at DarkFest events until 30 November.
Lawn of the Dead, Eyecandy, Head Case Curios, Blackwell’s Bookshop, Square Tower
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October 28, 2016
Melodious misanthropy and malodorous melancholy
I shall be playing once again with Philip Jeays, that purveyor of melodious misanthropy and melancholic malevolence, at The Phoenix Theatre & Arts Centre, Bordon, GU35 0LR on 11 November. An event to remember. More details.
live with the full band
with support from Radio KWG/Geoff Allnutt.
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October 15, 2016
DarkFest Programme
DarkFest Portsmouth 2016, Full Programme (from publisher Life is Amazing)
Event Date
Event Name
Venue
Blurb
Thursday 27th October, 6.30 – 8pm
An Evening with Andy McNab
Richmond Lecture Theatre 1, Uni of Portsmouth, Portland St PO1 3DE
Talk and Q&A session with a renowned former SAS soldier and bestselling author. Copies of Andy McNab’s newest thriller, Cold Blood, will be available for purchase and signing on the night.
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-andy-mcnab-tickets-27680799015
Saturday 29thOctober, 10 am -10 pm
Head Case Curios Halloween Night
Southsea Emporium, 154 Elm Grove, PO5 1LR
Headcase Curios invite you to enjoy a drink to celebrate Halloween. And for Halloween-heads with a love of steam punk, special Dark Fest discounts apply today only. Shop and bar opening late till 10pm.
FREE: Telephone 023 9282 9893 for more information.
Saturday 29thOctober
Festive Film Screenings:
5pm Sleepy Hollow
8pm It Follows
Café au Cinema, 50 Osborne Road, PO5 3LT
A screening of two festive movies. Advance booking is essential.
Book via email: cafeaucinema@yahoo.com
or message through facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cafeaucinema/
Sunday 30th October
Festive Film Screenings:
5pm Crimson Peak
8pm The Shining
Café au Cinema, 50 Osborne Road
A screening of two festive movies. Advance booking is essential.
Book via email: cafeaucinema@yahoo.com
or message through facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cafeaucinema/
Sunday 30th October,
6 pm
Day of the Dead IV & DoD book launch
Square Tower, Broad Street, Old Portsmouth, Po1 2JE
Stories and songs to chill, thrill, and amuse from Hampshire’s most talented. Includes the launch of the Day of the Dead anthology.
Tickets – £4 (concessions), £7 (full price): https://www.wegottickets.com/event/375714
Wednesday 2nd November,
6.30 pm
Portsmouth Film Society presents
Terry Gilliam’s ‘Brazil’
Eldon Building, Uni of Portsmouth, Winston Churchill Avenue, Portsmouth, PO1 2DJ
A chance to watch this classic dystopian urban comedy from visionary filmmaker Terry Gilliam.
Under 16s £4
Adults: £6
Certificate 15
Bookings: 07528 808400 / info@portsmouthfilmsociety.org.uk
Thursday 3rd November,
7.30-10.30 pm
Aurora Front Room – ‘Into the Night’ Performance Poetry
Aurora Coffee Shop, Albert Road, PO5 2SJ
Come and see Francesca Beard, international performance poet, amongst a host of hugely talented poets. Includes open mic session, too – turn up early if you want to perform.
FREE event, donations welcome – 20% to charity.
Friday 4th November,
7.00-11.00 pm
Aurora Front Room ‘Murderville’ Music
Aurora Coffee Shop, Albert Road
Gypsy Music meets Jazz with film noir projections reminiscent of Sin City.
Saturday 5th November, 7.30 pm
Genghis – The Truth
New Theatre Royal
A murderous dark comedy about love, silk, and barbarian hordes by Zella Compton.
Tickets £8: http://www.newtheatreroyal.com/performances/genghis
Sunday 6th November,
6 – 8 pm
Dark Songs
Square Tower, Old Portsmouth
Four brilliant songwriters in one atmospheric venue.
DarkSongs
Tickets: Concessions £4, full price £6 https://www.wegottickets.com/event/375811
Sunday 6th November, 7.30 pm
Joe Black – Meet Me at the Eldorado
Wedgewood Rooms, 147b Albert Rd, PO4 OJW
Twisted cabaret from the host of Southsea’s House of Burlesque.
Tickets, £10: http://www.wedgewood-rooms.co.uk/WhatsOn/TabId/90/ArtMID/1211/ArticleID/166/JOE-BLACK-Meet-Me-At-The-Eldorado.aspx
Tuesday 8th – Saturday 19th November
‘Lost in Time’ Exhibition: Historic, Lithographic, Cinematic!
Art Space, 27 Brougham Road, Southsea, PO5 4PA
An exhibition of authentic 1930’s billboard advertisements by artist Lawrence Gleadle, remastered by local artist, Kendal James. Closing party on 19th Nov, 4-8 pm.
FREE
Wednesday 9th November,
5.30 pm
Dark Victorians
Blackwells Bookshop, PO1, 2EF
A panel of novelists and academics talk about the dark side of Victorian life. Local author Diana Bretherick will launch her latest novel, The Devil’s Daughters.
FREE
Friday 11th November,
7 pm
Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light
Portsmouth Temple of Spiritualism, Southsea, PO5 2BU
A talk about the creator of Sherlock Holmes and his relationship with spiritualism by local author Matt Wingett.
More information: http://www.mattwingett.com/conan-doyle-and-his-belief-in-ghosts-a-talk/
Tickets £3 on the door.
Monday 14th November,
7.00 pm
Old Portsmouth Ghost Walk
Meet outside The Dolphin pub, High Street, PO1 2LU
Join Dr Karl Bell for a short walking tour of Old Portsmouth and learn more about local ghost stories and folklore.
FREE
Wednesday 16th November, 7.00 pm
‘Making Urban Monsters: Spring-heeled Jack and Jack the Ripper’
Richmond Lecture Theatre 1,
University of Portsmouth, Portland Street, PO1 3DE.
Join criminologist and novelist Diana Bretherick and historian Karl Bell for a public talk on how the Victorian media created two Jacks, the demonic Spring-heeled Jack, and the infamous serial killer, Jack the Ripper.
FREE
Sunday 20th November, 7.30 pm
Tongues and Grooves
Square Tower, Broad Street, Old Portsmouth, PO1 2JE
This month Tongue and Grooves will be exploring the DarkFest themes.
Tickets: £4 on the door.
Tuesday 22nd November, 7.30 – closing
Doodle Club
Wave Maiden, 36 Osbourne Rd, Southsea, PO5 3LT
This month the Doodle Club will be doodling dark designs on the DarkFest themes.
Turn up and doodle, materials provided.
FREE
Thursday 24th November, 6 – 10 pm
Gaming Club – Adult retro gaming event
Game Over, Basement, 16 High Street, Old Portsmouth, PO1 2LP
An opportunity to play scary games in a dark basement. Need we say more?
More information: https://www.facebook.com/gameoverinternetcafe/
Thursday 24th November, 6.30 -8.30 pm
‘Femmes Fatales’ Writers Workshop
Room F, Portsmouth Central Library, PO1 2DX
A Portsmouth Writers Hub workshop based on an authors’ roundtable discussion about the character of the ‘femme fatale’. Feel free to dress up for the occasion!
Saturday 26th November, 7pm -1am
Dark or Darker Shivering or Not!
Coastguard Studio, 91 Clarendon Road, Southsea, PO4 0SA
A night of audio-visual performance, installations, live artists and theatre makers, all exploring the DarkFest themes. Hosted by 1000 Plateaus.
one000plateaus.com/darkordarker/
FREE (donations welcome)
Wednesday 30th November,
7 – 9 pm
Dark City – Book Launch and Art Exhibition
Hunter Gatherer Café, Albert Road, PO4 0JR
Join us for the launch of Dark City, an anthology of scary Portsmouth stories by local authors. Includes an art exhibition by the Omega Printmakers. A farewell to the 2016 festival.
FREE
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October 10, 2016
Lost in Music: Esopus, George, Richard, collaboration and me
Creative collaboration is scary but always stimulating.
Collaboration with New York artists on a project for the legendary Esopus magazine is hyper-stimulating.
When George Cochrane, my artist friend, was commissioned to write a 16-page graphic piece for the eclectic and innovative Esopus magazine, which he titled Lost in Music, he called on his daughter Fiamma to collaborate, as she has throughout his epic graphic novel, Long Time Gone. He asked me to contribute recollections of our shared musical travels; and a soundscape piece by sculptor Richard Nonas hijacked the central pages.
I sing The Lou Reed Song for George Cochrane‘s collaboration event at Fairleigh Dickinson University alongside Esopus editor Tod Lippy and sculptor Richard Nonas, while George’s graphic novel revisits my first meeting with him, forged through musical bonds.
Richard Nonas reads Goat’s Itch
In front of a packed house at Fairleigh Dickinson’s Madison campus, where the Florham Library was exhibiting our works, Richard clarified his thoughts:
The notion of collaboration is something I’ve thought about a lot. To be honest, I don’t like the idea of collaborating. I like the idea of people using other people’s work. I like the idea of helping people with their work, giving them things they do.
But this is not a collaboration. This is your piece. It’s not a collaborative operation. It’s your art. What’s wonderful is for you to take our work to use as material, like using colour, form, language, you’re using our notions and material, and that’s a great thing.
It feels, to all of us, it’s a gift. You’ve given us a gift.
And that notion of using other people’s material as your material – but not in the same form, using it as you use paint, it’s a beautiful thing, and a strong thing. And I think the basis of all strong art is made that way.
Tod Lippy agreed:
Collaboration is fascinating. But what fascinates me more is seeing artists use other artists’ work as inspiration. The sampling process. It takes the work into a whole new realm. It gives it new life. It is a gift to the artist who’s being honoured.
When you told me you were getting Fiamma, Richard and Will involved, I was thrilled. But it is your vision, your curation, in a way that makes it something completely new and unique.
George gave insights into his working process, how ideas coalesce, fragment and reemerge through the work. This alone was worth the trip, understanding more of the journey from inchoate idea (songs by The Fall rattling round his head) through storyboarding, panelling, inspiration, layout, words, and colours – not forgetting the painstaking atomiser spray.
I was delighted to contribute a song and to voice the video made by our friend Dallas Campbell about the musical roadtrip we took in 1989, with an article and video:
Richard Nonas:
You take your art from everything you now.
I lived in Paris for two years. I was happy there. I was just beginning to make art. I was learning a lot. A lot of friends.
I came back to New York. The first night I met a sculptor I didn’t know and he said, “Come on!” He took me to a bar.
I was listening to two people next to us arguing. Not violently, but violent words. They were arguing about sculpture. I listened, I couldn’t help joining in. Both of them said come to my studio tomorrow and I’ll show you what I mean.
I’d been in Paris two years. Every night I had a beer with a group of young artists. Nobody invited anybody to their studio. Because if you invited someone to your studio, they’d steal your ideas.
First night in New York, these two guys say “Come to my studio!” – Richard Serra and Robert Smithson – two of the greatest sculptors of my generation. Why would I go back to Paris?
That kind of borrowing, that kind of knowingness, that willingness to take ideas wherever you find them, and make them your own… I mean, it’s harder to copy ideas without changing them, than it is to change them. If you just use them, you change them.
Thanks to Tod and Esopus, to Fairleigh Dickinson, to Richard, to Fiamma and most of all to George. I had a blast.
George Cochrane’s studio, offering terrifying insights into his crazed mind
Pictures of Dante, and my observations of George’s studio
Exploring New York and relaxing at Fairleigh Dickinson University with Richard Nonas.
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September 21, 2016
Dark Songs
Dark Songs. Brilliant songwriters, Eilís Phillips, Jamie West, Philip Jeays, Radio KWG, hosted by yours truly.
And tell us you’re coming via the Dark Songs event page, part of Portsmouth DarkFest.
Jamie West: introspection delivered extrovertly. Jamie’s three magical albums can be heard here.
Eilís Phillips: sweet & ethereal monster folk. Hear more of Eilís on Bandcamp.
Radio KWG: Acoustic Excerpts from the Road. You can hear songs by Kylie, Will and Geoff on their website.
Philip Jeays: superbly crafted songs, poetic sensibility, with bitter irony and mordant wit. Have a listen to Geoff.
Please share link: william-sutton.co.uk/darksongs/
and Facebook event
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September 8, 2016
Kate Hamilton’s: Extract from #FlowersofSin
Star and Crescent also published this excerpt from Lawless and the Flowers of Sin , William Sutton’s second Victorian mystery, published by Titan Books and launching on 12th July 2016. Sergeant Lawless goes deeper into Soho.
Kate Hamilton’s
Two steps from the dens of Soho, a dark entranceway was fringed by two ill-trimmed laburnums. You do not feel the eyes watching you as you approach. You imagine slipping from view into the passageway that leads to the silken palace. A moment of uncertainty, then you push your way in. The passage envelops you with a steamy warmth: the welcoming embrace of Kate Hamilton’s.
Darlington went to push aside the heavy plush curtains, his truncheon tucked beneath his winter coat. A voice accosted us. “Not on duty,” he replied, “but rather attending personal business. By appointment with Kitty H. herself.”
The bell was rung, velveteen drapes pulled aside, champagne thrust into his hand. It dawned on me, Darlington wasn’t trying to shock. He wanted me to know that he knew everyone. That champagne, before we were seated, meant he had done his job.
At the heart of this pageant of bodies, nestled in the palace of ottomans and pale rouge divans, beneath a soft dome illustrated with lurid Olympian daubings, sat a vast ungovernable whale of a woman, a queen of the Orient, enthroned above her minions. Kate Hamilton herself.
Darlington winked.
“Long tempo, nanty vader, Jimmy Darlington,” she crooned. “Roll up, roll up, my lover boy. Choose between Lila, layer of lords, Cora, comfort of commodores, and Sabine, saviour of seamen.”
“Nah, Kitty,” a pale woman with ample bosoms piped up, lolling on a gent’s knee. “I never saves none of it.”
Kate Hamilton erupted, a blancmange Vesuvius. “Cora, kindly entertain the gentlemen. Jimmy does respond to your particular endowments.”
In a recess off the main chamber, illustrated with the judgement of Paris and more pretexts for nudity, Darlington drew out a set of chessmen, but disdained the board laid into the table. Instead Cora shed her gown and lay back on the ottoman. The Oriental lamplight threw enticing shadows on her. Scarves wrapped around chest and hips, her stomach lay bare. Neatly inscribed, from hipbones to ribcage: a chessboard tattoo.
Darlington swiftly laid the pieces on her tum, flat as an ironing board and walnut brown. As he advanced his pawn, Cora lay quite still, draped in diaphanous silks. I would normally look away from such an exhibition of flesh—but one must stare intently at the chessboard.
“Excuse Watchman, Cora. He’s admiring your artwork.”
“This in’t nothing,” said Cora, her pronunciation a mélange of East End and the Orient. “Lila’s got a map of the world on her back.”
“You always know where you are,” Darlington nodded, “with Lila.”
We played out a King’s Gambit (accepted, Berlin Defence). Cora had to hold in her laughter, for she spotted illegal moves before we did, and anticipated my checkmate, pinning Darlington’s bishop against his king. As his fingernails lingered vainly over the puzzle, I asked him what we could glean from these girls.
“Hard to get a straight answer.” He gestured towards Cora and her remarkable form. “Observe. Cora, how did you come to be whatever you are?”
“Moi?” She stretched carefully. “Oh, I’m a ruinated daughter of a priest.” This tale seemed as likely as any, but she would elaborate no further.
Darlington shrugged. “See?”
Hearing my Scottish accent, Kate Hamilton sent over a whisky.
A sterner bell rang: an alarum. Glasses were swept into crates, bottles hid under carpets and false walls. The lights rose. Whatever had been going on moments before was reimagined, with an earnest air. Cora sat up, disrupting my victorious position, to make her attire respectable. Before I could protest, she proceeded to set up the position again on the table, the pieces exactly as they had been on her stomach.
I goggled at this feat of memory. She shrugged it off languorously. Cora did everything languorously.
Tea was served just as the uniformed police waltzed in.
“F Division.” Darlington pulled his hat low. “Amateurs.”
Cora spotted my whisky. I’d had enough to numb my toothache; more and I might yield to temptation. Without a thought, Cora upended the dram into the pot plant. (I took note of this trick of Cora’s, which would save me from many ills.) As the police made a show of looking around, like villains in a thrupenny drama, she was genteelly filling my glass with peppermint tea.
“Care for a cuppa, officer?” Kate Hamilton boomed, holding out a box of cigars.
The leading copper took one. He was leaning forward to kiss her when he noticed us. Darlington shaded his eyes as the copper’s mocking glance took in me, Cora and the board. “Wasting your time teaching that simpleton to play chess.”
“Chess masters may teach anyone,” said Cora levelly. “And don’t call my uncle a simpleton.”
The wag ventured no further into the interior. They promptly withdrew, a bag handed to them at the door; coins jingled in my imagination.
“Shambolic operation.” Darlington stared after them. Within two minutes, normal stations were resumed: carpets, drinks, girls, et cetera, and Cora’s déshabillé.
“Cora.” I gave a low whistle. “You’re a quick-witted little liar.”
“Not at all, you silly uncle.” She arched her eyebrows, placing a hand on her chest as she set the pieces for the next game. “I was youth champion of Lower Armenia, 1861.”
Demoralised by another swift defeat, Darlington introduced me to the madam.
Kate lit a cigar and handed it to him. “Chivalrous gent, is he? Just ’ere for the chess?”
“More interested,” I said, “in delights other than those of the flesh.”
“Ennui, is it? Plenty here to stave off the ennui.” She pronounced the word as if it were a venereal disease. “If you dispense champers to Cora, Maura and Mehetabel, no one will begrudge your delectatio morosa, that is, a certain lustful brooding.”
Darlington laughed. “Watchman is my successor, Kitty. On our salary, champagne’s at your discretion.” He winked and strolled back to Cora.
Kate Hamilton stretched. Her bosom strained beneath mountainous folds of material. “Will you be a more demanding overseer than our Jimmy here?”
“On the contrary. Lend me a modicum of help, and we might dispense with the farce of these inspections.”
A hush fell around us. “And of what might that modicum consist?”
I considered. “Let the girls speak to me. Tell me their true histories.”
“Ain’t that our business and none of yours?”
I wanted neither to convict, nor convert, I assured her. Such a well-run establishment I saw no need to police. After all, boys will be boys. I simply had to deliver a census. Let parliamentarians witter on about reform. “Tell me how many girls work for you. Let them tell me how old they are, where from, how come to the profession, and I’ll leave you be.”
“We might manage that.”
“I’d be grateful.”
“Grateful enough to free us from F Division’s nosy parkers? Customers don’t like it, I’m sure you understand.”
“I can be persuasive.”
She inspected me intently, her face as weather-beaten as a naval pilot’s. “Is that an equitable exchange?”
“Well. Since you’re asking.” I clapped my hands together. “I shall be taking a reckoning of the houses neighbouring. Could you help persuade them to talk to me?”
“We can do better than that, my lover, if you’re serious.” Kate sat back, like the Great Eastern returning to dock, though more amply bosomed. “Why not regard us as your West End office? A glass of Scotch for the Scotchman here. You and I shall come to an arrangement, as sure as Almighty God is sitting on his throne.” She clinked her glass against mine, her pig-like eyes twinkling. “A most favourable arrangement, my lover.”
September 7, 2016
You done the time, now do the Crime Festival #2
As Bloody Scotland storms Stirling this weekend (Crimes & Compromise on Shots Blog), h ere’s a second sinful blog (previously on Dark-Reader) slothful delights of Crime Festivals, which helped me write Lawless & the Flowers of Sin , Titan Books .
Sloth: “You done the time, now do the CrimeFest #2”
“What is a nice person like you doing in a genre like this?” Laura Wilson
The hard way to improve in crime writing is to read and write, read and write until your eyes hurt and your hand aches. The slothful way is to go to festivals. I’ve signed up for next year’s CrimeFest already and I’ll be at Bloody Scotland on Friday and Saturday.
Meeting lovely people, discovering new writers, discussing linguistic analysis at the bar. There was sharp chat in the panels below. I recommend the great crime festivals, Harrogate, or Bloody Scotland , to any writer, or reader, where you can slothfully improve your crime thinking without even opening a notebook.
Bristol sends me into a creative brain sphere. On the train there, I met a social worker whose stories were darker than Lawless and the Flowers of Sin: murder, incest, police corruption. It gave me wonderful insights to share with our Murder at the Theatre workshops at the New Theatre Royal, followed by Portsmouth Writers’ Hub Murder at the Café.
Sardonic, witty, revealing, here are criminal pearls I picked up. I’ve slothful divided it into two blogs. Here is Day 2. Find Day 1 here.
CrimeFest Day 2
Debut Authors: An Infusion of Fresh Blood
“All the characters are composites of people I know. People don’t see the bad in themselves. They don’t say, Oh, I’m the arsehole in Tenacity.” JS Law
“The best way to deal with bad reviews? Sit down next to them in the pub, and say ‘Why did you write that?'” Matt Johnson
“Teaching someone in the army to write is a real accomplishment.” JS Law to Matt Johnson
“A feeling of loss propelled me to write.” Sarah Ward
“What is a nice person like you doing in a genre like this?” Laura Wilson to Anja de Jager
Using Real People: How Do You Combine Fact and Fiction?
“I read The Times for three months on either side.” Alison Joseph (writing about Agatha Christie)
“If it’s spontaneity you’re after, I’m out of here.” David Ashton (Conan Doyle, William McGonagall, R.L. Stevenson)
Audience question: “Is there an unease about writing real people that you might be manipulating them, modernising them?”
“Graham Greene said that all writers must have a sliver of ice in their heart.” Peter Guttridge (Great Train Robbers). “They’re not writing fictional characters, they’re writing friends and family and traducing them.”
“We assume that this fiddling with people is negative, but it can be the opposite.” Andrew Taylor (Edgar Allan Poe)
Once Upon a Crime: Long Long Ago
“How do you keep the research under control?”
“My editor says, this is lovely, Shona, but…” Shona MacLean
“The stark differences in 19th Century Edinburgh are like Mexico City now. The New Town, the Old Town.” Oscar de Muriel
“Don’t write what you know, write what you’d like to know about.” Linda Stratmann
Call The Cops: Why Do We Love Reading About Our Girls and Boys in Blue?
“She’s a big fat lass with a face that scares the horses.” Quentin Bates
“Why a theology student? Because he doesn’t really believe in anything.” Ragnar Jónasson
“A homicide cope, and strangely enough, as soon he arrives in the Faeroes, there’s a murder.” Chris Ould
“With every novel you’re trying to solve the problems of previous books, seeking a mix between literary and crime.” Susie Steiner
What’s So Funny? Humour in Crime Fiction
“Incongruity is the essence of comedy.” Ruth Dudley Edwards
Comedy = tragedy + time?
“When Paul Daniels died, I thought, ‘Ooh, that’s tragic,’ but I didn’t say it for three months.” Nev Fountain
How many characters should you have?
“Start off with a few. End with less.” Nev Fountain
On Grantchester: “I write it, then they take all the jokes out.” James Runcie
“We all know in this country you can’t get published if you kill a dog.” Ruth Dudley Edwards
“I don’t read crime. I don’t like panels.” Douglas Lindsay
Late night ‘discussions’ with fellow writers
You can find more stops on my blog tour here.
You done the time, now do the Crime Festival
Bloody Scotland storms Stirling this weekend and you can read my thoughts about that Criminal City of Compromise on Shots Blog.
Here’s a sinful blog or two about the slothful delights of Crime Festivals, which helped me write
Lawless & the Flowers of Sin
,
Titan Books
.
Sloth: You done the time, now do the CrimeFest #1”
“I hate happy endings.” James Silvester
To improve in crime writing the hard way, you must write till your fingers bleed.
The slothful way? Go to festivals such as CrimeFest and Stirling’s Bloody Scotland.
Meet people, find new writers, discuss grammar at the bar. I find Bristol’s CrimeFest so slothfully enjoyable it is sinful (shout out to Titan Books’ publicists, editor and writers). Besides the eating, drinking and making merry there’s sharp chat in the panels below.
Here are the criminal pearls I picked up. I’ve been slothful enough to divide it into two blogs. Here is Day 1. Day 2 appeared on Dark-Readers during my Sinful blog tour. For dodgy attribution of quotations, I apologise: my hand-writing’s illegible since recent eye operations; it wasn’t too good before either.
CrimeFest Day 1
Making A Point: What are You Trying to Say?
“Dialogue is the way to do it. In the third person, let the characters reveal themselves.” Timothy Williams, challenged over his elliptical dialogue.
“Another good thing, you fill many pages writing dialogue.” Kati Hiekkapelto (joking)
“I was shaken by Africa. Travelling through, it didn’t match the template I’d expected. I realised either Africa had to change or I had to.” Robert Wilson
“When Chandler was bored, he’d bring in a man with a gun. I copy & paste something I’ve written before.” Timothy Williams
“Now we understand your elliptical style,” quipped moderator Michael Stanley (Stanley Trollip).
Crimes Against Humanity: Terrorism, War and International Intrigue
“I’m a sadist when it comes to characters.” James Silvester. “I like to put them through hell.”
“Build up your character & knock ’em down.” Mari Hannah. “Readers love that.”
“When someone blows an airplane out of the sky, a therapist asks ‘What makes somebody do that?’” Yusuf Toropov
Eloquent moderator: Paul Hardisty
Sending Shivers Down the Spine: Don’t Look Now
#BestQuestions #crimefest16:
“Do you prefer writing the heroes or the villains?”
“Do you dream about your characters?”
“How much fear do you create in yourself?”
“Do any of your characters ever appear to you in dreams?”
“Does it matter if there are 5000% more murders in your books than there are in reality?”
“What are you afraid of?”
“Clowns.” Mason Cross “My 6-year old loves clown facepaint. She says, she’s trying to give dad a heart attack.”
“I’d like to write a book called Garbage, sourced by rooting around in writers’ bins,” said Andy Martin, author of Reacher Said Nothing. “Except now the intriguing chopped bits are in their Recycle Bins.”
“Root around in my bins all you like, just don’t look at my Google search history,” said Jenny Blackhurst. “Especially if you’re in uniform.”
“It’s an architectural thing, writing a book.” Mason Cross “You have to lay the foundations first, though you may deviate from the plans later.”
“Titles need a nice rhythm and multiple meanings.” A.K. Benedict “It helps shape the stories.”
“Where do the titles come from?”
She looks around wildly. “Nyeargh.”
“When you write a sonnet, nobody questions the 14-line structure.” Paul Perry (Karen Perry) “Beat sheets can help you structure your book.”
Bristol: not a bad spot for crime
