No Alibis Event - Paul Charles

From the No Alibis Newsletter...

An Evening With Paul Charles-The Lonesome Heart Is Angry
Friday 6th June at 6:30PM

No Alibis Bookstore is pleased to invite you to celebrate the launch of Paul Charles' latest novel, THE LONESOME HEART IS ANGRY, on Friday 6th June at 6:30PM. This is a free event.
What seems like a routine job for the matchmaker, Michael Gilmour, in a 1960s small Northern Irish town becomes something very much more when events take an unexpected turn. The brothers Kane have an idea for their matches that will set tongues wagging, light the fires of jealousy in more than one heart, and open the door to tragedy.
The Lonesome Heart is Angry explores life in a small town and the darker side of the human condition. It doesn't shy away from the gossip, the fear, the violence and desperation that can build up inside people and behind closed doors.
Set in Castlemartin, home of the Playboys who featured in Paul Charles' The Last Dance, The Lonesome Heart is Angry is a gripping novel that will keep you reading until the last page.
Paul Charles is a noted author of crime and music books. He works as a music agent and is based in London. New Island published his previous Castlemartin novel, The Last Dance, in 2012.
Book your spot now by emailing David, or calling the shop on 9031 9607.

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A Wee Review - Family Life by Paul Charles

Family Life is the second of the Inspector Starrett mysteries set in the town of Ramelton in County Donegal. Dangerously close to Brian McGilloway’s stomping ground, but there’s room enough for both of them, thanks to the diversity in styles.

Family Life kicks off with the murder of a young farmer by the name of Joe Sweeny. By all accounts, a downright decent bloke who played well with others. His body is discovered on the day of Liam Sweeny’s 64th birthday. Liam is the patriarch of the Sweeny clan. The immediate family extends to Liam’s wife Collette, two more sons, Tom and Ryan, and a daughter, Teresa. All have returned back to the Sweeny farm to celebrate Liam’s birthday with their significant others in tow. It comes to light very early on that almost every guest at the party has a motive for the murder related to Joe’s place in Liam’s will. And so Starrett, though mildly depressed by the prospect, has no choice but to start his investigation with the dead man’s immediate family.

As the plot develops, so does a rather interesting study into the dynamics of family life that extends beyond the Sweeny clan and gives the thoroughly introspective Starrett food for thought. His own personal situation is far from perfect due to the fact that he spent his early years running from a vocational mistake he made as a teenager. Now, well into his forties and with romantic notions for his childhood sweetheart, he has the urge to overcome his emotional awkwardness and achieve the sense of ‘belonging’ he equates with family.

There are some surprising flashes of humour in Charles’ writing, considering the dark premise of a murder in which those closest to the victim are suspected. They caught me off guard from time to time, but served to keep me interested in the book at points where it began to feel like just one interview after another. Charles achieves the admirable task of keeping the reader interested in the slower side of police work. He goes with old fashioned detection over gunfights and body counts.

Charles’ background as a music promoter infuses the book with lots of great references to the industry. But he keeps them subtle and in line with the story, which is not to be sniffed at. The temptation to show off his personal knowledge (and detract from his characters in the process) would be hard to resist. If Starrett ever makes it onto the screen, Charles should definitely be drafted in to work on the soundtrack.

Family Life is a clever work of detective fiction set against a homely background that seems to magnify the brutality of a serious crime like murder. And there’s more Inspector Starrett to come. I have it on good authority that this series will form a trilogy at the very least. After that... we can but hope.

Family Life, Marketing and Bill Hicks

As a follow up to yesterday’s post on Paul Charles’ charm, I thought I’d share a line from Family Life that kind of nailed me when I read it. To put the quote in some context, a wet-behind-the-ears cop is conducting an interview with a murder victim’s brother, who happens to work in marketing. And then this:

‘There didn’t seem to be any apparent common denominator between marketing and murdering, so Casey decided to move on.’

Now, it may be cynical of me to latch on to this line as humour. After all, I’ve no basis at all with which to assume that marketing can be synonymous with murder...

Bill Hicks might disagree, though.

I don’t remember there being as much humour in the Dust of Death, the first Inspector Starrett novel, but that’s most likely due to the fact that I read it quite some time ago. Family Life deals with a very grim situation, a murder in which the victim’s siblings are the most obvious suspects, but Charles deals quite a few leavening moments along with the bleak. It’s disarming but it’s keeping me hooked.

Paul Charles' Charm

I’m currently reading Family Life by Paul Charles. It’s a police procedural set in a small Donegal town, the second in his new series featuring Inspector Starrett. Charles’ writing is of a no frills, matter-of-fact variety, but that isn’t to say that it lacks the panache and charm that I feel most writers of the Irish crime fiction set are bestowed with. But he approaches it quite differently than a lot of his contemporaries.

The following exchange between the protagonist and his father illustrates it pretty well, in my opinion:

'“Oh you should always be wary of someone who walks at least a step or two behind his wife.”

“Ach, sure, that’s only because city girls walk faster, Dad.”

“Aye, I did hear they were faster all right,” Starrett’s dad replied, and then he muttered something Starrett couldn’t make out.'

I think Charles has painted an honest representation of small town mentality here. Both humorous and disparaging, but true to the kind of characters he has created in this world. Starrett is a relaxed and mostly unflappable character (though quite innocent and shy at times for an inspector) who’s a bit more worldly from time spent living in London. Sometimes he’s a little dismayed at the old fashioned attitudes held by those close to him, and yet at other times he’s equally likely to embrace them. It’s an interesting mix.

Some Like it Hot...

(From the No Alibis Newsletter...)

No Alibis Book Tent @ ChilliFest

Friday 25th - Sunday 27th September

CUSTOM HOUSE SQUARE

BELFAST

Belfast's independent bookstore pitches up with alternative American literature, Mojo Storytelling, Read 'n' Rant and impromptu literary mischief from festival performers and guests.

Artists confirmed - more to come!

Fri 2-3pm - Paul Charles One of Europe’s leading Music Promoters and an acclaimed crime fiction novelist, chats about his adventures in the music business

Fri 3-4pm - Gerry Anderson Reading and Chat… as only Gerry can!

Fri 4-5pm - Kinky Freidman American singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain.

Sat 1-2pm - Camel Hartley Poetry reading from the multidisciplinary artist and poet -originally from The West Midlands of England, now living in Belfast.

Sat 2-3pm - Simone Felice One of the legendary Felice brothers, Simone will read from his forthcoming book of short stories “Black Jesus”

Sat 3 - 4pm - Sid Griffin The musician, author and broadcaster will read from and chat about his book “on Bob Dylan, 'Million Dollar Bash” with BBC Radio Ulster’s Ralph McLean.

Sat 4 - 5pm - Bandwagon Obscura Music and Poetry

Sun 2 - 3pm - Lyndon Stephens Ex-festival organisor and current driver of the only Dodge in Belfast, Lyndon pays Tribute to the God of East texas Noir… Joe R Lansdale!

Sun 5 - 6pm - Cat Malojian


NO ALIBIS BOOKSTORE
83 BOTANIC AVENUE
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david@noalibis.com
ph. 02890-319601
fax. 02890319607

No Alibis - What's Coming Up...

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the Paul Charles event at No Alibis Bookstore last Friday. I welcome comments from anybody who made it, though. Meanwhile, I can still look forward to Paul's appearance at Lisburn City Library on Thursday 1st October at 8PM for a reading and Q&A for The Big Big Reading Group. Admission is free and all are welcome.

And although I missed out on that particular reading (and Liam McIllvanney's) David Torrans has a helluva lot coming up in the next few months:

James Ellroy is coming to Belfast!

Jack O'Connell will be at the shop in November (one of James Ellroy's favourite authors, dontcha know).

CWA winner Denise Mina is also booked in.

John Connolly will launch The Gates in early October.

And looking a little further ahead, Michael Connelly will return to Belfast in 2010 for another No Alibis event.

But wait until you hear this...

David recently had dinner with George Pelecanos. This crime fiction giant and TV writer for the hit series, The Wire, said, "David, I'm coming to Belfast," before David even had a chance to lay out his practiced spiel to persuade the man to come over. Apparently, Michael Connelly had been on the phone to Pelecanos after his successfull appearance in Belfast and sold him on the idea! Go Mr T!!!

You know what... if you're a crime fiction fan, you could do a lot worse than to get your backside to Belfast. Come on. Don't even think of it as a holiday. Move here. Houses are cheap enough right now. What's stopping you?

No Alibis Event - Paul Charles

FRIDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER 6.30PM

NO ALIBIS BOOKSTORE IN ASSOCIATION WITH BRANDON ARE PLEASED TO INVITE YOU TO A

BOOK LAUNCH AND READING BY

PAUL CHARLES

Family Life

In ones and twos the Sweeney clan and their partners, wives and children gather at Liam Sweeney’s farm on the outskirts of Ramelton, County Donegal to celebrate Liam’s birthday. The banter and storytelling is great as they await the arrival of the single missing family member. But when Inspector Starrett arrives unexpectedly at the farm it becomes clear that all is not well. The body of a Sweeney family member has just been discovered in the courtyard of a waterfront warehouse in the nearby town and the circumstances are suspicious to say the least.

In the course of the investigation Starrett begins to realise how weird and wonderful the politics of a family are as he discovers that of the several suspects he and his team throw up, two or even three of them are family members. On top of which, it appears to Starrett’s team that every family member has a secret or two they’d like to keep hidden. But while working on this investigating Starrett discovers some drastic news which concerns his own family.

Paul Charles was born in Magherafelt, Ireland and is one of Europe’s best known music promoters and agents. He is the author of seven previous Inspector Christy Kennedy novels: I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass, Last Boat To Camden Town, Fountain Of Sorrow, The Ballad Of Sean And Wilko, The Hissing Of The Silent Lonely Room, I’ve Heard The Banshee Sing and The Justice Factory. The first Starrett mystery, The Dust of Death, was published by Brandon in 2007

RSVP 028-90-319601 david@noalibis.com



NO ALIBIS BOOKSTORE
83 BOTANIC AVENUE
BELFAST BT7 1JL
david@noalibis.com
ph. 02890-319601
fax. 02890319607

And speaking of Paul Charles...

Paul Charles now has a rather swanky web presence in the form of his brand new website and accompanying blog. It's very well put together and easy on the eye. And it got me thinking about writing websites in general. It's something I've noticed that the typical Norn Iron writer is a little lacking in. Why is that?

Maybe Adrian McKinty was on to something with his recent blog post. When relaying an excellent Guardian review of his latest, Fifty Grand, he admitted that he didn't feel all that comfortable with blowing his own trumpet. And his blog, interesting and thought-provoking though it is, doesn't feature a great many posts about his writing processes or career highlights.

But if we take a look at Stuart Neville's internet activities you'll get a lesson in using the internet to its full marketing potential. Stuart has a website dedicated to his writing career, a blog, a Facebook account and a Twitter account. He's also published a number of stories online (which is how he was first noticed by Nat Sobel, his agent) and been active in getting his novel into the hands of bloggers.

I've met both McKinty and Neville in person and they share a lot of similarities. Neither of them have humongous egos, despite their jealousy-inspiring achievements, and they both have a good sense of humour and the ability to spin a yarn outside the pages of their books. Is it to do with when and how they got published? McKinty, as far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong, Ade), went the more traditional route; paper manuscripts and postal submissions; whereas Neville's publishing success is an internet fairy tale of online magazines and email submissions.

Discuss?

Sam on the Lam - Another US Bloodstorm Review

Sam Millar continues to do us proud on the review front. Here's one that appeared in Booklist for the US release of Bloodstorm:

Irish crime writer, Sam Millar (The Redemption Factory) is back with a brand new anti-hero, Karl Kane…

Thirty years ago Robert Mitchum and Michael Winner reprised The Big Sleep, setting their version of Raymond Chandler’s classic California crime novel in modern-day London. Surprisingly, the change of venue worked. In Bloodstorm, Millar’s wisecracking PI Karl Kane, though navigating the cockeyed lanes of twenty-first-century Belfast, could just as well be rambling the mean streets of prewar L.A. in tandem with Philip Marlowe. Private-eye-novel conventions that no longer are believable in the U.S.—the presence of an admiring (and foxy) Girl Friday, who draws a paycheck and does nothing, for example, or the hero’s habit of spouting off for the heck of it to the police (in the age of Homeland Security)—somehow seems right at home in the context of Millar's contemporary Belfast...

Millar’s story line, too, will remind fans of the Marlowe stories; it’s as masterful as anything Chandler concocted by stitching together unrelated short stories. Crime noir doesn’t get much darker or grittier than this shocking tale of corruption and revenge...

Altogether, Bloodstorm is a real find for aficionados of the classic hard-boiled novel who would like to see the form updated without it smelling like an anachronism.

— Steve Glassman, Booklist

And at the weekend Sam dropped me a line to ask that I pass on a thank you to all those who attended the Take Two for Crime event in Dublin featuring Sam and Paul Charles and "special thanks to song master extraordinaire Paul Brady for his excellent contribution to the show," says Sam.

Happy days.

Two for Crime

You heard it here second, because the knavish Dec Burke of CAP infamy posted about it earlier with a funnier title. But sure, no harm repeating the pertinent info. Click the pic for a closer look.


I'd love to attend this one myself, but again, the pesky dayjob interferes. What can you do?

A Wee Review - The Dust of Death by Paul Charles

With The Dust of Death, Paul Charles introduces a new detective onto the Irish crime scene. Charles originally made his mark in crime fiction charting the career of Inspector Christy Kennedy, an Irish cop on the streets of Camden Town; where Charles himself lives and works in the music industry. For the first of a new series, Charles takes us to rural Donegal. And it’s not just a new setting he’s experimenting with. There’s something very interesting about Inspector Starrett. Something a little supernatural.

Charles wastes little time with lackadaisical introduction to his new character. He simply throws the man in at the deep end and allows the reader to watch him react. The book opens with Starrett arriving onto the scene of a brutal crucifixion. In a church. The victim is quickly identified as a local; master carpenter, James Moore. An altogether inoffensive and self-contained family man. And so the key to solving the case lies in determining why anybody would want this quiet, unassuming man dead, and in such a brutal way, more so than who carried out the act.

Paul Charles is incredibly adept at painting a large cast of three dimensional characters. We see all kinds in this novel, from the morally conservative to the ethically questionable, each one painted to exquisite detail. And they interconnect and interrelate in the manner expected in a rural setting. As the mystery unwinds, each player contributes to the denouement. I find this quite remarkable, as in a recent CSNI interview, Paul Charles admitted that he doesn’t know who has committed the crime while he pens the first draft of his mysteries. He prefers to travel the same journey as the protagonist and solve the case alongside him. I suppose it’s only fair when you think about it, though.

Naturally, the most interesting member of the cast is Inspector Starrett, the humble protagonist of The Dust of Death. An affable and intelligent chap, he is the son of a woman said to possess the gift of healing. And he has a gift of his own. It’s not something he fully understands, or even believes in; but he has a knack for identifying when somebody is lying to him. A handy skill for a police inspector to possess. He has also escaped some brushes with disaster in the past, following an instinct to avoid certain places and situations. But like I say, this gift seems to be in a raw, unnourished form. There’s potential there, though, and I look forward to seeing how this facet of his character may develop as the series progresses.

So, The Dust of Death has set up an intriguing premise in this new series, and I’m glad to be jumping aboard on the ground floor. A second Inspector Starrett mystery will be published through Brandon Books some time next year. I believe the title will be Family Life. But if you’re jonseing for another Charles fix a little sooner than that, the ninth Inspector Kennedy novel was released last month. Go on and treat yourself to The Beautiful Sound of Silence, why don’t you? I have.

Paul Charles in the House

So I attended the Paul Charles reading at the Linenhall Library last night. And, like any event that David ‘No Alibis’ Torrans has a hand in, it was a cracker.

I arrived a little late, so I missed the wine reception. But it looked like the library had pulled out all the stops in that area. I caught a glimpse of fresh fruit, cheese and crackers. I inhaled a sniff of wine. I could sense the rosy-cheeked joviality in the air. But late or not, as soon as I arrived, David gave me a warm welcome and kindly introduced me to Mister Charles. As is the trend in crime fiction, he was a charming and friendly individual. I’ve yet to meet a crime writer I didn’t like. Maybe that’s a niche I should aim for, if I ever manage to sell a few books. To be known as the one and only obnoxious crime writer in Ireland. Shouldn’t require much effort. I just need to make sure I’m either drunk or hungover at all my signings.

As well as meeting Paul Charles, I also met one of my three CSNI readers. Hiya, Allen McKay. It was great chatting to you. Especially since I attended the event on my Jack Jones.

Paul Charles read from his latest Inspector Kennedy novel, The Beautiful Sound of Silence. A very humorous excerpt that the whole audience enjoyed. But the highest point of the evening was the Q&A. John Killen, the Deputy Librarian, warmed up Mister Charles with some excellent fanboy questions. Then he threw the poor man to the mercy of the audience. Mister Charles answered all questions very well, and I can honestly say I learned a little more about the elusive craft of writing. Very encouraging stuff.

So I got him to sign my copy of The Dust of Death, which I’m currently enjoying, and picked up a copy of The Beautiful Sound of Silence for future consumption. All in all, a great wee night.

David Torrans? When's the next event, eh?

One For The Diary

I got this info from the No Alibis Newsletter, so I'm guessing Dave Torrans has had something to do with it, even though it's happening in the Linen Hall Library. I'd imagine this'll be pretty good, so I'll be phoning up for a place tomorrow morning. Quite fortuitous that I happened to pick up The Dust of Death last time I stopped in at No Alibis.

PAUL CHARLES

In conversation and reading from,

THE BEAUTIFUL SOUND OF SILENCE

The latest DI Christy Kennedy Mystery

Thursday 11th September 7.30pm

Linen Hall Library

Free Event/Limited Places

To Book A place for this event contact

info@linenhall.com

028-90-321707

Yeah, I'm going to enjoy this.

An Interview - Paul Charles

Paul Charles was born in Magherafelt, Ireland and is one of Europe’s best known music promoters and agents. He is the author of seven previous Inspector Christy Kennedy novels: I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass, Last Boat To Camden Town, Fountain Of Sorrow, The Ballad Of Sean And Wilko, The Hissing Of The Silent Lonely Room, I’ve Heard The Banshee Sing and The Justice Factory.

Q1. What are you writing at the minute?

I’m just concluding work on the second instalment of the Inspector Starrett series, which is set in Donegal. It’s called FAMILY LIFE. I actually started work on the book the same day I completed work on the first Inspector Starrett mystery, THE DUST OF DEATH. FAMILY LIFE concerns a farming family called the Sweeney’s. All twelve members of the extended family meet upon one fine August evening on the farm to celebrate the birthday of the father Liam. I realised after I’d written the first 20 pages that I need to stop and go off and get to know this (fictional) family before I could continue writing. The getting to know them was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Q2. Can you give us an idea of (author’s name)’s typical up-to-the-armpits-in-ideas-and-time writing day?

I write most days. I like to write first thing in the morning, 06.30 (ish) for three (ish) hours. If I’m working on a first draft I like to go to it every day. I find it easier this way to keep up to speed with everything that’s going on. A lost day costs two days (easily) to catch up. I, my detective (and hopefully the reader) work our way through the story at the same time. At the beginning of the this process I, like my detective, and hopefully the reader, do not know “who did it, why they did it or how they did it.” We all pick up the information simultaneously. I love to try and keep my stories realistic and I find this method (not knowing) helps. I don’t work on any other writing projects while working on the first draft but I’ll happily attend to other matters, such as short stories etc while working on additional drafts. I love the space you go to while trying to catch that vital first version of the story.

Q3. What do you do when you’re not writing?

I love to go to the movies. I read a lot. I listen to music a lot. I go to a lot of concerts. I walk around the scenes of my stories continuously considering the plot, thinking about characters and trying to keep my stories real.

Q4. Any advice for a greenhorn trying to break into the crime fiction scene?

Always serve the story. First and foremost always try and have a great yarn to tell. Let your characters and the plot rule the page; keep yourself off the page. Be careful when you cross the road. Be wary of taking advice from people you don’t know. Remember that everyone has to start somewhere and, to quote Colin Dexter, “the first line is as good a place as any.” Prepare yourself for rejection but never lose faith in your work. Mary Martin a lady with immense patience who (way, way back) used to manage Van Morrison and Leonard Cohen used to say, “Perseverance pays.”

Q5. Which crime writers have impressed you this year?

John Connolly, Stephenie Meyer, Alan Bennett, Sheldon Siegel and I’ve a lot of time for the Ulster gang: Colin Bateman, Sam Millar, Eugene McEldowney and Eoin McNamee, a giant amongst writers.

Q6. What are you reading right now?

Stieg Larsson’s amazing and highly engaging The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - should be given out free at Underground Stations instead of The Metro.

Q7. Plans for the future?

The new Christy Kennedy mystery, THE BEAUTIFUL SOUND OF SILENCE, is published on Sept 2nd by the good people at Brandon. It’s the 9th in the series. I’ll be doing promotion on that in Ireland, UK and America and while in USA I’m going to see Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe and Jim Keltner doing a benefit concert in SFO. They haven’t played together since the Little Village days and the concert is sure to be a major treat. Then I’m going to see Jackson Browne in concert in Seattle. As soon as I’ve sent FAMILY LIFE to the publishers I’ll be starting work on the next Christy Kennedy mystery, A PLEASURE TO DO DEATH WITH YOU, which I’ve been bursting to start work on for a wee while now. Last summer I was up at the Giant’s Causeway and while there I spotted this phenomenally beautiful Indian princess. She was with her family who were busy, hyper and happy, happy go lucky all around her. She had such a powerful but sad presence as she moved gracefully through the tourists. To me she looked very sad and incredibly lonely. I started to wonder how someone with such stunning natural looks could look so sad and lost. Right there in that thought I found the genesis for A PLEASURE TO DO DEATH WITH YOU.

Q8. With regards to your writing career to date, would you do anything differently?

It’s been too enjoyable for me to want to have changed anything.

Q9. Anything you want to say that I haven’t asked you about?

You should have asked me, “And what’s the title of your new book again, Paul?”
And if you had, I’d have replied, “It’s called, THE BEAUTIFUL SOUND OF SILENCE, Gerard, and it’s published by Brandon on Sept 2nd.”

Thank you, Paul Charles!

Book Shopping

I just can't be trusted in book shops. Especially No Alibis. I mean, looking at Mount TBR, the last thing I need is more books. All I intended to do was introduce a visiting chum to one of my favourite shops. I'd no intention of picking up anything, except that signed hardback of Adrian McKinty's Hidden River. Unfortunately, the assistant couldn't find it, so I should have left it at that. But no. I started browsing.

I got a signed hardback of Brian McGilloway's Gallows Lane, Carlo Gébler's A Good Day for a Dog and The Dust of Death by Paul Charles. And that was me showing restraint! I put back books by KT McCafferty, Ken Bruen, James Ellroy and many, many others.

Anyway, that's three more NI crime books that'll be reviewed in due course.