THE ELLORY JOURNAL

CATCHING UP...

Okay, so here we are in Australia. The Antipodean tour begins! The Melbourne Writers’ Festival is the ostensible reason for being here, but we are taking advantage of my first trip Down Under to get to as many places and do as many interviews as we can. I’m off shortly to travel the city with my publicist, and we shall be doing as much as possible in the time that we have.

Today I’ll be at The Avenue, Readers’ Feast, Dymocks and Readings Carlton. Tonight there is a dinner for the Festival itself. Tomorrow is Radio 3MDR, The Morning Fix, an interview with The West Australian, then ABC 666. On Saturday I am doing a seminar with Peter James called ‘The Art of Suspense’ at the Festival itself, and on Sunday I am in discussion with China Mieville and Catherine Lim about how we differ in our presentation of politics and political themes in fiction. Monday I am flying to Sydney, and will attend interviews for Radio West, Hot FM, an on-line TV interview for The First Tuesday Book Club, then 3MDR, ‘The Good Life’ with Ann Creber, lastly Radio 2CC, ‘Talking Canberra’. Tuesday I have an interview with AAP Newswire, and then bookstore-visits to Brays and Shearers. I then fly back to Melbourne the same afternoon, stay over one night in preparation for a 5.00am departure for Auckland.

The New Zealand schedule is as follows:

Wednesday 8th
Interview for Radio NZ
Interview for Crime Watch blog
Interview for Newstalk ZB and BBC Worldwide
Takapuna Library Event (6.00pm)

Thursday 9th
Newstalk ZB Dunedin
Nelson Mail Interview
Stock signing at Paper Plus Nelson
Nelson Library Event (12.00pm)
Write On, Dunedin Toroa Station Interview
Radio Southland Interview
Marsden Books Event (5.30pm)

Friday 10th
Breeze Wellington Interview
Radio One Dunedin Interview
Breeze Manawatu Interview
Good Morning TV Interview
Coromandel FM Interview
Mosgiel Library Event (3.30pm)
Dunedin City Library Event (5.30pm)

And that will be that...then heading back to Melbourne, onwards to Dubai, onwards to Birmingham and home.

I have now returned from the Melbourne bookstore visits. I also got a copy of ‘Saints of New York’ which I have never seen before in a finished copy, and it looks great! My publicist, Mary Bayley, believe it or not a Texan, knew where to take me for CDs as well, and I visited Basement Discs. Here I collided with Pat, one of the sellers there, and – ironically, coincidentally – I presented him with my credit card to pay for the ridiculous amount of CDs that I had bought, and he said, ‘You’re the crime writer...I bought your book only the day before yesterday’. Small world! Mary also brought with her a poster she’d picked up at a Jimmie Vaughan/Thunderbirds gig she attended at Antone’s in Texas in 1974, and we happened to park outside a print store...so now I have a copy of that very same poster to frame and hang at home.

So what did I buy? I’ll tell you...

Canned Heat, ‘Uncanned’; The Who, ‘Who’s Next?’; The Doors, ‘Morrison Hotel’; Pink Floyd, ‘Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’; George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Collection; Keb’ Mo’, ‘Live and Mo’’; Larry Carlton, ‘Fire Wire’; Ray Lamontagne & The Pariah Dogs, ‘God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise’; Elvin Bishop, ‘The Blues Rolls On’; Dean Thomas, ‘Greyhound to Mecca’; Moreland & Arbuckle, ‘Flood’; John Doe & The Sadies, ‘Country Club’; Jason & The Scorchers, ‘EMI Years’.

See – it’s feeding an addiction!

Can never have enough CDs, can never have too many guitars, can never make too many friends!

So, off to Melbourne Writers’ Festival Dinner this evening, catch up with some old faces, meet some new ones, share war stories, drink some excellent Australian wine, and hopefully I will sleep tonight without having to call The Housekeeping Team.

Best, always,
Roger.