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Sunday, October 23, 2011

LONG OVERDUE…

It is hard to believe that the better part of six months have elapsed since I last posted a blog. I have determined to post more frequently, and perhaps post shorter blogs, as I know five thousand words is a little long for my musings and diatribes!

Since we last spoke I have been travelling again, but to fewer places than last year. I have been back to France twice, once for the very prestigious and longstanding Paris Book Fair, called Salon du Livre, and again to bring my son back from Paris where he had spent a few days with his penpal. I spent several days in Switzerland at a book festival, then went to Mantova in Italy for a wonderful series of events. A soon as I returned from Mantova, I headed out to St. Louis for the Bouchercon 2011 extravaganza. Once more, Bouchercon was all about friends catching up with friends, and I had the great pleasure of spending some time with Daniel Woodrell again. Daniel has recently become one of my very favourite authors, not only because of his truly astonishing books (the most recent of which - ‘The Outlaw Album’ – I am currently reading), but because he is just one of the best people.

The Edinburgh Festival was a highlight this year, with a really excellent event. I didn’t make it to Harrogate, but did make it to The Lichfield Arts Festival, the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards and my brother’s wedding!

I also took on the position of Vice Chairman of the UK Crime Writers’ Association, and will be assuming Chairmanship duties in about a year and a half. The current Chairman is my very dear friend and travelling companion, Peter James, and it has been an absolute joy to be working with him on this. We have some exciting things in the pipeline, including the forming of a brand new organisation dedicated specifically to those of you who enjoy reading crime fiction!

However, as far as my own projects are concerned, ‘Bad Signs’ is out in a few days, ‘A Dark and Broken Heart’, due out in June 2012, is now finished and with the copy-editor, and I am half-way through ‘The Devil and The River’, the new book for 2013.

I have also finally found the time to get into the recording studio, and my band ‘The Whiskey Poets’ and I managed to get four tracks down on a CD. The CD, entitled ‘The Moonrise EP’ has been very-well received, and is actually on sale as a CD or as a download through the Whiskey Poets website (www.whiskeypoets.com).

We have just invested in a very substantial 5000w PA system, and we will be on the road soon, if all goes according to plan!

So, there we have it – a brief and to-the-point update on where I am now at, but – as I said – I intend to post more frequently, and in briefer splurges!

I trust all’s well with you.

3 comments:

martin said...

Hi Roger,
At last you've got the new book out. My hardback copy arrived via Amazon yesterday, and i can't wait to read it. Great to see you've started blogging again, as I've missed reading about what's going on in your life. I see you've finished the next book and am halfway through the one after. Can you tell me anything about these books?
As you probably I'm an avid reader as well as a would be writer. I've got to say I've read some brilliant books recently, nearly as good as yours. The Crimson Petal and the White was really good, as was The Help now a film. I like to read anything and everything, because I want to learn as much as i can from other writers. Have you read any good books recently?
Keep the blogs coming. Hopefully I'll post a review on Amazon and to an in depth one to you personally soon.

regards Martin
PS. I've just become a grandad for the first time. It makes me feel old but also it's a great experience.

R J Ellory said...

Hi Martin, and thanks for your message. Well, the book for 2012 is called 'A Dark and Broken Heart', and it's very difficult to say anything about without actually revealing the central conceit of the plot. Let's just say that, whereas 'Saints of New York' was about a man believed by everyone to be the worst kind of person who was actually a man of great integrity, the new book is about a person believed by everyone to be hte best, and he is actually the very worst! The book for 2013 is called 'The Devil and The River', and it is about a Vietnam veteran, now the Sheriff in a small Mississippi town in 1974 investigating a very bizarre murder that occurred twenty years earlier. Books I have read recently that I have enjoyed have been few and far between, in all honesty. The older I get, the less forgiving I am, and I tend to give up on books within the first fifty oages if they don't really get. Have read a lot of Daniel Woodrell recently, most notably 'Winter's Bone', and his new short story collection, 'The Outlaw Album'. I tend to stick with Cormac McCarthy, Annie Proulx, Michael Chabon, Joyce Carol Oates, Chandler, Tim O'Brien, you know? People who make me feel like I am a clumsy writer! I read very, very little contemporary crime these days, as I find a great deal of it very same-y. I am not a fan of the 'urban British Detective Constable' central character at all.
Anyway, there are a lot of past blog articles here with all sorts of comments about books and writings and all else, and if there's a specific question you have, you can always e-mail through the 'contact' option on my webiste.
And congratulations on becoming a grandad!

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