Sheila Quigley's 'The Road To Hell' book launch in Newcastle...

I had a smooth ride across the Pennines and up A1 until the mystical, and somewhat eerie-looking, sculpture 'The Angel of the North' jumped out of the trees at me as I cruised through Gateshead and into Newcastle for my maiden visit.
After booking into the old half-star 'hotel' I met up with writing buddy Matt Hilton and his adorable wife Denise - on our reconnaisance mission to locate the venue - where I was introduced to an unassuming chap, crime author, Adrian Magson and his lovely wife, Anne. So being wife-less on this excursion, the joke was: Col 'Goose' Bury!
It was great to finally meet Adrian having been in contact with him via email for a while now and I appreciated hearing his invaluable insights into the writing world.
The main event was at the spooky Masonic Temple on Maple Terrace. I met Sheila Quigley outside (faggin' it!) and, having heard a helluva lot about her (all good) I found her to be just up my street: a gritty, salt-of-the-earth Northerner with wicked wit and a contagious laugh. Inside it was packed and a cool band played swing-style in the background, and I was extreeeemely pleased to see that there was a bar!
Among the many well-wishers in attendance were the publisher, Stuart Wheatman (pictured with Sheila n I) of Tonto Books and author, Ken McCoy, both of whom I was pleased to briefly meet.
The book itself, The Road To Hell' had me hooked from the first page (I started it on the hotel bog - sorry, too much info') and one chap must've thought the same as he was sat at the back (not in the hotel bog - at the launch) flicking page after page, totally engrossed.
The night was topped off with a nice Italian (down boy) n good writing chat sliced with smart-arse banter (that'll be me then) with Denise, Anne, Matt n Adrian.
The next day we all met up with Sheila again then hogged Blakes coffee shop in Newcastle centre and had a jolly good chin-wag mixed with a plethora of chuckles. Laugh? I nearly bought a round!
A thoroughly enjoyable sojourn, despite my 'brisk' walk through a dodgy council estate while searching for the elusive Masonic Temple that none of the locals had even heard of - when I asked one chap he looked at me as if I was from the moon. When he replied, I returned the same look! Plus, the return trip: bumper-to-bumper M62, driving rain, glaring headlights n baggy eyes...grr.
Look out for a forthcoming Q&A with the inimitable Sheila right here, and her road to success is a heart-rending story in itself so watch this space. And if you've not read any of Sheila's gritty stuff yet then you're missing a treat.
The Road to Hell by Sheila Quigley - hardback published by Tonto Books.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, OFFICER - my latest piece over at TKnC...

I hope everyone had a great Halloween. For my part, we took the kids trick or treating then returned home for an extreeemely noisy party!

Once the shouting and screaming had waned I thought I'd write a piece of flash to cause some more. Click on the title above to read Happy Halloween, Officer.

Three new novels for crime fiction fans...

Firstly one that was officially launched on October 22nd 2009 is my Thrillers, Killers 'n' Chillers co-editor, Matt Hilton's second in the Joe Hunter series entitled JUDGEMENT & WRATH. A crime thriller novel I'm half way through reading - and thoroughly enjoying - and is shaping up to be even better than the first, DEAD MEN'S DUST which, simply put, means it's a cracker!

Another one to look out for is talented northern crime novelist, Sheila Quigley's THE ROAD TO HELL - publisher Tonto Books - which is officially launched up in Newcastle on November 5th, so there should be fireworks (sorry). Sheila has a series of gritty novels featuring characters on THE SEAHILLS ESTATE.

And last but certainly not least, debut novelist, Nick Quantrill, over at Hull Crime Fiction, unleashes his Private Investigator, Joe Geraghty in BROKEN DREAMS to be published by Caffeine Nights late 2009.

Amendment/update from Nick: as the publisher is still awaiting confirmation of cataloguing/ordering for libraries & shops, plus the ongoing postal strikes (the proof copies are still in transit somewhere), the publishing date for BROKEN DREAMS will be March 2010.

Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice

It's time for my next three selections of shorts from across the net that have caught my eye for one reason or another.

Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice #4
THINE IS THE KINGDOM by Lee Hughes

Over at Thrillers, Killers 'n' Chillers is part ten of Lee's epic horror yarn ('horror?' you ask in horror - click the title of this post for my Choice criteria) with an ever-growing body count and tension to die for (he-he). Having read them all, I'm well n truly hooked. Here's the link to all ten if you prefer - The Osseus Box - but they all work well as cracking stand alone pieces.

Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice #5
OLD AGE AND TREACHERY by Alan Griffiths

If you fancy some 'Brit Grit' gansta fun then look no further than Al's top tale over at the Flash Fiction Offensive. A fast flowing piece with lingo as good as it gets to more than satisfy all noir fans.

Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice #6
FASHION VICTIM by Lily Childs

You want gore? You want imagery? You wanna see the last foray of a catwalk model with a troubled mind? Then check out this crime-cum-horror piece of flash at TKnC.
To learn more about what makes Lily tick click here.

Ps. The Brits have had a good run so far. Americans next!

New kid on the block - aspiring writer, David Barber...

My old school buddy, David Barber, has entered the blogosphere after our reunion in a Manchester pub last Monday. After our common bond of writing had brought us back together, we 'chewed the fat' on writing life, our aspirations and plans of action (sorry for sounding like a personal development guru!), just like we used to do twenty-something years ago in the local snooker club.

However, with my cue-arm still being in plaster from a broken wrist we had to give the ball games (ooo, matron) a miss on this occasion. (In truth, I didn't want to knock Dave's confidence with another battering!) Instead, a fair few pints later, we debated, amongst other things, Matt Hilton's latest crime thriller, Judgement & Wrath.
Dave also quizzed me on blogging and the importance of building a 'writer's platform' and he now has a blog...here.
So how did Dave rekindle his love of the written word? He heard on the grapevine about Thrillers, Killers 'N' Chillers, made a few comments and now has half a dozen stories of his own on there. So why not support this new writer and give him some welcome feedback on his excellent work?

Ps. If I look like a short-arse on the photo it's because Dave is actually 7 foot three and he was wearing those ridiculous, eighties platform shoes. No really, I stooped to 'big him up' some more!

http://davidbarberfiction.blogspot.com/

Col's won a coveted place in the anthology EVEN MORE TONTO STORIES 2009!

I'm absolutely ecstatic to announce that my crime story, MOPPING UP, has been selected by judge and novelist, Caroline Smailes, for the annual anthology run by Stuart Wheatman's Tonto Books.

Like all aspiring writers, I research the markets and submit my material in the hope the target - be it a publisher, agent, competition judge, webzine editor - will love it. Then I try to put the last submission to the back of my mind and crack on with the next project, and repeat the process.

However, with this one I couldn't do that as I reeeeally wanted it. The reason being: I firmly believe - and I'm not alone in this - that Tonto Books is one of the best up n coming names in publishing AND I knew if selected I'd be alongside some cracking writers.

The fact that my story is based on characters from the crime novel I'm endeavouring to finish has given me a further welcome boost, suggesting that I might just be onto something...?

And to top it all, I then discover that not only were there hundreds of entries, but my great friend, Matt Hilton, is also in the anthology!

To see the full results click on the title of this post.

An evening with my two favourite Crime Authors - Chris Simms & Matt Hilton

Well, okay, it was an hour or so, but that hasn't got the same ring to it, has it? I had the pleasure, along with some of my immediate family, of meeting two authors who've both inspired and selflessly helped me in my writing journey to date.

Having a broken wrist (at least it matches my City top - see below) I had to wait for the chauffeur (alias my missus, Mand') to finish work in order to escort me to Oldham Library and due to bad traffic I missed the bloomin' start. However, this didn't detract from a thoroughly enjoyable experience, especially hearing some open and informative answers to the Q&A session.

When my eight year daughter plucked up the courage to ask (to 'Aws' from the crowd)...
'What advice would you give to people wanting to be authors?'
Chris replied, 'Read, read, read.'
Matt reiterated this and added, 'Stick at it and keep on keeping on.'
Now where have I heard that before? Simple, yet sound advice. I promptly thanked my little princess for getting me the answer to the question I bottled out of asking! I then sent my seven year old lad up to get the autographs Daddy longed for!
It was fantastic to meet Chris, and see Matt and his wife, Denise, again. Both authors are friendly, down-to-earth chaps who came across brilliantly, displaying modesty and wit in equal measures.
Matt gave us an insight into his writing world with a snippet of chat from his house...
'Matt, come on now, yer dinner's ready.'
'I can't, love...am int middle of a car chase!'

Of course I got my copy of Matt's latest Joe Hunter thriller, JUDGEMENT & WRATH, as well as SAVAGE MOON, one of Chris's five DI Jon Spicer novels. Chris gave us an insight into research, openly admitting that Saddleworth Moor was simply 'too scary' to research at night so he went at dusk instead!

To learn more about Matt and Chris and their respective novels either click on the highlighted links above or check out the Q&A's (top right) that I did with them on this blog.

Two Crime Authors for the price of one...

Manchester based Crime Author, Chris Simms, and thriller novelist, Matt Hilton, are at the Oldham Literature Festival on Thursday 1st October location: Oldham Library and Lifelong Learning Centre, Greaves Street, Oldham, UK - from 6 p.m.

If you're in the Northwest area why not pop over. It's only two quid to enter so it's a quid per author and you can meet me for free!

Writer, Angel Zapata's detective skills flush out plagiarist, Richard Ridyard...

The blogosphere is bubbling with the news that we have a plagiarist in our midst. He didn't only dupe Matt and I over at Thrillers, Killers 'N' Chillers, but also many unsuspecting editors, writers and readers alike across our tightly knit network, including American Writer, Angel Zapata.

Now I am aware of libel laws, but with such compelling and damning evidence meticulously unearthed by Angel, I have no hesitation in vigorously backing all the honest folk within our wonderful writing community.

This Fraudster even plagiarised the master himself, Stephen King!!!

Click the title of this post for extensive details.

Ps. A huge thanks must go to Angel.

Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice...

Your choice: skip the waffle to see my first set of selections below...

My choice will be a regular feature from now on whereby I'll be pointing you in the direction of some of the top notch short fiction I've enjoyed from around the blogosphere.

There are some cracking writers out there - many as yet undiscovered - and, since August 2008 when I began 'blogging,' I've had the pleasure of becoming friends with many of them (well virtually!).

So I'll be delving into the archives of my favourite Webzines and I make no apologies for some of my selections possibly being horror, supernatural or even Sci-Fi based as many of these genres often blur together. The only criteria is that a crime is committed or, at least threatened, and dark humour is always a winner with me! (For example, if some two-headed monster bites the head off an unsuspecting victim then I'd say that's a crime, wouldn't you? Extreme, but you get the gist.)

Having said that, many of my choices will undoubtedly be straight crime fiction or noir as I love the 'grit' therein. And, obviously, I can't choose any of my own...

'God, you're a harsh task-master, Col.'
'Shut it! This is about other people so wind yer neck in, you egotistical...!
'Okay, okay. I was just wondering whether I could mention some of mine, that's all.'
'Right...do you want me to get me weapon out?'
'Easy, Tiger!'

That sorted, and in no particular order, where better to start than the archives of Thrillers, Killers 'N' Chillers and top American ezine, A Twist Of Noir...

Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice #1

THIS OLD HOUSE - by Paul Brazill

Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice #2

THE WAY TO A MAN'S HEART - by Gary Dobbs

Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice #3

CRIME OF THE CENTURY - by Vallon Jackson

Enjoy!

Ps. Watch this space for the next three choices...