Last month, I was interviewed by South African journalist and author Joanne Hichens. The interview’s in this months edition of The Big Thrill, journal of The International Thriller Writers. It’s a great piece – thank you very much, Joanne!
Present Tense chosen as one of 2020’s best books!
Robyn Walton, crime critic of The Australian, has chosen Present Tense as one of her best reads of 2020. The article’s in today’s Weekend Australian (12-13 December, 2020). There’s a paywall so I can’t insert a link, but here are her international and local book choices:
Crime Fiction – South African Style
My crime novel, Present Tense, is set in Cape Town, South Africa. Since it was published, many readers have wanted to know more about crime fiction in that country, and asked me to recommend some good crime novels set there. So here’s a brief rundown, and pointers to some absolutely wonderful South African crime writers.
Like Australia, South Africa has a long tradition of crime writing, going back to the late nineteenth century. During apartheid (1948 – 1994) the country produced little crime fiction but after apartheid ended the genre took off and today crime fiction is very popular. Here are ten of my favourite South African crime writers, not in any particular order:
Don’t Write What You Know: Go Hell-for-Leather Into the Unexplored
From time to time, Atlin Merrick (author and redoubtable editor of Improbable Press) and I write joint blogs. We often disagree, but not this time. Here’s our latest, on writing what you know:
PRESENT TENSE WINS NED KELLY CRIME FICTION AWARD!
I am thrilled to announce that Present Tense has won the 2020 Ned Kelly award for best debut crime novel. These awards (we call them the Neddies) are given by the Australian Crime Writers Association. Here’s the announcement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De4c-VYFGKk&feature=youtu.be
Along with being shortlisted for the Davitt Awards, that makes for some ritzy stickers on the cover.
Favourite supporting females in TV crime shows
Here’s a piece I did for Sisters in Crime Australia.
Like many of us, Sydney author, Natalie Conyer, has been watching a lot of TV crime during the pandemic and it has prompted her to reflect on the wonderful women appearing in supporting roles. Read more here
Present Tense shortlisted for Ned Kelly Award – debut crime fiction!
I’m thrilled! Present Tense has been shortlisted for the 2020 Ned Kelly Awards, for debut crime fiction. This clip has the full list
The Only One in the World – A Sherlock Holmes Anthology
What if Sherlock Holmes were Polish? What if he and/or John Watson were Indian or Irish or Australian or Japanese? How would their worlds look if one or both was from a completely different background? That’s the brief I was given when I was asked to contribute a story to this anthology, soon to hit the shelves.
You can read more about it here
Stop Editing Your Book and Start Writing Rubbish
This is one of a series of joint posts in the She Said/She Said series, in which Atlin Merrick and I muse on writing topics. Atlin is publisher of Improbable Press and author of The Night They Met and The Day They Met.
You can find the post here: https://improbablepress.co.uk/blogs/improbable-press/stop-editing-your-book-and-start-writing-rubbish
Present Tense shortlisted for 2020 Davitt Crime Fiction Awards
I’m delighted that Present Tense has made it to the shortlist of this year’s Davitt Crime Fiction Awards – and in such great company. Here’s the announcement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP9S9rU_-lw&feature=youtu.be