Signed

I've had a number of people enquiring about signed books, or even just a way to purchase books directly rather than through Amazon.

I'm pleased to say that I'm now in a position to offer copies of some of my titles, signed or otherwise. Currently, the available titles are as follows:

UP CLOSE AND FATAL

limited edition paperback

This is a special first edition printing, with unique cover artwork, and British English spelling (the version on Amazon has US spelling). It can be signed if required.

£9.99 + postage and packing

CUT OUT

trade paperback edition

Original larger-format trade-paperback edition. Can be signed by the author if required.

£10.99 + postage and packing

KNIFE EDGE

trade paperback edition

Original larger-format trade-paperback edition. Can be signed by the author if required.

£10.99 + postage and packing

ASHES OF AMERICA

paperback

Paperback edition, which can be signed by the author if required.

£12.99 + postage and packing

Titles are subject to availability. To enquire about purchasing a copy, please email books@fergusmcneill.co.uk 

The Harland Series

The Detective Harland Series was never actively released in the US, so I'm very pleased to announce that special American editions are now here. Available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and in paperback, the books have brand new covers to mark their launch. I really hope everyone enjoys them.

 TAP HERE to view the first book, EYE CONTACT, on Amazon.com

Listen...

The process of producing an audiobook can take a while, but I'm really pleased to announce that my standalone historical thriller Ashes Of America is now available on Audible and Apple Books audio.
Narrated by the brilliant Micah Mason, it tells the story of Frank Rye, a small-town cop in 1950s America, on a case that will drag him back to the dark secrets of his posting in wartime Switzerland.
I'm so pleased with the response that the book has had - 'a pacy, page-turning thriller' and 'a beautifully crafted espionage tale' - and I really hope you enjoy it.

UK readers can learn more here:
https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B088MC23K4/?source_code=AUKFrDlWS02231890H6-BK-ACX0-196309&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_196309_rh_uk

US readers can learn more here:
https://www.audible.com/pd/B088MC8KZ8/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-196309&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_196309_rh_us

The End is not THE end, but it's a start

Over the Christmas break, I completed the first draft of a new standalone novel. It’s been a while – partly down to family illness and the loss of my dad, and partly down to getting a new job with very long hours – but I finally typed THE END at just under a hundred thousand words. I have no idea how books always seem to work out to that sort of length, so it’s always a relief when they do.

The best thing about finishing a first draft is that I can now relax and forget about it. For over a year, those characters and their world and their timelines have been taking up so much valuable space in my head, as I try to figure out how their individual threads weave through the story. And my head has a limited capacity, so it’s a huge relief to free up some of that space and have room to think clearly again!

A few weeks away from the book always seems to work wonders. Rather than the mental weariness that comes from carrying the story over the finish line, there’s a return of that restless excitement that pulled me into the story in the first place. With a clear head, it’s possible to see everything afresh, and to enjoy it again. The writing seems to have ‘settled’ into place and, somehow, everything feels more real. I always strive for that sense of authenticity, that feeling of inevitability, where the story simply hadto happen… it’s hard to detect while I’m in the middle of writing, but a few weeks away from the page seems to bring it out.

So I’m really looking forward to going back to this book, and starting to tighten it up. But for now, I’m going to enjoy myself, catching up on some of the books, movies, and TV shows that I’ve been missing.

Finally...

I’m conscious it’s taken longer than I thought it would, but my next novel is finally complete and will be published in February.
Ashes Of America is a historical crime thriller set against the backdrops of wartime Switzerland and 1950s Missouri. It’s been quite a journey to get it done, but I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed writing this story more than anything I’ve done in a long time, and I’m really pleased with the finished result.
It’s always challenging when an author does something a little different and, at first glance, this book does seem to be a departure from the more contemporary Detective Harland series – I guess that’s part of the reason it’s taken so long to find the right route to publication – but I’m hopeful that everyone who read my previous books will find some familiar themes. I’ve always felt that crime writing works because it places our characters in extreme circumstances, showing them at their best and at their worst as the plot twists and turns. This story is no exception.
So thank you for your patience, and I really hope you enjoy this new book.

True Liar

In between finishing a draft of the latest novel, and planning two more, I took some time out to write a new short story. It features Detective Harland (albeit briefly) and I can't deny that it was fun to spend some time in the company of familiar characters once more.
For a limited time, the e-book is available free. Simply CLICK HERE and get your copy.
I really hope you enjoy it, and do please let me know what you think.

Twin Peaks

From the moment I heard that Showtime was reviving Twin Peaks, I had mixed feelings. Like any return to a beloved story, I wanted it to be great but I dreaded it being bad. News that David Lynch would be directing the whole show raised my hopes, and made me more anxious. I waited until all 18 episodes had aired, so I could binge through the whole series and, just before I started watching, I asked a friend what he’d thought of the show. He sent me a text message that read: It’s bloomin’ hard work, but I think it pays off. Episode 8 is a proper WTF! So at least I knew it wasn’t going to be a complete disaster. Armed with that knowledge, I began watching.

(fair warning: spoilers)

The first couple of episodes did seem slow. My friend had said that, where the original Twin Peaks series felt as though it needed more David Lynch, this series almost felt as though it had too much.

We’ve all seen what can happen when a director becomes too revered to be questioned. Ridley Scott and George Lucas did their finest work when they had to fight for their creative vision, but with nobody daring to challenge them, their later films suffered. Was it happening again?

I found myself becoming unhappy with the pacing – I was so eager for the story and wanted more things to happen, but I started to worry that there wouldn’t be enough time (even in 18 episodes) because of those long lingering shots that seemed unable to cut away. The Dougie character was particularly frustrating, as I was impatient for him to snap back into classic FBI Cooper.

Episode 3 did encourage me a bit – the combination of editing and sound design, when Cooper falls onto the island and goes inside to meet the faceless woman, was wonderfully eerie and strange.

But there was still a lot that I didn’t really like. With so many new characters, and plotlines snaking off at tangents, I began to realize that the series would leave me with a host of unresolved issues. And seeing beloved familiar faces now ravaged by age was also rather gloomy – less so with Kyle Maclachlan, though I suppose seeing more of him on screen in the intervening years may have softened that particular blow. The Horne brothers seemed so old, and not very relevant, while the bands at The Roadhouse burned away precious moments of screen-time.

And then I hit episode 8, which was one of the most unsettling things I’ve seen on TV since… well, since Leland killed Madeline all those years ago. The bearded men were a stroke of genius – from that first glimpse of one sitting in the prison cell, they completely freaked me out. The explosion in New Mexico and the intense black-and-white sequence that followed left me wondering how to process what I’d just watched.

In the end, however, it was seeing James Hurley singing at The Roadhouse… that’s when I began to figure out what was troubling me. This new Twin Peaks wasn’t comparing unfavourably with old Twin Peaks. It just wasn’t quite as good as the rose-tinted Twin Peaks in my memory.

In my memory, I’ve edited the series considerably. I’ve fast-forwarded through some of the slower sequences, and I’ve weeded out agoraphobic Harold Smith with his orchids. I’ve completely erased James and his angsty sing-songs, and that daft sabbatical with the wealthy wife and her psychotic chauffeur.

So I kept going, all the way to the finale. And when the real Cooper woke up so perfectly, the Dougie character finally made sense to me. Over all those weeks, he’d raised the stakes, exerting a gentle yet powerful influence on other characters’ lives (especially his family) and in the process making me care deeply about them. I found myself leaning forward in my seat, silently begging David Lynch for a happy ending… and I got one.

Well, kind of.

I also got what felt like the opening to another season of new Twin Peaks. I wasn’t sure about Laura’s plastic-wrapped body disappearing from the shore, and the thought of undoing so much story felt risky. Bringing Laura home to her mother (and, presumably father?) could have been very powerful but I knew it was the final episode… I’d prefer to have seen that at the start of another series. I found myself resenting the cliff-hanger, as well as being unsettled by the deliberate difference in Cooper once he’d crossed over.

But, when I think about it honestly, that’s all just so Twin Peaks.

I know people will disagree with my thoughts on the show, but that’s all these are: my thoughts. Am I glad I watched it? Definitely. There were so many moments that made it all feel worthwhile, even if there were times when I wanted it to get there faster. Like other David Lynch projects, I found it properly disturbing and, like other Twin Peaks projects, I learned a lot but came away with many unanswered questions. But I’m glad I watched it. I’m glad we got to say farewell to Albert, the Log Lady, and Carl. And who knows… maybe in a few years, I’ll look back with my rose-tinted glasses and remember this latest series as being the best Twin Peaks of all.

  

The End. Again.

Today's a day of mixed emotions. I'm simultaneously relieved and nervous, excited and weary... because, late last night, I completed the first draft of another book. I've been working on this story (a historical thriller, set in Switzerland and America during the 40s and 50s) for almost a year now, and it's been a lot of fun to write... even if I didn't have the ending fully worked out until a few weeks ago!
So now I have a draft manuscript, littered with mistakes and notes about things I have to change. Normally, I'd take a few weeks off, then go back to it and start reworking the text. However, this time, I have a dilemma: there's another manuscript!
Some of you may know that I completed the first draft of a psychological thriller last year, a contemporary story set in London. As I said at the time, I found that book particularly difficult to write and, rather than continuing straight on into a cycle of edits and redrafts, I decided to take a break from it, and write something else. The idea was to give myself some distance, some perspective, so that I could return to it with fresh eyes...
So, now I'm faced with an unusual choice. Which book do I work on? Both stories are important to me, but I'm really not sure which one I should take forward first...
That was the thought that started nagging at me when I woke this morning. And then it occurred to me that maybe this isn't the moment to choose. Maybe I'll take a week or two away from both of them, and immerse myself in some different stories for a while. My pile of books-to-be-read is getting out of control and, after all those late nights and uncertain endings, I think I've earned some quality reading time!

Feedback

It's like that moment in a suspense film. You know, the bit where the tone of the music subtly shifts to a minor key. The main character may still be oblivious to it, but we know that something's about to happen.
Anyway, that's the feeling - a first flicker of excitement or a dawning sense of dread, and no way to know which it's going to be. Yes, it's time to get some feedback on the book I'm writing.
This one's quite a departure for me - historical thriller, rather than contemporary crime - but still a very personal story with plenty of murder and intrigue. I should point out that it's not actually finished - not yet - but most of the story is now in place, and I want to understand how readers will relate to the characters and the structure of the narrative. Unfortunately, the only way to achieve this is to let people read it.
It may seem strange to spend months and months writing something, and then be reluctant for others to read it, but this always seems to be the way with new stories. It's like sending a tiny loved-one off to their first day of school, and hoping that they will make friends and do well for themselves.
Hence that strange mix of feelings - excitement and dread - and an agonising wait for feedback. Fingers crossed!

Update

I've just come back from CrimeFest 2016 - the best CrimeFest ever, in my opinion - and, after a weekend of catching up with people in Bristol, I thought I should post a brief update here on my blog as well.
As I've probably mentioned before, I spent the last year or so writing a new standalone novel - a psychological thriller, set around Hampstead Heath and Highgate. I've now completed a couple of drafts, though it will still need some more time and thought before it's ready for editing. However, in the meantime, a couple of other projects have cropped up and distracted me. One in particular has been niggling at me for over a year now, and I've reached the point where I just need to get the new story on paper. Hopefully, once that's done, I can go back to the psychological thriller with a clearer head. Apologies for the delay!
Anyway, that's quite enough about me. How are you..?

The Bridge III

I resent the producers of The Bridge. Not because of what they did to one of my favourite characters at the end of season 2. No, I resent them because they've made me care. They've made me care so much, that I've violated my own sacred rule about not watching episodes of a crime series until all the episodes are available to stream online.

And now I'm regretting it. I have to wait a whole week for the next instalment, even though my head is buzzing with the story right now. I don't ev

en know if this series will be any good - I may have committed to something that will ultimately disappoint, and I won't know until it's too late...

...because for me, it's already too late. Last night's double bill dragged me straight back into The Bridge universe and rekindled all of the emotional investment I felt through the previous two series. So now I find myself resenting the producers, but there's a way they can make it up to me... if this series is anything like as good as the ones that came before it, all will be forgiven!

Best Seat In The House

People ask why fictional detectives are so often dysfunctional figures. Why can't we have nice, well-adjusted detectives, with happy families and settled lives?

And the answer? Because that would be… ordinary. And if something is too ordinary, it becomes boring. The strength of crime fiction is that it allows us to escape the mundane and go to extremes, seeing people at their worst and their best. So it shouldn't surprise us that fictional detectives are often broken, or haunted, or crippled by a tragic past… anything to make them more interesting.

But I like to go further.

Why should we spend all our time with the detective when we can spend some quality time with the villain? After all, "police procedural" stories have been done so well, and so often… why not focus more on a wildcard character? Why not focus on the murderer?

As soon as we take the killer's viewpoint, everything changes. The normal rules no longer apply – anything can happen when your character isn't bound by the law, or by rational thinking.

Anything can happen.

I like that as a starting point for a story.

But of course, writing from the villain's perspective has its own challenges. Most of us (I hope!) would find it difficult to empathise with a mindless thug or a sadistic monster; if the killer is entirely evil, we're unlikely to have anything in common with them. And without some common ground, it's difficult to empathise.

Perhaps that's why I prefer more complex characters – characters that you can't immediately gauge, who surprise you, who make you feel things you might not expect to feel. I want you to like my villains (well, some of them, some of the time) because that allows you to get closer to them. I want to let you get right inside their heads… because that’s the best seat in the house.

Yes, it’s dramatic when we read about a character doing something shocking. But I believe our experience is much more intense when we understand, when we’re so close to the action that we can see the world through the killer’s eyes.

So if you find yourself liking a villain, or feeling sympathy towards them, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, that’s the author’s intention. Because sometimes, that’s just where you need to be, to best experience the story.

Eye Contact for 99p

I was beginning to think it would never happen, but my first novel EYE CONTACT has finally had a price reduction. Part of the Amazon's Autumn Kindle Sale, the ebook is currently just 99p - a huge saving on the normal price.
And, because Kobo and iBooks seem to track and match Amazon discounts, it's just 99p on those formats too!
So if you haven't read the first book in the Harland series, this is your chance. Just click the link below...

EYE CONTACT on Amazon

And breathe...

Well, that was quite a bit tougher than I thought it would be! If I've been a little quiet over the last year, it's partly because I've been finding it extremely hard to complete the first draft of my new book. I know quite a few authors who sail close to (or right past) their deadlines but, up until now, I've always been okay about hitting my dates. However, in this case I didn't have a particular deadline and, until the last few months when the words started to come more quickly, I wondered if the journey would ever end.

This book is something of a departure for me. Having previously written 3 full-length novels and a novella for my Detective Harland series, I was now being asked to do something different, ideally set in London rather than Bristol. I had an idea for a standalone psychological thriller, so I started typing.

That was just over a year ago.

This week, I finally completed the first draft. I’m not sure why it took so long, or why I found it so difficult. All the books have been an effort, but this one was so much harder, and I frequently found myself hating it. Perhaps it was because I missed spending time in Bristol, or perhaps because I missed my familiar series characters. Certainly, I realised early on that I was spending an awful lot of time getting into the head of a character who I didn’t really get on with.

I discussed all this with Anya Lipska at CrimeFest earlier in the year, and she pointed out that I probably enjoyed writing the charismatic serial killer in my first two books “because he enjoys what he does”. The more I’ve thought about this, the more I’m convinced that Anya knows a thing or two.

So it's been a long and difficult road, but I’ve finally reached that exciting first milestone: a complete draft. The characters and their stories have all changed quite a lot along the way, and I know that the book will change a lot more before it sees the light of day. But at least I’ve made it this far – ninety thousand joined-up words, with a beginning, middle, and end. And, having made it this far, I can finally unload the story from my head for a while – it’s been evolving and replaying in a continuous loop for quite long enough! But as I reached the latter stages of the book, something strange happened.

As you may know, I try to write "on location" as much as possible. Last weekend, I spent the morning in Highgate, writing one of the final chapters, then moved across to South End Green, to type up some notes for another scene. At the end of the afternoon, I finally left the café where I’d been writing, and walked towards the bus stop. I actually found myself slowing, turning around and looking back towards the café, towards the path that leads up onto Hampstead Heath, towards the road where my main character lives…

…and I realised that I was really going to miss all this. It sounds silly and sentimental, particularly after all that grumbling about how difficult this book has been. And I know I'm very far from finished. I know I'll spend days and weeks on the manuscript, editing and polishing...

But the story has happened now. For me, all those events are essentially "in the past".

You know how, when you're reading a book that really involves you, and you come to the end, and it leaves a sort of gap? Well, this story has certainly involved me, and the gap it's left behind is a big one.

Of course, it’s barely been 24 hours since I finished. I know I'll feel better, especially when I can enjoy a whole weekend relaxing, without spending half of it in another city. I'll be glad it's over.

And yet, I can already glimpse the sparks of new ideas, jostling for my attention. Part of me always wants to be writing. But next time around, I'm going to remember Anya's advice. Whatever I write next, I’m going to try and spend more time with a character who really enjoys what they do!

CrimeFest XV

So, CrimeFest was good. And by good, I mean very good. Phenomenal. In fact, I'd only change three things:

1. In these enlightened times, there's surely no place for 9am panels on Saturday mornings. It's not the Dark Ages, though it was truly humbling to see all those brave and beautiful people who'd risen early to attend, most of them considerably more awake than some of us on the panel. Suffice to say that I've never been much of a 9am Saturday morning person, and never less so than when that Saturday follows a Friday night in the CrimeFest bar.

2. Mention of the CrimeFest bar leads me neatly onto my second point. Why did nobody stop me? I'm older than I used to be, and should really drink accordingly. In future, don't hesitate, just stage an intervention.

3. Okay, serious point now… were there fewer readers attending this year? I know that Bristol has always been popular with reviewers / bloggers / authors but I could have sworn there used to be more honest-to-goodness-readers in the audience. Perhaps we simply need to spread the word – most of the UK crime-writing community is milling around in that one hotel, and we really need readers to talk to. I watched Lee Child do about 5 circuits of the bar, before he finally found someone to latch on to. No, honestly – I did, and I have witnesses.

CrimeFest is an amazing festival, lovingly organised, and packed with brilliant people. It was great to catch up with old friends, and make new ones, to exchange recommendations then buy the books and play hunt-the-author to get them signed. Who wouldn't want a few days of that? Exactly! I'll see you there next year!

Location, Location, Location

It's not long until CrimeFest arrives in the heart of Bristol, so I thought it might be fun to compile a map of nearby locations from the D.I. Harland books.

Just follow THIS LINK to access a fully interactive map (you should even be able to use it on your phone).

The blog side-panel has also been updated to include individual maps for each story. Enjoy exploring, and my apologies if I've set part of my book in your street!

eBook Prices

I've just written a piece for The Writer's Workshop, called The future of eBook prices: a lesson from the app industry. It's aimed at writers and people from publishing, so feel free to link to it or Tweet about it. Thanks!

A Series Of Fortunate Events

I had a hugely enjoyable time celebrating World Book Night at Bristol Central Library last week. Together with fellow authors Philip Purser-Hallard and Lucienne Boyce, we discussed the process of getting into print, and hopefully helped to encourage our audience of writers.

I'm back in Bristol for CrimeFest, with runs from the 14th to the 17th of May, and I'll be doing two panels on Saturday the 16th.
Following that, I have Library talks at Hythe on the 3rd of June, and Totton on the 10th of June - please contact the libraries for ticket details.
Then it's off to the wonderful Goldsboro Books for Crime In The Court on the 25th of June. And as if that wasn't enough, I'll also be wandering around Harrogate in July. If you're at any of these events, do please come and say hello!

Temptation

Oh dear. I appear to have reached that terrible moment that I reach in almost everything I write - the moment when another story starts to intrude on my imagination, tempting me with its simplicity and its lack of baggage, promising me that I can do whatever I want...

It’s a problem. I don’t want to be thinking about another story, particularly one in another genre, and certainly not now, when I still have a lot to do on my current book… but even as I push those thoughts and ideas away, I worry. I worry that if I don’t explore them now, when seem to burn so bright, that they’ll somehow fade; that when I do return to them, I’ll find them diminished.

Why can’t I have my ideas in a more orderly fashion, one at a time? Writing would be so much simpler if I could.

Broken Fall

When my editor suggested that I write a shorter, ebook-only story, I really wasn't sure what would happen. Yes, I'd written short stories before, but this was different – a 20,000 word novella, roughly a quarter of a full-length novel. After a bit of time mulling over different ideas, I began making weekend trips to Bristol, researching and writing on-location, just as I do for my full-length books. It took a while to complete, but hopefully you'll enjoy reading the results.

Broken Fall features my troubled detective, Graham Harland, in his very first murder case for Bristol CID. Set a little while after the events of Knife Edge and just before Cut Out, it's an ideal entry-point to the series for new readers. It's also my first real whodunit, so I'm eager to know how many of you correctly identify the killer, and whether you do so before Harland does – contact me via @fergusmcneill on Twitter and let me know once you've read it.

You can order Broken Fall on Kindle, Apple iBooks, Kobo, or Google Play, and it's only 99p – I really hope you enjoy it.