News

I decided to wait until the ink was dry(ish) on the paper before announcing anything but, as one or two of you know, Macmillan have agreed to publish the next three books in what will be my "Herring Seller" series. This announcement has been held up mainly by my touching belief that I could negotiate a contract as well as any agent - something that has probably ensured that the ink remained good and wet for several weeks longer than planned. (A tip for those of you also without agents, by the way - the Society of Authors will give you good, prompt advice on your contract, draft by draft - it's well worth joining, just for that.)

The books are scheduled to appear in August 2009, 2010, 2011. The first is provisionally entitled Ten Little Herrings.

So that makes two of us MNWers, as far as I know, with contracts with Pan Macmillan for the third book and beyond. Hopefully this sort of announcement will now become a regular occurance over the next twelve months or so.

Now all I have to do is write the books ....

News Bulletin

RN Morris--the Clark Kent identity of MNW author Roger Morris--has quit his dayjob and, follwing every novelist's dream, set up as a full-time scribbler. Read about it on his blog.

With all his new spare time, perhaps he'll toss off the odd literary novel (see his MNW debut Taking Comfort for a classy read*) in between bouts of crime fic.

Don't worry that he'll be too busy riding to hounds, and flying off to holiday on the Continent in exclusive resorts located in towns with too many vowels in their names. As long as you keep him in A3 tracing paper and other stationer's products, he's a prolific fellow so he ought to be able to squeeze in a few books each year.

(Perhaps I'd be more prolific myself, if only they sold A3 tracing paper over here. That's my current excuse, and I'm sticking by it.)

Bravo, Roger!

*(Actually, his crimefic is pretty classy, too.)

Shameless Plugs

Hi all

At risk of seeming to monopolise this blog, this is just a short post to do some plugging. But it's going to get shameless, I'm afraid.

As well as seeing the publication of the latest MNW title, Cover the Mirrors, by Faye L. Booth (Plug1), Friday 2nd November also sees, or hears, the airing of a new Inspector Devlin story, The Lost Child, as part of the Big Chill Week on BBC Radio 4 at 3.30pm (Plug 2).

The Sunday Times recently ran a feature on Devlin's first appearance in print, Borderlands. (Plug 3) Anyone feeling so inclined can read the piece at their leisure here:

http://crimealwayspays.blogspot.com/2007/10/dark-fiction-that-knows-no-boundaries.html

The piece was written by Irish crime novelist, Declan Burke, whose recent novel, The Big O, independently published in Ireland, is garnering sickeningly outstanding reviews. So much so, in fact, that US publisher, Harcourt, have signed Declan up on a two book deal. (Plug 4)

Many congrats Declan and well deserved. The Big O Band Wagon will be pulling into its first US stop in Autumn 2008, which is incidentally, around the same time as the first US port of call for the US edition of Borderlands. (Plug 5)

I did warn you it would get shameless...

Brian

Heffers

Tomorrow Len Tyler (The Herring Seller's Apprentice) and I are off to Cambridge to talk to a book group at Heffers bookshop.

I'm really looking forward to it as Cambridge is one of my favourite places. And it's kind of them to invite a pair of dark-blues.