Back from the dead

Mes Amis

Bloody hell... April was my last post. April!

I am lax. I am sorry. You may beat me with sticks when you see me*.

But I haven't been sleeping this whole time. No, I've been busy. Lots of stuff happening in real life and in the writing world. Book #3 will be coming your way. Not till 2012 by the looks of things, but its coming. But to whet your appetite in the meantime, check out this (In the UK or in the US and with epub etc coming very soon):

Oh yes, you're seeing that right. We're talking a short story collection which features all my original stories from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, as well as several others that feature the same characters.

And yes, isn't that a beautiful cover by the incredibly, wonderfully talentled JT Lindroos?





So.. what else? Well I'll be back in the US this year in St Louis for Bouchercon where you'll be getting double the Russel for your money. Check these panels out:

Thursday 15 September, 8.30am (!): WOMAN TROUBLE-Landmark 1,2,3
Crime fiction is rife with ‘bad girl’ characters.
Russel McLean (M), Lori G. Armstrong, Judy Clemens, Christa Faust, Lauren Henderson, Karen Olson

Friday 16 September, 1:00pm: SHADOWS RISING-Landmark 1,2,3
Movies for the crime fiction fan
Jeremy Lynch (M), Megan Abbott, David Corbett, Russel McLean, Todd Ritter, Wallace Stroby

Goddamn, what a line-up! And of course I'll be hanging around the bar a lot, too. Not drinking, of course. I'd never touch the stuff!

But what of those back home? Do they get no Russel? Well, people of Ayr can enjoy me next week (27/8/11) for the Ayrshire reader's day when I'll be appearing with Ken McLeod, Karen Campbell and Louise Welsh as we talk to readers about books we love (in my case, I'll be leading a group discussion on Megan Abbott's amazing noir novel BURY ME DEEP) and our own books, too (I'll be taking the blame for THE LOST SISTER).

But after that, wait until October 28 when you can see me here in Dundee delivering an Armitstead Lecture on the history of crime fiction. Oh, yes, I'll be returning to my academic roots for this one. But don't think that'll mean there'll be less jokes that a typical McLean event. I'll be slipping through some puns amongst the lecturing bits, I assure you!

And what else? Well let's see if I can't update this blog a little, eh? I've been watching some bad films recently and you know, I really used to love using this blog to talk about the bad films I've seen...

Until then,

Au revoir

Russel
*Actually, please don't. That would hurt.

...bodies in the library....

Mes Amis

I have returned from Kirkcaldy, unscathed and unharmed and delighted by the sheer joys of both those readers who braved the descending darkness to come and watch me ramble and the librarians and booksellers who helped put together this rather fine evening.

The event - part of the "Fife Heroes" season of events - was a momentous occasion: my first full length solo event outside of a launch for either book. Could I ramble for a good hour? Could I remember how to do Burns's bastard-gravel voice? Was I about to be lynched for abandoning the homeland and writing about Dundee?

Luckily the fine Kirkcaldy Librarians (who are a bit like the Charlie's Angels of literacy) were on hand to ease me through my worries with some fine coffee beforehand and a lovely glass of red wine following. They also gave me a most wonderful introduction, although I still can't help but laugh when I hear myself referred to as a "Fife Hero".

The crowd was small but dedicated, and I was so thankful to all of them for turning up. But there was a surprise in there. A woman who approached me and asked if I remembered "Sammy The Snake", which threw me for a moment before I suddenly had a strange whiff of a memory in my brain and realised I was talking to a primary school teacher who is one of those people responsible for what I am today. Although Mrs Bruce said she never imagined I'd be a crime writer* it was a delight to see her after so long and to be reminded of one of the people who had truly encouraged me in my creative efforts when I were a nipper.

But it did lead me to a moral quandary... dare I swear in front of the woman who taught me how to tell the time and used to hang her head in frustration when I couldn't grasp the patterns of the Times Tables?

In the end, I admit to mildly editing some parts of the reading. The coward's way out? No, it all went down wonderfully. This was my first chance to read from the US edition of THE GOOD SON, and later I also read a piece from THE LOST SISTER I'd never read before. A longer piece, but I think it went down quite nicely. Also, your Fife Hero got the chance to stick in a hurrah for libraries and librarians and to talk a little about how McNee has evolved and changed as a character over two books.

Anyway, here are a few images from the event:

Yes, my collar was wonky, but it didn't matter since, if we believe this image, I suddenly turned into some kind of slightly camp, nutty professor. This is probably one of the most ludicrous pictures ever taken of me, but luckily I have no ego and thus present it for your viewing pleasure.






After the event, the assembled gathered to buy books and chat about the event. What a fantastic and wonderful bunch of people they were, too.






What's in the glass, you ask? Vodka or water? Only I can say for sure.

And here is your author with one his earliest fans, the aforementioned primary school teacher, Mrs Bruce. Back in primary school, she would refer to the children as her "little ones". Judging by the rotundness of my stomach in this picture, I ain't quite so little any more.



Your beardy hero would like to thank the staff of Kirkcaldy library, the booksellers at Kirkcaldy Waterstones and the lovely, lovely people who turned up on the night. I love doing events like this, and its always worth meeting readers and talking to them about books and about the joy of reading.

Au revoir

Russel


*she figured I was far too quiet, which just goes to show that it is always the quiet kids you should watch out for

Its a draw!

Mes Amis

Okay, so it wasn't so much a glamorous assistant as it was my dad, but I should point that from the tens of entries (far more than I expected - so glad to know there are so many of you out there!) the lucky winners plucked from the Top Hat O' Doom are:

In first place Tania Hutchison

and

In second place Stephen D Rogers.

Their packages will be heading out in the next few days. So congrats, guys, and to everyone else, thank you so much for playing. Maybe we'll do this again, soon. And a surprising number of you resisted the urge to say that my investigator was Sam Fox.

In other news, for those of you closer to home, I will be in Kirkcaldy Central Library at 7.30om on 15 March 2010 (tickets £2.50 or £2.00 premier and superfifestyle*) where I'll be talking about my writing and anything else that comes to mind as well as taking all your questions and revealing terrible truths about my life as Fife-born writerist. ** So those in the Fife/Kirkaldy area, please come along and ensure its not just me turning up. Oh, and those lovely folks from Waterstones, Kirkaldy will also be selling copies of the books, so if you ain't bought them you can fill that Russel-shaped hole in your life on the night.

Au revoir

Russel

*no, I don't know either - I guess if you live in Fife these days, you probably will, but since I'm emmigrated to Tayside, I have no idea at all what that means.

**disclaimer - terrible truths may not be as terrible as those you can imagine. Or they may be worse.

Flashback (with GJ Moffat)

Mes Amis

After a very long time some pictures have been sent my way of the Dundee Literary Festival where, earlier this year, I appeared with the fantastic GJ Moffat, author of Daisy Chain. The event was nicely attended by an enthusiastic audience who, after our readings, got straight down to the business of questions.

The photos are courtesy of the enormously talented Ross McLean* who kindly passed on some images of the event.









Here we have the estimable Mr Moffat reading out a pre-prepared statement of intent. At this point, your beardy hero was thinking, "ulp, we were supposed to be prepared?"













Luckily, I had to hand a copy of THE GOOD SON so read out the sweary bits for all the nervous ladies in the audience. That was okay, because at lunchtime on a Friday and in front of a crowd of Dundee women (and a smattering of chaps, too), Gary had just read out the rather sweaty sex scene that opens DAISY CHAIN.









After all that sex and violence, our moderator - the charming and rather brilliant Robin Pilcher - had to go and have a lie down with a damp towel over his forehead. So we moved the podium to one side and took questions from the audience. Look closely and you can see one of their feet dangling into frame in the picture above.









After the signing was over, we signed for the lovely folks at Borders who were sponsoring the festival and chatted to fans. By this point, we were both starting to hallucinate having only grazed on sandwiches left behind by the lunchtime "Poem and a Piece" event. But according to our two adoring fans (pictured), this made for some great entertainment as the crowds took bets on who would collapse of hunger first.

Anyway, folks, that was a flashback to a grand event, and let me say, if you're in Dundee for the lit festival, they really do lay on a fine series of events.

And if you're in the mood for a Glasgow thriller with a Cobenesque styling to the action, I would also say you might want to take a peek at Mr Moffat.

Au revoir

Russel
*no relation. But we did once work together. It was very confusing on payroll having two R McLeans.

Lost and Found

Mes Amis

Huge, incredibly grateful thanks to all of you who showed up for the launch of THE LOST SISTER on Thursday night (and if anyone can confirm rumours that the launch was mentioned on STV the next day, please tell me). With incredibly grateful thanks to the wondrous staff at Drouthy's bar on the Perth Road for opening their vaults to our madness. The event went very well indeed and with enormous thanks to my big, bad boss Gordon Dow for introducing the whole shebang and Scotsman journalist Dave Lewis for providing insightful questions (and, apparently, eye candy for the ladies - - as if I wasn't enough, eh? Eh?)

Sales were nice and everyone enjoyed the bar afterwards. And, no, that wasn't a pint of vodka I was drinking during the interview - it was actually water. I saved the beer till later.

Anyway, here's some photos for those of you who weren't there, and if you want an unbiased view of the event (and a competition to win the book if you can guess my food allergy - the pun is in the question) go visit the wonderful Donna Moore post haste.

Let's start with me and Dave up in the pulpit...









And then the crowds in one one half of the bar (the room was a funny shape so there are more folks out of shot, many of them standing near the stairs where apparently you could only hear the "short, funny looking one with the loud voice")









And here's some of me signing, too, afterwards.









And finally - a celebratory pint: I survived!










So there we have it. A whole evening encapsulated in a few photographs. As ever, thanks to those who showed up, my agent Al Guthrie for all his efforts in getting me here, my UK publishers, Five Leaves Publications for getting the book out to the world and Dave Lewis for agreeing to do the interview.

And of course all those booksellers who made book #2 a viable proposition! You guys have a harder job than most people realise...

And now, mes amis, I'm going to go and sleep...

Au revoir

Russel

Quiet... but not for long...

Mes Amis

If you've missed the last couple of weeks over on DO SOME DAMAGE, why not go over and check out my rant on swearing and what I think about Christopher Brookmyre subtly switching genres.

Be assured, of course, I'm not abandoning this place, either. But I have been holed away doing edits on THE LOST SISTER so that everything is hunky dory for release in October. Yes, October! A new cover will be available soon (oooo!) and then we'll be rocking.

In the meantime, go over to Suite 101 and see what I had to say about my mysterious writing habits. And maybe think about coming to Dundee on 24 September where I will be talking with top selling true crime writer Alexander McGregor as he prepares to unleash an updated version of the bestelling THE LAW KILLERS upon the world. Fact, fiction and everything in between will be being talked about at 7pm on 24 September at the Tower Building at the university of Dundee, and tickets can be bought from Waterstones, 35 commercial street, Dundee for the incredibly reasonable sum of £3. Call 01382 200322 (during business hours, naturally) and talk to those wonderful Waterstones booksellers for more details or to reserve tickets.

Anyway, I'm slinking back to the dungeon so I can continue my terrible experiments. Until next time, friends,

Au revoir

Russel

In which our bearded hero talks nonsense and drinks much wine...

Mes Amis

I woke up a little fuzzy on saturday. That's because on Friday I ate nought but a tiny round roll during the day and drank free wine and champagne in the evening. All of this thanks to the wonderful people at the Dundee Literary Festival.

I should add that my fasting during the day was not their fault. They had asked me to do a panel with Glasgow's latest thriller writer, GJ Moffatt. Despite certain people's misinterpretation the G stands for Gary and he is decidedly a bloke... or else a very strange looking lady.

Anyway, I tend to be slightly unhinged before panels, and therefore don't tend to eat much. But when Gary arrived at the festival to meet with myself and our moderator, Robin Pilcher* he too realised he hadn't eaten and insisted we raid the remains of the "Poem and a Piece" panel that had been going on over lunchtime. Which was a grand idea, even if I could only force down one measly roll.

The panel itself was fun. I had no idea what to expect, and it turned into an excellent Q&A with a very smart and learned audience. A woman outed herself as a psychiatrist, which was probably a mistake as it gave me lots of fodder for jokes the rest of the panel.

Anyway, Gary is a geat bloke and if you like your thrillers all Cobenesque and twisty you should really give Daisy Chain a shot.

The festival was a great success. The organisers - particularly the wonderful Anna Day - seem to have crafted an excellent series of events, and everyone had a smile on their faces.

It was also excellent to meet one the big brains behind the yearly anthology, the effervescent Rachel Marsh, whose absolute enthusiasm and dedication to discovering good writing is clearly one of the driving forces behind the collection and is in even more evidence in person.

In the evening, I had somehow been invited to the announcement of the Dundee Book Prize, the unveiling of the winner to take place at the event. We heard readings from the shortlistees between courses of a surprisingly tasty meal courtesy of the Apex, Dundee. Of course I was the only one there a little uncertain of dinner ettiquette and also managed to spill wine while trying to be helpful. But luckily those at my table saw the funny side of it all. Except maybe the asst manager from the dayjob who was across the other side of the table and cringing as he watched me go to work.

The prize itself had been won (it actually happens in November, but is not publicly annouced until the evening when the book itself is published) by Chris Longmuir's DEAD WOOD. Chris is from the city and perhaps more importantly she is a crime writer. Her debut novel has come close to publication so many times and I've had the pleasure of meeting her at the Harrogate Crime Festival over the last few years. It was truly a delight to see her win - and finally be able to admit it - and the book itself has been very handsomely handled by those fine folks from Polygon.

All in all a great day, and a the DLF - which last through the weekend including comic book panels on Sunday - has once again been a great success, and my hat is off to the people who took the time and energy to organise everything that kept not only the writers but also the readers exceedingly happy and satisfied.

Au revoir

Russel

*Who is one of the brains behind the short story site, ShortBread.

Lessons Learned from Crime Writists

Mes Amis

Last night, two gracious and charmingly witty crime writers appeared in Dundee. Yes, Stuart MacBride and Aline Templeton romped into our fair city with their minds set on death, destruction and rock and roll

Or a panel about their crime writing. One or the other.

Anyway, as I was assisting to moderate the panel for Dundee Book Events (what with being an expert on the genre and all) I certainly enjoyed hearing the following slices of information:

1) DI Insch is definitely a manifestation of MacBride's inner child (don't know what that says about what happens to the poor fellow in Flesh House right enough).

2) Ms Templeton is mild mannered and considered unless you dare to mention the trams that are being resurected in Edinburgh. Then she will be pushed to murder. But she won't kill anyone except the man responsible for that. Oh, no.

3) If MacBride could get away with one crime, it wouldn't be murder. Oh, no, he would rob the ex-head of RBS of a few million quid. Although if murder happened along the way, we're not sure that anyone would mind.

4) As Alfred Hitchcock discovered with Psycho, certain readers (in Hitchcock's case, viewers) often see things happen that are not on the page (or the screen). And are ready to complain vociferously about what exists only in their minds.

5) Never before at a book signing have I heard the words, "Can you include more Dyce?" from a reader.

6) According to Aline Templeton, all writing reverts back to childhood. She was a country child who moved to the city and writes about the country. MacBride was a city child who moved to the country and writes about the city.

7) It appears I am MacBride's Mini-Me. A fact confirmed when a gentleman pressed a copy of Blind Eye into my hand - after having just watched the author talk for an hour - and asked me to sign it.

Two great writers, two great sports and one happy audience.

Au revoir

Russel

Like Lazarus... only not.

Mes Amis

Yes, I haven't been exactly sociable of late. Mostly day job related and the fact I am really pushing to get the potential book #3 into a state where Agent Al will look it and go, "verily, it is worth pursuing, sirrah"*.

So no I'm not dead. Just vewy vewy quiet.

If you want proof I would book tickets for the Dundee Literary Festival (see the link the sidebar) on 26th June at 1:30pm. Myself and the estimable GJ Moffat will be behaving like performing seals for your pleasure and it would be wonderful if we were able to do so in front of a room of people. Because we tend to feel silly when its just us (I actually have no idea how ticket sales are going, but this is just an extra shove).

Speaking of crime writerly events. The Dundee Book Events folks are having an event with that jackanapes Stuart MacBride and the sophisticated Aline Templeton on Tuesday 16th June in the Tower Extension Lecture Theatre in Dundee. Call Waterstones Dundee on 01382 200 322 and tell 'em that rapscallion McLean sent ya. Tickets are £3 each and more info can be found at the DBE blog at dundeebookevents.blogspot.com. And yes, I did help them set it up. But only because they're lovely, lovely people.

Moving from events future to events past, I'd like to give a brief mention to the brilliant Tony Black who launched his latest novel GUTTED in Edinburgh the other week. A full review is due up on the Crime Scene Scotland reviews website along with my thoughts on Nate Flexer's The Dissasembled Man and a whole heaping of other titles.

Oh, and can I just say that Colin Bateman captures the absurduity of a bookseller's life quite wonderfully in his latest novel, Mystery Man. I haven't laughed so hard in ages, particularly at the John Grisham cameo.

Au revoir

Russel

*For we all know that is how Mr Guthrie speaks

"Unnacustomed as I am to public speaking..."

Mes Amis

Its been a long time since I was at university. In my last couple of years I had to regularly present ideas and potential papers to my peers to convince everyone that I was actually doing the work I sai I was. I was always nervous about it. More so than when I have to do an event, I think because I knew that there was something at stake here; I was presenting work not to interested parties, but to people who knew their stuff inside out, who wanted to be dazzled by that which they did not know, not merely entertained.

On Monday I had some of those old fears come back to me when I went to talk to a fourth year English seminar at Dundee university. Oh, sure, the wonderful Dr Aliki Varvogli - who is a true friend to crime fiction - had assured me that all would be fine, but I couldn't help remembering some of the old pressures. And when I learned they'd already had a few other guest speakers including the learned Andrew Pepper who by all acounts was witty, informed and supremely able to answer any questions thrown at him, my fears went into overdrive.

Unneccearily, it seems, because it was great fun talking to these folks, And even more reassuring that none of them dropped off to sleep as I remember doing on occasion when we used to have guest speakers. A lot of what I talked about was apparently very relevant to the course, which focussed on American crime fiction. Being that my influences are near exclusively stateside, I talked about what appealed to me in what they wrote, how it differed from the Brit crime I knew when I was coming up in the scene (and how a great deal of that has thankfully changed) and about whether I was really interested in crime fiction.

Yes, that last one was an unexpected question: "are you interested in crime? Or crime fiction?" A tough one to answer, and my answer was long and rambling, but in the end it came down to this: I'm not interested in mysteries. I'm not interested in justice restored. I don't care how someone committed a crime. I don't care if we ever know whodunnit. I am interested in how crime affects people. I am interested in what crime fiction has to say socially, pyschologically. I think it can be more than a mere distraction, that at its best it can truly say something more interesting than, "crime is bad." So no, I'm not interested in "crime fiction" as its own end, but I'm interested in fictionally how crime can be used. I think there's a distinction.

Did I answer the question? I don't know. But at least I tried to tease out what it meant.

In all, it was a grand afternoon even if my prepared stuff ran a little short as I self-edited on the day (cutting out a whole swathe about Walter Mosley as social commentator that just kind of droned on) and luckily there were a few questions from the floor. The Sopranos and The Wire came up, of course. We pondered why America does "street level" crime far better than we've ever done (my own theory has something to do with the lawlessness of the old west which, when you think about it, wasn't that long ago in historical terms) and a myriad of other topics. True crime came up, and I admitted that aside from a few exceptions (David Simon's Homicide, Carol Anne Davis's rational explorations, Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and, of course, the magnificent Joseph Wambaugh) I never had much time for it, finding accounts to very often be sensationalised or unfulfilling in the way they approached the subject matter. We also talked about location as being intrinsic to crime fiction and how the tropes of the thriller genre just don't work in some locations no matter how hard an author might want them too.

And my fears have dissipated at least a little. I wasn't there as an academic, even though my fear was they'd treat me like one (expecting me to have the answers) but as someone whose approach to crime and crime fiction came from another angle.

So with many thanks to Aliki and the students at UoD (may you all graduate in style, and watch out for the wee gnome who smacks you atop the head with a rolled up sock at the graduation ceremony) for being so welcoming and accomadating. Even the girl who turned up late (I actually never noticed until she apologised at the end of the session) and, above all, for helping me overcome my fears at doing my first solo gig as an author*.

Next up, Dundee Literary Festival... but I'll let you know more about that one as it approaches!

Au revoir

Russel

*the launch doesn't exactly count - - that was a very on-my-side audience.