When I'm not writing...
I love writing. It's a treat. And these days it's squashed into weekends and evenings. More of my time is spent talking to readers, not just to promote my own work, but a huge range of authors who deserve to reach a wider audience.
Murder Squad
Murder Squad was the brain child of Margaret Murphy. She was getting wonderful reviews, readers loved her books, but sales didn't reflect that enthusiasm. Publishers seem to concentrate their marketing budget on the best selling writers and she realised she'd have to take a more proactive role to promote her novels. She contacted six other authors who live and work in the north of England and suggested that we come together to push our books collectively to a wider audience. So John Baker, Chaz Brenchley, Martin Edwards, Stuart Pawson, Cath Staincliffe, Margaret and I became Murder Squad. At first the idea was just to produce a brochure to get out to libraries and book shops. But in the five years since we formed Murder Squad has done much more than that.
Murder Squad (composite photo by Roger Cornwell). Left to right:Chaz Brenchley, John Baker, me, Margaret Murphy and Stuart Pawson. The absent members are Martin Edwards and Cath Staincliffe.
What have we been up to? We've run workshops for writers and readers, attended festivals and libraries, gone into schools and universities. We've crossed the Atlantic to appear at Bouchercon and Malice Domestic and been invited to speak at a crime festival in France. We've produced an anthology of short stories, had a spattering of nominations for CWA awards and met readers throughout the UK. Literally. From Shetland to Cornwall.
I wasn't even sure I wanted to be part of Murder Squad when it was first suggested. The theory was sound - a group of crime writers based in the north of England would band together to promote their work. But publicity was the job of publishers, wasn't it? Perhaps I was often frustrated when my books seemed to disappear without notice, but I'd been writing for a long time. I was used to it. And I'm not the pushy type. The idea of soliciting for gigs in bookshops and libraries would have made me faint with embarrassment. If I'd ever use the word gig, which I wouldn't back then.
And now? Now I wouldn't be without it. I'd miss the daily e-mails, the banter and the support. I'd miss meeting the people who read our books. The embarrassment factor seems to have disappeared because it's not just my work I'm pushing. I'm introducing readers to books by six fine writers, and I know they'll find something they'll enjoy.
Harrogate Crime Writing Festival
I've worked as reader in residence in libraries, prisons and literature festivals. It's an exciting process bringing together readers and books. A sort of literary match-making. I specially enjoy being reader in residence at Harrogate. I've been with the festival since it started and it's been fascinating to watch it grow. Each year there are more readers, authors have an even better time and our relationship with the reading community in North Yorkshire and beyond grows.
I'm based in the hotel for the Festival weekend. It must be quite daunting for new readers to turn up to an event like that, where everyone seems to know each other, especially if they're on their own. Of course we want to keep the authors happy, but it's my role to put the readers right at the heart of the Festival. The free readers' session on Saturday lunchtime has already become a tradition. And this year there's Creative Thursday, a day of workshops for aspiring writers.
The Festival doesn't just happen over a weekend in July though. Each year we run outreach programmes promoting the range of crime writers appearing, building links with schools, libraries and businesses throughout North Yorkshire. So in the past three years, I've organised Murder Mystery evenings in rural village halls, gone out on mobile libraries to remote farms and hamlets and set up reading groups in Theakston's pubs. (If you want to know more about that, you can read the diary I kept at the time). Now, we're working with Leeds Met University and Aim Higher, an organisation devoted to persuading more young people to consider further education. We'll use a fictional crime scene as a trigger for workshops by lawyers, scientists and CSIs.
Harrogate Crime Writing Festival takes place every year towards the end of July. For more information or to book a place, check out the Festival website.