Golden Age – Part 2 by Noreen WainwrightIn my last posting, I mentioned the unreliable narrator crime novel and how popular this sub-genre has become. But, if we look at the decades since the golden age we can see many strands in the...
A Day in the Life of Jean BriggsA Day in the Life of …Or, should it be A Life in the Day of …? I go to bed with Charles Dickens. I wake up with Charles Dickens. He’s always interrupting me with his speeches, his fourteen...
Golden Age – Part 1 by Noreen WainwrightYou might have noticed a relatively new trend in crime fiction publishing. In the midst of some of the prevailing big hits, you will see the re-issue of some of the golden age classics. One example of...
Diary of a Debut Author by Fiona Veitch Smith“His name is Arthur and he’s dead.” That’s how I was introduced to my costume for a 90-second film promo for my debut crime novel, The Jazz Files. Arthur – God rest his soul – had apparently once been...
A Day in the Life: Behind the Scenes by AJ WainesOne of the absolute joys of being a writer is that every day is different, largely because writers can play a much bigger part in the publishing process than they used to. Most authors now have a ‘pla...
The Importance Of Being Edited By Fergus McNeillSomebody once said “The only thing worse than being edited, is not being edited.” I forget who it was, and those may not have been their exact words, but they made an extre...
Diary of a Debut Author by Vaseem KhanSo . . . I am standing in a first-floor lounge at BBC studios in Manchester. It is 13th August 2015, 8.40am and in fifteen minutes I am due to walk onto the set of BBC Breakfast to talk about my debut...
Writer Seeks Readers By Fergus McNeillStories can connect people in all kinds of ways. I once drove over a hundred miles to speak at a library event. I had to take the afternoon off work to make sure I wouldn’t be late, and...
Are Some Writers Thieves? By Fergus McNeillI steal a lot of stuff. There aren’t too many professions where you can freely admit that sort of thing but, happily, writing is one of them. I steal indiscriminately, from friends, from...
The Write Way? By David HodgesSince the age of 11, when I started writing, I always envisaged myself living in a garret at the top of some old Victorian house in Covent Garden, surrounded by books and with the smell of coffee from...
Why do we like the wrong people? By Fergus McNeillMost of us believe that our moral compass points in the right direction. We know the difference between right and wrong, and we generally hope that good will prevail over evil. So why, when we read, d...
Shetland Noir by Mary BaleExtract from Threads of Treason and Pamela St Abbs Inspector Campbell Mysteries by Mary Bale. Thursday 12 November At about 7pm we passengers experience an extra quick journey to Sumburgh from Edinbur...
My writing life has taken a new turn. After spending the last year in the company of crime fiction writers, attending events, meetings, launches and festivals, it’s time to get serious. Although...
Diary of a Debut Author by Fiona CumminsAt 2am, when darkness has settled in for the night, I often hear the pit-pat of footsteps on the landing outside our bedroom. The door pushes open, drenching me in light, and a child appears in the we...
Crime novels I have read in three (or fewer) sittings by Matthew PritchardNovelist Phillip Roth says that if you take longer than two weeks to read a novel, you haven’t really read it – a statement with which I agree. Developing upon this idea, I think the hall...
A Day in the Life of Author Vaseem Khan5am and my mobile phone wake-up alarm detonates with a rousing rendition of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. A bleary stumble to the bathroom to splash water on my face, then downstairs with laptop in hand. En...
Translation Troubles by Matthew PritchardFor those of you who have read my debut novel, Scarecrow, you’ll know that the title is central to the plot. However, when the novel was translated into German, the title was changed to Die Stunde des...
Diary of a Debut Author by Andrea CarterThe Famous Five, the Five Find-Outers and Dog, the Bobbsey twins and Trixie Belden: I spent my Irish midlands childhood with gangs of child detectives, both English and American. Reading my library bo...
Why Write Crime Fiction? by Matthew PritchardLike most novelists, I write because I love to read. But when I first tried to set pen to paper, this posed me something of a problem. What was I going to write? After all, I loved to read everything:...
Spotlight on Lea O’HarraWelcome to CWA Member Lea O’Harra who is advertising her novel Imperfect Strangers with us this month. Lea’s book was published in the UK in Sept 2015 by Endeavour Press. Imperfect Stranger: Synopsis...
Joining the CRA is FREE. There are no lengthy forms to fill out and we need nothing but your email. You will receive a regular newsletter but no spam.
Case Files 47
The CRA Newsletter: November 2020
The CRA Newsletter: October 2020