A.A. Abbott

GREAT CRIME STORY WRITER

kate atkinson

A Fair, A Festival and Fabulous Beer – April’s Literary Highlights

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I’ve been hanging out with readers and writers at three very different events this month – the London Book Fair, a live fiction night at a pub in Birmingham, and the Hawkesbury Upton Litfest at a village in the Cotswolds. All were not only fun, but a chance to learn from other thriller writers. Most of all, I get a buzz being around others who love books as much as I do.

I wrote a blog about the London Book Fair in 2015. If you’re not sure why everyone in the book trade (apart from the most important people, readers!) hits town every year, do take a look! Deals are done, free wine flows and there’s frantic networking. For me, the key messages this year were to make my thrillers available as audiobooks and go for a darkly sinister cover for my next crime thriller. Watch this space!

I’ve also blogged about live fiction events and literary festivals before. I can’t recommend them enough to readers. Stories come alive when they’re read aloud by their writers. The pub night, organised by Donna of Twitter’s @TheCultureHour, featured the well-respected New Street Authors. They all proved to be polished live performers as well as writers. Even better, it was hosted by The Gunmaker’s Arms, the showcase and brewery tap for beers from the Two Towers Brewery. The beer was awesome, a bargain at under £3 a pint, and worth a trip to the pub in its own right. I indulged in their Birmingham Mild, a style of ale quite hard to find outside the British Midlands, yet one of the most delicious drinks on the planet.

It’s only natural that the Two Towers, named after nearby landmarks that inspired the great JRR Tolkien, would want to support the local literary scene. So, back to the books, the main event of the evening. Although there were stunning performances by master of suspense Andrew Sparke and the cutting, creative and comical Gareth J Wood, it was New Street Author David Wake who stole the show. His steampunk Derring-Do Club series had the audience in stitches. Check them out, and if you’re organising a litfest, ask him along. With a theatrical background, David knows how to make an audience very happy indeed.

Coincidentally, half of the Hawkesbury Upton Litfest was also hosted by a pub, the ancient Fox Inn. A sweet honey-coloured Cotswold stone village, Hawkesbury Upton is a world away from Birmingham’s gritty Gunmakers’ Quarter. Seemingly, everyone in Hawkesbury Upton loves to read. At any given time, at least two events were taking place for adults at this full-day festival, and there were art exhibitions and children’s workshops too. A charming green chalk line directed punters between the Fox and poetry performances at the Methodist Church Hall. Did I mention cake? It appeared the villagers were brilliant bakers too, with home-made goodies on sale with all those lovely books.

Highlight of the litfest for me was meeting cosy crime thriller writer Jackie Kabler, whose TV newsroom murder mystery is storming the charts. I too prefer to keep graphic violence out of my books (thriller author Joanna Penn used the term ‘torture porn’ at the lifest) and it’s encouraging to know that’s what readers like too.

I left Hawkesbury Upton staggering under the weight of new books to enjoy! As an amazing April literary feast draws to an end, these are next on my ‘to-read’ list:

Copper Trance & Motorways, by Andrew Sparke – I’m already chuckling at the office politics in this wryly observed crime thriller.

Screaming Blue-City Murder, by G J Wood – I’ve dipped into this fabulous collection of satirical, sweary short stories already. Although I write about a shinier version of Birmingham than Gareth, I love his focus on seedy, sinister secrets. He’s a genius.

Marry in Haste, by Debbie Young. Romantic short stories with happy endings, great with a cuppa.

Me-Time Tales, by Rosalind Minett. More short stories, the ideal solution for time-poor fiction lovers!

The Derring-Do Club and the Invasion of the Grey, by David Wake. After hearing his stirring steampunk at The Gunmaker’s Arms, there was no way I was leaving that pub without a copy to read!

Who Needs Mr Darcy? by Jean Burnett. There’s nothing quite like a Jane Austen pastiche, and unlike others, this one is zombie-free…

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I’m a British crime thriller writer, following in the footsteps of Ruth Rendell, Kate Atkinson and our transatlantic cousin, John Grisham. Read tasters of my work, including 5 minute crime thriller ‘The Gap’ here.

 

 

Living in a Box – Why Crime Thrillers are my Genre

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I describe myself as a British crime thriller writer. While strictly truthful – I’m British, and I write books containing lots of thrills and crime – it’s not the whole story. My full-length thrillers also sizzle with suspense, sex and romance. There’s often a dose of office politics, as corporate emperors play games with each other.

Why, then, be pigeonholed in a box labelled “crime thriller”? There are four reasons why I believe choosing a genre is important:

#1. Readers know what to expect. It’s true of any genre, whether it’s sci-fi, horror or even divisions of non-fiction like biographies. An avid crime thriller fan can accept a little romance creeping into the plot. It may even be the motive for the crime (in After The Interview, a single adulterous incident has far-reaching consequences). On the other hand, a reader of romantic fiction might balk at a murder or two.

#2. It’s hard for readers who love blockbuster-style thrillers (or any other niche for that matter) to find them at random in the packed General Fiction shelves of bookstores.

#3. It makes comparisons easy. I’m not Kate Atkinson, Ruth Rendell or John Grisham, but my books are a little like each of them – and If you love any of them, you’re likely to enjoy my fiction too.

#4. The book trade – the mighty Amazon, bookstores and wholesalers – prefer it.

I give myself more latitude when I write short stories. Some, like 5 minute crime thriller The Gap, available free here, slot naturally into the crime fiction genre. Others delve into the realms of horror, romance and the supernatural. If you haven’t read my free e-book, Something In The City, yet, click here to receive a copy, and see for yourself.

Strong Women in Fiction

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I’ve been invited to the Midlands Women of the Year lunch this Friday, 9th October. Men and women alike are welcome should you care to join me! As well as meeting strong women in real life, I adore reading about them in fiction. While heroines abound, not all have a core of steel. I’d happily share a cup of tea with Jane Austen’s Lizzie Bennett, but I wouldn’t rely on her to save me from a tight spot. Here are a few fictional characters who really kick ass, though…

#1. Brienne of Tarth and #2. Arya Stark from George RR Martin’s fantasy series, Game of Thrones. Famously gory, bad things happen to practically everyone in Martin’s books. Misfortune is the making of some characters and the breaking of others, while for a few, it is simply endured. Unlike a conventional heroine, Brienne is no beauty, but her determination, physical strength and skill as a fighter enable her to hold her own among the knights of the land. Arya trains as an assassin to avenge her father’s death. Both are women you’d want firmly on your side. The alternative is too scary to contemplate.

#3. Dr Joanna Hunter in Kate Atkinson’s third Jackson Brodie detective story, When Will There Be Good News? Resourceful Dr Hunter may be the target of crime, but she’s definitely not a victim.

#4. Dagny Taggart in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged is a businesswoman who runs a railroad and takes lovers on her own terms. While I find Ayn Rand’s novels lack subtlety (the heroes are intelligent and capable, the villains spineless), she firmly believed a woman could do anything a man could, and reflected that in her fiction.

#5. Terry Pratchett’s Granny Weatherwax. A beacon of common sense, guile and barefaced cheek, the old witch can take care of herself and others. There’s a fabulous chapter in Witches Abroad where she turns the tables on a bunch of conmen, robbing them blind in a card game. On another occasion, she cheats Death at the same game.

#6. Lisbeth Salander in Stieg Larsson’s thriller, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Salander’s tribulations, and her reaction to them, are every bit as extreme as anything George RR Martin could concoct. Although she lacks social skills after her troubled childhood, she’s a computer hacking genius. Evildoers can’t hide from her, and nor can their money.

Should you be celebrating great real-life role models at the Midlands Women of the Year lunch this Friday, do drop by to say Hi. I’ll be signing copies of my latest crime thriller, The Bride’s Trail – featuring an enigmatic heroine whose disappearance sparks off a trail across two British cities…

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AA Abbott’s crime thrillers, Up In Smoke, After The Interview and The Bride’s Trail, are described by readers as “racy and pacy”, “stylish” and “funny and fast”. Grab one at a bookshop, peek inside each book on Amazon or read tasters here.