LIBRARIES AND TWITTER

By Richard Jay Parker

Apologies for the tardy blog. Am unable to write my planned blog at the moment. Hoped to deliver it Friday but will hopefully will be able to do this at the end of this week.

Instead I just thought I'd point you in the direction of two online articles. The first I found in The Bookseller and touches upon my recent blog about libraries and how they need our support. It's depressing reading and emphasises the need for this support before we lose something we take for granted. Read the article HERE

I noticed it also being tweeted by other writers today. To redress the balance so it's not all doom and gloom here's a link to an article about something more positive and another pet subject - Twitter itself. Interesting reading. Read the article HERE

Will catch you up on Friday.

http://www.richardjayparker.com/

More Library Events

Continuing the theme of library events... on 7th July Cyrus Moore, author of the brilliant controversial thriller CITY OF THIEVES, and Leigh Russell, author of runaway success CUT SHORT and her new novel ROAD CLOSED, addressed a packed house at Gayton Library, the central library in Harrow. The two authors introduced themselves and their books, talked about their diverse journeys to publication, and read extracts from CITY OF THIEVES and ROAD CLOSED. They talked about crime fiction, and answered a host of fascinating questions from a lively and supportive audience. At the end of the evening, while everyone enjoyed the refreshments kindly supplied by the library, Cyrus and Leigh were delighted to sign their books for most of the audience. It was a great evening and the Curzon Group would like to thank the librarians at Gayton Library, and the local audience, for their interest.
Here is a photo taken by a librarian at Kenton Library, with some members of the lively book group who came along to hear Leigh talking about ROAD CLOSED. Only about half of the group could stay behind for the photo, which shows what a thriving group this is. So if you haven't yet joined a book group at your local library - check it out!

See Leigh's upcoming library talks on http://www.noexit.co.uk/features/authortour.php

VIVA LIBRARIES!

By Richard Jay Parker

There's another library panel coming up in August. Matt Lynn, Zoe Sharp and I will be travelling to Knaresborough on the 19th and talking writing and thrillers for an audience between 7.30 and 9 pm. Details HERE

I've done a few of these events now and as well as being great fun they've also served to remind me of what a vital role local libraries play for communities everywhere. I joined my small local library recently and rediscovered the joys of literary serendipity. There's a larger, plush library in town which has an impressive array of the latest releases but I also enjoy the more personal touch of local librarians and sampling titles I might not usually select (the inclusion of which they've had to consider carefully due to lack of space). A recent holiday was much richer because of it and I got turned on to two authors that I probably wouldn't have put top of my tbr list.

Libraries of all sizes offer so much more than people realise from access to local information, journals, Internet, talking books, DVDs, as well as the facility to request books you want to read.

Moreover, they're still a social centre and many of the ones I've been visiting have a very healthy itinerary of events. Let's hope the proposed government cuts don't bite too hard and try to support them. Long may they be open for business.

http://www.richardjayparker.com/

CURZON v FALCONS

By Richard Jay Parker

In direct competition with the shrill sound of Chichester Cathedral's peregrine falcons showing off to the observers assembled below three members of The Curzon Group (Matt Lynn, Tom Cain and Richard Jay Parker) converged on the local library and added their contribution to the summer festival.

After introductions and readings from action assassin thriller THE ACCIDENT MAN, twisty serial killer story STOP ME and exciting military page turner FIRE FORCE ,the intention was to dissect thriller writing amongst ourselves for half an hour before taking questions. However, the audience were keen to interact and we were pleased that so many of the questions asked led us to new areas of discussion.

We debated ebooks and if their introduction would see the way stories were written change. We agreed that the slider certainly presented more of a temptation to scan books. Matt expanded on this in relation to the way books are read by people with busy lives and how this is changing the speed of stories and structure of chapters. Tom cited a story about a recent appearance. Because it was a last minute booking he had to turn up without any books. However, somebody in the audience downloaded his book while he was talking. It was just a shame he couldn't sign it.

We ended up overrunning as we were asked questions about chapter cliffhangers, writing for international locations, story planning and the dangers of over researching.

Special thanks to Pam and Flic for making us so welcome. It was very tempting to stay in Chichester and scuttle into one of the inviting freehouses (I hadn't been to Chichester for some time and was keen to reacquaint myself) but unfortunately we all had to embark on our journeys home.

We look forward to visiting again.

http://www.richardjayparker.com/

(If you'd like The Curzon Group to visit your library then contact any of us through our respective websites)

This Weekend

ROAD CLOSED reviewed in The Times
"well-written, soundly plotted, psychologically acute"
Marcel Berlins
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/books/fiction/article2572500.ece
CUT SHORT No. 1
ROAD CLOSED No. 2
Bestseller Chart at Waterstones in Harrow
Not a bad weekend...
Leigh Russell

SLIPPERY BOOKS

By Richard Jay Parker

Was chatting with some friends over the weekend re their summer reads and was struck by the fact that two of them were holding back on reading THE LOVELY BONES until after their holiday.

I’ve never consciously chosen a lighter read because I’m taking it on holiday but I’m sure it’s a subconscious part of my selection process. By lighter reads I don’t mean I exclude violence and dark subject matter. However, my poolside literature seems to be material that is in a comfortable context or genre rather than the sort of books I would normally jump at. The sort of books that challenge my perception, morals and make me rewardingly uncomfortable in the process usually go on hold for two weeks.

It’s a personal choice but I’d much rather something accessible and juicy over anything too heavy or intellectual while I’m relaxing. It’s got to be immediately engaging and capable of giving me that excuse to remain horizontal longer than I'd normally do in the middle of the day. But at the same time my holiday brain wants the experience to be effortless and thoroughly entertaining.

I suppose it’s the equivalent of watching a glossy Hollywood movie on the plane over art house material that’s often more rewarding.

It’s probably why good thrillers are so popular as holiday reads. I’ve got plenty of them that still have sun lotion on the pages. I certainly hope that there will be a few copies of STOP ME that will be christened in the same way.

www.richardjayparker.com

A Life Or Death Match....

by Matt Lynn

I was talking to my editor Martin Fletcher at Headline yesterday about the next book in the ‘Death Force’ series, which is going to be called ‘Ice Force’. The outline is looking great. But we were discussing whether one of the character should die, as they have done in each of the previous three books in the series.

We decided one should.

But who?

We picked a pair of characters, and decided to kill off one if England beat Slovenia today. And another if they get beaten.

So it really is a life or death match.