This weekend I should have been in Lyme Regis for the inaugural Lyme Crime festival. Sadly, COVID-19 put paid to that, but unlike most similar events, the estimable Paddy Magrane and his team decided that the show must go on (virtually).
I think it worked really well. Of course there's no substitute for being physically present at a festival, but the panels ran really smoothly over Zoom, and it was great that people were able to tune in from all over.
I was part of two events (one for What She Saw Last Night with Susi Holliday, one for Hunted with Tony Kent), and you can watch them both here.
I guess that's one advantage over live in person festivals - anyone in the world can 'attend' a panel, months after it's happened.
First up on Thursday, an encore version of the Train Noir tour Susi and I embarked on last Autumn. We talked about our train-themed mysteries and why night trains are so popular in crime fiction.
Then on Saturday morning, Tony Kent and I discussed our new action thrillers, and talked about the mechanics of a thriller in Setting the Pace. This one was live, so we were getting questions from the viewing audience, which worked pretty well.
There are over a dozen panels available to watch again at the Lyme Crime YouTube page, so head over there, subscribe, and experience a book festival from the comfort of your living room.
Sunday, 28 June 2020
Thursday, 25 June 2020
Hunted - publication day
Hunted, my first book under the pseudonym Alex Knight, is published in the UK today.
It's a little weird having a new book out right now. Normally, I would have a launch event at a bookshop and get to meet readers, sign some books and have a few glasses of wine. There would be post-launch drinks in a beer garden somewhere with other writers and readers.
But obviously none of that's happening right now, so Hunted is going out with a little less fanfare than normal.
I'm really proud of it and I think it's one of my best books, so I hope people buy it.
You can help by getting the word out, telling your friends, leaving a review (if you like it, feel free not to if you hate it!), talking about it on Facebook - anything you can do will be much appreciated.
In the meantime, you can tune in virtually to OnLyme Crime on Saturday morning at 11am to see me and Tony Kent talk about Hunted and his fantastic thriller Power Play.
Check out the blurb below, and you can read chapter one on the Alex Knight website - if you enjoyed the Carter Blake books, I think you'll love it.
“A STUNNING THRILLER”
– Sunday Times bestselling author Steve Cavanagh
You're woken early by the doorbell. It's a young girl, the daughter of the love of your life. She's scared, covered in blood, she says her mother is hurt.
You let her in, try to calm her down, tell her you're going to get help. You reach for your phone, but it lights up with a notification before you touch it.
It's an Amber alert, sent to every one of the four million phones in the Bay Area - a child has been abducted by a dangerous suspect.
The child is the girl standing in front of you.
The suspect? You.
Saturday, 20 June 2020
Lyme Crime - see me twice!
Rather greedily, I'm going to be appearing at OnLyme Crime twice - once as Mason Cross, once as Alex Knight.
First up, I'm doing the TRAIN NOIR panel with SJI Holliday. We did a Train Noir tour in the Autumn for What She Saw Last Night and Susi's brilliant thriller Violet and it was so much fun, so I'm looking forward to the (virtual) reunion.
Then, on Saturday morning, I'm teaming up with Tony Kent for SETTING THE PACE, which should be a lot of fun too. He'll be talking about Power Play, which I read this year and absolutely loved. It's also the first-ever event for Alex Knight and for Hunted.
As you would expect, this is a virtual festival, and details of how to book your free ticket will be available soon, check out the Lyme Crime Facebook page for more details and the rest of the lineup.
Thursday 25th June, 6pm
Train Noir
SJ Holliday and Mason Cross discuss their most recent novels, both of which are set on trains, talking about the journeys that inspired them and how this particular form of travel lends atmosphere, momentum and claustrophobia to a thriller.
Saturday 27th June, 11am
Setting the Pace
When a book becomes a rollercoaster. Thriller authors Alex Knight and Tony Kent reveal the secrets to writing a page-turner.
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