December 2009
Hello dear readers,
Congratulations on surviving another year. The planet is a little warmer, the seas are a little higher, wallets are lighter and anybody who irons five work shirts at the start of the week is called an optimist…but we have lived to fight another day.
The oozing behemoth of fibrous tumour that is my imagination has come up with another novel and the copy-editing is now finished. Thankfully, none of my publishers has tapped me on the shoulder and politely told me to look for alternative work. They all seem rather pleased – particularly because BLEED FOR ME follows on from SHATTER and features Joe O’Loughlin and Vincent Ruiz.
Up until now, I’ve tried to avoid writing a traditional series, but since this is my third novel with Joe O’Loughlin as narrator, I guess you could call him a ‘series character’. Those of you who have read SHATTER will probably understand why I’ve gone back to Joe. I left his private life in a mess and I wanted to sort things out. I don’t know if I’ve been successful – you’ll have to read the new novel to discover what happens.
BLEED FOR ME will be out in April 2010 in Australia and June in the UK. The latest word from my Dutch publishers is a spring 2010 launch and other European translations will follow. For my US fans, I’m sorry for the wait, but I’m still negotiating to get a better publishing schedule. I know it’s always irritated many of my American readers that they have to wait an extra year to buy my books in the shops in the States. I’m trying to rectify this, but it’s not proving easy.
It has been a difficult year in publishing, particularly in America where book sales have been hammered by the global financial crisis and rising unemployment. Publishers have been laying off editors, shutting down imprints and abandoning mid-list authors. Marketing and promotional budgets are virtually non-existent and authors are expected to fund their own tours and be their own publicists.
On the other side of the pond, BOMBPROOF has garnered some great reviews in the UK.
The Times: ‘This is a dark and gripping romp with a keen satirical edge. It is scary and funny, but something else entirely to the Robotham we have become used to.’
The Guardian: ‘A terrific read, fast-paced, confident and concise’ and the Daily Mail: ‘A snappy, pacy page-turner.’
There were also some great reviews in South Africa when I toured in September, which was an absolute treat. The trip began as a mid-life-crisis-boys-go-bush tour down the Lower Zambezi River, which marks the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. I went with three mates who I’ve known for years and we managed to get permission from our various wives and workplaces. The wives were convinced that we’d be roughing it – camping on islands, braving crocodiles, hippos and lions, while getting in touch with our masculine side.
To be fair, we did camp rough one night (and never have I been so happy to see the sun come up) but thanks to friends in the right places, we were allowed to stay at some exclusive game lodges at discounted rates. We vowed to destroy all photographs of this, of course, lest our wives discover the truth. We fished, we drank, went on game drives, we drank, we ate fine food and we drank some more. I missed my wife desperately, of course…and my children…and yes, I’ll never go away without them again…. (Has she gone yet? She was reading over my shoulder).
It wasn’t all holiday, of course. On my way home I stopped in South Africa for ten days to do a book tour. Importantly, I got to meet my wonderful local publishers at Penguin SA, who made me feel very important. I also had one of my nicest author moments. I was having lunch with my publishing team and some local booksellers at a restaurant in Johannesburg when another diner overheard our conversation and said to me, ‘Are you the author of SHATTER? That’s one hell of a book.’ (I wish you could have heard the Afrikaans accent). I did accuse my publishers of having set up the moment, but they insist it was completely spontaneous.
I got home from South Africa just in time to pack a new suitcase and head to Borneo with the family. This was the sake of domestic harmony and also to write a travel piece for an Australian newspaper. The brief was simple: a family holiday, somewhere unusual, somewhere memorable.
‘It’s got to be outside Australia,’ said my eldest princess, a teenage travel snob. ‘And somewhere warm,’ announced the middle princess, who is 12. ‘Where we can ski,’ added the littlest princess, 9.
(That’s why parents should never consult their offspring about anything other than whether their teeth are clean.)
We had a brilliant time, despite their complaints about leeches, squat toilets and the lack of Internet access in the jungle. They’re Philistines, all of them.
Home from Borneo for less than a day, I flew out to the US and Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, held in Indianapolis this year. It was a chance to catch up with some old friends and make some new ones. It was the biggest Bouchercon ever and a special treat because Michael Connelly was the guest of honour. He’s a classy writer and a classy human being.
There is so much more to tell you, but I’ll save it up for the New Year. Here’s hoping you give some great books this Christmas and you receive even better ones.
Happy reading.
Michael
WHAT I’M READING:
TRUTH by Peter Temple
This is the long awaited 'companion' novel to The Broken Shore, which won Peter the Gold Dagger in the UK. He is the finest crime writer Australia has produced and one who ranks alongside the very best in the business.
RAIN GODS by James Lee Burke
Talking a giants in the genre. There is nobody bigger or better than Burke. This could just be the finest novel he's never written.
WHAT I’M WATCHING:
THE WIRE
Yes, I've gone back to the beginning and started watching it again.
Yes, it's that good.
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO:
Singer songwriter Paolo Nutini and his new album 'SUNNYSIDE UP'. I saw Paulo in concert in Sydney a few weeks ago.
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