tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83268358325524433372024-03-13T10:20:09.257-07:00Leigh RussellLeigh Russell's BlogLeigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.comBlogger440125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-69531153153175313592016-03-11T13:08:00.001-08:002016-03-11T13:13:06.631-08:00Press Release by Seychelles Tourist BoardGlobal Travel Industry News...<br />
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<a href="http://www.eturbonews.com/69300/seychelles-novel-destination-murder-mystery">http://www.eturbonews.com/69300/seychelles-novel-destination-murder-mystery</a><br />
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Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-56835242796351882002016-02-26T08:30:00.001-08:002016-02-26T08:30:06.340-08:00Social Media<div>For the first time in history, we are able to sustain friendships, and engage in conversations with groups of people, all over the world. I have friends in countries I've never visited, on every continent. Some of them are people I met and subsequently connected with online when they moved away. Others are people I first met online, who have become good friends. All of this has become possible through the advent of social media. To begin with, these online contacts didn't seem like real people at all. The first time a Facebook friend of mine turned up at one of my book signings, it felt surreal meeting her in the physical world. Since then many of us have met in the real world, as readers often come along to my events, sometimes travelling long distances for a signed book and a chat. It's always a thrill meeting people who read my books.</div><div><br></div><div>The only problem with social media is that it's so addictive! I frequently pop over to Facebook to reply to comments on my latest post, or see who else has been posting. Twitter is another site I frequent, putting up a tweet or responding to other people's comments. I've connected with some interesting people there as well.</div><div><br></div><div>So we are living in interesting times, in terms of human relations. We have our family and friends in the real world. Next are our virtual friends, real people we connect with via the Internet. Finally, there are the fictitious characters we read and write about. Whether real, virtual or fictitious, any of them can become our friends, and any of them can confound our expectations. The characters I create often surprise me. As an author, you might think I would be able to control my characters well enough to avoid them catching me off guard. They may be unpredictable to a reader, but they should not surprise whoever created them. As other authors will confirm, this is not always the case. My characters sometimes deviate from the paths I map out for them. That can be frustrating, but it is also part of the fun of writing, making the process more organic and creative. Like real people, they can have minds of their own.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><b>Leigh Russell is published in English, and in translation throughout Europe. Her Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson titles have appeared on many bestseller lists, including #1 on kindle. Leigh's work has been nominated for several major awards, including the CWA New Blood Dagger and CWA Dagger in the Library, and her Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson series are currently in development for television with Avalon Television Ltd.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>Journey to Death is the first title in her Lucy Hall series published by Thomas and Mercer.</b></div><div><b>Links to all Leigh's books can be found on her website http://leighrussell.co.uk</b></div>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-13181184128374961402016-02-16T02:22:00.001-08:002016-02-16T02:22:38.623-08:00Be Careful What You Say!<div>I've always been fascinated by the power of language. It's a very strange phenomenon, when you stop to think about it. We open our mouths and make peculiar sounds which somehow convey thoughts and feelings from inside our brains into someone else's mind. How does that happen? </div><div><br></div><div>Of course, it doesn't always work.</div><div>'We're packing in the travels this year,' I said to my husband. </div><div>He looked at me in surprise, understanding this to mean that I wanted to see an end to our travelling. What I intended to say was that we were cramming in a lot of travelling again. Since embarking on my new Lucy Hall series, our usual annual travels to all around the UK and Europe have increased, taking us away more frequently and further afield as far as the Seychelles and New Orleans. </div><div><br></div><div>Once you start to consider the quirks of our language, instances come easily to mind. What, we might wonder, is a 'civil war'? In battle do the combatants politely ask permission before shooting one another? And wouldn't it be nice if people's appearances were judged in the the same way as chances, given that 'a fat chance' is the same as 'a slim chance'. </div><div><br></div><div>There are many instances of ambiguity in literature. Some are deliberate, as when Shakespeare's witches chant 'Fair is foul'. Others are clearly not deliberate. In Thackeray's Vanity Fair, a character reports that 'he and I were both shot in the same leg.'</div><div><br></div><div>One of my favourite illustrations of the ambiguity of language is the child who was asked in a test to 'Take 7 from 93 as many times as you can.' The child answered 'I get 86 every time.' </div><div><br></div><div>And the advertisement that claimed 'Nothing acts faster than Anadin'.</div><div><br></div><div>Ambiguity is not only created by words. The surprisingly popular book 'Eats shoots and leaves' gives us many examples of ambiguity created by punctuation. </div><div>A woman: without her, man is nothing.</div><div>A woman, without her man, is nothing.</div><div><br></div><div>Thinking about ambiguity is entertaining, but it's also a reminder to us all to be careful how we express ourselves. Thoughtless words can not only be unintentionally hurtful or insulting, they can change the meaning of our intended message. </div>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-57725465053427858572016-02-06T02:26:00.001-08:002016-02-06T02:26:16.738-08:00What's in a NameIt feels like a long time since I last posted here, although it's only just over a week. Actually, a lot has happened since then, including on the blogging front, but just not here. Let me explain.<div><br><div>My Lucy Hall series launches soon, with the first book, Journey to Death, published on 9th February. That means there has been promotional activity, including writing some guest blog posts. So far in the last ten days I've written five, three for my PR team in the US, and two for the UK. So I've not really had time - or ideas - to write about here. </div><div><br></div><div>Being invited to write posts for other people's blogs is flattering but it's not as relaxing as writing here. I like to do a little research and get a flavour of the other blog, if I don't already know it. Often the topic they invite me to write about takes needs thinking and planning. It all takes time. </div><div><br></div><div>And then there's the next Geraldine Steel which I was hoping to finish before I receive the edits for the second Lucy Hall. The WIP is progressing slowly. More a PIP* than a WIP. All the activity surrounding the launch of my new series is distracting. I am very excited about the launch, but also concerned. </div><div><br></div><div>Where my police procedurals begin with a murder, the drama in my new book builds slowly. It may be too slow for some of my existing fans.<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> Was it a mistake to publish Journey to Death under the same name as I used for my other series? Some reviews are already expressing disappointment that Lucy Hall is not like Geraldine Steel. If I had published my new series under a different name, it would have avoided such comparisons. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">At the time, it never really occurred to me to use a different name just because I was trying something new. It seems a little disingenuous to pretend to be someone else. After all, it is still me writing the Lucy Hall books. Yet other authors write under different names, and I do understand why. As Evelyn Waugh, among others, wrote: 'Comparisons are odious'. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I like to trust that people will read Journey to Death with an open mind. But perhaps, in </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">being open about my identity, I am inviting comparisons between my protagonists. </span></div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Journey to Death is published on 9th February. Wish Lucy Hall good luck! </span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ufQBGm0Ol6Kg7iUPl-vPrC12gPjODonvAqhZmAkmUxMwgpXeHQCALSWCG5p5dg1HzGVL6yoGh9kAvFXs_A6NbEsD_wR0QawJ6-3QD-l6uhg4adZYPV6jAx243YGcI3k6tn9beg5u9Zk/s640/blogger-image--1655748588.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ufQBGm0Ol6Kg7iUPl-vPrC12gPjODonvAqhZmAkmUxMwgpXeHQCALSWCG5p5dg1HzGVL6yoGh9kAvFXs_A6NbEsD_wR0QawJ6-3QD-l6uhg4adZYPV6jAx243YGcI3k6tn9beg5u9Zk/s640/blogger-image--1655748588.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><font color="#000000" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Journey-Death-Lucy-Hall-Mystery-ebook/dp/B014KVMWQ4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">http://www.amazon.co.uk/Journey-Death-Lucy-Hall-Mystery-ebook/dp/B014KVMWQ4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=</a></font></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>*Procrastination in Progress<br><div><br><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div></div></div>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-75932149472901146592016-01-29T03:31:00.001-08:002016-01-29T05:11:56.555-08:00Thoughts on writing<div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Recently I came across an author's response to an Amazon review and I have to admit to feeling saddened by the exchange. I have removed names as this is not a personal attack, but a general comment about the use or abuse of our language. </span></div><div><br></div><div>Here is the review: </div><div><br></div><div>"This isn't a bad story but, like so many books, it is spoiled by a poor understanding of the English language. He was sat should be he was sitting, he was stood should be he was standing. Towards the end this seems to have been corrected so why let it spoil the first three quarters?</div><div>Also, every time the word 'yet' appears it is preceded by 'in' which makes no sense.</div><div>Possessive nouns and pronouns have no apostrophes and the awful word 'gotten' is used.</div><div>Hyphens keep popping up for no apparent reason!</div><div>If you can ignore the mis-use of the English language, the book is worth a read though a little slow."</div><div><br></div><div>And the author's response: </div><div><br></div><div>"Authors these days are told not to use too many words ending with 'ing'. Such grammatical language alters through the years, but this is something which is frowned upon by editors and publishers, and has been for at least the past five years, so it is abided by at all times. I'm also a little worried having read your reviews, that you are mentioning the same things in each of them. 'The author wrote sat and used the word gotten' is written in all of your reviews on Amazon. These words are acceptable in UK English."</div><div><br></div><div>Who is told "not to use too many words ending with 'ing'."? If a writer overuses the continuous tense in her verbs, or peppers her work with gerunds, clearly that is poor style. Any tedious form of repetition may spoil prose. But if a writer needs to be told this, perhaps she should spend a few years reading others who do know how to write, before rushing to self-publish her own work while she still lacks a rudimentary understanding of language? </div><div><br></div><div>It is true that the rules of grammar are constantly changing, but do editors and publishers frown upon the overuse of "words ending with 'ing' " any more than any other poor use of language? I don't think so - and what does "it is abided by at all times" even mean? I certainly don't abide by these dubious ideas about what is "acceptable in UK English".</div><div><br></div><div>The author is entitled to criticise her reviewer for repeated complaints about constructions like "He was sat" but perhaps this is a case of choosing your battles carefully. </div><div><br></div><div>"He was sat" is incorrect, and in my view is not "acceptable" from someone who claims to be a writer. </div><div><br></div><div>At the risk of being brought to task for repeating myself, I do think that if you want to publish or, in this instance, self-publish, your work, you have a duty to at least try to write well. For a fellow author to employ such clumsy and inaccurate constructions as "he was sat" and "he was stood" is shoddy. But to then defend such prose as "acceptable in UK English" is shocking. Acceptable to whom? Not to me, nor to several irritated reviewers of her book. </div><div><br></div><div>Several very poorly edited books have famously become blockbusters. We can all probably name at least two. So should we blame writers for throwing their work out and hoping for the best? Am I an idiot to devote so much of my life to agonising over my choice of words, and my sentence structures? Does it really matter? Am<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> I just an old-fashioned pedant to care about the quality of my published prose?</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">What do you think? </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Links to all my books can be found on my website</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> http://leighrussell.co.uk </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-37030033169705132432016-01-25T23:23:00.001-08:002016-01-25T23:23:56.059-08:00Blogging<div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I wrote somewhere, rather pompously, that if you call yourself a writer you have a duty to at least try to write well. In my books I do my best to express myself clearly in correct English. This takes hard work because, as Robert Louis Stevenson said, 'The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean.' </span></div><div><br></div><div>Many authors, some of them very successful, seem to pay scant attention to the quality of their prose, which I think is a pity. Others, like Ian McEwan or Kazuo Ishiguru, express themselves so lucidly that it is a pleasure to read their books just for the beauty of the language. </div><div><br></div><div>In my own way I'm a bit of a pedant, and quite old-fashioned. For example, I try not to including contractions in my work, although there is no good reason why a writer of commercial crime fiction should avoid them. There may even be an argument in favour of using them, as 'don't' and 'can't' speed up the pace, where 'do not' and 'cannot' maybe slow it down. I suppose decades of teaching teenagers how to write 'properly', in correct, formal English, has left its mark on my writing. </div><div><br></div><div>But writing for a blog is different - especially when it is a post for my own personal blog. Here, I am free to use excessive punctuation, for example!! (Would I ever use double exclamation marks in a book??? Of course not!!!) What might look inappropriate in a novel to my blinkered eyes, seems perfectly acceptable here. </div><div><br></div><div>Of course blogs are not solely outlets for trivia. Many bloggers analyse, critique and comment on important issues in culture and current affairs. A blog can be whatever the writer chooses to make it, and we are fortunate to live in a period where blogs are so many and so varied.</div><div><br></div><div>In his droll and whimsical novel, Tristram Shandy, the eighteenth century writer Laurence Sterne set out to break all the contemporary rules of fiction, in an ingenious parody of the rather self-consciously worthy novels of the time. I think Sterne would have relished the liberty of a blog.</div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">http://leighrussell.co.uk</div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdfhnycKQpHbmjM1CtDBQEqdi6_6-D21BfPhcLigsfKpFwZhJdoo310TOJ6DUm0jo12sQtZuBeWg76ilqGWRFq4ZzjswwuoNGt8_uFll-u6yTO5-QdfXwR9H32yTdvMSw25zxiidR4Bc/s640/blogger-image--185730221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdfhnycKQpHbmjM1CtDBQEqdi6_6-D21BfPhcLigsfKpFwZhJdoo310TOJ6DUm0jo12sQtZuBeWg76ilqGWRFq4ZzjswwuoNGt8_uFll-u6yTO5-QdfXwR9H32yTdvMSw25zxiidR4Bc/s640/blogger-image--185730221.jpg"></a></div>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-28702288249121181462016-01-25T16:22:00.001-08:002016-01-25T16:22:21.281-08:00A New Breed of Bookseller<div>I used to worry that ebooks would lure young people away from reading to online games, which offer a superficial dumbed down kind of story. I wrote a post about my dystopian vision, my answer to Ray Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451'. But so far the rise of ebooks does not seem to be leading readers away from books. Quite the opposite, in fact, as ebooks seem to be reaching out to increasing numbers of readers. </div><div><br></div><div>As with higher education, you cannot hope to engage a wider audience without compromising on standards to some extent. But is any strand of culture necessarily superior because it is accessible only to a narrow - some might say narrow-minded - intellectual elite? The highbrow intelligentsia can continue to enjoy reading and writing challenging literary books, in the same way that University Challenge reassures us that there are still students who are exceptionally brilliant and knowledgeable. That has not changed. </div><div><br></div><div>What is happening, I suspect, is that with the advent of cheap accessible ebooks, more and more people are enjoying commercial or popular fiction, just as increasing numbers of youngsters benefit from higher education. And that can only enhance the lives of those individuals, and society as a whole, as people become more educated and better informed, from formal studies and through wider reading.</div><div><br></div><div>The way readers discover new books has also opened up. Big publishers invest heavily in their blockbusters, which are promoted with marketing budgets running to hundreds of thousands of pounds. In the face of such competition, how do unknown - sometimes self-published - authors slip past the big names to reach Number 1 on kindle? Their success can only be explained by the potential for communication, and product accessibility, offered by the Internet. </div><div><br></div><div>Word of mouth recommendation has always influenced our buying habits to some extent, but before the explosion in social media it could operate only on a small scale. Now a recommendation online, together with a link, can be a relatively powerful marketing tool. </div><div><br></div><div>We are witnessing the emergence of a new breed of bookseller. They are not professional book reviewers, or book sellers in High Street bookshops. They are not book clubs or shop displays funded by publishers. They are readers who have found their voice on social media websites, blogs and online book clubs. The reading world is becoming a democracy. Let's hope people vote to read more! </div><div><br></div>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-22099937185916411932016-01-23T04:59:00.001-08:002016-01-23T05:03:18.081-08:00Authors on Social Media<div>I just came across an article in Publishers Weekly presenting The Future of Reading: 10 Trends for 2014 and Beyond, published in 2014. Not all the predictions have come true... yet. We are not all wearing 'reading glasses', not reading glasses like those of us with what I like to call 'mature' eyes wear, but glasses that actually do the reading for us. (As with most technology, I may have totally understood that. Perhaps I really do need a device to do my reading for me... )</div><div><br></div><div>Among the paragraphs on 'Visual Literature' and 'Data-Driven Narrative', 'Print-on-Demand' and 'Instant Translation' was this: "In the social media era, it’s become commonplace for authors to provide free content on blogs, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and to interact with fans on public forums (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) as a way to establish their distinctive brand personas."</div><div><br></div><div>So authors are not only expected to appear at literary festivals for free (cf my last post for my views on this topic) we are also supposed to establish 'a distinctive brand persona', whatever that is. (I have to confess to being out of my depth with all this.) And of course we have to find time to do that other thing... what was it?... oh yes, write books. </div><div><br></div><div>Some authors are better than the rest of us at exploiting the opportunities offered by social media. Many of the very successful self-published authors have a background in PR of some sort. Of course it's a given that they write books other people want to read, but well done to them for having the knowhow to help promote their books. If I had those skills, I'd use them. Who wouldn't? When it comes to self-promotion most of us are clumsy amateurs. </div><div><br></div><div>So is this 'free content' online really useful to an author? First literary festivals, now blogs and twitter and Facebook and all the other outlets, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr... there are so many, most of which I have only vaguely heard of. Should we give up our time 'for free' to interact with fans? </div><div><br></div><div>I have to admit to loving my little forays into social media. Confession time: it's fun to write a blog post where I can go crazy with hyperbole and indulge myself with ridiculously excessive punctuation!!! It's very different to writing books, where I take scrupulous care with my language. Facebook is fun too. I post photos there, something I haven't mastered on my blog. Sometimes it works. Mostly my attempts fail, or the photo is ridiculously large, or refuses to go where I want it. </div><div><br></div><div>But if writers don't enjoy social media, it really doesn't matter.</div><div><br></div><div>I'm not suggesting that, as creatives, we need only sit in our ivory towers and write a book for great wealth to pour into our needy coffers meaning we never have to work for a living again. Isn't that how it works? We are the Cinderellas of the world, and the Prince - let's change his name from 'Charming' to 'Success' or 'Fame' - will seek us out and save us from the nightmare of obscurity, a pitiful existence where no one has heard of us. </div><div><br></div><div>What I am saying is that most of us are doomed to - or possibly blessed with - obscurity. It all depends on your attitude. The fairytale teaches us that there is only one prince. There can be only one Cinderella. Losers outnumber winners in that family. The majority of us are destined to play the role of the ugly sisters, names unknown. Yet Cinderella's sisters never had to sweep the floor or do menial work around the house, and they were invited to the royal ball. When you think about it, they had a very comfortable existence. They just had a bad attitude. They thought they were entitled to marry a prince. </div><div><br></div><div>So here's my advice, for what it's worth. Use social media if you want to. It can be fun. You meet all sorts of lovely and interesting people online (and, just between us, it's a great way to procrastinate!) but don't expect it to turn you into a 'distinctive brand persona'. Live in the real world, and manage your expectations accordingly. I don't expect my efforts on social media to bring me fame and fortune. I'm relying on my fairy godmother to do that. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-85212315291857806662016-01-18T05:43:00.001-08:002016-01-18T05:43:11.932-08:00Authors at Literary Festivals<div>Forgive me if the following post is controversial or sounds in any way smug, in an "I'm all right so what's all the fuss about" way. But I don't understand the problem with authors being offered peanuts, or in some cases nothing at all, for appearing at literary festivals. If it's such a problem, the solution is perfectly simple. Don't go. No author is forced to attend a literary festival. If the festival is not offering a fee, you are under no obligation to accept. Not many books are sold at festivals, unless you are already a big name already selling millions elsewhere, in which case the number you will sign at the festival is going to be insignificant.</div><div><br></div><div>Publishers may be prepared to pay for their authors' travel and accommodation, but this is a financial consideration and will understandably depend on how well the individual author's books are selling. Your publisher will obviously be happy to cover these expenses if the amount is insignificant compared to the revenue they derive from your books. Otherwise, it would be unreasonable to expect them to pay. (I hope my publisher never feels the need to remind me I said that... )</div><div> </div><div>To claim that authors depend on income from such appearances is a contradiction in terms. Fortunate enough to earn a living from writing fiction, these days I call myself a 'full-time writer'. Before I could afford to give up my day job, I called myself a teacher who wrote books. If you rely on teaching or public appearances to pay your bills, you are a teacher, or a public speaker, who writes books. You are not a full-time writer. I do appreciate the terrible irony of the situation. When you earn enough from your writing to easily fund trips to festivals yourself, someone else will pay for you to be there. While you are struggling with the finances, you are on your own. </div><div><br></div><div>It seems to me that authors benefit hugely from literary festivals. That is why many writers attend even if they are not participating on panels, or giving interviews. Apart from the opportunity to catch up with fellow authors, network with industry professionals, and meet readers, festivals are interesting and enjoyable. And if you are contributing, not only is it fun, but you have the added bonus of seeing your name in the programme, which is free promotion to a target audience. </div><div><br></div><div>I happen to think literary festivals are an important cultural phenomenon, allowing us to meet our readers face to face, in a world where so much of our life is acted out online. If you don't buy into the ethos of literary festivals, stay at home and spend the time writing. Vote with your feet, and stop bleating. </div><div><br></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhom4znfDuxqpNANYl3VbNyYjbsLPopCmK44Fw8rkqqHVkmVuhIdC6Tr-VeSikMvn0BNAAMwUz8oLzVbptUEWTxcB3Uy64Sx2z0VBBQWSb0UmSQT5Fydqax5DuH9sG6m4KNHsjNH-1AAY/s640/blogger-image--907154516.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhom4znfDuxqpNANYl3VbNyYjbsLPopCmK44Fw8rkqqHVkmVuhIdC6Tr-VeSikMvn0BNAAMwUz8oLzVbptUEWTxcB3Uy64Sx2z0VBBQWSb0UmSQT5Fydqax5DuH9sG6m4KNHsjNH-1AAY/s640/blogger-image--907154516.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">http://leighrussell.co.uk</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-1501533463028279632016-01-16T11:06:00.001-08:002016-01-16T11:06:46.678-08:00Life as a full-time writer<div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I suspect there are many aspiring writers who would love to be in my position, earning a living from writing fiction, with a series in development for television, travelling to exotic locations for research... it sounds wonderful. And, to be fair, for the most part it is a fabulous life. I've been very lucky.</span></div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Of course being a published author involves a great deal of hard work and can involve staying up far too late writing. I am permanently tired. Eugene Ionesco was absolutely right when he wrote, 'A writer never has a vacation. For a writer, life consists of writing or thinking about writing.' When we took a city break in Barcelona, I dragged my poor husband to three different police stations, in case I ever needed to include one in a book. In fact, since I began writing crime fiction, I haven't travelled anywhere without doing some research along the way. As a writer, you become a kind of gannet, storing away any snippets of information you come across. You never know when they might be useful. Research is one of the reasons I find my career so interesting. Some of my research has given me wonderful experiences, like my recent visit to the Seychelles, some has been quite horrific, but it has all been fascinating. </div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>So how can there be a downside to all this excitement? Well, here I am again, waiting for my next book to be published. So what's the big deal? you might ask. I've been in this position before, many times. It's just another book, you might think. But it's so much more than that, because once again I'm sticking my head above the parapet, hoping I won't be shot down. </div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Whenever a new book comes out, I'm worried about how it will be received. I think every author feels the same. When you are writing a book it belongs to you, and you can do what you like with it. Once it's published, it is no longer the property of the author. It belongs to readers who can say whatever they like about it... and they may not like it. So far I've been lucky. I've had my fair share of positive reviews. But although Journey to Death will be my twelfth published book, it is my very first in a new series for a new publisher. As if that isn't enough to make me nervous, I'm aware that this new series differs from my existing Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson detective series. </div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Unlike Geraldine and Ian, my new protagonist, Lucy Hall, is not a police officer. Another difference is that she is in her early twenties at the start of the series. As happens every time I have a new book, I find myself wondering what on earth I'm doing. While I can't claim to be a 'big name', my books are quite well known in the field of crime fiction. Sometimes I wish I was completely unknown, and could just write for myself without worrying about how my next book would be received. But here I am, and as President Truman liked to say, 'If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.' </div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>So here goes again. I shall gird my loins, pluck up my courage, and face the world smiling, if not fearless. Wish me luck! And if you're just starting out as a writer, don't stress about your future success. Enjoy your early anonymity as well as the success that may be waiting just around the corner. Whatever happens, you're going to have an exciting experience!</div><div><br></div><div>Links to all my books are on http://leighrussell.co.uk </div><div>and here's the link to Journey to Death on Amazon <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Journey-Death-Lucy-Hall-Mystery/dp/1503951928/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://www.amazon.co.uk/Journey-Death-Lucy-Hall-Mystery/dp/1503951928/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=</a></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodFvyYRbbMBKTpTo6u_NyOJaJVI40jtt8MsvQ8XgOAR8XejK2gpsXgt0P1wKmEI3GxKy8Czil5cxOIpq4ngPB2f4snW9fLBEToKB_-8I96ODcPMyO6SxKt8XEFOEHkh6u5Q4LTErZYY0/s640/blogger-image-940411775.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodFvyYRbbMBKTpTo6u_NyOJaJVI40jtt8MsvQ8XgOAR8XejK2gpsXgt0P1wKmEI3GxKy8Czil5cxOIpq4ngPB2f4snW9fLBEToKB_-8I96ODcPMyO6SxKt8XEFOEHkh6u5Q4LTErZYY0/s640/blogger-image-940411775.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-31868904206814756082016-01-14T06:17:00.001-08:002016-01-14T06:17:21.224-08:00Remembering David Bowie<div>David Bowie was an icon to my generation. I loved the music, the lyrics, and the beauty of the man who showed us it was OK to be different. He did not preach tolerance. He lived it. I posted RIP online when he died. I stated publicly that I was singing 'Major Tom'. The earth, to some of us, looked 'very different' that day. Along with many others I wanted to pay my respects to Bowie's unique creative spirit. </div><div><br></div><div>Then came a little reaction from people objecting to this public expression of grief for a man we had never met. 'Leave the grieving to his family and friends,' we were told, as though our comments in memory of David Bowie were somehow an intrusion into the grief of those who had loved him as a man. </div><div><br></div><div>Iman wrote somewhere that she fell in love not with David Bowie, the public figure, but with David Jones, the man. I'm not grieving personally for David Jones, a man I never met. I am saddened by the loss of a fellow human being who touched so many people's lives. </div><div><br></div><div>I don't believe this trivialises his death. On the contrary, I think it's important to mark the death of public figures who inspired us and enriched our lives. We did not grieve for the death of Diana, the woman, but for the loss of a beautiful princess. Such public grief has its place, and I think it's important. It's wrong to dismiss it. Because our shared grief is a shared recognition that when it comes to our own mortality, we really are all in this together. 'Every man's death diminishes me, because I am part of mankind." </div><div><br></div><div>David Bowie enriched our experience of life. In sharing the loss, we are offering each other support in the face of the human condition. 'Therefore send not to know for who the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.' </div><div><br></div><div>It is fitting that David Bowie, who led the way in showing us how to tolerate our differences, should remind us that in the end we are all the same. When a loved one dies, our grief is personal and private. This is something different, and significant, like David Bowie. RIP. </div>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-52022172719401252082015-12-06T04:05:00.001-08:002015-12-06T04:05:09.244-08:00Thoughts on Gender Stereotypes<div><br></div><div>My stories always begin, in my head, with a killer. It is his or her motivation that shapes the narrative, and everything else spins out from there. There has been more than one such character, because it is hopefully not too much of a spoiler to reveal that the character of the killer changes from book to book. Finding a character readers would want to follow throughout a series was more of a challenge. It was also more important because, although I didn't realise it when I started out, my detective and I were going to be working together for a long time. </div><div><br></div><div>My original detective, in the initial stages of the first draft of my first book, was very different to Geraldine Steel. He was a middle-aged man, a curmudgeonly kind of Dalziel, with a dash of Dalgliesh's culture. As my story progressed, I grew less confident about writing mainly from a man's point of view. I wondered, for example, how a man feels when he sees an attractive woman. Afraid of creating a character who was not fully credible, and reluctant to fall back on stereotypes, I changed the gender of my protagonist. With Geraldine Steel I was on familiar territory, at least vaguely able to remember what it was like to be a woman approaching forty.</div><div><br></div><div>Satisfied it had been the right decision to change the gender of my main character, I found it easier to inhabit her thoughts and feelings than my original detective. So Geraldine Steel gradually emerged as a character, my detective's gender no longer an issue for me. </div><div><br></div><div>Four years later, the suggestion that I might write a spin off series for Geraldine's sergeant, Ian Peterson, was irresistible. Ian Peterson was already gaining a following in his own right, and a spin off series gave me the opportunity to write more stories. I happily signed a three book deal for Ian Peterson. </div><div><br></div><div>Only then did I stop to consider what I had let myself in for. I had committed to writing a series with a male protagonist, coming round full circle to writing from a male point of view. </div><div><br></div><div>Who was it called marriage the triumph hope over experience? My husband was quick to respond to the news of my spin off series. 'I suppose you'll be wanting to come to football matches with me now?' As we were discussing which team Ian Peterson could support, my son-in-law, another football fan, joined us. 'Why does he have to support a team?' he asked. 'That's such a stereotype. Not all men are football fans.' </div><div><br></div><div>Thinking about Ian Peterson's character I realised that there was no pressure to resort to cliches at all. I simply needed my readers to find him a credible character, regardless of his gender. Writing from Geraldine's point of view I was not permanently aware of her as a woman. The same could apply to Ian Peterson. He would be a detective with a character of his own, who happens to be a man. Once I began to think of him as a person, all my problems with him seemed to vanish. As before, my detective's gender was no longer an issue for me.</div><div><br></div><div>My husband still goes to football matches while I stay at home, writing. Perhaps we are stereotypical in that, but hopefully my characters are not. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>This post first appeared in Shots Magazine blog </div>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-31648360497624143572015-11-15T13:39:00.000-08:002015-11-15T13:39:42.498-08:00My Imaginary BookshopAnd here's my imaginary bookshop <a href="http://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/guest-post-leigh-russells-imaginary.html" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: black;">http://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/guest-post-leigh-russells-imaginary.html</span></a>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-64642898197277960582015-11-15T13:36:00.003-08:002015-11-15T13:36:42.126-08:00Another interviewThanks to Neil Walker for this interview <a href="http://neil-walker.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/leigh-russell-q-book-blog-tour.html?spref=fb">http://neil-walker.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/leigh-russell-q-book-blog-tour.html?spref=fb</a>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-39168433474234805132015-11-13T16:47:00.001-08:002015-11-13T16:49:50.726-08:00Paris"Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind" (John Donne 1572-1631)<br />
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Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-59057600351831523882015-11-12T00:47:00.002-08:002015-11-12T00:49:11.744-08:00Another interviewThank you to Lloyd Paige for the next interview on the Blood Axe blog tour <a href="http://www.lloydpaige.com/?p=4803">http://www.lloydpaige.com/?p=4803</a>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-8165086100519900022015-11-11T16:49:00.001-08:002015-11-11T16:49:43.565-08:00InterviewThank you to Lainy for this interview. <a href="http://www.alwaysreading.net/2015/11/q-with-leigh-russell.html">http://www.alwaysreading.net/2015/11/q-with-leigh-russell.html</a>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-53444268397143727712015-11-04T15:47:00.001-08:002015-11-13T16:50:58.779-08:00Evolutionary Concept in Book Selling - Open a Bookshop...<div>
James Daunt hopes a new physical bookshop opening in Seattle "falls flat on its face" because it is owned by a competitor. Some people might see this as karma, with Waterstones having put so many independent bookshops out of business, but I find it rather sad. With so many bookstores closing, surely every genuine book lover would welcome the opening of a new one. </div>
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But this new physical bookstore is owned by Amazon. </div>
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Do you agree with James Daunt, that Amazon has no business opening a bricks-and-mortar bookshop, or with the blogger, warriorwriters.wordpress.com, who writes: "Amazon is smart. Amazon looks at where its competitors went wrong and it improves. That is the beating heart of true capitalism. Evolution." </div>
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Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-61475417991123994582015-11-01T13:22:00.001-08:002015-11-01T16:40:09.337-08:00How did I get here?After the usual email discussion between my publisher, publicist, designer, agent, and key booksellers, we have finally agreed on the cover for Murder Ring, the eighth Geraldine Steel title. Here it is.<br />
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I <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">can hardly believe this is my eleventh published book since Cut Short came out in 2009. By the end of 2016, the number of my published books will go up to thirteen... and these numbers don't include the different editions, large print books, all the titles published in translation... Adding them all together, there are over fifty different covers so far... I have a copy of each of them, together with proof copies of the U.K. editions. I used to look at my collection sometimes, when I was having an insecure writing day, trying to reassure myself that I really can write.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">To be honest, these days I am usually so busy writing, editing, and running around on research trips and book tours, that I don't have time to step back and look at how far I have travelled as a writer. I'm not talking about my physical travels, although that has been quite unbelievable too, when I stop to think about it. My research has taken me all over the world, from Margate in the South of England, to Scarborough in the North, and further afield to Paris, Greece, Rome and the Seychelles. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">What I find difficult to believe is that from scribbling down a story that randomly occurred to me, I have become what used to be called a 'mid list author' - half way between the top bestselling authors and those who only scrape a living from writing. I am now a full-time author, living (quite comfortably) off the proceeds. Not that I am complacent. So far so good is all I can say. Sales seem to be going well, but every day is a different story. Which, I suppose, is appropriate for a fiction writer... but I'm not sure how I ended up in this thrilling precarious career. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Murder Ring is available for preorder on Amazon. The Ebook is published in November. The paperback is published in 2016.</span></div>
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Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-42410709512298221042015-06-24T06:05:00.001-07:002015-06-24T12:59:16.866-07:00Hunting for Facts<div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Sir Tim Hunt would be a poor scientist if he did not focus on facts, and clearly he is talented in his field. He won a Nobel a Prize. In claiming that women are more likely to cry than men, he was stating a fact. Women are more likely to cry when emotional. So what? Men are more likely to resort to violence. Of the two, I know which reaction I deplore. </span></div><div>Sir Tim's communication skills are perhaps not so impressive. Maybe he would not be employed as a diplomat, or a counsellor. He might struggle as a stand up comedian. Because, let's face it, his way of expressing himself can be clumsy. He's the typical unfunny after dinner speaker, a bit tipsy, a tad nervous, We've all heard them, and it can be embarrassing, painful even. At best, inexperienced after dinner speakers are dull. Thankfully Sir Tim was only invited to give a toast, not a whole speech. What could possibly go wrong? </div><div>What went wrong, I mean seriously eminent-lifelong-career-wreckingly wrong, was that three journalists tweeted his pathetic joke out of context. A transcript of the full speech has now been leaked by an official, completely exonerating Tim Hunt of misogyny. The worst criticism that can be levelled against him is that he made an unfunny joke. His admission that he was joking was omitted from the tweets. Two of the three tweeters have now retracted, claiming they "could not recall enough" to comment further. </div><div>Forget about the victim's eminent career. A man has been forced to quit his job, in a "resign or be sacked" ultimatum, on the basis of a twitter frenzy provoked by a misrepresentation of the facts, at best a misunderstanding of what Sir Tim said. </div><div>I believe in democracy. But if we are to countenance mob rule by social media, let us proceed responsibly.</div><div>This kind of stupidity is counterproductive. At least one feminist sympathiser is now a feminist sceptic. Issues like fair representation, for men as well as women, and free speech, are more important than any perceived snub to feminism. I'd go so far as to say the feminist response here was emotional and irrational. It makes me want to cry that not one of these tweeters and retweeters paused to ask for the facts. </div><div><br></div>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-10585146308387301782015-06-03T08:19:00.001-07:002015-06-03T08:19:01.223-07:00The Benefits of Research<div>In Transit...</div><div><br></div><div>Isn't life strange? Nothing less than National Crime Reading Month could have prompted me to respond to a request for "500 words on any topic of interest" while waiting at one forty a.m. for a seven hour connecting flight to London, having just completed a four hour flight to Abu Dhabi. Yes, writing fiction has taken me into some unexpected places to research my books. </div><div><br></div><div>A lot of my research has involved talking to CID officers as my psychological crime novels also fall into the category of police procedurals, since my protagonists Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson are detective inspectors. I've spent hours chatting to staff in mortuaries, visiting Metropolitan Police Serious Crime Command, sitting alone in a prison cell (voluntarily!) and passing an exciting afternoon with a Fire Investigation Team (yes, an entire afternoon, just me and a team of firemen!) </div><div><br></div><div>All authors follow their own processes but, for me, research follows the plot. I tell a story, aware that certain areas need research. Having completed the manuscript in draft, only when the story is in place do I fill in externally verifiable information. For me, the danger of conducting research before seeing the narrative through is the risk of being distracted. It is all too easy to inadvertently shoehorn material extraneous to the story into a book, just because the writer finds it interesting. </div><div><br></div><div>Herman Melville did exactly that, including pages of detailed information about whales in his famous novel, Moby Dick. These information dumps would have a place in Wikipedia. For any reader following the dramatic conflict between Ahab, demented captain of a whaling ship, and his nemesis, the great white whale that took his leg, the factual chapters are tedious. </div><div><br></div><div>My research involves meeting people from all walks of life, in all sorts of places: market traders, forensic anthropologists, race course managers, psychiatrists, prisoners in a closed prison, the Spanish equivalent of our CID in Barcelona, the British High Commission in the Seychelles - there is no place on earth where a crime writer might not find herself.</div><div><br></div><div>Not all my research has been fun. Watching a sheep's eye being dissected was hardly enjoyable, although it was interesting. My worst research experience so far involved live maggots. I haven't put that in a book yet. It was so gross I prefer not to dwell on it, even in my imagination. </div><div> </div><div>Recently a new series has led me to overseas locations. I'm writing this on my way home from two weeks' research on a tropical island in the Indian Ocean. Along with the beaches and the cocktails at sunset, I spent time at a local police station and the police headquarters in the capital - again voluntarily! - as well as checking out different settings in the book. After a few weeks at home, working on edits, I'm off again to Paris in July, Greece in August, and Rome in September... </div><div><br></div><div>Just time to send this off before I have to switch to airplane mode. It's two a.m. in Abu Dhabi, and the flight to Heathrow is boarding...</div>Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-65972753273261879352015-05-21T12:46:00.001-07:002015-05-21T12:47:17.533-07:00It's a tough life as an authorResearch for the first book in my new Lucy Hall series for Thomas and Mercer starts in a room with a view...<br />
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Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-63322116758291447572015-05-16T15:25:00.001-07:002015-05-16T15:27:50.183-07:00No Exit Press out for lunch<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">With No Exit authors Anthony Quinn, Robert Olen Butler, Luke McCallin, and Howard Linskey</span><br />
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Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-40787083133586798992015-05-16T11:14:00.001-07:002015-05-16T15:27:17.588-07:00Catching up with friends at CrimeFest<div>
More about the panels in tomorrow's post.</div>
With Linda Regan, Lee Child, Alex Shaw, Lizzie Hayes.<br />
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Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326835832552443337.post-47425748295661641372015-05-14T23:22:00.001-07:002015-05-14T23:30:52.751-07:00CrimeFest 2015 Friday begins...Bristol is waking up, and we are in a room with a view of the river...<br />
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It's going to be a very busy day.</div>
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9am panel with Melanie McGrath. (This is going to be a challenge... as I'm used to getting up at 11 - after being brought tea in bed at 9 and then working in bed for a couple of hours, I hasten to add!) </div>
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10.30 coffee with some regulars from my creative writing courses on Skyros.<br />
12.30 interview with a journalist.</div>
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4pm my talk about Gender Issues in Crime Fiction. </div>
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6.30-7.30 CWA Dagger shortlists are announced at a drinks reception (I have to attend a raise a glass as one of the Debut Dagger judges)<br />
8pm out for dinner with friends. </div>
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I'll try to find time to post some photos... </div>
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Leigh Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15080517449825380527noreply@blogger.com2