News

It's time to write a news update on my blog and what a lot of news I have to share with you! I hardly know where to begin!

York
If we are connected on facebook you may have seen the photos I posted of our trip to York. We spent a wonderful two weeks in a beautiful flat overlooking the river, ate out far more than was good for us - well what can be better than chips and Champagne at Betty's? - and did a lot of sightseeing in York and the surrounding villages. We were fortunate to see the annual York Illuminations. We were also lucky with the weather - apart from the morning when the York Press sent a photographer to snap me outside the Minster. How shall I describe the result? It was great fun...  but let's just say that my hair isn't exactly tidy at the best of times... The photo was certainly spooky, cleverly lit from below.

Of course I was there to work. There were book signings in York and Scarborough, a talk to a lovely audience at Scarborough Library, interviews with the press and on BBC radio. In addition to all that,  I was able to research where Ian Peterson lives, and where the murderer and the victims live - and die... This was for the second book in my new Ian Peterson series, which is the first one set in York.

London
I may have mentioned that the lovely director of the Crime Writers Association offered me a golden ticket to the ITV Thriller Awards. Of course I said yes, even though it meant rushing back to London from York and back again the following day to talk at Scarborough Library. This was the first ITV award ceremony I have attended and it was really exciting. Everywhere I turned someone was offering champagne (it would have been rude to refuse!) and  I met so many luminaries of page and screen I could name drop all night! Here are just a few, with apologies to the many I've left out. It's always a pleasure catching up with fellow crime writers Peter James, Lee Child, Ian Rankin, Mark Billingham, Anne Zoyrodi, Linda Stratmann, Maxim Jabukowski, and many others. Martina Cole was there, and Wilbur Smith, and a host of other writers. I felt like a film star meeting Nathaniel Parker (swoon!), the fabulously talented Dervla Kirwan, Rupert Penry Jones who is unbelievably even more gorgeous in the flesh than he is on screen, Amelia Bullmore, Bradley Walsh, Emily Fox.... like I said, I could name drop all night! It was such fun!

Translations
My books are already published in Italian (Mondadori), French (City Editions), and Turkish (Kassandra), and recently Harper Collins US acquired both my series which they are publishing at a rate of one a month. Just this week we had confirmation that another major publisher has acquired my titles, Bastei Lubbe of Gemany. So Geraldine Steel is spreading her wings internationally. Hopefully she will become as popular in the US as she is in the UK. The Miami Examiner describes her as 'one of the most interesting detectives of all time' so she has one fan in America at least! No wonder Book2Book trade journal have said Geraldine Steel is 'set to be the next big name in crime fiction'. Let's hope they're right!

Travel
As if all that wasn't excitement enough for one post, my diary for next year is filling up fast. I've accepted an invitation to spend two weeks teaching for the Writers Lab on Skyros, the most beautiful Greek island. I'll be speaking at a French literary festival in St Clementin, meeting my US publishers in New York, attending the Crime Writers Association conference in Guernsey, and going to a Writes Lab weekend on The Isle of Man, in addition to my UK commitments like CrimeFest and Harrogate Festival. It's going to be a busy year.

My books
The sixth Geraldine Steel, Fatal Act, will be available to download in December, and out in print in 2014. The second Ian Peterson is ready to be edited and proofread, and will be published in 2014. I'm now  working on the seventh Geraldine Steel, which will be out as an ebook in December 2014.

What a year I've had!

It's January 2011 and time to review 2010. And what a year it's been!

Looking back, I can't believe how much has happened. No wonder I'm feeling tired!

Cut Short sold out for the fourth time (or was it the fifth?) and was shortlisted for the CWA Dagger, which was a real thrill. I went to Harrogate to hear the announcement and met two charmers, Ian Rankin and Mark Billingham.

Cut Short is being reprinted again, this time in B format, with a new cover which was decided on in 2010, to match the cover chosen for Dead End. When Road Closed is reprinted again, it will have a matching cover, so 2010 was the year my books were "branded" (!)

I was lucky enough to have lots of online interviews and the reviews for both books continued to be amazingly positive!

I finished Dead End in 2010 and the MS for my next book, now with my agent.

2010 saw two bestsellers, two more books written, two new covers and an award nomination. In addition, I was very happy to receive lots of invitations to appear at literary festivals, talk to writers groups and judge competitions, visit bookshops and libraries, and talk to colleges and book clubs.

2011 will doubtless be as busy but I don't see how it can be as exciting!

The CWA New Blood Dagger Shortlist

What would induce me to get up at 5.30 in the morning? The mystery grew darker as I hurried to catch the first train up to London. Was I going on holiday? No, although the reason for my excursion begins with the same letter… Sorry, as a crime writer I tend to think in ‘clues’, but without more ado, I’ll come clean and confess: I was travelling to Harrogate as an invited guest at the ITV3 Crime Thriller Season Launch Ceremony sponsored by Specsavers.
The shortlist for the Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger was announced at a lunchtime ceremony at the The Crown Hotel, Harrogate during the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. This award is made in memory of CWA founder John Creasey, for first books by previously unpublished writers.
CWA Chairman Tom Harper said: “The CWA Dagger Awards have always enjoyed huge prestige among crime fiction fans and authors. The shortlists this year are incredibly strong, and that for the John Creasey has some exciting new talents, all working at the top of their game.”
The shortlisted books:
Acts of Violence, Ryan David Jahn (Pan)
Cut Short, Leigh Russell (No Exit Press)
Martyr, Rory Clements (John Murray)
Random, Craig Robertson (Simon & Schuster)
Stop Me, Richard Jay Parker (Allison & Busby)
Rupture, Simon Lelic (Picador)
The Holy Thief, William Ryan (Mantle )
The Pull of the Moon, Diane Janes (Robinson)
And if you haven’t worked it out yet – check the second book on the list.

At the risk of sounding conceited, I'm feeling pleased with myself, as you can see in the photo on the right (courtesy of Ali Karim.)

In this photo (left) from Harrogate I'm flanked by two Giants of Crime Fiction, Ian Rankin and Mark Billingham (and I was wearing my highest heels...) If you've met them, you'll know they are not only brilliant writers but very entertaining company.

http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/2010/newblood.html

The Daggers will be awarded at a televised ceremony in the Autumn, as part of the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards, details of which were also announced at the ceremony at Harrogate.

CWA Chairman Tom Harper (pictured) said: “The CWA Dagger Awards have always enjoyed huge prestige among crime fiction fans and authors. The shortlists this year are incredibly strong, from exciting new talents to established masters, all working at the top of their game. We’re thrilled with the way Cactus TV and ITV3 have embraced the Daggers to bring them to the widest possible audience. Together with the retail promotion, more people than ever are now getting the chance to discover the best crime writing in the UK.”
The CWA Dagger Awards are the longest established literary awards in the UK and are internationally recognised as a mark of excellence and achievement.

So I was there to hear my name read out as one of the eight authors shortlisted for the John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award.

Was I excited? What do you think! Excited, proud, and completely stunned.

I'm very pleased we took some photos, or I don't think I'd believe this is really happening. Here I am with Linda Regan, a fellow Mystery Woman.

And finally, a big thank you to my publisher for opening these doors for me. http://www.noexit.co.uk/index.php

Now - back to Geraldine Steel. I have another book to write, and my fictional world seems more believable than my life right now!

But before I go, here's CUT SHORT... Did I mention it's been shortlisted for the CWA 2010 John Creasey New Bloood Dagger Award?

CUT SHORT short listed for CWA DAGGER

I'm thrilled to share the news that CUT SHORT has been shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Daggger Award!
I am, for once, at a loss for words! Well, almost...
I'll tell you more about my whirlwind visit to Harrogate, and post some photos of me (yes, me!) rubbing shoulders with some of the greats, very soon. I've even thought of a caption for one of the photos - 'Leigh between two Giants of Crime Fiction' (Ian Rankin and Mark Billingham are both much taller than me... still looking hobbit-like even in my heels, alas) - and there you have a clue as to two of the people I met on my amazing visit to Harrogate. If I wasn't myself, I'd be quite jealous of me... (note to aforementioned self - must rewrite this tomorrow when sober)

Here's what the judges said about CUT SHORT
Judges’ comments: A book that combines psychological writing with police procedural. A police detective in search of sanctuary finds herself involved in a vicious case of murder. Strong story-telling draws the reader in to this disturbing debut novel that uses settings from Christie with a much darker plot line.
http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/2010/newblood.html

I'm off book signing at WH Smith's in Harrow tomorrow (Saturday is book signing day - you know me!) but I will post more over the weekend.

I'm also dreadfully excited (!!) because I now have the outline for my 4th book... I know ROAD CLOSED has just been published and that was only my 2nd, but I've delivered the draft of DEAD END to my publisher (publication 2011)... and whatever else is going on, I can't stop writing...