Waxing lyrical on mayhem and murder

We kick off this week with the full interview I did about a month ago with Lars Schafft and Silke Wronkowski, the two charming hosts of KRIMI-COUCH-TV, a massive German website with a strong focus on crime and thriller fiction.

Lars and Silke came all the way over to the UK to have a chat with me in anticipation of the publication of my Heck novels in Germany through prestigious German publisher, PIPER VERLAG. 

STALKERS, or MADCHENJAGER (as it is known in German), was published in Germany this month. The second in the series, SACRIFICE over here in the UK, RATTENFANGER in Germany, will follow in the autumn. We're all reasonably hopeful that THE KILLING CLUB, due for publication in the UK on May 22 this year, will also be making an appearance in Germany in the near future.

Anyway, the interview is posted above. I always enjoy the opportunity to philosophise about my work (promote it, in other words), and think this occasion went pretty well.

Still on the subject of the Heck novels, THE KILLING CLUB is part of a new HarperCollins promotion, and you can acquire it early in three parts. The first piece, which comprises chapters 1 - 6, comes free HERE, but the second pieces, chapters 7 - 18, is available for 99p HERE.

If you're wondering whether Detective Sergeant Mark 'Heck' Heckenburg - a young Scotland Yard cop who goes exclusively after the maddest and the baddest - is worth your time, a nice review of SACRIFICE appeared today on the BOOK ADDICT SHAUN crime blog.

Now, on a completely different matter, a horror story of mine, THE OLD TRADITIONS ARE BEST, first published in SHADES OF DARKNESS and later in MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST NEW HORROR #20 was featured today in a spoken-word version on the excellent podcast site, PSEUDOPOD, as read by top actor ANT BACON (who can be reached on Twitter at @antbacon). It comes in at around half an hour, if I remember rightly, so give yourself a little time on this one. It should be of particular interest to Cornwall lovers, and to those interested in our monstrous myths and fables, especially those centred around the mysteries of the Padstow Hobby Horse, a fun and frolicsome spirit to some, a vengeful demon to others.

Thanks to HARBOUR VIEW, PADSTOW for the picture.