A.B.PATTERSON - Blog

A good crowd at Mosman Library this week

24/6/2017

Wednesday evening this week saw me heading over to Sydney's north shore for the first time for an author talk. Myself and Nigel Bartlett had a great evening at Mosman Library, with lots of local readers turning up to hear about our crime writing. There were plenty of interesting questions as always, and some good discussion was had. And the chatting continued afterwards over a glass of wine and book signings - very civilized.

Our many thanks to Linda at the Library for hosting us.

And albeit only in poster form on the wall, we ended up in the esteemed crime writing company of Michael Robotham!

Cheers,
ABP

EVENT - Author talk at Mosman Library - Wednesday 21 June 2017

19/6/2017

And my second author talk for June!

This Wednesday, 21 June 2017, myself and Nigel Bartlett will be chatting to the reading folks at Mosman Library.

It's a 7 p.m. start this time.

Hope to see you there for some good gutsy discussions about crime and writing it.

Cheers,
ABP

A fun evening of talking crime at Rockdale Library

17/6/2017

Tuesday evening saw myself and Nigel Bartlett chatting with readers at Rockdale Library and we had a lovely session. We went a bit over our allocated hour, and certainly could have kept going given the discussion being had.

I hadn't been to Rockdale since the new library building opened about a year ago - what a lovely library and information facility. Great to see at least some public money going into wonderful assets for the whole community, rather than into the pockets of the wealthy and powerful.

Many thanks to Natalie at the Library for inviting us and organising the evening. I'll look forward to taking her up on the invitation for a return visit with my sequel, Harry's Quest.

EVENT - Author talk at Rockdale - 13 June 2017

6/6/2017

Just a reminder that I'll be at Rockdale Library next week, along with my friend and fellow Sydney crime writer, Nigel Bartlett, for our next author talk.

Please feel free to join us for a fun evening chatting about our writing, crime, corruption, and many other things besides!

Tuesday 13 June 2017, at 6.00 p.m.

Cheers,
ABP

COPS WRITING CRIME - My website has a new page with the whole SQUAD!

29/5/2017

I've previously blogged in separate posts about my ongoing project to discover cops or ex-cops who have taken to writing crime fiction - The Squad!

Well, now I've added a new page to my website as a permanent index for The Squad. It now numbers 21: 11 American, 4 Australian, 5 British, and 1 French.

I'll add more if I come across any, and if you know of any others please feel free to drop me a line.
Check out The Squad: Also: Cops Writing Crime

Cheers,
ABP

"Switchblade" - fantastic new anthology of noir!

25/5/2017

I happened upon mention of the first issue of Switchblade, an anthology of noir in paperback form, while surfing crime writing stuff on the net. It sounded interesting, so I ordered a copy which arrived from the US in a little over a week.
Issue # 1, edited by Scotch Rutherford, contains 5 pieces of flash fiction, and then 8 short stories. There is some seriously great noir writing in this collection. I'm certainly going to be pursuing some of the authors further to see what else they have out there.
And I'll be thinking about a short story myself for submission - maybe my PI Harry Kenmare needs some stand alone tales!
If you love your noir, I highly recommend this new publication.
ABP

A.B.Patterson - Author Talks Update

17/5/2017

Just an update message for my forthcoming author talks around Sydney - one date change, and one additional talk in June.

Please feel free to join me at the following:

Tuesday 13 June 2017 at Rockdale Library. I'll be doing this talk with my friend and fellow Sydney crime writer, Nigel Bartlett. Starts at 6 p.m.

Wednesday 21 June 2017 at Mosman Library. I'll also be doing this talk with Nigel Bartlett. Starts at 7 p.m.

Thursday 03 August 2017 at Waverley Library, Bondi Junction. Starts at 6.30 p.m.

DATE CHANGE - Monday 14 August 2017 at Narellan Library. Starts at 6 p.m.

I'll blog about each one with further details closer to the dates.

Cheers,
ABP

An excellent crime read - "Please Don't Leave Me Here" by Tania Chandler - My book review

11/5/2017

I really enjoyed this new Australian novel on a number of levels. It is a crime novel, at its core, but it's a lot more than that. The writing is lovely and engaging, and the pace keeps you reading - I did a couple of later than usual "lights out" as I wanted to keep going. The structure is a little unusual, I think, but it does work. I could probably have done with slightly fewer dream excerpts - I can see why they're there, but occasionally I found them a little distracting. This is certainly not a criticism - the pace was still full on and I was drawn in. A couple of nights with not enough sleep attest to this!
Chandler's characterisation is simply excellent - all of them believable, many one can relate to, and some first-grade human detritus as well. As an ex-detective, I always critically view authors' depictions of police officers, as they are often not very realistic, even from otherwise excellent writers. No such concern for me here - Chandler has done a solid job with her police characters. Drawing on my police background, Chandler's examination of relationship violence and psychological entrapment and capitulation are chillingly on the money, and she covers the "flesh industry" with seedy accuracy, too (I worked in Vice, amongst others).
No spoilers here, but you won't see the end coming!
A great read, beautiful writing, and I am going to be buying more of Chandler's work.
Bravo Tania.
Cheers,
ABP

A great Sydney crime read - "Game" by A.C. Efverman - My book review

9/5/2017

I really enjoyed A.C.Efverman's first novel, the first of the DS Callaghan series, and I hope there are many more to come.
There are plenty of twists in a great story - it certainly had me captivated to the end, wanting to know the outcome. No spoilers here, of course - people who do spoilers deserve painful punishment!!!
Suffice to say, Efverman knows how to spin a tale, and most importantly she creates a highly believable protagonist (and I used to be a DS). DS Callaghan has plenty of flaws, but he is very, very human. As you would have gleaned from some of my other blogs on the genre, I want to read realistic cops!
I highly recommend this novel for a read.

Footnote: I had the pleasure of meeting Anna (A.C.Efverman) in Sydney, as we're both crime writers based here. I do love discussing the crime writing craft with fellow authors - an opportunity which is rather rare - and I'm looking forward to talking with Anna further.
Even more importantly, I'm looking forward to her next book (the English language version, given my Swedish is zero).
Cheers,
ABP

A.B.Patterson - back for more library author talks!

6/5/2017

I've been busy in the last couple of weeks negotiating some more author talks at libraries in the Sydney region.
And I can now happily announce 3 talks that have been confirmed - I'll keep you posted on others.

So, feel free to join me at the following:

Tuesday 13 June 2017 at Rockdale Library. I'll be doing this talk with my friend and fellow Sydney crime writer, Nigel Bartlett. Starts at 6 p.m.

Wednesday 12 July 2017 at Narellan Library. Starts at 6 p.m.

Thursday 03 August 2017 at Waverley Library, Bondi Junction. Starts at 6.30 p.m.

I'll blog about each one with further details closer to the dates.

Cheers,
ABP