A.B.PATTERSON - Blog

Silver Medal for "Harry's Quest" in the Global Ebook Awards 2019.

20/8/2019

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce that Harry's Quest picked up the silver medal in the Mystery category of the 2019 Global Ebook Awards out of the USA.

Back in 2016, Harry's World picked up the bronze medal in the same award, so looks like the sequel has stepped it up a notch.

Here's hoping the next novel, Harry's Grail, might take out the gold medal.

Cheers,
ABP

My new book for 2019 - that's the plan!

17/8/2019

This is my publishing project for 2019, given there's no way I'm going to have my third Harry novel, Harry's Grail, finished in time. Too much of that damned paid work eating into my time since we've got back from holidays. Still, that pays the rent, so I won't complain.

But I do already have a number of Harry short stories done and a couple more in progress, so I figured a volume of these stories, with Harry in the first person, would be a great side venture. And Harry is up to all his usual mischief!

The tentative line up:

"Little Rich Street Girl"
"White Powder, Black Leather, Grey Badges"
"Wankers"
"The Missing Lily"
"A Sex Kitten for a Cabinet Meeting"
"The Lonely Corpse"
"The Reluctant Bride"

So, if you're a Switchblade fan, you'll recognise the first three, as they've been published in that great magazine.
"Sex Kitten" was the work I read from at the Switchblade authors evening in LA a few weeks back. And the last two are works in progress.
Should be about 40,000 words all up, and I'm aiming to have it out before the end of the year.
And my amateur cover effort at left is NOT the real deal - just my mock up for blogging.

Cheers,
ABP

Bookmarks for pulp lovers - with salacious one-liners from "Harry's Quest"!

16/8/2019

BOOKMARKS from Harry's Quest

Following in the footsteps of Harry's World and its set of red bookmarks, here is the matching set of blue bookmarks to celebrate Harry's Quest.

A custom-made colourful collection of high-quality card bookmarks quoting some of those delicious hard-boiled one-liners from Harry's Quest. What better to accompany you in all your reading travels?!
Adults only, of course: they're naughty!
There are 12 quotes in the collection (see below image), with both the PI silhouette version and the sexy girls silhouette version (think of those twins!). A set of 12 will comprise all the quotes, with 6 PI versions and 6 sexy girl versions. Or if you really want to go hard, you could have the complete batch with 24!

In Australia: 1 x set of 12 goes for just $4.00 (incl. GST & postage).
For overseas: 1 x set of 12 goes for just A$6.00 (incl. airmail postage).
Just drop me a line!

See my new merchandise page: Also: MERCHANDISE

For my author buddies!!!
If you're one of my author buddies (you know who you are from the Twitter universe, the anthology worlds of Switchblade and the like, and my Cops Writing Crime project) then you can have a set for FREE - just DM me with an email address and I'll drop you a line to find where your letterbox is at! Especially as many of you are in North America, my free offer means anywhere at all (except perhaps the International Space Station!). You know how to find me, fellow authors!

Cheers,
ABP

Noir at the Bar Los Angeles - a swell evening!

15/8/2019

Belatedly, I am posting on my fantastic evening at Noir at the Bar Los Angeles. The reason for my tardiness: that horrible distraction called "paid work" has been interfering ever since I got back to Sydney from our wonderful US visit. (And my thoughts on America in another blog shortly).

Noir at the Bar LA on the 7th of July at the Mandrake Bar on La Cienega was a swell evening. It was the 8 year anniversary of the Noir at the Bar events in LA, all arranged by Eric Beetner. Having read some of Eric's work, and seriously enjoyed it, meeting him was a real treat. His passion for the art form was inspirational, and you couldn't ask to meet a more down-to-earth and lovely person. He's also incredibly productive as an author (about 22 books so far), so I'm all up for his habits rubbing off on me.
And then I got to meet all the other authors reading that evening: Glen Erik Hamilton, Michelle Gagnon, Martin Jay Weiss, Wendy Heard, and Paddy Hirsch. I loved their readings and chatting to them during the evening. Getting to read alongside this talented lineup was an honour indeed.
And following only a week after joining the Switchblade authors for the reading evening at Skylight Books, I began to feel really at home in LA.
I will say that the collegiate feeling I had with the other indie crime authors in LA was both awesome and motivating. The encouragement and positivity of my new American friends was wonderful. I'd love to feel that way here - will work on that, and, on that note, I'm organising Noir at the Bar Sydney for the very first time!
Photos at left are of me reading at Noir at the Bar LA, and the first one is of our host, Eric Beetner.
Love your work, Eric, and thank you again for the invitation to join you all for that great evening.

Cheers,
ABP

COPS WRITING CRIME - Another 4 members of The Squad!

10/8/2019

Another 4 colleagues join The Squad today, bringing its numbers to 179. Today we welcome 4 more American cousins.
That's 179 cops and ex-cops (and some PIs) who have taken to writing crime fiction. You won't get more realistic crime tales than those from this Squad!

We have joining us today:
1. T.B. Smith - served in the San Diego PD. One crime novel so far, from what I could find.
2. Wes Albers - also a veteran of the San Diego PD. And also one crime novel so far.
3. Richard Craig Anderson - served in the Maryland State Police. Numerous crime novels.
4. Jess Waid - a veteran of the LAPD. Also has written several crime novels.

Our Squad now consists of:

94 American
42 British
12 Canadian
10 Australian
4 New Zealander
3 Finnish
2 Dutch
2 Swedish
1 French
1 Bahamian
1 Norwegian
1 Italian
1 Czech
1 Russian
1 Hungarian
1 Spaniard
1 Pakistani
1 Irish

I'll keep adding more as I come across them, and if you know of any others please feel free to drop me a line.

Check out The Squad:
Also: Cops Writing Crime

And please remember, my list is only for CRIME FICTION - not all the true crime and/or memoir writing by cops and ex-cops that's out there (as good as so much of that is).

Cheers,
ABP

Cops Writing Crime - another 5 members join The Squad!

3/8/2019

Back from holidays, and back into all my projects!
Another 5 colleagues join The Squad today, bringing its numbers to 175. Today we welcome 4 American cousins and 1 British cousin.
That's 175 cops and ex-cops (and some PIs) who have taken to writing crime fiction. You won't get more realistic crime tales than those from this Squad!

We have joining us today:
1. Dallas Barnes - served in the LAPD and has written numerous crime novels as well as screenplays.
2. Robert Fasone - served in the NYPD, and has written two crime novels I could find.
3. B.P.Ryan - also served in the NYPD. Has written two crime novels so far.
4. Keith Wright - our British cousin today, he served with the Nottinghamshire Police and CID. A couple of crime novels to his name.
5. Lynn Hesse - served with the DeKalb County PD in Georgia, USA. She has written two crime novels I could find.

Our Squad now consists of:

90 American
42 British
12 Canadian
10 Australian
4 New Zealander
3 Finnish
2 Dutch
2 Swedish
1 French
1 Bahamian
1 Norwegian
1 Italian
1 Czech
1 Russian
1 Hungarian
1 Spaniard
1 Pakistani
1 Irish

I'll keep adding more as I come across them, and if you know of any others please feel free to drop me a line.

Check out The Squad:
Also: Cops Writing Crime

And please remember, my list is only for CRIME FICTION - not all the true crime and/or memoir writing by cops and ex-cops that's out there (as good as so much of that is).

Cheers,
ABP

An essay about me as a crime writer - Mystery Readers Journal.

31/7/2019

Today saw the publication of my essay, "Real Crime to Crime Fiction: An Aussie Ex-Cop Turned Crime Novelist", in the Summer 2019 edition of Mystery Readers Journal.
It contains a good few snippets about my writing motivations, background to my fiction, and some reading preferences. If you want to know a bit more about me as a crime writer, feel free to have a read of the essay. You'll even read about one of the creepier moments I experienced as a detective.
Here is the essay (as an excerpt from the journal) in the file below.
Cheers,
ABP

mrj_article.pdf
File Size:	491 kb
File Type:	pdf

The (New) Thrilling Detective website - a must visit if you love the PI genre!

28/7/2019

Image copyright of The Thrilling Detective website - used to publicize their website.

I've been an admirer, and supporter, of this superb website for some time now.
The Thrilling Detective is the ultimate compendium for lovers of the PI genre of crime fiction. Its creator, Kevin Burton Smith, has just relaunched on a new platform, having been running the website for 21 years.
Yes, when you see just how much superb material is on there, you'll recognise just how much work Kevin has put into this project, clearly a labour of love for him.

Here's the link for the new website:
The Thrilling Detective

I was fortunate enough to meet Kevin in Los Angeles when we were there recently. And, guess what? We had a beer or two together!

I have always loved savouring the work of people who are seriously dedicated to their projects. Kevin is a stand-out example.

And if you love the genre like I do, then consider slinging a contribution in Kevin's direction - support the ongoing existence of this Mecca for the gumshoe genre.

Cheers,
ABP

Listen to the podcast of the Switchblade Authors Reading Evening at Skylight Books in Los Angeles

28/7/2019

Today I discovered, with great pleasure, that Skylight Books in Los Angeles has loaded the Switchblade Authors Reading Evening onto their website as a podcast.

So you can listen to the whole evening here:
Switchblade Evening
It's a hell of a collection of hard-boiled and noir crime writing assembled here.
Many thanks again to Switchblade Magazine and its wonderful managing editor, Scotch Rutherford, for organizing the awesome evening.

My reading was an excerpt from an as yet unpublished Harry short story, "A Sex Kitten for a Cabinet Meeting".
My segment starts at about 1:08:00 on the counter. But, do listen to all the readings - you'll love the talent I was honoured to line up with.

Cheers,
ABP

Nour at the Bar LA - I'll be dishing out some more Harry to Los Angeles.

3/7/2019

Looking forward to my second author event in Los Angeles. I'm honoured to be lining up with local crime writing talent for the legendary Noir at the Bar event. Many thanks to Eric Beetner, an author whose work I love, for the invitation to join him and the noir crew.
If you're in LA this coming Sunday evening, 07 July, come and join us for noir and drinks at the Mandrake Bar.
Cheers,
ABP

The sizzling "Switchblade" evening at Skylight Books in LA!

3/7/2019

I had a ball last Friday at my first ever author reading in the USA, and the audience at Skylight Books in Los Angeles for the Switchblade magazine evening were certainly enthusiastic in their enjoyment of an excerpt from a new PI Harry Kenmare short story.
It was typical Harry - gritty, raunchy, and completely politically incorrect. And he went down well. Yeah, that is Harry's MO!

My huge thanks to Switchblade's managing editor, Scotch Rutherford, for the invitation to join the great line up for the evening. Aside from reading and enjoying the live work of seven other authors, it was fabulous to meet, in the flesh (although not Harry's idea of meeting in the flesh!) all these people I'd known from the online world. And it was a privilege to be able to line up with so much talent in the world of hard-boiled and noir crime.

Here are, in the order of reading, the fellow Switchblade authors from the evening, along with their websites as available:
Switchblade magazine: www.switchblademag.com
Andrew Miller
Rick Risemberg: crowtreebooks.com/author/rickrise/
Renee Asher Pickup: www.reneeasherpickup.com
Jon Zelazny: www.jonzelazny.com
Lisa Douglass
Rex Weiner: rexweiner.com
Ashley Erwin: ashley-erwin.com

Check out their work - one hell of a great range of noir and hard-boiled crime writing in this gang.
And if you haven't become a Switchblade fan yet, you simply must. Here's the purchase link for the most recent, Issue 9.

Cheers,
ABP

Friday 28 June - a seriously criminal evening will be had with the "Switchblade" evening at Skylight Books in Los Angeles!

27/6/2019

Yes, my friends, I am currently in California and loving it.
Only two days to go now until my first author event in Los Angeles.

Can't wait to join the fabulous line up of fellow authors for the Switchblade magazine evening at Skylight Books in LA.
Come and join us if you can - Friday 28 June at 7 p.m.

Hosted by Scotch Rutherford, the Switchblade managing editor.
My fellow authors, all Switchblade veterans, are: Rex Weiner, Renee Asher Pickup, Andrew Miller, Rick Risemberg, Jon Zelazny, Ashley Erwin, and Lisa Douglass.

It's going to be hard-boiled and noir in the extreme.
It'll be a seriously criminal evening!

Cheers,
ABP

A lively library talk at Cessnock!

17/6/2019

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Cessnock Library last week, to chat about my writing, crime, and Harry's Quest.
It was a small crowd of about a dozen (that winter weather doesn't help), but were they lively?! Hell, yes! Susan Davy (the Events Manager at the library - and thank you so much for the invitation, Sue) had to pull me up for being out of time at the hour and a half mark.
Yes, bucket loads of great chat about crime, and corruption, and my writing.
And just about everyone bought a Harry book. Bonus.
It was great, too, that some of the audience were people who had come along to my first talk at Cessnock a couple of years back. They wanted to come back, and that is the greatest compliment.
Love you, Cessnock. I'll be back soon.
Cheers,
ABP

USA here I come - less than a week now!

16/6/2019

Madly trying to get a whole lot of things done here before the big trip on Thursday.
Yes, my first author trip to the US is almost here.
Can't wait to unleash, in person, my PI Harry Kenmare on our great cousins over in the US.
So, the evening of 28 June is the Switchblade authors evening at Skylight Books. I'm lining up with some serious talent - I've read them all - so hugely excited about this evening.
Then it's Noir at the Bar LA on 07 July. Not sure who's in the line up yet, but going on past events it'll be awesome.
Harry is heading for the home of hard-boiled. Cool.
Cheers,
ABP

Los Angeles here I come, along with PI Harry Kenmare!

9/6/2019

Less than a fortnight now until we're on that big metal bird heading over the vast Pacific Ocean from Sydney to California.
This is my first visit to the USA and I am seriously excited about it. Despite recent events, the US for me represents one of the beacons of western liberal democracy, alongside France. The symbolism of the gift of the Statue of Liberty is strong between these two great countries and their stand for freedom. And we as authors must value freedom, because without it our voices are silenced. I love liberty and free speech.
But enough of the philosophy soap-box.
The US is also the home of hard-boiled and noir crime fiction, my reading and writing milieu.
I am thrilled to be lining up with so much talent in the indie crime writing world for the Switchblade evening on 28 June at Skylight Books in Los Angeles. I've read stories from all my fellow Switchblade veterans, and the prospect of meeting them all, and having a drink or three, still seems almost surreal. Still, I'll be flying the Aussie flag at the bar. Rest assured my American friends, I'm a seasoned campaigner!
And I'll be unleashing my PI Harry Kenmare in the place where so much of the hard-boiled tradition started.
Then a week later, on 07 July, I'll be reading again at the Noir at the Bar evening, also in Los Angeles. I haven't seen the final line up for that event as yet, but it'll be another cool evening not to miss.
If you're in or around LA, I'd love to meet you at one or both of these evenings.
Cheers,
ABP