All Categories - A.B.PATTERSON

New book - "And now for something completely different..."

4/3/2021

My headline, of course, is courtesy of the immortal Monty Python (I'll love them until I die!).
But for me as a hard-boiled crime fiction author, this is the epitome of "something completely different".
It's also something so very personal.
Little-known fact about me as a person/author: as a young child (age 7) I was sent to an English boarding school.
The experience has left me scarred for life.
And I'm obviously not alone.
Over 10 years ago, I connected with a group in the UK, Boarding Concern, who provided a support network for boarding school survivors. Aside from slaying a few personal demons, I ended up with the honour and privilege of being able to be instrumental in putting together a book of accounts, of a very personal nature, from a wide range of men who had gone through the trauma of English boarding schools.
It is indescribably wonderful to this year, 2021, see Routledge publish the end result of a project that ran for about 8 years: from the initial canvassing of survivors to the final testament. It was a long road, believe me.
I'm so proud to be a co-editor of, and also a contributing author to, this immensely important collection of personal stories.
Special thanks to my two co-editors, Margaret and Allison, who did so much to steer this project to glorious completion. My main work was in the earlier stages, and in the last couple of years Margaret and Allison have tirelessly driven the project home.
My great hope is that, through this project, we have furthered the cause of combatting the insidious and inhumane business of boarding schools.
To all the men who contributed to this book, my thoughts and solidarity forever. I feel your pain, as I know you feel mine.
Cheers,
ABP

COPS WRITING CRIME - 4 more members join The Squad

3/3/2021

Another 4 colleagues - all British - join The Squad today, bringing its numbers to 275.

That's 275 cops and ex-cops (and other law enforcement types, plus 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. Sarah Cox - served with the London Metropolitan Police.
2. Matt Johnson - also served with the London Metropolitan Police.
3. Kim Booth - served with the Lincolnshire Police.
4. Sarah Flint - also served with the London Metropolitan Police.

Our Squad now consists of:

158 American, 59 British, 15 Australian, 15 Canadian
4 New Zealander, 3 Finnish, 2 Dutch, 2 Swedish
2 French, 2 Irish, 1 Bahamian, 1 Norwegian
1 Italian, 1 Czech, 1 Russian, 1 Hungarian
1 Spaniard, 1 Pakistani, 1 Chinese, 1 Brazilian, 1 Indian
2 "International" (listed as this due to current serving officer requirements)

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

My short story in a Pink Floyd crime anthology!

19/2/2021

I'm incredibly thrilled to have a short story of mine, "Childhood's End", appearing in this wonderful anthology, alongside so many talented authors.

I saw this project concept last year, and being a lifelong fan of Pink Floyd, as well as a crime author, thought I had to give it a shot. All the stories in this collection carry the title of a Pink Floyd song, and no surprises for those who know my work that "Childhood's End" worked really well for me. It's not one of Floyd's better known numbers, that's for sure, but check out my story to see my take on it. And aside from my small contribution, the crime writing talent on display here is awesome.

As if that's not enough incentive, a large part of the sale process go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in the US, a truly worthwhile cause. The editor of the project, T. Fox Dunham, is a cancer survivor, hence the charity connection.

Folks, DO IT - grab this anthology both for a great read and a great cause.

Cheers,
ABP

Kenmare Library, County Kerry - more PI Harry Kenmare books on the way!

18/2/2021

Last year I sent copies of the two Harry novels to Kenmare Library in County Kerry, Ireland.
Well, naturally I did: the good folk of the town that PI Harry Kenmare is named after should be able to read all about him, if they're so inclined.
And I notice on the occasional check on the library catalogue (Kenmare and Killarney) that both the novels are regularly out on loan.
Would love to know what the Kenmare and Killarney locals think...

So, with the recent publication of the short story collection, Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service, I thought it wholly appropriate to dispatch some gratis copies over to Kenmare Library.
Hope those County Kerry locals enjoy Harry at his hardest!

Cheers,
ABP

Cops Writing Crime - another 9 members for The Squad!

12/1/2021

Another 9 colleagues - 1 French, 1 Irish, 1 Indian, 1 Canadian, 1 British, and 4 American - join The Squad today, bringing its numbers to 271.

That's 271 cops and ex-cops (and other law enforcement types, plus 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. Olivier Norek - a serving officer with the French police in Paris.
2. Casey King - a serving officer with the Garda in Ireland.
3. Priyaneth Mukhopadhyay (deceased 1947) - an historical addition to The Squad, he served with the Indian Police in (then) Calcutta. Regarded as the father of crime fiction in Bengali.
4. David G. Ferguson - served as a conservation law enforcement officer in Canada.
5. Michael O'Byrne - served as an officer in the London Metropolitan Police and a couple of county police forces, after having served in the Hong Kong Police.
6. Keith Bettinger - served as a police officer with the Suffolk County PD in New York State.
7. Jay P. Farrington - served as a police officer with the San Diego PD.
8. Joe Sánchez - served as an officer with the NYPD.
9. Harvey Burgess - served as a police officer in the USA, I believe in North Carolina.

Our Squad now consists of:

158 American, 55 British, 15 Australian, 15 Canadian
4 New Zealander, 3 Finnish, 2 Dutch, 2 Swedish
2 French, 2 Irish, 1 Bahamian, 1 Norwegian
1 Italian, 1 Czech, 1 Russian, 1 Hungarian
1 Spaniard, 1 Pakistani, 1 Chinese, 1 Brazilian, 1 Indian
2 "International" (listed as this due to current serving officer requirements)

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 - 6 more members join The Squad.

15/11/2020

Another 6 colleagues - 3 British, 2 Australian, and 1 American - join The Squad today, bringing its numbers to 262.

That's 262 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. Ed Church - served in the Metropolitan Police in London, UK.
2. D.L. Hicks - still serving with the Victoria Police, Australia.
3. Janice Cantore - served with the Long Beach PD, California, in the USA.
4. Bruce Venables - served with the Tasmania Police in Australia, and before that in the Hong Kong Police Force.
5. Craig Russell - served with the police in the UK, in Scotland I believe.
6. Robert F. Barker - served with the police in the UK, in the northwest of the country.

Our Squad now consists of:

154 American
54 British
15 Australian
14 Canadian
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
1 Chinese
1 Brazilian
2 "International" (listed as this due to current serving officer requirements)

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

A great book launch for "Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service"

31/10/2020

The book launch was a cracker of an afternoon, befitting my main man, PI Harry Kenmare: the wine and whiskey were flowing and we were surrounded by naked ladies (well, on the walls, anyway!)

It was a sold-out event, within the COVID restrictions, and everyone got into the spirit. Literally, in some cases, if the amount of single malt Scotch showing up on the bill was any indication!
Well, as Harry would say, here for a good time, not a long time.

I even earned a new sobriquet: "The bad boy of Australian crime fiction". Yep, I'll wear that one with pride!

Dr Allan Yates was, once again, a superb MC for the afternoon, and we had some great discussion and audience questions. Lots of books went home with people, including quite a number of the earlier novels.
My huge thanks to my partner, Ruth, for managing the whole event, to Allan for his MC efforts, and to Zelman and Dan, the owners of the glorious Glebe Hotel, for hosting us. The upstairs Nude Bar, overflowing with erotic artworks, is Harry's perfect launch pad! (As you can see from the photo below).
And we had the raffle of bundles of my three favourite anthology magazines, so five lucky people now have copies of Switchblade, Econoclash Review, and Pulp Modern to expand their reading repertoire!

The event (at least myself and Allan) was filmed, so you can watch the whole launch via the YouTube link. It's about 90 minutes, and it's fun.

Meantime, feel free to get yourself some Harry! You can contact me for an original paperback, or there's Amazon, amongst others.

Cheers,
ABP

© The 2 hotel photos are copyright of The Glebe Hotel.
All other photos are copyright of A.B. Patterson.

Book Launch - " Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service" - Sold Out!

16/10/2020

The official book launch for Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service is this weekend, Sunday 18 October 2020.

As with all Harry launches, it will be in the glorious Nude Bar, upstairs at the Glebe Hotel. Where else for Harry, really? Surrounded by nude art and alcohol.
And after all, my local pub is Harry's beloved Emerald Bar in the books!

The event, alas limited in numbers due to current COVID restrictions, is SOLD OUT, so sincere apologies to those who wanted to come but can't book in.

However, as for my previous launches, we will be recording the event and the video will go up on my website and YouTube sometime next week.

The event MC will again be my friend and fellow anti-corruption professional, Dr Allan Yates.

And I'll be giving a big plug to my favourite crime/pulp anthology magazines, hoping to get some more Aussies reading these gems.
I've even done up a juicy flyer (see attached) that everyone at the launch will be getting. And there'll be some giveaways of these superb magazines.

Here's looking forward to a sizzling Sunday afternoon!

Cheers,
ABP

Radio interview - A.B.Patterson & PI Harry Kenmare

13/10/2020

A big week here in Sydney for the new Harry book.

First up is my latest radio interview...

Eric Gyors at Eastside FM has been a great supporter of the Harry books, and I've appeared on his show for both the novels previously.
And we are doing it again!

Yes, tomorrow afternoon I'll be on air live with Eric in his Drive program to chat about the new Harry short story collection, Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service.
And I'm sure we'll chat lots about writing all that crime and corruption.
Plus there'll be some books as giveaways to listeners.

So folks, tune in or listen online - Eastside 89.7 FM.

Wednesday 14 October 2020, at 4.30 p.m. (Sydney time).

It'll be a blast as always on Eric's show.

And stay tuned for the official book launch...

Cheers,
ABP

COPS WRITING CRIME - 6 more members join The Squad!

3/10/2020

Another 6 colleagues - 3 Americans, 1 British, 1 Australian, and 1 Canadian - join The Squad today, bringing its numbers to 256.

That's 256 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. Martin Malloy - served in the USA, I believe in Delaware.
2. Alan Sewart (Deceased 1998) - served with the Lancashire Police in the UK.
3. Edward Conlon - served with the NYPD in the USA.
4. Dustin Dodd - a still-serving officer in the USA, with the Napa PD in California.
5. T. J. Hamilton - another of my Australian compatriots - served with the New South Wales Police.
6. Michael Walton - a still-serving officer in Canada - with the Ontario Police.

Our Squad now consists of:

153 American
51 British
14 Canadian
13 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
1 Chinese
1 Brazilian
2 "International" (listed as this due to current serving officer requirements)

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

Harry Kenmare, PI - hits the bookstores!

28/9/2020

Yes, Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service will be adding a sizzle to the crime sections in certain bookstores.

Many of the independent bookstores in Sydney are very supportive for independent self-published authors like me, and are prepared to give your books a go. Total opposite to the one large chain bookstore left in Australia, who don't want to know me.

So, the three wonderful bookstores below all now have the new Harry collection on their shelves!

Currently, in Sydney, the original paperback is available at the following:
1. Abbey's Bookshop in the city (131 York Street).
2. Gleebooks in Glebe (49 Glebe Point Road).
3. Better Read Than Dead in Newtown (265 King Street).

Many thanks to these independent bookstores, and the faith they put in writers and readers. Get shopping in there and help them survive.

Cheers,
ABP

The Harry short stories - thank you to all who made my new book possible!

16/9/2020

So, book number three is now published - super excited here! The first collection of Harry short stories, Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service, arrived yesterday.
The sense of achievement as a writer when you can actually hold the book in your hands is beyond description, even for a writer!

Now, aside from slaving over the manuscript writing the book, which is down to yours truly (writing is a very solo project in that regard), the final book only gets there with a whole lot of input and assistance from others. So, my acknowledgement page in the book records for posterity all those who were part of this effort. And now it's time to say THANK YOU to them all here and, for the professional contributors, to shout out my recommendations for their work. I've embedded the website links so you can check them out further.

First up my partner, Ruth, who puts up with the author and all his mess (and thousands of books!). Ruth was also a beta reader for the stories, as was my sister, Katie, over in France, and my good friend here, Allan Yates (who will be the MC again at the upcoming book launch - stay tuned on that one). Beta readers are invaluable - thank you all.
This time, being short stories rather than a full-length novel, I did all the editing myself, so there was no separate editor. I'll be getting an editor back on board for the third novel, currently in progress.

For liking my short story work enough to publish it in the USA, including three of the Harry stories in this book, and for the fundamental encouragement and motivation that gave me, thank you to Scotch Rutherford, the editor of Switchblade magazine out of L.A.
And also for the encouragement arising from publishing my short fiction, and not a Harry story, thank you to J.D. Graves, the editor of Econoclash Review magazine also over in the US.

Thank you to the recently formed Independent Fiction Alliance for their support. This Alliance, set up in L.A., is for writers and publishers who are committed to freedom of speech and who loathe censorship of any kind - yeah, if you've read any Harry, you can see why I joined them. The Alliance didn't make the acknowledgements page in the book, as the manuscript had already been typeset, but their Kraken logo was able to be added to the back cover.

Talking of typesetting, there is a vast range of work that goes into the mechanics of publishing a book, including typesetting the manuscript, formatting for publication, arranging the printing, and doing all the digital and ebook conversions. As for my two novels, I returned again to the wonderful Publicious up in Queensland. Andy McDermott and his team there have been superb to work with every time, and if ever you're thinking of self-publishing, I can't recommend Publicious enough.

The cover work here really does speak for itself, and I'll certainly be going back to the hugely talented J.T. Lindroos for future book covers. J.T. really nailed what I wanted and I couldn't be happier with the cover.

And on the subject of artistic talent, Ran Scott drew me a set of eight superb noir images, one for Harry's introduction at the start of the book, and then one each for the seven stories. I sent Ran drafts to read and he totally captured the dark feel of each story. You can find Ran on Twitter: @RSPMystery

And to round out the design contributions, thank you to my friend Stephen Hill at Dylunio, who did the original ABP logo with my Irish heritage clover, and has done the bookmark collection to accompany the new book. There's a set of eight, each with one of the internal images and a quote.

THANK YOU so much to all of you.

Cheers,
ABP

Paperbacks are here!!! "Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service" is now in print.

15/9/2020

Oh, YES!!!

It's that great day in an author's life when the boxes with the new book arrive!

This afternoon, 20 boxes of Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service arrived here, and they are looking bloody great!
The cover work is superb (thanks J.T.Lindroos) and the interior artwork is just what I wanted (thanks Ran Scott).
And the stories - well, I take full responsibility for those.

These are seven short stories of some of the hardest pulp fiction you'll find out there. Read them at your peril.

Want an original paperback copy?

You know where to find me.

Cheers,
ABP

COPS WRITING CRIME - Another 5 members join The Squad.

12/9/2020

Another 5 colleagues - all Americans - join The Squad today, bringing its numbers to 250.

That's 250 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. Dana Ridenour - served with the FBI.
2. Gary Dillman - served with the Metro PD in Washington DC, and then worked as a PI.
3. William M. Glenn - served with the Norwich PD in Connecticut.
4. Richard Rosenthal - served with the NYPD, and also the Wellfleet PD in Massachusetts.
5. Mark Mynheir - served with the Palm Bay PD in Florida.

Our Squad now consists of:

150 American
50 British
13 Canadian
12 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
1 Chinese
1 Brazilian
2 "International" (listed as this due to current serving officer requirements)

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

PI Harry Kenmare is here!!! All print-on-demand platforms.

6/9/2020

The PI Harry Kenmare short story collection is here. "Dark, debauched, and disturbing" is the blurb, and it's obscenely accurate. This is not a read for the faint-hearted, so buckle up, bite down, and enjoy the hardest and most explicit crime fiction you'll find anywhere on this seedy planet.

Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service is now available on all the major print-on demand platforms. Here are the links:

And here is the link to my website page for my books:

A.B. Patterson Author

Ebook also available, and original paperbacks here in about a week.

Cheers,
ABP