Blog Posts - A.B.PATTERSON

The Harry short story collection - opening lines #6.

3/8/2020

Over 7 days, here are 7 tastes of the Harry short stories in Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service, with their opening lines …

Here's #6 - "The Missing Lily".

Panda bear, pick-up, pussy, phone call, pagodas, Peking duck, paternal loss, prostitutes, pay-day, and pussy galore.
So, the question is: what do these ten Ps have in common?
And the answer is: the most recent assignment for me, PI Harry Kenmare.
Being a gumshoe sure as hell has variety. Just as well. If I had to do the nine-to-five corporate hamster wheel ever again, I’d fucking shoot myself.

And the accompanying image in the book is from the superb Ran Scott.

Cheers,
ABP

The Harry short story collection - opening lines #5.

2/8/2020

Over 7 days, here are 7 tastes of the Harry short stories in Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service, with their opening lines …

Here's #5 - "Wankers".

She had a rack that would’ve distracted a Catholic priest from the altar boys. My first client in a fortnight sashayed unannounced into my shitty, smoke-filled office as I was pouring my first Jameson for the day. Well, it was a touch after 11 a.m. I nearly spilt the amber nectar. I was transfixed. She reached my desk and held out her hand.

And the accompanying image in the book is from the superb Ran Scott.

Cheers,
ABP

The Harry short story collection - opening lines #4.

1/8/2020

Over 7 days, here are 7 tastes of the Harry short stories in Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service, with their opening lines …

Here's #4 - "The Lonely Corpse".

She was standing outside my office door: fretful, indecisive, uncertain. Clearly in need of help. Like a furtive adolescent outside the VD clinic, for the first time.
The young woman was dowdy, with plain clothes and no make-up.
Unlike Terri I’d taken home from the pub last night. Plenty of make-up, and then no clothes. The reason I was late this morning. Pretty sure her name was Terri. Totally sure the sex was awesome.

And the accompanying image in the book is from the superb Ran Scott.

Cheers,
ABP

The Harry short story collection - opening lines #3.

31/7/2020

Over 7 days, here are 7 tastes of the Harry short stories in Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service, with their opening lines …

Here's #3 - "A Sex Kitten for a Cabinet Meeting".

Lying back in your birthday suit, with a barely legal young tart, also sensationally naked. Said young hussy has her mouth full, stretched wider than an anaconda swallowing a peccary, except in this case it’s your ragingly hard cock.
There’s a problem with this image: when it’s photographed for posterity. Raises eyebrows in certain circles.

And the accompanying image in the book is from the superb Ran Scott.

Cheers,
ABP

The Harry short story collection - opening lines #2

30/7/2020

Over 7 days, here are 7 tastes of the Harry short stories in Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service, with their opening lines …

Here's #2 - "White Powder, Black Leather, Grey Badges".

Naked, aching, lying on cold, wet tiles in an outlaw bikie gang’s clubhouse. Hot, acrid urine streaming over my face, head, chest. Was that asparagus? Not a usual bikie type of food. And how much could one human bladder hold? I’d seen elephants at the zoo finish more quickly. How much more? That’s what I was asking myself.

And the accompanying image in the book is from the superb Ran Scott.

Cheers,
ABP

The Harry short story collection - opening lines #1

29/7/2020

Over 7 days, here are 7 tastes of the Harry short stories in Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service, with their opening lines …

Here's #1 - "Little Rich Street Girl".

Coagulating semen clung to the lock of grubby, blonde hair dangling next to her cheek. Obviously not all of a previous load had gone down her throat. I guessed she wasn’t concerned about the finer points of her appearance. On these seedy streets, appearances were shallow, skanky, and purely commercial. It was about semen and cash, giving and receiving. Prices depended on the delivery context: oral, vaginal, or anal; condom or bareback (for the true fatalists); and how desperate the girl was for her next hit.

And the accompanying image in the book is from the superb Ran Scott.

Cheers,
ABP

Time to meet PI Harry Kenmare - in his own words!

28/7/2020

My short story collection, Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service, is almost here. Unlike my Harry novels, the short stories are written in the first person, as Harry.
So, I thought it only fitting for Harry to introduce himself at the outset of the collection. And here he is...
Cheers, ABP
(Harry drawing by Ran Scott)

Harry Kenmare, PI

G’day, I’m Harry. Harry Kenmare, Private Investigator.

I used to be a cop, detective sergeant. Until I got the arse for belting a rock spider. A child molester to most of you. Well, of course I belted the prick. I’d just lost my daughter, Orla, to scum like him. Orla was raped and murdered, by paedophile animals. And, being only human, that has shaped me as a man since then. You got a problem with that? Guess what, here’s fifty cents, go call someone who cares.

Orla’s mother, my very ex-wife, left at the same time. Decided her yoga instructor was more ‘sensitive’ to her needs. He was a pretentious arse-wipe, but he had inherited money. Yeah, so I married shallow, as it turns out. Not the first bloke down that baited burrow. And then she shagged a couple of other detectives. Sure it was to spite me. Rooting another detective’s missus was a no-no, totally against the brotherhood’s Code. Anyway, the arse-wipe yoga instructor got done for dealing ‘herbal remedies’, went to prison, and the ex became his ex, too. Some degree of karma, maybe. No doubt she’s off now making some other poor bastard’s life an abject misery.

Anyhow, my motto now is: ‘Here for a good time, not a long time’. And I live by it. I smoke, I drink like a fish, I eat rich food, and I bed every good sort I can charm back to my apartment. I love the ladies. I’m what in days gone by was described as a libertine. And if you’ve got a problem with that, hear this: I don't give a flying rat’s arse.

Enough of my loves. What about the other side of the ledger? I hate injustice, I hate hypocrisy, I hate misogyny, I hate bullies, and I hate the Establishment. A long list. No shortage of candidates in Sydney. And wherever I can deliver karma, I’ll do so in spades.

You might love me, or you might hate me. But you’ll never forget me.

Cheers,
Harry

Short story collection is imminent - manuscript headed for typesetting today.

27/7/2020

A big day here in Sydney today...
I love it when you press "send" on the email with your manuscript on its way for typesetting, and then printing.
Yes, the manuscript for my first collection of short stories, Harry Kenmare, PI - At Your Service, headed off today for its last stage before birth.
This is my third book now, and I always find the editing process seems to go on endlessly. Of course, you could edit forever, but you have to draw a line somewhere.
So, hopefully the paperbacks will be ready in about 4 weeks, with the ebook and POD versions a bit before that.
I'll keep you posted on the dates.
As for the official book launch at my favourite pub, upstairs in the Nude Bar and scene of both previous launches, we will have to wait and see. It was all set to go, but then the restrictions came back in and events are now off the cards.
Meantime, here's the great cover work by J.T.Lindroos, and a couple of the beautifully noir 8 internal artworks by Ran Scott. And the back cover blurb says it all - Harry is coming to town and it's going to get dirty, in more ways than one!
Cheers,
ABP

COPS WRITING CRIME - 5 new members join The Squad.

14/7/2020

Another 5 colleagues (including 2 historical entries) - 2 Brits and 3 Americans - join The Squad today, bringing its numbers to 245.

That's 245 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. John Nicholl - served in the police in the UK, although I'm not sure which Force.
2. Leslie T. White - (deceased 1967) - served with the L.A. County DA's Office as an investigator.
3. Maurice Procter - (deceased 1973) - served with the Yorkshire Police in the UK.
4. R. L. Link - served with the Ames PD in Iowa.
5. Colin Conway - served with the Spokane PD in Washington State.

Our Squad now consists of:

145 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

COPS WRITING CRIME - 6 new Squad members.

10/6/2020

Another 6 colleagues - 4 Americans, 1 Brit, and 1 Canadian - join The Squad today, bringing its numbers to 240.

That's 240 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. Lisa Black - served as a forensic scenes of crime officer with the Cape Coral PD in Florida.
2. G. S. Marriott - served with the Ontario Provincial Police in Canada.
3. Terrance Donegan - served with the Phoenix PD in Arizona.
4. Lee Cockburn - served with Police Scotland (Edinburgh, I think) in the UK.
5. Curt Rude - served as a police officer for 30 years in the USA (I think in Minnesota).
6. Richard Enright (deceased 1953) - an historical entrant to The Squad - served as Chief of Police in the NYPD.

Our Squad now consists of:

142 American
48 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

COPS WRITING CRIME - Another 4 members join The Squad.

6/6/2020

Another 4 colleagues - all Americans - join The Squad today, bringing its numbers to 234.

That's 234 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. Johnny Barnes - served with the Rochester PD in New York State, and worked as a PI.
2. Richard Calvert - served with the Miami-Dade PD in Florida.
3. John J. Delamer - served with the NYPD.
4. Patrick W. Picciarelli - also served with the NYPD.

Our Squad now consists of:

138 American
47 British
12 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

COPS WRITING CRIME - Anthology Project Update.

5/6/2020

I'm very excited about this project, which I think will be unique in the annals of crime fiction anthologies.
My call out to members of The Squad, crime fiction writers who are ex-cops, law enforcement, or PIs (and some still serving), has already resulted in over 30 interested authors for the project.
I've got interested Squad members from the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Pakistan.
So, the project blurb has been dispatched, and hopefully pens and keyboards are getting worked up for some fine new crime stories.
The initial deadline for submissions is the end of September this year, so realistically I should be publishing the anthology around the end of the year.
The working title is: A Blue Anthology: Cops Writing Crime.
I think this is going to be a great collection of realistic crime fiction. Watch this space.
Cheers,
ABP

COPS WRITING CRIME - Another 5 members join The Squad!

3/6/2020

Another 5 colleagues - 1 Brit, 3 Americans, and our first Brazilian (sadly deceased recently) - join The Squad today, bringing its numbers to 230.

That's 230 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. James Ellson - served with the police in the UK in both London and Manchester.
2. Rubem Fonseca - recently deceased - our first Brazilian member and he served for a long time with the police in Rio de Janeiro.
3. Misha Jordan - served with the police in the USA, and I believe Florida (Tallahassee PD?).
4. Anthony Zeoli - served with the New York Port Authority PD.
5. Jerry C. Scott - served with the Utah County Sheriff's Office.

Our Squad now consists of:

134 American
47 British
12 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

Special Deal - 2 for 1 on the Harry books in Australia!

31/5/2020

DOUBLE TROUBLE - SPECIAL DEAL on the Harry novels! 🕵️‍♀️😎
You like your crime fiction hard, dark and sexy? Then come and meet PI Harry Kenmare. But be warned, these are not stories for the fainthearted, my friends.
2 for the price of 1, posted anywhere in Australia.
That's just $30, incl. postage, for both Harry's World and Harry's Quest, signed by me and with some Harry bookmarks thrown in.🕵️‍♀️
Deal good until 15 June 2020. Contact me via email.
And apologies to overseas readers, but the postage costs mean I can only offer this deal in Australia.
Cheers, ABP

A.B.Patterson LIVE READING - Thrilling Detective - Noir at the Bar

23/5/2020

Absolutely thrilled to be reading live tomorrow (Australian time) on the Thrilling Detective website's first Noir at the Bar - virtual, of course. More's the pity, I'd love to be back in California reading in person. Still, hopefully next year. If you read my blogs, you'll have seen me talk about the excellent website, The Thrilling Detective, run by Kevin Burton Smith in California. If you are into private eye crime fiction, you MUST get familiar with this site: it is the holy grail for our genre.

So, if you fancy some live reading from crime writers, including me reading some Harry, here's the blurb:

Next up is our first-ever THRILLING DETECTIVE NOIR AT THE BAR, set for Saturday, May 23, 2020 at 5:00 PM PST, which hopefully means most North Americans can participate. If this is a big problem, let me know. And if there’s a big global uprising, I may hold a more international one next time (but hey, we’ve got an Australian!). It should last about two hours, and will feature past and current contributors to the site, reading from old and new works of private eye fiction. Scheduled to appear are Thrilling Detective’s former fiction editors Victoria Esposito and Gerald So, and readings from Ron Miller, Mark Troy, A.B. Patterson, Mark Best, Josh Lanyon, David Avallone (reading from the Nooniverse), Victoria Esposito (reading for Gerald So), and Graham Powell. So far…
Come for the readings, stay for the schmoozing!

Yep, no prizes for guessing, I'm the Australian component. And honoured to be in the line up.

So, my local Aussie fans, it's 10 a.m. Sunday morning, 24 May, on the Australian east coast (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart, and Canberra), 8 a.m. for Perth and the west coast, and 9.30 a.m. for Adelaide and Darwin, and anyone else in the middle bits).

The link you need: (https://thrillingdetective.wordpress.com/2020/04/08/the-thrilling-detective-zoom/)

Cheers,
ABP