Blog Posts - A.B.PATTERSON

"Harry's Quest" is here! The ebook went live today.

5/12/2018

Okay, Harry fans, the wait is over, at least for ebook readers.

Harry's Quest, the hard-boiled, noir and very sexy sequel to Harry's World, went live as an ebook this morning on Amazon Kindle as well as Kobo.
Other ebook sites are following, as is the Print-on-Demand version.

And news from the printers here in Australia - the original paperbacks will be ready next week. Yes, around mid-week, I'm told, a truck will be bringing me 1,000 copies of Harry's Quest, hot off the press.

And these new episodes for Harry and friends are sizzling hot, my friends! Be warned - not for the faint-hearted, that's for sure.

Cheers,
ABP

"Harry's Quest" - hard-boiled, noir and sexy - some quotes to tease you! Part 3.

4/12/2018

Harry's Quest is imminent - so here's Part 3 of some quotes to tease you!

Classic hard-boiled Harry:

The cartilage gave way with a light crunching sound as Harry tightened his hands around the man’s throat. It felt like crushing the ribcage of a chicken carcass.   P3

If one had to get a nosebleed, then what better way than from a beautiful, sexy woman riding his face?  P38

Then he heard a loud, wet, flatulent sound. As he watched watery muck the colour of the Ganges River run down his thighs, Bernhard realized he had shat himself.   P183

‘In fact, we haven’t seen that much luxury since Marie Antoinette ordered her anal beads in twenty-four carat,’ said Harry.   P226

‘Mate, if we were watching the contest for the sluttiest slut in Slutsville, we’d be looking at gold and silver right here.’   P319

Cheers,
ABP

"Harry's Quest" - hard-boiled, noir and sexy - some quotes to tease you! Part 2.

3/12/2018

"Harry's Quest" is imminent - so here is Part 2 of the quotes to entice your reading taste buds!

Classic hard-boiled Harry:

By contrast, Thursday was a flurried juggling act as Harry and Trev found themselves busier than a one-legged man in an arse-kicking contest.   P58

‘Sasha,’ said Harry, ‘my idea of “interesting” is a suitcase full of dirty cash changing hands. I definitely do not want to watch some corrupt Beijing bureaucrat waving his cock around like some rampaging Nanjing noodle.’   P62

‘Listen, pal, we can do this the easy way, or the very fucking hard way.’ There was a malevolent smile on the cop’s face.   P87

‘Okay, fat boy, let the girl go or I’m going to fucking kill you.’ His right index finger was on the trigger of the Remington, ready to squeeze.   P176

‘And we’ve read the police file, so any bullshit and my electrical friend here will barbecue your genitals. Slowly. Understand?’   P187

Cheers,
ABP

"Harry's Quest" - hard-boiled, noir and sexy - some quotes to tease you! Part 1.

1/12/2018

"Harry's Quest" is imminent - the ebook and POD versions should be available internationally this week coming, and the original paperback versions will be available in a couple of weeks.
In the meantime, I thought I'd throw out some quotes from the book to tease you with its flavour! Here is Part 1 of the quotes:

Some classic hard-boiled Harry:

In Harry’s view, the closest he’d like to being a ‘comrade’ would be shoving a copy of Das Kapital fair square up Stoddart’s rectum, hardback edition, of course.   P28

Harry pictured the gigantic Zanza and thought that the term ‘minder’ was about as adequate as referring to Scarlett Johansson as ‘a good sort’.   P61

Rhodes was speechless. He’d never heard a woman talk about anal sex. Being rogered in the Harrow changing rooms was his idea of it.   P71

There was a card table a couple of metres to his left with a variety of implements on it. Then it suddenly registered that he was completely naked. This wasn’t good, not good at all.  P96

The first slice of vengeance for Orla was nigh, and his adrenal glands were working harder than a dissident in a Soviet salt mine.   P82

Bob laughed. ‘Mate, Shazza couldn’t spell lady, but she bangs more than a dunny door in a storm. And take it from me, fella, she likes it in every hole she’s got.’   P135

And some Aussie scene-setting descriptions:

The sun was rising over the Pacific now, battling to hurdle the long bank of dark storm-driven clouds out on the horizon. The effect was a cascade of amber, saffron and vermillion shafts of light, like flames spouting forth from a dragon arising out of the endless ocean.   P40

As the van descended onto the Western Plains, the sun was sinking slowly towards the hazy horizon. Its waning rays bathed the roadside sandstone outcrops in a warm, deep golden hue, highlighting their natural layers of yellow, orange, and pink, making them appear to glow. In the same fading amber light, the gnarled, brown gum tree trunks with their sappy excretions resembled well-oiled pork crackling.   P91-92

Cheers,
ABP

"Harry's Quest" heads for the printing presses!!!

28/11/2018

Harry's Quest has headed for the printers today. Final tweaks made to the typeset manuscript and I pressed the green GO button for production! And now drinking red wine, of course.
The original printed paperbacks should be ready in a couple of weeks, but the ebook versions and the POD versions should be available in the next few days.
I'll keep you posted!
And, given Harry's Quest is a sequel, if you haven't read Harry's World, then time to hop in and grab it now!
Cheers,
ABP

Jacarandas - November in Sydney - And one of Harry's favourite flowers

26/11/2018

Spring in Sydney, aside from bringing in the warmer weather, is resplendent in purple, as the jacaranda trees burst into bloom across the cityscape.
I love these trees and their flowers, as does my PI Harry Kenmare. If you've read Harry's World, then you'll know the scene where Harry is walking down Kelly Street to his local watering hole, the Emerald Bar, with the cascade of jacaranda flowers coming down.
Here's a few photos form my neighbourhood, including along Kelly Street, with my local watering hole, the Australian Youth Hotel in the background. And yes, it is the same watering hole as the Emerald Bar in the Harry stories.
And I'm a complete novice at poetry, but here goes:

The Jacaranda

The canopy of delicate leaves, vibrant green,
Such splendid beauty reveals nature's vast power,
If this awe is not enough to make one serene,
Then hail spring with its majestic purple shower.

(c) A.B.Patterson, November 2018.

"Switchblade - Issue # 8" - Harry will be returning!

17/11/2018

I am absolutely over the moon to be appearing again in the great hard-boiled and noir anthology, Switchblade.
Yes, another of my Harry in-the-first-person tales will be appearing in Switchblade (Issue # 8), coming out in January 2019.
I love appearing in this classy noir anthology - because I get to have my work alongside some seriously great talent.
My new story is entitled "Wankers", and it's full of despicable strokers. And some dark justice gets handed out. As it should.
Cheers,
ABP

"Down Among The Dead" - an excellent noir novella by Steve Finbow

17/11/2018

One of my recently purchased box of goodies from Fahrenheit Press.
Down Among The Dead is a short novella which delivers a solid punch in just 40 pages. It's brutally noir and the characterisation of Michael, the protagonist, is tightly and expertly drawn. The story revolves around the ever-tantalizing theme of our past coming back to haunt us, and that our present and future are always linked somehow to our history.
Finbow's prose is spartan, yet poignant.
I read the story in one sitting, which made it all the more enjoyable.
I highly recommend this for lovers of noir, and I'll certainly be looking out for more of Finbow's work.
Cheers,
ABP

"Harry's Quest" draws nearer! The return of PI Harry Kenmare, and friends!

15/11/2018

Harry's Quest draws ever closer!

The typeset manuscript came back today - the excellent service provided by Publicious Book Publishing Services. I do love working with real professionals.
Anyway, I need to read over the typeset proof, all 473 pages, this weekend, and then next week the green light goes on for the printing!
So, PI Harry Kenmare is almost upon us again! Plenty of vengeance to be had, plenty of hard-boiled PI action and drama, and no shortage on the sexy lady front. Ooh, just you wait and see!
And Harry's Quest is a sequel, of course - so if you haven't read Harry's World as yet, then there's no time like right now! It'll set the scene for you to really enjoy Harry's Quest.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Cheers,
ABP

"Rubicon" by Ian Patrick - dark, dark realism in crime writing. Superb!

15/11/2018

What a deliciously dark delight this book turned out to be - Rubicon, the debut novel by British ex-cop Ian Patrick.
If you follow my blogs, you'll know all about my Cops Writing Crime project (see link - Also: Cops Writing Crime.) Well, part of my promise to myself with that project is to start reading more of my fellow ex-cops turned crime fiction writers.
Patrick is my third this year, following Bruce Robert Coffin and Clare Mackintosh (see earlier book reviews on my blog).

Rubicon has a tremendous plot line and will keep you reading in anticipation of what the hell is going to happen next. It sure did for me. It's noir, certainly, but also oozes the realism that comes from an ex-cop writing crime fiction. The characters are so believable - in fact, I felt like I'd met some of them, in my own police career! The wonderful tension between the old-school cop mentality, with results all important and ethics... (what are ethics?), versus the up-and-coming police who are obsessed with their own careers and results being secondary, is absolutely palpable in Rubicon. And in the tradition of the finest noir, you're never sure who to cheer on in this bloody and dirty tale. But the insidious reach of corruption through all society's layers and institutions is flagrantly evident here. This was a novel right up my alley, and I am really looking forward to reading more of Patrick's work.
That's the beauty of Cops Writing Crime - the feel of the realism is more acute than a smack in the face and the taste of that realism is sharper than a nose bleed.
If you like realistic, gritty crime writing, then I highly recommend Mr Patrick to you.
Bring on more of it!
Cheers,
ABP

COPS WRITING CRIME - Another 3 members join The Squad!

14/11/2018

Many thanks to Phil Stewart over in Canada who has again sent me some suggestions for new members for The Squad, and as a result 2 more Canadian cousins are joining us today.
And many thanks to C.W.Blackwell from the USA for getting in touch. He also joins The Squad - one of our handful of authors who work, or have worked, inherently with law enforcement agencies, although are not sworn officers. If you've read the preamble on my project page, you'll know that I have a little flexibility on this issue of defining "cops" - it's all about having experienced the milieu, and so being able to bring that raw realism to the page.

This now takes us to 137 in number, with our 3 new members.
That's 137 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!

So, we have joining us today:
1. Brent Pilkey - Pilkey is a veteran, and still serving, officer with the Toronto Police in Canada. He has a number of crime fiction novels already to his name.
2. C.W.Blackwell - Blackwell is a serving crime analyst with a Sheriff's department in California, USA. He writes short fiction across genres, including crime fiction.
3. Dwayne Clayden - Clayden served as an officer with the Calgary Police in Canada. He then expanded his emergency service experience by working with the Fire Department and the paramedics.

Our Squad now consists of:

62 American
39 British
9 Australian
9 Canadian
4 New Zealanders
3 Finnish
2 Dutch
2 Swedish
1 French
1 Bahamian
1 Norwegian
1 Italian
1 Czech
1 Russian
1 Hungarian

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

"XXX Shamus" - what a debauched PI adventure, and what fun!

13/11/2018

Wow, I've got a broad mind when it comes to putting sex into my crime writing, but Red Hammond makes me seem meek and mild.
Apparently this book has been banned previously by some retailers, which would be a good enough recommendation for me - I hate censorship.
Anyway, if you're inclined towards sensibilities on sexual matters, this is not a recommended read for you.
However, for connoisseurs of the hard-boiled PI genre, this is a great PI romp with lashings of sex; I was going to say "thrown in", but "poured over the top until inundated" would be more accurate.
I thoroughly enjoyed the debauched journey of PI Hopper Garland. He trawls all the lowlife haunts you can imagine. It's a hoot.
Cheers,
ABP

Harry's Quest is imminent! PI Harry Kenmare set to return in December 2018!

13/11/2018

The manuscript for Harry's Quest finally headed off yesterday for typesetting and then printing. Oh, what a feeling of relief to send the novel away for its final stage of creation.
I'm sure many of my fellow authors, especially those who self-publish, share my bittersweet feelings towards the editing and proofreading stages. I think you do get to a point where you just have to say, "Bugger it, it's going as it is now, because I can't stand the thought of reading through it all again!"
I'm hoping that the 110,000 words I sent off yesterday are pretty schmicko by now - any remaining errors are entirely my responsibility.
Of course, I still have to go through the typeset version when that's ready, and then it's the waiting for the printers and then the van to arrive with all the boxes. I still remember the sheer thrill of opening the first box when Harry's World arrived back in 2015, and pulling out that first copy, and realising that, hey, I'm a published crime writer! Well, hanging out for that feeling again in early December when a thousand copies of Harry's Quest arrive.
And then it's back into the other half of being a self-published author - marketing, profile building, and selling.
So, folks, the paperback version will be available in early December (barring any calamities at the printers), and the ebook and print-on-demand versions will be available probably a little before that.
I'll be posting regularly.
Cheers,
ABP

Cops Writing Crime - Another British member joins the Squad!

4/11/2018

I've been letting this great project lie idle for a few weeks, due to other commitments (the necessities of life and having to earn a living!). But a little research the other day revealed a new candidate for our Squad.

This now takes us to 134 in number, with another British cousin joining The Squad!
That's 134 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!

So, we have joining us today:
1. Steve Parker - Parker spent 20 years in the Metropolitan Police in London. He's already got two crime fiction novels to his name.

Our Squad now consists of:

61 American
39 British
9 Australian
7 Canadian
4 New Zealanders
3 Finnish
2 Dutch
2 Swedish
1 French
1 Bahamian
1 Norwegian
1 Italian
1 Czech
1 Russian
1 Hungarian

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

"Switchblade - Issue Sixx" - The excellence of this anthology simply accelerates every issue!

2/10/2018

It's always utter bliss when the post delivery arrives with the next issue of Switchblade. And despite the issues with Amazon and Australia, I can still get my fix, just slightly delayed from the way it used to be. But this is a magazine anthology that is worth pursuing to the ends of the Earth.
William R. Soldan’s dark, urban poetry starts this volume off, setting the scene perfectly for the hard-boiled and noir tales to follow. As always with Switchblade, I really, really enjoyed every piece I read here; it’s another stellar collection of the hard-boiled and noir talent out there.
Three pieces of flash fiction follow the Soldan poem.
“Down Payment” by George Garnet: You’re never too young to protect your mummy, even with only a water pistol.
“Hooked” by Aidan Thorn: Grief and craving for intimacy are not a good state of mind when the world is full of predators.
“On The Way Home” by Rex Weiner: A twisted tale with very twisted humour. And this gem of a line: “The sun is setting over the hills like final judgment in some forgotten language.” Superb!
Then we’re into the 11 excellent short stories.
“Cold Comfort” by John Bosworth: Well, it does take all sorts to make the world go round. And this is prostitution on a whole new level, or not so new, depending on how you look at it!
“The Vice Aisle” by Mike Payne: Yeah, mix swingers' parties, drug supply, and child support – what could possibly go wrong?
“Dead Men Tell Tales” by Jim Thomsen: Lovely twist here, and if you’re into hiring a contract killer, then you really need to understand that nobody can be trusted. But rich, arrogant people will still behave the way they do. Loved this line: “He nodded to the couch, a horror of bright flowers and burnt orange that looked like it had died and gone to hell in 1974.”
“The Usher” by E.F. Sweetman: This was my personal favourite. Aside from the great writing, this piece is the epitome of the missing young female traveller tale. Mix those Scandinavian girls with twisted predators in a foreign country, and it’s gruesome. The skill of Sweetman here is to leave that haunting chill with you well after the read. Seriously loved this piece. And it haunts, it really does.
“Chowda” by Travis Richardson: Fish soup has never been high on my list, but even less so now, and even if it is cooked by family. Because not all families live on Walton mountain, that’s for sure.
“Implement of Destruction” by Rusty Barnes: The great twist here is the feisty girlfriend you didn’t see coming. And it’s a new take on a golden shower, oh yes. Add in the dog’s tongue…just read it, you’ll understand exactly what I mean. This is my second favourite piece here.
“Lost Girl” by Scot Carpenter: PIs take pretty well most jobs that come their way. So does this PI. And his torture techniques are inventive! He does also have an unconventional way of wrapping a case up.
“Road Rage” by Danny Sophabmisay: This is the gutter of life at its darkest best. This girl should have tried harder with Narcotics Anonymous, but then we wouldn't have this great story. Mix drugs, cash and Disney characters. Yeah, a hell of a ride. And this line sets the scene perfectly: “All she wanted was a hit of crack – just one little rock to unwind after a long shift at The Foamy Beaver.” Love it!
“The Bargain” by Tom Barlow: Buyer beware, what more can I say? But drugs and cash are powerful motivators. Throw in a blow job and guns, and it’s a hoot.
“The Magician’s Left Hand” by Tais Teng: Over to Holland for a contract killer who needs to have a better recollection of his clients and targets, but this one is a real professional.
“Violet” by Evelyn Deshane: Transgender porn shop worker fantasizing about female porn star in a porno snuff movie – of course, this is looking good. Throw in a filmic re-enactment, and this is a great story to round out the volume.
The Switchblade editor, Scotch Rutherford, has quickly established himself and his magazine anthology as a leader in the hard-boiled and noir crime writing space. Every issue of Switchblade so far has been an immense treat, and the quality just keeps getting better. If you are a fan of this sub-genre of crime, then I cannot recommend Switchblade enough – it is, quite simply, mandatory reading for connoisseurs of noir.
Cheers,
ABP