Blog Posts - A.B.PATTERSON

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

My short story, "Blue Angel", is out in "Econoclash Review" Issue # 4.

8/6/2019

Absolutely thrilled to have my short story, "Blue Angel", published in the excellent Econoclash Review magazine (Issue # 4).
If you haven't tried this anthology yet, then get yourself onto Amazon and try it out. The editor, J.D.Graves, does a great job at putting together a collection of pulp stories across several genres, so it's not just crime in here.
And my first offering in Econoclash is my first (published) attempt at merging genres, with a crime story mixed with the supernatural. You'll find my usual blend of detectives, vice and corruption, but a sexy ghost joins the party! Go on, take a read.
I'm also humbled to be lining up alongside some names whose work I love and respect: Rex Weiner, C.W.Blackwell, Matthew X. Gomez, and Jon Zelazny. I'm looking forward to reading their stories here, and to discovering the other voices in these pages.
The editor, Mr Graves, in the Amazon blurb says, "A.B. Patterson closes the show with the most transgressive thing I've read outside a public lavatory." I'll take that as high praise.
Take a look, my friends.
Buy a copy here.
www.amazon.com/s?k=econoclash+review+4&crid=2193MLQITGPO1&sprefix=econoclash%2Caps%2C766&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_8

Cheers,
ABP

COPS WRITING CRIME - another 6 members join The Squad today.

25/5/2019

Another 6 colleagues join The Squad today, bringing its numbers to 170.
That's 170 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!

And a huge thanks to Phil Stewart (in Canada, I think) who again has found new members for The Squad. The first 5 joining today are all from Phil's contribution. Thanks, mate!

We have joining us today:
1. Ron Crouch - served as a police officer in both the UK and Canada, where he has remained (so I'm counting him as a Canadian). A couple of crime fiction novels, and he writes in other genres.
2. James Heneghan - also served as a police office in Liverpool in the UK, before moving to Canada and serving as an officer in Vancouver. He also remains in Canada, so is counted for that country. He writes in various genres, including crime fiction.
3. J. Mark Collins - still a serving officer with the Cobourg Police in Canada. One crime fiction novel so far.
4. Mark A. Di Giacomo - served in the USA with the New York State Police, the NYPD, and the FBI. Three crime fiction novels so far.
5. Jeff Dosser - served with the Tulsa PD in the USA. Mainly writes horror, but some crime/horror blends.
6. Larry Darter - served as a police officer for 20 years in both Oklahoma and Texas in the USA. Several crime fiction novels to date.

Our Squad now consists of:

86 American
41 British
12 Canadian
10 Australian
4 New Zealanders
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 9 members join The Squad!

21/4/2019

Another 9 colleagues join The Squad today, swelling its numbers to 164.
That's 164 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. Dennis Banahan - served over 30 years with the Chicago PD, and has written two crime novels so far.
2. Wayne Zurl - served with the Suffolk County PD. He has written several crime novels.
3. George D. Shuman - served as an officer in Washington DC, and has written several crime novels.
4. Jason E. Fort - still a serving officer, I believe in South Carolina. A number of novels to his name.
5. Gerald Petievich - one of our "related cop" cousins, he served in the US Secret Service. He has written several crime novels, and has had some turned into movies.
6. Marc Goodman - served as a police officer (unsure where in the US) and with the FBI. I found one crime novel by him, but he writes in other genres as well.
7. Merle Temple - served as a deputy sheriff (not sure where) and with the Bureau of Narcotics in the US. He has written several crime novels, and he writes in other genres.
8. Micki Browning - served with the Durango PD in Colorado. She has written several crime novels.
9. Peter Ritchie - our only non-American cousin in this Squad update, he served with the police in Scotland and in London, as well as Europol. He has written a number of crime novels.

Our Squad now consists of:

83 American
41 British
10 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
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

PI Harry Kenmare - in his element in the USA!

20/4/2019

Just a blog to showcase this superb photograph of my Harry books. And isn't Harry well and truly in his element here? Gun, booze, smokes, cuffs. Just needs a naked lady to round it out. This could easily be Harry's desk, but it's not Sydney, rather over the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
American crime writer, and fellow Switchblade veteran, Danny Sophabmisay, won the Harry books in the recent competition I ran in conjunction with Switchblade.
And he paid me back with this truly fantastic picture - Danny, you're a champion, mate.
I just love it, and so had to share it with you all. I've added it to the "Works" page on my website as well.
Now I just hope Danny enjoys the books!
Cheers,
ABP

A.B.Patterson - author talk at Cessnock Library - 13 June 2019

19/4/2019

Another confirmed library talk for 2019.

Yes, back on the circuit with my new novel, Harry's Quest.

Heading up to the Hunter Valley for a morning in June and chatting with the good folk of Cessnock. Last time I visited we had a big crowd there, so hoping I created a good enough impression that they all want to listen to me again!

Cessnock Library - Thursday 13 June 2019, starting at 10.30 a.m.

Hope to see you there for coffee, crime, and a chat.

Cheers,
ABP

Book Launch for "My Name is Revenge" by Ashley Kalagian Blunt.

19/4/2019

Last week I had the great pleasure of attending Ashley Kalagian Blunt's book launch of My Name is Revenge, at the Acre Eatery in Camperdown (great venue, by the way).
I'd met Ashley before through Writing NSW, and she joined us at the launch of Harry's Quest back in January.
Ashley signed my copy of My Name is Revenge with "From one crime author to another, best wishes." And her debut novella is indeed a crime story, albeit with a very different angle.
It's based on true events - the assassination of the Turkish consul in Sydney in 1980 - but within a fictional narrative. The novella is followed by some of Ashley's essays, all connected to the subject of the Armenian Genocide in 1915-1917. This tragic chapter in the history of the Armenian people is not really well known, despite having the dubious honour of being the first modern genocide. It is also officially denied by the Turkish regime, although they are hardly known for progressive values such as truth and liberty.
I'm going to be very interested to learn more about the Armenian Genocide through Ashley's writing, and getting to savour a new crime story at the same time. I'll post a book review in due course.

You can find her website here.

And the photo below is a chocolate cake that Ashley had at the launch, the icing being a copy of her book cover!

Cheers,
ABP

Author talk at Waverley Library - 22 May 2019.

6/4/2019

My first confirmed library talk for 2019.

Yes, back on the circuit with my new novel, Harry's Quest.

Had a great crowd last time I spoke at Waverley, so looking forward to meeting those local readers again.

Waverley Library (at Bondi Junction) - Wednesday 22 May 2019, starting at 7.00 p.m.

Hope to see you there.

Cheers,
ABP

A.B.Patterson is bringing Harry to California!

4/4/2019

Woo hoo!
Tickets now booked and paid for.
My first visit to the U.S.A. and I'm going to be joining an amazing lineup of fellow Switchblade authors for a reading at Skylight Books in Los Angeles on 28 June.
I'm also firming up to appear at the Noir at the Bar evening organised by Eric Beetner on 07 July.
I can't even begin to describe how exciting this is for me. All these indie noir authors whom I've read with
such enjoyment - and now I'm going to meet a whole lot of them.
Yeah, that is well worth the 15-hour flight across the Pacific!
And I'll be packing every spare bit of space in my luggage (and my partner's luggage) with copies of Harry's World and Harry's Quest.
Cheers,
ABP

"Bordertown" - gritty realistic Aussie crime writing from an ex-cop, Greg James.

2/4/2019

From the ranks of my Cops Writing Crime Squad comes the debut novel from fellow Aussie ex-cop, Greg James.
I added Greg to the Squad a while back, knowing he was well on the way to his first novel, and having had the honour of reading an earlier manuscript.
We come from different Australian police forces, but we share an awful lot. Not the least of which is we both now write crime fiction. And we both want to tell stories about what we experienced.
See Greg's website.
Bordertown hit the shelves last month and I was thrilled to travel up to Queensland to join Greg for his book launch. And as a bonus I met Australian country music artist Kevin Sullivan, also an ex-cop, performing at the launch before heading off to Nashville to do some recording. See Kevin's website.
I am very much looking forward to reading the final version of Bordertown, and I'll be blogging my review in due course.
What I can tell you from my read of the manuscript is that this is cop realism at its very best: the cops, the local community, the social dynamics, the environment. This is cop writing you can taste, smell, feel, and picture yourself there. But then wish you couldn't. Its that good, that visceral.
Grab yourself a copy.
Cheers,
ABP

Book Review - "All Things Violent" by Nikki Dolson.

17/3/2019

I've been sampling the crime and noir offerings published by Fahrenheit Press, and All Things Violent by Nikki Dolson is one of a bunch of Fahrenheit titles I bought late last year.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novella from Dolson, whose female protagonist, Laura Park, goes through a brutal journey into a career as a hired killer. I do love a really tough female protagonist (thinking writers like Christa Faust) and Dolson delivers a very fine tough character. Naturally, the disappointments Laura faces from men become a driving force for her, but there is a well-balanced mixture of emotions played out here. For me, this adds to the dark realism of the narrative. Dolson's prose is crisp and direct, and she makes great use of sensory images, especially taste and smell. The first person narrative does much to strengthen the impression of Laura and, given this is a story about her, nothing is lost by using her POV alone. We get all we need of the other characters from their actions and the dialogue. I certainly found myself urging Laura on, and I'd be keen to read any follow on stories.
A good, solid piece of noir. I recommend it, and I'll be coming back for more of Dolson's work.
Cheers,
ABP

Book Review - "10-33 Assist PC" - superb police realism from Canadian ex-detective Desmond P. Ryan

12/3/2019

I always love reading crime fiction from those fellow ex-cops from my Cops Writing Crime project - The Squad, as I've named us.
My normal crime reading is down the hard-boiled and noir avenues (and all those glorious gutters of depravity!), but I do love police procedurals from fellow ex-cops (at least all the ones I've read so far). Having walked those streets in those boots, there's something that reaches out viscerally, I find. And so I do occasionally venture from one variety of mean streets to another - a bit of variety in my genre sex life!

I actually read this debut novel from Canadian author Desmond P. Ryan at the end of last year, but I'm a tad behind in my book reviews. Apologies.
Ryan is a former long-serving Toronto detective, and his debut novel, 10-33 Assist PC, is a superb police procedural just basting in the realism that one hopes to get from ex-cops writing crime fiction.
All of the brush strokes of police life are here, as we follow the protagonist, Det. Mike O'Shea, through the underbelly of Toronto, doing his best to take down a prostitution ring of enslaved girls. We have the police partner with the annoying habits, the glimpses of family life and its second place to "the job" (my Aussie slang, there), the obsession with getting a result, the conflict with those cops not equally sharing the passion, the internal police politics and petty rivalries and oneupmanship, the ensuing clusterfucks (if you thought police departments were well-oiled machines, they're usually not, and Ryan nails this aspect), and the tragic end results.
Never any spoilers from me on the story - if you love police procedurals, then I strongly recommend you read it.
Ryan's realism evoked many memories for me, and I've been out of the cops for 20 years now. But so much came rushing back, especially as I worked vice, and this is the litmus test for me when I'm looking for realism in crime writing about police work. If those memories come flooding back (some of them unwelcome, I have to say), then I know the author has done a very fine job.
Take a bow, Mr Ryan, you're off to a flying start as a crime author.
And I've just gone online this afternoon to buy your next. Looking forward to the epilogue to this novel, and the next novel.
Cheers,
ABP
P.S. You can check out the Cops Writing Crime here - The Squad.

I love the English language - here are some Australian colloquialisms from the Harry novels!

25/2/2019

I love, that's LOVE, the English language - so much sheer vocabulary, delightful irregularities, variety and nuance; and then there are all the regional versions in the wide spread of English-speaking countries around the world.
Down here, that's "down under" here, we have our own little quirks: Australian words and phrases that a visitor from another English-speaking land hears and says, "WTF does that mean?!!!" Of course, all our cousins around the globe have their own gems, but here are some Aussie colloquialisms as used in the Harry novels, Harry's World and Harry's Quest. These all appear in the "Glossary" section in both books, but I've culled the lists to leave the particularly Aussie stuff. I concede a few may also be colloquial elsewhere. And some of them are definitely local police slang.
Enjoy.

arvo - afternoon
baccy - tobacco
Baygon - brand of insecticide
bewdy - a beautiful thing
biffo - fist-fight, punch-up
binos - binoculars
bogan - red-neck, rough-neck
Brizzie - Brisbane (capital of Queensland, an Australian state)
brumby - wild horse
bush (the) - the Australian countryside
chicken - child victim (paedophile slang)
circle work - doing 360 degree burn-outs in a car
D / demon -slang for ‘detective’
deli - delicatessen (corner store, convenience store)
dero - tramp, itinerant
dinkum - the real thing, genuine
doona - duvet, Continental quilt
doss house - lodging house, somewhere to sleep
dossing - lodging, crashing somewhere to sleep
doughnuts - see ‘circle work’
drum - information
dunny - toilet
eckys - ecstasy tablets (the drug MDMA)
fair suck of the sav - fair go, fair chance
Feds - Australian Federal Police
gat - handgun
GDs - general duties (uniformed police)
good sort - attractive girl or woman
grog - alcohol
hammer - heroin
job (in the) - in the police force
klicks - kilometres
Malachi Crunch - sexual position sandwiching a female between two males
MO - modus operandi(method of operation)
moolah - money, cash
ped - paedophile
pineapples - Australian $50 notes (yellow in colour)
piss - alcohol
Plastic Fantastics - derogatory term for the Australian Federal Police, used by the state police forces
pom - English person
Port Jackson - the first historic name of Sydney
P-plate - the “P” sign provisional drivers must attach to their cars
recce - reconnaissance
rego (plate) - registration number/plate (of a car)
rock spider - paedophile, child molester
‘roger’ (in dialogue) - police jargon for ‘affirmative’, usually used over the police radio
roger (to) - to have sexual intercourse (originally English slang)
root - sexual intercourse
rort - trick, deception
rorter - someone who pulls off a rort
rubbernecking - bystander watching behaviour at a scene
sav - short for ‘sauvignon’, in wine terms
schooner - a beer glass (in NSW 425ml, or 15oz)
shadowing - following, as in surveillance
sheila - girl, woman
shout - a round of drinks at a bar / to buy a shout
skippy - slang term used by immigrants to Australia to refer to Australians (from the TV show about a kangaroo called “Skippy”)
sledging - throwing insults
Special Constable - armed officer with limited police powers assigned to protection duties
stubby - a 375 ml bottle of beer
super - short for ‘superannuation’, an Australian pension system
thunder-box - an outdoor toilet
town bike - promiscuous girl or woman
tradie - tradesman
true blue - genuine

Cheers,
ABP

Book Review - "Breaking Glass" - a masterful dose of noir.

20/2/2019

I’m happy to shout from the rooftops that I love Alec Cizak’s work, and this latest masterpiece of hard-boiled noir is incontrovertible proof that he is at the top of his game.
We met the female protagonist, Chelsea Farmer, in the excellent Down on the Street, where you could be forgiven for thinking young Chelsea had had it pretty much as bad as it gets – used, abused, and exploited by every man in her life, and derided by other women.  But, of course, life can always get worse – the best noir thrives on downfall and tragedy. Without giving anything away, by the time we meet Chelsea again in this novel, she’s tumbled down the tunnel from sexual exploitation to chronic drug addiction.  Sadly this is so often the trajectory from what I’ve seen in my professional life.  And Chelsea is hanging out with the bottom rung – anarchically violent robberies paying for all the drugs.  She’s in her version of Hell.
But Chelsea’s got innate verve and courage hiding in the haze of opiates.  She grabs for some higher rungs, or what the righteous types in society (namely the power Establishment) dictate as the ladder.  The façades of modern society are laid bare by Cizak in his true manner: caustic, penetrating, and brutally honest, but with palpable empathy for the genuine human beings out there, as flawed as they (we) all are.  It’s the “American Nightmare” in Cizak’s words.  All the sacred cows of societal hypocrisy and the Establishment’s “respectable values” are rounded up, slaughtered, and then barbecued.  How’s this for a great quote: “Surrounded by mansions, by people who’d landed in the good dimension, the one where they had enough useless shit around them to convince them their lives had meaning.”  And as for the political zeitgeist, Cizak captures the crisis of western liberal democracy perfectly: “Every four years the same two parties ran miserable, rotten candidates, and people wasted their time going to the polls to pretend they had any say in who ran the country.”  He’s talking about the USA, but, hell, sounds to me just like Australia as well.  And, no doubt, most of our comparable countries. A tragedy in itself.
Cizak’s writing is the perfect weaving of story with social commentary, and he deserves a place amongst the great writers of socially incisive fiction. Aside from riotously entertaining storylines and richly drawn characters, Cizak’s work makes you read and think, then re-read and think a whole lot more.  Not to mention the regular punches in the guts.  I cannot recommend Breaking Glass highly enough.  And when you’ve savoured it, go back for his other works.  I’ve done that and read them all, for now.  I’m just quietly willing Mr Cizak on with his next project – but I’m a patient man, especially when something is so worth the wait.
Cheers,
ABP