Blackstone Fell

 

I'm delighted with the gorgeous cover that Ed Bettison has designed for my next Rachel Savernake novel, Blackstone Fell, which will be published in the UK by Head of Zeus in September. Ed was responsible for the covers of Gallows Court and Mortmain Hall, and there is a clear brand identity for the series now which appeals to me and, I hope, appeals to a lot of readers. The covers certainly seem to have contributed to sales growth over the past couple of years, and there is no doubt that Ed is very talented.

The central concept of Blackstone Fell came to me during 2020, when - after the easing of the first lockdown - I went on a trip to Hardcastle Crags, a National Trust site in Yorkshire and had a great day in a marvellous and evocative setting. It seemed to suit adaptation and the fictitious village of Blackstone Fell was the result. The village incorporates a dangerous stretch of water inspired by Bolton Strid, as well as a spooky tower which was largely the product of my imagination, but drew on a number of monuments in the real world.

At the time I was thinking about the book, I'd been watching again the complete run of episodes of David Renwick's Jonathan Creek, as well as working on John Dickson Carr titles for the British Library. So I decided it would be fun to have a genuine locked room mystery in the book - but as a sub-plot rather than the mainspring of the story. I've written locked room mysteries in the short story form but this is the first time I've incorporated one into a novel.

I won't say too much about the main plot-line since, as with Mortmain Hall, I've tried to disguise the nature of the over-arching puzzle. But suffice to say that this is a novel which offers all manner of Golden Age ingredients, including a sanatorium, a village pub, a church with a dodgy vicar - and a seance. Oh, and a cluefinder....

I'm really looking forward to publication and I hope that the cover artwork, at least, will whet the appetites of readers!

New artwork for Gallows Court

Today - a cover reveal of a slightly unorthodox sort. The artwork for the UK edition of Gallows Court has been given a makeover. This is, in a nutshell, because Ed Bettison's cover for Mortmain Hall has received a great deal of acclaim. As a result, my publishers in Britain, Head of Zeus, decided that it would be a good idea to commission fresh artwork for the first Rachel Savernake from Ed. And this is the result. As you can see, it's very different from the original artwork, and very much in keeping with the approach that Ed adopted when working on Mortmain Hall.

I find this absolutely fascinating. I'd never appreciated the importance of book covers until that fateful day when a rep from my first paperback publisher, Transworld, told me that in his job they mattered more than the content! This came as quite a shock to a young novelist who'd just had his first book published. But even if he was exaggerating, there was a kernel of truth in what he said from a commercial point of view. Much as authors may not want to hear it, artwork is crucial in helping to market books, and is very relevant to the commercial proposition. And nowadays the artwork has to be effective as an online thumbnail icon as well as in reality. Not easy...

I must say that I did love the original artwork for Gallows Court, and the publishers went to a great deal of trouble in their efforts to get it right. They also did a brilliant job with the special limited edition, which didn't have a dust jacket, but was quite beautifully bound. The paperback cover was a sort of homage to the Crime Classics, and again a lovely picture. But much as I loved those first edition images (and I did), I must say that the enthusiasm with which readers and reviewers have, without any prompting, reacted to the Mortmain Hall cover has been remarkable. Hence this new look. 


 

2019: Publications

It doesn't feel like it, but this year I didn't bring out either a brand new novel or a new non-fiction book. There was, however, a lot to celebrate in publication terms, starting with the UK paperback edition of Gallows Court, which was nominated for the eDunnit award and longlisted for the Historical Dagger, and subsequently published in the US, with sought-after starred reviews in Publishers' Weekly and Booklist. At the moment, the book is part of the December Kindle Deal promotion and all in all it's been my most successful novel to date. Next year will see the publication of the sequel to Gallows Court, a book I spent the first half of 2019 writing, Mortmain Hall.

Writing intros for the British Library kept me quite busy. In addition I edited two anthologies for the British Library's Crime Classics series. Deep Waters gathered 'mysteries on the waves' while The Measure of Malice was a collection of scientific mysteries. I've been pleasantly surprised by the success of the themed anthologies I've put together for the BL. In sales terms the figures are startling, while the books have introduced some interesting writers to a new generation of crime fans.

I wrote a handful of short stories during the year, some of which will come out in 2020. "The Girl on the Bandwagon", a satire on so-called domestic noir, was published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. It's a story I enjoyed writing enormously. "The Sound of Secrecy" appeared in Maxim Jakubowski's anthology of historical mysteries, while "The Cap of Liberty", set in the first part of the 19th century, was included in Ra Page's book Resist, a collection of stories about protest. And I was thrilled that last year's "Strangers in a Pub" was shortlisted for the Short Story Dagger. Those four stories constitute a very diverse bunch indeed in terms of subject matter and style, and their range illustrates what I love about the short story form - its boundless possibilities.

In terms of non-fiction, I contributed various pieces to blogs and online forums, as well as a longish essay about Dr Harold Shipman, "The First of Criminals", which appeared in Mitzi Szereto's anthology of true crime essays. I also wrote an essay which is to be a chapter in an academic book, on "Plotting". This was a fascinating exercise to undertake, although the nature of academic writing, with its emphasis on footnotes and bibliographic references, doesn't greatly appeal to me. My preference when writing non-fiction is to tell a story, uncluttered by minutiae. And that's where my focus will be in future. More on that subject another day... 

Crime Fiction: a Reader's Guide, by Barry Forshaw

Christmas is coming and for those of you looking for a present for the crime fan in your life, Barry Forshaw's Crime Fiction: a Reader's Guide, published by Oldcastle Books in paperback at the price of £12.99 is definitely an attractive solution. This is a book that is concise yet wide-ranging, and is particularly well-suited for crime fans who are looking for fresh titles to add to their to-be-read list. For good measure, there is a short intro from Ian Rankin.

I don't claim to be wholly impartial about this book. Barry is someone who has done a great deal of good for many, many crime writers over the years, and I'm in that long list of beneficiaries; specifically, this book includes a nice piece about Gallows Court. Two of the things I've always liked about Barry's writing about the genre are his enthusiasm and his positivity. He is, like me, a fan of crime fiction as well as someone who writes about it, and at a time when critical negativity often seems depressingly fashionable, his constructive approach comes as a breath of fresh air.

Right at the start, Barry acknowledges that in a book like this, there are bound to be many omissions. Of course, that is absolutely unavoidable, and would still be unavoidable if the book was even longer. The publishers (almost inevitably) claim that this is 'a truly comprehensive survey with definitive coverage', and I wouldn't go that far. What is beyond doubt is that, in the space available, few writers could have covered so much ground, particularly as regards books written in the twenty-first century.

The kernel of this book was the earlier (and much shorter) Rough Guide to Crime Fiction, a point which Barry acknowledges. So if you're familiar with that book and/or Barry's newspaper reviews, you shouldn't expect something totally original, but you will find a great deal of material here that wasn't in the book's earlier incarnation. Even if you have the original volume, therefore, you will find that this one is a worthwhile purchase.

The emphasis of the book is on relatively recent titles, and Barry's expertise in the field of translated crime means that books originally written in languages other than English receive excellent coverage. One of the charms of the layout is the juxtaposition of titles. So in the section about 'Cops', you get in quick succession books by the following slightly unlikely bedfellows: Martyn Waites; Martin Walker; Joseph Wambaugh; and Sarah Ward. There are many other examples of Barry's flair for spotting the common threads in superficially different works of fiction. I've really enjoyed dipping into this volume randomly to discover new-to-me titles, and I am sure many other crime fans will take equal pleasure from it. 

The Mortmain Hall cover and the Gallows Court monthly deal

The hardback cover of Mortmain Hall, the sequel to Gallows Court, has just been unveiled. What do you think? The artist, Edward Bettinson, was appointed by Head of Zeus in view of his track record of producing top class cover artwork for a whole range of writers. It's often said that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but there's no doubt that covers count for a great deal in book marketing.

I've told the story before of how, when my first book was published, I was startled to be told by a Transworld rep that covers counted for more than content in his experience. I'd like to think that in the long run, that is not true (and I really don't believe it is) but in the short term, a cover helps to attract interest and to sell books. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Edward's design meets with widespread approval. 

Mortmain Hall is published in the UK in April and I'll be telling you more about it nearer the time.

On another note, I'm pleased to say that Gallows Court has been selected for the Kindle monthly deal. So if you're interested in an ebook version at very modest cost (I think this promotion is limited to the UK, by the way), now is your chance... 

Gallows Court in the USA

I'm looking forward to next week's publication of Gallows Court in the US by Poisoned Pen Press, and I've been thrilled by the early reaction to the novel in the States. For the first time in my career, I've earned two starred reviews for the same book, in Publisher's Weekly and Booklist. And there have been wonderful advance reviews in the New York Journal of Books and, among other blog reviews, on Jason Half's excellent blog. As if all that were not enough, the novel is one of Apple Books "best for September" titles along with books by the likes of Salman Rushdie. Not often that I've figured in the same list as the great man!

Modesty should perhaps prevent me from quoting the kind words of reviewers, but I'm afraid it doesn't. Publisher's Weekly described it as an "exceptional series launch...The labyrinthine plot is one of Edwards's best, and he does a masterly job of maintaining suspense, besides getting the reader to invest in the fate of the two main characters." PW also carried an interview with me, conducted by Lenny Picker.

Booklist said the book offers: "Highly atmospheric, spine-tingling fun...the way that Edwards keeps deepening the creepiness of this mystery until the very end is utterly stunning." The New York Journal of Books said: "Martin Edwards crafts vivid descriptions of both character and setting that embed the reader into the scene in a way few writers can achieve." Jason Half's nice review makes the point that he'd expected a classic whodunit from me, rather than a thriller. I'm glad both that I have confounded quite a few readers' expectations and also earned a thumbs-up for the way "the plot gallops along and there are more than enough puzzles to work out regarding hidden motives and lurking dangers."

I'll be at the Poisoned Pen store in Arizona late next month, doing a couple of events to promote the novel before heading off for Dallas, where I'll be taking part in Bouchercon. It will be great to get back to the US, and I'm so glad that the new book is available there at last.

Book Talk - and a Starred Review

I've had a thoroughly enjoyable few days at Harrogate, where among other things I was celebrating the news that Gallows Court has received a starred review in Publishers' Weekly. For good measure, PW also invited me to take part in a Q and A for the magazine, so I felt quite honoured. The book is due to be published in the US in September, by the Poisoned Pen imprint of Sourcebooks, and all being well I'll be promoting it in Arizona and Texas. As you can see, the cover image is very different from the UK hardback, paperback, and limited editions, but reaction to it so far has been encouraging.

The CWA also announced that a deal has been done with an excellent indie publisher, Flame Tree Press, to publish Vintage Crimes, an anthology which I'll be putting together and which selects stories from the "hidden gems" in the CWA vaults - those which have appeared in anthologies  dating back to Butcher's Dozen in 1956. It should be a fun project with a diverse range of stories and authors, and publication is due about this time next year.

My next novel is to be Mortmain Hall. It's a sequel to Gallows Court and I'm truly excited about the story for a number of reasons that I'll talk about at a future date. Publication is due in March, and on Friday I had an enjoyable lunch with my agent James Wills to discuss the manuscript, as well as a get-together with the publishers, Head of Zeus on Saturday evening.

There was plenty of other activity over the weekend, including a CWA drinks get-together, a party hosted by Bonnier, and a quiz evening in a team with Ali Karim,  Caroline Todd, Craig Sisterson and co. It was also good to meet Vanda Symons from New Zealand for the first time as well as a host of other nice people (sometimes, as is the nature of these events, all too fleetingly). And even the threatened torrential rain proved to be something of a damp squib, which was a welcome bonus.