Scorpion Press and Original Sins

I'm delighted to report that I have received my copy of the Scorpion Press limited edition of the latest anthology that I have edited on behalf of the Crime Writers' Association, Original Sins. Although I once contributed a short story to an anthology that was turned into a limited edition, this is the first time that a book I have edited myself has been produced for the collectors' market.

Scorpion Press have been producing very attractive collectors' editions for about 20 years now, and I'm very pleased with their work on Original Sins. It is beautifully bound, and contains the signatures of all the contributors – including such leading lights of the genre as Reginald Hill, Christopher Fowler, Sophie Hannah and Andrew Taylor.

A special feature of the book – which did not appear in the mass-market hardback or paperback editions published by Severn House towards the end of last year – is an essay written by Michael Johnson, who runs Scorpion Press. This celebrates the work of the late Lionel Davidson, and Michael and I thought it was appropriate to pay tribute to Lionel's distinguished career in a CWA anthology, given that he won no fewer than three CWA Gold Daggers.

The reality is that relatively few of us buy mysteries in hardback at any time, let alone in rather more expensive limited edition formats. However, if you are ever on the lookout for a really attractive present of a special nature for a true mystery fan, it is worth keeping the productions of Scorpion Press in mind. I have picked up a few of their books over the years, and they are prized possessions. And Michael's dedication to the cause of publishing beautiful crime books does, I think, deserve a great deal of support.

New books in 2011

I’m looking forward rather eagerly to a number of publications next year. When I first became a published author, I got a real kick out of seeing my manuscript turned into a ‘proper book’, and I’ve not lost the thrill of the experience, thank goodness. It really is exhilarating. The Serpent Pool appears in paperback in the UK early in January, and given the extensive and favourable reviews of the hardback edition, I’m hoping that reaction will again be very positive.

The Hanging Wood will appear, at least in the US, under the Poisoned Press imprint. I’m not yet sure what is likely to happen in the UK. Around the same time, my German publishers will bring out The Serpent Pool. Here is the proposed cover. The title, in translation, is ‘To Dust and Ashes’.

Take My Breath Away will be published by Five Star in the US in June, and although the book was written eight years ago, I’m absolutely delighted it’s having a fresh life. Of all my novels, it’s the one which I think was the most under-rated. Of course, it may be that authors are not the best judges of their own work. But even so...

On the anthology front, there should be a limited collectors’ edition of the CWA anthology, Original Sins. And the follow up to that collection, Guilty Consciences, may be out in May. I hope so, as it would mean we could launch it at Crimefest. But there’s still some work to be done before we can know for sure....

Original Sins

Here is the cover artwork for the forthcoming CWA anthology Original Sins, which I edited, and which is to be published by Severn House. I really like the jacket, and the book, due out officially in a few weeks' time, has been introduced to the press already.

One of the pleasures of working with Severn House on this project has been the chance to see Kate Lyall Grant, who was my editor at Hodder for a while. She took the Harry Devlin series to Hodder, and also reprinted the first four books in paperback, some years after Transworld/Bantam had published the original paperback editions. So I do like her taste in crime fiction!

A bit of news is that Severn House have taken over the Creme de la Crime imprint, which Kate willbe editing. I've written before about my admiration for Lynn Patrick's efforts in creating the Creme list, and it will be in safe hands with Kate.

One further bit of news which I'm really pleased about is that there will be a de luxe signed limited edition of Original Sins, to be published by Scorpion Press.Scorpion produced lovely books, and many of them have become collectors' items. This one also includes a special tribute to the late Lionel Davidson written by Scorpion's Michael Johnson.