Hard-core crime fiction writer, Heather Burnside is...around the Cauldron!

Heather Burnside is a UK based crime author who writes hard-core crime fiction based in the north of the country. 

Violent local bosses and their scheming, trashy molls, nihilistic urban tearaways, shadowy fixers, psychopathic hitmen, and a small army of hooded robbers, muggers and dealers populate the pages of her novels, and because of the immediacy and realism, the impression arises that the cast list of her novels can be found on a high street near you, wasting valuable mugjob time in the Billy Hills, or selling prescription jellies round the pool table in the Dog and Duck. 

I like that realism in writing and when the opportunity arose to interview Heather I took it with both hands. She  is just about to release her next book. I picked up the Wizphone and called her as she researched her newest endeavour. Here's what she had to say.



Follow Heather Burnside on Twitter for more information on @https://twitter.com/heatherbwriter

Tell us a bit about yourself, Heather

I’m a crime thriller author with my second novel, ‘A Gangster’s Grip’, due for release on 7th October. This is the second part in a trilogy. 

The first part, ‘Slur’, was released last year and the third part is due for release in summer 2016. 

‘A Gangster’s Grip’ fits into the crime sub-genre known as grit lit. The novel was inspired as a result of spending my teenage years in one of Manchester’s less salubrious areas, which later became the estate where a gang’s headquarters was situated. 

Estate in nearby Salford

In the 90s I was shocked to read constant news reports of shootings in the area where I used to live, and that stayed with me until it eventually became the basis for a novel. 

Thankfully, I escaped from the estate three decades ago and now live with my husband in a quieter area of Manchester. 

It’s actually a great city although my novels tend to feature the dark side of gang culture, drugs and violence. 

The lighter side of Manchester - Happy Mondays

We have two grown up children who are away at university. 
When I am not writing and promoting my novels I provide a range of copywriting and proofreading services for clients. 

In what genre do you write? And who are your big influences?

I write mainly crime thrillers but my short stories span a variety of genres. 

Nicci French

The second part of this question is a tricky one because my favourite crime thriller writers are Minette Walters, Nicci French, Val McDermid and Jeffrey Deaver. 

However, my books aren’t like any of theirs. I’ve actually been compared to writers like Martina Cole and Mandasue Heller although I’ve only read about three books by those authors. 

Billion selling gangs-and-Gucci crime author, Martina Cole

I think my writing style probably derives from a whole combination of influences because I also enjoy other genres apart from crime thrillers, particularly sagas and autobiographies. 

Does the incessant rain up there influence your work in the same way as say, Raymond Chandler was influenced by the endless sunshine of California?

Oh no! Not that Rainy Manchester tag again - the Beautiful South have a lot to answer for, and here’s an article that proves them wrong: 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/britains-rainiest-city-revealed---4455480. 

Ha ha seriously, though, I like to be comfortable when I’m working so it’s useful to work in a cooler climate. Plus, my office is in the coolest part of my home where the sun doesn’t hit until late evening, and it’s shaded by trees. So, even if we do get the odd hot day (I’m sure we once did a few years ago), I’m rarely uncomfortably hot. 

Hahaha...point taken. So, tell us about your latest work.
‘A Gangster’s Grip’ is the second part in The Riverhill Trilogy. 

It features our feisty protagonist, Rita, who returns to Manchester after a few years away. She is horrified to discover that her sister, Jenny, is in a relationship with the local bad boy, Leroy, and is expecting his child. Rita takes an instant dislike to him, and soon finds out that he is a violent gang member and drug dealer. 

His various shady dealings place Jenny in danger, and Rita becomes determined to lure her away from him before it is too late.

Can we have an extract?

Certainly. The following scene takes place when Rita has persuaded her husband, Yansis, to accompany her to a rough pub where her sister’s boyfriend, Leroy, is known to hang out, because she wants to find out more about Leroy. She has just started chatting to some of the customers:

“It’s alright here, buzzin’ isn’t it? Is it your local?” asked Rita, playing the role of loquacious drunk.“Yeah, we come here all the time. We’ve not seen you in here before though.”Rita picked up on the air of suspicion but she was prepared. “No, we were supposed to come with my sister and her boyfriend, but she backed out at the last minute, so we thought, sod it, we might as well come anyway. It’ll make a change.” 

Alesha turned away, ready to resume her conversation with her friends. ‘Shit, I’ve lost her,’ thought Rita. She knew she had to think fast to keep the conversation going, so she leant over to the girl and whispered conspiratorially. “Actually, I think they’ve had a row; I’m not sure he’s good for her. I don’t wanna say too much in case you know him, ’cos he’s from round here, but people keep telling me he’s bad news and she should finish with him.”Rita knew she would have piqued the girls’ interest, and Alesha was quick to respond.

“What’s his name?”“Leroy Booth,” whispered Rita.There was a definite shift in the girls’ attitudes as soon as Rita spoke his name. She sensed it straightaway despite the double whisky she had drunk. She hoped they weren’t close to him; they might have been related for all she knew. But that was why she had been careful not to call him; instead she had implied that it was other people who were saying bad things, and had feigned ignorance. With that in mind, she carried on prodding.“Do you know him then? I don’t know much about him myself. We’ve just come back from Greece, so I wouldn’t mind finding out if all these rumours are true.”“Shshsh,” whispered Alesha, as she looked around her. Rita then understood that the reason for the change in the girls was down to fear. When Alesha was satisfied that no-one was listening to them, she continued quietly. “You wanna be careful, coming in here, asking things like that. It’s dangerous asking questions about Leroy Booth.”“Why?” Alesha nodded towards a young woman standing a few metres away from them, and said, “You see that girl over there, in the blue top?”Rita looked across the room and noticed a slim, pretty young woman in profile, with smooth, caramel coloured skin. “Yeah,” she replied.“She used to go out with Leroy, and she got too involved in what Leroy was up to. Do you wanna know what happened to her?”Rita looked at Alesha, unable to answer straightaway as a feeling of dread descended on her.“Laura!” Alesha called to the young woman.Laura turned around to look at them. She was a stunning young woman, with beautiful brown eyes and full lips, as well as the smooth caramel coloured skin. In fact, if it hadn’t been for that one imperfection she would have been flawless. Unfortunately, the ugly scar running down one side of her face ruined her flawlessness. “I didn’t know you were out tonight. How long you been in here?” asked Alesha.“About half an hour.”“Oh, I’ve only just seen you. Be over later for a chat.” 

The conversation was soon over. It was only a pretext to let Rita see Laura’s damaged face. Alesha lowered her voice again as she turned back to face Rita. “That’s what happens if you get too involved in Leroy’s business. You probably wish your sister could finish with him, but let me tell you; she can’t. The only way she’ll be finished with Leroy is when he’s finished with her. If you’ve got any sense, you’ll leave her in the mess she’s made for herself, and piss off out of it. I’d be off back to Greece if I was you.”

Is crime fiction one of those genres that inspires an endless appetite in the reading public?  Or will it end eventually.

I can’t see the popularity of crime fiction ending any time soon. I am a member of a couple of crime and thriller reader groups on Goodreads, and through the reader comments on the groups I get a feel for why readers find this type of fiction so appealing. 

Indie Crime Fictionist, Geoff West

 I think most people have a natural curiosity when it comes to anything gory. That’s why there are so many rubber-neckers when there is a road accident or other disaster. Then there’s the suspense element. I think it’s one of the best genres for cranking up tension and keeping readers guessing. Readers also like to be shocked, and crime fiction can definitely be shocking. 

Popular Indie crime thriller author, John Dolan

The other reason why it will continue to be popular is because there are so many sub-genres so there are always new crime authors and books to try.

Is there a big crime fiction scene in Indie?

If you group the crime and thriller genres together then I think it is a big scene in Indie. It’s perhaps not as big as the romance genre but it could just be that I have come across more romance writers on the Indie scene. 

Excellent True Crime Indie - Dina Di Mambro

Try #crime on Twitter for more
Indie Crime

Which do you prefer? TV, Cinema or Literary Crime Fiction

I much prefer reading to watching a film or TV crime series. It’s basically because my mind is so active that I have difficulty concentrating on films etc., and I drive my husband to distraction when I lose track of the story because I have been thinking about a million and one other things. With a book I find it easier to switch off for some reason, and I can always flick back a few pages to recap if my mind has wandered.  

"I think the other thing is because of the time factor. Film timings are too rigid for me. I feel as though I have to stick it out for two hours and that’s my whole evening gone whereas with a book I can dip in and out. "

I've never thought of films like that, Heather. It's true...

I’m also one of those people who has difficulty relaxing. I’m always running for a pen and paper to jot down ideas for novels or thinking about other things I need to do. If I watch TV I’ll be playing a game on my iPad at the same time or looking at social media so I tend to watch trash TV where I don’t have to concentrate. 

Pit Bull

I’ll watch a TV crime series if it’s in one hour slots but if it’s two hours I don’t tend to bother.  I do watch some true crime though and programmes about hazardous lifestyles. In fact, a programme about people who breed aggressive dogs gave me a few ideas for ‘A Gangster’s Grip’. Leroy is very fond of his savage pit bull terrier. 

Who is your favourite literary or cinematic detective? And why?

That would probably be Frank Burnside from The Bill, many years ago, hence the pen-name. I loved the way he was so unorthodox but nearly always got a result in the end. He was definitely gritty with a hard edge to him.

As you are new on the Cauldron, tell Wizardwatchers:

a) Your all time favourite film

Although I’m not a big film lover, I used to watch all the epics with my family when I was a kid so I like a few such as Spartacus, Zulu and The Great Escape. I also like Dirty Dancing and Flashdance. 

b) Your all time favourite CD

I don’t really have a current one. It’s changed many times over the years – Rose Royce Greatest Hits in my late teens/early twenties, then Bowie’s Changes One and Two, then Whitney by Whitney Houston, then Madonna’s Immaculate Collection and, more recently, Heaven by Rebecca Ferguson.

c) Your all time favourite book

‘Guests of the Emperor’ by Janice Young Brooks

closely followed by ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ by Thomas Hardy.

And finally, what next for fans of Heather Burnside!

Next, I’ll be writing the third book in The Riverhill Trilogy, which moves on another five years when Rita is again forced to encounter the world of the Manchester gangs. 

Something unavoidable and traumatic happens and her only chance of finding a way through is to get involved in the gangster world once more, even though it’s the last thing she wants. 

My fourth book will be different to the trilogy. Although I’m flattered by the Martina Cole comparisons, I don’t want to be seen as just another Martina Cole impersonator so I want to try something different. 

I was working on a psychological thriller before I finished ‘Slur’, but I put it to one side as I decided to write a sequel to ‘Slur’, followed by a third book in the trilogy, while the setting was fresh in my mind. I may therefore return to the psychological thriller once I’ve finished the trilogy. 

Otherwise, I may write something with more of a mystery about it; one that leaves readers guessing as to the perpetrator’s identity. I haven’t quite decided yet. I’ve got a lot of outlines penned so it’s a matter of choosing the right one. 

The psychological thriller is quite disturbing and I would be taking a chance – I think it could be my Marmite moment so I’m not sure whether to go for it so soon in my writing career.

Thank you, Heather. Fascinating stuff. I hope you have a terrific 2016 and beyond that. It's been terrific to see you around the Cauldron.

Thank you, Wiz.







Links
Website: www.heatherburnside.com 

‘A Gangster’s Grip’ Amazon link: http://viewbook.at/GangstersGrip (currently available for preorder)

‘Slur’ Amazon link: http://viewbook.at/Slur 

‘Crime, Conflict & Consequences’ (short story book) Amazon link:http://viewbook.at/Slur  

http://viewbook.at/Consequences 

Young gangster wannabe expresses his political preferences
somewhere in the North of England

Possibly the finest British TV crime series - "Out", with

Tom Bell as released bank robber, Frank Ross. Unjustly forgotten now,

it had everything a TV crime show should have.

Sheer Fear: Crime fiction's Geoffrey West is Back - Around the Cauldron!

Everyone connected with The Wizard's Cauldron is a big fan of Geoffrey West. A classy, polite and charming English gentleman living near the dreaming spires of Canterbury (site of the magnificent cathedral where Thomas a' Becket was disembowelled in 1187), he writes unusual and in inventive crime fiction featuring Jack Lockwood, an only too human psychologist. I've read all three of his books - which are ludicrously cheap bearing in mind how good they are - and he's one of the few authors whose releases I actually anticipate.  My review of his latest work can be found at the end of this interview. We met for the first time early this year and I cannot wait to chat again next year, after Book 4. I picked up the Wizphone and caught up with him at his writing desk in this most incredible of late British Indian Summers. Here's what he had to say.


Geoffrey's original interview with the Wizard

Hi Geoff, for new readers, particularly in the US, tell us a bit about yourself?

I am a freelance journalist/author and editor, who has been writing novels for several years, latterly publishing the Jack Lockwood Mystery series with Kindle Direct Publishing.  I used to write for home repair/DIY type magazines and have written five non-fiction books ranging from leatherwork to architectural salvage and major home repairs and how to make dolls houses.  I also do proofreading and editing work for publishers, and now also work for writers of independently published works. 

This is the inside of a magnificent doll's house - some quite incredible craftsmanship

Tell us about Jack Lockwood, the hero of your three books so far.

Jack Lockwood is a psychologist, a Behavioural Investigative Advisor, who occasionally works with the police, advising on criminal profiling in specific cases.  He has a tendency to go his own way, and frequently is at loggerheads with his police bosses, consequently much of the time he’s working on freelance non-fiction books, which often necessitates delving into unsavoury businesses and investigating situations and people.  

He has the misfortune to land himself in a lot of trouble, and fortunately has more lives than a cat, often losing one or more within an adventure.  

He has been compared to a ‘Jonathan Creek’ kind of hero (an English TV detective who is brilliant at lateral thinking, and solving problems), but, although he is highly academically qualified, he is not phenomenally clever, by no means stupid, but not a genius.  He solves problems with brainpower certainly, but also with tenacity and brute strength when necessary—I envisaged him originally as more of a Philip Marlowe-type character (from the Raymond Chandler novels). 

Elliot Gould plays Phillip Marlowe in "The Long Goodbye"

In fact he is essentially practical, having worked as a builder/ builders labourer for several years, and has learnt the art of bare knuckle fighting. 

Is there an inspiration for Jack Lockwood? Or is he purely a creature of your own fevered subconscious?

He is invented, but his name is actually the same as that of a favourite now-deceased great uncle of mine.  He was a very interesting and clever man, also extremely literary (he was a chief librarian who once employed John Braine, the novelist, before Braine became famous for "Room At The Top")

John Braine

 I think my Great-Uncle did various acts of derring-do in World War Two, but he never spoke of these things.  I very much hope he would approve of the use of his name—it is meant with great respect, and I feel that in some strange way it makes him live on. 

What is the latest instalment of his adventures?

Sheer Fear, published last week. 

By Sheer Fear HERE bookgoodies.com/a/B00OY578V6 

Jack’s half-brother dies just before being arrested for the rape/murders of three women. Afterwards Jack discovers that his brother was framed for these murders as part of a top-level conspiracy to silence these women, who all happened to accuse a famous public figure of molesting them when they were children.  Although they reported these incidents at the time, (30 or so years ago) nothing was done then, but in the aftermath of the Savile enquiry, fictitious ‘Operation Hedgerow’ was launched, stimulating these adult women to make fresh claims of historic child abuse.  Jack strives to expose this man, and clear his dead brother's name. 

Can you share an extract?

I managed to find a cheap hotel to stay for the rest of the night and called back at the hospital around mid-morning. On the way I found a WH Smith bookshop and bought a copy of Lord Aylesbury’s autobiography, which had apparently been published to great acclaim earlier in the year.
It was a fat paperback, entitled MY WAY, with the face of the affable lord on the front cover. Neatly styled flowing silver hair met his collar, and the half smile captured his famous charm, but to me his likeable exterior appeared to be as vacuous as the book’s title. I remembered what I’d heard about his former career as an actor, picked to play the part of the young John F Kennedy in a biopic about the American president’s early life, entitled The Young Kennedy. Now he looked much like Kennedy probably would have looked, had he lived until his seventies. Unfortunately, the great man, the centre of America’s elite power brokers, had been assassinated in his forty-third year. John F Kennedy had gone down in history as perhaps one of the most charismatic presidents there have ever been. Indeed John Kennedy and his brother Robert created an inner circle of aides and allies, that his government christened ‘Camelot’ because its glamorous style, and its chivalric values were considered reminiscent of the ancient English court of King Arthur.
I pondered on the fact that there must be countless autobiographies and innumerable songs played at funerals, inspired by Frank Sinatra’s admittedly memorable and excellent song, ‘My Way’. The links were ironic: Sinatra had been a close personal friend of President Kennedy’s until the relationship had been abruptly terminated when Sinatra’s links to the Mafia were realised. Kennedy had dropped him then and there with a brief phone call, cancelling the party Sinatra had been holding in his honour that weekend. Sinatra personally smashed up the concrete helicopter landing pad he’d installed on his estate, bitterly hurt at the rebuff.
My Way. It seemed that so many people, whether in the public eye or not, have the narcissistic conviction that they and their lives are brilliant and special, that their choices and manner of living are unique. Sinatra couldn’t have realised how huge a vein of conceit and self-delusion he was tapping into when he performed his iconic song for the first time.
As I always do when I first get an autobiography, I flicked through to the photographs, which I often find are more informative than the words. There was budding actor Kit Aylesbury as a child, then as a young thespian, then in the uniform of a young WWII American sailor, on board a troop carrier, playing his part in The Young Kennedy, the film that had made his career. I looked closer at the twenty-year-old Aylesbury, and wondered how many American actors must have cursed the unknown British actor for beating them to the iconic role of a lifetime, simply because he’d been born with a face that was so similar to the great man.
St Helier’s hospital was a rabbit-warren of a place, with miles and miles of corridors. The ward where I found Lauren was fairly quiet, the bed beside hers empty. She was a pleasant looking woman with shortish blonde hair, a round open face and a friendly smile.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” were her first words.
“It was simply luck, that’s all.”
Around us were other patients in nearby beds, and nurses coming and going.
“Look, Mr Lockwood,” she spoke earnestly as I sat in the plastic chair beside her. “The nurse told me that I can leave whenever I like. If you have the time, can you wait for me to get dressed and discharged, then I can take you for breakfast or coffee or something?”
“I’d like that very much.”
An hour later we were sitting in the restaurant of the Holiday Inn Hotel in Sutton town centre. It was a comfortable welcoming place, with thick carpets and cosy decor. After we’d ordered breakfast, she told me that she’d phoned her mother, who lived in Cornwall and had offered her a home for as long as it took for the house to become habitable again. She went on about how the fire inspectors hadn’t yet reached any conclusion as to the cause of the fire, that the police had asked her if she had any enemies.
“Not that I have,” she said in exasperation. “They obviously think the fire might have been started deliberately, but I can’t think of anyone who could wish me harm. I’ve thought and thought, but I really can’t think of anyone.”
“Have they got any idea how the fire started?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Too early to say. That’s another thing. If it turns out that my wiring was faulty or something, then what if the insurance won’t pay for the repairs?”
“Is the wiring very old?”
She frowned, trying to remember. “I had some electrical trouble a few years ago. An electrician gave me an estimate for repairs but I couldn’t afford it, so I put it off. Oh God, I shouldn’t really be admitting anything like this to anyone, should I? If the fire was caused by an electrical fault then the insurance is invalidated.”
“I’m not about to tell anyone. Besides, the fire brigade are good at tracing the causes of a fire. They’re likely to find some other explanation altogether.”
“But what explanation?”
“Are you sure you don’t have any enemies?”
“Gracious, no. At least I don’t think so. Until the police asked, I never thought of anything like that.”
“Before you went to bed, could you have accidentally left a gas fire on, or something alight on the kitchen stove?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I’ve thought about it over and over, and I’m certain I did nothing like that. Besides, I’ve just remembered. I have smoke alarms, and they didn’t go off. I suppose both batteries might have been flat, but it’s unlikely. But if the fire was started deliberately I can’t imagine why. I’m a teacher. I live a quiet life. I can’t think of anyone…”
The pause was so pregnant I didn’t want to interrupt the birth. But eventually I had to: “Look, Lauren, there’s something I have to tell you. I didn’t just happen to be passing your house when I saw the fire. I was coming to see you.”
“Why? Who on earth are you?”
I explained all that my ex-police contact had said to me, stressing that I had no way of knowing whether there was any truth in what he said or not. Her eyes never left my face. When I’d finished, she ordered more coffee, and she stayed silent for a long time.
“My God, what a thing to hit me with,” she said at last.
“I’m sorry. I’m hoping there’s some other explanation for all this.”
“There must be.” She looked up and stared into my eyes. “Because I never made a complaint against this man, Lord Aylesbury, or Kit Aylesbury, as you say he was called then. I never even met him as a child. To my knowledge I’ve never met him in my life.”
“Then I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I.” She stirred her coffee, frowning and staring at the table.

The magnificent Gloria Grahame - classic
fifties femme fatale.
Often imitated, never
replicated.

You are known for creating absorbing women, both heroine and villain, in your books. Do fans of Geoff West have a femme fatale/bunny boiler/Nora nutbag to look forward to in Sheer Fear?

Absolutely.  There might even be more than one, and it’s not necessarily clear at first who’s a heroine and who’s a villain. 

Why is Jack so rubbish with women? Is this deliberate or a series of accidents and coincidences?

He never understands how women think, and is cursed with bad luck, plus his timing is always wrong.  He is also convinced that he is too untidy, disorganised and set in his ways to fit in with a permanent relationship, but he hopes things might one day change. 

Can you assure your long-term readers that Jack will eventually meet the woman of his dreams?

I don’t know what’s going to happen.  But Jack’s a great optimist, he’s sure he’ll meet her one day. And as long as she doesn’t get herself murdered he’ll be happy. 




Are you a supporter of the Police? It is not clear from the books.

Yes, very much so.  It annoys me when police are portrayed as bumbling fools in fiction since I’ve always considered them very practical, clever people who have limitless knowledge of people and human nature and, are generally well intentioned, and on the side of the angels.  

I would need to be a fan of the police, since my great grandfather, Andrew Veitch, was a first-class Superintendent of police in Lincolnshire, England in the 1870s and 80s. Here is a pic of him in uniform. 

What have you been a) reading b) listening to and c) watching lately?

 I’ve been researching addiction for my next book and just read Patty Boyd’s (left) biography—interestingly, Clapton was both addicted to drugs and alcohol, and I learnt a bit about the chaotic music scene of those days, when the Beatles, The Who, Clapton, Ronnie Wood, The Rolling Stones et al, whom I thought were musical competitors, were in fact all friendly with each other and often collaborated professionally.  


I very much like the writer Mark Barry, and especially loved his book Carla.  (Thank you, Geoff - Ed)

Listening to:  Not much of a modern music fan, I mostly like rock and very much like Country Music. 

Watching:  The DVD set of Borgen, the excellent series about Danish politics.  

Think I am going to join you in watching this - Ed.

I also loved Spiral and Braquo, two French detective series’ set in Paris. Watching films with subtitles is very enjoyable and absorbing, I find.  

And finally, what do Geoffrey West’s loyal fans have to look forward to in the coming year?

Almost certainly the best proofreader
in the UK - Julia Gibbs.

The Jack Lockwood Diaries, a collection of short stories in Jack’s life, that I am publishing as soon as I can.  

In fact the brilliant Julia Gibbs - left #Follow @ProofreadJulia - has agreed to help root out my mistakes (you can never see your own) and in a day or two I’m sending them to her.  

She’s always busy, but I know from experience that her expertise is well worth waiting for. 

These stories were first put up on my blog, the Jack Lockwood Diaries, but I shall delete these once the book comes out, and add more as and when I can, so whilst writing Jack Lockwood novel number four, and a book on Home Security I’ve been planning, I will be putting out regular stories taken from Jack life - blog here.

http://jacklockwood.wordpress.com/

Jack Lockwood’s fourth major mystery, is where Jack deliberately becomes an alcoholic, in order to see addiction clinics from the inside, and write a book about their treatment regime and so on.  

The book begins with Jack waking up from an alcoholic stupor in Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, with a dead man beside him. He has no memory of the past drunken few hours, and accordingly is afraid that he may be the man’s killer. 

Pere Lachaise Cemetery

Geoffrey, this has been a pleasure as usual and I hope you achieve the success you deserve with this exciting series of books in 2015. The best of luck.

Thanks you,Wiz - and the same to you.

Read Georgia Rose's interview with Geoffrey tomorrow.

http://www.georgiarosebooks.com/blog/

Read also Geoffrey's Interview on A Woman's Wisdom

https://awomanswisdom.wordpress.com/


LINKS

Novels: 

ROCK’N’ROLL SUICIDE  viewBook.at/B009XA5SQ4 

DOPPELGANGER  http://viewBook.at/B00B6U64B2

SHEER FEAR  bookgoodies.com/a/B00OY578V6 

Website:  www.geoffreydavidwest.com

Follow Geoffrey West on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/GeoffreyDWest

The ultimate eighties femme fatale - Matty Walker

in the amazing "Body Heat"

Marky The Wizard's Review of Sheer Fear.

5.0 out of 5 stars Another terrific Jack Lockwood Yarn - his best yet! 1 Nov 2014

By Marky The Wizard - Published on Amazon.com

Where to start.

Lets start at the beginning. I loved the book. I read it one sitting and having read all three of Geoffrey West's Jack Lockwood's books, this is the best of them. I heartily recommend it.

The book is much faster paced than the others - it rattles along like a freight train never stopping to take on water and coal. So much happens, you'll be breathless before halfway.

The plot. David, Jack's oldest friend, is accused of a horrific triple rape and murder in the leafy environs of ancient Canterbury. Jack knows full well that David would never have done this, but the evidence seems insurmountable. Still, Jack - being Jack - sets out to prove his friend's innocence. Then, out of the blue, Jack finds a tarantula in his glove compartment and all hell lets loose.

Before long, Jack finds himself at the centre of a conspiracy within a conspiracy, a labyrinthine narrative involving the top echelons of the British establishment. As if that is not enough, he becomes a victim of a vendetta from a surprising femme fatale, and a target of some serious old school villains from the Brinks-Mat days, who don't mess about when it comes to inflicting pain to get what they want.

Geoff weaves the plot expertly, adding his usual fascination with modern history and culture to the mix, and long term fans will recognise Jack's hapless, unfortunate, attempts at finding love amongst the many beautiful, intelligent, flawed, damaged and determined women he encounters.

There are superb set pieces - including the opening scene and a gripping attempted burglary - plus thrills galore and a sense of page turning tension, particularly in the middle section of the book where you have no idea what is going to happen next.

Geoff is an old fashioned story teller and to him, the story is key. His fiction still reminds me of the old ITC detective shows of the sixties, where very episode ends on a cliffhanger, as each chapter does here. Sheer Fear is unapologetic about its old school roots and it benefits from it. There is one scene in the middle that had me both howling and marvelling at Geoff's audacity and for writers, there is a a series of sly digs at the publishing industry and, in particular, literary fiction writers, which had me grinning like the cheshire cat.

I'm a big fan. Sheer Fear can be read before Doppelganger and Rock n Roll Suicide and if you like a rattling good crime fiction read with an absorbing, flawed, charismatic lead character who you will root for all the way down the line, and villains you will definitely want to see get their just desserts, you will love it. At the price, it is a steal. Heartily recommend.

› Go to Amazon.com to see the review 5.0 out of 5 stars

A Beltane Bulletin....an Interview with Elise Harries

Lucky Wizard that I am, I met Sue Lobo, the brilliant expatriate poet last year, and every day, she brightens my timeline with a range of short poems on every topic from love to death. I noticed that a mutual friend of Sue's kept Liking the poems and to cut a very long story short, it was through this that I met Elise Harries, native of Essex and a writer of an interesting mix of crime fiction and Paganism.  I'm interested in both topics, so I picked up the Wizphone...and here's what she had to say.

The Tor: From the Somerset levels arises the famous Glastonbury Tor with the remains of a Church tower on top.  The Tor is an ancient Pagan site and is said in myth to be the Isle of Avalon of Arthurian mythology.  Many people regard the Tor is one of the most important spiritual powerspots in the world. 
FROM: http://www.themysteryexperience.com/mystery-experience-summer-holiday-5-day-retreat-31-july-2013-the-abbey-house-glastonbury-somerset-uk/

Hi Elise, welcome to the show.

Hi Wiz. Pleased to meet you at last.

The feeling is mutual. Tell us all about yourself, Elise?

I am a retired teacher  and was a dogsbody for my family, especially until 2005,when I finally plucked up the courage to divorce my ex husband of 20 years, during which time I had my confidence severally battered by verbal abuse and it was only my children who made life worthwhile.  I live in Essex and secretly wish to return to my origins somewhere in the Celtic Fringe, maybe near Glastonbury. (See above)

I started writing at the ripe old age of 4 with a story about 'A Fiers Old Man'. And have scribbled ever since when time allowed.  I started the book as a cathartic response to my divorce, which was painful, and centred it around my daughter and her friends they were my muse for the characters

Did your book fruit from your lifelong interest in literature? Or are you a professional writer?

Being born before T.V, I was surrounded by books. Before I could read my mother would quote Shakespeare to me and I soaked it up!  I have a passionate love of books which I believe I have passed on to my children. 

Vintage (and rare) Playbox annual
from Elise's collection

I still have some very old books which I won't be parted from, including the early PlayBox Annuals of the 1900's. Until my novel, I had never written professionally.

Describe your book, Elise. What are its critical elements?

My book began as a  crime story because I find that I am mostly watching crime programmes on the television. Before the murder had been committed I was looking around for characters and because my daughter, Louise was going through a tough time at school I wrote her into it for fun, but it soon took over and from then on I found my story was almost writing itself. There is murder, a whodunnit, Pagans, and Detectives. It's all in there.

Debut novel

I notice your book is an Authorhouse.  Tell us about this secretive and unusual publisher.

Whilst I was writing it The Daily Mail held a Book Fair, which I went along to thinking that it would help me break through this impossible barrier, that publishers don't want to read your book until you have an agent, but the agents don't want you unless you have a publisher.  

Authorhouse was one aspect of the fair and being innocent I believed all the Hype and came away to contact Authorhouse.  I spent a lot of money on the package and believed that I would get the printing done, a slot with Waterstones for book signing and 10 free copies.  What they didn't say was that the proof reading was down to me and paid per word and without any consultation about the various phases.  

Then when it came to choosing the cover, Americans do not understand the concept of a beacon, being a large bonfire and a pitchfork being a fork with two tines! 

My book signing never came about and even though my daughter contacted friends to encourage them to buy my book the price set was so high they weren't able to help promote in their circle.

That sounds horrible. Don't forget to consider Createspace for your next one, love. Print on demand, and all free.

For information only: Other Print on Demand publishers are available...

Thanks, Wiz!

You're welcome, Elise. Your tome has Pagan overtones and elements of witchcraft. How much is this from your experience and how much is from research?

             

My daughter Louise had developed a deep interest in Witchcraft and  I found myself drawing on my encyclopaedic memory dredging up the dimly remembered expose' stories of 'The People' and 'The News of the World' about witched covens and sex orgies from the 1960's.  Since my reading throughout my life had been wideranging I had had a Dennis Wheatley phase and remembered how he, a white witch, dealt with his scenerios and used a similar idea..

Christopher Lee in Wheatley's groundbreaking "The Devil Rides Out".
A massive fan, Lee has spent the past few years trying to get the film remade

....but I altered it because there is a high degree of Druidry teaching in the book as well, since it was about then that I realised that all my life I had followed a druidic path without really realising it. Thus it was that witchcraft came upon the scene.  Once I had the characters and the method, the reason for the murder slowly slipped in and finally I needed the settings, so I drew on what I knew: where I was living at the time and the fact that my son had recently gone to Buckinghamshire Uni.

Magnificent Fire Dance sequence from 

pagan horror classic "The Wicker Man"

I was visiting High Wycombe fairly frequently and reading up about that area I discovered that, that was where the Hellfire Club began and so I couldn't resist writing  something along those lines as well. That in a nutshell is the book and why it got written, especially when you consider the bad press Paganism generally gets I felt it was time to bring it into the 21^st. Century and have it helping the police instead of always being the bad guy.

Another crime fighting magician: Stephen Strange

Why is a Yew tree significant in ritual?

Yew is important to Pagans, witches and Druids alike because it is one of the sacred trees.  Its berries are poisonous but to the Druid, it also means rebirth, which is why it is brought in to the house at Yule.  The Druids sacred springs and shrines always had yew trees near them.  The Christians appropriated their sites and built their churches near.  The Yew is also one of the longest living trees because it can regrow where its branches touch the ground.

Yew at the bottom of the garden

Always wanted to know that, thanks Elise.

Think nothing of it.

I have one in my garden. I've seen darkly dressed women in pointy hats stare at it lovingly.

Must be witches, Wiz! Watch out, you might find it gone in the morning.

I've got Zoltan looking after it, Elise! So, which are you more interested in: witchcraft or crime fiction?

I am interested in all knowledge, I think of my mind as a sponge soaking up and retaining any knowledge, so they are both eaually important as any other knowledge.

Who is your favourite crime fictionist? And your favourite novel by him/her?

I don't have a favourite; I've read, Conan Doyle, Christie, James Patterson, Steve Berry, Will Adams and a host of others and liked them all.  If a book captures my imagination then I enjoy it whether it is mystery, historical, romance or any other.

Rare Sir Arthur Conan Doyle daguerrotype 

Upset with something you wrote in your novel, a sect of humourless druids known as the Druidarium kidnap you outside the Post Office, take you to a secluded wood and lock you in a gloomy cabin. A kindly minion, Unus, feels his masters have overreacted and, after they have departed, clumsily throws a hemp sack of goodies into the cabin. Three books. Two cds and one dvd. What would you like them to be?

The books are easy, Kings Deception by Steve Berry, 

Hidden by P.C. Cast 

Working Stiff by Rachel Caine. 

Can I have a candle and matches if the cabin is gloomy? The CDs and DVD's are more difficult, will there be a battery operated machine or is there electricity?  

Either way I would want Swayze and Moore in 'Ghost 

and the Ultimate collection of Elvis 

and Bitter Tears by Johnny Cash.

What could participants on TV’s “Come Dine With Me” expect to be fed at Elise’s house?

My cooking like my other interests is wide ranging, I like to cook Italian, Chinese, and wholesome British food, none of your burgers etc.

All round to Elise's house for a roast this Sunday!!

 What do fans of Elise Harries have to look forward to in the rest of 2013 and beyond?

I am currently working on the second book in the set.  It is retrospective looking back to here it all began and starts the wheel of the year.  I began 'On Beltane's Eve' in April 2005, hence that was where I found the title. Beltane (May Day) and now I have return to the start of the year- Samhainn (All Hallows Eve) for the nest. I cannot wait!

All Hallow's Eve Classic - "The Dance of the Vampires"

And neither can we. Elise, it's been an absolute pleasure to meet you around the Cauldron and we wish you every success in the future, especially with your second book.

Wiz, thank you...I have really enjoyed being on the show.

Paperback: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beltanes-Eve-Elise-Harries/dp/1434336344/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374050227&sr=1-1&keywords=On+Beltane%27s+Eve

Kindle: http://www.amazon.co.uk/On-Beltanes-Eve-ebook/dp/B006EL30BU/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374050227&sr=1-2&keywords=On+Beltane%27s+Eve

Page: https://www.facebook.com/onbeltaneseve?fref=ts