that feeling . . .

I'm getting that feeling again, that excitement that comes once a year, that urge to write, the belief that I could write 100 novels - and it's all because of this:

harrogate wrap up

Click the link to hear Mark Lawson report on this year's Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival from Harrogate.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t6s8y

I attended the festival again this year and had a great time. Once again, I'm encouraged to keep going with my novel and get it finished. Harrogate is great for that - inspiration for writing and for reading! And the socialising ain't half bad either!!

Feel The Weight

Work is progressing well on the first draft - I've planned out the final chapters of the novel and began writing them today. If all goes well, the first draft should be in the bag by the end of the month, all 250,000 words of it!!

Although it is a daunting task, I'm actually looking forward to the second draft. It will be more of a re-write as than an edit, but more on that when I get there.

Lately, I've found myself on more than one occasion thinking about holding my novel in its final, published form. Sure, that's the premature ejaculatory equivalent of "You had me at hello" but dreaming is a right we all have, and it's a great feeling. Visualising the cover, feeling the weight of it (a shade lighter than the current word count would reflect) and showing family and friends. It's a great visual target to have in mind and when it happens, it'll be something special.

Something else that is special is the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate. I received my final bill last week and although bills over four hundred pounds usually make me want to top myself, this one has got me excited about July. Pundits are already talking about it and it's January! Check out the discussions here at Mark Billingham's forum.

I'd also like to mention how much of a fan I am of The West Wing TV series. I'm only in the middle of Season 2 but I am really enjoying it. Sure it gets a little misty eyed at times and has its fair share of American flag waving, but I find it very interesting and Aaron Sorkin's writing is amazing. Shame he left after the fourth season, but I still have one and a half seasons to go before that happens.

Martin Sheen for President!

The Crown of Crime - Part 2 - The Auditorium and The Bookstore

It's relatively hot in most parts of The Crown Hotel, but none more so than in the main auditorium. Huge stand alone fans were situated at each corner of the room, blowing air towards the ceiling, yet it was still hot. People complained, puffed out their cheeks, and fanned themselves with their Crime Writing Festival programmes. Yet more often than not, the place was packed.

The high level of attendance was due to the quality panels and interviews that took place in the auditorium over the three days. There was something for everyone, from cosy crime to Bloody Women to James Bond. What had the punters returning, using their Weekend Rover tickets, despite the heat, was their urge to see top quality authors from the crime genre talking about their books, the process of writing and their views on the industry. More often than not the personalities of the crime authors came shining through, leading to many humorous moments, usually involving Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, Stuart MacBride and Martyn Waites.

There were a number of special events in the programme too that warrant a mention:

- The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Award presentation, with the majority of the reasonably long short list up on stage, discussing their nominated books with Natasha Cooper, was very interesting. The tension was mounting until the eventual winner was announced: Stef Penney! She was obviously not expecting the award, her second for her debut novel, "The Tenderness of Wolves". Her eyes weren't as wide as last year's winner, Allan Guthrie, when she accepted the award, but she was equally surprised and delighted.

- Foul Play this year was replaced by The Balloon Game, where six authors represented six famous authors from yesteryear, defending their place in the balloon while the audience voted one of them off at a time, the progress of which was kept on track by Mark Lawson. Some of the authors embraced the characters they were portraying (most notably Stuart MacBride with his squeaky voice and hand puppet raven, no doubt channeling Edgar Allen Poe from beyond the grave) and others dispelled with political correctness to make their point while sticking true to their character (case in point: John Rickards and his "darky" comment, expressed in a very poor approximation of Mickey Spillane). Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was ultimately voted as the winner of The Balloon Game, although I suspect this was mainly due to the popularity of Mark Billingham, who was representing him, rather than the man himself.

- The annual Late Night Quiz Show took place on the Saturday night to much whooping, snickering and drinking. The questions were a lot easier this year but that didn't make it any less competitive. The ultimate winning team included Mark Lawson, Robert Crais, Kevin Wignall and Mark Billingham, some might say a team heavily weighted with ring-ins. As usual, it was a cracker of a party!

Another drawcard of the festival are the guest appearances. This year, interviews were conducted, in the same sweltering auditorium, with the likes of Peter Robinson, Robert Crais, Sam Bourne, and Andy McNab (he of the shadowed face). The place was packed to the rafters during these interviews with fans of the author and genre alike. In addition, there were two very interesting solo presentations by Jeffrey Deaver and Tess Gerritsen, offering up a fresh take on the standard interview and panel style event.

At the end of each of the guest interviews, panels and events, amidst a rousing round of applause, all of the attendees are invited to head towards the Waterstones book store (on location) for signings with all the authors involved. This is where most people head, with their dog eared copies of the author's back catalogue or with credit cards clutched in hand, ready to buy the latest release. Off they rush, back down the long corridor to a large room set up with shelves and shelves of books and a long table for signings.

Depending on the author, the queue often coils within the bookstore and out the entrance, sometimes taking up to an hour before the final person arrives at the table. It is worth it though, as you get a chance to not only have a personalised message scribbled in your book, but a chance to verbally trip over yourself when faced with an ever friendly face willing to spend a couple of minutes talking to you. All the authors are accessible over the weekend and the signing table is a prime example of that.

I spent a bit of time lining up for signatures but it was worth it: I spoke to and had my book signed by Kathryn Fox (an Aussie writer and a very pleasant lady), Chris Simms (a great bloke) and Jeffrey Deaver (another nice fella who shook my hand twice). No matter how successful I happen to get, I think I will always be in awe of established writers and will always seek them out to sign my book - the signings are a special part of the festival.

Another familiar sight in the Waterstones book store was my fellow BTZ members, Betty and Maria, more often than not found with their heads peaking over a large pile of books in their arms as they made their way to the cash register and then the signing queue. Just like me, they can not resist the feel of a new book in their hands!!

Now, it's getting late, and with the majority of people heading upstairs to bed to either get some sleep or snatch a quick read of their recently signed novel, the rest of us move to the most important room in the hotel.

The bar.

The Crown of Crime - Part 1 - The Sofas, The Place and The Champagne Room

Walking into the lobby of The Crown Hotel in Harrogate is like greeting an old friend. The handshake is warm and familiar, the time since you last saw each other folds in on itself, and you can't wait to retire to the bar for a few quiet ones and a catch up.

Last Wednesday, as I entered The Crown and walked past the sofas in the middle of the lobby, heading to reception to check into my room, I was overcome with a sense of kinship with the old hotel, which, in only its second year, has become synonymous with The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.

The layout of the hotel is overly familiar even though I've only been here once before. During the festival last year, I covered almost every inch of its hallowed ground in different states of euphoria, awe and sobriety. I know it like the back of my hand.

The sofas in the middle of The Crown’s lobby, reduced to two this year in order to make room for the Festival Reception area, are akin to home base. It is the location for long nights of chatting with fellow BTZ forum members, authors and the occasional party crasher. The bar is where it all happens in the early hours of the morning, but the sofas are your saving grace, where you get a chance to recharge.

Facing the hotel reception desk with the sofas on your right, there is a long corridor to the left, leading down half the length of the hotel and ending at the hotel's restaurant "The Place". This is the location for pre and post festival meals and the occasional brewskie if the other bar isn't open.

There is a side door within the restaurant leading outside to numerous chairs and tables set up along the pavement, large umbrellas shielding aspiring writers from the pouring rain. More often than not, this is where Sarah, Dean and I, amongst other authors in the making, retired to between events, if the bar area wasn't humming with fans and authors. It was freezing outside, but Sarah was beaming enough with excitement to keep us warm. Her little "baby" was in the hands of an agent and things were looking good. Dean and I listened intently; we were there alongside her, going through the ups and downs, absolutely stoked for her and her potential career launch.

Back inside, through The Place and back along the corridor, there is a large room to your right, where Creative Thursday took place. A day of discussions and workshops about honing the craft of writing, with such teachers as Greg Mosse, Val McDermid and Hilary Hale passing on their wealth of knowledge. Iain was there too, an already successful writer from the BTZ forum, who had popped in for a couple of events and Creative Thursday. He was the first in a number of cases of a catch up way too brief.

This room also held the book launch of Simon Kernick's Deadline and the celebration of Peter Robinson's 21 Years of DI Alan Banks. Holding a glass of champagne in one hand during the Deadline launch, I was pleased to speak briefly with the likes of Chris Simms (who was looking forward to participating in the upcoming Damaged Heroes panel), Stuart MacBride and the man himself, Simon Kernick, who also brilliantly chaired the festival this year.

Leaving this room, you turn right back towards the lobby, passing a small room where the Festival team were often spotted working feverishly to ensure the weekend ran smoothly in all its aspects, Erica leading them through the trenches, delivering the goods and solving problems with the customer’s satisfaction and enjoyment of the festival always in mind.

Arriving in the reception area, you are able to give another longing look towards the sofas where, more often than not, you found Jo, Stuart and Helena, hobnobbing it with fans and authors alike. Another reason why those sofas are considered home base - Jo (another aspiring writer and a blogging good one too) has exuberance that is contagious, Stuart has plenty of stories to tell, including his run in with a Sat Nav, and Helena has entertainment value, which increases as the night goes on.

Pulling yourself away from the sofas, running parallel to the bar, you'll find yourself at the beginning of a well tread corridor . . .

Harrogate Crime Writing Festival - Day 4 - Saturday : It's Veally Good

I thought I would be nodding off this morning while watching the “Here Come The Cops” panel, but somehow I managed to keep my eyes open. Once again, a short night of sleep did not bode well for the day’s forthcoming schedule. The intriguing and amusing panel discussion about police procedurals with Alex Gray, Cath Staincliffe, Elena Forbes and Peter James helped keep the sleep fairies away, but I have a theory that there is something else keeping me going: the Festival itself. It’s full of discussions about every aspect of the crime novel told by those who write them and as I love crime fiction and want to be a crime writer, the Festival contains everything that I find interesting. And therefore I am wired, despite the high levels of sleep deprivation.

That said, a decision had to be made. The mind may be willing but the body may eventually throw up its arms and say “I’ve had enough!” So a sacrifice had to be made for some much needed sleep. “Getting It Right”, about ensuring that an historical novel is accurate, was the offering I gave up to the sleep gods. I apologise to all those involved for not attending, but it was the best sleep I had had in ages.

Aptly following my mid-morning snooze was a Q&A session entitled “Getting Vigorous”, chaired by the ever resourceful, imaginative and sometimes zany Stuart MacBride. Using PowerPoint to its full capabilities, Stuart constructed a magical hour filled with questions and discussions about strange facts (such as the best way to dispose of a body and what human flesh tastes like) with the lovely C.J.Carver, the laid back Simon Kernick, the terrifying Zoe Sharp and the terrified Michael Marshall. It was a barrel of laughs.

The rest of the day was filled with more wonderful sessions, including a discussion about examining a crime scene by Helen and Ian Pepper, the former a registered forensic practitioner and the latter an ex-crime scene investigator, and a panel concentrating on the modern day spy thriller, including contributions by one real ex-spy (I won’t tell you his name – sworn to secrecy – these aren’t the droids you’re looking for).

The first (and hopefully only) setback for the Festival was the non-appearance of a big ticket item – Frederick Forsyth. The floods rampaging through Northern England had trapped him at his home, so he was unable to attend. Thankfully, the brains trust came up with something equally entertaining – a debate over whose crime fiction is better – the US or the UK. It was hilarious – Val McDermid and Mark Billingham fought for the UK, Lee Child and Harlan Coben sauntered along for the US. It was a close call in the end, but Mark Lawson declared the UK victors to the sound of cheers and gnashing of teeth.

Rounding off the night was the annual Quiz night. Quiz nights can frequently turn out to be a dog’s breakfast and this one came close to it. The only saving graces were the involvement of all the authors at the Festival, the entertaining duo of Simon Kernick and Natasha Cooper conducting the quiz, and the BTZers table, where I sat. In addition to those BTZers I had already met, there was Kevin, Jane, Jo and Mr K, Helena and Mr H, Derrin, Gungho and Smudge. It was great fun – very loud, lots of laughs, lots of conversations, one person in particular taking the opportunity to get things off her chest, and Mark Billingham being hauled to the back of the room for a photo opp with the Billingham Babes, who were decked out in their fabulously produced T-shirts. Fun had by all. I even managed to get two quiz questions right – who would’ve thought my purchase of The Thing soundtrack many years ago would have paid off.

The quiz finished and drinks moved into the now familiar Crown Hotel bar. There had been a wedding reception held in the hotel today (how they managed to double book has me beat) but they had moved on, so we had the bar to ourselves. My fuel tank was low, so after a few bevies and at the stroke of 2, I said goodnight to the remaining BTZers and authors and hello to the sweet, sweet sleep fairies.

One more day to go!

P.S. To the man who I had many discussions with about Theakston’s beer and the portability of a half dozen free bottles – I apologise that I have forgotten your name – but kudos to you – I hope you clinked your way back home safely.

P.P.S Update: I've been informed that his name is Dean! Hope to catch up with you next year, Dean.

Harrogate Crime Writing Festival - Day 3 - Friday : Obi Wan at Harrogate

Five hours sleep is not enough. This morning my heard hurt, my throat was parched and my eyes were bugging out of their sockets. I didn’t want to get up, not even for breakfast. But then something moved inside me, something kicked me out of bed and sent me to the showers – it was Val McDermid. She was on at 9am. The Festival was about to begin.

The Jingo and I hurried through breakfast, worried that we were going to miss the start. Then we spotted Val, sitting down at her table, eating cereal, taking her time. We relaxed then; as long as Val was still at breakfast, we wouldn’t miss anything.

Val McDermid’s interview was one of the highlights of the day – she is a very funny person and has many great tales to tell. She spoke about her new book, Beneath the Bleeding, and the new series of Wire In The Blood, based on her Tony Hill series. It was all very interesting.

As were most of the sessions today. The format of the Festival contains hourly panel discussions or interviews with half hour breaks in between. This is a great way of doing it – you never miss anything and you always have time to stretch your legs, have a bite to eat or get your favourite authors to sign your books. It also gave us a chance to catch up with the BTZers and see what they thought of each session.

The day was jam packed: Val McDermid’s interview was followed by a panel discussion about crime novels set in the countryside, an introduction to four “new” authors, an hilarious hour on class in crime fiction (upper class David Roberts against the rest of the world), a discussion about the psychology of violent crime and a special hour celebrating the works of Daphne Du Maurier.

Throughout the day, I bought the books of New Blood authors, Nick Stone, Tom Cain, Caro Ramsey and Nicola Monaghan (for The Jingo) as well as ex-head of Florence flying squad, Michele Giuttari, who has the kindest face for someone who must have seen the aftermath of the most heinous crimes. All of these authors kindly signed my copies too.

The Jingo and I had dinner at one of Harrogate’s many fine seafood restaurants and then it was a mad rush to see the sold out appearance of Lee Child. He was magnificent to watch – a very serious man with a dry sense of humour who had plenty of stories to tell. It was a great session.

Following that was a regular feature of the Festival – the Foul Play performance hosted by Simon Brett – a whodunit acted out by Mark Billingham and Stella Duffy with Stuart MacBride and Laura Lippman trying to solve the crime. It was a barrel of laughs – especially when Mark’s impersonation of Alec Guinness included the line: “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.” I pissed myself laughing, although no one else near me got the reference.

After Foul Play concluded, we were off to the bar. I mingled once again with the BTZers, enjoying a few drinks here and there and catching the occasional author for a quick chat. I spoke to James Twining about Asian action flicks and restoring old cinema houses and listened with great interest as Nick Stone recounted his run in with a dodgy fella earlier in the day, who had a quite relaxed stance about profiting from other people’s hard work with the use of EBay. Stuart MacBride’s agent did a monkey dance and a Scandinavian tried to dry hump every woman in the bar. Sheila Quigley was in pain from a swollen finger and had to be whisked away to the hospital for painkillers. I spoke to Simon Kernick, Kevin Wignall and John Rickards but the conversations were far too fleeting. The need for sleep took hold, dragging me kicking and screaming to bed. I will hopefully catch them tomorrow night.

In between all this, during the afternoon, I managed to squeeze in my one-on-one session with Greg Mosse to talk about the treatment to my novel. This was the moment I had been waiting for for some time and I was a little nervous. I met him in a hotel room across from The Crown and we spoke for 20 minutes about my novel. He was very easy to talk to and quite encouraging. In summary, he was very excited about my novel’s potential, although he said that I had taken on something that would be difficult to pull off even for an established writer. Not like me to complicate things. Greg also gave me sound advice which I will take on quite happily.

This was a milestone moment – now I can crack on with it!!

Harrogate Crime Writing Festival - Day 2 - Creative Thursday

Excitement kicked in as I walked down to the breakfast room. The sleep last night wasn’t the best – someone above me thought it was a good idea to do little laps around their room at 4 in the morning, every step creating a god awful creak from the old floorboards. Despite that, I was pretty wired.

I scanned the breakfast area looking for either authors I would be able to recognise or Mark Billingham forum members (BTZers) who I knew were here and vaguely knew what they looked like. I didn’t have much success on either front, although I did see the lovely Ann Cleeves lining up for a sausage and/or grilled mushrooms.

Today is the first day of the Festival. As is the tradition, this day is reserved for The Creative Thursday workshop: a run through the main aspects of writing presented by those in the know. We started off with an introduction by the Programming Chair of the Festival, Natasha Cooper. A different author chairs the Festival every year and Natasha has organised a very good line up this year.

Following Natasha Cooper was Simon Kernick. His hour and a half allotment was spent talking about Plot. It was a very funny session with loads of anecdotes and jokes but plenty of good stuff for any budding writer to go away with and think about.

Setting with Greg Mosse followed soon after – a more structured session talking about setting and how it can be used to propel a story along and the dos and don’ts when describing your location. Greg is a teacher in his own right as well as an author and his hour or so session gave me a glimpse at how beneficial my one on one session with him tomorrow will be.

Laura Wilson talked about Inventing People, including how to come up with character names (my pet hate / struggle), Natasha Cooper returned with advice on how to sit down and just write your novel and Jane Gregory and Hilary Hale rounded off the day with sound advice from the agent’s and publisher’s perspective. They were encouraging, although the statistics telling us how many people actually get published each year were quite depressing.

The Creative Thursday was great – I really enjoyed it – lots of good advice and encouragement. Throughout it all, I was keeping my eye out for Sarah. She is a fellow BTZer and writer (and artist) and I knew she was in the workshop. I did spot her but at the time, I wasn’t 100% sure – but with the help of Natasha Cooper, Sarah’s identity was confirmed and we introduced ourselves. It was like we had known each other for years – clichéd I know, but, as with all the other BTZers I met today, it was true.

The Jingo arrived from London and straight away we joined the crowds for the first event – the announcement of the winner of the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. The winner was Allan Guthrie. The look on his face when he accepted the coveted Theakston’s barrel and generous cheque told it all – he hadn’t expected to win. It was a special moment - not a dry eye in the house! The fact that this award is voted by the readers made the win even more rewarding. I don’t think Allan let go of that barrel for the remainder of the night – he may have even slept with it – I know I would have!

Next was the Festival Opening Party which was reasonably low key – free wine and Theakston’s beer for all. The Jingo and I spoke with William, a 17 year old who has written three novels already and was scoping the crowd for agents and publishers. He had the determination and drive to become an author that I wish I had had at his age. He even had business cards printed off. Look out for him in the future.

We rubbed shoulders with the elite, spotting faces in the crowds, whispering names to each other – “Isn’t that so and so?” “There’s Mr whathisname.” – unashamed in our fan boy frenzy. Then we met more BTZers – Betty, Tzara, Chelbel and Ravenscross – all great people who I hope to catch up with again during the festival.

After the final event of the day finished, it was off to the bar where fans, authors, publishers, agents and the occasional sleazy playboy mingle and dross about anything and everything. I spent most of the time talking to the BTZers – catching up, giving each other encouragement with our own writing, talking about any conversations we may have had with the big names of the Festival. It was a grand night, tapering off into the early hours where only a handful of people, mainly authors, remained. I was so tired, I was in danger of slipping into a coma, so I decided it was time to head off. I would have liked to have talked to more authors but my bed was calling me and there is plenty of time left in this Festival to chat with these accessible, generous and good natured people.

Harrogate Crime Writing Festival - Day 1 - Wednesday : Chorizos and Melted Cheese

When I walked into the lobby of The Crown Hotel this afternoon, I was struck with a sense of anticipation. The place was quiet: one or two drinkers at the bar, a white haired old couple pulling luggage up a corridor, a smiling lady behind the reception counter. But in less than 24 hours, the place would be swarming with authors, agents, publishers and fans of the crime writing genre.

As I made my way up to the counter, struggling with a large backpack and my computer bag, a few guests passed by, looking at me with restrained curiosity. I thought to myself, hmmm, maybe they think I am an author, arriving for the Theakston’s Crime Writing Festival. It felt pretty good and I milked it for what it was worth (stopping short of soliciting requests for autographs).

My façade dropped, however, as I searched, with similar excitement, the faces of other patrons of the hotel, hoping to recognise a genuine crime writer. Alas, there were none; but I was patient: tomorrow would bring forth a plethora of authors for me to see and chat with.

It’s hard not to have dreams of discovery when attending the Harrogate festival. It's a major crime writing festival, the best going around, and it attracts everyone from the industry. As a budding writer working on his first novel, I would be lying if I didn’t fantasise about wooing authors and agents alike with my witty banter, charming personality and ultimately, excellent, heart stopping, ground breaking prose. But I made a pact with myself – this Festival was about learning from those in the industry, through panels, interviews and the occasional chat at the bar. But it was also about making new friends and having fun.

The Jingo is arriving tomorrow so I went Han Solo for dinner to a nice Mexican restaurant at the end of Station street; had a nachos with chorizo. Probably a bad move as the stomach feels a bit unsettled. Probably just nerves (and the diarrhoea is probably just due to my healthy fruit rich diet). I walked around town afterwards, admiring the city of Harrogate. The buildings look amazing here and the gardens are beautiful – a nice relaxing place with loads of restaurants and nightlife too. I checked out the restaurants in the area, picking out a few for when Jingo arrives. Betty’s tea room is one we will definitely not miss.

The sunny afternoon moved on into a cool evening and I decided to retire to my room. The room is nice, nothing too flash but has all the necessary amenities. The bed is pretty small for two people and the floorboards creak, but otherwise, it’s suitable. I set up the computer but instead of writing, I decided to watch a couple of DVDs – Homicide: Life on the Street, just to get me in the mood for tomorrow.

Not that I need any help with that.

Harrogate Crime Writing Festival - Preview

As I write this, I am 15 minutes away from catching the tube to Kings Cross station where I will hop on an overland to Harrogate. It's hard to believe a year has gone by but its that time again - time for the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival.

When The Jingo and I went to the festival last year, we didn't know what to expect. What we got was two full days of seminars, interviews and discussions with some of the UK's leading crime writers including Ian Rankin, Mark Billingham and John Harvey. This year, we are going for the full festival and there are just as many, if not more, big names to entertain us.

I am travelling there today in preparation for tomorrow's Creative Thursday - a full day of tutorials covering such topics as Plot, Setting, Inventing People, Writing and Selling - a kind of prelude to the actual festival. The tutorials are presented by big names in the industry including Simon Kernick, Natasha Cooper and Greg Mosse. I am really looking forward to this day, especially given I have started my novel and any extra help is well received. I think the highlight will be listening to real publishers and editors speak about how to sell your work.

The Jingo arrives on Thursday evening, just in time for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year presentation and the Festival's Opening Party. A few beverages will be consumed, no doubt.

The next three days after that are filled with interviews and discussions covering all aspects of crime writing, held and participated by the big names in the industry, including Stuart MacBride, Val McDermid, Lee Child, Frederick Forsyth, Harlan Coben and lots, lots more. The ever approachable Mark Billingham will be there, as well as the Festival Programming Chair, the lovely Natasha Cooper. Many, many stories to be told and talked about over four magnificent days.

During the hectic schedule, I will also be having my 20 minute one-on-one session with Greg Mosse, discussing my treatment and my novel. Something I am really looking forward to.

Harrogate also has lots to offer in terms of food - The Jingo and I will definitely be partaking of the local delicacies - especially tea at Betty's!

I will be offline over the Festival, but look out for my day by day summaries that I will prepare on location and post retrospectively here.

For those who will be there, I look forward to meeting you "off-line" for the first time, knocking back a few beers and talking about all things criminal.

This is the highlight of my year and I can't wait to get there!