Thursday 18 March 2010

SHOUTING IN A LIBRARY





By Richard Jay Parker


Earlier blog this week as tomorrow (Friday 19th March) I’ll be debating British thrillers with Matt Lynn and Zoe Sharp at the Allestree Library in Derby. Details HERE. Should be a fun event.

This whole debate was used as a springboard to launch The Curzon Group before I joined in. It seemed to have the desired effect and got some national newspaper coverage before I stumbled across the website on the Internet.

When Matt invited me to get involved I breathlessly awaited the arrival of my Curzon Group uniform and wondered when I would have to swear allegiance to flag of the Great British thriller. Turns out, like most organisations, it’s an excuse to have a pint and a chinwag.

I like all manner of books besides thrillers (British or otherwise) but I do think we have a very healthy writing scene in the UK – past and present – so I’m looking forward to hearing other people’s thoughts.

Thriller is such a generous umbrella term. You’ve only got to look at the three writers involved. Matt Lynn is a military thriller writer, Zoe Sharp writes about a female bodyguard and my own work is about malignant stalkers lurking within the Internet.

Thriller can mean anything from the cold burn of Le Carre to the explosive WW2 action of Jack Higgins. To pick up on Matt's discussion, my own fave from British shores is ‘ROGUE MALE’ by Geoffrey Household. I recommended this to a friend recently and she went through hell and high water to try and find a copy. It’s not a conventional book by today’s standards and I can imagine it having problems being picked up for publication in the present climate (the protracted underground incarceration scene springs to mind). However, it’s definitely worth checking out if you hanker for something less formulaic.

Will report back my findings from this first event. Should be a great precursor to continuing this fun discussion at CRIMEFEST.

I’ll be on holiday next week so unable to blog but if you miss my addled meanderings you’ll find links to a number of my articles posted on various pages of MY WEBSITE.

http://www.richardjayparker.com/

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