"Black December" Audiobook

Delighted to announce that I will be narrating the first in a series of UK crime novels by Scott Hunter, entitled "Black December". 

It's the story of DCI Brendan Moran, a world-weary veteran of 1970s Ireland, who is recuperating from a near fatal car crash when a murder is reported at a monastery called Charnford Abbey.

The abbot and his monks are strangely uncooperative, but when a visitor from the Vatican arrives and an ancient relic goes missing the truth behind Charnford’s pact of silence threatens to expose not only the abbey’s haunted secrets but also the spirits of Moran’s own troubled past…

I won't give too much of the plot away at this stage. It's a brilliant story, and I'm looking forward to releasing it this summer. 

The Ian Fleming Files

Where do I begin to try and put into words how fantastic an opportunity has recently been placed into my hands, having been trusted with bringing Damian Stevenson's new series "The Ian Fleming Files" to life. 

As you know, Fleming was the creator of the world famous secret agent James Bond. 
But what you may not have known is that Fleming himself was, just like author John Le Carré, a member of Britain's intelligence service. 

Stevenson, who's screenplay for the movie "Fleming" was earlier taken on for production by Leonardo DiCaprio's "Appian Way" company has created a series of novels in the same vein as the 007 books, with Fleming as the main protagonist. 

The first book, entitled "Operation Armada" will be released as an audiobook this summer. 

You can listen to a sample of it here: 

Are We Cheating Ourselves?...

When I was young, I read a lot. Anything. My father had a huge library in our house and as a kid, I read everything in it. That’s where it all started. 

As a teenager, I spent days in bookshops, mostly in the second-hand section, looking for cheap copies of Stephen King, Jonathan Kellerman, John Grisham and others. 

I can remember imagining what it would be like to be a writer. To sit there night in night out, trying to work out character arcs and plot lines. Working through a block. Generating something that you knew was going to be wonderful. 
Printing it all off and mailing it to publishers. Trying to find one who would print you. 

Back then, my only connection with the author was what they wrote, how they inspired me, and sometimes a very well crafted photo on the inside back cover with a short bio. 

There was a mystique to authors back then. And, to be honest, I miss it.

The internet has taken the enchantment of authors away from me. I no longer wonder who they are or what they sound like. It is all on their websites for me to see and hear. 
It’s not the same. 
The web has given every Tom, Dick and Harry the chance to say ‘I am an author’ - and for me, it belittles the discipline and the skills that come from those truly worthy of the title. 

In the past, it would have been easier to rub shoulders with A-list Hollywood actors than it would to have access to Patricia Cornwell or Dean Koontz. They were simply a headshot. A picture in a frame. Iconic in the true sense of the word. 

Now, the dynamic has changed. The money that the average Joe might have spent on five top-end authors a few years ago, is now spread across fifty not-so-great efforts on a website.

A 99 cent risk on something that might be good, might be bad, but will more than likely sit somewhere at the low end of the ability spectrum. 
Bought by those who laud Neil Gaiman's "make good art" speech, yet still flitter away money on rubbish that couldn't even get them past the first few chapters. And they do it again and again. A downward spiral of one dollar-funded mediocrity. 
"You get what you pay for!" as the man says.

The online bookstores are still seeing the same if not greater amounts of revenue coming in, but are we cheating ourselves out of the magic? 

I think we are. Which is why I still can’t bring myself to buy books online. I don’t have a Kindle. And while I know it might come across as petty, naive or ‘anti-progress’, I buy my books in bookstores. Proper ones with proper shelves, and a proper smell. 

If a publisher has decided that a book is worth investing in a print run, then that’s usually my benchmark for spending money on it. I can pick it up in my hands, and I can feel how much it weighs. I can experience and appreciate the work that has gone into it. It is a book. 
I find it hard to call a digital representation of a manuscript “a book”. 
There is a tangibility and a value to being able to hold a real one that can never be replaced by a tablet. 
Putting a lifetime of work by Shakespeare or Poe on to a flash-drive the size of a fingernail, is not progress. It is insulting at the very least.



Call that what you will, but for me, we’re losing something very special indeed.

Merry Christmas...

Well...

It's almost time to put our feet up for a few days and enjoy Christmas with family and friends. 

Wherever you are in the world, we wish you a safe, happy and joyous holiday season....and we hope that you get everything you've asked for from Santa Claus! 

Next up for us, is "The Hawk & His Boy" by Christopher Bunn and "A Feast Of Dragons" by Morgan Rice. 
Both epic fantasy novels to kickstart your New Year!

See you all again soon! 

The Spinning Heart: A Novel

"The Spinning Heart" by Donal Ryan is now available for download at Audible.

I'm still in a bit of a daze that I was given the opportunity to narrate this Booker Prize nominated, Irish Book Award and Guardian First Book Award winner.

It's been a total joy to work with Donal and the team at Steerforth Press on this production, and I sincerely hope you all enjoy listening to it. 

You can find out more information about this fantastic piece of Irish literature by clicking here.

You Can Find Me In Da Club….

Earlier in the month, I was contacted out of the blue by the phenomenal electronic music producer K1T, and asked if he could avail of my services. 

Highly curious, I replied that he indeed could, but was puzzled to know why one of the top DJs and producers of progressive house and trance would need a narrator. 
"He's far too young to be writing his memoirs." I thought to myself. 

Anyway, what followed was the makings of a collaboration where I got to lay down some vocals on his latest EP. I can't tell you much about it until it is released, but it has been an absolutely awesome experience to be involved with. 

To give you an idea of how great this guy is, here's a snippet from one of his recent projects. 

I will let you all know when my "vocal" contribution hits the clubs. 

Guardian First Book Award 2013

I'm absolutely delighted to see that Donal Ryan's debut novel The Spinning Heart, has received the Guardian First Book Award. 

The book is an angry portrayal of rural life in post-crash Ireland and was an absolute joy to read. 

You can read all about it here and please have a listen below: 

Guardian first book award 2013 goes to Donal Ryan