Oopsie ... Its free, free, I tell you (cont'd)

I posted yesterday about BLOOD TEARS being free on kindle for a few days.

And I forgot to add the link so you could whiz straight through and download a copy. (Thanks Carol.)

So, go UK or U.S. and knock yourself out.

The book is free, so how about we do a deal? If you enjoy the book leave a review on Amazon. If you don't, a polite silence will be expected.

Laters,
Mikahel

Its free, free, I tell you ...

My peeps at Five Leaves Publishing are having a wee experiment these next few days. BLOOD TEARS, that wonderful debut novel from whatsisname (who me?) is free to download on Kindle.

To be honest, I have mixed views about how we are all complicit in helping Amazon to become a monopoly BUT, if its free at least they're not making any cash. Or is that naive?

Anywho, its free. And if you are already bored with The Olympics and looking for a diversion BLOOD TEARS is it!

Download and then tell your mates. And then tell them not to be so fecking stingy and buy the actual fecking book!

Laters,
M

Gadding about ...

In my efforts to get BLOOD TEARS to the masses I've been talking to anyone who is stoopid enough to make eye contact.

Here are a few online places where peeps have been good enough to give me the time of day. Why don'tcha pop in and say hi.

Tony Black's Pulp Pusher

Paul D Brazill

Rosemary Gemmell's blog

Damien Seaman

In Defence of ... Andy Murray

As a strategy to attract attention to your website, it has merits.  Have your “journalists”  - and I use the term advisedly –  write thoughtless, opinionated pieces – earn the ire of every right thinking person online - stand back, wait for them to tweet, blog and post to their Facebook page and then tote up the numbers as thousands of people join the outrage and come to your site to see for themselves. Meanwhile, the advertising revenue stacks up because of the number of hits your website is earning.

Yes, dear friends, I’m talking about the Daily Mail.

Yesterday’s fuckwittery came from Jan Moir and her “thoughts” following Andy Murray coming in as runner-up in the Wimbledon final.

She’s “talking” about the serious side of Andy’s nature – his unwillingness, if you will, to play the part as expected by the masses, of the smiling, charming sports “personality”. He’s miserable, we are told and it’s because he’s Scottish. Moir goes on to say “we are all like that”.

First of all, let me address the complaint of many who say that Andy is too miserable - not that I necessarily agree - with three words. So fucking what! He’s a WORLD-CLASS athlete, not an empty-headed, talentless TV celebrity. His career is in sport and it is something he does extremely well. To be at the top of his game with such consistency – he’s not been out of the top 4 in his sport for years – takes hard work, talent , dedication and a focus that is beyond most of us. He deserves our admiration, not childish and petty comments about his “likeability”.

Now let me turn my attention to Ms Moir. Good for you, missus. Show us your lack of talent, hard work and dedication by trumpeting out an argument based on empty cliché.

I know LOTS of Scottish people, (having lived here all my life) and I can truly only think of 1 or 2 who merit inclusion in the cliché of the “dour Scot”. Where does that come from anyway? Two-dimensional Scottish characters on Eastenders or Coronation Street?

Lazy writing, Ms Moir. You have a national forum, why don’t you take cognisance of that and write with some consideration.

 Right. #coff I'm away for a wee lie down now.

Laters,

M

Pants on Fire ...

While doing signings recently I have met some amazing people and have had some very interesting conversations that you don't necessarily foresee having at noon on a wet afternoon in Ayrshire. One of them got me thinking about my writing process. The conversation went like this. Kinda.

‘So you tell lies for a living then?’ she arched an eyebrow and offered a half-smile.

'Well...’ I answered and wondered if she was looking down on me, or looking up to me. ‘ You could say that.’

Fair enough. Professional liar, that’s me.  I spend hours making stuff up and let me tell you it’s great fun. Sometimes, when the lies aren’t flowing – not so much.

I looked it up in the dictionary to be sure.

Liar – noun - someone who tells lies.  Yup, that’s me.

Lie -  noun – a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive.  Fair enough. Guilty as charged. As a crime writer I often make such statements, but we call it misdirection. You look there, but I’m really going over here.

On the other hand if I didn’t also include the truth, the lies wouldn’t be quite so convincing. Every character I write about, I write about them in a manner that is true to them. Their actions and reactions are completely true to the person they are.  

I work at finding the truth of my characters’ emotions. How do they feel and why do they feel it? I hitch on to that and you, the reader (hopefully) take up their cause. Then for the crime writer those other truths are required. Whodunnit and more importantly in my view, why they did it. As a human being myself (I know – hard to believe) I am fascinated by other human beings and what makes them tick and in my humble opinion no genre gets to the heart of this more than crime fiction.

The trick, as a writer, is to leave yourself out of it. How often have you read something where it reads like the author is venting? Where you are removed from the story while thinking, who’s talking here? The character or the author?

So, hands up. I make up lies and give them a core of honesty. And as all the best fibbers know, the most convincing lies are the ones that stick most closely to the truth.

BTW – just so you know – BLOOD TEARS will shortly be available on e-book. And there will be all kinds of events throughout the country.

Be sure to stay tuned for more exciting news. Kinda.