Barry Eisler's John Rain is coming to TV

I'm very excited to hear that some of my favorite thriller books, Barry Eisler's John Rain series, is coming to TV. Even more excited because Rain will be played by Keanu Reeves!

For anyone who hasn't read the Rain series (firstly, shame on you!); John Rain is a half American/half Japanese assassin for hire whose specialty is making his hits look like natural causes. The series takes place all across the globe but some of the most atmospheric books take place in Japan where Eisler guides us through the murky underworld of backstreet Jazz clubs.

Reeves will star in and exectutive produce the series and is bringing the team from 87Eleven, who he worked with on Man of Tai Chi, to handle the action scenes. They also worked on The Wolverine. I expect great things!

The next question will be who will play Dox and Delilah!!

For more on the series check out Barry Eisler on Amazon.com

An Afternoon With Lee Child!

An Afternoon with Lee Child!

Just bought my tickets to the Lee Child event at this years Mountains to Sea dlr Book festival! (About ten seconds after I received the marketing email!). I'm a huge Lee Child fan and it was picking up a copy of Echo Burning that brought me back to reading fiction after years away reading nothing but books on Quantum physiscs!

Lee Child Author of the Jack Reacher Series

Back when I was writing The Harder They Fall I listened to a lot of his interviews and in a sense it was his assertion that a book has to grow organically from its writer that allowed me to take my book in the directions it needed to go. There were times when I knew I wasn't following the "rules" of writing thrillers but to stick to what other people said was right would have damaged what I saw as the necessary arc for the story and the characters.

Really looking forward to the opportunity to hear him speak in person and maybe get a chance for a quick chat!

The rest of the festival programme is available here and includes lots of writing workshops for all genres. For those of you also into crime/thriller writing the workshops with Jane Casey are definitely worth a look.

Have You Read...Conn Iggulden?

Today marks 2,061 years since Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and changed the course of history for the Roman Empire and began his journey to becoming Emperor.

I have always been fascinated with Rome and I stumbled onto these books a few years ago. They are a fictionalised novelization of Julius Caesar's life from a young man right through to his eventual death. Whilst I normally read thrillers I do stray outside the genre from time to time and these books are among the most thrilling books I've ever read. The books will make you will feel like a centurion on the front lines of the legion or a senator sitting in the benches listening to the oratory of Crassus or even a plebian watching the Triumph of Marius.

If you want a rip roaring series set in the cauldron of Ancient Rome check out this series, you won't be disappointed.

"The Harder They Fall" eBook Giveaway!

Win 1 of 5 FREE copies of "The Harder They Fall".

Five years ago, Adam Kane’s life fell apart when he was dishonorably discharged from the military. Forced to return to San Francisco, a disgraced and broken man, he thinks his life can’t get any worse.

He’s wrong.

A terrifying attack sets him on a collision course with an enemy more powerful and dangerous than he can imagine, but the only man who has a chance of stopping it doesn’t even exist yet.

All across America a shadowy organization is seizing control of the illicit drug trade, growing ever more powerful, while the most devastating attack in US history is being planned in secret.

A new epidemic sweeps the streets.

The reviews on Amazon have been good so far, all 5 Stars.

"Was drawn in from the very beginning, it's a real page turner."

"Great book, couldn't wait to see what was coming next."

"It left me wanting more."

"I loved this book and was left with a feeling of loss at the end, secretly hoping that the author is busy creating the next installment... Love, love, love it!"

Enter the competition by following me on Twitter or tweeting the giveaway to your own followers (or both!).
Not sure how to enter? Watch the video below and don't miss out!

Best of 2011 Part 1

If you haven't read Stuart Neville yet, you really should. I read both "The Twelve", or "The Ghosts of Belfast" as it's called in America, and the follow up, "Collusion", last year.


I came across "The Twelve" by Stuart Neville completely by chance in my local Easons early last year.

I'd never heard of him before as it was his first published novel but the cover looked good so I picked it up, read the blurb on the back and had to buy it.Turned out to be one of the best buying decisions of the year.

It was nothing short of a masterpiece.

In Gerry Fegan he created one of the most compelling protagonists I've read in years (it's probably not accurate to call him a hero). The story dragged me through the streets of Belfast, populated with the remnants of the Troubles and showing the new face of power sharing compromise.

To say that it's a pulse pounding page turner, which it is, almost robs it of some of it's power. This is more than just your average thriller. In a sense the novel has similarities with the excellent John Connoly's work as Neville expertly interweaves elements that may be supernatural and may not.It examines actions and consequences and shows the wounds that can sometimes never heal.

It's a blistering debut novel and should be on everyone's "to read" list.

The follow up, "Collusion", picks up the narrative some time after the close of the first novel.

One of the aspects of the novel I loved most was that Neville ups the stakes with Gerry Fegan and his possible supernatural connections. This builds in intensity throughout the novel as Fegan is inexorably pulled towards further redemption.
"Collusion" also brings another figure, Detective Inspector Jack Lennon, to the fore. We follow his journey as he searches for his daughter while a fearsome killer, "The Traveller", follows his every move.

The two novels are among the best of the Irish crime writing that I have read and Neville's next book, "Stolen Souls", is among my most anticipated reads for this year.

Find out more about his books on Amazon by clicking here.

How to read Kindle books without a Kindle

With my new novel, "The Harder They Fall", now available on Kindle I've found that some people who want to read it don't have a Kindle but still want to try it without having to go and buy one.

Luckily, you don't need an actual Kindle. If you have an iPhone, iPad or Android Smartphone you can simply go to your app store, browse for "Kindle" and download a FREE Kindle reading app to your device. If you have a PC or MAC they have one for you too. Click HERE to download one.Then you can get your books straight to your phone and read on the bus, train or wherever.

I have a Kindle myself, I ordered it as soon as they started shipping them outside the States, but I actually prefer to use the Kindle app on the iPad.
The app will have an icon like this in your app store.

You will need to sign up for an Amazon account in order to use your new Kindle app but its a quick and easy process. When you download the app you'll need to enter your personal and billing info with some credit card details but you only have to do this once. Then when the app opens make sure you register when it asks you to. If you don't you'll only have to come back and do it later!

With your app installed you're all set to dive into the digital publishing revolution. Just click on the button to search the Kindle store (It's in the top right corner),

type in your favorite author's name or book title ("The Harder They Fall" for instance...), and download books and samples in seconds.

Happy Reading!

Will

Plugged

One of my favourite books from last year was Plugged, Eoin Colfer's fantastic first crime novel. Eoin is a huge publishing phenom in the world of YA with his internationally bestselling Artemis Fowl series. When I heard he was writing a crime novel I couldn't wait to pick it up.

The story follows Daniel McEvoy, an ex-Irish army man turned New Jersey nightclub bouncer. The novel clips along at a page turning rate but there was one particular scene involving a key that stopped me dead in it's brilliance. It was probably only a couple of lines but it was such a cracking image that it has stayed with me ever since. To be able to pack that much emotion and imagery into such a small number of words is a true test of talent.

And then there's the humour. I don't see much humour in the usual thrillers I read but Colfer delivers laugh out load moments in this, quite a few surrounding a certain shady doctor, and it was a refreshing change of pace.

One of the things I liked most about it is that it gave people like me, i.e. Irish, who don't know anyone in our Defence Forces a window into what they get up to on their peace keeping missions abroad.

I can't recommend Plugged highly enough...so I've put a You Tube vid in of the first chapter of the audiobook. Here's hoping there's a sequel in the works (Unplugged? Replugged?) and that Ken Bruen can make him do it again!

Enjoy.