Peter James’ short story collection A TWIST OF THE KNIFE published tomorrow

Peter James’ short story collection A TWIST OF THE KNIFE, which combines every tale from the ebook bestsellers SHORT SHOCKERS ONE and SHORT SHOCKERS TWO with many new stories, is published tomorrow from Macmillan.

From a woman intent on bizarre revenge, to a restaurant critic with a morbid fear of the number thirteen; and from a man arranging a life-changing assignation, to a couple heading for a disaster-filled vacation, A TWIST OF THE KNIFE features 30 short stories that are sometimes funny, often haunting, but always shocking.

A TWIST OF THE KNIFE also features ‘Santa Drops In,’ the tale that inspired DEAD SIMPLE, the first novel in the bestselling Roy Grace series.

Macmillan have recently reissued all ten of James’ Roy Grace novels with new covers. ATOM BOMB ANGEL, one of his first novels, will be republished in December, as part of the Vintage Peter James collection.  The first Vintage Peter James novel, DEAD LETTER DROP, published in January of this year, has sold over 100,000 copies.

For Peter James’ latest Roy Grace thriller, WANT YOU DEAD, Macmillan have created an interactive choice of ending for the novel – decide how you want the novel to end here.

Praise for Peter James:

'Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business.' – Karin Slaughter

'Exceptional, knock-your-socks-off.' – Washington Post

‘Sinister and riveting… Peter James is one of the best British crime writers, and therefore one of the best in the world.’ – Lee Child

THE THRILL OF IT ALL by Joseph O’Connor nominated for Irish Book Awards' Novel of the Year

Joseph O’Connor’s ‘incredibly moving piece of work,’ THE THRILL OF IT ALL, has been shortlisted for The Eason Novel of the Year 2014, in the Irish Book Awards. The other nominees for the Novel of the Year are ACADEMY STREET by Mary Costello, A HISTORY OF LONELINESS by John Boyne, FROM OUT OF THE CITY by John Kelly, NORA WEBSTER by Colm Tóibin and THE BONE CLOCKS by David Mitchell. The winner is selected by popular vote, here, and will be awarded on 26 November.

O’Connor is also on the longlist for the first ever Laureate for Irish Fiction. Alongside 33 other authors, Joseph O’Connor is being considered for the three year position which carries a €150,000 bursary and will see the Laureate teach at University College, Dublin and New York University. Other nominees include Booker prize winners John Banville and Roddy Doyle, and last year’s Bailey’s Women's Prize winner Eimear McBride.

THE THRILL OF IT ALL narrates the life-cycle of a band, The Ships, from a first friendship between two students at Luton College in the early 1980s, to their rise on the global stage and beyond. In essence, it’s the tale of four people trapped in the dysfunctional family of a band by the whirlpool of their addiction to music. 

Joe’s novels have won prizes including the American Library Association Award, the Irish Poet Award for Fiction, and the Prix Millepages. In 2012 Joe was awarded the Irish PEN Award for outstanding achievement in literature. 

THE THRILL OF IT ALL was recently Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime, and was nominated for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse prize. It is out now in paperback from Harvill Secker.

Praise for THE THRILL OF IT ALL:

‘Paragraph after paragraph of brilliance.’ – Guardian

‘What makes this novel such a compulsive read is its extraordinary emotional intensity... an incredibly moving piece of work.' - Irish Sunday Independent

‘O'Connor brilliantly evokes the 1980s...and superbly evokes the struggles of a naive and yet determined band to survive on the road… Don't just buy the book: petition the publishers to release the soundtrack.' – Mail On Sunday Five Star Review

Vertigo to release Moomins movie in the UK

The Moomins are set to hit cinema screens across the UK in May 2015, as Rupert Preston of distribution powerhouse Vertigo has picked up MOOMINS ON THE RIVIERA.

The hand-drawn 2D animated film debuted at the BFI London Film Festival earlier this month to delighted audiences, and is already a box office smash in Finland, where production company Handle Productions is based. Leslie Stewart worked on the script, along with creative team Sophia Jansson, who is the niece of Moomins creator Tove Jansson, and Finnish producer Hanna Hemila (LE HAVRE).

For more information about the movie, and to watch the trailer, click here.

Paris-based sales company Indie Sales (Nicolas Eschbach) brokered the deal with Vertigo.

The Silk Tree: Fact versus Fiction

by Julian Stockwin

This post originally appeared on Julian's blog, and can be found here.

Two exotic worlds separated by a vast distance

My standalone historical fiction The Silk Tree is somewhat of a departure from my seafaring tales but has been a hugely enjoyable project, not the least being the research. As in all historical fiction there is a certain leeway for an author but I firmly believe you have to thoroughly do your homework first and establish what facts are known. Then the historical fiction writer’s creative challenge is to craft a page-turning story, filling in the gaps between what is known to be fact, to offer a plausible and entertaining tale.

The Silk Road (that actual term wasn’t used until the nineteenth century) began very early. An organised camel-based commerce was in place at the time of Alexander the Great’s feats of conquest. There was regular early Roman trade which was interrupted by the Parthians and Persians after which it fell off until the medieval golden age of Marco Polo. It declined terminally when Vasco da Gama found a trading route to the east around Africa in 1498, although the last camel caravans lingered on until modern times. Relics of the Silk Road are still in existence. I visited an ancient caravanserai on the Anatolian plateau and many can still be found dotted along the old routes into Central Asia.

Just what is known of the story of silk? China kept the secret for all of a thousand years and legend there tells of a princess who smuggled eggs out in her headdress when married to a prince of Khotan. In the West accounts generally agree that it was two monks who returned from China in 551 with the secret of silk – I have this from three sources. However these documents vary in their details, each providing tantalising references and with no one version standing out as definitive. My tale is based on these.

Where we do have verifiable historical information I have taken some pains to ensure veracity. Many of my characters in The Silk Tree did exist and it was fascinating researching their lives.

I’ve picked just five to highlight:

On the Silk Road gold talked…

Emperor Justinian was a towering figure in antiquity who did much to restore the respect and standing of the Roman Empire in the East, and his codifying of laws is the basis of much jurisprudence today. He was, incidentally, the last emperor to speak Latin as a native first language.

Belisarius was his loyal and gifted military general who some claim was ill-used by a jealous Justinian. It is undisputed that it was largely his genius that allowed Justinian to reclaim much of the Western Roman Empire, giving rise to his nickname of ‘Last of the Romans’.

The warlord-turned emperor Wen Hsuan was a genuinely unpleasant individual, the range of his barbarity grim and shocking. He poisoned the deposed emperor ten months after assuming the throne and his blood-soaked reign lasted for another nine years. Stability only came with the glorious T'ang dynasty 70 years later

The immensity of Central Asia starts here

Antonina was daughter and granddaughter of charioteers and became an actress, much derided by my historian Procopius for her lewd performances. She oddly became friend and confidante to Theodora, the wife of Justinian and became privy to court secrets. Belisarius saw her and fell in love and she gave up her wild life to follow him in his campaigns.

Ts’ao Fu was a poet of stature in the murderous times before the dawn of the great T’ang dynasty. These men, inheritors of a continuous cultural past, that was well over a thousand years old at this time produced works of great beauty that are still revered to this day.

THE SILK TREE is published by Allison & Busby on Thursday 6 November. If you’re in London on 30 October, you are cordially invited to the Launch Party at Goldsboro Books. We hope you can join Julian to raise a glass to Marius and Nicander’s great adventure!

Peter James’ WANT YOU DEAD out in paperback today!

WANT YOU DEAD, Peter James’ 10th novel featuring detective Roy Grace, is out in paperback today.

The book was published in hardback in June and went straight to number two in the Bestsellers’ Chart, only narrowly missing out on the top spot, and remained in the top ten for seven weeks, breaking all sales records (in both hardback and ebooks)  in comparison to his previous titles.

In WANT YOU DEAD a relationship turns sour when Red discovers everything her lover told her about himself is untrue. Then he turns into a stalker, intent on destroying her.  WANT YOU DEAD features Peter’s most sinister villain yet.

Macmillan have recently reissued all nine previous Roy Grace novels with new covers. His short story collection, A TWIST OF THE KNIFE, is published in November and BILLIONAIRE, one of his first novels, will be republished in December, as part of the Vintage Peter James collection.  The first Vintage Peter James novel, DEAD LETTER DROP, published in January of this year, has sold over 100,000 copies.

For WANT YOU DEAD, Macmillan have also created an interactive choice of ending for the novel – decide how you want the novel to end here.

Praise for WANT YOU DEAD:

‘With over 14 million book sales, there’s no arguing with James’ lethal talent but even by his stellar standards this terrifying, excruciatingly tense tale of twisted obsession is outstanding. This is the 10th book in the DS Roy Grace series and it might just be the best one yet.’ – The Daily Record

‘James rachets up the tension to an almost unbearable level in his 10th Roy Grace thriller, as Bryce’s game of cat-and-mouse works towards a terrifying conclusion.’ – Bella Magazine

Praise for Peter James:

'Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business.' -- Karin Slaughter

'Exceptional, knock-your-socks-off.' -- Washington Post

‘Sinister and riveting…Peter James is one of the best British crime writers, and therefore one of the best in the world.’ -- Lee Child