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 Subscribe to John's mailing list to receive emailed news and information concerning new books, ghost stories, book signings, websites of interest and any other updates. This mailing list is private—your e-mail address will not be shared.   October 2008
Dear Folks, It's been a while. So, how you doin'? So, how you doin'? So, how you doin'? Nope, still can't decide. Anyway, I hope that you're happy and well and, to borrow a phrase from Norm in Cheers, that life is not treating you like you just ran over its dog. Now, on to news . . . THE LOVERS THE LOVERS, the next Charlie Parker novel, is currently in the middle of its fourth draft, and will be delivered to publishers in November for publication in 2009. In THE LOVERS, Parker is working in a bar in Portland, having been deprived of his P.I.'s license. He uses his enforced retirement to begin a different kind of investigation: an examination of his own past and an inquiry into the death of his father, who took his own life after apparently shooting dead two unarmed teenagers, a search that will eventually lead to revelations about Parker's own parentage. Meanwhile, a troubled young woman is running from an unseen threat, one that already seems to have taken the life of her boyfriend, and a journalist-turned-writer named Mickey Wallace is conducting an investigation of his own into Charlie Parker in the hope of writing a non-fiction book about his exploits. And haunting the shadows, as they have done throughout Parker's life, are two figures: a man and a woman, the lovers of the title, who appear to have only one purpose, and that is to bring an end to his existence . . . THE LOVERS will probably be the first of my books to be published in the US before it appears in the UK, although both will appear in June 2009. I'm also looking at the possibility of doing another CD soundtrack to the book, to be given out with the book in the UK. So, while UK readers might have to wait a little while longer, there may be benefits if everything works out. JOHN CONNOLLY ON CHARLIE PARKER In association with Otto Penzler of the Mysterious Bookshop in New York, who has been a much appreciated supporter of my books for many years, I've written a booklet as part of his series of Mysterious Profiles, in which mystery writers write about their main character and the genesis of their novels. It's about 33 pages long, and readers who purchase my hardbacks from Otto's store can request a copy for free. There is also a signed limited edition hardback available for sale through the store. The profiles will be anthologised later this year in a book to be published by Quercus in the UK and Little Brown in the US, so readers who are curious to read Lee Child on Jack Reacher, Michael Connelly on Harry Bosch, or Colin Dexter on Inspector Morse, along with 18 other writers, should keep an eye out for it. More details on publication dates when they become available. NEW SHORT STORY My first new short story in more than three years will appear in THE IRISH TIMES newspaper on Saturday October 11th, as part of a series in association with Amnesty International to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The story, entitled "On The Anatomisation of an Unknown Man (1637) by Frans Mier", will be available to read for free on the newspaper's website from the date of publication. NEW INTERVIEWS We've posted an interview with Kathy Reichs to the website. Another one with Laura Lippman will be posted soon. Both were recently published in THE IRISH TIMES. TOURING A number of dates in the US and Canada have been added to the tour schedule, some of which will give readers a chance to hear extracts from THE LOVERS. Bouchercon Mystery Convention Baltimore, MD Oct 9th-12th PANELS: Friday Oct 10th, 8.30-9.30am: WOULD I LIE TO YOU? (Eurythmics) Mark Billingham, John Connolly, Laura Lippman, Chris Mooney, Karin Slaughter Friday Oct 10th, 4.30-5.30pm: ASINGER MUST DIE (Leonard Cohen): Books that have a lasting impact Jennifer Jordan(M), John Connolly, Christa Faust, Russel McLean, Nathan Singer, Martyn Waites Saturday Oct 11th, 3.00-4.00pm: Toastmaster Mark Billingham in a conversation with John Connolly John will also be appearing at a trio of Canadian literary festivals in October: WordFest Calgary Saturday October 18th, 2.30pm-3.30pm Dead On! Vertigo Theatre Centre, Studio Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival Vancouver Friday October 24th, 1.00pm-2.30pm Cement Shoes Granville Island Stage International Festival of Authors Toronto Saturday October 25th Roundtable: 2.00pm Brigantine Room 235 Queens Quay West Reading: 8.00pm Studio Theatre, 235 Queens Quay West BOOK CLUB Just a short note to thank those who have participated in the book club on the website. New members are always welcome. Don't worry: we won't come around to your house and bother you if one of the chosen titles doesn't appeal to you, but we're trying to strike a balance between mysteries, literary fiction and non-fiction, so if one month's choice doesn't grab you, the following month's might. This month's book is THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Steig Larsson. THE NEW DAUGHTER The film of The New Daughter, directed by Luis Berdejo and starring Kevin Costner and Ivana Baquero, has finished post-production, and those at the film company who have seen it appear very pleased indeed. A release date has yet to be confirmed, but in all likelihood it will appear on screens early in 2009. I think that's about it for now. Thanks to all those who came along to events while I was touring THE REAPERS, and to everyone who bought the book. It wouldn't mean anything without you. Peace and happiness, John
May 2008
Dear Folks, Ten years, ten books. This month I turn 40, and publish my 10th book, The Reapers. Those are disturbing figures in a way, so, as I mourn my lost youth, permit me to distract you (and me) from my encroaching grey hairs with some news. . .
The Reapers, the new novel, is officially published this month. It will appear on shelves in Britain on May 15th, and in the US on May 27th. Readers in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand should already have seen it on the shelves in their local bookstores. For those of you who haven't been paying attention, The Reapers is, for all intents and purposes, an Angel & Louis novel, although Parker does play a significant part in it. THE UNQUIET Meanwhile, The Unquiet came out in paperback in the US late last month and, as I write, is at Number 9 in the bestseller list of The New York Times, its fifth week on the list. I'm trumpeting this fact as it's the first time one of my books has broken into the list printed in the newspaper, so I'm pretty happy about that. Thanks to all those readers, both established and new, who gave the book a try.
To complete a trio of book titles, the next novel will be entitled The Lovers, and will be a Charlie Parker novel. It deals with the circumstances surrounding the death of Parker's father, and the reasons why he killed two young, and apparently unarmed, people before he took his own life. THE NEW DAUGHTER: COMING SOON TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU Last month, I paid a visit to the set of The New Daughter in South Carolina, and very interesting it was too, apart from the part involving being bitten by the assorted insects that had made the nearby swamp their home. The film company had taken over a plantation property near McClellanville as it boasted a house that was perfect as the home of the family at the heart of the action. Kevin Costner is playing the father and Ivana Baquero (Pan's Labyrinth) is the titular daughter. The film was written by John Travis, who has just completed a script based on "Mr. Pettinger's Demon", another story from the Nocturnes collection. The director, meanwhile, is a Spaniard, Luis Berdejo, and a nicer movie person I have yet to meet. In fact, everyone involved was a pleasure to deal with. If you do get a chance, hunt down Luis's short film, La Guerra, on the Internet. After seeing it, I knew The New Daughter was in good hands. The film is due to be released early in 2009. Some photos from the movie (courtesy Gold Circle Films): 
  
BOOK CLUB We've started a book club on the website's discussion forum. I'd like to claim that it was my brilliant idea, but it wasn't. Like most things that are good about the forum, it was someone else's doing. Nevertheless, I do get to pick the books, although I am trying to use my new powers wisely. April's choice was Ross Macdonald's classic The Chill, while May's book is Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union. The more the merrier, so if you'd like to join the discussion you'd be more than welcome. A short introduction to each title will be posted by yours truly at the start of the last week in each month, so everyone has about three weeks to finish the selected title. The club won't be restricted to mystery fiction, and will include more general fiction as well as non-fiction titles. TOUR Tour dates for The Reapers have now been posted on the website. The tour will take in Ireland, the UK, the US, Canada and South Africa, although the South African dates have yet to be confirmed. There, that's it, I think. I'm off to contemplate middle age . . . Best wishes, John
January 2008
Dear Folks, First of all, a happy new year to everyone, even those people on the forum who have been unkind about my hair. Let me tell you, some of you have nothing to be boastful about on that front. People in glass hairdressers shouldn't throw, er, shampoo bottles . . . THE UNQUIET THE UNQUIET will be published in paperback in the UK, Ireland and, well, everywhere except the US and Canada, on January 10th. A special edition of the paperback will be available in Waterstones bookstores, bound with a free copy of THE REFLECTING EYE, the Parker novella featured in NOCTURNES. It just seemed like a nice opportunity to allow those who might have been put off by the short story collection to read the novella that works as a kind of prequel to THE UNQUIET. The US paperback will follow in the summer.
Meanwhile, THE REAPERS, the Angel & Louis novel (which also features Charlie Parker) will be published in the US and Canada on May 27th, and in the UK, Ireland and elsewhere a little earlier, on May 15th. The prologue will be posted on the website later this month, so people can have a taste of what's to come. I'm still working on something to go with the new book, which, if it works out, will be offered free (well, except for postage and packing) in advance of publication to those of you who receive the newsletter. More of that when, and if, I get it done. TURNDOWN TALES TURNDOWN TALES, the volume of short stories featuring one of my tales, A HAUNTING, is set to be published on either June 5th, 2008, or October 31st, 2008. I know, that's not very helpful. FILM STUFF Just to keep everyone up to date on film developments, it now looks likely that THE NEW DAUGHTER, based on the short story of the same name in NOCTURNES, will go before the cameras early this year. It's currently in preproduction. The director is a Spaniard, Luiso Berdejo, and it will star Kevin Costner and, in her first English language role, Ivana Baquero, the young actress who was so brilliant in Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. The screenplay is by John Travis and, no, I haven't read it, although I've met John and he's a good guy. From what I know of it, the original short story provides the basis for the first half of the film, and then the writer has taken it from there on his own. Meanwhile, the Irish director John Moore is developing THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS; I'm supposed to working on the script for THE ERLKING (which I am, although very slowly); BAD MEN remains in development; and a short film is being made of SOME CHILDREN WANDER BY MISTAKE, also based on a short story in NOCTURNES. So now you know. Don't say I don't tell you anything . . . TOURS Tour dates for THE REAPERS are still being worked on, but the tour will take in Ireland, the UK, the US, and South Africa. I'll also be in Paris and Istanbul in March for the release of the two latest Parker books to be published in translation in French and Turkish respectively. As things stand, the books are now translated into 27 languages. Which, to quote The Fast Show, is nice. UNTITLED PARKER NOVEL Work has commenced on the new Charlie Parker novel, to be published in 2009. I say it's untitled, but actually its working title is THE LOVERS. So that's it. I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your kindness and support in 2007, and to wish you only peace and happiness for 2008. Best, John
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