NOW OUT IN PAPERBACK - DEAD AND BURIED

The latest Cooper & Fry novel DEAD & BURIED is published in paperback this week. It's available from all good bookshops (and some you might not approve of very much!).

DEAD AND BURIED has a bit of a Dante's 'Inferno' theme going on, particularly highlighted in the opening scene on Oxlow Moor. So I'm very glad that we managed to get DEAD AND BURIED out in paperback a full month ahead of a book called 'Inferno', which is written by a certain Dan Brown. Now people can assume that he copied my idea, rather than the other way round!

I continue to see and hear a lot of comments about the ending of DEAD AND BURIED - such as the reviewer who said the book has "an unexpected and genuinely shocking climax", or the readers on Goodreads who've written: "another brilliant read, with a seat of your pants ending to this one" and "the powerful finale means this is a definite 5 stars". 

Of course, the ending was largely what propelled me into the story for the next book in the series, which is published in June. If you've already read DEAD AND BURIED, I'm sure you'll want to know what happens next - just as I did!

Well, the next book ALREADY DEAD (number 13 in the Cooper & Fry series) is all done and dusted now - editing finished, proofs read, cover finalised (see below), and it's ready to go into production. In fact, June 20th isn't really all that long to wait now, is it? Just nine weeks, according to my calendar. A teenager in Pennsylvania once slept for longer than that in a single session, so I'm sure it'll pass in a jiffy.

Meanwhile, I'll be getting on with writing Book 14. Of course, I never imagined when I started writing the first Cooper & Fry novel, BLACK DOG, that the series would reach this stage. The fact that there are now thirteen books about these two young Derbyshire police detectives is entirely due to my interest in the characters, which fortunately many readers seem to share. 

If you'd like to know a bit more about where Ben Cooper and Diane Fry originally came from, you can read a piece I wrote called 'How I Met My Detectives', which is currently featured on the Crime Vault website:

http://www.thecrimevault.com/exclusives/stephen-booth-how-i-met-my-detectives/

You can buy a copy of the DEAD AND BURIED paperback online here:

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-And-Buried-Cooper-Fry/dp/0751545694/stephenbootho-21

Waterstones:http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/stephen+booth/dead+and+buried/9025989/

WH Smith:http://www.whsmith.co.uk/Products/Dead-and-Buried-v-2-Cooper-and-Fry-2+Paperback+9780751545692

The Hive: http://www.hive.co.uk/book/dead-and-buried/16928563/

Or visit your local bookshop, of course!

Oadby Creative Fortnight

Oadby Library in Leicestershire will be staging a fortnight full of creative events during April. 

You can kick off the fortnight on Monday 15th April (7.30pm) by spending an evening with me, when I'll be talking about the Cooper and Fry series and the writing process.

Tickets for the evening are £8, including refreshments. For more information, or to book a place, contact Oadby Library on 0116 305 8763 or email: mark.newman@leics.gov.uk

The full programme for 'Get Creative Fortnight' is available here:
http://www.leics.gov.uk/getcreative.pdf

* If you'd like me to take part in an event for your local library, bookshop or festival, just send an enquiry, giving as many details as possible of date, location & type of event, to: events@stephen-booth.com

Nottingham Festival of Words

This year, the city of Nottingham will get its first ever book festival with the launch of Nottingham Festival of Words.

Next weekend (Saturday 16th February) I'll be taking part in 'Arsenic and Nottingham Lace', a crime and noir panel as part of the festival. Also on the panel are local authors Niki Valentine, Danuta Reah and David Belbin.

Admission is by festival day or weekend pass. Make sure you book now!

The full festival programme is here: 
http://nottwords.org.uk/resources/nottsfest2012-lowres.pdf

SATURDAY 16th FEBRUARY, 11.15am - Nottingham Festival of Words - 'Arsenic and Nottingham Lace' crime and noir panel with Niki Valentine, Danuta Reah and David Belbin at Nottingham Trent University's Newton Building, Goldsmith Street, Nottingham NG1 4BU. Entry with day or weekend pass, tickets available from Nottingham Tourism Centre on Smithy Row, by phone on 0844 477 5678, or online through the festival website: http://nottwords.org.uk/

During the summer, I'll also be taking part in the first ever Gedling Book Festival, which will be held in Arnold in July. 

For details of more forthcoming events, please visit the website:

http://www.stephen-booth.com/new events.htm

TOP HARD price reduction

The ebook of my standalone Nottinghamshire crime novel TOP HARD has been reduced in price! It's available for Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iPad etc. A trade paperback print edition is also out there.

"Top Hard" by Steve on Ganxy

Crime evening at Cambridge

Warm up in the chilly weather with a great crime evening taking place at Heffers Bookshop in Cambridge on Thursday 13th December (6.30pm). 

Books, wine, goody bags, prizes are available, and all of these 10 crime authors will be there to chat to readers: 

Stephen Booth, Jayne-

Marie Barker, Alison Bruce, Mark Edwards, Ruth Dudley Edwards, Elly Griffiths, Kate Rhodes, Michelle Spring, Peter Tickler, Len Tyler.

http://twitpic.com/be2b33 

Tickets are £4 redeemable off the cost of a book on the night. Phone 01223 463200 for tickets or more details. 

This is a Mystery People event:

http://www.mysterypeople.co.uk/

Chellaston Library project, Derby

Readers in the Derby area have two chances to hear me talk about my writing career and the Cooper and Fry novels with a series of events highlighting the facilities of Chellaston Library in the south of the city. The first 'Evening with Stephen Booth' takes place on Tuesday 6th November (7pm start).

I'm honoured to be appointed Chellaston Library Champion by Derby City Council's library services, and I'll be helping to draw attention to the importance of community libraries like Chellaston and the range of facilities available for library users in the area. 

We all know that libraries are a vital part of many communities. They provide a place to meet, chat to like-minded people, make new friends, or join a club. They offer free access to books, online databases and computers, information about starting a business or writing a CV and job clubs for job seekers. You can read with your kids, help them with their home work, and be a reading role model.

Derby City Council have added over 48,000 new items to their shelves in the past year, including all the latest bestsellers. Fiction, non fiction, large print, audiobooks, magazines and newspapers are all available, as well as craft clubs, author talks, writing workshops and story times for children, a quiet space to work or study, space to sit down and read a newspaper or magazine. From a writer's point of view, libraries are also important as a place where readers discover new authors.

On Tuesday 6th November, I'll be at Chellaston Library to talk about how I became a writer, about why libraries have been so important to me personally, and why I support them. This will be followed by a question and answer session. The evening starts at 7pm. 

This is a FREE event! All are welcome, but booking is recommended. You can phone the library on 01332 702614 for details, or email chellaston.library@derby.gov.uk
or book a place online here: http://stephenbooth1.eventbrite.com/

Chellaston Library is on Barley Croft, off High Street, Chellaston, close to the A514 in the south of Derby. The postcode for your satnavs is DE73 6TU, and you'll find car parking close by. There's a detailed map on the event page:

http://stephenbooth1.eventbrite.com/

For more details about the library's facilities and opening times, click here: http://www.derby.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/libraries/derby-libraries/chellaston-library/

Following the November event, I'll be back at Chellaston Library in February to talk in more detail about my novels and the Cooper and Fry series. Watch out for more details!

Autumn events

I have three more UK library events coming up in the second half of October. Make sure you book your places now!

WEDNESDAY 17th OCTOBER, 6.30pm
Poulton-le-Fylde Library, Blackpool Old Road, Poulton, Lancashire - talk to readers. Tickets £2. To book a place, phone 01253 888900 or email: poulton.library@lancashire.gov.uk

THURSDAY 18th OCTOBER, 7pm
Chester Lane Library, Four Acre Lane, St Helen's, Merseyside - talk to readers. FREE! Phone 01744 677446 or email karenthornburn@sthelens.gov.uk to reserve a place.

FRIDAY 26th OCTOBER, 4pm
Hamstead Library, Tanhouse Centre, Hamstead Road, Great Barr, Birmingham, West Midlands - talk to readers. FREE! Phone 0121 569 2548 or email: hamstead_library@sandwell.gov.uk

CSI PORTSMOUTH

Tickets are also now on sale for this year's 'CSI Portsmouth', part of Portsmouth BookFest. This is your chance to meet and mingle with top-selling crime authors, police and forensic experts, learn about what really happens at a crime scene, how a fire investigation is run, how the fingerprint bureau works, and even have your own fingerprints taken!

CSI Portsmouth takes place on Saturday 3rd November. I'll be taking part in a morning panel with authors Matt Hilton and Pauline Rowson, plus Crime Scene Manager Carolyn Lovell, DC Terry Fitzjohn of Hampshire Police, and Andy Earl of the fire service's Arson Task Force. Throughout the day there will be a bookshop, and a scene of crime provided by Forensic Science students from South Downs College.

Events will be held at the John Pounds Centre, Queen Street, Portsmouth. Tickets are £6 per panel or £10 for the day, with £3 redeemable against purchase of a book at the event, and a £1 discount for Portsmouth Library members.

For tickets, call the Box Office on 023 9268 8037 (Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm). For more details, go to:

http://www.portsmouthbookfest.co.uk/?page_id=224
or:
http://www.rowmark.co.uk/csi-portsmouth/

* For dates of more forthcoming events in the UK, please visit the Events page on the website:

http://www.stephen-booth.com/new events.htm