What's Matt Up To? Lots.

There are quite a lot of Matt Hilton books hitting the shelves of late, or are imminent, and I thought a quick review of all that's on the go may be helpful to those of you interested in my output.


First up is the paperback edition of Dead Men's Harvest which goes on sale in the UK on 5th January 2012 but is already available from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Mens-Harvest-Joe-Hunter/dp/1444712667/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1291725685&sr=1-2


And on the 19th January 2012 Joe Hunter: Six of the Best an eBook anthology of Joe Hunter short stories will be available on Kindle (but can be ordered now): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Joe-Hunter-Short-Stories-ebook/dp/B006HAMCPI/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_4


Joe Hunter's next adventure - No Going Back - will then go on sale in hardback in the UK from 16th February 2012, and can be pre-ordered now here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Going-Back-Joe-Hunter/dp/1444712683/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324661645&sr=1-1


Away from Joe Hunter for a moment, there are also three new eBooks available from Matt Hilton and all are available on all Amazon platforms.


Dominion is an apocalyptic thriller reminiscent of the movies '28 Days Later' meets 'Aliens' and can be downloaded here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dominion-ebook/dp/B006GT3NPI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1324664758&sr=1-1


Darkest Hour is an historical horror thriller set against the Fall of France in WW2 and is reminscent of the movies 'Saving Private Ryan' meets 'Van Helsing'. This is Matt's latest standalone horror book and can be downloaded here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Darkest-Hour-ebook/dp/B006P2BHAE/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_3


Also from Matt Hilton but under the pen name J A Norton, there's a YA horror adventure called Deliver Us From Evil and it can be downloaded here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Deliver-Us-From-Evil-ebook/dp/B006C752U8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1324664985&sr=1-1




Also, a short story, 'The Skin We're In' is included in The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 9 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mammoth-Book-British-Crime-Books/dp/1780330944/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324665106&sr=1-1


Another Matt Hilton short story 'Apocalypse Noo' appears in Wild Wold Publishing's 'Holiday of the Dead' under the pen name Vallon Jackson: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Holiday-Dead-John-Russo/dp/1907954058/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324665214&sr=1-2


While in the USA, both Slash and Burn (Joe Hunter 3) and Cut and Run (Joe Hunter 4) have just gone on sale too: http://www.amazon.com/Slash-Burn-Matt-Hilton/dp/0061718475/ref=pd_sim_b_5  and http://www.amazon.com/Cut-Run-Hunter-Matt-Hilton/dp/0062079948/ref=pd_sim_b_1 respectively.

Six of the Best for Christmas

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006HAMCPI/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_8z37ob0S510RS

Joe Hunter: Six of the Best can now be pre-ordered for your Kindle to be delivered to your device on 19th January. Why not treat yourself?

Six of the Best Joe Hunter has always hated bullies. And Tony Largo is a bully who has picked the wrong target when he assaults a war veteran.
Homecoming Joe promises a grieving mother he'll bring her son home, whatever it takes.
Sand Dance When a hot-dog seller gets mugged, Joe finds a sneaky way of getting revenge.
UV Ray Joe and his best buddy RInk don't play by the rules when they take on a child abuser at a bowling alley.
Instant Justice Carl Riley didn't sound like the name of a beast. But he was a man who preyed on the faceless young who worked the neon strip. Until he came face to face with Joe.
The Other Side of the Street Joe plays the Good Samaritan.

Wear your Best Boots

Really pleased to announce that my younger brother, and fellow scribe, James Oliver Hilton, has made available his first collection of crime/action stories as an eBook on Amazon. 'When Dancing With Death' collects three of Jim's 'McMurder' stories, plus two standalone stories, one an urban crime thriller, the other a conspiracy theory thriller...all five of them gems filled with humour, pathos and kick-arse action.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006MK4Y0E/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_alp_eZD7ob1W43KZM

DOMINION paperback

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/dominion/18742971


I mentioned previously about my horror thriller 'Dominion' and how I chose to self-publish it as an eBook to avoid reader confusion etc regarding my usual Joe Hunter thrillers, and how I wished to keep the books as separate entities. This hasn't changed, and the book is available to download via all the Amazon platforms, .com, .co.uk, .de, .it, etc.  However, what did become apparent was that many of my readers still prefer a paper book over an electronic one, and various people asked that I make 'Dominion' available as such. I've done so, making the book a POD product via Lulu.com (see the link above).


One reason why I resisted at first, was because with POD there's always a slight hike in price. This is because the publisher charges per page and 'Dominion' is a hefty read of over 175,000 words (500 pages), and then also expects a take from the 'profit' margin, not to mention adding postage costs. Any way, because people did ask, I decided to make it available and allow my readers to decide if they wished to pay the price for the product they demanded. To help out, I've cut my part of the profit, reducing the overall cost by 10%, and bringing down the cost to what you'd expect to pay for a similarly sized trade paperback in bookstores.


Other reasons why I decided to publish Dominion are as follows:


Regular publisher feedback was generally very good, though none were in position to offer publication. I knew I had a good book, but it didn't sit with these publishers' styles or catalogues and may prove awkward for them to market to the general public. However, the book was good enough in my opinion to find its own market.


I had sent portions of the book to a selection of readers both from the horror and thriller communities and the feedback was that it worked for both markets, yet didn't fully sit in either. Therefore I was happy that I'd developed my own sub-genre from both angles. Is it a thriller with horror, or a horror with thrills? I'll allow my readers to decide that, I thought, and the only way to do that was to make it available to them.


I spent many, many hours working on, and then revising and editing Dominion, and did not wish to see it left to languish on my hard drive. Even if one person reads and enjoys the book in any of its forms, the writer in me will be satisfied. It will mean all of those many hours won't have been wasted.


Plus, I'm greedy. No. I don't mean I expect to make much money from Dominion. I am greedy for readership, like all authors. We want people to read our words otherwise why would we write them down? So, yeah, greed and selfishness also prompted me to publish the book. Paradoxically I hope some readers are equally greedy to read my words. It will mean that I've done something worthwhile for us all.


A trade paperback copy can be found here: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/dominion/18742971


But if you prefer an eBook you can get it at Amazon.co.uk here and Amazon.com here .

No Going Back for Joe Hunter

Loving the cover for Joe Hunter seven 'No Going Back' which will be published February 16th 2012.

The Osseus Box Rises Again!

The incredibly talented horror and crime writer Lee Hughes is finally making his 

superb horror novel "The Osseus Box" available as an on-going serial over at

http://theosseousbox.blogspot.com/p/chapter-1-jesus-people.html and you can

catch the first instalment here. This was a favourite of mine (and still is) over at

Thrillers, Killers 'n' Chillers where it first appeared in a shorter form.

More 'What's Occurring'...

I know I'm throwing lots at you at the minute, but here's a brief resume of all the 

stuff that's coming out/is out at the moment, just so you don't miss anything (see 

first comment):

Out now:


Slash and Burn - paperback (USA) Joe Hunter


Cut and Run - paperback (USA) Joe Hunter


Blood and Ashes - paperback (UK) and eBook (worldwide) Joe Hunter


Dead Men's Harvest - hardback (UK) and eBook (worldwide) Joe Hunter


Holiday of the Dead - short story anthology featuring zombies containing a short story from me under pen name Vallon Jackson paperback and eBook (worldwide)


Off The Record - charity anthology with foreword by me in paperback and eBook.


Deliver Us from Evil - YA horror novella eBook (worldwide) under pen name J A Norton


Dominion - Horror/thriller eBook (worldwide) 


Coming soon:


Early January (5th)  - paperback of Dead Men's Harvest (UK) Joe Hunter


Early January (5th) - paperback  Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 9 includes a short story from me.


Mid-January (19th) - eBook Six of the Best (worldwide) Joe Hunter


Mid February (16th) - hardback of No Going Back (UK) Joe Hunter


Darkest Hour - horror eBook (worldwide)


If anyone wants further info about any of these projects just say...

Six of the Best: available to pre-order now.

Joe Hunter: Six of the Best is an eBook collection of action-packed Joe Hunter tales with twists in the tail, and is now available for pre-order via Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006HAMCPI/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_alp_1mK2ob1P3W0DP

SEMPRE VIGILE PRESS - a new venture for Me.

Here's some news on a few projects I've been working on for quite some time. Most of you here know me as the author of the Joe Hunter thriller series. Others also know that I write other stories in different genres - primarily that of horror under various pen names (Vallon Jackson, Jack Norton, J A Norton). I'm one of those authors who can't bear NOT to have a book on the go. Therefore when I'm not writing the latest Hunter thriller, I will work on other standalone books.

Now, then, when I've offered these books to publishers, there has been a little problem that gets in the way. The 'Matt Hilton" brand is infinitely connected to Joe Hunter, and there is no desire to cause confusion either for the buyers or readers of Joe Hunter's adventures, so my publishers have politely declined to bring out the stand alone books, though I've received their blessing to bring them out elsewhere.

So here's what I'm doing instead:

I'm going to bring out my books as eBook originals, through my own self-publishing efforts called SEMPRE VIGILE PRESS. If demand is large enough I may look into the possibility of bringing out hardcopy editions - unless some nice horror publisher is reading this and makes me an offer.

A few weeks ago I published a young adult horror novella under the pen name J A Norton called 'Deliver us from Evil', primarily as an exercise into the hows, why, and wherefores of self publishing an eBook, while also working to get ready my first full length adult novel.

My first stand alone horror/thriller is called DOMINION, and it is now available through Smashwords.com to the US market, as well as all Amazon platforms.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006GT3NPI

Spec-Ops soldier, First Sergeant Ellis Kirby leads a JSOC unit into the Tora Ghar cave system in Afghanistan in search of WMDs, but finds something much worse. Infected by an ancient power summoned by an evil cleric Kirby and his companions are whisked back to secret military laboratories in the US. The plague of creatures - known as rakes - that is subsequently unleashed threatens to wipe out the entire population of the United States and perhaps the world.

Kirby wakens in his room to discover that everyone in the lab has been slaughtered, and the monstrous flesh-eating creatures are loose and rampaging throughout the land, killing and propagating their species with abandon.

Through a country rapidly overwhelmed by the ravenous creatures, Kirby aims to return home to his parents’ farm in Iowa, but on his return – following a perilous cross country journey through rake-infested lands - he discovers that they are dead, so chooses instead to take the fight back to the monsters and their master.

Across the same devastated landscape travel Bree and Jill Adams, sisters at odds, who must face their past to survive the future, and three misfits collectively known as the Ruby gang. Each must endure their travails before all of them are thrown together, and then with Kirby, in a race to the eastern seaboard where the final conflict between man and beast is destined to play out in a battle encompassing modern warfare and ancient magic.

The book isn’t a techno-thriller; it focuses on the human stories, and the terror of the plague seen through the eyes of the central characters, and is one of fear, horror, hatred and violence, but also of adventure, humour, courage, loyalty and hope. It runs at over 175 K words, so is quite a hefty read.

One industry insider has described DOMINION as being like "28 Days later" meets "Aliens", an accolade I'll gladly take.

Hope you enjoy my first venture into self-publishing. 

CUT and RUN - USA

Cut and Run, the fourth of Joe Hunter's high-octane thrillers in now available in paperback in the USA, and on sale from most major booksellers.

If I had Written a YA Horror Novella...

If I had written a YA horror novella it probably would have been very much like J A Norton's 'Deliver us from Evil', and I highly recommend it to any of your younger siblings (or indeed you if you enjoy high-adventure, horror, fantasy and action).  Norton has made the novella (about 40K words) available as an eBook on Amazon, Smashwords etc. Take a look if you're looking to purchase a gift for kids over 13+

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Deliver-Us-From-Evil-ebook/dp/B006C752U8/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_2

New Look Cover for DMH

I'm chuffed with the design team at Hodder and Stoughton who have re-imagined the cover of Dead Men's Harvest for the UK paperback market (out in early January 2012). Hope you like it too.

What's Occurring?

These are the current editions of Joe Hunter adventures on sale at this current time (although Cut and Run doesn't officially hit the bookshelves for another fortnight but you might see it cropping up). Dead Men's Harvest - the sixth Joe Hunter thriller - is the latest to be published in the UK in hardback, while Blood and Ashes (JH 5) graces the shelves in paperback. Slash and Burn and Cut and Run (JH 3 and JH 4 respectively) are the current paperback books available in the USA.

Coming soon...

Dead Men's Harvest (JH 6) will be released in the UK in January 2012
No Going Back (JH 7) hits the shelves in February 2012.
Six of the Best - a Joe Hunter eBook short story collection will be available to download from early January 2012.
My short story 'The Skin We're In' originally published in 'Even More Tonto Short Stories' will feature in The mammoth Book of Best British Crime 9 (2012) in February 2012.

A paperback edition should be released in the USA in Spring 2012 - further news on this as it comes to me.

Nowhere Man

A group of families who rule the world. A group of women no one would suspect. A diabetic girl on the run. A detective in turmoil. DI Mike Yorke never mixes work and play- but his latest case on Holy Island has come a little too close to home. Aunt May is in a coma. Street kid Smiler is seeing doom at every turn. Childhood friend Dave is obsessively praying.
The Drugs factory has been broken up, the enslaved children rescued and the monastery returned to the monks. Mike should be moving onto the next case, but the horror of that night won't leave him alone.
He thinks he's seen the worst, he has no idea of what's still to come

Nowhere Man - the new Mike Yorke book from Sheila Quigley is on sale from this Thursday 17th November

Ding! Ding! Round One...

I'm a big fan of the old pulp masters, primarily Robert E Howard. Howard is remembered for creating Conan the Cimmerian, King Kull, Solomon Kane, Red Sonja, and other characters you might have subsequently come across in movies and comic book adaptations. However he also wrote a whole raft of other characters not immediately recognised, but who were always larger than life heroic figures. Howard wrote prolifically, selling stories to the pulp magazines of the time, and other than heroic fantasy, was known for writing humorous westerns, treasure hunting adventures, and boxing or fight tales. It's through my appreciation of these lesser known Howard tales that I was excited to hear about this new series 'Fight Card' as it harks back to those good old days.

Paul Bishop's new novel, Felony Fists, has gone live on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, as has the second book in the series (The Cutman by series co-creator Mel Odom).  The Fight Card books are being written under the unifying pseudonym Jack Tunny, but the actual authors of each book are not a secret.  They have the next two books in the series, Split Decision by Eric Beetner and The Knockout by Robert Randisi ready to come out over the next two months.

The Fight Card series is inspired by the boxing/fight stories in the sports pulps from the '30s and '40s, such as Fight Stories Magazine and Knockout Magazine as well as the Sailor Steve Costigan tales from Robert E. Howard.

FELONY FISTS

Los Angeles 1954

Patrick “Felony” Flynn has been fighting all his life. Learning the “sweet science” from Father Tim the fighting priest at St. Vincent’s, the Chicago orphanage where Pat and his older brother Mickey were raised, Pat has battled his way around the world – first with the Navy and now with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Legendary LAPD chief William Parker is on a rampage to clean up both the department and the city. His elite crew of detectives known as The Hat Squad is his blunt instrument – dedicated, honest, and fearless. Promotion from patrol to detective is Pat’s goal, but he also yearns to be one of the elite.

And his fists are going to give him the chance.

Gangster Mickey Cohen runs LA’s rackets, and murderous heavyweight Solomon King is Cohen’s key to taking over the fight game. Chief Parker wants wants Patrick “Felony” Flynn to stop him – a tall order for middleweight ship’s champion with no professional record.

Leading with his chin, and with his partner, LA’s first black detective Tombstone Jones, covering his back, Patrick Flynn and his Felony Fists are about to fight for his future, the future of the department, and the future of Los Angeles.

Inspirational Stuff

http://www.inspirationforum.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=1413

Here I'm interviewed by Fiona McVie at Inspiration Forum and talk about my writing, my influences and inspiration and also upcoming projects. If you think you know everything you need to know about me as an author, fair enough, but if you aren't tired of hearing my dulcet tones you might want to check it out. Who knows? There could very well be something new to learn ;-)

FINALLY!

Finally after eighteen months or so since Judgment and Wrath graced the shelves of US bookshops, book three in the Joe Hunter thriller series has been published as a mass market paperback. Yes, SLASH and BURN is finally available from William Morrow and Company (Harper Collins) and is earning good reviews. The book has been released in much higher numbers than Joe's previous outings, and I'm hopeful of him winning the audience he deserves across the pond. Because some readers will be coming on to Joe Hunter for the first time, I wrote an extra introductory chapter to this edition, giving new readers a taste of Joe not seen in the UK edition (Hodder and Stoughton).

Here's the best news though. In little more than three weeks, book four, CUT and RUN, will also go on sale, hopefully adding to the buzz as both Joe Hunter and Matt Hilton's names begin to appear in heretofore unknown corners. I'm stoked about the possibilities, but also trying to remain cool, calm and collected as I also keep my fingers firmly crossed in hope that the books are a success.

It's my understanding that the paperback of Judgment and Wrath (still as yet unpublished) will be out early next spring - but I guess this is down to the relative successes of SAB and CAR. Here's hoping.

Six of the Best - Joe Hunter short stories

Coming in January next year is a collection of brand new never-seen-before Joe Hunter short stories that will be released by Hodder and Stoughton as an ebook via Amazon Kindle. Before anyone asks, no I'm not getting on the bandwagon of authors who are now releasing short stories onto Kindle as a way of making an extra buck (though admittedly it's not bad recompense) but that I wanted to share these stories with Joe's fans - old and new - in a wider format.

Regular followers of my books and blogs etc know that I'm a voracious writer, and that when I'm not penning the latest Joe Hunter book I can't allow my writing fingers to settle and often come up with short stories or flash fiction. I share some of these stories here at the blog, or put them out into the world under pen names, but there are some I've held on to for some time - plus some brand new stories scripted for this collection - that deserve a wider audience. The collection will go out under the title "SIX OF THE BEST".

No, it's not a spanking book, though there might be a few sore butts after Joe's done kicking them.

The title comes from the lead story, and yes, there are six stories in total, so it's a double-header really.

Included in the collection are:

1. Six of the Best
2. Homecoming
3. Sand Dance
4. UV Ray
5. Instant Justice
6. The Other Side of the Street

plus there will be sample chapters from the upcoming Joe Hunter 7 - No Going Back - to whet your appetite.

Some may wonder about the process of writing short stories versus novels, so here's my take on it:

The long and the short of it is this:

I’m one of those authors that simply love to write and the medium isn’t as important as putting words on paper. Therefore I’ll write in any style that suits the story I’m attempting to narrate. Often it will be suited to a full novel, but as regularly a story can be told in much fewer words, and its as likely for me to come up with a Joe Hunter story as a flash piece or short story as it is a full novel. Writing a novel takes many hours of slogging away at the keyboard, but that doesn’t mean that a short piece is any less a feat of endurance. With a short the rules of structure still apply, but in this case there is less room for error, so it has to be that more concise. Words cannot be wasted yet characterisation, setting, plot and – for a Joe Hunter story – pace are still essential to the telling of the tale. In other words, penning an effective short isn’t an easy get out, in fact they can be more troublesome than writing a full novel where you have more ground to establish the finer details.

So why do it?

The reason I write short stories is because they challenge me. I’ve written more than a dozen novels so I know I’ve got what it takes to deliver a full book. The novels are my bread and butter, my “must do’s”. However, with the short stories it’s different. I tend to write these as a form of enjoyment, and have fun with them along the way. It’s not unknown for me to pen shorts in different genres that include noir, crime, thriller, horror and sci-fi, but one thing that binds them all is that there’s a hefty dose of humour running throughout. That doesn’t mean to say that they’re laugh out loud funny, but that they have a quirk or turn of phrase, and I have fun coming up with a particular emphasis on a sting or twist in the tale. Often the story begins with a single word or phrase. Take the lead story from my collection “Six of the Best”: It’s an old English term that describes a form of corporal punishment. I couldn’t resist the idea of someone receiving their just desserts, I just had to find a way of incorporating the phrase into the narrative, without it becoming obvious from the get go. My Joe Hunter books are known for their fast-paced action, and with the Hunter short stories this remains true, where the phrases that influenced them help determine the forms of action. With this collection of stories I believe I’ve achieved what I set out to do. That is to deliver the same fast-paced action Joe Hunter’s readers have come to expect, while also being true to myself and having fun along the way. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did writing them.

The collection - Six of the Best - will be available from January 5th 2012 (and for pre-order soon) and will be very competitively priced, and initially will go out in the Amazon Kindle format. Further news about other formats will be made available as I receive it.

Rogue Island

“Rogue Island,” by Bruce DeSilva is one of the most honored crime novels of the year – winner of the prestigious Edgar and Macavity Awards for best debut novel and a finalist for the Anthony, Barry and Shamus awards.

The main character, Liam Mulligan is as old school as a newspaper man gets. His beat is Providence, Rhode Island, and he knows every street and alley. He knows the priests and the prostitutes, the cops and the street thugs. He knows the mobsters and the politicians – who are pretty much one and the same. Now, someone is systematically burning down the working class neighborhood he grew up in, and people he knows and loves are perishing in the flames. With the cops looking for answers in all the wrong places, it’s up to Mulligan to find the hand that strikes the match.

Rogue Island has received rave reviews, with The Dallas Morning News declaring that it “raises the bar for all books of its kind.” And it has drawn praise from a who’s who of best-selling crime novelists including Dennis Lehane, Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly.  For example, Joseph Finder says: “With “Rogue Island,” Bruce DeSilva accomplishes something remarkable: he takes everything we love about the classic hardboiled detective novel and turns it into a story that’s fresh, contemporary, yet timeless.”

The book is available in trade paperback and Kindle editions here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_13?field-keywords=bruce+desilva&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&x=19&y=14&sprefix=bruce+desilva
and in the UK here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rogue-Island-Bruce-DeSilva/dp/0765329816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317924054&sr=8-1

Find Her

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I have become a member of the Hardboiled Collective and brought a review of Zoe Sharp's latest eBook to your attention. I will be regularly bringing you recommendations from authors writing in the hardboiled tradition and today it is the turn of FIND HER by Jochem Vandersteen.


A Trestle Press original digital short story series by Jochem Vandersteen:
“ Husband, father, vigilante... Mike Dalmas left Special Forces to become a dedicated family man, but when his daughter gets molested he had his revenge, killing the pervert who committed the crime.
Now the Bay City cops keep him out of jail if he takes care of their dirty work. The things their badge won't allow them to do but for which Dalmas has the right skill set.
Mike Dalmas is blackmailed in saving a young girl from a known sex offender. The cops want him to find her before she dies or loses the will to live. The clock is ticking... Will Dalmas be prepared what is needed to find her in time?”

This is a new action / adventure / crime series by Jochem Vandersteen, founder of the Hardboiled Collective and blogger of Sons of Spade, author of the Noah Milano series. It's his first story to come out from publisher Trestle Press.
 
FIND HER can be found here at amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Find-Mike-Dalmas-Story-ebook/dp/B005P9FSQC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1316944615&sr=1-1

What a Blast!

I've had a few adrenalin-charged escapades of late - some good, some bad - but all have helped me as a writer. They say that you should write what you know. Well, I can now speak with experience when it comes to firing live rounds and what it feels to be seconds from death, both of which often feature heavily in my writing.

First thing first. Recently I took a trip to Jamaica to celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary (I know I look way too young, but I did marry at the tender age of three years old) and everything was great. Hurricane Irene swept by the island during our stay but left its calling card by way of high winds, pelting rain and a lightning storm to end all storms...just as we were taking off in our airplane. Anyway, we were tearing down the runway when a lightning bolt struck the plane and blew up the left engine. Flames, sparks and smoke gouted across the runway. Doing around eighty miles an hour and losing one engine meant only one thing: the plane swung crazily to the left and was heading off the runway. Then it swung to the right and it felt like we were going to roll over, before the quick thinking pilot hit the brakes to abort take off. We were of course then thrown forward in our seats. Was there a lot of screaming and praying? No. It all happened so quickly that all that went through my mind was "Oh. This is it then?" It was only afterwards when the plane rocked to a standstill and the truth set in that a chorus of surprise set in, followed by shock and the wailing began. The firetrucks turned out to douse the engine and then we were towed back to the gate and all the passengers spilled into the disembarkation lounge. It was only then that I began thinking about how much it would be to charter a boat home. I was determined that I was never going to get back on an airplane in my life, but at the back of my head knew that I just had to. I had to get home, and then had to take another four flights to reach St Louis for Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in a little over a week's time. So, I thought WWJHD? I girded my loins and got back on the replacement plane brought in a day later.

By the time I flew to St Louis I'd put the incident down to experience and told myself that things could have been much worse. Apparently another five seconds later and we'd have been at optimum speed for take off (170 mph) and things would have ended up very differently indeed. The new engine that was required for the plane had a price tag of £15 million pounds, plus the bill for putting up more than 300 passengers in a 5* hotel all inclusive amounted to £158,000 - so maybe I had nothing to complain about.

I got my second major adrenalin buzz while in St Louis. I had the pleasure of accompanying fellow Brit thriller author Zoe Sharp and her husband Andy, and a couple other readers, to the Top Gun shooting range where I had a literal blast shooting some of the guns I feature in the Joe Hunter series. My favourite remains the SIG Sauer P226 but have to admit that shooting a MP5 submachine gun does leave you with a sense of awe. Earlier during the convention I'd had great fun at a shooting range simulator at the hotel where real guns had been attached to gas bottles to simulate 'real fire' sensation, and I really enjoyed that, however when compared to the genuine thing there was something missing. When handling a real gun, with live rounds, there's always that sense of cold fear and absolute respect lurking in your mind. This was brought home to me while shooting the MP5. I was goggled and earphoned-up, and merrily gave rip with burst after burst of ammo at the targets. Then one of the scalding hot spent brass shells dropped inside my right goggle and burned my eyelids, followed seconds later by another that dropped neatly in my left goggle and burned my eyelids on that side too. It served to remind me that BULLETS ARE DANGEROUS. But my little burns also gave me a little ego trip, thinking "Well, that's my warrior stripes earned." It was a superb experience, and one that left me adrenalized but also with a sense of great responsibility. What a blast. A hearty thank you goes to Zoe and Andy for allowing me the opportunity to satisfy my shooting jones.

Plus a second hearty thanks go out to all the Bouchercon gang, and in particular Jon Jordan and Ruth Jordan of Crimespree Magazine, Judy Bobalik and Beth and Jeff Tindall.

N.B Apparently flying is still the safest form of travel and it was a million to one chance that a similar incident should happen to me, and about ten million to one that it should ever happen again. For one hot shell to go inside my goggles was about a million to one. For a second hot shell to go in the opposite side about two million to one. Then again it's about a million to one that I will win decent money on the National Lottery so I've just gone out and bought a ticket.

Musings From the Fluffy Navel Rides Again!

This past month has been a very busy one, what with two books coming out (Blood and Ashes in paperback and Dead Men's Harvest in hardback) and all the associated publicity work that I've been up to alongside them. I've barely had time to update my blog, and I apologise for only hitting you with my latest reviews and such. My writing seems not to have moved on much since last I updated you all, but I have been working hard on a few separate projects to get them ready for publication in one way or another.

Joe Hunter Eight (Current title RULES OF HONOUR) is now in the bag - discounting line edits, full edits, page proofing etc - and is now with my editor. I've also been working hard on writing six brand new Joe Hunter short stories to be released exclusively as an eBook in the early months of next year. It's called SIX OF THE BEST and I really hope you all enjoy this collection. I've also been working on a totally different project that must - for now - remain a secret. It's not Joe Hunter, but it is an action-packed, high-octane thriller, with a genre twist you might not have expected from my pen. More news on that soon...which I hope will be GOOD news.

Good friend of mine, Vallon Jackson, has also been doing some work of his own, and his GOOD news is that independent film makers "Third Act Montage" have picked up his short apocalyptical story THE DAY to adapt in to a short movie. I can't wait to see what they come up with. They did an amazing job on the Joe Hunter movie-promo I shared with you all a few months ago. The Day is now in production and I'll update you all once I know more details or have some sample shots to share.

In a few days time I'll be hopping over the Pond to the USA to attend Bouchercon in St Louis, where I'm taking part in a couple of panels, doing a couple of signings and also giving away 50 copies of Slash and Burn to some lucky recipients. SAB is being released at the end of October by William Morrow and Co as a paperback original, and because some readers might be coming across Joe Hunter for the first time, I've written a brand new chapter that was not included in the original UK edition. Less than a month later, Cut and Run will also be available in the US. Publication of the paperback edition of Judgment and Wrath has been put back in the US until sometime late Spring next year (just in case you were wondering). While I'm in the US I hope to attend a gun range to familiarise myself with the proper handling of handguns again (all for research purposes I assure you) and am also visiting a wolf sanctuary. Can't wait. Though I'm planning on an eventful journey, I hope it doesn't end the way my recent vacation to Jamaica did. While picking up velocity on the runway during take off, my plane was struck by lighting, the engine exploded, and the plane veered wildly out of control before the quick thinking pilot saved all our lives with an emergency stop before we went completely off the runway. Scary stuff, but all fodder for an active fiction author's imagination.

Once I'm back from the next trip, I'll be getting on with Joe Hunter nine. At this time I haven't a clue where the story will take me or Joe, but rest assured, you can count on Joe doing the do as per the norm.

On the publicity front, things are coming to an end for the year. I do have a trip planned to East Boldon Library in N.E England 7.30 on Thursday 29th September, so if you're in the region please pop along. Then I've got my calendar cleared until the new year to get down to some serious writing. Those of you aspiring authors longing for publication, take note: Publicity now takes up more of my time than the actual writing of the books. But it's an extremely important facet of my career (and yours), particularly now that there are less bookshops and retailers pushing your books for you, few newspapers giving up column inches to new books, and less money in the publishers' pot to spend on promotion.

On the promotion front. If you've purchased a Joe Hunter book and liked it, perhaps you can kindly go on Amazon or any other review sites and put up an honest review of the book. It seems only my detractors - or those with an axe to grind - currently post reviews, and my rankings and sales are possibly suffering for it. Now you might care less that it could hurt my pocket, but it also might mean that in the future there could be no more Joe Hunter books released, if the publishers don't think they're viable. I'm sure you don't want that?

To finish....I just wanted to mention a quick "Congratulations" to Dean Crawford, whose debut book Covenant is due for publication. It's one to keep an eye out for, trust me.

Another goodie...

http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com/review.html?id=8931

Another good review for Dead Men's Harvest has come in, this time from Linda Wilson at Reviewing the Evidence.

Crimesquad.com's September Author of the Month is...

...Little ol' me.

I was thrilled and honoured to hear that Chris Simms, editor at Crimeqsuad.com chose me as Crimesquad's author of the month for September. Here's a brilliant review of Dead Men's Harvest along with a special Q and A I completed for the site. I know you've possibly read other interviews by me lately, but I assure you there'll be something new here you haven't heard from me before.

http://www.crimesquad.com/author-month.asp

Blistering reviews are coming in for the latest Joe Hunter book

Brill review of Dead Men's Harvest from Shotsmag. Excellent stuff. http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/book_reviews_view.aspx?BOOK_REVIEW_ID=324

Huge thanks to Adrian Magson and the Shots crew.

Talking to Myself.

When you're asked to interview yourself, you can answer some of the burning questions that readers often ask but don't go into the usual interviews. Well, at SEA MINOR I do just that...answer those frequently asked questions you'd all like the answers to.

http://nigelpbird.blogspot.com/2011/08/dancing-with-myself-matt-hilton.html

Thanks to Nigel Bird for the opportunity.

The Wait is Over

The Harvestman is back! And determined to wreak revenge on Joe Hunter. When Rink is ambushed by a team of highly skilled killers, Joe is pretty sure his friend is being used as bait. And the intended prey is Hunter himself. Joe has to go 'off radar' to rescue his friend. Their deadly game of cat and mouse reaches its climax on the rusty hulk of The Queen Sofia - a container ship used by human traffickers - moored off the North Carolina coast where Joe's ex-sister-in-law is being held hostage. Against overwhelming odds, and amid a ferocious storm, Joe comes face to face with his old enemy Tubal Cain.

AVailable from today from Hodder and Stoughton in hardback and eBook formats.

...and while I'm talking books.

Other books, better described as straight crime that you will also enjoy are as follows....

Simon Kernick's latest bestselling paperback

A 'smashing, gritty debut' from Howard Linskey

The first in a new Mike Yorke series from Sheila Quigley

The Hardboiled Collective

As a writer of hardboiled crime - yeah, that's another name for crime thrillers if you hadn't heard - I was pleased when approached by book reviewer and author JV Steen of Sons Of Spade to join a group of likeminded authors to help promote and support others in our field. I was delighted to do so and have joined the Hardboiled Collective. Over the coming months I will be bringing you news of each author and their current book but for a quick overview you might want to take a quick look at this Listmania entry over at Amazon:

Basically, if you like Joe Hunter, or you like Jack Reacher, then you're more than likely going to like the writing of these fine individuals.

First up is news about a brand new e-antholgy of short stories from fellow Brit - and Cumbrian - Zoe Sharp whose Charlie Fox collection FOX FIVE has just come available on Kindle. 

FOX FIVE is a collection of stories by the highly acclaimed crime thriller writer, Zoë Sharp. All feature her ex-Special Forces soldier turned self-defence expert and bodyguard, Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Fox.

In A Bridge Too Far, we meet Charlie before she’s become a professional in the world of close protection. When she agrees to hang out with the local Dangerous Sports Club, she has no idea it will soon live up to its name.

Postcards From Another Country has Charlie guarding the ultra-rich Dempsey family against attempted assassination – no matter where the danger lies.

A finalist for the CWA Short Story Dagger, Served Cold puts another tough woman centre stage – the mysterious Layla, with betrayal in her past and murder in her heart.

Off Duty finds Charlie taking time away from close protection after injury. She still finds trouble, even in an out-of-season health spa in the Catskill Mountains.

And finally, Truth And Lies puts all Charlie’s skills and ingenuity to the test as she has to single-handedly extract a news team from a rapidly escalating war zone.

Also included: Excerpt from KILLER INSTINCT: Charlie Fox book one, Meet Charlie Fox, Meet Zoë Sharp, info on the other books in the Charlie Fox series.

Praise for Zoë Sharp and Charlie Fox:

‘Ill-tempered, aggressive and borderline psychotic, Fox is also compassionate, introspective and highly principled: arguably one of the most enigmatic − and coolest − heroines in contemporary genre fiction.’ Paul Goat Allen, Chicago Tribune

'If you don't like Zoë Sharp there's something wrong with you. Go and live in a cave and get the hell out of my gene pool! There are few writers who go right to the top of my TBR pile − Zoë Sharp is one of them.' Stuart MacBride

'Anyone with a brain wants Charlie Fox for the girl next door. Funny, compassionate, and with moves that can − and do − kill, Charlie is the indelible creation of the remarkable Zoë Sharp.’ Gayle Lynds

P.S. I left Zoe Sharp's book off my previous entry in anticipation of doing this one. Charlie Fox could easily sit alongside any of the tough guys mentioned in my 'If you like Joe Hunter piece...' below...

If you like Joe Hunter then you'll like...

The sixth Joe Hunter thriller from Matt Hilton

The second Harry Tate spy thriller from Adrian Magson

The second Ryan Lock thriller from Sean Black

The second Paul Dark spy thriller from Jeremy Duns (aka Free Country)

The first in a new spy thriller series featuring Will Cochran from Matthew Dunn

The first 'Victor' spy thriller from Tom Wood

The second to latest Dan Shepherd thriller from Stephen Leather

My Inspiration

OK, there are many of you who will read the heading above and think that I'm going to start naming names  of all the authors who have inspired me to date. I think I've already done that on a number of occasions and you're probably sick of hearing me going on about the same people. No, all I'm going to do here is mention one name in particular. That name is ADRIAN MAGSON.

Now I'll probably embarrass Adrian in saying so - he's such a humble guy - but of all the author's I've read and admired, Adrian probably gave me more of an inspirational boost than any. Now it could be quite simply that Adrian was the first 'real' author I ever corresponded with, but his words of encouragement gave me the proverbial kick up the butt that my writing aspirations required way back when I was still aspiring to be published. Adrian might not even remember our short email conversation, back when I bit the bullet to congratulate him on hearing of his publishing deal with Creme De La Crime for the first in his Gavin and Palmer series. On Adrian's urging I submitted my latest novel to his publisher - and it was rejected. But, hey. Not such a bad thing. Because I also gained some great feedback and advice from both CDLC and Adrian. As a result of that I continued writing. Believe it or not, but prior to that I was on the cusp of giving up on my writing dream. The advice was just the push I required, and glad I am that I spoke with Adrian that time.

Since then I've followed Adrian's writing, through the Gavin and Palmer books, and more recently through Red Station, and Tracers (Harry Tate series), and Death on The Marais, and Death on the Rive Nord (tbr) (Lucas Rocco series). But also, I have also avidly followed Adrian's 'beginners' column in WRITING MAGAZINE. I was chuffed to hear from Adrian recently that he had plans to pull all his columns together in one volume, and here it is. WRITE ON! The Writer's handbook.

For any aspiring author there's good advice on writing, and there's great advice, and from Adrian you only get the latter. This book is a superb addition to any author's shelves - beginner or advanced - and - written in Adrian's engaging, anecdotal and witty style - is actually an enjoyable read (unlike many text books). An interviewer asked me recently which book on writing I'd recommend, and without pause I said Stephen King's ON WRITING. I wish I'd had Adrian's book on hand at the time because my answer would assuredly be different. I'd have said Adrian Magson's WRITE ON and Stephen King's On WRITING. Yeah, it really is that good in my opinion.

You can grab yourself a copy here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Write-Writers-Help-Adrian-Magson/dp/1908006773/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312976486&sr=1-13

Dead Men's Harvest - Joe Hunter 6

Dead Men's Harvest - Joe Hunter 6 - is only a little over a week from hard back publication on 18th August 2011 by Hodder and Stoughton. I will be officially launching the book on Saturday 20th August at Waterstone's Carlisle branch, Scotch Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, UK at 11:00 am if anyone can make it along (I'll be in store for five hours so plenty time). This is your opportunity to have your books personalised.

Joe Hunter VS Prisoner 1854
The Harvestman is back, and he's got a bone to pick...

Me Interviewed!

http://wp.me/p18Ztn-uZ

Morgen Bailey interviewed me for her blog on writing and teased from me some little known facts. Why not skip on over and see what we've got to say. Morgen blogs and interviews different authors twice a day and her site is a great asset for any writer - aspiring or otherwise.

On the Go...

I've had a crazy busy time of late on the publicity trail for the paperback of Blood and Ashes, and the upcoming sixth Joe Hunter thriller, Dead Men's Harvest, and have had the pleasure of seeing/meeting/chatting with old and new friends in many corners of the UK and also in New York while at Thrillerfest at the beginning of July. I just wanted to give a quick hello shout  out to everyone that I've met along the way and to say thanks for the ongoing support.

So...to everyone at Whitburn library, Middlesbrough Central Library, Carlisle Waterstone's, Kendal Library, Outerwest Library (Newcastle), Nottingham library, Goldsboro Books, Carlisle Library, Thrillerfest (New York), Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (Harrogate), York, Stockton-on-Tees, and all places in between...thank you.

Oh, and if you can get along to Waterstone's Emerson Chambers, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, tomorrow, Saturday 3oth July between 11:30 and 16:OO...hello and thank you in advance.