Murder they wrote: Authors prepare for Ireland's first crime writing festival
Ahead of Murder One, Ireland’s first crime writing festival, meets some of the authors who will be on stage over the weekend.
I adore crime novels. I like nothing more than sinking my teeth into the dark and torrid life of someone from the wrong side of the tracks, out to get revenge.
I am an all-encompassing fan of crime; as long as it has an element of mystery and is as far flung from my own life as possible, I am sold.
While my crime-reading career began with world-famous authors like Lynda La Plante and Patricia Cornwell, these days, I choose books that are written closer to home.
I am a fan of authors like Liz Nugent and Andrea Mara; writers who make me stay up way past my bed-time, churning through pages that are so addictive I am torn between racing to find out what happens and not wanting it to end.
There are lots of readers like me. Last year crime fiction overtook general fiction in the UK for the first time ever, and this is a trend that looks set to stay the course.
While crime writers have regularly appeared at literary festivals here in Ireland, this year marks a change with Murder One, a three-day crime writing festival. Taking place at Smock Alley in Dublin, the weekend will feature readings and interviews with Irish and international authors including Lynda La Plante and Michael Connelly as well as Irish talent like Liz Nugent and Jane Casey.
There’ll also be a La Plante-themed workshop for those interested in forensics, where a group of forensic scientists and senior investigating officers will set up a murder scene from Lynda’s newest book, Murder Mile, and invite participants to conduct an investigation.
Murder One has been a long time coming, says festival founder Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin.
“The top three best selling books in the UK last year were all thrillers, which shows a huge appetite for crime amongst readers,” she points out.
“I think the thing about crime is that there are so many different genres within it. There is something for everyone across the genre, which is great for us planning a festival because it gives us a much broader palette to work from.”
O’Loughlin has penned three best-sellers under the pen name Sam Blake and is Ireland’s leading literary scout as well as founder of The Inkwell Group publishing consultancy and www.writing.ie.
She says that festivals such as these are a right of passage for any would-be crime writer.
“For anyone who is starting out, I would suggest going to as many events as possible that authors are speaking at,” she advocates.
“Every time I go to events I learn something new; I will be at the back of every event at Murder One, just soaking up all the ideas and technique.
The thing about creativity is that it’s very personalised and everyone does things really differently but brilliantly, so you can cherry pick what you want to use in your own work.
Producing award-winning historical crime that has been described as “almost unbearably creepy” is the name of William Ryan’s game.
The Irish lawyer-turned-writer now calls London home and says that successful writers write the books that they would like to read themselves.
“For me, that’s crime and historical fiction so historical crime seemed like a natural path to go down and is one that I enjoy immensely. I think sometimes when we start writing we have a tendency to write novels that are written more for praise than for enjoyment and I think if you’re doing it day in, day out it’s better to write something you like.”
Ryan is looking forward to Murder One, where he will be appearing on a panel discussing how an author decides whether a book will be a series or a stand-alone book in its own right.
Crime writing festivals are extremely social events, he says.
“One of the nice things about crime writing is that there is a real sense of community and so when we go to these festivals they are very social events, and it’s not just writer hanging out with writers, it’s writers hanging out with their readers too.
"Events like these mean that writing is not as solitary an occupation as you might think.”
Murder One will offer fans of crime the opportunity to meet the newest stars of the genre, and Cormac O’Keeffe, security correspondent at the Irish Examiner will be making his literary festival debut, along with his book Black Water.
Having a day job as a journalist has its pros and cons for the aspiring author, reckons O’Keeffe.
“The huge plus to being a journalist who wants to write a book is that you’re used to sitting in your chair, looking at a blank screen and you’re used to typing in sentences, so that discipline is already there.
"For some writers who don’t come from that discipline, they experience the terror of the blank screen. You are used to the process of telling a story of some sort, and you are used to the concept that what you write has to be clear.”
One of the major problems that Cormac O’Keeffe came up against while writing Black Water, a book that examines the dark side of Dublin’s inner city, was his own style of writing.
“I almost had to unlearn and unravel how I write, because it is a very different method.
Your brain has to almost relax so that your writing has a chance to breathe, as opposed to being a journalist, where it’s all very structured.
The festival organisers are palpably excited about Lynda La Plante’s CSI Murder Room, an interactive experience that will appeal to any fans of Criminal Minds.
“We have a gang from the UK who are all Crime Scene Investigators, ex police - they’re the real deal,” Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin explains.
“They run a company called Think Forensic and they set up a crime scene and they run a workshop where they run people through the exact investigative procedure. We’ll be looking at blood splatter, fingerprints - all those kinds of things.
"The crime scene will be inspired by Lynda’s new book; it’ll all be very much Lynda-themed. They’ve never been to Ireland before, and I’m so excited.”
Whether you have your eye on a seat at A Conversation With Lynda La Plante or a chance to pump your favourite authors for their best-kept writing secrets at a Write A Bestseller workshop or fancy trying your hand as a Crime Scene Detective, this weekend is not one to miss.
Who does Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin anticipate meeting at the smorgasbord of crime writing that Murder One promises?
“I love puzzles, I love books that challenge you and I love a good page-turner with complex plots.
"I love really strong characters that hook you in, the books that you don’t forget when you put them down. Readers like me will love Murder One.”
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