Crimefest was a Blast by Chris Longmuir
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| Chris Longmuir and Nev Fountain on Panel at Crimefest |
I’m shattered, worn out, and just want to crawl into a
corner and sleep! Why? Because I’m just back from Crimefest, Bristol ’s own convention for crime writers.
Why do I do it? Why did I trot off to Crimefest again this
year? Well, it’s simple really, because as well as being a shattering
experience, it’s also a stimulating one. There’s a buzz at this crime
conference that you don’t get anywhere else.
The place hotches with readers, writers, editors, publishers
and agents. Some writers attend hoping to attract the eye of the latter three,
but I’m afraid my interest is mainly the readers and writers. Since going my
own way I’m no longer interested in a publishing deal or agent representation.
I’m happy to be independent.
The panel I was on, aptly named ‘A Suitable Job? Diverse
Characters in Crime’, was moderated by Adrian Magson, and he did a brilliant
job. The other panel members were Mary Andrea Clarke, Roz Southey, and Nev
Fountain. Mary and Andrea write historical crime, and Nev writes humorous crime. I read his book
and it’s hilarious. So, apart from Adrian ,
I was the only one writing contemporary dark crime, which I felt gave me an
advantage. Our panel was the first one, therefore I suppose we opened the
convention. The experience was great. The audience were lively and full of
questions, and people came up to me all over the weekend with comments relating
to it. Oh, and the other thing, the spin off, if you like, was that I sold just
over 100 downloads of Night Watcher over the convention period. You can
imagine, I came away chuffed to bits.
So, why do I do it? Well, it’s because I meet so many nice
people there, make new friends, and come home revitalized, stimulated, and
ready to jump into the fray again. That’s after I catch up on my sleep, of
course.
Roll on next year and I’ll be heading for Crimefest again.
Chris Longmuir
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