Partying at the Edinburgh eBook Festival by Chris Longmuir

It’s my birthday today, and guess where I’ll be? Yes, you’ve guessed it, I’m still partying at the Edinburgh eBook Festival. But, and it’s a big but, I’ll have to behave myself, and not partake too much of the happy juice. As if I would? You see my contribution to the festival today will be in the company of the police, because I’m examining the police procedural in crime fiction. I might be put in the position of saying – ‘It’s a fair cop, guv.’

I must admit this is the post that gave me the most problems. You see in my search for police procedurals, I went to the source. Policemen writing crime fiction. I wasn’t wrong, they knew about police procedures, but the writers I chose knew damn all about writing fiction. Now I’m sure there must be some good books out there written by policemen, but I couldn’t find them. Now I’ve tempted fate, and I’ll probably be harangued by police writers for evermore!

My own crime novels contain an element of police procedures, although I’m sure the writers I rejected probably knew more than I did. However, I treasure an email I got from a retired police inspector, who said my procedures were spot on. I have an admission to make here, a lot of my procedural knowledge has been gained through books, working alongside the police in child protection, and basing a lot of it on social work procedures.

However, I want to talk about how it’s been for me, researching and reading for my posts in the Edinburgh EBook Festival. I’ve done twelve posts, and the one today will be number eight, so there is another four to go. In my first post I described how I intended to handle the following eleven, and I touched on the various theories involved. In case you didn’t know I have a criminology qualification. You’ll find the first post here. Then I looked at the many sub-genres of crime fiction, starting out with mystery and cosy, or as our American cousins call it – cozy – and finishing up with serial killers. Quite a journey and I read loads of books so I would have something to talk about, many of them by unknown authors to me. Needless to say I had to start early, I think it was about February or March, in order to get through the load. All the books were written by Indie authors and I found some really good ones along the way. The badly written, edited and formatted ones, I scrapped and didn’t even consider.

The other aspects of the festival have been enjoyable, although it’s a bit time consuming wading through the posts that pop up every hour, and my tweeting finger is numb. I’ve particularly enjoyed the posts about the mid-list, the workshops, and the supernatural ones. Oh heck, I’ve enjoyed them all.

It’s been a fantastic, hectic time, and it’s not finished yet. So what are you waiting for, pop over to the Edinburgh EBook Festival site and party with me.

Chris Longmuir




Comments

madwippitt said…
Happy Birthday Chris!
CallyPhillips said…
Yes, Happy Birthday Chris. Thanks for all your hard work on the ebook festival. Like you, I'm beginning to think that less is more - no one (including me) finds it easy to keep up with every hour. The idea was to give folks lots to choose from but maybe its inevitable that people get 'lost' with all that's going on all the time. Improvements (not of content, I think all the content is great) of delivery system for next year!
Susan Price said…
Happy birthday, Chris! - I've really enjoyed your posts at the festival. Have read them all.
And Cally - I rather like the hourly posts. I haven't had time to read them all, no - but then I wouldn't be able to attend every talk at the brick and mortar Edinburgh, or Hay. And with the on-line one, you can always go back and catch up later, if you have to miss something.
Dennis Hamley said…
Yes, happy birthday Chris. I've really enjoyed all your stuff on edebookfest and shall go on doing so. And thanks for all your nice words and likes for me. I agree: the edebookfest has been a wonderful thing to be part of. It was great last year, it certainly has been this year and will go from strength to strength year after year for as long as the eye can see. It can only grow in scope and influence. Over 7.000 views as of yesterday isn't bad but I think that in future years the number may grow exponentially. I don't think any of us quite comprehend the immensity of the debt we owe to Cally, whose direction and stewardship have been quite, quite extraordinary - even superhuman.
Chris Longmuir said…
Thanks folks, for your birthday wishes and the nice comments. I'll treasure them.
Jan Needle said…
Not too late to say happy birthday, chris. and thanks to you, as to cally, and all the other hardworking...omg, can't use that word any more, can we? daily mail, daily express and david cameron have debased it by linking it to families and implying all the rest of us are scumbag scroungers. so that you all for all the amazing graft and energy you've put into the festival so far.

as to reading it all, i've been in one of the many parts of england that don't get broadband (another government lie - there aren't any, remember?) for only two days, and my inbox is now bursting. heigh ho - who wants to work anyway?
Jan Needle said…
and that should have been thank you all, not that you all. alles klar?
Bill Kirton said…
Add my greetings to all the others Chris. Happy birthday. Thanks, too, for saying kind things about me in your series and for a very readable, enjoyable series across the crime genres.
And, while I'm at it, I'll add my thanks and admiration to that of Dennis for the enormous amount of time and work Cally has put into creating the festival and keeping it running so smoothly.
Belated Happy Birthday, Chris. You were much missed at Thursday's SoAiS lunch! A nice boozy affair as usual.