Category: Cocktail Lounge

Today my guest is the genre-hopping author Jon Richter whose work spans crime novels, fantasy, science fiction, horror stories and cyber-punk. I really enjoyed his last crime novel, Never Rest.

Hi Jon how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. The previous three times we met you were not drinking as you were training for the London Marathon. However what can I get you at the bar?

J: Haha well I’m unclear as to whether you’re paying or not, but if you are I’ll have a double gin and tonic, with one of those posh new-fangled gins please.  In fact make that a triple. 

Sounds about right. If I remember correctly the first time we met in real life was a boozy occasion?

J: Oh yes! We first met at a Bloodhound Books event where I was very nervously dishing out some (rubbish) promotional badges I’d had made, while you were very slickly distributing copies of your ace crime thrillers, including to me!

I still have my badge! First impressions?

J: Dead nice, dead friendly, an absolute pleasure to talk to, and you clearly knew what you were doing at such an event so I latched onto you like a determined leech.

Strange isn’t it? I thought you were amazingly confident! Not sure about the repetition of “dead” in your reply given the type of books you write. Apart from living in the same area, do we have any other points in common?

J: We both write crime thrillers and also dabble in other genres, although to my knowledge you haven’t yet ventured into cyberpunk… but I would absolutely love to read it if you did. I think we also both like a drink and a good laugh, as showcased at the recent charity quiz event I ran, where your team were very gracious about all the super-nerdy video game questions. That was only back in March, would you believe – it seems like a lifetime ago after the lockdown has since kicked in.

Indeed. What are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

J: It’s really interesting to reflect on all the things I thought I’d miss, but actually don’t really mind. For social events, it turns out that Zoom parties/quizzes are a pretty good replacement – you still feel like you’ve seen all your friends and family, had a few drinks and a laugh, and you don’t have to faff around travelling home.  For live sport, you can just watch old repeats of matches where you know your team won, thereby avoiding the usual stress and heartache.  And for days outdoors, I now have a great excuse not to bother, and can instead enjoy staying at home reading, writing and playing video games!

I do miss going out for meals though – I’m a terrible chef so I love treating myself to some much better food that someone else has prepared. Thankfully my girlfriend is a really really cook good, and actually enjoys it, so I’m very lucky to be quarantined with her (also because she’s lovely).

I’ve also very recently started a new job, actually during the lockdown, and I never thought I’d say this, but I think I miss going into the office. It’s strange to be working as part of a virtual team without the opportunity to meet new colleagues face-to-face or to get to know them properly in the pub… although on the plus side, I can now wear shorts to work, so it isn’t all bad!

Back to events – what would be your dream panel (at any event) – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?

J: This is such a good question!  I think if I was going to appear on a panel of writers I’d like one of my all-time idols to be there, along with a writer who I really like and respect, but who I’ve already met (to put me at ease so I didn’t become too starstruck and waffly). Then finally I’d add someone who I’m convinced would be an entertainingly terrifying maniac. So that’s the sadly-missed Iain Banks, the equally-sadly-missed Harlan Ellison, and your good self Anne – I’ll let you decide which one is which!

Well as I’m not dead yet… What are you working on now?

J: It’s actually a really big year for me!  My first cyberpunk thriller, Auxiliary: London 2039 has just been published by the awesome TCK Publishing (an American publisher, resulting in many battles about correct spellings!) and I’m just putting the finishing touches to another dark and sinister crime novel, Rabbit Hole, for the ace people at Bloodhound Books, due for release in June.  I’ve got a couple of new writing projects on the go, with the genre-hopping showing no sign of abating: one is a dark fantasy novel, and the other is a science fiction “sidequel” to the cyberpunk book… and there are always more short horror stories in the pipeline of course!

Is there one thing lockdown has made you think about/want to do?

J: It has definitely reinforced my belief that you should always say “yes” to things. I always try to say yes whenever I’m lucky enough to be invited to events, parties, posh cocktail lounges like this one, or even just for a few pints at the pub after work, because I think I’m really unbelievably lucky to have friends in my life who want to spend any of their time with me… and because you never know when that might change.  The unthinkable circumstances that have descended upon us so mind-meltingly quickly in the last few months have reminded us all just how fleeting and precious those relationships are.

So, when all this is over, the first round is on me!

I’ll hold you to that, Jon, and thank you for joining me in The Cocktail Lounge and good luck with your launches.

To find out more about Jon’s books visit www.jon-richter.com

Today my guest is the genre-hopping author Jon Richter whose work spans crime novels, fantasy, science fiction, horror stories and cyber-punk. I really enjoyed his last crime novel, Never Rest.

Hi Jon how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. The previous three times we met you were not drinking as you were training for the London Marathon. However what can I get you at the bar?

J: Haha well I’m unclear as to whether you’re paying or not, but if you are I’ll have a double gin and tonic, with one of those posh new-fangled gins please.  In fact make that a triple. 

Sounds about right. If I remember correctly the first time we met in real life was a boozy occasion?

J: Oh yes! We first met at a Bloodhound Books event where I was very nervously dishing out some (rubbish) promotional badges I’d had made, while you were very slickly distributing copies of your ace crime thrillers, including to me!

I still have my badge! First impressions?

J: Dead nice, dead friendly, an absolute pleasure to talk to, and you clearly knew what you were doing at such an event so I latched onto you like a determined leech.

Strange isn’t it? I thought you were amazingly confident! Not sure about the repetition of “dead” in your reply given the type of books you write. Apart from living in the same area, do we have any other points in common?

J: We both write crime thrillers and also dabble in other genres, although to my knowledge you haven’t yet ventured into cyberpunk… but I would absolutely love to read it if you did. I think we also both like a drink and a good laugh, as showcased at the recent charity quiz event I ran, where your team were very gracious about all the super-nerdy video game questions. That was only back in March, would you believe – it seems like a lifetime ago after the lockdown has since kicked in.

Indeed. What are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

J: It’s really interesting to reflect on all the things I thought I’d miss, but actually don’t really mind. For social events, it turns out that Zoom parties/quizzes are a pretty good replacement – you still feel like you’ve seen all your friends and family, had a few drinks and a laugh, and you don’t have to faff around travelling home.  For live sport, you can just watch old repeats of matches where you know your team won, thereby avoiding the usual stress and heartache.  And for days outdoors, I now have a great excuse not to bother, and can instead enjoy staying at home reading, writing and playing video games!

I do miss going out for meals though – I’m a terrible chef so I love treating myself to some much better food that someone else has prepared. Thankfully my girlfriend is a really really cook good, and actually enjoys it, so I’m very lucky to be quarantined with her (also because she’s lovely).

I’ve also very recently started a new job, actually during the lockdown, and I never thought I’d say this, but I think I miss going into the office. It’s strange to be working as part of a virtual team without the opportunity to meet new colleagues face-to-face or to get to know them properly in the pub… although on the plus side, I can now wear shorts to work, so it isn’t all bad!

Back to events – what would be your dream panel (at any event) – subject, fellow panelists or a Q&A with someone you have met or would love to meet?

J: This is such a good question!  I think if I was going to appear on a panel of writers I’d like one of my all-time idols to be there, along with a writer who I really like and respect, but who I’ve already met (to put me at ease so I didn’t become too starstruck and waffly). Then finally I’d add someone who I’m convinced would be an entertainingly terrifying maniac. So that’s the sadly-missed Iain Banks, the equally-sadly-missed Harlan Ellison, and your good self Anne – I’ll let you decide which one is which!

Well as I’m not dead yet… What are you working on now?

J: It’s actually a really big year for me!  My first cyberpunk thriller, Auxiliary: London 2039 has just been published by the awesome TCK Publishing (an American publisher, resulting in many battles about correct spellings!) and I’m just putting the finishing touches to another dark and sinister crime novel, Rabbit Hole, for the ace people at Bloodhound Books, due for release in June.  I’ve got a couple of new writing projects on the go, with the genre-hopping showing no sign of abating: one is a dark fantasy novel, and the other is a science fiction “sidequel” to the cyberpunk book… and there are always more short horror stories in the pipeline of course!

Is there one thing lockdown has made you think about/want to do?

J: It has definitely reinforced my belief that you should always say “yes” to things. I always try to say yes whenever I’m lucky enough to be invited to events, parties, posh cocktail lounges like this one, or even just for a few pints at the pub after work, because I think I’m really unbelievably lucky to have friends in my life who want to spend any of their time with me… and because you never know when that might change.  The unthinkable circumstances that have descended upon us so mind-meltingly quickly in the last few months have reminded us all just how fleeting and precious those relationships are.

So, when all this is over, the first round is on me!

I’ll hold you to that, Jon, and thank you for joining me in The Cocktail Lounge and good luck with your launches.

To find out more about Jon’s books visit www.jon-richter.com

Although authors love having time in isolation to write, lockdown means we can’t enjoy those events and festivals where we can meet up, exchange ideas and just socialise. So I’ve invited some of my author friends to join me for a virtual drink and chat.

It’s a special pleasure to welcome James Silvester to my virtual Cocktail Lounge as he was indirectly responsible for an introduction to Urbane Publications when I reviewed his first thriller The Prague Ultimatum (Prague thrillers)“>The Prague Ultimatum, and the Lucie Musilova Thrillers: Sealed With A Death – A Lucie Musilova thriller“>Sealed with a Death (2019).

Hi James how lovely to see you in my virtual cocktail lounge. I’m onto a winner here as I don’t have to pay for the drinks. What can I get you at the bar?

James: Hello there! It’s a pleasure to be here with you, Anne. Typically, I’d go for a large rum, but as this is a special occasion, I’ll have a mojito, please.

This could be one of those “Oh yes I remember it well” conversations. So where did we first meet in real life?

J: Well, we’d be exchanging pleasantries on the Twitterverse for a while before we met. I think the first time we properly talked would have been at the splendid CrimeFest in Bristol, back in 2016, although I’ve a feeling we met briefly at an Urbane bash a few months earlier.

I knew it! The Urbane party was later in the year at The Phoenix Arts Club. CrimeFest was the first time we met with other Urbane crime writers. First impressions?

J: That you were great company! CrimeFest was my first event, and I was extraordinarily nervous, and felt like a fraud even being there, in the company of writers I seriously respected (and still do). You put me at ease straight away, and helped me relax into company, which, I was initially quite intimidated by.

Really? I was nervous too – CrimeFest was my first as well and my début, Dancers in the Wind, hadn’t even been published then so if anyone felt a fraud it was me. So apart from nervousness, any other similarities?

J: Obviously, we’re both extremely talented and stunningly attractive people. I struggle to say what we have in common, but I think the ease with which we get on speaks for itself. I’m conceited enough to think we have some similarities in our writing, but that’s probably for others to decide.

And we both love the word “perdition,” of course. I had a fabulous time at your London launch for Sealed with a Death, will there be another book soon?

J: No dates at the moment, but I’m writing a new thriller, right now. It’s still in the early stages, but will be another Euro Thriller, in the same style as my other stuff, and will have a focus on EU Citizens in the UK. I think that’s a theme I’ll always return to, in my work. I can tease the title, though: Generation Death.

Well, that’s hooked me. So apart from a book launch, what are you most looking forward to when lockdown is finally lifted?

J: Time alone. I’m in a house full of people who I adore, but I’m someone who thrives on periods of solitude. I’ve always been comfortable in my own company, and not having anywhere to go, without someone else being there is a struggle, I must admit. It’s funny, I was chatting to a friend, the other day, who lives alone, and who can’t wait to be in company when this is all over. It just goes to show how this is affecting everybody.

Is there one thing lockdown has made you think about or want to do?

J: Frankly, mortality. I was quite ill for a time last year, and I’ll admit to being worried about what’s going on at the moment. It’s made me realise I need to take better care of myself, for the sake of the people who depend on me.

I’ll drink to that. Back to book events – what would be your dream panel?

J: Argh!!!! That’s a tough one. I’d absolutely love to share a stage with Bernard Cornwell, Stella Rimington and Hugh Fraser. Bernard is one of the reasons I started writing – he has a brilliant way of writing exciting, impeccably researched thrillers with a basis in history, which is what I originally aspired to. Stella Rimington is a solid spy thriller writer, and, let’s face it, her background in the field is second to none. And Hugh? Well, let’s just say that I’m delighted that someone I grew up admiring, is now a trusted and valued colleague, who I can ring up for honest advice at any time. His “Rina Walker” series is an absolute joy to read. And, of course, I hope you’d be up there with me, too.

You’re such a charmer, James. I’d love to be the moderator on that panel. But as a friend said to me recently when our drinks had run out during a FaceTime chat, the tide is out and our time is up. Thank you so much for being the first to join me in The Cocktail Lounge and I look forward to seeing you soon.