I'm delighted to welcome Brian McGilloway to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Brian writes the Lucy Black Thriller series. Bad Blood, the fourth book in the series, was released last month.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
BM: I’m a big fan of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux. I suspect the strength of his voice is possibly what makes him so appealing; there’s such a wonderful cadence to his narrative that it reads almost like Romantic poetry as much as hard boiled prose, and that’s quite a feat to manage. I think all fictional detectives operate by their own moral compass and, for me, Robicheaux’s moral compass is one that I admire.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
BM: The Lucy books began with Little Girl Lost, which was inspired by an incident where a child was found wandering in a snow storm in her night clothes which became the opening of the book. All the Lucy books (and the Devlins to a lesser extent) are very much informed by what is happening in Northern Ireland. I tend to see things which fascinate or disturb me and I want to impose some sort of fictional order or justice on them. Bad Blood was inspired by an incident in 2014 where someone targeted a family of Romanian immigrants by writing ‘Romans Out’ on the wall of their house. I believed it symptomatic of a rise in right wing intolerance both here in Ireland and further afield.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
BM: Honestly, I wrote my first book just for me, as something I would like to read when many of the series I loved as a reader were coming to an end. But once it was written, I realized that a book doesn’t really come alive until it is being read. Writers are story-tellers and telling necessitates a listener. I sent it out to see if anyone would be interested in listening to the stories I felt compelled to tell and I was thrilled that, eventually, someone was.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
BM: F Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby is one of my favourite books of all time and I suspect he’d have plenty of great stories to tell.
James Lee Burke – He’s the greatest living crime writer in my opinion. Enough said.
Umberto Eco – I love the Name of the Rose and the way in which Eco managed to make language itself part of the mystery. I studied Post-Modernist literature as part of my degree twenty-five years ago and Eco’s work featured highly.
Shakespeare – I’m an English teacher. King Lear is just stunning.
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
BM: Here and Gone by Haylen Beck. It’s a new thriller written by Stuart Neville under a pseudonym and so far it’s superb.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
BM: I teach full time, have four kids and write. Going to the cinema and watching rugby matches are about as much as I can manage at the moment in whatever spare time I can find.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
BM: I’m a coeliac so gluten free bread, gluten free Bakewell Tarts, tea (always tea) and marmalade for toast.
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
BM: At the minute I’m working on a new Devlin novel. I took a break from the series in 2012 – he stopped speaking to me, I guess – but recently his voice has been in my head and I’m delighted to hear from him again.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
BM: Writing is a privilege. Being able to share your stories and have people listen to them is such an honour – I think that’s the key thing that stands out for me. And hearing from people who have enjoyed the stories is lovely.
Bad Blood
by Brian McGilloway
on Tour June 26 - July 31, 2017
Synopsis:
DS Lucy Black is called in to investigate. As Lucy delves into the community, tensions begin to rise as the man’s death draws the attention of the local Gay Rights group to a hate-speech Pastor who, days earlier, had advocated the stoning of gay people and who refuses to retract his statement.
Things become further complicated with the emergence of a far-right group targeting immigrants in a local working-class estate. As their attacks escalate, Lucy and her boss, Tom Fleming, must also deal with the building power struggle between an old paramilitary commander and his deputy that threatens to further enflame an already volatile situation.
Hatred and complicity abound in McGilloway’s new Lucy Black thriller. Compelling and current, Bad Blood is an expertly crafted and acutely observed page-turner, delivering the punch that readers of Little Lost Girl have grown to expect.
Book Details:
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Published by: Witness Impulse
Publication Date: June 13th 2017
Number of Pages: 320
ISBN: 0062684558 (ISBN13: 9780062684554)
Series: DS Lucy Black #4
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
The hall was already packed by the time Detective Inspector Tom Fleming arrived. The air was sweet with perfume and talc and, beneath that, from the farmers still wearing their work clothes, the scent of sweat and the smell of the earth.
The congregation were on their feet, being led in the opening hymn by Pastor James Nixon. Fleming smiled apologetically at those he squeezed past to get to a free seat in the third row from the back. The hymn finished, the assembly took their seats just as Fleming reached his, and settled to listen to the words of Pastor Nixon.
‘My brothers and sisters, it is a great honour to be here with you this evening and to see so many of you have taken the time to come and pray with me.’ His voice was strong despite his age, a rich baritone still carrying the inflections of his native Ballymena accent.
‘But it is a time of great challenge for us all. Daily, all good people face an assault on their morality with the rampant homosexual agenda that assails us and belittles everything we hold to be true and dear. Men of conscience are tried for refusing to make a cake celebrating homosexuality or print leaflets and posters furthering that agenda. And on the other side of the border, the Irish Republic has voted to allow homosexuals to marry, as if two women playing house is no different to the consummated union of a man and a woman. As if it is not a perversion which shames us all.
A few voices appended his comment with ‘Amen’.
Nixon raised his hands, acknowledging their support. ‘There are those who would silence me, silence us. They tell us we must accept homosexuals in our town, our shops, allow homosexual bars and public houses to operate on our streets. We must allow sodomites to teach our children and to corrupt our young. We must stay silent while a new Gomorrah is built next to our homes and farms, our shops and schools. They say I am dangerous. They say I preach hatred. They say I should be silent. But I say this: I say that there is no danger in truth. I say that there is no hatred in goodness. And I say that I will not be silent.’
Another chorus of ‘Amens’ greeted his proclamation, accompanied by a smattering of applause which began at the front and rippled its way through the hall.
‘I will not stand idly by as our families are exposed to sin and depravity. I will not countenance the laws of the land being used to protect profane persons, allowing them to indulge their lustful practices, forcing those of us with consciences to humour this lifestyle. It is an abomination. The people who practise it are abominations and, like those before them, they will end in fire and brimstone.’
Fleming glanced around at the others in the congregation. While one or two shifted uncomfortably in their seats, for the most part the listeners sat intently waiting for Nixon to continue.
‘Friends, only last week, I read of an African nation – a heathen nation, a Godless nation – who arrested two men for homosexual acts. One of these men was sixteen. Sixteen! And do you know what they did to the pair of them? They stoned them. They took them out of the town and they threw rocks at them until the pair of them were dead. And do you know what I thought? Shall I tell you?’
An elderly lady in the front row called out ‘Yes’, to the amusement of those around her. Nixon smiled mildly at her, as if indulging her.
‘Stoning was too good for those men. Every rock that struck them was a just reward for their sinfulness, their immorality, their ungodly behaviour. Every drop of their blood that stained the ground was a reminder that they deserved to die. It was the wages of their sin!’
***
Excerpt from Bad Blood by Brian McGilloway. Copyright © 2017 by Brian McGilloway. Reproduced with permission from Witness Impulse. All rights reserved.
The congregation were on their feet, being led in the opening hymn by Pastor James Nixon. Fleming smiled apologetically at those he squeezed past to get to a free seat in the third row from the back. The hymn finished, the assembly took their seats just as Fleming reached his, and settled to listen to the words of Pastor Nixon.
‘My brothers and sisters, it is a great honour to be here with you this evening and to see so many of you have taken the time to come and pray with me.’ His voice was strong despite his age, a rich baritone still carrying the inflections of his native Ballymena accent.
‘But it is a time of great challenge for us all. Daily, all good people face an assault on their morality with the rampant homosexual agenda that assails us and belittles everything we hold to be true and dear. Men of conscience are tried for refusing to make a cake celebrating homosexuality or print leaflets and posters furthering that agenda. And on the other side of the border, the Irish Republic has voted to allow homosexuals to marry, as if two women playing house is no different to the consummated union of a man and a woman. As if it is not a perversion which shames us all.
A few voices appended his comment with ‘Amen’.
Nixon raised his hands, acknowledging their support. ‘There are those who would silence me, silence us. They tell us we must accept homosexuals in our town, our shops, allow homosexual bars and public houses to operate on our streets. We must allow sodomites to teach our children and to corrupt our young. We must stay silent while a new Gomorrah is built next to our homes and farms, our shops and schools. They say I am dangerous. They say I preach hatred. They say I should be silent. But I say this: I say that there is no danger in truth. I say that there is no hatred in goodness. And I say that I will not be silent.’
Another chorus of ‘Amens’ greeted his proclamation, accompanied by a smattering of applause which began at the front and rippled its way through the hall.
‘I will not stand idly by as our families are exposed to sin and depravity. I will not countenance the laws of the land being used to protect profane persons, allowing them to indulge their lustful practices, forcing those of us with consciences to humour this lifestyle. It is an abomination. The people who practise it are abominations and, like those before them, they will end in fire and brimstone.’
Fleming glanced around at the others in the congregation. While one or two shifted uncomfortably in their seats, for the most part the listeners sat intently waiting for Nixon to continue.
‘Friends, only last week, I read of an African nation – a heathen nation, a Godless nation – who arrested two men for homosexual acts. One of these men was sixteen. Sixteen! And do you know what they did to the pair of them? They stoned them. They took them out of the town and they threw rocks at them until the pair of them were dead. And do you know what I thought? Shall I tell you?’
An elderly lady in the front row called out ‘Yes’, to the amusement of those around her. Nixon smiled mildly at her, as if indulging her.
‘Stoning was too good for those men. Every rock that struck them was a just reward for their sinfulness, their immorality, their ungodly behaviour. Every drop of their blood that stained the ground was a reminder that they deserved to die. It was the wages of their sin!’
***
Excerpt from Bad Blood by Brian McGilloway. Copyright © 2017 by Brian McGilloway. Reproduced with permission from Witness Impulse. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Great interview! I would love to be at that dinner party!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be great!
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