NEWSLETTER #3

Greetings! I hope you're all having a great summer. Or, if you happen to live in the southern hemisphere, Merry Christmas (wait a minute, is that right?).

I'm a Cancerian myself (one of the few things I have in common with Detective Constable Ben Cooper), so I've always tended to regard the year as running from the beginning of July to the end of the following June - because that's when the next 12 months of my life start. Well, it seems logical to me!

This year, the feeling is reinforced, because changes to my publication schedule have resulted in a July release date in the UK for the new Cooper & Fry novel ONE LAST BREATH. The official date is Monday 5th July, but in practice, this means it'll be in the bookshops any minute now. Look for the red cover and the wonderful atmospheric picture of the ruined tower at Peveril Castle in the Hope Valley, where the book is set.

For once, Canada was the first country to get this book - it arrived there during the second week in June, in time for my visit to Toronto (more on this trip later).

Thank you to those who've pointed out that the last email newsletter wasn't as clearly identified in the subject line as it might have been. Several members of staff in the technical department have been disciplined for this oversight.

So just in case the April newsletter ended up in your waste bin along with a dozen online prescription offers and all those mysterious mortgage applications you seem to have made, don't worry. Previous issues have been posted on the website so you can catch up. You do need to follow these direct links or paste them into your browser:

http://www.stephen-booth.com/NewsletterApril04.htm

http://www.stephen-booth.com/NewsletterFeb04.htm

Finally, I'd like to welcome the new subscribers who've signed up since the last issue. Where have you been all this time? You've missed a treat.

And don't forget, if you have any suggestions for what you'd like to see in future issues, please don't hesitate to let me know. Send your ideas to:

newsletter@stephen-booth.com

All the best

Stephen Booth

NEWS

ONE LAST BREATH IS HERE!

Yes, the new novel has finally arrived - number 5 in the Ben Cooper and Diane Fry series. A little later in the year than usual, but I hope you'll find it well worth waiting for.

At this stage, some months after I finished working on ONE LAST BREATH, I've started to think of it in a way as DC Ben Cooper's 'coming of age' novel, marking a turning point in his life. And there's critical moment in his relationship with DS Diane Fry, too!

Also central to this story is Mansell Quinn, a convicted murderer released on licence from prison as the book starts. I always find it interesting to write about that disturbing grey area that exists between good and evil, guilt and innocence. One person can be both of these things at the same time, and that's true of all of us. Circumstances alone may decide which side of the line we'll come down on.

It's generally accepted in the criminal justice system that the one factor most likely to stop a prisoner re-offending on release from prison is a stable, supportive family. But almost fifty per cent of male prisoners in the UK lose contact with their families while serving their sentence. Given the present size of the prison population, that represents around 30,000 men who will leave prison with no family to return to, without that most important factor to help them rehabilitate into society. What happens to those men? What kind of problem are we storing up?

Finally, the other important aspect of ONE LAST BREATH is the setting. The Hope Valley, in the heart of the Peak District, is one of Derbyshire's most fascinating and historic areas. But much of its fascination lies where most of us never see it - under the earth.

SYNOPSIS:
The vast labyrinth of caverns, passages and subterranean rivers beneath the Peak District are a major tourist attraction. But this summer not all the darkness is underground, and not all the devils are folk legends. Mingling with the holidaymakers is a convicted killer, bent on revenge.

Fourteen years ago Mansell Quinn was sentenced to life imprisonment for stabbing his lover to death. Now he's out and within a matter of hours his ex-wife is found dead - a new identity and a new home no safeguard against murder.

Looking to the original case files for clues to the fugitive's wherabouts, detectives Diane Fry and Ben Cooper discover there may be other potential victims out there.

And as the son of the officer responsible for putting Quinn behind bars, Ben realizes that his own name could be high on the list...

ONE LAST BREATH will soon be available in UK bookstores. Hardback from HarperCollins priced at just £10 (10 UKP).

For a taster, the first chapter has been posted on the website:

http://www.stephen-booth.com/breathchapter.htm

Translation rights are already sold in some countries, but there's still no date for a US edition of ONE LAST BREATH. I know that readers in the USA are going to start feeling left out, and I can only apologise. These circumstances are beyond my control, I swear! But I'll do my best to help.

So, if you're in the States (or any other country for that matter), and you really can't wait to read ONE LAST BREATH, there are several ways of ordering the UK hardback for shipping overseas without breaking the bank. Some booksellers may even be able to supply signed first editions - but do check with them first by email to be sure.

Here are some suggested independent booksellers in the UK:

http://www.postmortembooks.com
http://www.countrybookshop.co.uk
http://www.goldsborobooks.co.uk
http://www.bookworm-online.co.uk

And of course, there's always:

http://www.amazon.co.uk
or
http://www.whsmith.co.uk

Don't forget, the cover price of this book is only £10 (about $17.40 in US dollars), much cheaper than most hardbacks. Even with the addition of shipping costs, the deal can come in at less than the typical US bookstore price of around $25.

For example, Ralph Spurrier of Post Mortem Books has the shipping cost to the USA down to £3.50 (about $6) for the first book, and £1.75 for each subsequent book (providing an excellent reason to buy a few copies for your friends, too!).

And the big boys are offering discounts, too!

ONE LAST BREATH is also now available in Canada (though mostly the trade paperback edition), via mystery bookstores, at branches of Chapters/Indigo and online. Hope that helps!

As soon as I have any news of a US edition, I'll share it with you via the website and in a future newsletter, I promise!

COMPETITION WINNERS

Thanks to everyone who entered the competition to win a signed UK hardback first edition of ONE LAST BREATH. The prizes are on their way to the winners.

The correct answer? The very first car I owned was a Volkswagen Beetle (and a great car it was, too!).

Lucky winners were:

Malin Backlund, Kristianstad, Sweden.
Ann R Chernow, Barrington, IL USA.
Martin V. Clarke, Durham, UK.
Ruth Hershberg, Israel.
Carol W. Penney, Bogart, GA USA.
Ian Richardson, UK.

EVENTS

CANADA

I had a wonderful but hectic four days in Toronto earlier this month to launch the Canadian edition of ONE LAST BREATH. Full marks to the folks at HarperCollins Canada who not only looked after me really well, but put in heroic efforts to get the books there on time.

There was a real buzz in Toronto, and I was thrilled with the reception I got at all the bookstores I visited. These included the legendary Sleuth of Baker Street, which I was visiting for the first time, despite having met owners J.D. and Marion several times at conventions in the USA.

At a couple of events I teamed up with New York Times bestseller Phillip Margolin, who is a great guy. I wasn't familiar with Phillip's books, but it turned out he had a copy of BLACK DOG in his suitcase to read on the trip, and several times I heard him recommending it to readers while signing his own books. That's true generosity of spirit (maybe it comes with being a New York Times bestseller - I wouldn't know!).

http://www.phillipmargolin.com

Incidentally, while I was in Toronto, I did a couple of TV interviews for the Mystery Ink programme, which should be aired some time in the autumn.

The only drawback to the trip was that I almost lost my voice, thanks to the dry, recycled air on the transatlantic flight, coupled (possibly) with a tendency to talk too much. It meant I had to restrain my usual habit of over-running my allotted time at talks and readings, particularly an event at the lovely Hart House Library at the University of Toronto. In fact, I distinctly started to squeak while telling my notorious Yorkshire Ripper story. Not good for the image!

But Toronto was a great city, and all the Canadians I met really nice people. I'm looking forward to going back there in October to attend Bouchercon (the World Mystery Convention):

http://bouchercon2004.com/

LOVE IS MURDER

Just a reminder that I'll be International Guest of Honour at the LOVE IS MURDER mystery convention in Chicago next February (2005). Why not check out the most recent LOVE IS MURDER event on their website:

http://www.loveismurder.org/

FORTHCOMING UK DATES:

Wednesday 7th July - Quedgeley Library, Gloucester.
Saturday 10th July - Peak Books, Chesterfield.
Wednesday 14th July - Bodies in the Bookshop, Heffers, Cambridge.
Saturday 17th July - Bookworm, Retford, Notts.
Wednesday 21st July - Bury Library, Lancashire.

Not so many events this year due to other pressures - like writing the next book! I'm giving all the UK festivals a miss for once, but hope to see some of you around.

YORK TV

UK readers - if you happen to live in the Yorkshire region, you might like to know that a feature on ONE LAST BREATH is scheduled for transmission on Wednesday 7th July on York TV's book review programme (Channel 54).

http://www.york.tv

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PARANOID CORNER

CLOSE TO HOME?

Sorry, no jokes in this spot this month. Here's a story that's not only tragic, but also one of these things that makes me stop for a while and consider what I'm doing (a good thing now and then, in my view!).

Rod Hall, the UK agent who represented the TV and film rights in my books, was recently murdered in his apartment in London. Some of you may have read about it in the newspapers.

Rod was absolutely at the top of his profession, having handled the scripts for major box office hits like "The Full Monty", "Billy Elliott" and "The Calendar Girls", as well as hugely popular British TV series such as "Casualty" and "Men Behaving Badly".

The fact is that I barely knew Rod Hall. But somehow this kind of thing strikes very close to home. I'm sure any of you who've had similar experiences will understand what I mean.

Those of you who've heard me speak at events may have heard me talk about this question of murder that comes "close to home".

I really hope that my novels might help people to explore the reasons why, and how, this kind of thing happens, and the consequences for the victim's family and friends, as well as for everyone involved.

Incidentally, a man has since been arrested and charged with Rod Hall's murder.

SNIPPETS

EXERCISING THE
SIGNING HAND

Bright and early on publication day, 5th July, I'll be flying to Glasgow, Scotland, to visit the HarperCollins UK distribution centre. There, I'll be signing a thousand copies of the new hardback of ONE LAST BREATH. I might have time for lunch, but whether I'll have the strength to hold a knife and fork is questionable.

Marathon signing sessions are hard work, no doubt about it - especially when there are no readers to meet and chat to, just you and a mountain of books.

At Book Expo Canada recently, US writer Phillip Margolin and I signed at a breakneck pace non-stop for an hour and half, on our feet, with publicists handing us bottles of water as if we were Tour de France cyclists tackling the mountain stage.

But at least those were books we were signing. I'm often asked to sign a variety of other items, such as the Ordnance Survey maps of the Peak District that readers use to follow the action while they're reading the books.

I've also signed postcards, bookmarks, photos, recipes, posters, t-shirts, jeans, quilts, walls, and various parts of the body (other people's, that is). Oh, and several copies of THE HITCH-HIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Douglas Adams.

BLIND TO THE BONES

The massmarket paperback spent about eight weeks on the UK bestseller lists, selling in numbers way ahead of any of the previous books in the series. Thanks to everyone who made that possible!

The first chapter of BLIND TO THE BONES is still available on the website. Just go to:

http://www.stephen-booth.com
and follow the link.

NEW LOOK

By the way, if you haven't visited the Stephen Booth website recently, it has a new look. Do let me know what you think:
http://www.stephen-booth.com

LIMITED EDITIONS

I'm sorry to say that the special signed limited edition of ONE LAST BREATH, which was to have been produced by Scorpion Press, is now unlikely to appear, due to contractual problems.

This is a shame, especially as the appreciation had already been written by Peter Robinson. I know Peter put a lot of effort into this, including reading all my previous books for a second time. I reckon that's definitely above and beyond the call of duty!

However, I understand there may still be some copies left of the Scorpion Press edition of BLOOD ON THE TONGUE, with an appreciation by Reginald Hill.

UNDER PRESSURE

Talk about pressure! You've no idea what pressure writers have to cope with.

Readers do get very involved with fictional characters, and naturally have their own expectations of them. But here's a difficult one to deal with:

There's an old lady who's a big fan of my books, and particularly of Ben Cooper (what is about Ben?). She buys her books at a local independent bookshop, and she sent me a message via the bookseller.

She explained how much she likes Ben. But she said that she's getting rather elderly now - and she had to let me know that she doesn't want to die until Ben Cooper has got married and settled down.

Tricky, since Ben didn't even have a girfriend last time we saw him! But now I have a sort of dying wish to take into account...

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS DEPARTMENT

ARE YOUR BOOKS AVAILABLE IN AUDIO/LARGE PRINT?

Yes to both! BLACK DOG, BLOOD ON THE TONGUE and BLIND TO THE BONES are available in both unabridged audio and large print versions in the UK from the W.F. Howes 'Clipper' imprint:

http://www.wfhowes.co.uk

Howes are currently preparing to record the audio edition of ONE LAST BREATH, and we're planning to include an author interview on the end of the recording (it'll be a bit like one of those "extras" you get on a DVD!).

The exception in the series is the unabridged audio of book number 2, DANCING WITH THE VIRGINS, which was produced by Isis Soundings. This one is also available through Amazon and some bookstores:

http://www.isis-publishing.co.uk

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