Have a great 2009!
I hope you enjoy my site. There are lots of things to discover. If you click on BOOKS, you’ll get a list of my novels, cover designs, blurbs and reviews. If you want to review one of my books, you can do that as well. There’s a way of contacting me too. So, if you’re trying to get hold of one of my older hard-to-find books, you can check if I’ve got a copy for sale. Or you might just want to ask me a question. If lots of you ask the same question, I’ll put it – and my answer – in the FAQs section.
Before you write and ask me a question, please check if the answer is already in the ABOUT MALCOLM, FAQs or BOOKS sections of this site. That way, you’ll find the information much quicker.
I try to respond to all messages but occasionally someone’s email provider refuses my reply. Either some filters are a bit too protective or there’s a spelling mistake in your email address. So, if you want a reply, make sure you enter your email address correctly. At the moment, I can’t reply to Molly-Jo or Emma (but the answer to your question, Emma, is in my FAQs).
More fantastic news of KISS OF DEATH. It has been shortlisted for the Salisbury Schools' Book Award. I’ll let you know what happens.
My next thriller will be called FORBIDDEN ISLAND and it will be published in May by the same company that put out KISS OF DEATH. If you liked KISS OF DEATH, you’ll love FORBIDDEN ISLAND. Of all my thrillers, FORBIDDEN ISLAND probably has the most surprises, discoveries, twists and turns. I’m really looking forward to seeing it in print next May.
At about the same time, I’m also going to publish the third of my short thrillers. ASTEROID is going to threaten the entire planet!
Note to American readers: The US version of Final Lap includes the first chapter of the sixth TRACES book. Unfortunately, this has been labelled incorrectly as the opening of Double Check. Don’t believe it! It is the beginning of Blood Brother.
By the way, you can click on the latest covers in the Books section and go through to Amazon where you can buy the books. Yeah, I know it’s a bit commercial but some of you might appreciate it.
My 30th novel caused quite a stir. KISS OF DEATH is set in modern times but it’s based on the 17th century outbreak of the Black Death in the Derbyshire village of Eyam (pronounced like the end of 'cream'). The book comes with blackened boils filled with pus and blood. Yuck! I’m delighted to tell you that this supernatural mystery/thriller has been selected for the Booked Up project. This is a national programme run by Booktrust to encourage and support reading for pleasure by providing each Year 7 student in England with a free book from a list of 12 specially selected titles. Visit www.bookedup.org.uk/Home to find out more about the project and www.usborne.co.uk/news_and_fun/booked_up_2008.asp to find out about the selection of KISS OF DEATH for the project and my reaction to this fantastic news.
And that’s not all. KISS OF DEATH was runner-up (Highly Commended) for the Sheffield Children’s Book Award 2007. This means a lot to me because it’s my local area and because the young readers themselves voted for the book. It was also shortlisted for the Lancashire Book of the Year Award 2008 and the Bolton Children’s Book Award. Again, it didn’t win but there was a really good buzz about it and lots of support. Thanks to everyone in Bolton, Lancashire and Sheffield.
Look out for my next thriller that will appeal to readers who enjoyed KISS OF DEATH. I’m really excited by FORBIDDEN ISLAND which will hit the shops in 2009.
I’ve written two novels in the SHADES series. SHADES is a series of short books that are strong on drama, pace and style. The SHADES books are ideal for readers who find traditional novels too long, but still want exciting plots, strong characters and a fast pace. In other words, they’re designed for readers who prefer their stories to be a snack rather than a gut-busting feast. FOUR DEGREES MORE is an environmental thriller about global warming, which opens with a boy called Leyton watching his bedroom fall into the sea. It’s all about coastal erosion and global warming. If the planet heats up four degrees more, we’re all in danger. So what does Leyton decide to do about it? He gets caught up in a green campaign that turns out to be rather more sinister than he had bargained for.
My second SHADES thriller is ANIMAL LAB, on the theme of animal experiments, animal rights – and animal wrongs. Imagine you’re ill. You want a cure. There’s a medicine in development that will help. But, before it can be given to you, it has to be tested on animals. For some of those tests, animals will suffer and be sacrificed. Do you still want the cure? Are you more important than rats and monkeys? ANIMAL LAB is all about this controversial part of science and medicine.
The sixth TRACES book is BLOOD BROTHER. There’s a serial killer operating in York Hospital and it’s Luke’s job to track him or her down. He also has to figure out a motive for murdering patients. The book contains a fascinating collection of real diseases, like stone man syndrome. But which are natural sicknesses and which have been caused deliberately? The exotic poisons, plants, medical treatments, and research on human body parts are all authentic as well. The Institute of Biomechanical Research is fictional but its gruesome experiments have all been carried out in actual laboratories. And that includes the catapulted human head.
I think the real world is catching on to the unreal TRACES world. I’ve seen quite a lot of press coverage of geothermal power generation and, of course, wind power (both of which are common in TRACES) And how about this from New Scientist magazine? "The chatty computer has come a step closer to reality..." Then, on 16th January 2008, the Guardian reported, "The technology exists right now to move cars without a driver. As for taxis, driverless cabs could be parked anywhere waiting for a user to call them.” Sounds very familiar.
