MARK BILLINGHAM - In The Dark
Published 1 August by Sphere $32.99
Mark Billingham, author of the popular Tom Thorne
detective series, has now written his first stand-alone thriller 'In
The Dark', his most powerful novel yet.
As well as being a bestselling crime writer, Mark Billingham
is also a stand-up comedian and has appeared on over thirty radio and
TV shows and played in every comedy club in the UK. He's a regular performer
and MC at London's world famous Comedy Store, where he waxes lyrical
about animal husbandry and takes the piss out of people's shirts. To
read about what crime writing and comedy have in common, read Mark's
essay 'So this serial killer walks into a bar' below.
Mark Billingham was born and brought up in Birmingham.
Having worked for some years as an actor and more recently as a TV writer
and stand-up comedian his first crime novel was published in 2001. 'Sleepyhead'
was an instant bestseller in the UK. It has been sold widely throughout
the world and was published in the USA in the summer of 2002. Though
still occasionally working as a stand-up comic, Mark mostly concentrates
on writing the series of crime novels featuring London-based detective
Tom Thorne. The second novel, 'Scaredy Cat' was published in July 2002
and was followed by 'Lazybones', 'The Burning Girl', 'Lifeless' and
'Buried'. The newest Tom Thorne novel 'Death Message' is available now.
Mark lives in North London with his wife and two children.
So this serial killer walks into a bar...
The question I am asked most often in interviews is why
a stand-up comic would want to write a novel so dark. Why should a gag
merchant be so obsessed with death and matters even more disturbing?
Why should somebody who spends his nights on stage trying to slay an
audience and avoid dying, spend his days at the word processor making
his characters do exactly those things...?
There are lots of reasons, none of which will be particularly
surprising. What is surprising however, is that writing a dark and disturbing
crime novel and performing stand-up comedy are not as different as one
might suppose.
I am not the only reader who, in the books he reads, seeks
something far removed from the world he inhabits. Thus, when I settle
down with a book, comic-crime novels are pretty much as close as I come
to a busman's holiday. The novels I read, though never completely without
humour, lean far more towards the hardboiled and darkly disturbing.
The word caper in the blurb is pretty much guaranteed to make me leave
any book exactly where I found it. When it came to writing Sleepyhead,
I was basically trying to keep it simple, and write the sort of book
I would like to read. No surprise then that it didn't turn out to be
a comedy crime novel.
This isn't to say that Sleepyhead is without humour -
even if does come from the most surprising direction - or that I never
tried my hand at a comic crime novel. Two years ago, at the same time
that I was writing the beginning of what would eventually become Sleepyhead,
I began what would hopefully be a funny crime novel set in my home town
of Birmingham. When both books were about 3000 words long I sent them
off to the only contact I had in publishing (a well-respected editor
at a major house), along with a couple of agents. The response was unanimous.
Forget the comedy. I think this was more a comment on the tastes of
publishers than the comic content (or otherwise) of what I had written.
I was told in no uncertain terms that comic crime scares the pants of
most publishers. This is borne out by the dearth of big name writers
in this field. Everyone always mentions Hiaasen, or possibly Evanovich
and that's about it. The fact that in the UK, bar Ripley, Gutteridge
and maybe Chris Brookmyre and Marc Blake, there is pretty much nobody
selling any books in this sub genre, would seem to confirm that the
advice I was being given was sound. That year, at Deansgate, there was
a panel entitled "does humour hurt your sales figures?". That
put the tin lid on it. Comedy and crime were not for me...
The subject matter of Sleepyhead and its recently completed
follow-up could not be further removed from that which I trot out at
the Comedy Store or Jongleurs. However, answering the frequently asked
question that I began by quoting, has made me realise that the same
techniques are required when writing crime fiction and performing stand-up
comedy.
A strong opening is of course, crucial. That first gag
has got to be a cracker if the crowd is to trust you and to relax into
your material. Ditto the readers of your book. Most have not got time
to give a novel the 'benefit of the doubt' or to 'persevere' if it doesn't
grab them straight away. If the audience/reader is to be engaged, it
needs to be done pretty bloody quickly. Whether in a sweaty, smoky club
or nestled in a favourite armchair, good money has been paid and the
attention has got to be grabbed by the scruff of the neck if you are
not to be heckled off the stage or find your novel discarded in favour
of the latest Alan Titchmarsh opus. The same applies to the climax of
your act/novel. The big finish is all important. Whether your loose
ends are to be tied up or left dangling, whether you leave the audience
on a shaggy dog story or a song, a bang is always preferable to a whimper...
To read more, visit www.markbillingham.com
Mark Billingham will be a guest at the Melbourne Writers'
Festival 22-31 August, and will also be visiting Sydney. Details:
Mark Billingham, with introduction by Michael Robotham:
Mark Billingham and Michael Robotham, this year's Books Alive ambassador,
have been good mates for years and together they'll discuss writing,
comedy and crime. Date: Monday 1 September: 7-8pm, Gleebooks, 49 Glebe
Point Rd, Glebe. For bookings phone 02 9660 5144.
'In The Dark' is out now. For your chance to win one
of FIVE copies, simply name one of Mark Billingham's previous novels.
Winners will be notified via email. Good luck!
