Good day, my bookish peeps. I hope you all are keeping safe, warm, and dry. Today, I have an extra special treat for you all. I’m always excited when an author (or character) stops by for a visit, well today there will be not just one author stopping by, but three. Yes, you read that correctly, three authors are stopping by to visit with us today. Russ Colchamiro, Sawney Hatton, and Patrick Thomas all wrote stories that appear in the noir crime read, Murder In Montague Falls. These authors will all be discussing what inspires them, namely what inspires them to write about murder. I hope you’ll read along, learn more about Murder in Montague Falls, then grab a copy of the book for yourself. Happy Reading!
Inspiration for Murder
My contribution to Murder in Montague Falls, titled “Red Ink”, features a paperboy in 1984 who witnesses a murder on his route and then decides, against better logic, to investigate the killer himself. So I was aiming for an intimate, intense, murder mystery.
In terms of tone, I was heavily influenced by “Apt Pupil,” a short story by Stephen King, adapted into an underrated thriller film by Bryan Singer.
Meanwhile, the protagonist of my story, Isaac, has a pretty heavy spy fixation, envisioning himself as a junior James Bond, my favorite outings being From Russia with Love, For Your Eyes Only, Goldeneye, and Casino Royale. So not only did I have the 007 theme song in my head and his various gadgets, but I recently watched the entire run of The Americans, which helped inform how I wrote the character and the story, trying to keep the action suspenseful, but grounded in reality.
Russ Colchamiro
***
For inspiration in penning my devil-worshipping teens’ story “The Devil’s Delinquents,” I tapped into a range of classic dark writings and movies:
Books
The Satanic Bible by Anton Lavey—The central religious text for The Church of Satan. Not only do I mention the book in my story, but the title of each part of my novella is a reference to chapters from Lavey’s work.
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks—A celebrated example of “killer kid” literature about a psychopathic teenager living on a remote Scottish island who, as part of the shamanistic rituals of his own invention, kills a few of the local children.
Say You Love Satan—Nonfiction book chronicling the 1984 Northport, Long Island cult killing in which three teens participated in the murder of their friend. The victim was stabbed repeatedly as the main perpetrator purportedly commanded him to “Say you love Satan.”
Films
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)—A documentary about the West Memphis Three, another trio of teens accused of the brutal, allegedly ritualistic murder of three young boys in May 1993.
The River’s Edge (1986)—A group of teenagers in a Northern California town are forced to deal with their friend’s murder of his girlfriend, and the disposal of her body. A great “killer kid” film with a fitting metal/punk soundtrack.
Deathgasm (2015)—Horror comedy from New Zealand about two heavy metal-loving teenaged boys who unwittingly unleash a demon after playing sheet music they stole for a song called “The Black Hymn.”
Sawney Hatton
***
For me, my love of noir was inspired by a lot of great authors and their series. In no particular order, they include:
⦁ Rex Stout’s Nero Wolf series
⦁ Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe series
⦁ Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade series
⦁ Glen Cook’s Garret PI series
⦁ Robert Parker’s Spenser series
But the book that most inspired my story in Murder in Montague Falls was The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain. Like A Many Splendid Thing, it’s a dark noir love story where a couple tries to get rid of the woman’s husband so they can live happily ever after. It doesn’t work out that way in either story. Cain is a brilliant author and the novel (and the movie adaption) are both worth checking out and hold up great despite being written over 70 years ago.
I listened to a lot of Alice Cooper while writing it. And for me the penultimate noir film is Cast A Deadly Spell, with Casablanca, and The Maltese Falcon very close behind.
Patrick Thomas
***
Murder in Montague Falls
by Russ Colchamiro, Sawney Hatton, Patrick Thomas
on Tour December 1-31, 2019
Synopsis:
WHITE HOT THRILLS! PITCH BLACK DEEDS!
3 TALES OF TEENS TACKLING THEIR DARKEST RITES OF PASSAGE
Acclaimed storytellers Russ Colchamiro, Sawney Hatton, and Patrick Thomas each present an original novella brimming with enough danger, intrigue, and murder to get readers’ blood pounding and hearts racing.
In Colchamiro’s RED INK, a paperboy with an overactive imagination witnesses a brutal killing on his route—or has he taken his fantasy spy games a step too far?
In Hatton’s THE DEVIL’S DELINQUENTS, a trio of teenage misfits in pursuit of success, power, and revenge practice amateurish occult rituals… with deadly consequences.
In Thomas’s A MANY SPLENDID THING, a sultry high school teacher enrolls one of her students to get rid of her husband. But will the young man really graduate to murder?
Book Details:
Genre: Crime
Published by: Crazy 8 Press
Publication Date: October 1st 2019
Number of Pages: 250
ISBN: 0998364185 (ISBN13: 9780998364186)
ASIN: B07X5GLPGD Kindle edition
Purchase Links: IndieBound | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookDepository | Books-a-Million | Goodreads
The Turnback – You Kill Me:
“You Kill Me” is the official soundtrack to the book MURDER IN MONTAGUE FALLS (Noir-Inspired Novellas by Russ Colchamiro, Sawney Hatton & Patrick Thomas). Russ Colchamiro (a long-time friend and fellow creator) asked the band to write what would be considered a closing credit tune for the book. We were happy to do so!
Meet the authors
Russ Colchamiro:
RUSS COLCHAMIRO is the author of the rollicking space adventure, Crossline, the zany sci-fi backpacking series Finders Keepers, Genius de Milo, and Astropalooza, editor of the sci-fi mystery anthology, Love, Murder & Mayhem, and contributing author for his newest project, Murder in Montague Falls, a noir novella collection, all with Crazy 8 Press.
Russ has contributed to several other anthologies including Tales of the Crimson Keep, Pangaea, They Keep Killing Glenn, Altered States of the Union, Thrilling Adventure Yarns, Brave New Girls vols. 3 & 4, Camelot 13, TV Gods 2, and Footprints in the Stars.
He is now finalizing the first in an ongoing SFF mystery series featuring his hard-boiled private eye Angela Hardwicke and has several other SFF, crime fiction, and children’s book projects in the works.
Russ lives in New Jersey with his wife, their twin ninjas, and their crazy dog, Simon.
For more on Russ’s works, visit:
russcolchamiro.com, Goodreads, Twitter, & Facebook!
Sawney Hatton:
SAWNEY HATTON is an author, editor, and screenwriter who has long loved playing in the dark. His published works include the Dark Comedy novel Dead Size, the YA Noir novella Uglyville, and the Dark Fiction short story collection Everyone Is a Moon. He also edited the Sci-Fi Horror anthology What Has Two Heads, Ten Eyes, and Terrifying Table Manners?
Other incarnations of Sawney have produced marketing videos, attended chili cook-offs, and played the banjo and sousaphone (not at the same time). As of this writing, he is still very much alive.
For more semi-unseemly insights into Sawney, visit:
sawneyhatton.com, Goodreads, Twitter, & Facebook!
Patrick Thomas:
PATRICK THOMAS is the award-winning author of the beloved Murphy’s Lore series and the darkly hilarious Dear Cthulhu advice empire.
His 40+ books include Fairy with a Gun, By Darkness Cursed, Lore & Dysorder, Dead to Rites, Startenders, As the Gears Turn, Cthulhu Explains It All, and Exile and Entrance. His is the co-author of the Mystic Investigators series, The Santa Heist, and the Jack Gardner mysteries.
Patrick is the co-editor of Camelot 13 (with John French), New Blood (with Diane Raetz), and Hear Them Roar (with CJ Henderson), co-created The Wildsidhe Chronicles YA series and is the creator of the Agents of the Abyss series.
He has had more than 150 short stories published in magazines and anthologies, with his work for YA and children including the Ughabooz books, the Undead Kid Diaries, the Joy Reaper books, and the Babe B. Bear Mysteries as Patrick T. Fibbs.
Visit him online at:
patthomas.net, Goodreads, Twitter, & Facebook!
Tour Participants:
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!
Enter To Win!!:
This is a Rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Russ Colchamiro, Sawney Hatton, and Patrick Thomas. There will be one (1) winner of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card. The giveaway begins on December 1, 2019, and runs through January 2, 2020. Void where prohibited.
The Book Diva's Reads 