Virtual Noir at the Bar: The Christmas Edition

It's the most wonderful time of the year... and Virtual Noir at the Bar is coming back for one night of festive noir!

They can't promise mulled wine or mistletoe, but maybe a little murder, all neatly wrapped up in the sort of evening you've come to expect from the VNatB team - Vic 'Ho-Ho-Woo' Watson as your host, and Simon 'Helper Elf' Bewick pushing the buttons.

If you don't know what VNatB is, it was an online event run by Vic Watson and Simon Bewick, where crime and mystery authors read something they've written via live video. This was originally a physical event in Newcastle, in a bar, and these virtual events recreated a slice of what that experience was like. Soon, Wednesday became the new Friday (including hangovers all round). Much like all good things, it had to come to an end, but after a brilliant Halloween special, they're back on Wednesday 16th December with a Christmas edition and we're so ready for it.

So what can you expect? Like all the other VNatB events, this promises to be an evening full of fantastic author readings, great chat, and lots of laughs. The line up is, as always, phenomenal, so brace yourself for some of the very best writers in crime... with a festive twist.

The Line-Up

Catherine Cooper
Author of The Chalet, one of the most talked-about debuts of 2020.

Gytha Lodge
Author of Watching from the Dark and She Lies in Wait (Richard and Judy Book Club, Sunday Times and New York Times crime pick).

Hayley Webster
Author of One Christmas Night – described as ‘a heart-warming story mixing mystery with humour’ (I Newspaper).

Emma Christie
Whose debut The Silent Daughter, a tale of deceit and secrets, is getting rave reviews.

Danny Marshall
VNatB favourite whose debut thriller Anthrax Island has been announced for early 2021!

Nell Pattison
Creator of the sign language interpreter Paige Northwood series.

Derek Farrell
The Danny Bird Mysteries author and VNatB top contributor.

Trevor Wood
Author of CWA’s debut of the year novel The Man on the Street and sequel One Way Street.

Allie Reynolds
Author of Shiver, coming January 2021, described as 'a truly gripping chiller of a thriller' by Peter James.

Andrew Cotto
Award-winning author of three novels, and New York Times and Rolling Stone writer.

Gregg Hurwitz
International bestselling author of I See You, We Know, Or She Dies and the Orphan X series.

Plus the winner of the first Bay Tales Christmas Crime story competition, reading their winning entry!

It's going to be a great night, so register now. And did I mention, it's totally free?

Merry Christmas!

Roxie

@RoxieAdelleKey

PS. Vic, Simon and a whole host of VNatB readers released Noir From The Bar at the beginning of lockdown, an anthology of crime fiction that's raising a tonne of money for the NHS. Available in paperback and on Kindle, you'd be mad not to.

Virtual Noir at the Bar: The Halloween Edition

Guess what? Virtual Noir at the Bar is coming back for one night of frightfully good noir!

If you don't know what VNatB is, it was an online weekly event run by Vic Watson and Simon Bewick, where crime and mystery authors read something they've written via live video. This was originally a physical event in Newcastle, in a bar, and these virtual events recreated a slice of what that experience was like. Soon, Wednesday became the new Friday (including hangovers all round). Much like all good things, it had to come to an end, but they're back on Wednesday 28th October with a Halloween edition and we're so ready for it.

So what can you expect? Like all the other VNatB events, this promises to be an evening full of fantastic author readings, great chat, and lots of laughs. I'm not surprised the attendee list has broken all their previous records. The line up is phenomenal, so brace yourself for some of the very best writers in crime, mystery... and the darker side of writing.

Ramsey Campbell
"Britain's most respected living horror writer" (Oxford Companion to English Literature).

CJ Tudor
Best Selling Author of The Chalk Man and The Other People.

Max Seeck
"If you only read one Nordic noir novel this autumn, make it The Witch Hunter" (Culture Fly).

Matt Wesolowski
The Six Stories series author and Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect Winner.

Alison Belsham
Joining just days before her latest Sullivan and Mullins thriller hits the charts.

Vanessa Savage
Author of The Woods, which is getting rave reviews from readers and critics alike.

Laura Purcell
Author of The Silent Companions - W H Smith Thumping Good Read Award 2018.

Suzy Aspley
Winner of Bloody Scotland's Pitch Perfect and VNatB favourite.

Ian Skewis
Such a hit at the last VNatB they had to bring him back for Halloween!

CJ Cooper
Author of the bestselling The Book Club.

Catriona Ward
Author of Little Eve - Shirley Jackson Best Novel Winner.

Ian Rankin
Who, quite frankly, needs no introductions!

It's going to be a hell of a night... register now. And did I mention, it's totally free?

Happy Halloween!

Roxie

@RoxieAdelleKey

PS. Vic, Simon and a whole host of VNATB readers released Noir From The Bar at the beginning of lockdown, an anthology of crime fiction that's raising a tonne of money for the NHS. Available in paperback and on Kindle, you'd be mad not to.

Lockdown: a blessing and a curse

It's been a while since I whipped up a generic, writing-related blog post. And what better time to do the honours than at 2am when, as usual, I'm painfully awake with thoughts ricocheting around my head like someone tipped a shitload of bouncy balls in there?

I have had mixed emotions lately. I've been shielding with my immunocompromised wife since the beginning of the UK lockdown, and I'm not going to lie, I miss hugs... yep, even awkward ones. I miss dragging my wife around bookshops. I miss geeking out at writing-related events. I was so looking forward to losing my Harrogate festival virginity. And there's a gaping hole in my big gay heart for Pride celebrations. But I've realised I do have a lot to be thankful for. 

I've got to know my neighbours a bit better. And more importantly, experienced their kindness when we needed them. I've learned to appreciate my home and my garden and understood how lucky I am to have them. I've started paying attention to wildlife that I didn't even know visited my garden. I probably phone my friends and family more often than I ever saw them in pre-Covid life.

Were it not for everything going digital, I wouldn't have stumbled upon awesome online events such as Virtual Noir at the Bar. Not only for doing my own reading, but sitting back each Wednesday and watching some truly fantastic authors doing their thing (and I live for the afterparty banter).

I've relied heavily on Twitter for a large chunk of my social life, and as sad as that sounds, it's been a bit of a lifeline. And, as a socially awkward person through and through, I don't miss the pressure of social events. You know, the 'I-should-really-show-my-face-but-quite-frankly-I-would-rather-be-in-my-PJs' kind of events. You know the ones.

I've had the opportunity to read several of my friends' novels, all of which were so great in their own special ways, I felt honoured to be given them to read and critique. I had a few 'pinch-me' moments, firstly when I was shortlisted for Penguin WriteNow, and then again when I was signed by David Higham Associates. I have read SO. MANY. BOOKS from my TBR pile. I finished the first draft of my second book.

I don't know what's yet to come; no one does. But I desperately hope the good stuff born out of the shitstorm that is Covid-19 doesn't eventually fizzle away into nothing, leaving me bereft of the things I'm loving right now.

But for now, if someone could just bottle that book-shop scent and drench me in it, I'd be a very happy woman. 

Roxie 

@RoxieAdelleKey

Virtual Noir at the Bar

I did a rather fun thing this week. Something that is not like me at all. Anyone who knows me will know I'm not a fan of public speaking in any way, shape or form. But for some reason, unbeknown to me, I applied to read at Virtual Noir at the Bar. And they said... yes. 

If you don't know what VNATB is (where have you been?) it's an online weekly event run by the fabulous Vic Watson and Simon Bewick, where crime and mystery authors read something they've written via live video. This was originally a physical event in Newcastle, in a bar (remember those?). The hope is that these events recreate a slice of what that experience was like. 

I've been dipping in and out of VNATB since the launch on the 1st of April, and what I love most is that it's a glorious mix of authors we know and love, and authors who are yet to be discovered. Some of the highlights for me have been readings from Ruth Ware, Christie Newport, Gillian McAllister, Amer Anwar, Phoebe Morgan, C L Taylor, Susi Holliday, and Suzy Aspley but honestly, you should see some of the line ups. 

This week I had the pleasure of reading alongside Adam Hamdy, Elizabeth Haynes, Anna Mazzola, Cara Hunter, Kate Hamer, Louise Candlish, Nikki Smith, Elly Griffiths and Amanda Robson. As many said on Twitter this week, what a lineup! Watch episode 14 here.

I really enjoyed doing my reading. I'm not great at pushing myself out of my comfort zone, but the comments in the chatbox after my reading left me with a little glow inside that I hope will keep me going. And to the person who commented on my eyebrows... THANK YOU. 

If you're yet to check out VNATB, sign up for next week's session here. The lineup will be announced on Saturday and I can't wait to see what Vic and Simon have in store for us.

These events are totally FREE but if you can spare a small donation to help keep the bar running, there's a whole bunch of people who'll really appreciate it.

See you at the bar!

Roxie Key

@RoxieAdelleKey

PS. Vic, Simon and a whole host of VNATB readers have released Noir From The Bar, an anthology of crime fiction that's raising a tonne of money for the NHS. Available in paperback and on Kindle, you'd be mad not to. I repeat, mad. 

PPS. My mother's cats were NOT arsed about my big moment. 

Finding your people

Writing. It’s a pretty isolating thing to do, isn’t it? You hole yourself up and block out the world, and then emerge days later, blinking in the sunlight and wondering what the hell happened while you were out cold. Unless you’re very lucky indeed, you probably don’t naturally have an abundance of writers in your life… unless you seek them out. And my god, its fantastic when you do. Not that my brilliant friends and family aren’t enthusiastic about my writing, but I feel guilty if I harp on about it too much. I worry about boring them to tears. When you have writer friends, you will talk about little else for hours on end and it’s fine. It’s great, in fact. They get it.

But how do you meet them? I met my first group of writing friends through workshops. In my little corner of the world, there is a beautiful historical house and gardens called Delapré Abbey (they also have a second hand book shop with an honesty box!). They often hold events, and one particular week last spring, they organised a festival of writing. A festival of writing, right near my home! I attended two sessions with successful authors Menna Van Praag and Sue Bentley. Not only did I get to soak up the wisdom of these wonderful ladies, but I met some brilliant writers, who I have remained friends with. Occasionally we meet for lunch or a coffee, and talk about our writing. We email, and share our writing amongst ourselves. We encourage each other to keep writing. It’s just lovely to know they are there, and they understand.

As you may have read from my most recent blog post, I recently attended my first writing festival. A crime writing festival, to be more specific. I was blown away by the amount of fantastic people I met and plan to stay in touch with. If a writing festival is within your reach, I would encourage you to reach out and grab it with both hands. Introverted like me? Just make one extroverted friend and they will bring the interesting people to you. Or, you know, pretend to be an extrovert (like I need to learn how to do). My summary of the event: Beneath all the panels, book signings and alcohol, there was an underlying sense of togetherness, of excitement and of anticipation. I met so many people, ranging from unpublished authors to international best sellers and I can't say I've ever been in a situation where strangers are so damn nice to each other (although the appropriate amount of piss-taking was duly given and received).

Where else? My latest discovery is Twitter. I have used it sporadically for years, mainly to complain to companies about bad service and to enter competitions, with little success (I won a small tent once). But my view of Twitter changed dramatically when I discovered the #WritingCommunity (or #WritersCommunity). Thousands of other writers, all procrastinating together, is a beautiful thing indeed. Never have I ever seen such a solid community full of encouragement, support, advice and kind words (and funny gifs).  

So I conclude that writers are a pretty awesome breed of human, and you should incorporate as many of them into your life as possible.

Roxie

@RoxieAdelleKey