This year I published my first thriller in ten years. It’s called "_Hunted_ ":http://emlynrees.com/about/and tells the story of an innocent man, accused of carrying out a terrorist atrocity in London, who ends up as the target of the biggest manhunt in history.
Back in the summer I got invited along to The Reading Agency’s Reading Partners Roadshow at the Jubilee Library in Brighton, where I got to talk to lots of librarians about the various programmes and book clubs their libraries were involved in.
I got chatting to another novelist too, a guy called Danny Miller, who’d written a crime novel – Kiss Me Quick – set in Brighton over the mods and rockers seafront ‘battle’ in the 60’s. We got talking about the differences between thrillers and crime novels, and also about how much more fun we’ve both always found doing panel events rather than talking solo.
So we pitched to the librarians we met at the Roadshow the idea of a bargain ‘two-for-one’ author tour, where we’d both come along and interview each other, run workshops, and generally try and whip up a debate with any readers, reading groups (and other writers) kind enough to come along to see us.
What came out of this approach, we soon discovered as we visited a series of libraries in the south of England this autumn, was a series of stimulating, entertaining, and often very funny evenings – and that’s just from mine and Danny’s point of view.
Having two of us there – and involving the audiences early on at each event – meant that the division between us and them soon got broken down. Which was great. Great for Danny and me, in that we got honest feedback – both good and bad! – from people who’d read our books, because they felt relaxed enough to speak their mind. And hopefully good for the audience too, because neither me nor Danny ended up having to play the ‘fusty author’ role which can so often happen when writers end up lecturing or giving readings on their own, particularly in bookshops.
What stuck me most, though, was how much fun the book clubs associated with the libraries were. Because so many of them knew each other so well, in addition to lively literary debate, there were personalities flourishing everywhere you looked, opinions firing back and forth, and a fair few glasses of wine being consumed in between. Quite the pub atmosphere, in other words, and the opposite of the common misconception that libraries and the folk who frequent them are rarified and stuffy – and three cheers for that.
About Emlyn:
Emlyn Rees spent his early twenties traveling around Asia and mixing cocktails in London for the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Princess Anne.
He published his first thriller aged twenty-five, his second a year later, and then co-wrote seven comedies with Josie Lloyd, including the Number One Sunday Times bestseller Come Together.
He is a self-confessed film, thriller and comedy addict.
He now lives by Brighton beach with Josie and their three wonderful kids.
Hunted is the first in a series of thriller starring Danny Shanklin, the one person you would want on your side in a fight.
