At the Sharp End . . .
News from Zoë Sharp and Charlie Fox

Summer 2010

. . . while it lasted. We've had a couple of days of T-shirt weather so far, anyway. But that doesn't mean there's been much lazing around going on, honest!

Everyone will be aware of the terrible events in west Cumbria this month, in which 12 people were shot and killed. I was asked to write and read out a short piece from a crime writer's perspective on BBC Radio 4's The World at One − which also went out on the BBC World Service.

In week beginning June 21st, I'll be off to the States for a mini-tour to celebrate the US publication of Killer Instinct and upcoming Riot Act. It's a whistle-stop tour, taking in Houston, Tucson, Phoenix, New York and New Orleans.  Highlights include:

• Tuesday, June 22nd, 6.30pm: signing at Murder by the Book, Houston
• Wednesday, June 23rd, 1:30-2:00pm: signing at Clues Unlimited, Tucson
• Thursday, June 24th, 2:00pm: Authors @ The Teague, Velma Teague Public Library, Glendale
• Thursday, June 24th, evening: Poisoned Pen Conference, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale
• Tuesday, June 29th, 6:30-8:00pm: signing with Lee Child at The Mysterious Bookshop, NYC

I'll also be calling in to sign stock at Partners & Crime, as well as flying south to New Orleans to meet up with fellow Murderati blogger, Toni McGee Causey, and spend a couple of days mooching round that fascinating city.

For US bookstores, I'll be spending time at Busted Flush Press while I'm in Houston, so if you would like any copies of my books signing and shipping out, do please contact David Thompson on bustedflushpress@yahoo.com

While I'm in NYC, I'll also be doing some final location checking on the next in the Charlie Fox series. The book − already written and delivered, you'll be pleased to hear − involves Charlie bodyguarding the über-wealthy on Long Island, while still battling the after-effects of what happened in the California cult, three months before. It could be a real turning-point in her life . . .

In May, Busted Flush Press published the opening book in the Charlie Fox series, Killer Instinct, for the first time in the US, in trade paperback format. It will be joined in early July by the second in the series, Riot Act. In this book, Charlie is house- and dog-sitting on a notorious crime-ridden housing estate. But when an Asian boy is murdered, tensions rise to boiling point. This is the book where Charlie reunites with a spectre from her past − her old army training instructor, Sean Meyer.

Click to read an excerpt from Killer Instinct or from Riot Act.

Out in June is the BBC Chivers Audiobook of Road Kill, book five in the Charlie Fox series. This is read once again by Clare Corbett, who has become the voice of Charlie for me.

In this book, Charlie is still bearing the emotional scars from her traumatic first bodyguarding job in America − as described in First Drop. She returns to her home in the northwest of England to try and work out her personal and professional future, but she's immediately caught up in the aftermath of a fatal motorcycle accident involving one of her closest friends. She ends up infiltrating a group of illegal road racers on a trip to Ireland, who seem intent on living fast and dying young.

The new Busted Flush trade paperback edition of Road Kill will be out in Winter 2010.

Click here to read an excerpt from Road Kill.

In Fourth Day − latest instalment of this award-nominated series, just out from Allison & Busby − Charlie goes undercover into the California cult calling itself Fourth Day, with explosive results. Five years ago, Thomas Witney joined the cult to try and get evidence that its charismatic leader, Randall Bane, was responsible for the death of Witney's son, Liam. Now, Charlie and her partner, Sean Meyer, have been tasked to get Witney out, whether he's willing or not. A fast covert job that should be no problem for someone with Charlie's mindset and training. But she is unprepared for the ease with which Bane will pinpoint her weaknesses . . .

Click here to read an excerpt from Fourth Day.

July sees the publication of Thrillers: 100 Must Reads (Oceanview Publishing). This collection features 100 works, from Beowulf to The Bourne Identity, Dracula to Deliverance, Heart of Darkness to The Hunt for Red October − deemed must-reads by International Thriller Writers Inc. My own contribution is on one of the influential thrillers from my youth: The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins.

No sooner has the dust settled from CrimeFest in Bristol in May, than we're gearing up for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate (July 22nd-25th), where Second Shot will be one of the only two featured titles in the Readers' Book Group event, hosted by Martyn Waites on Saturday, July 24th. I'll also be taking part in the Sunday (July 25th) morning panel, 'James Bond, Eat Your Heart Out . . .' with Sean Black, Jeremy Duns and Jo Nesbø, chaired by Meg Gardiner.

For my other events, please see my page on BookTour

As always, for anyone who wants to get hold of signed copies of any of my books − including some of the early, hard-to-get editions − I've teamed up with local internet booksellers, Loads-A-Books, who are close enough for me to call in and sign or personalise a book as you wish. Contact Chris on loadsabooks@googlemail.com

www.zoesharp.com