Carlisle author Mike Craven is in the running for a prestigious prize for his latest crime thriller, Dead Ground.
Writing as MW Craven, his popular series set in Cumbria features detective Washington Poe and his sidekick Tilly Bradshaw and the latest novel in the series has been named on the 18-strong long list for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, with the likes of Mark Billingham, Ann Cleeves and Chris Brookmyre.
Voting has now opened for people to choose their favourite and the people of Cumbria are urged to vote for Dead Ground. The titles with the most votes will be selected for a shortlist of six.
Voting closes on May 26. To vote, visit https://harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com
Meanwhile, Cumbria Crack caught up with Mike……
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been a full-time author since 2015, but really I’ve been writing ever since I could hold a pen.
I started in earnest in 2013 when I was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger, an award for unpublished writers. I didn’t win but I did go down to the awards ceremony and got to meet heroes of mine, Lee Child and Frederick Forsyth.
An agent asked to see what I’d written (it was a rough version of what would later be the first DI Fluke book: Born in a Burial Gown) and gave me very useful feedback, which I used to get my first publishing deal. That deal got me my agent and it sort of escalated from there . . .
Why did you choose the crime genre?
It was an easy(ish) decision. The two genres I’ve always read are crime and fantasy, and because I was a probation officer for 16 years, it made sense to go down the crime route. But, because I like dark humour in the books I read, I was determined to do the same for the ones I was writing. Adding humour allows me to go to darker places as the humour, often when you’re not expecting it, acts as a circuit breaker. It takes you out of the darkness and into the light very quickly.
Tell us why readers should pick up a Washington Poe novel . . .
The Poe books have now been translated into 25 languages, including Hebrew, Japanese, Bangladeshi, Russian, Turkish, Greek, Danish, Spanish, German, French, but at their heart they’re Cumbrian-centric books written by a Cumbrian.
All the books are set in Cumbria, and not just the honeypots. They are set all over the county, from Carlisle to Whitehaven, from Cotehill to the Furness Islands – there are places that every Cumbrian will recognise.
And they’ve won numerous awards, including one of the big two – the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger. (The other big award is the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year and Dead Ground is up for that this year.) And if that isn’t enough, Dave Myers, the Cumbrian Hairy Biker, emailed me recently to say he’s a huge fan of the series . . .
Why did you decide on Tilly Bradshaw, who is described as ‘awkward’ partner for Poe?
I didn’t really, not consciously. I’d written two books in the Fluke series but my agent wanted something new, something that started at book one, to sell to a big publisher, and he wanted to keep the Cumbrian setting as that worked really well.
Matt Towler though, Fluke’s sidekick, was a bit of a lunatic – violent, ex-Parachute Regiment, non-PC, unpredictable – and I didn’t think it was right to just replicate that with a new name.
So I went full-on opposite and invented Tilly, the naive, never-been-in-the-real-world academic that my readers love.
Even then she wasn’t as sweet and funny and hopelessly honest as she is now. It wasn’t until I’d worked out a reason why Cumbrian parents would name their child Washington (and the reasons are horrific) that it all clicked. Poe became a lot darker than I’d envisaged, and to balance that I had to make Tilly much lighter.
What did it feel like when you heard you made the longlist?
It was astonishing to be honest. It is the first time a Poe book has been entered into the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year, so I didn’t know the key dates. And then the news was embargoed so I couldn’t even tell anyone. And although I’ve won a dagger and been long-listed three times (to date, every Poe book has been long-listed for a dagger), the Theakston award is special as there’s a public vote element to it. It means that readers get to have their say. And as the only Cumbrian in with a chance this year . . .
Who is your favourite author and why?
Terry Pratchett. He had a never-bettered gift for satire and humour, and despite being a fantasy author, he wrote about modern-day issues like racism and sexism and capitalism. Night Watch, the sixth book in Pratchett’s Guards series, is my favourite book of all time and I read it at least once a year.
Why do you think there is a trend for novellas in between novels?
I was approached to write a novella for the Reading Agency’s Quick Reads programme, an annual event where best-selling authors pen novellas aimed at getting adults reading. It’s aimed at adults with low literacy, adults who don’t regularly read books and adults whose first language isn’t English.
The editorial guidelines were quite strict. No contractions, so it was ‘do not’ instead of ‘don’t’ etc, repetition of character names, easy to follow plots and limited use of words of three syllables or more (unless they were common words like cigarette or supermarket).
The literacy editor was very strict and deleted words like ‘elderly’ and replaced it with ‘old.’ It was a fun experience, but quite challenging. In the past I’ve written short stories, usually to be used as promotions in special editions. The Cutting Season is the first novella I’ve written, and I don’t think there’ll be another one for a while. I simply don’t have the time.
You can buy a Washington Poe blend of coffee from John Watts – do you drink it?
We do drink it! We thought we’d buy some to show our support as it was such a cool idea. Now it’s all we drink, and we buy it by the kilo. It’s also our go-to gift when we want to thank someone. My Spanish publisher flew me out to Barcelona in February, and everyone was so lovely that we ended up sending bags of Washington Poe blend coffee to my Spanish editor, my Spanish publicist and my translator. They all loved it.
And finally will Avison Fluke return for a third book? and if not, why not?
I’m contracted for three more Poe & Tilly books after The Botanist. I’m also contracted for books one and two in a new series, something I started back in 2015. I think, if my editor has her sums right, that’s me contracted all the way up to 2027. So, the short answer is no. No more Flukes for the time being. Never say never, though. I sort of miss the pig-headed contrarian. I certainly miss Towler!
