The Crème Rises

Shots editor Mike Stotter tipped me off that British author Peter James (Looking Good Dead) traveled recently to France in order to attend a crime-writing festival in Lyons. James writes about that experience in his blog:

I met Mark Billingham (whose books I like a lot) for the first time. Everyone had told me what a nice guy he was, and they are right--I thought he was extremely nice. We spent some time commiserating with each other about the British Book Awards--Mark was shortlisted last year for Crime Thriller of the Year, and like me, did not win (he lost to Martina Cole). I asked him how he felt when the winner was announced and it wasn’t him, and he replied “gutted”. That was a very honest reply, and it summed up exactly how I felt too!

Also among the attendees at this French soirée were American writers Robert Crais and Kathy Reichs. Read more here.