“Declan Burke is his own genre. The Lammisters dazzles, beguiles and transcends. Virtuoso from start to finish.” – Eoin McNamee “This bourbon-smooth riot of jazz-age excess, high satire and Wodehouse flamboyance is a pitch-perfect bullseye of comic brilliance.” – Irish Independent Books of the Year 2019 “This rapid-fire novel deserves a place on any bookshelf that grants asylum to PG Wodehouse, Flann O’Brien or Kyril Bonfiglioli.” – Eoin Colfer, Guardian Best Books of the Year 2019 “The funniest book of the year.” – Sunday Independent “Declan Burke is one funny bastard. The Lammisters ... conducts a forensic analysis on the anatomy of a story.” – Liz Nugent “Burke’s exuberant prose takes centre stage … He plays with language like a jazz soloist stretching the boundaries of musical theory.” – Totally Dublin “A mega-meta smorgasbord of inventive language ... linguistic verve not just on every page but every line.Irish Times “Above all, The Lammisters gives the impression of a writer enjoying himself. And so, dear reader, should you.” – Sunday Times “A triumph of absurdity, which burlesques the literary canon from Shakespeare, Pope and Austen to Flann O’Brien … The Lammisters is very clever indeed.” – The Guardian

Monday, April 30, 2012

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?”: Tom Piccirilli

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...

What crime novel would you most like to have written?
The original psycho-noir: the Bible.

What fictional character would you most like to have been?
A 12-year-old Tom Piccirilli with endless potential. My mother tells me he once existed but she’s entering her dementia years.

Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
I don’t have any guilty pleasures. I have only guiltless pleasures.

Most satisfying writing moment?
They’re all a tie for worst disappointment, gut-wrenching dissatisfaction, boundless blind rage, and endless frustration.

The best Irish crime novel is …?
I don’t know, but it’s probably been written by Ken Bruen. Nobody smears their guts on the page like that man. He’s got more courage than anybody I know.

What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
ULYSSES.

Worst / best thing about being a writer?
Having no stability/having no boss.

The pitch for your next book is …?
THE LAST KIND WORDS, due out June 12: Raised in a clan of small-time thieves and grifters, Terrier Rand decided to cut free from them and go straight after his older brother, Collie, went on a senseless killing spree that left an entire family and several others dead. Five years later, and days before his scheduled execution, Collie contacts Terry and asks him to return home. He claims he wasn’t responsible for one of the murders--and insists that the real killer is still on the loose.

Who are you reading right now?
THE RED SCARF by Gil Brewer.

God appears and says you can only write OR read. Which would it be?
I’ve pretty much ignored the commands and tenets of God up until now, so I doubt I’d start listening to Him about this.

The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
Audacious, brazen, bold, chilling, haunting, poignant, haunting, delightful, assured. Is that three? I’m a writer not a fucking mathematician.

THE LAST KIND WORDS by Tom Piccirilli is published by Bantam Dell.

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