A Life of Crime: A Piece by Paul Burke, the Editor of Aspects of Crime.
I have been reading crime fiction since my grandmother introduced me to Sherlock Holmes when I was 12 years old. I soon got hooked on American hardboiled with its snappy dialogue, shady heroes and gritty action. Then there was no stopping me. Golden age detectives, French noir, humour, and what became a forty-year obsession – spy fiction; Ashenden to Lachlan Kite via George Smiley.
I am thrilled to see that crime and spy stories are thriving – we love them more than ever. Every week a new book comes across my desk and a new adventure begins. I remember Laura Lippman once told me that she does everything a literary writer does, bring us every human emotion and create characters true to life, but with the added bonus for the reader of a mystery thrown in. That seems true to me. I have never believed the literary community was anything other than jealous of how well crime sells and the connection between writers and readers.
I started writing about crime about ten years ago. Trying to satisfy my appetite has only fed it. I have learned a lot in the past decade and had a lot of fun doing it and, best of all, I have made many good friends along the way. It has seldom seemed like work. Certainly it has never been a chore. Given our love of crime, what better time to introduce an online website and magazine. Aspects of Crime will provide a fresh way to connect readers and writers and talk about crime and espionage writing. If I am honest, I always wanted to edit a website and magazine and Aspects of Crime is a perfect fit. The biggest names and upcoming authors have a new showcase for their work. I now have the job I always wanted and we are ambitious for Aspects of Crime to become a major player in the field. We are already putting the webpage together and planning that first magazine.
Although we have already signed-up a number of authors please feel free to get in touch. You may want to just write a blog piece or promote yourself in a more substantial way through an Author Platform. We’d like to see our crime statistics go up.
See you in September!
FAQs
What is Aspects of Crime?
Aspects of Crime is a new website and magazine dedicated to fans of crime fiction. We launch in late September will cover crime fiction and non-fiction. We will feature interviews, reviews, articles, news and, occasionally, short stories. Cosy to noir, funny to deathly serious, historical to contemporary, cross-genre and, of course, espionage. Reference, biography, true crime, suspense, mystery and thriller. We are a broad church, aiming engage readers with new and established voices. The magazine will be bi-monthly, the website updated each week.
As with Aspects of History, we hope to arrange book awards, writing competitions and produce short story collections.
Will there be an Aspects of Crime podcast?
There certainly will be. Aspects of Crime will interview authors, bestselling names and newcomers, and bring you the occasional chat with a film director, actor, journalist or anyone connected to crime, fact and fiction, with a story to tell. Again the first guest will be appearing at the end of September. Paul Burke, our editor, will serve as the host of the podcast.
What is Aspects of Crime’s model?
We are a new venture but Aspects of Crime is the sister publication of Aspects of History, which is now five years old. We want to emulate that success but in the world of crime fiction, true crime and espionage.
Who will edit Aspects of Crime?
Our editor is Paul Burke. Paul is a crime fiction aficionado and writes for a number of online publications including Crime Time, Crime Fiction Lover and the European Literature Network. He is a judge for the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger and fronts the Crime Time FM podcast. Authors will of course contribute to the site and magazine. We also have an advisory board in the shape of Jane Thynne, Mark Ellis, Oliver Webb-Carter and Thomas Waugh.
How do our Author Platforms work?
Author Platforms are exclusive to Aspects of Crime and Aspects of History and represent a chance for authors to connect with readers through the website via a year-round presence, a social media presence, contributions to the magazine and the podcast. Should authors wish to do so they can contribute pieces to the site each month via interviews, articles or book reviews – although there is no obligation to provide content each month. Author Platforms are a way of generating sales and coverage in an ongoing, long-term way. Platforms feature an author photo, bio. interview, articles, social media links and links to books on Amazon, which will help turn browsers into buyers. There’s also the opportunity to meet fellow authors at specially arranged events. Interested authors can contact us at editor@aspectsofcrime.com and we can send further information relating to the benefits and fees.
How can I pitch to contribute to Aspects of Crime?
We give priority to the writers we host Author Platforms with but we are happy for others to pitch ideas to us, particularly if you have a new book out. Authors may want to arrange a monthly promotion, whereby we can host a blog post, interview and book review for a title. We will also reach out to authors of titles we think will be suitable for the site or magazine. Writers can contact us at editor@aspectsofcrime.com.
Please do get in touch.
