Compass Points 44

Your weekly round up of publishing news, publicity information and trivia!

Oooh – it’s always very exciting when publishers produce a cinema advert for one of their books – and this week we have one such event to tell you about! A trailer for the colourful thriller Lucknow Ransom by Glenn Peters is going to hit cinema screens in July to coincide with the publication of this evocative paperback. You can watch this trailer for Lucknow Ransom here on You Tube. With a cast of fascinating characters and an immersive sense of the sights, sounds, smells and especially the tastes of 1960s India, this novel by is inspired by Glen Peters’ youth in the dwindling Anglo-Indian community, no longer at home in the newly independent nation, and gives a fascinating insight into their world. It is a witty, vivid tale of intrigue set in a hybrid culture on the verge of disappearing forever. The story begins with beautiful widow Joan D’Silva who is at Howrah Station, fleeing Calcutta with her 11-year-old son Errol. Also on the same train is Laxhimi, a notorious hijira prostitute: charismatic, sensual and powerful. They are both running away to Lucknow to escape danger, but soon their lives will become entangled in a web of corruption and blackmail. Who is responsible for the poisoning at the factory? Is it the Workers Revolutionary Movement, the Children of God under the sway of the charismatic SwamiNaik, or someone else entirely? If only the police could help. But Detective Inspector Mallothra has based his investigative style on Mickey Spillane novels so it’s down to Joan, her hijira friends, and of course Errol, to unmask the perpetrator. This is the second title in Glen’s series of Mrs D’Silva novels. Book Quarterly said of the first title (Mrs D’Silva and the Shaitan of Calcutta) “This novel wonderfully evokes time and place, and gives a sense of the betrayal and loss that change can cause.” You can find out more and order Lucknow Ransom which is published by Parthian Books here

Comedian, mod and professional grump Ian Moore has had enough. Tired of being unable to park anywhere near his cramped house in a noisy town he doesn’t like, he hatches a plan to move his wife and young son to a remote corner of the Loire Valley in search of serenity and space. Several years later, Ian finds himself up to his neck in bilingual offspring, feral cats, promiscuous horses, dysfunctional spaniels and needy hens; he’s wrestling with electric fences, a foreign language, a mountain of animal waste and a wife who collects livestock like there’s a biblical flood on the horizon, all while trying not to dirty his loafers. But despite the ups, downs and increasing demands of Ian’s showbiz career, the Moore family persevere in true Brit style to create a unique, colourful and ultimately rewarding life in their new home. À la Mod: My So-Called Tranquil Family Life in Rural France (published by Summersdale) is a unique take on the `new home in France’ narrative, including insights into the life of a comedian, as well as the ins and outs of country living. The public seems to have an almost insatiable desire to read stories of those who upped sticks and left Britain to start a new life – and this book will thoroughly appeal to all those dreaming of chucking it all in and beginning again. The author is a professional comedian with an established public profile and big online presence, with his own website and a blog which you can read at www.ianmoore.info. There is quite a bit of publicity for this book in the various property magazines as well as lots of local press as well! And this week Ian Moore was once again a pundit on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Fighting Talk. Find out more and order A La Mod here

OK, from bucolic France, to something rather darker. All the Little Guns Went Bang Bang Bang is a blackly comic tale of two eleven year-old psychopaths who go on a murderous rampage in their small Northern Irish town. This brilliant debut novel by award-winning journalist Neil Mackay is utterly gripping, shocking, often moving high quality literary fiction which will appeal to fans of Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman, The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe, Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre and We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Neil MacKay has meticulously researched the causes of violence in children and through his blackly comic and often visceral prose; he not only demonstrates his deep understanding for his subject but also an extraordinary empathy for children damaged by society’s neglect. A veteran of twenty years of reporting on children who kill, as well as many of the biggest stories during The Troubles in Northern Ireland; Neil Mackay has created a shocking, pitch black debut novel. It has just been published by Freight, and as you might expect, there has been a lot of press attention! In the last few days we’ve had great review on BBC Radio Scotland where Janice Forsyth said "I read it from start to finish in one go. I couldn't put it down... You really believe in these children. It's exquisitely written." And there’s also been a big feature and four star review in The Skinny who wrote “You won’t forget this pair in a hurry... their games and stories have a dark, violent inevitability that Mackay portrays with an assured touch” Coming up is a double page feature and extract in the Herald this Saturday and big reviews in the Observer and New Statesman to come. This is a very newsworthy topic – so there’s sure to be more.

You can order All the Little Guns went Bang Bang Bang here

Who’s going to see the new Superman film tonight? And while we’re on the subject – which superhero is the most super – who’s your favourite? Let’s have a look at one of the Epic Rap Battles of History to see two of them fight it out… watch Batman vs Sherlock below! 

This newsletter is sent weekly to over 600 booksellers, publishers and publicists. If you would like to order any of the titles mentioned, then please click here to go to the Compass New Titles Website or talk to your Compass Sales representative.

That’s all for now folks, more next week!