Alarmfase

The first publisher to buy my debut novel was Rienk Tychon. Rienk is a legend in the Dutch publishing world. He was the first person to publish both Lee Child and Dan Brown in the Netherlands. While the auction in London was raging between three of the big publishing houses, Rienk snuck in under the radar and snapped up rights for Holland and Belgium.

Alarmfase, as the book has been re-titled in Holland, will be published next month.

Here's a link to a brochure where you can see the fantastic cover art for the book. It's a very retro, gritty cover.

http://www.uitgeverijdevliegendehollander.nl/Catalogi/Brochure%20DVH.pdf

Interviews

Here are links to a couple of interviews I've done over the past few months:

http://falcatatimes.blogspot.com/2009/07/interview-sean-black.html

http://crimealwayspays.blogspot.com/2009/06/ya-wanna-do-it-here-or-down-station_22.html

Daily Telegraph Review

I'm very grateful to Jeremy Jehu for his review in the Daily Telegraph. Jeremy has this to say about my debut novel:

"In Lockdown, Sean Black's hero, Ryan Lock, causes New York to be sealed against a terrorist threat. Presumably in the sequels "Lockup" and "Lockin" he will rent a small garage, then take to drink. The synergy between name and title matters because it highlights the artifice underlying an excellent first novel. It reminds readers that the big game for British thriller writers these days is emulating Lee Child by writing classier American pulp than the Yanks. Like Child's Jack Reacher, Lock is an ex-military policeman. Unlike Reacher, he has a job (as an elite bodyguard), a home, friends and a sense of humour. Lock's likeability contrasts with Reacher's pomposity and Black's style is supremely slick."

Daily Mail Review

The reviews are starting to come in. Here is the first newspaper review which appeared in The Daily Mail, one of the highest circulation newspapers in the UK.

I have reproduced the text below and beneath that is a link.

An impressive debut thriller from Scots-born TV screenwriter Sean Black that introduces a new full-on action hero.

Former Royal Military Police close protection officer Ryan Lock, is now working for a major biotech company in New York which is the subject of animal rights protests.

Ferocious and single-minded, but with a conscience, Lock proceeds to confront one of the finest female villains since Ian Fleming's Rosa Klebb with a style that would bring a smile to the face of his spiritual father - Lee Child's Jack Reacher.

Clearly influenced by Child and Joseph Finder, Black drives his hero into the tightest spots with a force and energy that jump off the page. He still has a little to learn when it comes to depth of character and pacing, but that won't take long. Lock is clearly going to be around for a long time.

With a spine-tingling finale that reminded me of Die Hard, this is a writer, and a hero, to watch.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-1204228/Thrillers.html

Lockdown coming soon!

The first in the Ryan Lock series of thrillers, LOCKDOWN, goes on sale in the UK, Ireland and lots of other places on the 30th of July.

Currently, I'm finishing up the second Ryan Lock thriller, LOCK UP, which will go on sale in 2010.

Check back to the website and blog for more news.

Sean