Quintin Jardine's blog

I had some very good news this morning. I’m on a short list of four for the Crime Writers’ Association’s ‘Dagger in the Library’ award. http://thecwa.co.uk/the-daggers/categories/library/

That’s recognition enough for me, but if I do catch the judges’ eyes I will be very happy: not only for myself, but even more for the nod it will give to all the librarians up and down the country who are the main reason why I’ve been in the top 100 most borrowed authors for the twenty odd years.

The importance of libraries has been recognised since the days of Andrew Carnegie, but now they’re under threat, from budget cuts by penny-pinchers who have no idea of the difference between cost and value. They need all the help and all the publicity they can get.

Shaun Escoffery.  Try him, if you haven’t already.

Well, it’s out there at last; Born to be Wild  has been in my head for a couple of years and finally it has escaped. The mysterious death of Oz Blackstone, explained at last. Published for ten hours as I write this, and already it’s in the top 1000 mystery titles in the Kindle store, not bad for 99p short story.

My thanks to everyone who’s bought it so far. To the rest? Go on, let’s see how high it can fly.

So what did happen to Oz Blackstone? Find out tomorrow, when Born to be Wild, a brand new short story, is released in the Amazon Kindle store. Or find out right now, on the Kobo platform.

For those who don’t know that there are alternatives to Kindle and Amazon, here’s a link to Kobo, through which Born to be Wild, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and indeed the entire QJ backlist, are available in ebook form.

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-gb/

No, you don’t have to buy an expensive reader. Click on ‘Apps and ereaders’ and you can download software that lets you access Kobo purchases on computers, tablets, and even smartphones.

Update: ‘Born to be Wild’, the new Oz Blackstone short, is now available for pre-order on both Amazon and Kobo.com, in advance of publication on July 29.

Ten years ago, Oz Blackstone, the slightly sociopathic anti-hero of nine mystery novels, died tragically, and off-page, while filming in the Guatemalan jungle. He left behind him a wife and a soulmate . . . although these were different women . . . and three children. Said soulmate, Primavera Phillips Blackstone, retired with their son Tom to the idyllic (and very real; you should visit) village of St Marti d’Empuries, at the quiet end of the Costa Brava, where she built a new life in his honour and memory, and found what she hoped would be renewed happiness.

So why is it that there are thousands of people who believe that Oz is still alive and out there, choosing his moment to make a comeback? Beats me, but there are.

They keep the faith and they keep hoping; also, they keep me thinking.

Faith is a wonderful thing; it’s belief without any logic or supporting evidence. It deserves to be rewarded, and it will be on July 29. That’s the publication date of a new, original short story, which looks into  the mystery of Oz’s death. It answers questions and it poses some new ones that only occurred to me as it took shape.

It’s called ‘Born to be Wild’ and it will be published in ebook form, on Amazon Kindle and also on Kobo.

A good friend said a few days ago that he reckoned we are witnessing the death of political fiction, on the basis that nobody will ever match current reality. I see it differently. With all that’s happened over the  last week, how could I not republish my political fantasy, Somewhere over the Rainbow?

Look for it globally on Amazon and soon on Kobo.