S.J. Bolton's supernatural thriller, Blood Harvest, has been nominated for a Barry Award as "Best British Novel" by the readers of Deadly Pleasures magazine. The Barry Awards will be presented at Bouchercon right here in St Louis from September 15 through 18.
S.J. Bolton says on her blog that
Blood Harvest sprang from my life-long passion for the supernatural thriller.
I love the heavy, dark, brooding atmosphere of the best of these stories, the gradual but relentless build up of suspense, the dawning realization on the part of the characters that the world they thought they knew is quite different. And I've often wondered if I could write such a story.
At the same time, a tale of the supernatural, whilst wonderful in the telling, can ultimately disappoint. And sometimes, I sense a certain laziness on the part of some writers of supernatural stories; as though they feel they have a get-out-of-jail-free card. They don't have to explain everything, or to tie up all the loose ends because when all is said and done -- hey! -- the ghost did it!
Of course, writing in the genre I do (and with the editor I have!) a supernatural thriller in the true sense just isn't possible. Crime fans are very demanding readers and authors simply can't get away with anything less than 100% plausible. Okay, make that 98%.
So I had to find another way. I had to write a story that might initially appear to be about the supernatural but which ultimately has nothing more, or less, than good old-fashioned human villainy at the root of everything that takes place.
No comments:
Post a Comment