Welcome.
LAS

Somewhere on your page or in your messages you can find my friend request...the way this tennis game works it's now up to you to accept it. I'll bet you have other friend requests also.
Best, LAS

Welcome aboard Olav!
I'm a fan of Martin Cruz Smith too

Hey, Olav --

Always nice to see Kem Nunn's name on someone's list of favorite writers. I have to tell you that I vigorously disagree with you about Celine, though. Eeeeeek.

Anyway, nice to befriend you, and thanks for asking.

Hi Olav from the other end of the planet just about. Nice to see Astrid Lindgren get a mention :)

Hi, Olav --

Fascinating work you're doing. How do you find translators?

I think the most overlooked top-rate mystery writers today are Edward Wright, John Shannon, and Keith Snyder. Wright writes a series set in Los Angeles in the late 40s-early 50s and his hero is a former actor who starred in some Z-movie western serials and now works as a debt collector. Shannon writes about LA today; his protagonist is a PI who specializes in finding missing children and returning them to their parents, but only if he thinks it will benefit the kid. And Snyder writes (or wrote -- I'm not sure he's got a contract now) present-day mysteries set mostly in Pasadena, in which the mystery is primarily the excuse for some really brilliant riffing among a set of high-IQ, high-intelligence characters. Extremely funny at times.

Since you asked, my new Bangkok thriller, THE FOURTH WATCHER, comes out in June (William Morrow) and the last one, A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART, goes into trade paperback at the same time. And I'm working on a new mystery series set in Los Angeles.

Other than that, I've got lots of time on my hands.

Thank you for your suggestions.

This opens up a whole new area of reading for me.

Best,

John

That thriller of mine...well the first thing is I write a lot more slowly than some. The book mixes art history, terrorism and international intrigue. It began as a way to amuse myself and grew a life of its own. I've just gotten through that awful part where the plot makes no sense and I nearly set the thing on fire. Which of course would be my laptop on fire, not a good thing. So I put the book aside for a bit and now I'm back to it and the pieces seem to be falling into place, more or less. I hope. Wish me luck.
I will have to look into this Norwegian crime fiction thing. I'm imagining big, airy bathrooms with glass showers and stainless steel appliances and windows with no curtains or shades and the horrific, bloody shower-stall murder of the aging leader of the band Aha. Please forgive my cultural ignorance ;-)

Cheers, Olav.

SD

Greetings from the swamps of Louisiana.

Thanks for the invite ... particularly appreciated since I am, in fact, a quarter Norwegian myself (through my maternal grandmother), a heritage of which I am very proud ...

Hi Olav,
The snakes here are harmless if you leave then alone- they are probably more afraid of us than we are of them.
You should make a point of visiting Oz sometime- there's nowhere like it on Earth.

I used to consider myself a jack of all trades but now mostly concentrate on crime, fantasy and comedy.
My first book was somewhat dark and brooding and my second, which should be released next year, is more crime and fantasy based. Other projects in the pipeline.

Have been concentrating on mostly comedy of late to cheer myself up and forget about my bad back.

I believe one never stops learning and refining their style and ideas.

I don't watch much television but like your favourites.

Cheers
Andrew

Will be sure to send you a book if it's successful.
But no matter, success or not, I am happy to continue doing what I love.

Keep reading, my friend, and bring the world closer.

Hi, Olav -

Translating Willeford sounds daunting. There are lots of writers whose overall impact relies less on their prose style and more on (say) their plotting and characters.I'd think they'd be easier to translate.

My books are like Burdett's in that they're about Bangkok, but the perspective is quite different. My protagonist writes a series of "insider" guides called "Looking for Trouble" -- in Indonesia, the Phillipines, Thailand, etc. So he's street-smart. He's living in Bangkok, trying to assemble a family from a Thai woman who used to dance in Patpong and a street child whom he's most of the way through adopting. Unlike Burdett's hero, he has no Thai blood, no official status, and his understanding of Thai culture is far from complete -- something he comes up against in most of the books.

I've lived in Thailand off and on since 1980, so I know it pretty well, but I don't think farangs, or foreigners, are ever completely admitted to the club.

Read A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART -- I think you'd like it.

Glad to hear I'm so well taken care of in Norway, Olav -- thanks!

Olav, my friend,
My first novels were published in Danish and Dutch but not in Norweigian. Maybe this is a break!
Welcome aboard. I've been to Oslo twice and loved it.
Best,

David

Hello, Olav,
It was my novels Sight Unseen and Blind Man's Bluff that got published in Dutch and Danish. I'll get those publishers to you. Recently our house was repainted and our library packed away, so my wife knows better than I where those books are. Right now Little Gods is up for Scandinavian rights in toto. Sorry for being unresponsive, but domestic chaos theory is working hard against me. Soon.
Thanks for your interest,

David

If your mailing address is complete as given, may I use it that way?

Hi again, Olav,
As promised, I have turned my bookshelves upside down and come up with the following. Writing as David Lorne, the Danish edition of Sight Unseen appeared as Blind Jagt (approx translation 'Blind Hunt') from Bogsamleren, Copehagen. That was the publisher.

Hi Olav: Never been to Norway. Is mystery/suspense and crime fiction big there? I writer mystery and suspense novels.

Best,
Douglas Quinn
www.douglasquinn.com

Olav,
Thanks for your feedback. From the web I got two Oslo addresses, for the separate publishing houses before the merger to Cappelen Damm. Which one should I use to send you a copy of Little Gods?
Best,

David

Olav, hi again
Here are the addresses from the web for Cappelen Damm:
(1) Fridjof Nanses Vei 14 N-0055 or
(2) PO Box 35Q Sentrum N-0101
both in Oslo. Let me know your preference.
Also, I have been in Norway twice, as mentioned, and seen, beside Oslo, Bergen and Stavanger. The fjords are magnificent on a clear day.
Best,

David

Sadly Granny Ebba died some years ago (though I have commemorated her in my next Samuel Carver book, in which a woman with her name, appearance and character appears). So I can't call her this Christmas ... But I am very glad, and very touched that you enjoyed The Accident Man. It was an absolute b*gger to write - it's nice to think that the effort was worth it! (The second one's even harder, by the way ...)

Hi Olav - welcome aboard my books are published in Norway - by, I hope I spell it correctly, schibsted forlagene.
They do quite well there and my newest work just received and endorsement from Hakan Nesser,
Rick Mofina

Olav,
Little Gods is en route to you.
Enjoy.
Have a Thor-ally great holiday.
Best,

David

Happy New Year Olav!
Cara

Hi, Olav
Glad the book arrived. What a miracle the mail moves at all in an age of terrorism. Enjoy the read.
All Best,

David

Olav,
Forgive me for not wishing Happy New Year before.
Happy New Year.
It looks as if you have someone corresponding with you in Norwegian. At least I hope it's Norwegian. Certainly she thinks its Norwegian. How awkward it would be if you had to tell her it was Swedish!

Don't worry, your book was a new years gift good enough. And yes, suddenly this lady-writer from Nashville, i think, pops up with a hello in fluent norwegian. she even tells me she grew up in Grefsen, a cosy residential area in Oslo. - What about you? Anything new and exciting happening to you and your writing in the new year?