Did I understand correctly, that in one of your earlier posts that Tom CrUugghh! was even mentioned in the same sentence/breath as Lee Child's 'Reacher' - 'Jack' ie 'The Man' ?  How many FB signatures would it take to prevent that?  I'm up for it.  Personally I'd give Jason Momoa a haircut and have him eyeball the lens, but TC, that would be vomitous on so many levels...

Hiya! I am a huge fan! I read accident man in May and have been waiting since for the sequel! i have just started reading The Survivor and its brilliant so far! I was not expecting it to be good because sequels are never as good as the first book but you've managed to make me want to do nothing but read. It is a brilliant book and is an absolute page-turner. The way you mix fact and fiction is just plain genius. Not a thing I would change in either of your books. They are perfect. By the I am not saying all this just because my birthday is on 17th January but it's because I really enjoy reading your novels and hope there are many more to come in the future!

HI Tom
Thought we might as well be friends here too.
The second book is scary, especially is people really liked your first and have high expectations. Good luck.

That's an interesting point about the Studio worrying about the Diana angle. I was under the impression that Americans were fascinated by the royals and love nothing more than a good old conspiracy theory,e.g. who killed Kennedy; who tried to poison Castro; did anyone really land on the moon; how could you vote both father & son into the white house & then think of voting the wife of a previous president in, bizarre really; and look how they took to " The D-V----C-d-" a not so good book & terrible movie. So wouldn't they just love to see this tale of royal and political intrigue. I can see how the Brits might be a bit uncomfortable but the demographic for the movie are probably too young to give a toss, & any negative publicity for poor taste or "too soon" would just mean more bums on seats. The churches did a marvelous job in promoting that before mentioned "blasphemous abomination" to their beliefs.
I think they are foolish and misguided obviously but then its not my money.
Regards Jon

Jason Statham is what you might call the 'you want ... you settle for ... you get" option. But my feeling is that the only way this film gets made is with a big budget, as the launchpad for a franchise. That's what one super A-list director with a mega action trilogy behind him (hint, hint!) wanted to do, till his studio's top brass got scared off by the Diana angle .. and it's what another major studio were interested in doing until Paramount came in for it, with a contract that entitles them to make sequels from now to the crack of doom. But since Hollywood is dead at the moment, because of the writers' strike, and unmade projects are piling up all over the place, I'd say the odds on it being made are getting ever-longer, unless it sells bucket-loads of books in the States. To which end, those reviews are, indeed, very gratifying ... And thanks for reading them!

Thanks too for the friend invite: delighted to accept ...

Now that would be tragic, I actually like some of the stuff Tom C has done but he's no Jack, in-fact that is as absurd as the time Sean Connery was being muted for Gandalf, that made me shudder as well {though he is one of my favourite tough guys} and strangely enough my pick for the part was Ian Maclellan and was very happy when it was finally announced a lot later. Happily I got to see him in action, as did most of Wellington, when i did a little stint booming on LOTR.
You know I wouldn't mind putting a fiver on Jason Statham being the one put forward if it is done in the next few years and the producers can come up with a mid range budget. Be a shame really as the story would deserve more production money and someone with the A grade charisma.
The Bourne franchise sure has worked but for god sakes why do the bloody directors insist on that stupid camera shake, it makes the scenes unwatchable on the big screen in my opinion. If I want to get sick I'll go sailing.
I loved the way Len Wiseman did the latest Die Hard, great action. No shaky shaky, lets see what the poor stunties are putting their lives on the line for.
How about Karl Urban as Sam, better get in quick though before his fee goes up :) though with sods law he'd test for Sam and come away as a Russian assassin.
Have you read "Spencerville" by Demille, just fantastic. Should have been a movie ages ago, Jessica Lange as the sheriffs wife and Nick Nolte as the sheriff, maybe Michael Douglas as the ex CIA hero or Harrison Ford, hmmm.
How sad that producers sit on these things and let a lot of great works just go dusty in their draws or get turned into crap because the moneys not there for a better production. Though David Cronenberg proves quality can be done without a T Cruise budget.
By the way your book certainly has some damn fine reviews out there online. That must give you a good feeling.
Jon

Screw them next time then. The book{s} would make a great movie franchise or TV series, it's a pity Daniel Craig is busy with Bond as he'd be great as "The Accident Man". Maybe Sean Bean would like to laser the drunk driver in the tunnel, if he tones down that "Sharpe" accent.
Just keep the writers etc responsible for ruining the UK "Ultimate Force" series away from it. A classic example of how to stuff up a good story to make it more universally acceptable. .
I don't know if you have read any of the Lee Child books, again an incredible opportunity for a screen franchise but who the hell could play Jack Reacher, his stature and bearing is so well embed into the readers mind that casting must be a nightmare.
I'm also waiting for John Rain to make his screen debut to challenge Samuel Carver as the number 1 hitter in town.
Best of luck.
Jon

I'm sure the publisher will love it if it is as good as the last. I imagine the pressure of a second novel must be quite intense.
I really hope you get a good deal on selling the film rights to your novel, I've had dealings with producers before so watch out that they don't take your watch when they shake your hand, and if they give you a hug check your wallet if you keep it in your back pocket.
regards
Jon

I'd just like to say how much I enjoyed your novel, "The Accident Man". It was well crafted and hooked me from the very first page. I like how you took basically impossible scenarios and made them believable as opposed to the corny or ridiculous situations some action heros extract themselves from.
I look forward to your next book and will be looking out for it at the store.
Regards Jon

Thanks for accepting. I read your book a couple of months ago and was impressed by the pace and the strong grasp you have of your main character. Incredible that it was your first effort. But, as you say, you have been writing for a long time. It shows. Good luck with the next one, and give your norwegian granma a ring this christmas, or else she will serve you Lutefisk next time around.

Hi Tom
My follow up is very slow. I hate the idea of deadlines but maybe that's what I need. I can see by the time of your message that you're hard at it. I seem to fill spare time with heavy duty mulling and little else. What's part 2 called?

Hi Tom
How's that follow up going? I've started a sequel to Reaper and have got down two quality pages. Oh well.

Hello Tom,

Thanks for dropping in to visit me. You're getting great word-of-mouth on The Accident Man. I'm off to add it to my reading list.

Slan, Pat.

Yes I did order more!

Hi Tom, yes Random House here in NZ, published your book The Accident Man last month. We sold out almost straight away!

Hey Tom. Glad to see you're flying the flag for us Brits on here and congrats on the success of The Accident Man. If you're ever up town and fancy talking shop or handy ways to avoid Sky Sports News, feel free to drop me a line. Best, Matt

Thank you for adding me and thank you so much for the very kind comment on my page!

I really enjoyed the article Tom, nice to see someone who actually likes crime fiction reporting on a crime festival.

In answer to your question, last year I described le Barclay:

"Then it was off to the bar, where the inimitable Alex Barclay (who isn't actually a man) made her usual dramatic appearance, telling everyone they looked gorgeous in a ninety mile an hour Southern Irish accent. Alex tends to create her own event horizon, frenetic energy building up to critical mass until it implodes into a gravitational well that pulls in men for miles around. Shameless hussy that she is."

She denied everything afterwards of course...

Howdy back, Tom...