Quick Fire At The Slaughterhouse: Interview With Paul D. Brazill

Paul Brazill writes gritty hardboiled fiction that mixes laconic with astute cultural observation. Always entertaining, you can count on a great read. He has a new one out, and he describes it as seaside Noir. Paul met me at The Slaughterhouse where we talked about Kill Me Quick and exile in his writing.

Tell us about Kill Me Quick.

Kill Me Quick! is a darkly comic seaside noir. It’s the story of a slightly successful musician who – after things turn sour – returns from self-imposed exile ‘down south’ to his home town in the north east of England. It’s a lethal cocktail of Get Carter, Charlie Bubbles and Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? It’s published by the great Number 13 Press.

How important is exile to your writing?

Well, I only started writing after I’d been abroad for a while so I’m sure it’s very important. It gives a view askew. James Joyce only wrote The Dubliners after he’d left Dublin. I only said that so I could compare myself to Joyce, of course … And not Yootha Joyce …

How important is local culture and location to your writing?

It certainly is with Kill Me Quick! A lot of it is based on places and people from the town where I grew up and its surrounding areas, though it is a tad exaggerated.

What else is on the cards for you this year?

Publication updates: Cold London Blues will be published by Caffeine Nights Publishing on 14 July 2016. It’s a sort of follow up to Guns Of Brixton. The Last Laugh, and Other Shots Of Noir will be published by All Due Respect on 1 May 2016, It’s a collection of what I think are my best noir-ish short stories. There may be another book out next year, too, if I get my act together. A few flash fiction pieces should appear online, too. I always like to get back to writing flash.

Paul thank you for a great interview.

Get Kill Me Quick! from Amazon.co.uk , Amazon.com or any other Amazon.

Paul D. Brazill is the author of Guns Of Brixton, Cold London Blues, and Kill Me Quick! He was born in England and lives in Poland. He is an International Thriller Writers Inc member whose writing has been translated into Italian, German and Slovene. He has had writing published in various magazines and anthologies, including The Mammoth Books of Best British Crime. He has edited a few anthologies, including the best-selling True Brit Grit – with Luca Veste. His blog is here.