Hellcorp sparkles like a blood-black diamond. Satan's got his work cut out in this darkly comic crime tale. A cracking read! - Mark Leggatt
Life is hard for The Devil and he desperately wants to take a holiday. Growing weary from playing the cosmic bad guy, he resolves to set up a company that will do his job for him so the sins of the world will tick over while he takes a vacation. God tells him he can have his vacation just as soon as he solves an ancient crime.
But nothing is ever easy and before long he is up to his pitchfork in solving murders, desperate to crack the case so he can finally take the holiday he so badly needs...
This is a perfectly-pitched darkly comic crime novel that is ideal for fans of Christopher Fowler and Ben Aaranovitch.
I'm taking part in the blog tour for HellCorp by Jonathan Whitelaw (I actually know Jonathan very well having the pleasure of working with him earlier in his career). Today he's talking about his inspiration to write:
"I’ve always wanted to write. Even from when I first could do it I knew it was always something that I wanted to do. And as a result I spent the majority of my childhood doing three things - reading, writing and playing with Lego/Star Wars toys. Usually all three ended up banded together somehow.
I started writing longer fiction in my final years at high school. I’ve always loved sci-fi and fantasy, with the Lord of the Rings series a big favourite of mine. When I was 17 I finished my first full manuscript. It was high fantasy, 120,000 words and weighed an awful lot in my school rucksack. It wasn’t very good and looking back now it’s rather cringeworthy how unoriginal it was. But it taught me the valuable lessons of discipline and being able to just sit down and actually WRITE. Two important lessons for me.
I love stories and I love great characters. And my inspiration in my fiction work has always been to write novels that I would enjoy. With HellCorp - I know it’s something I’d pick up in a bookshop and go - yeah there’s something in this for me. Crime, thriller, fantasy, sci-fi, romance, it’s got the lot. I love challenging myself as a writer and that challenge inspires me to keep going, to keep writing and to keep enjoying what is a passion and a profession for me.
I also like to keep my eyes, ears and sometimes NOSE open for new inspiration and ideas. You never know when something happens, something you read or even a phrase somebody uses will start triggering those brain cells. I love it when this happens because you never know when it’s going to strike next. Even writing this post has gotten me thinking - about words, about inspiration and about the pleasure and privilege it is to be a writer in the 21st century.
When I’m asked about inspiration, a story always comes to mind. Shortly after I signed the publishing deal with Urbane for HellCorp an old friend asked me what I was doing one evening.
“I’m writing,” I said.
They looked surprised. “But you’ve just signed your deal, your new book is coming out.”
“I know,” I said. “That doesn’t mean I don’t have stories to tell.”
I know they only had my best intentions at heart but it always makes me smile. I love telling stories and I love to write. I’m at my happiest when I’m up to my neck in The Devil and his antics. The writing, editing, proofing, endless debates over plot twists and directions, everything. I’m inspired by the process of writing and the end result. And most importantly, getting there.
History and mythology and the art of storytelling are also inspiration for me. I love that we as human beings are telling stories that are hundreds of thousands of years old. The idea that we still read and listen to characters, settings, scenarios and lessons that existed centuries before we were born is both heartwarming and inspiring. I always have believed that if a story is good, it’ll last forever and be a success. It doesn’t matter if it’s in song form, a play, a novel, TV, film or a dance played out by a giant squid and a basking shark - if it’s good it’ll win out. Because we all love a good story with good characters and a good outcome.
That’s what inspires me. Telling stories and making up characters who let that story be told. And I’m humbled that I get to do that with my novels".
Thanks so much Jonathan for sharing with us why you've always wanted to write and huge congratulations on the publication of HellCorp!
Pick up your copy HERE.
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