CARRYDUFF is not usually known for its use as a backdrop for fiction, but a new novel has the area on the edge of south Belfast as the setting for a tale of murder and mayhem.
Author and journalist Colin McAlpin, who lives in Carryduff, is releasing not one, but two new novels set in Northern Ireland, and is embracing the future of publishing by offering them in e-book format.
‘A is for Murder’, and ‘Holy Murder’ feature the adventures of a young “feisty” female journalist in Belfast, caught up in a tangled web of trouble. The latter novel is mainly set in Carryduff.
Colin, who has worked in journalism for several decades, and is now a dedicated travel writer when not penning fiction, previously had a novel ‘Dead Line’ published in America, “in dead tree format”, but told the South Belfast News that although he himself has yet to personally embrace the e-book revolution, he recognised it as the future of publishing. He also described Carryduff’s role as the scene for his urban thriller, which he stressed “has absolutely nothing” to do with paramilitaries or the Troubles.
“My publishers Glendun have been working with me and we decided to offer the two new books for Kindle downloads,” he explained.
“Conventional publishing is costly, so we decided to experiment with the two new novels, and promote them as e-books first. Ironically, as someone who loves books and has a house with books wall-to-wall in every room, I don’t even own a Kindle or e-reader myself. However, I’m not blind to the advantages of e-publishing, and so I’m happy to get on board”
On the plot of ‘Holy Murder’, he continued: “Carryduff is actually the major setting in this novel, where a character inspired by ‘televangelists’ in the United States, decides to open his own tabernacle in Carryduff.
“Both novels feature the character Rachel Andrews, the young Belfast journalist who was the protagonist in Dead Line also. When writing about her and her adventures I used my own experiences on newsdesks in Belfast during the early part of my career.
“It’s good to have a strong female character whose function in the plot is not just to scream in terror and be rescued by men.”
Both new novels are available for download through Amazon.co.uk
