Robert Craven's blog

World Book Day 07.03.24 *My talk at Drogheda Grammar School, Ireland

I was nervous, I'll be honest. I was standing in the gym to give a talk to two groups - 5th year & TY years - about not only how important books are today (perhaps even more so now), but also my journey as a writer and my processes. But I had nothing to worry about; after my spiel as to how I became a writer, a very lively Q&A from the students kept me on my toes. And I found their enthusiasm infectious. I was also very honest with them...

February 24th #Irelandreads

"T he more bookstores you go into, the more you’ll realize how many different ways there are to be curious." - Paul Yamazaki - City Lights Bookstore / San Francisco I was talking to a fellow author over the week, he's both a respected author and a valued mentor. He says its increasingly hard to sell copies these days with so much competition from streaming services, whether you're a big name or not. And he has a point - but only to a point. I...

MALIGN INTENT - launch day

MALIGIN INTENT @Amazon @ Kobo Well, after three years, one fried 8-year-old HP laptop, (replaced with a wonderful, repurposed ASUS Chromebook), one scrapped 95000 word draft reduced to a handful of key scenes rebuilt over 10 full rewrites, MALIGN INTENT was launched yesterday. Blasted across my social media, my eyes were square by 5pm yesterday! Its my 10th novel. A landmark in itself, but also a crossroads. MALIGN INTENT was by far the hardest...

MALIGN INTENT *One week to go & a Kindle review already in!

With the paperback version of MALIGN INTENT out on 01.27.24, I have the book released on #Kindle aheaed of the launch & already the first review is in! https://www.amazon.com/Malign-Intent-Murder-Crowe-ebook/dp/B0CR7M45ZS/re... "I n this sequel to the crime thriller 'A Kind of Drowning', Garda Inspector P.J. Crowe is called to investigate when a body is found swaying from a tree at the edge of a forest. His boss tells him to write off the...

If not now, when? - some thoughts on my 10th release - MALIGN INTENT

If not now, when? To borrow Shane Horgan’s comment on the Ireland v NZ All-blacks quarter final match in the Rugby World Cup 23 (and with a nod to Primo Levi), If not now, when? Is the constant thought of an indie author. When? MALIGN INTENT is my tenth novel and the follow up to A Kind of Drowning , a second crime thriller featuring Garda Inspector P. J. Crowe. MALIGN INTENT will be released on Amazon KDP on January 27th 2024. It has taken two...

Available now for pre-order - MALIGN INTENT 27-01-2024

Wishing you all a very happy & peaceful new year. Now that the dishes & champagne flutes are washed & stowed away. Now that the fireworks finale is lying around the garden, I'd like to let you kind readers know that my 10th (yes, hard to believe TENTH) novel - MALIGN INTENT is available for pre order now... The back page blurb "Tag, bag and bury the bastard, Crowe…” An August bank holiday should be about relaxation, taking time out...

Newcastle Noir 2023 - December. One week to go when I meet up with my tribe

https://heyzine.com/flip-book/84d0324158.html?fbclid=IwAR3dWB7JCVQnTbz9L... One week to go! Normally, I wouldn't post anything about an author event, but this appearance, flying in from Dublin to this event is literally three years in the making. I met the festival director, Dr Jacky Collins in 2019 at the Bloody Scotland Festival in Stirling. I was part of the final group of authors selected to pitch to a panel of editors and industry...

** Coming Soon ** / MALIGN INTENT - Crowe 2

“Tag, bag and bury the bastard, Garda Inspector Crowe…” Genre: Crime Fiction August - December, present day, one year after ‘A Kind of Drowning’ . The synopsis: Robert Craven's Malign Intent, is a contemporary crime thriller set in Ireland with a slow burning neo-noir atmosphere: Crowe has seen enough dead bodies in his time to suspect that Aonghus Hanafin wasn’t the hanging kind. August bank holidays should be about relaxation, taking time out...

Goodbye to Birdland

It was easy to deactivate my Twitter Account. For the past four years, I found it easy (too easy at times) to get mired in in pointless arguments - especially the toxicity of the Brexit debate. I lost sight of why I was on the platform; primarily to sell my books and engage with the writing community. I would close my laptop fueled in anger and hurt. Both on a personal level - I received threats on my time line and watching educated and...

So, why do you want to write? A good question...

It as been a while... I planned to take 2022 off from writing completely. A full break. And here's why - sixteen years of writing, going through the mill of pitching, getting published, watching publishers go bust and retrieving my material back for indie platforms non-stop had taken its toll, I needed to hit the pause button. I needed to stop and take stock of why I write, what compels me to rise every morning and start typing words and...

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