Wildthyme in Purple

Published around about now is Wildthyme in Purple, the latest Iris Wildthyme short story collection from Obverse Books. Iris is a dotty old witch in a double decker bus that travels between the genres, and this time she's visiting the world of purple prose: pulp fiction.

A host of great writers - including David McIntee, Richard Salter, Simon Bucher-Jones, Paul Ebbs and Jim Mortimore - take Iris on a journey through pulp in all its guises. My story - The Bronze Door - introduces Iris and Panda to Raymond Chandler, author of such great pulp detective tales as The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. I'm a big fan of Chandler, but it was a BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play about the writing of Double Indemnity that actually inspired the story: Patrick Stewart gave a fantastic portrayal of a pinickety, staid writer who just leapt out as a perfect foil for the wild and unconventional Iris. The pairing worked so well, I'm tempted to do a sequel.

In the meantime, why not buy Wildthyme in Purple and read part one . . .