Stephen Leather

Stephen Leather

Stephen Leather (born September 25, 1956 in Manchester , England ) is a British journalist and thriller writer whose works are published by Hodder & Stoughton . He is also known as the writer of television productions such as London's Burning and The Knock, as well as the BBC- produced series Murder in Mind . Leather is one of the best- selling Amazon Kindle authors and was second on the UK bestseller list for 2011 with half a million e-books sold for the medium. The Bookseller magazine selected Leather as one of the 100 most influential book authors in Great Britain.

childhood and education

Leather grew up in Sale and in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, in the Manchester neighborhood, and attended Manchester Grammar School. He studied biochemistry at Bath University and graduated in 1978 with a Master of Science degree. Leather worked as a biochemist for ICI , but also worked as a limestone quarry worker, as a baker and as a gas station attendant and was employed by the British Inland Revenue . He began his writing career as a journalist, writing for newspapers such as The Glasgow Herald , Daily Mirror , The Times , Daily Mail and South China Morning Post in Hong Kong .

Writing career

Leather began writing fictional texts while he was in college, but "never managed more than a few pages." Only after ten years as a journalist did he devote himself full-time to writing. His first novel Pay Off was written while he was still working for the Daily Mirror . His unsolicited manuscript has been published by HarperCollins . The thriller is about a finance manager who wants to get revenge on the two perpetrators after the murder of his father. The plot is set in Scotland , where Leather spent five years as a business journalist for the Glasgow Herald . Leather wrote his second novel, The Fireman , in parallel with his role as business editor for the South China Morning Post . In The Fireman, a British tabloid journalist travels to Hong Kong to investigate the background to his sister's suicide. Both novels and his third work, Hungry Ghost , were published by HarperCollins .

While Leather was working as a business news editor for The Times , The Chinaman was his fourth novel. By this time a series of IRA bombings had peaked; The action of The Chinaman describes the life of a Vietnamese who loses his family in a bomb attack on Harrods department store in London. After the authorities abandon him, the former Viet Cong fighter sets off for Ireland and hunts down those responsible for the deaths of his relatives himself. The Chinaman gave Leather his breakthrough as a writer. In 1992, Hodder & Stoughton reserved the publishing rights for The Chinaman for a six-figure sum and The Vets in Great Britain for the sequel , while Pocket Books received the rights for the USA for an equally large sum. On this basis, Leather was able to continue his career as a full-time writer. In 2017 the novel was filmed under the title The Foreigner with Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan in the lead roles.

Works

Leather's novels are mostly about crime, prisons, the military, and terrorism. London and the Far East are the preferred locations. At first Leather wrote self-contained thrillers, until he expanded his protagonists and the associated plots into series of different genres. The main character of one of these series, Dan "the Spider" Shepherd appears in ten of Leather's books. Another series, Jack Nightingale , is about a former police agent who now works as a private detective.

Dan "Spider" Shepherd series

In 2004 Leather visited Durham and Belmarsh Prisons in the UK to do research for his book Hard Landing . Belmarsh Prison is a maximum security prison that houses numerous British terrorists and serious criminals. The character Dan Shepherd is introduced with Hard Landing . Shepherd embodies a former member of the military special forces. Undercover in a maximum security prison he follows a drug trafficker whose business is run in the back rooms of bars. The book was first published in 2004 by Hodder & Stoughton . Hard Landing ranked fourth on the UK e-book bestseller list in 2011. The sales figures were boosted by the fact that the publisher reduced the selling price for the e-book on Amazon to 49 pence.

Following the publication of Hard Landing , Leather had numerous conversations with inmates about book reading and creative writing during an extensive tour of British prisons. Leather books rank second on the books by British inmates for reading books, behind the works of John Grisham . Hard Landing was also nominated for the 2004 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award . The second book in the Spider Sheperd series, Soft Target , is about Islamist terrorists and four suicide bombers attacking the London Underground system. Soft Target was released in February 2005. On July 7, 2005, a similar terrorist attack occurred in London, in which four Islamist terrorists detonated four bombs, three of them in quick succession on board underground trains while traveling through the city, and a fourth in a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square . 52 people fell victim to the attacks, and the attackers were also killed. More than 700 people were injured in the attacks.

In Soft Target , Dan Shepherd kills a suicide bomber with a shot in the head on the tracks of a subway. On July 22, 2005 , a Brazilian was shot dead by police at Stockwell Underground Station in London on suspicion of being involved in a suicide bombing. In the third book in the series, Cold Kill , Shepherd tracks down terrorists who want to blow up the Eurostar train that runs under the English Channel between London and Paris. Cold Kill was nominated for best thriller novel in 2007. To research the last book in the Spider Shepherd series, Fair Game , Leather spent 16 days on one of the world's largest container ships on the voyage from Malaysia to Great Britain. During his stay on board, he wrote 50,000 words of the novel about the terrorists' plan to bring a dirty bomb to Britain.

As the series progresses, Shepherd ages in real time. When the book True Colors appeared in 2013, he was 39 years old. Shepherd also changes jobs more frequently during the ten-volume series. He began as a member of an elite police unit in undercover operations, then he worked for the British Serious Organized Crime Agency and finally for the British secret service MI5 .

Jack Nightingale series

In 2010, Hodder & Stoughton published the first book in a new series by Stephen Leather, which is about the supernatural investigator Jack Nightingale . The first volume, Nightfall , tells how Nightingale finds out that he was adopted after he was born and that his biological father is a Satanist who sold Nightingale's soul to a demon from Hell. The four volumes Nightfall , Midnight , Nightmare and Nightshade appeared in the series by April 2013 .

Amazon Kindle publications

Leather became successful in the Amazon Kindle market in 2010. Just before Christmas, Amazon UK opened an e-book store. Realizing that e-book buyers were always looking for specials, Leather offered his books at the minimum freelance price that was needed to get his work on the top ten best-selling list. To further market his books, he then turned to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

Self-published as an e-book, The Basement - it is about a serial killer in New York - was at the top of the UK Kindle bestseller list for several weeks, as well as at the top of the corresponding list in the US after AmazonEncore took over the publication. In early 2011 took Leather with three books - The Basement , Hard Landing and the vampire novel Once Bitten - the first three places of the UK Kindle bestseller list, which apart from him to date only Stieg Larsson with his trilogy The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo reached .

Leather is one of the best-selling Amazon Kindle authors and was second on the bestseller list for 2011 among all UK authors with half a million e-books sold for the medium. The Bookseller magazine selected Leather as one of the 100 most influential book authors in Great Britain. According to The Bookseller , his work The Basement was the third best-selling e-book in the UK in 2011, followed by Hard Landing .

Awards and recognitions

In 2002 Leather's book Tango One was nominated for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award , presented by the Crime Writers Association . His book Hard Landing was nominated for this award in 2004. His book Cold Kill was nominated for Best Novel in the Thriller Genre in 2007. In 2011 Leather sold more than 500,000 e-books and The Bookseller magazine selected him as one of the 100 Most Influential Book Authors in the UK.

Private life

Leather lived in England, the Far East, France, the United States and Ireland. In each of these countries he worked on his novels. He currently lives in Thailand. He spends his free time scuba diving and flying (he has a US pilot license).

Works

Novels

• 1988: Pay Off . St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0-312-01487-2 , paperback (2002), audio book (2011), e-book (2009).
• 1990: The Fireman . St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0-312-03831-3 , paperback (2002), audio book (2011), e-book (2008).
• 1991: Hungry Ghost . HarperCollins, ISBN 0-00-223637-0 , paperback (2008), audio book (2008), e-book (2008).
• 1992: The Chinaman (Stephen Leather Thrillers) . Pocket Books, ISBN 0-671-74301-5 , paperback (1992), audio book (2007), e-book (2008).
• 1993: The Vets . Pocket Books, ISBN 0-671-74303-1 , paperback (1994), e-book (2004).
• 1995: The Long Shot (Stephen Leather Thrillers) . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-63237-2 , e-book (2009).
• 1995: The Birthday Girl . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-63236-4 , paperback (2006), audio book (2007), e-book (2007).
• 1996: The Double Tap . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-7531-7500-2 , paperback (1997), audio book (2006).
• 1997: The Solitary Man . Ulverscroft, ISBN 0-340-62837-5 , paperback (1997), audio book (2010)
• 1999: The Bombmaker . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-68955-2 , paperback (2005), audio book (2003), e-book (2009).
• 2000: The Stretch . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-77032-5 , paperback (2006), audio book (2001), e-book (2009).
• 2002: Tango One (Stephen Leather Thrillers) . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-77034-1 , paperback (2006), audio book (2004), e-book (2009).
• 2003: The Eyewitness . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-82400-X , paperback (2003), audio book (2004), e-book (2008).
• 2004: Hard Landing (Dan Shepherd Mysteries) . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-73411-6 .
• 2004: The Tunnel Rats . Ulverscroft, ISBN 0-7531-7065-5 , paperback (2006), audio book (2009), e-book (2009).
• 2005: Soft Target (Dan Shepherd Mysteries) . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-83407-2 , paperback (2005), audio book (2005), e-book (2008).
• 2005: Private Dancer . Three Elephants, ISBN 981-05-3916-9 .
• 2006: Cold Kill (Dan Shepherd Mysteries) . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-83412-9 .
• 2007: Hot Blood (Dan Shepherd Mysteries) . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-92169-2 .
• 2008: Dead Man (Dan Shepherd Mysteries) . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-92170-6 , paperback (2008), audio book (2008), e-book (2008).
• 2009: Live Fire (Dan Shepherd Mysteries) . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-92173-0 , paperback (2010), audio book (2009), e-book (2009).
• 2010: Infiltrado . Spanish edition of Soft Target . Urano, e-book, ISBN 84-92516-99-2 .
• 2010: Furia en la sangre . Urano, e-book, ISBN 84-89367-77-9 .
• 2010: Dreamer's Cat: A Sci-Fi Murder Mystery with a Killer Twist . Three Elephants.
• 2010: Nightfall: The First Jack Nightingale Supernatural Thriller . German title: Höllennacht (German by Barbara Ostrop; blanvalet 2011, ISBN 978-3-442-37814-2 ). Paperback (2012), Audiobook (2012), E-Book (2012).
• 2010: El terrorista . Urano, paperback, ISBN 84-92801-40-9 .
• 2010: Rough Justice (Dan Shepherd Mysteries) . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-92493-4 , paperback (2010), audio book (2010), e-book (2010).
• 2011: Bangkok Bob and The Missing Mormon . Monsoon Books, ISBN 981-08-7776-5 , Paperback (2011), E-Book (2010).
• 2011: Once Bitten . German title: Der Wert des Blutes ((German by Christiane Bergfeld; AmazonCrossing 2012, ISBN 978-1-61218-333-6 ). Paperback (2011), audio book (2012), e-book (2011).
• 2011: The Basement . AmazonEncore, ISBN 1-61218-148-1 , paperback (2011), audio book (2012), e-book (2011).
• 2011: Crime Scene Singapore: The Best of Singapore Crime Fiction . Monsoon Books, ISBN 981-08-5437-4 , Paperback (2011), E-Book (2012).
• 2011: Midnight (Nightingale Series) . German title: Brut des Teufels (German by Barbara Ostrop; blanvalet 2012, ISBN 978-3-442-37813-5 ). Paperback (2002), Audiobook (2012), E-Book (2012).
• 2011: Fair Game (Dan Shepherd Mysteries) . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-92496-9 , paperback (2012), audio book (2011), e-book (2012).
• 2012: Short Fuses . Four free short stories. Three Elephants.
• 2012: Nightmare (Nightingale Series) . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 1-4558-6679-2 , paperback (2012), audio book (2012), e-book (2012).
• 2013: False Friends (Dan Shepherd Mysteries) . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 1-4447-3677-9 .
• 2013: Nightshade (Nightingale Series) . Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 978-1-4447-4068-4 , paperback (2013), audio book (2013), e-book (2013).

watch TV

• 1998: The Knock (4th series). Episodes 4, 5 and 6, first broadcast in 1999.
• 1999: London's Burning . Episodes 9 and 10. First broadcast in March 2000.
• 2000: The Stretch . TV film based on the novel by Stephen Leather, written and produced by Stephen Leather.
• 2000: The Knock (5th series). Episode 2, 90-minute special.
• 2000: The Bombmaker . TV film based on the novel by Stephen Leather.
• 2001–2003: Murder in Mind . Two episodes of the first series were written in 2001, two episodes of the second series were written in 2002, and one episode for the third series was written in 2003.

Web links

• Official website
• Jack Nightingale website
• Official website of the book publications

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Murder In Mind - Drama. DigiGuide , accessed August 14, 2012 . 
2. ↑ Stephen Leather . In: The Bookseller . ( thebookseller.com [accessed August 13, 2012] subscription required).
3. ↑ Kindle gives thriller writer a plot for success - at 71p a shot . In: The Guardian . ( theguardian.com [accessed August 13, 2012]).
4. ↑ Emma Unsworth: Hot on the Trail of Terror. In: Manchester Evening News . January 25, 2007, accessed January 19, 2013 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b} Stephen Leather. (No longer available online.) In: Thailand Tattler. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013 ; Retrieved August 13, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Tim Ingham: Stephen Leather. Metro, accessed May 1, 2013 . 
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Stephen Leather: The Author. Retrieved August 14, 2012 . 
8. ↑ Pay Off. Amazon, accessed May 1, 2013 . 
9. ^ Judith Spelman: Judith Spelman Talks To A Best Selling Author Who Produces A Thriller A Year . In: Writing Magazine . August 2008, p. 8-9 .
10. ↑ The Chinaman. Publishers Weekly, accessed May 1, 2013 . 
11. ↑ The Chinaman. Amazon, accessed May 1, 2013 . 
12. ^ Bookseller 100. The Bookseller, accessed August 7, 2012 . 
13. ^ Success Story 11 - Stephen Leather. Writers Services, accessed August 13, 2012 . 
14. ↑ Nightshade. Hodder & Stoughton, accessed May 8, 2013 . 
15. ^ Tango One. (No longer available online.) In: Isis Publishing. Archived from the original on December 23, 2012 ; Retrieved August 13, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
16. ^ The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 2002. (No longer available online.) Crime Writer's Association, archived from the original on June 28, 2012 ; Retrieved August 13, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
17. ^ THE CWA's 2004 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award. (No longer available online.) Crime Writer's Association, archived from the original on December 25, 2005 ; Retrieved August 13, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.