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THE HITMAN DIARIES
Published: 2003 by Serpent's Tail *** NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE *** UK download: Amazon.co.uk – £1.53 (click to go to store) US download: Amazon.com – $2.99 (click to go to store) EU download: Amazon.de – €2.99 (click to go to store) ------------------------------ Plot outline: Ian Bridges is a psychopath, he just doesn't realize it. He works as a hitman and is on permanent stand-by for West End gangster John Broad. He does maybe three or four jobs a year and spend the rest of his time sitting alone wallowing in his own unhappiness. He desperately wants to meet Mrs Right and settle down, but can't and it feels like the world is conspiring against him. He's about to find out he's right. A deeply dark tale of murder, madness and dating. Influences: The Long Good Friday and Mona Lisa, for the backdrop, but Bridges is mostly a creation of my own. Any petty little frustration I've ever felt about anything (particularly dating) taken to the nth degree for Bridges to obsess and screw over. There's probably a bit of that old Ronnie Corbett sit-com Sorry in his mum, though. Crossovers: Meets Debbie Benson from The Bank Robber Diaries in Chapter 16 and discusses bumping off her husband briefly in Chapter 27. Handsome Eddie, Brian Faulkner, John and Sam Broad all appear in The Bank Robber Diaries and The Hitman Diaries. There are mentions of the diamond robber and the lorry full of illegal immigrants from The Bank Robber Diaries in Chapter 24. Claire from Chapter 14 is the same stripper/model from The Pornographer Diaries , though I'm still in the process of putting the finishing touches to that book, so she might get chopped from TPD yet. Tone: I set out to write the darkest and nastiest comedy I possibly could with The Hitman Diaries and liked how it came out, but I think that's about as dark as it gets. I'm lightening the series up with the next book, The Pornographer Diaries (or Carry-On Danny, as a few of the people who've read it so far describe it) and am aiming somewhere between The Burglar Diaries and The Bank Robber Diaries with Milo's Marauders . Film Development: Film rights optioned previously but these options have now lapsed and the rights are once more available. Theatre Development: The Hitman Diaries (Killlera Dienasgramata) was translated and adapted for the stage by J.J. Jillinger and first performed by the Leipaja Theatre Company in Latvia under the Literary Direction of Edite Tisheizere. It was subsequently performed by the same company in Riga on September 14th, 2007 and continued to play in Leipaja until 2010. Details of this production (pictured) can be found at www.liepajasteatris.lv. My sincerest thanks to all the cast and crew.
Above: Egons Dombrovskis as Jans (Ian) in Killlera Dienasgramata (The Hitman Diaries) .
Above: Jans with Kreigs (Edgars Pujats) and below with dear old mum (Inese Kucinska).
Trailer: To see a TRAILER of the above play click HERE . Foreign translations: Also published/to be published in Russian by AST, Taiwanese by Sharp Point and large print by Clipper. Audio books: Published on CD as an unabridged title by Whole Story Audio Books. Click HERE for more information: |
