Before my Silas Quinn novels, I wrote four books featuring Porfiry Petrovich, the investigator from Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. Nice to see them featured in this round-up of crime fiction set in St Petersburg.
By an interesting coincidence, I have actually been commissioned to write a new Porfiry Petrovich short story for a forthcoming anthology. I’m doing some research for that at the moment. Which is making me think, maybe I should resurrect Porfiry for a new, full-length adventure? Any thoughts?
Yes! Please do.
Yes, again, please do
Thanks for the encouragement, Susan and Barbara. A lot depends on whether any publisher would be interested!
Definitely. I loved those Russia-based novels. Great plots and great characters. I’ve always wondered why they didn’t continue…be great to see a new one.
Thanks Tony. I’ve enjoyed writing the Porfiry short story, which will be published in a new HWA anthology. As for a full length novel, it all depends on whether there’s a publisher interested!
I hope you find a publisher for a new Porfiry book. I know it’ll be a bit personal but I’m wondering why Faber didn’t continue with the series? I thought the books were great and I’d have thought they would have got a decent sized audience.
Hi Tony, the reason is pretty much what you would expect… unspectacular sales, which is always a hard one for a writer to admit to. It’s also true that after writing four books set in 19th century St Petersburg, I needed a break. The books did involve a lot of research… they were hard for me to write for a number of reasons. I thought I would make things a bit easier for myself by writing some books set nearer home. I’m not sure why the series didn’t take off the way Faber had hoped. But it’s good to know that there *were* readers like you who enjoyed it.
That’s shame, the poor sales but you should be rightly proud of the publishing achievement, and you have a worthy successor in Silas. Love your writing and I know it’s a hard craft, but do keep on with it! All the best, Tony
Thanks Tony! I appreciate your kind words. It’s lovely to hear from readers, especially happy ones!