Alix Bosco lives in Auckland, New Zealand, and is a successful writer in other media. Cut & Run, Bosco's first novel, was published in 2009 to critical acclaim.
The above text is the author blurb at the fromt of her new novel, Slaughter Falls, (August 2010).
Alix Bosco is a pseudonym then for someone known as "a writer in other media".
She/he is published by Penguin Books.He/she has Michael Gifkins as literary agent.
She/he has an intimate knowledge of both Auckland and Brisbane.
He/she is an experienced writer of some considerable skill.
These two books are outstanding examples of crime fiction writing and there are certain to be more featurng her feisty heroine Anna Markuras.What we don't know -
Whether Alix Bosco is a man or a woman although the suggestion is a woman as she has used a female pseudonym and her protagonist is a woman.
And obviously we do not know Alix Boco's real name.
My question is why would anyone decide to use a pseudonym and go to some lengths to prevent people finding out her/his real indentity? Well it could be for any one of a number of reasons, e.g.
She/he may have a professional reason, could be a QC or judge or senior civil servant or police officer or the like and may feel it wouldn't be a good look to be seen to be writing crime fiction. This is unlikely though because of the fact we know that he/she "is a writer in other media".
She/he may be an established author who writes more literary fiction and prefers to keep her genres free of cross-contamination. Or who wants to be published by other than her usual publisher.Or wants to try and entirely different writing style. It could for example be an established author like Stephanie Johnson or Tessa Duder or Emma Perkins or Charlotte Grimshaw none of whom write in this genre or style.
She/he may be a journalist, and this is my likeliest scenario. It could well be Michelle Hewitson for example. She writes well, her weekly interview column in the NZ Herald is a must-read and of course she reviews crime fiction for the Herald. She is my hottest suspect at present.
But there are also a host of other journalists both male and female who all write well and could be Alix Bosco e.g. Carroll du Chatteau, Finlay McDonald, Mark Broatch or Donna Chisholm.
It could be a journalist who has become a writer such as Kerre Woodham or Wendyll Nissen. It could be a journalist who has become a publisher like Nicola Legat.
Who do you reckon it could be? Any ideas? Let me know.
One thing is for certain we are going to hear a lot more of Alix Bosco if she/he keeps writing crime fiction of this calibre. It is good stuff and if you haven't read the first two books and you enjoy crime fiction then I strongly recommend you get hold of them, they are both Penguin paperbacks.
Crime fiction afficionado Craig Sisterson "interviewed" Alix Bosco, presumably by e-mail via a third party on his Crime Watch website and although the interview doesn't help at all in identifying "her" it does suggest she reads widely and that she possibly lives in Ponsonby.
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