The Black Hand, vol.37
If you kill someone in your sleep, are you a murderer?
Apparently not, according to a criminal court in the 1987 case of Kenneth Parks, who fell asleep on the couch at home, and woke up to find himself 14 miles away, having attacked his parents-in-law (suspicious? Who’s to say). Parks strangled his father-in-law (who survived) and stabbed his mother-in-law to death. His lawyers used the defence of sleepwalking, or non-insane automatism, and Parks was cleared for the killings.
But this wasn’t the first time a defendant had tried to use sleepwalking, or somnambulism, as a criminal defence. Since the nineteenth century, at least, dozens of cases have hinged on whether the suspect was really awake or asleep, and if the suspect claimed to be asleep, whether or not it could be determined that there was a degree of consciousness.
There’ve been reported cases of sleep-driving (sounds bad?) – scientists have discovered that apparently the parts of your brain controlling vision, movement, and emotion appear to be awake, while the parts involving memory, decision-making, and rational thinking remain deeply asleep (still doesn’t sound great, honestly). In the Parks case, police who questioned Kenneth Parks, when he gave himself up at a local police station after the attack, noted that he seemed oblivious to the fact that he’d severed tendons in his wrist. Combined with Parks’ strong family history of parasomnias, the charge of murder was dropped in the case when sleepwalking proved an adequate defence.
But I wouldn’t suggest that you rely on sleepwalking as the best defence option if you find yourself involved in a homicide. It’s rare for a lawyer to say, ‘My client was asleep, Your Honour!’ during a murder trial, and it didn’t hold water during the Falater case in the 90s (which admittedly had way more red flags).
Crime oddspots
Look, let me know if the weird crime stories are getting tedious, because there is an endless supply of this stuff, and I find it endlessly fascinating. But that doesn’t mean you do, so please tell me if it’s getting boring! I have a few stories I’d really like to cover – including the mushroom poisoning case from here in Australia (deeply strange and mysterious!) – so as long as you’re all happy to hear about it, stay tuned for more weirdness.
Oh, and here’s a subscribe button! ⬇️ For some reason, Substack doesn’t want me to embed Subscribe buttons with pithy captions any more, so allow me to say here that I appreciate every subscriber, and that you all keep me writing!
SOME SHALL BREAK on Borrowbox
Since it was signed by Bolinda, you can now get Some Shall Break on the Borrowbox app! Check your library Borrowbox for my books and you’ll likely find it there.
Continuum and the Aurealis Awards
I’ll be at Continuum 16: Reboot real soon – the con goes from May 17-19 at Jasper Hotel in Melbourne (tickets are available here). I’m hoping to have books available for signing, and so I can sit at a table and chat, but I’ll also be on a panel on Sunday 19, if you’d like to come say hi 😊
And Some Shall Break is in contention for Best Horror Novel at the Aurealis Awards, held during the con on Saturday May 18, woot! So I’ll be attending the ceremony along with other nominees. I don’t think my book will win (the field this year is very strong! My money’s on Maria Lewis), but I haven’t been to the Aurealis Awards before, so it should be fun!
Another heads up: I’ll be at Melbourne Comic Con in June. I’ll have my own table in Artist Alley, with books and swag, and I’ll be signing, as well as popping up on panels during that weekend. Don’t be put off by my serious-author-face in this promo pic, I’m actually very friendly - come say hello!
Quick sale news
If you’re interested, you can still get None Shall Sleep and Some Shall Break on special at US Target!
Also The Killing Code is somehow still the Kindle Monthly Deal (although I don’t know how long that’ll last).
Also None Shall Sleep is currently on Kindle Unlimited, if you’re a KU borrower and you’d like to check it out.
Merch
Coming into cooler weather in my part of the woods, I’m wearing my None Shall Sleep hoodie constantly:
So a quick reminder that I’m thinking of putting up some new things in the Merch store – and if you have preferences for what you’d like (Phone cases? Mouse pads?) please let me know!
I’m also toying with the idea of selling signed copies of my books from my website, but that would be dependent on demand – again if you want them, please sing out so I have some idea of how many people want them! – and whether I can make it affordable for people (postage can be expensive).
And hey, if you would like a bookplate, remember you can hit me up at elliemarney@ gmail dot com anytime – I’m happy to sign one or two (or three or four…) and pop them in the post for you!
What I’m watching
Shogun, with my kid, and Fallout, also with my kid.
We were totally into Fallout – I particularly loved seeing Ella Purnell (she’s British! I had no idea) from Yellowjackets absolutely killing it in that show.
We’re still halfway through Shogun, which I’m finding meatier and – as someone who’s really into backstage machinations and politics – completely fascinating. Son4 has also started reading the original book by James Clavell that the series is based on. Did you know that Clavell wrote the screenplay for The Great Escape? It’s true!
What I’m reading
Two more amazing books by Michael McDowell – The Amulet and Cold Moon Over Babylon – which were both incredible. It makes me so sad to know that McDowell has passed, he was such a talented writer… But his legacy lives on in his books.
I’ve started The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo, but I haven’t gotten that far into it yet for two reasons, a) because I’ve been writing, and b) because magical realism during the Spanish Golden Age is just not floating my boat right now (I am such a mood reader! Ye gads). While I’m looking forward to getting into the rest of The Familiar, it feels like one of those chonky books I would take with me on vacation, where I can lie in the sun and read all day…which is not a thing I have time to do at present (so maybe it’s not me! Maybe it’s just circumstances). Leigh Bardugo is an expert writer, so I have no doubt that once I’m hooked into the story it will be amazing, but for now I’m putting it aside to finish the adult book pitch I’m working on. Sads.
I feel like I’m looking for something to read that’s gothic-y and scary and also a bit crime-y? But I haven’t found it yet. If you have any recs along those lines, please do hit me up 😊
You should check out –
Fyrebirds by Kate Armstrong is coming soon! It’s the sequel to Nightbirds, and Kate is lovely and absolutely nails Great Gatsby-vibes fantasy, so I know you’ll love Fyrebirds when it arrives.
Speaking of the Met Gala…
The theme of this year’s Gala was taken from a story by JG Ballard about an aristocratic couple listening to music in their luxurious garden while holding off a mob of angry serfs about to descend on their villa –the irony, it hurts. Such pretty dresses, though! Works of art. Anyway, the story is here if you want to read it!
Random giveaway
Look at this! I found it in my swag pile yesterday, it has somehow escaped my clean-up:
If you’d like to win this adorable little swag prize (one pocket square, one set of The Killing Code character cards, one lily-of-the-valley solid perfume, one signed bookplate – not pictured – all inside a cute red coin purse) just add your name in comments and I’ll pull a winner out of the hat at the end of the month.
Speaking of giveaways – a couple people who won giveaways haven’t contacted me with their postage details, so if you happen to be one of those people, drop me a line! I’m at elliemarney@gmail dot com
And that’s a full lid for this month! Hope you’re doing well, and reading something good. If you’re a Nailbiters subscriber, I have some fun things in store for you for May, so keep an eye out for that. Until next time, take care and all best!
xxEllie
signed books would be so cool!! also i love you books so much and i would love to be entered into the giveaway! :)
I would love to see the "No Monsters Only People" quote on the mug!! Also signed books please :)