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Ray Celestin

Goodreads Author

Born

London, The United Kingdom

Website

https://raycelestin.com/

Genre

Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Member Since

May 2018

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Hello. I write novels and screenplays and very occasionally, short stories and comic-books.

My new latest novel, Sunset Swing, was published in paperback in August. It’s the final instalment in the multi-award-winning ‘City Blues Quartet’ -- a series of novels plotting the intertwined history of Jazz and the Mob through six decades in the 20th century.

Sunset Swing won two daggers at this year’s CWA (Crime Writer Association) awards:

The Golden Dagger for best crime novel of the year
The Historical Dagger for best historical novel of the year

It’s also had a great response from reviewers:

The Times ‘Books of the Year’
The Financial Times ‘Books of the Year’
Five Star review in The Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Times ‘Historical Novel of the Month’
The ...more

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When did you come up with the idea of using jazz parallel to mobsters? You do a brilliant job and I absolutely loved your use of the song structure as the structure of the book! (Musicology graduate here, your books have been my favorite new mysteries/crimes to come out!)

Ray Celestin Hi Renee,

Sorry for the late reply!

It wasn't something I came up with, I uncovered it while doing research. There's this weird parallel history with th…moreHi Renee,

Sorry for the late reply!

It wasn't something I came up with, I uncovered it while doing research. There's this weird parallel history with the music industry and the mob and Louis Armstrong, in particular.

The 'mafia' first came to prominence in New Orleans, just before jazz was born. Then in 1920s the focus of jazz shifted to Chicago, just when Al Capone and the Chicago outfit was at its height. Then the centre of jazz moved to New York in the 30s/ 40s at the same time the New York mob was in control of the underworld. Then, if you look at Louis' career, he started working in LA and on the west coast just as the Mob was at its height in Vegas and LA in the 50s and 60s.

It's really strange how they went hand in hand through the 20th century.

Prohibition was a big part of it. Back during Prohibition the gangsters controlled the speakeasies and they employed the jazz musicians to play in them. When Prohibition ended, a lot of those gangsters got into the music industry as legit / semi-legit businessmen / record label men / bookers / agents / managers. Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday's manager was a former Capone stooge who used to run a speakeasy for Capone. The guys who started MCA (the largest talent agency in the world for many decades) were former Capone guys, too. All these mob-affiliated guys were huge in the entertainment industry for decades and they only really got ousted in 70s and 80s when Disney and all the other corporations took over the industry.

And here ends the history lesson!

I'm so glad you like the books. And you are officially the only person to ever like any of my blog posts, so thanks for that!

(less)

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Hi Ray, I'm just starting Sunset Swing, having read the first three in the series in about a fortnight!! Absolutely love what you've created with these books. Just a question about your process really. What's the ratio of research time / writing time? Did you have an interest in the Mafia or Jazz before embarking on the series?

Ray Celestin

Hi Lee,

Thanks for your question. It's great to hear that you're enjoying the series so much.

So, I keep a tally of what daily work I do, because I'm a …more

Hi Lee,

Thanks for your question. It's great to hear that you're enjoying the series so much.

So, I keep a tally of what daily work I do, because I'm a massive nerd, so I'm in a position to answer your question in great detail. Prepare yourself for way more info than you expected:

I started work on Sunset Swing on 5th June 2018, and finished on 8th July 2021, writing nine drafts in total.

Over those three-ish years I spent 303 work days on the book. (The rest of the time I worked on other projects.)

Apparently I spent 25 days solely on research. I was really surprised by this, it seems WAY too small, I had to read so many books, websites, articles, etc. But I guess the stats don't lie.

I spent 29 days organising notes (both research notes and feedback from readers).

53 days outlining.

And 185 days actually writing.

So, that's the breakdown across all nine drafts. Which was probably more interesting for me to put together than it was for you to read.

In response to your other questions, yes, I'm a massive jazz fan, which I came to by being a teenage hip-hop fan and tracing all the samples used in my favourite tunes, which got me to jazz via funk.

I was never really into the mafia as much as I was into detective films and books and mafia movies / TV shows. It was only when I started working on the books that I really got into the actual, real-life mafia history.

I hope that answers everything. And thanks again for getting in contact.

Cheers!
Ray(less)

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Ray Celestin’s books

Average rating: 3.91 · 17,554 ratings · 1,763 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Axeman's Jazz (City Blues Quartet, #1) 3.69 avg rating — 9,783 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dead Man's Blues (City Blues Quartet, #2) 4.17 avg rating — 3,390 ratings — published 2016 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mobster's Lament (City Blues Quartet, #3) 4.34 avg rating — 1,974 ratings — published 2019 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sunset Swing (City Blues Quartet #4) 4.39 avg rating — 1,518 ratings — published 2021 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Palace of Shadows 3.62 avg rating — 858 ratings — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	City Blues Quartet Series 3 Books Collection Set By Ray Celestin by Ray Celestin (Goodreads Author), The Axeman's Jazz By Ray Celestin (Contributor), B017PO41I0 (Contributor) 4.29 avg rating — 14 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mascarade - Extrait 4.50 avg rating — 8 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	City Blues Quartet Series Collection 4 Books Set By Ray Celestin really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sunset Swing (Alianza Literaria (AL)) by Ray Celestin (Goodreads Author), Mariano Antolín Rato (translator) 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sunset Swing: City Blues Quartet, Book 4 by Ray Celestin (Goodreads Author), Christopher Ragland (Narrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Ray Celestin's Blog: with added crappy Goodreads formatting

Newsletter – October 2023

Hello. I posted a new newsletter this week with a few updates. If you’re not subscribed you can read the web version here.

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Published on October 05, 2023 13:16

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Series by Ray Celestin

City Blues Quartet (4 books)
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Ray Celestin (Goodreads Author)

3.93 avg rating — 16,665 ratings

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Ray Celestin and 19 other people liked Emma's review of Palace of Shadows: "A perfect example of a gothic novel! The bleak and grim setting of the Yorkshire moors (in this context) as a backdrop and the house as the most important character. A great story to read in the run up to Halloween. Many thanks to Netgalley for an ar" Read more of this review »
Jun 20, 2024 10:38PM · see review

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Quotes by Ray Celestin (?)

“and it was this that made her frown, that the only time a Negro was allowed to be treated with grandeur was when he or she wasn't even alive to appreciate it.”
― Ray Celestin, The Axeman's Jazz

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“...because a home wasn’t just somewhere you lived, it was somewhere you were happy to die.”
― Ray Celestin, The Axeman's Jazz

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“that the best solutions to any mystery were the simplest ones, because simplicity was the source of nature's elegance, and mysteries were nothing more than nature unilluminated.”
― Ray Celestin, The Axeman's Jazz

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Polls

February 2019 Subgenre (Historical) Poll

We ask that you only vote if you are planning on participating in our discussion should your choice win.

Which Historical book would you like to read in February?

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

19 votes, 23.5%

A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

18 votes, 22.2%

The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor

14 votes, 17.3%

Dissolution by C.J. Sansom

13 votes, 16.0%

The Axeman (in the US) a.k.a. The Axeman's Jazz (in CA, UK & AU) by Ray Celestin

8 votes, 9.9%

The Forgotten Room by Karen White

6 votes, 7.4%

The Funeral Boat by Kate Ellis

2 votes, 2.5%

The Lover's Portrait by Jennifer S. Alderson

1 vote, 1.2%

81 total votes

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