Most of us shudder at the concept of premeditated murder, yet a select number of Irish writers are more comfortable with the idea than most that evil lurks around every corner. In fact, such is their fascination with the concept that they immerse themselves in grisly research daily in a bid to output some of the darkest crime fiction available.

So what makes a writer plump for the crime fiction genre; do they, as the generalization suggests, possess darker minds than the average person? Does researching crime and murder on a regular basis take its toll on one's outlook? When it comes to fiction writing, does crime really pay?

Paul Carson Paul Carson initially trained as a doctor. Then he turned his hand to writing a series of medical books for children, before he noticed a niche in the fiction market.

"I worked in Australia as a doctor, I wrote for newspapers and medical journals, and I put out books for children explaining things like asthma. I was then at a publishing seminar, and someone made a comment mentioning that readers were waiting for someone to do for medicine what John Grisham did for law. That was the point where the idea of medical thrillers entered my imagination."

During his tenure as editor of Irish Doctor, Paul also wrote on rehabilitation programmes for sex offenders in state prisons, and addiction strategies for heroin. Though his background certainly gives him an advantage over his peers, Carson maintains that his anatomical knowledge can sometimes have its drawbacks.

"I found my medical background was almost an impediment and it undermines my writing, " he explains. "Medical writing is so structured and ponderous, so you have to put your mind into another place to write medical thrillers."

Currently living in south Dublin, Carson still runs a practice, despite having established himself as a bestselling author.

"I take a day off a week to write, " he says. "I took a full 18 months out to write, and it was so lonely and isolating. I was delighted to get back into the practice. Some writers love that solitude, but medicine is such a gregarious careerf to have walked away from it was impossible."

Needless to say, his patients are often surprised at their benign GP's fictional output.

"People who read the children's books had known my writing as being simple and funny, " he explains. "Then Scalpel was so black, and most of them were thinking, 'Where did that come from?' My children were very young when I started writing, so it didn't affect my family too much. My patients were a bit shocked however."

This is not surprising, given that the protagonist in Scalpel is a misogynistic gynaecologist suffering from Aids and a heroin addiction.

"The main character in Scalpelwas based on a doctor in knew in Australia, " he explains. "Of course, I added a little spice so that he ended up being a little more extreme. I mentioned him to a few women and they were like, 'Oh we've all met that guy', so I knew I hadn't gone over the top with him."

Of course, there are times when Carson has to undertake additional research; he shudders when he recalls a recent press trip to Chicago where, despite his background, he witnessed more than he bargained for.

"I wrote a book based in Chicago, and went there and had access to places no writer could normally go, " he reveals. "I got a tour of the forensic mortuary, where 15 pathologists were working around the clock. I was invited to walk down a fridge full of criminals but declined. The concept of so many bodies lined up so clinically was intimidating. Before you become a doctor you're still a human being."

Although his reputation as one of Ireland's finest crime scribes is assured, Carson admits that he would like to try his hand at other forms of writing in the future.

"I will make the move from crime fiction once it no longer challenges or interests me, " he states. "But until I crack the worldwide market, I don't think I'll be casting off this coat quite yet."

Alex Barclay An unnamed publisher once made a sweeping generalisation about crime writers . . . he claimed that female exponents do better gore, while male writers tend to write better sex.

Clearly, said publisher had yet to be acquainted with Dublin-born Yve Morris who, writing as Alex Barclay, has crash-landed into the genre with a remarkably grisly . . .and sexy . . . debut, Darkhouse.

Her writing style certainly belies her past as a writer/editor of women's glossy magazines. While filing diet and style tips by day, Alex set about creating disturbed characters and macabre, violent situations by night.

Of course, crime fiction is seen as an unorthodox choice for a former glossy magazine editor.

"It's interesting, as anyone who ever knew me knows I have always been fascinated by thrillers, " she counters. "People know my dark side and many of them aren't surprised. Writing is often about following your heart, and mine led me to crime writing.

"I met a guy at a publishing party, and his opening gambit after we were introduced was something like, 'Well, I don't do chick lit.' I was like, 'Well, neither do I!'

Crime writing has always fascinated the 31-year-old Dubliner. "When I was younger, thrillers were not as common for girls, " she remembers. "They captivated me. I'm fascinated by the darker side of the psyche than the happier, good side. With the darker side, people keep it hidden so much. Even when I buy fiction, I'm magnetically drawn to the thrillers!"

Barclay relishes the opportunity to extensively research true crime cases. She regularly goes to New York to collect details and scout for locations for her next tome.

"I read a lot of crime websites, and I speak to a lot of people involved in crime, " she says. "I've built up contacts, like homicide detectives within the NYPD and various neurologists. What fascinates me are the cases that go undetected for so long.

"The Robert Durst case in the States really caught my attention, " she adds. "He was a millionaire accused of murder who fled and was ultimately arrested because he was caught shoplifting a chicken sandwich and a Band-Aid, with $500 in his pocket. He was living with a mute called Dorothy at the time. Even though Durst admitted cutting his neighbour's body up, he was acquitted of the man's murder. You can't make that stuff up."

Surely submerging oneself in such material can only have a negative impact on a person's outlook?

"It can affect you, and I find a lot of what I'm reading and talking about is real life, " she concedes. "It's good to know you can walk away, but in the world in general you can't avoid evil. It could weigh you down, but if it's your passion, it shouldn't.

"One imagines crime writers to be a certain way, " she continues. "But you meet these people socially and you'll find they're a lovely bunch of people. I'm not alone; I have a light outlook, then disappear into a dark, disturbing place for work reasons."

Though friends and family were aware of her passion for crime writing, even they were taken aback by Alex's attention to detail.

"Wow! There were moments of deathly silence, " she laughs. "The reaction was quite powerful. Before they even read it, I was concerned how they would feel about me afterwards. Fortunately, people take it for what it is . . . a creative work. There were a few gags about it, but I suppose people know I have dark fascinationsf" John Connolly John Connolly worked in a number of jobs . . . government official, barman, Harrods' employee . . . before his passion for crime fiction compelled him to begin writing himself.

"Once upon a time, reading crime fiction like Agatha Christie was like filling out a crossword, " he explains. "I read an Ed McBain book when I was younger and devoured it. I then became interested in James Lee Burke and Ross Macdonald, both of whom are marvellous prose writers and very poetic.

"There has always been that association between genre fiction and bad writing. Macdonald had that fascination with empathy and for victims making a stand for those weaker than them. That in itself is a huge part of gothic fiction."

Currently blazing a trail in the 'detective gothic' category, Connolly has found that interest in crime writing has reached fever pitch.

"Readers are really smart, what with the proliferation of shows like CSI, " he muses. "You can't put one over your readers at all. I guess there's no typical crime reader; they tend to be all ages. Most readers in general are women, and that tends to follow on in crime."

"I think they read to confront things that frighten, " he adds.

"It's the thrill of being scared, and it's always reassuring when the evil is vanquished. It's an odd thing for readers, that uneasiness getting entertainment from people suffering and dying. We're fascinated by it for unhealthy reasons.

"I'd be aware of that while writing . . . I have a responsibility to be entertaining but I also try not to be gratuitous."

Despite the proliferation of books in the genre, Connolly asserts that it's harder to gain recognition and profile as a writer than ever before.

"I don't think it's that easy to get published, " he states.

"There are more books being published than ever before.

In the UK, 150,000 books were published last year . . . how many of them made their mark?

"I should be on my bended knees that I have made a fulltime living out of writing, " he laughs. "It's a fact that most crime writers do have a second job. Still, put it this way, it pays better than poetry."

Nonetheless, Connolly has some sage advice for wouldbe authors.

"I think what publishers want is an 'Irish Ian Rankin', something that is very much of its time, " he explains. "In Ireland, we're still very much at the beginning of this particular writing tradition. Maybe it's because we're a largely rural society, and crime fiction is seen as the poetry of urban life.

"We need writers to write about Dublin in a different angle.

I'd love to see people create a vision of cities like Dublin and Galway that is real and somehow unreal at the same time.

If I were to give advice to aspiring writers, I would tell them not to adapt the US and UK models of crime writing. Make it real and give outsiders a feel for the place you're writing about. Above all else, get your facts right!"