Reading & Writing

For many years, I was a die-hard mystery reader, about 1 or 2 books a week.  I even ran a book club for mystery lovers.  And, I was a judge for the Arthur Ellis awards and read ~50 books in four months!  Then I turned the hobby into academic study.  Then I began writing the Sasha Jackson mysteries.

I now find it very difficult to read mysteries.  As it is, I don't read much fiction, and when I do, it's less and less common that the book I pick up will be a whodunit. 

If I'm in writing mode, or in the planning stages of a new Sasha Jackson Mystery, then reading a mystery feels like work.  And, whether I'm in writing mode or not, reading fiction is not as relaxing as it once was.  I subconsciously pick it apart, edit and revise it in my head as I read, and wonder why the author said this or wrote that.

I don't seem to be this way (or, at least not nearly as much) with non-fiction.  I imagine that's because I don't write nonfiction (YET!!!) and because the subject matter(s) I read about are so varied that I'm busy learning about the Civil War, or Beer, or Memory rather than internally critiquing it.

Other Authors: how has writing shaped your own reading choices?

Recent Reads: Crow Einstein Snuff

This book will make you angry!  READ IT!  I learned a lot from it, and I've recommended it to several people.  It tells the other side of the story, one that needs to be discussed.  It's should be required reading at school.  But it's not all rosy praise here: The tone (especially in the first 1/4 or so) is a bit over-the-top.  As well, Alexander hammers home a point 16 ways to Sunday.  So, a bit of repetition and a dab of hyperbole aside, the points the book makes are good, solid, disturbing, worth knowing, and worth sharing.  Pick up a rock and look under it.

Fascinating! I can see why it's on the bestseller list.  Well-researched, full of interesting bits of trivia, told in a casual, conversational tone.Lots of colourful characters and quirky anecdotes are interspersed with history, psychology and the classics.  Read it.

This one didn't do it for me.  I wasn't offended by the subject matter, but I just didn't find it as funny as his other works. 

1st or 3rd?

It occurred to me last night that perhaps I need to tell the next Sasha story from a different point of view...  This idea is intriguing and scary and exciting.  The first 3 Sasha books were all done in 1st person (Sasha's voice), with a wee bit of 1st person from Mary Carmen in book #2.

Th nature of the plot for the current work-in-progress leads me to think that it may be better done with multiple viewpoints/narrators.

I haven't actually done anything with this idea yet - it would mean going back and re-writing entire sections.  But, it may be the solution to a tricky plot, and it would certainly give me a mental workout trying to write in a whole new voice.

Let's see...

Fab review of THE LIES HAVE IT

This review of THE LIES HAVE IT came in over the weekend, and it sure made me smile!  I am always happy to read a review, but it especially pleases me when reviewers pick up on my favourite aspects of the book(s).

The two things I love most about writing the Sasha Jackson books are 1) the main character, and 2) the setting.  I find those two facets of writing to be the easiest and most enjoyable to do.  (I also like writing dialogue, but have to remind myself to do it).

Anyhow, Helen Ginger's review starts off by saying "I like Sasha. She's tenacious," and ends with " I'd like to meet Sasha," so naturally, I was quite pleased.

As for the setting, well, Ginger says, "Edmondson makes Toronto come alive on the page. She makes me want to go there."  Praise for the setting doesn't get much better than this!

Read the whole review on Straight from Hel (and read many other great book reviews here as well).

NERD! Hardboiled Fiction, Women, and Academia

Hola!

Once in a while, I like to get in touch with my inner-nerd.  I did a lotta fancy book learning and wrote a bunch of essays for my BA and my MA.  Some of the MA papers had to do with crime fiction.  One of those papers is something I'm really quite proud of: It's an essay called From Spenser to Yeats: Feminism's  Version of the Hardboiled Sleuth is on the Wagon and Rides a Harley.  In it, I trace the birth and growth of the hardboiled dick from "down these mean streets..." to Kinsey Millhone, et al.  So, if you want to know a bit more about the genre, have a look at The Thrilling Detective website to read an abridged version of the paper.  I had a LOT of fun writing it! And (best of all!!!) I sent a copy of it to Lawrence Block and he wrote back: "I can see why you got an A"!!!

*** Mystery Fans:  You may want to bookmark The Thrilling Detective website.  It always has lots of interesting stuff related to crime fiction, from reviews to interviews to quotes and more...!  oxox

Sasha & Derek, Sasha & Mick, or Sasha & ...Sasha...?

Hmmm... Now that the 3rd Sasha Jackson Mystery is out, I'm starting to get some interesting feedback & fan responses about Sasha's love life.  Some readers (and reviewers) like Sasha more as a single chick, and some like the fact that she has a budding romance with the lawyer Derek Armstrong.

Background: 

In Blood and Groom Sasha was single and dateless.  Her ex-boyfriend (and former band-mate) Mick was sort of in the picture.  The two of them have (had) MAJOR chemistry, but just can't get along for long, outside of the bedroom (or offstage... and the  stage stuff has zilch to do with the bedroom stuff... in case you were wondering!!!)

Halfway through the 2nd book, Dead Light District, Sasha has a very passionate encounter with Derek, a lawyer she first met via her detective life, and with whom there has been much flirtation.  They finally get together... but...

In book 3, The Lies Have It, Sasha and Derek are involved, but he's away on a business trip for most of the book.

So... what should I do with her love life in the 4th book, Frisky Business?  I could keep their relationship going, dial it up or down a bit, or I could make her single again.

I would love your input!

Recent Reads: Alexander Fool Longitude Tongue

Moore always makes me laugh out loud!  This book explains the papacy (The Discount Pope & the Retail Pope - one offers cheesy bacon bits on the hosts), and it includes the lines "she honked my codpiece" and "strung together like anal beads from Hell's own bunghole."  It's an alternative and hilarious version of King Lear.  Loved it!

I've read many books on language, including another by Abley.  This one is a contemporary look at language via modern day lenses, such as Hip Hop & Rap and language, the Internet, and globalization/migration.
Lots of interesting factoids and examples.

You'd think that this would be dull as dishwater, but it's actually a fascinating story.  Put yourself in the headspace of a sailor in - let's say 1653 - and consider the challenges to seafaring back then.  No GPS devices, no ship-to-shore communications, and of course, challenges like food and health while at sea.
Figuring out longitude had a huge impact on sailing and exploration.  A really cool read!

Not the most exciting book ever but still a worthwhile read (if a book doesn't grab me enough I won't finish it).  The man himself was interesting (although anal), but the real catch here is the depiction of mental health way back when and how society dealt with law and order and people who didn't fit into expected social molds.  Interesting stuff here.

Hmmmm, so does *FREE* work?

I did a promotion for three days this week for Blood and Groom.  The ebook version of Blood and Groom was free on Kindle from March 20th to 22nd.  (It's now only $2.99.)

I've never done anything like this before, so I have nothing to compare the results to, but...

• More free Blood and Groom ebooks were downloaded in those three days than in the prior six months, so that's good! I reached a bunch of new readers!

• For all three of the promo days, Blood and Groom was in the Top 10 Hard-Boiled Mysteries list for the Kindle store, so that's also really good! 

• I promoted the freebie extensively on Twitter.  I had a lot of help and support from many friends, fellow authors and Tweeps.  The promotion netted me a bunch of new followers on Twitter (I'm @JillEdmondson) which is also good, since that broadens my circle.  *** A big THANK YOU to all the folks on Twitter who helped to spread the word ***

•  The promotion did net me a few actual sales, but not yet as many as I had hoped.  However, it may be premature to comment on that.  My gut tells me I should wait a couple weeks and give the folks who downloaded Blood and Groom a chance to read it, and then see if they come back to buy Dead Light District and/or The Lies Have It. 

• Facebook didn't seem to be terribly effective with this promotion.  I linked the freebie info to my own profile and also to the Sasha Jackson Mysteries FB Page.  I got a few "likes" and a couple of "shares" but not much else.  Interestingly, though, when someone else posted the promo info on HIS FB profile, it actually generated lots of activity and many comments! 

Some people may question the idea of giving it away for free when I could be selling it and making some $ on it.  I guess, at first blush, it seems like cutting in on your own sales.  However, Blood and Groom was first released in November 2009, so it has really run its course.  I still do sell  paperback copies of it when I do store events and such, but  the bulk of the sales came (of course) during the first 6 or 8 months of its life.  So, NO, I don't really think I'm cutting into my own sales.  I see it more as revitalizing them.

Would I try another freebie event? Yes, definitely!I'd like to do something similar - perhaps with Dead Light District or The Lies Have It, or maybe with a different platform.  I don't know yet, but I am definitely looking into it! 

Availability of Dead Light District: Correction

A number of retail websites that list Dead Light District say that it is unavailable, out of stock, cancelled and such.  These websites are mistaken about the book's availability.  You can get it from several sources, in either paperback or as an ebook.

The sites listing Dead Light District as unavailable, etc. also have other errors.  First of all, it is not a Dundurn book (a number of sites still wrongly list Dundurn as the publisher - Dundurn never published this book).  Furthermore, on many of these same sites, the cover of the book is shown as a black and white photo of a woman, from the waist down.  She's wearing a very short skirt and has fishnet stockings on, and she is holding a gun. This cover was never used; no book by me was ever published with this cover.  (For the record, I absolutely HATE that cover - it looks like soft-core porn or erotica.)  Finally, the release date is also wrong (it shows as Dec. 2010).

The correct info is this:  Dead Light District was published as a paperback and as an ebook by Iguana Books in March 2011.

Dead Light District is on KOBO and NOOK and AMAZON and can be ordered directly from ME or from the publisher IGUANA.

Recent Reads: Count Plum Moon Cream

This was an interesting read: science, politics, history.  Rumford made a difference and had an impact, yet his name is not well known (probably because he pissed off so many people).  Filled with lots of fun bits of trivia. 

I read everything in the Stephanie Plum series.  She is without a doubt one of my favourite characters. 
I love the escape and love having a good laugh as I read!

Wow!  This is one time that I can truly say a book is gripping, moving, compelling...
I was very teary-eyed by the end.  Read it!

Loved this latest mystery by Howard Shrier!  It really is a page-turner!  Jonah Gellar is a wonderful
character and a great PI - I look forward to the next installment in the series. 

Interview Round Up - So Very Different

 I am lucky to have done a few - four actually - interviews in the last while.  Even though the interviewers chatted the same author, about the same books, and about the same main character, each interview was distinct.  

First up was the one with Bill Selnes for Mysteries and More.   Bill has read and reviewed all three Sasha books.  Bill is also a practicing lawyer.  So, the lawyer side of him prompted some interesting questions.  Bill also posts his reflections in a separate post after publishing the interview.  I think it's really cool that he does that - I like reading his thoughts. Click here to read Q and A with Bill or click here for his reflections.I also love the fact that in his reviews, he picked up early on that Toronto is as much a character in my books as is Sasha or Lindsey or anyone else.  Thanks Bill! (If I ever get arrested and can only make one call, it would be to Bill Selnes).

Patricia Flewwelling interviewed me for Nine Day Wonder.  This is the only time I've been interviewed by someone I have actually met a couple of times (at book launches, Bloody Words, etc.).  She knows (and gets!) my sense of humour, so some of my answers are out in left field (Keith Richards & coconuts???) Check it out HERE.  I knew I could get away with being cheeky in this instance.  (If I ever want to collaborate with someone on writing a radio drama about Alfred E. Neuman, it would be Patricia.)

Paul D. Brazill interviewed me for "You Would Say That, Wouldn't You?" I like the range of questions Paul asked me, including questions about my own reading preferences, about social media, and about big dreams for the small screen.   Have a look at Paul's House of Ill Repute here.  (If I ever needed an alibi to cover me as part of planning the perfect crime, it would be Paul). 

Finally, Richard Godwin interviewed me at his Slaughter House.  I've got to say, Richard asked me some of the darkest and most diabolical questions I've yet been asked in an interview (about motives and motivations and other great stuff).  He made me think carefully about my answers.  Here is the link to the Chin Wag with Richard.  (If I ever need an accomplice to help me carry out the perfect crime, it would be Richard.)

A Review I Really Appreciate

The Lies Have It just got a super review by Bill Selnes on Mysteries and More .  My first two books were also reviewed by Bill on his site, and those reviews were favourable as well.  So, I am thumping my chest a bit (hee hee).

Besides doing a little happy dance, the reason I am writing about the review by Selnes is that - for all the books he reviews, not just mine - he gives specifics and details and examples and substance (But don't worry: he never gives away endings or spoilers). 

I've had many positive reviews for all three Sasha Jackson books, but in some cases, the review doesn't offer much in terms of WHY.  It's all well and good to know what a critic thought of a given work, but it's more interesting (and to me it's very helpful) to also know why a reviewer liked or didn't like something, whether it be a plot line or a character or what have you.  I try to repeat the things that work, and to avoid in future the stuff that rubs people the wrong way.

Another reviewer who does what Bill does is Amy Steele of  Entertainment Realm.  Full disclosure: Amy has also reviewed all three Sasha books favourably.  I regularly read Steele's reviews, and often pass them along to others. She often writes about books I've never heard of, and she does not focus exclusively on mystery fiction, but because of the detail Amy includes, she piques my interest quite a bit. (Steele also writes about music and movies and all things in the entertainment realm).    

So there you go: reviews with substance and specifics matter to me as both a reader and a writer.

Salsa and Terrorists and Canada Reads

The CBC hosts a book contest called Canada Reads.  In a nutshell, the contest encourages reading in general, but with a specific focus on Canadian authors.  Sounds good, right?  Promote literacy and promote domestic writers - should be a win/win.

This year, the theme for Canada Reads is on NONFICTION.

The general public nominates a bunch of books; the suggested titles are whittled down to a Top 40 list, then to a list of Ten Finalists.  Then things change a bit... when it gets down to the five books on the shortlist, five judges discuss the books on CBC radio throughout the week, and a book gets eliminated from the final five each day until there is a winner. (This is kind of like the literary equivalent of "Survivor").

For a list of the contenders, or for more info on Canada Reads, click HERE.

One of the books to make it to the shortlist of five is a memoir called Something Fierce by Carmen Aguirre. 

(UPDATE: Feb. 09th -  Carmen was announced as the winner/"Something Fierce" as the winning book on Canada Reads!!!)

On Monday, one of the book judges, a miserable old cow named Anne France Goldwater, made some really volatile comments about Something Fierce, and about one of the other finalists, The Prisoner of Tehran. 

Goldwater said the Tehran book was full of lies, and that Carmen Aguirre is a "terrorist who should never have been let in to Canada."

I find this all very interesting for a number of reasons.

First of all, I think Ms. Goldwater is doing a disservice to literacy and the arts and all those nebulous concepts.  Secondly, I think Goldwater has missed the point about being a book judge - she doesn't come across as fair and unbiased to me.  Thirdly, Carmen Aguirre was the main focus of the final thesis of my MA (completed in 2009 - before Carmen's memoirs were even published), so it's kind of interesting to see her name in the news so much these last few days (albeit for the wrong reasons...)

I really hope that Tehran and Something Fierce each experience a HUGE spike in sales as a result of the controversy stirred up the cranky old battleaxe Ms. Goldwater!!!

Relevant Links:

My MA thesis HERE or a shorter version of it HERE.


Feb. 06th - "Terrorist" article in the Globe and Mail HERE.
Feb. 07th - Miserable Hag defends her comments, in the Globe and Mail HERE.

One of my favourite comments in response to the Hag's defense of her stance (posted on the Globe & Mail online):

"She's a fat loud mouthed pig who is likely sexually frustrated and needs to get laid."

(Admittedly, this is an ad hominem attack, but in this case: SO WHAT?)

Another comment (online) that I really liked:

"She appears to have completely missed the point of Canada Reads - to encourage reading - not about panelists doing whatever it takes - including trashing the books and slandering their authors - to win a "debate". Is she an unmitigated narcissist or just obtuse?"

What on Earth are People Searching For...????

Okay, so I keep a close eye on the analytics and stats for this blog.  Most things I see in terms of pageviews, comments, traffic sources, and such are boring and contain little that I didn’t expect.

However, periodically, I get a bit surprised by a search term or the key words that ultimately landed someone on my blog.  In many cases, I can figure how an unusual combination of words or search terms led an Internet surfer to me, but other times, nope.  I’m baffled!

The easily explained (though still odd) terms include:

• “fetish bdsm cake”

• “bdsm knife play”

Each of the above could have something to do with “The Lies Have It” and/or the launch party for it. 

The search term “spelling bee falacio” is directly related to a blogpost I did ages ago. (It was a character background of Sasha Jackson as a kid, and it also included a mention of the CN Tower).

As well, I did a post not too long ago about cool/funny book marks, so that post probably explains the following two search terms:

• “bookmarks for your book that says cruz” (No idea what 'cruz' is about...)

• “whodunit charming bookmark” (Yeah, some of the pics I added to the post were kind of charming...)

But then there are the key words that really boggle my mind; these are search terms that seem like they’ve come from outer space.  A few examples:

• “douglas cork murderer” (Huh...?)
• "bryan adams unibrow" (Huh again...?)
• “biggest ruffle chip” (This is my all time favourite!)
• “nut bolt art xxx” (Perhaps related to the character profile I did of Mimi-Minerva?)
• “mature female sex tourism” (The idea of sex tourism infuriates me, so seeing this one in my top search terms that day or that week really rankled me... Am at a loss as to which blogpost could have had similar words.  I’d change it if I could figure out which post it relates to...)
• "collectibles american road signs" (what...?)
• "apostle thomas rod" (I have no idea...)
• "van johnson actor and marilyn monroe on train" (wtf???)
• "whiskey makes me frisky" (Ooooh! I like this one!)
• "google earth pics funny xxx" (Okay, whatever...)

So, there you go.  That’s a random snapshot of things some people think (hope?) they’ll find on this blog.   I wonder how they react when they find out the blog is about mysteries and writing...

Mustard, Lasagna, and Apostles: Interview with author Richard Godwin

Jill: “Apostle Rising.” Love the title!  Give me the one sentence pitch for the novel. 

Richard:  You have just met the darkest hybrid imaginable and your world will never be the same again.

Jill:  More on titles.  Some of your story titles include: “I’m a Lasagna Hog,””Go Hang a Salami,” “Kentucky Ketchup,” “Okie Onion,” and “Fresh Bacon.”  Do you write when you’re hungry?  I’m suddenly craving a hoagie.

Richard:  No I think food is essential to narratives, we are all part of the feast, the question is who is the host?

Jill: In addition to writing short stories and a novel, you’ve also written a play. “The Cure-All” was staged in London.  Is it hard to switch between forms/styles/genres of writing?

Richard:  I love doing it. The truth be told if I had to write one genre all the time I would get bored.  I like my writing to stay fresh, vital, like freshly baked bread.

Jill:  You’ve published a number of works in online periodicals.  What is the most satisfying thing about publishing on the internet versus in good old dead-tree print?

Richard:  I think it’s the feedback. There is an army of fine readers out there who are immensely supportive.

Jill: You’re a member of “International Thriller Writers.” What have your learned about your craft from this organization?

Richard:  It’s not so much a matter of learning from them. It’s more a useful vehicle for getting your name out there, as is the CWA, which I am also a member of.

Jill:  What has been the most surprising thing to you about the business side of publishing?

Richard:  Learning that the distributor is key.

Jill:  Somewhere in a desk drawer or at the back of a closet, you probably have an early, unfinished draft of something from when you were just starting out.  What unfinished project would you like to finish someday?

Richard:  There is a novel about a retired Detective who moves to the English countryside. Say no more but a nod is as good as a wink to a blind bat.

Jill:  What authors have influenced you the most?

Richard:  Dostoyevsky and Leonard.

Jill: What part(s) of writing (i.e. plot, dialogue, character, etc.) are most fun for you to work on? 

Richard:  When the novel comes alive and takes on its own route.  You have to listen to what the characters are telling you.

Jill:  You’ve got a lot of stories out there, and it’s almost unfair to put you on the spot, but I’m going to anyway:  Name two of your favourite works.

Richard:  In terms of online publications The Mustard Man and Pony Trip.

Jill: The last question is kind of a freebie: What question do you wish I had asked you? Now go ahead and ask & answer that question.

Richard:  What do I see as the future of publishing?

The breakdown of the economically driven search and sell mechanism that has reduced sales to celebrity books that are not fit to read, eventually this will change. And I say this as someone who has been traditionally published and continues to be.  The big houses got greedy and fat and lazy and stupid. Apostle Rising sold foreign rights as a debut, so it has been successful as a first novel.  I think the E Book will shake things up. It will make the industry re-evaluate what publishing is really about. Economics dictates certain lines of reasoning. And decisions based on it are not in favour of Art.

For more on Richard Godwin, check out his website or follow him on Twitter @stanzazone 

Richard's books are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and many other sources.

Awesome review of "The Lies Have It" in the Globe & Mail!!!

The Lies Have It


By Jill Edmondson, Iguana, 252 pages, $11.95

Been to a fetish party lately? Even if you aren’t a habitué, you’ll like this stylish, smart novel set in Toronto’s downtown arts and culture scene.

This series, featuring aspiring musician-turned-private eye Sasha Jackson, has been optioned for television and it has all the hallmarks of success. There is a winsome PI, a sexy cop for a potential love interest and Hogtown as we would all love it to be: racy, witty and full of interesting, polymorphous perversity.

The mystery is a nicely plotted whodunit, but the real charm here is the setting. Edmondson, a communications professor, knows her town intimately. Even better, she knows how readers want it to be.

Review by Margaret Cannon.  Link to the Globe and Mail review column here.

You can order "The Lies Have It' on Amazon here.

Flash Fiction: Interview with Paul D. Brazill, author of 13 Shots of Noir

Jill: Writing is a fairly new vocation for you; your bio says you began writing flash fiction and short stories in 2008.  What took you so long?

Paul: It’s something that I’d wanted to for a long time but never got around to. I’ve always been a procrastinator, though I’ve heard it makes you go blind. 

Anyway, at the end of 2008 I discovered a handful of online venues for flash fiction. Most notably, Six Sentences and Powder Burn Flash. I realised that I may actually finish something if I wrote a piece for one of those places. And I did, which was a shock in itself. What was more shocking was that the pieces were accepted and received some good feedback. So I just kept on at it!

Jill: You’ve written quite a number of short stories.  Where do you get your inspiration?

Paul: I just take snippets and slices of life and take them to a more absurdist extreme.

Jill:  “13 Shots of Noir”, “Drunk on the Moon...” -  Alcohol and references to intoxication are a predominant theme in hardboiled crime fiction.  Why do you think this is? 

Paul: These stories are about people in extreme situations. Usually normal people trying to cope with extreme situations. Or abnormal people trying to cope with ordinary situations, maybe.

Booze is the most commonly available anaesthetic for the aches and pains of life and it can, of course, make a bad situation a lot worse, which lends a story more possibilities for twists and turns into dark corners.

Also, ‘Noir’ in particular is about people knowingly boarding a runaway train that’s bound for disaster, which is what intoxication is, more than somewhat.

Jill:  What is the most satisfying thing about being an author?

Paul: Well, I  certainly don’t consider myself an author –more a dilettante - but doing anything that puts a smile on people’s faces is pretty satisfying.

Jill:  The flip-side of the last question: What is the most frustrating thing about being an author?

Paul: To me, it’s only a positive thing. It’s not working down a mine.

Jill:  What can you tell me about your work(s)-in-progress?

Paul: A  few things at the moment but the first finished will probably be a novella with the working title The Hit Man and Her, which features a private eye character that  I created called Peter Ord. Ord gets his first ‘proper’ case and black comedy and slice-of -life absurdity ensue.

I’m also fiddling with Guns Of Brixton, a novella that’s due to come out from Pulp Press later this year.

Jill:  Writing crime fiction is tough: playing fair with the reader, coming up with motives, researching ballistics and police procedures... I can only imagine how much harder this is to do in the limited space of a short story versus a novel.  Or maybe the length makes it easier?  What are your thoughts on this?

Paul: Well, although my stories take place in a crime fiction milieu, I don’t think most of them are proper crime fiction as such. The plot is always a McGuffin to me, for example and I’m sure a fan of someone like Ian Rankin or Val McDermot would feel very, very short changed by my stuff. Even when I read crime fiction I don’t pay that much attention to things such as  ‘ballistics or police procedures’ so I can’t imagine spending time researching it. It’s my own world, no matter how realistic it is. It’s not Robert Fisk!

Jill:  Is writing dialogue fun or a challenge?

Paul: Always great fun but I suspect I avoid writing flat, informative dialogue, as I avoid reading it.

Jill:  Who are some of your favourite characters in crime and detective fiction?

Paul:  Highsmith’s Tom Ripley, Jim Thompson’s Lou Ford, Sherlock Holmes, Ray Banks’ Cal Innes. Normal, well-adjusted people.

Jill:  Taking over for a dead guy:  Robert B. Parker completed and added to the works of Raymond Chandler.  Vincent Lardo carried on the “Archy McNally” series started by Lawrence Sanders.  Robert Goldsborough added to the “Nero Wolfe” series by Rex Stout.  What are your thoughts on this? 

Paul: Sounds like a lot of hard work, doesn’t it? But why not? The BBC and Guy Ritchie have both got different spins on Sherlock at the moment and both work, on their own terms. Not much fun for purists, I suppose, but purists should just stick to the original books. Or get out more.

Jill:  Some wildly successful authors now partner with (or subcontract to?) other, lesser known authors.  What are your thoughts on this?  (James Patterson is a prime example).

Paul: Again, why not? A piece of writing is only finished when someone reads it and the name of the writer should really only mean as much as the typeface. I handed over my werewolf PI Roman Dalton to a number of writers for a series of short stories under the Drunk On The Moon banner and a veritable cornucopia of interesting stories came out of it.

Jill:  What was the best bit of writing advice you ever received?

Paul: I try not to give or take advice!

Jill: The last question is kind of a freebie: What question do you wish I had asked, but didn’t?  Now go ahead and ask and answer that question.

Paul: Q: Which crime books, films or television shows have floated your boat recently?

Answer:

TV: The recent BBC Sherlock series was great  fun.

Film: The Australian film Snowtown was fantastic, though incredibly bleak.

Books: Graven Image by Charlie Williams was in turns delirious and realistic but completely of its own world.

Thanks much for the interview!

For more on Paul's thoughts and his writing, check out his blog:  

http://pdbrazill.blogspot.com
or follow him on Twitter @PaulDBrazill

Find Paul's works on Amazon.

Recent Reads: Wicked Newton Shepherd Sugar

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
I read just about everything Evanovich puts out.  Her books a pure fun, escapism... Cotton Candy for the brain!

Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson
A fascinating story about the other - lesser known - career of Sir Isaac Newton.

The Killer of Little Shepherds by Douglas Starr
Basically, this is the history of forensics.  Should be required reading for all crime or mystery writers!

Sugar: The Grass that Changed the World by Sanjida O'Connell
The first 3/4 of the book were really interesting: ancient history of sugar, plantations, sugar and the colonies.  The last section of the book is on sugar and the body, and on sugar and government regulations (re: trade) and those topics are not really of interest to me.  But the colonial days and plantation economies, etc. made for excellent reading!

Some Private Eye Slang

The crime fiction genre has some fun and colourful expressions.  

Here are a few faves:

Chicago lightning: Gunfire
Chicago overcoat : Coffin 

Chicago typewriter: Machine gun  (Wow - Chicago offers a lot to the hardboiled lexicon!)

Flivver: A Ford automobile 

Giggle juice: Liquor

Hammer and saws: Police (rhyming slang for laws)  

Harlem sunset: Fatal injury caused by knife

Have the bees: To be rich 

Highbinder: Corrupt politician or official

Johnson brother: Criminal  

Kicking the gong around: Taking opium   

Lullaby cocktail: Drugged drink

Orphan paper: Bad cheques 

Oyster fruit: Pearls 

Portrait of Madison: Five hundred dollars

Rats and mice: Dice (more rhyming slang)

Roundheels:  A woman of easy virtue  

Soup job: To crack a safe using nitroglycerin

Sunday School picnic: What this caper isn’t turning into

Sources for above:  

http://www.miskatonic.org/slang.html and

http://comedyu.com/20091017/parodying-the-film-noir-detective-film/ and 

http://www.classiccrimefiction.com/hardboiled-slang.htm 

Interview with author Phil Rowan

For Weimar Vibes on Amazon click here.

 

Jill:  When I began research for this interview, I immediately came across the cover image for Weimar Vibes.  Love it!  How and why was this image chosen for the book cover and what does the image say about the story?

Phil: This is a fabulous shot of Marlene Dietrich in Josef von Sternberg’s 1930 movie, The Blue Angel. I licensed it for the cover of Weimar Vibes because I think it gives a feeling for how it was in the final years of the Weimar Republic – decadent and crumbling, yes, but with a lot of enticing temptation in the night life! My Weimar Vibes story is a dark humour thriller that mirrors elements of 1930s German chaos in the UK and the rest of Europe tomorrow, and I think that Marlene in The Blue Angel gave a great snapshot of this period – as indeed did Lisa Minnelli in Cabaret.  

Jill: If Rudi Flynn had a profile on one of those internet dating sites (i.e. Lavalife, Match.com, eHarmony, etc.) what would it say?

Phil:  Age: 39. Height 5’11”; flat(ish) stomach; good but occasionally nervous eyes. Empathetic with women, who frequently feel he needs their guidance. He enjoys occasional windsurfing, followed by lively discussions on the beach about politics – with intermittent gossip. Salsa in the evening with wine and emotional good humour (with maybe whisky later). Flynn is separated from his previous partner who’s now writing a novel about their relationship, which worries him a little. No kids yet – but he’s often had dreams about families. Well ... it’s a lovely thought, of course ... and he’s definitely trying to become more decisive about things generally ...

Jill: Your novels are set in far-flung locals (Greek Islands, Cuba, Middle East, Ireland...) What are the challenges to you as a writer of using various settings? 

Phil:  I guess it helps if you’ve been to wherever it is you’re writing about, but a brief trip to almost anywhere can offer exciting writing prospects for both fiction and journalism. I think the challenges are almost entirely emotional, in that you probably need to go with your feelings, so intuition and interpretation are important. It’s only in my third upcoming story ‘Under Cover’ that I’m writing about India, where I spent almost eighteen months. But Cuba, the Middle East, Greece, the US/UK and Ireland (where I was born) all offer marvellous possibilities, which I constantly want to return to. 

Jill:  If Hollywood were to make a Rudi Flynn movie, who would be cast in the lead role?

Phil: For Flynn I’m thinking of a slightly wayward/uncertain Daniel Craig – with maybe an alcoholic weakness extension of his performance in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. But if Craig wasn’t available, then a more flustered Dominic West from The Wire would be fine; with maybe Penelope Cruz or Rachel Weisz as Flynn’s illicit love interest, the gorgeous and almost saintly Julia Stein ... and I’d want a star turn for the cool Glenn Close as Flynn’s ice cold and very focused US Homeland Security controller.

Jill: What was the best thing about your stint as a tabloid journalist?  What was the worst? 

Phil:  On the up side, I loved meeting a whole range of interesting people – from dodgy politicians, villains and often venal celebs to nice ordinary folk who had somehow become involved with difficult and occasionally quite worrying situations. On the downside, there was a constant pressure/expectation for one to deliver, and if one couldn’t do it legitimately (and I hate to admit it) then it was frequently seduction/inducements, temptation, provocation and outlandish fabrication.   

Jill: Part two of the above question (and you had to have seen this coming!) What comments do you have on the Murdoch & News of the World scandal?

Phil:  Disgraceful, of course. But it’s been building over quite a while and the NoW practices are now rife with most tabloids + some quite prim broadsheets – all of whom would deny the charge. However, if you can bring in reasonably experienced phone hackers – and it’s not that difficult to find them – then you either do it or your competitors get the stories.   

Jill:  You’ve written fiction and nonfiction.  Which one is easier to write?  Which is more fun to write? (These aren’t necessarily the same things.)  

Phil:  I’ve always found it easier and more fun to write fiction – starting with little magazines when I was a student at Trinity College in Dublin. More recently (as Jack Jameson),  I was commissioned to write a serious story for the UK New Statesman about British National Party (far right) goings on near their leader’s farm in Wales. I called it Weimar in Wales, and I wrote it as an allegorical piece with factual elements. It caused a media furor, with the local Chief Constable and publicans demanding to know where exactly were the pubs and meeting places I was alluding to where British Nationalists were sieg heiling with Nazi salutes to Deutschland uber Alles? I couldn’t really say as the locations and characters were all composites and the piece was essentially allegorical – so on this occasion the journalist became a scandalous story, and my editor refused to pay me!

Jill:  What do you wish you had known about the publishing world before you became a novelist? 

Phil:  To know a little more about how difficult it was going to be might have helped (or diverted) me. Not long ago, I had a good agent who sent my Dark Clouds story to, I think, six publishers.They all liked the story and the writing, but didn’t feel they could publish it because I seemed to be dealing with a potentially very serious matter (al-Qaeda trying to nuke London) within a dark humour framework ... and who knows what the jihadists might have lined up for such a cheeky publisher!  

Jill:  Who are some of your mystery author influences?

Phil:  My big influences early on were Hemingway, Fitzgerald, James Joyce, JP Donleavy and Henry Miller (the latter three were all banned in Catholic Ireland for quite a few years!). The mystery/thriller writers I’ve enjoyed are Raymond Chandler, Lee Child, Jeffrey Deaver and Stieg Larsson.

Jill:  What are your thoughts on the rapid changes in the book world (that is, digital books a la Kindle and such)?

Phil: It’s exciting, but there are problems for authors trying to self-publish on Kindle + Nook etc. If a publisher takes your book, they will usually do a lot of editing and promotion for you. But if you go for self-publishing an e-book, there’s an incredible amount of work to do, first in formatting, picture design and uploading, and then in promotion via Twitter etc – for which one needs a huge amount of time. I rather envy John Locke who says he sold a million self-published e-books in five months, which certainly is a great achievement. 

Jill:  What can you tell me about your upcoming releases?

Phil: ‘Dark Clouds’, out now on www.amazon.com/dp/B006RXHVTW  has al-Qaeda trying to nuke London, with Flynn doing what he can to thwart them. ‘Under Cover’, which is my next, has Flynn once again working for a US/UK intelligence alliance. Only now he also has links with Israeli intelligence and the rightist French Front National. His mission is to help foil a plot by Iranian agents who are intent on serious anti-Western provocation, which includes dirty bombs with nuclear ingredients. This will be followed by ‘Harps and Tears’, which features Bronkovsky, a loopy/disappointed in love Polish American nuclear scientist whose wife leaves him for a Jewish environmentalist. He is embittered and intent on revenge against the state of Israel. When Flynn meets him, he is making a nuclear bomb in Ireland’s rural West Cork for Islamic activists in the Middle East.   

Jill:  Last question – and it’s a bit of a freebie: What question do you wish I had asked you?  Go ahead and ask & answer it.

Phil: What would I do if I were starting out again? Instead of mistakenly going for medicine and then switching to Economics & Politics, I would like to have tried for a scholarship to a London drama school. After which, I would have hugely enjoyed a bit of acting on stage and (possibly) screen. I would also have written a few more plays and tried to get screen-writing commissions.

For more on Phil Rowan, check his website:  www.writerrowan.com

Or follow Phil on Twitter @WriterRowan 
 

Interview with !!!! David Hunter !!!!

Hey Folks!!!!  

Today, I'm pleased to share an interview with Toronto author and blogger David Hunter!!!!  Read the interview below to find out why I'm going crazy with exclamation marks!!!!

Jill: A while back you did a blog post titled “When is Writing Advice ‘Bad’ Advice”.  In the piece you share 10 writing tips, followed by 3 counterclaims.  So now, for the record, what is the ONE piece of advice you would offer to aspiring authors, and what was the worst writing tip ever suggested to you?

David: One day when I was prattling on about my manuscript and my writing, my girlfriend interrupted me and said; ‘Would you please just shut up and write? Finish your book already! Stop talking about it!’  Which basically meant ‘for the love of God, finish something!’  Finish anything; a short story, a novella, a paragraph! Completion is the cheese.  Then you can call yourself a writer. Maybe.  

The worst advice I ever received was ‘Only use one exclamation mark per 100 words.’

Jill:  There are a number of writers out there who don’t bother at all with social media.  How necessary do you think it is to be active in social media if an author is just starting out?

David: These days it makes a writer seem either aloof or out of the loop not being on social media talking to their readers.  Plus, all your potential readers are online now.  Building an audience isn’t like it was in Stephen King’s day – now you have to be a ‘personality’ to stand out, to the chagrin of shy or reclusive artists.  Unfortunately the shy writer may be the new James Joyce and get no attention, while the loud and flashy ‘personable’ writer may be a Dan Brown; with apologies to him, of course.  I’m not a big fan!  

Ultimately, the work speaks for itself.  But unless people know you exist, no one will read it.

Jill:  What can you tell me about your current work in progress?

David: It’s a novel based on the ‘End of the World’ scenario, following a group of survivors as they struggle with the fact that there’s no more civilization.  There is another group of survivors, a decidedly more pessimistic group who walk the earth and kill anyone they find, because they want all humanity to end for good.  These two groups meet, eventually, and they must confront each other, and fight it out as it were.  The premise being that as long as there are two people left on earth, there will always be war.  There’s certain sadness to that, don’t you think? A social satire of sorts. 

I’m also working on a coming of age love story set in 1982 that’ll be published on my blog (and hopefully on Kindle and Kobo) called ‘The Dogwood Summer’.  It’s my first foray into this kind of thing, but I wanted to explore the subject of time and love, as they both fascinate me.  It's also a very personal story, so expect some tears.

Jill:  I took a look at your bookshelf on “GoodReads” and noticed that you only gave one star to “The Da Vinci Code” and one star to “Moby Dick”.  What was it about each of these that you didn’t like?

David: Moby Dick, while a great classic, was written in serial form and published in parts.  It was not written as a novel, so there are a multitude of repetitious passages and minutiae to wade through. Moby’s prose doesn’t translate well to modern readers, well, to my generation at least,  yet I can read Mark Twain and Jules Verne with ease.  As for Dan Brown, I dislike his dialogue, it jags on me, and his writing is rather un-artistic (Yes, I’m a writing snob).  His books seem written with movies firmly in mind, with wooden characters to match.  The Da Vinci Code itself has a great idea behind it, but a great idea can be ruined by bad execution.  Although in this case his story idea saved it.  Dialogue is the key however– if a writer messes that up, it ruins everything for me.  Robert Ludlum! You cad!

Jill:  You are a very active blogger.  What is it about blogging that appeals to you?

David: It’s free, and a great way to get my writing out there.  And, this is the key, it is instant gratification.  I don’t have to wait weeks or months (years even) to publish something.  Also, it allows me to experiment with different things; poetry, op-ed, essays, short stories, novellas, serials, and different genres of writing; crime fiction, horror, etc., to see what kind of story sticks in the readers minds.  Although I haven’t posted much of it yet; I’m still shy that way.  But 2012 seems to be my year; I’ll be posting a lot more fiction.  Another great thing about blogging; people get to know you, and you can build a trust there.  Then you can get them to read your work a lot easier. 

Jill:  Between fiction and nonfiction (and the many subdivisions within each) what type of writing do you enjoy doing the most?

David: Fiction.  Non-fiction can get mired in reality, which can be quite boring, so then you have to exaggerate it, turning it back into fiction.  There’s a vicious loop in there somewhere.

Jill:  What is your highest aspiration as an author?

David: To contribute something lasting to the literary canon.  I cite Gene Roddenberry, Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, and even Rod Serling as examples.  Each created something that will outlive us all.  That’s not asking too much, is it?

Jill:  Which authors do you admire and why?

David: I have to say, for pure word wizardry, Edward Abbey.  I read Desert Solitaire, and some of his descriptive passages took my breath away.  The man described the desert sky a dozen times and each was different and fantastic.  Not the greatest idea man as far as fiction went (Although his book Brave Cowboy became a movie in 1962) but he knew his way around a phrase (I think a thesaurus was planted in his head).  His prose style still shows up in my work a lot.  A surprisingly modern writer for his time, he kept a brisk pace and made good use of frags.  For learning about the more interesting mechanics of writing, he was invaluable.  It's kinda neat to have his unique style in my back pocket to pull out when I need it. 

Another influence, Stephen King; too easy, right? But what he contributes is a wonderful myth-making ability.  He is able to create stories that become lore; you know, like those campfire tales you heard as a kid that stayed with you because you thought they were real.  Not easy to do in fiction.  He has a wonderful gravitas, a weight to his story-telling that I try to emulate.  There are 5 dozen others, but I won’t go on and on.  Those were the first two that came to mind.

 

Jill:  What is one of the strangest/weirdest responses or comments you’ve received from a reader?

David: In response to a post about ‘writing for an audience or for yourself’, someone wrote “one needs to write for themselves. Its purpose is not to entertain,” which I found strange.

Jill:  Last question is kind of a freebie.  What question do you wish I had asked but didn’t?  Now ask and answer that question.

David: What does it take to become a successful writer? Well, a lot of reading.  Not just reading, studying prose; how authors turn a phrase, how they transition from scene to scene, how they attribute dialogue, pace the story, and build characters.  The story idea is important too; the more you read, the more you can steer away from well-trodden and clichéd avenues.  There’s a lot to know.  Anyone who has ever been successful at anything has studied their craft, knows the rules, and knows their stuff.  You gotta train to gain, because there’s a lot of competition out there, and the only way to get ahead is to be prepared.  Me, I’m getting there – it’s a journey, not a destination. 

For more about David Hunter check out his blog:   http://davidhuntershaw.blogspot.com/ 

Or follow David on Twitter @TheWritersDen  

Titles that don't Quite Work

This blogpost is inspired by the excerpt below from Salmon Rushdie.

From Vanity Fair February 2012, by Salman Rushdie

"Hitch-22 was a title born of the silly word games we played, one of which was Titles That Don’t Quite Make It, among which were A Farewell to Weapons, For Whom the Bell Rings, To Kill a Hummingbird, The Catcher in the Wheat, Mr. Zhivago, and Toby-Dick, a.k.a. Moby-Cock. And, as the not-quite version of Joseph Heller’s comic masterpiece, Hitch-22. Christopher rescued this last title from the slush pile of our catechism of failures and redeemed it by giving it to the text which now stands as his best memorial."

After reading about this idea from Rushdie, I came up with a few of my own:

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest            > One Flew Over the Wasp’s Nest

The Great Gatsby                                    > The Totally Awesome Gatsby

The Picture of Dorian Gray                      > The Avatar of Dorian Gray

The Hounds of Baskerville                       > The Mutts of Baskerville

Brave New World                                    > Gutsy New World

Gulliver’s Travels                                    > Gulliver’s Backpacking Trek

One Hundred Years of Solitude                 > One Hundred Years of Chillin’

The Lord of the Rings                               > The Lord of the Brooches

The Grapes of Wrath                                > The Cantaloupes of Wrath

The Wind in the Willows                           > The Wind in the Ragweed