An excellent piece on Val McDermid in The Guardian.
A great interview with Ray Banks over at Hardboiled Wonderland, and Ray talks about his favourite short series' here. The young man has good taste - Woodrell, Willeford and Raymond are 3 of my absolute favourites. I'd also add Mr Banks to that list.
You can go to jail as part of the Wigtown Book Festival at the end of September.
If you're in California you can see Catriona McPherson in San Mateo tomorrow and in Davis on Friday.
Helen Fitzgerald wants to buy your kidney.
Sherlock Holmes banned for being anti-Mormon.
The lovely Declan Burke mentions Charles Cummings' THE TRINITY SIX. Talking of Declan, here's a smashing review for ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL (a marvellous book, which you can win here).
Scotland on Sunday reports on the launch of the Edinburgh Book Festival, while the Guardian blog tells you what you can expect over the next couple of weeks, and whether tickets are still available on any given day. The Daily Record has a beginner's guide, and the BBC announces more stuff.
The FT has an interesting article on e-books, including the information that Ian Rankin's Edinburgh iphone app has been downloaded more than 30,000 times.
Ah, how I wish I was going to Bouchercon.
Finally, Glasgow crime decreases on wet days, apparently. Having been half-mugged on a wet day, I have to disagree.
Showing posts with label Bouchercon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bouchercon. Show all posts
Monday 15 August 2011
Friday 30 October 2009
Bouchercon Panel Report #5 - The 21st Century PI
The 21st Century Private Eye
Panellists: Austin Camacho (moderator), Jack Fredrickson, Greg Herren, Adrian Magson, Michael Wiley.
This was another panel that sent me scurrying to the bookroom, having discovered an author I'd never heard of before - this time Michael Wiley. It also reminded me that I need to read one of Adrian Magson's books as he was excellent on the panel and very funny.
Austin Camacho set the scene by talking about living in a technological age, how the PI can give the writer more flexibility than either a police procedural or an amateur (ie you can do more than either of those for different reasons). He asked the panellists whether the settings they use continue the noir, fatalistic, gritty settings of old.
Jack Fredrickson said that he tries to use every device he can - including setting - to disguise the fact that he doesn't know anything about plot! He said that he does use a gritty setting (just outside Chicago). Adrian Magson uses London as a setting, although he does like to move his characters around and vary things. He likes to keep a contemporary feel to his books.
Austin Camacho then asked the panel whether their PIs adhere to the traditional, heavy drinking, heavy smoking detective.
Greg Herren said that when he first started his series his protag was a smoker. He had him quit in the second book, but he still gets stoned. He's not much of a drinker. Herren quoted Julie Smith as saying "New Orleans will break your heart and wreck your liver." Michael Wiley said that the new heavy drinking/chainsmoking detective is now a non-drinker/non-smoker.
Austin Camacho asked the panel about technology and science. He said that PI stories tend to focus on questions and characters and not so much on forensics. He asked the panel how they coped with technology and whether the technological age made it harder to write PI novels.
Greg Herren said that he had lived through Katrina when technology shut down for a while. He also said that he was not the best at technology since it took him five years to work out that he had 'hotkeys' on his computer (note to self - check computer for hotkeys). In his first book his protagonist had a computer but no cell phone. He also has a computer tech - that way, the character has no need to learn anything and neither does Herren, so he can take the lazy way out.
Adrian Magson said that his character Riley Gavin uses a Blackberry but that the most use she puts a laptop to is when she throws it at someone's head. He said that you can get into the trap of your characters relying on technology too much. He also pointed out that in the UK your every move can be followed on a security camera in some cities. Michael Wiley also has his character throwing technology at someone - this time a cell phone. Camacho himself said that his protagonist is a luddite and he finds it no fun to write the technological stuff.
The panel were then asked about the kinds of cases their protagonists get involved in. Who is the client of the 21st century PI and how has this changed?
Jack Fredrickson felt that the clients are the same because people are the same now as they have always been. Michael Wiley agreed, saying that the things which interest him are sex and murder and people have been doing both those things forever.
The topic then turned violent (although not literally, they were all very polite), Camacho saying that in the 40s and 50s PI novels the violence was generally a simple rough and tumble. He asked the panellists whether they felt that today's readers are more sophisticated about how people fight each other.
Adrian Magson said that he used to teach Tae Kwon Do but he doesn't put much of that into his books. He tries to keep things realistic and felt that too much martial arts detracted from the plot. He noted that in the UK there are very few guns and that they tend to be in the hands of the bad guys. His protag uses an asp and Adrian went down to his local police station to ask how to use one. Needless to say, he got some odd looks. Camacho also said that he tries to keep things realistic. His character is a trained kick-boxer, but real fights in real life tend to be very short.
Turning from violence to attitude, Camacho asked whether the idea of the smartass PI has remained the same. Jack Fredrickson said that to be a good PI you have to have an attitude - you need one to function in that kind of world. He added that if you can do it humourously it sharpens the distinction between the dark side and the lighter side and he likes that contrast.
Greg Herren said that his protagonist was a smartass. He tried to make his first book dark and noir and thought that he had succeeded but at the first reading he did people were laughing. He said that he doesn't mean to do it and if he could find a way to stop it he probably would (note to self - buy a Greg Herren book).
Austin Camacho then asked the panel who they felt was doing it right in terms of the PI novel. Michael Wiley said that there were a lot of people doing it right and that the PI genre is far from dead. He likes writers who are aware of what is politically correct but aren't going to go there (note to self - buy a Michael Wiley along with the Herren). Greg Herren cited Laura Lippman, Sara Paretsky, Val McDermid and Sean Chercover. Of Sean he said "He makes me want to quit...bitch." Camacho cited Marcus Sakey and George Pelecanos but also said, interestingly, that he doesn't feel that the new Raymond Chandler or Ross Macdonald has been published yet.
When asked about great 20th century writers the panel were worried could get forgotten Adrian Magson said Leslie Charteris and Greg Herren said John D MacDonald.
Another excellent panel.
Panellists: Austin Camacho (moderator), Jack Fredrickson, Greg Herren, Adrian Magson, Michael Wiley.
This was another panel that sent me scurrying to the bookroom, having discovered an author I'd never heard of before - this time Michael Wiley. It also reminded me that I need to read one of Adrian Magson's books as he was excellent on the panel and very funny.
Austin Camacho set the scene by talking about living in a technological age, how the PI can give the writer more flexibility than either a police procedural or an amateur (ie you can do more than either of those for different reasons). He asked the panellists whether the settings they use continue the noir, fatalistic, gritty settings of old.
Jack Fredrickson said that he tries to use every device he can - including setting - to disguise the fact that he doesn't know anything about plot! He said that he does use a gritty setting (just outside Chicago). Adrian Magson uses London as a setting, although he does like to move his characters around and vary things. He likes to keep a contemporary feel to his books.
Austin Camacho then asked the panel whether their PIs adhere to the traditional, heavy drinking, heavy smoking detective.
Greg Herren said that when he first started his series his protag was a smoker. He had him quit in the second book, but he still gets stoned. He's not much of a drinker. Herren quoted Julie Smith as saying "New Orleans will break your heart and wreck your liver." Michael Wiley said that the new heavy drinking/chainsmoking detective is now a non-drinker/non-smoker.
Austin Camacho asked the panel about technology and science. He said that PI stories tend to focus on questions and characters and not so much on forensics. He asked the panel how they coped with technology and whether the technological age made it harder to write PI novels.
Greg Herren said that he had lived through Katrina when technology shut down for a while. He also said that he was not the best at technology since it took him five years to work out that he had 'hotkeys' on his computer (note to self - check computer for hotkeys). In his first book his protagonist had a computer but no cell phone. He also has a computer tech - that way, the character has no need to learn anything and neither does Herren, so he can take the lazy way out.
Adrian Magson said that his character Riley Gavin uses a Blackberry but that the most use she puts a laptop to is when she throws it at someone's head. He said that you can get into the trap of your characters relying on technology too much. He also pointed out that in the UK your every move can be followed on a security camera in some cities. Michael Wiley also has his character throwing technology at someone - this time a cell phone. Camacho himself said that his protagonist is a luddite and he finds it no fun to write the technological stuff.
The panel were then asked about the kinds of cases their protagonists get involved in. Who is the client of the 21st century PI and how has this changed?
Jack Fredrickson felt that the clients are the same because people are the same now as they have always been. Michael Wiley agreed, saying that the things which interest him are sex and murder and people have been doing both those things forever.
The topic then turned violent (although not literally, they were all very polite), Camacho saying that in the 40s and 50s PI novels the violence was generally a simple rough and tumble. He asked the panellists whether they felt that today's readers are more sophisticated about how people fight each other.
Adrian Magson said that he used to teach Tae Kwon Do but he doesn't put much of that into his books. He tries to keep things realistic and felt that too much martial arts detracted from the plot. He noted that in the UK there are very few guns and that they tend to be in the hands of the bad guys. His protag uses an asp and Adrian went down to his local police station to ask how to use one. Needless to say, he got some odd looks. Camacho also said that he tries to keep things realistic. His character is a trained kick-boxer, but real fights in real life tend to be very short.
Turning from violence to attitude, Camacho asked whether the idea of the smartass PI has remained the same. Jack Fredrickson said that to be a good PI you have to have an attitude - you need one to function in that kind of world. He added that if you can do it humourously it sharpens the distinction between the dark side and the lighter side and he likes that contrast.
Greg Herren said that his protagonist was a smartass. He tried to make his first book dark and noir and thought that he had succeeded but at the first reading he did people were laughing. He said that he doesn't mean to do it and if he could find a way to stop it he probably would (note to self - buy a Greg Herren book).
Austin Camacho then asked the panel who they felt was doing it right in terms of the PI novel. Michael Wiley said that there were a lot of people doing it right and that the PI genre is far from dead. He likes writers who are aware of what is politically correct but aren't going to go there (note to self - buy a Michael Wiley along with the Herren). Greg Herren cited Laura Lippman, Sara Paretsky, Val McDermid and Sean Chercover. Of Sean he said "He makes me want to quit...bitch." Camacho cited Marcus Sakey and George Pelecanos but also said, interestingly, that he doesn't feel that the new Raymond Chandler or Ross Macdonald has been published yet.
When asked about great 20th century writers the panel were worried could get forgotten Adrian Magson said Leslie Charteris and Greg Herren said John D MacDonald.
Another excellent panel.
Friday 23 October 2009
Bouchercon Panel Report #4 - The Dark Side of The Fairer Sex
The Dark Side of The Fairer Sex
Panellists - Megan Abbott (moderator), Chelsea Cain, Sophie Littlefield, Derek Nikitas.
Megan - who was an excellent moderator - started off by pointing out that after all these years the idea of a female character is still focused on and there was no equivalent 'male' panel at Bouchercon. You can write from the point of view of a doctor, cop, serial killer and no-one says anything, but write from the point of view of the opposite sex and people comment.
Derek Nikitas said that his main characters are female and one review of PYRES said that he wrote the female characters better than the male ones. He had no good reason for why he chooses females as his viewpoint characters, he just likes to choose characters who are very different from himself. He said that one of the reasons we turn to fiction is to inhabit someone else's life.
Sophie Littlefield experiments with using male protagonists in short fiction. She felt that the idea that you should stick to your own gender is ridiculous.
Chelsea Cain has a male detective in her books. She also said that she dislikes some male written thrillers where the female detective solves a crime wearing stiletto heels (me: what's wrong with that?!)
Megan brought up the subject of female rage - the idea is really old but can still be an uncomfortable topic. She asked the panel how they treated female anger and whether they thought it was different from male anger.
Sophie Littlefield feels that people are uncomfortable around middle-aged female rage - apart from middle-aged females (me: as a middle-aged female, I'm pretty uncomfortable around any rage, but there you go). She felt that coming into your forties is freeing and liberating.
Chelsea Cain has a female serial killer in her books. She noticed that when women kill the media goes into overdrive to try and figure out why. She was very interested in that phenomenon and wanted to write about someone who killed just because she wanted to.
Megan said that Ian Rankin got in a lot of trouble for saying that a lot of graphically violent fiction was written by women.
Chelsea Cain said that her own books are pretty graphic and she had a lot of attention because of that and men seem to be very upset that she "writes that sort of stuff".
Sophie Littlefield felt that there is a continuum of comfort and we all have a place on it. Her roots are in romance and, apparently, romance writers have the same discussions about sex.
Derek Nikitas said that PYRES was violent and that the company who are working on the movie version have said that there is no way that they can film the scene which happens at the end of the book (me: you could see people feverishly writing down the title to go and get this one straight after the panel). He made a conscious decision to make violence less at the forefront in his second book.
Megan then asked the panel whether the fact that there seemed to be many more female readers than male readers affected the way they wrote.
Chelsea Cain said that it is simpler not to think about the readers. Women buy the most books, but you don't know who they are. Her grandmother comes to her readings and she censors herself as she reads when she is in the audience. Her grandmother sent her a lovely card on the publication of her first book and, obviously thinking of something nice to say she said that the book was "beautifully bound".
Derek Nikitas said that he tells his grandmother not to read his books. She came to one of his readings but he said it was OK because all the swearing was in Spanish
Derek Nikitas said that he tells his grandmother not to read his books. She came to one of his readings but he said it was OK because all the swearing was in Spanish
Sophie Littlefield said that not many people had read her book yet and she knows most of them - and they're her childrens' teachers and her church group. When it came to her first reading, she realised that the first page she was going to read contained 'f***' (me: asterisks are for my Dad), 'bitch' and 'ass' (me: I think my Dad's OK with those). When she then went to a mystery bookstore to do a reading she felt that she could read something a bit more 'out there' so she read a scene about sex toys made in prison. After the reading, she discovered that her friend had brought her parents along.
Megan asked the audience to note that she was the only one of the panellists not to have used "the F-Word". the reason for this was that her parents were in the audience.
Megan then asked the panellists who some of their favourite female characters were. Chelsea Cain said Nancy Drew, Sophie Littlefield said Megan's characters, Elizabeth George's Barbara Havers and Denise Mina's characters, Derek Nikitas said Joyce Carol Oates' female characters.
Megan asked whether villains need to have a redeeming quality. Derek Nikitas said that he doesn't believe in villains as characters. His job is to ensure that all his characters are given an opportunity to have their minds shown in some way to allow the reader to empathise with them. There are people doing bad things all over the place in his book but they are not 'villains'. Chelsea Cain said that her serial killer doesn't have a point of view because she feels it is scarier that way, and she also does not want the reader to know what is happening. Sophie Littlefield felt that villains should be layered.
Megan then asked about writing violence. Derek Nikitas said that one of the keys to crafting violence well is a sense of balance - if you have too much it loses something. Megan said that withholding can sometimes have more impact. Chelsea Cain said that she developed an insatiable appetite for thrillers and blood and guts when she was pregnant.
When asked whether there was anything they wouldn't write about, Chelsea Cain said that killing dogs, small children and cats. Sophie Littlefield said that she now wants to write that book.
Wednesday 21 October 2009
Bouchercon Panel Report #3 - Dark Books For Dark Times
I have several more panels to write up, so I will intersperse them with actual Scottish crime fiction news stuff over the next few days.
Dark Books For Dark Times
Panellists were Reed Farrel Coleman (moderator), Larry Beinhart, J T Ellison, Michael Lister and Duane Swierczynski. I've read and loved Reed's and Duane's books and the 'find' of this panel was Michael Lister, an ex prison chaplain.
This was an excellent panel, and Reed was a brilliant moderator. He allowed a free flow of discussion and let the audience ask loads of questions (with prior warning that there should be no dissertations in the questions (having sat through one or two interminable questions at Bouchercons past, designed only to demonstrate the questioner's brilliance and erudition, I, for one, really appreciated that warning!).
Duane Swierczynski felt that dark books are about people who have lives worse than ours (he cited Balloon Boy as an example) - reading about their torment makes you feel better, even if it is selfish and wrong.
Reed asked the panel about how 'dark' is often synonymous with violence. Michael Lister felt that darkness reflects the choices that we make, but also that there are so many paths which are chosen for us and which we have no influence over. Duane commented that David Goodis described pain and darkness very well.
There was then a discussion on whether a truly dark book has to be dark all the way through, or whether a happy ending at the last minute makes it not a dark book. Michael Lister commented that, for the victim of the crime, it is dark and it doesn't get any darker, no matter what the ending. J T Ellison said that novels can examine the horrible things people can do to each other, but when you read the newspaper, things are even worse. Larry Beinhart commented that Dexter is 'happy darkness'.
Reed said that he finds cosies very dark, said that he once saw someone dying of a gunshot wound and quoted SJ Rozan (quoting someone else) "A cosy is a book in which someone is murdered but no-one is hurt." He also noted that in Jason Starr's books he finds it impossible to care about any of the main characters but that he still really likes the books. Bad people doing bad things are good to read about.
The discussion then turned to humour. Duane cited James Elroy's books as being very funny in places. He enjoys both humour and darkness and feels that the balance and contrast make a book better. J T Ellison note the coping mechanism of cops using black humour. Larry Beinhart loves humour in dark books, and Duane commented on a scene in Hammett's THE GLASS KEY which had the protagonist being beaten up again and again as being very funny.
Michael Lister agreed that contrast really helps and said that in noir films the visual style is high contrast. He said that he has a lot of light in his life but loves to explore the darkness. You don't have to be a dark person to write a dark book - he also said that darkness is not just the absence of light. We are drawn to darkness regardless of the times. I really liked what he had to say and so did Reed who, at this point, commented that if Michael Lister was his preacher, Reed would give up his Bar Mitzvah certificate :o)
Reed said that he tries to reject the idea of resolution as he feels that it doesn't set the world to rights at all. The key is to show that any resolution is temporary - it might resolve one issue but the randomness and unpredictability is still there. Larry Beinhart and Michael Lister had a great discussion about whether darkness = depression. I'm sorry, but I was so fascinated by it that I forgot to write anything down!
Reed asked the panellists whether the truth makes things better or worse. J T Ellison answered that the truth makes things better after it makes them worse. Larry Beinhart and Reed disagreed with this, saying that the truth didn't make things better. Reed used as an example someone having an affair - ie the confession of a spouse who has strayed makes only the cheating spouse feel better.
The discussion then turned to how dark is too dark and whether there is anything the panellists didn't like to write or read about. Duane said kids being hurt or killed, and J T Ellison said hurting animals. Michael Lister felt there wasn't anything too dark, and Reed said that if the book you are writing should go some place really dark, then you should go there.
Some of their favourite dark characters were Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor and Derek Raymond's Factory novels (Duane Swierczynski), Dolarhyde in RED DRAGON (Larry Beinhart), James Lee Burke's Dave Robichaux and Dennis Lehane's GONE BABY GONE (Michael Lister) Megan Abbott's and Daniel Woodrell's characters (Reed - who described them both as 'beautifully, painfully dark').
Reed noted that, as dark as you think a book is, as soon as something happens to you it's much darker. Michael Lister said that we are all going to die and mortality is the reason we explore darkness, everything we care about and love will be gone.
Reed then closed the panel by saying "The end is drawing nigh - like our lives apparently."
An excellent panel, like its subject matter it was full of darkness and light.
Dark Books For Dark Times
Panellists were Reed Farrel Coleman (moderator), Larry Beinhart, J T Ellison, Michael Lister and Duane Swierczynski. I've read and loved Reed's and Duane's books and the 'find' of this panel was Michael Lister, an ex prison chaplain.
This was an excellent panel, and Reed was a brilliant moderator. He allowed a free flow of discussion and let the audience ask loads of questions (with prior warning that there should be no dissertations in the questions (having sat through one or two interminable questions at Bouchercons past, designed only to demonstrate the questioner's brilliance and erudition, I, for one, really appreciated that warning!).
Duane Swierczynski felt that dark books are about people who have lives worse than ours (he cited Balloon Boy as an example) - reading about their torment makes you feel better, even if it is selfish and wrong.
Reed asked the panel about how 'dark' is often synonymous with violence. Michael Lister felt that darkness reflects the choices that we make, but also that there are so many paths which are chosen for us and which we have no influence over. Duane commented that David Goodis described pain and darkness very well.
There was then a discussion on whether a truly dark book has to be dark all the way through, or whether a happy ending at the last minute makes it not a dark book. Michael Lister commented that, for the victim of the crime, it is dark and it doesn't get any darker, no matter what the ending. J T Ellison said that novels can examine the horrible things people can do to each other, but when you read the newspaper, things are even worse. Larry Beinhart commented that Dexter is 'happy darkness'.
Reed said that he finds cosies very dark, said that he once saw someone dying of a gunshot wound and quoted SJ Rozan (quoting someone else) "A cosy is a book in which someone is murdered but no-one is hurt." He also noted that in Jason Starr's books he finds it impossible to care about any of the main characters but that he still really likes the books. Bad people doing bad things are good to read about.
The discussion then turned to humour. Duane cited James Elroy's books as being very funny in places. He enjoys both humour and darkness and feels that the balance and contrast make a book better. J T Ellison note the coping mechanism of cops using black humour. Larry Beinhart loves humour in dark books, and Duane commented on a scene in Hammett's THE GLASS KEY which had the protagonist being beaten up again and again as being very funny.
Michael Lister agreed that contrast really helps and said that in noir films the visual style is high contrast. He said that he has a lot of light in his life but loves to explore the darkness. You don't have to be a dark person to write a dark book - he also said that darkness is not just the absence of light. We are drawn to darkness regardless of the times. I really liked what he had to say and so did Reed who, at this point, commented that if Michael Lister was his preacher, Reed would give up his Bar Mitzvah certificate :o)
Reed said that he tries to reject the idea of resolution as he feels that it doesn't set the world to rights at all. The key is to show that any resolution is temporary - it might resolve one issue but the randomness and unpredictability is still there. Larry Beinhart and Michael Lister had a great discussion about whether darkness = depression. I'm sorry, but I was so fascinated by it that I forgot to write anything down!
Reed asked the panellists whether the truth makes things better or worse. J T Ellison answered that the truth makes things better after it makes them worse. Larry Beinhart and Reed disagreed with this, saying that the truth didn't make things better. Reed used as an example someone having an affair - ie the confession of a spouse who has strayed makes only the cheating spouse feel better.
The discussion then turned to how dark is too dark and whether there is anything the panellists didn't like to write or read about. Duane said kids being hurt or killed, and J T Ellison said hurting animals. Michael Lister felt there wasn't anything too dark, and Reed said that if the book you are writing should go some place really dark, then you should go there.
Some of their favourite dark characters were Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor and Derek Raymond's Factory novels (Duane Swierczynski), Dolarhyde in RED DRAGON (Larry Beinhart), James Lee Burke's Dave Robichaux and Dennis Lehane's GONE BABY GONE (Michael Lister) Megan Abbott's and Daniel Woodrell's characters (Reed - who described them both as 'beautifully, painfully dark').
Reed noted that, as dark as you think a book is, as soon as something happens to you it's much darker. Michael Lister said that we are all going to die and mortality is the reason we explore darkness, everything we care about and love will be gone.
Reed then closed the panel by saying "The end is drawing nigh - like our lives apparently."
An excellent panel, like its subject matter it was full of darkness and light.
Tuesday 20 October 2009
Back In The Land of The Almost Living
Because my brain is still numb, here's a list of books acquired during Bouchercon, and why.
First of all, the non-crime-fiction waiting for me in my hotel room from my lovely friend Nicholas at Dissident Books (based on these, I dread to ask Nicholas what these say about his opinion of me):
I HAVE FUN EVERYWHERE I GO: SAVAGE TALES OF POT, PORN, PUNK ROCK, PRO-WRESTLING, TALKING APES, EVIL BOSSES, DIRTY BLUES, AMERICAN HEROES AND THE MOST NOTORIOUS MAGAZINES IN THE WORLD - Mike Edison
This looks brilliant fun. A quote about it from Nick Tosches says: "This book is beyond blurbs, so let’s just get to the jack. If you have any interest in pot, pornography, punk rock, or professional wrestling, just buy this fucking thing. Much more important than food for the table or the starving children of wherever." A note for my Dad - I have an interest in punk rock. That's all, I promise.
LOVE, SEX, FEAR DEATH: THE INSIDE STORY OF THE PROCESS CHURCH OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT - Timothy Wyllie
"The Process Church of the Final Judgment was the apocalyptic shadow side of the flower-powered '60s and perhaps the most notorious cult of modern times.Scores of black-cloaked devotees swept the streets of New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, Rome, Chicago, Toronto, Boston, New Orleans and other cities selling magazines with titles like Sex, Fear, Love and Death.The Process’ no-holds-barred theology brought on accusations of sinister conspiracies. Personalities like Marianne Faithfull, George Clinton and Mick Jagger participated in Process publications, and Funkadelic reproduced Process material in two of their albums. Love Sex Fear Death — written by original Process Church member Timothy Wyllie — is the first book to provide the astonishing inside story of this fascinating group and the mysterious woman at its center. Included are contributions from six other former members and Genesis Breyer P-Orridge." A note for my Dad- I promise I'm not about to join a cult.
THE AUTHORIZED AND ILLUSTRATED STORY OF THE STOOGES - Robert Matheau
A gorgeous gorgeous book about Iggy Pop and The Stooges SIGNED TO ME BY IGGY POP!!! Need I say more? A note for my Dad - I know you have no idea who Iggy Pop is. Ask Mum.
And now the crime fiction:
THE CORPSE WORE PASTIES - Jonny Porkpie
A Hard Case ARC. Back cover blurb - "Usually, when you call a Burlesque act a 'show stopper', you don't mean it quite so literally. But this time, that's just what happened: the show stopped dead and so did the girl. And as I looked at her nearly naked and completely lifeless body and the bottle of poison in her hand with my fingerprints all over it, I thought to myself: 'Porkpie, you're in for it this time...'"
First line: 'The heel of the stiletto caught on the strap of the black lace bra she had dropped a few moments earlier.'
HONEY IN HIS MOUTH - Lester Dent
A Hard Case book, originally written in 1956 about a small time grifter who's a dead-ringer for a South American dictator.
First line: 'He should have paid the bill.'
LOSERS LIVE LONGER - Russell Attwood
Another Hard Case book (I love them). A down and out East Village PI investigates the death of another PI.
First line:'The downstairs doorbuzzer buzzed. I didn't answer it.'
TOWER - Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman
A parallel narrative about the deadly and destructive friendship of two minor New York wiseguys. I started this one on the plane home and it's sheer genius.
First line: 'Griffin coughed blood into my face when I made to slip the chains under his shoulders.'
HOGDOGGIN' - Anthony Neil Smith
Publishers Weekly says of it "Fans of darkest noir will be most satisfied." Excellent - what more do I need to know? Besides, I love his other books. I'm expecting dark and severely warped.
First Line: 'Steel God said "Fuckin' guilty."'
JACK WAKES UP - Seth Harwood
I'd been meaning to get this for a while and picked it up at the book giveaway on Sunday. A washed-up movie star who takes high-rollers around San Francisco's club scene gets involved in a drug war when he plays tour guide to a group of ex KGB agents.
First Line: 'Jack Palms walks into a diner just south of Japantown, the one where he's supposed to meet Ralph.'
GO WITH ME - Castle Freeman Jr
Bought because the way my friend Bobbie (whose judgment I trust implicitly) described this it made my heart beat faster. It sounds a little like Daniel Woodrell set in New England.
First Line: 'Midsummer: The long days begin in bright, rising mist and never end. Their hours stretch, they stretch. They stretch to hold everything you can shove into them; they'll take whatever you've got. Action, no action, good ideas, bad ideas, talk, love, trouble, every kind of lie - they'll hold them all.' Isn't that gorgeous? You can start a book with the weather.
HARD STOP - Chris Knopf
I bought this one because Knopf was excellent on the panel that I almost walked out of twice. The cover blurb says "Sam Acquillo is getting to be a lot more sociable. People are constantly dropping by, including guys in black outfits with .45 automatics breaking into his cottage in the middle of the night.
First line: 'I didn't like anything about that big, dumb, ugly SUV.'
TKO - Tom Schreck
I got this at the book giveaway for the same reason I bought the Knopf. He was great on the panel but I couldn't find this one in the book room - I think they had all sold out before I got there - obviously I wasn't the only one to be impressed. First in the series about part time boxer, part time counsellor Duffy Dumbrowski.
First Line: '"Just because a guy slits the throats of to high-school cheerleaders, axes the back of the quarterback's head and runs down the class president in his mom's LTD, doesn't make him a bad guy," I said.'
BOULEVARD - Stephen Jay Schwartz
This was another I picked up at the giveaway. I'd never even heard of this book. A debut novel about LAPD Homicide detective Hayden Glass who is investigating a series of vicious murders by a sexual predator. Meanwhile, Glass is hiding the fact that he is a sex addict and cruises Sunset Boulevard for prostitutes.
First line: 'Detective Hayden Glass of the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division drove his old Hollywood beat, crossing Fairfax, heading east on Sunset Boulevard.'
THE FOURTH VICTIM - Tony Spinosa
I need no other reason to buy this other than the fact that Tony Spinosa is the pseudonym of Reed Farrel Coleman but if anything else was needed, this is "a tale of greed, blackmail, corruption, vengeance, racism, fear, and what righteous men do in the face of a world gone wrong."
First line: 'At his best, Rusty Monaco was a miserable, self-absorbed prick and tonight he was paying even less attention than usual to the world outside his head.'
THE LAST STRIPTEASE - Michael Wiley
Another one bought because the author impressed me when he was on a panel. A debut about a Chicago private eye who is investigating the death of a young Vietnamese American girl who had a taste for drink, drugs and stripping in front of a camera.
First line: 'North Dearborn, a couple blocks off the Gold Coast high-rises, is a high-priced neighbourhood, full of forty-year-old guys fresh out of divorces from suburban wives.'
MANIFESTO FOR THE DEAD - Dominic Stansberry
A fictional memoir of Jim Thompson. Desribed as "top notch noir blended with biography, fiction, suspense and satire." Nice
First line: 'This was the end. The final trap. The last flimflam.'
42 DAYS FOR MURDER - Roger Torrey
Originally published in 1938.San Francisco detective Shean Connell is hired to clear up a divorce case in Reno and finds himself in the middle of a frame-up.
First line: 'Lester came in my office with the sun hitting his glasses and making them shine like headlights.'
HALO IN BRASS - Howard Browne
Originally published in 1949. Paul Pine is hired to find a missing girl.
First line: 'Almost the first thing Mrs Fremont said after I was seated on the edge of her lounge chair was that Laura had always been a good girl.'
THE BLIND PIG - Jon A Jackson
The blurb says "Guns. Everyone has one. The good guys. The bad guys. The guys in between. Mulheisen can't see the fascination, but he's made a career of cleaning up the messes. Now he's on a case that began when a cop shot a prowler, two hit men shot a jukebox, and a "delicious kumquat" of a woman used her own brand of ammo on Mulheisen in the after-hours world of blind pigs and jazz joints." How could I resist?
First line: 'Patrolman Jimmy Marshall sat at the wheel of the squad car parked in a dark alley off Kercheval Avenue.'
THE HITCHHIKE KILLER - Paul Ross
An old paperback from 1972. The front cover says it's "Chopper Cop #2" and the back cover says "Chris and Lisa were a pair of swinging stewardesses who were hooked on competing with each other. I try harder was the name of their game - in the air, on the ground, and in the sack. Terry Bunker had to choose one of them to help catch a motorcycle killer with a taste for young and pretty females."
First line: 'The pretty teen-aged girl with the long reddish-brown hair stood at the edge of the freeway, her arm out, her fist balled and her thumb extended.'
THE BIG PAYOFF - Robert Novak
The blurb says "Big Joe Blaze is maybe the best and worst cop in New York. He never fails to get results - or hell from his superiors."
First line: 'He was big. He was tough. He was important.'
THE TURQUOISE SPIKE - Frank Archer
An old Gold Medal book from 1967. How could I resist a book with a turquoise high-heeled shoe on the cover? "A heel was the weapon - and a heel the victim."
First line: 'Police statisticians will tell you that murders are seldom committed late in the afternoon.'
PASSPORT TO TERROR - Max Daniels
From 1960. "From sinister side-streets and dangerous alleyways, from sordid little 'night-clubs' and doubtfully named 'hotels,' they come - dangerous and desperate people enmeshed in the intrigues of vicious international crime.
First line: 'Later, whenever I thought back over the whole affair, I would begin by remembering the trouble with Ferguson at the Jickey.'
IDENTITY CRISIS - Debbi Mack
Picked up in the book giveaway "A domestic abuse case turns deadly, when the alleged abuser is killed and Sam McRae's client disappears."
First line: 'I've never been a morning person, and if it's one thing I don't need before my first cup of coffee, it's a visit from the cops.'
Anyone have any comments on these? Any thoughts on which one I should read after I finish TOWER?
First of all, the non-crime-fiction waiting for me in my hotel room from my lovely friend Nicholas at Dissident Books (based on these, I dread to ask Nicholas what these say about his opinion of me):
I HAVE FUN EVERYWHERE I GO: SAVAGE TALES OF POT, PORN, PUNK ROCK, PRO-WRESTLING, TALKING APES, EVIL BOSSES, DIRTY BLUES, AMERICAN HEROES AND THE MOST NOTORIOUS MAGAZINES IN THE WORLD - Mike Edison
This looks brilliant fun. A quote about it from Nick Tosches says: "This book is beyond blurbs, so let’s just get to the jack. If you have any interest in pot, pornography, punk rock, or professional wrestling, just buy this fucking thing. Much more important than food for the table or the starving children of wherever." A note for my Dad - I have an interest in punk rock. That's all, I promise.
LOVE, SEX, FEAR DEATH: THE INSIDE STORY OF THE PROCESS CHURCH OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT - Timothy Wyllie
"The Process Church of the Final Judgment was the apocalyptic shadow side of the flower-powered '60s and perhaps the most notorious cult of modern times.Scores of black-cloaked devotees swept the streets of New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, Rome, Chicago, Toronto, Boston, New Orleans and other cities selling magazines with titles like Sex, Fear, Love and Death.The Process’ no-holds-barred theology brought on accusations of sinister conspiracies. Personalities like Marianne Faithfull, George Clinton and Mick Jagger participated in Process publications, and Funkadelic reproduced Process material in two of their albums. Love Sex Fear Death — written by original Process Church member Timothy Wyllie — is the first book to provide the astonishing inside story of this fascinating group and the mysterious woman at its center. Included are contributions from six other former members and Genesis Breyer P-Orridge." A note for my Dad- I promise I'm not about to join a cult.
THE AUTHORIZED AND ILLUSTRATED STORY OF THE STOOGES - Robert Matheau
A gorgeous gorgeous book about Iggy Pop and The Stooges SIGNED TO ME BY IGGY POP!!! Need I say more? A note for my Dad - I know you have no idea who Iggy Pop is. Ask Mum.
And now the crime fiction:
THE CORPSE WORE PASTIES - Jonny Porkpie
A Hard Case ARC. Back cover blurb - "Usually, when you call a Burlesque act a 'show stopper', you don't mean it quite so literally. But this time, that's just what happened: the show stopped dead and so did the girl. And as I looked at her nearly naked and completely lifeless body and the bottle of poison in her hand with my fingerprints all over it, I thought to myself: 'Porkpie, you're in for it this time...'"
First line: 'The heel of the stiletto caught on the strap of the black lace bra she had dropped a few moments earlier.'
HONEY IN HIS MOUTH - Lester Dent
A Hard Case book, originally written in 1956 about a small time grifter who's a dead-ringer for a South American dictator.
First line: 'He should have paid the bill.'
LOSERS LIVE LONGER - Russell Attwood
Another Hard Case book (I love them). A down and out East Village PI investigates the death of another PI.
First line:'The downstairs doorbuzzer buzzed. I didn't answer it.'
TOWER - Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman
A parallel narrative about the deadly and destructive friendship of two minor New York wiseguys. I started this one on the plane home and it's sheer genius.
First line: 'Griffin coughed blood into my face when I made to slip the chains under his shoulders.'
HOGDOGGIN' - Anthony Neil Smith
Publishers Weekly says of it "Fans of darkest noir will be most satisfied." Excellent - what more do I need to know? Besides, I love his other books. I'm expecting dark and severely warped.
First Line: 'Steel God said "Fuckin' guilty."'
JACK WAKES UP - Seth Harwood
I'd been meaning to get this for a while and picked it up at the book giveaway on Sunday. A washed-up movie star who takes high-rollers around San Francisco's club scene gets involved in a drug war when he plays tour guide to a group of ex KGB agents.
First Line: 'Jack Palms walks into a diner just south of Japantown, the one where he's supposed to meet Ralph.'
GO WITH ME - Castle Freeman Jr
Bought because the way my friend Bobbie (whose judgment I trust implicitly) described this it made my heart beat faster. It sounds a little like Daniel Woodrell set in New England.
First Line: 'Midsummer: The long days begin in bright, rising mist and never end. Their hours stretch, they stretch. They stretch to hold everything you can shove into them; they'll take whatever you've got. Action, no action, good ideas, bad ideas, talk, love, trouble, every kind of lie - they'll hold them all.' Isn't that gorgeous? You can start a book with the weather.
HARD STOP - Chris Knopf
I bought this one because Knopf was excellent on the panel that I almost walked out of twice. The cover blurb says "Sam Acquillo is getting to be a lot more sociable. People are constantly dropping by, including guys in black outfits with .45 automatics breaking into his cottage in the middle of the night.
First line: 'I didn't like anything about that big, dumb, ugly SUV.'
TKO - Tom Schreck
I got this at the book giveaway for the same reason I bought the Knopf. He was great on the panel but I couldn't find this one in the book room - I think they had all sold out before I got there - obviously I wasn't the only one to be impressed. First in the series about part time boxer, part time counsellor Duffy Dumbrowski.
First Line: '"Just because a guy slits the throats of to high-school cheerleaders, axes the back of the quarterback's head and runs down the class president in his mom's LTD, doesn't make him a bad guy," I said.'
BOULEVARD - Stephen Jay Schwartz
This was another I picked up at the giveaway. I'd never even heard of this book. A debut novel about LAPD Homicide detective Hayden Glass who is investigating a series of vicious murders by a sexual predator. Meanwhile, Glass is hiding the fact that he is a sex addict and cruises Sunset Boulevard for prostitutes.
First line: 'Detective Hayden Glass of the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division drove his old Hollywood beat, crossing Fairfax, heading east on Sunset Boulevard.'
THE FOURTH VICTIM - Tony Spinosa
I need no other reason to buy this other than the fact that Tony Spinosa is the pseudonym of Reed Farrel Coleman but if anything else was needed, this is "a tale of greed, blackmail, corruption, vengeance, racism, fear, and what righteous men do in the face of a world gone wrong."
First line: 'At his best, Rusty Monaco was a miserable, self-absorbed prick and tonight he was paying even less attention than usual to the world outside his head.'
THE LAST STRIPTEASE - Michael Wiley
Another one bought because the author impressed me when he was on a panel. A debut about a Chicago private eye who is investigating the death of a young Vietnamese American girl who had a taste for drink, drugs and stripping in front of a camera.
First line: 'North Dearborn, a couple blocks off the Gold Coast high-rises, is a high-priced neighbourhood, full of forty-year-old guys fresh out of divorces from suburban wives.'
MANIFESTO FOR THE DEAD - Dominic Stansberry
A fictional memoir of Jim Thompson. Desribed as "top notch noir blended with biography, fiction, suspense and satire." Nice
First line: 'This was the end. The final trap. The last flimflam.'
42 DAYS FOR MURDER - Roger Torrey
Originally published in 1938.San Francisco detective Shean Connell is hired to clear up a divorce case in Reno and finds himself in the middle of a frame-up.
First line: 'Lester came in my office with the sun hitting his glasses and making them shine like headlights.'
HALO IN BRASS - Howard Browne
Originally published in 1949. Paul Pine is hired to find a missing girl.
First line: 'Almost the first thing Mrs Fremont said after I was seated on the edge of her lounge chair was that Laura had always been a good girl.'
THE BLIND PIG - Jon A Jackson
The blurb says "Guns. Everyone has one. The good guys. The bad guys. The guys in between. Mulheisen can't see the fascination, but he's made a career of cleaning up the messes. Now he's on a case that began when a cop shot a prowler, two hit men shot a jukebox, and a "delicious kumquat" of a woman used her own brand of ammo on Mulheisen in the after-hours world of blind pigs and jazz joints." How could I resist?
First line: 'Patrolman Jimmy Marshall sat at the wheel of the squad car parked in a dark alley off Kercheval Avenue.'
THE HITCHHIKE KILLER - Paul Ross
An old paperback from 1972. The front cover says it's "Chopper Cop #2" and the back cover says "Chris and Lisa were a pair of swinging stewardesses who were hooked on competing with each other. I try harder was the name of their game - in the air, on the ground, and in the sack. Terry Bunker had to choose one of them to help catch a motorcycle killer with a taste for young and pretty females."
First line: 'The pretty teen-aged girl with the long reddish-brown hair stood at the edge of the freeway, her arm out, her fist balled and her thumb extended.'
THE BIG PAYOFF - Robert Novak
The blurb says "Big Joe Blaze is maybe the best and worst cop in New York. He never fails to get results - or hell from his superiors."
First line: 'He was big. He was tough. He was important.'
THE TURQUOISE SPIKE - Frank Archer
An old Gold Medal book from 1967. How could I resist a book with a turquoise high-heeled shoe on the cover? "A heel was the weapon - and a heel the victim."
First line: 'Police statisticians will tell you that murders are seldom committed late in the afternoon.'
PASSPORT TO TERROR - Max Daniels
From 1960. "From sinister side-streets and dangerous alleyways, from sordid little 'night-clubs' and doubtfully named 'hotels,' they come - dangerous and desperate people enmeshed in the intrigues of vicious international crime.
First line: 'Later, whenever I thought back over the whole affair, I would begin by remembering the trouble with Ferguson at the Jickey.'
IDENTITY CRISIS - Debbi Mack
Picked up in the book giveaway "A domestic abuse case turns deadly, when the alleged abuser is killed and Sam McRae's client disappears."
First line: 'I've never been a morning person, and if it's one thing I don't need before my first cup of coffee, it's a visit from the cops.'
Anyone have any comments on these? Any thoughts on which one I should read after I finish TOWER?
Saturday 17 October 2009
Bouchercon - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
I have been so bad. I had great intentions of posting reams of stuff about panels every day, and instead, I have been having too good a time. So, here's a quick summary, plus one panel write up. More of those to follow...at some point.
The Good: Being at the Shamus awards while my friend Reed Farrel Coleman won the Shamus award for the amazing EMPTY EVER AFTER.
The Good: Getting back to my room yesterday to discover that the lovely Nicholas Towasser of Dissident Books (publishers of the wonderful DON'T CALL ME A CROOK by Bob Moore) had sent me a gift - a biography of The Stooges - signed "Hey Donna - Iggy Pop". Iggy Pop signed a book to ME! Do I, or do I not, have the loveliest friends?
The Bad - I lost at poker last night. Although, on The Good side, it was a very small loss and I had great fun doing it. I shall see if I can do better tonight.
The Ugly - The blisters on my feet after Christa Faust, Martyn Waites and I walked 40 blocks - including about 10 blocks where we saw no-one but cop cars (running, but empty, strangely enough), under a scary freeway underpass where we could probably have scored every drug known to man. And I had to do it in these shoes.
On The Good side of that one - we stopped off for tapas and margaritas on the way, we ended up at a great bar for the Black Mask party, and we got to ride home in a 1938 Cadillac.
As you can see, there's always a good for every bad. And far outweighing any minor badness, is the opportunity to spend time with some of the nicest people in the world, hugging old friends and meeting new ones.
And now, a panel report.
SUDDENLY I'M THIRSTY
The panellists were Con Lehane (moderator), Chris Knopf, J A Konrath, Jason Pinter and Tom Schreck. Keeping to the theme of good and bad, four of the panellists were excellent. One was so awful I nearly walked out twice (speaking to people after the panel, it appeared I wasn't the only one.)
The first question to the panellists was what effect did drink or sobriety have on their protagonists and how it affected their books. Joe Konrath was the first to answer and the first words out of his mouth were "I'm not going to answer any of that." And then he launched into what was, effectively, a prepared stand up routine about his hotel and a jacuzzi. It wasn't funny, but, more to the point, I thought it was very rude and disrespectful to the moderator and the other panellists. It made me mad. However, people in the audience were laughing so I guess some people found it funny (although the biggest laugh came for Con Lehane when he said something to try and shut Konrath up).
Chris Knopf (whose books I definitely want to read, based on the panel, so I bought one. His answer to this question was really interesting However, I can't tell you what it was, because all I wrote down was "interesting response". Silly cow.
Tom Schreck said that his character Duffy Dumbrowski loves to drink. By day he's a drug and alcohol counsellor, by night, he drinks. Schreck said that he did not want a down and out cliched drunk as a protag, he wanted a happy drunk.
Jason Pinter wanted to make his character a bit contrary and not the divorced, older PI with baggage so he made him young. When Henry drinks, there is a reason for it and the lower he gets the more he drinks.
The panel were then asked how they get scenes across where their protagonist is getting more and more drunk and Chris Knopf said that he sends him to bed. Jason Pinter makes sure his character stays away from electronic equipment.
Tom Schreck says that when he is drunk he sometimes has very profound thoughts - however, when he tries to write when he's been drinking, when he sobers up he realises it's "total shit".
Con Lehane referenced a quote from Ernest Hemingway that you should make yourself a promise that you will always do what you say you will do while drunk because that keeps you a bit sober. One of the panellists quipped that he obviously hadn't lived by his own rule.
The panellists were then asked about the use of humour and all the panellists felt that there was room for some humour in with the drunkenness. Tom Schreck uses a neighbourhood bar in his books and commented that the dialogue in his books is sometimes verbatim from the conversation in the bar he himself frequents on a Friday night. Schreck had been an addictions counsellor for 25 years and he said that being drunk all the time is a tragedy, but that doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with occasionally getting a bit merry.
The next question was a really interesting one - whether it seemed to be more acceptable for a male character to get drunk rather than a female. I was looking forward to the answer but unfortunately, the panel was hijacked again. Joe Konrath said he was more interested in sex, and after telling some story about writing sex scenes, started to read the four page scene he was talking about. Luckily, Tom Schreck stopped him.
Chris Knopf did say that when he was writing his second series - with a female protagonist - he decided he didn't want to make her a hardened drinker (and be typecast as that sort of writer) so he made her take drugs instead.
The panellists were asked if they ever felt they were stepping outside any boundaries. Joe Konrath said that morals are dictated by society at any given time. Jason Pinter said that he had got letters from reader who were quite happy to read about all the murder and mayhem but that he would get told off for having characters who drank, smoked, or hurt animals.
Con Lehane talked about a big debate on the mystery discussion group DorothyL where it was clear that the idea of glorifying drinking really bothers people. He noted that there is a tradition going back to Chandler and Hammett. At that time it wasn't seen as a bad thing (the panellists mentioned Nick and Nora Charles, who always had a cocktail in their hands) and Tom Schreck said that alcoholism was declared and official disease by the American Medical Association in 1957, and by the World Health Organisation in 1958. Chris Knopf said that he does not endorse drinking as being good, and expects his readers to see the moral underpinning. Schreck is of the opinion that it's a great vehicle to tap into the emotions of your protagonist and noted that a lot of men in particular have emotions that they never get to because they use alcohol.
An excellent panel. Apart from the obvious.
The Good: Being at the Shamus awards while my friend Reed Farrel Coleman won the Shamus award for the amazing EMPTY EVER AFTER.The Good: Getting back to my room yesterday to discover that the lovely Nicholas Towasser of Dissident Books (publishers of the wonderful DON'T CALL ME A CROOK by Bob Moore) had sent me a gift - a biography of The Stooges - signed "Hey Donna - Iggy Pop". Iggy Pop signed a book to ME! Do I, or do I not, have the loveliest friends?
The Bad - I lost at poker last night. Although, on The Good side, it was a very small loss and I had great fun doing it. I shall see if I can do better tonight.
The Ugly - The blisters on my feet after Christa Faust, Martyn Waites and I walked 40 blocks - including about 10 blocks where we saw no-one but cop cars (running, but empty, strangely enough), under a scary freeway underpass where we could probably have scored every drug known to man. And I had to do it in these shoes.On The Good side of that one - we stopped off for tapas and margaritas on the way, we ended up at a great bar for the Black Mask party, and we got to ride home in a 1938 Cadillac.
As you can see, there's always a good for every bad. And far outweighing any minor badness, is the opportunity to spend time with some of the nicest people in the world, hugging old friends and meeting new ones.
And now, a panel report.
SUDDENLY I'M THIRSTY
The panellists were Con Lehane (moderator), Chris Knopf, J A Konrath, Jason Pinter and Tom Schreck. Keeping to the theme of good and bad, four of the panellists were excellent. One was so awful I nearly walked out twice (speaking to people after the panel, it appeared I wasn't the only one.)
The first question to the panellists was what effect did drink or sobriety have on their protagonists and how it affected their books. Joe Konrath was the first to answer and the first words out of his mouth were "I'm not going to answer any of that." And then he launched into what was, effectively, a prepared stand up routine about his hotel and a jacuzzi. It wasn't funny, but, more to the point, I thought it was very rude and disrespectful to the moderator and the other panellists. It made me mad. However, people in the audience were laughing so I guess some people found it funny (although the biggest laugh came for Con Lehane when he said something to try and shut Konrath up).
Chris Knopf (whose books I definitely want to read, based on the panel, so I bought one. His answer to this question was really interesting However, I can't tell you what it was, because all I wrote down was "interesting response". Silly cow.
Tom Schreck said that his character Duffy Dumbrowski loves to drink. By day he's a drug and alcohol counsellor, by night, he drinks. Schreck said that he did not want a down and out cliched drunk as a protag, he wanted a happy drunk.
Jason Pinter wanted to make his character a bit contrary and not the divorced, older PI with baggage so he made him young. When Henry drinks, there is a reason for it and the lower he gets the more he drinks.
The panel were then asked how they get scenes across where their protagonist is getting more and more drunk and Chris Knopf said that he sends him to bed. Jason Pinter makes sure his character stays away from electronic equipment.
Tom Schreck says that when he is drunk he sometimes has very profound thoughts - however, when he tries to write when he's been drinking, when he sobers up he realises it's "total shit".
Con Lehane referenced a quote from Ernest Hemingway that you should make yourself a promise that you will always do what you say you will do while drunk because that keeps you a bit sober. One of the panellists quipped that he obviously hadn't lived by his own rule.
The panellists were then asked about the use of humour and all the panellists felt that there was room for some humour in with the drunkenness. Tom Schreck uses a neighbourhood bar in his books and commented that the dialogue in his books is sometimes verbatim from the conversation in the bar he himself frequents on a Friday night. Schreck had been an addictions counsellor for 25 years and he said that being drunk all the time is a tragedy, but that doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with occasionally getting a bit merry.
The next question was a really interesting one - whether it seemed to be more acceptable for a male character to get drunk rather than a female. I was looking forward to the answer but unfortunately, the panel was hijacked again. Joe Konrath said he was more interested in sex, and after telling some story about writing sex scenes, started to read the four page scene he was talking about. Luckily, Tom Schreck stopped him.
Chris Knopf did say that when he was writing his second series - with a female protagonist - he decided he didn't want to make her a hardened drinker (and be typecast as that sort of writer) so he made her take drugs instead.
The panellists were asked if they ever felt they were stepping outside any boundaries. Joe Konrath said that morals are dictated by society at any given time. Jason Pinter said that he had got letters from reader who were quite happy to read about all the murder and mayhem but that he would get told off for having characters who drank, smoked, or hurt animals.
Con Lehane talked about a big debate on the mystery discussion group DorothyL where it was clear that the idea of glorifying drinking really bothers people. He noted that there is a tradition going back to Chandler and Hammett. At that time it wasn't seen as a bad thing (the panellists mentioned Nick and Nora Charles, who always had a cocktail in their hands) and Tom Schreck said that alcoholism was declared and official disease by the American Medical Association in 1957, and by the World Health Organisation in 1958. Chris Knopf said that he does not endorse drinking as being good, and expects his readers to see the moral underpinning. Schreck is of the opinion that it's a great vehicle to tap into the emotions of your protagonist and noted that a lot of men in particular have emotions that they never get to because they use alcohol.
An excellent panel. Apart from the obvious.
Thursday 15 October 2009
Just To Prove I'm Still Alive...
Here in Indianapolis and a fuller post will follow, but I know my Mum will be fretting so this is just a quickie.I got to my hotel yesterday to discover that it was in the middle of a shopping mall - the only thing which could have been better is if it was in the middle of a shoe store. So, since there will be a lack of proper post until later, here are some facts and figures...
Panels Attended - 2
Pairs of shoes putchased - 9
Books purchased - 17Friends hugged - loads, and yet not enough. Here's the only picture I have so far - this is Gary and the Teds (not Big Ted and Little Ted, for those who remember playschool). More pictures in a later post - I will try and remember my camera next time.
Wednesday 23 September 2009
A Cornucopia of Conventions
Early news from the 2010 Bouchercon in San Francisco - Val McDermid and Denise Mina in conversation.
And for those who can't wait until October 2010, how about Bouchercon in Indianapolis in a couple of weeks time? Anyone who reads this who is going, please come up and say hi - as long as you don't mind a hug in return. A quick look down the attendee list does not throw up any Scottish authors...that must be wrong, surely? Anyway, I am hoping to blog from Indianapolis at some point, if not several points, after a few days spent visiting my lovely friend Bobbie in Illinois.
Irvine Welsh on Henley Literary Festival, sequels and prequels.
Sherlock Holmes features heavily in the Havant Literary Festival. (Is there any town in Britain that doesn't have its own literary festival these days? How brilliant that there is so much focus on books. And, speaking of Sherlock Holmes, I'm sure I don't have any readers from New Zealand, but just in case, here's a competition to win THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES.
More on the Alexander McCall Smith auction, complete with diamonds.
Listen to Iain Banks TRANSITION as a free podcast.
And finally, a reminder about the delightful Russel McLean's book launch in Dundee next week.
And for those who can't wait until October 2010, how about Bouchercon in Indianapolis in a couple of weeks time? Anyone who reads this who is going, please come up and say hi - as long as you don't mind a hug in return. A quick look down the attendee list does not throw up any Scottish authors...that must be wrong, surely? Anyway, I am hoping to blog from Indianapolis at some point, if not several points, after a few days spent visiting my lovely friend Bobbie in Illinois.
Irvine Welsh on Henley Literary Festival, sequels and prequels.
Sherlock Holmes features heavily in the Havant Literary Festival. (Is there any town in Britain that doesn't have its own literary festival these days? How brilliant that there is so much focus on books. And, speaking of Sherlock Holmes, I'm sure I don't have any readers from New Zealand, but just in case, here's a competition to win THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES.
More on the Alexander McCall Smith auction, complete with diamonds.
Listen to Iain Banks TRANSITION as a free podcast.
And finally, a reminder about the delightful Russel McLean's book launch in Dundee next week.
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