Thursday, 7 October 2010

Dancing With Each Other: LIBBY CUDMORE and MATTHEW QUINN MARTIN




Today, things are a llittle different. I'm always happy for varitey, so thanks to Libby and Matthew.

They start with bios, so I'll leave it up to them to introduce themselves. Take a look at their cv and you'll be impressed, most def.

These guys dance with each other. They take it in turns to lead, but are eaqually strong either way. I'd like to thank them for being here.

Libby Cudmore’s stories and essays have appeared in The MacGuffin, The Yalobusha Review, The Chaffey Review, The Southern Women’s Review, Sunsets and Silencers, Red Fez, Inertia, Xenith, Pop Matters, Pulp Pusher and the anthology Relationships and Other Stuff. She is a frequent contributor to Shaking Like a Mountain, Battered Suitcase, Celebrities in Disgrace, Hardboiled, a Twist of Noir and Thrillers, Killers ‘n’ Chillers, where her story “Unplanned” won a Bullet award in 2009 and was nominated for the 2010 Derringer award in flash fiction. Her work will also be featured in upcoming issues of Crime Factory, Connotation Press, Needle, The Midnight Diner (where she also serves as an editor) and the anthologies We’ll Always Have Chicago and Quantum Genre on the Planet of the Arts (with Matthew Quinn Martin).

Matthew Quinn Martin is a New York based writer. His original
screenplay Slingshot was made into a feature film starring Juliana
Margulies, David Arquette, Thora Birch, Balthazar Getty and Joely
Fisher. Slingshot had its premiere at the TriBeCa Film Festival, has
been featured on Access Hollywood, and is currently on DVD,
distributed by the Weinstein Co.

Matthew's prose fiction has been published (or is forthcoming) in
Transition Magazine, The Crossing Chaos Anthology: Quantum Genre on
the Planet of Arts, and Big Pulp (co-written with Libby Cudmore), The
Beat to A Pulp Anthology: Round One, Fallen: An Anthology of Demonic
Horror, JMWW, Death Rattle Magazine, Thuglit, MFA/MFYou Literary
Journal, A Twist of Noir, Eastern Standard Crime, The Oddville Press,
Aphelion, The Flash Fiction Offensive and The Midnight Diner (where he
is also an editor).

His screenplay A Very Good Year, featuring Dan Lauria (The Wonder
Years) and Gaius Charles (Friday Night Lights) was presented at
FilmFest New Haven. Other works of his have been produced by
NYCollective and The New Haven Theatre Co. In addition he has acted as
a consultant or ghostwriter on numerous projects for film and
television.

He can also be seen flitting around the margins of your TV set...most
notably in a recurring co-starring role on the first season of the JJ
Abrams created Fringe.

DANCING WITH EACH OTHER

Libby Cudmore, Interviewed by Matthew Quinn Martin

How do you organize your bookshelf?


By type. I have a large crime/mystery section, which is divided into NonFiction/Craft/Anthologies, then Chandler, Hammett, then my autographed books from people like Mike Kimball, Sophie Hannah and Vinny O’Neil, then a couple of vintage Damian Runyon collections that I can’t touch out of fear they’ll crumble in my hands. I’ve got a shelf of journals and more craft books and a shelf of non-crime autographed books by authors like Eric Bogosian, William Kennedy and my dad.

If you could wipe one book from the space-time continuum what would it be?

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. I hate that book and I wish I’d never been forced to read it. Coincidentally, it was also the 2nd favorite book (after The Long Goodbye) of a man who broke my heart, which makes me hate it even more.

What is the first book you remember falling in love with?

The Tainted Sword by DJ Heinrich. It was a Dungeons and Dragons novel that my friend Ann lent me in 5th grade. I thought Jo, the female protagonist, was the coolest character ever. She had red hair and wanted to be a knight even though she was a girl and girls couldn’t be knights and she went on adventures. She was my first feminist icon. There was also a vague sex scene at the end—to a ten year old, “he brushed aside a lock of hair that had come unbound during their passion” is pretty damn erotic.

If you could replace the word "book" with one other word to cover the
above three questions, what would it be? (but don't answer those
questions...yes, that's a rule)


Fictional Character
Ugly Famous Person
City/Town

Who would win in a fight, Walton Goggins or Han Solo?

Han Solo. I’m pretty sure Walton Goggins is a lover, not a fighter.

If they made a Libby Cudmore action figure...what accessories would it come with? and which ones would have to be purchased separately?

It would have to be a fashion doll so that you could change her clothes, but she’d come with 14 eyelet rose-print Doc Martens, a small plush triceratops, a tee-shirt with a bunny on it and a pleated black skirt. Her clothes would all be sold separately and would range from cut-up tee-shirts and skinny black jeans to vintage style swing dresses and pink go-go boots.

What is your favorite Chromeo song? (and yes you have to pick just one)

I haven’t heard Chromeo—I usually get my new music via mix CD.

What's the line-up of the ultimate rock band?

Danny Elfman—male vocals
Cyndi Lauper—female vocals
Tom Waits—percussion
Johnny Marr—guitar
Tina Weymouth—Bass

Do you know the way to San Jose?

What, do I look like Chewbacca?

Given a simple closed curve in the plane, can we always find four
points on this curve that are the vertices of a square?


Maths is hard.


Matthew Quinn Martin Interviewed by Libby Cudmore

1) What book do you turn to in order to combat writer's block?

For a general problem I'll either reach for the old standbys The Anatomy of Story by John Truby or Vogler's The Writer's Journey...if I'm stuck and working in a particular style then I'll reach for something similar to what I'm trying to write (currently that's stuff by Michael Crichton an Preston/Child)


2) What's the worst story you've ever read? (it doesn't have to be a published one)

I've always had a particular loathing for Kate Chopin's The
Awakening...and I realize this will preclude me from ever getting a
blurb from her but Anne Tyler's Earthly Possessions bothers me if only
because it promotes the type of static writing that comes out of a lot
of the MFA programs...and speaking of MFA programs (and the workshop
process) we got a lot of unreadable stuff there, but one excerpt I got
in workshop (title and author's name withheld to protect us all) was
so riddled with errors in grammar, spelling, syntax, facts and logic
that giving it on-the-page line edits would have taken a drawer full
of red pens. I elected to go with a structure only set of notes, but
the writer demanded (of the powers that be) that I act as a
copy-editor for it. The who episode left such a bad taste in my mouth
that it qualifes not only as the worst story, by as the worst
experiece I've had with a story. It was pure torture, which is ironic
because the story itself was about a girl who was half-angel and
half-fallen ange andl whose job description is basically to torture
whoever she wants for no apparent reason...all in the name of "true
justice." (watch, it's probably been optioned by Uwe Boll's company
with Kristanna Loken attached)

3) Where is your ideal place to write?

This is a tough one. I do like to get out of the apartment. I do a fair amount of writing in the American Natural History Museum (where I am a member) and Central Park as well. I also write on set quite a bit when I'm doing background work (my day job)...ideally, though, I'd like to have a quiet yurt set back far enough where no one will bother me...and it'll have a coffee maker and some magical internet connection that lets me get research done, but not go on Cracked.Com (too much)



4) Do you know the muffin, man?

At this time I can neither confirm, nor deny, any association with the muffin man. I am aware that he at one time, at least, resided at Drury lane. But as to his current whereabouts or activities, I can give no answer. However, I do have it on good authority that you cal still see his headless body stalking through the night in the muzzle flash or a Thompson gun (but that might have been somebody else now that I think about it)

5) If a film adaptation of one of your stories won an Oscar, in which catagory would it be?

Since they don't give Oscars for best Craft Services or Best Performance by an Actor in a Background roll...I'm going to go with one of the Best Supporting ones. Out of the big one's those always seem to be the ones that go to the folks who actually deserve it (Cuba Gooding Jr. notwithstanding)...Editing would also be nice.

6) There's a fire on your bookshelf! What three books do you save before your wife dumps water on everything?

That depends on the bookcase...so I'm going to go with the one to my left...and now that I look at it I don't think there's anything on it that I'd be willing to risk burning my fingers to save. I'll just go back on amazon...oh wait...change my mind here...there is a vintage copy of Day Keene's Strange Witness as well as an Ace Double of Keene's The Dangling Carrot backed with Norman Rosenthal's Silenced Witness (seems to be a real witness theme here) and lastly E.M. Nathanson's The Dirty Dozen (because for some insane reason that book's been out of print forever)

7) What do you intend to do with your stacks of NYT Best-seller cash when the Treasury Hummer delivers it to your door in bags of unmarked bills?

I have a heart attack...then I get better and buy everybody I know a moxie. Then I start building a teardrop trailer for the book tour.


http://recordofthemonth.blogspot.com/



http://www.matthewquinnmartin.com/



Wednesday, 6 October 2010

Dancing With Myself: REED FARREL COLEMAN interviews REED FARREL COLEMAN


For those who've been regulars to the series, you'll know that Emma Donoghue posted an amazing interview with herself a couple of weeks ago.

As a build up to the Man Booker prize announcement, she'll be reading at a couple of events.

The first is with the other shortlisted authors at the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday 10th
http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/literature-spoken-word/tickets/2010-man-booker-prize-readings-54415

and then she's on her own at The Roundhouse on Monday 11th:
http://roundhouse.org.uk/whats-on/productions/emma-donoghue

I lived in London for many years and miss the city often, especially at times like this. If I had to choose an event from the two, I'd plump for the Roundhouse - it's a place of legend and is a quite beautiful building. The Royal Festival Hall isn't bad either, come to think of it.

It's almost impossible for me to be there, but I'd encourage anyone with free time who's in the vicinity to go to one or other.

Today's post is a great follow up to SJ Rozan yesterday.

They both have books hot of the presses and they're even appearing in a few events together (see yesterday's post for further information).

There are a few differences, too. Read on to find out.

I'm thrilled to have him here.

Here's the man himself, Reed Farrel Coleman...

Reed Farrel Coleman Asks Reed Farrel Coleman Ten Questions He Wishes He’d Been Asked


1. Everyone asks who you read and who influenced you, but who continues to influence you?


I think everything I read influences me. I hope I never stop growing or get to a point where I feel I’m beyond improving. There are some people I read and am enamored of their work, but whose styles are so different than mine that I don’t think I’m capable of incorporating what their work offers into my own. Specifically I’m thinking of Daniel Woodrell and Megan Abbott. In some ways that’s a relief because I can simply enjoy their work and get lost in it without any pressure. On the other hand, when I read Don Winslow, Philip Kerr, Ken Bruen, and Peter Spiegelman, I am studying as well as reading. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with Don Winslow’s narrative style. I don’t know what it will do for my prose, but it’s had a profound effect on my poetry.

2. Innocent Monster is the title of your latest novel in the Moe Prager series. Where did that title come from?


To paraphrase WH Auden, if you love playing with words, you have a chance to be a good writer. I love playing with words, juxtaposing them, creating oxymorons, puns, etc. The phrase Innocent Monster just popped into my head one day. I know it will strike some people like the phrases jumbo shrimp or elevated subway, but it’s deeper than that. I toyed with the notion of what those two words could mean together and from there came the idea for the book itself. Try explaining that the next time someone asks you where you get your ideas from.

3. Innocent Monster is book 6 in the series. What keeps it fresh for you?

My protagonist, Moe Prager, keeps it fresh for me. Moe ages as the series progresses, therefore I have to change as Moe’s life changes. Innocent Monster was a hoot because Moe is in his early 60s and has to deal with the vagaries of aging. He now lives in a post-9/11 world and that’s been an adjustment for him the way it’s been an adjustment for everyone.


4. Does Moe have a future?


I am currently writing Moe 7, Hurt Machine, and in it Moe is faced with the most serious issues he’s ever had to deal with. Writing it has been great. I’ve been at it about a month and have over solid 60 pages done. I don’t have a contract for it yet, but I’m confident that the reaction to Innocent Monster will take care of that. What’s great about the series for me is that some of the books appear complete in my head while others develop in their own ways. Walking The Perfect Square and The James Deans popped into my head of a piece. All I had to do was write them. Redemption Street came to me as part theme and a way to deal with an incident that occurred during my years in high school. Soul Patch came out of my own personal darkness. Empty Ever After was unique in that it was the book that involved the most calculation. To keep the series fresh, I had to move it away from where the previous books had gone and if it was the last in the series, I had to give fans a book that wouldn’t leave them feeling cheated. Innocent Monster was a product of its title and Hurt Machine totally sprang from me asking a what if question of myself. I just sat down and began writing. Moe will have a future as long as I enjoy writing him, fans enjoy reading him, and someone pays me.

5. What’s with the poetry?

Poetry was the first kind of writing I was serious about. I grew up in a family with my parents and two older brothers. We communicated by screaming at one another. I mean it’s really how we expressed everything, even love. There was a lot of anger in my family. I was an angry person. So, we were loud and angry and our communication with each other just became so much noise that no one heard anything. By the time I was twelve or thirteen I was desperate to find a way to communicate to be heard. Poetry saved me in a way. Then, once I found out that I could express myself that way, I found I was really interested in how other people who wrote poetry expressed what they had to say. I fell in love with the rhythms, the uniqueness of one poet from the next, the economy, and the power of it. I studied poetry in college, but realized I’d never be great at it. Strangely, in mystery writing I found my niche, a place to use what I’d learned about poetry to better effect. I’m writing it again and am now a co-editor of The Lineup, a magazine featuring poems on crime.

6. Why does Brooklyn mean so much to your work?


Because the Brooklyn I knew stopped existing the second I moved. It’s a place now that is a product of my memory. It’s a place of mind. I revisit that Brooklyn in my work. The Brooklyn that exists today, the Brooklyn where my daughter lives, is recognizable to me, yes, but barely. Maybe that’s a good thing. I don’t know. Brooklyn is the only place I’ve ever felt a part of. I’ve lived on Long Island (Brooklyn is actually the western tip of Long Island, but don’t tell anyone) for 28 years, longer than I lived in Brooklyn. I’ve never felt a part of Long Island for a second. I think when things were tough when I was a kid and my dad was quite sick, that I hung onto Brooklyn as the one really stable aspect of my life.

7. If you were told tomorrow you could no longer write, but that you could become one of three other things, what would they be?


A pianist
A chef
A pitcher

8. If you could have dinner with three people from history, who would they be?

Moses
Shakespeare
Leo Szilard

9. Do you have a book in your head that’s eluded you, but that you feel you have to write and will write someday?


Absolutely. I wrote a short story called “Gobble” in 1999 that is being published for the first time at the end of the new edition of Soul Patch (October 2010). It’s kinda meta and sci fi and a detective novel, but I didn’t have the chops to pull it off before. Also, every agent I ever mentioned it to thought I was mad as a hatter to even consider it. I hope fans read the story and love it and that will give me the momentum to grow it into the novel.
10. What would Jesus do?
I don’t know. Ask him.

Bio:
Reed Farrel Coleman was recently called a hard-boiled poet by NPR’s Maureen Corrigan and the noir poet laureate by the Huffington Post. He has published eleven novels—two under his pen name Tony Spinosa—in three series and one stand-alone, Tower, co-authored with award-winning Irish writer Ken Bruen. Reed, a three-time winner of the Shamus Award for Best Novel, has also won the Barry and Anthony Awards and has been twice nominated for the Edgar Award. He is a co-editor of The Lineup and was the editor of the anthology Hard Boiled Brooklyn. Reed is an adjunct professor at Hofstra University and he lives on Long Island with his family.



www.reedcoleman.com

Monday, 4 October 2010

Dancing With Myself: SJ ROZAN interviews SJ ROZAN




SJ is putting on lots of events for the launch of her new book, ON THE LINE. She's not alone at all of them - Reed Farrel Coleman, Patti Abbott, Scott Phillips, Ken Bruen and Michael Connelly will be around and about with her. She'll also be at Boucheron - how difficult it is to be a small fish on the other side of the pond at times like that.


Anyway, order your tickets, then enjoy the interview.


Oct 6
7:00 pm
Partners and Crime
ON THE LINE Launch party
44 Greenwich Ave.
NY, NY 10014
www.crimepays.com


Oct 12
7:00 pm
Capitola Book Cafe
In conversation with Laurie King
1475 41st Avenue
Capitola, CA 95010
www.capitolabookcafe.com


Oct 14
6:30 pm
In conversation with Michael Connelly
McLaren Conference Center
University of San Francisco
www.usfca.edu/campusmap


Oct 15 - 17
Bouchercon
San Francisco
http://www.bcon2010.com/


Oct 18
6:30 pm
Murder by the Book
Reading/Signing
With Reed Farrel Coleman and Ken Bruen
2342 Bissonnet St.
Houston TX 77005
www.murderbooks.com


Oct 19
7:00 pm
Book People
Reading/Signing
With Reed Farrel Coleman
603 N. Lamar
Austin, TX 78703
www.bookpeople.com


Oct 20
7:15 pm
Poisoned Pen
Reading/Signing
With Reed Farrel Coleman
4014 N Goldwater Blvd. Suite 101
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
www.poisonedpen.com


Oct 28
7:30 pm
Westport Public Library
Reading/Signing
With Dan Judson
20 Jesup Road
Westport, CT 06880
www.westportlibrary.org


Nov 4-6
Noircon
Panel: 3:20 PM - 4:30 PM
David Thompson: memories
With Patti Abbott, Scott Cupp, Scott Phillips
Society Hill Playhouse
507 South 8th Street
Philadelphia, PA
http://www.noircon.info/2009/07/noircon-2010.html


Nov 9
7:00 pm
Craftwork Lecture
$8
Members Free
Or donate a book to the Books for NYC Schools Program
Center for Fiction
17 E 47th St.
New York, NY 10017
www.centerforfiction.org


If you can't come to an event, you can buy ON THE LINE on line! Or at a bookstore near you.

For an independent bookstore: www.indiebound.org/indie-store-finder


For a mystery bookstore: www.mysterybooksellers.com/imba-members

For guess who: www.amazon.com/Line-Bill-Smith-Lydia-Novel/

And here's why you want it:


"Rozan, winner of a host of crime fiction awards, comes up with new twists on the literary form and manages to kick it up a notch or two every time. This one is like a video game in which every location is full of lurking danger, technology is used to find information, and failure is possible at each turn. If you long for heart-stopping action and original characters, look no further. "
-- Library Journal

"All the twists you'd expect from Rozan, but speeded up within an inch of their lives, just like the summer movie this yarn ought to spawn."
-- Kirkus

"Exciting -- Some neat twists keep the reader guessing to the surprise kick ending."
-- Publishers Weekly

"The action never stops. A high-velocity entry in a reliable series."
-- Booklist

www.sjrozan.com


SJ ROZAN, Dancing With Herself:



Q: How come your books are getting funnier?

A: My understanding of life is getting darker.

Q: What do you wish you were doing for a living instead of writing?

A: I'd like to be someone's full-time gardener. I'd worry about the plants all day and I'd live in the gatehouse.

Q: While we're at it, what era of history do you wish you lived in instead of this one?

A: The era the post-war period in America -- the prosperous, forward-facing, suburban fifties -- promised us was coming.

Q: That's cheating. That's not history. It never happened.

A: My point exactly.

Q: Why do you love basketball?

A: Because you can't worry about whatever's eating you and play basketball at the same time. Or watch a game, either. You have to leave all your stuff behind, which means you *get* to leave all your stuff behind.


Q: You new book, ON THE LINE
http://tinyurl.com/3xzqr43 is non-stop action. Its hero is Bill Smith, a PI, and there's some detection, but really, it's a thriller. Why did you do that?

A: Because I'd never done it. Thrillers have their own sets of expectations, methods, and possibilities. It was a new challenge.

Q: Do you think you'll ever fall in love again?

A: God, I hope so. Hope not. Hope so.

Q: Who deserves a shout-out for encouraging you early on?

A: Irene Zahava, Sue Dunlap, Bob Mackowiak, Bob Randisi, and my agent, Steve Axelrod.

Q: So you just got back from Mongolia. And you're a well-known Asiaphile. What is it about Asia?



A: I did just get back from Mongolia, and if you want to see the photos, go to my blog, starting here
http://tinyurl.com/36dsmtc and look for entries with "Ulaan Bataar" or "Mongolia" in the subject line. Asia itself, I'm not sure, though there's this: Asia's the future. That accounts for part of my interest, but not all of it. I'm not sure what the rest comes from, though the food and the music might be enough.

Q: What's next?

A: GHOST HERO, a Lydia Chin book set in the NYC art world, specifically contemporary Chinese art.

Q: Bill Smith and Lydia Chin, polar opposites. Are they insane?

A: Insane how? To not be together, which they so far aren't, or to be together, which they seem to be heading toward but so far aren't?

Q: Umm...

A: Thank you very much, goodbye.



www.sjrozan.com/

Sunday, 3 October 2010

Dancing With Myself: TODD ROBINSON interviews TODD ROBINSON



Is it crazy to put down a link to your own blog? Maybe it is and maybe I am, but it will save me shouting out about things that have already made me hoarse.
http://nigelpbird.blogspot.com/2010/04/rue-bella-magazine-1998-2003.html

The point, if you didn't click, is that people like Big Daddy Thug here are the writer's lifeblood. They're where people start, cut their teeth, get things right and wrong, first put their feet on the ladder.

In other words, I'd like you to read this whilst holding that in mind.

And weren't those Thuglit's some of the best covers around? And didn't you always click on those knuckle-dusters more than once just to hear the sound over again and again.

Todd 'Daddy Thug' Robinson.

Who the hell are you?

I don’t know. I think I can best answer this question by telling you who I was. Six years ago, I was an aspiring writer of some pretty dark crime fiction. The kind that everybody told me nobody wanted to read.

Who said that?

I’d already had two useless agents who’d put my novel through two publishing houses…combined (agent number three never sent it to anyone). Both publishers said the same thing. They loved the novel, but not only didn’t they publish anything as dark as what I’d written, but there also wasn’t an audience for it either. Deciding to prove them wrong, I started up a webzine over at Thuglit.com specifically to show that the audience was there. I also wanted to create a place where likeminded readers and writers such as myself – who like their fiction with an edge – could both read the kind of stuff we like and have a place to publish it.

Did you?

Did I what?

Did you prove them wrong?

Oh. Not for me to say, really. I know that Thuglit drew itself one hell of an appreciative audience. I do think/hope that we played a part in moving aspects of the genre in a direction that is more conducive to my own tastes. I know that there are people being published today with a darkness behind the words that makes my own writing from six years ago seem almost quaint. Guys like Dave Zeltserman, Tony Black and Stuart Neville are tearing it up with some fearless and ferociously dark writing. Those guys could make a bottle of Prozac swallow itself. Loving it.

You ended Thuglit at the five-year mark one month ago. Why close up shop now?

Well, we were finished with the anthologies, and frankly, we were a little burned out. I’ve had a lot of personal changes in my life in the last two years that were making the work harder and harder to accomplish. And if you don’t know already, even producing an internet magazine is a fuckload of work. We started missing deadlines here and there when we never had before. I didn’t want to see the quality of the mag slip into Shitsville before I made the decision to pull the plug. Beyond that, the part of my life that suffered most from the crunch, was the amount of time that I could allot for my own writing – which is what I wanted to be doing in the first place.

Thuglit has helped a lot of writers build their careers, but it was time to take care of my own house for a change. Never thought that I’d miss it as much as I already do, but the decision to end it was the right one.

Want to talk about the anthologies a bit?

No. It was three years of near total misery. Awful experience, except for those writers who were so appreciative to be able to see their work in print for the first time. That was gratifying. All I can say is that Idiot Agent Number Three sold me the deal on what was either a lie, or a complete lack of professional research into the project. It tripled my overall workload for no good reason. I never saw a penny from any of the three anthologies, once I paid out the miserably small advances to the writers. What was left didn’t even cover the cost of maintaining the website. Doing the anthologies contributed to what I account for at least 80% of the previously mentioned burnout. Needless to say, Idiot Agent Number Three has also been fired.

For someone who didn’t want to talk about the anthologies, you had a lot to say.
Yeah, guess I did. Nobody has ever accused me of having nothing to say.

So, what are you doing now?

I’m back in writing mode, for the first time in a long time. What I gained from doing five years of editing on Thuglit, was a sharp bullshit detector. For my own writing, as well. I had enough distance from my own novel where I could go back into it and call bullshit on myself. And let me tell you, there’s a lot of bullshit in there. What started out as a polish has turned into an almost fifty percent re-write. I’m glad that people responded favorably to what I had already written, but for the life of me, I can’t see it in the previous edits. I like a lot of what’s there (obviously, or I wouldn’t go back to it), but lord, there’s a lot of poorly written passages-scenes-dialogue. Really. Some of it makes me cringe. Don’t know if the new edit is any better, but it feels better, and sometimes that’s all you can ask for when editing.

I’ve also been dabbling in screenplay work, which has been a whole new shitstorm unto itself, but the change of format (and genre) for me have been refreshing and fun. Boy, I thought getting a royal screw-job in publishing was frustrating… At least that was only for the going price of a used 2002 Hyundai. My first run in with Hollywood dangled seven figures in front of my nose, made me dance a cha-cha for six months, then yanked it away. I think that’s a story for another interview, but brother…did I dance a fucking cha-cha…

Sounds like it’s been rough.

It has. It’s easy to fall into bitterness and despair, having been through what I have in the business so far, and I’ve been guilty of wallowing in both from time to time. But you know what? I wouldn’t trade it for anything. HAD my novel been published those years ago, it wouldn’t have been as good as it is now. Even in getting fucked over, you learn. That was one of the problems with Idiot Agents Numbers Two and Three (I still have my suspicions that Idiot Agent Number One may have been a scam). When you’re calling your fucking agent to task for knowing less about the industry than you do? It’s time to move on.

Robert Heinlein said, “You live and learn, or you don’t live long.” I’ve learned that I fucking NEED my writing. It’s the only place where I feel like I’m an active participant in my own life. I have commitments to my job, my wife and my son to be the best employee, husband and father that I can be. Bills need to be paid, wives need to feel appreciated and babies need to be happy. My only commitment to myself is my writing. Even if I spend the rest of my life penniless from the effort, the effort itself is what keeps me going.

What is your definition of noir?

Stop asking that stupid question. Who cares? Just enjoy the goddamn book you’re reading. For the record, noir is French for black. That’s it. Now fuck off.


http://www.thuglit.com/ (go click on those dusters)

Saturday, 2 October 2010

Dancing With Myself: RICHARD JAY PARKER interviews RICHARD JAY PARKER

Those who've been here since the beginning will know that before 'Dancing With Myself' I posted a number of reviews/opinions on the blog.

Just now my spare time is taken up by the interviews (no complaints at all, I'm loving it), but I have had a couple postedon other sites.

If you pop over to http://tinyurl.com/37me7nl at the ever excellent Spinetingler you'll find me writing as part of a most excellent collection 'Requiems For The Departed'. It's not only an excellent collection, but the reviews are superb too, as each story has been reviewed by different people, each and every one of them knowing what they're talking about. I'd say it's a must visit.

I also wrote a piece for the delightful Patricia Abbott over at Pattinase http://tinyurl.com/35u7v6f as part of her Friday's Forgotten books legend. I chose 'Murder On The Yellow Brick Road' as my contribution to the series; if you want to know why, why not go along and find out.

And now today's main attraction, Richard Jay Parker. When you've read it you can visit his site and find out more about 'Stop Me' as well as being creeped out by some excellent music.



Here he is, Dancing With Himself.


RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

Thanks for the coffee. That’s exactly how I like it.

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

You’re welcome. Shall we get started?

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

Sure. Mind telling me why we’re in a café and why you didn’t want to conduct this interview at your place?

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

I don’t really like inviting strangers into my home. Hope you’ll understand.

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

I completely understand. I’m much the same. Can you at least tell me what’s occupying your time there at the moment?

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

I’m working on stand alone thriller two. It’s been a process–

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

(Interrupts) Does it have a title?

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

Yes but it may change so I’ll sit on it for the moment. It’s been a process of trial and error with the second novel. I want to deliver something that will get the same sort of response as STOP ME.

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

Was it a surprise that STOP ME was short listed for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger Award?

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

Thanks for mentioning that – and for remembering the name of the award so specifically. I was genuinely surprised to be short listed.

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

I suppose being short listed is reward enough.

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

That’s what I keep telling myself.

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

You’ve got some bagel crumbs on your shirt.

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

So have you

(They dust them away)

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

So what has surprised you most since having your debut novel published?

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

Aside from the TV interest?

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

Which surely you’ve taken with a colossal pinch of salt…

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

A pillar. I think the thing that has genuinely surprised me is the amount of readers who have never heard of me before who have been willing to give the book a go.

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

Why would they do that?

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

It’s a question I keep asking myself. There’s been a great response though and with Twitter and Shelfari I’ve had some pretty instant and creative responses.

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

Do you like interacting with readers…even if they didn’t a hundred percent like STOP ME?


RICHARD THE AUTHOR

It’s great when people say they were gripped by the story or blindsided by the twist but even readers who have issues with elements of the book – language, violence and the online aspects of the story for instance – it’s great to get so many different perspectives on it.

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

Do you think it’s now vital for writers to be so accessible?

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

I personally enjoy it and I think it’s the very least you can do if somebody has splashed out their hard earned cash on your work – whether you’re an unknown like me or an established author.

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

How else do you do this?

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

As well as Twitter (@Bookwalter) I write a blog every Friday (http://www.thecurzongroup.blogspot.com/ )


RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

So that’s what you’re doing when I want to go down the pub.

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

Sorry?

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

Nothing. So is your new novel going to be as dark and twisty as STOP ME?

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

It’s a bigger story and it’s a little more macabre. Like the SPAM email from the serial killer in STOP ME it starts with an outwardly innocuous piece of technology that’s perverted for an evil purpose. This one is even more of a race against time though. I hope it has readers slamming the pages faster then before.

RICHARD THE INTERVIEWER

OK – I’m sick of talking about you. Can we talk about me now?

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

Sure. (Mobile rings) Sorry – got to take this.

(Gets up and walks over to corner of café. When he finishes he returns to find only two half full coffee cups)

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

Where did he go?

CAFÉ WAITRESS

(Warily) Who?

RICHARD THE AUTHOR

Doesn’t matter.

(Empties one coffee cup into the other and sips self-consciously)



More info about Richard Jay Parker and STOP ME at http://www.richardjayparker.com/


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stop-Me-Richard-Jay-Parker/dp/0749007079

Dancing Today: ANGELA CHOI


Before getting things started, I felt I should give a special mention to those in line for postings in the week ahead so you can note down some diary dates.
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Tomorrow we'll have RICHARD JAY PARKER
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Monday has a special post, TODD ROBINSON
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Tuesday it's SJ ROZAN
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Wednesday, REED FARREL COLEMAN pays a visit.
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Thursday, and a little different, LIBBY CUDMORE and MATTHEW QUINN MARTIN
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On Saturday there's GAR ANTHONY HAYWOOD
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and Sunday closes the week with TOM LLEWELLYN.
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(and p.s. if you have a spare ticket for the Portobello Festival's 'There's Been A Murder' I'd be delighted to accept it as a gift - let me know).
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Angela Choi didn't want to dance alone. She felt she needed a partner. Guess who was the lucky guy?


1) Hello Kitty is in part about a journey of self-discovery. Are there any moments of your own self-discovery that you’d care to share?

I've had lots of moments of self-discovery as soon as ditched my law life and started writing. With my first novel which was an Agatha Christie wannabe, I discovered what my voice wasn't. With KITTY, I discovered satire was my genre and that writing was and always had been the love of my life. So yes, lots of self-discovery with this novel.

2) What influence did the Yale law degree have upon your writing?

As you can see in KITTY, Yale and law school played bits parts in the novel. So yes, lots of influence. Yale really made me realize what kind of writer I NEVER want to be. Nothing against highbrow literary fiction, but it's not for me. I hate stuffy writing that takes itself way too seriously and sentences that just try too hard. I like to keep things easy, light, and flowing. That's one reason I look to the literary/commercial writers for inspiration.

3) Tell me something about Tyrus Books and their ethos.

Tyrus Books is great. Their ethos? Publish good writing, good books, even though they may be dark. That's why KITTY landed with them. 30 publishers said no because they said "too extreme or too dark." Pussies....

4) If you were to meet and old friend, would you choose to get together for breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee or drinks?

Meeting an old friend? Not always a good idea. I learned that the hard way. You never know where people are in life and whether they are happy or they are bitter. Actually, you don't even know if they still regard you as a friend. In December 2007, I had dinner with my grammar/high school best friend. Well, she told me "we were never really friends" because I basically didn't get her into Harvard when I was trying to get myself into Yale. She turned out to be quite a bitter, unpleasant person. So I would opt for coffee. Quick... just in case the old friend turns out to be someone I no longer recognize.

5) Deadlines? Friend or foe?

I love deadlines. But I don't really have any. It's good and bad for a writer, but I have my own internal creative clock ticking. That makes me work on the next book.

6) Considering you’re part of the crime-writing genre, you seem to smile an awful lot in your photographs. Did you have to think carefully about your image?

Well, I don't know if I'm a crime writer. More of a satirist. But I like smiling in my photos. I'm very funny most of the time and I like my photos to reflect that. And if I'm going to stab you in the face, I'd do it with a smile. :)


7) What and where was your best vacation?

Best vacation I ever took was to Chicago for 3 days for my birthday two years ago. I came back feeling so good, I wrote KITTY in 3 months.

8) What was the favourite compliment you received for Hello Kitty Must Die?

My favorite compliment for KITTY came today. A lovely criminal defense lawyer who is trying a case told me that she was going to quote parts of KITTY in her closing argument. Her client is supposedly looking at life if she loses. I didn't say anything, but quoting KITTY? He's done for. :)

9) Do you have a writing routine?

Writing routine? Well, when I'm writing, I write in the morning for about 6 hours a day. But the whole process from vague images in my brain to the laptop is what is really interesting. I love how characters come into my head and tell me what I need to write.

10) Are there any up and coming writers out there that we should be looking out for?

Oh, there are so many good young writers. Look for the ones you like.

11) Do you have any superstitions?

Superstitions? No, not really. Birds tend to bring me good luck. And I have Meatball, my fat parakeet. He's a gem. He lets me lick his fat belly.

12) Any plans for a UK visit?

I love the UK. Ever since I was young, I had this strange obsession with England. Maybe a past life thing? Who knows? But I watched all the BBC comedies and dreamed of going there. Back in 2001, I visited London and Windsor. My dream destination is Ireland on the Paddywagon Tours. I would also love to go to Scotland and Northern England. I was thinking about applying to East Anglia to do my MFA, but I don't think they'll like my type of writing. Not exactly lit fic. But I have a good friend who lives in Norwich and she tells me that part of England is gorgeous. Hopefully, next year.


http://www.tyrusbooks.com/

http://www.angelaschoi.com/

Friday, 1 October 2010

TITLE FIGHTS


If you go down to the woods today you'll find a story by Aj Jayes and one by me.

All you have to do is follow this link:

http://titlefights.blogspot.com/2010/09/110-by-nigel-bird.html


and you'll be able to have your fill.