Clea Simon's Blog, page 12
October 28, 2021
Tonight! Come join me and Caroline Leavitt (virtually)
New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt and I will be convening (virtually) at Harvard Book Store tonight at 7 pm. to discuss Hold Me Down, music, and writing. Free, of course! We’ll be fielding questions about writing … and about our connections to rock and roll!
The event is free but you do need to register. You can do that through the Harvard Book Store page here: https://www.harvard.com/event/virtual_event_clea_simon/ or register directly via Zoom here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zAdREqJjTgWmWfMYUH87pg
October 26, 2021
Spilling the beans with Writers Tell All
When author/critic Matthew Turbeville named his blog WRITERS TELL ALL, he meant it! We had a wide-ranging conversation about HOLD ME DOWN, books, and the writing process. You can read the entire interview here.
Here’s an excerpt:
Matthew Turbeville: Hey Clea! It’s so exciting to get to pick your brain about Hold Me Down. This is a really exciting and thrilling new crime novel that’s grounded in Boston and music and a lot of topics really relevant to America today and women in general. Can you talk a little about how you conceived Hold Me Down and how long it took to write? Did this novel in particular end up how you wanted it to be as when you first sat down to write the first draft? How did it change?
Clea Simon: I can try, Matthew, but honestly, I’m not sure I remember. I’ve been working on Hold Me Down for several years now. I don’t know how many drafts I went through, though I can tell you that every time I sent out a draft to a reader, thinking I was done, I would find issues – usually with the tense changes and I’d be appalled!
For me, this was the kind of book that gets deeper with each iteration, though. Like, take the songs in the book. I knew that Gal, my protagonist, wrote songs, and so I came up with some. But only after a few revisions did I realize how revealing these songs were – not only of what she thought she was writing, but what she was really showing about herself. (I have to add here that I love having these songs – because once they’re written, they stand on their own. Different characters react to them in different ways. Even Gal reacts to her own songs in different ways over time! … read the rest here.
October 24, 2021
Boston Globe calls HMD a “propulsive thriller”
Today’s Sunday Boston Globe book section hails HOLD ME DOWN as a “propulsive thriller,” saying: “In electric prose, Simon conjures the rock-and-roll world, its drink, drugs, and band-dynamics, and the twin seductresses of excess and success, as she makes a penetrating portrait of friendship.”
I am overjoyed!
Read the full review here or below:
A rockin’ novel
Clea Simon knows how to capture the texture of the rock club — its heat, sex, power, energy, and danger, too. Her propulsive new thriller, “Hold Me Down” (Polis), centers around Gal, the wild-once lead singer of a reunited band playing a show to honor the band’s late drummer, and Gal’s best friend. A man in the crowd with a familiar face is murdered outside the club, and the mystery that unfolds demands Gal look into her friend’s past, and the darker corners of her own. In electric prose, Simon conjures the rock-and-roll world, its drink, drugs, and band-dynamics, and the twin seductresses of excess and success, as she makes a penetrating portrait of friendship. She writes of what it is to look back on the past, with nostalgia, grief, longing, regret, and the ongoing process of losing control, and getting it back. “As she took control, the rave up became a grind. Not the best tempo, Gal had to admit, but at least it was hers again — her song, her band. And she played it for all it was worth, straddling the mic stand, caterwauling the lyrics. ‘Gotta make it new.’” Simon will read and discuss the book Thursday, October 28 at 7 pm in virtual event with Harvard Bookstore. To register, visit harvard.com/events.
or click through here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/10/21/arts/new-collaboration-between-trees-boston-brookline-booksmith-departure-novelist-clea-simon-book-reconsidering-meaning-henry-david-thoreau/
October 23, 2021
“Hold Me Down” on WGBH
Maybe you heard “Henry in the Hub” on air at 8:35 am today? If not, you can check out an excerpt of our talk on the WGBH website, complete with transcript. Always a pleasure to chat with Henry, who used to DJ at some of those clubs back in the day…
October 22, 2021
Chatting with the Poisoned Pen
Last night, I got to chat with the mystery maven of the Poisoned Pen Bookstore, Barbara Peters, and since she’s not what you’d call a rock fan, she called in a ringer: bookstore music whiz Patrick. We had a blast!
It’s too late for questions, but you can listen in here:
October 20, 2021
BOLO Books raves about HOLD ME DOWN
With HOLD ME DOWN, Simon “stakes her claim as crime fiction’s foremost purveyor of tales that blend mystery with music. … this is a character that demands to be invested in. “
I’m overjoyed to share this rave review from BOLO Books. There’s so much here, I’m not even sure what to quote. Here’s the review in full.
Hold Me Down – The BOLO Books Review
by Kristopher | Oct 19, 2021 | Review |
A former music journalist (and musician, for that matter), Clea Simon successfully wove that milieu into her 2017 stand-alone crime novel, World Enough, set in Boston’s underground club scene. Now four years later, Simon is releasing Hold Me Down, another stand-alone suspense novel that unfolds against the backdrop of the music industry. With it, she stakes her claim as crime fiction’s foremost purveyor of tales that blend mystery with music.
From the first pages, as readers join Gal on stage performing a tribute concert for her former band member and best friend, this is a character that demands to be invested in. From her vantage point on stage in the smoky venue, Gal believes she spots a familiar face, but before she can reach him, he vanishes. It’s the next day that Gal learns it was indeed her old acquaintance and that unfortunately he was beaten to death outside the club the previous evening.
When her best friend’s widower becomes the prime suspect – and he seems uninterested in defending himself against the charges – Gal recognizes there is more to this story and begins to dig deeper – into her own past and a multitude of memories that might be better served staying in the shadows.
Clea Simon spends a fair amount of time introducing readers to Gal, her bandmates, and other important characters. This is an author who is gifted at managing time shifts without confusing her readers. Because of that, readers learn about the successes Gal’s band have experienced in the past and the twisting journey that led to this tragic tribute performance, all while the present-day incident(s) are investigated. Clea Simon comes from the cozy world of crime fiction – which relies heavily on character loyalty – and she brings that same attitude to this darker novel.
And make no mistake about it, Hold Me Down is a dark and gritty tale. Clea Simon confronts the sexism that exists in the music industry head-on and in doing so illuminates – like a pyrotechnic stage show – how universal this underestimation was and is in the lives of women. But no matter how dismal things get Simon allows her characters to cling to hope and ultimately, she demands that the resilience of the female spirit – and in particular the bonds of female friendship – be understood and respected.
Throughout Hold me Down, Clea Simon demonstrates not just her love of music, but also her admiration for the people who play it and her respect for those who listen. Hold Me Down is a love letter to the music industry that pulls no punches when it reflects on the seedier side of the business, but it is also a celebration of music and the power it commands in calling forth memories – both good and bad. Readers will be forgiven for thinking they could turn on the radio and hear Gal’s songs playing next to today’s hottest hits – that is how vividly Clea Simon brings everything to life.
There is no doubt that readers will hope there is less of a gap between this second “music-industry” mystery and Clea Simon’s next foray into this field she knows so well. Until then, cozy up to the stage and give Gal a listen in Hold Me Down.
BUY LINKS: Hold Me Down by Clea Simon
Disclaimer: A print galley of this title was provided to BOLO Books by the author. No promotion was promised and the above is an unbiased review of the novel.
Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)October 18, 2021
HOLD ME DOWN is out today!
Happy book birthday to Hold Me Down!
I’ve waited so long for this book to be published, please help me celebrate. Share your pictures of HOLD ME DOWN in print or the ebook cover on Twitter, FB, or Instagram, and I’ll reach out with some pub week treats!
Thanks to the pandemic, it doesn’t look like I’m going to have any in-person events. However, I’ve paired with some very cool independent bookstores for online events, and I hope you’ll join me at one (or all). Yes, my book is now up for pre-order at Amazon – and, believe me, I appreciate all sales! – but if you find you can order from one of the hosting indies below, it will support them, as well as me. (The buy links are on the events pages.)
Some of these are watchable through Facebook and Youtube, as well as each bookstore’s own site or Zoom channel. They’re all free.
Hope you can join me in the celebration!
Thursday: The Poisoned Pen Oct. 21, 7 pm (interviewed by bookstore owner Barbara Peters)
Next Thursday: Harvard Book Store (in conversation with Caroline Leavitt) on Oct. 28, 7 pm
*Here’s what early readers and reviewers are saying about HOLD ME DOWN. Please share YOUR thoughts on my new book below!
“Lyrical, layered, and full of surprises. Simon has penned a raw and emotional thriller with a heartbeat, about lost dreams and missing friends, regrets and buried memories, the final note reminding us that it’s never too late to start again. Provocative, moving, and suspenseful.” –Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Last Girl Ghosted
“Gripping and intense, a darkly suspenseful dive into friendship, fame, murder, and the thrilling power of rock music. I couldn’t put it down.” ―Meg Gardiner, author of the UNSUB series
“This devastatingly powerful mystery hits like a punch to the heart.” ―Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You
“Simon perceptively illustrates the sacrifices one makes for art. Simon’s tour of the Boston music scene will make readers wish Hold Me Down included a link to iTunes.” ―Oline Cogdill, Sun-Sentinel
“A mystery that explores character motivations … For fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Janet Evanovich.” ―Library Journal
“Simon draws on her career as a journalist, in particular her reporting on Boston’s music scene in the 1990s, for the setting, concert scenes, and flashbacks, bringing a gritty reality to this dark suspense tale.” ―Booklist
“A flat-out, stoked-up, red-alert blistering justice-gets-done story that you can’t put down.” ―E. Jean Carroll, author of What Do We Need Men For?
“This exquisite novel is not the one in the story but the one in the way Clea Simon tells it. We hear music that never existed, pine for memories we couldn’t have, and mourn for the survivors. …Simon is a wizard.” ―David Hajdu, author of Lush Life and Positively 4th Street
“This pitch-perfectly dark psychological suspense underscores the price of fame, the price of friendship, and the temptations of success. Sharp and insightful, and written with exquisite detail, this story has a soundtrack that will linger long after the final page.” ―Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today-bestselling author of Her Perfect Life
“Hold Me Down is a joyous novel about friendship and survival, but what dark, bitter joy. Simon has gone deep into a world many women know all too well, where pride, guilt, and pain do battle inside the stories we tell. A cracking plot in a rich setting round out this important, timely book to perfection.” ―Catriona McPherson, Edgar-nominated author of A Gingerbread House
“Powerfully written and compulsively readable. Part murder mystery and part wistful history of a one-time rock star and her deeply buried secrets.” ―Dave Zeltserman, award-winning author of Small Crimes, now a Netflix film
“A hard-rocking riff of a novel, Hold Me Down explodes with a passion for music while also probing the intimate betrayals buried under a haze of alcohol and pills. Simon expertly explores how music seeks to embody truth, even when musicians hid their own pain behind the melodies.” ―Joanna Schaffhausen, winner of the MWA/St. Martin’s Minotaur first crime novel award for The Vanishing Season
E-readers get a head start on HOLD ME DOWN
Hold Me Down comes out tomorrow. That means if you order an e-book it will appear in your e-reader of choice at midnight tonight! Want to get a head start on the book that Library Journal says “explores character motivations,”* “”perceptively illustrates the sacrifices one makes for art,” “bringing gritty reality to this dark suspense tale”***? Click to order yours here or here!
** Sun-Sentinel
***Booklist
September 29, 2021
How to be a rock star author
Join me over at Career Authors where I’m sharing the secrets I learned from playing in bands that help me with my writing today!
Even in my musical heyday, I was never a rock star. Although my career as a bassist took me from cover bands to some pretty cool gigs at places like the Rat and CBGB’s, I never achieved the level of fame that Gal, the protagonist of my new psychological suspense, Hold Me Down, once did.
But all those years in sweaty basement practice spaces and even sweatier clubs did teach me a few things about the creative process – and about working in a creative community. I don’t get paid in beer anymore. But that mix of improvisation and craft? That’ll keep me humming forever. Maybe you, too.
Equipment doesn’t matterWriters, like musicians, can be gearheads. We’re always talking about the best programs to help us plot or outline, edit and revise. Should we use screenwriting software or voice-recognition to best capture those fleeting moments of inspiration? Trade out our old Macs for an ergonometric keyboard at last?
But if the DIY ethos of punk rock taught us anything, it’s that none of that matters. Those brash young musicians remade the industry by stripping the sound down to its basics and playing with what they had – and it was brilliant!
Practice pays offSo, no, you don’t need that new computer, tablet, or program. You need to sit your butt down and get to work.
Back in my high school garage band days, we wanted to cover a tune with a particularly intricate bassline – one way beyond my skill level. “Just play every other note,” the guitarist told me. No way. I went home and played that line over and over, until my fingers knew automatically where to go – and at our next practice, I like to think I blew my bandmates away. (In reality, they probably knew how I’d respond to the challenge before I did.)
Writing isn’t dependent on muscle memory quite the same way, but there are similarities. If you can get in the habit of pounding out 500 words or a 1,000 every day, it will become easier. If you’re afraid you won’t know how to unspool your plot – how to hide your clues and disguise your motives – writing regularly will give you the confidence to figure it out. Will you feel blocked sometimes? Sure. But knowing you’re going to get back at it no matter what, you’ll find the words will start to flow.
Listen to your peersWhen you’re in a band, this part is obvious. As a bassist, I had to listen to the drummer or I’d never get the tempo. If the guitarist and I weren’t keyed in, neither of us would know when to solo – or how to find our way back to the bridge if we got lost.
Writing is a solitary profession, so it’s easy to forget that this holds true for us too. We crime fiction authors are part of a community. We read each other (and gather and trade stories) because it keeps us going through the lonely days, and we thrive on the mutual support of our peers. But our community benefits our craft as well, because the best way to learn what’s going on out there is by reading other writers – new ones, the folks who are publishing now.
Listen to yourselfEver hear of “the tape of only Linda”? This bootleg from a soundboard captured the late Linda McCartney singing harmony in Wings and, well, let’s just say her vocals bore little relationship with any melody or harmony.
Writing can be the same way. We start with a wonderful three-dimensional scene in our heads, characters complex and motivations subtle. But is that what gets on the page? Reading yourself aloud – ideally after giving your manuscript a rest – will show you all the off notes. The places where you thought you had fleshed something out but hadn’t. Only if you listen to what you’ve actually written can you start the hard work of getting the story in your head onto the page.
Let the moment take youI used to suffer from stage fright. Really paralyzing fear. But sometimes, when I’d practiced enough that brain freeze didn’t swamp me and I could hear what my bandmates were doing, it all came together. My fingers found the notes, my bass anchored the guitar and then came up with its own counterpoint – a melodic and rhythmic interplay I never could have planned. Those moments were magic, what keep musicians going through all the bad gigs, the long drives, the bad – or nonexistent – pay, and stale beer.
Writing can be the same way. If we’ve done the work – learned the craft and put in the time –we have moments when writing doesn’t feel like we’re making up some story but channeling it as our characters come to life on the page. Once you’ve let the moment take you, you’ll have hard days, sure. But you’ll know there’s magic to be had, and you’ll commit yourself to finding the beat, again and again.
Have you learned anything about your writing from music? Let’s talk about it on the Career Authors Facebook page!
Booklist raves about “gritty reality” of “dark suspense”
“Simon bring[s] a gritty reality to this dark suspense tale.” – Booklist
So grateful for this Booklist review!
