Bruce DeSilva's Blog, page 52

Guest Blogger Jochem Van der Steen on What It Takes to Write Hardboiled Fiction

When I  invited fellow crime writer Jochem Van der Steen to guest-blog here, I told him to write whatever he wanted. I didn't expect he would end up writing partly about me.

But I do like what he has to say about being a fan of hardboiled crime fiction before you try to write it. I'm always telling wannabees that they shouldn't even contemplate writing a crime novel until they've read several hundred of them.

Jochem is a Dutch writer who runs a great website, Sons of Spade, that is devoted to crime fiction. He is the founder of the Hardboiled Collective, a group of like-minded hardboiled crime writers, including Timothy Hallinan, Bill Crider and me, who support one another's work. And he is the author of crime fiction featuring security specialist Noah Milano and vigilante Mike Dalmas.

It's great week for Jochem and for Noah Milano. The character appears in Thrills, Kills 'n' Chills with a new short story, War Crimes , Tough As Leather is reviewed at Murderous Musings AND the Noah Milano Novelette The Alabaster-Skinned Mule is available.

So here's what Jochem has to say today:

I am honored to be at Bruce's blog. I'd like to use this opportunity to tell you what I think makes Bruce such a great writer. It's because he's also a fan of the genre.

Genre fiction is a tricky little thing. Some writers try to write hardboiled crme but get so bogged up in cliches the story ends up as a pastiche. Some writers think hardboiled crime ended with Dashiel Hammett and Raymond Chandler and stay so true to that style and time period that they write historical fiction, even if the stories are set in current time. Some writers think hardboiled crime is beneath them and try to offer a literary masterwork, masked as a crime novel. Usually it ends up as a boring and depressing read.

Bruce DeSilva does what every really good hardboiled writer does. He takes all the elements he enjoys as a fan of hardboiled crime, mixes it up with his own personal style and improvements, and offers up one of the most perfect hardboiled novels of the year with Rogue Island.

His protagonist, hardnosed reporter Liam Mulligan, is as tough as Spenser, as human as Alex Delaware, as funny as Elvis Cole, and as smart as Nero Wolf. He may be a reporter, but he acts like a private eye most of the novel. His relationship with his ex-wife is as unique a relationship as I've ever seen in crime fiction, adding both laughs and drama to the investigative tale that is the basis of the novel.

So how did Bruce end up creating such a wonderful hero and such a great hardboiled crime story? He's been studying and writing about the genre for years. He knows what works and what doesn't. But especially, he knows what you, the fans of hardboiled fiction, want. Because, guess what, he's a fan as well.

I've been writing about hardboiled crime on my blog, Sons of Spade, for four years now and I've been a fan since I was fifteen years old. I hope that shows in my work, just as it does in Bruce's. I hope that in my protagonists, Noah Milano and Mike Dalmas, you see the love I have for the genre. I hope Noah Milano (ex-mob fixer turned security specialist looking for redemption) and Mike Dalmas (husband, father, vigilante) are everything you're looking for in a hardboiled hero. I hope Bruce and I will inspire your own writings as other writers have inspired us.

 

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Look Who's Reading "Rogue Island" Now! It's Actress Amber Tamblyn

Amber Tamblyn

Amber Tamblyn is perhaps best known for her roles in two TV series, Joan of Arcadia and House.

She also appeared in several movies including  Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

Amber is also the author of two fine books of poetry, Bang Ditto and Free Stallion, which can both be found here.

Amber is a friend and admirer of my wife, the poet Patricia Smith.

Rogue Island is available in trade paperback and Kindle editions here. A downloadable audio edition from Audible can be purchased here.

My Wife Patricia Smith Featured in "Best American Essays"

The new Best American Essays anthology is out, and my wife Patricia Smith is included along with the likes of Christopher Hitchens and Toi Derricotte.

Patricia is also in Best American Poetry 2011. How's that for versatility?

You can find the new anthology here.

Video of a Joint Reading: Literary Soulmates Patricia Smith and Bruce DeSilva

This summer, my wife Patricia Smith and I did a reading together at the Nexus Lounge in Manhattan, part of the wonderful Inspired Word reading series sponsored by Michael Geffner.

The performance, billed as "Literary Soulmates," was captured in a four-part video, and I have included the links below.

Patricia, one of our finest poets, is a National Book Award finalist and winner of the National Poetry Series, Rattle and Pushcart prizes.  She read from her next book, Shoulda been Jimi Savannah, which will be published in June. I read from my Edgar and Macavity Award-winning first crime novel, Rogue Island, and from my third novel, a work in progress tentatively titled Providence Rag.

In the first three installments of the video, we take turns reading from our work. In the fourth and final part, we discuss what it is like to work together as partners, editing one another's writing, and answer questions from the audience.

You can find the four-part video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sT08QjDCoo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lnUq03gGX8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbPZtXnl_iQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYSqhVdFnF8

"Feast Day of Fools" Is James Lee Burke's Master Work

In his latest novel, Feast Day of Fools, James Lee Burke pulls together the main themes of his previous books, creating a unified theory of America at the beginning of the 21st century. It's not a pretty picture.

You can read my Associated Press review of the book here.

Look Who's Reading "Rogue Island" Now! It's the Legendary Sara Paretsky

Sara Paretsky

This year, Sara was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America and given a lifetime achievement award at Bouchercon, the international crime writers' conference. Both awards were overdue.

Rogue Island, winner of this year's Edgar and Macavity Award for best first novel, is available in trade paperback and Kindle editions here.  A downloadable audio edition from Audible can be purchased here.

Look Who's Reading "Rogue Island" Now! It's Actress America Ferrera!

America Ferrera

America Ferrera is best known for her lead role in the TV series Ugly Betty, for which she won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

She also starred in the movies Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Real Woman Have Curves, and Dry Land, and was the voice of Astrid in How to Train Your Dragon.

My wife Patricia, the brilliant poet,  caught up with her at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, where they both appeared in the same program.

Trade paperback and Kindle editions of Rogue Island are available here. You can buy a downloadable audio version from Audible here.

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Michael Haskins Has a New Novel, and It Belongs on Your Kindle

When journalist Mick Murphy runs into his love fantasy in a wintry Harvard Yard, he is soon dragged into a web of brutal killings that began in Boston and end in Southern California.

Trying to protect his dream girl, a Filipina named Michelle, Murphy runs afoul of a police friend and his nemesis, a Cuban-American cop, as well as Los Angeles County sheriffs, before he is beaten by a gang of Ameriasians and his Jeep is blown up.

Holding onto his romantic dream, Murphy faces loss of friends and his life before the finale.

Revenge by Michael Haskins, available now in paperback and Kindle editions. You can find it here.

Look Who's Reading "Rogue Island" Now! It's Thriller Writer Steve Martini.

Steve Martini

Like me, Steve Martini was a journalist before he became a novelist. Unlike me, he was also a lawyer.

Steve is the New York Times best-selling author of 15 novels, 12 of them in his Paul Madriani series. His latest book, Trader of Secrets, is the third in his "Trilogy of Terror."

Rogue Island, winner of the Edgar and the Macavity awards for best first novel, is available in trade paperback and kindle editions here. A downloadable audio version by Audible can be purchase here.

Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone is Still With Us — Sort of

After the great Robert B. Parker died, his widow and his publisher selected two authors to continue writing books featuring his two most popular characters. The first of them to appear is "Killing the Blues," a Jesse Stone novel written by veteran screen writer Michael Bandeman.

Does it work?  You might want to judge for yourself; but if you want my opinion, you can read the review I wrote for the Associated Press.  You can find it here.