Rob Hart's Blog, page 8

“The Gift of the Wiseguy”

Every year The Mysterious Bookshop commissions a Christmas story. They print up booklets and hand them out for free to customers. Past contributors include Ed McBain, Donald Westlake, Mary Higgins Clark, Megan Abbott, and Lawrence Block.

This year I wrote it.

It was an incredible honor that Otto asked me to do it, and I’m really happy with the result. “The Gift of the Wiseguy” is a little out of my comfort zone—nary a profanity in sight—and also fits into the “food noir” collection that I’m currently working on.

Here’s the deal: Starting this Friday (Nov. 25), stop into The Mysterious Bookshop and buy something, or order something through the website. You get the story for free.

So take at least one book you had planned to order for somebody this holiday season, and instead of getting it through Amazon or Barnes & Noble, get it through Mysterious. Or get all your books through Mysterious—that’d be cool, too.

If you stop in, ask for me. I work in the basement (haha right nepotism much?). If I’m here, I’ll come up and sign it. If you order it through the website, put a note with your order, and again, I will sign it.

And, hey, it’s worth mentioning: Mysterious has copies of New Yorked, City of Rose, and South Village, which I would also be happy to sign.

Happy holidays!

SOUTH VILLAGE is out today

Today’s the day. South Village is available. It’s my third novel. One I thought wouldn’t come together, but ended up being pretty deeply personal. I am very proud of it and hope you will check it out.

Click the cover below to find buy links, as well as information on my tour stops—I’ll be on Staten Island tonight, in Manhattan tomorrow, Queens on Sunday, then Boston, Austin, Houston and Scottsdale.

Cheers and thank you. Seriously. Without readers I wouldn’t be able to keep doing this.

Events this week!

South Village comes out THIS TUESDAY!

I have three events this week!

Coincidence? I think not.

Oct. 11. Staten Island Barnes & Noble. 6:30 p.m. Details and RSVP here.

Oct. 12. Joint release party with Bracken MacLeod (Stranded). The Mysterious Bookshop, 58 Warren St., 6:30 p.m. Details and RSVP here.

Oct. 16. Noir at the Bar. The Beast Next Door, 42-51 27th St, Long Island City, NY 11101. 6 p.m.

There’s more coming up—Boston, Austin, Houston, and Scottsdale. Find information on those here.

Vote for me (please)

The Staten Island Advance is running a poll on Staten Island’s Best Artists & Entertainers. I’m up in the Best Artist (Written) category. So, that’s pretty cool!

If you want to click over and vote for me, I’d be much obliged! You can do that right here and it only takes a few seconds.

Bouchercon highlights

Another Bouchercon is in the books. For those of you who don’t know, Bouchercon is the premier conference for crime and mystery writers, named after famed editor and author Anthony Boucher.

This year’s con was in New Orleans, where the humidity, the proof of the beverages, and the abundance of fried food all hovered somewhere around 90 percent.

As with most cons, the aftermath (and hangover) leaves ample time for reflection. Here were the highlights, from my end: 

Losing the Anthony Award for Best First Novel. Yes, this was a highlight. I didn’t really expect to win, and the old adage is true: It was an honor that New Yorked got nominated. Especially considering this was the first year that my publisher, Polis Books, was eligible. The winner, Glen Erik Hamilton, wrote a hell of a book. It was an honor to share the billing with him, Art Taylor, Patti Abbott, and Brian Panowich. Of course it would have been nice to win, but I don’t have a single regret with the outcome. Only that I wore a jacket. It was too hot for a jacket and I don’t think anyone would have blamed me if I didn’t.
Seeing Chris Holm win for Best Novel. The Killing Kind is a great book, and the folks at his publisher, Mulholland, are great people—it was both proper and deserved.
Seeing so many of my friends. The nice thing about living in New York is that, sooner or later, everyone has to schlep through for one reason for another. But there are a lot of folks I wish I could see more often.
Seeing so many of my friends end up on panels and award ballots this year. I am not getting into a blame game or lobbing criticism, but I think it’s fair to say that the crowd at Bouchercon skews a little older, and in years past, so did the panels and events. This year felt much more inclusive for the younger crowd, and I hope that continues, because it’s one of the keys to keeping Bouchercon vital.
Having my wife along for the ride. Besides that everyone got to see how lucky I am to have such a smart and pretty spouse, it was nice to share the fun stuff with her. She’s been an incredible partner in my writing career, giving me the time and space to write and sell my books. She deserves to party, too.
Special shout-out to Ro Cuzon for hosting a fantastic lunch at his home across the river. It was a journey that sometimes felt conceived by Dante Alighieri—at one point the sun came out and radiated off the blacktop in a way that made me wish for the sweet embrace of death. But I ate the best jambalaya I’ve ever had. Ever.
I did my first Bouchercon panel, and it seemed to go well, in that I didn’t vomit on myself or accidentally say something inappropriate. I was joined by Craig Faustus Buck, who I’ve met before, but also Susan Alice Bickford, Barbara N.S. Nickless, and Lisa Turner, none of whom I met before, but were all brilliant. It was a great experience, and I learned a lot from the four of them.
I didn’t buy a lot of books because I don’t buy a lot of books in hard copy anymore (we have too many books in our house and anyway I do most of my reading on my commute and my Kindle is easier to carry), but I was pretty happy to come home with a galley of Steph Post’s new novel, Lightwood, and Erik Storey’s Nothing Short of Dying, which I started on the plane and is really good.
I’m going to get self-indulgent for a second: I was blown away by how many strangers told me they read and enjoyed my books. A lot of friends and acquaintances did that too, and it meant just as much, but there’s something special about making a connection like that with someone you don’t know. It made me think my mom was hiding behind the bar and bribing them to do it. To the woman who was waiting for me at my signing, and gushed about New Yorked , and then apologized for gushing: Don’t apologize. Moments like that, it’s all I can do to keep from openly weeping, because this is a hard fucking business, and stuff like that makes it worth it.
How many people told me they were excited for South Village .
The Malmons. It’s always nice to see the Malmons.

Find me at Bouchercon

Bouchercon is almost here. I’ve got two events on the docket, so if you’re so inclined, this is where you can find me:

Friday, 2 p.m. – LaGalleries 6

DIRTY BOULEVARD – Hard boiled discussion panel w/Susan Alice Bickford, Craig Faustus Buck, Barbara N.S. Nickless, Lisa Turner.

Saturday, 1 p.m. – Book Room

SIGNING – Sponsored by Polis Books and Garden District Book Shop w/ Jason Starr, Bryon Quertermous, J.D. Rhoades, Richard Brewer, Gary Phillips, Steph Post, Terrence McCauley.

Outside those times, look for me at the hotel bar. I’ll also be at the Anthony Awards ceremony, where New Yorked is up for Best First Novel. Make sure to vote early and often.

Where I’ll be at Bouchercon

Bouchercon is almost here. I’ve got two events on the docket, so if you’re so inclined, this is where you can find me:

Friday, 2 p.m. – LaGalleries 6

DIRTY BOULEVARD – Hard boiled discussion panel w/Susan Alice Bickford, Craig Faustus Buck, Barbara N.S. Nickless, Todd Robinson, Lisa Turner.

Saturday, 1 p.m. – Book Room

SIGNING – Sponsored by Polis Books and Garden District Book Shop w/Todd Robinson, Jason Starr, Bryon Quertermous, J.D. Rhoades, Richard Brewer, Gary Phillips, Steph Post, Terrence McCauley.

Outside those times, look for me at the hotel bar.

SOUTH VILLAGE tour dates

I know we’re a little early on this, but I don’t want to hear anything about how you made other plans. Here’s where I’ll be for South Village in October. I am very excited to be hitting the road again. If you click over to my events page, you’ll find links to the event pages on Facebook, where you can RSVP. You don’t have to RSVP to attend, but it does help with headcount and reminders and stuff.

If you live in or around any of these places, come on out!

10 Authors with Tattoos Inspired by Their Own Books

A few months ago I got a tattoo inspired by my first novel, New Yorked. I know a few other authors who’ve done the same—gotten tattoos to mark the signing of contracts or publication of books.

So I talked to some authors, then found a few more, and put together a photo essay about them.

It’s currently live over at Electric Literature.

Check it out.

Talking short fiction w/JP

This is pretty cool: The Big Thrill talked to James Patterson—and also me!—about short fiction and the new BookShots program, which I’m going to be a part of.

Are you curious to know what the title of our collaboration is going to be?

Read the story!

Are you curious to know when our collaboration will be coming out? That’s not in the story! Soon I hope though. I’ll let you know when.