Rob Brunet's Blog, page 2

CBC Radio One interviews me on FRESH AIR

Yesterday, I was interviewed by Karen Gordon about the lighter side of dark on CBC Radio One's FRESH AIR. You can hear it here on Soundcloud.

null

Been blog-hopping of late

I've been quiet here on the blog while out on the Stinking Rich book tour. But I've popped up on a couple other blogs and I thought I'd best list some here.

In no particular order...

This week I've been involved in a lively round table about revisions with a group of authors at ITW.

And talking about the work involved in a book tour on Chip MacGregor's blog.

Up on Carol Balawyder's blog, I shared the story of how I got published.

At The Big Thrill, I was skillfully interviewed by Azam Gill...

Heck of a launch

Driving to the Toronto launch of Stinking Rich last night, I tried to stop running a mental count of just who might actually show up, and scribbled notes for my preamble at stop lights. This being Toronto, we encountered so much construction, I could have written a short story behind the wheel.

From the moment we pulled up at the Irish Embassy Pub, I was overwhelmed. Two dear friends I had no right to expect there were hanging on the sidewalk. I introduced them to each other and they helped me...

Anonymous-9 bites hard—Interview with Elaine Ash

Over a handful of hot August nights, I had a chance to chat with the author of Hard Bite and Bite Harder. We talked about the darker side of comic relief, source material that burbles to the surface unbidden, and the work of writing. Covered pretty much everything but monkey sex.

Anonymous-9. Give her a warm welcome.

Rob Brunet: I'm interested in hearing how you approach some of the provocative dark aspects of your writing with respect to its humor. It seems clear that you are setting up scene...

If I gotta go to prison, please send me to Quebec

Seems there's been another walkaway from a prison north of Montreal. This time the escapee is a convicted murderer who appears to have grown impatient waiting for his next unescorted leave, so he slipped out an unlocked window in his cell sometime in the middle of the night.

According to an unnamed source in the Toronto Sun, "It seems to be an spontaneous act."

What I'm wondering is, how many times has this dude slipped out in the middle of the night to visit his girlfriend and made it back in...

Noir at the Bar T.O. August 20, 2014

Wednesday night in the city, it's summer and muggy. Under the shadow of bank towers, on a side street you've never noticed, laughter spills out a second floor window. Someone shouts something obscene and it's quiet again. You've found Noir at the Bar.

We've got a special summer lineup including multi-award-winning Melodie Campbell (how's that Derringer doing? — The Goddaughter's Revenge) and J. Kent Messum whose Bait has been racking up recognition since long before he won the Crime Writers...

Giving away ARCs

Congrats to Mary Jo Sterns of Toronto who won the first Advance Reader Copy in my mailing list subscriber giveaway!

Thanks to everyone who's signed up so far. I've got two more ARCs for the newsletter list to be drawn on August 13th and September 3rd. (Sign up top right of this page.)

Meanwhile, Down & Out Books has provided three more ARCs for a U.S. and Canada giveaway via Goodreads. Open until August 6th here:

Want one? The numbers are in your favour right about now. We'll do a couple mor...

Be careful what you call your novel

Last night, ARCs of Stinking Rich arrived. I had a glass of Martell and slept like a baby. This morning, ARCs arrived again.

Seems the first batch went astray. So far astray, in fact, that my publisher followed up with the shipper and they reshipped the order. Yesterday.

See, the first order had gone missing and was more than a week overdue. When it showed up last night, it looked like this:

I'm not used to getting ARCs delivered. In fact, this was the first time I've seen my novel in print....

What I'm working on

Lisa de Nikolits tagged me with four questions making the rounds on authors' blogs. As my recent dearth of posts will indicate, I haven't had a ton of time for blogging, but when Lisa asks for something...? Well, her 10,000-watt smile makes it pretty hard to say no. Besides, this may be what it takes to get me back on the blog. You can find Lisa at Goodreads here, and my answers below.

 

[image error]Next up, I've tagged Melissa Yuan-Innes.

 

 

 

What am I working on?

I’m doing the second rewrite of Ka-boom, sequel to my novel Stinking Rich. In it, a favorite secondary character from the first novel becomes the protagonist in a story about a bible camp gone bad. I sketched much of the plot line at novella length a couple years ago, which has given the characters plenty of time to percolate and take up residence in my mind. As with Stinking Rich, most of them are a bit wacko, others flat-out deranged. It’s time to wring them out onto the page—before they make me bonkers, too.

How does my work differ from others in the same genre?

I write crime fiction laced with black comedy, told largely from the point of view of the criminals. My protagonist is often a good person who does bad things, as opposed to someone living a criminalized life per se. Some readers have confessed they found themselves torn between rooting for the protagonist and hoping the antagonist came out okay as well. I’ll take that!

Why do I write what I do?

I write to entertain. I’m the kind of guy who reads local papers for the small stories, the petty crimes, the folks who win—or lose?—the Darwin Awards. I like to get into the heads of those people and imagine what drives them. I don’t think they get up in the morning and say, “I wonder what stupidity I’ll engage in today.” And yet, they do. As for my own mistakes, I laugh at them the loudest, pray they never make the news, and fob the odd one off on my less fortunate characters.

How does my writing process work?

At first draft and for early revisions, I write blind. By that, I mean I start from a vague idea about a place, a person, an event, and I let one thought follow the next pretty unfiltered. After that, it’s all about honing. If I discover on a rewrite that two characters work better together in a different relationship, I’ll peel them apart and put them back together. If a plot twist doesn’t seem plausible, I’ll find another way to get the story where it wants to go.

As far as daily routine, I’m working on it. My fingers find the keyboard pretty much every day, but I do most of my rewriting long-hand on a working copy of the manuscript. I edit best standing up with music on loud. Alternately, I dial it down and read everything out loud, listening for cadence, verisimilitude in dialogue, and active voice. I’ve never enjoyed work more.

 

Write up on Noir at the Bar

Great to see this N@B write up by Brian Baker in the Town Crier. It's getting serious legs around North America. Vancouver will have its first one next Tuesday.

Wherever you're at, look it up. It's a great way to spend a couple hours in a bar and listen to people tell dark tales. And there's some readings, too.

Here's what Mr. Baker had to say.

[image error]Hilary Davidson reads at N@BTO May 8, 2014