What You Got Going On?

Back when James and I lived in Minneapolis, there was a guy who worked at the liquor store by the Parkway. Whenever we went in, he’d say, “What you got going on?” by way of greeting. We’ve since moved and I don’t know if that guy, whose name I never learned, is still working at that particular liquor store. Sometimes I think about him and his greeting and hope that he’s well.

In honor of the “What You Got Going On” guy, I thought I’d let you know what I have going on.

Part I: What I’ve Been Reading

[image error]Everything by Megan Abbot, who was recommended to me by people I admire. And MAN do I like what she has going on with her short stuff, with her early stuff, with her longer stuff. Her earlier stuff is classic noir and hard-boiled with broads at the center. None of her characters are clean and I like them more for it. For those of you who read my last post and saw the Quadrants, Megan lives in the upper left and she’s so comfortable there she probably owns real estate. I especially liked Beware the Woman and You Will Know Me and I’m looking forward to El Dorado Drive.

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In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes. If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and do so. It was published in 1947 but reads like something from today. She subverts the “fair game” rules established during the Golden Age, including the one that says the murder cannot be the narrator. And that, my friends, is one of the elements that takes it from mystery into thriller territory. If, like me, you’ve only seen the movie, get your hands on a copy.

[image error]Cutting Edge: New Stories of Mystery and Crime by Women Writers edited by Joyce Carol Oates (2021). I’m about halfway through but I cannot shake the first story, “One of These Nights.” It’s dancing on the edges of a lot of things. The way the author takes the familiar: a crowded public swimming pool in the summer, teenagers on the precipice of all sorts of things, and turns it into something dirty has really crawled under my skin in the best possible way.

Part II: What I’ve Been Watching

[image error]The Double Life of Véronique (1991). Man oh man. It’s a little magical feeling and also a little like a thriller. I watched it and found myself thinking about it for a while after. The plot? Not entirely sure. Two ladies living parallel lives and somehow sensing each other and then one dies and the other is almost haunted by her but in a good way. And then there’s this manipulative creeper who has a puppet show. I like it because it has me thinking and that’s one of the reasons we do art, right?

[image error]Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). It is no secret that I love Spaghetti Westerns. There was this time when I was living in Italy and it was Halloween and it was late and a bunch of university students were running around dressed like cowboys and playing Morricone’s soundtrack from Fistful in the background pretending to shoot each other with capguns outside Santa Maria Novella. I still think about that night sometimes and wonder if it really happened. Anyway, I watched this movie with my kids (and did fast forward through a few scenes). It’s beautifully shot and my younger son was really conflicted about why he felt so sorry for the railroad tycoon, Morton. It was an interesting conversation.

[image error]Yojimbo (1961). See my note above about Spaghetti Westerns. Kurosawa influenced Leone. And, get this, I read somewhere at some point, that Red Harvest (1929), by Hammett, influenced Kurosawa. My kids also enjoyed this movie, maybe because there were swords and lots of fighting. I enjoyed it because it hits that stranger comes to town vibe in a way that I always find satisfying. I’ve added a bunch of other Kurosawa stuff to my watch list as a result.

Part III: What I’ve Got Going on

My short story “Vacationland” is out in Dark Waters Volume 2 Anthology. It’s a great collection edited by Nathan Turner and Kirstyn Petras (who also have a podcast that is pretty great). They’re doing a Crowdcast on 1/18 from 8-10 pm that I’ll be participating in.

“The Cottage” was just picked up by the noir/literary publication A Rock and a Hard Place, which is exciting. It’s due out next month and is a story that’s a bit of a stretch for me. It’s a great publication and I’m excited to be included.

“Quick Turnaround” will be out in the March/April Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. I had a lot of fun writing it and am still very proud of the twist at the end. This is my first AHMM piece, which is a big honor.

[image error]There’s a Noir at the Bar at Cafe Avellino on 2/20 in Swampscott, MA that John Nardizzi is organizing with a some amazing New England crime writers (including me). If you’re in the North Shore, come check it out.

Finally – I had the chance to attend the Maine Crime Writer’s event at the Portland Stage. It was really fun and I’m excited for Murder on the Links. Maybe I’ll see you there?

I’d love to know, if you have a chance and feel so inclined, what you got going on?