Hammett, Inventor of the Hardboiled Detective
I've been mulling over my next mystery novel. I've shifted from my past works and taken on paranormal themes. Right now I have a novel with the literary agent, called The Witch's Daughter. The story revolves around a cold case murder and an unlikely trio looking for the killer. A down on his luck newspaper reporter, a disturbed psychic and a Gothic witch team up to find the killer.
I'm also finishing a new novel called The Blood Bond about a small hidden community run by shapeshifter with a thirst for blood. Although I first planned to send this one off to the literary agent, I am starting to think going it alone from the beginning. My agent does a great job but publishers are not readily buying. Or rather they want someone with a proven track record, a band of loyal followers, and some big sales under his belt. The problem I see is most writers who are doing well on their own probably don't care about taking on a publisher. Unless the publisher is a big name with a multi-million dollar advance who wants the added baggage?
Recently I've been kicking around something paranormal but hardboiled. Perhaps a period piece from the 40's or earlier. A time when a gumshoes swilled cheap booze, and thugs carried gats, and a dame with great gams could go places. I started looking around for a movie, and found a 1982 flick about Samuel Dashiell Hammett. Here is a trailer for the movie.
Although the movie is fiction, the man led a life as daring as the characters he wrote about. He served in WWI and WWII. Had TB. Drank hard and chained smoked. Worked as a private detective. Was married. Had a few lovers. Was blacklisted as a communist in the 1950's. He died in 1984 leaving behind a legacy of short stories and novels that included The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man .
Raymond Chandler said about Hammett: "He was spare, frugal, hard-boiled, but he did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before."
I'm also finishing a new novel called The Blood Bond about a small hidden community run by shapeshifter with a thirst for blood. Although I first planned to send this one off to the literary agent, I am starting to think going it alone from the beginning. My agent does a great job but publishers are not readily buying. Or rather they want someone with a proven track record, a band of loyal followers, and some big sales under his belt. The problem I see is most writers who are doing well on their own probably don't care about taking on a publisher. Unless the publisher is a big name with a multi-million dollar advance who wants the added baggage?
Recently I've been kicking around something paranormal but hardboiled. Perhaps a period piece from the 40's or earlier. A time when a gumshoes swilled cheap booze, and thugs carried gats, and a dame with great gams could go places. I started looking around for a movie, and found a 1982 flick about Samuel Dashiell Hammett. Here is a trailer for the movie.
Although the movie is fiction, the man led a life as daring as the characters he wrote about. He served in WWI and WWII. Had TB. Drank hard and chained smoked. Worked as a private detective. Was married. Had a few lovers. Was blacklisted as a communist in the 1950's. He died in 1984 leaving behind a legacy of short stories and novels that included The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man .
Raymond Chandler said about Hammett: "He was spare, frugal, hard-boiled, but he did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before."
No comments have been added yet.
