Brash Books: New Books- GO DOWN HARD by Craig Faustus Buck

1. Tell us about your current novel.

Go Down Hard is a noir romp from the POV of Nob Brown, an ex-cop turned bottom-feeding tabloid crime writer who investigates the 20-year old unsolved murder of a rock and roll goddess who was the headliner in his adolescent sexual fantasies. When he looks under the wrong rock, he inadvertently triggers the murder of one of the rock star's daughters. Nob and his best friend (with benefits) LAPD Detective Gloria Lopes must dumpster-dive into the murky worlds of '90s rock, live Internet porn, Russian mobsters, abusive psychiatrists and estate planning to uncover the sordid ties that bind the two murders together. I had a total blast writing this novel and I hope it shows.

2. Can you give a sense of what you're working on now?

Nob is the narrator of Go Down Hard. It's sequel Go Down Screaming, which I'm about 80,000 words into,  is told from Gloria's perspective and is more of a thriller than a mystery, as she goes mano a mano with a female serial killer who collects souvenir eyeballs. When Gloria and Nob were LAPD cadets, they were having wild sex in a motel when someone screamed in the room next door. Gloria wound up catching the "Party Girl Slasher," call girl Billie Breech, who'd already racked up four victims by the ripe old age of sixteen. Almost two decades later, Billie gets out of the penitentiary having spent her entire prison life planning a particularly demented revenge against Gloria. Scary, sexy, tear-jerking, revolting and funny if all goes according to plan.

3. What is the greatest pleasure of a writing career?

Perhaps the greatest pleasure of a writing career is having written. There's no satisfaction quite like typing "The End," except, maybe, getting an acceptance letter, publishing offer or green light. Putting the sense of accomplishment aside, there are moments in writing when something unexpectedly clicks in, especially following a period of frustration (i.e., writer's block), when you feel work come together. These rare feel-like-dancing endorphin floods are hard to beat.

4. What is the greatest DISpleasure?

The endless loop of extended writer's block. Unlike the gastrointestinal version of blockage, writers block responds to neither drugs nor surgery. The only cure is to bang your head against the wall until one or the other of them breaks. Persistence does work, but it can get ugly.

5. If you have one piece of advice for the publishing world, what is it?

Support more new and midlist authors. 

6. Are there two or three forgotten mystery writers you'd like to see in print again?

Brash Books has pretty much taken care of this problem for me.

7. Tell us about selling your first novel. Most writers never forget that moment.

I'd received a string of rave rejections from mainstream publishers who were allegedly anxious to see my next book yet passed on Go Down Hard despite professing to love it. These were long, adoring, personal rejection letters from big time editors and publishers. So when Lee Goldberg and Joel Goldman called to tell me they both loved my book I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Instead, they said they wanted to publish it. I was ecstatic, especially because they seemed so enthusiastic, something I wouldn't expece from a traditional publisher. I didn't know Joel at the time, but I'd socialized with Lee at various writers conferences and both liked and respected him. I also relished the idea of a publishing company run by authors. My agent was a bit wary, primarily because Brash was challenging the traditional publishing paradigm in ways that had not been tested before. We were swimming in uncharted waters and still are. But I'd much rather take a chance on the future than depend on an old business model that's clearly dying if it's not dead already.
BIO
Author/screenwriter Craig Faustus Buck's debut noir mystery novel, GO DOWN HARD, was published by Brash Books in 2015. His short story "Honeymoon Sweet" is currently nominated for both Anthony and Macavity Awards. He is SoCal chapter President of Mystery Writers of America. CraigFaustusBuck.comThanks,  
Craig Faustus Buck

Anthony and Macavity Award short story nominee "Honeymoon Sweet"