Crime Fiction Dossier

Literary heroes

Screenwriter Paul Guyot has a new feature on his website that intrigued me. It's a photo gallery of his heroes, drawn from film, literature, music, sports, his personal life and everything else.

Some of the choices are a little odd -- for example, he is obsessed with a horse. And, apparently, people who drive really fast while making left turns. But some of the choices are rather inspiring.

This got me thinking about my own heroes, especially those related to writing and literature. I'm too lazy to put together pictures or anything. But I did start making a list:

Ross Thomas...Roger Ebert...Larry Block...Pauline Kael...Anthony Boucher...Ernest Hemingway...George Pelecanos...John D. MacDonald...Dashiell Hammett...Laura Lippman...Robert Ferrigno...David Morrell...Rex Stout

(This is just off the top of my head -- I know I'm leaving off some great people.)

What about you? Who are your literary heroes?

Speaking of promotion: James Patterson

ABC News has a piece on James Patterson that I found interesting. It contains some eye-opening stats -- he's sold 150 million books; an incredible 1 out of every 35 books sold last year was one of his -- along with the usual stuff about co-writers, his marketing background, etc.

Here's a quote from Patterson that I loved:

"There are thousands of people around the country who don't like what I do," he said. "Fortunately, there are millions who like it a lot."

Most of the time when Patterson's name comes up in conversation with other writers, he's referred to with derision.

I always shake my head when I hear people make those kinds of statements, because I think they just don't get it. We should be learning from what Patterson is doing. We should be studying his methods and strategies, and figuring out how we can apply his lessons to our own work.

I don't care if people think the books are lousy -- many of them are not very good, but so what? That's not the point. What matters is that he's selling books. And that's something we all need to learn to do better.

(hat tip)

William F. Buckley Jr. dies at 82

William F. Buckley Jr. died this morning at the age of 82. Although best known as the godfather of the modern conservative movement, Buckley also wrote numerous novels, many of them spy thrillers featuring CIA agent Blackford Oakes.

The books weren't great -- Buckley was a far better essaying and polemicist than novelist -- but some of them were quite entertaining, especially the early ones. (The first, Saving the Queen, includes a scene describing Oakes' recruitment into the CIA that was based on Buckley's own experience with the Company.)

Bill is survived by his son, Christopher Buckley, a wonderful author of satirical novels (and one excellent, underrated thriller: Wet Work). Bill was a true gentleman -- he was the first writer I ever corresponded with -- and he will be missed.

George Pelecanos on Richard Price

George Pelecanos has an excellent essay on Richard Price over at the National Book Critics Circle blog.

Here's a snippet:

[Price's] books are a record of America at a certain time. David [Simon] and I have talked about this many times--we think that Clockers is The Grapes of Wrath of our generation. And I really feel that way. I think it’s as important a book.

Pelecanos also talks about how Price's writing helped open up his own novels to new themes and possibilities.

Definitely read the whole thing. It's not very long.

"The Liar's Diary" Blog Day

Over 300 bloggers from the world of publishing are blogging today in support of the paperback release of Patry Francis' book, The Liar's Diary. Patry was recently diagnosed with cancer and has been frequently hospitalized. Since she's unable to do any promotion in support of her book, a few of her friends decided to help out.

Patry is blogging about her battle with cancer, in case you're interested in learning more.

To learn more about how she came to write The Liar's Diary, read her Backstory.

You can watch a trailer for The Liar's Diary on YouTube:

Here's hoping that Patry's health improves soon!

Recommendations for reading Ross Macdonald

Ross Macdonald has been enjoying something of a renaissance in recent months, as Vintage Crime/Black Lizard has been reprinting many of his books.

I had a conversation recently with Tom Nolan, crime fiction critic for the Wall Street Journal and the acclaimed biographer of Macdonald, in which I asked Tom for his recommendations for a reader who is new to Macdonald's work. This is his reply:

The Underground Man, with its forest-fire motif, is an exciting work, as much of a thriller as a murder-mystery; the fire itself is almost a character, racing towards its own destruction.

The Chill is maybe RM's masterpiece, combining his particular themes with memorable characters, terrific sequences, and a surprising plot.

The Galton Case is what he called the fulcrum of his oeuvre, upon which the rest of his work would turn; it was the book in which he most explored his own past (fictionally), and when he consciously committed his most serious writing ambitions to the mystery-novel genre.

I think any RM book from the golden period of the 1960s, when he had come into his mature prose style, would be a good Macdonald to start with; The Zebra-Striped Hearse, The Far Side of the Dollar, and Black Money are all excellent.

Then again, those who prefer a more hard-boiled approach might favor a '50s book. The Way Some People Die or The Barbarous Coast are among my own favorites.

I'm woefully unfamiliar with Macdonald's work, having only read (that I can recall) one novel and a couple of short stories. So I've definitely got some catching up to do.

Thoughts and prayers for William Tapply

I've just learned that writer William Tapply (author of the Brady Coyne series, among other works) is battling cancer and will be hospitalized for the next several weeks while he receives chemotherapy. He is reportedly in good spirits and determined to beat the disease.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to him. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Bill!

Interview with Otto Penzler

My friend John J. Miller conducts an interesting interview with Otto Penzler over at National Review Online. Otto talks about his new book, The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps, and shares some details on the history of the pulps and the hard-boiled tradition.

Two things of note:

Otto's description of hard-boiled: "Hard-boiled fiction is tough, with a certain amount of violence. There’s occasionally a nihilistic overview, as there was in much of Hammett. There’s also a sentimental side, a real romantic [sense of], 'I’m the white knight and I’m going to defend justice and fairness and the pretty lady down the street.'" (quote may not be exact)

He also calls James Crumley’s The Last Good Kiss "the single best private eye novel ever written."

Literature and Lead with James O. Born

Best wishes for Patry Francis

Author Patry Francis, a member of Killer Year 2007 whose debut novel came out earlier this year, was recently diagnosed with an "aggressive form of cancer." (She writes about it on her blog.) The good news is, she's just had surgery and reportedly it went well.

Our best wishes go out to Patry and her family. She's in our prayers.