The Chandler/Hammit Debate

Have you ever read something created by the writer, Raymond Chandler? You haven't? 

Oh my . . . 

In my opinion, Raymond Chandler is the inventor of the modern American pulp-fiction detective.  Oh sure, sure. Most pundits would say American pulp-fiction was actually created by a writer by the name of Dashiell Hammit. And indeed, I'll give credit where credit is due. Hammit  arrived on the scene just before the arrival of Chandler. Hammit wrote fast-paced, hard hitting mysteries with bodies dropping on every other page and gun-play that would satisfy any ham-fisted thug. He also filled his pages with dry, sarcastic wordplay that instantly separated his novels from everyone else who came before him.

Raymond Chandler

You can't help but find yourself compelled with Hammit's creations. It seems like everyone on the planet has heard the titles to two of his most famous books, i.e.; The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man.

Two novels which I re-read again and again because they're just that satisfying to do.

But look at it this way.

Comparing the two writers is like comparing the sufferings of a patient with a badly ruptured appendicitis. Do you want this poor fellow to walk into a butcher's shop to get the help he needs?

Or would you prefer seeing the patient walk into the waiting room of a world-class surgeon?

That's the difference between Hammit's style of word-play versus Chandler's. The ham-fisted, shoot first and ask no questions later kind of anti-hero. Versus the delicious word play artistry of a reluctant hero forced to step forward to help those who can't, or won't, help themselves.

I urge you to decide for yourself who was the better of the two. Go out and find a copy of Hammit's The Thin Man and read it. And then find a copy of Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely. I'm betting you'll enjoy both. Which one will you enjoy the most?

(And while you're at it, let me know something. Did I misspell Dashiell Hammit's last name? Again?)

Dammit Sherlock, where do we go from here?

 I'm deep into the writing of the book--and I'm facing the biggest frickin' traffic intersection in my life.  I assume a writer, when they begin a project, begins with a relatively clear image on how the journey goes forward.

So for the next dozen or so pages, maybe even four or five chapters into the tome, the going is relatively fast. Sure, there are some bumps and bruises along the way. But that's to be expected.

I mean . . . come on. You're writing a damn novel.  It may not be rocket science. But to those who are not rocket scientists, it's pretty damn close.

But then . . . oh boy.

Somewhere deep in the novel (for me roughly around the 100 page mark) you realize you're trapped in the that nebulous aura of vagary called The Middle Book. That means you've created so many characters and launched them in so many different trajectories, you find yourself in a maze of possibilities you no longer can control. You become lost in an ocean of possibilities.

Some pundit (that is, some person who almost knows what they're talking about) once described writing a novel is much like playing a chess game. There's the Opening Game. Followed by The Middle Game. And naturally, The End Game bringing the conclusion to the epic battle.

In chess there is a point system that one can tally up points for each opposite chess piece you can remove from the board. Of course, in the opening of the game, the score starts out 0/0 until one or the other player takes a chess piece. And then the points begin to pile up as the game goes along.

But then an interesting phenomenon happens. There is an initial flurry of pieces being taken off the board by each player. The Middle Game arrives .And along with it, the curious realization comes along that, no matter what piece you take off the board from your opponent, the points awarded will be equal in worth. So which piece do you go after next?

The same is true in writing a novel. So many characters are in play. So many plot lines suddenly open up, you realize you can find yourself traveling down a path you never thought possible. But it becomes even more curious. That unexpected plot line, in turn, can come spiraling into a dead end, and off you go down a different path altogether.

So the question is, what do you do next?

Answer? 

Either stay on the new course you've taken and follow it to the bitter end. Or, and this is what I think happens for most novelists, you do nothing. You let the characters in the novel take over and just follow where they want to go.

In the end, if you don't like where you wound up with, you can always go back and tear out sections  and rewrite those sections which  which veered you veered off into never-neverland. 

On the other hand, deciding to go along with your characters as they chart out their own paths might create a better book. And ultimately, that's what you want isn't it?

Poetic Noir

 Hello . . . remember me? 

I'm the eccentric writer who likes to muse over his potentially eccentric writing. Not that it matters much; few people travel down this oddball lane of dubious verbiage as I do. But then, on the other hand, maybe there might be one or two of you who will  stumble along, eyes looking downward and glued into the pages of a novel, and runs into me.

Now wouldn't that be wonderful. Stranger things do happen in this world.

Today's helping of literary fancy is called Poetic Noir. My definition of this non-existent term would go like this: Turning the ordinary Noir novel into a vivid portrait of imagery and emotions much like an artist capturing the light and fascination of an intriguing personality on a piece of canvas.

Essentially, how do you design a salad bowl of random words into a coherent roadmap of sentences which fascinates a reader's entire interest into the world you've created for him? Ah, that's the conundrum. And no two writers, or fans of Noir (or any genre), will ever come to a common agreement.

But let me end this smear of provocative nonsense with an example of something I'm writing on currently.  Below is the first page of a short-story called 'Call Me Smitty.'  You can find the entire short-story in a collection of short-stories entitled, There Is No Johnny.

See if it tickles your fancy.

In the darkened solitude of the car, he watched her hurriedly walk across the semi-deserted street and step up onto the opposite curb. All the time moving underneath the curved expanse of a red umbrella. 

 Red. 

 Her favorite color. Red umbrella. Red shoes. A red dress. A red car. Red … Like the color of blood. 

 The rain was coming down hard. Pelting the sidewalks and street with droplets big enough to almost knock someone out. Like getting hit with a blackjack. Unexpected. Making everyone run and dance between raindrops, seeking some form of safety from the deluge. It drenched every living creature with a wet monotony that simply refused to let up. Made dogs growl and snap at their own masters. Made women think about killing their husbands. Made husbands think about their wives. Unpleasantly. Especially in this part of town. A rough neighborhood. Whorehouses. Pawnshops. Cheap saloons.

You'll need more sugar

Would you like to have your mind blown? Well,  it certainly will be when you go to Apple-+ TV and watch a series called Sugar. The show is a modern day version of a classic Crime Noir movie--except this is a limited run TV series. And, brothers and sisters, it is mesmerizing to watch!

Collin Farrell is the private investigator who specializes in finding missing person cases. You instantly bond to the character because you hear his thoughts and see his daily fights to remain 'normal' in an insane world. And you quickly realize the man is carrying secrets, lots of secrets, around with him.

Essentially the first season is all about finding the granddaughter of a very powerful movie mogul.She's young, with a long history of being messed up with drugs, sex, booze--as, we eventually find out, her entire family is seriously off the rails as well. But this intrepid investigator quickly gets into the investigation and starts showing an unusual need to find the girl as quickly as possible. An odd enigma we wonder about until the very end of the series where we find out the driving force behind his investigation.

Ah! But there is an even more revealing surprise waiting to be revealed!

At midpoint in the series run, a real surprise come to us. The series started out as a classic noir crime story. But then, another entirely different literary genre is thrown into the mixing pot--and it is a revelation that just takes the breath away from you! And it fits! This new inclusion of a different genre blends into the overall plot perfectly, making the overall plot even more captivating!

Nope.

I'm not going to reveal anything. Best you take in the series yourself and make the decision on if you like it or not.

But you will. I know you will,

To book trailer or not to book trailer?

 Seriously. 

My gut is telling me a well-written, visually captivating, musically mesmerizing book trailer will capture a wandering reader's attention far more quickly than just about any other form of advertising. And if you use the internet as the main (sometimes only) medium to spread the visual feast out to the masses, well 
Godfrey Goes to Glasgow! --- maybe the masses might discover a new and rising star in the genre you write!

So okay. I've been playing around a little bit with book trailers and using Facebook for the main carrier route for such devices. Facebook cuts a deal with authors and wannabe authors where for a certain price (which, so far, has not become too outrageous) you can pop in your book trailer as the main carrier and they'll spread it out over the Kingdom of Facebook for a week at a time.

That's a lot of curious eyeballs falling out of the internet ether to watch your visual baby. A lot of eyeballs. And it seems to be working.

I've created four book trailers already. The fourth trailer, a trailer for Death of a Young Lieutenant, in a span of three weeks, had over 20,000 clicks of interest. And about ten percent stuck around to view the entirety of the trailer.

While I cannot say sales have gone through the roof for the novel, I can say the book has been gathering a large viewing crowd, Amazon speaking.

So a fifth trailer has been cut. This time featuring the Smitty series. (there are two novels in this series so far. One is called Smitty's Calling Card. The other is Discreet Inquiries) We'll see what the raw numbers this trailer runs up to in a week's time. But I can tell you in a little over 24 hours, its already hit the 2,000 mark.

I thought I might share the trailer with you today.  And you can tell me what you think about it. Here goes;

The Perfect Series To Get Into

 So okay. I've been a bad boy. I should be blogging more and (out of habit) playing less on the computer. Actually, I should be writing more--but you know how that goes; if I get myself writing, the words come out of me like a river and I find I enjoy the physical action of writing. 

Its just getting started that's hard for me to do.

Anyway . . . to your right you will see the first compilation of a series I'm writing. The Turner Hahn/Frank Morales police-procedural series. This tome added to the pile has the first three full-length novels in it. There are actually four novels available in the series. But this compilation was in the works before I submitted the fourth.

Currently, you can get this one either in a Kindle addition, or in paperback. All told, it's a little over 700 words in length.

Of course, as you undoubtedly guessed by now, I'm going to blow my own horn here and tell you maybe you ought to consider getting this one. If you're a mystery fan looking for interesting characters who are living, breathing entities, that's what you will find in Turner and Frank. And in all the denizens the two come across in their day to day lives.

But more importantly, if you are a fan of this genre, what you are looking for the most in a series is one that gives you something more than just interesting characters. What you want is a real mystery to chew on. To dissect and match wits with the bad guys.You want bad guys who are really bad guys and crimes that are real puzzlers.

Tada!

This is the series for you. Trust me. I have (cough, cough) never told a lie! Well. . . maybe one or two. No more than 100. Believe me.

Officially Out And Available

 It's official now. The fourth book in the Turner Hahn/Frank Morales series is now available at least on Amazon. In paperback and for Kindle readers. But hopefully, a hardback edition and eventually an audio book version will be following.

As predicted, the cover used was changed somewhat from the one I suggested.  That was expected. I have to say I liked the way they enhanced the artwork. But it'd been nice if they would work on the visual aspect of the titles, etc. That too goes along with the overall visual aspect of selling a book. And to be honest, constantly using white lettering is somewhat of a letdown. (here's the cover artwork)

I really like how this one turned out. I like a novel that has mysteries within mysteries buried in the overall plot. This one fits the bill perfectly.

Basically, the main thread of the story revolves around the idea someone is trying to send Turner's girlfriend--a hotshot ace newspaper reporter by the name of Debra Patterson--over the deep end. Apparently Debra, in her college years, had been married. Madly in love with a strange figure who kept secrets to himself. He dies mysteriously in a fiery crash on a lonely highway.

But . . . Debra's going insane because she is receiving phone calls from . . . her dead husband. Desperate, she confesses Turner her past sins and pleads for him to help her find her husband.

From there on, the plot, as they say in the movies, thickens considerably. Someone else, other than Turner and Frank, is hunting for the supposed dead husband. But then . . . an unknown third party is hunting for the ones who originally murdered the husband!

As confusing as that sounds, it actually comes out okay. The deeper you dive into the novel, the deeper the mysteries circulate around you. Hopefully, circulate around to the point you can't possibly put the book down until you finish reading the last page.

I dunno, but I've been told that is the ultimate goal for any writer. Write something to completely engulf a reader's full attention. I'm hoping this one fits the bill.