July/August on DetecToday

JULY

Featured Novel: Head Games by Craig McDonald

Featured Short Stories: Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine May 2009


AUGUST

Featured Novel: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Participation in the featured discussions is optional. DetecToday is open to anything relating to recent P.I. fiction. [More?]

Frequently Asked Questions: CrimeSeen

What is CrimeSeen?
Boundaries of Discussion
Reading CrimeSeen
Posting and Replying
Spoilers
Special Group Features
Service Advisories


What is CrimeSeen?

A forum for fans of crime TV shows and movies.

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Boundaries of Discussion

Please keep personal disputes offlist. If you are unsure of a message's tone, contact the poster privately, or e-mail me.

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Reading CrimeSeen

You must subscribe to read our messages as as individual e-mails, daily digests, or on our Web site.

Please obtain the posting member's permission to forward messages offlist. Any member found to have forwarded messages without permission will be banned.

Note: I do not make use of the "Special Notices" setting.

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Posting and Replying

Send messages to crimeseen@yahoogroups.com or use the Post feature on our Yahoo! Groups site.

Yahoo! Groups and most e-mail programs automatically quote entire messages when you hit "Reply". In order to keep our messages and digests quickly downloadable for members with varying Internet access speeds, please quote only the specific points to which you are replying. Delete any extraneous text and and keep signature lines short.

If you have articles or interviews to share--instead of reprinting them entirely by e-mail--please quote or comment only on relevant passages, paraphrase, or send URLs where members may read at their convenience.

I will post notices of Yahoo! Groups downtime to the list if possible. If I am unable to use the list to keep members informed, I will post advisories to this blog.

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Spoilers

Spoilers are specific plot details that take the surprise out of reading a book for the first time (e.g. identity of the killer, death of a recurring character). Because our discussion covers a wide range of television, movies, and books, there is no way to keep track of what members have seen or read. Spoiler warnings are left to the poster's discretion.

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Special Group Features

Members are encouraged to add to our list community using the features below. When adding bookmarks, files, photos, etc., please notify me.

The Links section has folders for the following:

* "Cinematic" Writers, writers whose styles have been called movie like

* Making the Rounds, TV series or movies based on book characters

* Member Websites

* Passing the Screen Test, original hard-boiled movies or TV series

* Rumor Mill, leads on shows or movies upcoming or in development

Our Database section contains the following:

* At the Movies, members suggest good and bad crime movies

* "I'm Watching You," good and bad crime TV

* Past Featured Discussions

* "You Oughta Be in Pictures," books or novel series we'd like to see adapted to movies or TV

The Files section contains promotional images and extended commentary by members.

Meet members and authors face-to-face in our Photos section.

Keep track of upcoming movies and television programs of interest with our group calendar.

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Service Advisories

I will post notice of Yahoo! Groups downtime and delays when possible. If I am unable to use the list itself, I will post to the group blog, Chatterrific. For other issues, you can check Yahoo! Groups' Official Blog.

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Frequently Asked Questions: Spenser's Sneakers

What is Spenser's Sneakers?
Boundaries of Discussion
Reading Spenser's Sneakers
Posting and Replying
Spoilers
Special Group Features
Service Advisories


What is Spenser's Sneakers?

A discussion of the works and influence of Robert B. Parker (1932-2010), creator of Boston private eye Spenser, police chief Jesse Stone, female sleuth Sunny Randall, and Old West marshal Virgil Cole.

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Boundaries of Discussion

Many readers have formed strong opinions about Parker and his work in the course of his long career. As a member of Spenser's Sneakers, you agree to hear everyone's ideas.

Please keep personal disputes offlist. Any complaints about the tone/atmosphere of the list should go to me.

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Reading Spenser's Sneakers

You must subscribe to read our messages as as individual e-mails, daily digests, or on our Web site.

Please obtain the posting member's permission to forward messages offlist. Any member found to have forwarded messages without permission will be banned.

Note: I do not make use of the "Special Notices" setting.

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Posting and Replying

Send messages to spensneak@yahoogroups.com or use the Post feature on our Yahoo! Groups site.

Yahoo! Groups and most e-mail programs automatically quote entire messages when you hit "Reply". In order to keep our messages and digests quickly downloadable for members with varying Internet access speeds, please quote only the specific points to which you are replying. Delete any extraneous text and and keep signature lines short.

If you have articles or interviews to share--instead of reprinting them entirely by e-mail--please quote or comment only on relevant passages, paraphrase, or send URLs where members may read at their convenience.

There are a number of writers onlist. I ask that they avoid impersonal BSP (blatant self-promotion, such as cut-and-pasted book release announcements, long signature files, etc.) and instead get to know the group and get involved themselves so they can honestly discuss their works.

I will post notices of Yahoo! Groups downtime to the list if possible. If I am unable to use the list to keep members informed, I will post advisories to this blog.

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Spoilers

Spoilers are specific plot details that take the surprise out of reading a book for the first time (e.g. identity of the killer, death of a recurring character). Please include spoiler warnings on posts discussing new Parker books not yet in paperback. All other warnings are left to the poster's discretion.

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Special Group Features

Members are encouraged to add to our list community using the features below. When adding bookmarks, files, photos, etc., please notify me.

The Links section stores the following folders:

* Member Websites

* Other Media, treatment of Spenser or related themes in film, TV, music, etc.

* Post-Parker Authors, mid-70s to present writers influenced by Parker's Spenser

* Pre-Parker Authors, Parker's influences or authors using similar themes pre-Spenser

* Some Spenser Sites, perspectives on Spenser

* Spenseresque Story Sampler, online stories and excerpts featuring Spenseresque characters or themes

The Files section contains folders for member writing and Spenser's Sneakers promotional images, along with an explanation of who owns the rights to Spenser: For Hire.

In the Database section, you'll find the following:

* Something Like Spenser, authors/characters who may have inspired Parker's Spenser, or who followed in his tracks

* The Big Picture, members imagine a movie/TV series that will actually do Spenser justice

* Walking the Line, a critical timeline noting changes in Parker's style/the Spenser books

* "Watch Me, Watch Every Move I Make," Television/Movies involving Spenser or Parker directly

* "You're My Inspiration," movies, music, and TV shows with Spenseresque characters or themes

I've also put together a Web photo album of actors who've played Spenser, Susan, and Hawk, and various representations of Spenser over the years.

You may post live events (e.g. signings, book releases, programs) of interest to the group calendar.

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Service Advisories

I will post notice of Yahoo! Groups downtime and delays when possible. If I am unable to use the list itself, I will post to the group blog, Chatterrific. For other issues, you can check Yahoo! Groups' Official Blog.

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Frequently Asked Questions: DetecToday

What is DetecToday?
Boundaries of Discussion
Reading DetecToday
Posting and Replying
Spoilers
Special Group Features
Service Advisories


What is DetecToday?

A discussion of the works of many authors (1980-present) keeping the fictional private eye (and similar characters) a readers' favorite.

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Boundaries of Discussion

In addition to contemporary fictional private eyes, we discuss similar characters such as investigative reporters (Tess Monaghan, Robin Hudson, Frank Corso), bounty hunters (Stephanie Plum, Streeter), maverick cops (Harry Bosch), and ex-soldiers (Jack Reacher). Protags not identified as private investigators should be working mostly alone, looking after their own interests or those of a client. That is, non-P.I. characters must be engaged in a "private investigation".

Each month, DetecToday members vote on featured discussions of authors or protags debuting from 1980 to the present.

Members may discuss authors' published work freely; however, be aware of the distinction between work and work ethic. The only time anyone should discuss an author's work habits onlist is if you can cite published statements by the author about said work habits.

Authors of P.I. fiction are welcome to take part in the discussion, but they should be open to both positive and negative feedback. It's very important to me that all listmembers feel free to give their full and honest opinions on any works. The best writers I know are open to all kinds of feedback.

Please keep personal disputes offlist. If you are unsure of a message's tone, contact the poster privately, or email me.

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Reading DetecToday

You must subscribe to read our messages as as individual e-mails, daily digests, or on our Web site.

Please obtain the posting member's permission to forward messages offlist. Any member found to have forwarded messages without permission will be banned.

Note: I do not make use of the "Special Notices" setting.

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Posting and Replying

Send messages to DetecToday@yahoogroups.com or use the Post feature on our Yahoo! Groups site.

Yahoo! Groups and most e-mail programs automatically quote entire messages when you hit "Reply". In order to keep our messages and digests quickly downloadable for members with varying Internet access speeds, please quote only the specific points to which you are replying. Delete any extraneous text and and keep signature lines short.

Avoid cross-posting one message to several lists. Mystery readers often belong to the same handful of lists and don't need to receive a message more than once. Tailor your messages for the list to which you're posting.

Finally, there are a number of writers onlist. I ask that they avoid impersonal BSP (blatant self-promotion, such as cut-and-pasted book release announcements, long signature files, etc.) and instead get to know the group and get involved themselves so they can honestly discuss their works.

If you wish to post a promotional announcement to the list, e-mail me first. I welcome authors who want to discuss our topics or lurk and see what readers are saying. I discourage authors who only use the list to sell themselves.

If you have articles or interviews to share--instead of reprinting them entirely by e-mail--please quote or comment only on relevant passages, paraphrase, or send URLs where members may read at their convenience.

I will post notices of Yahoo! Groups downtime to the list if possible. If I am unable to use the list to keep members informed, I will post advisories to this blog.

Top

Spoilers

Spoilers are specific plot details that take the surprise out of reading a book for the first time (e.g. identity of the killer, death of recurring character). Because our discussion covers a wide range of P.I. fiction, there is no way to tell who's read what. Spoiler warnings are left to the poster's discretion.

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Special Group Features

Members are encouraged to add to our list community using the features below. When adding bookmarks, files, photos, etc., please notify me.

Each month, members nominate and vote on on a novel and short stories for featured discussion. To qualify for nomination, novels must be:

a) published in 1980 or later

b) written by an author debuting or starting a series in 1980 or later

c) readily available in paperback or via rare book search (e.g. www.abebooks.com, www.bibliofind.com), and

d) reasonably affordable to the group.

Each member may nominate one book per month. Unchosen novels remain in the poll up to three months unless removed by the nominating member, with at least three months before an unchosen novel may be renominated.

You may talk about a featured author's work in general. Reading the specific featured novel is not a requirement to join the discussion.

Before nominating, see a log of past featured discussions.

Previously featured authors may be renominated after a period of two years or longer.

For our short story discussion, each member may nominate either

a) two individual online stories

b) a single e-zine issue, or

c) a single print issue, anthology, or collection.

Individual short story authors may be featured twice a year, with at least six months between features by the same story author.

Information on the current featured discussions and upcoming group chats can be found here.

Both featured discussions are completely optional. DetecToday is open to anything related to recent P.I. fiction. New hardcover novels or other stories, for example, may be discussed as separate topics.

The Links section has folders for the following:

* Author/Book Info, links to the books and authors we're discussing

* Chats, links to DT chat transcripts, chatrooms mentioned onlist

* Member Blogs, many of our writer members have blogs, short for web logs

* Member Websites

* Member Fiction, online stories by listmembers

* Mystery Fiction e-Zines, find good fiction on the Web

* Mystery Mailing Lists, more mystery for your Inbox

* Online Stories Featured on DT, from our short story featured discussions

The Files section has folders for promotional images and book reviews by members.

Meet members and authors face-to-face in our Photos section.

In the Database section you'll find the following:

* Reality Scale, measuring the realism of newer authors against older ones

* Get on the Case, a list of hard-to-find books by lesser-known authors

* Featured Novel Discussions

* Featured Short Story Discussions, including where to find the stories online or in print.

* “So You Want to Be a PI Writer...,” a list of how-to and reference books

Keep track of group activities with our calendar.

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Service Advisories

I will post notice of Yahoo! Groups downtime and delays when possible. If I am unable to use the list itself, I will post to the group blog, Chatterrific. For other issues, you can check Yahoo! Groups' Official Blog.

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Chat Guests - 2009

• Karen E. Olson, January 27

[More?]

Karen E. Olson

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Participants

Karen E. Olson
Gerald So


Gerald So: First questions, how did you come up with Annie? How did you discover she was a character you could write novels about?

Karen E. Olson: I tried two mysteries before Sacred Cows that had reporter characters. But they were rather weak in more ways than one. I took a break from writing while we went to China to adopt our daughter, and when I went back to work I started writing in the middle of the night (I was a nighttime copy editor). Annie's voice just came to me. She was what I'd wanted to write all along: a tough, kick ass woman who took no prisoners. I'd been reading a lot of Marcia Muller, Sara Paretsky and others like them and I knew that was the kind of character I wanted to create.

Gerald So: I've read some Muller and Paretsky, too. Great characters. Funny to think of them as pioneering protags, but they are.

Karen E. Olson: Actually, Lillian O'Donnell started what I consider the contemporary woman detective novel in the early 1970s with her police officer Norah Mulcahaney. I read most of her books, too. Marcia Muller was next with Sharon McCone in the later '70s. It's interesting that they were so "new" then and now there are so many wonderful woman protagonists.

Gerald So: Yes, I think someone has to kick the barriers down and that inspires others to write what they want.

Karen E. Olson: I'm reading a super book now by Anna Blundy called The Bad News Bible. I found her name on some blog somewhere and discovered my library had one of her books. Her character, Faith Zanetti, is a war correspondent in Jerusalem. Lots of great stuff.

Gerald So: Did you always intend to add a P.I. (Vinny) as a supporting character?

Gerald So: That's another way of asking what differences you see between PI characters and reporter characters.

Karen E. Olson: Vinny was in the second attempt at a mystery. I had no intention of reviving him after that failed attempt, but when I started with Annie and she was dating Tom, the police detective, I said to myself: that's so cliche. So I brought Vinny back to life. I see them as a good team. They're not like police, where they have to adhere to laws, and they're after different things: Vinny wants to resolve the problem, Annie wants a story.

Gerald So: I see, yes.

Karen E. Olson: There are way too many mysteries where the amateur sleuth is dating the police detective. In my new series, I am completely avoiding that cliche as well.

Gerald So: and I don't think of Annie as an amateur with her job as a crime reporter.

Karen E. Olson: That's true. She would come across crime as part of her work.

Gerald So: an amateur to me is someone who isn't in the arena of crime as a matter of course, right.

Karen E. Olson: It's been hard for me to write an amateur sleuth after Annie. It was so easy to stick Annie into these situations. How do I get a tattooist involved in solving a crime?

Gerald So: My first attempt at a novel had a pizza chef involved in a murder investigation. I couldn't make that fly. :)

Karen E. Olson: Oh, you could have a body found in the brick oven!:)

Karen E. Olson: maybe slathered in cheese. With a tomato stuck down his throat.

Gerald So: The chef was accused of poisoning a high school rival's food. I might reuse it if I can ever make it believable.

Karen E. Olson: That's good. I think you could make it work. And with all the chef shows on TV now and their popularity, it might be the right time for it.

Gerald So: I liked the way Shot Girl was structured, with Annie doing a lot of talking but not revealing very much at any point, even to readers. Has that always been part of her voice to you?

Karen E. Olson: No. I tried something different with Shot Girl. I had just finished reading Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent and was very intrigued by his use of the unreliable narrator. Even though I had written three other Annie books in which she's very straightforward, I decided to see if I could do it with Shot Girl. It's an intensely personal story for Annie, which I felt would lend itself nicely to using that idea.

Gerald So: It does. I totally got why she wouldn't exactly realize her role in events, still being somewhat in denial, etc.

Karen E. Olson: I didn't want it to be sappy, either, when she finally tells Vinny that she loves him. She's struggled with her feelings for him for four books but I think I managed to pull it off so it's believable.

Gerald So: That worked for me, too, though SHOT GIRL is the first of your books I've read.

Karen E. Olson: I've tried to write each one so it can stand alone, with the only thread that progresses being the romance.

Gerald So: That leads me to another question: If someone were reading you for the first time, would you want them to start with your most recent book or your first?

Karen E. Olson: They could start with any of them. Honestly? I think Shot Girl is the best one, only because I feel like I've gotten to be a better writer at this point.

Karen E. Olson: Granted, in Sarah Weinman's review of Shot Girl she says she's eager to read what I've got next. My next book is the tattoo shop mystery, THE MISSING INK, and while I had great fun writing it, it's not as complex as any of the Annie books.

Gerald So: I see. I ask because I can imagine some authors saying, "Don't start with that one. I'm much better in this one." :)

Karen E. Olson: That's right. While I like Sacred Cows, I can see so many things with it now that I'd change if I could :)

Gerald So: THE MISSING INK - great title by the way.

Karen E. Olson: Ah, yes, my pun title. The second one is PRETTY IN INK.

Gerald So: Is this series set in Connecticut, too?

Karen E. Olson: No, it's set in Las Vegas. My editor wanted a place that's hot with palm trees, so I picked Vegas. I figure it changes there all the time so if I got a landmark wrong it wouldn't matter.

Gerald So: Good point.

Gerald So: Do you feel there's anything about Connecticut in particular that lends itself to crime novels?

Karen E. Olson: New Haven is perfect for crime novels. It's a great city, with really diverse neighborhoods and a fascinating history. I have set each book in a different neighborhood, starting with Sacred Cows at Yale; Secondhand Smoke in Wooster Square, which is where the mob has its history; Fair Haven, which is known for its illegal immigrants and oystering; and Shot Girl at West Rock.

Gerald So: Hmm.

Karen E. Olson: I'm just sorry my publisher didn't think it was interesting enough to let me stay there :)

Gerald So: I know what you mean. Tough to make that concession.

Gerald So: Do you plan on going back to Annie if you get the chance?

Karen E. Olson: But once I started writing the new book, it really was a lot of fun. It's completely against the "write what you know" rule since I don't have any tattoos and I have only been to Vegas once. and I'm not sure I would want to write about newsrooms right now. All my friends are getting laid off or taking buyouts, newspapers are in real flux right now. It's not funny anymore, and I'd have to either lay Annie off or give her a buyout and I have no idea what she'd do after that.

Gerald So: I see.

Karen E. Olson: Someone suggested sending Vinny and Annie to Vegas for a tattoo. So who knows? Maybe they'll make a cameo in one of the tattoo books!

Gerald So: I think crime novels can be set anywhere, actually. The main task is to see a crime happening, become a bit paranoid, and you can do that anywhere. :)

Karen E. Olson: This is true. I look at Harlan Coben's books. He sets them in suburban America and it totally works.

Gerald So: Last question: How does your new protag differ from Annie personality-wise, and what about her do you find you like best?

Karen E. Olson: Brett and Annie are completely different. Annie is a bit grumpy and worried about her job, a little too ethical sometimes, will do anything for the story, and she's really a loner. Brett was a joy to write in that she's not grumpy, she owns her own business so she's not afraid of losing her job, she's got some pretty cool friends. Brett, I have to say, is much more together than Annie is. But Annie will always be in my head in some way, and I'm not totally sure her story is over yet. We'll see.

Gerald So: Glad to hear that. Good luck and thanks for chatting. :)

Karen E. Olson: It's been fun, Gerald. I'm glad you liked the book!

Gerald So: One of my best reads in a long time, really. I find I have a harder time connecting with protags the more I read.

Gerald So: Not sure why.

Karen E. Olson: It depends on the book. I just picked up one that's been nominated for an Edgar and just couldn't get into the voice. But then I picked up this Anna Blundy book and it clicked. I find it depends on my mood at the moment. I also get on kicks where I read nothing but Henry VIII biographies (which is where I got Annie's name...)

Gerald So: Aha! :)

Karen E. Olson: Thanks, Gerald! We'll meet again in cyberspace I'm sure! [More?]

Chat Guests - 2008

• Lori G. Armstrong, February 21


• Sean Chercover, March 24


• Jen Jordan, April 20


• Jason Pinter, August 26


• Zoë Sharp, January 29


• Anthony Neil Smith & Writers from PWG #1, May 20

[More?]

Chat Guests - 2007

• Richard Aleas (Charles Ardai), September 20


• Sean Chercover, February 25


• Victor Gischler, February 18


• Steve Hamilton, May 22


• Richard Hawke (Tim Cockey), August 26


• Tim Maleeny, June 26


• Dave White, November 18

[More?]

Chat Guests - 2006

• Damn Near Dead Panel (Charles Ardai, Ray Banks, Bill Crider, Sean Doolittle, Jason Starr, Duane Swierczynski, David Thompson, Sarah Weinman), September 16


• O'Neil De Noux, October 15


• Sean Doolittle, April 23


• Harry Hunsicker, August 14


• Rob Kantner, January 17


• Bryon Quertermous, July 23


• Robert J. Randisi, June 29


• S.J. Rozan, December 10


• Jeff Shelby, August 20


• Anthony Neil Smith, May 18


• Kevin Burton Smith, March 15


• Sarah Weinman, March 26

[More?]

Chat Guests - 2005

• Featured Story Panel (Ray Banks, Megan Powell, Gerald So, Sarah Weinman), January 9


• Bill Crider, September 21


• Harry Hunsicker, July 10


• Robert J. Randisi, March 24


• John Rickards, January 23


• Stephen D. Rogers, April 17


• Peter Spiegelman, September 14


• Duane Swierczynski, March 15


• Robert W. Tinsley, February 13


• Dave White and Tim Wohlforth, June 26


• James R. Winter, March 20


• James R. Winter, October 23

[More?]

Chat Guests - 2004

• Richard Aleas (Charles Ardai), November 21


• Barry Eisler, December 19


• James Hime, October 24


• Duane Swierczynski, November 14

[More?]

Jason Pinter

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Participants

Jason Pinter
Gerald So
Dave White

Jason Pinter: so how is everyone?

Dave White: Pretty good.

Gerald So: doing well. sorry I missed the Aug. 6 launch. How did that go?

Jason Pinter: No problem. It was pretty good, fun had by all (I hope).

Dave White: Definitely a good night.

Dave White: Lemme ask you something Jason, since this is a private eye list: Henry Parker, while a news reporter, does seem to have a lot in common with the PI genre roots. Is this intentional?

Jason Pinter: I think so. He doesn't play by the exact same rules that govern traditional journalists, he's a little more on the fringe (Like PI's, who don't follow the same laws as cops)

Dave White: Yeah, it strikes me as we've gone forward, Parker becomes more PI-ish with each novel.

Dave White: The Mark is a very straight ahead thriller, then The Guilty has a lot of investigation, and then The Stolen has the most, plus the family stuff is rooted in Ross MacDonald. Why'd you decide to do that?

Jason Pinter: Well Henry is a reporter, so I needed to make sure as we went along that the books weren't all about him and his brushes with crime/death. He needed to be a reporter who, as a yproduct of his ambition and intuition, finds himself in the middle of things.

Gerald So: You say he doesn't follow the same rules as traditional journalists. How so? Is that a part of him being a specific type of reporter?

Jason Pinter: I think there's actually more investigation in each of the books. The next book, THE FURY, has more than THE STOLEN. But I also like each book to have something personal at stake for Henry, something that fleshes out his character as well as driving the plot.

Gerald So: You've worked that personal stake in well, yes.

Dave White: Have you read a lot of PI fiction? Do you have favorite PI authors?

Jason Pinter: Though a lot of the books are based on real research and real reporting (and are based on the techniques of the profession), I didn't want to write what I'd call a "police procedural' type of book.

Gerald So: I get what you mean. There are a lot of reporter procedurals out there.

Jason Pinter: What happens to Henry doesn't generally happen to most reporters, and he certainly skirts certain issues. I compare it to Harry Bosch, in that is Bosch actually killed as many people as he did in Connelly's novels, he would have either been booted off the force or gone insane a long time ago.

Dave White: Yeah, Lehane says that's the reason Kenzie and Gennaro aren't written about anymore. They'd be psychopaths.

Jason Pinter: I totally get that. And it's something that I'll probably have to deal with at some point.

Dave White: So, favorite PI writers?

Jason Pinter: Lehane. He's my favorite contemporary writer, and I LOVED the Kenzie/Gennaro books.

Dave White: Yeah, I'd agree with that.

Jason Pinter: I like Crais too, the Tess Monaghan series. Some guy named Dave White is pretty nifty.

Dave White: Please, that White guy's an ass.

Gerald So: just remember who said it first.

Jason Pinter: lol

Jason Pinter: Do people still say 'lol'?

Dave White: Believe me, it's been said a lot more than just from me.

Jason Pinter: Or does that show how out of touch I am...

Dave White: Actually people say qud now

Dave White: "qud" translates to "laugh out loud."

Gerald So: from the Latin?

Dave White: yeah. So Jason when you say the novels have to be personal, not every case has to connect to Parker's past, right?

Dave White: So, then can you explain the personal thing more?

Jason Pinter: I also think Henry differs from PIs in that a PI novel is generally kicked into gear when someone solicits the business of the PI...Henry's job more often than not is to find the story himself.

Jason Pinter: Not every case has to directly relate to Henry's past, but I like that each one has some element that impacts him. In THE STOLEN, it's that both Henry and Amanda came from broken homes so when they investigate the missing children it's not only a story.

Gerald So: Jason, have you felt rushed with the number of Parker books published in the last year and a half?

Jason Pinter: Though in the next two books we learn a lot more about where Henry came from, his family, and how he became who he is.

Dave White: nice

Jason Pinter: Hmm...yes and no. The deadlines are definitely tough, but at the same time I feel like it does keep me focused. I'm a pretty fast writer--

Jason Pinter: THE MARK was written in about 9 months, and that includes a lot of time figuring out pacing. At some point I'd like to slow things down, maybe try something outside the series, but if this helps build an audience faster and I'm able to keep up, I'll make it work.

Dave White: What's your writing process, if I may ask?

Jason Pinter: I get up around 7:30 (our dog wakes me), then I'll have breakfast, read newspapers, websites and blogs until about 10, then I start working.

Jason Pinter: I work until about 1, then have lunch and slack off until about 3, then I work until 6 or 7 when my wife gets home. Then I usually put in another hour or two late at night, around 10 or 11.

Dave White: Do you write to figure things out, outline, revise at the same time?

Jason Pinter: I never revise until I finish the first draft. I need to know how the story is going to play out, that way when I go back and edit I can edit with the knowledge of weaving all the strands together, dropping in hints along the way.

Dave White: I'm the same way.

Gerald So: How real is your New York? Are the Gazette and Dispatch based on real papers?

Jason Pinter: I know other people do it different ways, revising every page over and over again, I just can't work that way. I need to know what happens as I go through it a second time.

Jason Pinter: The NYC in my books is based on the real NYC (though Hobbs county in THE STOLEN is made up).

Jason Pinter: The Gazette is kind of an amalgam of the New York Times and the Daily News, and the Dispatch is kind of an amalgam of the Daily News and the Post.

Gerald So: I got the sense that the Dispatch was somewhat trashier.

Gerald So: than the Gazette.

Jason Pinter: Yeah, it's definitely got a lot of the Post's DNA in it. Much more tabloidy, much more lowbrow.

Gerald So: which I would say is generally true of the Times vs. the Post.

Dave White: If you were a PI, what would you keep in the top drawer of your desk?

Jason Pinter: Yeah, the Daily News is kind of in the middle.

Gerald So: right.

Jason Pinter: A resume, since I don't think I'd be a very good PI.

Dave White: HA!

Gerald So: Jason, what's your take on the reception the Parker books have gotten?

Jason Pinter: I'm really happy with it so far, but it's still weird to think people actually read my books. Obviously there are a few people who haven't liked them, but overall it's been really positive both from critics and readers.

Jason Pinter: It's pretty humbling and flattering, but also raises the bar since I don't want there to be any stinkers.

Dave White: Do you have any favorite reviews of the ones you've gotten?

Jason Pinter: Best review I've gotten is probably a tie between the Chicago Tribune and the Sun-Sentinel for THE GUILTY. Not just because the reviews were good, but because the critics who reviewed them (Oline Cogdill and Paul Goat Allen) have read everything ever published in crime fiction, so it really felt like I was being validated by the best.

Dave White: Congrats!

Dave White: What advice would you give for up and coming writers?

Jason Pinter: Keep writing, and keep revising. Never submit your work until you can read it and honestly say you wouldn't change a single word. And if that book doesn't sell, write another.

Dave White: Are you willing to tell us more about what The Fury is about?

Jason Pinter: Sure thing Dave!!!

Dave White: Hey, I'm trying here, gimme a break.

Jason Pinter: The story kicks off when Henry is accosted outside of his office one night by a man who's totally strung out, muttering something unintelligible. Since a colleague had recently been attacked, Henry goes straight home.

Jason Pinter: A few hours later, he gets a call from a detective who tells him that the same man was just found murdered in his apartment. And that the man was Henry's brother.

Dave White: whoa. cool.

Gerald So: This is what you meant by Henry's origins coming out.

Jason Pinter: So as readers knows, Henry doesn't have a brother. At least that he's aware of. So he has to go home for the first time in a decade to get to the bottom of this. And just when he thinks he has the answers, the bottom falls out from under him, and a much darker story comes to light. He has to both find out who he really is, while also investigating why this man was murdered, and why he presumably came to Henry for help.

Gerald So: Kind of an Oedipus Rex thing.

Jason Pinter: Certainly in his relationship with his father, which has been touched on but not really developed until THE FURY.

Gerald So: Speaking of that, do you share anything in common with Henry? I always wonder if authors put much of themselves into their protags.

Jason Pinter: Some things for sure. I wrote THE MARK partly because I was sick and tired of my generation seemingly being represented by people like Jayson Blair et al, simply because they got the most press. Everyone thought he was indicative of the moral decay of this generation.

Jason Pinter: So I wanted to create a character that could be something of a role model, or at least appeal to people my age (while also traditional crime fiction fans). Henry and I both share a mutual disgust for the people who seem to hold the megaphones for our generation, and the media that gives it to them.

Dave White: The books have already been released overseas right? If so, how's the reaction been there?

Gerald So: I think that's great motivation. I remember Lehane created Kenzie and Gennaro after being bitterly disappointed in the work of one of his favorite writers.

Jason Pinter: That was part of my motivation too, I read a few books (which shan't be named) that just pissed me off, and I felt like I could do better, frankly.

Jason Pinter: They've been published in, I think 11 countries so far. The reaction has been really good overseas, especially in the UK.

Dave White: Cool.

Dave White: Hey, how'd you come up with Henry's name?

Jason Pinter: I wanted him to have a name that wasn't really common for a younger guy, and I've never met anyone under the age of 40 named Henry. Since he's kind of a bridge between two generations (the old school journalism and Gen X/Y) I thought it'd be apt.

Gerald So: It works.

Jason Pinter: Thanks!

Dave White: Okay, I have one more question and then I'm spent.

Dave White: Who's the best New Jersey author you've ever spent a plane ride with?

Gerald So: :) Has Jason flown with Wallace Stroby?

Dave White: Crap, i hope not.

Jason Pinter: Harlan Coben. I read HOLD TIGHT on a plane and it made it so much more enjoyable!

Jason Pinter: ;-)

Dave White: HA! Good one.

Gerald So: How do you decide on your book titles, since they are so brief? And would you ever break that pattern?

Jason Pinter: THE MARK was originally titled HERO OF THE DAY (after the Metallica song). THE MARK just seemed punchier and more to the, well, point.

Jason Pinter: THE GUILTY was originally titled THE REGULATOR, but we changed it because you'd have to read the whole book to understand why.

Jason Pinter: THE STOLEN was the original title, as was THE FURY. I kind of like the short, punchy thing, but at some point I'll run out of words 6 letters and under.

Gerald So: oh, right. I remember the original title from the preview in The Mark.

Gerald So: I hope to see what kind of reporter/man Henry is when he's Jack O'Donnell's age.

Jason Pinter: Yeah, that'll be interesting. Hopefully he can stay away from the bottle and have better luck in love.

Gerald So: Thanks again for the chat, Jason. And Dave actually asked good questions. :)

Dave White: once in a while I come through.

Jason Pinter: Thanks Gerald, this was fun.

Gerald So: My pleasure.

Dave White: Hasta La Pasta, Pinter.

Jason Pinter: Hey, can I post this on my blog?

Dave White: Only if you give me a really cool alias... like Buzzsaw

Jason Pinter: I really appreciate your picking THE GUILTY, and the support as well. It's very, very cool.

Gerald So: Sure, I'm going to post the transcript on my chat blog, too.

Jason Pinter: Cool beans.

Gerald So: so you can link to that if you want.

Jason Pinter: Will do.

Dave White: all right guys, see ya later.

Gerald So: 'Night, guys.

Jason Pinter: Night fellas, thanks again [More?]

Anthony Neil Smith & Writers from Plots with Guns #1

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Participants:

Greg Bardsley
Stephen Blackmoore
Victor Gischler
Harry Hunsicker
Justin Porter
Kieran Shea
Anthony Neil Smith
Gerald So

Gerald So: Hi, Neil.

Anthony Neil Smith: hello. so...a little light on people so far...

Kieran Shea: I've been following the psychobilly tour online. i assume you've recovered, neil?

Anthony Neil Smith: only enough to go on another road trip to Omaha this weekend. A real one. it was a long tour. 9000 words. *yawn*

Kieran Shea: barnes & n have been dragging on securing "yellow med" out here in annapolis. keep asking, they keep putting me off.

Anthony Neil Smith: if they say it's due in June, tell them that's wrong. Do you have a Borders? They're great about getting them in.

Anthony Neil Smith: All the B&Ns I dropped in at didn't have them. Sloooooow. But thanks for trying!

Kieran Shea: Yeah. The borders, it flooded the other day, lots of swollen books. closed.

Anthony Neil Smith: SHIT! Aw, and I was just starting to like Borders.

Harry Hunsicker: Greetings.

Anthony Neil Smith: Harry. See you in July, eh?

Harry Hunsicker: You bet. I'll be bleary eyed from coming back from Thrillerfest but I'll be there.

Anthony Neil Smith: We'll be bleary-eyed from...oh....beer.

Kieran Shea: Hi, Harry. I said hello to you at Crime Fiction U. in NYC--I was wearing the Thuglit tee.

Harry Hunsicker: Neil, did you ever hook up with Scott Montgomery in Austin?

Anthony Neil Smith: No, but we got a big event planned anyway. The OUT OF THE GUTTER guys helped set it up.

Harry Hunsicker: Hi, K. Nice to see you again.

Anthony Neil Smith: Schlitz is giving us free beer. In Austin, at Bookpeople, I mean.

Harry Hunsicker: Whoa. Free beer!

Anthony Neil Smith: Free SCHLITZ. Have to say the proper name. I'm a corporate shill now.

Harry Hunsicker: That's the best kind to be.

Justin Porter: Just figured this thing out. Christ I'm a retard. Sorry guys. Justin Porter here.

Anthony Neil Smith: When VG, SD and I tried to do a chat room for the Crimedog thing on CrimeSpree, it went down in hellish flames. We resported to email. It tooks days. Wow. I can't frakucking type today.

Justin Porter: No worries. This is my first time using IM, so I won't even notice I bet.

Anthony Neil Smith: Blackmoore. You play guitar good on those Rainbow albums.

Kieran Shea: HA! i love that!

Stephen Blackmoore: lol

Anthony Neil Smith: "Like a something in the daaaaark." Forgot the words.

Gerald So: Okay, anyone with a question can type ? and I'll call on you.

Anthony Neil Smith: No, that's Dio. I think.

Justin Porter: Okay. Sounds good.

Kieran Shea: Neil, on your blog you mentioned that PWG's 2 is coming out, can you let us in on what we can expect, besides mayhem?

Anthony Neil Smith: A bald guy with a gun. Patti Abbott, Bryon Q, Jimmy the Worm...all good stuff.

Stephen Blackmoore: Don't all bald guys have guns?

Anthony Neil Smith: Most.

Gerald So: John Stickney sends in the following: "I wondered what Neil has learned as an editor - what the role has done to improve his writing & what he immediately looks for when evaluating submissions."

Justin Porter: Good question.

Anthony Neil Smith: Learned what makes me want to keep going when I read a story, which helps for writing. And I want my attention grabbed and demanded. Not begged.

Anthony Neil Smith: Kieran, I still can't find that tequila you told me about. Damn! I'll have to look for it in Texas this summer.

Kieran Shea: Oh, I'll bring it with me to Baltimore, Neil. Plenty to go around.

Gerald So: Neil, are you consciously doing anything differently with PWG 2.0 that you didn't do with the first version?

Anthony Neil Smith: Well...I'm more picky and grouchy about submissions...I try to keep it smaller (staff and # of issues) so it won't overwhelm me...Last time, it threatened to become a business. I can't afford that! It's just an out of pocket labor of love.

Harry Hunsicker: ?

Anthony Neil Smith: Also, trying to bring in more artist/photogs instead of stock stuff or doing it myself.

Gerald So: Go, Harry.

Harry Hunsicker: Have you considered going the other way and doing a print version, like MURDALAND?

Anthony Neil Smith: Nope. Not unless someone want to underwrite me. Too expensive. I think we reach more readers online.

Stephen Blackmoore: ?

Gerald So: Go, Stephen.

Anthony Neil Smith: But the OOTG guys make you think. Nice looking thing they do.

Stephen Blackmoore: Speaking of reaching more readers online, what's your traffic been like since you reopened the doors?

Anthony Neil Smith: I don't know. I haven't checked my stats in a while. But it's more than before, for sure...more ways to get the word out, too, than we had 5 yrs ago.

Anthony Neil Smith: What do the PWG authors think of the mag? Before you submitted? Now?

Gerald So: go ahead, anyone.

Kieran Shea: I have to admit, I only read the anthology. I was excited to have a new window online for aspiring crime guys like me. for a little flavor, I am being strafed right now by the Blue Angels. commissioning week here in annapolis

Anthony Neil Smith: Blue Angels are cool. They were in a Van Halen video once. But the song sucked.

Justin Porter: When I first started submitting stuff online, (stephen you wise-ass. Now I see him) Plots with Guns was not open. So I was stoked to hear when it went back up and even more stoked when Neil decided to print that piece of trash I sent him.,

Anthony Neil Smith: Good trash.

Justin Porter: Thanks. The format is awesome. Nice and simple and of course, I love the design and the artwork.

Gerald So: Anyone else want to answer Neil's q?

Stephen Blackmoore: I'd always liked it. Was sorry to see it go before I had anything to submit. Afterward, I feel teh same way, but just proud to have a piece in it.

Kieran Shea: Me too.

Greg Bardsley: So, I had no idea that Plots with Guns had such a deep reputation amongst writers. I have been blown away at the props I have gotten from other writers for getting into Plots with Guns. Just got a nice note from an author last night. Never got notes like that before with other stories. I had always wondered weather these stories were gong into a black hole or not.

Anthony Neil Smith: ?

Gerald So: Go ahead, Neil.

Justin Porter: That's a good point. It feels a bit like the old guard of online crime fiction. In so far as anything this young has an old guard.

Anthony Neil Smith: How about all the online crime fiction mags? Do they each have their own flavor (bad grammar!)? Like, ThugLit's gone nuts...in a good way.

Kieran Shea: what got me about PWG #1 is the diversity--the tones, the subjects.

Greg Bardsley: I have found that Plots with Guns kinda has its own community, which is pretty cool

Anthony Neil Smith: Another new thing I'm looking for: Transgressive crime fiction. Don't play it safe. But don't shock just for the hell of it. Really get to me. Like, does Irvine Welsh's FILTH fit into Crime Fic? Sort of. Does Bardsley's "Upper Deck"? Kind of. But if you like one, you'll like the other, I'm betting.

Justin Porter: Thuglit is off the chain. They've just scored an anthology of their own.

Harry Hunsicker: Trans-what?

Anthony Neil Smith: Who else do we like to read who is "on the border" of crime and lit or subversive fiction.

Stephen Blackmoore: Pre-op or post?

Justin Porter: Will Christopher Baer is a personal favorite.

Greg Bardsley: Love ThugLit's energy and creativity...I've read some seriously good pieces on Thuglit lately

Anthony Neil Smith: "Transgressive". Nice word for "dirty sex and drugs and violence".

Gerald So: The online mags have different flavors to me, but quite naturally. I don't consciously try for one with Thrilling, but we have one.

Kieran Shea: banks, palahniuk, huston, guthrie---

Anthony Neil Smith: No she-males, Blackmoore. Not unless you pay.

Stephen Blackmoore: How about in installments?

Stephen Blackmoore: I think all the magazines have their own sensibilities. They're labors of love and it shows.

Greg Bardsley: Definitely.

Justin Porter: Well, its the dichotomy between Mystery fiction and crime fiction. One as an almost proper feel to it, while crime fiction has got so much flavor. It captures more of the human element I believe. And for anybody who follows crime in the news there is shit out there you literally can't make up.

Justin Porter: Why no she-males?

Stephen Blackmoore: One of the things that always struck me about PWG is that it's not just raw in the stories it has but in its visual style as well. It's always felt very rough. In a good way.

Anthony Neil Smith: Well...okay. She-males, too.

Justin Porter: Haha.

Justin Porter: Haven't stuck one of those in a story yet.

Greg Bardsley: But it's a good question: Why not?

Anthony Neil Smith: It needs to LOOK good, I think. I get annoyed with online sites that look bland. Why should I stick around? I can go look up shit on YouTube instead.

Justin Porter: That's a good point. I almost get a little worried when I send a story to a site that doesn't have a slightly warped appearance. I think to myself, "Shit, they're not gonna print this."

Gerald So: I'm with you there.

Kieran Shea: Hear, hear, Justin, on crime news, I mine the district attorney press releases in Maryland daily. it's amazing

Stephen Blackmoore: ?

Gerald So: Go ahead, Stephen.

Stephen Blackmoore: Geek question. Do you hand code all teh HTML or are you using any content management?

Kieran Shea: ?

Anthony Neil Smith: Huh wha duh? I use Dreamweaver and Photoshop. WYSIWYG

Justin Porter: WWJD?

Anthony Neil Smith: He'd kick our heathen asses is what he'd do. And then forgive us. Softie.

Gerald So: Go, Kieran.

Kieran Shea: Harry, what's the Mystery Writers of America think about online publishing in the crime scene?

Harry Hunsicker: I don't beleive MWA has an official position on that.

Kieran Shea: hmm

Justin Porter: haha. My reply to that question is usually "who cares."

Anthony Neil Smith: The MWA wants us to all get off its lawn! Crazy whippersnappers!

Harry Hunsicker: Darn straight. You are a member, aren't you, Neil?

Amthony Neil Smith: Not anymore. Expensive, and, well....I used to be. Let's say that. I got tired of Margery leaning on me for dues. Like an enforcer, that one.

Greg Bardsley: I think the online stories have a chance to reach folks who never would've read them, which is cool

Justin Porter: ?

Gerald So: Go, Justin.

Justin Porter: This is a general question for everybody.

Justin Porter: Even as prevalent as reading things on a computer screen has become, what with news-sources and multi-media, there are still so many people who I speak to who don't read anything longer than 1000 or so words on a screen. I'm not sure where this question is going, just looking for thoughts.

Anthony Neil Smith: Oh, man, I tend to not want to read online that much myself. I read faster online, though. I can blaze through stories.

Kieran Shea: but I think this goes back to neil's desire for stories that blast off the page

Anthony Neil Smith: Maybe it's a good thing for that. It makes me read right then and there.

Greg Bardsley: Definitely. ... I do find myself printing out the pieces I wanna read.

Greg Bardsley: they blast off the page, grab me and if it's long, I'll print it out.

Stephen Blackmoore: I think the tech limitations sort of force that to happen. People are reading on smaller and smaller screens. More things are showing up on ipods as much as on full size monitors.

Justin Porter: That's all true. It's that need for an immediate grab in your work. It forces us all to make them pop from the very start.

Anthony Neil Smith: Isn't there a trend in Japan for novels being written on cell phones and sent to other cell phones? I heard about this.

Kieran Shea: oh God.

Justin Porter: Yeah. A few people have even scored publishing deals like that.

Gerald So: yes, me, too.

Anthony Neil Smith: All the kids these days type ALL THE TIME, but they have no clue about paragraphs, grammar, etc.

Kieran Shea: and you can speak to this, you're the prof.

Justin Porter: I believe at the moment, they've mostly been romances. One was featured on the front of the New York Times. She wrote the fucking thing on her commute to work.

Stephen Blackmoore: Yeah. It's happened here, too. There's also a service, through the Gutenberg project I think, to send single chapters or a few pages of novels to people at a time thorugh text messaging.

Justin Porter: Christ.

Anthony Neil Smith: I should let students text me their papers.

Gerald So: Oh, please no.

Justin Porter: You really want to read that shit in l33t speak?

Stephen Blackmoore: Roxxors!

Anthony Neil Smith: What did you call me, bitch?

Gerald So: I'm going blind.

Stephen Blackmoore: Sorry. there's a Z at the end of that

Stephen Blackmoore: ?

Gerald So: Go, Stephen.

Stephen Blackmoore: On the topic of shorter fiction online, has anyone run into having trouble writing longer pieces? I keep wanting to write novels the way I write short stories, which means getting things going fast. Sometimes that doesn't work with a longer piece.

Anthony Neil Smith: It works for Duane Swiercynzski.

Anthony Neil Smith: I have a harder time writing short now after several novels.

Justin Porter: That's what I've heard too, about Duane.

Anthony Neil Smith: I hate "flash fiction" though. Ugh. I'd rather have 2000 words that *feels* like 1000.

Justin Porter: The problem I run into is time. Work and life, when I sit down to write I most often think in terms of short fiction. I can't even bring myself to dredge out the 1st draft.

Victor Gischler: Am I virtual yet?

Anthony Neil Smith: You're virtually something.

Gerald So: You're here, Victor.

Victor Gischler: nice

Justin Porter: ?

Gerald So: Go ahead, Justin.

Justin Porter: Neil just answered my question. I don't mind flash fiction at all, but I enjoy it more as an exercise.

Anthony Neil Smith: I read your mind!

Justin Porter: Scary thought. I hope you brought hip-waders and mace when you where digging around in there.

Anthony Neil Smith: Others? Flashers?

Victor Gischler: ?

Gerald So: Go ahead, Victor.

Stephen Blackmoore: Flash fiction's okay, but it feels like it's just a scene rather than a story

Anthony Neil Smith: Like a joke with a punchline.

Stephen Blackmoore: Yeah

Victor Gischler: When's the next issue going live, you lazy bastard...I need my fix.

Kieran Shea: flash fiction feels, cheap, like a gyp.

Anthony Neil Smith: Within the next two weeks. Do you not read my non-blog?

Victor Gischler: I thought maybe you were just managing expectations.

Stephen Blackmoore: I thought you burned the date into your forehead with a soldering iron.

Anthony Neil Smith: Why the hell would I do that?

Gerald So: :)

Victor Gischler: Because chicks dig it?

Justin Porter: Hope he pays the electric bill. Otherwise it's back to the hammer and wood-chisel.

Anthony Neil Smith: Aw, yeah. Then there it'll be...then crossed out, then again...

Gerald So: Oh, here's a question. What is noir to (all of) you?

Victor Gischler: Neil loves this question

Stephen Blackmoore: French for black?

Greg Bardsley: Have no F'n idea...but I guess it feels like a slightly stylized form or slightly/lurid dark crime fiction

Anthony Neil Smith: Noir is fucked-up shit that can't get unfucked-up. And I know it when I see it. And it tastes best with porn.

Justin Porter: For me it's the difference between noir and hardboiled: The same storylines, except in Hardboiled the main character has all the tools needed to solve the problem, and in noir, they don't.

Justin Porter: Everything tastes better with porn.

Kieran Shea: Running around the bottom of society's well, Looking to claw out to the light, or at least drown on your own terms. that's what I look for.

Harry Hunsicker: Noir is going after the woman you can't take home to meet mom. Again and again.

Justin Porter: "Drown on your own terms." I like that. I always go for that woman.

Anthony Neil Smith: I just like to see people pushed to their max. Noir does that. Hard-boiled, however, doesn't. It's kind of less interesting because of that.

Justin Porter: The thing that pisses me off is how ready people are to toss a novel or a story under the "noir" banner. There's a lot of stuff that I've seen people put there that doesn't really deserve it.

Greg Bardsley: Huston has a pretty involved perspective/personal-definition of noir on his website

Kieran Shea: So does hardboiled actually exist anymore? legit-like? or is it all nostalgia?

Anthony Neil Smith: The more noir, the better. But there's too much "noir light" out there. Allan G prefers Grand Guiginol.

Justin Porter: I think current hardboiled is today what it was then, easy pulp entertainment.

Anthony Neil Smith: Hard-boiled exists. It sells well. It's all over P.I. books. Like a nice little jacket it can wear. Crumley is still hard-boiled and not noir, I think, but I love the man's work. Amazing stuff.

Justin Porter: He's amazing.

Greg Bardsley: I tell you one thing, there are certainly not a whole lot if boo editors out there looiking for hardboiled manuscripts,

Anthony Neil Smith: I guess I just like stuff where people have guns and curse.

Justin Porter: Finally read "The Last Good Kiss" this year.

Gerald So: I think you can be hardboiled today. To me, it's not about showing off. It's genuine toughness.

Kieran Shea: How about stansberry--he's a moody one.

Justin Porter: Haven't had the pleasure.

Greg Bardsley: "Dope" -- excellent noir

Justin Porter: Yes it was.

Anthony Neil Smith: Genuine toughness. As long as I can buy it. I want to believe it's real. Not just a put-on. So I want to see my P.I.s scared of stuff.

Greg Bardsley: ?

Gerald So: I agree, Neil. Go, Greg.

Justin Porter: The human element goes missing a lot. And to me, my favorite stories are always the ones in which the main character has to become so much like what he's fighting in order to survive. That change makes good story.

Anthony Neil Smith: Yeah, like Batman. Become what you're fighting. Cool. Or Vic Mackey from THE SHIELD.

Justin Porter: LOVE the shield.

Anthony Neil Smith: Inspiring stuff.

Greg Bardsley: How do you guys balance time for short stories and the bigger novel projects? I always feel like I'm at odds with conflicting interests. Only so much time, ya know?

Anthony Neil Smith: Most of the time goes to the novel project for the year. But if I get an idea for a short, I type it out (usually opening lines and notes), then save it for later. If it grows and grows, then I sit down and bang it out.

Justin Porter: When somebody figures this out let me know. I find myself constantly sprinting from one end of the seesaw to the other.

Anthony Neil Smith: But I write fewer shorts nowadays. Maybe three a year as opposed to six or seven in the old days.

Stephen Blackmoore: I use short stories to take a break from something larger I'm working on.

Greg Bardsley: I try to find logical breaks between projects, like when I'm waiting to hear back from a reader or my agent

Justin Porter: I stopped bothering. Whenever I try and reach for balance everything becomes so much more chaotic. I've stopped trying.

Anthony Neil Smith: There's no balance. The Force is a lie. You're all going to die.

Kieran Shea: brutally

Justin Porter: Use the fork, Luke?

Gerald So: I've tried to plan for novels, and it's worked to some extent, but I always try to write what's most immediate (which is often a short). If I get away from that, I get blocked.

Stephen Blackmoore: If I try to structure things too much it all falls apart. Embrace the uncertainty.

Anthony Neil Smith: Not brutally, either. Messily, though.

Justin Porter: God I hope so. Who wants to go gentle?

Stephen Blackmoore: First timers?

Anthony Neil Smith: Me! Me! I want to be asleep or out of my gourd so I don't realize it.

Greg Bardsley: "Who wants to go gentle?" .. "first timers"? what kind of chat is this?

Justin Porter: The good kind. Here, drink this.

Gerald So: It's a PWG chat for sure. Any last questions?

Kieran Shea: PWG #2? when?

Justin Porter: ? for Neil.

Anthony Neil Smith: Oh yeah. PWG #2 will come out when I damn well feel like it...or in the next two weeks.

Gerald So: go, Justin.

Anthony Neil Smith: I should just abandon a real schedule and do it whenever I want. Anthony Neil Smith: Some years, 2 issues. Some years, 9.

Stephen Blackmoore: Keeps 'em guessing.

Justin Porter: Are you going to enforce any kind of policy about writers submitting who have been previously published by you?

Justin Porter: Go for chaos. Fuck deadlines and order.

Gerald So: I agree.

Anthony Neil Smith: I generally don't run back to back issues with the same authors, but I like trying to build an awesome little Black Mask 2.0 club, too...I like to see repeat authors. I like watching a big archive build of their stuff...Like Tribe, or Wolven.

Justin Porter: That's good to know. Obviously though, with a submission you'd hold something an issue couldn't take for another, future one right?

Victor Gischler: are you ever going to solicit ... or just see what comes over the transom?

Justin Porter: That's an interesting ?

Anthony Neil Smith: If I like one, I'll hold it, sure.

Justin Porter: Cool.

Greg Bardsley: ooh, good question. I get the sense the Murdaland gang solicits.

Kieran Shea: any themes like Out of the Gutter?

Anthony Neil Smith: I've solicited before. But right now, it's the transom. If we get desperate, maybe we'll ask Harry to start sending stuff under a pen name.

Anthony Neil Smith: No themes for now. I like just watching the issue come together organically.

Anthony Neil Smith: That's what happened with #1...

Gerald So: I like that approach.

Justin Porter: What does everybody think about themes?

Harry Hunsicker: I've got a nice story about a Vicar who investigates a burglary at the tea shop.

Stephen Blackmoore: Are there cats?

Victor Gischler: More of a rhetorical question: When will big shot New York publishing catch on for an anthology?

Anthony Neil Smith: Oh, I don't know. When I kiss their SEX IN THE CITY loving asses? Will never happen....

Greg Bardsley: Can't stand them

Harry Hunsicker: Fluffy cats.

Kieran Shea: but I loved that xmas issue of thuglit with s. doolittle's

Anthony Neil Smith: ...after Greg's story, I knew how I wanted the rest to "feel". With #2, it was Jimmy Callaway's.

Victor Gischler: theme issue: Plots With Knives ... just once.

Kieran Shea: yes! or power tools

Greg Bardsley: ha ha

Justin Porter: OH YES! Plots with Knives!

Greg Bardsley: Plots with Mace

Anthony Neil Smith: PLOTS WITH NUKES

Harry Hunsicker: Actually, that would be kinda cool. Knives. Cutting. Blood.

Justin Porter: Haven't you been watching the news, Neil?

Justin Porter: There's your plots with nukes, right there.

Anthony Neil Smith: I meant street level nukes. The news is stupid.

Justin Porter: Hahah.

Anthony Neil Smith: News. Ha. I'm an American, damn it! I *am* the news!

Anthony Neil Smith: Just kidding.

Gerald So: It's 5 mins past 4:00 here. Should we wrap up?

Justin Porter: Alright ya'all. I gotta head to work. Been fun talking with everybody.

Anthony Neil Smith: I am thankful for all the awesome writers who give me their stuff for free. I hope they think they're making a good deal.

Gerald So: Thanks, Justin.

Justin Porter: I know I made an awesome deal. Thanks for what you've decided to do, Neil.

Anthony Neil Smith: You guys are the best...and the next generation of big shot crime writers.

Kieran Shea: Just learning the craft.

Harry Hunsicker: Bye all. Neil and Gisch, see you in Dallas.

Stephen Blackmoore: Thanks for putting it out there.

Victor Gischler: See you soon, Justin.

Justin Porter: Absolutely.

Victor Gischler: Yes, Harry. For sure!

Gerald So: Thank you all for attending. [More?]