Labels: Dave Zeltserman, Publishing, Thoughts from the Shadows, Writing

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Labels: 5 Questions, interview, J.A. Konrath, Writing

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Labels: Dave Zeltserman, Jim Thompson, mysteries, Thoughts from the Shadows, Writing

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Labels: 5 Questions, Bethany Keeley, interview, quotation marks, Writing

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Labels: 5 Questions, Chick Lit, interview, Melena Lott, Writing

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“In the world of mystery fiction, Mr. Hillerman was that rare figure: a best-selling author who was adored by fans, admired by fellow authors and respected by critics. Though the themes of his books were not overtly political, he wrote with an avowed purpose: to instill in his readers a respect for Native American culture.”

Labels: Fiction, mysteries, Tony Hillerman, Writing

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DaRK PaRTY asked writers and authors a simple question: “What literary character do you find most compelling and why?”

Here are the answers we got:

Mark Bauerlein, author of “The Dumbest Generation”

“Let me go back a few decades and recall a character from my first year of college: Ivan Karamazov. I read the book for a first-year humanities course at UCLA, and it stuck. No doubt much of the psychology and historical context of the book escaped me, but the plight of the middle brother hit home hard. Ivan is young, smart, talented, handsome, a journalist/writer, and an atheist. I, too, was an atheist, having just come out of a conversion experience that left me without any spiritual beliefs at all. An ominous and lonely feeling hovered all the time, and I wondered what life was for, what nobility was possible for clever little animals wandering a speck of rock in a vast, cold, empty universe.

Ivan gave that condition dramatic form. Yes, his fate is a sad one, but on the way toward it he manages to make his metaphysical discomforts into something with a dignity all their own. That’s all I wanted. Not a return of faith, which I knew would never happen, but a casting of atheism as meaningful and wise and noble. I no longer believe that atheism is any more moral or intellectual than faith is (though I’m stuck with it), but Ivan´s example lingers as a special remembrance.”

Hannah Tiniti, author of “The Good Thief”

“I have to say that my favorite literary character has always been Jane Eyre. I think this is because the book is divided into three distinct parts—childhood, romantic love, and God. As a little girl, I read about Jane and sympathized with her feelings of injustice and marveled at the way she talked back to grownups. When I was a teenager, I envied how Jane maintained her own identity, throughout her love affair with Rochester, and later, as a young woman, I thought her extremely sensible in her faith and understanding of the divine. I’d like to be more like her.”

Otto Penzler, editor of “The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps”

“I've always (well, for 50 years, anyway) had tremendous affection of A.J. Raffles, the gentleman jewel thief created by Arthur Conan Doyle's brother-in-law, E.W. Hornung. The portrayal (however inaccurate and romanticized it may have been) of the serene life of mahogany-leather-etched glass clubs, weekends at country houses, and tuxedos at dinner parties has a deep appeal, but most interesting is Raffles himself. His odd code of ethics and the thoughts that went into his decision-making brought me back to the short stories frequently. This is really true of the first two books only (The Amateur Cracksman and Raffles, which was titled The Black Mask in the U.K.) because he almost functioned as a detective in the third collection, A Thief in the Night, while the novel, Mr. Justice Raffles, is excruciatingly dull.

Virtually every story showed Raffles committing a burglary to help someone else, not unlike the malignant Robin Hood paradigm in which it is implicit that the commandment ordering "Thou Shalt Not Steal" can be ignored, as long as you're stealing from the wealthy— not unlike the Democratic party's message. Raffles wanted to relieve the terrible situations of those to whom he was close, surely a noble inclination, yet was able to do so only by resorting to its ignoble opposite— theft. His greatest dilemma occurs when he contemplates stealing from the host who has invited him for a lovely weekend in the country, with a glamorous party to boot— the epitome of breaking the gentleman's code of honor.”

Dave Zeltserman, author of “Small Crimes”

“The Continental Op. This nameless, short, overweight, and not particularly good-looking op from the Dain Curse, Red Harvest, and several volumes of short stories, is probably one of the most dogged and persistent PIs in crime fiction. He's also a tough SOB who can take a beating, is smart enough to make the connections he should, and is willing to steal a crutch from a cripple if it means getting the job done. How can you not find a guy like that compelling?”

Polly Frost, author of “Deep Inside”

“I'm going to answer with the fictional character who I've most recently found compelling: Auntie Mame from Patrick Dennis' book of the same name.

I know this is hardly a stop-the-presses answer. Many people found Auntie Mame to be one of the most compelling characters they've ever encountered in fiction. Camille Paglia has even called "Auntie Mame" an important, overlooked book. I'm with her on that. And who hasn't heard someone – usually a carefree, madcap, willfully charming woman who behaves younger than her years – described as an "Auntie Mame?” She's such a familiar archetype that for years I didn't really feel I needed to read the book. Now that I have, though, I really-really understand what's so great about her as a creation.

Lightweight though some self-important people may feel the book to be – and don't get me started on how undervalued comic novels are! – Auntie Mame really is one of literature's most compelling characters. The secret, it seems to me, is that she's archetypal – the madcap free spirit larger than life aunt – but she isn't just archetypal.

Whether instinctively or consciously, Patrick Dennis understood that compelling characters can't just be resonant archetypes. They need to be living and breathing. Think about what's involved in 1) nailing a larger-than-life archetype, and then 2) bringing her to life. That takes a lot of daring and talent.

And there's no question that Auntie Mame is alive for the reader. She's full of contradictions: she's self-centered, self-interested, and yet admirable for her resilience. She uses people, yet she's egalitarian. She's a neglectful parent towards her orphan ward, yet she also sets him free in ways a traditionally caring mother never could. She's crude yet fine-spirited, embarrassing yet glorious.

For all that I thought I already knew Auntie Mame and how she would behave in the novel, I was constantly surprised by the fictional reality of her. She was far more outrageous than I'd imagined she would be, far more self-serving, and yet also far more touching.

And that brings up a fiction-topic that seems to me to be 'way under-discussed: the importance – the challenge, the technique, all that – of creating a supporting cast that sets your main character off. Divas are so outsized that we often overlook their setting. In my experience, it's just as hard to create these supporting characters. They can't compete, yet they can't be boring. The reader needs to identify with them and their perspective on the compelling character, yet not lose respect for them.

In "Auntie Mame," Patrick Dennis pulls this stunt off in a way all writers could learn from. His narrator character – Auntie Mame's conventional-souled nephew – has real conflicts in the face of Mame's seductive bohemianism. He longs for middle class security, yet knows he'll always be entranced by his Aunt. He loves her, yet he needs to escape her. Yet he always comes back to her too. We believe in him as much as in her – we know how it is that she gives his life a kind of meaning it wouldn't have had otherwise.

"Auntie Mame" should be required reading for all writing students.”

Ken Bruen, author of “London Boulevard”

“The sheriff, Ford, in Jim Thompson's, The Killer Inside Me, what a voice, chilling yet almost chatty, lethal yet oddly convincing, and with a very dry sense of humour, almost un-noticable and he sucks you in, you start to see the world like this stone cold psycho does and to understand his maddness, a real feat of masterly narrative and the more you read it, the more you realise how incredibly plotted, crafted it is and so simply written, it seems ...easy.”

Emily Benedek, author of “Red Sea”

“I have always loved the character of Konstantin Levin from Anna Karenina. He was a farmer and a good soul who cleaved to nature. He withdrew from what he perceived as the falseness of Russian society life to live at his country estate, where he tried to develop modern farming techniques, treat his serfs well, and mused about issues of rationality and faith. I very much relate to his interest in science and religion--and their sometimes fraught relationship, and also his ability to appreciate pure goodness when it appeared in his midst.”

The Most Memorial Dickens' Supporting Characters

In Search of City Lights

5 Writers Every Man Should Read

Labels: Dave Zeltserman, Emily Benedek, Hannah Tinti, Ken Bruen, literature, Mark Bauerlein, Otto Penzler, Polly Frost, Writing

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The First Sentences of 12 Classics of Literature

Oliver Twist

By Charles Dickens

“Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be
prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name,
there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a
workhouse; and in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not
trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to
the reader, in this stage of the business at all events; the item of mortality
whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter.”

Pride and Prejudice

By Jane Austen

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

By Mark Twain

“You don’t know about me, without you have read a book by the name of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” but that ain’t no matter.”

Jane Eyre

By Charlotte Bronte

“There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.”

For Whom the Bell Tolls

By Ernest Hemingway

“He lay on the brown, pine-needled floor of the forest, his chin on his folded arms, and the high overhead the wind blew in the tops of the pine trees.”

The Scarlett Letter

By Nathaniel Hawthorne

“A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and grey steeple-crowned
hats, inter-mixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded,
was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily
timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes.”

Portrait of a Lady

By Henry James

“Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than
the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea." 

Ethan Frome

By Edith Wharton

“I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in
such cases, each time it was a different story.”

Heart of Darkness

By Joseph Conrad

“The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails,
and was at rest.” 

Of Human Bondage

By W. Somerset Maugham

“The day broke gray and dull.”

Light in August

By William Faulkner

“Sitting beside the road, watching the wagon mount the hill toward her, Lena thinks,
‘I have come from Alabama: a fur piece.’”

I, Claudius

By Robert Graves

“Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles) who was once, and not so long ago either, known to my friends and relatives and associates as "Claudius the Idiot", or "That Claudius", or "Claudius the Stammere", or "Clau-Clau-Claudius" or at best as "Poor Uncle Claudius", am now about to write this strange history of my life; starting from my earliest childhood and continuing year by year until I reach the fateful point of change where, some eight years ago, at the age of fifty-one, I suddenly found myself caught in what I may call the "golden predicament" from which I have never since become disentangled.”

The Most Memorable Minor Characters in Charles Dickens

Poetry Smells Like Talcum Powder

10 Things John Wayne Would Never Do

Labels: books, Great Openings, literature, Writing

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Labels: 5 Questions, Hannah Tinti, interview, The Good Thief, Writing

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(Perhaps it was destiny that Duane Swierczynski became a writer – his name contains just about every letter in the English alphabet. Duane is the author of several sizzling fast thrillers – including the high-octane “Severance Package” (which was recently optioned by Lionsgate for a Hollywood movie), “The Blonde,” “The Wheel Man,” and “Secret Dead Men.” Duane is also the primary writer of the Marvel Comics’ “Cable” series, but has also written comic stories for Moon Knight, Punisher and Iron Fist. We love writers at DaRK PaRTY – especially ones we can root for in the cut-throat industry of telling lies and selling them. Duane is one writer to keep an eye on. The 36-year-old novelist and Philadelphia native was gracious enough to answer our questions about the writing life he’s been enjoying so far).

DaRK PaRTY: What's the deal all of a sudden with comic book writers turned novelists? Are you all serious writers struggling to get discovered?

Duane: If I wanted to get discovered, I'd come up with a cure for static cling (I'm close, damnit... so, so close...). But I was a novelist first, and the comic book writing thing was a happy surprise. To

me, it's a way to satisfy my storytelling urges in two very different ways. Novel writing is a long, solitary enterprise; comic scriptwriting is collaborative and deadline-oriented. I like having both.

DP: You're also a former journalist. Is writing for a newspaper a good training ground for writing fiction?

Duane: I think so -- look at James M. Cain, Laura Lippman, Michael Connelly, and the other dozens of crime writers who started out as newspaper reporters or columnists. If you're lucky, you'll encounter some editors who will help you beat a lot of the bad writing out of your system. There's nothing like seeing a page of your writing covered in red ink.

DP: You recently decided to stop working a full-time salaried job to dedicate yourself to your own writing. Was it a difficult decision? Isn't it kind of like tightrope walking without a net?

Duane: Actually, I have a net -- an exclusive contract with Marvel Comics. That said quitting my job wasn't exactly an easy decision. But I'm glad I did it.

DP: Your latest novel "Severance Package" is a full throttle thriller with lots of gore. A lot of reviewers have compared it to a movie. Did you visualize it as a film or a comic book first? What was the writing process like for this book?

Duane: It was always meant to be a novel. And it followed my usual pattern: I started out with a situation, then kicked around some characters who would be ideal for that situation, then came up with a vague goal in mind -- where I thought I wanted the characters to end up. But most of the writing was improvised; I plotted very little in advance; which is essential for me. Nothing worse than being bored by your own story.

DP: Who are your favorite fiction writers and which writers of the past have inspired you?

Duane: There are too many living novelists to include, and I wouldn't want to leave someone important out. But as far as dead ones -- aside from the usual suspects? Fredric Brown was a huge influence, because he knew how to inject humor into a story like nobody else. And James M. Cain for his economy and muscle. I read a lot of their work early on, and I keep coming back to them.

5 Questions for the Author of "The Stupidest Generation"

5 Writers Every Man Should Read

Labels: 5 Questions, Duane Swierczynski, interview, thrillers, Writing

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An Interview with Erotic Writer Polly Frost

(DaRK PaRTY can be a bit of a prude. As a result, we don’t read much erotica – a fancy word for “dirty sex books.” Remember when “erotica” used to be sneaking a look at the topless natives in National Geographic? Well, it’s evolved. But curious as we are DP wanted to learn more about erotic. Help us, you know, stop being so damn repressed. So we turned to Polly Frost, a writer who recently published a collection of erotic tales called “Deep Inside.” Polly and her husband, Ray Sawhill, co-wrote and produced the comic and, well, raunchy Web series “The Fold” (due for release this summer). Also with her hubby, Polly co-wrote the X-rated and funny radio play “Sex Scenes.” Polly and Ray are working on two horror movie projects. Recently, Polly was kind enough to give DP a tutorial on all things erotic.)

DaRK PaRTY: How do you personally distinguish between erotica and pornography?

Polly: The usual joke is that erotica is what arouses me and porn is what arouses you. I like the way it points out what porn and erotica share in common, which is an intention to arouse the audience. Me, I really like art that's arousing, and I respect and enjoy the intention to arouse. Arousing-ness is a big part of why I love the arts generally. Speaking purely personally, though, I tend to take "porn" to mean arousing art that's blunt where "erotica" tends to imply arousing art that's fancier and more veiled.

As for my own work: While I love to turn my readers on, I really think of myself as a satirist who writes subversive, x-rated comedy. And I don't see how you can write satire without writing about sex! I mean, how can you live in this country and not write about the conflicted, crazy attitudes Americans have about sex?

When I first started out as a writer, I wrote humor pieces, for The New Yorker and for other publications. I loved writing humor, but I also found writing humor pieces for mainstream publications very limiting because I couldn't write explicitly about sex.

When it comes to the term "porn," I'm not offended if that's what some people call what I write. I don't think it's the case, but that's just me being picky. Besides, I'm a fan of a lot of porn filmmakers and stars. When Tor, the publisher of "Deep Inside," asked for me to get blurbs for my book, the first person I sent my book to was Ron Jeremy, who's famous as the porn star "The Hedgehog."

I think Ron is incredibly smart and witty, and an important pop-culture figure. People in their twenties all know Ron Jeremy. He's like a rock star or a comedian to them. So I was thrilled when Ron loved "Deep Inside" and praised it in porn terms. He said it gave him a boner. That's high praise, and from an expert source!

There's always been a connection between porn and cutting edge entertainment and art -- whether it's the stand-up comedy of Lenny Bruce, or the art of Jeff Koons, or the current thriving burlesque scene as practiced by artists like Dita Von Teese, Nasty Canasta, and Julie Atlas Muz, or the sex satire in "South Park."

DP: What writers do you think write excellent erotic fiction?

Polly: I think the best erotic fiction is written from within the characters, and therefore isn't moral (or romantic or uplifting) about the characters. The scheming couple that Choderlos de Laclos wrote about in "Dangerous Liaisons" is a delicious and riveting creation. That story has remained popular because Laclos doesn't shy away from the differences between men and women when it comes to sex, love, and affairs. It's cold, it's objective, and it's true.

Some others ... Junichiro Tanizaki wrote some of the best erotic fiction. I love his sly masterpiece about masochism, "Naomi." My husband and I -- we often co-write together -- are both huge fans of Terry Southern, who wrote the exuberant sexual satires "Blue Movie" and "Candy," as well as ribald scripts for some of Hollywood's best movies of the '60's.

"The Story of O" by Pauline Reage is essential erotic fiction reading because it captures a female archetype: the modern independent woman who longs to be dominated. Reage doesn't excuse her character's drive, or romanticize it, or turn it into something "sex positive." It's just there, and she puts it on paper once and for all. I also think that "The Story of O" is a deeply religious book about a woman who's on a spiritual quest. I'm a fan of Erica Jong's "Fear of Flying." If you think of it as a dated piece of '70's feminist ranting, read it again! It holds up beautifully and it's hilarious.

I also think some of the best erotic fiction writing was done by bestselling authors of the '60's and '70's: Jacqueline Susann, Harold Robbins, people like that. They wrote about sexually ruthless characters in frank and powerful ways.

There's a big reason they were popular: Their characters resonate. I love it that Robbins and Susann don't soften their characters or try to make them likable. The preoccupation with "likableness" in today's popular-culture world drives me crazy. And it's not very sexy. Since when do you have to like someone to be turned on by them?

Among the contemporary erotic fiction writers: Maxim Jakubowski writes amazingly hot and smart novels himself, and he edits the indispensable "Mammoth" series of erotica anthologies too.

I'm also looking forward to reading "Diana: A Diary in the Second Person" by the Canadian writer, Russell Smith. I love "Lie With Me" by another Canadian writer, Tamara Faith Berger. I think Zane is a wonderfully hot writer, and enjoyed Anne Rice's "Beauty."

In New York City, we're really fortunate to have Rachel Kramer Bussel. She writes her own wonderful stories, edits tons of anthologies, and hosts a terrific erotica reading series called “In the Flesh at Happy Ending Lounge.” Rachel is New York's go-to girl for erotic writing.

DP: How do you judge what makes a good erotic story when writing your own fiction?

Polly: I'm hoping that what turns me on will also turn on some of my readers. It's a gamble but what else are you going to do? Besides, part of what I love about erotic fiction is the subjectivity factor. People generally can't fool themselves about what turns them on, while in higher-minded art they can lose themselves in fantasies about worthwhileness or "art." They can talk themselves into thinking they love something that they don't really love.

Meanwhile, in erotica, a book or painting or film either works for you personally or it doesn't. While I know that some people see the subjectivity factor as a reason to look down on erotic fiction, I take it to mean that erotic fiction is like suspense fiction: it's the ultimate artistic high-wire act.

I do a few things to keep myself tuned in to other people's minds and desires, though. I like to have actors read whatever I write, for instance. I'm lucky to know some of the best actors in New York City. Having actors read my fiction in front of live audiences has been a tremendous keeping-it-honest experience. I did live readings with actors for five years. I did a monthly series at Cornelia Street Cafe in New York City, and I also toured cities across the country.

I worked with lots of actors, in lots of different venues, in front of all kinds of audiences. I think that was one of the most important things I ever did for my writing because it gave me the chance to experience audience reactions. Honestly, I think all fiction writers should spend five years giving readings. It's hard to put into words what you get out of seeing your work performed live, but it certainly sharpens your audience sense. Too many writers live purely in their heads, it seems to me.

And the actors themselves are fantastic resources. Any really good actor knows if a character is working or not. They know if the moment is true or not.

My favorite response as a writer is laughter accompanied by arousal, which I'm happy to say we got a lot of at our readings! But we've also had couples make out during readings, and we've had people talk back to the stage. There was this one moment we really cherished when one of our actresses was reading a passage in praise of anal sex, and a guy in the audience kind of groaned and moaned and said, "Oh, it's a beautiful thing, baby!" Our actress was very quick and said right back to him, "You know it is." It was a great moment. That was a real highlight of our writing lives!

DP: What are the biggest public misconceptions about erotica?

Polly: The biggest misconception is that erotic fiction is somehow a different creature than fiction-fiction, and that it should be shelved away from the rest of "literature." In book publishing, if you write something with a lot of sex in it, there are two main ways they'll market your book today: either as "sex positive" fiction or as "spicy romance." "Literature" itself has become something that's written -- as my poet friend, Michele Madigan Somerville says -- "from the neck up."

It's really annoying that mainstream publishing views erotic fiction in this way.

The "sex positive" thing is a small peeve of mine. "Sex positive" books are meant to make readers feel good about their sexual desires, whether it's S and M, or for a polyamory lifestyle, or for being whipped. I don't want to sound unfeeling, and it's not as though I don't care if my readers feel good about themselves sexually.

Of course I do. But honestly, that's something for them to take up with a therapist. I'm a fiction writer and my task is to write about the world as I actually see it. And the world -- and sex, and sexual experiences -- often have dark and even negative sides to them. Sometimes those dark and negative sides are even a big part of what's sexy.

The "sex positive" movement has also had the effect of genderizing erotic writing, which is too bad. Erotica books have become largely written by women for women. Guys -- who used to be enthusiastic readers of dirty books -- are barely catered to at all these days. When was the last time you heard a man say he needed to feel positive about his sex drive?

And I like writing for men as well as women. In fact, the audience for my writing has turned out to be largely male. Guys are the biggest fans of what I write. I'm thrilled!

But it's sad that book publishing and bookstores do such a lousy job of appealing to men. Hey, book-publishing people: Men love reading fiction with sex in it. But they do not want to venture into the romance section to find a book!

One of the reasons that "erotic" books are sequestered is that bookstores are terrified of complaints from the damn soccer moms and librarians. God forbid that teenagers should pick up a book with a sex passage in it, become engrossed in reading, and develop a taste for books. I don't know that I'd be much of a reader myself -- let alone a writer -- had I not started off my reading life looking for dirty books, and for the dirty passages inside mainstream books.

I'll give a personal example. Have you ever heard of the spy novel "Lotta Drum and the 69 Pleasures?" I didn't think so, but I found it instead of a Gideon bible in a hotel room once when I was twelve and couldn't stop reading it. I'd never read anything like the lesbian bamboo torture scenes in it. They also got me reading anything else that had the aura of sex around it, and that includes some great literature, like Henry Miller and Philip Roth. So many thanks to the author of "Lotta Drum" -- whoever you were under that obvious pseudonym -- for turning me into a reader!

DP: You recently published "Deep Inside" that you define as supernatural erotica. Can you describe that concept and what you were trying to accomplish with the book?

Polly: I wanted to write stories that were like the '60's and '70's horror movies that I love: movies like "Barbarella" and the Italian "giallo" films, or like such Japanese movies as "Onibaba" and "Woman in the Dunes." I wanted to write dark and disturbingly arousing stories with dangerous women at the center of them. Another was to develop genuine story lines. In other words, I wanted to create living-breathing characters and put them in highly-charged situations, and I wanted the sex to both create and grow out of those situations.

I wanted each 20 page story to feel like a complete little movie, in other words. I also hoped they'd make people laugh.

As it turns out I've been really pleased by the way people have responded to "Deep Inside." I've heard over and over from readers who have said the stories in "Deep Inside" affected their fantasies, or that they found themselves having dreams about the stories weeks after finishing the book.

I'm also pleased when people write me and say they didn't think they'd ever be interested in erotic fiction until they read it, but that the situations and characters resonate with them.

I never mind if a reader writes me an angry email or pans "Deep Inside." I've had readers say they were disturbed and upset by the book. That's okay with me. I like strong reactions.

Read more of our 5 Questions About:

Ants

Elvis

Charles Dickens

Labels: 5 Questions, Erotica, interview, Polly Frost, Writing

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