Posts Tagged: crime novel

Uncovering the “DUST IN THE HEART”

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We've just published Ralph Dennis' crime novel DUST IN THE HEART , a haunting police procedural set in a small, North Carolina town  It was the final, typewritten manuscript that Ralph wrote before his death and was discovered by Brash co-founder Lee Goldberg, who took on the task of editing the novel for publication. Lee talked about the editing process this week with The Rap Sheet, one of our favorite blogs and sources of information on the crime fiction scene. Here is an excerpt: I struggled over whether to publish Dust in the Heart or to keep it in a drawer. The original manuscript was nearly 100,000 words and it was a mess … and yet, there was still something... more

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Max Allan Collins: The Story Behind BLACK HATS

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A new edition of my novel Black Hats has just been published by Brash Books under my real byline and not “Patrick Culhane,” the pseudonym I used the first time it was in print and on a second novel, Red Sky in Morning. The novel is  about young Al Capone encountering old Wyatt Earp. Though their meeting is fanciful, the research for the book was on the order of the Heller saga and it is one of my favorite novels, and one that continues to attract very serious Hollywood attention. Harrison Ford has been interested in playing Earp pretty much ever since the novel first came out, and he is still part of the mix – nothing signed-sealed-delivered, mind you. But that he... more

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Ripley’s Rules of Writing

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W.L. Ripley is the author of two critically-acclaimed series of crime novels -- four books featuring ex-professional football player Wyatt Storme and four books about ex-Secret Service agent Cole Springer. His latest novel is  Storme Warning.  Here he shares the rules of writing that have guided him through those eight novels. First, forget most of what your English teacher told you about creative writing. This one gets a rise and a few giggles when I address a roomful of teachers. It is, of course, meant to get their attention – and at the same time make a point. Your High School English teacher serves a highly useful purpose by training you in proper usage and grammar and you must... more

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The Story Behind MEMPHIS RIBS: “Give In, Abandon All Hope and Have A Good Time”

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Author Gerald Duff shares the story behind the writing of his novel Memphis Ribs, which Entertainment Weekly calls 'A tangy tale of murder, gang warfare, crack cocaine, and barbecue.' As far as we're concerned, that's a winning combination! The book is available for pre-order and will be released on May 5, 2015 When I wrote my novel Memphis Ribs, I did it for the same reason that all writers take up a task that lasts so long and uses up so much electricity. I was mesmerized by the topic, in this case my trying to understand the essence of the Bluff City where I had come to live for a spell. And it was a spell, because that’s what Memphis casts upon those who come to live with... more

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The Inside Story: Death of the Detective by Mark Smith

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Today is pub-day for our re-release of Mark Smith's The Death of the Detective , a National Book Award finalist and widely regarded as perhaps the best crime novel ever written. Author Ed Gorman, founder of Mystery Scene Magazine, took this opportunity to interview Mark. Here's their talk. It's got to be hard to top what many consider to be an American classic. What are you working on now? I have just finished a 168,000 word novel entitled Da Gama's Gold (a line from Robert Frost's "America Is Hard to See"), a reworking and reduction from a longer novel I spent too many years writing. It's likely my most ambitious work since The Death of the Detective, and whereas that novel took on... more

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Shadow Counter: Kakonis Scores Again

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Novelist James L. Thane, author of No Place to Die and Until Death, shares his fondness for Tom Kakonis' gambling thriller Shadow Counter. Shadow Counter is the third and final volume in Tom Kakonis’s excellent series featuring Timothy Waverly, a professional card player who has found nothing but trouble ever since Kakonis first introduced him in Michigan Roll. At the end of the second book, Double Down, he and his long-time partner Bennie Epstein had to race away from another dicey situation in Florida. It’s now 1993, and they’ve landed in Vegas, living in a pitiful house and trying to fly under the radar while they attempt to cobble together the stake that will put... more

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