TOWER raffle/Bad Thanksgiving contest

I'm raffling off a brand-new copy of Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman's brilliant (and Anthony-Award-winning) crime novel TOWER over at the official FaceBook page. Just join the page (if you haven't already) and list the *worst* place you ever spent Thanksgiving. I'll choose a winner at random this Friday (11/19) at 5 p.m.

UPDATE: Some of the responses so far have been so good - in a painful kind of way - that I'm also going to add a signed first-edition of the long out-of-print hardcover of THE HEARTBREAK LOUNGE to the mix.

RED BAKER review - 7/22/85

From the vaults, one of the first things I ever published: A review of RED BAKER by Robert Ward. From the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, July 22, 1985 (click for larger - hopefully readable - image).

Publishers Weekly weighs in

(Click for larger image)

Panic in Philly

Next Saturday (11/6) at 4:40 p.m. I'll be joining David Corbett for a panel discussion on "Reality & Noir: The Everyday Quality of Evil" as part of NoirCon 2010 at Philadelphia's Society Hill Playhouse. Other attendees include George Pelecanos, Laura Lippman, Daniel Woodrell, Megan Abbott, Reed Farrel Coleman and many, many others.

(extra points to anyone who gets the allusion in this post title)

First review

Wednesday night in New Brunswick

For all MWA members: I'll be guesting at the NJ-NY Chapter meeting this Wed. - Oct. 27 - at 6 p.m. at Tumulty's, 361 George St., in New Brunswick, talking about books, newspapers and other dying art forms. Dinner included. Cash bar. (732) 890-3581 or cariagehouse@earthlink.net for details. I'll also be giving away books, including a brand new ARC of COLD SHOT TO THE HEART. All of this just blocks from my alma mater (or one of them anyway, I had a checkered college career).

Alias Simon Quinn

In addition to being one of the great (and best-selling) thriller writers of the last 30 years, Martin Cruz Smith, as it turns out, is also a good sport.

I moderated a panel he was on at the BoucherCon World Mystery Convention in San Francisco last week (along with fellow panelists Andrew Klavan and Joseph Finder), and though we talked at length about his classic GORKY PARK and many other books (the most recent being THREE STATIONS), I also asked Smith about a paperback men's adventure series he had pseudonymously written in the early '70s.

Titled THE INQUISITOR, and written under the pen name "Simon Quinn," it followed the exploits of Francis Xavier Killy, a spy/assassin who works for the Vatican, the twist being that he's required to do penance every time he kills someone. Though obviously written quickly while Smith worked on other projects, the books were fun, and very well done, head and shoulders above most of the similar series of the time. They also had some great titles: THE LAST TIME I SAW HELL; HIS EMINENCE, DEATH; THE MIDAS COFFIN.

Smith seemed slightly surprised - and amused - at the end of the panel, when I actually produced my battered, somewhat dog-eared copy of the first book in the series, 1974's THE DEVIL IN KANSAS. However, he graciously signed it (below), though preferring to stay with his nom de plume.

Charles Ardai of Hard Case Crime has been after Smith for years to let him republish THE MIDAS COFFIN, one of the best of the series (so far, he's declined). After the panel, I went as far as to jokingly suggest he should write a new one, tied to the recent scandals in the Catholic Church. He just laughed.

Almost a book

Out from St. Martin's/Minotaur Jan. 18.

It took a while ...

... but yes, finally, I'm tweeting.

@wallacestroby

A trio of heavyweights

For those attending BoucherCon in San Francisco next month, I'll be moderating "A Collection of Eagles," an all-star panel of best-selling thriller writers Sat. Oct. 16 at 4:30 p.m. (room to be determined). Joining me will be (clockwise from top left) Martin Cruz Smith, Joseph Finder and Andrew Klavan. It'll be a rare chance for readers and fans to interact with three of the most seasoned pros in the business.

Green fields, blue skies, Spitfires

Some pictures from the Battle of Britain airshow at Duxford airfield in the U.K. Sept. 5, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Photos by me, video by someone else (click on photos for larger images).

The flightline: 16 Spitfires, wingtip to wingtip. All flew.

The Spits up close.

Four of the last six airworthy Hurricanes in the world. A fifth, from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, did a flyby.

A Hurricane up close.

Hurricane pilot and staff member.

Sally-B, Europe's only airworthy B-17, seen in the film "Memphis Belle."

Sally-B in the air.

"Ferocious Frankie," one of two flying P-51 Mustangs at the show.

Spanish-built Buchons,German Messerschmitt BF-109s, with modifications.

Rare two-seater Spitfire trainers.

Spitfire taxiing.

Spitfires in formation. The 16 took off in groups of four, then joined up to circle the airfield.

Spits in formation.

On the horizon: NYC Public Library 1/19/2011

New cover art

Due out Jan. 18, barring the unforeseen.

Writers on Writing #1

"Again, I say, one dreams in fire and works in clay."
- Arthur Machen
From "Precious Balms" (1924)

From the vaults, new old Bruce

And speaking of "Darkness on the Edge of Town" outtakes. Here's one, just previewed today, that's not only unreleased and unheard, but never even rumored about up until now. It's one of 21 outtakes on the new Darkness box set out in Nov., which will also include the original recordings of "Fire" and "Because the Night."

Mayhem at Moonstone

This Saturday, Aug. 28, Dennis Tafoya and I will be appearing at the Moonstone Mystery Bookstore in historic Flemington, N.J., from 2 to 4 pm. Dennis is a terrific writer and his WOLVES OF FAIRMOUNT PARK, though only his second book, is one of the best-reviewed crime novels of the year. His first, DOPE THIEF, was called "an impressive debut" by the hard-to-please Kirkus Reviews,and Publishers Weekly deemed him "a writer to watch." We'll be signing books and dispensing CDs, baked goods and bad advice. Stop by and say hello.

Elvis - The Way It Might Have Been

Two songs that would have revitalized Elvis Presley's career - and probably saved his life - if he had recorded them.

Springsteen reportedly did try to get a demo of "Fire" to Elvis's people, but nothing came of it (it was originally written for his "Darkness on the Edge of Town" sessions, but left off that album, as was "Because the Night," later covered by Patti Smith.) Neo-rockabilly singer Robert Gordon recorded "Fire" in 1978 for his album "Fresh Fish Special" (another Elvis reference) and the Pointer Sisters had a huge hit single with it later that same year.

Amazon and B&N sale

Not sure why, but as of this morning - though I'm guessing for a limited time - Amazon and Barnes and Noble are both offering GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER for a special price of $13.74. That's 45% off the original cover price. It looks like one dropped the price, and the other did the same to match it. Doubt it will last though. Amazon's prices tend to fluctuate quite a bit.

Stone Pony, Asbury Park 7/23/10

One of the great things about summer at the Shore.

Ellroy, Hammett

Two more vintage pieces, newly corrected, adjusted and illustrated. Reviews of James Ellroy's MY DARK PLACES and SELECTED LETTERS OF DASHIELL HAMMETT: 1921-1960.

Block, Nevins, Woolrich

Another vintage interview, tweaked, corrected and illustrated: Lawrence Block and Francis M. Nevins discuss the 1987 completion of suspense writer Cornell Woolrich's novel INTO THE NIGHT. The piece can be found here.

More on Woolrich here.

Writers on writing

I've been updating and sprucing up some of the existing features on my web site, and this weekend I've made corrections and added artwork to the three "Writers on Writing" features, namely interviews with Stephen King, Clive Barker and James Lee Burke. These extensive, in-depth Q&As – focusing on the mechanics of writing and story telling – were originally conducted for Writer's Digest and the Asbury Park Press back in the early '90s, but appear here in a more complete form. King would later expand on some of his comments in his invaluable ON WRITING book a few years later, but this interview - the cover story in the March 1992 WD - was the first time he spoke at length about his writing methods.

Coming soon (I promise), the second part of the James Lee Burke interview. All I need to do now is locate the transcript.

Happy Fourth!

Only four hours to go ...

... in the 2010 Edgar nominee Paperback Original auction, with all proceeds benefiting the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. Auction ends at 8 p.m. ET Wed. 6/23. Thanks to everyone who's bid already.

PIxar's THE WIRE

Maybe my favorite YouTube mash-up since RAGING FRED (takes a little while to load):

Edgar PBO auction

Beginning tonight, I'm auctioning off all five of this year's Paperback Original Edgar Award nominees, in one lot, as part of an eBay Giving Works auction, with all proceeds benefitting the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. All books are in like-new condition, with original cover prices ranging from $11 to $15 each. The books are BODY BLOWS by Marc Strange (the winner); BURY ME DEEP by Megan Abbott; THE LORD GOD BIRD by Russell Hill; THE HERRING-SELLER'S APPRENTICE by L.C. Tyler and HAVANA LUNAR by Robert Arellano. The auction, which ends June 23 at 8 p.m., can be found here.

FRAMED

This week, I take a look back at veteran director Phil Karlson's violent 1975 redneck noir FRAMED, over at Steve-O's great Noir of the Week blog.

The ad above is from the Wed. Oct. 1, 1975 issue of the N.Y. Daily News (Page 1 headline: ALI TKOs FRAZIER & KEEPS TITLE). It's a little time capsule from the golden era of 42nd St. double-features. Never did get around to seeing BUG though.

(If you're a fan of "How did they do that?" stunts, check out this ridiculously dangerous car/train collision from FRAMED, co-coordinated by legendary Hollywood stuntman Carey Loftin).

Dennis Hopper: 1936-2010

For those who haven't seen it, a video essay by my friend Matt Zoller Seitz:
The Middle Word in Life

Inside Jersey magazine ...

... has a brief profile on me in its new "Down the Shore" issue. It can be found online here.

Mayhem at Bookhampton

This Saturday (5/15) I'll be joining an all-star gathering at the Mayhem at Bookhampton festival on Long Island. My panels will include "Reading the Murder Scene" (with Alex Berenson, Carol Higgins Clark and others) at 1 p.m. at the East Hampton store, "Tough Guys" (with Reed Farrell Coleman, Berenson and others) at 5 p.m. at the Southhampton store, and "Noir at Dark" (with Coleman, Alafair Burke, Duane Swierczynski and others) at 9 p.m. back in East Hampton. Other attendees at the festival will include S.J. Rozan, Nelson DeMille, Tasha Alexander, Andrew Grant, Linda Fairstein, Chris Grabenstein and many, many others. A full schedule can be found here.

May updates

+ A nice - if brief - review of the audio version of GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER in today's Publishers Weekly.

+ And a song that should have been on the GTN CD mix, but somehow got left off.

Summer's (almost) here and the time is right ...

... for parting with some books, in order to make room for new ones. A great culling of my personal library has begun (for space reasons), and as a result I'll be auctioning off a number of rare, out-of-print crime, suspense and horror novels and collections over the coming weeks. I've kicked it off with some horror titles (including the one above, and others of special interest to zombie fans), and a handful of those auctions are already up on eBay, where they can be found under the seller account nightside7. Some auctions will benefit charities, some won't, but there'll likely be a steady stream of them over the next few weeks, hopefully a new one each day.

GTN unabridged audio download

The Audio Book Store and Audible.com are offering a special price of $7.49 to download the unabridged Tantor Audio version of GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER (that's 6 hrs. and 54 mins.), read by actress Karen White. The physical CD version - 6 discs - is also available, from Amazon and other sites.

More reviews - updated

A handful of new reviews of GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER have shown up in the last couple weeks, including one by veteran mystery reviewer Oline H. Cogdill in MYSTERY SCENE magazine. The links below are clickable:

+ MYSTERY SCENE

+ Gumshoe Review

+ IEatBooks.com

+ The Hungry Detective

The Lineup podcast

The crime fiction poetry journal The Lineup is now offering its second CrimeWAV podcast here. You can also listen to it on the Lineup blog with a Google player here.

In addition to works by James W. Hall, Reed Farrell Coleman, James Sallis, Patti Abbott and others, the new podcast includes my poem "Independence Day, 1976," read by Gerald So.

April updates

My poem "Independence Day 1976" appears in the new edition of the annual poetry collection THE LINEUP , now available. A podcast will follow April 18. The collection also features the work of many real poets, including James W. Hall, Reed Farrel Coleman, James Sallis and others. My piece was written shortly after the death of Jim Carroll, and is dedicated to him.

+ I've had to cancel/reschedule some upcoming events, so I will not be appearing at the April 13 Mystery Writers of America "Crime Scene" panel at the New York Public Library. However, my place will be ably taken by Dennis Tafoya, the Philly-based crime novelist and author of DOPE THIEF and the upcoming THE WOLVES OF FAIRMOUNT PARK.

My appearance at the Brielle Public Library has been rescheduled for Monday, May 10 at 7 p.m.

Manasquan bound

The GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER tour winds down - at least for now - this Saturday (3/20) at Book Towne in Manasquan, N.J., from noon-2 p.m. For those who don't know it, Manasquan is a lovely little Shore town right on the ocean, and Book Towne is located in the heart of the town's historic business district. It's the first day of spring, and temps are expected to be in the 70s.

Quick updates - updated!

+ The Red Bank Orbit has a fairly wide-ranging interview with me, originally pegged to the screening of THE KILLING. It's a Q&A about crime novels, film noir, chicken dinners and Timothy Carey.

+ Reviewing the Evidence delivers its verdict on GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER.

+ I was recently notified that my short story "Heart," which featured Morgan before his appearance in GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER, made the short list for the next "Best American Mystery Stories" anthology, and will be listed in the back of the book among the "Other Distinguished Stories of 2009" listing. The book, guest edited by Lee Child, will be published later this year.

Ocean Grove, 3/13/10

Shot from my back window at about 5:45 a.m.

The KILLING in Asbury

This Sunday (3/14) at 4 p.m., I'll host a special screening of Stanley Kubrick's classic 1956 film noir THE KILLING at the ShowRoom independent theater in Asbury Park, N.J., as part of their ongoing BookFLX series. The ShowRoom is Asbury's newest theater/screening room, located in the newly revitalized Cookman Avenue business district (it's just a couple doors down from what used to be the legendary Upstage Club.)

Based on the novel CLEAN BREAK by Lionel White, Kubrick's film revolves around an intricately plotted $2 million racetrack robbery organized by ex-con Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden, in one of his best roles). THE KILLING has both classic noir elements and a trailblazing narrative structure that Quentin Tarantino would revisit years later with RESERVOIR DOGS and PULP FICTION.

I'll introduce the film, and a discussion and Q&A will follow the screening. Refreshments, including beer and wine, will be served. Tickets are $15. Seating is limited. For more information and advance tickets, click here or call (732) 502-0472.

To make it an even more special night in Asbury, singer-songwriter Matthew Ryan will be performing later on at The Saint, just blocks away on Main Street. Ryan is one of America's great unheralded songwriters, and his new album, DEAR LOVER, is just out. A number of his songs made it onto the mix CD I compiled during the writing of GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER. He can get pretty noir himself now and then.

For more on the screening, and a Q&A, check out Tom Chesek's piece in the Red Bank Orbit.

For more on Ryan, visit his Facebook page.

The Page 69 (and 70) Test

GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER gets the Page 69 Test today, over at Marshal Zeringue's blog.

Hello, Flemington!

This Saturday I'll be following in the footsteps of the late, great Dan "The Phantom" Federici, with events in his hometown of Flemington, N.J., and then across the state in Asbury Park. From 2 to 4 p.m., I'll be at the Moonstone Mystery Bookstore, 12 Bloomfield Ave., Flemington. Then from 6:30 on, I'll be at Words! Bookstore at 612 Cookman Ave., Asbury Park, as part of the town's monthly "First Saturday" festival (last month's was canceled because of snow). Shops and restaurants will be open late, and there's free parking. As at previous events, I'll be signing books and giving away CDs and baked goods.

And for possible post-event entertainment, the legendary Blasters (minus Dave Alvin) will be playing that night at The Saint, just a few blocks away on Main Street.

Next stop: Watchung (Books)

Now that the snow has - for the most part - stopped, tomorrow's event at Montclair's Watchung Booksellers (above) is still on for 1 p.m. Sat. (2/27). I'll be signing books, giving away CDs and possibly some baked goods. WB is at 54 Fairfield St. in Watchung Plaza, Montclair, N.J. (973) 744-7177.

Words and sounds

A nice review of GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER, posted today over at Bookgasm.

Also, the unabridged audio edition, read by actress Karen White, is now available for sale and download.

And for those in N.J., signed copies of GTN are available, while they last, at Barnes & Noble stores at Monmouth Mall (Eatontown), Holmdel, Howell Township, Freehold and - soon - Paramus.

Poetic justice

The folks over at THE LINEUP - that annual roundup of crime-related poetry - are taking pre-orders on Issue #3, which will be out in April. That issue contains my poem "Independence Day, 1976," which l wrote shortly after the death of Jim Carroll. It also features work by James W. Hall, James Sallis, Reed Farrel Coleman, Patti Abbott and others. Details below.

The Lineup #3 (April 2010)

Edited by Gerald So with Sarah Cortez, R. Narvaez, and Anthony Rainone

ISSN 1945-7510
6" x 9", 48 pages, saddle-stitched
$7.00

Poems by Patricia Abbott, Joe Barnes, Henry Chang, Reed Farrel Coleman, Sarah Cortez, Michael A. Flanagan, Anne Frasier, James W. Hall, David Hernandez, Amy MacLennan, Carrie McGath, James M. McGowan, Kristine Ong Muslim, David S. Pointer, James Sallis, Jackie Sheeler, Wallace Stroby, Larry D. Thomas, Francine Witte

Pre-orders accepted through March 15, 2010.

The GTN mix: Tracks 14-16

The GTN mix: Tracks 10, 11, 13

The GTN mix: Tracks 7-8

O.V. Wright's "Gone For Good" at Last.fm

The GTN mix: Tracks 4-6

The GTN mix: Tracks 1-3

The GTN mix

I've compulsively made mix tapes and CDs over the years, a practice that seemed to naturally extend itself to writing. With each novel, I've made a personal CD mix collecting songs that roughly fit the tone and content of the work-in-progress. There's a lot of music in GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER, more so than the other books, and the mix that eventually emerged was a mash of styles, but with a certain thematic unity. Some of the songs made it into the book, most didn't. But here's the tracklist of the CD I made while writing it - and went back to when I needed inspiration. This was homemade and strictly for personal use, of course. It exists only in my iTunes playlist:

1: Gone Till November – Wyclef Jean (needless to say, an inspiration for the title)

2: Everybody Always Leaves – Matthew Ryan (off his 2006 CD "From A Late Night High Rise ")

3: I Still Miss Someone – Johnny Cash (title says it all)

4: I Miss You – Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (with the late Teddy Pendergrass on vocals)

5: Regina – Bunny Sigler (a Philly soul classic)

6: Jane, I Still Feel the Same – Matthew Ryan (a simple, yet heartbreakingly beautiful, song)

7: Gone For Good – O.V. Wright (deep soul from a Memphis master)

6: Great Expectations – The Gaslight Anthem (young N.J. band with a lot of heart)

7: Trailer – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (only a b-side, but one of their best songs)

6: Ramblin' Man – Hank Williams (chilling, simple, perfect).

7: Cure For Pain – Morphine (essential track from the too-short-lived Boston band)

8: Nothing Stays The Same Forever – Percy Mayfield (philosophical R&B from the other Mayfield)

9: Keep Movin' On – Sam Cooke (America's greatest pop singer. His voice has healing properties)

10: Streets Of Philadelphia – Bettye LaVette (greatest Springsteen cover ever)

11: People Get Ready – Blind Boys Of Alabama (the Curtis Mayfield classic, further elevated)

12: A Change Is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke (there's nothing else like it. Sounds like church. Sounds like death).

13: (I Won't Be) Leaving – Dave Alvin (a spare, late-night version of a song he wrote for the Blasters, from his "King Of California" album)

14: Everybody Always Leaves – Matthew Ryan (an EP-only alt. acoustic version. An almost painfully intimate song of love and loss).

If I dig up the CD track lists for the first two books, I'll post them at some point as well.

Support an indie

Signed copies of GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER are available for online order from the following excellent independent bookstores:

THE MYSTERIOUS BOOKSHOP

MURDER BY THE BOOK

THE POISONED PEN

M IS FOR MYSTERY

BOOKPEOPLE

WBGO 88.3 FM features

Here are specific links for the now-archived WBGO-FM interview and features:

The interview as aired: http://www.wbgo.org/realfiles/jrnl2010/100129/article4.ram

The extended interview: http://www.wbgo.org/realfiles/jrnl2010/100129/article5.ram

A web-only reading from GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER: http://www.wbgo.org/realfiles/jrnl2010/100129/article6.ram

A downloadable podcast of the entire WBGO Journal: http://feeds.feedburner.com/WbgoJournal

Note that the reading contains an "adult language" advisory.

Quick updates - Updated!

The Asbury Park Press feature on me is in today's (1/31) edition, on the cover of the Entertainment section, and online.

Over at WBGO's site, my interview with WBGO Journal host Andrew Meyer, the outtakes, and a web-only reading can be found here.

Thanks to everyone in Texas for coming out to the events, especially in Houston. And thanks to two great Florida authors - James W. Hall and Bob Morris - for letting me fly along as wingman.

The definition of bad timing

As some of you may have heard, Amazon has temporarily pulled all Macmillan books - including St. Martins Press books - from its site, due to a dispute over e-book royalties. However, GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER can still be ordered online via Barnesandnoble.com or the Indiebound network of stores.

More reviews, Kindle, Nook, etc. *Update #2*

The Nook e-book of GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER is now available. The Kindle version should be by the end of the week as well. The unabridged audio version, read by actress Karen White, is due out Jan. 29.

- An interview I recorded yesterday (1/25) at WBGO-FM in Newark will air in edited broadcast form Friday (1/29) night at 7:30 on 88.3 FM and via the live stream at www.wbgo.org. After that, it'll be archived on the station's website, along with a reading I did from the book.

- Last week saw two more reviews, from January Magazine and BookReporter.com.

- An interview I did with the Asbury Park Press will appear in this Sunday's (1/31) edition, and will also be available online at www.app.com.

- The GTN tour begins this Friday at Book People in Austin, Texas, then moves on to Houston, before circling back for the official East Coast launch party at Manhattan's Mysterious Bookshop Feb. 5, and then Words! in Asbury Park the following day. More dates to come. Hope to see some of you on the road.

Where I've been

GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER, which goes on sale today, is my first new novel in five years, following 2003's THE BARBED-WIRE KISS and 2005's THE HEARTBREAK LOUNGE. Both those books had paperback editions as well, so I wasn't totally absent from bookstores in the interim, but it has been a solid half decade since I had a new hardback out.

What was I doing in the meantime? Well, most of my time and energy was taken up with my other job, as the Sunday Entertainment Editor at the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger. It was a good gig, one I was lucky to have. It was (and is) a great paper, and I worked with some of the smartest and most talented people in the business. It was a wonderful time. I did publish a pair of short stories during that period, especially one close to my heart called "Lovers in the Cold," which appeared in the anthology MEETING ACROSS THE RIVER, a collection of stories inspired by the Springsteen song.

And then there was 188 pages of a standalone third novel, tentatively titled SHADOW LAND, which I worked on for a good part of 2005. I liked the plot (as far as I'd figured it out. I never outline), and I was eager to jump into another book quickly after finishing HEARTBREAK. But something was wrong. After an energetic start, the going got tough. Though it was a standalone, it began to feel too much an echo of the books I'd already written, in both tone and content. And although I liked the main character, a disgraced former U.S. Marshal, he was clearly walking the razor's edge of cliche - troubled man with a past seeking redemption.

In an interview I did with Stephen King once, he described two modes of writing, one in which the story is a speedboat and it carries you along behind it, like a skier. In the other, you're the skier and you're dragging the boat. If it's the right story at the right time, and all your cylinders are firing, you're often in the first mode - it's energizing and invigorating. If you're spending a lot of time in the second, you're in trouble. By the time I got to page 180 of SHADOW LAND, I felt like I was dragging the Queen Mary.

I remember vividly one afternoon sitting down at the desk, about to write a scene I was actually looking forward to - a character gets out of his pickup, goes into a bar and has a confrontation with one of the minor villains. I love those kinds of scenes. They come easy to me and they play to my strengths - terse dialogue, action and ambient detail. But I realized, as I described him getting out of the truck, that I had no interest whatsoever in what happened to him once he got inside. I couldn't have cared less, and I figured a reader wouldn't care much either.

The next morning when I woke up, I knew I'd decided to bag the novel, all 188 hard-fought pages of it. And when I came to that realization, I felt a tremendous sense of relief flooding through me. Not long after that, I started working on a short story about one of the characters who would eventually figure in GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER. And suddenly writing was fun again.

I haven't thought about that novel much since, which I guess is another indication it was never meant to be. I may eventually revisit the plot, but it would be with an entirely different cast of characters, I think. Life's too short to write the same thing twice.

So I hope you enjoy GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER. And if you're wondering about that lost novel in between, trust me - you didn't miss anything.

Ledger review

Writer Vince Cosgrove reviews GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER for the Star-Ledger/Newhouse Newspapers today. And if that link doesn't work directly, The Huffington Post has picked it up as well.

Saturday night in Asbury

Website update

The website has been updated to reflect GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER and the current tour schedule (more dates to come, including a cool multimedia one I'll have more details on later). And over on the OTHER WRITINGS page, I've added the feature obituary I wrote for Mickey Spillane (above) that appeared in the Star-Ledger in July 2006.

For those who've asked about the long-promised Part Two of my James Lee Burke interview, I'm still trying to locate the transcript, and when I do, I'll post it. It's a good one too, with Burke talking at length about writing, drinking, and the hazards of success. I'm hoping it turns up soon.

More words

The inimitable Harriet Klausner weighs in on GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER over at The Mystery Gazette, as does Library Journal and reviewer David Marshall James on Yahoo's "Shine" forum.