An Interview With Patricia Abbott, Author of Monkey Justice

No one is more responsible for the writer I have become (in a good way) than Patricia Abbott. The flash fiction challenges she used to run from her blog taught me to make every word count and how much so few words could tell. The lesson was driven home so well I now find it difficult to write a chapter more than 1700 or 1800 words. Too long for flash, but after that much time in the same scene I get antsy. Patti’s thought-provoking prompts and constant encouragement are among my fondest memories as a writer.

She’s here to today to talk about Down & Out Books’ reissue of her first e-book release, Monkey Justice. Patti’s not the kind of person I dare use canned questions for and her answers here show why. Enjoy and learn.

One Bite at a Time: Tell the uninitiated a little about Monkey Justice.

Patricia Abbott: Monkey Justice collects twenty or so of my earliest published stories. They appeared online or in print collections and then were collected under this title in 2011 by Snubnose Press. In putting together the collection, I tried to choose a diverse group of stories. Most of them center on crime, victimhood, the difficulty of survival, transgression, domestic strife. The criminal element is often muted or part of the background rather than the primary element.

OBAAT: Monkey Justice took a circuitous route before it ended up with Down & Out Books. Describe how that went down.

PA: Brian Lindenmuth, editor of what was then a new ebook press (Snubnose Press), and a fan of the short story form, asked me if I was interested in having him publish an ebook. I was enthusiastic about the idea. I was not at all sure how attractive an ebook would be. I didn't have an ereader myself and knew few people that did. But even if it was sparsely read, it would be available for future readers. Wrong! Snubnose Press closed up shop last year and the ebooks they'd shepherded into existence disappeared with them. Kindly, Brian asked Down and Out Books if they had interest in publishing some of his inventory. Eric Campbell, the publisher, contacted me not long after that and I was delighted. Both of my books would now be on sale in both in print and ebook.  

OBAAT: Did you know you were working on an anthology as you were working on the stories or did you have a bunch of stories and decide to bundle them together one day?

PA: I probably had seventy-five stories at that time. Thematically, they were similar although the plots, characters, time period, and location differed. They were written from both the male and female point of view. I tried to choose stories as diverse as possible, although loosely tied together under the umbrella of crime.

OBAAT: Why did you choose “Monkey Justice” to be the title story? It’s a great title, a grabber. Is that why you chose it, or is there something else you wanted to get across?

PA: I liked both the story and the title, so I went with it. I was a fly on the wall on a city bus where a man told a woman most of this story. The bus ride was 60 minutes and it took him the whole hour to tell it. He really deserves a co-authorship credit. But in thinking about the collection, justice comes up often in these stories-- as you might expect.

OBAAT: You’ve been active as both a short story writer and as a novelist. Do you think of yourself as primarily one or the other, or just as writer and whatever comes out comes out? I’ll confess, I think of myself as a novelist. I pretty much have to have a reason to write a short story.

PA: I'm very much a short story writer. My two novels were stories first. I tend to write about the same sort of characters, if not the exact character, so it wasn't hard to pull characters or incidents from several stories to form the basis of a novel.

I love taking stuff out of a manuscript, which you get to do with short stories. With a novel, you have to keep putting more in. I only have so much stuff. My novels are sparsely populated if you notice. I can't deal with too many people in one place. Each character takes up so much space in my brain that I run out of room.

OBAAT: As a writer, I have what The Beloved Spouse™ calls “comfort food:” movies, books, authors I come back to over and over again when I need some inspiration or just want to be reminded how to tell stories. The movie L.A. Confidential, Elmore Leonard’s books, things like that. Do you have an equivalent cadre? I so, who are they?

PA: I just watched Wildfire, a movie based on a Richard Ford novel. Except it felt more like a short story. It was Paul Dano's first directing stint and it was a nearly perfect movie. Stories or movies like this inspire me to write succinctly and simply. He was clearly stimulated by the Montana setting, the starkness of their house and the town. The simplicity yet pathos of their lives.

I am inspired by the people you might expect: Alice Munro, Richard Yates, Walter Mosley, Toni Morrison, Raymond Carver, Tobias Wolfe, Lorrie Moore, Andre Dubus II, Ann Hood, William Trevor, Shirley Jackson, Ruth Rendell, Kate Atkinson, and so many more. I think if you like plot-driven narratives, you probably don't care for short stories all that much. I recently wrote a short story for an anthology that was plot-heavy. I didn't enjoy writing it even though I think it came out okay. What I like best is mood. I don't need any plot to stick with a story as a reader, but I think that is unusual. When people tell me that the movie, Roma, was slow, I am amazed. Not a single minute of it was dull for me. I like reading/seeing how people live. I can watch someone brush their teeth for longer than it takes to brush your teeth.

OBAAT: I find my answer has evolved when I’m asked about how other writers have influenced my writing. Some, like Ed McBain and Elmore Leonard, remain while Chandler has fallen away to be replaced by Joe Wambaugh. Have your influences changed over time?

PA: I have certainly added writers, but I can't think of too many I've discarded. I don't reread much so maybe I would find some of my early favorites were bad choices. Is Barbara Pym too twee now? What about Elizabeth Taylor or Mary Lavin? I now find Dorothy L. Sayers unreadable though. So too Christie. Their love for the aristocracy puts me off as well as their reliance on lengthy expositions at the end of the book. If it's going to be a whodunit, find a way to tell me without a long accounting.   

If I read Edward P. Jones' collection, Lost In the City, and it didn't still take my breath away, I'd be surprised. If "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" (Oates) didn't drive a spike through my forehead, I'd be stunned. Interpreter of Maladies (Lahira), a debut collection, is magnificent. I still enjoy Peter Robinson as much as I did 25 years ago. So too Sjowal and Wahloo, Nicholas Freeling. More recent favorites are Ken Bruen, Reed Coleman, Laura Lippman, Alison Gaylin, Elizabeth Strout, Lisa Lutz. I've begun to lose some of my admiration for Patricia Highsmith though. She can be too misanthropic for the more elderly me.

OBAAT: You can invite three living authors to your home to talk about craft over some adult beverages. They’re compelled to come—we have ways here at OBAAT—but the condition is none of them can be anyone you’ve met beyond maybe saying hello once. Who are they?

PA: Kate Atkinson, Walter Mosley, Alice Munro. And as you might expect, I would hide behind the curtains and listen.

A Conversation With Patti Abbott

The second-best thing about a new Patti Abbott book is that I get a chance to interview her for the blog. (The best thing? The book, dumbass.) Patti is one of my first writing friends, from way back when the Crimespace web site was where all the cool kids hung out. I honed a lot of my writing chops working on the flash fiction challenges she used to run on her outstanding blog, pattinase. In fact, I think most, maybe all, of my best short fiction has roots in one of Patti’s challenges.

In addition to being an inspiration, Patti’s a damn fine writer. Her short fiction regularly appears in heralded collections and her novels routinely receive award nominations, notably two Anthonys and an Edgar. Her new book, I Bring Sorrow, released last week from Polis Books. (Breaking news: Patti has had a story accepted for the 2018 Bouchercon anthology, one of over 300 submissions. Congratulations, my friend.)

One Bite at a Time: Let’s start with the obvious first question: what is I Bring Sorrow about?

Patricia Abbott: I Bring Sorrow is a collection of stories that mostly deal with the idea of "flight." A woman flees the city that has forsaken her, a woman flees the husband that is responsible for their daughter’s death, a group of women flee the dying earth, a couple takes a boy out of a Tucson cafe. The original title was “Flight Tales” but it lacked any poetry.

OBAAT: Did you sit down to write a set of stories with similar themes with the idea of collecting them?

PA: Not at all. I think my work is pretty similar in both theme and tone without my giving it much thought. I find it hard to write light. I have another 20 stories that could have just as easily fit in here. Of course, it may be just me that sees my stories as similar. Maybe a reader would find them quite diverse. A few are humorous but again, it’s a dark humor. Writing a cozy would be impossible for me given my world view.

OBAAT: Your novels Shot in Detroit and Concrete Angel were nominated for Anthony, Edgar, and Macavity awards; I Bring Sorrow is a collection of short stories, which harkens back to your previous efforts Monkey Justice and Home Invasion. (The latter a novel in stories.) As someone who thinks of himself as a novelist, I always wonder how people who switch back and forth make the decision on what to write next. I mean, I write the occasional short story for an anthology, but all my shorts together might make one not very thick volume. You knock them right out.

PA: Almost always an idea comes to me as a short story. Both of the novels started from a short story. I wrote short stories for ten years before trying a novel so it was a real leap from the ledge to try a longer work. I like the hyper-focused lens of a short story best. However, I realize this is not true for most readers or most writers.

OBAAT: What was it that grew the shorts into novels? Was it that you had more to say? Or did additional things keep wanting to happen?

PA: Shot In Detroit bulged as a short story. Who kills a dozen men in 4000 words successfully? So it was ripe for expansion. I needed to talk about many more things and I saw that quickly. What kind of woman would photograph dead men? Why did so many young men die in Detroit? Can you make art from such a gruesome subject? So yes, to both questions. I wanted to explore how Violet reflected the city she lived in. I am trying to expand another short story now. But the focus is really changing as I write it. Not sure if it will really be a crime story at all by the end.

OBAAT: When did you realize you had more material than a short story could hold and how did you make the decision to expand the format rather than trim the potential material?

PA: Well, to be honest they grew into novels because the stories ended up functioning as outlines. Despite reading novels my whole life, I found it difficult to see an idea fully developed. I found it difficult to populate a 300-page story. By starting with the short story as a blueprint, I was able to add more here and there. My stories are usually trimmed to the bone already. I edit compulsively so allowing myself more space was the challenge.

OBAAT: You’ve built quite a career for yourself: hundreds of short stories, novels nominated for major awards. It has to be a good feeling. Looking at things another way, how much fun is it to be Megan Abbott’s mother, knowing the influence you’ve had on her talent and career?

PA: If we are to take any credit for Megan’s career (my husband has written 13 scholarly books) it would be in providing a bookish environment. We took our kids to the library weekly, to movies that were probably far too adult for them. We all talked about what we were reading all the time. Megan grew up watching her father write. Actually we expected her to do something in art because she drew all the time. Later I realized though that she was drawing stories. I am sure this scenario plays out in the homes of most educated families so I am going to say the influence was inadvertent if at all. We were open to her (and my son) pursuing their interests even if the chances for success were less than a business or engineering degree might offer.

It is often more worrisome than fun watching her work so hard in such a difficult field. No one works harder than Megan.

OBAAT: Patti, it’s always a treat to have you on the blog. You’re a class act and my respect for you and your work s boundless. What are you working on now? Will we get together at Bouchercon in St. Petersburg? I’m on the fence about NoirCon. Will you be there?

PA: I have recently finished a few invited short stories and I am 70 pages into a new novel. I have no plans yet for conferences. With the new tax laws, none of the expenses are deductible, which changes things. But I have been known to change my mind. Thanks, Dana. You are the class act.

Twenty Questions With Patti Abbott

Patricia Abbott is the author of more than 150 short stories that have appeared in print and online publications. She won the Derringer Award in 2008 for her story "My Hero." She is the co-editor of the e-anthology Discount Noir. Collections of her stories Monkey Justice and Other Stories and Home Invasion were published by Snubnose Press.

In 2015, Polis Books published the novel Concrete Angel and in 2016, Shot in Detroit.

You can find her blog at http://pattinase.blogspot.com.

That’s what Amazon has to say about Patti Abbott. Thin gruel. What it leaves out is the precision and attention to detail that mark everything she writes. Not to mention her influence on other writers through her blog, both through the exposure given and the good examples she provides. I sincerely doubt I would be published today were it not for the skills I learned from participating in her flash fiction challenges, which taught me not only to take a prompt I would not have thought of and make it my own, but also how to ruthlessly cut writing I thought was already tight and make it better.

Patti’s newest novel is Shot in Detroit, which drops tomorrow from Polis Books

One Bite at a Time: Tell us about Shot in Detroit.

Patti Abbott: Shot in Detroit is the story of a female photographer, nearing forty, who wants to find a project that is successful artistically, financially, and most of all in terms of representing what's going on in Detroit circa 2011. When her mortician boyfriend asks her to photograph the body of a young black man who's being shipped back to the UK, she believes she has found her subject.

OBAAT: Readers love to ask where authors get their ideas and most authors reply with something along the lines of “we’re tripping over them. The trick is to find the idea that works best for me.” What made this idea worth developing, and how much development from the original germ was required?

PA: There was a female photographer who took pictures of the dead through a mortician's cooperation in Harlem. She was quite successful with her project, even getting a feature piece in the New York Times, a gallery show, a book deal. I was looking for an idea I could use to explore the deaths of black men going on in Detroit at that time (around 2007) and this seemed like a vehicle for doing it. I, of course, changed everything about the story except for this original concept. I also wanted to explore the special sort of narcissism that an artist needs to succeed.

OBAAT: How long did it take to write Shot in Detroit, start to finish?

PA: That's hard to say because I wrote it, and then rewrote it, and then rewrote it. My original story had Violet Hart a lot more promiscuous, a lot more callous about what she was up to. Over time, I realized that only a sociopath could be that cavalier about her work (and her life) and so I moderated both. I would say two to three years.

OBAAT: Where did Violet Hart come from? In what ways is he like, and unlike, you?

PA: She's not very much like me in most ways. She is fiercely independent and I am not. She's not afraid to be unlikable, which I am. She's a loner, which I am certainly not. I based her on several successful female artists, writers that I know. Women who are not afraid to put their personal lives aside mostly to pursue their dream. I think we are alike in that we are using, but hopefully not exploiting, the people of Detroit in a way that might be seen as decorous.

OBAAT: In what time and place is Shot in Detroit set and why was this time and place chosen?

PA: SID is set around 2011. That was when I started rewriting it and I kept it set there because I wanted it to take place at the time when Detroit was at its lowest point financially. Before developers and artists and musicians started showing up for its cheap rents. Also at a time when the Sunday supplement listing foreclosures was the thickest section of the local newspaper.

OBAAT: How did Shot in Detroit come to be published?

PA: Polis Books offered me a two-book deal two years ago after Angry Robot pulled out. SID had actually been written first [before Concrete Angel] but it was definitely the more iffy project. Would people accept a prickly, often selfish, woman like Violet Hart? In CA, Christine balances her mother's narcissism. In SID, there is no character with as large a role as Christine to give readers someone more likable. I had to rely on three or four men to do the job.

OBAAT: What kinds of stories do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors, in or out of that area?

PA: I like to read stories about people at a crossroad. About people trying to decide how to go forward with their secret desires, how to cope with their troubles. I like stories about people at the bottom or at least below the middle economically. My favorite writers include: Alice Munro, Joy Williams, Charlie Baxter, Anne Tyler, Stewart O'Nan, Laura Lippman, Tana French, Ken Bruen, Lorrie Moore, William Trevor, Adrian McKinty, Ann Beattie, Margaret Millar, Elizabeth Xansay Holding, Ross Macdonald, Muriel Spark, Joe Lansdale, Larry Brown, Larry Watson. So many more.

OBAAT: What made you decide to be an author?

PA: A course I signed up for when I returned to college in the nineties on the American Indian had too large of a reading list to fit in with my work obligations. A poetry workshop met at the same time and I had always harbored some ideas about trying my hand at writing. Since childhood, I told myself stories to put myself to sleep so I had a large backlist. I started with poetry in that class but moved on when a wise editor told me I was really writing stories not poems.

OBAAT: How do you think your life experiences have prepared you for writing crime fiction?

PA: Beats me. It was what I read most often, and what interested me when I picked up a pen. Although my earliest stories were more literary than later ones, most had a criminal or suspense element. It gave me a nail to hang the writing on.

OBAAT: What do you like best about being a writer?

PA: Editing. I love to edit. I hate getting the bare bones down but I love polishing them, making them better, adding the middle and base notes. (Editor’s Note: Ah. A kindred spirit.)

OBAAT: Who are your greatest influences? (Not necessarily writers. Filmmakers, other artists, whoever you think has had a major impact on your writing.)

PA: Claude Chabrol, the director. I love the way he tells a story. I love the way the French tell stories in general. They love the minutia of life as do I. Big moments elude me--it's the small ones I can linger over longest. The paintings of Edward Hopper and Reginald Marsh. The stories of Alice Munro.

OBAAT: Do you outline or fly by the seat of you pants?

PA: Sadly, I am still a pantser. I am getting better though. I have an entire story in my head right now. A woman I met waiting for my plane in Krakow told it to me. How generous although she will never realize it.

OBAAT: Give us an idea of your process. Do you edit as you go? Throw anything into a first draft knowing the hard work is in the revisions? Something in between?

PA: I constantly edit. I start from the beginning every day with a short story. With the longer pieces I did that as much as I could until it became ridiculous. I always feel better when I am improving what is already on a page.

OBAAT: Endings are hard and can make or break a book. Americans as a whole tend to lie happy endings, and those are the books that tend to sell best. What are you looking for in an ending: “happy” or “satisfying?”

PA: I am looking for an ending that seems appropriate to the story. Best is when it's a bit of a surprise but entirely right for what's gone before it. Sometimes that works out to be happy, sometimes funny, and sometimes sad. I certainly don't require happy endings because they usually don't feel fitting to me. None of the writers I listed above are known for a happy ending. People like me—semi-depressed most of the time—find it hard to see a happy ending ahead.

OBAAT: Who is your intended audience?

PA: This is going to sound odd, but since I have been writing in my head for myself since age 7, I think I am my intended audience. That is probably a weakness. I have quirky tastes in what I read so I am probably writing quirky stories.

OBAAT: If you could give a novice writer a single piece of advice, what would it be?

PA: Read. Not an original piece of advice but I was always amazed at the students in classes I took who had read so little. Their frame of reference was so small. Also stay in the chair. I have to relearn that now myself.

OBAAT: Generally speaking the components of a novel are story/plot, character, setting, narrative, and tone. How would you rank these in order of their importance in your own writing, and can you add a few sentences to tell us more about how you approach each and why you rank them as you do?

PA: Character is far and away the most important to me. When people give me their ideas for a story, they are always a concept or a plot so I can seldom use them. Tone would be next. It doesn't work if I don't get the tone or "voice" right. The rest alter in importance. On occasion, a setting can be critical.

OBAAT: If you could have written any book of the past hundred years, what would it be, and what is it about that book you admire most?

PA: Stewart O'Nan's Last Night at the Lobster. It is so succinct, so sad, so full of character. Second: Montana: 1948 by Larry Watson. Third: Winter's Bone, Daniel Woodrell. Same reasons for all of them. These writers create characters that chill you to the bone. Both their heroes and their villains. (Editor’s Note: Patti is the second person of taste to mention Last Night at the Lobster to me in the past several weeks. Looms like I’m going to have to find that one. I’m already all in on Winter’s Bone and Woodrell.)

OBAAT: Favorite activity when you’re not reading or writing.

PA: Movies, movies, movies.

OBAAT: What are you working on now?

PA: That Polish woman in Krakow is haunting me. Can't wait to write it.

Twenty Questions With Patti Abbott

There are few people as responsible for my development as a writer than Patti Abbott, though she may not be aware of it. The periodic flash fiction challenges on her pattinase blog not only taught me to appreciate the potential of very short stories, writing them to fit her specifications taught me more about tightening prose, and getting into and out scenes quickly, than anything else I’ve done. Looking back at some of my older stories, I can pretty much tell when I started responding to Patti’s challenges; it’s evident in the writing.

As much as she’s helped me—and others—and considering the frequent publication and enthusiastic reception of her short stories, it’s ironic that Patti is only now getting a novel into print herself. (Feel free to substitute “sad” or “disappointing” for “ironic.”) Polis is the first publisher to not only recognize her talent, but to follow through on that recognition. Concrete Angel launches next week, and it’s a real treat for me that Patti has carved some time from what I know is a hectic period to play Twenty Questions with me at OBAAT.

One Bite at a Time: Let’s cut to the chase, then we can backtrack: Tell us about Concrete Angel.

Patti Abbott: Concrete Angel, which begins with a murder, is the story of a mother and daughter in Philly between 1958 and 1980. It is the journey of a daughter who's devoted to her mother until she grows old enough to understand the cost of continuing such a relationship with a mentally ill and narcissistic woman.

OBAAT: Where did you get this idea, and what made it worth developing for you? (Notice I didn’t ask “Where do you get your ideas?” I was careful to ask where you got this idea.)

PA: Two things. I read a story about a mother and daughter who were being tried for a number of nefarious crimes. The daughter's defense was basically that her mother made her do it. Huh! And then I remembered a good friend in childhood whose relationship with her mother put her at risk several times over the years. They did not commit crimes (well, only petty ones) but her mother, as her only parent, held great power over her. So these two became my Eve and Christine. I did understand them, if not the criminal versions.

OBAAT: How long did it take to write Concrete Angel, start to finish?

PA: Probably about two years. And then another year or so rewriting. Now during this time I continued to write short stories so it was never my only project because I was very uncertain of its worth.

OBAAT: Where did Christine come from? In what ways is she like, and unlike, you?

PA: Christine is partly me and partly that childhood friend. She reacts as I would to situations, but she knows what she's up about better than I would have.

OBAAT: In what time and place is Concrete Angel set? How important is the setting to the book as a whole?

PA: I hope the setting of this book is a major character. I tried very hard to reconstruct the Philly of my youth and early twenties. The stores, the nearby towns, the dress, the way people thought and acted then. Their prejudices, their hobbies, their daily errands.

OBAAT: Now for the hard question. Concrete Angel was originally set to come last winter, from a different publisher. What happened, and how did it—and you—manage to find as sweet a landing spot as Polis?

PA: I am hugely relieved to find myself in Jason's hands. Although I had great faith in Bryon Quertermous to work hard for Exhibit A, right from the start I sensed a reticence to move forward from the rest of its staff. The advance never came. No real planning went on. I think the people with Exhibit A were sad about what Angry Robot's new CIO was up to but their hands were tied.

With Jason, things immediately began to happen. I hope to make him glad he gave me a chance. Even if I have to buy the books myself.

OBAAT: What kinds of stories do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors, in or out of that area?

PA: If we're talking about short stories, I like ones that have a strong voice and concentrate on regular people who get caught up in some dilemma. A very small concentration.  In novels, a wider scope is needed. It took me a long time to figure that out. I wrote too many stories before trying a novel and didn't know how to widen my cast of characters for one. You mean three people isn't enough for a novel?

Back to your question: My favorite writers would include Stewart O'Nan, Alice Munro, Margaret Millar, Tana French, Ross MacDonald, Sjowal and Wahloo, Nicholas Freeling, Adrian McKinty, Richard Yates, Ray Carver, Donald Westlake, Laura Lippman, Sandra Scoppettone, Charles Baxter, Patricia Highsmith, Ruth Rendell, Val McDermid. So many more...

OBAAT: What made you decide to be an author?

PA: Well, I fell into it. A course I signed up for when I returned to college in the nineties was too reading heavy for me with a full-time job and another course. A poetry workshop was held at the same time. The instructor said my poems looked like outlines for stories to him. I took one and darn if it wasn't. That first story has the distinct honor of being a runner-up for the contest the North American Auto Show was running so it was published on their website. Weird. It had nothing to do with cars and eventually appeared in Thuglit.

OBAAT: How do you think your life experiences have prepared you for writing crime fiction?

PA: Not at all really, except for my reading choices. But my favorite family story has always been the time my grandparents were locked in a wall safe while the country club they managed and lived in was robbed. After fifteen minutes or so, one of the burglars unlocked the safe door and handed my grandfather his heart medication. The headline in the local paper read, "Gentlemen Burglars Hit Local Golf Club."

OBAAT: What do you like best about being a writer?

PA: I have been writing in my head since I was seven. What I like most about it is the editing. I love rewriting a page--making it better. Not very creative, I guess, but it makes me feel great to put in a better word or get rid of an extraneous one. To give a character a better name or trait that I originally did.

OBAAT: Who are your greatest influences? (Not necessarily writers. Filmmakers, other artists, whoever you think has had a major impact on your writing.)

PA: For sure, Margaret Millar who wrote the most terrific psychological suspense novels. Ray Carver for the care in his work. Richard Yates--Easter Parade and Revolutionary Road are brilliant. Also Patricia Highsmith for showing me women can both be and write dark. French film makers have influenced me greatly because their films are so much about voice and story. Especially Claude Chabrol and Eric Rohmer. The art of Reginald Marsh, who tells a story with every picture. All the romantic era classical composers. Movie soundtracks. The poetry of Sharon Olds, Tess Gallagher, most of what Didion has to say. Her essays are as great as her novels. Probably greater.

OBAAT: Do you outline or fly by the seat of you pants? Do you even wear pants when you write?

PA: I do wear pants-hate skirts, hate sticking to the seat. I write by the seat of my pants but that's because a story I am working on lurks just beneath my consciousness all the time. I have been writing stories in my head since I was seven and outlining makes me feel less spontaneous--like I am tied to the mast. Although Flying does work better with stories than novels.

OBAAT: Give us an idea of your process. Do you edit as you go? Throw anything into a first draft knowing the hard work is in the revisions? Something in between?

PA: Every day when I am writing--which used to be every day and now isn't--I start with the beginning of a story and rewrite it. If it's a novel, I go back and rewrite what I did the day before. Because I like revising, this is my favorite part of the process. It's coming up with new things for the characters to do I find exhausting. Why can't they just sit in a chair and behave? I love reading books where very little happens but I know most people don't. I am very content to just go through the day with a character, watch them put on socks and boil an egg.

OBAAT: Do you listen to music when you write? Do you have a theme song for this book? What music did you go back to over and over as you wrote it, or as you write, in general?

PA: Absolutely no music because I have constant noise in my ears already. A constant hum. Every song I ever learned as a teen is still intact in my head so it is those songs I think about when I am not writing but thinking about a story or book. I love music except when I am trying to write.

OBAAT: As a writer, what’s your favorite time management tip?

PA: Don't wait for inspiration. As someone said, "Stay in the chair." For whatever time you can make, just sit and stare if that's the best you can do.

OBAAT: If you could give a novice writer a single piece of advice, what would it be?

PA: Stop writing short stories as soon as possible or you will write them forever. If that's what you want to do, fine. But if you aspire to write novels, learn how to write novels by writing them. Also if you feel you need someone to weigh in on your writing, take a class or join a writing group. Don't ask for a read from a writer unless they volunteer. I had a friend's husband keep bringing a story back to me until I had essentially written it. Last time I agree to do that.

OBAAT: Generally speaking the components of a novel are story/plot, character, setting, narrative, and tone. How would you rank these in order of their importance in your own writing, and can you add a few sentences to tell us more about how you approach each and why you rank them as you do?

PA: Character, tone, narrative, story/plot, setting, But that's only in theory. I can only begin a story when I have a good character. People give me story ideas all the time and they are always about plot. I need a good character to filter plot through.

OBAAT: If you could have written any book of the past hundred years, what would it be, and what is it about that book you admire most?

PA: Gosh, so many but I will go with Last Night at The Lobster by Stewart O'Nan. I admire his ability to do so much in so few pages, to create a memorable character, to write with so much humanity.

OBAAT: Favorite activity when you’re not reading or writing.

PA: Movies, movies, movies.

OBAAT: What are you working on now?

PA: I am finishing up the second novel with Polis. Actually I wrote it before CA but the central character attracted intense dislike from most of its readers. So I am softening her up. This one is set in Detroit and hopefully I can capture it. Somehow growing up in a place puts you forever in its rhythms. I didn't come to Detroit until I was 22 so I missed all that local history that you learn by growing up in a city.

The Virtues of Reading

Patti Abbott has a knack for prompting discussions through her blog and Facebook. Last Monday this appeared on Facebook:

A depressing story on NPR about kids reading books. Most do not read for pleasure despite books like The Hunger Games and the Harry Potter books.

Brainstorm: how can we get kids to read more? 

Several suggestions followed, all with merit. Then John McFetridge, who’s building a reputation based on not looking at things quite the same way as others, posted this:

Is there some reason why reading books for pleasure is better than doing anything else for pleasure?

Instant tangent in my thoughts. The discussion proceeded—my suggestion included—as if the answer to this question was self-evident. Intelligence is knowing the right answers; John showed how wisdom lies in asking the right questions.

Let’s start with my belief that reading is, by far, the most important thing a person can learn. If schools do nothing else, they should create good readers. (Why they do not is another discussion.) Not because people should read for pleasure, but because good readers can learn just about anything they want, with minimal outside assistance, if they can read well enough, and know how to use reference materials. The ability to teach through media other than direct interaction is what differentiates humans from the rest of life on this planet, and we abuse the opportunity as if it had no value.

That’s a strictly educational perspective. John’s question remains: Is reading for pleasure somehow a more noble action than doing something else for pleasure? There are few things I enjoy as much as reading; large chunks of my annual summer staycation are eagerly anticipated as reading time. I find time to read at least sixty books a year in the cracks between a full-time job, my own writing, family responsibilities, and other activities. Reading for pleasure can take me outside myself and my personal experiences—how much I have learned about differing perspectives and human nature in my recreational reading cannot be measured—yet it’s rare I can hold myself to a continuous session with the same level of concentration I can find for baseball. A couple of weeks ago I spent nine hours watching the Pirates lose a rain-delayed doubleheader in Baltimore, and was never bored. Not for a second. I’m not going to wax rhapsodic about the pastoral virtues of baseball; most of that is bullshit. There is something about the game that resonates with me in a way no other activity does; I can always watch a ball game. Doesn’t matter if it’s major league, minor league, or a sandlot game I pass by with time on my hands. Would that time be better spent reading?

It depends. No activity is what we need for every minute of every day. Some days we need recharged, some days we need elevated, some days we need to level out. This is one of the virtues in reading for pleasure: there are as many different kinds of things to read as there human psychic needs. The variety is almost limitless.

Reading’s primary virtue may be how it allows us to focus while still multitasking. Well-written fiction can be read purely for pleasure, but can one read and enjoy a book such as Les Edgerton’s The Bitch and not at some level learn there’s more to habitual offender statutes than we at first thought? I knew a large part of the Thai economy was based on sex, but had no idea of the effects of that, and the Thai people’s attitudes toward it, before I read John Burdette and then, in more detail, Tim Hallinan. No one who reads John McFetridge can think of Canada as that bland, frozen country to the north, any more than Florida development can be viewed the same way after reading Carl Hiaasen. Adrian McKinty’s Troubles Trilogy gave me a peek into Northern Irish living in the 80s without risking life and limb. Reading for pleasure provides opportunities for covert education and enlightenment rarely found elsewhere.

So, yeah, I think reading for pleasure is, in many ways, better than doing a lot of other things for pleasure, though it’s not a universal truth. It’s easy for those of us who base so much of our lives around reading and writing to think so. Too much reading can make it easy to remove oneself from the real world and those in it. It’s a great escape, but a reading addiction can be as harmful in its way as a drug dependency. My father keeps up with newspapers and magazines; his “leisure” time is spent working in his yard, and in his wood shop. I may be expanding my sensibilities, but he actually creates something, which too many of us who live largely intellectual lives value too little.

Back to John’s question: Is there some reason why reading books for pleasure is better than doing anything else for pleasure? Yes, there are several, but they are all time- and need-specific. Even avid readers need other outlets for pleasurable activities that recharge their souls in different ways.

Play ball.

Twenty Question With Patti Abbott

Patti Abbott has been a major positive influence on my writing, thanks to her flash fiction challenges. It’s safe to say the tricks and techniques I was forced to learn to make my stories fit into her guidelines tightened my writing. Cutting words that could be lived without, obviously; at a more macro level, getting into and out of scenes more cleanly; and even at the story level, applying principles of flow learned from writing those flash pieces.

Patti is more than the Face That Launched a Thousand Flash Stories; she’s a formidable writer herself. Her short fiction has appeared in (take a deeeep breath) Yellow Mama, Crooked, Thrilling Detective, Spinetingler, Mysterical-E, A Twist of Noir, Beat to a Pulp, Thuglit, All Due Respect, Crime Factory, Plots With Guns. Powder Burn Flash, Huffington Post, Storyglossia, Pank Magazine, Shotgun Honey, Word Riot, among others. She also shepherds the Forgotten Friday series of blog posts, where readers and writers remind others of deserving books and authors that have fallen off the radar.

Patti is also on the faculty of Wayne State University in Detroit. In her copious spare time, she has written a novel titled Home Invasion, which is the topic of today’s chat.

One Bite at a Time: Tell us about Home Invasion.

Patti Abbott: Home Invasion is a novel in stories published by Snubnose Press as an e-book.

OBAAT: Where did you get this idea, and what made it worth developing for you? (Notice I didn’t ask “Where do you get your ideas?” I was careful to ask where you got this idea.)

PA: The stories in Home Invasion have been ones I have worked on since I began to write around 2000. I put the idea aside many times as I tried to write a more traditional novel and as other story ideas came to me. Some of the stories in HI came from my imagination but a number of them are based on people in my life. The character of Billie, for instance, is largely based on a childhood friend who had a very eventful, if sad, life.

OBAAT: How long did it take to write Home Invasion, start to finish?

PA: I guess I would have to go with about ten years. But in that period I wrote the two unsuccessful novels and in the neighborhood of one hundred separate stories.

OBAAT: What’s the back story on the main character or characters?

PA: At the start of the book, Billie Slack would seem to be a survivor but circumstances and a family history of alcoholism and lousy parenting eventually take a toll. She turns the story over to her son, Charlie Batch midway through the book, and although he would seem to be the same sort of loser (prison, drink, kidnapping) his story goes in the opposite direction.

OBAAT: In what time and place is Home Invasion set? How important is the setting to the book as a whole?

PA: The story starts in the sixties and ends in the mid-2000s. Setting is very important to me. Each chapter or story is set in a different time and place. We start the story in a rowhouse in Philly, make a detour to a church in Detroit, come back to Philly for a story set mostly in a department store, go to the New Jersey beach for a day at the shore, eventually traveling to a deserted house in Massachusetts and finishing the tale in a small town in Maine. These are working (or non-working) people. The settings are grim but authentic to their story. I have tried to include some aspects of the passing decades without overloading the detail.

OBAAT: How did Home Invasion come to be published?

PA: About five years ago I almost landed an agent but he felt a collection of stories by an unknown writer would be too difficult to sell. Then when Brian Lindenmuth started Snubnose Press I sent it along to him after he published my first collection of stories, Monkey Justice.

OBAAT: What kinds of stories do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors, in or out of that area?

PA: I read a lot of so-called literary novels/stories and a lot of crime stories. My favorite writers would include; Raymond Carver, Larry Watson, Alice Munro, Lorrie Moore, Richard Yates, Richard Bausch, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Dorene O’Brien, Antonya Nelson, Joy Williams, Stewart O’Nan. I could go on forever here. For twenty years of my life, I did little more than read novels.

In crime fiction, I especially like Tana French, Peter May, Vicki Hendricks, Michael Robotham, Laura Lippman, Daniel Woodrell, Bill Pronzini…the list goes on and on. Of course, Megan would rank #1 favorite as you might expect.

OBAAT: Who are your greatest influences?

PA: I took four writing workshops with Chris Leland at Wayne State University. He wrote five or so great novels but died prematurely. He was also one of the brightest people I know.

Margaret Millar was an early influence. Also John Updike, William Trevor, Charles Baxter, John Cheever. And as every writing student would say, Raymond Carver and Flanner O’Connor. “A Good Man is Hard To Find” is my all time favorite story. Bobbie Ann Mason’s earliest short stories (Shiloh and Other Stories) were a big influence. And I would have to mention Joyce Carol Oates, who I read obsessively early on.

OBAAT: Do you outline or fly by the seat of your pants? Do you even wear pants when you write?

PA: I never outline. As a seven year old, I suffered from insomnia. My parents took me to the school psychologist and she told me to invent stories to put myself to sleep. After a while, my subconscious did the inventing. Even now, I rarely think about a story consciously. But somehow it is usually there when I sit down at the computer. Perhaps I would have been more successful at writing a novel had I learned to outline.

OBAAT: Give us an idea of your process. Do you edit as you go? Throw anything into a first draft knowing the hard work is in the revisions? Something in between?

PA: Every day, I rewrite every line of whatever story I am working on. I never go to where I left off the day before first. On occasion, I tear something apart or start in a different place, but usually since I revise every word every day, it’s hard to know what draft I am actually on. Also, I often see an overworked first half and an underworked second half in most of my stories. I wish I could change my process, but I am stuck with it now. It takes me about a 3-4 weeks to write a short story. If it comes faster than that, I am suspicious.

OBAAT: If you could give a novice writer a single piece of advice, what would it be?

PA: Start right out writing novels. Don’t go near short stories unless that’s what you want to be: a short story writer. And if that’s what you want to be: name me a few who support themselves writing shorts. We all know Alice Munro, but what other short story writers can you name?

OBAAT: Favorite activity when you’re not reading or writing.

PA: Movies. Our entire family is besotted by movies.

OBAAT: Which do you take to bed at night, the money earned or the good review?

PA: Neither. I take my current story to bed with me.

OBAAT: Would you stop writing if someone paid you enough money so you’d never have to work again, on the condition you could also never write again?

PA: Nah. I am too old to be influenced by money. I have never made any, always depended on the kindness of husbands. Perhaps if I had come to writing before 45, I might have had a different attitude.

OBAAT: If you were just starting out, which would you prefer: 1. Form your own indie publishing house and put your work out in paper and e-book yourself? 2. Go with a small or medium traditional house that offers very little or no advance, a royalty that is only a fraction of what you'd get on your own, and also makes no promise of any type of publicity push, keeping in mind that you also will lose the publishing rights for a period, sometimes indefinitely?

PA: I have very little faith in the long terms endurance of e-books for anyone but the most well read in-print writers. The same people will succeed in both arenas. I don’t like either choice here. I really don’t want to spend my time formatting books and dealing with Amazon, etc. But #2 seems lousy too. I guess I will just write and depend on the goodness of editors of anthologies and zines. A lack of ambition or pragmatism, I don’t know which.

.

OBAAT: Beer, mixed drinks, or hard liquor?

PA: Any of the above but you forgot wine.

OBAAT: Baseball or football?

PA: I used to love baseball, even listened to spring training games on the radio. But now I can’t stand the loss of the time invested although my husband watches avidly. I will watch the Detroit Lions play if there is a chance they might win. This has been their best year in decades. Fingers crossed.

OBAAT: What question have you always wanted an interviewer to ask, but they never do?

PA: What book do you most often try to get people to read?

OBAAT: What’s the answer?

PA: Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan. Or A Prayer For the Dying, by O’Nan.

OBAAT: What are you working on now?

PA: I am working on a story for a charity anthology based on the ideas of Camus. I am also working on the story of a couple who give birth to two unusual children. I have been trying to move into more fantasy stories and less crime because I am running out of ideas on how to kill people.

Thank you, Patti, both for the insightful answers, and for finding time in the first pace. Everyone is strongly encouraged to check out Patti’s Blog, pattinase, for an eclectic mix of writing, movies, and music, as well as the occasional flash challenges and, last but not least, Forgotten Books Fridays.

How I Came to Write Grind Joint

Not here. Over at Patti Abbott’s excellent blog.

Thanks to Patti for giving me the opportunity. She will make her own guest appearance here on December 2, to discuss her book, Home Invasion

Pennsylvania Man’s Tastes Get Him Into Trouble

Mike Adams, born Michael Adamski when Penns River still had a hospital; a/k/a Mike the Fence, Mike the Kike (for the small shylock business he ran on the side), and White Mike (to distinguish him from Black Mike, also a fence). Five-foot-ten, one-eighty. Worked more or less full-time as a bartender at Fat Jimmy’s, where Jimmy let him conduct business, so long as no cash or merchandise changed hands, and no drugs. His day off, so he ran errands and made collections. Home for a shower, then out to see if Luann Czekalski would make an appearance at Ricki’s Lime. With luck, bring her home and show off his new tattoo.

A hundred yards from his house he saw the light bars. Two Penns River patrol units, plus one unmarked. Two uniformed cops with their thumbs up their asses between the cars and his front door. Another uniform and two plainclothes coming and going from the unmarked to the house. Mike had seen search warrants served before. He drove by, never turned his head to look.

He had his Go bag in the trunk. Eight grand in tens, twenties, and fifties he collected and banded himself; no bank straps. An ID he bought in New York that came with a number prospective employers could call for a job reference, one call per ID. Fancied himself the incarnation of DeNiro in the movie Heat. “Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in thirty seconds flat.” Mike beat Bobby D by at least twenty seconds.

Almost stopped at Glen’s on Leechburg Road for frozen custard. Best ice cream in the world, even better than the Wisconsin Dells, where Mike made a detour during his long-haul trucking days just to try it. One last large Flavor of the Day would have been nice. Too risky. That self-righteous detective asshole—Dougherty?—knew about Mike’s ice cream jones, probably had someone there already.

Mike knew a guy in Chicago, said he could set him up in Rockford, and the way to get there was the PA Turnpike to I-80, then I-90. Eight, nine hours, depending on traffic. Nearest Turnpike interchange in Harmarville, next to Cheswick, home of the original Glen’s. Mike doubted Penns River would call neighboring jurisdictions to look for him. Or, he would have doubted it if he thought they wanted him for fencing or juice.

Jimmy had warned him not to mention the meth package at work. “Don’t even let on you have something else going,” how he said it. Jimmy tolerated what he called “victimless crimes” in his bar. He didn’t care who used drugs, so long as they didn’t use or sell on the premises and paid their tabs. No bones about it: Jimmy wasn’t losing his license so some toothless tweaker could ride a high.

The thing with Jimmy, he wasn’t so tolerant and open-minded he wouldn’t drop a dime if warnings went unheeded. The bent guys let him get away with it because Fat Jimmy’s worked so well as a clearinghouse to make connections; they told complainers not to shit where they ate, make their transactions elsewhere. The cops ignored the criminal element because he’d dish for the proper occasion. The sophomore at Penn State Penns River who ODed on speed from the package Mike brokered made for a borderline occasion; him dying pushed it over the line into a fucking Orthodox wedding. Mike assumed his warrant had Jimmy’s CI number on it.

Mike didn’t remember if he’d ever mentioned this Rockford thing to Jimmy. If he had, the cops might figure he’d go there, and the quickest way was through Harmarville.

So, no Glen’s.

He still had to get to Chicago, which meant I-80. Mike doubted they’d post a BOLO across state lines. Even if they did, the odds of a cop from Ohio or points west spotting this one car were slim and less than slim, if he behaved himself. PA-28 north would take him to 80 in Brookville. Mike took back roads through the Flats, the 356 bypass past Leechburg and hooked up with 28 the other side of Freeport.

Jordan’s Soft Serve never entered his mind until the expressway ended outside Kittanning and reminded him. Stopped there all the time coming back from his uncle’s camp in East Brady. No more than a mile from where he was, quick in and out, then on his way. Fifteen minutes, tops. Made the small detour past the par three golf course and parked along the side, next to an SUV that hid his car from the street.

A cop drove past as Mike came around the front of Jordan’s. He hesitated—almost went back—shook it off. This wasn’t even the metropolis of Kittanning, population 4,000; this was West Kittanning. A thousand people and two cops, tops. Town this size, a cop probably drove by once an hour.

Ordered a large chocolate cone, took a lick. Depending on his mood, this was as good as Glen’s. No cops in sight when he stepped out the door. Turned the corner back to his car, licking around the edge of the cone. Had his keys out, lock fob in his hand, when he passed the SUV and saw the West Kittanning cop leaning against Mike’s driver side door, his police car blocking any exit. Two state troopers rested on their own cars behind him.

The local cop smiled. “Mike Adamski, right?” Mike stared and swallowed. Took another lick. “Detective Dougherty in Penns River said you might stop here. He told me to let you finish your cone. Said the next one’s going to be a while.”

Enough of This Writing BS; Let Us Speak of Love

Much of the best effort I’ve put into this blog is the result of flash fiction challenges issues by the estimable Patti Abbott. (Next episode to premier on September 26.) Patti recently wondered why men were loath to whip out (her term) their wedding pictures to show their friends, as women will do at the drop of a hat, even if they have to drop the hat themselves.

A large part of that is because men are far more considerate. Having been on the receiving end of photo sharing experiences, we know the last thing any man wants to see is another man showing him pictures of an event where a good time was had by all, and you were not invited. Not only is this rubbing salt, it implies your absence was a contributing factor to the general merriment. We care more about our friends than that. (We are also aware upset men are far more prone to physical violence than are women, who tend to write off anything we do to our being men.)

The enormous respect I have for Patti and her opinions has led me to search the bowels of my soul and decide to share with all of you not just the pictures of my last (not just most recent; last) wedding, along with a bit of the story.

The Beloved Spouse and I were joined in wedded bliss the day after Thanksgiving, 2009. (I don’t remember the date. It doesn’t matter. We agreed in advance to always celebrate our anniversary on the day after Thanksgiving. We’re guaranteed to be off work and she doesn’t have to worry about me—the man—forgetting. (The fact the day after Thanksgiving is universally known as Black Friday is but an unfortunate coincidence.))

Shy, unassuming sorts we are, we wanted a quiet ceremony among those closest to us. We also wanted to make it a surprise. We invited my parents down for the weekend. (My would-have-been-in-laws had gone to their greater rewards before we had a chance to meet.) We arranged for The Sole Heir to stop by under false pretenses. She brought The Boy Friend, who was not in any way prepared for what was to come.

We were all sitting in the living room watching hockey (Pens vs. Islanders) when a knock came at the door from a young woman dressed in medieval garb, asking if anyone wanted to get married. The Beloved Spouse and I opened the Wedding in a Box we’d been keeping under the bed, passed out appropriate tee shirts

and recited the following vows (bonus points to those who recognize the inspiration for these vows):

HEATHER

Dearly beloved,

I know this was unexpected, so I will be brief.

(Allow scroll to fall open. It’s about four feet long.)

We are gathered here today on this not quite so solemn as some might have it occasion because when one heart exhibits migratory behavior toward another, it’s a force of nature, and not a question of where it grips it. Corky and Dana have married before. The marriages fell over and sank into the swamp. They tried again. Those marriages burned down, fell over, and sank into the swamp. So here they are, having learned from experience and lived as married in all but name (nudge, nudge, say no more) to build the strongest marriage in all the kingdom.

Now, to make things legitimate, please recite the vows each of you has chosen especially for each other to mark this solemn occasion.

CORKY

I, Corky, take you, Dana, as my lawfully wedded husband. I promise to at least consider bringing a lasagna when coming from the basement, and not to turn you into a newt, even though you’re sure to get better. I pledge not to undertake, nor even to suggest, any home improvement projects for at least one year, unless I think of a really good one. Maybe a shrubbery. One that looks nice. Not too expensive. Maybe two of them, place one slightly higher, so you get a two-level effect with a path through the middle. I shall feed the squirrels only in times of most dire famine, to prevent them growing into the most foul-tempered rodents you ever laid eyes on, with big, pointy teeth that will do you a treat.

DANA

I, Dana, take you, Corky, as my lawfully wedded wife, in this ceremony crafted to our own particular—uh—uh—

CORKY

Idiom

DANA

Idiom, to share in my great tracts of land in a very real, and legally binding sense. I promise never to make you live in a self-perpetuating autocracy, but in a an anarco-syndicalist commune. We shall take it in turns to be a sort of executive officer for the week, but all the decisions of that officer have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting. Soft dirt shall not tempt me, even when I find unidentified and previously unannounced vegetables in my dinner, and I shall not say “Ni!” to you unless strenuously provoked.

HEATHER

The rings, please.

CORKY AND DANA

I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you. Wear it and think of me and know that I will always love you.

HEATHER

And now, to symbolize the coming together of these two hearts, and to culminate this eccentric performance, the rings shall be placed on each other’s fingers simultaneously. Corky, Dana, clasp the rings in your right hands, and extend the fourth finger of the left. Place the rings on your new spouse’s finger when I am at the count of three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number counted, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt I not count, neither count two, excepting then that I proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number of three, being the third number, be reached, then slide the ring onto the waiting finger of your beloved’s hand to consummate the marriage as much as can be done in a public setting.

One…

Two…

Five

CORKY AND DANA

No, Three!

HEATHER

Three!

(DANA and CORKY slide rings on.)

And now shalt we go forth to feast upon the lambs and sloths, and carp and anchovies, and orangutans and breakfast cereals, and fruit-bats and large—

DANA

Skip down a bit.

HEATHER

Ummm, yes, right here.

What has been joined here today let no man put asunder, lest the Lord blow him to tiny bits, in His mercy. You may kiss the bride.

Due to a lack of space and foreknowledge, attendance was sparse, as expected. To add to the family atmosphere, other arrangements were made. 

Which leads us to the final, and best, reason not to show your wedding pictures around: there’s always someone who gets left out and cops an attitude.

Now that I think of it, I can’t recall seeing Patti’s wedding pictures anywhere. What’s up with that?

Coming Up For Air

With an e-book recently released and a dead tree scroll due out in a few months, promotion has been on my mind. Unfortunately, it has been almost exclusively self-promotion, which always makes me feel a little like a politician, which is to say, unclean. I spend a lot more time reading other people’s stuff than writing my own—with good reason—so it’s time to give credit where it’s due.

Patti Abbott is hard to keep up with because she’s everywhere. Her most recent efforts include, “Floes the Ice” in Shotgun Honey, as well as “Won’t You Pardon Me?” in Plots With Guns. Her novel in stories, Home Invasion, currently has a five-star rating and is available for Kindle for $0.99. Her blog, Pattinase, covers topics from forgotten books to good things to say about Detroit to music to television, films, and whatever else comes to mind. I stop by several times a day.

Paul Brazill never sleeps. In addition to posting daily on his fine blog, You Would Say That, Wouldn’t You? he released two books in July, which is allegedly a vacation month. A Knife and a Quill says of Gumshoe, “The adventures of this PI feel like they rolled out of a Tom Waits song.” Of his newest, Guns of Brixton, Out Of the Gutter Online says, “Brazill has a knack for larger-than-life characters, tar-black humor, and sharp plots, and Guns of Brixton offers a great deal of all that.” McVoices has nominated Death on a Hot Afternoon as Alternative Crime Book of the Year.

Gerard Brennan is about as busy as Patti and Paul. (I’m sensing a pattern here and feeling like a bit of a piker as I do so.) He has a couple of new novellas vying for public attention. I read Welcome to the Octagon yesterday and kept thinking of what a good movie this story of a MMA fighter and single father would make, partly because it has a perfect plot for a movie, and for how well the descriptions of the fights put me on the inside. His newest, Wee Danny, is picking up good reviews faster than I can find links for them all. Save yourself some trouble and just get a copy.

Jochem van der Steen has a different perspective on private investigators. Noah Milano is the scion of a Mafia family who tries to make amends by becoming a straight PI, which isn’t always as easy as Noah would like it to be. Primarily a series of “novelettes,” Jochem’s treatment of what many would call a uniquely American genre proves those who would say that are nuts. I read and enjoyed Scoundrel and Redemption a lot; Noah’s newest is the novella, Guilt. Anyone wishing to keep up with what’s going on in Pi fiction should take a look at Jochem’s blog, Sons of Spade.

Steve Weddle is co-creator of Needle Magazine, as well as my favorite writing blog, Do Some Damage. Steve has been posting kick-ass short fiction all over the place for quite a while, and his first novel, Country Hardball is available for pre-order. There will be more on this one as the date approaches.

Jim Winter writes the Nick Kepler series of detective stories, set in Cleveland. (And I still read them; that’s how good they are.) His collection of short stories, The Compleat Kepler, does a superb job of universe building, showing Kepler in multiple situations. His newest novel, Bad Religion, starts out as the story of a shady preacher, but drags Kepler into a whole lot more.

There are others to catch up with; stay tuned.