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Off The Cuff Part 12 : Literary Conversation with Dietrich Kalteis, Sam Wiebe & Samantha J Wright

26 Friday Dec 2014

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Dietrich Kalteis and I are joined by Samantha J Wright, (author of The Ison Delusion and The Sands of Carsaig) and Vancouver’s own Sam Wiebe, author of Last of the Independents. Thank you both very much for joining in.

 

And we also have another great shot from Peter Rozovsky’s noir vault.  

MF: I suppose the difference between being ready to write a short story and being ready to write a novel is a matter of one’s thirst and preparation for the journey ahead, a bit like a day trip compared to a road trip spanning a week or more. I feel I am ready to write a novel when I have prepared myself for it. I’ve written some short stories and then felt the need to go on a longer journey that’s more immersive. It can be daunting, but it does give a writer the space to expand his/her craft. I could go on, but I’d like to hear some initial thoughts from you all.

DK: When I started writing, I wrote a lot of short stories, and I can’t say it’s easier than writing a novel, just different. The nice thing with writing the shorter form, if you don’t like what you’ve written, it’s not such an investment in time and not the end of the world if you walk away from it. For me, it allowed me to play around with different genres, find out what I was comfortable writing. And it was nice to submit a short piece for publication while I just kept on writing the next one. And what a thrill when they get accepted. Nothing like gaining a little confidence along the way.
Eventually as I kept writing I gained confidence and also developed a voice. And that only evolved after many written pages. Once I felt I had that voice, I tried my had at writing a novel. 

Almost as important as writing as much as you can, I think it’s important to read as much as you can. Delve into the genre you want to write, study and learn from the greats and find out what works for you as a writer.

SJW: When do you know if you’re ready to write a novel? Hm … well, I think that question implies a certain amount of constraint, yet it is one that many people ask. Over the years I have learned that writers (myself included) are very good at putting restrictions, erecting lofty standards and making harsh demands of themselves when it comes to their work. Like many, I have at times become my own worst enemy by developing this mindset. Such thinking can stifle creativity and slow us down. There is no room for spontaneity or asking those what ifs. It’s all shoulds and oughts, can I and will I? Whereas the unfettered creative mind says, ‘I will. I want to. I can. I need to.’ I enjoy art also, but I do not and never have asked myself ‘am I ready to paint this picture?’ I just do it. My best work in both writing and art comes when I am relaxed and uninhibited by mental clutter and questions like, am I ready?

My first novel was not plotted or planned. I just went with an idea that came to me and wrote and wrote sequestered in my room to the point where the world just fell away. This was not with any intention of publishing you understand, but for my own pleasure. And that gave me the freedom to use broad brush strokes and let the stories and characters be who they were meant to be. You know the saying dance like no one is watching? That’s the way we should be when we write. Hard to do when you want to get noticed, but the benefits are huge. In a nutshell it’s all about passion and desire. You start over-thinking it, all you will be left with is an empty commitment that you don’t really have any strong urge to fulfill. Keep it simple, and just go with the flow. You can edit later to craft it into something publishable.

SW: For me, stories fall into two categories: ideas that emerge fully-formed, and more experimental works where I’m attempting something I’m not sure I can pull off. Elmore Leonard mentioned he wasn’t comfortable writing a female protagonist, so he wrote a short story, Karen Makes Out, as a sort of test drive before writing Out of Sight.

The cool part about short stories is that you get exposed to all aspects of the process, including submission and rejection, at a faster rate than novels. So when you encounter those same problems with a novel, they differ in degree rather than kind from what you’ve already faced.

MF: I remember when we talked earlier in the year when you (Dietrich) mentioned how you like to write without detailed step by step planning: it was the difference between wearing a tee shirt and wearing a tie. I’ve been thinking about that lately. Whilst writing my latest novel, I felt as though I was working in a tiny airless cubby hole, a feeling I’ve rarely felt when writing. I found myself continually glancing at my notes and it becoming tiresome. Now I’ve decided to change tack. 

Looking back, I think the effort I spent on creating detailed notes was a diversion, a delaying tactic. It felt like I was doing good preparation, but the time could have been better spent actually writing the novel itself. Then I felt a little constrained by the plot-details that I carefully constructed some months before. But now without all that, I feel liberated and the words are flowing. So what compels me to write the novel? it’s when I have an idea that grabs my imagination, and I can’t wait to write it, or should I say, excavate it, as a small part of me likes to believe that all stories are real somewhere out there. Crazy I know! My day job requires me to plan things in detail weeks and even months ahead, and I think this mind-set has crept into my creativity. While it works for some, and even worked for me in the past, it’s no longer working for me. It’s funny how our MO can change over the years, isn’t it?

SW: A novel is a bigger gamble. Jazz musicians learn a tune by heart and then improvise over the chord changes, and that’s pretty much my approach to novel writing. I figure out the eight or ten or twelve story ‘beats’ and a logical way to get between them. It ends up at about a page. Then I throw that in a drawer and write the first draft without looking at it. That way I don’t really flail looking for the story, but at the same time I’m not locked into an unforgiving outline. If I want to linger on a certain idea, or introduce a new character, that method allows for those digressions.

MF: Interesting analogies and points Mr. Wiebe, and they’ve got me thinking … When you refer to beats, would you be talking about the outline/structure of beats as described in this website for example? http://www.gailgaymermartin.com/2013/12/writing-novel-seven-story-beats
 If so, that’s very useful advice as it provides structure without rigidity, but when we think about all the great novels we’ve read, do they all adhere to this structure? With practice, I am sure a writer could reach the stage that he/she wouldn’t need to consciously think about the beats/structure as it would come naturally in much the same way a pianist doesn’t think ‘the next key is C, the one after that is E etc, but rather, comes naturally in the rhythm.
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Off The Cuff Part 7 with Dietrich Kalteis, Robin Spano and Martin J Frankson

25 Thursday Sep 2014

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We’re back with week seven of our freestyle chat – no rules, no editing, and no net under us. Dietrich Kalteis (author of Ride The Lightning) and Martin J Frankson (author of Dark Introductions and Party Girls collection of short stories) I discuss what we’re working on, writing in general and just whatever comes to mind – real off the cuff.

This week we have a very special guest: Robin Spano, the talented author of the page-turning Clare Vengel Undercover novels Death Plays Poker, Death’s Last Run and Dead Politician Society

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Robin Spano

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Dietrich Kalteis

And our thanks to Peter Rozovsky for use of yet another great noir shot from his vault.

So here we go.

MF: So far, the characters in my first two crime novels were not police officers, therefore I was free from having to research process and procedure, as they could just follow their noses and do what they wanted. However, when it comes to geography and technology, I do my homework. I like to refer to real streets, buildings, bars, coffee houses and stores so that readers may say ‘I was there’ and perhaps visualize the story taking place interwoven with their own memories. Right now, I’m doing something I haven’t done before, and that’s more detailed planning for my third novel that’s set in Vancouver. During my time there earlier this year, I took extensive notes on my travels, and these have proven valuable as I want to infuse as much realistic detail as possible. Not just geographic but societal as well. I have started creating character cards detailing things like the kind of car they drive, personal likes and dislikes etc. I’ve just spent fifteen minutes on a used car website in Vancouver to give me the lowdown on the real makes and models that are driven these days. Google Maps is wonderful too. Sometimes though, I make something up. If I need a motel where one doesn’t exist, then I invent it. What’s your take on research and what do you like to include and leave out?

 

DK: I like to keep towns, landmarks and major cross streets real for the most part, but I also like to throw in a location that doesn’t actually exist if it better serves the purpose of the scene (maybe a store, gas station, bar or restaurant). As far as characters like police officers, I haven’t written a story that is heavy on procedure either. Most of my lead characters have been from the shady side of the tracks, and they’re usually avoiding the law.

 

RS: I’m glad you’re researching Vancouver so intensely, Martin. It means we’ll get to see more of you. I’m with you guys on keeping street scenes true to life unless I need to change them. In Death’s Last Run, I invented a bar because nefarious stuff was going down (like drug money laundering) and I didn’t want to taint a real Whistler business with a negative brush. But in my head it is the same bar where I’ve had apres ski beers a few times, same layout and position in town. I use Starbucks way too much, which I’m pretty sure reveals my own addiction. And like Martin, I use Google Maps street view a lot, too. I find that especially useful in cities where I’ve spent time and remember the feel of the place, but want extra detail, like was that street paved with concrete or cobblestone?

 

MF: Thanks Robin. Mrs Frankson and I are planning a 3 week visit to Vancouver next May/June time. Vancouver will be an annual visit for me. I totally love the city. I too sometimes base fictional bars/cafes in place of ones I frequent, but its best to give them fictional names when derrings-do are set there otherwise it could be a legal minefield for sure, not to mention unfair to the owners. Shady characters are probably the most fun to write about. However, I do like stories about corrupt cops. They have to work within tight bounds and procedures, therefore have to be imaginative when trying to work outside the system without being caught. I once read there are two kinds of corruption, corrupt for greed and corrupt for the job. The former like to line their pockets, whereas the latter break the rules to put away criminals who would get away with it if the letter of the law took its course. One of my favourite writers, the late Derek Raymond wrote several crime novels featuring a lead but nameless detective who constantly broke the rules for the greater good as he saw it. For books like that, knowing procedure would be vital, otherwise how would one know how such rules are bent or broken? They also make for a good read. Nightmares of the Streets and The State of Denmark are two of his books that come to mind, but I digress.

 

I strongly believe that art, least of all novels, should not be set in a societal or political bubble. If there is a major national or world event, the world within the novel should at least acknowledge its existence. It may or may not affect the characters or the story itself, but it does demonstrate a grounded and historical relevance the reader may appreciate. It also adds another dimension to the characters. They don’t exist in a world by themselves. It may be fiction, but there is a world beyond the walls of the scenario the writer creates. Do you like to read work where the real world permeates through the fiction, and if so, how has this manifest itself in your own work, or do you think it’s important at all?

 

RS: That’s a great observation. Another Canadian crime writer, Robert Rotenberg, recently gave me the advice to always have a big, world story going on at the same time as your own narrative. Sometimes it can tie into your plot, and other times it can parallel it, and other times, like you say, it can set the novel in its place in history. I think Rotenberg uses his own advice really well in Stranglehold, which takes place in the midst of a Toronto mayoral campaign.

 

DK: I can see such events lending certain believability to the story. It can make it seem like real life is going on, even if it just floats in the background. Another great example of this is Black Rock by John McFetridge. The story’s set in Montreal in 1970. It’s about a cop hunting a serial killer amid the riots and bombings that actually went on at the time – a great read by the way.

 

MF: That sounds like an interesting book to explore. I don’t think I’ve read crime fiction set in Quebec, and it has seen dramatic political intrigue over the past 45 years. There are many crime novels set in Ireland where the ‘Troubles’ as they were so-called form the backdrop. Stuart Neville comes to mind here. This does add gravitas and credibility to the story. Fiction maybe, but a branch from the tree of truth. It also shows that the writer doesn’t live in an ivory tower. These days, social awareness by the artist is gaining greater currency in society.

 

Putting on my reader hat, I really don’t care if correct police process or procedure is followed, within reason of course. For example, we all know the police can arrest suspects, but I don’t know what paperwork they then need to prepare afterwards. I do find that stuff boring and unnecessary unless the paperwork or other forms of process are in themselves, a falling domino that triggers a chain of events. If so, such detail is fine. If the writer is just putting the detail in to show off his/her homework skills, then it’s not moving the story forward; but, if it it’s kept to a minimum, then that’s okay. We can’t be absolutist on anything in art can we? There is always room. However, in the crime/thriller genre, the story is what matters. I know some people are keen for 100% accuracy, but that’s a little pedantic in my book, if you pardon the unintended pun, but everyone’s entitled to what they appreciate. I can only speak for myself and my own tastes. Is factual detail a keynote of your own writing, and how much leeway do you think a writer can have ranging from total faithful adherence to fact to the other end of the scale in just making stuff up?

 

DK: As I said, I haven’t had the need to cite exact police procedure, but if it was needed, I would seek it out. But if it’s something general like a cop character filing paperwork, I agree, it’s probably enough to just give the broad strokes, and leave out the boring details. I always try not to throw so much detail in that I feel I’m slowing the pace of the story.

 

RS: I’ve asked a few cops and lawyers—who, surprisingly, like to read crime fiction—if procedural mistakes bug them. Every single time I’ve asked, the answer has been no. They’re bugged if the error is egregious, but only because the mistake takes them out of the story they were enjoying. They’re unfazed by technical mistakes. Like you guys, I could not care less about procedure—and neither could Clare, my protagonist. She works within the system, but she’s undercover, so off on her own most of the time. There’s a cop in LA who I play iPhone chess with. (If you’re reading this, Domino King, sorry I’ve been away from the game all summer long!) who helps me keep it real enough to be credible.

 

MF: I’m with you on that. On the point of historical writing, it would be interesting if Google Maps allowed one to look at a historical view in streetview as opposed to just a snapshot of today. Imagine the possibilities, the old cars, the old stores and buildings.

 

RS: That would be SO cool. Though I so far haven’t been tempted to write anything historical, I’d enjoy walking down my old street in the 70s from when I was a kid. It would also be a neat way to teach history to future generations.

 

MF: I think Google is actually working on this. Imagine the possibilities of putting on a headset and being immersed in a new city, virtually walked down its streets at any point in time. I work in IT, and I can see this happening within 20 years tops. It’s exciting, not to mention a boon for researchers and history buffs and writers too, but I can imagine it being quite a distraction. I guess in the meantime, we have to rely on old-school methods for that, but going down the rich avenues of research can be fun, too. For example, one of my characters in my next novel is a figure from the past. I chose him to live in a small village of Old Crow, Yukon. I then found a great website about Old Crow and its cultural and current heritage, and that got me going down some wonderful side-roads, finding out about things like the Gwitch’in language which would be criminal to ignore. Research does add armoury to the pen and the imagination and does enrich a writer’s own knowledge, even if what we read or find doesn’t filter into our work.

 

DK: Absolutely. I’m currently working on a period piece that takes place at the beginning of the twentieth century, and that requires quite a bit of research to bring the story to life: the architecture, the type of vehicles they drove, cultural habits, the way they dressed, even the way they spoke back then. All of these details have to be handled carefully and not overused, but they do help to bring the story to life for the reader. It’s amazing what I found for my story: entire newspapers of the exact dates I needed, numerous articles, books and personal accounts, historical maps (one with overlays of then and now), a phone directory, a business directory, lots of photos, even a short film clip from the early 1900s.  And you’re right, Martin. You do unearth some interesting facts along the way.

 

more next week …

Book Review : “Ride the Lightning” a crime novel by Dietrich Kalteis

19 Saturday Jul 2014

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Ride The Lightning“Holding the smoke in his lungs was like trying to hold a beach ball under the water”

I had the privilege of hearing this line, amongst others, at the Noir in the Bar crime-writer event in downtown Vancouver, June 2014. Dietrich was one of several Vancouver-based crime writers who read an extract from his work. This line alone was enough to tell me this was a writer of quality and a lover of language, fresh lively description and most of all, dialogue.

“If your man’s breathing, we’ll find him; if not, we’ll point out to where he’s buried”

This book falls right into the bulls-eye off that camp and what a book and what a ride it was reading it. The hero, Karl Morgen works as a bounty hunter in Seattle. For those reading this article outside of North America, you are forgiven for an image of Boba Fett of Star Wars fame, rising from the steamy swamps of your imagination. In Seattle, a bounty hunter is a privately employed enforcer, collector of debts and server of summons. In this novel, Karl is assigned to hunt down low-life drug dealer, Miro Knotts. Miro is in deep, shitty hot water over his dalliance with an under-age girl he met at a party.

Karl is good at what he does and catches up with Miro at an all-night rave – but Karl is a rough diamond and engages his fists before his brain and gives Miro a hiding before cuffing him and dragging him to the local police, but the police don’t like the shape Miro’s in. Karl has a story, but Miro presses charges, resulting in Karl losing his bounty hunter licence and livelihood.

Marty, his partner, takes pity on Karl and fixes him up with a job over the border in Vancouver where he now works as a process server, a low octane version of what he was in Seattle with a fraction of the pay. Karl is slowly getting back on his feet but still licking his wounds. He finds love in the lovely PJ Addey, and it looks like the stone off his Spartan acetic bachelor life may finally be smoothed by the love of a good woman.

But it doesn’t take long for the contrails of Karl and Miro’s lives to cross in their foggy skies when Marty phones Karl to tell him that Miro is wanted for jumping bail in the US. Marty waves the idea of revenge under Karl’s nose, and Karl likes the sniff, thus setting the scene for the rest of the novel where Karl hunts down Miro amongst the murk and rent of Vancouver low-lifes, gangsters, users and weed producers in their grow-houses.

There are just the right amount of supporting characters on both sides that provide a well-balanced mix of dark humour and foil for dramatic action without ever veering into farce or the fantastical. The dialogue is snappy, quick-witted and realistic and in keeping with the register of the characters themselves. The pacing is just right, with focus switching from Karl to Miro in just the right tempo and similar on the occasions when their stories intertwine.

Karl doesn’t feature until the 4th chapter, the first three chapters introduce us to Miro and his gang where amongst the activities we may expect from such a drug gang, Miro shoots a ram in cold blood for no reason indicating a particular psychopathy. I found it interesting that the killing of an animal, a ram, served the plinth upon which Miro’s flawed character was succinctly illustrated as opposed to the killing of a person, but in my opinion, this illustrates the inherent, in-built self-destruction and recklessness of a psychopath who indulges in sporadic irrational. The morality of murder, whilst morally reprehensible, could still be justified in utilitarian terms within a criminal world where human life has little value, but the killing of a dumb animal served Miro no purpose whatsoever, which to me, is more telling of his nature as a character.

There is a case to be made that the best crime novels depict deeply flawed heroes who are not beyond redemption. Such characters endow the reader with the conceit that he/she is a helpless God, willing the hero to make a few not unrealistic changes to part the Red Sea of circumstance and walk down that narrow damp path to that rooted for redemption. The hero of this novel, fits this bill and while some of his behaviour may not win him gold stars for winning the reader’s heart, he does show a capacity to change and to let the light of experience fight its way into the narrow cracks of his conscience. But at the end of the day, his heart is always in the right place and perhaps his, just like our less than honourable and savoury ways, could be a reflection of the despair one may find oneself in, but with the right goals and people around us, redemption is always on the menu. This makes Karl a very credible protagonist and one the reader will enjoy sticking with to the final page of the book.

I also was fascinated by a crime novel whose geographical setting (Vancouver, British Columbia) is largely and woefully under-represented within the world of English-language crime fiction. There are numerous references to streets and towns that give this book one of its piquant flavours and aromas that is uniquely Vancouver. To the reader who likes to see the world in his/her reading material, this is an added bonus.

Ride the Lightning is Dietrich’s debut novel, and I thoroughly recommend it.

Ride the Lightning is published by ECW Press and is available in all good bookstores and in ebook format.

For more information on Dietrich Kalteis, you can visit his blog http://dietrichkalteis.blogspot.co.uk

 

 

Canada Crime : Interview with Dietrich Kalteis, author of ‘Ride The Lightning’

20 Friday Jun 2014

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I first encountered Dietrich at last week’s Noir in the Bar crime fiction event in downtown Vancouver, BC which I reviewed in this blog. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to speak with Dietrich at the time but I and the room were entertained and gripped in equal measure by his reading of the opening pages from his first novel, Ride the Lightning (ECW Press), a blistering piece of neo noir, neo pulp crime fiction generously sprinkled with shavings off sharp black humour that’s his trademark.

In the days that followed, Dietrich and I hooked up on Facebook and he kindly invited me to meet for an interview at the back of the Irish Heather bar in Gastown, Vancouver.

Ride the Lightning starts out when Seattle bounty hunter Karl Morgan goes after a wanted drug dealer named Miro Knotts on a skipped bond. When Karl catches up with Miro, he ends up beating him badly enough to get his license revoked, with Miro getting off with just a suspended sentence. So, finished in Seattle, Karl takes the only job he can find as a process server up in Vancouver. Meantime, Miro ducks a drug sweep, and because of the suspended sentence looming over him, he sneaks across the Canadian border and goes looking to even the score with Karl, something only one of them will walk away from.

Dietrich lives with his wife in West Vancouver (or West Van as locals would put it) and has worked as a commercial designer and in the past decade has had no fewer than 45 short stories published in a myriad of publications. He also has been a finalist in the 2003 LA Screenplay Festival.

Tell me a little about your life before Ride the Lightning was first conceived?

I was a commercial artist for over thirty years, first in Toronto, then here in Vancouver. It allowed me to be creative, and I liked the work, but I always wanted to write a novel. About ten years ago I started finding a little time here and there to work on short stories or screenplays, mostly in the evening when the workday was done. Then about five years ago my wife convinced me to make a career change and write full time. And here I am.

Why crime and does crime fiction play a role in exposing hidden truths about society?

There’s always intrigue around a crime story; partly, it’s the range of characters that make it interesting. They generally walk a fine line between good and bad, crossing lines that most of us would never cross. So, it’s fun to go on a ride with them from the comfort of an armchair and experience what they get mixed up in without paying the consequences. I find it interesting how
crime fiction delves into the human condition, and how it touches on the disorder within the order of society. I have read that crime fiction is a means of controlling and fixing what’s wrong in the world. I don’t necessarily agree with that but it’s an explanation worth exploring.

Ride the Lightning is your first novel after a number of short stories and indeed a screenplay ‘Between Jobs’ that was a finalist in the 2003 LA Screenplay Festival. What was the impetus behind writing the novel?

I read an article a couple of years back that sparked the idea. It talked about BC Bud being the province’s reigning cash crop, bigger than tourism, lumber or fishing. The article estimated, at the time, it was a six billion dollar per year industry, and that as many as one in every hundred homes had been converted to a grow-house at some point. That night as I walked my dog, I started looking at our neighbourhood differently, looking for telltale signs, trying to pick out the grow houses. Statistically, I must have passed two or three of them, and some of my neighbours had undeclared income. The next day I started writing.

I can only speak for myself, but working to a tight outline and planning every detail of the plot from start to finish would feel restrictive, like wearing a tie when I could be in a tee shirt

Some interesting things came out in my research. Did you know it’s possible for infrared satellites to take the temperature of any particular house? If the temperature is unusually high, then it’s a candidate for suspicion. Other things too like unusually high use of hydro, water power and in winter, due to the heat inside these houses, they’re like greenhouses, they’re only houses in the block with no snow lying on the roof. It’s crazy. Some houses have been illegally tapping water but it’s a dangerous thing as we know, mixing electricity with water. Some have been turned into McNuggets just trying this.

The hero of your novel, Karl Morgen first appeared as a character in a short story who served divorce papers. What was it about Karl that made you elevate him to the main protagonist in your novel above every other character you’ve written?

I liked the tone of the piece, and Karl was cool in the way he handled himself. I wanted to put him in different situations, get him in over his head and see how he’d handle it.

Will Karl feature in future novels?

I don’t have any plans for Karl right now. We leave Karl at the end of Ride the Lightning, and I think the reader will feel he has grown and learned from his experiences, not likely to repeat the type of mistakes that nearly got him killed. But who really knows …

This is interesting. There seems to be penchant for serials where the same hero returns time and time again and indeed, standalone novels may have a harder time getting an agent or even a book deal but by no means impossible. What was your experience? Did you get any pressure to make Karl the hero of your next books?

My publisher wondered if I was thinking of featuring Karl in a series, but that wasn’t my initial intention, and they were fine about it.

So are you working on your next novel?

Yes, I had the idea for it as I finished Ride the Lightning. The only thing I’ll say is that it’s set in Whistler, BC, a picturesque ski-resort town north of Vancouver and that a character that played a minor role in Ride The Lightning becomes a central character.

How important is it to credibly infuse modern day facets such as Facebook, twitter and mobile technology into the narrative of the novel and does modern day technology in your opinion, make it easier or harder for plot development when in the past, lack of such devices made for more shoe leather being worn down for detectives?

If the story takes place in present time, you can’t have characters running around with a blunderbuss or searching for a phone booth. Incorporating modern technology can be just as interesting as when more shoe leather was being worn down. It’s just different in the details.

Do you detail the synopsis/storyline before you write a word or do you write and plot as you proceed?

I write by the seat of my pants. For Ride the Lightning, I started with the spark of an idea. That spark got me thinking what if this happened … and from there I dropped the characters into the scene and let them guide the story. I find that, for me at least, I can only speak for myself that planning every detail of the plot of a novel from start to finish is like wearing a tie. Why wear a tie when you can wear a tee shirt?

So is it difficult to infuse subplots when writing in such an unplanned way?

Not really, the subplots also grow organically. In the second and subsequent drafts, I reread the story from start to finish and iron out any creases and make necessary corrections.

What authors do you admire the most and why?

I read a lot so I could make quite a lengthy list. It’s the voice of a great writer that always gets me. Twain, Salinger, Steinbeck, Hemingway, Miller, Lee. Such great voices. In crime fiction, some of my favourites are Chandler, Hammett, Spillane, Leonard, Ellroy, Higgins, Winslow, Hiaasen. Outside of the genre, I love reading Kerouac, Ginsberg, Bukowski, Thompson, Burroughs, Smith. Of course, I could go on …

I have heard that crime fiction is a means of controlling and fixing what’s wrong in the world. I don’t necessarily agree or disagree with that but it’s an explanation worth exploring.

Many writers also have full time jobs which can be demanding. What advice would you give such writers to help them find the necessary mental energy to write?

When I was working full-time, I wrote some short pieces in the evenings and weekends. It wasn’t always easy to get started when the best part of the day was gone and I often felt tired; but I found if I persevered, I often caught that second wind. For me, it’s important to write whenever I can; I believe, the more you write, the better you will get. And when you’re not writing, read something that will inspire you to write.

Is it important for a writer to have a good degree of life experience to draw from?

Absolutely. Life experience lends perspective and can bring a certain depth to the story.

What are you reading at the moment?

Nearly finished Owen Laukkanen’s Kill Fee. A book that’s hard to put down. Next up, I’m looking forward to getting into Black Rock by John McFetridge, one of my favourite Canadian authors.

Are writing short stories helpful in an aspiring novelist’s development and in your experience, what are the essential differences in terms of form between the two art forms?

Writing short stories was the way to go for me when I was starting out. I wrote as much and as often as I could, gaining the confidence and voice that could sustain for the length of a novel. It also allowed me to try different genres and find what worked best for me. If a short story didn’t turn out, it wasn’t a big deal. I just chalked it up as a learning experience and moved on. With a novel, it’s a much greater commitment.

I love writing both short stories and novels, and I don’t think one is easier or better than the other. The essential difference is that the shorter form generally doesn’t allow the writer to build on multiple characters and subplots and can limit the focus on a single event and possibly on a single character, keeping things simple and concise. With a novel, there’s more elbow room to add in twists, subplots, additional conflicts, multiple characters, backgrounds, back-stories and points of view. And, of course, there’s a lot more to juggle for the duration of the novel.

Vancouver is a city of stark contrasts from the heavenly vistas of English Bay and Stanley Park to the destitution of the blocks around Victory Sq and Gastown. Does this give Vancouver an additional sense of edginess that a crime story needs?

Exactly. A postcard-perfect town with a seedy underbelly. And it’s right on the US border and has the largest seaport in Canada. Ripe for a crime story.

Did you get many rejection letters for your debut novel and how did you handle it? What kind of reasons were given if any?

I got my share of rejection letters when I was submitting short stories. Once I finished one, I would submit it to three publications, then start writing the next one, sending it out to three more publications, and so on. So, after a while I had several out there at any one time, and the rejection letters did flow. But that was okay. Every time I heard no, I felt a step closer to an acceptance, not to mention, occasionally an editor would send along some helpful comments or constructive criticism which I learned from. With my debut novel, I sent it to ECW Press who have a couple of my favourite crime writers on their roster. I thought my novel might be a good fit. Luckily, they agreed.

Are you a full time writer now?

But you did have a full time occupation once upon a time. How difficult was it to juggle this with writing

Well, there’s no other way to do it but just sit down and write. That’s what I did, every evening after work I sat down in my office at home and wrote, sometimes until around midnight. Weekends too. It’s hard, there’s no question about it as you can get tired but I enjoy writing so much that I wrote every single day, seven days a week come rain or shine. There’s no other way but to just write.

Have you a set writing schedule for each day?

Yes. Walk dog, eat, write. Repeat.

When you work on a major project such as a novel, do you take breaks to work on side projects if you feel slow progress is being made or do you just single mindedly concentrate solely on the novel in hand?

No side projects, I just focus exclusively on the novel until its complete otherwise themes and characters from two or more stories can get mixed up with one another.

Do you create and use character sheets, detailing their likes, dislikes, quirks and beliefs and back story and if so, how does this help in your writing and character development?

I create one for every character. It’s a great way to keep track of details.

Is a writer ever truly happy with his/her work even after the zillionth revision?

I have to be happy with it before I send it out. And I get happier with every edit.

When do you know to let it go into the world?

The first edit I call rewriting. By the second I’m checking for typos and inconsistencies. By the third (maybe the fourth) edit, I’m just looking for the odd picky little thing I missed. When I’m at that point, I know it’s time to call the work done. And out it goes.

When you completed the final edition of Ride the Lightning, did you immediately start work on
the next novel or some other project?

Yes. I had already formed an idea for the next one and was raring to get started.

I notice there’s a lot of dark humour in your book. How important is humour in your writing and does it reflect your own sense of humour?

To me, a crime novel can be a grim read without a touch of humour.

Should unpublished novelists seek or rely on the advice of friends or social media contacts to beta read their work? Who in your opinion should a writer rely on for sound advice?

I think it depends. If your friend’s name is Steven King, you’re likely getting sage advice, otherwise a friend’s advice might be subjective and better thought of as mere opinion. If several friends are giving you the same opinion, then you might consider their advice. Otherwise, seeking out a writers’ group or a willing author, editor or agent to take a look might be
worthwhile.

How important is factual research to you? Can the truth be bent in favour of a better story without breaking the bounds of credibility?

Factual research lends credibility to the fiction and should be bent and shaped liberally to help the story along.

Do Vancouver crime writers all live in one big house and make breakfast for each other? If not, would you like that idea?

We do live in one big house. And we’re a very supportive group.

I’m Karl Morgen. Nice to meet you in person at last. Have you anything to say to me?

Great question. Yeah, I’d say, hey Karl, hurry up and marry that girl.

How important has social media been in promoting your work and what strategies do you employ to maximise its effectiveness?

I think social media is a great way to promote my work. I’ve made a lot of contacts networking through social media (Facebook mostly), and I add to my blog on a regular basis and the counter tells me it gets a lot of visits.

Do you have any input over the cover art?

I have the most amazing publisher who let me take a look at the artist’s layouts. Right from the start, everyone involved agreed on the same one, and I’m very pleased with the result. The cover of Ride the Lightning totally rocks.

Is it hard to write when it’s sunny outside for so much of the Vancouver summer time? Do writers really prefer rain?

I write everyday until noon. Rain or shine. I pretty much disappear into my writing so there
could be a blizzard in July and I probably wouldn’t notice. But generally, after lunch I get out
and go for a long walk so I don’t feel denied the nice weather.

Do you believe in writer’s block or should a writer just write something until the muse returns?

I’ve yet to experience writers block; every morning I get up and go through my routine: walk the dog, eat breakfast, sit down and write. I am always inspired and eager to get started. I don’t know, maybe it’s because I love what I do or because I got a late start as a writer, but whatever it is, the muse is always there.

Have you a muse?

My wife and son are both very creative, and they inspire me.

Do you attend many crime fiction conferences and what has been your experience of them? Any advice to eager unpublished writers out there who attend them?

I was at Bouchercon last year, and I had a great time. It’s a chance to meet other writers, sit in on panel discussions, catch award presentations and hear some interesting guest speakers as well as make new friends. I’m already booked for this year.

Finally, have you any funny anecdotes/stories to tell about your life as a writer?

Sometimes it’s funny where ideas come from. A few years ago, my son told me a story about coming out of a movie theater with a friend. The movie was somewhat of a sleeper, but the real-life police chase that happened just as the pair stepped from the theater livened things up. The car being chased lost control and struck a light standard right in front of them. The car took off with the police cruiser right on its tail. All that remained was the bumper that had been ripped off…complete with its license plate. When I heard the story, I thought what if somebody witnessed a scene like that, took the license plate and tried to blackmail the getaway driver. After twisting it around a bit, I used it in one of the early chapters of my novel. I think my son is a bit more careful about what he randomly tells me now.

Many thanks to Dietrich for what is, a wonderful and insightful interview. His novel Ride the Lightning is available in eBook format and in all good bookstores, published by ECW Press, Toronto, Canada

You can find out more about Dietrich and ECW Press by visiting their websites:

http://dietrichkalteis.blogspot.ca/

http://www.ecwpress.com/

 

Review of David Mark’s Debut Crime Novel “Dark Winter”

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

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ImageWhat doesn’t kill you makes your stronger they say. Maybe, but not for some of the poor sods in David Mark’s splendid debut novel Dark Winter.

Set in a wintry Hull in the east Riding of the giant English county of Yorkshire (The Texas of England in my book), the first of a series of murders is off young woman is hacked to death in the Cathedral during a pre Christmas Evensong in full view of the congregation. The protagonist, Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy was in attendance and was in close quarters to the murderer but the killer was too quick and slipped like sand through McAvoy’s fingers.

More murders ensue of course and are seemingly unrelated to one another except for one thread: they had all been sole survivors of past tragedies but during the course of this novel, had met their end violently in the manner from which they had hitherto escaped all those years ago.

McAvoy is Scottish, hailing from outside Edinburgh. A gentle giant with a conscience the size of a small country,  this serves as his moral compass by which he charts his course, a course from which he does not deviate either for sake of expediency or  easy life. This is the one of a few off the key planks of the conflict that exists between him, his colleagues and the top brass in the police force. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is given to Kevin Keegan-esque fits of emotion which raise an eyebrow or two when the pressure gets a little much.

He is set apart from his colleagues for being the whistleblower who blow open corrupt CID team that led to the dismissal of a Detective Superintendant and some of his erstwhile colleagues being transferred out.  Those around him don’t entirely trust or rate McAvoy. A lesser man would have skulked off to lick his wounds as a security guard or in a desk-job but McAvoy clings to his course and sails in that direction throughout the novel.

His frame is mentioned quite a few times in the novel in juxtaposition to how it belies his actual nature. Brooding, emotional, conscientious and fair. In fact, there is something of the Shrek or the Beast from Beauty fame. This character has rich deep roots in world literature and Mr Mark has expertly reinvented and renewed this character in this novel.

The dialogue is realistic, witty where appropriate and the register aligns totally to that of the characters which is a skill in itself. The narrative is well paced, never dull and the plot and how it unfolds is peeled before the reader at a rate and manner that resulted in me reading this book in two sessions. The plot twists are believable, surprises are peppered deftly without making the reader sneeze and the climax was truly a paragon of excitement, breathlessness and genuine terror as the personal life of McAvoy and that off the killer crossed paths resulting in a race against the clock and a denouement worthy of a Bond movie.

Last but not least, Hull, not exactly New York or Chicago, London or LA, proved itself a silent but brooding atmospheric character in its own right, one whose hands shapes the minds, hearts and lives of those who live there especially those in the novel itself. All places have this quality but its few authors who can skilfully transfer this to the page. Mr Mark did this in spades.

An ace book from an ace author and I commend this book to the House (spot the frustrated MP)

Dark Winter is published by Quercus and is available in paperback, hardback and eBook from Amazon

Kindle : How To Email Documents to Yourself for Reading on Kindle

20 Monday Feb 2012

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One of the many wonderful features of Kindle is that you email your humble documents to yourself for reading on Kindle.

“How do you that?” I hear your whisper

Well, I have pieced together the following and it’s a definitive guide:

First of all, log into your Amazon account and choose Your Account from the top right

 

 

1. Save the document as a pdf file to your computer’s hard drive.
2.  Email the document as an attachment to your special email provided by Amazon.  In the subject line of the email type the word “Convert”.  This is the magic word that lets the document “reflow” or resize text once it hits your Kindle.  Send the document.
3.  In under a minute (in my experience) you will receive an email from Amazon telling you that your converted document has arrived and is available for download.  Download the .azw file to your hard drive.  Pay attention to where you save it.  I have a folder named “My Kindle Docs” to which I save converted documents.
4.  Connect your Kindle to your computer via the usb cable.  When you first connect the Kindle it acts like a removable drive.  Open this Kindle folder.  Drag the .azw file you received in the email to the documents folder on your Kindle.  Viola!  You can now read the document and resize the text size as needed.

Beast in View : Novel by Margaret Millar

16 Thursday Feb 2012

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There is something about a golden era that makes one want to dive in, root around and relish finding dust bunnies caked to the base of the Jimmy Chu, rabbit fur masquerading as mink, grins dressed up as smiles, seething frustrations; gilded ,unfulfilled lives, forbidden love, tiaras on tormented heads. This book, Beast in View fits the bill completely.

Set in, 1950’s America (the book was written and published in the 1950’s and in America and there is nothing in the book to suggest it being set in any other time period), the book opens up with a menacing phone conversation between the main character, Miss Clarvo and an Evelyn Merrick, her nemesis. In fact, she’s everyone’s nemesis but that’s for later.

Miss Clarvo cuts a Miss Haversham figure. She is wealthy, lives a reclusive life yet there are contradictions. She is actually very young, in her twenties and despite her aversion to companionship, chooses to live in an apartment in a busy downtown hotel in Los Angeles.

With her wits close to an end, she reaches out to an old family acquaintance, the steadfast Mr Blacksheer who has worked as the Clarvo’s financial advisor. However, Miss Clarvo wants to take him on as a private eye to investigate the seemingly mysterious disappearance of a sum of money and the whereabouts of the menacing Evelyn Merrick.

 All seems straightforward, doesn’t?  The methodical, dependable Mr Blacksheer will have this wrapped up within ten pages but aficionados of noir and the psychological ways of the night will know better than to expect that for Blacksheer’s investigation uncovers layer upon layer of dark and unsavoury family secrets ranging from alcoholism to long term estrangement; from the tragedy of closet homosexuality which was sorrowfully rife in those times to murder, suicide and blackmail.

 And that’s not to say or assume that each of these aspects of gloom occur only the once either or that order.

 It’s a short book by modern standards, clocking in at only 170 pages but the story is lean and taut. If this novel were a room, it would be a dimly lit, deceptively large room, expensively wallpapered in black and silver retro Graham and Brown; minimally but tastefully furnished with sparse placings of mahogany ornamentation.

Put your glasses on and take a closer look and you will see cobwebs, dust and dead roaches on their backs, swept to the recesses and further reaches of the skirting boards for this novel invokes grandeur in irreversible decay, lives in a spiral of entropy and unravelling; the upper middle class American family with its finery and manners, turn out in the end to be a merely tea party of living skeletons who never found the energy to find their rightful graves.

 This is one of the darkest and psychologically involving I’ve ever read. For years it was out of print but thankfully, it’s having a new lease of life courtesy of Orion Book.

ISBN 978-1-7802-2022-2

 

 

 

Two Shades of Darkness – A book by Martin J Frankson (aka Patrick Martin)

19 Tuesday Jul 2011

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 This is a duet of two stories firmly set in the dark terrains of noir/mystery.

Unread Stories is set in Chicago’s Wickerpark where a man has a bleak and fateful encounter in a bookstore that has devastating consequences.

GarbageMen is a tale of dissonance, psychopathy and unresolved childhood issues that simmer and burst forth for an unfortunate roommate – but which one?

I have published this collection under the pen name of Martin J Frankson and is for sale on Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Two-Shades-of-Darkness-ebook/dp/B005D5BZOC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311087663&sr=8-1

My First Literary Rejection

01 Friday Jul 2011

Posted by in All Things Writing

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Well, it’s a landmark that almost all writers experience; the rejection letter. Firstly, it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. I shan’t mention the agency in fear of prejusticing future dealings but they did reply very positively:

“you are undoubtedly a very talented writer and there’s much to enjoy in the chapters. Although I really enjoyed your work, my reaction wasn’t strong enough to represent it”

The agent continues…

“The main concern to me was I got a bit thrown by the structure and jumps in narratives. In the commercial market, it’s really important that the characters don’t overshadow the story”

In short, there were only 3 chapters to judge my entire novel on. Within those 3 chapters, I had two POVs. I feel perhaps that this gave the impression that my novel was too experimental and jerky.

I know it’s not like that but I didn’t give this impresssion. This is how the industry works and there’s no point in complaining about. As a writer, I have to fully understand the industry insofar as knowing exactly who I am sending my manuscript too.

I did my research in that I sent my submission to an agent with many great crime writers on their roster but I should have known that perhaps the mood and tone of my work didn’t fit with the mood and tone of the writing that agency represented.

We all know not to send our crime and noir masterpieces to Mills and Boon but it’s not quite enough to just send your work to any old agent of crime fiction.

Read widely in your genre. Get to know whose writing style closely resembles yours. In doing so, you’ll be able to target your submissions that little bit more smartly.

The agent who rejected me did so because she knows what works in her camp. At the end of they day, she can’t spend time or money on writing which will may not fit into her agency’s brand which in turn may not sit well with the other stable mates.

As I said, work with with the industry and work it to your advantage. There is an agency and publisher out there for you but you have to kiss many frogs!

Good luck and happy hunting

The Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction

21 Tuesday Jun 2011

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I came across interesting if not antiquated literary relic. Here is Fr. Ronald Knox’s famous Ten Commandment list for Detective Novelists (copyright © 1929 Ronald Knox and Pope Somebody):

  1. The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.
  2. All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.
  3. Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.
  4. No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.
  5. No Chinaman must figure in the story.
  6. No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.
  7. The detective must not himself commit the crime.
  8. The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader.
  9. The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.
  10. Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.

You will note, of course, that every one of these commandments has been violated at one time or another in a classic mystery novel.

PS: Here is the oath, composed by G. K. Chesterton, of membership in the famous British Detection Club: “Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them using those wits which it may please you to bestow upon them and not placing reliance on nor making use of Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence, or Act of God?”