Draft cover for the new novel. The best one so far, I think. Glad they got the Pilgrim Monument in there, finally.
11.27.2011
FIRE SEASON has a cover!
Draft cover for the new novel. The best one so far, I think. Glad they got the Pilgrim Monument in there, finally.
Loomis speaks.
Nice interview with my crimespace/facebook buddy B.R. Stateham. For some reason Blogger won't let me post a reply, but my response to Austin's comment is that I have a great editor at SM/M who understands that I have a demanding, full-time teaching job and a young family, so a book every two or three years is about as fast as I can write them. As long as they keep earning out, everybody's happy. Ish.
8.29.2011
More actual reader comments
Mr. Loomis,
I just gobbled up a dish of pastische you call Mating Season. Tasted a bit like Hiaasen--yum.
I've been ripping Hiaasen off for almost ten years now. It's about time someone noticed.
I just gobbled up a dish of pastische you call Mating Season. Tasted a bit like Hiaasen--yum.
I've been ripping Hiaasen off for almost ten years now. It's about time someone noticed.
8.05.2011
Note to potential readers
I'm having way too much fun to ever write a conventional mystery/thriller/whatever--one that doesn't depart an inch from the predictable expectations of the genre. Maybe I'd make some money if I played it straight (or kept a straight face), but I'd be bored out of my mind by the time I got thirty pages in. Really, as I've said, I'm writing dark comedies that loosely fit within the mystery frame—and the more I can subvert the conventional tropes and structures the happier I am. Most readers get the joke, but folks who insist on straight-up hard-boiled, or detailed procedurals, or sex/violence/profanity-free cozies probably won't like these novels. Fine with me—the (remaining) bookstores are full of perfectly satisfying comfort food for those readers.
Not that the Coffin mysteries don't contain elements of all of those things—they do, but I've never been interested in staying true to the demands of any particular sub-genre; much too limiting. If you wanted to get literary about it, what we're talking about is a kind of post-modern, post-genre pastiche—character-driven mysteries with whole scenes devoted to comedy, lots of sex, too many jokes, the occasional nail-gun crucifixion or human head in a lobster tank. Ultimately, as the man said, we write the books we want to read. Anything else seems like a waste of time.
Not that the Coffin mysteries don't contain elements of all of those things—they do, but I've never been interested in staying true to the demands of any particular sub-genre; much too limiting. If you wanted to get literary about it, what we're talking about is a kind of post-modern, post-genre pastiche—character-driven mysteries with whole scenes devoted to comedy, lots of sex, too many jokes, the occasional nail-gun crucifixion or human head in a lobster tank. Ultimately, as the man said, we write the books we want to read. Anything else seems like a waste of time.
8.02.2011
Closing in
Getting close-ish to the end of the first draft of FIRE SEASON. It's a fun book--lots of jokes, a certain amount of sex, a UFO sub-plot, a human head in a tank full of lobsters. And fire. Lots of fire. What's not to like?
7.14.2011
The Dr Z Forum
A big howdy to any pals from Z-Talk who might happen by. Lots of great guys there--and I learned a lot about amps/gear/etc.
7.13.2011
7.12.2011
2.12.2011
Scott Walker: "Give up 12% of your salary or I'll be forced to boil this kitten!"
From yesterday's NYT piece, it's worth noting that Walker offers a false choice:
"But Mr. Walker and Republican leaders said disassembling unions was not the point at all. The intent, Mr. Walker said, was to avoid balancing the budget some other way: by laying off some 6,000 state workers, and taking away Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of children."
It's only a choice between 12% cuts in compensation for public employees and layoffs and/or Medicaid cuts if tax increases for the wealthiest 1 or 2% of Wisconsin residents are off the table. In fact, Walker lies when he says that this is anything less than a full frontal assault on public employees and public employee unions in Wisconsin. Stripping UW faculty/staff of their right to collective bargaining is a purely political act. It has nothing to do with balancing the budget; it's a naked and cynical attempt to kneecap unions that Walker perceives as political enemies.
Also from the NYT: "'In these tough times, I think people are going to feel that this is not that much to ask,' said Jeff Fitzgerald, the Republican speaker of the State Assembly. 'Everyone is going to have to pitch in.'"
Everyone, Mr. Fitzgerald? Really? Because if John Menard was also getting a 12% tax increase, I'd feel a little bit better about this. A little.
"But Mr. Walker and Republican leaders said disassembling unions was not the point at all. The intent, Mr. Walker said, was to avoid balancing the budget some other way: by laying off some 6,000 state workers, and taking away Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of children."
It's only a choice between 12% cuts in compensation for public employees and layoffs and/or Medicaid cuts if tax increases for the wealthiest 1 or 2% of Wisconsin residents are off the table. In fact, Walker lies when he says that this is anything less than a full frontal assault on public employees and public employee unions in Wisconsin. Stripping UW faculty/staff of their right to collective bargaining is a purely political act. It has nothing to do with balancing the budget; it's a naked and cynical attempt to kneecap unions that Walker perceives as political enemies.
Also from the NYT: "'In these tough times, I think people are going to feel that this is not that much to ask,' said Jeff Fitzgerald, the Republican speaker of the State Assembly. 'Everyone is going to have to pitch in.'"
Everyone, Mr. Fitzgerald? Really? Because if John Menard was also getting a 12% tax increase, I'd feel a little bit better about this. A little.
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