Thanks for making me a friend, Eric. How you find time to write with all that living you are doing, I have no idea. Sure looks like you are having a ball.
I'll sure try to make down to Seattle Mystery Books when you're in town. I know JB and Bill and the rest of the crew there and, just in case you haven't visited them before, I guarantee that you'll be in good hands. They're first-rate humans. I work for a public radio station at the other end of the city so I might be able to stop by if I'm not hamstrung with projects.
One evening last week I was between books and couldn't find anything in the to-be-read stack that looked right so I dug out some O'Conner and started re-reading 'The Violent Bear It Away.' It was way weirder than I remembered so I fell back upon PG Wodehouse. I wanted to get to sleep, not wrestle demons all night...but Flannery drills right to the heart when you're in the proper mood. I think the person that has most successfully picked up that ball and run with it might be Daniel Woodrell. A similar sort of almost embarrassingly exact pinpointing of thrilling bleakness. Whew. Enough of that. I've also been reading...and in some cases re-reading Charles Williams' early stuff, which is mighty fine. Come to think of it, I seem to be in a re-reading mode. Last night, I picked up MacDonald's first Travis McGee novel and fell right in. I think the trick with that series is to consume them judiciously. When I found those books, I read a bunch in a row and got pretty tired of Travis' estimation of himself. After some time away, I see that it's not so egregious in small doses. Since you seem to enjoy music, I'll leave you with the chorus of a song by Fred Eaglesmith, one of my contemporary favoites. I think it's one of the best C&W white-trash choruses ever written:
"Well it's restless nights and endless fights,
A hundred miles an hour with no headlights,
Fiddles and accordians and tear-stained steel guitars.
It's a tar-paper shack, whiskey and smack,
Two guns left in a five-rifle rack.
Somebody 'round here's gonna get killed, that's for sure."
Anybody who can read an entire Vollman novel is outta my league in the literature department, but I'm right with you on minor league baseball and blues. Especially blues. My musical focus tends to shift around a fair amount but it always comes back to that exqusite music that was made by musicians like Willie McTell, The Mississippi Sheiks, Lonnie Johnson, Charlie Jordan, Frank Stokes, Rabbit Brown and all the rest of those great artists back in the '20's and '30's. That's the music that always works for me. Thanks for adding me to your 'friends.' Judging by the profile you wrote, you're living a dandy life. Don't slow down.
Eric: I'm a third of the way through "Grave Imports." Man, I am eating this novel up! I got called out of a sound sleep this morning on some idiot drunk who supposedly tried to O.D. on Tylenol behind a bar downtown, but as soon as I got back home, at 3 freaking a.m., I knocked off two more chapters before going back to sleep. Damn, I wish I'd started with the first Ray Sharp book, but I received "Grave" directly from Bleak House last fall in a book give away and just now got around to starting it. Not to worry though, I will be paying good cash money for "The Living Room Of The Dead"! As soon as I'm finished reading "GRave Imports," we'll do the NETDRAG podcast interview.
I think he actually consumed more alcohol than anything else, but it serves to illustrate the class of "suicide gestures" we have around here. Tylenol is all he could get.
I remember Bre-X well. So many people around here lost money. I would love to read your book -- can't wait! So much intrigue -- did he kill himself, or was he murdered? I'll look for you at Bouchercon!
Yup, that would be me. Not too many P.J.'s out there, at least not that I know of. I did get a copy of your latest and it is hovering near the top of Mount TBR. Someone on DorothyL was talking about having books that they did not like to read if they were just going to get a few minutes here and there, some books needed lots of time to sit and read. I consider your books to be "free afternoon" books . .. . don't take them to work to read on break because I'll never get back to work on time.
Are you the Eric Stone who writes about Thailand, and Ray Sharp? If so, you might want to check out my reviews on www.reviewingtheevidence.com (if you haven't already read them). If not . . . you should read the books and bask in the reflected glory!
Gasoline in the blood??? I like that analogy -- may have to borrow that one! Being an Air Force Brat, my family was always on the move, and my father always preferred to do it by car. My best memories are of the white dotted line stretching out in front of us, and oh, the possibilities -- they seemed endless, just like that line....
Terrific site, Eric, and good to see you here!
Donna Carrick www.donnacarrick.com
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I just heard Ben Leroy speak at the Crime Bake conference.
MM
One evening last week I was between books and couldn't find anything in the to-be-read stack that looked right so I dug out some O'Conner and started re-reading 'The Violent Bear It Away.' It was way weirder than I remembered so I fell back upon PG Wodehouse. I wanted to get to sleep, not wrestle demons all night...but Flannery drills right to the heart when you're in the proper mood. I think the person that has most successfully picked up that ball and run with it might be Daniel Woodrell. A similar sort of almost embarrassingly exact pinpointing of thrilling bleakness. Whew. Enough of that. I've also been reading...and in some cases re-reading Charles Williams' early stuff, which is mighty fine. Come to think of it, I seem to be in a re-reading mode. Last night, I picked up MacDonald's first Travis McGee novel and fell right in. I think the trick with that series is to consume them judiciously. When I found those books, I read a bunch in a row and got pretty tired of Travis' estimation of himself. After some time away, I see that it's not so egregious in small doses. Since you seem to enjoy music, I'll leave you with the chorus of a song by Fred Eaglesmith, one of my contemporary favoites. I think it's one of the best C&W white-trash choruses ever written:
"Well it's restless nights and endless fights,
A hundred miles an hour with no headlights,
Fiddles and accordians and tear-stained steel guitars.
It's a tar-paper shack, whiskey and smack,
Two guns left in a five-rifle rack.
Somebody 'round here's gonna get killed, that's for sure."
Sorta like a Daniel Woodrell novel in 6 lines....
http://www.wildvoice.com/NETDRAG/Posts/NETDRAG-EPISODE-4-AUTHOR-ERIC-STONE
Thanks for adding me to your friends. I'm just getting my feet wet here...
Thanks for the compliment. The Girl Effect video IS awesome, I agree, wish I could take credit for that!
Much luck with your continued writing!
I'm heading out to grab "The Living Room Of The Dead". Sounds like something I'll tear through. Have you read Daniel Woodrell? Brilliant stuff.
I just finished Flight of the Hornbill. Very different feeling than Grave Imports. Trying to put it into words now.
Terrific site, Eric, and good to see you here!
Donna Carrick www.donnacarrick.com
I deleted those photos for you. In the future, all you have to do is go to the photo's page and hit the Delete link.
Cheers,
Daniel
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