How Pitchapalooza Led to a Book Deal

January 23, 2013 at 10:14 pm (Books, transgressive fiction, Writing)
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Pitchapalooza is a strange and unique event. Hosted by The Book Doctors, it offers the participants the opportunity for a one minute pitch. No more, no less, than one minute. After you have made your pitch, you are critiqued on it with the aim to help you make your pitch better. The winner gets a future meeting with an agent or publisher or editor uniquely qualified to assist.

You never know what it will lead to. This is my story.

SPOILER ALERT: I did NOT win.

It was at the KWA Scene Conference in 2012 that I participated. On this blog, I debated which of two pieces to pitch: a traditional neo-noir hardboiled mystery or an experimental piece of Transgressive fiction. I chose the latter. It was unique enough to stand out even though it might not be the most commercial piece to pitch.

I had looked up Pitchapalooza on YouTube and saw several examples. I wrote and re-wrote my pitch. I practiced. At the Friday night session, the twenty entrants were randomly drawn. I was confident going in. But as the participants came and went, I waited. And waited. And waited. Nerves were starting to settle in.

And then I was called. And, to be honest, I nailed it. I hit it out of the park. Pick your own analogy. But I did what I was supposed to do. I was ready for that cash bar.

At the end of the session, the five panelists excused themselves for a review/vote/consultation. They came back a short time later to announce that they had a winner AND an honorable mention. I knew from my research that was unheard of. They did not usually have Honorable Mentions. I was announced as that rare honoree. Initially I was disappointed but having been mentioned at all, to have been considered, WAS a victory.

One of the panelists was Dan Case of AWOC.COM Publishing who was quite taken with my pitch, my story, and me. I had a one-on-one session with him on Saturday as well as one with Arielle Eckstut, one of the Book Doctors.

Flash forward two months to the OWFI Conference. One of the sessions was on the Elevator Pitch. Again, my Transgressive work, having recently been perfected, was blurted out in a one sentence pitch. More applause and appreciation.

I run into Dan Case. He remembers me. He still wants to see what I’ve got up my sleeve. I send him both pieces that I pitched back at the KWA Scene Conference. We can flash forward some more. Because Dan Case decides to publish the neo-noir hardboiled mystery, “Swan Song”, currently available on Amazon Kindle and Paperback, Barnes and Noble Nook and Paperback, and Kobo e-books.

It’s really mind-boggling, amazing, fascinating, and fun, all at the same time. I keep thinking that Raymond Chandler published his first novel, “The Big Sleep”, when he was 51. I beat him by six months.

It’s only a start. I know that. I don’t know where it actually goes from here. But it all really started because of a crazy event called Pitchapalooza.

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The Evolution of a Novel – “Swan Song”

December 27, 2012 at 7:53 pm (Books, Writing)
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Why do writers write? It is the fascination and obsession with the Word. Their connection, their sound, their emotional weight. We are story tellers and we tell our stories with words.

This is the story of “Swan Song”, my debut novel published by Deadly Niche Press. {The Kindle Edition is available at Amazon.com; the print version will be available after the first of the year.}

In 2007, I won a prize in the Adult Poetry Division of the Kansas Writer’s Association’s yearly contest. At the presentation and corresponding reading at Watermark Books in Wichita, KS, I talked with Storme Maynard who told me about a strange thing called NaNoWriMo. All you had to do was write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. No problem, right?

The stress of the thing was palpable. Writing poetry in Boston in the mid 1990′s was a thought-provoking, emotional, and at times intellectual process. But we took our time until we got it right. This thing was literary insanity. But I finished it; I completed a “book”, such as it was. However, looking over my effort in December was out of the question. The holidays were approaching and I didn’t want my sloppy 50,000 words to depress.

I did work on it. Many times through several years. Eventually I came up with a piece of neo-noir hardboiled fiction that still captures my attention and creates striking images in my mind. Keep in mind that it is still nothing more than a manuscript at this time.

That is until I met Dan Case of AWOC.com. He was a speaker at the KWA Scene Conference in 2012 and a panelist for Pitchapalooza, sponsored by The Book Doctors, David Henry Sterry and Arielle Eckstut. In a what-the-heck kind of moment I decided to pitch my Transgressive novel, Weekend Getaways, or Adventures in Contract Killing. I got an honorable mention for my pitch and some additional people looking in my direction, one of whom was Dan Case.

I ran into him at the OWFI Conference in May. We talked; he said he was interested and so was I. I sent him the manuscript for both. Knowing that the Transgressive piece might be a harder sell, he opted to start with “Swan Song” which has just been released as an e-book.

I am thrilled and pleased and know that the work has just begun. But consider the evolution: writing contest to casual conversation to online writing event to writer’s conference to pitch session to another writer’s conference…

There are those who say that NaNoWriMo is silly and it’s not really about the art and craft of writing. There are those who say that writing conferences are a venue for published novelists to garner attention. There are those who think that an e-book is somehow not a “real” book.

Whoever those people are, I do not agree with them.

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2012 OWFI Conference

May 8, 2012 at 7:59 pm (Writing)
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If there was a writer’s conference but there was not a single editor or agent in your genre, would you attend? Heck, yeah. It’s not always about you and your book but the kind of insight you can get, the tidbits of minutiae, the alternate perspectives, that added to your writing and your writing life.

This was my first conference of the Oklahoma Writer’s Federation, Inc. and it was rather impressive. Held at the Embassy Suites hotel not far from Will Rogers Airport, it featured several speakers, an editor/agent panel, two dinner banquets (one with keynote speaker Steven james and the other the contest awards presentation), and various late night buzz sessions.

The highlights for me were:

C. Hope Clark, whose newsletter Funds For Writers, provides practical insight into venues for freelance writers. Her maxim, “You have to be known as a writer first before you are known as a novelist” really hit home.

Dan Case of AWOC Publishing. I had already met Dan at the KWA Scene Conference in March. His enthusiasm and laugh is contagious. He’s reading one of my pieces now, the hard-boiled crime fiction “Swansong”. So, we’ll wait and see.

Chuck Sambuchino, whose blog Guide to Literary Agents is one of the most useful tools out there. i had a one-on-one with Chuck while he reviewed my pitch for the Transgressive fiction piece, “Weekend Getaways, or Adventures in Contract Killing.” Very perceptive feedback plus additional directions that might help me secure and agent.

Thomas B. Sawyer, screenwriter, novelist, teacher, and one heck of a storyteller. He was entertaining OUTSIDE of the session. I was very fortunate to have he and his wife sit at our table for breakfast the next morning.

No, i did not secure an agent or a three-book deal or any of those other fantasy illusions we have of attending such events. I met some very talented industry professionals who were accessible and met me on an equal level. I met some really wonderful folks who did seem impressed by some of my louder Hawaiian shirts.

More importantly, I retained and expanded on the main things it takes to be a successful writer. Hope and confidence. Add to that my enduring desire and I can assure you this thing ain’t over yet.

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“Swann’s Last Song” – Charles Salzberg

May 1, 2011 at 9:45 pm (Books, Writing)
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This novel was nominated for a 2009 Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America and it is easy to see why. Salzberg takes the traditional private eye noirish novel and flips it around so that your expectations are skewed.

First, the main character, Henry Swann, is NOT a private eye but rather a muddled and troubled skip tracer living and working in a rundown section of New York City. Therefore it sidesteps all the usual clichés of the detective novel. Swann is certainly NOT Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade. Not even close. The novel makes what appears to be a traditional segue to California where the culture clash scenes are prevalent. However, Swann makes a trip to a hacienda in Mexico followed by a dangerous trek into the mountains. This appears to be more of something from “Romancing the Stone” or an Indiana Jones movie.

If this locale is not jarring enough, Swann then flies to Berlin where there is all the rainy and dark cloudiness of a Robert Ludlum spy thriller. And yet, throughout all these romps across the globe, it never falls back into a travelogue with droll descriptions of scenes and places. It is mood that Salzberg is creating.

The story is rather muddled but in that regard it is no different than the classic “The Big Sleep” (which Chandler readily admitted that he was uncertain as to who committed one particular killing.) Stories of this type are about character and mood and Salzberg creates a new and fresh version of the genre.

——–

I had the opportunity to meet Charles Salzberg at the KWA Scene Conference in Wichita in 2010. He was a speaker as well as a consultant who I had the opportunity to visit with on a ten-minute consult. We discussed (briefly) my transgressive work, “Weekend Getaways, or Adventures in Contract Killing” and I was encouraged by his comments and grateful for his feedback.
He is one the founders of the New York Writers Workshop (www.newyorkwritersworkshop.com) and heavily involved with Greenpoint Press (www.greenpointpress.org). He is gracious to a fault and a pleasant conversationalist (as I experienced at lunch).
I was absolutely delighted to have made his acquaintance and honored to have an inscribed copy of his novel.

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Style and Voice

February 23, 2011 at 1:53 pm (Personal, Writing)
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In previous posts earlier this year, I indicated that I would only be working on projects already written and at least in a third draft stage or above. No new projects. Must re-focus and re-evaluate.

When I contemplate those projects, I notice a variety of style and voice. I’m wondering whether I am eclectic (perhaps presumptuous to say) or just haven’t found my voice and style yet (sad to consider).

SWANSONG – Hard-boiled story of a disgraced former Wichita Police detective, run out of town on the proverbial rail, now being forced to return home after his self-imposed exile to investigate the possible disappearance of his younger brother.

WEEKEND GETAWAYS, OR ADVENTURES IN CONTRACT KILLING – A dark comic Transgressive piece in which an unnamed narrator with what seems to be a drab and listless life meets an older gentleman who introduces him to the fascinating world of contract killing.

THE STOOGES – A dark comic crime caper in which three very petty criminals band together to pull of a scheme in order to make some serious money. The first thing they have to figure out is what caper to pull off…and then how to accomplish it.

THE .9 MM SOLUTION — A procedural in which a team of FBI profilers tries to track down a perpetrator who is killing bad people who have avoided criminal prosecution. An underlying sense of social commentary exists in the diary entries of the unknown subject.

So, they all deal with crime but take different paths to achieve the ends of the story. Now my wife (who as you are aware is also my editor) would pass this off to my supposed multiple personalities. I’ll accept that answer. (Obviously I have to. She’s my wife.) However, I also believe that you use different means to accomplish different ends.

As with my other passion, cooking, how you prepare each meal is different in terms of spices and sauces and cooking style. Each meal should come out great (if not exquisitely) and the ends always justify the means. With a meal, however, you only get one shot.

As I proceed through this year of editing and revision, I will take into account the many tools at my disposal and hope that I can use them to the fullest advantage that these stories will require.

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Feline Inspiration for Hard-Boiled Fiction

February 7, 2011 at 8:36 pm (Personal, Writing)
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I recall seeing a photo of Raymond Chandler with his black cat and was fully convinced that any mystery, crime, or hard-boiled writer needed a black cat.

I also thought you needed to wear glasses and smoke a pipe. Be that as it may, Mongo came into our lives six years ago. He’s a tough guy, more like Robert Mitchum than Humphrey Bogart but he makes an excellent sidekick.

I’d like to say he is a constant source of inspiration but nine times out of ten he’s on the desk, grabbing my hand with his paw to get me to rub his belly and pull my hand away from the keyboard.
Rupert reminds me at times of Peter Lorre from “The Maltese Falcon”.

A tuxedo cat, he exudes charm and class. But he can also be skittish, making me wonder exactly WHAT he has been up to.
Camille is my sweet little angel, daddy’s little girl. But don’t let her charm fool you:

If either of the two boys try to jack with her, she is more than their match.
I should be more cognizant of real human characters and their traits when I contemplate characters in stories and novels. I just happen to find the felines living under my roof to be a continuing source of inspiration.

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Hard-boiled

January 11, 2011 at 8:37 pm (Writing)
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At the end of last year, I finished reading Max Allan Collins’ Chicago Confidential. It was my introduction to his series character Nathan Heller, a somewhat shady private investigator with a set of values and a past that includes association with gangster. The novel is strewn with historical references involving the investigation of organized crime by Senator Estes Kefauver. As such there is a plethora of real figures including the senator himself, Frank Sinatra, and Jayne Mansfield (before she became a big name actress).

I have also read several works of James Ellroy. His pieces are also infused with a historical sensibility and mention several real life people as well. They are set, like Collins’ work, in the fifties (for the most part) and weave the true factual incidents with the fictional protagonists.

So why does Ellroy ring true for me and Collins seem glib?

Collins uses first person narrative in a way that breaks down the “fourth wall” that actors often refer to. As opposed to hearing Heller speak for himself, he is talking to us, the reader in a conversational manner. But because he has done nothing to make me feel that I am OF the fifties, it seems to be a space-time continuum where a character from the fifties is speaking to me in the 2000′s. I have lost the feeling of the writing, the feeling of the time period.
Ellroy writes in third person and from multiple perspectives. His detail seeps through the pores of the writing; it IS the 1950′s (or early 1960′s as in American Tabloid) and I am eavesdropping on each scene. I am a fly on the wall.

In Collins I see the elements of hard-boiled fiction but they seem to be more like pieces in a laboratory, a scientific experiment in which ingredients are distilled down to an essence but without the spark to bring it to life.

Ellroy is scatological, irreverent, hip, and not afraid of stepping on toes. He is the vile version of Hammett, the foul-mouthed godchild to hard-boiled literature.

What I am realizing is that I don’t want my hard-boiled literature to be neat and clean. I want it to have a tarnished feel, a grittiness that is honest, and a trajectory like a bullet fired in the air on New Year’s Eve.

“Mystery” writing is fascinating but a true hard-boiled piece delves into aspects of the human psyche that almost no one outside of a Transgressive writer would even seek to explore.

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A NaNoWriMo Follow-Up: The Story of the Novel

December 2, 2010 at 9:41 pm (self-publishing, Writing)
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A new job and a new schedule threw a curve ball into this year’s NaNoWriMo activity. But it was the same new job which actually inspired some of the characters in the story.
In my training class back in July/August, there was a unique man named Jeremi. He looked like a combination biker and/or gangster and yet spoke profoundly about a variety of subjects. He was also a writer, having done spoken word poetry in the past.
We had discussed general story lines, concepts mostly, and he presented the idea of a well grounded man who is inaccurately accused of a crime. Realizing he can’t escape the accusations, he becomes the subject of the accusation.
I turned the idea on its ear. I started with a gangster who works his way up and out and becomes a highly non-traditional, often confrontational college professor. And this is how “Professor Thug” was born.
The NaNoWriMo product was (as is typical for this event) of extremely poor quality. I knew this character could be a series character and yet I didn’t even have much of a plot in mind when I started on November 1. I muddled through and completed it. But I recognize that there is something there.
While writing it, I needed two other characters, the underlings, the young people to whom Professor Thug could pass on his own form of instruction. One character is his teaching assistant, a girl from New York City, tough as nails, but with issues. (I know; it all seems cliché now. But that IS what NaNoWriMo is about.) The character truly wanted to better herself on her own terms. Well, there was Christina, also from the training class. She was smart but had a lot of self-doubt about herself, not sure if she was going to get through training. She also admitted that she can party pretty well until she drinks whiskey. And then she’s a fighter.
The other character was a male, brought up in a well-to-do household but feeling as though he has missed something of life, actual real life, because he has not experienced the Mean Streets. He is well-versed at research and using his smart phone. Chris was a young man from training class who impressed me immediately. Self-effacing and yet able to project a great amount on intelligence though barely twenty years old.
I still work with these people. They are real and they live outside of the realm of any novel. But circumstances being what they were, they presented themselves at a time in my life when the freshness and newness of a situation yielded some very interesting creative opportunities.
As I have done prior, I plan on reworking this intently, perhaps self-publishing it on lulu.com, if only to present these individuals with a copy.
To that end, I am reminded of a t-shirt my wife got me for Christmas a couple of years ago. It read:
Careful or you’ll end up in my novel.

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Just an image, But Maybe Something More

November 16, 2010 at 4:36 pm (Writing)
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While grocery shopping today, I saw a small pile of broken glass in the parking space next to me. I took notice of it to make sure I wouldn’t go over it as I left.

Walking past it as I made my way toward the store, I saw a piece of paper in the pile. It was the label.

MD 20/20.

A million thoughts ran through my mind. When you primarily write crime fiction, a shattered bottle of MD 20/20 in a grocery store parking lot gives you ideas. I wouldn’t exactly call it inspiration but it was a visual clue, a detail, that small element that is necessary for good storytelling.

And, no, I do not have any ideas for a story at this time. I finished my shopping and got home and had lunch and thought a good long time about that broken bottle.

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NaNoWriMo — 2010

November 1, 2010 at 10:06 pm (Writing)
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Well, let the games begin.  I’m sure that for the younger crowd, the games began just past midnight.

A brief reminder for those of you unacquainted with NaNoWriMo.  It stands for National Novel Writing Month.  It is an online event (more so than a “contest”) in which the goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in the 30 days of the month of November.  I use it as a tool to actually force myself to sit down and write.  Not that I have a problem with writing or anything like that.  It is more the idea of integrating the writing of a novel within the framework of a busy time of year.

There is so much going on right now in my life and so much more because of the “holiday season”.  However, I have “won” this thing for each of the last three years.  In 2007, I wrote “Swansong”, a hard-boiled piece about a former disgraced Wichita police detective returning to the city five years later to find what, if anything happened to his kid brother.  I’m working on the sixth draft of that.  In 2008, I wrote “The Stooges”, an episodic dark comic crime caper about three losers deciding to commit a crime in order to make money, but first trying to figure out WHAT crime to commit.  In 2009, I honored my brother-in-law, Greg, by writing “The .9 mm Solution”, a police procedural involving FBI profilers.  I’m on my fifth draft of that.  (He got a nicely bound copy of the fourth draft.)

This year it’s “Professor Thug”, a crime fiction about a former gang member/convict turned college professor with a unique and unorthodox style who’s forced to return to some old haunts to investigate the murder of a former student.  The character is inspired by a current co-worker whose appearance belies his intelligence.  He has been a pleasure to know and converse with.

I have found two things about NaNoWriMo.  First, it is very motivational for me from the standpoint of developing a story and then forcing myself through an utterly horrendous first draft.  Eventually, it will become something.  But I can not be like Flaubert and casually write, searching for the perfect word.  At least not until I have 50,000 imperfect words to play with first.  The other thing is that I am amazed at how many people here in Wichita, KS are involved.  The large percentage of them are considerably younger than I am but that is a gratifying thought.  For whatever reason they are involved is not as important as their involvement itself.  That means creative people attempting to express themselves.

Tonight, 3756 words.  That puts me ahead of the day two schedule.  More updates to follow.

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