Russel D McLean interview: The Death of Ronnie Sweets

The Death of Ronnie Sweets (and Other Stories) by Russel D McLean

£2.17/$2.99

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Russel D McLean has hung around the crime fiction scene for almost a decade now, working variously as an ezine editor, a reviewer, a bookseller and a general miscreant. He has written many short stories and more recently two PI novels set in the mean streets of Dundee, Scotland. Russel’s first novel, THE GOOD SON, was nominated for a Shamus award by the Private Eye writers of America.

How much difference does an editor make?

I worked with many different editors over the course of these stories depending on the market. Some of them did light edits, some did heavy. I learned the most working with Gerald So at Thrilling Detective on the story that would become LIKE A MATTER OF HONOUR; lots of bad habits were reformed on that particular story. And Linda Landrigan of Alfred Hitchcock’s really helped bring out WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR, a story that initially gave me great difficulty in writing. Basically, a good editor helps a writer refine what they’re doing. I don’t think any fiction is written in isolation. Although ultimately the voice has to be the authors, otherwise what’s the point?

Who designed your cover?

The brilliant JT Lindroos, who also designed the UK e-dition of THE GOOD SON. JT’s one of the best damn designers out there (as I’m sure you can testify, Mr Guthrie) and really seems to get to the essence of a brief, while delivering a few surprises along the way. With THE DEATH OF RONNIE SWEETS, we started with one idea and along the way JT threw this unexpected one into the mix that finally became my preferred design.

How important is a book's central character?

I like to tell very personal stories, so while my casts can be large, my protagonist is always the focal point. In this collection, we see a character evolve and change across multiple stories. Sam Bryson started as a bit of a cypher, an excuse to tell a Chandlerian story in Dundee, and across the stories he really developed a life and a voice all of his own.

What was the last good eBook you read?

I loved Gar Anthony Haywood’s short story collection, LYRICS FOR THE BLUES. The man can write, and of course we all know I’m a sucker for a good Eye story. The Aaron Gunner stories are lyrical, affecting and really do stay with you after you’ve finished reading them.

In fact, I’ve been reading a lot of collections digitally of late (call it research). Other favourites have been Steve Hockensmith’s DEAR MR HOLMES – he’s one of the funniest and most inventive crime writers I’ve read in a while – and Zoe Sharp’s FOX FIVE. Sharp is one of those writers who deserves to be doing far better; I adored her novels and loved these shorts.

In terms of full length novels, I’d have to say the most fun I’ve recently had, electronically speaking, was with Anthony Neil Smith’s twisted little e-xclusive, CHOKE ON YOUR LIES.

(Yeah, that was more than one book – so sue me, I read a hell of a lot!)

What makes you keep reading a book?

Voice. A plot that moves – ie, characters that actually do things rather than talk about doing them (a fast-moving plot doesn’t always mean gunplay and fisticuffs). Oh, and characters who are deeply, deeply flawed. I get very irritated with perfect people.

What's the best collection of short stories you've read?

An apropos question, considering I’m here to push a collection of shorts…

I only started reading collections in recent years, so I’m not an expert, but there are two that I always talk about when people mention short story collections.

There’s the Megan Abbott-edited HELL OF A WOMAN (from the magnificent Busted Flush Press) which contained some of the finest and most consistent writing I’d found in a multi-author volume.

And Vicki Hendricks’s FLORIDA GOTHIC STORIES was one of the most haunting and beautiful single author collections I think I’ve read in years.

What are your views on eBook pricing?

I think a balance needs to be struck. To charge over £10 or $10 for an ebook is insanity. But at the same time I think a blanket 99p/99c policy is maybe equally insane. I’m experimenting with pricing on those books I have control over (some of my ebooks are controlled by publishers, others I own the rights to) and seeing if I can find a comfortable middle ground but knowing that I want to keep the books affordable. Basically, they need to be cheaper than physical books, and yet they still need to be enough that the writer is paid. Right now, the thing to remember about ebooks is this:

No one knows anything.

Of course, in publishing it was always thus.

How do you feel about anyone being able to publish?

It’s great for authors who can bring deserving works back into print, or authors who are ready to be published (and everyone knows it) but for one reason or another have no other way to get out there. It’s also great for writers of short collections. It’s a fantastic opportunity to find and continue to promote talent that otherwise might have drifted into the forgotten places.

However, some people are going to be trying to run before they can walk (ouch, what a cliché!). Some people who should never be writing are going to be pushing crap down reader’s throats and believe they have every right to do so. And some people who could mature into great writers if only they had a few suggestions, edits and nudges, are going to be unable to learn from the ego-crushing experience that I believe all writers should experience.

Because, honestly, I believe that rejection made me a better writer. And I’d cringe if some of those early attempts at novels had made it out there (at least in the state they were in then).

All of which is a rambling way of saying that the current e-model free-for-all can be both a blessing and a curse. Which maybe isn’t much of an answer, but it’s the best I got.

The Death of Ronnie Sweets (and Other Stories) by Russel D McLean

£2.17/$2.99

Amazon UK, Amazon US

Timothy Hallinan interview: Little Elvises

Little Elvises by Timothy Hallinan
£2.13/$2.99

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Timothy Hallinan, both Edgar- and Macavity-award nominated in 2011, is the author of the Poke Rafferty Bangkok thrillers and the Junior Bender Mysteries. This year, he conceived and edited an ebook of original short stories by 20 well-known mystery authors, SHAKEN: STORIES FOR JAPAN, with 100% of the price going to Japanese disaster relief. His most recent book is the Junior Bender ebook, LITTLE ELVISES.

Can you sum up LITTLE ELVISES in no more than 25 words?

A thriller with a laugh track, set in Los Angeles, with roots in the 1960s imitation Elvises. Almost everyone, including the hero, is a crook.

What was your motivation for writing it?

I wanted to make myself laugh, for one thing. The first-person narrator of this series, Junior Bender (I didn't know—until Zoë Sharp told me—what “Bender” means in British slang), is a burglar who moonlights as a private eye for crooks. Junior operates on a moral scale that interests and amuses me. He's a career criminal, but he's also an unhappily divorced man who worships his daughter, and—within broad limits—he always keeps his word. Junior's voice was in my ear the entire time I wrote the book.

Also, I always found the Little Elvises, most of whom had careers that could be measured in months, both funny and sad, which I think is a great combination.

How long did it take you to write?

Seven weeks to a full first draft, because once Junior starts, he won't let go of me. I wrote the first book about him, CRASHED, in five weeks, which is the fastest ever for me.

How important is a book's central character?

It's pretty close to everything, especially when that character is written in first person. He/she is the reader's guide and companion. If the reader doesn't want to hang around with the central character—well, there are a lot of other books out there.

What's your favourite part of the writing process?

Finishing.

Ever tried your hand at screenwriting?

When my first series of books came out, in the 1990s, I got a call from a very big producer, who shall remain nameless, asking whether I'd like to make obscene amounts of money as a dialogue doctor. I said yes and got a script someone had obviously slaved over for God only knows how long along with a bunch of notes about how to make some scenes stronger. The dominant voice in this process undoubtedly belonged either to the lead actor or his agent, because over and over again, I was instructed to give him the closing line in a scene, and make it a grand slam. I was also, for two scenes, asked to give him a specific number of additional words – say, 48. That drove me crazy until I counted the words for him and the other actor/actress in each scene and learned that 48 new words would give that character one more word in the scene than the other character had.

I sent the script back and begged off.

Do you have any other projects on the go?

I'm most of the way through the fifth Poke Rafferty Bangkok thriller, THE FEAR ARTIST, and I've got about 20,000 words on the next Junior, MUTHER'S DAY. And I get up every day full of anxiety about whether the day's work will be any good and also thrilled silly that I get to do this for a living.

Little Elvises by Timothy Hallinan
£2.13/$2.99

Amazon UK, Amazon US

Brian Lindenmuth interview: Snubnose Press

Brian Lindenmuth is the editor of Snubnose press and the non-fiction editor of Spinetingler Magazine. In addition to Spinetingler his work has appeared in Crimespree Magazine and at Galleycat and the Mulholland Books websites.

Can you provide an overview of Snubnose Press?

Snubnose Press is the newly formed ebook imprint of Spinetingler Magazine. Spinetingler has been around since 2005. We have a long history of publishing short fiction from new, established and emerging writers. Spinetingler is also a paying short story market. Snubnose will be an ebook extension of that ethos focusing on longer works of fiction.

Why become a publisher?

Why not?

Because it's the next logical step for us and we've wanted to for years now. Years ago, when Spinetingler was under different ownership for a bit, we had wanted to get into publishing and had many discussions. Around that time we had talked about getting into the limited editions market for example. Start-up costs were always an issue and e-publishing has lowered the bar of monetary start-up costs enough to enable us to seriously move forward with what we wanted to do all along.

Plus, because of our involvement with the community and we have friends who are writers we know that there are a lot of really great writers out there and a lot of great manuscripts.

Who's involved?

Jack Getze, Sandra Ruttan and myself. Our logo and the cover for Keith Rawson's upcoming short story collection were designed by Ben Springer (aka Poker Ben). Boden Steiner, who did the cover for Speedloader, is our Art Director.

Who chose the name?

I did and pitched it to the others. Everyone liked it so we took the ball and ran with it. It felt right once it was there.

How do you decide which titles to publish?

We use some of the minor thaumaturgical methods outlined in Agrippa's De Occulta Philosophia libri III combined with a workforce that includes the friends of our children.

How many titles are you planning on publishing?

For the rest of 2011 we will be publishing about a book a month. We would like to maintain the same pace in 2012 but obviously that will be determined by the submissions we receive.

How did you decide on your contract terms (which are incredibly generous!)?

The core group of owners of Spinetingler and Snubnose are Jack, Sandra and myself. Two of that group are writers who have had various ... interesting ... adventures with traditional publishers. So we wanted to be generous to writers. Also, there is a practical side to generosity that I would be remiss in not mentioning. It is very easy for authors to self-publish their work these days. So we put together what we think is a good package: generous contract, an art director, an editorial staff (that have reps for being tough) and an established marketing platform.

How much editorial input do you have in your titles?

Mo the one-eyed cat makes all the tough decisions.

What are your marketing strengths?

We are established within the mystery and crime fiction community. The Spinetingler name carries with it some level of quality assurance. We have well established ties and friendships within the business. That's just to start. That's just the folks we know. We want to move beyond the groups and circles that get created over time (and can calcify) and find new groups of readers. The internet has created a new tribalism that we sometimes aren't aware of. It's of the utmost importance to work your base AND find new people to connect with.

Tell us about your launch title, Speedloader.

Speedloader is an anthology of six short stories that can be classified as dark crime fiction by new and emerging writers. One of the stories, Plastic Soldiers by WD County is one of the darkest stories I've ever read. Nik Korpon's story about drug addicts in Baltimore uses an economy of words to get to the heart of a personal and moral dilemma. Nigel Birds story shows what small crimes can be lost in larger ones. Richard Thomas's story explores the heart of an alcoholic's slide. Matthew Funk's story takes the reader and his everyman protagonist on a nighttime hell ride. Jonathan Wood's story is a revenge epic written in miniature.

All of the writing in Speedloader is top shelf and our goal is to have future Speedloader installments.

What else do you have coming up that you can tell us about?

Our lineup for the rest of the year includes the short story collections Monkey Justice by Patti Abbott, The Chaos we Know by Keith Rawson and Gumbo Ya-Ya by Les Edgerton. The novel Harvest of Ruins by Sandra Ruttan. And the revenge novella Dig Two Graves by Eric Beetner. We are actively negotiating on a few other titles, one of which is so experimental that it probably proves the need for small presses.

How important is digital in relation to paper?

Well, it's a game changer. As a reader I love my Kindle and do a lot of my reading on it. As an editor I love being able to send submissions to my Kindle and make motes on a manuscript. As the husband of an author I've seen the benefit of being able to e-publish out of print back list titles. I've also seen the success that others that I know have had.

There has also been a huge rise this year in e-publishers.

Like all transitional periods though I don't wish to speculate too much because I can't predict the future. I'm enjoying the ride though.

What are your thoughts on eBook pricing?

They have been all over the place. As a reader I've bought my fair share of cheap ebooks, some of which still remain unread, and I've bought higher priced ebooks from traditional publishers. I used to think that ultra cheap was the way to go but now I'm not so sure.

In general (for right now) here is my pricing philosophy.

Something like Speedloader (6 stories) is good at .99c.

A short story collection or a larger anthology should be $2.99

Novellas should be $2.99

Novels should be in the $2.99-$4.99 range.

I don't think a universal sweet spot has been found yet because where the rubber meets the road for a title varies for each book so the most important thing that this whole epublishing enterprise has allowed is flexibility. We can release at one price and play around until we find the right one. It's a great theoretical argument but ultimately it's going to be like that old saying that all politics is local. We’re going to work hard to find the right price that fills the most potholes on as many streets as possible.

How much difference does a good cover make?

People say don't judge a book by its cover and, broadly speaking, that may be true. If we are being honest this proves to be a falsehood, especially at the extremes. A terrible cover immediately sounds a false note, repelling the reader, and a great cover may not guarantee a sale or a great read but it will make a reader stop and take notice. That's nothing to take lightly. And when the content of the book is as great as the cover, that's special.

Boden worked his ass off and gave us a great and special cover for Speedloader. The designs and variations that hit the cutting room floor would make great covers in their own right. He worked tirelessly to make the cover as great as possible and the final result speaks for itself.

It seems to me that in the e-book age cover artists aren't getting the props they deserve. To fix this we want to make sure that everyone knows who does our covers because we are proud to show off his work and we want to make sure his name rings as loud as it should.

Clearly the cover game is changing and it is one of the many interesting facets of this whole evolution to watch. Just a couple of examples. How important are cover blurbs on an ebook? With the reduced size, how much emphasis should be put on font size?

You've been getting some reader feedback already, in relation to the cover for Sandra Ruttan's HARVEST OF RUINS. Is this kind of interaction something we're likely to see more of?

In some form. We want to make sure the reader is involved because...why not. The Harvest cover thing actually evolved. There were a few cover choices and both Sandra and I were debating which one we liked best. I then decided to show the cover selections to some co-workers of mine. Some people who are readers and book buyers but aren't a part of the online community. They all chose the same cover and it was different than the one that I liked. So the idea of soliciting feedback from readers in the community came from there.

How important is a good title?

As an editor one of the things that I realize I am thinking about when I'm reading submissions is the length of the title. If ebook covers are generally viewed at a thumbnail size then a title with seven or eight words isn't going to work as well as a title with three words. Speedloader is one word and ties in thematically with the Snubnose name and the amount of stories.

What aspects of marketing do you enjoy?

Meeting new people and being introduced to new blogs and sites. There also is some joy to be had in seeing something you had a hand in making being recognized and talked about. I love talking books.

As a reader, how would you describe your taste in crime fiction?

I prefer darker types of fiction. I want to be gutted, it is a rare emotion but an attainable one.

As a publisher, how would you describe your ideal reader's taste in crime fiction?

Someone with an open mind. Someone willing to say ‘yeah, that sounds interesting’.

What was the last good eBook you read?

The great thing about these evolving times is that that question can mean so many things. Fuck a good book. How about great ones?

How about a book that was self-published by the author - Angela Choi's debut novel, Hello Kitty Must Die, came out last year from Tyrus and she self-published her second novel earlier this year. It's called Apologies Not Included and is dark and twisted in the best possible way. I think that female writers are writing some of the best psycho-noirs out there and are really pushing the boundaries of what that form can be and do.

How about a backlist title from an established author - I finally had a chance to read Hoodtown by Christa Faust, which is a great example of a mid-list writer being able to bring out an older title. It's probably one of the best books I've read all year.

How about an ebook by an epublisher - Frank Sinatra in a Blender by Matthew McBride from Concord ePress is a darkly funny book that a traditional publisher may not have been interested in.

How about a novella that was released online serially - Pablo D'Stair's novella This letter to Norman Court was serialized over community blogs and sites and is now available in its entirety for free from Smashwords.

Or a novel (I’m assuming) released serially by an established crime writer – Ken Bruen’s Black Lens has been coming out in weekly installments over at the Mulholland Books website.

What are you reading now?

I've always got my fingers in multiple pies so: manuscripts; Pulp Ink; The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey; Just Like That by Les Edgerton; Wild at Heart by Barry Gifford; God's War by Kameron Hurley; 99 Days by Matteo Casali & Kristian Donaldson and finally Novahead by Steve Aylett

If you had to re-read a crime novel right now, what would you choose?

The death of Newton Thornburg in May really struck me. For such a great writer to die in relative obscurity and for his death to go unnoticed was a tragedy. His novel Cutter & Bone remains a favorite (and the movie, Cutter's Way that was based on it) and with his death I feel a strong urge to read it again.

Who's your favourite living writer?

Will my wife kill me if I don't say her :) So the question becomes who is my second favorite writer which as you know is a very tough question. James Sallis maybe.

What makes you keep reading a book?

Short chapters. Kidding. Kind of.

Years ago I tried to quantify what constitutes a great book for me and the best that I could do was to imagine a three circle Venn diagram with the three circles representing character, writing and story and my favorites resting somewhere in the intersection of the three.

What makes a book sell?

Word of mouth and coverage. Then sales beget more sales and eventually, at some point sales can become a kind of self-sustaining feedback loop.

How do you create 'word of mouth'?

Get the book into readers hands. People can’t talk about it if they haven’t heard of it and read it. For Speedloader that meant putting it in the hands of the best online writers, our friends and people we have developed relationships with over the years. Also, no gun. What I mean is that when I sent the books out I didn't pressure anyone for a review or coverage in a timely manner. I've been a reviewer for too long to understand that increased publicist pressure doesn't work and can be a turn off. So put the book in folks hands and let it go from there. You also need to make a diligent effort to reach blogs and sites that may be interested and that are outside your normal community. Find new people, put the book in their hands, let them tell their people.

You’ve been telling people for awhile now about not preaching to the choir. That is in my DNA. For years I was the mystery and crime reviewer at a SF/F site. I’ve had people say to me why would you do that. Because it was the best place to be and I probably sold more books for authors than anybody else because the audience I was writing for wasn’t aware of the authors I was writing about.

Years ago Richard Pryor infamously set himself on fire in a drug-induced psychosis and ran down a California street in what is now known as the "freebasing incident". The police officer who finally subdued him said that Pryor was lucid and kept saying "if I stop I'll die". That's a phrase that has always stuck with me. You cannot rest on laurels and past accomplishments and what happened yesterday has no bearing on what will happen tomorrow. Keep working the shit out of it, in other words.

How do you feel about writers self-publishing?

On one hand you have my wife who has self-published a back list title. You have found success with it and friends have found success as well. I think the stigma that once was there isn't there in the same way. On the other hand you have The Greek Seaman.

Which author should be much better known?

There are a lot but I don’t like wishy-washy answers that evade the question so I’ll say… Lynn Kostoff, and hopefully that happened last year and the increased coverage of Late Rain (as compared to his previous novels).

If someone's reading this who has a project that might be a good fit for you, how would you prefer them to go about submitting it?

Our guidelines can be found here. Bottom line is to send us an email to snubnosepress@gmail.com