Noir at the Bar NYC, 4/12 Recap

Five-Two alum Thomas Pluck invited me to read for a second time at Shade, 241 Sullivan Street, NYC. I was glad to punctuate an evening of short stories and novel excerpts by my fellow readers Julia Dahl, Dan Krokos, Pluck, Alex Segura, S.A. Solomon, Jeff Soloway, Joe Samuel Starnes, Voice of The Five-Two Clare Toohey, Al Tucher, and Rich Zahradnik.

Also there were Lineup alum Henry Chang, blogger friend Peter Rozovsky, and Five-Two alum Elizabeth Lash, taking a chance on her first Noir at the Bar having seen news of it in our Twitter feed.

I read "A Definition of Noir", "Don't Try", and "The Hitch". Great to meet and catch up with you all.

Photo of Gerald So by Peter Rozovsky

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From Henry Chang

Calling all mystery fans, lovers of Asian American literature, friends and co-conspirators; [Lineup 3 contributor] Henry Chang's third novel RED JADE is now available at bookstores, from on-line booksellers, and as an e-book for Kindle readers.

As an added bonus, from October 16th through November 2010, fans can get a FREE e-book download of CHINATOWN BEAT (Henry's first book) for Kindle and Nook devices. (Simply search for CHINATOWN BEAT at www.amazon.com or www.barnes&noble.com and it'll be FREE!) Please spread the word.

So please enjoy RED JADE and visit www.chinatowntrilogy.com for Henry Chang's EVENTS schedule.

Thanks everyone for your support!

Wallace Stroby's GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER Tour

Lineup 3 contributor Wallace Stroby's third crime novel, Gone 'Til November, was released last week. Here's a synopsis from Wallace's Web site:

St. Martin's/Minotaur ISBN 978-0-312-56024-9

From the urban jungles of New Jersey to a sleepy Florida town, a ruthless killer blazes a bloody trail...and a young mother must risk everything to protect what she loves.

Shots ring out on a lonely Florida road, and Sheriff's Deputy Sara Cross finds herself the unwilling witness to the killing of a young black man, gunned down while fleeing a routine traffic stop. A single mother raising an ailing six-year-old, it's bad enough that she's the only female deputy in a town where everyone knows your business. But now Morgan, an aging enforcer for a brutal New Jersey drug gang, has come to town to settle some debts, and Sara soon finds herself torn between love and duty, loyalty and the truth...and just trying to stay alive.

Stroby's debut novel, The Barbed-Wire Kiss, is one of the most memorable I've read. I hope you get to meet him on tour, particularly on January 30 at Houston's Murder By the Book, when he appears with fellow Lineup 3 contributor James W. Hall. And of course, Murder By the Book also carries The Lineup 1 and 2. Ask about reserving your copy of Issue 3.

Wallace will also appear at the New York Public Library on April 13 with fellow Lineup 3 contributor Henry Chang.


GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER Tour Dates:

JAN. 29: 7:30 p.m. WBGO-FM 88.3 interview with reporter Andrew Meyer, taped at WBGO's Newark, N.J., studios. Will air on 88.3, and as part of the live stream at www.wbgo.org. Will be archived on the station's site afterward, along with a reading from GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER.

JAN. 29: 7 p.m.: BOOK PEOPLE, 603 N. Lamar, Austin, Texas, (512) 472-5050. Signing/discussion

JAN. 30: 5 p.m.: MURDER BY THE BOOK, 2342 Bissonnet St., Houston, Texas. (713) 524-8597. Signing/discussion with James W. Hall and Bob Morris.

FEB. 5: 6:30 p.m.: THE MYSTERIOUS BOOKSHOP, 58 Warren Street, New York, NY. (212) 587-1011. Signing/discussion

FEB. 6: 6 p.m.: WORDS! ASBURY PARK, 612 Cookman Avenue, Asbury Park, N.J. (732) 455-5549. As part of Asbury Park's "Samedi Gras" First Saturday festival. Signing/discussion

FEB. 27: 1 p.m.: WATCHUNG BOOKSELLERS, 54 Fairfield St., Watchung Plaza, Montclair, N.J. (973) 744-7177. Signing/discussion

MARCH 6: 2 p.m.: MOONSTONE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE, 12 Bloomfield Ave., Flemington, N.J., (908) 788-9094. Signing/discussion

APRIL 13: 6:30: NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, Fifth Ave. and 40th, Manhattan. Panel discussion on "Crime Scenes: From Cities to the Back of Beyond: Why & How Mystery Writers Choose Their Settings" with Peggy Ehrhart ("Sweet Man is Gone"), Lorenzo Carcaterra ("A Safe Place," "Sleepers"), Henry Chang ("Chinatown Beat"), Laura Joh Rowland ("The Cloud Pavilion") and Julia Pomeroy ("Cold Moon Home").

MAY 3: 4 p.m. FESTIVAL OF MYSTERY, Oakmont, Pa.

OCT. 14-17: BOUCHERCON 2010, Hyatt Regency, San Francisco, Calif.

NOV. 4-7: NOIRCON 2010, Philadelphia, Pa.

Our First Reading

It was great to meet Jennifer L. Knox, Carol Novack, and Karen Petersen along with a slew of Lineup fans and learn they're all as enthused about crime poetry as Patrick, Sarah, Richie, Anthony, and I.

I began last night with these remarks:

Welcome to the first reading from The Lineup: Poems on Crime. I'm Gerald So, founding editor, and with me are two of my co-editors—Richie Narvaez and Anthony Rainone—and three contributors—Jennifer L. Knox, Carol Novack, and Karen Petersen. I'd like to thank Carol, Richie, and KGB for tonight's event. Feel free to order refreshments throughout the night and support this great venue for writers.

A lot of people who hear about The Lineup think crime poetry is new or gimmicky, but the same emotions that inspire crime have long inspired poetry. Crime poetry is akin to crime fiction. Both have a sense of purpose. Every word, every sentence plants clues, reveals character, tries for resolution, but crime poetry forces us to face the same fear, jealousy, anger, indignation—without fiction's buffer of make-believe.

Karen read first, followed by Anthony, who read poems by Patrick Shawn Bagley, Ken Bruen, Reed Farrel Coleman, and Stephen D. Rogers. Anthony introduced Jen Knox who read several crime-related poems including "Why We Came and Why We Stayed" from The Lineup 2.

After a twelve-minute break to sell books and mingle, I introduced Richie, who read his poems "Metro", "Papi Was a Numbers Runner", and "Judgment Day" from The Lineup 1, as well as "Latest Victim" by Graham Everett and "Prayer of an Arson Investigator" by Sarah Cortez, also from Issue 1.

Richie introduced Carol Novack, who read her Lineup 2 poems "Willie" and "Color Symphony: Bronx Summer", Janis Butler Holm's Lineup 2 prose poem "Shopping with Winona", and finally a short play.

I capped the night with my Lineup 1 poems, "Witness Protection," "Four Minutes," and "Mickey Spillane".

We'd sold four copies of Issues 1 and 2 before I had to catch a train home. Thanks to everyone who attended, and once again to KGB for having us. A picture or two to come.

The prospect of audio and video recording the event fell through. If you attended, feel free to leave a comment. If not, you can experience a virtual reading by listening to The Lineup episode of Seth Harwood's CrimeWAV.