Book Covers And Other News

Occasionally I make the mistake of complimenting authors on the covers of their books.  I mean no harm.  It’s usually done with a feeling of kindly envy.  I love looking at book covers.  However the author usually had nothing to do with the cover.  He or she wrote the book, so the compliment is somewhat misplaced and could be seen as a slight to authors who see their own work judged by work they had nothing to do with.

Unfortunately in terms of time, the mind’s eye can take in cover art at a thousand to one ratio over its wordy content. And sadly the two (cover art and story) are not necessarily related – though they should be. In my next life, should I have the choice, I’ll be a visual artist. Meanwhile, I’ll try to hold my tongue unless I’ve read the book or I’m talking to the artist.

I like the idea that the book cover reflects the content of the book in mood and subject, but that is not the designer’s only concern. The designer, employed by the publisher, must also look to sales. What, in the sea of images will get potential readers’ attention and what will hook them into buying?

This is a challenge.  If you think about the tables and shelves in the bookstores and all the competing art and type and color, what stands out? They are all screaming, “look at me, look at me!” You pick one, and look closer.  Still interesting?  Can the cover art get you to the inside cover (flap) copy?  Beyond the cover design is the interior design. Does it invite you to read a couple of sentences? Does it make for a comfortable read? Typeface and leading (spacing) are important. Some readers and writers are unaware of all of this.  But a book is an object of art — in its totality, which is why many of us consider books more than just a good read, but also sacred keepsakes. 

As much as we like to deny it, a book is also a product. As a commercial enterprise, the design of a book has requirements similar to other products – a box of detergent, the label on a wine bottle (the bottle itself), or as Warhol knew, a can of soup. For best selling authors, their names are brands. Stephen King is Wheaties. And because of that, the cover design is secondary to the author’s name, which is likely to be the dominant graphic component.

Of the 18 books of mine that have been published, I have my favorite covers, as well as my favorite books. They are not necessarily the same.  One of my favorite covers appeared on an Italian translation. A couple of times I was allowed to pick the cover art.

But I’ve pushed my own books enough lately.  I’d like to show some of the many book covers that have made me kindly envious. A sampling of those covers are scattered about in this post.

For more, the blog “Rap Sheet” annually highlights the best in mystery covers in an on-line competition. I look forward to their 2015 posts. Also, Rap Sheet founder and editor J. Kingston Pierce hosts a separateblog featuring many older pulp covers as well – a comprehensive graphic history definitely worth checking out

Other News:

Severn House will release Killing Frost in trade paperback November 1. I hope bookstores will take notice.  Audible Books has just released Death in Pacific Heights on Audio. And finally, The Blue Dragon novella is now available as an E-book for 4.99. Not about me:  Two great mystery conferences happen this fall.  I’ve attended both in the past and highly recommend them.

Magna cum Murder XXI

October 30-November 1, 2015

The Columbia Club - Indianapolis, Indiana

This is a wonderful, intimate gathering of writers and readers.  Attendees are able to interact with authors, publishers and agents in this low-key, high-quality event.  Among the talented mystery writers in attendance are this year’s special guests, William Kent Krueger and Simon Brett.

Bouchercon 2015 – The World Mystery Convention

October 8-11, 2015

Raleigh, North Carolina

This is big – the biggest crime fiction convention of the year.  Thousands show up for hundreds of events and panel discussions in a spirit of celebration. Many of the most popular crime writers as well as the most exciting emerging talents are on hand.

Book Notes — On Writing And Reading And Making Films

My morning ritual includes coffee with blogs – Bill Crider’s, Ed Gorman’s and The Rap Sheet. A couple of days ago each reported the news that the Coen Brothers (Fargo, Blood Simple, No Country For Old Men) might turn Ross Macdonald’s Black Money into a movie. The combination of MacDonald and the brothers makes both the book and the potential film irresistible. I’ll have to wait for the movie, but not the book.

Ross Macdonald

I’m embarrassed to say that despite the fact that nearly every crime fiction aficionado rates Macdonald right up there with Hammett and Chandler, I’ve never read him. It’s inexcusable, I know. The only thing I can say is that Macdonald died shortly before my interest in mystery writing seriously began.  And as is the fate of many great writers and artists, there is often a brief dip in their popularity or notoriety after they die and before they are “rediscovered.” To my discredit, I simply was not aware of this giant until midway through my own career.

The blessing is that there are likely enough of his novels to keep me pleasantly engaged during the rest of my existence. Actually, there are plenty of mysteries by great writers of the recent past, living legends like Crider and Gorman, not to mention books by those just coming into their own.  I will run out time before I run out of books.

Meanwhile, back to Black Money: There are novels that can be textbooks for people who want to understand the history of the genre, or who are beginning to write or looking for a refresher course.  This is one.  Here is an excerpt:

She looked around the room, at the worn carpet, the faded flowers in the wallpaper, the bedside lamp with the scorched paper shade, as I if she were considering her relationship to it.  Externally she didn’t belong here at all.   She had the kind of style that could be bought, but not suddenly at Bullocks or I. Magnin; the brown pouch on the bed with the gold tassels looked like Paris.  But she belonged internally to the room, the way a prisoner belongs to his cell.  She had done time in rooms like this and it was settling in again.

What Macdonald did here was create a vivid narrative that established the setting while simultaneously revealing character and mood.

Though I had not read Ross Macdonald before, I’m partial to writers who do what he does. I want things to move quickly but I also want to see the writer’s painting. I want my senses to be worked. I want to feel, even in my impatience, what there is to be felt.

When I stopped at the Bagshaw mailbox, I could see the ocean below, hung on the horizon like unevenly blued washing.  I had climbed a few hundred feet but I could feel the change in temperature, as if I had moved nearer to the noon sun.

Macdonald has verbal takes that are very much his own, personal and delightful quirks, as well as strange, offbeat humor that mingles with stark, straightforward prose and then poetry.

The question took him by surprise.  For a moment his face was trying on attitudes.  It settled on a kind of false boredom behind which his intelligence sat and watched me.

Or.

But she went on answering unspoken questions painfully, and obsessively as if the past had stirred and was talking through her in its sleep.

The movie, or proposed movie:  After the news broke, subsequent reports suggest the brothers have only signed on to write the screenplay. I have often been disappointed with what Hollywood does to perfectly fine books.  Here we have relatively short novel, about movie length.  The time period is clearly defined, as are the characters. The dialogue is very clearly in place. There is very little internal narrative.  It’s all on the page.  It is detailed and specific, deceptively so because Macdonald’s writing is so very simple and direct. Why waste the Coen brothers’ talents? It’s the overall direction, keeping the mood that’s needed not the dialogue or the plot.

The Coen Brothers are among my favorite directors.  I’d go see anything they make. I love movies. Perhaps more than books. When I read any book, it’s very much like a movie running through my brain. With most books, I can fathom the idea that there could be more than my own interpretation. But most books leave more to interpretation than Black Money. It is often necessary for a director or screenwriter to fill in or add nuance. Not here, I repeat.  This is a matter of casting and cinematography. The brothers should direct not rewrite.

If someone wants something other than the book, why bother with the book?  Write an original screenplay.

However getting back to what writers can gain from his work. To me, whether you like Macdonald type books or not, a writer should strive to be able write a book that could be filmed as is, a book that a smart director would not tamper with. That’s the art.

What do the brothers do here? Is it possible that Hollywood will see that most of the work is done? Are the brothers rebellious enough to simply put the book on film, bringing visual truth to the word?

News — Bring On the P.I. Novels & Libraries Celebrate in San Francisco

A couple of posts ago, I wrote about the dearth of Private eye depiction in todays‘ movies. But the private eye novel has been declared dead or dying from time to time. J Kingston Pierce, editor of the “rap sheet,” “the go-to source for crime fiction news), also picked up the theme for a Kirkus Magazine article.  Pierce is also senior editor of January Magazine and reviewer for Kirkus. If that weren’t enough for one human he has a special blog on “Killer Covers,” a great place to look at vintage crime book covers. Pierce is convinced P.I. novels are holding their own.  In his story, I found my recent book featuring P.I. Deets Shanahan on his list of new P.I. novels that assured him that the P.I. genre is alive and well.

Here are the five new private eye books the busy Pierce picked:

And Sometimes I Worry About You, by Walter Mosley

Robert Parker’s Kickback by Ace Atkins

Vixen, by Bill Pronzini

Shadow of a Hangman by Edward Marston

Killing Frost by Ronald Tierney

This morning a million folks are gathering on San Francisco’s Market Street to celebrate Pride. Given the Supreme Court’s decision on marriage, there should be a little extra energy this year. 

Two blocks away, mostly underground, at the vast Moscone Center, 10,000 or more people gathered for the American Library Association’s big national conference being held over this weekend.  Two huge exhibit halls are filled with booths for publishers, distributors, periodicals and others in the book business. I was invited by Orca Publishing to sign ARCs for my soon-to-be-released novella for them.  Yesterday, I signed and signed and signed. I found the visitors to be especially happy to have a book that takes place in San Francisco while they were here for a mix of business and pleasure. Due out the end of summer, The Blue Dragon is part of Orca’s Rapid Read series. I am thrilled with the concept – easy to read short books perfect for that flight from L.A. to New York. Some are for younger readers. However some are mysteries for the rest of us by authors you may know and love — Reed Farrel Coleman and Rick Blechta as examples.