Opinion — My Little Movie, A Very, Very Subtle Self Promotion

A couple of years ago I finally felt that I had enough San Francisco in my soul to use it as the setting, even a character, in a new private eye series.  So far, there have been two books and two novellas featuring Paladino & Lang Investigations. The office is inhabited by Carly Paladino, a fourth generation San Franciscan whose PI background comes from an executive position in a high-toned security firm; Noah Lang, a somewhat lazy, street-wise P.I. who just wants to get by; over the hill Harry Brinkman, an old-school kind of guy who just wants keep his hand in and have a place to go; and Thanh, a gender-bending, multi-talented, part-time operative who keeps everyone on their toes and in their places.

Over the last few years, in my meanderings throughout the city, I’ve taken photographs of the city, and its diverse neighborhoods. And I’ve recorded some of the incredible art that local muralists have given to the public to view.  So I thought I’d put a few of those photographs together to give you an idea of the San Francisco I see and the city where my fiction occurs.  This snippet is roughly three minutes long, including some sneaky shots of book covers from the series.  Let me know what you think.

P.S.  To read them in order, get Mascara, Death in the Tenderloin, Death in Pacific Heights, Death in North Beach and Death in the Haight.

Opinion & Blatant Promotion — Creating The San Francisco Series And Other Windmill Tilting

The books for which I’m best known, or to put it another way, the least unknown, are those in the Deets Shanahan series.  The lead character in the ten books that currently comprise the series is a septuagenarian, semi-retired private detective in Indianapolis.  He has a lovely, funny, tough girlfriend, two aging animals and a couple of good friends.  There are other regulars as well. 

I like these people.  And while I may not be done with their antics, writers, like everyone else, yearn after awhile for a little variety in the company we keep or imagine.  I’ve written a couple of stand-alone novels and a few years ago I began a new series set in San Francisco where I’ve lived 16 years this time around.  Unbeknownst to me, the new series began with a standalone novella called Mascara, which introduced a very private eye named Noah Lang and his accidental and originally unwanted friend, a multi-talented, gender-shifting immigrant called Thanh.  Because it was novella length and therefore deemed unmarketable by my agent at the time, the book sat in my computer as both a story and a screenplay.  It did so quietly and no doubt, like a fine wine, aged appropriately. (That’s what I tell myself, anyway.)

When I approached the idea of a new series, I picked the book up again and decided to use this as an inspiration for a full-length book in a new series using those characters. The only change I made was to add a female private eye to the crew.  This was premeditated act, I admit.  I did so for three reasons.  One, I had discovered with the Shanahan series that many of the readers liked Shanahan’s girlfriend, Maureen, so well that there were subtle suggestions I should knock off the old man and set her up as the main character.  That indicated to me that I might be capable of writing a believable female character.  Two, I introduced a female private eye because it was clear that more than half the mystery readers in this world are women. Third, I often write books that have two plots going at the same time.  Having a woman P.I. would give me another angle and greater creative latitude.

Because Noah was already established as unambitious, willing to take short cuts and operating on, oddly enough, his intuition, it seemed like I needed a more professional, principled and logical counterpoint.  Carly Paladino was born.  Cool, cautious and professional, she struck out on her own having reached a glass ceiling at a prestigious security firm.  Both are strongly independent characters. They bring out the best and worst in each other.

Carly Paladino ends up at this down-and-out investigation firm because Noah needed help with the rent.  And she needed an inexpensive office for her start-up business.  It’s a partnership made in a kind of humorous purgatory.

Severn House published the first two in the new series — Death in Pacific Heights and Death in North Beach, both to generally very positive reviews. But these weren’t the books loyal Shanahan readers and underfunded libraries wanted.  Severn House declined a third. The thing is I wanted to see the series continue.  My novella, Mascara, was renamed Mascara, Death in the Tenderloin and published as a prequel novella to the series featuring Noah and Thanh.  I published it myself. 

Penguin picked up the second novella, Death in the Haight, (now available in all e-book formats) as part of their re-launch of Dutton’s Guilt-Edged mysteries.  It focused on a more hard-boiled Noah Lang mystery — prostitutes, rogue cops and baseball.  Much of it takes place at AT&T Park during a Giants-Dodgers game.  I’m also polishing a novella with Carly as the lead.  Death on the Great Highway has to do with big oil, private armies and the murder of a lieutenant governor. I tilt at windmills, often ones that I build myself.

Meanwhile, I have written the first draft of my memoirs.  I can hear you now. What? You are writing your memoirs?  How pretentious can you get?  It’s tentatively titled Albion and New Augusta, Confessions of a Midlist Writer.  And of course I’m exaggerating a little.  I may be somewhat lower than “Midlist.”  No revelations of celebrity secrets.  I know no celebrities.  Nothing of historic importance.  Just summing things up.  I’ll be putting excerpts on this blog from time to time.

If you want to check out the new series — or the Shanahans, for that matter — please go here.  Many are available in trade paperback and on various forms of e-book.  The newest, Death in the Haight, though not on paper, can be found in nearly every existing e-book format for $2.99.

One semi-final note.  I have to admit that I think that Asphalt Moon is one of my better books.  But I was surprised to learn that a used “big print” copy was listed on Amazon for $9,999.00.  Look out, Dickens. Obviously a misprint, but I’d be happy to sell you a couple of copies for half of that.

On the final note, if you’d like to receive these posts automatically (usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday), they can be sent to you automatically by putting your email address in the box on the right, labeled “Follow By Email.” Your address will not be published or used for anything else.

Opinion — More Blatant Promotion, Get To Know The Players

We’re still a couple of weeks from the release of Death in the Haight from Penguin's new Dutton Guilt Edged (DGE) Mysteries as they release their first books with this revived imprint. 

If you are at all interested in the idea of getting to know the characters who appear in Death in the Haight, there is a prequel — Mascara, Death in the Tenderloin.  In it, we meet private eyes Noah Lang and his gender-bending, shape-shifting friend Thanh.  And while you can get it in trade paperback, it is also available at $3.99 on Kindle or Nook.

Here’s the cover copy:

“From the very beginning, things just aren’t what they seem. On a late, lonely night, San Francisco private investigator Noah Lang’s eyes deceive him. He makes a mistake. But what should have been simply an embarrassing moment becomes a deadly walk on the wild side. Unfortunately for Lang, before this nightmare is over, he puts his life on the line a second time for a new client who may or may not have a missing husband, who might or might not live on a boat in Tiburon and who seems to have an odd way to settle the bill for services rendered.”

There are also two Carly Paladino and Noah Lang mysteries available from UK publisher Severn House.  Unfortunately Death in Pacific Heights is out of print except for some hard-back books.  The trade paper backs have sold out and they’ve yet to be released in e-book formats. The second in the series, Death in North Beach, is available as an e-book through the usual suspects.

And don’t forget to check the DGE mysteries at their web site as more and more books are released.

Blatant Promotion — Good To The Last Kiss

The other day I woke up to find a review of Good to the Last Kiss from Kirkus Reviews in my email inbox. My publisher sent it to me. It read, in part:

“Tierney serves up a dark, twisty little gem in which a pair of embittered detectives and a not-quite-dead victim combine irresistibly.” After a description of the plot, it continues: “Every year the genre has its Goliaths, bigger and better ballyhooed than this modest entry. Come Edgar time, however, Tierney’s well-written, tidily plotted, character-driven David of a book deserves to be remembered.” (starred)

The day before wasn’t a particularly good one. What a great start to this new one. On the other hand, even before my first cup of coffee, I was reminded how much is going on at the moment. There is an odd confluence of publishing dates. Severn House just officially released Good To The Last Kiss (hardback). At roughly the same time the London-based publishers also released both Bullet Beach (A “Deets” Shanahan mystery) and Death in North Beach (a Carly Paladino and Noah Lang mystery) in trade paperback and e-book formats. Bless them.

Add to the mix, my own undertaking, which is to take advantage of the opportunity new technology has presented. Like many other writers, I’ve decided to do a little self-publishing. The first from Life, Death and Fog Books, is Mascara, Death in the Tenderloin. One of the reasons I’m taking this precarious step on my own is because novellas aren’t welcomed in the world by traditional publishers. Unfortunately for me, it is the form I enjoy the most. Most publishers of mysteries want 80,000 words minimum. Mascara came in at half that number. If I fattened it up, I would have screwed it up. So I didn’t.

For me, the novella is a perfect in-flight length or a pleasant evening away from the computer and TV, and about the same number of words as the early private-eye novels. But the downside is serious. Mascara will likely suffer from lack of public notice. Not only will it be ignored by bookstores, even the independent ones, because it is author published, it is not likely to be reviewed either. I understand why and I’m definitely not complaining. It’s simply a fact to be reckoned with (or with which to reckon).

A short message for fans of the Paladino/Lang’s San Francisco mysteries, Mascara is not part of the series, but it is a prequel of sorts, and reveals some secrets about a younger Noah Lang and his savvy and lovely gender-bending pal. My own review of the book is: I think it is a good, quick read. NOTE: For a related story on the Mascara experience, check out this story on the blog, Rapsheet.

Now, back to the regularly scheduled programming — a new San Francisco bookstore profile on Wednesday (Browser Books) and a new double feature movie recommendation on Friday. And maybe some surprises.