Authors live and die by the reviews. I have been blessed
by the attention over the years. And I
thank the highly educated, overworked and often underpaid reviewers who help
keep writers afloat. In my couple of
decades I have never argued with or complained about a review. I don’t intend
to do that now. But a very recent book review of the second in my new novella series
about a forensic accountant touches, perhaps inadvertently, on the topic of
authors writing in a different style and or a different genre — meaning he or
she is likely not to meet the expectations of a reader familiar with writers
most popular or previously accepted work.
This happens to many writers. Some never leave the pattern of
their original success. From the readers’ point of view, I understand. It is
much like one of those moments when you expected a Coke and were shocked, even
disgusted at the taste of iced tea, though under normal circumstances you like
iced tea as well. It was the shock of the unexpected.
So I’d like to
clarify my soon-to-be released novella, The Black Tortoise. For those who
followed the more popular Shanahan series, the Peter Strand series is entirely
different. Shanahan is an older man, former
Army sergeant, who came to terms with life and with who he is a long time
ago. The stories are standard book-length
and often quirky. They take the tough P.I. approach. The Shanahans are more
likely to have violence and, by sheer length, accommodate a more complicated
plot. Peter Stand, introduced in The Blue Dragon, is a young Chinese American, dealing with personal
identity as he attempts to solve much more conventional mysteries (almost
cozies, puzzles to challenge the reader to find the murder before the book ends)
in a quick-easy-to-read style. The Strand series is part of Orca Publishers
“Rapid Reads” program designed for the reader who wants a quick read on the
flight from Phoenix to New York. Or for a younger reader who identifies with a
protagonist still coming to terms with himself and the world around him.
Now, in my world, I can enjoy American Psycho and “Midsomer Murders,” but I would hate to have to
watch one when I was expecting the other.
My first real brush with this phenomenon as a writer was
when Good To the Last Kiss was released by London’s Severn House. Compared to the Shanahans, this is a dark book
indeed. People I knew and loved, not to mention most critics, didn't want to
talk about it. It hasn’t sold well. Yet
I consider it to be my best. I suspect it never got to the readers who might
have liked it because my previous books kept me off their radar. On the other
hand, this is my problem. I’m not the only one who has to deal with this kind
of thing. Writers are finding ways to keep from being completely pigeon-holed.
Another book, also one of my favorites, is Mascara: Death In The Tenderloin, a
transgender mystery. It was also too different. Most publishers shy away from books by authors who venture too from the
expected. As have other stubborn
writers, I published it myself. I’ve not
gotten rich, but I’m so happy I wrote what my soul was telling me to write
because part of being a genuine writer is taking that risk.
Please, read the Shanahans. Perhaps there is a reason why
many consider these books the best of what I do (did). But if you are adventurous, consider reading some
of my non-Shanahan work as well.
The inspiration for this post was a negative review from a
highly respected source. The fact is
every word in that review was correct, which is why I found it worth comment
because it also pointed out the expectation game. While I am working on a new
P.I. set in Palm Springs, and a little more in the Shanahan tradition, I’m also
working on other mysteries that wander pretty far outside the box.
