My ScrapbookCarroll John Daly's Obituary CARROLL JOHN DALY was one of the most pivotal figures in the development of hard-boiled crime fiction and pretty much created the "private eye" as we now understand the term, but even now, all these years later, he still can’t get no respect. But he apparently never got much even … Continue reading My Scrapbook: Carroll John Daly’s Obituary
Tag: Writing
“A Penny a Word”
By Anonymous From The American Mercury March 1936 The following rant, by a presumably disgruntled and disillusioned writer, seems somehow still remarkably relevant, almost a century after it was written. Sure, writers — particularly those who never quite reach the heights of literary and popular acclaim to which they believe they are entitled — love … Continue reading “A Penny a Word”
A Matter of Point of View
By M.E. Proctor Pseudonym of Martine Proctor Classic detectives are outsiders, if not necessarily in the geographic sense. They see the world and people through a different lens; they’re wired to be observers. Which doesn’t mean they’re always neutral and when they’re sucked into a case, the consequences can be dire. That detective stories are … Continue reading A Matter of Point of View
Ghost Writers: Have Pen, Will Travel
Don't be afraid of no ghosts... The P.I. genre, like most writing genres, abounds with pen names and pseudonyms, but it also has plenty of ghost writers. Sometimes, it's actually a real writer who employs a ghost, but more often than not, it's some celebrity whose "work" is actually ghosted. Although these days, at the … Continue reading Ghost Writers: Have Pen, Will Travel
My Scrapbook: Raymond Chandler’s Typewriter
My ScrapbookRaymond Chandler's Typewriter Is this the coolest thing ever or what? Long-time friend of the site, Mark Coggins, author of the acclaimed August Riordan private eye series, has scored a typewriter at an estate sale, conducted by auction house Doyle New York. And not just any typewriter. It's the the Olivetti Studio 44 that … Continue reading My Scrapbook: Raymond Chandler’s Typewriter
Mistress Christa’s Ten Rules to Write Noir
By Christa Faust "Seriously, are we still so terrified of pussy?” — see Rule #3 Before I start, let me make one thing clear. I love noir. I read it. I watch it. But I don't really write it. The majority of my crime fiction is more hardboiled than noir. I may not be a … Continue reading Mistress Christa’s Ten Rules to Write Noir
“Apologia Pro Vita Sua”
By Rex Stout The following poem, written by Rex Stout, appeared in the August 21, 1935 issue of The New York Times, in conjunction with the then-recent publication of his second Nero Wolfe mystery. At the time, Stout was still relatively unknown, and must have been feeling a little sensitive about being pegged as a mere … Continue reading “Apologia Pro Vita Sua”
Hey, Don’t I Know You from Somewhere?
Great (or at least memorable) Openings in Private Eye Fiction & Films No, they're not all private eye stories, but they're all good. It was a wandering daughter job. -- "Fly Paper" by Dashiell Hammett (The Continental Op) "It was about eleven o’clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a … Continue reading Hey, Don’t I Know You from Somewhere?
“I Dunit”
EDITOR'S NOTE: This one's taken from the third and final issue of P.S. Magazine, a general interest magazine from the 1960s. It was their August 1966 issue, and it was dedicated to "the rise of the gumshoe" and included an interview with Rex Stout, "The White Rabbit Caper," a tongue-in-cheek detective story by James Thurber, an essay … Continue reading “I Dunit”
“What? You Want It to be Realistic as Well?”
An Essay by Joe Stein So, credibility? Right. Well, as my first agent told me, fiction is life with the boring bits taken out. Only he wasn't 100% right. True, many readers don't want to see their hero doing the washing, or changing the oil filter in the car, but I always thought (for that, … Continue reading “What? You Want It to be Realistic as Well?”