I've been wanting to do this for a while now. The right sidebar on my blog had a header that said: SOME WRITERS WHO RULE. Under this I listed a slew of top-shelf crime and mystery writers along with some of us on the outer crusts trying to chip our way in. It was limited and unfair really. I could have included so many more and felt guilty about not including other writers outside the genre--writers of all types who rock the block. Scientists. Sports. Western. Political. Playwrights. Graphic. Comedic. Classic. It's no secret I'm a voracious reader and have a variety of tastes, so why not include them? The list would look like the phone book that's why, and I might go mad. They still have those don't they? Phone books? But as far as crime/mystery/noir writing goes...I think once you heaved yourself over the transom and done that first book--successfully gotten it published you no longer have to prove your mettle to me. You now walk amongst giants...so out of the nest you go. Anthologies and mags don't cut it. The bar has to be that first book. The cats left under THE BULLPEN list are almost there, teetering on the edge of oblivion or making it. More will be added no doubt, but these are just some of the ones slugging it out in Stalag Luft III, digging the dirty tunnels, watching each others' backs, encouraging each other, wondering why not us? Indeed. Yeah, yeah...everybody wants to be Steve McQueen, but I want to be James Coburn. He's a badass and he made it to freedom. And got to eat some good French bistro food probably.
2/11/10
Small Change to Blog: Bullpen/The Great Escape
I've been wanting to do this for a while now. The right sidebar on my blog had a header that said: SOME WRITERS WHO RULE. Under this I listed a slew of top-shelf crime and mystery writers along with some of us on the outer crusts trying to chip our way in. It was limited and unfair really. I could have included so many more and felt guilty about not including other writers outside the genre--writers of all types who rock the block. Scientists. Sports. Western. Political. Playwrights. Graphic. Comedic. Classic. It's no secret I'm a voracious reader and have a variety of tastes, so why not include them? The list would look like the phone book that's why, and I might go mad. They still have those don't they? Phone books? But as far as crime/mystery/noir writing goes...I think once you heaved yourself over the transom and done that first book--successfully gotten it published you no longer have to prove your mettle to me. You now walk amongst giants...so out of the nest you go. Anthologies and mags don't cut it. The bar has to be that first book. The cats left under THE BULLPEN list are almost there, teetering on the edge of oblivion or making it. More will be added no doubt, but these are just some of the ones slugging it out in Stalag Luft III, digging the dirty tunnels, watching each others' backs, encouraging each other, wondering why not us? Indeed. Yeah, yeah...everybody wants to be Steve McQueen, but I want to be James Coburn. He's a badass and he made it to freedom. And got to eat some good French bistro food probably.