Bang Bang!

This is me getting in some research at the gun range -- I am SO ready the next time I am attacked by an unarmed two-dimensional villain. I'm blogging about the experience today at the Poisoned Pen Press blog -- find that here.

And if any of you writerly types want to join me next time, the good people at Patrick's are excellent resources. They treated me mighty fine (and were very very patient).

John Desjarlais on Writing Cross-Culture (and Cross-Gender Too)

Please join me in welcoming John Desjarlais to The Fascination Files! John's latest novel VIPER is out now (please check out The Mojito Literary Society's review of this outstanding mystery to see why I'm so enthusiastic about having him as a virtual guest). Today, John explains the intricate nature of the research involved in bringing his protagonist, Selena de la Cruz, to literary life.

I’m a college instructor in Mass Communications, Composition and Creative Writing, so research is almost second nature to me and I’m accustomed to teaching about research. However, research for academic work is different from researching for fiction. In stories, there’s no quoting and citation involved, and everything learned must be embedded in the narrative so that it doesn’t show (unless you’re James Michener, who piles it on to his fans’ delight). Once your research starts to show, readers notice and awaken from their fictional dream.

That’s what frightened me about my latest mystery novel, VIPER, featuring a Mexican-American woman as the protagonist.  How could I, an Anglo man, presume to portray a Latina for the lead?

It wasn’t just a matter of writing from a woman’s point-of-view. I had done so a few times in earlier novels, in some scenes. The scary thing was maintaining the cross-cultural aspect across an entire novel. I wanted to be sure I got all the cultural material right and I was respectful with it.

Lacking experience as a Latina, I immersed myself in the experiences of Latin women vicariously in many ways. There are many new books in circulation by Latinas about coming to terms with Old-World expectations placed upon women while trying to fit into New-World American society. I read most of them and took careful notes, as with any other research I had to do for VIPER (DEA undercover operations, police interrogations, snake handling, Aztec religion and so on). I subscribed to Latina magazine for fashion, beauty, relationship and lifestyle issues. I paid attention to any news related to this community, especially immigration issues. I browsed Latinas’ blogs and web sites to see what everyone talked about, especially with regard to living with a bi-cultural identity. They said just what the Dad says in the movie Selena: “We've gotta be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans both at the same time. It's exhausting!"

I had stacks of cards that I browsed through obsessively to remind myself of small details that were of possible use, as in this description of the character:

Selena slipped into the faux leopard slingbacks and examined the fall of her pinstriped pantsuit leg over them in the hallway mirror when the doorbell chimed promptly at 1500 hours. She brushed away a little excess of powder from the corner of her sienna eyes and primped her mouth, the lip liner two shades darker than the magenta gloss to match her caramel complexion. Always dress so you will not be mistaken for the help, mija, she heard her mother saying. But no make-up could ever soften the Aztec hatchet of a nose buried in the middle of her face.

This combines research from Latina magazine and an interview with a Latina about her relationship with her mother.

Or consider this memory from Selena’s Chicago neighborhood (btw, she drives a 1969 Dodge Charger – something else I had to research):

     When Selena wheeled the Charger onto 18^th Street in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, the throaty rumble of the big engine turned the heads of young men in tilted White Sox caps. In the air, Norteño bands playing plaintive corridos on button accordions competed with the thump-thump of quebradita, a blend of North Mexican banda and Aztec punk rockers singing in Spanglish. Like Julia Alvarez once said in a poem, Selena felt her Spanish blood beating.

She crossed herself and kissed her thumb and forefinger held together when she passed Saint Adalbert’s Elementary in the shadow of the church’s skyline-dominating steeple. In the sixth grade, Sister Mary Beatrice -- who every kid called Sister Mary BattleAxe -- caught Selena speaking Spanish in the back row. She was asking Gloria García for an eraser. Sister pulled Selena by the ear into the corner.

“You’re in America now,” the Polish nun had reprimanded, her milky finger in Selena’s mocha face. “We speak English here. If you want to be an American, speak American. If you want to speak Spanish, then go back to Mexico.”

Selena asked if there was a difference between speaking English and speaking American.

Sister Beatrice kept her after school for talking back.

“Ay, you don’t talk back,” her mother chided her when she got home. Mamí’s high Zapotec cheekbones colored like the red hot lava of Mount Popocatépetl and the obsidian-black bun on top of her head, Selena could have sworn, was spinning.

“Muchachitas bien criadas, girls brought up well, don’t mouth off,” her mother said, wringing the dishtowel. “Do you want to called habladora? A big mouth that talks too much? Is that what you want?”

“Mamí, all I did was ask a question.”

“En boca cerrada no entran moscas,” her mother said, tapping her lips with a finger. Flies cannot enter a closed mouth. “You must be quiet, and keep your eyes low in respeto, like La Virgen de Guadalupe.”

There’s so much here that I can’t recall all the places I drew from. Let’s see: Google maps gave me a view of the Pilsen neighborhood, an Internet search gave me the proverbs (‘dichos,’ very important in Mexican culture) and interviews – mostly – gave me the other childhood details. General research made me realize how important Our Lady of Guadalupe is to the Mexican community, and, in fact, She is a minor character – sort of – in the story.

Research always opens new possibilities for a story, and for me, it helped me create a believable Mexican-American woman.  When one of my Latina readers told me, “I am SO into Selena!”, I knew I’d done my research right.

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 Haunted by the loss of her brother to drugs and a botched raid that ended her career with the DEA, insurance agent Selena De La Cruz hoped to start afresh in rural Illinois. But her gung-ho former boss needs her back to hunt “The Snake,” a dealer she helped arrest who is out of prison and systematically killing anyone who ever crossed him. His ‘hit list’, appended to a Catholic Church’s All Souls Day ‘Book of the Deceased,’ shows Selena’s name last. Working against time, prejudice and the suspicions of her own Latino community, Selena races to find The Snake before he reaches her name while a girl visionary claims a “Blue Lady” announces each killing in turn. Is it Our Lady of Guadalupe as many in the Mexican community believe, or is it, as others believe, the Aztec goddess of Death?

Visit John Desjarlais at http://www.johndesjarlais.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/jdesjarlais1

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/johndesjarlais

Blog: http://jjdesjarlais.blogspot.com

VIPER is available at Amazon and through Sophia Institute Press.

Vroom Vroom!

Please join me as I go on and on about all things Ferrari over at the Poisoned Pen Press blog. I'll be posting there on the 10th of every month about guns and Confederates and Atlanta and -- oh yes -- Ferraris. (That's me behind the wheel of the F430 coupe, by the way. It's not black like Trey's, but he'd like it almost as much).

You can find the blog here.

I Heart Lars -- Sweaty Iron Age Stud Muffin

My friend Susanna Ives -- who writes historical novels set in Regency and Victorian England -- posted a fascinating (and hysterically funny) account of married life in Iron Age Denmark. If you've always wanted to learn more about smelting, peat bog sacrifice, and heck oxen, then this description of life with a hot pre-Viking guy should be your cup of . . . whatever it was they drank then, which I'm pretty sure they drank out of skulls.

And look at the art! No coyness there. These people knew how to make things clear. The carved pig Ives displays is also pretty nice. I can see something like that in my living room.

Find the post at the following link on the Carina Press Historical Author blog: Romancing The Past: Hot Iron Age Lovin'

The ATL

This photograph captures one of the things I love most about Atlanta -- its up-ness. I have yet to experience another city so jostling, so elbow-to-elbow with its own image, with its head tilted to look into the high blue. I don't know the name of this building. It's right beside the Fox Theatre, just off of Peachtree. But on this spring day, with this limitless sky, it seemed as if it thought it just might make it to the top if it could just s-t-r-e-t-c-h another inch. That's Atlanta to me. Always after that extra inch.

Three Questions with Douglas Corleone

After reading NIGHT ON FIRE, I asked Douglas Corleone if he'd be willing to answer a few questions about himself, his book, his protagonist, and what's next for him on the literary horizon. He graciously agreed. So here you go, ladies and gentlemen -- three fastballs right over the plate for Mr. Corleone.

1. I've read in other interviews that Kevin Corvelli shares some personality traits with you, only on a more out-sized level. Care to elaborate?

When I set out to write my debut novel ONE MAN'S PARADISE, I wanted a lawyer-protagonist who was not only flawed, but very aware of his flaws -- and honest about them in his interactions with other characters and with readers.  Suffice it to say, I didn't have to look very far for a criminal defense attorney with flaws -- I saw one in the mirror every morning.  So my own insecurities, phobias, vices, and yes, arrogance, became Kevin's, the only difference being that heroes (and anti-heroes) need to be larger than life, so I exacerbated my own flaws for the sake of the story.  (Some people might suggest that I played them down, but I would disagree).  I also provided Kevin with what I think are my strengths - a quick wit, a touch of charm, and a deep-seated desire to do what's right.  Kevin's every bit as conflicted as I am, but like me, he has a desire to sort through his psyche and improve what needs improving.  That should take us through the next 30 or 40 books.    
 

2. If you could sit down with yourself when you first started writing this series and offer as-yet-unpublished you some words of wisdom, what would you share?

I'd tell him to put down the pen and run back to the courtroom as quickly as possible.  I'm kidding (somewhat), of course.  But I would definitely fill him in on the realities of today's publishing industry.  I'd make sure he knew that the lion's share of promotion would fall squarely on his shoulders, and that anemic book sales could end his career before it started.  I'd prepare him for critics and remind him about the demographics of today's fiction readers.  I'd teach him about branding, and emphasize the difficulty he might face switching genres.  If he asked whether all the hard work, all the waiting and rejection, would be worth it...I'd tell him, yes. I'd tell him that patience and persistence are key.  And that hearing good things from readers about his work will melt his heart and ultimately make the whole damn process worthwhile.       

3. Any other writing projects in the works? Any tantalizing clues for your readers about what's next for Corvelli and company?

Next April, the third Kevin Corvelli novel, tentatively titled CHOICE OF EVILS, will be published by St. Martin's Minotaur.  In CHOICE OF EVILS, Kevin is retained by the governor of Hawaii when the FBI suspects the governor of hiring an international assassin known as The Pharmacist to murder his pregnant mistress.  Kevin and his crew have to conduct their own investigation while ensuring that the FBI's suspicions don't interfere with the governor's bid for reelection.  Meanwhile, Kevin's most loyal client, Turi Ahina, is accused of gunning down an off-duty cop on a dark street in Pearl City days after Turi agrees to provide the DEA information on the ruthless drug kingpin Orlando Masonet. Did Turi actually shoot and kill the cop in self-defense?  To find out, Kevin must plumb the depths of police corruption and ultimately unearth some of the city's deepest, darkest, and dirtiest secrets.

*         *         *         *         *         *         *         *         *         *

DOUGLAS CORLEONE is the author of the Kevin Corvelli crime series published by St. Martin's Minotaur.  His debut novel ONE MAN'S PARADISE won the 2009 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award.  A former New York City criminal defense attorney, Douglas Corleone now resides in the Hawaiian Islands with his wife and son.  NIGHT ON FIRE is his second novel.

You can find NIGHT ON FIRE at your local bookstore or through Amazon.com (find a buying link here). You can read more about Douglas Corleone and this award-winning crime series at http://www.douglascorleone.com.

Arson Investigation by Doug Corleone, Author of NIGHT ON FIRE

Please welcome Hawaii author Doug Corleone to my virtual conversation spot today! Doug is the author of the Kevin Corvelli crime series, the second book of which -- NIGHT ON FIRE -- is debuting today (woot!) He's here to share the intriguing and deadly facts about the destructive side of playing with fire.

Also, please check out my accompanying review of the book, which appeared yesterday on The Mojito Literary Society. You can find that here.

ARSON INVESTIGATION

Part of the thrill of writing crime fiction is in the research. As a writer of legal thrillers, I have the opportunity to research everything from police procedure through the judicial process. In writing my novels I get to play cop, criminal, prosecutor, defense attorney, judge and jury. So, it’s no wonder that in developing the plot for my second novel in the Kevin Corvelli crime series, I took into consideration what I most wanted to learn about. Ever since seeing the film Backdraft, arson investigation has fascinated me. Fire is such a destructive force that it’s a wonder any evidence remains behind. In researching arson investigation for NIGHT ON FIRE, I went behind the scenes and learned how the experts determine how a fire started, how it spread, and how they ultimately go about identifying suspects.

According to FBI statistics, approximately one-third of all fires that occur in the United States are the result of arson, meaning they were intentionally set. There are a variety of motives: insurance money, revenge, to conceal another crime. Setting fires is convenient for criminals. It’s easy to start a fire, and as you might expect, the success rate of convicting arsonists is extremely low. Because fire is indeed such a destructive property that destroys its own clues, fire investigators must work very quickly to learn what they can by the evidence the fire left behind.

After questioning witnesses, fire investigators immediately examine the exterior of the structure, then proceed inside to search for the point of origin. The point of origin is where the fire started; it’s where investigators find the most damage, likely where the fire burned hottest and longest. In order to determine the point of origin, fire investigators must know how fire behaves. Flame, heat , and gases rise away from the point of origin. This creates a V-shaped burn pattern, which indicates where the fire started. Once fire investigators identify that V-shaped burn pattern, they search for clues as to the cause of the fire.

Investigators must rule out accidents by checking all possible causes, such as electrical systems and gas pipes. Once all accidental causes are ruled out, the area becomes a crime scene, and steps must be taken to protect it from contamination. Then they begin searching for clues, sometimes with the help of an arson dog. Whether human or canine, the investigator is searching for evidence of any accelerant used. An accelerant is a chemical such as gasoline or charcoal starter fluid that can speed up the fire. Sometimes investigators find trailers – materials placed near the accelerant to spread the fire. A trailer may be a trail of the accelerant itself, or it may be a trail of gasoline-soaked towels, long twists of newspaper, or gunpowder. Investigators also search for an ignition – something such as a match or lit cigarette that may have been used to ignite the fire.

In NIGHT ON FIRE, investigators discover all of the above, and all of it points to Kevin Corvelli’s client, a stunning but troubled young newlywed named Erin Simms. Erin’s new husband died in the fire. Erin had both motive and opportunity to kill him…and she has a history of setting fires.

In researching arson investigation for NIGHT ON FIRE, I found the following books helpful: Practical Fire and Arson Investigation, Second Edition by David R. Redsicker and John J. O’Connor (CRC Press 1997); Explosives and Arson Investigation by Jean Otto Ford (Mason Crest 2006); Arson by Gail B. Stewart (Thomson Gale 2006); Heat: Fire CSI and the War on Arson and Murder by Peter Michaels (Adrenaline Classics 2003); and Arson Investigation: The Step-by-Step Procedure, Second Edition by Thomas J. Bouquard (Charles C. Thomas 2004).

*      *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

DOUGLAS CORLEONE is the author of the Kevin Corvelli crime series published by St. Martin's Minotaur.  His debut novel ONE MAN'S PARADISE won the 2009 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award.  A former New York City criminal defense attorney, Douglas Corleone now resides in the Hawaiian Islands with his wife and son.  NIGHT ON FIRE is his second novel.

You can find NIGHT ON FIRE at your local bookstore or through Amazon.com (find a buying link here). You can read more about Douglas Corleone and this award-winning crime series at http://www.douglascorleone.com.