...to it's very own domain name:
http://www.detroitnoir.com/
Please update your bookmarks.
Thanks,
E.J .Olsen
John C. Hocking
10.19.2007
9.28.2007
Q&A with Detroit Noir contributor Joe Boland
Joe Boland was born in Detroit, and has lived and worked in the area his entire life. He is currently writing a crime novel.
Stoner had a bad feeling: He knew exactly what Hawkins was getting at.
"I'm serious. You look like a cop to me."
"That's just the uniforms, in the dark."
"That's what I'm saying." Hawkins dragged on his smoke. "I think we oughta take a little walk around, see what we can do."
"Man, what are you talking about?"
"We wouldn't have to be good cops, dude," he said, grinning now. "That's what I'm talking about."
--From "The Night Watchman Is Asleep." by Joe Boland
Stoner had a bad feeling: He knew exactly what Hawkins was getting at.
"I'm serious. You look like a cop to me."
"That's just the uniforms, in the dark."
"That's what I'm saying." Hawkins dragged on his smoke. "I think we oughta take a little walk around, see what we can do."
"Man, what are you talking about?"
"We wouldn't have to be good cops, dude," he said, grinning now. "That's what I'm talking about."
--From "The Night Watchman Is Asleep." by Joe Boland
What is it like to write about
Growing up around here, and being a big reader and a fan of crime fiction, made it harder, if anything. Loren Estleman, Elmore Leonard, Tom Kakonis – they really nailed down
Have you written other fiction set in
No. “The Night Watchman Is Asleep” is my first published story.
What attracts you to the (broadly-defined) Noir style?
Like anyone else, I grew up reading stories with heroes, and that’s what my lizard brain still expects whenever I crack open a book. Noir is a sucker punch every time. The protagonist always winds up less than heroic, to put it mildly, and you always feel implicated in the bad stuff that happens. There’s always a point where I think: That light at the end of the tunnel is a train; you should put this book down and walk away…but I never do. I love that feeling. It’s cathartic in the worst way. It’s a let’s-drink-up-the-rent-money feeling. It’s a great corrective to the insipid lengths
Is your story based on, or overtly influenced by, actual events?
The bit about posing as cops to rob people: I’m sure it happens in a lot of big cities, but it seems to happen regularly in
If you could write anything and see it published, what would it be?
I’d like to see the novel I’m working on published. It’s crime fiction.
Is there any particular effect you want your writing to have on the reader? Why?
I’ll often sit down to read with the television on, and music on the stereo, and the next time I lift my head out of the book the ball game’s long over and I can’t recall what album was playing. I want to have that effect on a reader. Anything beyond that is gravy.
Please tell us an author you admire whose work isn't as well known as it should be.
The novel that really grabbed me this year was The Art of Losing by Keith Dixon. It has a lot of familiar noir elements, but takes them new places, and it gave me a case of the deep Catholic jitters.
What’s the second-best book in the Akashic Noir series?
Dublin Noir is just brutal.
The White Stripes. Get well soon, Meg.
9.22.2007
Detroit Noir mentioned on The Rap Sheet
Detroit Noir got another plug over on The Rap Sheet:
http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2007/09/war-and-police.html
(about 2/3 down the page)
Here's the text:
... Akashic Books’ growing series of “Noir” short-story anthologies continues to demonstrate its strength, with Glenn Harper of the nicely redesigned blog International Noir Fiction, celebrating the new publication of Havana Noir, edited by Achy Obejas, “the first [book in this series] based on a non-Anglo culture.” I’m looking forward, as well, to Detroit Noir, due out in November and edited by E.J. Olsen [and John C. Hocking] ...
We've been huge fans of the Akashic Noir series since its inception, and we feel it's just getting better and better. We're looking forward to Havana Noir ourselves, but really, any of the books in the series are a good bet. Please go buy them now.
- EJO, JCH
http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2007/09/war-and-police.html
(about 2/3 down the page)
Here's the text:
... Akashic Books’ growing series of “Noir” short-story anthologies continues to demonstrate its strength, with Glenn Harper of the nicely redesigned blog International Noir Fiction, celebrating the new publication of Havana Noir, edited by Achy Obejas, “the first [book in this series] based on a non-Anglo culture.” I’m looking forward, as well, to Detroit Noir, due out in November and edited by E.J. Olsen [and John C. Hocking] ...
We've been huge fans of the Akashic Noir series since its inception, and we feel it's just getting better and better. We're looking forward to Havana Noir ourselves, but really, any of the books in the series are a good bet. Please go buy them now.
- EJO, JCH
Publishers Weekly review
Detroit Noir got a nice review at Publishers Weekly (wk. of 9/24/07):
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6480269.html?
(about halfway down the page)
As link URLs are sometimes temporary, here's the text of the review:
Detroit Noir
Edited by E.J. Olsen and John C. Hocking.
Akashic, $14.95 paper (300p) ISBN 978-1-933354-39-2
While the many fans of Akashic's consistently high-quality series might have expected the Motor City to be tapped sooner (maybe before the Twin Cities), they will find the delay well worth the wait. Few cities are as well suited to the genre as Detroit, with its embattled inner city and history of urban decline and blight, and the editors have assembled a talented lineup to do it justice with 16 original short stories. The always superb Loren D. Estleman starts the anthology off on a high note with his spare hard-boiled whodunit short, “Kill the Cat.” The constantly simmering background threat of violence informs two very different but equally accomplished tales: Joyce Carol Oates's “Panic” and Detroit Free Press columnist Desiree Cooper's “Night Coming.” The editors also include some well-done period pieces, like the 1950s-era “The Coffee Break” by Detroit News business editor Melissa Preddy, and their discerning selections maintain Akashic's excellent track record. (Nov.)
As editors, we are fans of all the stories within Detroit Noir, but it was nice to see several contributors singled out for their efforts.
- EJO, JCH
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6480269.html?
(about halfway down the page)
As link URLs are sometimes temporary, here's the text of the review:
Detroit Noir
Edited by E.J. Olsen and John C. Hocking.
Akashic, $14.95 paper (300p) ISBN 978-1-933354-39-2
While the many fans of Akashic's consistently high-quality series might have expected the Motor City to be tapped sooner (maybe before the Twin Cities), they will find the delay well worth the wait. Few cities are as well suited to the genre as Detroit, with its embattled inner city and history of urban decline and blight, and the editors have assembled a talented lineup to do it justice with 16 original short stories. The always superb Loren D. Estleman starts the anthology off on a high note with his spare hard-boiled whodunit short, “Kill the Cat.” The constantly simmering background threat of violence informs two very different but equally accomplished tales: Joyce Carol Oates's “Panic” and Detroit Free Press columnist Desiree Cooper's “Night Coming.” The editors also include some well-done period pieces, like the 1950s-era “The Coffee Break” by Detroit News business editor Melissa Preddy, and their discerning selections maintain Akashic's excellent track record. (Nov.)
As editors, we are fans of all the stories within Detroit Noir, but it was nice to see several contributors singled out for their efforts.
- EJO, JCH
9.17.2007
Welcome to Detroit Noir
We, the editors of Detroit Noir, welcome you to our site.
Detroit Noir is the latest in the Akashic Books Noir Series and is due to hit bookstores in late October/early November.
Launched by the summer '04 award-winning, best-seller, Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies. Each book is comprised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.
In the coming weeks, we'll be posting excerpts from the stories in Detroit Noir, as well as short interviews with the contributors.
You'll also see updated information about Detroit Noir author events happening all over the Metro area during November and December.
We hope you'll have as much fun reading Detroit Noir as we did putting it together, and we hope to meet you at one of our events this coming fall.
E.J. Olsen
John C. Hocking
Editors, Detroit Noir
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