Norman Green

BASICS

First person or third?

I’ve done both.  There’s plenty of reasons to choose a point of view.  If I write in first person it limits my story somewhat, because the bulk of the story needs to be seen through one set of eyes. There are ways around that but they can make the flow kind of lumpy and I hate that, I don’t like to have to stop and think, ‘oh yeah, we’re doing this now.  I like smooth, like your grandmother’s gravy.

The Phillies have a pitcher named Bastardo.  You gotta be kidding me.

Third person, I’m omnipotent, I see all, know all, I can choose every character’s inner dialogue…  I always need to be careful when I’m writing third person.  Too many points of view, you lose immediacy, you run the risk of confusing your audience.  Easier to write, maybe, at least for me, but I think I am too easily tempted to wander when I write third person. There is something to be said for a meandering story line but I think I probably write better stuff when I have a stronger focus.

Okay, next, who’s the protagonist?  A crook?  I like crooks, I sure have met plenty of them and I bet you have too.  I think I do crooks pretty well, and my fascination with bad guys goes way back.  I remember reading ‘Robin Hood’ when I was a little kid. ‘A rush light, which costeth nothing but a groat…’ Funny, the useless things my brain hangs onto.  I do recall being curious enough to go to the dictionary to find out what a ‘groat’ was.

In olde England, a coin of little value.  Like a nickel, say.

Okay, next, what’s the story?

Yeah, well, that is the question.  I already know the theme, which is not the same thing at all, the theme is more general and ethereal and having a nice grasp on it is not as helpful as having the bones of the story fixed in your head.  I usually start in working before I have much of an idea where I’m going and I always wonder, at this stage, if I wouldn’t be better served if I could have a bit more patience and try to map out in some detail where I would like to go. I have never been successful at it, but I am going to try, again.

ARGUMENTS WITH MYSELF

I am still on the fence.  I have not been able to decide what, or even if, I want to write next.

I know, nice problem to have.

However, if insanity, as the saying goes, can be defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, I might be nuts.  What good will it do to write the next chapter in the life of Alessandra Martillo if the resulting novel meets the same fate as the last one?  I must have blinked because I did not see a single copy of Sick Like That for sale in a bookstore anywhere.

Of late, I have been thinking about my goals as a writer, my reasons for doing what I do.  When I started out I wrote because it felt good, and if you had asked my my goal then I suppose the answer would have been ‘publication.’  Things have changed since then but I still write because it feels good.  If, however, I had to sum up my hopes for what I write next I really think my answer would have to be ‘readers,’ and if that is the case, in all honesty I have to admit that I haven’t been getting it done.  It is not news that the publishing industry is in a state of flux.  The old business model is on life support and we should probably start digging the hole.  Editors and agents have a harder time keeping the doors open, former bookstore owners are polishing their resumes, librarians are getting laid off in appalling numbers.  It is difficult to believe that we will read even less in the future than we do currently, but it seems certain that the process of getting stories from inside the author’s skull out to the public will look much different than it does now.

I am very lucky, I have a great day job which I love and it allows me the luxury of overlooking the financial aspects of publishing entirely, at least as they relate to me, so the question really boils down to, how do I reach more readers?  As technology changes, and changes us, maybe the process will become simpler, if not any easier.  Writers will always have to wrestle with empty pages whether real or virtual, they will always have to throttle their stories to coerce them into some legible and readable format.  I can’t see writing, at least for me, getting any easier.  And I’ve thought of simply posting my next novel somewhere so that anyone who cared to and owns a Kindle, I-Pad, smartphone or whatever can download it.  I’d leave payment to the honor system.  Send me two bucks after you download.

Or don’t.  See if I care.

Stephen King tried something like that once but he did it in chapters, with the proviso that if he didn’t get paid by a given percentage of downloaders he wouldn’t write the ending.  I don’t know how that worked out.  If I thought it would get me enough new readers I’d give it a try, but I see a few drawbacks.  First, I would hate to see the few remaining small bookstore owners cut out of the process.  They are people who, by and large, do what they do for the love of it and they’re already contending with Barnes and Noble, Borders, Amazon, et al, and I’d hate to add to their difficulties.  Second, editors, agents and publishers do perform necessary services both to writers and to the general public.  Perhaps their most important function is separating the wheat from the chaff.  When you pick up a book in a bookstore or library you can be reasonably optimistic that the writing therein will rise beyond a certain level of craftsmanship, although that is by no means guaranteed.  If you’re a fan of whatever form of celebri-doodling happens to be hot right not, a pox on you, you deserve what you get.  The point being, self-publishing, whether on the web or anywhere else, smacks of vanity press and I don’t want any part of that.  And third, if what I write now seems to be lost in the morass of the conventional publishing process, how could I avoid being lost in the on-line swamp?

Bottom line, I guess I will continue to write for that oldest of reasons, it feels good, and besides, it’s what I do.  Beyond that, if anybody has any ideas I’d be glad to hear them.

CrimeSpreeMag.com: Norman Green’s Sick Like That

SICK LIKE THAT (Minotaur) is a sequel to THE LAST GIG by Norm Green. We’ve been fans of Green since his first book and love this new series. PI Marty Stiles is out of action so Alessendra (Al0 and Sarah are in charge and end up working a case that involves Sarah’s ex husband. Great action and a wonderful story with great characters, if this was bowling, Green has just had a 300 game.

CrimeSpreeMag Book Reviews – Issue 35

Tags: crimespreemag.com

Library Journal: Sick Like That

Whether it is a sign of the times or just a plot device, mystery writers are showcasing how people can join forces to solve crimes and form relationships that go beyond the job. The individuals frequently differ from each other but find they can work well together in what becomes a familylike environment. Veronica Heley’s Bea Abbot (False Pretences) gathers a motley crew of various ages and backgrounds to solve whatever problems her clients want her to address, while two sets of odd couples—Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli’s Deputy Dolly and reporter Emily Kincaid (Dead Sleeping Shaman) and Norman Green’s PI Alessandra Martillo and receptionist Sarah Waters (Sick Like That)—team up to fight crime while building strong friendships.

Library Journal: Sick Like That Review

Tags: library journal, mystery, sick like that, teamwork

Norman Green mentioned on Publishers Weekly

In Green’s strong follow-up to 2009’s The Last Gig, Alessandra “Al” Martillo, who works for PI Marty Stiles, is only too glad to turn routine work over while Marty’s in rehab, recovering from a gunshot wound, to new gal and fellow Brooklynite, Sarah Waters. While Sarah tries to locate the estranged stepson of a wealthy client, Al attempts to track Sarah’s ex-husband, Frank, who disappears after telling Sarah that his luck has changed thanks to a sweet new job that sounds too good to be true. Both cases morph in unexpected directions. Sarah must learn quickly if she’s to survive, and Al finds herself trading quips and blows with a variety of thugs and law enforcement officials, from NYPD detectives to unnamed and unidentified Feds. Clever plotting and solutions that require both clear thinking and fast action augment Green’s double dose of tough, resilient female characters.

Fiction Book Reviews: Publishers Weekly

Tags: publishers weekly, sick like that

New Mystery Reader Reviews Sick Like That

For a guy from Jersey, I seem to be able to get a pretty good Brooklyn voice in my written work, or so I’m told.

This is a take on the old-fashioned noir that will no doubt engage readers of every genre.  His ability to recreate realistic Brooklynese dialogue, his depictions of the seedier sides of NYC and its outskirts, and his creation of two of the most kick-ass females to come along in fiction in awhile will have fans clamoring for more.  And if you’re like me, you’ll be asking yourself, “Really, a man wrote this?” because Green is a man who seems to get the whole female psyche in a way that’s almost supernatural.  If not for the crazy veer that results in a Bruce Willis type of movie ending, this book would be just about perfect.  As it is, though, it’s close enough to make this one of the better reads this year.

Sick Like That Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader

Tags: new mystery reader, sick like that, stephanie padilla