Well, actually he’s gone, in the fictional sense (as you’ll see when you read it), but HERBIE’S GAME, the fourth Junior Bender escapade, will come out Tuesday, July 15, in living color — aubergine, to be specific.
This eggplant masterpiece of a cover is (like the others in the series) the work of the wonderful Katherine Grames. The quote is by one of my favorite writers, Bruce DeSilva, and it’s high, high praise for someone who thinks Chandler trailed rainbows behind him, grumpy though he might have been, and I thank you, Bruce.
I think this is my pet in the series so far, although I’m REALLY liking the fifth, KING MAYBE, as I write it. Of course, I’m still early in the story, when there’s no such thing as a mistake, so ask me in a month or two. Nothing in the world is easier than beginning a novel, and I know few things more difficult than finishing one.
And speaking of finishing one, the 2015 Poke Rafferty, THE HOT COUNTRIES, has moved from my “to-do†list to my “to improve†list. At 110,000 words it’s definitely overweight and possibly overwrought, but it’s my baby and it has all its fingers and toes (perhaps a few too many of each) and I love it anyway.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the people at Soho Crime, especially Juliet Grames, Paul Oliver, Bronwen Hruska, Amara Hoshijo, Rachel Kowal, and Abby Koski, for their infinite patience and the pains they take with my stuff. I’ve worked with a lot of publishers, and Soho is top of the list, with a big blank space between them and number two. And since they apparently had too much of me yet, they’ll also be releasing the sixth Poke, FOR THE DEAD, this coming November Here’s a peek — another killer cover.
Hope you like HERBIE’S GAME, wherever you get it
July 14th, 2014 at 6:58 am
“Herbie’s Game” is so-so from Soho. So-so Hallinan, that is. So-so good, that is. So-so damn fine, that is, that I’m not sure how you keep managing to clear that bar that you keep raising! I’d say you’re writing at your peak, except it seems that you’re surrounded by peaks with nowhere to go but up. And you keep going up. Let’s see, are there any more metaphors I can mix into this broth?
July 16th, 2014 at 1:03 pm
Started it on the flight from UK to Cyprus today – struggled to keep my hands off it since July 15th. Damned annoyed when we landed.
July 17th, 2014 at 8:26 am
Thank you, Shannon. It’s always frustrating when real life interferes with reading. Of course, you’re in Cyprus, so that should ease the pain. Let me know what you think of the ending.
July 17th, 2014 at 8:29 am
I think of them as So-ho-ho, Everett. They generously fill my stockings with candy and dates, which make my shoes kind of sticky, and it was actually an irritation (before I got used to it) to have to hunt for my socks every day. Now I know just to go straight to the mantle and then the refrigerator to store the evening’s perishables. But I love Soho, and I’m so-ho-ho glad you liked the book.
July 17th, 2014 at 11:34 am
Apart from a nightmarish appointment with the dentist, my day was given over to finishing Herbie’s Game. What can I say? Loved it is such an overworked phrase. But I did. I like that Junior has ambiguous goodness or as you say decency. The females in his life are beautifully drawn and as with the Poke Rafferty character, it pleases me that you write about real love and affection – not the wham bam fleeting sort or the cheesy sort but the deep and dare I say it mature enduring sort. For me your books- their plots are mechanisms to enjoy the array of characters – returning and walk-ons. More than any recent writer I’ve read, your style opens doors in mine. Thanks.
July 17th, 2014 at 12:14 pm
Oh by the way – try Gin Wigmore – Gravel and Wine – she’s a New Zealand singer.
July 25th, 2014 at 11:50 am
Will do, Shannon, and thanks for the tip.