He was not unusual because he had a man. In those days every boy had a man or wanted one. He was not unusual because he had a man that talked. With the boom in mining and the approaching war, they were breeding more talking mans, and many boys—at least those born to well-to-do families—had […]
So, what exactly is “noir”? You had to define it to anthologize it… Noir writing looks at life from the point of view of bad girls and bad guys. Its territory is crime, sometimes from the perspective of the police and other kinds of investigators, but more often from the perspective of criminals and lowlifes. […]
July 2, 1987: The Morning After Because I’m wearing all my clothes, and because the bay is choppy, I pretend I’m trapped in a giant washing machine. Sun pecks the back of my neck, warming me through the glass. My legs bob up and down. It’s a light spin cycle, the setting for silk blouses, […]
“Wingshooters is a book that I could not put down. Michelle LeBeau, the protagonist, is a memorable creation that stands very comfortably alongside Harper Lee’s Scout Finch. Wingshooters will be one of my staff recommends at City Lights.” —Paul Yamazaki, City Lights Bookstore (San Francisco, CA) “An abandoned young girl narrates this tale of spiritual […]
Extreme Sweets The dog wakes up from a dream at the same time I do. His whimpering wakes me, so I pet his nose to calm him. We were both dreaming about cats. I dreamed that my cat had six kittens, each one a color of the rainbow. The purple one was pastel, the same […]
Chapter 1 The C-130 gained altitude out of Honduras so suddenly that the soldiers reeled in the seats where they sat facing each other in long rows. They vomited bile into MRE ration bags. They swallowed plug tobacco and doubled over, coughing dryly. Their jungle fatigues were kneeless and sweat black and without crotches. PFC […]
Where did the idea for Wall Street Noir come from? The idea for Wall Street Noir grew out of a view I’ve long held—based on nearly twenty years of working there—that Wall Street is actually quite a noir-ish place, a social crucible that is much more Jim Thompson than Warren Buffet. This runs contrary to […]
(Lethe, South Dakota) Lethe, South Dakota. Not much to it. Not much more than a wide place at the end of an off-ramp—a frozen, flinty afterthought to the interstate, just right for gassing up, taking a leak, and heading off again. Not much to see besides the filling station and the quick-mart, the Sunset Motor […]