Brash Blog

Big Ideas and Big Names in suspense from Brash Books

Get the big ideas from the biggest names in suspense on the Brash Books blog. Here, you'll find posts by some of your favorite mystery authors sharing their views on crime fiction - along with inside stories about everything from how they wrote their bestselling thrillers to what inspires them.

You'll also hear from experts in the mystery and suspense genre, along with fans, publishing insiders, and of course, Brash Books. Posts will range from informative to controversial - but you can bet every one will be a compelling read. This is your destination to explore great crime fiction writing - past, present and future - from the authors, readers, and publishers who keep it alive.

There’s No Such Thing as Noir Lite

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Not so long ago, I did something I really didn’t want to do: I watched the movie Precious.  Lord knows I’d tried to avoid it; critical acclaim or no, any film about a poor, obese, teenage black girl growing up as the live-in slave of an equally obese, abusive, welfare-queen mother has to be the cinematic equivalent of root canal surgery, right?  Why would I ever want to subject myself to that kind of misery? Well, surprise, surprise — the film was brilliant.  Well written, smartly directed, and performed by a cast of actors deserving of every accolade and award nomination it received.  In short, I’m glad I saw the movie. But yeah, sitting through it was a living... more

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The Story Behind MEMPHIS RIBS: “Give In, Abandon All Hope and Have A Good Time”

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Author Gerald Duff shares the story behind the writing of his novel Memphis Ribs, which Entertainment Weekly calls 'A tangy tale of murder, gang warfare, crack cocaine, and barbecue.' As far as we're concerned, that's a winning combination! The book is available for pre-order and will be released on May 5, 2015 When I wrote my novel Memphis Ribs, I did it for the same reason that all writers take up a task that lasts so long and uses up so much electricity. I was mesmerized by the topic, in this case my trying to understand the essence of the Bluff City where I had come to live for a spell. And it was a spell, because that’s what Memphis casts upon those who come to live with... more

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Double Down on Waverly

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Novelist James L. Thane, author of No Place to Die and Until Death, shares his fondness for Tom Kakonis' thriller Double Down. This is the second book in Tom Kakonis's excellent short series featuring Timothy Waverly, a professional gambler whose business card wryly describes him as an "Applied Probabilities Analyst."The end of the first book, Michigan Roll, found Waverly in a world of hurt after he accidentally stumbled into a drug deal that went bad. When all was said and done, $500,000 worth of drugs wound up destroyed. The drugs belonged to a crime boss named Gunter Dietz who blames Waverly for the loss of the drugs and who expects to be repaid. Waverly and his best friend and... more

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The Killer Opening Line: Every Great Book Needs One

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Constructing the page-turning novel is one great attention grabbing opening line followed by another great sentence, forming a great attention grabbing opening paragraph, followed by series of great paragraphs, forming an outstanding first chapter, succeeded by several great can’t-stop-reading Chapters leading to an engrossing plot peopled by living, breathing, interesting characters in dire situations who forge ahead courageously against all odds to an “Oh my God” hold-your-breath climax and resolved by a satisfying ending leaving the reader emotionally drained and ready to buy your next book. Thus, you have completed the great American novel. Sound easy? In the immortal words... more

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A Man’s Got to Know His Limitations

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Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk? Because you should. You're lucky because you're about to get some great writing advice courtesy of Dirty Harry and Gar Anthony Haywood, the author of Man Eater and Firecracker, both published by Brash Books.  Most people think that... "Go Ahead, Make My Day" . . . is the greatest line Inspector Harry Callahan of the San Francisco Police Department ever uttered. But I beg to differ. Clint Eastwood has snarled a lot a memorable things over the course of the five films in which he’s played the iconic Dirty Harry (DIRTY HARRY, MAGNUM FORCE, THE ENFORCER, SUDDEN IMPACT and THE DEAD POOL), but in my opinion, as meaningful snippets of film... more

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Building the Too-Perfect Protagonist

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One of the questions we writers get all the time is: “Is your protagonist you?“ I’ve heard a lot of different answers to this question, some long and some short, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone just come out and say what we all know to be true: “Of course he is!” Because really, is there ever any doubt?  Why create a heroic character — especially one who triumphs in the end — if you can’t live vicariously through him?  And how can you live vicariously through a character who’s totally removed from yourself? Has anyone ever read a Charlie Fox thriller and not seen Zoë Sharp herself doing all that ass-kicking? I didn’t think so. Sure,... more

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