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Daniel Woodrell Books - Writer Woodrell Profile - Esquire

Daniel Woodrell Books - Writer Woodrell Profile - Esquire

Newest Discovery & Random Thoughts 12/08/10

This has been a year of terrific discoveries for me in the world of books. First I came across John Rector and "The Cold Kiss", Benjamin Whitmer and "Pike", John Verdon "Think Of A Number", and Chris Offutt's "No Heroes" and "The Good Brother". All terrific books and authors I will anxiously look forward to reading more of in the future. However, I am amazed that I had never read or heard of Blake Crouch. How did this oversight occur and why hasn't anyone I know been raving about this guy. Maybe I wasn't talking to the right people. I picked up Blake's debut novel "Desert Places" and the followup "Locked Doors" , at Murder and Mayhem and even introduced myself to Blake while I was there. It was Reed Farrel Coleman's recommendation that really did the trick and man am I ever grateful. I cannot wait to do a interview with Blake because I have alot of questions for him. The two Andrew Thomas books I mentioned previously read like lightening, & I couldn't and wouldn't put them down. My only disappointment was as I got closer and closer to the end of the second book, I didn't want it to end. These books really should be read back to back and they really read that way. After I finished "Desert Places", I immediately started reading "Locked Doors" and it felt like I had just paused and started the next chapter. I'd love to know if Blake wrote them as one book and then split them into two for publishing purposes. There are page turners and then there are "PAGE TURNERS". These books are well written and though some of the characters are serial killers and are truly evil people who do horrible things, he never gets too graphic in the kills or methods used. However, don't think for one second that these books aren't thrillers, they are downright scary, and you may think twice about settling in for your nice safe slumber next time. The Kite family can be summed up in 3 words "THE DEVILS REJECTS". My advise is to seek these two books out now, go over to your favorite independent mystery stores website or e-bay and purchase them both and read them in order..#1 Desert Places #2 Locked Doors and read them back to back. If you do as I ask you'll thank me later and I promise you a helluva ride.


RANDOM THOUGHTS: The next time your searching the web, go over to Mulholland Books and read Daniel Woodrell's newest non fiction piece posted there. It's outstanding and gives you some real insight to Mr. Woodrell's world that he so elegantly writes about in his books. Also, make sure you pick up the December issue of Esquire and flip to page 157 for a much overdue shout out to Daniel Woodrell. It looks like were not going to be able to keep him as our little secret much longer. It seems to me that William Gay can't be far behind and is equally deserving.

I was glad to see my buddies Jed Ayres and Scott Phillips made it to Fayetteville, Ar. recently to hear Tom Franklin read from "Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter". Envious, jealous, but happy nonetheless, and thank God Jed has finally seen the light to the MECCA of the southern Gothic world, Oxford,Ms. You must go & you must take me with you. The folks at Square Books are just unbelievable nice folk & extremely well read and well versed and did I mention it's the home, or has been home, to Tom Franklin, Jack Pendarvis, Barry Hannah, Larry Brown, Willie Morris, John Brandon, Ace Atkins, John Grisham, Beth Ann Fennally, and some guy named William Faulkner. Oh, and you never know who will be there, actress Joey Lauren Adams of "Chasing Amy" calls it her home and just the other day singer Tom Waits was there. After you leave Oxford head over to Clarksville and Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" where he made a deal with the devil, and you might run into Morgan Freeman at the "Ground Zero Blues Club".
Whatever you do when you head down to the Delta, don't overlook a couple other really cool towns like Greenwood and Jackson.
Greenwood is home to a couple icons, Lusco's Restraunt (present since prohibition days) and the beautiful 5 Star Hotel "The Alluvian". Nearby is Turnrow Books, owned by Jaime Korngay and is a must see when in Greenwood. If you have a couple extra days on your visit, head south to Jackson.Ms and check out Lemuria Books "the jewel of Southern Ms." and spend some time with John whose a treasure trove of literary tales. If you can't tell that I'm passionate about Mississippi..then you ain't listening!

My new passion in the book collecting world is an overlooked writer from the 20's, JIM TULLY, who screams out to be rediscovered. Wait till after Christmas (so I can buy all my copies) and then track down "Circus Parade", Tully's work based on his days working the circus and carnival freak show circuit's.

Hunt down the magazine "COWBOY WAY" and read an enlightening story by one of the best living folk singer's Tom Russell on author & illustrator Tom Lea. Tom Lea lived in El Paso near Tom Russell and the two legends come together for one memorable day. Tom Lea is one of the true greats when it comes to illustrating the western way of life and penned the classic novel on bull fighting "The Brave Bulls".

Benjamin Whitmer's debut novel "PIKE"

I recently heard my buddy Jed Ayres of "Hardboiled Wonderland" raving about a book he'd just read called "Pike". Well, I just finished up Benjamin Whitmer's debut novel, and the praise was warranted. The book was published by PM Press & Ben was nice enough to have them send me a copy. It may be a bit strong for those who love cozies, because there is nothing comfortable about "Pike". It is in your face, gritty, honest,and it revels in a world few dare to tread. Whitmer takes us on a journey through Hell and back (Cincinnati in fact) and exposes the underworld of dirty cops, drug addicts, prostitutes, and characters you'll love that aren't real like able. The book explores a hard world inhabited by even harder people. "This book is for those who like their Noir straight up, not stirred". I can't wait to see what Mr. Whitmer has for us next. I'll be keeping a close on Benjamin and PM Press.

Muder & Mayhem in Muskego

What a weekend!! This was our first Murder and Mayhem in Muskego and we had a blast. The panels were interesting and it was great to see some of my favorite people again, but it's funny how the best part of these events is always the before and after, and the conversations on the side. After driving 6 hours to get there I was pumped to visit Mystery One Books, only to find a "Closed" sign hanging on the door due to working the meet & greet at Muskego. I was kinda bummed but things bounced back shortly after running into Reed Farrel Coleman, Victor Gischler, Sean Doolittle, Daniel Judson, Jeff Abbott, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Jen Forbus and her friend Judy in the bar at the Iron Horse Hotel. It was great visiting and catching up with old friends and making new ones. Judy & Jen.. sorry about the mix up at breakfast (our apologies), and Judy you can see already I'm terrible with punctuation as well. Ha One of the great things overall was discovering two new writers that I came away excited about, ( BLAKE CROUCH & HENRY PEREZ ). Before I forget, if you ever find yourself in Milwaukee and don't know where to stay, check out the beautiful IRON HORSE HOTEL located in downtown Milwaukee. It is just stunning! My wife and I caught a film on pay for view in our room that was...unforgettable. It's called "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia", a documentary and I first heard about it on a tip from Jed Ayres,(thanks Jed). If you like southern goth & outlandish behavior then this film is for you. If you're a fan of Hank Williams III then you won't want to miss it as well. Saturday got off to a great start with a wonderful breakfast at the hotel with two of my favorite people, Scott Phillips and Reed Farrel Coleman. On the drive out to Muskego, we had an unusual experience when we stopped at a gas station to get directions & use the restroom and the owner tried to charge my wife 24.95 for a map of Muskego (which was free). He also didn't know where the library was ( 2 blocks away from him on the same road by the way) oh & the map did advertise for a 24.95 dollar oil exchange on the back...so it's easy to see how how he got confused. They probably never need to know how to give directions or read a map in the Middle East. That was interesting but the funniest thing that happened over the weekend was the show of effection Christa Faust's dog "BUTCH" had for Tom Schreck's stuffed beagle. I published the clean version (foreplay) at the top of this story, but if you want the rest of the story you gotta contact Christa for her photo. Let's just say Tom may wanna pick up a new version as this one got ravaged pretty good. It was great seeing Sean Chercover and hearing we're very close to seeing his next novel coming out and visiting with Michael Lister,( a great guy by the way ) and hearing that "Double Exposure" is going to be made into a film. That is very good news as "Double Exposure" was my favorite read of 2009. It was great to see Anthony Neil Smith, Chelsea Cain, Victor Gischler and Sean Doolittle again as well. Sean Doolittle needs to be doing audio books, he has a great voice for it and the guy is super smart as well. If there is a funnier writer out there than Victor Gischler, I haven't met him. Scott & Christa did a terrific job on their panel and kept the 50 & over group awake and on their toes. We had a event free trip home but we did enjoy our stop in Kenosha,Wi. at the MARS CHEESE CASTLE..it made me homesick for Wisconsin. I found the tollway on 294 interesting, pay the toll, don't pay the toll..your choice, quite interesting, and I missed all that downtown Chicago traffic. Good ending to a great weekend.

Dreams Do Come True...meeting William Gay 11/7/10

As I boy I grew idolizing professional athletes like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Johnny Bench and Reggie Jackson. I grew out of that phase, but I have to admit even at 45, I am still star struck by a couple of my favorite authors such as Cormac McCarthy, Daniel Woodrell, William Gay, and Ken Bruen. I have been waiting to meet William for about 5 years now and had several close calls in the past with no success. There was a time I ran into Tom Franklin in Oxford,Ms. and we were in a discussion on William when Tom pulled out his cell phone, and says lets call him. Unfortunately,.. William never picked up. So, I waited patiently for William to make a public appearance for a book signing, but his new novel, "The Lost Country" has been held up for several years now. Then it finally happened, William was gonna be at The Southern Festival of Books & at Landmark Books in Franklin, Tn. I called up my friends and family and made plans and everything was set. On the day before he was scheduled to appear I got a call from Jed Ayres with the news William had cancelled both appearances due to his health. I can't begin to tell you how bummed I was at that moment. HOWEVER, the good news is William has made a full recovery, is feeling much better and rescheduled his signing at Landmark Books for Nov. 7th and it went off without a hitch. I was walking out of the bookstore following Madison Smart Bell's reading and book signing earlier that day, and I walk right into William Gay leaning against a car smoking a cigarette and it rendered me speechless, and for those of you who know me, that's quite an accomplishment. I soon recovered, and literally had one of the great evenings of my life. Sonny Brewer talked about how the book came about in the first place, ( an inspiration from John, the owner of LeMuria Books in Jackson,Ms.) which was pretty cool because I had just spent a couple hours in John's office this summer listening to tales of William Gay and other southern authors who had stopped in over the years. Then William pulled out his reading glasses and read his entire story from "Don't Quit Your Day Job". The packed crowd was delighted & the entire story was witty and quite amusing. William Gay has a wonderful talent for story telling and being able to find humor in himself and those around him. Sonny Brewer has put together quite the collection of authors here including many of my personal favorites such as Larry Brown, Pat Conroy, Tom Franklin, John Grisham, Silas House, Daniel Wallace and of course William Gay. Chris Gay, Williams son, also wooed the crowd with his talent as a musician. Check out the previous story to find out more on Chris. Following the reading's William hung around and signed books and spent quite abit of time in conversation with those lucky enough to be there for this occasion. I was thrilled that in the middle of telling William about an exciting new talented author who had admired his work, William says " would he like for me to blurb his book"...do bears #@%!* in the woods. Oh my goodness, I couldn't wait to get home & tell the author of the offer. I hope it works out! William also spent time sharing his thoughts on meeting Hal Holbrook,and his books being made into film (Bloodsworth & That Evening Sun) and just as I was asking him about "The Long Home" & the screenplay that Scott Phillips & Jed Ayres had done, we were interrupted by a young lady needing her books signed. I certainly understood the urgency and I forgave her but I sure would have liked to have heard the answer. The evening was everything I dreamed of and could have hoped for. William Gay is one of the nicest & coolest authors I've run across and I hope he enjoys the bottle of homemade rhubarb wine I took him..it's good stuff!

Chris Gay...Superstar in waiting !!

I wanted to give everyone a heads up on a terrific musician I stumbled across that you may not have heard of yet, but I believe you will down the road. His name is Chris Gay, and he's the son of the very talented writer William Gay. I went down to Landmark Books in Franklin,Tn. on Nov. 7th for William Gay & Sonny Brewer's book signing for "Don't Quit Your Day Job". Well Chris came along & brought his guitar and really made quite the impression. Chris performed 4 songs he had written, starting with, "Go Crazy,Quietly" and "Lordy Elvis", before taking a request from his Father, "Statesboro Blues" and a request from Sonny, "Throw a Rock in the Road". Chris is a very talented musician & has recently recorded 3 songs in a studio in Nashville,Tn. and we'll be awaiting word on there availability. I talked with Chris afterwards and he's a heck of a nice guy, who's cut his teeth on his father's & Larry Brown's literature. I had a great time visiting with him and I hope to do a follow up interview with Chris very soon.