How to be a real Dick!


Mario here:

Jeanne is presently at ComicCon, no doubt checking out superhero packages. Research she calls it.







Mark your calendars! We're about to slay you with more Mucho Mojo entertainment and snark than you can possibly stand. Not once, but twice.

Uno! A tag-team of professional snarkologists--Nicole Peeler, Kimberly Frost, and our own Jeanne Stein--will pound your funny bone silly (I love when that happens!) on Thursday, Aug 4, 7-9pm, at Madwine Bar & Novo Coffee, Denver.

Dos! Before the wounds heal, get ready for a second bruising when Lizzie T. Leaf and Melissa Mayhue join the team to take you on mano-a-mano! Sunday, Aug 7, 4pm at the Broadway Book Mall, Denver.


And now, our Feature Presentation!

Our exclusive interview with the real-life PI duo of Colleen Collins

and Shaun Kaufman.

Thanks Colleen and Shaun for this interview.

Thank you for having us!

Tell us about your latest project and when can we expect it to hit the streets?

It’s a non-fiction ebook How to Write a Dick: A Guide for Writing Fictional Sleuths from a Couple of Real-Life Sleuths, which hit the virtual streets this month on Kindle and Nook. It is a compilation of our articles and suggestions to fiction writers writing sleuths, including examples from courses we've presented at regional and national writers' conferences. We also include dozens of writers’ questions, and our answers, about what a fictional sleuth might do in various scenarios.

What bugs you the most about reading PI fiction?

Colleen: When a fictional PI breaks the law and doesn’t seem to know or care. At least let me, the reader, know you’re committing a felony but that you’re doing it for a very good reason (to find a missing child, for example). It ups the stakes in the story when a PI is willing to break the law to do the right thing.

Shaun: Reading endless descriptions. We are conversation-driven in our work. Our jobs consist of talking to lawyers, clients, witnesses, police and other people about the case. I even have a dialogue with myself when I am alone in the field (and hear that dialogue in my head). I have read a lot of annoying PI literature that is not realistic because it consists of an author’s intellectual descriptive prose.

What true story or case would you like to fictionalize in a novel?

Two Tales of Self-Defense because the resolution of each made someone’s life better. One was set in the city, and another on an isolated ranch. The common thread between both was how hard we had to work to find exculpatory evidence. In our urban adventure, a young man was attacked by eight rival gang members. He stabbed two and claimed self-defense. No one would corroborate his story. He was charged with serious assault crimes. We handed out fliers and knocked on doors in a tough neighborhood in search of some anonymous witnesses (people didn’t want to come forward for fear of gang retaliation). Eventually, we found three neutral witnesses who we convinced to talk to us -- based on our interviews, the D.A. dismissed the case. In the second instance, out in the fields of eastern Colorado, our client was accused of shooting at some people who’d trespassed on his ranch. He claimed he fired warning shots away from the accusers; they claimed he tried to kill them. We spent hours with metal detectors on acres of barren ranchland before we found the bullets in a place that confirmed his story. The moral of the story: a PI has to work hard to get ahold of the truth.

Who are your favorite fiction PIs and why?

Colleen: Max Alan Collins, who knows how to craft page-turning hard-boiled stories. Lori Armstrong blows me away with her gritty, complex ex-sniper investigator-protagonist Mercy Gunderson. The unveiling of Reed Farrel Coleman’s PI character Moe Prager is as compelling as the storylines. Marcia Muller’s “first female detective” Sharon McCone for her tenacity and smarts. I could go on, but I’ll stop here.

What special powers (legal or supernatural) would you like to have as a PI?

Shaun: For all of our clients to pay full retainers.

Colleen: To be invisible!

What came first? Being a PI or being a writer?

Colleen: Writer, then PI.

Shaun: Lawyer, writer, PI.

What new writing projects are on the horizon?

We’re currently writing another book in our “dick” series: How to Be a Lawyer’s Dick: Legal Investigations 101. Might be our last dick book, not sure yet. Colleen’s fiction book The Zen Man (a contemporary tale of Nick and Nora) is making the rounds of agents.

You’ve got an impressive career as a writer. Where can we find some of your titles?

Colleen: I’ve written 20 novels, published by Harlequin (and one by Dorchester). If you look up “Colleen Collins” on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, they’re all there. Or most of them, anyway.

Shaun: The Colorado Department of Corrections.

Who are your favorite authors (or books)?

Shaun: Loren Estleman, Hunter S. Thompson.

Colleen: Jay McInerney, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Ken Bruen, Dennis Lehane, everybody I mentioned earlier, and many others…

What is your writing process? Pantser or plotter?

Colleen: Plotter. If Shaun wrote fiction, I’d put money on his being a pantser. Which in a way is how we handle investigations, too.

Do you get many “Aha!” moments for your writing? When do they usually happen and what do you do with this inspiration?

Colleen: Aha’s happen at any time. Because I don’t trust my memory, I grab anything available and jot down the idea.

One final question? If I’m paranoid that I’m being shadowed by a PI, what are some things I can do to cover my tracks?

Shaun: Walk or drive in the direction that you were going from when you noticed the tail.

Colleen: Look for (and toss) any GPS attachments under your vehicle. Take different routes in your daily routines. Drive a different vehicle. Dress differently (better yet, bring a change of clothes, hats and shoes with you so you can change on the fly). If you want to “one up” the PI, hire your own PI to track the PI and find out why you’re the subject of an investigation.

Thanks for the interview. Good luck gumshoeing!

Thank you, Mario, and Biting Edge! We enjoyed being your gumshoe guests.

Cheers!

Labels: Colleen Collins, ComicCon, Dicks, Private Detective, Shaun Kaufman

  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 10:56 AM  5 comments

  I think we ARE in Kansas... I know many of you live in CO-- what the fuck was that storm last night?????? I've never experienced an hour of solid thunder and lightening...not the flash, crack kind but the strobe-light-and-ground-shaking-earth-moving-never-letting-up kind. I love the rain and my lawn has never looked so good but last night was downright scary.

In other news...Mario did a very good job of recapping the Fox news thing-- my biggest complaint is that if this "researcher" had read either book, there is no way she could have confused them. In any case, it's over ...at least I think it is! I must admit, though, my new title, "Corrupter of the Youth of America", was kind of cool.

So, who's going to see Harry Potter the first night? Let's post a few reviews..I'm sure I won't see it until next week sometime (I'll be in San Diego for ComicCon) so I'm curious to hear what your reactions are.






And speaking of ComicCon, here are the details of my panel:

Thursday: 4:00-5:00 No Damsels in Distress Here— Female voices in sci-fi and fantasy create kick-ass heroines. Danger just might be these girls' middle name. But no amount of bad guys can keep these ladies from doing what's right. Whether standing up for friends and family, or just plain kicking some ass, these girls don't shy away from a fight. Damsels on the panel include Marie Lu (Legend), Kathy Reichs (Bones & Virals series), Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampires series), Jeanne Stein (The Anna Strong Chronicles), Merrie deStefano (Feast: Harvest of Dreams), Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville series), Seanan McGuire (The October Daye series), and Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark Hunter novels). Moderated by Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy. Room 25ABC

Should be fun. And the rest of the week is full of visiting and eating and sneaking in to see some of the panels. No Joss Whedon stalking this year. I've given that up. And James Marsters isn't attending so that's out, too. I did hear that Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford would be hosting a sneak preview of Cowboys and Aliens but since that means standing in line for four hours, I'll pass on that one, too.

Hmmm. I must be getting old.

Labels: CJ Lyons, ComicCon, Crossroads, Harry Potter, True Blood

  ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 2:09 PM  5 comments

  It's All About ME.... Well, not really. But the first part for sure so you can skip on down if you'd like. I won't mind...much.




Okay, first-- Book Chick City is doing a series called "Where Stories Are Made" and I'm the featured author this week! Hop on over for a peek at my inner sanctum. It was a fun piece to work on. In fact, you might want to bookmark this site because it's always full of fun things.



Second, July is Sci Fi/ Fantasy month over at Tor. One of my stories, The Ghost of Leadville, can be read for free here . Thanks to editor Heather Osborn for inviting me. Heather and I had some fun at RomCon this past weekend. I believe Mario will post pics on Monday.



Third, I heard from my editor that Chosen will have the largest initial print run of all my books so far...that's good news and bad news...Now the nail biting starts. I have to SELL all those books!!! Thanks to everyone who has preordered. That has a lot to do with how many books they decide to print and I appreciate your support.



And last but not least, next week is ComicCon in San Diego. I haven't had a chance to look over the entire program, but this panel jumped right out at me:

Thursday 3:30-4:30 Entertainment Weekly: The Visionaries— A discussion with geek gods J. J. Abrams (Star Trek) and Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) on the future of pop culture. EW presents an in-depth conversation with these two creative geniuses about how technology, gaming, and global culture are reshaping how we tell and consume stories on television, film and the web. Plus: Is the superhero movie waning, or is it on the cusp of reinvention? And what do they think the pop culture universe will look like a decade from now? Moderated by Jeff "Doc" Jensen. Hall H

Can you say WOW!!

And speaking of wow, here's my panel:

Saturday 12:00-1:00* Fang Girls and Fang Boys: The Popularity of Vampire Lit *
Authors of vampire fiction for young adults and adults discuss the appeal of their worlds and characters. Authors include: GOC *Charlaine Harris* (The Sookie Stackhouse Series), *Heather Brewer* (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod), *Rachel Caine* (The Morganville Vampires series), *Christopher Farnsworth* (*Blood Oath: The President’s Vampire*), *Chris Marie Green* (The Vampire Babylon series), *Richelle Mead* (The Vampire Academy series), and *Jeanne C. Stein*(The Anna Strong series). Moderator: *Brian Truitt*, Associate Editor | *USA** Weekend Magazine/USA Today* Room 7AB

What a line-up. I can hardly wait. If you'd like to peruse the entire schedule, go here .

I am going to miss my pal Kris Bochum this year, though. She and I had fun star gazing.

Okay--enough about me. How about some screen news?

These tidbits are from Shelf Awareness and Variety:

Television: All Signs of Death

Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, True Blood) will direct the pilot episode of All Signs of Death, which has been greenlighted by HBO. The project is based on Charlie Huston's novel The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death. Variety reported that Ball will also serve as executive producer and Huston is writing the screenplay for the pilot, with production set to begin during August in Los Angeles. No cast has been named thus far.

Movies: Vampire Academy

Don Murphy (Transformers) will team with Michael Preger (Village of the Damned) to produce a film version of Richelle Mead's six-part Vampire Academy series for young adult readers, Variety reported.

"The joy of these books is that in the wake of Twilight they offer a chance to create a movie franchise that guys will want to see as well as girls," Murphy said. "Michael and I plan on positioning the films as something both sexes will enjoy together, expanding the genre of sexy young vampires to a whole new audience. We are beginning discussions with studios immediately."

This is great news for pal Richelle Mead because the series was optioned once before by Fox TV and went nowhere. This time it sounds like it's a go. You can catch up with all of Richelle's news here .

And just for fun, a "Which one is right for you?" galley highlighting popular vampires. Guess who my choice is?



I know, I know, he's getting married. But I guess I'll forgive him that one little transgression...

Labels: Anna Strong, Book Chick City, ComicCon, Richelle Mead, Tor

  ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 6:12 AM  6 comments