Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Daily Beast - and Tour Schedule
First big review for Trust No One!
The kick-off party in LA last night was terrific. I'm heading off now to San Diego, NY, Boston, and the Bay Area. Hope to see some of you along the way.
The kick-off party in LA last night was terrific. I'm heading off now to San Diego, NY, Boston, and the Bay Area. Hope to see some of you along the way.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Pop Culture Nerd
I know. Sounds like me. But it's also a terrific website. I recently did an interview there about Trust No One.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Vengeance of the Moon Knight
Marvel just announced that I'll be taking over Moon Knight. Terrific art by Jerome Opena - one of my favorites.
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090620-heroes-moon-night.html
http://www.comicbookresources.
http://marvel.com/news/comicstories.8475.Heroes_Con_~apos~09~colon~_Vengeance_of_Moon_Knight
Check the covers by Alex Ross and Leinil Francis Yu (guess which is Ross and which Yu).
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Call
In Graphic Novel Reporter, I talk about the morning I got the phone call from Marvel about writing The Punisher.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Marvel Exclusive
Marvel has just announced my comic-book exclusive with them, and I answered some questions about upcoming projects. Stay tuned for details!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Best Reader Email of All Time
Subject line: DO NO HARM saves reader's dog
Dear Mr. Hurwitz:
I got into your books just recently, I enjoy them immensely, yadda yadda yadda.
Last night, I was spraying ointment onto my Old English Bulldog, Maggie, to remedy her irritated skin. A stray squirt hit Maggie in the eye, putting her in dire straits. Luckily, I am in the middle of reading "Do No Harm," so I knew exactly what to do. I immediately grabbed my water bottle that I use to wet my hair, and proceeded to squirt fresh water into her eye for the next two minutes. Her eye was back to 100% soon after, thanks to the fact that I just happen to be a fan of yours. Thank you for saving Maggie's eye. As soon as I find a job and get back out of the financial hole I'm in, purchasing your latest book will be the first thing I do.
Take care,
Scott Awtrey
Dallas, TX
Dear Mr. Hurwitz:
I got into your books just recently, I enjoy them immensely, yadda yadda yadda.
Last night, I was spraying ointment onto my Old English Bulldog, Maggie, to remedy her irritated skin. A stray squirt hit Maggie in the eye, putting her in dire straits. Luckily, I am in the middle of reading "Do No Harm," so I knew exactly what to do. I immediately grabbed my water bottle that I use to wet my hair, and proceeded to squirt fresh water into her eye for the next two minutes. Her eye was back to 100% soon after, thanks to the fact that I just happen to be a fan of yours. Thank you for saving Maggie's eye. As soon as I find a job and get back out of the financial hole I'm in, purchasing your latest book will be the first thing I do.
Take care,
Scott Awtrey
Dallas, TX
Monday, June 08, 2009
"Back and Forth"
My short story, "Back and Forth," will be appearing in an anthology called UNCAGE ME, released July 24. It also features stories by Scott Phillips, Allan Guthrie, Christa Faust, Victor Gischler, J.A. Konrath, J.D. Rhoades, Declan Burke, Brian Azzarello, Steven Torres, Stewart Macbride, Simon Kernick, Patrick Bagley, Greg Bardsley, Stephen Blackmore, Tim Maleeny, Nick Stone, Martyn Waites, Talia Berliner, Maxim Jakubowski, Blake Crouch, and there's an introduction by John Connolly. The inestimably charming Jennifer Jordan edits....
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
On Genre and Respect
I got a very interesting email today from someone writing a PhD in the UK, asking me about garnering literary respect with "genre" fiction.
Here's what I wrote back:
When it comes to genre and respect, I like to rip off Oscar Wilde: "Books are well-written or badly written. That is all."
I am, at heart, a story guy and a structure slut. I studied Shakespeare, particularly the tragedies, because they are terrific thrillers. Macbeth - great mob tale. Hamlet: ghost story. Othello: pre-noir. Etc. Stateside, I love Faulkner - the corncob rape scene in Sanctuary? Need we say more about lurid classifications? I collect his paperbacks from the 50s for their great pulp covers. I enjoy terrific stories where I can find them, and one can find them in all sections of a bookstore. There's a lot of poorly written stuff as well, both "literary" and "commercial," the only distinction seeming to be that commercial crap actually makes the authors money (if you write in cliches, get published, and DON'T make money, well that's an even sadder state of affairs). I also like to point out that "commercial" writing extends across the boards; Updike did okay for himself. Dickens never had trouble paying the rent -- and his literary reputation has survived relatively well. James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice was the inspiration for Camus's The Stranger. When Gertrude Stein came to California, she only wanted to meet Dashiell Hammet (okay, Chaplin too, but that dilutes the anecdote).
I think crime fiction has replaced the social novel. I'd press someone to find a better practioner of the craft than, say, Poe or Chandler or Lethem or Lehane -- or to find someone who better reveals to us a city or a family or a moral conundrum.
But I find it's no use getting defensive - one can't really win arguing that he or she should be taken more seriously. Better to write as goddamned well as one can manage, and let people sort it out a couple hundred years hence.
Here's what I wrote back:
When it comes to genre and respect, I like to rip off Oscar Wilde: "Books are well-written or badly written. That is all."
I am, at heart, a story guy and a structure slut. I studied Shakespeare, particularly the tragedies, because they are terrific thrillers. Macbeth - great mob tale. Hamlet: ghost story. Othello: pre-noir. Etc. Stateside, I love Faulkner - the corncob rape scene in Sanctuary? Need we say more about lurid classifications? I collect his paperbacks from the 50s for their great pulp covers. I enjoy terrific stories where I can find them, and one can find them in all sections of a bookstore. There's a lot of poorly written stuff as well, both "literary" and "commercial," the only distinction seeming to be that commercial crap actually makes the authors money (if you write in cliches, get published, and DON'T make money, well that's an even sadder state of affairs). I also like to point out that "commercial" writing extends across the boards; Updike did okay for himself. Dickens never had trouble paying the rent -- and his literary reputation has survived relatively well. James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice was the inspiration for Camus's The Stranger. When Gertrude Stein came to California, she only wanted to meet Dashiell Hammet (okay, Chaplin too, but that dilutes the anecdote).
I think crime fiction has replaced the social novel. I'd press someone to find a better practioner of the craft than, say, Poe or Chandler or Lethem or Lehane -- or to find someone who better reveals to us a city or a family or a moral conundrum.
But I find it's no use getting defensive - one can't really win arguing that he or she should be taken more seriously. Better to write as goddamned well as one can manage, and let people sort it out a couple hundred years hence.
Monday, June 01, 2009
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