The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit

Well, this is just ridiculous:

Detroit Noir contributor Michael Zadoorian, who just last month slapped the world around with his second novel, The Leisure Seeker, has a short-story collection, The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit, available today from Wayne State University Press.

Apparently, Zadoorian has decided to challenge fellow Detroit Noir contributor Joyce Carol Oates in some kind of Sheer Output Competition, or something...

(Michael wrote a new short story while I was typing the previous sentence.)

But, seriously...

Detroit's in the news much of late, but it's the same old story, snippets of Barry Gordy hits over footage of shuttered factories. Get the real news from Michael, a fine writer worthy of your attention.

Logrolling In Our Time

Fellow Detroit Noir contributor Michael Zadoorian is getting a lot of ink for his new novel, The Leisure Seeker. I haven't read it yet -- the subject matter is too close to my current life -- but you should pick it up immediately. The most recent rave is from the L.A. Times.

EVENT: Wednesday, Temperance, MI

I thought the Detroit Noir editors were kidding when they asked me to join them in temperance.

After a few moments of ugly confusion, though, we got things straightened out:

Detroit Noir editors John C. Hocking and E.J. Olsen, along with contributor Joe Boland, will be speaking at the Bedford Branch of the Monroe County Library.

The event takes place on Wednesday, October 22nd, and starts at 7 p.m.
We’ll talk about the book, Joe will read from his work, and we’ll take questions afterward.

We’ll also have books for sale, so please join us!

The Bedford Branch is located at 8575 Jackman Rd. in Temperance, MI.
Call the branch for more details at (734) 847-6747.

Detroit Noir: The Anniversary Tour

If you're the sort that likes to plan things out welllll in advance, mark your calendars now:

Detroit Noir event
Wed., October 22, 2008 7 pm
Monroe County Library - Bedford Branch
8575 Jackman Rd.
Temperance, MI
*Featuring editors E.J. Olsen and John C. Hocking, with other contributors TBD.

2008 Edgar Nominees

...This just in...(several weeks ago...).....

Detroit Noir contributor Megan Abbott scored an Edgar nomination for Best Paperback Original for her novel Queenpin, and Daniel Woodrell has been nominated for Best Short Story for "Uncle", which appears in the anthology A Hell of a Woman (edited by Megan.)

Susan Straight scored an Edgar nomination for Best Short Story for "The Golden Gopher" in Akashic Books' Los Angeles Noir.

Congratulations and best of luck, especially to Megan: Queenpin is brilliant, and more fun than should strictly be legal, but holy cow the PBO category is an embarassment of riches this year...

Reviewing The Evidence

E.J. and John pointed me to this review of Detroit Noir at reviewingtheevidence.com:

In November 2007, the town of Detroit, Michigan earned the dubious distinction in the 14th annual City Crime Rankings: Crime in Metropolitan America, published by CQ Press, of being considered the most dangerous city in America. There are a lot of stories that can be written and several good authors who know the Motor City backwards and forwards which is where Akashic Books come in. DETROIT NOIR is the latest entry in the publisher’s noir series and this one does not disappoint.
EJ Olsen and John C Hocking have collected a group of stories by authors and writers who are no strangers to the city. The book contributors are award-winning authors, business editors, and newspaper journalists. Each writer provides a unique view of the city from its most exclusive areas and suburbs all the way through its major thoroughfares. The characters come from all walks of life. Some are victims of circumstance, the others are the victimizers. Almost all of these stories are dark and bleak where there is no possibility of a happy ending.
What makes the book so good is its characters. Author Loren Estleman, a man who really knows Detroit and has used it as a setting for his PI Amos Walker novels gives us a dark story titled Kill the Cat where the detective is investigating the drug-related murder of a trust fund kid.
In Panic, Joyce Carol Oates puts a young family under the proverbial microscope when they overanalyze the way they reacted to a perceived danger on a busy highway. Then there is a slightly dark and humorous look at Detroit’s “invisible people” by Michael Zadorian in The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit. If you are looking for a really dark noirish story, you cannot go wrong with Joe Boland’s The Night Watchman is Asleep.
DETROIT NOIR is one of the best in Akashic Books' noir series. You cannot go wrong with this anthology.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, December 2007

Thanks, Angel.

Stranger Than

(from the interview I did for the Detroit Noir website)

Is your story based on, or overtly influenced by, actual events?
The bit about posing as cops to rob people: I’m sure it happens in a lot of big cities, but it seems to happen regularly in Detroit.

(from the Detroit Free Press last Saturday)


Fake cops targeted in raids
By Ben Schmitt
Police officers kicked down doors in Detroit and Macomb and Oakland counties Friday, seizing a cache of weapons, police badges and bulletproof vests in an investigation involving at least two men posing as cops while robbing citizens.

The raids by a multi-jurisdictional task force occurred at five houses in Detroit, Madison Heights, Warren, Sterling Heights and Center Line. In all, police seized 14 weapons -- including a submachine gun, AK47s and sniper rifles -- ammunition, silencers, gunpowder, grenades, two Ford Crown Victoria sedans and patches of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives, and U.S. Customs.

Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings said the raids stemmed from an arrest last month of someone who stole a police assault rifle, radio and bulletproof vest from a Wayne County sheriff's deputy.

She said some of the seized equipment displayed Friday belongs to officers, and there is more to be retrieved.

While she would not detail how the equipment was stolen, a police official close to the investigation said some of it was taken from officers' homes and cars.

"What the public needs to know is that we have determined that currently there are two white males conducting a rash or spree over the past year in Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties," the chief said. "They are targeting many people. ... It is believed they are conducting traffic stops in what are considered to be police-looking Crown Vics, using stolen police equipment."

Those men have not been arrested. She said there could be more than two people involved. Besides traffic stops, police are investigating home invasions and armed robberies by men saying they are cops.

"We know that we're having some robberies that are being conducted as a result of these people identifying themselves as police officers and they're not," Bully-Cummings said.

She said Detroit officers in marked cars will pull over when they see traffic stops by unmarked or semi-marked vehicles to make sure they belong to real officers.

Anyone who may have fallen victim to the police impersonators is asked to call the task force at 313-596-2300

Advice

The Detroit Noir tour has gone on holiday break, but stay tuned: There will be some new events in the new year.

All of the readings were a blast, thanks to everyone involved.

You're only as good as the company you keep -- I think that's one of the abiding themes of noir -- and if you're a neophyte writer-type who does no public speaking ever, I advise you to surround yourself with educators and broadcast professionals for your initial public appearances.

Thanks to everyone who showed up, and my thanks especially to EJ, Lolita, Tina Vowels, Steve and Charlie.

Event Tonight

from the Detroit Noir blog:

Detroit Noir editors and contributors continue their tour of the Metro Area with a stop tonight, Friday, November 30, at Borders Books & Music in Dearborn.
The event starts at 7pm, and will feature editor E.J. Olsen, as well as authors Joe Boland, Roger K. Johnson, Lolita Hernandez and Dorene O’Brien.
The store is located at 5601 Mercury Drive, north off Ford Rd, between the Southfield Freeway and Greenfield Road. Call the store for more details at 313.271.4441.

As you can see, the cake is going fast....

REMINDER

Tonight at 7:00 PM

Detroit Noir
at Borders
(Store #01)
612 E. Liberty
Downtown Ann Arbor

Featuring editor E.J. Olsen, and readings from contributors Joe Boland, Desiree Cooper, Roger K. Johnson, and Lolita Hernandez.

REMINDER

Detroit Noir event tomorrow:

Wed., November 14, 7pm
Borders (Arborland)
3527 Washtenaw Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI

Fun Fact: This Borders location is store #303.

In The Matrix, the number on the door of the apartment where Keanu Reeves goes to meet the Oracle is -- #303.

And the store opened in this location during The Matrix's run in theaters.

Coincidence?

Lolita Hernandez and I will read from our stories tomorrow night, and Olsen and Hocking will kick-off the event with their fire-juggling act.

(As I've mentioned before, they are FIRE-JUGGLERS!)

Hope to see you there.

Mind-Blower

As the editors noted on the Detroit Noir blog, the book launch at Aunt Agatha’s on Saturday was a mind-blower.

Everyone who took the time to stop in and grab a copy and wish us well -- You’re aces.

Goodbye Tuesday

With the publicity for the book underway, I thought it time to take down the lovely photo of a gun-wielding Tuesday Weld that previously graced the upper right corner of Zero-Sum World and replace it with a photo of my own grim visage.

My apologies to all.

REMINDER

Book Release Party
This Saturday, One o’clock PM
Aunt Agatha’s
213 S. Fourth Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI

from Aunt Agatha's website:

We are launching a book called Detroit Noir on Saturday, November 3rd at 1 p.m., with a party. This book is an anthology of stories about Detroit. Scheduled to appear are: Loren Estleman, Dorene O'Brien, Joe Boland, Peter Markus and editors Chris Hocking and Eric Olsen. Other contributors include P.J. Parrish, Joyce Carol Oates, Megan Abbott, and Craig Holden. Our special guest that day will be author Chris Grabenstein, the Anthony winning author of Tilt a Whirl

********

That’s 1:00, folks – the Michigan-Michigan State game is in East Lansing, and kickoff isn’t until 3:30….

Killer Back Copy

(Click on image to enlarge)

Detroit Noir blog

The Detroit Noir blog is live.

Check it out, and see what Publisher's Weekly has to say about the book.

Detroit Noir events...

There are many, many events now scheduled for Detroit Noir, and more to follow.

Check out Akashic Books (link on the right) for the details.

Imagine Steven Wright’s standup routine, minus the jokes, and you get a pretty good idea of my usual public-speaking performance.

But Olsen and Hocking will be at every event, and they are two of the most quick-witted, strikingly-handsome men you could ever hope to meet.

And -- they are fire-jugglers!

Makes the handsome part seem kinda unfair.

Detroit Noir Author Blog

The Detroit Noir blog (link on the right) promises to go live in September.

It will feature profiles of, and interviews with, many of the anthology’s contributors
(Loren D. Estleman, P.J. Parrish, Joyce Carol Oates, Craig Holden, Megan Abbott, and others), excerpts from the stories in the book, and – as they say – more.

I’m almost done with the Q&A the editors sent to me. Here’s a sample:

What attracts you to the (broadly-defined) Noir style?
Like anyone, I grew up reading stories with heroes, and that’s what my lizard brain still expects whenever I crack open a book. I get suckered every time [reading Noir]. You’re implicated in the bad stuff that’s happening. There’s always a point where I think: That light at the end of the tunnel is a train, I should put this book down and walk away – but I never do. I love that feeling. It’s cathartic in the worst way. It’s a let’s-drink-up-the-rent-money feeling. It’s a great corrective to the insipid lengths America will go to concoct a hero for every situation.

Book Release Party for Detroit Noir

Sat., November 10, 1pm

Aunt Agatha's Mystery, Detection & True Crime Books
213 S. Fourth Ave.Ann Arbor, MI

Book release party featuring editors E.J. Olsen and John C. Hocking, with various contributors

If you've been to Aunt Agatha's before, you don't really need an excuse to drop in, but here you go.