JackBludis.com
WELCOME
to the JACK BLUDIS WEB-SITE
Updated
May 2008
Jack's
Schedule:
BOUCHERCON, BALTIMORE--October
9-12, 2008
LEFT COAST CRIME--
Hawaii: March 7-12, 2009
Click on any image for information about writing, Hollywood or Jack.
Why You Haven't Seen Me Lately
Many
of you may have seen my "Confessions of a Hack" at:
http://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JackBludis
Although I have written and sold novels under several of my pseudonyms
since my last update, they are not mysteries and there is no reason to
mention them here. This is my mystery site.
A career runs in phases, and I have now moved into something I might call
phase three: The More Serious Work.
I kid no one. I am more craftsman than an artist. I put one word after
another. I rearrange the words for sense, cadence, plot effect, and
meaning. I have always
done that, but usually I have written books in the range of 60,000 words.
Most of my published novels took no more than a few months from idea to
submission. A few have taken less than a week to
write. For one stretch of seven months in the
late 1970s, I wrote and sold a book a month, but that was in a genre long
ago and far away. My current project has consumed
me to the extent that I have been working on it
for almost three years, with only asides for stories and short novels in
other genres.
The new book is a mystery, with a police procedural
frame, something I haven't done since my first
published mystery. It is longer, more character
laden, and with multiple points of view. It
involves a complex crime and peripheral murders and characters with
ambition to the point of insanity. It has a big and fully realized
theme.
It’s a big order for one whose ex-wife once called him a "magnificent
hack," but I have confidence that it works.
Thanks for the stage.
Some Thoughts About Writing
Many people asked that I put some of my ideas about writing, but it seems there are over a 100 writers who either do the same thing on their website or have written books about it. Most of them know most of what they are talking about, some know something about what about it--but not as much as the others. Among those I agree with virtually 100% are Stephen King, G. Miki Hayden, Hallie Ephron, John Gardiner and Jack Woodford. I am a regular contributor to DorothyL, Rara-Avis, WickedCompany, DetecToday and the Mysteryscene lists, most of which are Yahoo lists. I regularly read 4_MysteryAddicts but contribute infrequently.
P.S. There are
some more thoughts about writing under "Bio &
Assorted Stuff."
My story "New Guy on the Block"
is in "Bio & Assorted Stuff."
"Munchies,"
my Shamus nominated story from last year is available at:
http://www.thrillingdetective.com/fiction/03_06.html
Thanks
,
