You hear phrases like "The new Jim Thompson" or "a worthy successor to James M. Cain" bandied about. Usually, it's hollow praise designed to sell books that don't fit the description.
In the case of Jason Starr, it's an understatement. For years, now, Starr has been in a rather dark New York state of mind, giving us some of the most nerve-wracking noir in recent memory.
He visited Noir Originals a couple of years ago. We caught up with him again as he gets ready to promote Lights Out, his first ever hardcover and Bust, a collaboration with Ken Bruen due out in May from Hard Case Crime.
James R. Winter: 2005 was a big year for you. Why don't you tell us about it.
Jason Starr: Well, I didn't actually have a book out in 05, but it was a cool year. I spent a month on tour in Europe and I got involved in a couple of projects that I'm very excited about--Bust, the book, I co-wrote with Ken (Bruen) and a horse racing anthology I'm co-editing for Vintage Books. Both books are due in 06. And moving to St. Martin's and Orion for my new novel Lights Out, also due this year, is very exciting. And the Anthony Award and having such a great time hanging out with friends at Bouchercon in Chicago. All highlights. And how can I forget, destroying an imbibed Jim Winter in darts at an NYC bar. Biggest highlight of all.
JRW: Yeah, well, just wait for the rematch in June.... You were floating around pretty good after the Anthonies on Saturday night (at Bouchercon in Chicago). So who got the first call? Your wife or your publisher?
JS: My wife. Though she was half-asleep and thought she might have dreamed it.
JRW: I just read three of yours in a row - Twisted City, Hard Feelings, and Tough Luck. Twisted and Hard Feelings are both white collar noir. Tough Luck, you once said, might have become a caper novel. It's definitely more street level. Why the switch in the middle?JS: Thanks a lot for reading the books. I wanted to do something very different in Tough Luck, write from a point of view I hadn't written from before--a story told entirely from the point of view--though in the third-person--of the victim in the story. Also, wanted to set something in Brooklyn with types of people I grew up with. I guess that equals street level.
JRW: In some ways, I felt bad for Richie Segal in Hard Feelings, since I used to be one of the guys who made his job a living hell. He wasn't based on anyone I used to know, was he?
JS: You never know. Come to think of it, I do see a lot of you, Jim, in my most hell raising characters. But you'd sue me if I said it was you so, no.
JRW: Seriously, though, that resonated very well with me that his problems were driven by frustration with things he couldn't control.
JS: Well, I've had a lot of office jobs and know how grueling it can be to be subjected to office politics on a day-in, day-out basis, to basically have to suck it up. And there's nothing that drives people crazier more than situations they can't control. So I wanted to put Richie in that pressure cooker situation to see how he dealt with it. He didn't deal with it very well unfortunately.
JRW: No, he didn't, but it was a classic example of what Ken Bruen was talking about when he said, "Jesus, that ending made me want to kill myself." Which, of course, is usually noir's dark punchline.
JS: That's true, but the punchline can be funny too, or at least have irony. I mean, in noir the feeling of wanting to kill yourself doesn't have to be a bleak, depressing thing. It can be very enjoyable at the same time.
JRW: And speaking of Ken Bruen, you have a project with him coming out this spring. Tell us about that.
JS: Yeah, Bust is out in May. What a blast it was working on that book. Every day, waking up, and seeing Ken's new bit, laughing my ass off, then doing my part and sending it out to him. The book’s about a sleazy businessman who hires an acquaintance of his secretary, an ex -IRA psycho, to kill his wife and hell ensues. It’s dark, of course, but funny as hell too. At least we think so. We both felt it wasn’t like work at all--it was such an enjoyable experience. And it was interesting too, the way we created a new voice. Our styles are very different and we knew it wouldn’t work if we wrote the way we normally do—it would seem like two different people wrote the book. So he bent his style more toward mine, and I bent mine toward his. We think it worked really well. We fooled Charles Ardai, Hard Case’s editor, a bunch of times. There are sections he was convinced Ken wrote and I said, "Nope, that was mine." And it happened the other way around too…Oh, and we have lots of quotes in the book, from the likes of The Buddha, Al Guthrie, Gandhi, Ray Banks, etc.
JRW: I read the first chapter on Hard Case’s web site. As soon as Popeye marched in, I thought, "Uh oh. This guy's not exactly playing with a full deck." And he sounds just like Ken.
JS: Touché on both points. I mean, the description of "a starving greyhound" and the "blur of gray hair." Ken, right? But I think the similarity ends there. I mean, yeah, Ken's not playing with a full deck, but who is?
JRW: Hmm... You do know he reads this, right?
JS: Ken would take that as a compliment. Trust me on that one or a round of Jameson for all Al's readers. Deal?
JRW: You probably will have more takers than you expected.
JS: But, you have to admit, I sound just like Ken, right? I’m telling you, I speak with an Irish accent now. The way I say the word "right." The soft vowels. Pure fookin’ Irish, I’m tellin’ ya.
JRW: So was this a Hard Case project when you started, or was that shopped to them after you finished?
JS: No, we did it especially for Hard Case, that was the whole point. As a big fan of Gold Medals and Black Lizard books, I love what Hard Case has done, and they've gotten an incredible buzz in the industry. Charles and I had been talking about me doing something for a while, and I know Charles had approached Ken as well. Ken and I had been kicking around various ideas for a co-written novel and then we thought, let's ask Charles if he's into it. He said absolutely, so Ken and I did the first several chapters and then Hard Case bought the book.
JRW: And how were they to work with?
JS: Terrific. I'm sure Ken would say the same thing. Not only is Charles a great writer; he's a great editor and a pleasure to deal with. The guy really knows his shit.
JRW: You're also working with another publisher now, St. Martin's. Do you have one more with Vintage, or will St. Martin's offer your next book?
JS: I have the horse racing anthology with Vintage, called Bloodlines, due out in the fall. It's not a Vintage Crime book, but there's some crime stories in it as well as some more so-called literary pieces. St. Martin's is the new publisher of my novels. They will publish my new novel Lights Out in September, and another book the following year. The St. Martin's novels (and the ones from Orion in the UK) will be my first English language hardcovers, and I'm very excited about this.
JRW: It's a big change. Can you tell us about Lights Out?
JS: It's a much bigger book for me, a breakout, my publishers think. It's set mostly in Brooklyn over the course of one weekend. It's about two ex-high school rivals who dreamed of making it to the major leagues--one did, making it big; the other was forced to quit because of injury and is now working as a housepainter. When the superstar returns for a weekend party, he discovers that the housepainter has started dating his fiancee. Several plots intersect and it's written from several different points of view. It's definitely the most complex book I've done so far, and the early reaction has been very positive which has been great to hear.
JRW: Was the scope of the story part of the impetus for moving to St. Martin's?
JS: In a way, yes. I knew this book had to be a hardcover. Not that I don't think Twisted City could have worked as a hardcover because it was published very successfully in that format in Germany, but the ultimate market for a book like Twisted City is definitely paperback. It's just a simpler, straight ahead crime novel that appeals to the paperback market. But I wrote Lights Out with a bigger, broader scope hardcover book in mind, and St. Martin's was extremely enthusiastic and felt the way I do about the format, so it's been a perfect match.
JRW: Twisted did seem to be a bigger book for you. You're working with Ben Sevier now?
JS: Yeah, and he's been great. And he has a similar sensibility as I do, publishing guys like Ken and Dan Judson.
JRW: I've noticed he's been signing darker writers. It's a great angle for SMP to be working now.
JS: I think he has a varied list actually, but he does have a fair share of crime writers as opposed to mystery writers. I guess that's what dark means.
JRW: You mentioned crime vs. mystery last time you were on this site. How about recapping the difference here for those who missed your last interview?
JS: Crime is from the criminal's point of view, so the focus is crime. Mysteries are about detectives or cops or whoever solving crimes. It seems so logical I always wonder why there seems to be so much confusion about the two words, or why they're used interchangeably.
JRW: And one final question. Ken Bruen vs. God: Who wins?
JS: Bruen, of course. Gotta make up for the full deck comment, right?
JRW: Actually, that's a trick question. Ken IS God. So what's next for you?
JS: I'm going to be doing some events around New York with Ken when Bust comes out. In March, I'm going to be at Left Coast in Bristol right at the time Lights Out is released in the U.K., and then will tour with Denise Hamilton with stops in Cambridge, London, Dublin, Belfast with possibly other cities to be announced….Oh, and of course the darts rematch. God help me. Or should I say…Ken?
Look for Bust from Hard Case Crime in May. Bloodlines will be available from Vintage. Lights Out will be available in March from Orion in the UK and in September from St. Martin's.
And Jim is practicing for that darts rematch in June.