Charlie Stella

interview by Allan Guthrie

CHARLIE STELLA. Easy to big up. Big guy, big presence, big heart, big writer. Charlie first hit us in 2001 with Eddie's World, hit us a bit harder the following year with Jimmy Bench-Press, and at the tail-end of last year gave us a kicking to remember with Charlie Opera. Anyone not familiar with his unique brand of dialogue-driven crime fiction is encouraged to check him out pronto.

Allan Guthrie spoke to Charlie for Noir Originals.

Allan Guthrie: Why do you write?

Charlie Stella: I am compelled to do so. I’ve been doing it for 27 years and couldn’t stop with a gun to my head. It’s not always pretty (the results of what I write) … or necessarily good, but I couldn’t stop if I wanted to. Ultimately, it’s why I was published … I couldn’t stop trying.

AG: Is your compulsion to write restricted to crime novels, or have you considered writing (or indeed written already) in a different genre?

CS: Actually, I started writing plays a long time ago. Had a few produced off-off Broadway way back in the day. My strength is dialogue and I prefer plays to novels, but it just isn’t a very feasible way to make a living (not that novel writing is a good way to earn a buck, but theatre is much tougher, I think). I have written a few dark novels and there’s one in particular I want to steer in that direction (not as crime fiction per se, although it may wind up in that category). A book I had rejected an offer on last year, Rough Riders, was originally an Eddie’s World sequel. It takes place in North Dakota (where I originally attended college and was bitten by the writing bug). I really had fun with that one after it sat around for a while. I’d love to take that baby on as a less crime-oriented venture.

And then there are my endless pontifications on my website (my Knucksline articles). I write about 3 a week and they are really just a way for me to vent and have some fun and poke fun at my fat self. In the end, though, it’s just more writing.

AG: You mentioned Eddie’s World, your excellent debut novel. How did it come about and how did you get the publishing deal with Carroll & Graf?

CS: Wow ... I'll try and make this one short as possible. I had gone through Scott Meredith's fee scam thing a few times over the past. I'm a writer that came in from left field and just didn't have the patience to play the submission-rejection game forever. I was making good money and I wanted professional feedback, so on the advice of a dear friend, I sent off a few novels to SMA way back. Eventually, they represented two of my books and through the rejections from those books, I wound up with an invitation to submit more to two publishers. That led to agents at least reading my submissions a few years back. That led to Bob Diforio representing me and selling Eddie's World to Kent Carroll. Eddie's World is my most autobiographical novel in the sense it is a guy living in two worlds and struggling with what he wants to be when he grows up. He's a moral guy, but has no problem doing certain immoral things. But the real kicker here was I had just met my wife working on a word processing job midnights across the street from the World Trade Center. I was nailed by the thunderbolt and instantly fell in love with her. I saw she was as cerebral as she is beautiful and just knew she was the one. We were both married at the time but equally miserable at home. I already had a reputation (something I was very guilty of feeding at the time) as a street guy playing a numbers game as a word processor so I tried to impress her by writing something. She was intrigued with that side of me, I think (that I wasn't the big dumb thumb-bender I look like). Anyway, I wrote a few scenes and fed them to her for criticism and then came the movie, La Vita Bella ("Buon giorno, Principessa!") and I went after her with everything I had. I can't imagine not having her right next to me. She's a single source of power for me. I don't need anything or anyone else in my life. That might read a bit selfish but it's the truth.

So, I guess the long story short ... I wrote it to impress a broad.

AB: For a writer in particular, the importance of a supportive partner can't be underestimated, I don't think. You and I are very lucky men, Charlie.

The novel you mentioned earlier, Rough Riders, sounds intriguing. Dark, but maybe not a crime novel. Would you care to elaborate on where it might go?

CS: I got into some dark stuff in this one. Convicts from Indian reservations ... men and women who cut (or marked) themselves ... the darker slice of life beneath what you see in the midwest, etc. ... I even had a former Miss North Dakota in there ... I really like that book a lot. The evil character, once again, is the guy from Eddie's World (James Singleton—only his name has been changed thanks to the witness protection program that seems to be establishing a secret society of killers for the sake of a conviction). I think I can do a lot of stuff with it and intend to someday.

Rough Riders is a bigger book than I’m used to writing (something on the scale of Charlie Opera), so I see it as a potential "break out" book, so to speak. Charlie Opera just sold out (there are a few copies left on Amazon but that's it). The book was underprinted and not supported at all and it still did great. One of the things I learned now through three books is that small publishers don’t spend money (any money) advertising crime fiction/mysteries. The books are left to sink or swim based on reviews and whether or not libraries pick them up. So, when your book comes out, good reviews or not, and it’s on display against the heavyweights in the industry who are getting 30% discounts because of name recognition and the fact they’re already established as great writers (which is fair, don’t get me wrong), the public is left with a no brainer: pay $19.00 for a new great novel from Elmore Leonard or $25.00 for a novel by a guy they never heard of before? It’s part of the "paying one’s dues" process, but with Charlie Opera the reviews were very fortunate and somebody guessed wrong on the book's ability to sell (probably vs. JBP). Also, somebody wasn’t keeping track of how the sales were going. We had hired a private publicist as soon as we saw the fortunate reviews (to capitalize on them) and what happened was our private publicist was booking us for events and started to notice that stores couldn't get the book. At first we inquired about this with someone from C&G and were told it was just a misreading of the numbers or a miscommunication. We were assured the book wasn't doing as well as it appeared to be doing. Two weeks later, we were really nervous because somebody I'm paying out of pocket is insisting the book is sold out and wants to know will there be a second printing? Ann Marie and myself were then fighting our emotions from running wild. Should we be happy that all our efforts (financial and otherwise) were paying off … or was there some major warehouse glitch that was keeping the book from getting to the stores (especially after what we'd been told by someone from the publisher)?

During the third week, after I'd started looked into it myself and just couldn't find the damn book anywhere anymore, I lost it and demanded a numbers count. It was then we learned that the book had in fact sold out. There were something like 65 copies in total remaining (aside from the Amazon count) and there were back orders that wouldn't be serviced without a reprinting. They pulled books from wherever they could to service some of the signings already arranged, but then books were being shipped to the wrong places and it just seemed to get more and more bizarre. The frustration for us was monumental for about a week. We're attending the LA Times book festival and we’ve managed to secure books for that, but it wasn’t easy. I'm sure we've lost potential readers from the mishandling of Charlie Opera. I know we have 3,000 extra promotional bookmarks we had printed laying around an apartment that already looks like a promotional warehouse. I guess it would’ve been nice if everybody were on the same page with it. Had we known what was going on, we wouldn’t have 3,000 extra bookmarks right now, that’s for sure. To be fair, I think the book’s fortunate reviews kind of surprised all involved.

My wife went out of her way (more so than she had on the first two books and she was an extraordinary promoter with those) to make things happen. All the Internet interviews I've been blessed with (such as Noir Novels) are the direct result of my wife making contacts with people and sending books. Frankly, much of my luck with the exposure I'm getting stems from her original contact with Craig McDonald's site. And it is very flattering to have sold through (no one should think we're full of ourselves here). In fact, I'm still living a dream seeing my books in print at all. 27 years ago, I was a window cleaner with a writing dream. I went through two-dozen life transformations and three marriages along the way (except for the writing dream). I'm a very lucky fat bastard to be in the position I am right now. On the other hand, it's been very frustrating cutting my teeth in this business. We have gained some recognition from some of the bigger publishers, though, so it’s not like the reviews have gone unnoticed. There just might be a future for us in this business. I just can't imagine even attempting it without someone as devoted and dedicated to the cause as my wife. Christ, if I were on my own, I'd be writing from the joint because part of my compulsive personality doesn't handle bullshit very well (that zero tolerance thing). Ann Marie and I both look forward to the future. I'm chasing this dream more than 25 years already and now I have someone (my wife) committed to getting us there. We aren't going away, that's for sure. The key I’ve learned is that old cliché about not worrying about the one already in print and to keep writing new ones. That really does work.

AG: I've heard the initial printing of Charlie Opera sold out in 12 weeks. Your publishers must be delighted and looking forward to the same happening with the second printing. Is it going to be a larger print run, in case the same thing happens again?

CS: What I was told was they are afraid they couldn't sell most of the minimum 2500 extra copies they'd have to reprint. The fact that they guessed wrong in the first place doesn't seem to factor in. As I said, the idea of promoting the book isn't even a discussion. Promotions just don’t happen at the small press level for mystery writers, no matter how good the reviews. So, those reviews are not only essential for library sales, they’re also what keep the individual writer going (at least me) because when Publisher’s Weekly & Booklist give you starred reviews and you get selected by PW as one of the best mystery books of the year, you know that the competition includes the bigger houses that do promote all their big names. For me, the industry reviews kind of levelled the playing field to some degree (at least for one book) ... but I’m a big dopey romantic anyway.

I'm supposed to be very happy about the fact it sold through. Again, no one should think we're being delusional about this. We don't expect to be an overnight hit in this competitive field. I'm a writer with 3 books behind me and 1 now in contract for March ’05 (just finalized today, in fact), and I’m still making my bones (so to speak). Like most people in my position, this isn't about the money yet. All we're trying to do is capitalize on fortunate reviews and achieve some minimal level of name recognition. Again, paying full price for a Charlie Stella crime novel versus one by Elmore Leonard at a 30% discount is a no brainer. Who the fuck is Charlie Stella? It's a legitimate question. Hopefully the new one, Cheapskates, will keep the momentum alive. I can’t wait to work with Peter Skutches again. I love that man. I call him the maestro, not because I’m anything special, but because he can make sense of the confusion I sometimes write and put it all together. Charlie Opera was blessed by having Peter as its editor (make no mistake—I sure don’t) … and I continue to be blessed that Peter is my editor.

AG: That's a very unadventurous decision on the part of your publisher. Don’t they want to make money (from what you say, it seems like they weren't even aware they had!)? Is there any chance we're going to see a Charlie Stella novel in paperback sometime soon?

CS: I'm thinking they already made money and don't want to risk losing it. And the fact that they have now changed directions from mystery intensive to literary could have something to do with it. As for paperbacks … they are every crime novelists wet dream. I sure hope so (and everybody seems to think so) … but I'm not holding my breath. I repeat, the one thing I've learned is: Don't worry about something already in print and move on to the next one. That's pretty much what I'm focused on. It would be wonderful to make it to mass market/paperback from hardcover but that is so out of my hands at this point, there's nothing gained making myself crazy (which I did after the first two books—why isn't this happening, etc.?). One big advantage of going hardcover is the review process. The industry reviews hardcover books … it doesn’t always do that for books going straight to paper. Again, it’s something out of my control. If it doesn't go paper now, I continue to hope that we break out down the road and all the early ones are pulled from the dustbin and wind up in paper. I now understand how much of a long shot those things are, so I'm keeping my head into new projects to keep real about it all. The best thing I can do for myself and my career is to keep trying to write books that are well received. The promotional end may have to continue to come from word of mouth and reviews and my wife's ceaseless efforts of love. One consoling (and very sobering) fact is this: We met Ken Bruen at one of his signings here in New York a month or so ago. He's about the nicest author I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. He's also one of the very best crime writers around these days and is finally getting the wide recognition he deserves (nominated to the Edgar short list). I just reviewed his latest (The Killing of the Tinkers) and that book should land him a return trip to the Edgars next year as well. He's up to 14 books (if I'm correct) and just finished working his day job a couple of years ago. I work nights so it might take me 28 years … but like I said, we're not going away.

AG: The paperback deal is only a matter of time, surely. Let’s talk a little about the novels and give those paperback publishers some meat to get their teeth into. You mentioned that Jimmy Bench-Press (your second novel) is your favourite. Personally, I think Charlie Opera is the standout, but you’re much bigger than me and I’m a coward anyway, so I’m happy to bow to your opinion. But I think I’ll still ask, just so’s I know: what is it about Jimmy Bench-Press that makes it better than the other two?

CS: It's always a matter of taste but I was aiming at the general market (believe it or not with the violence, etc.) with Charlie Opera. I wasn't with JBP. In fact, JBP was born the day I wrote the line in Eddie's World referencing the Jimmy Mangino character (when Eddie talked about bringing Jimmy Mangino along to fuck up a woman beater). I knew right then and there that I was writing a book called Jimmy Bench-Press. Something from my past life actually brought the novel to fruition (the background to JBP is based on a very true story—I knew a numbskull dumb enough to lend an ageing barber who'd been scammed by some woman a lot of money and basically took a powder for it). The opening line: "How silly is this shit?" was me standing on a street corner in the rain (along to help my friend collect the money). What happened in real life was we called the barber twice and the second time he threatened to call the police. We called the idiot who'd lent him the money and passed on the message from the barber and the idiot panicked and said, "Get out of there." We spent the rest of the afternoon laughing our asses off in a bar and toasting the barber for taking a true wannabe for a bath. The wannabe was playing in the wrong sand box. He was a rich guy from a rich family without enough of a life and he’s probably still playing in the wrong sandbox.

For me it was the way the book came about—from the gut and non-stop. That was a three-month sprint, start-to-finish. I had it off to my publishers before they ever started editing Eddie's World. Come to think of it, Charlie Opera was also already in their possession, but that one took forever, it seemed. Within a few weeks of the Kirkus starred review, my agent had a two-book deal with C&G. I've written another 9 since, but they haven't been shopped except for Rough Riders and Cheapskates. Cheapskates is another one of those that just poured out of me (a 15 week first draft that isn’t very different from what was sold).

AG: You've written another nine novels and haven't tried to sell them? 'Scuse me if I ask why. And whilst I'm at it, how the hell do you write so quickly? Any tips would be most appreciated.

CS: I actually outlined them about 2 weeks ago. I’m a compulsive personality and I’m not very happy when I’m not writing. I’m also a whack job when it comes to certain things I’m not doing … I feel guilty if I’m not getting something done. I actually log most of the hours I write, workout and read. It’s anal, I know, but it allows me to deal with going on writing breaks. Novels that weren’t shopped are ones I either finished one or two drafts of and just felt they weren’t quite ready yet or that the timing wasn’t right for them. I let a core group of readers look over new projects when I feel the manuscripts are close and I base sending them out on the feedback. And don’t forget that I write dialogue-driven novels so sketching them out into a first or second draft isn’t all that big a deal. I know I have something I like when I can nail down the first half of a book in 3 or 4 weeks. Then I usually put that project aside and start something else or rework something I’ve had lying around. When I come back to the one I wrote half of, I’ll be much more fresh and rewrite some of the first half and get much closer to the end. I’m doing that now with Agnes Lynn, a new project I already finished twice and I’m on my last draft before it goes to my readers. If they approve, it’ll go to my agent and hopefully out to the market. The logged hours on that one are just about approaching five months, but I’m on a third draft.

AG: Something which always intrigues me. Do you prefer outlining before you begin a new novel, or do you play it by ear?

CS: Mostly I go with a single line of dialogue and drive that baby to wherever it leads me. I did that with both EW and JBP. I tend to live and die by dialogue, so it's sometimes easy to "spend some time with the characters" (what my writing mentor, Dave Gresham, once said about why he liked the start of EW—that we meet two guys and spend some time with them before the wheels are set in motion). Not a lot of time, mind you. I'm not one to spend much time describing the wallpaper, etc. … just the conversations … which led to JBP (one of the starting conversations). With CO it was much different. I had a scene in mind there (the mugging at the construction site) and I built the novel around that. Cheapskates was born from my black protagonist bus driver telling his cellmate best friend (after listening to the guy drone on about how cheap his ex-wife and her family were), "They nothin but Cheapskates." Of course, the scene around that dialogue was in my head and the book flowed from that.

The new one I'm reworking now, Agnes Lynn, started with a single line of reflective dialogue: Agnes used to tell her tricks, "No kissing, no touching, and if you want straight head, keep your fingers out of my hair."

AG: I’m a big fan of punchy opening lines and that’s a beauty! Do you have any favourites? The Friends Of Eddie Coyle, by any chance?

CS: You can’t see me doing this but … trust me: Jackie Brown at twenty-six, with no expression on his face, said that he could get some guns.

I memorized that one for more than 27 years now. It is my favorite crime novel of all time. Dave Gresham read that from the paperback way back in the day (when I could see my feet without mirrors) and I’ve been hooked as a wannabe writer ever since. And what I really enjoy is seeing how many other writers feel the same way about the Higgins classic. Ken Bruen, for one, and I think I’ve seen another dozen or so crime writers who list it as one of the favorites.

I went out of my way and paid $85.00 for an autographed copy of Eddie Coyle the same year EW was published. Sheldon Addleson from Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles got that autographed Eddie Coyle for me. Because of that book and my mentor, Dave Gresham, I’m a writer today. I’m a published writer because of my principessa, the freckled one, Ann Marie. I really am living a dream.

AG: You said you’ve been writing for 27 years. That’s a very specific number. How come you remember it exactly? And what were your early efforts like?

CS: I remember it exactly (or close to exactly) because I really did start in college when my mentor, Dave Gresham, read from The Friends of Eddie Coyle (I was 19-20 years old back then and I'm 47 now). I was hooked from that point on and even though I was writing mostly essays and such back then, I had started to flirt with writing stories. It was definitely within a year that I started to try a novel. I remember my first one vividly … a thing called Monday's Joe that took place down in the Fulton Fish Market in New York (because two of my friends had worked there and I would sometimes drop them off on my way into work as a window cleaner). MJ was a very disjointed effort (I just didn't know what I was doing), but it was my official baby steps into this thing I love now. My first really completed novel (that was represented by the Scott Meredith Agency under their fee scam program) was Running With Cover. Dave and I both thought way back then (I was in my 30s with that effort) that RWC wasn't far off the mark and had an editor been willing to spend some time (as Kent Carroll and Peter Skutches did with EW), it was good enough for publication. RWC definitely opened the door for me and was the reason EW was published about 10 years later. I think one of the problems these days is that publishers want the product as close to finished and clean as possible. There just doesn't seem to be much editing going on anymore. I was blessed with Peter Skutches following Kent Carroll at C&G. Peter and I did do quite a few pass-throughs, especially on CO, but I think for the most part (from what other writers tell me and from the way agents seem to respond), you have to submit something pretty close to the finished product to have a real shot.

AG: On the subject of working with editors, I have a suspicion that some writers like to write and some are happier rewriting. Do you have a favourite part of the writing process?

CS: I prefer two stages (and find one is as exciting as the other). The start, when I'm just rambling with dialogue and don't have a clue where it's going, that's always exciting for me. And then the end, after I've written two or three drafts of the thing, I love putting the final touches on it; going back to the start and making it fit more tightly with where it wound up. It's the "middle part" of writing (what I call it), when I find it most frustrating and usually put a project to the side to either start another or tweak an old one.

AG: I don't know how you do it. If I tried juggling half a dozen manuscripts, I'd get confused in no time at all. When you're redrafting, which aspects of your writing do you find yourself changing most?

CS: The funny thing is, I really do confuse the names all the time. I'm lucky to be a legal word processor in a few respects but one of them is redlining the scripts (a comparison program that leaves a strikethrough on changes) and I get to see how the edits read vs. what they replace and how many different names I assign a character. It's ugly sometimes.

Mostly I find myself deleting absurd sentences I had quickly typed that make no sense anywhere else but in my head. Or I'll shorten sentences that read better that way. As for plotting, etc., I think once you get to the end of a book, you can't help but go backwards and tie everything up. I'm just adding a nervous habit to one of my detectives in my last book (just finished the 3rd draft the other night), so that is always fun—finding where it belongs, etc.). Most important, I find that going back and forth or giving yourself a break from one), permits you to release whatever you were holding onto with a project. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with a particular plot or character and find myself forcing stuff because nothing is fresh (usually the two month mark—I'll think I wrote something brilliant and my wife will read it and it's one big Oooops … 4-6 weeks later, I figure out how to make the Oooops work or to get rid of it—that kind of thing).

AG: Part of what must add to the confusion is writing from multiple viewpoints. How would you feel about the prospect of writing an entire novel from a single viewpoint?

CS: Ah, my toughest competitor—first person. For the most part, I suck at it. I can get away with it for a while, but I always get personally wrapped up in trying for first person and ultimately fail miserably. One of 4 novels I wrote last year was a first person effort called Tommy Pinto. It was okay in spots and horrible in others. I'll try to do it again and again because I can't stand giving up (losing), but at this point, I make myself crazy trying to write first person manuscripts. I always feel as if I'm just too boring to pull it off. It's a definite insecurity for me right now and has been for years.

AG: Have you experimented with third person single viewpoint? I hear it'll kill ya quicker than crack, but I gave it a shot and I can give it up any time. Honest. I just don't want to at the moment.

CS: In the end (or way before I get to an end), I think it winds up feeling too much like first person for me. I need the other perspectives when I write, at least to get behind the life force for each character. It's probably just a short in the wires in my brain, these kinds of blocks, but whenever I'm putting something together from any single point of view, I wind up too frustrated (or critical) of the thing and put it to the side. I think I need the other perspectives to get through a story and that might have more to do with writing from the "eye of a camera" (what my mentor, Dave Gresham had suggested a long time ago), than anything else, but I'm just much more comfortable bouncing around and playing off different characters than staying with any one.

AG: I'll buy that. So, let’s get on to the important stuff. Where does your love of opera come from?

CS: This will read silly but it's very true. I took my kids (when they were very young, 5-7 & 11) to a program called, "Growing Up With Opera" at John Jay College (where my daughter, the eldest, just earned her Masters in forensic psychology). I was the single parent doing the right thing … and my sons fell asleep about halfway through the overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia … then, after Figarro sings "Largo al factotum", I turned to my daughter and said, "I remember this from Bugs Bunny."

I was hooked. I took her to see the real thing a few months later at the MET and I became a whack-job opera fan. I'm into both Italian and German opera and have just started toying with the Russians. It's wonderful stuff. Still, my musical roots are anchored in Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce & Ginger Baker (the best ever rock group, CREAM). I'm a very fat version of Ginger Baker … I wish. I love drumming and just don't have the time or space to get it done anymore. I tried to hook up with a bass player I played with as a kid a while back (Ovie Wolf—he was our Jack Bruce) but the details of life keep getting in the way. I like most music … even Eminem when he isn't taking himself too seriously.

AG: Earlier, you said that Eddie's World was possibly your most autobiographical novel. And yet you're an opera buff, and so's Charlie Pellecchia (Charlie Opera). The fictional Charlie ends up with a dog called Rigoletto, and you have a pooch of the same name. And then there's the obvious connection in author and protagonist having the same first name. Aren't you inviting comparisons between Charlie Pellecchia and Charlie Stella? In the light of what you said earlier about being 'too boring to pull it off' (now that's funny), how much of you is in there in Charlie Pellecchia?

CS: I was a window cleaner here in New York for 10 years (ages 21-31) back when I was 100 pounds lighter … and I was pretty fearless on 50 story scaffolds (I used to throw fits and kick the thing 48 stories up if our rollers jammed and my partner, Carlos, would freak out) … and I did go through a pretty miserable marriage that became blatantly obvious to me while we were on one of those last ditch attempt vacations in Las Vegas … and I do walk as often as possible and the longer the walk the better … and I do play drums … and I love Joe Frazier's fighting style and prefer a quick left hook to an overhand right … but Charlie is a way nicer guy than I am; he's certainly a lot more patient than I am. I would've fought a bit more dirty than Charlie was willing to (and not nearly as honorably). That's the street in me. Charlie Pellecchia was above that kind of thing. He walked right into the hornet nest. I probably would've used a bazooka from across the street. Eddie Senta would've been the guy tapping me on the helmet when it was time to fire the bazooka.

AG: Any talk of movies yet? And if so, with your experience as a playwright, and you’re your gift for dialogue, would you be interested in writing a screenplay?

CS: I wish. Actually, a good friend of mine (JR—Jackson Ronin) I originally met at the same word processing job where I met my wonderful wife, co-authored a screenplay of my second book, Jimmy Bench-Press. We both had Michael Madsen in mind for the lead role and still do. JR moved out to LA recently and we hope to work on something else again soon. He'll be trying to shop the JBP screenplay out there. JR is the real screenwriter, though. I'm still a hack at that stuff.

AG: Who do you see playing Eddie and Charlie?

CS: Some good-looking dude with a six pack ... the exact opposite of Charlie Stella. I have a few ideas but my wife always laughs at me when I give them. You asked so I'll tell you ... I'm still stuck on Michael Madsen doing Jimmy Mangino ... but I've seen him play good guys, too ... so, Michael Madsen, either Eddie or Charlie. Aside from him, I'd say Tom Sizemore. The one I just wrote, my first female protagonist, Agnes Lynn ... that one's all Laura Linney.

AG: We know dialogue's your strength and it comes easily to you. What do you find the single hardest aspect of the technical side of writing?

CS: Knowing when to quit … I often overwrite to the point of confusion. That and character descriptions. My wife constantly gives it to me about how all my men are stocky … all my women have red or blond hair and blue or green eyes and "tight" bodies. I'm partial to fat ugly guys so she'll have to live with the stocky stuff.

AG: Character descriptions? But we all know it's what's inside that counts, Charlie! Well, it's been a fun interview but all good things have to come to an end. Just one more question for you. If the rest of your writing career pans out as well as you could possibly imagine, what will you have achieved in the next, say, 20 years?

CS: I'll be happy to be alive in 20 years. I've lived a somewhat dumbski life (started smoking at 30 and made up for lost time). I've also abused my diet (body weight), going up and down the last few years (as much as 85 pounds) and I'm sure that wasn't good for me. On the writing front, however, I hope to continue writing crime novels and maybe branch out to screenplays. My ultimate goal would be to return to writing theatre. I like the challenge of all writing fronts and hope to make a dent in each, I guess. It's a lofty & ballsy statement, I know ... but that's the street in me. I used to doubt myself as a writer because of my background (I didn't go the traditional route, to say the least) ... now each day is a new opportunity to get some writing in and that has made all the difference in the world for me. I have my wife (my true heartbeat), all those great books out there to read (to include works by Vicki Hendricks, Lynn Kostoff, Daniel Woodrell, and the guy I hope wins the Edgar this year, Ken Bruen) … and I have a mind that just won't let me rest ... La Vita E Bella, indeed.