I first heard of Christa Faust when I picked up a copy of the Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 16 and read her story, "Tighter." I've been a fan of hers since. Earlier this year, Dark Arts Books released SINS OF THE SIRENS, a four author collection, featuring short fiction from some of the hardest hitting women in the genre. Christa Faust was one of them. (Maria Alexander, Loren Rhoads and Mehitobel Wilson being the others.) Again, Christa's stories blew me away.

When I heard that Christa was switching gears and had gone from writing horror to noir mysteries, I never doubted that she could pull it off. Though I did wonder if the visceral edge and (at times) painful honesty that I so appreciated in her short fiction would translate well into her new found niche. I'm happy to report that it has.

MONEY SHOT is one of the best books I've read in a long, long time. I've been reviewing books for about a year now for Dark Scribe Magazine. At times, I have encountered books that are painful to read. But not in a good way. I've read a couple of books in that time that have made me wonder why I ever wanted to review books in the first place. And then I have to remind myself why I did want to start reviewing books. I did it because I wanted to learn more about the craft, to analyze stories to figure out what works and what doesn't in hopes that I will become a better writer because of it. Now if I could only wrap my mind around all the things Christa did right in this book, I might finally be on the right track.

More thoughts to come on the analytical side of why I enjoyed this book as a writer. I need to think that through a bit more before I start rambling.

What I can tell you as a reader is that Christa Faust takes you on a ride into a world (the adult film industry) that I don't think has been explored honestly in modern fiction. That's what gets me about Christa's writing. It's brutally honest. It hurts. It's painful because what she's saying about whatever fictional world she has her readers living in is true. It's true and it hurts and I love it because there is no bullshit. She makes you look at situations that you would otherwise avert your eyes from and face them. As her characters make choices, the reader is forced to examine the choices they might make given similar circumstances. Facing those truths, being forced to examine who you really are, how far you might go if pushed, can be a fascinating mental exercise. I love it when an author gives me a reason to want to keep turning pages. I curse those authors when I have to put those kind of books down. Waiting to find out how it ends is hell. And if an author can get me that hooked, I'm happy to admit it.

So kudos to you, Christa. And to anyone who hasn't read MONEY SHOT yet...you should.

The second installment of my interview with Jack Ketchum is now live at Dark Scribe Magazine. This portion deals more with the literary side of things. How he got into writing novels in the first place and his journey in the world of publishing where OFFSPRING and its predecessor, OFF SEASON, are concerned.

Enjoy!

I recently had the pleasure of visting the set of Jack Ketchum's OFFSPRING (the film adaptation of the novel), a Moderncine production. In addition to observing portions of the actual film shoot, I also had a chance to sit down with Ketchum and get his thoughts on the film making process as well as discuss the history of the novel and its predecessor, OFF SEASON and the journey from print to the big screen.

Part I is live at Dark Scribe Magazine now.

Part II will run next week.

Enjoy!

I am happy to report that I have moved up the ranks to the post of Contributing Editor at Dark Scribe Magazine. It has been a pleasure working with Vince Liaguno and the rest of the staff this past year to bring horror fans to the best site for dark fiction news/reviews on the web. If you haven't taken a peek, stop over and check out Dark Scribe today.

When I started reviewing books for Dark Scribe Magazine, I thought the gig would be "win-win" all the time. Who wouldn't want to get paid to read books, right? That was before I encountered my first "bad" book. The benefit of reading for pleasure is that if a book isn't "good," you can just quit reading it. Reviewers don't have that option.

My goal is to write reviews that are fair regardless of the quality of the writing. My approach to reviewing is two-fold. First, I evaluate the story as a reader. Does the author make me care about the characters? Is the plot interesting? Was I entertained? Then, I evaluate the story as a writer. If I had written this story, would I have made the same choices as the author? If not, what would I have done differently?

The reviewing process helped me hone my craft. Having to analyze what works and what doesn't in other authors' stories has made it easier for me to find various plot/pacing problems in my own. I'm not always reading for pleasure anymore, but at least I am always learning what works and how to do things better.

I spend this past weekend at Love is Murder, a local mystery/thriller convention. Attendance seemed to be down a bit this year (probably due to the snowstorm that hit late last week) but it didn't stop Lee Child, Tess Gerritson, Barry Eisler, and countless others from making the trek to Chicago.

Sean Chercover's BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD won the Lovey for Best Debut Novel. Marcus Sakey's THE BLADE ITSELF was also nominated in that category making the choice tough for voters because both novels are terrific reads. I picked up a copy of Marcus Sakey's sophmore effort, AT THE CITY'S EDGE, and will be reviewing that for Dark Scribe Magazine shortly.

In other news, I just received my copies of HELL IN THE HEARTLAND, an anthology of Illinois horror, published by Annihilation Press. It is a great collection of stories set in Illinois and penned by Illinois authors. Featured authors include: Lawrence Santoro, Wayne Allen Sallee, Michael Penkas, Richard Chwedyk, and Henry Perez to name a few. More on HITH coming soon.

If you like flash fiction, be sure to check out my article at Dark Scribe Magazine about a new sub-genre of flash - the postcard tale. I had the pleasure of chatting with the editors at Postcards From... and Tin Parachute Postcard Review about their experiences working in this medium.


Currently reading: Dark Resurrection by John A. Karr

I am now a regular contributor to Dark Scribe Magazine. My feature interview with Wayne Allen Sallee regarding his correspondence with notorious serial killer, John Wayne Gacy and several book reviews are now live on their site. Stop by and take a look today!