Bruen and Starr BUST a move...

With a host of awards between them, great big sales and tons of critical acclaim -- times two -- Ken Bruen and Jason Starr have been called the Starsky and Hutch of crime fiction. (Well, we've called them that, anyway, and we're hoping it catches on.) In their first book, BUST, they manage to merge their two, very different writing styles into one seamless Irish/New York, hilarious, high-octane (and wonderfully violent) thrill-ride. But wait, there's more:  SLIDE, the sequel, comes out next year, plus, they have a graphic novel in the works. Oh yeah, and they also write their own books. We asked Ken and Jason to ask each other a few questions, so they did... in, uh, all caps. (Sorry). In the comments section, feel free to ask questions of Ken and Jason. They'll check back and answer them, and so on, and so on...

JASON:  OK, KEN, HERE WE GO, AND BECAUSE I KNOW YOU'LL ANSWER IN ALL CAPS I THOUGHT I'D BEAT YOU TO THE PUNCH....WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER TO WRITE?

KEN:  MAX IN BUST AND SLIDE.

JASON: WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR WRITING HEADED IN THE FUTURE? YOU'VE SAID YOU WILL END YOUR JACK TAYLOR SERIES AFTER SIX BOOKS. ARE YOU STICKING WITH THAT PLEDGE? WILL YOU CONTINUE THE BRANT SERIES INDEFINITELY?

KEN: THE REST OF ME LIFE IN SOME PROJECT WITH THAT STARR GUY, WHO HAS SO MANY 20 DOLLAR BILLS, AND I'M CURRENTLY WRITING A STANDALONE ON COPS, IRISH AND AMERICAN.

JASON: DO YOU THINK PEOPLE HAVE FALSELY ASSOCIATED WITH YOU WITH JACK TAYLOR AND YOUR OTHER CHARACTERS?

KEN: DEFINITELY JACK TAYLOR, THEY EXPECT ME TO DRINK JAMESON FOR BREAKFAST WHEN GUINNESS IS SO MUCH MORE NOURISHING.

JASON: I KNOW YOU WRITE EVERY DAY. DO YOU EVER STUGGLE? DOES IT ALWAYS COME EASY? WHAT'S THE HARDEST PART FOR YOU ABOUT WRITING?

KEN: I STRUGGLE EVERY SINGLE DAY AND WHEN I SIT DOWN, I THINK, I CAN'T DO THIS. EVERY DAMN DAY.

JASON: CAN YOU BELIEVE SLIDE IS IN THE CAN?

KEN: NO, I'M TRULY STUNNED, AND THAT WE'VE ALREADY GOT THE MOST OF THE NEXT ONE....

JASON: AND THE GRAPHIC NOVEL FOR DC VERTIGO.

KEN: HERE ARE FIVE QUESTIONS FOR YOU. HAVE YOU WRITTEN YOUR BEST BOOK?

JASON: I LIKE LIGHTS OUT AND I'M ALSO EXCITED ABOUT MY NEXT ONE, THE FOLLOWER. THE FOLLOWER HAS A LARGER THRILLER ELEMENT AND A FEMALE PROTAGONIST, DEPARTURES FOR ME.

KEN: DO YOU EVER DRAW ON PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN YOUR WRITING? I'M THINKING OF THE FOLLOWER.

JASON: GOD, I HOPE NOT. THERE'S ONE CHARACTER IN THE FOLLOWER THAT SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME WHILE I WAS WRITING HIM. HE'S JUST SO CREEPY THAT IT WAS JUST VERY DISTURBING TO WRITE HIM. THAT'S NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE.

KEN: WHEN PEOPLE MEET YOU, ARE THEY SURPRISED THAT YOU'RE THE GUY WHO WRITES SUCH DARK NOIR?

JASON: I TELL PEOPLE I'M KEN BRUEN. SERIOUSLY, THAT'S WHAT I DID AT BOOK EXPO LAST YEAR. I WAS SIGNING COPIES OF BUST AND A WOMAN ASKED, "ARE YOU JASON OR KEN?" I SAID, "KEN," AND SIGNED YOUR NAME.

KEN: IDEAL PLACE TO LIVE IF YOU HAD YOUR CHOICE.

JASON: NEW YORK CITY, MANHATTAN. I'M LIVING THE DREAM.

KEN: IF THEY MAKE A MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE, WHO WOULD YOU HAVE PLAY YOU AND WE KNOW OF COURSE THAT HALLE WOULD BE THE CO STAR.

JASON: YES, HALLE BERRY WOULD BE "CO-STARR". TO PLAY ME, IT'S HARD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN JOHNNY DEPP AND ORLANDO BLOOM. EH, I'D LET THEM FIGHT IT OUT.

Comments

[Jeff]

Two questions:
1. For each of you, which of your own books was the hardest to write?

2. Do you plan to write any books together that have more than one word in the title?:)

[Lori G. Armstrong]

Two questions:

1) Ken - you excel at both short stories and novels, besides the length, which is harder to write?

2) Jason - was it difficult to write a female protag? Why?

[Louise Ure]

With the all-caps I feel like you two are shouting at each other over a rural phone line.

A question for both of you: have you ever wanted to write in a different genre?

[Sandra Ruttan]

Here's an unfair question. Ken, when are you going to write a book with me?

Seriously, great post.

XO
Sandra

[AlisonGaylin]

Can one/both of you guys give us a little teaser about the plot of SLIDE. Specifically, what is the most shockingly violent thing that happens in the book?

[ken Bruen]

the hardest book to write was Cross, the sixth Jack Taylor and we're sticking to one word tiles cos we want to be sure our names still fir on the spine
JEFF
short stories are a holiday, novels are hell
Lori
Jen Jordan asked us at madison, why are U 2 always shoting at each other, Jason said, it's Ken age, he doesnt hear well
and our project for DC comics is the supernatural

Louise
I'm planning a book with you right after I get back from Love Is Murder in chicago.......and Jason will tell you, I'm a dream to work with........note to Jason, lie a lot here buddy
Sandra
we gave charles at hard Case a near coronary, he said, so you guys wont do anything to Nuns and we swore...........course not, nest day, we did ferocious things to them.....the lot involves a whole new slant of Private dick and being as liberal as Jay and I are, angela scores most, but not in a way you could anticipate, the body count is...............fierce

the most shckingly violent thing that happens is...............shite, Jay wont let me say
dammit
Love
Ken

[Jason Starr]

Hey, I'm not sure where Ken is, but I think he'll check in later.
Thanks for the great questions and the chance to visit the blog today. I know Ken is very thankful as well....Wait, so am I Starsky or Hutch? I know Ken would want to be Hutch because of David Soul and because it is "Ken" Hutchinson after all. I guess I'm Jason Starsky.

Re the one word titles, there are a few reasons why we did this. The main one is that Charles Ardai the publisher of Hard Case told us from the get-go that we need a short title to fit the title of the book as well as our name on the spine. He suggested a four word title and you should've seen the sick titles Ken came up with before we came up with BUST...Our graphic novel is called THE CHILL, not one word (though originally it was going ot be CHILL)

My hardest book to write? I think I have to say THE FOLLOWER, the one out next summer from SMP. I just found it draining at times, though draining in a good way if you know what I mean. But, in general, I try to do a few pages a day, but don't pressure myself if I don't, so in this way I never really have to struggle.

Re writing in a different genre, I really love crime fiction and thrillers, so I can't see straying in the near future...I mean it's not fun unless people get hurt, right? :)...Our graphic novel is a supernatural thriller, but it will still have a major crime element.

Re writing a female protagonist--this was not hard at all for me. I've had major female characters in my books, they just haven't been the focus. So I thought of it as just altering my perspective, focussing the camera on a different part of a story. I also wanted to do something very different than anything I've done before and I definitely think this book, THE FOLLOWER, is a new direction for me.

The shockingly violent thing in Slide? Why am I not surprised that the gossip hound, Ms. Gaylin asked this question? :) I really don't want to give it away cause it's a major plot point, but let's just say that we nearly crossed a big line and had to go through a couple of revisions (well, cutting) in order for the book to be published without an NC17 rating! We were thinking (well, it was Ken's idea) about having some of the cut bits at the end of the book as sort of out takes but, alas, decided against it.

J

[Karen]

How about a standalone book with all the cut bits called CUT BITS, which could sort of be like Ken's post here...

Thanks so much for blogging for us today!

[AlisonGaylin]

Thanks so much for the blog, guys, and I can't tell you how much I loved BUST -- though I'll never be able to look at Drano the same way again! Your secrecy makes me even more anxious for SLIDE. You sure you can't publish an NC-17 "directors cut" for us purists?

[Jason Starr]

OK, another clue...no Draino in Slide. Sorry to disappoint... also, we're going to have the first chapter up on our websites next month, as well as the cover. We saw the prelims and I think it's one of the best Hard Case has done yet, and that's saying something.