noir – Someday Box

Who’s Your Mentor?

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Joel D Canfield

I was born precisely 9 months after Raymond Chandler died.

Perhaps there was only room for one of us at a time.

Perhaps that’s a stretch.

His books are what made me want to write. It took me ages to get a bunch of business books under my belt and develop the courage to try mysteries.
[image: Raymond Chandler]
I am particularly proud of my latest effort, A Long, Hard Look. It has been compared to Chandler, though once again, modesty (fear?) forces me to wonder if it’s a stretch.

I call what I write “Chandleresque cozies.” … more … “Who’s Your Mentor?”

Writing in Public: A Silkworm Instead of a Parachute

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Joel D Canfield

[image: happy landings!” width=”222″ height=”164″ class=”alignright size-full wp-image-3493]A guitarist I once knew said he had a friend who wanted a band to play at his anniversary party.

I said “Take the gig, and we’ll put a band together.”

He blinked a couple times and said “I find your level of confidence disturbing.”

Since I grew up (at the age of 43) I’ve often leapt from airplanes with a silkworm instead of a parachute. It lends immediacy to the task.

I chickened out just a little and didn’t tell you about this until I was 11,000 words in, but I’m writing another light mystery, a 1,000-word chapter at a time, over on my personal blog. It’s called A Long Hard Look.

I have an idea where the story will go, just as when you leap from an airplane you’re fairly certain of your destination.

Getting there in one piece, though, is not a foregone conclusion.