Some twenty years ago, I wrote a novel called Harlem Redux, later republished as Lyrics of a Blackbird. Set in 1926, at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, it concerns David McKay, a civil rights attorney whose mysterious disappearance baffled his friends and family. They feared him dead, but he’s very much alive, and now he’s back in town, drawn by the news of his sister’s suicide.
Bewildered and grief-stricken, David sets out to determine what led to Lilian’s death. He finds out, for example, that her twin, Gem, suddenly and inexplicably appeared on Lilian’s doorstep after years away in Paris.
We eventually learn what mischief Gem got up to after she landed in New York, but we’re left wondering what mess she was into before she got there. What was she doing in Paris all ’em years? And why did she leave it?
You’d think that, as the author, I would know. I didn’t. It was a decades-old mystery, one of my own making, and I didn’t have the faintest idea of the answer.
So, I began with the obvious.
What did we know? We knew she was a singer and that she said she worked at Le Grand Duc, by 1924 one of the most successful jazz clubs in Montmartre, the 18th arrondissement. And we knew that she lived in the 18th, too. Montmartre was Harlem-on-the-Seine, home-away-from-home for hundreds of African-American singers, musicians, painters, and writers. What else did we know? That she wouldn’t have left Paris unless she was forced to—unless she was in trouble. Now, what trouble could a young jazz singer from Harlem get into? What a question! Hmm-hmph! The answer boggles the mind … leads to all kinds of musings.
But not to get ahead of myself—or to impose a history on Gem that was not hers—I started by following the humble threads of what we definitely knew. I followed them as they wound back and forth, back and forth, through time. I undid a big knot here, a little knot there, and slowly unraveled a tale, a very troubled one indeed.
How far am I? About 100,000 words in. Will I keep all of those words? Unlikely. Will I add new ones? Most definitely. There are more knots to untangle. Gem was an enigma and still is. She may be a character who seeks the spotlight but she apparently enjoys the shadows, too. But that’s OK. Other characters have stepped forward, men and women who would like to have their say about what happened one deadly night in Montmartre so long ago.
I’m not sure this book will ever see the light of day, but I intend to finish it. And so I’m working on it, bit by bit. Which leads me to …
What I’m struggling with:
Getting back in the game. The writing game, that is. The past decade has been spent in a taxing job, leaving me without enough time or mental reprieve for creative work. Now, I have the time but not the mindset. There’s an inner resistance to be overcome. It can be daunting. However, …
What I’ve learned:
… is that when I do overcome it—when I finally do sit down, put my hands on the keyboard, and type—I feel an overwhelming sense of relief and serenity. The resistance evaporates. The peace of mind I’ve been hoping for, waiting for, descends like a soothing blanket. It’s as if I’ve finally come home.
Where to see me:
On YouTube! Seriously? Yup! How did that happen? Well, last year, I chaired the panel for judging submissions for the Edgar Award for short stories. (The Edgarsare given out by the Mystery Writers of America. As someone once explained to me, the Edgars can be likened to the Oscars for the mystery and crime fiction/non-fiction world.)
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So, this past week I moderated the Edgar Awards Symposium for Best Short Story. I joined Edgar nominees Gregory Fallis, Charles John Harper, Donna Moore, William Burton McCormick, and Tim McLoughlin, as well as Robert L. Fish Memorial Award recipient Mark Harrison for a chat about what inspires them and how they craft their crafty short stories. Click here to view it on Mystery Writers of America’s YouTube channel.
By the way, you can also see the entire schedule for Edgar symposiums on MWA’s Instagram channel.
What I’m reading:
Lisa Unger. She pens novels of domestic suspense. Her characters—who could be any one of us—are thrust into an ever-tightening web of deceit. We feel their deepening fear as their worlds collapse around them and they come to the chilling realization that those they thought they knew best are the very ones they know—and can trust—the least.
Lisa’s newest is Confessions on the 7:45. Echoing Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train and Alfred Hitchcock’s subsequent film based on the book, two women, strangers to one another, meet on a commuter train and, in an unexpected moment, share confidences. It’s an exchange of secrets that will have life-altering consequences for both.
What I’m watching:
The Recruit on Netflix. I binged on it while sick with bronchitis last week and loved every minute of it. With executive producer and former CIA lawyer Adam Ciralsky at the helm, the show depicts how everyday office life within the agency can be just as mundane as work anywhere else—until it isn’t.
Owen Hendricks is a twenty-something attorney who was recruited to work for the CIA fresh out of law school. Like many newbies, he receives a task that his colleagues don’t want to do, in this case, to plow through stacks of “graymail,” letters threatening to expose U.S. government secrets.
Owen finds that one of the letters could possibly represent a real threat to national security and is sent to meet its author, Maxine “Max” Meladze. She turns out to be a Belarussian former CIA asset with damaging secrets to tell. A real threat, indeed. Left to deal with her on his own, Owen soon finds himself in over his head.
The title ostensibly refers to Owen but, as the story unfolds, we see that it refers to Max, also. She, too, was recruited by the agency. And it’s the agency’s revived need for her skills that will drive much of the story.
The lamb and the “tyger.” The agency has recruited them both. It also abandons them both. It leaves Owen to face lethal situations without proper training and sends Max on a deadly mission without financing. Rather than mentor him, Owen’s colleagues undermine him. It’s the tiger, ruthless and seductive, who is left to teach the lamb how to survive. And so we see an otherwise unlikely forging of bonds between two very different souls, with the resultant corruption of one and possible redemption of the other.
All in all, it’s a fun and thrilling ride.
In closing …
A reader recently wrote in, asking me to share more about myself in my newsletters. I responded that readers are always welcome to send in specific questions. Privately, I resolved to make reading the newsletter a richer experience.
But later on, thinking about it, I was reminded of that dreaded job interview question. You know the one, where the interviewer sits back, folds his hands, and says, “So, tell me a little about yourself.” And you’re left wondering, “Where should I begin? What exactly does he want to know?”
Lisa Unger’s approach to her own newsletter gave me an idea. She’s another introvert and a fantastic writer. So, I’ve shamelessly borrowed from her format. I hope it pleases you. Let me know. And, if you haven’t done so, check out her newsletter, too!
You’ll hear from me in about a month. Until then, feel free to send in comments and/or questions. I’ll do my best to respond.
À la prochaine fois!
