Much to my annoyance, I've been having an email problem lately.
So, I get literal duplicates of some messages. Others, I'm not getting. And same going out. Some people aren't getting emails, they're getting them eons late, or they get them in triplicate.
I'm not sure who the lucky ones are. But suffice to say that if you sent me a businessy email that I didn't respond to within 24 hours, I didn't get it.
Now, on down to today's real post. And then yesterday's bonus post, in case you missed it. And the debate goes on about women and men and noir...
THE FRAILTY OF FLESH
About Me
- Sandra Ruttan
- I am the author of What Burns Within, and The Frailty of Flesh,published by Dorchester. I’m also an editor with Spinetingler Magazine. My own work has appeared in Pulp Pusher, Crimespree Magazine and Out of the Gutter. Visit my my website for all the latest news.
OUT NOW!
Order from BARNES & NOBLE.
WHAT BURNS WITHIN?
"Well worth adding to any mystery collection."
-- Library Journal
"Ruttan manages to keep multiple leads and seconds on the same page admirably... the straight proceduralism from Ruttan serves the story well through the rewarding climax."
--Publishers Weekly
"A sizzling story by one of crime fiction's hot new voices."
-- Rick Mofina, internationally best-selling author of A PERFECT GRAVE
"This story features a triple mystery and three main characters, who are interesting not only for their tangled group dynamic but also as individuals. The subject matter obviously is very grim, but the occasional banter between the constables helps to take the edge off. This is a good start to a new series I think will appeal to a variety of mystery lovers."
--Fresh Fiction
"Sandra Ruttan writes with utter ferocity. Twists and turns that stun and dialog that absolutely crackles with wit and authenticity. With each page, Ruttan delivers the goods. WHAT BURNS WITHIN is a nonstop chiller of a mystery that keeps you turning the pages."
-- GREGG OLSEN, New York Times Bestselling Author of A WICKED SNOW
"Promising talent Ruttan sets her gritty new detective series in Vancouver. It has a hard-edged feel and intriguing characters. ...this is a good start to an intriguing series."
--Romantic Times Book Reviews
"Short and snappy chapters, terse dialogue, staccato delivery of minimalist descriptions -- Ruttan's style harks back to the classic hardboiled era....Ruttan is very much a shower rather than a teller: there are very few internal monologues to be heard in WHAT BURNS WITHIN, the subtleties of the characters' complex psychologies being drawn out through their interactions with their colleagues. That's a difficult skill to make invisible, but it's one of Ruttan's most effective weapons."
--Declan Burke, Crime Always Pays
"Ruttan effortlessly brings to life a varied cast of complex characters. She writes with tremendous passion, honesty and skill. This is a story you will care about."
-- Allan Guthrie, Edgar Nominated Author of KISS HER GOODBYE
“Ruttan combines devilishly clever plots with genuinely empathic characters..."
--Russel D. McLean, Crime Scene Scotland
"A totally mesmerizing narrative and a plot that burns off the page."
-- Ken Bruen, Shamus Award-Winning Author of THE GUARDS
“WHAT BURNS WITHIN reads like a favorite television series. A large cast, lots of dialogue to advance the plot, a great setting, and well-drawn characters make for a compelling police procedural.”
-- Anne Frasier, USA Today Bestselling Author of HUSH, SLEEP TIGHT & PLAY DEAD
Available on Amazon.
13 comments:
Your story ROCKS!! I loved it!!
Thanks Trace! And thanks for the link!
You can see where I got the name 'Rickards' from. This is John before the sex change.
Noir is the french word for black. Get with it Boy Kim!
Okay Kim, noir is... Ian Rankin and (much of) Val McDermid's work, Simon Kernick and Stuart MacBride... it's a label used to refer to dark crime fiction. You won't find it listed on a subgenre page with a definition but these days, everyone seems to be a style of "noir". Someone could likely come up with a much better description, but the trend these days is to brooding, dark books.
The stereotypical noir story involves an anti-heroic main character, often involved in some not-quite-on-the-up-and-up sector of law enforcement, i.e. the seedy P.I. You know the story -- some dame with great gams walks in and says, "I think my husband is trying to kill me." The P.I. falls for her but she either dies, goes back to her husband, or runs off with a lover.
Again, let me emphasize that that's the *stereotype* of a noir story.
Sela, it would be interesting to discuss when it goes beyond the stereotype. For me, the first "noir" I read was Rankin and McDermid (Wire in the Blood) and neither are the seedy side of the equation, which I think has compounded my confusion with some of the generalizations made about it.
Of course, reading Dublin Noir, if there's one thing I'm convinced of, it's that the range of what is "noir" is now almost as broad as the range of what can be "crime fiction" which is not a bad thing. It's interesting to see how it evolves over time.
Sandra,
First off, let me say your story in Demolition is wonderful.
I wish I could define what noir means to me. The detective fiction is often labeled noir, I agree about McDermid. It seems the definition is changing, the language expanding beyond the typical. But in my mind, the very best noir, written and acted, is the short that opens Frank Miller's SIN CITY. That wa,s without a doubt, the epitome of noir, in my mind.
Great conversation, BTW.
Thanks JT - I shall have to check out SIN CITY! And maybe bring this up again when I feel I have a better handle on it. How do you write something you can't really define?
That's a topic for a whole new day!
I loved SIN CITY! Definitely noir of the seedier type, but sooo well crafted. If, er, you don't mind a bit (a LOT) of gore.
I don't mind gore - now I really have to see this!
Oh Sandra, you will LOVE it. Trust me.
Light noir. Isn't that called gray?
That would be grey, BK.
Noir is more a state of mind, and I think a spill-over from the movies - though it may be that the two different media have fed into each other to create the ill-defined beast we know today.
I've probably had one martini too many (but is that not itself noir?)
Sandra, you will love Sin City. Trust me.
As far as light noir -- isn't that called gray?
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