Dave White's Next Big Thing

By Steve Weddle

So there's this NEXT BIG THING meme going around in which authors tag each other (heh) with ten questions. Since Dave White is out today and my answers are set for tomorrow, I figured I'd answer for Dave today. You're welcome, big fella. 

1) What is the working title of your next book?

RUTGERS IPA, PI

2) Where did the idea come from?

I was emailing with Sarah Weinman and Jason Pinter one night and we decided it would be neat.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Mystery/Thriller/College Romance/Craft Beer/Noir

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

I picture a young James Gandolfini (Rutgers, 83) for the lead and Calista Flockhart (Rutgers, 88) as the love interest.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When an assistant basketball coach discovers a new recipe for India Pale Ale worth killing for, his life turns into one big fast break of terror.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

My first two novels, WHEN ONE MAN DIES and THE EVIL THAT MEN DO, were published by a major house and well received.I independently published WITNESS TO DEATH, my most recent novel.That one was called one of the best dozen crime novels of the year.

Whether it's independently published or one of the major offerings from a big house, I hope people enjoy reading it.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?

Well, I've been thinking about some of the aspects of the novel for a long time. The actual sitting down and writing has been about a year so far.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

It's a bit like a Spenser novel. One of the good ones.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

To be honest, it was DSD's own Steve Weddle. Hearing him go on and on about writing is kind of like seeing an eighth grader try to dunk a basketball. At some point, you just want to show the kid how it's done.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

I've created Twitter accounts for all the characters and the last page of the novel will be a recipe for the craft beer featured in the story.

Jeff Shelby Talks to Jeffrey Allen... or Himself

I've been a fan of Jeff Shelby for a long time. Not because he's a teacher AND knows college basketball, but because he's a damn good writer. In the span of 6 months, he's put out two books: Liquid Smoke, featuring Noah Braddock, PI, and an e-book standalone called Thread of Hope. Also, this guy Jeffrey Allen has written Stay At Home Dead. Here they are blabbing with each other. Sort of.

I’ve recently ventured off in some different writing directions, trying my hand at both a stand alone and a cozy series, after writing three books in a series. I thought this would be far more interesting if I interviewed…myself…because, a lot of days, this is really how I feel when I’m moving back and forth between different books that I’m working on…

Jeff Shelby: So, this is kinda weird.

Jeffrey Allen: Why?

JS: It’s like I’m talking to myself.

JA: You are.

JS: Oh, right. Anyway, why’d you write one of those cozy things? That isn’t very manly.

JA: Look, there are guns in it, okay? And toupees. Those are manly.

JS: If you say so.

JA: Whatever. I thought it would be fun to get away from all that serious crap you write and write something funny, something that might make people laugh. So I took my/our experience as a stay at home dad and turned into something Chevy Chase might star in. And there’s a midget.

JS: You know there aren’t many dudes writing cozies, right?

JA: That’s the point. I’m unique. And so is the character.

JS: Sure. Legend in your own mind.

JA: Yours too, then.

JS: Awkward. So what’s Stay At Home Dead (that’s so PUNNY!) about anyway?

JA: Stay at home dad Deuce Winters finds the body of his old high school rival in his minivan and is accused of murder. In order to clear his name, he must deal with: a pint-sized detective, some ferocious PTA moms, a toupee wearing Elvis lookalike who wants to build a shooting range for kids and a whole lot of other goofy things that might pop up in a small town in Texas.

JS: (silence)

JA: No, seriously. That’s the book.

JS: Wow. Someone’s publishing that?

JA: I know, right???

JS: Well, that’s impressive. What was wrong with using my/our real name?

JA: I thought you might be embarrassed, you being a serious crime writer and all. Those Noah Braddock books tend to be a little bit more thoughtful. I didn’t think you’d want anyone getting us confused.

JS: Good thinking.

JA: And I wanted people to know that I could come up with more than two words for a title.

JS: (silence)

JA: Killer Swell. Wicked Break. Liquid Smoke. Mix in an article once in awhile, why don’t you.

JS: My titles are fine.

JA: Says you.

JS: And, as a matter of fact, I DID just mix in an article.

JA: Oh, here we go. Yes. Your little ebook.

JS: It’s not little.

JA: What size is it then?

JS: It’s the size of a book.

JA: Clever.

JS: Thank you.

JA: I’ll begrudgingly admit, I like the title. Thread of Hope. It’s good.

JS: Thank you again.

JA: But it’s kinda serious.

JS: Well, while you were goofing off writing your midget book, I was trying to write about a former cop whose daughter was abducted and never found. Now he looks for other people’s kids.

JA: Dude. That’s…serious.

JS: And when his best friend is accused of a crime and the teenage accuser goes missing, it’s up to this guy to figure everything out. Even as he’s still dealing with his own daughter’s disappearance.

JA: OMG. Stop. I’m gonna cry or something. Tell me a joke or something.

JS: What do you do for a sick sheep?

JA: (silence)

JS: You give him SHEEP P R!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Get it???

JA: Um, yes. I get it. And I think you should stick with the serious stuff and I’ll stick with writing the funny stuff. That work for you?

JS: SHEEP P R??? IT’S HILARIOUS!!!!

JA: I can’t believe I’m you.

JS: Me either! You’re so lucky to be me!


Jeff Shelby is the author of the Noah Braddock PI series, the Deuce Winters stay at home dad series (under the name Jeffrey Allen) and the standalone Thread of Hope. He is a high school English teacher and basketball coach, but not the same caliber of coach as Mike Rice, head coach at Rutgers University. (Told you I’d work it in, Dave.) He lives in Dallas, TX with his daughter. You can find him talking with himself regularly at his websites, www.jeffshelby.com and www.jeffreyallenbooks.com.

Guest Post: Stephen Blackmoore

Mr. Blackmoore has been a friend of Do Some Damage for quite some time. His debut novel City of the Lost is out today. He has some words for you readers out there, so check this out:

My debut novel, CITY OF THE LOST drops today like a coked-up baby into a school prom trashcan.

For those of you who haven't been inundated with my incessant yammering about this book, CITY OF THE LOST is about an unrepentant thug, Joe Sunday, who gets murdered, brought back to life and finds himself in the middle of a whole bunch of Very Bad People who want the thing that raised him from the dead. Lots of violence, lots of blood. Lots and lots of swearing.

And I'm here today not only to ask you to shell out a few bucks to grab a copy, which I appreciate and know that it's a lot to ask, but to buy a copy from an independent bookstore.

Now I'm not the type of person who looks at some gargantuan retailer like Amazon, points and shrieks, "EVIL!" Questionable policies aside, they're businesses, like any other business and I'm not here to say one's better than another. I shop there. I even buy books there. I have a Kindle, after all. And my book's available on it. Nook, too.

But there are some things that a neighborhood bookstore can do that a place like Amazon can't.

Amazon doesn't have a face the way a bookstore does. There is no one there who you can walk up to and say, "What's good?" and have them shove a copy of something incredible into your hands.

It can't be a part of a local community. You can't browse the shelves, get lost in the smell of paper and glue, feel the rough pages between your fingers as you decide whether to pick up your latest passion.

You can't wander over to the Literature section, and try to nonchalantly impress that cute redhead in glasses thumbing a copy of Dostoyevsky only to realize later that the book you grabbed was TWILIGHT. And that you held it upside-down.

There are, after all, no cute redheads in glasses waiting for you between the pages at Amazon.

You will never have stories to tell about shopping at Amazon the way you will shopping at a bookstore. You'll never meet people, make friends and have coffee with someone as you both try clicking BUY NOW for the same book at the same time. They are not there to meet.

And so I'm asking you to get out of that comfy chair, go downtown to your local bookstore and buy a copy. And if they don't have it, ask them to order it. It will take about as long to get it as you would with Prime shipping and it'll help keep them in the black.

And, failing that, then click here and buy a copy from them on-line.

You see, Amazon's not the only on-line game in town. Indie-Bound gives you the chance to buy from and support independent bookstores.

And, because I love this place and these people, I'd really, really dig it if you'd buy a copy of CITY OF THE LOST from Mysterious Galaxy.

Indie bookstores are part of a community's fabric in a way that Amazon can't be. They hold us together as readers and writers and the only way we can keep them from going the way of the dinosaur is to shop with them.

So be a pal and shop with them, would ya? Thanks.