Friday, February 18, 2011

PLAYING ONE TRUE SENTENCE, ROUND #4


The fourth round of the new game to celebrate the release of ONE TRUE SENTENCE, the fourth Hector Lassiter novel, produced some of the cleverest comments, yet.

Some quick background: Every night, I start a True Sentence on Twitter (@HectorLassiter, hash tag #1TS), and all brave takers finish that sentence.

Each Sunday, I pick the best sentence of the week and award the winner with a rare copy of the TOROS & TORSOS limited edition.

In the world of Hector Lassiter, the game was one the author created and played, chiefly with Ernest Hemingway, but sometimes with others, and, sometimes, for unthinkable stakes.

Here's a sampling of results from Round four (my apologies to those that got by me because no hash tag was used).

On Sunday, Jon saw his own face on a milk carton; on Monday...

...he got plastic surgery. @LolosLetters

...he was joined there by the only person he loved. @erinfaye

...he was dead. @JudyJB

...he couldn't see anything at all. @xesands

...it was on the evening news: "Man wanted: considered armed and dangerous. @jennsbookshelf

...he tossed the hair clippings & Loreal box in the trash as he drove away. @jenforbus

...he saw it on the billboard outside of town. @thedeMentedmom

...he saw a more recent photo of himself at the post office. @nj713

...he snatched his daughter from the playground and ran. @JHammons

...he finally started to accept that his brother was dead. @brianlindenmuth

...he killed the man who had put him there. @erinfaye

...he found out the wrong people were looking for him. @wampusreynolds

...he ran away from the cult that had always been home. @scarletncream

...the milk expired, as did ill-fated Jon. @shelfmagazine

...he left the house burning behind him. @romyk

...he demanded that his parent's tell him the truth. @thedeMentedmom

...he drank from the carton, tossed it, and untied the girl from the bedpost. @picky_girl

...he drove all night, kicked his dad's door down, and climbed the stairs.@picky_girl

...he switched to 2% milk because his face looked thinner on the carton. @jpjacquet

...he woke early and stood staring in the mirror, just to be sure. @spitballarmy

...he became lactose intolerant. @dboshea

...he switched to a different brand that didn't use such shiny cartons. @WRNaturalist

...his mutilated body was found stuffed in a dumpster behind the Taco Shack. @usedguys

...he saw it wasn't his face at all, but the face of the man who was already dead. @matthewjmcbride

...he woke up from his coma. @popculturenerd

...he became lactose intolerant. @dboshea

...he discovered that the dairy didn’t offer wallet-sized. @wolfeislander

...he phoned the dairy and told his ex-wife to knock it off. @wolfeislander

...he saw Jesus' face there. @graham_powell

...he woke to find himself chained to his bed post. @bushdog51

...he shot his surgeon so no one could link his new face with his old one. @hilarydavidson

...he was past his “best before” date. @wolfeislander

...he realized that yes, that was right. @AdamDetritus

Thursday, February 17, 2011

PLAYING ONE TRUE SENTENCE ROUND #3

The third round of the new game to celebrate the release of ONE TRUE SENTENCE, the fourth Hector Lassiter novel, produced a few recurring motifs and a growing number of participants. (We'll be playing about 7 p.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 18.)

Some quick background: Every night, I start a true sentence on Twitter (@HectorLassiter, hash tag #1TS), and all brave takers finish that sentence.

Each Sunday, I pick the best sentence of the week and award the winner with a rare copy of the TOROS & TORSOS limited edition.

In the world of Hector Lassiter, the game was one the author created and played, chiefly with Ernest Hemingway, but sometimes with others, and, sometimes, for unthinkable stakes.

Here's a sampling of results from Round Three (my apologies to those that got by me because no hash tag was used). Also, after tonight, we'll be limiting players to a single entry. As more than one has pointed out to me since we started this game, it is, after all, ONE true sentence...

Ned Troy reckoned it was true love right up to the moment...

...her husband came home. (@JudyJB)

...she waved the poison bottle in front of his fading vision. (@jenforbus)

...he turned his back on the girl and felt the rifle push hard into his spine. (@matthewjmcbride)

...he saw the gun. (@cavalieresq)

...his lady pulled the trigger. (@pokerben)

...he awoke, bound and gagged, and saw Dora kissing his brother. (@hilarydavidson)

...she surprised him by saying, "Yes!" (@xesands)

...Lisa blithely categorized their relationship as a mere summer fling." (@scarletncream)

...Stan pulled out his Republican Party membership card. (@oddmonstr)

...she cut off his cock. (@JudyJB)

...she said I love you. (@scottchasebooks)

...she said "I’m from Fox News." (@wolfeislander)

...he lost consciousness, his mind spiraling into darkness. (@jennsbookshelf)

...a slug punched a hole in his throat and his esophagus detonated like a bomb. (@matthewjmcbride)

...she started speaking Klingon. (@wolfeislander)

...he was left on the side of the road, smell of exhaust the only memory of her. (@picky_girl)

...he saw the woman with the tattoo across her back, a pattern of small orange leaves, and he ordered another drink. (@usedguys)

...he awoke to find his body held tight to a chair and his cock inside a toaster. (@matthewimcbride)

...she said she was really his sister. (@popculturenerd)

...the paralytic took effect and he saw the pillow approaching. (@LolosLetters)

...he had the operation. (@usedguys)

...the stripper hit him with the champagne bottle and grabbed his wallet. (@hilarydavidson)

...she said "Hi." (@TheTrustNovel)

...she read the poem about her brother's penis. (@usedguys)

...she sized him up with her pinky and ran laughing out of the room. (@LitHousewife)

...Jeff pulled a copy of US Weekly out of his bag. "Read to me," Jeff cooed. (@oddmonstr)

...until he saw the bulge under her skirt." (@keithr34)

...the girl of his dreams said, "Hi, Daddy." (@vickidelany)

...she cooed, "I've made curried tofu for dinner." (@vickidelany)

...he hit his wife in the face with his Academy Award. (@usedguys)

...his lust-frenzied bride gripped his hips and bayed for Ned's best friend, César. (@BlackIrishBlarn)

...they were told their baby daughter was dead. (@usedguys)

..he ate her heart for breakfast. (@popculturenerd)

...he found the engagement ring hanging from his rearview mirror. (@maddeejames)

And...

(Canadian edition): "Ned Troy reckoned it was true love right up to the moment she told the Newfie joke." (@wolfeislander)


Check in @HectorLassiter for your chance to play...

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

PLAYING ONE TRUE SENTENCE, ROUND #2


Wednesday night, we kicked off the second round of a new game to celebrate the release of ONE TRUE SENTENCE, the fourth Hector Lassiter novel. (We'll be playing from about 8-9 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 17).

Every night, I start a true sentence on Twitter (@HectorLassiter, hash tag #1TS), and all takers finish that sentence.

Each Sunday, I pick the best sentence of the week and award the winner with a rare copy of the TOROS & TORSOS limited edition.

In the world of Hector Lassiter, the game was one the author created and played, chiefly with Ernest Hemingway, but sometimes with others, and, sometimes, for unthinkable stakes.

Round two found some answers taking a decided turn for the blue, and, mysteriously, the second appearance in as many nights of some gardening implements.

Here are the results of Round Two:

Only two things can truly kill a person…

...love and hate. (@jenforbus)

...and believe me, I'm working on number three. (@BlackIrishBlarn)

...and it was my luck to meet up with both of them on the same day. (@hilarydavidson)

...and those fuckers that left me here sure as shit ain't it. (@brianlindenmuth)

...so I used the third thing and make him live with what I did to him. (@popculturenerd)

...existential boredom, and my giant nail-studded cock. (@DocNoir)

...and luckily, I am proficient at both. (@LolosLetters)

...and both, surprisingly, involve an old 45 by the Greg Kihn band. (@DocNoir)

...a twenty hour erection and a jealous bastard with some gardening shears. (@DocNoir)

...I survived the first but was about to meet the second. (@erinfaye)

...absence or too much-- the classic old man/young punk dichotomy I fruitlessly tried to avoid on my final day. (@wampusreynolds)

...24 hours without a drink and a soulless woman. (@keithr34)

...a knife planted in your heart or a hot smoking round of lead to the face. (@matthewjmcbride)

...a law degree and good intentions. (@wolfeislander)

…a good friend and a great love. (@nj713)

Check in @HectorLassiter for your chance to play...

PLAYING ONE TRUE SENTENCE, ROUND #1


Last night, we kicked off a new game to celebrate the release of ONE TRUE SENTENCE, the fourth Hector Lassiter novel.
Every night, I start a true sentence on Twitter (@HectorLassiter, hash tag#1TS), and takers finish that sentence.

Each Sunday, I pick the best sentence of the week and award the winner with a rare copy of the TOROS & TORSOS limited edition.

In the world of Hector Lassiter, the game was one the author played, chiefly with Ernest Hemingway, but sometimes with others, and, sometimes, for unthinkable stakes.

Here are some results from round one:

It's not really murder if...

...you loved her completely. (@keithr34)

...it took the bastard ten years to die. (@hilarydavidson)

...you can't find the body. (@scubagirl)

...no one knows. (@BlackIrishBlarn)

...it's justice. (@nj713)

...the check isn't cashed. (@TyrusBooks)

...the warm rain washed away the sins of the day. (@MysteryDawg)

...the son of a bitch deserved it. (@brianlindenmuth)

...they don't find the body. (@brianlindenmuth)

...they were brothers. (@brianlindenmuth)

...the killer was stark naked and the dead possessed both garden shears and a history dirtier than a Scottish outhouse. (@BigDaddyThug)

Check in @HectorLassiter for your chance to play...

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

ONE TRUE SENTENCE: DAY ONE

A heartfelt thank you to all those who helped to get the word out today about ONE TRUE SENTENCE, the fourth novel in the Hector Lassiter series.

Today brought:

• A great review from Barnes & Noble's Ransom Notes.

A guest blog at Jen's Book Thoughts, run by the sublime Jen Forbus. Today's entry focuses on mystery writer Brinke Devlin, the woman who, for all intents and purposes, made Hector Lassiter into...Hector Lassiter.

The Story Behind the Story of ONE TRUE SENTENCE at The Rap Sheet, which also includes a chance to win one of four copies of the hardcover first edition of the novel. (Get your entry in between now and midnight, Monday Feb. 21.)

Monday, February 14, 2011

ONE TRUE SENTENCE LAUNCHES TODAY


Today marks the official release of ONE TRUE SENTENCE.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Paris, 1924

The place "where the 20th Century was," as Gertrude Stein put it.

A city teeming with would-be poets, writers, painters and publishers...the Lost Generation.

Hector Lassiter, fledgling author and best friend of Ernest Hemingway, is crossing the Pont Neuf when he hears a body fall into the icy Seine -- the first in a string of brutal murders of literary magazine editors that throw a shroud over the City of Lights.

Frantic to stop the killings, the literati form their own improbable vigilante band: Gertrude Stein gathers the most prominent crime and mystery writers in the city, including Hector and the dark, mysterious mystery novelist Brinke Devlin. Soon, Hector and Brinke are tangled not only under the sheets, but in a web of murders, each more grisly than the next.

They learn the killings may be the work of a strange cult of writers led by the mysterious "Nobodaddy"...a literary movement embracing nihilism and the siren song of the void.

As he is drawn deeper into the hunt, Hector is pitched between three women writers with hidden agendas and the darkest imaginations.

From the cafés of Montparnasse, through the historic graveyards of Paris and the Grand Guignol of the Catacombs, One True Sentence is an erotic literary thriller and richly sensuous, funhouse mirror that evokes the most romantic and suspenseful appeals of A Moveable Feast and The Dante Club.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
"This is One Strange Book. In a good way. Vivid, remarkable characters—the historical people as well-drawn as the fictional ones!—in a rich, evocative setting, and a gruesome serial killer with one of the most unusual motives ever. Absolutely gripping!"
—Diana Gabaldon, New York Times bestselling author of the Outlander series

"One True Sentence is the real stuff. A story that transports you into Hemingway's Paris as the backdrop for one hell of a crime novel. From the start I was there—walking in the Saint Germain district and along the Seine; eavesdropping in literary salons, smoky cafés, and used bookshops. The novel is sharp, smart, and fascinating. McDonald brings alive a unique time and place with not only his talent for history but style that would make his subjects proud. I read this one straight through."
—Ace Atkins, author of DEVIL'S GARDEN and INFAMOUS

"Craig McDonald proves he is a master of literary suspense in this riveting historical thriller set in the 1920s Paris of Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. Complex protagonists, shocking murders, and a gripping tale will leave you wanting to read more."
—Stefanie Pintoff, Edgar®-award winning author of A CURTAIN FALLS

"Nobody does mad pulp history like Craig McDonald. Reading a Hector Lassiter novel is like having a great uncle pull you aside, pour you a tumbler of rye, and tell you a story about how the 20th century really went down."
—Duane Swierczynski, author of EXPIRATION DATE

"In One True Sentence, Craig McDonald has not only created a double-stranded mystery marked by shocking scenarios and revelations, but at the same time a veracious re-creation of that world of the American expatriots in Paris in the 1920s. And what is more remarkable is that he has fused all of this into a singular world. That is, the very people of that era who most fascinate us—Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Ford Maddox Ford, Alice B. Toklas, Sylvia Beach, and many others—are not only here, but here as major characters in the mystery. Stein as a goader of her acolytes to solve the murders. Hemingway as the muscle behind the investigations of Hector Lassiter, and so on. And what's most pleasing is that you come to know and appreciate these characters as real people—or is it the other way around? In any case, they come alive in three dimensions, and you find yourself caring about them in ways you haven't before. It's a kind of amazing (and very smart) montage of mystery, murder, meta-fiction, and literary-history, quite unlike anything I've read before. I enjoyed it immensely."
—Craig Holden, author of THE JAZZ BIRD

"Although more graphically explicit than I normally enjoy, I could not put One True Sentence down. Craig McDonald has a gift for sure-footed mysteries rooted in historical accuracy. This time out, he has recreated Paris of the 1920s and peopled it with colorful members of the Lost Generation. Witty, gritty and wry. I can't wait to see where he takes Hector Lassiter next."
—Margaret Maron, Edgar®-winning author of the Deborah Knott mystery series

"A finely-crafted pulp historical mystery featuring a group of literary notaries themselves caught in a dark and fascinating pulp-like mystery. McDonald's formidable narrative strengths are all on display here—you get a sharply-wrought crime tale full of wit, wistfulness, sly satire, and authentic portrayals of Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and a dozen other legends set against the creative maelstrom of 1920s Paris. While McDonald plucks your heartstrings his wily hero Hector Lassiter will pound out a drum roll on your short ribs, and yes, you actually will be thankful for the experience."
—Tom Piccirilli, author of SHADOW SEASON

"The fourth Hector Lassiter novel is one heck of a ride through 1924 Paris—a time and place readers need not be familiar with to enjoy the story. The mystery follows a classic trajectory, with enough red herrings and curveballs to make readers who guess at the culprit early on feel exceptionally smart."
—Michelle Wiener, RT Book Reviews Magazine

"In 1924 in Paris, a killer targets the editors of small literary magazines. The culprit's M.O. is never the same with each murder more gruesome than any of the previous ones. Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas order mystery writers and potential lovers Hector Lassiter and Brinke Devlin to solve the case before someone else dies. The latest Lassiter 1920s mystery contains more twists than Lombard Street in San Francisco. This is an enjoyable historical amateur sleuth (novel) as readers meet a who's who (including) Hemingway as well as the two grand dame authoresses ordering Lassiter, Devlin and other crime novelists to find the killer."
—The Mystery Gazette

"When crime novelist Hector Lassiter sees a body fall into the Seine from the Pont Neuf in 1924 Paris, Gertrude Stein rallies the troops, and Lassiter and pal Ernest Hemingway pair up to find out who is killing the city's literary editors. Edgar®—nominated author McDonald takes such care to describe the American literary expatriate community in Paris in the years after World War I that readers will feel as if they are walking alongside Hemingway and his buddies as they look for a vicious killer. VERDICT Certain to attract Hemingway aficionados and readers who enjoy hard-boiled historical crime fiction."
—Library Journal

"This time out, crime writer Hec Lassiter and best friend Ernest Hemingway are young members of the Lost Generation in Paris in 1924. Someone is murdering editors of the city's many literary reviews, and Gertrude Stein assigns Hec, Hem, and two female mystery writers to track down the murderers, a nihilistic cult called the Nadaists. It's another juicy setting for McDonald to mix real people, well-known parts of the Hemingway legend, invented characters, and murders most foul. Gertrude Stein, Alice and her brownies, Ford Maddox Ford, William Carlos Williams, Man Ray, and Aleister Crowley all play parts of varying sizes, and McDonald paints a vivid picture of Lost Gen life in Paris. He tweaks Papa by giving credit for several of his best-known lines to Hec and a Paris cop. And he creates Brinke Devlin, a stunning mystery novelist with whom Hec falls in love, even though he suspects her of evil deeds. Sadly, the preface reports that Papa will be retired from the Lassiter novels. But fans will always have Paris."
—Thomas Gaughan, Booklist

"Craig McDonald has created one of my favorite characters in recent years, Navy Colt-packing crime novelist Hector Lassiter, who finds himself in the shadows of twentieth century history, occasionally with his buddy Ernest Hemingway. McDonald's latest, One True Sentence, takes Hector back to his early days—the Left Bank of the 1920s. As in previous books, McDonald weaves the pulp through the period and its people, giving weight to the book's fantastic elements. Many times those elements are used to explore literary culture, particularly its dark side. He shows the Lost Generation in an exciting, believable mix of energy, individuality, experimental hedonism, new ideas, and self-involvement. He also shows them as just another bunch of writers trying to get published, making these historical, larger than life figures very human."
—Scott Montgomery, BookPeople

"Craig McDonald came up with a brilliant premise for a mystery series. McDonald researched the career of the legendary novelist Ernest Hemingway. Then he imagined another writer named Hector Lassiter to be Hemingway's best friend. McDonald sprinkles One True Sentence with cameo appearances by famous novelists, poets and artists who lived in Paris during that period. Then he imagines a cast of characters who force the action. McDonald's ingenious plot has this maelstrom of mystery writers who are writing their own fictional stories while simultaneously being whirled through a lethal tsunami of impending doom."
—Vick Mickunas, Dayton Daily News

"Murder and Paris...what could be more perfect? Craig McDonald's fourth mystery featuring a young Ernest Hemingway and his fictitious pal Hector "Lasso" Lassiter is out and it's a lot of fun. The plot involves 'Lost Generation' writers who are being murdered and the survivors' attempts to figure out who the killer is before one of them becomes the next victim. The plot, though, is almost beside the point. If you enjoy period mysteries (this one is set in 1924), then pick up One True Sentence. It will make you glad you were an English major because you'll 'get' all the references."
—Katherine Tomlinson, Kattomic Energy

"This is Craig's masterpiece. McDonald blends the fictional pulp writer Hector Lassiter, into a world of non fiction characters such as Gertrude Stein, Alice Tolkas, Aleister Crowley, Man Ray, and of course Hadley & Ernest Hemingway. McDonald humanizes these literary icons like only he can. I have always found the Lassiter novels to be intelligent, rich and thought-provoking, but One True Sentence takes the series to a new level. This one has it all, mystique, intrigue, mystery, erotica, murder, the occult."
—Signs and Wonders

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

French translation coming from Belfond

Unabridged audio edition from Recorded Books

LEARN MORE/ORDER HERE

NEW ONE TRUE SENTENCE INTERVIEW BY JOHN KENYON

On the eve of the launch of ONE TRUE SENTENCE, John Kenyon interviews me at Things I'd Rather Be Doing about the new novel, and the Hector Lassiter series... Check it out HERE.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

LET'S PLAY ONE TRUE SENTENCE...


Let’s play a game.

The arena is Twitter, and the time is every evenin’, or thereabouts, over the next month or so.

The name of the game is One True Sentence.

The phrase, “One true sentence,” was a goal and a kind of mantra for author Ernest Hemingway.

When faced with his own writing that seemed false, or prefatory, Hem claimed to dig down into the manuscript of a short story or novel until he arrived at his first “true sentence,” and then begin his tale with that “one true” line of prose.

My continuing character, crime novelist Hector Lassiter, first appeared in a short story called “The Last Interview,” published in the Mississippi Review what seems like a lifetime ago.

In the course of that story, a callow young interviewer sent to write an article on the aging Lassiter circa 1967 ends up engaging in a high-stakes game of One True Sentence with the author.

Hector, a Hemingway intimate for several tumultuous decades, used to play the writing game with Papa over the years and countless drinks, as he explains to his young interrogator.

The game went this way, according to Hector: One author would start a true sentence, and the other had to finish it, nice and pithy, and on the spot.




Something about that game I invented hung with me. When I decided to center a novel around Hector Lassiter — HEAD GAMES — I equipped Hector with a gift Zippo from Hemingway. The windproof lighter bore the following inscription:

To Hector Lassiter:
‘One true sentence.’
— E.H.
Key West,
1932


Asked about the lighter in that novel, Hector says of it, “Something from an ex-friend you’ve been lately reading. A kind of shared credo. I remember it. Not sure he does anymore.”

In the second Lassiter novel, TOROS & TORSOS, Hector and Hemingway are actually seen playing their game. Some of their collaborative “One True Sentences” from that novel roll this way:

• “The old man died…” “illusioned and therefore disappointed.”

• “The drunken priest, awaiting execution..” “…wished that one of his fellow prisoners was a whore.”

• “Absinthe tastes…” “…like regret.”

• “A man truly alone…” “has no last words.”

• “A best friend…” “…one day stands alone.”

Okay. You get the hang of it.

So, to celebrate the Feb. 15, 2011 release of Hector Lassiter number four, ONE TRUE SENTENCE, over at Twitter, I’m going to be challenging all takers to a game of ONE TRUE SENTENCE every night through February and much of March. Our first round starts the evening of the novel’s release on February 15, probably about 7 p.m. eastern so intrepid types on the west coast can play, too.

Here’s how it goes:

Follow me @HECTORLASSITER. Every night starting this Tuesday, I’ll start One True Sentence.

Any takers can finish that sentence, rationing just enough of their 140 characters in order to add the hash tag #1TS.

Every Sunday morning at 8 a.m. eastern, I’ll review the One True Sentences on the #1TS page, and pick the week’s winner. The one who writes the truest One True Sentence will be awarded the ultra rare limited edition of TOROS & TORSOS with their own One True Sentence inscribed inside. Our One True Sentence.

So…

Want to play a game?