Came to the computer this morning to discover that THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH has been nominated by the MWA for their 2009 best novel Edgar Award.

Which almost compensated for the hour my daughter spend screaming after she woke up.

Life and art, never in sync.

Anyway, very cool news and very happy.

List of all the 2009 Edgar nominees HERE.

-c

Seriously, I wasn’t there, it wasn’t me, I had nothing to do with it and I don’t know who did do it and the fact that I’m sharing it here doesn’t mean I’m endorsing such behavior and god knows B&N has given me plenty of face on the shelves so if any reps are watching this, I am shocked, shocked to find there is gambling taking place in this establishment!   

An interview at The Big Adios crime fiction forum:  “Tear gas is impossible to get out of fabric. The rocks along a rail bed are called ballast, and when there’s a train strike on an animal each piece of ballast needs to be cleaned. “

Reader P from Brooklyn composed himself a soundtrack by which to read Mystic Arts.

Put this on vinyl and I’d snap it up.

Thanks, gator!

For Web

Too Cool For School - Fountains of Wayne
Green Onions - Booker T. & The MG’s
Everybody Wants You - Billy Squier
Pass The Hatchet - Roger & The Gypsies
Sinnerman (Felix DaHousecat House Mix) - Nina Simone
Tied Up - Yello

Web & Soledad

Protection - Massive Attack
Girl Like You - Edwyn Collins

Web’s First Day on the Job

Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N Roses
Working In the Coal Mine - Lee Dorsey
Workin For A Livin - Huey Lewis & The News
Line Up - Aerosmith

Web & L.L.

Behave Yourself - Booker T. & The MG’s
Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones
Numb - Linkin Park
Right Before Your Eyes - Hoobastank

Epilogue

California Dreamin - Shaw Blades

THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH reviewed by David J. Montgomery in the Chicago Sun-Times (scrolling after the link):  

“Most novels would be hard-pressed to live up to such a grandiose name as The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, but Huston is not a typical writer, and this is not most novels.”

THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH is included in Kirkus Reviews‘ Mysteries Specials issue (link to a pdf, page 5 for Mystic, but take a look at all the good stuff.):   

“Through Goodhue’s gruesome vocation, Huston relates the dirty job ofcleaning up after murders, suicides and other misadventures alongside a crime story laced with the author’s characteristically whip-smart dialogue and macabre humor.”

 

 

Clayton Moore wrote the piece, and used some additional material from out conversation in a column for Bookslut:

 

 

“For all of Webster’s lonesome sorrow, the book is one of those rare ensemble pieces that shows the daily absurdity, electrical banter, and unlikely dependability that develops between people that go to work together every single day.”

THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH reviewed by Lindsey Losnedahl at reviewjourna.com:

 “Little does Web know, though, that his new job and relationship will plunge him into a world of danger. Rival cleaning crews are after him, smugglers are after him, and just about everyone is trying to pound in his face. But hey, he’s a creep, so what does he expect?”

 THE SHOTGUN RULE reviewed by Wayne C. Rogers, also at RJ.com: 

“The four kids aren’t really bad. They’re just prone to getting into trouble by stealing and lying and running off at the mouth.”

THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH reviewed by Professor Plum at Crime Critics:

“Charlie Huston, if you just meant to entertain me like I let you with your comic books, I wish I could apologize, but I can’t. I see deep meaning in your book about cleaning up human feces and bits of brain. I see social commentary in your razor-sharp and profane-fueled dialog. I see shit so obvious and powerful that I don’t care if it ends up being a hallucination. It just feels too good to let it all out, crying and typing with your book on my lap and not embarrassed in the least.”

THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH reviewed by Mary Foster for the Associated Press(archived at Yahoo! News) : 

“There are mysteries that are not for the faint of heart. Charlie Houston’s latest is not for the faint of stomach.”

THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH reviewed by Zack Handlen at the A.V Club: 

“…Huston mashes together traditional noir with explicit gore and a healthy dose of black comedy, and the result is a moving, eye-opening piece of pulp entertainment.”

For some inexplicable reason, today was apparently declared Review Charlie’s New Book Day.  I missed the memo but am trying to get up to speed.  Thus, if you scroll down from here you will be subjected to a series of reviews of my new book.  This would make me feel like a big asshole, big-head, braggy, jag off, if it were not for the fact that I did actually write the book, this is my blog, and I make my entire living off of my writing.  So if you’re here for something other than self promotion, come back another day.  THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH is the new book.  I like it.  And, it seems, some other people do as well.

THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH is reviewed, and I am profiled, by Rege Behe in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “Instead, Huston went literary, albeit with a bent for explicit violence that would be almost unbearable save that he leavens the most grotesque passages with humor. Part Edgar Allen Poe, part Groucho Marx, Huston’s books feature passages that alternately make readers wince, then guffaw.”

THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH reviewed by Robin Vidimos in the Denver Post:  “Web’s gift is understatement. Huston’s is sharp dialogue and unusual setting, and he creates a most unlikely sympathetic character.Genre writers too often set the hook quickly and hard, glossing over the subtleties of character in their haste to reel in the reader, ultimately using plot as a club. Not so Huston.”

THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH reviewed by Joy Tipping in the Dallas Morning News:  “Huston’s characters are mostly loons, but his way with characterization and plot are so sure-handed and appealing, you’ll find yourself desperately hoping they survive to live another day and star in a sequel, Clorox at the ready.”

THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH reviewed by Michele Ross in the Cleveland Plain Dealer(part of a set of capsule reviews, requires a little scrolling after the link):   “The characters range from the slightly odd to the bizarre-doesn’t-even-begin. You might feel ashamed of yourself for laughing, but I won’t tell. Just take a bath afterward, and remember to scrub out the tub.“�

THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH reviewed by Billy Heller in the NY Post:  “When someone blows their brains out in Los Angeles County, Goodhue and his co-workers sponge up the gray matter, blood and other leftovers.” The book sounds very much like mine, but was apparently written by someone named Houston. Go figure.

THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH reviewed by Marilyn Stasio in tomorrow’s NY Times Sunday Book Review: “Just when you think you’ve caught up with him on the curve, Charlie Huston drives right off the cliff, landing on a road no one else could see.”By the way, characatures are a standard feature in the crime capsule reviews.  This one is by Wes Duvall (as I believe they all are), and is, I am certain, owned by the NY Times.  I am reproducing it without their permission.  So, you know, if you’re a lawyer for the Times, tell me if I should take it down.  Also, the image Duvall has worked from is a photograph taken by Karin Kohlberg.  I only bring all this up to make the point that I’m not blaming Wes, the Times, or Karin for the fact that I look like a grimacing skull.     

So I guested on Amazon’s Omnivoracious blog last week.  No big storm of posts, just one a day for five days.  I bring it up again because I’m very pleased with the posts.  Without planning to do so, I wrote five brief reminiscences about my hands on experience with the kinds of messes THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH is about.  A little cohesive collection of autobiographical stories that directly relate to the content of the book they are meant to promote.  Nothing genius, but I like the set.  You can find it HERE.

John Scalzi invited me to write a post about THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH for the Big Idea feature, wherein guest writers share some aspect of the genesis of their current work, on his Whatever blog.   “So that was my guy. A trauma cleaner who gets involved in other people’s troubles, and solves them. Sort of. Or not at all.”

Echo Park, January 15 - For old times sake then. What the desk looks like on release week of a new book.   It’s like this around here: THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH published on Tuesday.  I woke up, conscious of the fact that it was pub day.  There had been some large humps of anxiety over the preceding weeks.  One of these humps was the book’s review in the NY Times.  The review was very positive, more than I could have hoped for, and, having been tipped by friends that it was so, I was able to read it without vomiting in my own lap.  Still, it was a fat Janet Maslin review in the Times, and, as much as the warm glow of a good review fades from my body within minutes of reading it, as much as I want not to care about such things, as much as I know all praise and criticism are relative, one does not get a review in the NY Times and not suffer some anxiety.  Suffice to say it quelled.  Not so much that I’ve been able to read the review a second time, but there it is.  I’d hit a larger hump the week before.  The book is about trauma cleaners.  To write it I had to talk to some trauma cleaners.  And, a short while back, I’d sent them a galley.  Panic-inducing.  I expected they would loath it, take offense at my portrayal of their profession, and launch a preemptive law suit.  Which was not the case.  They said kind things, patted me on the head, and sent me on my way.  LA Times review, Washington Post review, also very good, also had me on the verge of puke.  For the record, it’s not just me who reacts this way to ink.  Most writers break out in sweats when faced with a review.  Bigger the paper, bigger the sweats.  We are thin skinned and weak stomached and filled with doubts.  So by the time the book actually his the shelves, I’d been tested a few times.  Most of what I want to know will come to me gradually over the next few weeks.  Sales numbers, natch, I care about.  But it takes a bit of time for them to resolve into a useful picture.  I’ve had a few reader emails from over achievers who have already consumed the thing.  I’ll get more.  I always look forward to those, good or bad.  Not that I enjoy emails with YOU SUCK in the subject heading, but when someone takes the time to write in with their personal opinion I put some value on it.  I try to write back and comment on the specific praise or criticism.  And I enjoy that process.  It feels like dialogue.  I’ll also hear from friends, maybe a few other writers, telling me what they thought.   None of this will change what I think of the book, but hearing from readers who have been with the books for a few years, and from people who I know personally, will give me better context for their opinions.  This in turn will give me a better idea if I got across the story I was trying to tell.  Do I still check Amazon and B&N sales ranks?  Yes I do.  Can’t help it.  I don’t check them every couple hours like I did with the first few books, but daily, maybe twice a day.  OK, three times.  Maybe four.  Hmm, that’s every couple hours.  Fuck it. I peek.  For the record, MYSTIC bumped to one-hundred and ninety-something at Amazon on Tuesday.  The highest any of my books have reached.  It’s hovering just outside 200 right now.  Still my best number.  The B&N number is not as sexy.  Well into the thousands.  I don’t read the user reviews at either site, by the way.  I read a couple when my first book came out and it was just fucking punishing.  Some of the folks are very bright and articulate, some dumb as dirt, but it’s just an exercise in mental self-abuse.  I don’t have the fortitude to try and place a valuation on what these people have to say.  My gut wants to hug them or dig out their eyes with a broken bottle.  My head wants not to care.  The best way not to care is to stay away.  Mostly my task this week is to stay focused on work.  The desk is filled.  Not cluttered, but dense with matter.  I’m writing the fifth and final Joe Pitt Casebook, and as I am doing so I have just received the line edits and notes for a crime novel that will publish in this slot next year.  Trying to move from project to project it not something I do well.  I usually manage to keep more space between them, but this has been a complicated year.  Meanwhile, I’ve taken a new freelance gig from Marvel, nothing that I can write about explicitly, and ideas for that project keep popping into my head while I’m trying to do other things.  Interviews for MYSTIC are happening, guest blogs for a couple places, I’ll start signings next week, and do a couple quick trips to promote the book.  I find myself trying to find an extra hour to carve from the day.  But it is, none of it, punishing in any way.  It is work, good work, and I love it.  It doesn’t always show on my face or in what I write here, but I love it.  I have a new book out, A book of which I am, don’t tell anyone, proud.  Who’s have thought?-c  PSFormatting is still an issue.  Yes, working on it.Â