Les Edgerton on Writing

Where we work...

2012-02-14T13:17:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

Luca Veste just did a kind of different article today over at Crime Fiction Lover, showing where some of his writer friends (including yours truly) write. Kind of interesting...

Check it out at: www.crimefictionlover.com/

Blue skies,
Les

Interview with B.R. Stateham and library stuff

2012-02-10T12:02:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

I was asked to appear on a panel for the service day at our local Ft. Wayne downtown library and just got back. It was on ebooks and how librarians can help authors who publish ebooks. Great discussion and a great audience (all librarians). These people really like authors and want to do everything they can to help us.

Also, I was asked by Sean Casserley, the Manager of their Bibliographic and Information Technology Services to return in the next few days and record a 40-minute interview on writing, which will be shown on local TV and UTube. Kinda pumped about that. I really connected with Sean--he's a native New Zealander and has a half-brother who's a Maori. It's quite an honor as the Ft. Wayne library is nationally-acclaimed--they have what's considered the third-biggest resource on genealogy in the world, ranking just behind the Library of Congress and the Mormon library. We gets hundreds of thousands of visitors a year from all over just for the genealogical resources. Anyway, I'll let you know when it comes up on UTube.

And then , when I got home a few minutes ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see that B.R. Stateham--an author whose work I love--had just posted an interview on his blog that I did with him a couple of days ago. One of the best interviewers around, imo. Check it out at http://noirtaketurner-frank.blogspot.com/2012/02/interview-with-les-edgerton.html

And, it's still cold and wet and gray out... That object in the sky I saw yesterday that I was told was the sun, has vanished. I imagine it's gone to where the weather's better... Which would be about anywhere...

Blue skies,
Les

SOME BLOGPOSTS OF INTEREST

2012-02-09T09:46:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

As most of you know, I was an outlaw for some years and did time and stuff like that. What we call "ancient history." However, I still visit my "alma mater" occasionally (Pendleton) and when I do, I usually take a few cartons of books to donate to the prison library. It's pretty much the same as when I was there--fairly sparse and not much on the shelves. Therefore, I was delighted at two recent blogs that talked about the value of books for inmates and wanted to share what they had to say with y'all. The first is by Thomas Pluck, noir writer extraordinaire, who brought to my attention a wonderful organization that helps furnish prison libraries. You can read his post at: http://www.pluckyoutoo.com/2012/01/crime-writers-helping-crooks.html

Tom's post came out awhile back. And then, today the great Lee Lofland presented a marvelous post on his blog (The Graveyard Shift) an terrific article that really depicts honestly what books can do for inmates. Check it out at: http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/15-amazing-effects-of-prison-libraries/

For those who maybe aren't familiar with Lee, he's THE expert on police procedures and forensics and runs a police academy for writers that's unparalleled anywhere. Check out his blog. Always great and informative stuff.

And finally, I want to share a little love my friend and fellow crime writer, B.R. Stateham gave me on his blog where he reviewed THE BITCH. He made me feel guilty as I read one of his novels--A TASTE OF OLD REVENGE--awhile back and loved ir and told him I'd be posting a review of it... and haven't yet written it. I will, B.R.! I promise! It's an absolutely great book so don't wait until I review it to buy it! Anyway, here's what B.R. had to say about my novel and a couple of other really good ones at http://noirtaketurner-frank.blogspot.com/2012/02/book-reviewer-today.html

I don't know what the weather's like where you folks are, but here in Ft. Wayne today, while it's still cold and there's still snow on the ground... THE SUN IS SHINING! I had to call someone to find out what that big shiny thing in the sky was and I was told it's THE SUN! Hooray! It brought back so many memories of when I lived in New Orleans and in Texas where you see it all the time...

Have a great day and keep your powder dry!

Blue skies,
Les

INTERVIEW at SEA MINOR

2012-02-05T09:27:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

You might want to check out the interview Nigel Bird just posted on his blog, Sea Minor. The guy interviewing the subject (hereunto referred to as "The Interviewer") is really a bad interviewer, but the interviewee (hereunto referred to as "The Interviewee") is somewhat better. At least he has some whacky ideas...

Check it out at http://nigelpbird.blogspot.com/2012/02/dancing-with-myself-les-edgerton.html

These two are obviously drunk or otherwise impaired... Both seem the product of a bad education or suffering from a drop on their head during childhood. The Interviewee urges his students not to read it...

Blue skies,
Les

Skype Class to Begin with the New York Writer's Workshop... and moi!

2012-02-04T06:47:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

This is to announce that I will be co-teaching a live Skype class for the New York Writer’s Workshop with author Jenny Milchman, beginning on Thursday, February 23. The class is called: Beginnings: The Start of Your Novel, Your Career, and Your Writing Life. The class size will be limited, so if you’re interested please apply as soon as you can.

Please go to http://newyorkwritersworkshop.com/category/courses/onlinefiction for complete details and how to apply.

Here are the basics:

Craft a solid beginning and you just may have a novel that sells.

In this class, you will learn what constitutes a great opening, techniques that will apply to the rest of a successful novel as well. You will also learn the three main ways to get published and how to determine which one is best for you. Finally, you will explore ways to jump-start your creativity and enter the state of flow that is so essential, not only to getting started but to getting all the way to the finish line.

Taught by acclaimed writing instructor Les Edgerton (author of HOOKED) and Jenny Milchman, an author who recently sold her debut novel to a major house after eleven years of trying, this class will bring you that much closer to your own successful writing career.

Class will be taught online via Skype in a round table format

on seven (7) Thursdays, 2/23, 3/2, 3/9, 3/16, 3/23, 4/5, 4/12

from 7-8:30 pm EST.

There will also be a version offering pre-recorded lectures with email access to instructors.

An optional session of writer’s coaching will be offered on

Thursday, April 19

to be scheduled with either instructor.

Pricing is as follows:

Live Skype Class: $535
Pre-recorded Sessions with Email Access to Instructors: $335
One-on-one Coaching: $100/hour

Information on how to apply for a seat in class is on the website. Hope to see some of you in class!

Blue skies,

Les

Adverbs and adjectives

2012-02-03T15:52:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

I've posted this before, but it's been awhile and in the past I've received good feedback from people who haven't seen it before. Hope it helps inform your own writing a bit!

THE REJECTION OF ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES AND OTHER EXAMPLES OF BAD OR MISGUIDED ADVICE TO WRITERS

As thinking creatures, most of us look for easier ways to complete tasks. That includes writing. Nothing wrong with that—it’s a mark of intelligence. Sometimes, though, that approach can get us in trouble. We seem to have a need for shortcuts and sometimes end up relying on bumper sticker kinds of slogans to guide us in our writing.

Sayings like: Write what you know. That’s about the silliest advice ever given a writer. If we wrote “what we knew,” we’d be unable to write about murder… unless we’d murdered someone. We’d find it impossible to write stories set in the future or the distant past… unless we’d lived a thousand years or had a time machine. We couldn’t write from the opposite gender’s pov. Or, from the pov of an animal. We couldn’t write about anything we didn’t personally know about. The proper advice is: Write what you can convince the reader you know. Problem is, that doesn’t fit on a bumper sticker as easily…

Another of those bumper sticker slogans thrust upon writers is: Show, don’t tell. Like most of these nifty sayings, there’s a germ of truth buried there. The fact is, there are plenty of times in fiction when telling works much better than showing and is the proper thing to do. You can’t show everything. If you did, you’d end up with a… screenplay. This is one reason novels are longer than screenplays. Three-four hundred pages versus ninety. A lot of those additional pages are devoted to… telling. Exposition/summary. It’s one of the advantages of a novel over a screenplay for a literary or reading experience.

Witness:

It was not that he was a cowed or naturally timorous person, far from it; but he had been for some time in an almost morbid state of irritability and tension. He had cut himself off from everybody and withdrawn so completely into himself that he now shrank from every kind of contact. He was crushingly poor, but he no longer felt the oppression of his poverty. For some time he had ceased to concern himself with everyday affairs. He was not really afraid of any landlady, whatever plots he might think she was hatching against him, but to have to stop on the stairs and listen to all her chatter about trivialities in which he refused to take any interest, all her complaints, threats, and insistent demands for payment, and then to have to extricate himself, lying and making excuses—no, better to creep downstairs as softly as a cat and slip out unnoticed.

That kind of looks like “telling” or “exposition” to me. And it is. It’s also from a pretty good country writer—a guy named Dostoevsky and it’s from a book which has enjoyed healthy sales, a little tome titled Crime and Punishment. Bet that bumper sticker (Show, don’t tell) wasn’t on his writer’s buggy…

Sayings like: Avoid adverbs and be sparing of adjectives. Which just happens to be the point of today’s discourse.

Why on earth would a writer avoid using adverbs? They’re a legitimate part of speech and, if used properly can be among the strongest tools in the writer’s toolbox. Most will claim they’re the weakest, but I’ll show you some examples where no other part of speech works as well.

The same deal holds with adjectives. Used properly—which means with originality—they can transform your prose.

So where does this advice come from? That’s easy. It comes from the selected reading style of many writing teachers. By “selective reading” I mean lazy reading. A person who sees part of a piece of advice, but either ignores the rest of it or just doesn’t see it—it’s invisible to him or her. If it doesn’t come from lazy reading, it perhaps comes from a predilection for… lazy teaching. It’s just so much easier to tell our little charges to eschew adverbs and most adjectives, rather than actually reading the writer’s work and showing him or her which work well and which don’t and why. To do that would be… work. Or, perhaps this advice comes from the fruit of the same tree—the instructor simply parrots what was taught him or her and accepts everything his or her mentor passed on as gospel without challenging it. Again, a form of laziness.

John Gardner said, “Adverbs are either the dullest tools or the sharpest tools in the novelist’s toolbox.” Mark Twain said, “When you catch an adjective, kill it.” William Zinsser said, “Most adjectives are… unnecessary. Like adverbs, they are sprinkled into sentences by writers who don’t stop to think that the concept is already in the noun.”

Here’s how several generations of writers have read these guys’ advice.

Don’t use adverbs and adjectives.
Which… isn’t exactly what they said. They’re like the Paul Harvey’s of writing instruction. Well, they’re like half of a Paul Harvey. They kind of forget to include that famous “rest of the story.”
You wonder if those who keep parroting this advice on adverbs and adjectives have read what these guys actually said. All of those folks quoted are good, if not, great writers and teachers. Makes sense that what they’re telling us is sound, right? Well, if we actually read what they said precisely. Nary a one of them said: Don’t use adverbs and adjectives. Just about every one of them had a disclaimer. Gardner: “…or the sharpest tools in the novelist’s toolbox.” Zinsser: “Most adjectives…” Notice he didn’t say all; he said most. That sort of means that some adjectives and adverbs work and work well. Zinsser also went on to say: “…they are sprinkled into sentences by writers who don’t stop to think…” And, that’s the source of the problem. Writing instructors who pass on these “rules” haven’t stopped to think themselves perhaps, so they’re incapable of recognizing students as being any different from themselves. Writers who… don’t stop to think.
What each of these guys is maintaining is that adverbs and adjectives are fine to use… if used judiciously. With originality. That’s the… rest of the story. The important part that never seems to be delivered in classes and books.
I took a lot of the information here from three sources. One, from the best writer’s textbook ever written, Janet Burroway’s Writing Fiction and from a 2006 article by Ben Yagoda in the NY Times, which you can accesss at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/books/chapters/0311-1st-yago.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2 . Also, some of the material here can be found in my writing book, Finding Your Voice.
Used thoughtfully (which some of these writing advisors don’t think you’re capable of, alas), adverbs and adjectives can sharpen and illuminate your prose magnificently, as in the following examples:
"In those trusses I saw a reminder of a country-fairgrounds grandstand, or perhaps the penumbrous bones of the Polo Grounds roof." -Roger Angell on the gridwork at the new baseball stadium in Baltimore
"She shook her head, and a smell of alembicated summer touched his nostrils." -Sylvia Townsend Warner
"The Sunday's events repeated themselves in his mind, bending like nacreous flakes around a central infrangible irritant." -John Updike
"He had the surface involvement-style-while I had the deep-structural, immobilizing synovial ballooning of a superior mind." -Nicholson Baker on Updike
"The great out-sticking ears that frame his face like cartilaginous quotation marks." -Michael Kelly on Ross Perot

“She had been to Germany, Italy, everywhere that one visits acquisitvely.” Elizabeth Bowen, The Last September

“She jammed the pedal to the floor, and like something huge and pre-historic and pea-brained, the Jeep leapt stupidly out of its stall.” Sharon Sheehe Stark, A Wrestling Season

“So closely had we become tied to the river that we could sense where it lay and make for it instinctively like cattle.” W.D. Wetherell, Chekhov’s Sister

“When Sula first visited the Wright house, Helene’s curdled scorn turned to butter.” Toni Morrison, Sula

“With a bladdery whack it (the boat) slapped apart and sprang away.” Sharon Sheehe Stark, A Wrestling Season

“Hank was not accepted at Harvard Law School; but goodhearted Yale took him.” John Updike, “The Other”

“On the far side of the room, under the moiling dogs the twins are playing.” Francois Camoin, “Baby, Baby, Baby”

Are you gonna tell these people not to use adjectives or adverbs?

My advice isn’t to eliminate adverbs and adjectives. Just take some time and use them in an original way. They’ll elevate your writing if you do. Just about everybody who is writing these days is culling out their adverbs and pruning their adjectives. If you can learn to use both in truly original ways, whose work do you think is going to stand out?

You might wonder if I’ve ever given any of my writing students advice to not use adverbs and adjectives. Well, sure. Nobody’s perfect! I’ve also changed. Like they say: If you’re green, you’re growing—if you’re ripe, you’re rotten.” I hope I’m green enough to not keep telling folks the same things, ad nauseum. Especially if I discover the advice was wrong. In this case, I think it is.

The next time somebody delivers a writing “absolute” to you—especially one that could easily fit into a bumper sticker--you might want to look at it with a clear and open mind. Don’t trust everything you hear. In fact, your own instincts are often much better than what others may tell you. Chances are, you’re a writer because you were a reader first, and it’s that reading experience that I suspect has given you the best body of advice you’ll ever get for your work. You’ve already internalized most of what you need to know from reading lots and lots of books. Use it. It’s trustworthy most of the time.

Hope this helps!

Blue skies,

Les

GUMBO YA-YA IS OUT!

2012-02-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

I’m very pleased to announce the ebook publication of my second short story collection today from Snubnose Press of GUMBO YA-YA!

http://www.amazon.com/Gumbo-Ya-Ya-Stories-ebook/dp/B0073Z0Z78/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328122203&sr=1-6

This book is a bit different from my recent books which were crime and/or noir novels. While there are some of those types of stories in this, the collection represents a range of what I write and includes stories written over the past 20-30 years. Also included at the end are two nonfiction works—an essay against censorship and political correctness that was my graduation address for my MFA in Writing degree at Vermont College that I’m very proud of—and the beginning of a memoir that I’m still working on.

I hope you enjoy these stories and essays! If you do buy a copy, please do me a favor and click on the “Like” button on the Amazon page and if you really, really like the read, please do me the honor or writing a review. It would mean a lot to me.

And, as always—thanks for your incredible support!

Blue skies,

Les

P.S. While you're on Amazon picking up a copy of GUMBO, stop by and take advantage of Snubnose Press's free offering (for a couple of days only) of their outstanding collection titled Speedloader. It's a fantastic collection of stories from some outstanding writers. Get it at http://www.amazon.com/Speedloader-ebook/dp/B0056UBJ22/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328185979&sr=1-1

THE BITCH getting rave reviews!

2012-01-30T04:31:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

I just saw two new reviews of THE BITCH on Amazon and I’m beaming from ear-to-ear! I have to share these! They’re both from bestselling writers and not easy to impress critics. I’m friends with Nigel Bird, but even so he won’t provide anything but his honest assessment of anyone’s work, whether he’s friends with them or not. The other one, is by a writer whose work I read and really enjoy, Allan Leverone, but don’t know personally. This one hit me right out of the blue. It’s just extremely gratifying when your peers and people you respect like what you’re doing. Means the world!

The novel earlier received wonderful reviews from some of the best writers out there—folks like Paul D. Brazill, Anthony Neil Smith, Tom Pluck and Carl Brush, and these last two are the icing on the cake.

Here they are:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty and unforgettable, January 28, 2012

Allan Leverone "author" (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: The Bitch (Kindle Edition)

Jake Bishop is a two-time loser, a B&E specialist who is down to his last shot at life. One more conviction and he'll be sent away for good as part of Michigan's three strikes and you're out habitual offender law, or The Bitch, as it's known to the cons.

But Jake has no intention of ever seeing the inside of a prison cell again. He learned a trade - hairdressing - while on the inside and discovered he's got a talent for it. Using hard work and a little luck, Jake turns his newly discovered talent into steady employment and eventually the opportunity to open his own shop.

Jake is determined to turn his life around, and he's doing it. His wife is pregnant with their first child, his shop will be opening in just a few weeks. Things couldn't be going better.

Until he receives a call from his from his old prison cellmate, Walker Joy, that is. Walker is fresh out of the can, and Jake owes Walker big-time, thanks to an incident that occurred in prison. The ex-con is planning a big score. He needs Jake's help and has come to collect on the debt.

One last job.

And that's how it starts. Things go rapidly downhill from there for Jake Bishop, who is forced to walk a razor-thin line he hoped never to walk again, knowing that getting caught would mean the end of his family, his freedom, his life.

I finished reading THE BITCH last night and haven't stopped thinking about it since. Les Edgerton has written a rare crime novel, making a sympathetic character out of a guy most people would cross the street to avoid if they saw coming the other direction.

THE BITCH isn't for everyone. If you prefer your crime fiction sanitized, suitable for all viewers, you're probably going to want to stay away from this particular novel. It's violent and gritty and profane. It's also incredibly human and even, at times, tender, as we watch in open-mouthed horror a guy forced into a course of action that can only end one way - badly.

I'm a pretty easy grader when I review books. I write novels, and I know how much blood, sweat and tears go into the process, so I don't often have a whole lot to say about any book that's openly negative. But a book like THE BITCH makes me question my reviewing process because it's so head-and-shoulders above most other fiction.

I love noir fiction precisely because it's so real. I consider Tom Piccirilli the master of modern noir, and I'm here to say Les Edgerton has vaulted himself to a position right behind Piccirilli with THE BITCH. I give this book five stars, only because I can't give it six. Or seven.

It's just that good.

5.0 out of 5 stars bitching, January 28, 2012

nigel p bird (Scotland, UK) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: The Bitch (Kindle Edition)

In baseball it's 3 strikes and you're out, for ex-con, Jake, 3 strikes and he's in. For life. And ain't that The Bitch?
Jake's been inside. Twice. One more conviction and he's going away for good.
Fortunately for Jake, he's sick of prison life and has decided to go straight.
He's been to college to better himself and has even built a reputation as a hair-stylist that's good enough for him to set up his own salon. I love this incongruity - big, bad Jake with his blood-stained hands chopping away at a perm.
And he's met a woman too. Paris. Beautiful, sexy, smart and about to have Jake's baby. Looks like he's hit the jackpot, no?
Thing is, Jake doesn't know his stories. Paris was the guy who did it for Troy. A name like that and maybe he should have sensed that his bed-of-roses might be full of thorns.
`It all began with a phone call.'
The first thorn appears in the form of Walker Joy, one-time cellmate and saviour.
Walker's in big trouble. He owes big money to big crooks. One job will see him safe. All he needs is a break in man.
Of course, Jake's not having any of it. He knows which side his bread is buttered.
Problem is Walker has a few aces up his sleeve and Jake knows he's screwed. It's enough to drive an alcoholic to drink. Really.
From there on in the story unfolds. Jake is reeled in like a prize-fish on the end of the line, all the while knowing that he's got a hook right up his behind. He's not a bad bloke, you see. Or at least his heart's in the right place. Circumstance has him by the short-and-curlies and no matter how he examines the angles, he's lined up for the corner pocket.
At every point of the story where a ray of hope appears, the world conspires against him and as every chapter comes to a close, the need to read on grows stronger.
It's a well-told tale. I found it hard not to feel for Jake. If it were a film or a play, it would be the kind that would have you shouting out for him to get the hell out of there. `He's behind yer!' and `He's still behind yer!'
On the whole, the plot is very much in the present and is all the more uncomfortable for that. It's punctuated by prison stories and tales from Jake's past that should possibly have made me think less of the man; instead it had the opposite effect.
Well paced, engaging and very entertaining, it's like one of the small diamonds in the collection Jake is aiming to steal.
The ending is perfectly weighted. Sits on top of the story like the bowler hat on a dapper gent, a hat that needs to be doffed every time Les Edgerton approaches.
Well done, sir.

THE BITCH is getting some smash reviews and I’m chuffed! I’m really proud of this book. Hope you get it if you haven’t yet and I really hope you enjoy the crap out of it.

Check it out at http://www.amazon.com/The-Bitch-ebook/dp/B006P2NLHG/ref=sr_1_7_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327926091&sr=1-7

Blue skies,

Les

New reviews of THE BITCH and an interview

2012-01-28T08:38:00.000-08:00

HI folks,

I wanted to share with you a review that just came out today from noir-master, Nigel Bird, for my novel, THE BITCH. To use Paul D. Brazill's excellent term--I'm chuffed! Thank you so much, Nigel!

http://nigelpbird.blogspot.com/

And, then there's another wonderful post on it from Anne Gallagher at: http://piedmontwriter.blogspot.com/2012/01/fridays-at-piedmont-grille_27.html

Also, I did an interview with writer Karen Lenfestey yesterday and you can read it on her blogsite at http://karensnovels.weebly.com/author-interviews.html

There's even a photo of an ugly dude and of Karen... She asked me what coffee shop I wanted to meet at and I told her my son Mike's Starbucks where he works... She was going to take the photo inside and Mike told us Starbucks would sue us if we took photos inside their premises. Nice, Mike...

Blue skies,
Les

You have got to read this...

2012-01-26T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

The brilliant writer, Paul D. Brazill (whom I'm pleased as a monkey in a vat of bananas to also call my friend), knows I'm a big Gordon Ramsey fan. Which is why he sent me this link to a story concerning Mr. Ramsey's double, a dwarf who appears... er... appeared in porn movies. I'm still laughing... Check it out.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/weird/gordon-ramsays-dwarf-porn-double-found-dead-in-a-badger-den-in-wales/story-e6frev20-1226137951576

So sad...

I'm sending flowers... miniature, or tea roses...

Blue skies,
Les

Update--JUST LIKE THAT sales are booming!

2012-01-25T07:19:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

Well, it's happening... Sales for JUST LIKE THAT are going through the roof! Got up today and checked on the Amazon rankings and here's where it stood, two days after the freebie promo. Whenever a book goes below 1,000 in the rankings, that's major stuff! It's also impacting my other novels' sales as they're all going up as well. And, it's all thanks to you guys! I'm going to take you all out for a beer or coffee! THANK YOU!

And, please tell your friends about it--it would be so great to get into the top ten...

Product Details

JUST LIKE THAT
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #869 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

#55 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Literary Fiction
#74 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

BEST DEAL SINCE SLICED BREAD!

2012-01-24T15:17:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

Deals all over the place! Bare Knuckles Press, publisher of THE BITCH has just offered a one-week special on it at a mere 99 cents! This… is a deal! Dare I say—a SUPER DEAL??!! While I’d like to be modest and unassuming… well, I’d like to appear as such anyway… this is the best book I’ve yet published in my opinion. I’m very, very proud of it. So, I hope you all glom onto a copy and see why I think so and if you agree. Also, some pretty fair country writers have chimed in with terrific blurbs that agree with that assessment. Click here to take advantage of the offer! http://www.amazon.com/The-Bitch-ebook/dp/B006P2NLHG/ref=sr_1_7_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327446399&sr=1-7

THE BITCH won the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll Award for Best Thriller of 2011!

JUST LIKE THAT

The freebie promo for JUST LIKE THAT was a smashing success! Over 14,000 copies were downloaded in just two days to Kindles and it stayed at #1 in Literary Fiction for both days. But, the proof that it was successful was that after it went back to its regular price, it remained high in the sales rankings. It looks like I’ve got some new readers and that’s what we were after. Thank you to everyone who helped me get the word out and got their own copies as well. Hope you’ll like the read enough to post a review on Amazon and Goodreads. If you haven’t gotten a copy, you can here for only $2.99. http://www.amazon.com/Just-Like-That-ebook/dp/B005GHDY82/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327446399&sr=1-1

It’s been an exhilarating week! What us writer-types visualize during the many long hours we sit hunched over our ‘puters. Makes us appreciate our readers!

To whom I say, simply… THANK YOU!

Blue skies,

Les

THANK YOU!

2012-01-23T16:10:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

Well, the results of the two-day promo for JUST LIKE THAT just came in. Over 14,000 people downloaded it! I just want to thank everybody who did from the bottom of my heart. And, it looks like the purpose of such a promo--to introduce people to my work and to lead to sales of my other books... is working well. We're already seeing healthy sales of all my other books! So, again... thank you! And, it looks as if the folks who didn't download the freebie are buying copies of it now as well.

Blue skies,
Les

We're #1!

2012-01-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

Well, okay... I'm not talking about the national football or basketball championship here, but still...

When I got up this morning, I checked to see how JUST LIKE THAT was doing after the first day of the freebie promotion... and was dazzled. At the time, it was at #17 in all Kindle sales and #1 in category sales (Literary Fiction). Well, not "sales" as it was free yesterday and today, but copies downloaded. My publisher just emailed me to tell me the numbers that were moved and yesterday over 8,000 people downloaded copies! Now... that's a bunch! Just wish I could have made some money on that! But, the whole point is to get my work out there and known a bit more and I'd say that mission is being accomplished and in spades. It looks as if the promo is working as sales of my other books enjoyed significant gains as well.

So, thank you, one and all who glommed onto a copy! If you haven't yet, be sure and take advantage of the promo and get your free copy. Also, it helps if you click on the "Like" button and if you could take the time to post a review (hopefully a good one...), that really helps also.

Hope that everyone who got a copy enjoys the read and will want to read more of my work.

Blue skies,
Les

FREEBIE!

2012-01-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

FREEEEEEEEE!!!!

My publisher, StoneGate Ink is offering one of my recent novels, JUST LIKE THAT, as a free download for two days, this Saturday and Sunday. Get it at http://www.amazon.com/Just-Like-That-ebook/dp/B005GHDY82/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1327003731&sr=1-3 Hope you get it and hope you enjoy the read. Although it’s fiction, about 80-85% is autobiographical. (The parts that are fiction are the events in which the statute of limitations haven’t expired…) It’s based on several road trips I combined into one and gives you a realistic glimpse into my time incarcerated in Pendleton. Cathy Johns, the assistant warden at the Angola (Louisiana) prison read it and said it was the “truest account of the criminal mind” she’d ever read. I guess it should be… after all, I was a criminal for a long time…

(Paperback copies are also available at the regular price of $12.97 and may be ordered from the Amazon site at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=les+edgerton&x=0&y=0)

I’ve been blessed to have gotten great reviews and blurbs for this novel from some of the brightest stars in noir and crime writing. Our of 14 Amazon reviews, 11 gave it a 5-star rating, two a 4-star rating, and one a 3-star.

Amazon Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Beware: ADDICTIVE READING AHEAD, January 11, 2012

By M.L. Rigdon - See all my reviews

OK, so I started this book and couldn't stop. Edgerton's ability to haul the reader into the story and minds of his characters, in this case, the criminal mentality, left me helpless to set the book down and fiercely invested in this work of fiction that feels like fact. The odd thing was that I didn't have much sympathy with the character but felt mesmerized by the train wreck about to happen. With no experience of incarceration, I can't comment on that, but do know about surviving stressful, traumatic environments on a daily basis. There comes a point where emotions must be kept at a distance in order to function. Edgerton shows what it's like to be forced into institutionalized stress 24/7, the eventual moral nonchalance, and resultant urge/addiction to do something or anything to feel again. An exciting, scary read and window into recidivism.

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful Prison Novel Is in Top Form as Chester Himes' Writing, December 10, 2011

Ed Lynskey, "author of ASK THE DICE and THE Z... (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

Les Edgerton's masterful JUST LIKE THAT is the same rich vein as the noir-miester Chester Himes' prison novel YESTERDAY WILL MAKE YOU CRY. Both authors drew upon their life experience as convicts to craft their visceral, powerful, and, most of all, honest narratives. The protagonist Jake Mayes' portrayal is based eighty percent on actual events. He's a complex man, hardboiled but racked with searing pain, especially over his femme fatale/lover Donna. I liked reading his colorful trip taken to New Orleans with his friend Bud where a strong bond is forged between the men. Hollywood and TV have gotten it all wrong about the modern U.S. prison culture. Read JUST LIKE THAT to get the real skinny. Mr. Edgerton doesn't pull any punches at debunking Tinsel Town's myths. The gritty details emerging in the inmates' daily existence behind bars will surprise you, page after page. This essential writing makes for a captivating crime fiction read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Just Like That, October 8, 2011

By shirleylou - See all my reviews

If Thelma and Louise had stayed at the bar they might have met up with the characters in Just Like That. I never dreamed I'd be rooting for protaganists who, in real life, I would studiouly avoid. Les opens up the seedier side of life with grit and humor.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Les near his best, September 29, 2011

By JJ Toner "JJ Toner" (Co Wicklow, IE) - See all my reviews

I loved this book. The narrative bounces along with its own in-built energy, like the engine in a 1964 Mustang that refuses to stop even after you've switched it off and trousered the key. Les throws a lot of the writing book out the window in this one, followed by large parts of the grammar primer, and yet, the voice comes across as curiously erudite. The word "if" is noticeably absent all over the place, as in "You're smart, you try and become invisible." For anyone that needs to know what prison in the USA is really like, this book is Prison USA 101. A minor gripe I had with the book was a couple of passages where he repeated himself. The one serious gripe I had was the way the narrative was set aside every now and then to educate the reader on Tinseltown prison movie BS. I would have preferred to draw my own conclusions on that score.

Still a five star book with a strong, throbbing storyline and an angry voice telling it. I learned a lot about the criminal mind. Robbers rob for the adrenaline rush much more than the financial rewards - who knew? I also learned a few new words along the way. As you'd expect from a master of the arts of noir writing, there were some wonderful turns of phrase, like "...his face as white as an Eskimo's ass" and "...you were going to go back and sit in your f***ing cell and give names to your toes"

As I drew near the end of the book I was gutted, but consoled by the fact that I have another of his books waiting on my kindle.

3.0 out of 5 stars More a prison story than a road-trip tale, September 25, 2011

By Cliff Hardy (Sydney NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This book was promoted as a story about two ex-cons going on a road trip, well that's true in part. Most of the story deals with the prison time of the lead character, Jake Mayes, both before and after the road trip. The book is semi-autobiographical with author Les Edgerton also spending a fair chunk of his life behind bars. This gives Just Like That an incredibly authentic feel and through Jake Mayes you get a terrific insight into the workings of the criminal mind. Bad habits, bad girls and bad choices all are portrayed with a sense that trouble is not too far away and the randomness of the violence is astounding. The story is well written and moves along at a nice clip. While Jake Mayes is certainly someone you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of you also get a good feel for the reason he is like he is, and why he is where he is.

5.0 out of 5 stars BLAM!, September 15, 2011

By Paul D Brazill (Bydgoszcz, Poland) - See all my reviews

JUST LIKE THAT has it all. Great dialogue, whipcrack scenes and meaty characters haul you along on a harboiled crime road-trip worthy of the Elmore Leonard and Joe R Lansdale. A shot to the heart as well as the head, JUST LIKE THAT is highly recommended.

4.0 out of 5 stars Uneasy time, August 22, 2011

By Mr. Gareth Price "gazza_hoho" (Stockport) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

Les Edgerton takes incidents from his own early life and commits them to (electronic) paper with an honesty and integrity that you come across all too rarely. Just Like That starts as a buddy book & ends as a jailhouse book, the two sides weighted almost equally. It barely let's up with the action as Jake, Les' alter-ego, goes from one bad choice to another and ends up back in Pendleton jail for the failed robbery of a bar. A nasty, to put it mildly, encounter with another inmate colours the rest of the book from here as the daily grind and desperation of jail life unfolds and ends in murder.

What stood out for me was the writing style - it's written in a conversational first person tone that really draws you in and keeps you reading even though some of the events descibed are really grim. Must be the years behind the barbers chair that have honed that kind of storytelling style. Obvious comparisons here to the work of Eddie Bunker as they both cover similar terrain but Mr Edgerton throws in a welcome sense of black humour without smoothing the edges too much.

Will be checking out the rest of Mr Edgertons output (he has at least 3 more novels & a short story collection out soon)as this one hit the spot. Enjoy

5.0 stars out of 5 stars

By Sharon Z McMeel - See all my reviews

This book riveted me to my seat. Mr. Edgerton is a writer who really captures not only the details of the inner workings of a criminal mind; but the whole world of prisons and a crime spree road trip across parts of urban and rural America. My husband is really the crime fiction buff in the family, and I'm more of the Keruoac "On the Road" fan. But Mr. Edgerton's writing really had a powerful prose style that makes the reading experience a "literary" one...albeit with more violence and bloodshed than "On the Road." But I must admit I could not stop turning the pages of JUST LIKE THAT. I'm glad this was recommeded to me and I plan on reading more of this author's original and exciting work.

5.0 stars out of 5 stars

By ChloeMac13 - See all my reviews

I read Just Like That a week ago, but still don't feel I can adequately articulate how the novel moved me. As a female who mostly reads women authors with female leads, I felt a tad strange about my immediate fascination for Jake. This con was unlike anyone I knew personally or read about in other novels, and the idea of rash criminal behavior without provocation sent a chill through me. Still, night after night I broke promises to myself to read only three or four chapters. With a story that seemed surreal in its unfamiliar setting, lingo baffling as hell, yet as much fun as learning a foreign language, and testosterone practically seeping through my Kindle, I couldn't believe how easily I'd been hooked. Les did what all writers hope to do; kept this reader thinking about events and characters from the book for days. God knows I never want to find myself inside a place so dreary and dangerous, however I'm suddenly Jonesin' to read about modern day life inside a female prison.

5.0 out of 5 stars Edgerton slams another one home with Just Like That., August 16, 2011

By Karen L. Wells "Karen L. Wells" (Boca Raton, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Take a walk--no--take a run on the wild side with Les Edgerton and buckle up before you start reading his high-octane novel, Just Like That. Be sure to allow enough time to finish it in one sitting--it's a can not put down novel based mostly on Edgerton's own life experiences (85%) --it is gusty, gritty and authentic. One wonders while reading what 85% of the novel is real and true? Just Like That gives the reader a lot to think about days after finishing the book. Tell a friend.

5.0 out of 5 stars

By Tom R/Scottsdale, AZ - See all my reviews

Wow, I just love the way Les writes! The title "Just Like That" is brilliant and will resonate with you on every page and upon completion of the book. The story is very raw with absolute clarity told through the criminal mind. I now look and see some folks in a completely different way. The book title "Just Like That" just became my new favorite colloquialism.

5.0 out of 5 stars

By Susanne Schuster - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

We start with a picaresque tale of a couple of ex-cons hitting the road and end with the un-picaresque tale of buddies back in the pen. For visceral excitement, JUST LIKE THAT is nothing short of Elmore Leonard. For True Crime Fiction--well there's nothing to compare it to. You'll not only get involved on an elemental level with the real-life con characters and their real-life criminal action, but you'll learn why everything you've seen on the small or the big screen about criminals, courts, and penitentiaries is as about as genuine as a politician's smile. An exciting read and a handbook to the inside conveyed in first-rate writing. Spell that w-i-n-n-e-r.

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read and watch out - Les is going for it on this one., August 14, 2011

By Sarah Faurote - See all my reviews

The great thing about Just Like That is the language. The feel. Les Edgerton is a master of words. Like Albert Camus, he describes a killing in short, simple language that carries a blow to the mind. This is a creation of visual travel. Read Just Like That and you may wonder if you wake up to the sound of bars locking shut. Read on. Go Go Go!

5.0 out of 5 stars A writer at the top of his game, August 9, 2011

By Eddie Vega (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

Ex-felon Les Edgerton knows the internal workings of the criminal mind, and with lean muscular prose he has written a book about it. While there are many qualities that make this book worth reading -- certainly the writing itself, which is excellent throughout, and the plot which moves with the kick of a 45 cal. bullet, -- what I most appreciated was its effort in coming to terms with the most perplexing of evils, those spur of the moment just-like-that crimes not motivated by necessity or reason but by some primal source that gives the lie to the perfectibility of mankind.

Hope lots of you take advantage of the two-day freebie! If you like it, I’d really appreciate your posting a short review on Amazon and if you hit the “Like” button, I’m told that helps also. Also, if you enjoy the read, please check out my other titles, including THE PERFECT CRIME and THE BITCH. Coming soon is my collection of short stories, GUMBO YA-YA, from Snubnose Press.

Blue skies,

Les

P.S. Check out Helen Ginger’s interview on Inspiration Forum. She graciously gives me several shout-outs for which I’m grateful. You can read it at http://www.inspirationforum.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=2167

GUMBO YA-YA

2012-01-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

I'm still glowing from the Best Thriller Award from the Preditors and Editors poll! Again, thank you, each and every one who voted and got your pals to vote--what you did for me was the real award.

And... it doesn't stop. I was just informed by Brian Lindenmuth, my editor at Snubnose Press, that my short story collection, GUMBO YA-YA, will be released within the next couple of weeks. He told me I could show y'all the cover... which I LOVE!

Here it tis...

I love it!

Watch for it--I'll be announcing it the instant it becomes available.

The title came about in the same manner as did the title for my first collection MONDAY'S MEAL. There are a couple of requirements traditionally for short story collections. One, at least half should have been previously published in prestigious literary magazines. This collection satisfies that requirement as all but a couple were published in such venues as High Plains Literary Review, Houghton-Mifflin's Best American Mystery Stories, Murdaland Magazine, The Analecta, Blue Moon Literary and Art Review Magazine, Imaginary Friends Anthology, Flatmancrooked, Aethlon, Noir Nation International Crime Magazine, On The Record anthology, and an essay in it was published in Circle K Magazine. A couple of the stories were nominated for the Pushcart Award and Edgar Allan Poe (short story category) Awards. So, that requirement was satisfied. Although, increasingly, collections aren't requiring prior publication as much these days.

Two, short story collections are traditionally supposed to be centered around a theme.

Which was a problem with MONDAY'S MEAL and I faced the same problem with this one. There just isn't a theme in either collection. And publishers decided a long time ago that readers wanted to know what the stories were about. They didn’t feel readers would buy otherwise. If the reader was into crime or noir, they wanted the stories in a collection to be about… crime or noir. If they wanted to read tales about romance, they wanted to know that’s what they were buying. If they wanted horror… well, you get the picture. The problem was in MONDAY’S MEAL was that the stories included in it were kind of all over the map. No “theme” involved. Just stories. So I came up with what I felt was the perfect solution. I titled it MONDAY’S MEAL.

In the South, where I grew up, Monday was traditionally washday. In my youth (back when dinosaurs first went on the endangered list) Monday was the day when the wife took care of her brood of children, did the week’s wash, cleaned the house, did a host of other chores, and still prepared a hearty meal for supper. Because of time constraints, that was the day most women prepared a stew or, where I lived, on the Texas Gulf Coast, a gumbo. It was the perfect meal for Mondays, because the woman could run in whenever she had a spare moment or two, throw in an ingredient, and go back out and hang out another load on the clothesline and yell at the kids for fighting amongst themselves. What happened was a lot of ingredients went into it—ingredients that, upon first glance, looked unrelated and even questionable as to how they’d work together—but in the end, when she ladled it out to her husband and kids, turned out to be a delicious combination.

And that was how and why that collection came up with its name.

I faced the same problem with this collection. Stories without a theme. This time, the answer came to me much quicker. I grew up in a bar and seafood restaurant in Freeport, Texas. My grandmother, who owned the business, had a wood stove she reserved for one dish only. Gumbo. Only Yankees cook gumbo on electric or gas stoves. True Southerners use wood stoves. And Grandma Louise Vincent was, if anything, a “true Southerner.” In fact, she wouldn’t serve a Yankee in her establishment. Kick ‘em right out. Some who were booted threatened to go to the law as their civil rights were being violated and she told them to go right ahead. It wasn’t a problem for her as the county sheriff was a daily customer… And didn't care much for Yankees either...

She had a real problem when her daughter—my mother—married a Yankee, but that’s another story…

Anyway, nowadays if you go into a restaurant that serves gumbo, it’ll reflect a theme, same as short story collections. “Shrimp” gumbo. “Okra” gumbo. “Crab” gumbo. “Crawfish” gumbo. (Or, as we called it, “Mudbug Gumbo.”) Whatever. In our restaurant, Grandma Vincent made the same kind of gumbo most oldtimers made. A concoction we called “Gumbo Ya-Ya.” It had different ingredients in it, depending on the season and depending on the availability of ingredients. Ingredients, that when considered separately, didn’t always appear to be compatible. But… they were. Once cooked together, the meal ended up absolutely delicious.

My own favorite ingredient—in season—was crab eggs. I absolutely love the orange, gummy texture and flavor of crab eggs. Probably an ingredient that Yankees would turn their delicate noses up at…
Anyway, that’s how this collection of stories got its name. Thought you might be interested in the genesis of the title.

And, I really hope you like the stories in it! There’s a bit of a bonus. Besides the stories, there is an essay I’m very proud of, titled “Censorship and Why I Love Charles Bukowski.” This essay has a history. I wrote it as my graduating address for my MFA degree at Vermont College and delivered it to the single largest crowd at graduation in their history, according to Pam Painter, well-known author and one of my advisors, who’d been on the faculty since the program began. It was later published in Circle K Magazine. In it, I rail against what was a new phenomenon at the time—a concept called “political correctness.” At the time, I saw it as one of the biggest threats against freedom of speech ever propagated. Today, more than 15 years later I see it as… the same thing.

There’s also a bit from a memoir I’m still writing on that I think folks will enjoy. It’s centered around my son Mike and me when he was a little guy and I was coaching his youth baseball league team.

Anyway, I’m pumped up that Snubnose Press has seen fit to publish this work. Just a few years ago, it had become increasingly difficult to get a collection published. Most publishers wouldn’t touch ‘em for a simple reason. Sales usually didn’t justify the publishing expense. Thanks to ebooks, that’s changing. And, that’s a good thing, in my mind.

I hope you’ll agree.

Blue skies,
Les

P.S. Here's a hint for Yankees attempting to cook their first gumbo. Well, two hints. First... you make a roue. Many otherwise good cooks can't make a roue. My mother can't and she's a born and bred Southerner. I'm proud to say that I make a great roue! Second, and most importantly--never put your spices in until just before it's done cooking. Otherwise, all the flavor "cooks up" and you'll be left with a tasteless, bland meal. Just sayin'...

And, if you can glom onto crab eggs, throw 'em in...

WE WON!

2012-01-11T13:39:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

This is one of the happiest posts I’ve ever had the pleasure of writing! It looks like… drum roll, please…

WE’VE WON THE PREDITORS and EDITORS POLL FOR BEST THRILLER OF 2011!!! THE WINNER IS…. THE BITCH!!!

You can see the results here: http://critters.org/predpoll/tally_novelthrill.ht

Who do I start thanking? To be honest, the list is too long and this site will crash if I were even able to name everybody who voted or worked on my behalf to secure votes. There were people literally working to get more votes and keep my novel in first place right up until the very end at midnight last night!

But, even though there’s no way I can possibly name each individual, I do want to give a particular shoutout to one group of people. My online novel writing class. Two nights ago when, after being in first place for nine days, it slipped to second, I notified one group that night before I went to bed--my class—the Boot Camp for Writers group. When I woke the next morning and went in to check where it was at… we were back in first place!

You guys rock and I love you!

As I do everybody else who took the time and the trouble to not only vote for THE BITCH, but asked friends and relatives to do so as well. I cannot begin to tell you how much your efforts on my behalf have meant to me. I will say this—even if I had lost, I would have felt like the biggest winner in the world for what you did for me.

In fact, before I checked the standings this morning, I thought about all the people who had given up their time and went to the trouble they did and I realized then that, win or lose, I had won. Finding out THE BITCH had ended up the winner in the poll was just icing on the cake. I’m ecstatic it won, but I’m much more happy at what y’all did for me. I haven’t the words to say that can adequately express my appreciation so I’ll just say… THANK YOU.

There were literally dozens of other writers who helped me out with their tweets and mentions on Facebook and on their blogs—I owe you folks! For people who think about and write about noir and murder and crime all day, there’s an awful lot of love among this group. I’m glad we’re all in the same foxhole with each other and have each others' backs.

One guy in particular I need to single out. Anthony Neil Smith. Neil and I both had novels in this horserace and he threw his support to me. What kind of tough, brilliant writer does that? The kind that not only writes with grace, but practices it in his daily life.

THE BITCH is also gathering all kinds of rave reviews which is so gratifying. I feel this is the best book I’ve ever written, but as we all know as writers, the success of a writer’s effort is never really known until the readers have been heard from. And, the reviews and comments have been simply fantastic. Thank you, each and every one! I’m so glad you liked it. This is the real payment for the effort we as writers expend.

You can go here http://www.amazon.com/The-Bitch-ebook/dp/B006P2NLHG/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324588756&sr=1-1 to see those reviews.

I also owe a couple of people an enormous debt. My publishers at Bare Knuckle Press, Cort McMeel and Eddie Vega. If it weren’t for them and their belief in this novel, none of this would have been possible. Thanks, guys!

I’m going to go collapse in a hot tub and savor this. At my age, champagne and riotous nights are a thing of the past, but I guarantee you I’m going to enjoy that tub!

I love you folks.

Blue skies,

Les

Preview

FAMED CHEF GORDON RAMSEY HOLDS THE BEST WRITING CLASSES EVER!

2012-01-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

Did I surprise you with the title of today’s post? I imagine so! After all, I suspect most who read this and are writers weren’t aware that Scotland’s Chef Gordon Ramsey taught writing. Most probably believe he’s involved in great cooking, right?

Well, he does, but the lessons and more importantly—the philosophy—he teaches on his shows are spot on for writers who want to be the best they can be.

Every single morning I have his shows on the BBC channel on. I’d rather watch them than read most writer’s how-to books or go to writer’s conventions and workshops. I learn everything I need to know about writing from this man.

Watch him as he turns around a failing or struggling restaurant. Begin with a mindset—that everything he imparts about cooking be considered as him talking about writing.

The principles he espouses for being a great chef or restaurateur are exactly the same principles required for a writer to not only be published but to be respected as a good or even great writer.

He never bullshits. He never sugarcoats his take on the chef’s performance and output. Never. He doesn’t tolerate laziness. He doesn’t tolerate stupidity when the person he’s critiquing clearly isn’t stupid but is just performing stupidly. Which is only… laziness.

He doesn’t tolerate alibis. He doesn’t tolerate assigning blame to others. He insists the person man up and face his own faults and correct them. He has no patience for those who feel they’re “entitled” to success. He insists that the only way to gain success is to earn it by their performance.

He doesn’t tolerate those who believe their failures are caused by others, or by fate or bad luck.

He knows that if you think you’re doing someone a kindness by not being honest with their effort, you’re delivering the greatest unkindness of all.

He doesn’t mollycoddle anyone—ever.

Look at how he approaches each person he tries to help. First, he’s brutally honest with them. If their product is shit, he lets them know it’s shit.

He doesn’t tell them to be something they’re not or that they’re incapable of being. He doesn’t tell a chef who’s great at cooking steaks to begin cooking French cuisine. He simply tells them to begin cooking steaks well. To build on what they already have mastered and have ignored.

Look at those who blame their patrons for not being successful. He doesn’t have much use for those folks. Kind of like the writer blaming the agents and editors for their lack of success. He has the same kind of patience (none) for that attitude that I do with my own students. It’s bullshit. If the writer is putting out quality work, do they really believe that agents and editors are not rushing to represent them because they have something personal against the writer? That’s so ludicrous it’s beyond funny. Any and all agents and editors want to find quality work. It’s what pays their bills, allows them to live in nice places, eat in great restaurants. If the work is shit, or even “average” who can work with that? The answer is obvious: nobody. Nobody can work with crap, any more than a chef can work with inferior ingredients or shoddy cooking techniques.

I see writers all the time ranting against the “injustice” of the publishing industry and system. It’s always somebody else’s fault that Superstar Agent isn’t interested in their work. It’s always the Big Shot Editor’s fault that their work is rejected. It’s never their fault. It’s never that the product is crap. Those writers’ egos can’t seem to accept that what they put out is lousy. They’re just convinced that the only thing keeping them from being published is that their “genius” isn’t being recognized. Okay…

But, just like Ramsey’s clients, that’s almost always the cause of writers’ failure. The ones who won’t admit that to themselves or look for excuses for their lack of success in others, will never make it. That’s just the truth. Sadly, far too many have self-deluded themselves into looking anywhere but the right place for the answers to their failure. The right place to look is in the mirror. If a writer can’t do that, he or she will never be successful. If that writer who rants about the “unfairness” of it all spent half the time they do on railing about life’s inequities on working to become a better writer… they would.

The way Gordon Ramsey approaches his clients is exactly the way I approach my students and clients. With the truth. If the work is shit, they need to know it’s shit. You can’t change manure into roses if you don’t know it’s crap. Once you realize your work isn’t good, that’s the beginning of wisdom. That’s when the work has a chance of getting better. Of becoming publishable.

My classes aren't labeled "Lots of Praise and Handholding for Wannabe Writers." They called "Les Edgerton's Boot Camp for Writers." There's a reason for that. We're interested in turning out publishable writers, not much interested in stroking egos.

Take a look at Ramsey’s show. Substitute the word writer for chef. Look at what he’s telling each failing chef. Imagine he’s telling you the same things as a writer. They all apply.

Here’s an apt example. I have a writer who’s been taking my classes for a year and a half. In her first class, she didn’t get beyond the first five pages of her beginning… FOR NINE WEEKS. Nine weeks. To come up with a proper novel beginning, one that began where it should, with the inciting incident. Others have taken many weeks to do so (my students call it “inciting incident hell.”). They’re right. It is hell. But, this student didn’t give up. She never blamed others. She just kept working… and working… and working. And, after nine weeks, she was given the okay to move past her first five pages. Today, a year and a half later, just this week I recommended her to an agent and a publisher. I’m pretty sure both will take her novel on. Even if they don’t, someone else will. She’s written a brilliant novel. Has it been hard? Absolutely! Anything worth doing requires work and hard work.

Could she have written a novel in a year and a half without going through “inciting incident hell” first? Sure. Would it have been publishable? I doubt it. I’m pretty sure she’d agree with that. It's the lessons she learned in achieving a great beginning that she understands allowed her to write every page after that well.

Finishing a novel is sometimes overrated. A chef can finish cooking a steak, but does that mean it’s a great steak and will bring the diner back? The only thing that matters is that the work be excellent. Nobody pays for “half good.” No matter how cheaply you price it.

Has it been worth it to her? You’ll have to ask her, but I’m pretty sure she’d answer in the affirmative and loudly so. And, I suspect she, like many others who’ve taken my classes and survived, would voice the same kinds of sentiments that Chef Ramsey’s clients who succeed do.

The point is, watch Chef Ramsey’s show as he works to transform attitudes. What he says is spot on what any decent teacher will tell you about your writing. Try to listen instead of waiting until they’re done talking to tell them why publishing is unfair to their genius…

Sorry if this offends some. Actually, I’m not sorry. Any writing—even a blog—that everyone likes and agrees with is… crapola writing. All writing should affect the reader’s emotions—positive or negative. Doesn’t much matter. If this post offends some people and it angers them enough to go out and prove me wrong, then it’s valuable. If it re-energizes some writers into redoubling their efforts at quality writing, it’s valuable. If it causes some writers to look into the mirror and admit their lack of success is due only to the person staring back at them and they make the decision to change what they’re doing, it’s valuable.

How can you tell if you have enough talent to succeed as a writer? That's easy. The same way Chef Ramsey can tell if the chef he's working with can rise from his failures. If he can cook a single dish that's excellent, he has the chops to be a good or great chef. Same thing with writers. If you can write a single paragraph or single sentence that's excellent, you have the chops to be a good or great writer. What's needed is the same for Chef Ramsey's students--all of the entrees need to be equally good. If you can write a great sentence, you have the ability you need to succeed. The thing is, you have to do the hard work to bring all of your sentences up to the same quality. That's called... hard work.

Personally, I want every single person writing to succeed. I just know some won’t. I also know why they won’t. The sad thing is, they don’t.

Watch Chef Ramsey and take in the lessons. You’ll be glad you did.

Blue skies,

Les

P.S. For those who aren't pissed at what I said, and you're reading this on the 10th, I can still use your vote as per the posting just before this one. Thank you.

NEED YOUR HELP!

2012-01-10T06:54:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

For nine days, my new novel, THE BITCH has been #1 in the Preditors and Editors Thriller Category Awards. With the last day of voting today, every day I watched the standings nervously, especially as other novels moved up. There’s no way of knowing if I had a big lead or a tiny one, but it was still there.

Until last night. Last night, I took my wife Mary out for her birthday dinner, along with our son Mike and his girlfriend Chelsea. When we got home, I did as always and checked the list.

THE BITCH had slipped to second place…

I went to bed as low as I’ve been in a long time. So close…

But, my students at the online class I teach got together and began asking their friends and family to vote (it’s one vote per email address so you can’t stuff the ballot box, which is a good thing). I know it was because of their effort as they were the only ones I notified before I went to bed. I’d planned today to post this on the blog and FB and see if we could make a comeback.

My class people are the folks I want to be in the foxhole with!

I know many of you have been there with me as well. I can’t begin to tell you how much your loyalty means to me!

Well, this ayem I got up and checked the standings… and we’re back in first place! I know it’s tenuous and may not hold—the person in second is undoubtedly rallying his troops and doing everything he can to pass me again. So I’m making one more plea for your help.

If you haven’t voted yet or if you have friends or relatives you don’t mind asking for their vote, here’s what you do.

Go to the P&E polling site at http://critters.org/predpoll/novelthrill.shtml

Scroll down until you see The Bitch by Les Edgerton and click on the box at it. Scroll down further and enter your name and email address. Scroll down more and enter the two security words and then submit your vote. You’ll get an email then from them and in it is a link you just click on and it takes you back to their site and informs you your vote has counted.

That’s it.

Voting ends today—not sure what time it ends—so if you can take a few minutes to help me out it would be hugely… and I mean HUGELY appreciated!

Now. I’m going to go to a dark room, pull a blanket over my head and not come out until midnight. The suspense is killing me!

Thank you, each and every one of you who did me this immense favor. I owe ya!

Blue skies,

Les

CLASS FILLED--THANK YOU!

2012-01-06T07:53:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

Thanks to your tremendous response, we've filled all the available spots in the upcoming Boot Camp for Writers class. If anyone is interested in auditing, those spots are unlimited and still available. If interested in auditing, please email me at butchedgerton@comcast.net.

I appreciate the rapid responses. If anyone is interested in the next class (in about 20 weeks) just let me know and I'll put you on the list and contact you at that time to see if you're still interested.

And, please vote for THE BITCH on the Preditors and Editors thriller awards. Four days left in the voting and so far I'm still in first place but who knows what the other contenders are up to! Just go to http://critters.org/predpoll/novelthrill.shtml and click on my novel. And... THANKS!

Also, Thomas Pluck just posted a terrific review (from my point-of-view!) of THE BITCH on his blog. Check it out at

http://www.pluckyoutoo.com/2012/01/review-bitch.html

And, finally, my publisher, Bare Knuckles Press, has its website up and running. Check it out at:

www.bareknucklespress.com

Blue skies,
Les

SPOTS OPEN IN MY ONLINE WRITING CLASS

2012-01-05T16:46:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

My next online novel-writing class is scheduled to begin on Sunday, January 22, and we have two spots left if anyone's interested. It's conducted in a workshop structure where classmates send ten pages of their novel in each week and each member of the class comments on each other's work and I do also. The energy in class is contagious and each writer is extremely dedicated. Kind of intense--in fact, it's labeled "Les Edgerton's Boot Camp Class" and it is. This isn't a class for anyone who just wants praise--actually, all praise has to be earned. It's a class for people who have thick skins and only want to end up with a publishable novel and not have their egos stroked. Those who decide to join us will soon experience an incredible synergy not often obtained in such classes.

Several who will be taking the coming class have been with me for several classes--although there are a few who entered the class for the first time last session and we have some newcomers this time. The folks there are very supportive of new classmates and it's a genuinely giving atmosphere.

The class takes 16 weeks and usually we'll "hit the wall" a bit sometime during the term and take a week off. The fee is #350 (nonrefundable) and it can be paid prior to class, or it can also be paid in three installments of #125 each for a total of #375 for those paying in installments.

Several in the class have told me they'll be posting information about their experiences in the comments section here. If interested, please let me know asap. We only have two slots remaining and experience shows they'll fill fast. Please email me at butchedgerton@comcast.net.

If anyone is interested in auditing the class, the fee for auditing is #100. Auditors will have complete access to everything we do in class but won't have their work critiqued or contribute to the discussion. We can allow as many auditors as are interested.

Several of the writers in the last class are very close to finishing their novels and each one is very publishable. In fact, one writer is within just a few days of having her novel read by my agent and others and a publisher. She's applying the final polish to it and out the door it goes! Several others will finish theirs during the next class and will be sending it out.

Hope to see you in class!

Blue skies,
Les

P.S. On another note, my novel THE BITCH is still in first place in the Preditors and Editors thriller category, but voting is still going on and will be until the 10th. A couple of folks are moving up fast, so if you haven't voted, I'd really appreciate it. Just go to http://critters.org/predpoll/novelthrill.shtml and click on my novel. And... THANKS!

Paul D Brazill's You Would Say That, Wouldn't You?: Short Sharp Interview: Les Edgerton

2012-01-02T11:09:00.000-08:00

I'm over at noir master Paul D. Brazill's blog today, lying to him... It was fun!

Paul D Brazill's You Would Say That, Wouldn't You?: Short Sharp Interview: Les Edgerton

FIRST PLACE!

2011-12-30T07:40:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

Woke up this ayem and checked the Preditors and Editors competiiton and... THE BITCH is now Number One! All the credit goes to the fantastic folks here and other friends who took the time and trouble to vote for it. I'm in deep debt and gratitude to you. It's not over yet--I imagine others will mount a big push, so if you haven't voted yet or can ask your friends to vote, we'll win this puppy!

For the Preditors and Editors (and Preditors is misspelled on purpose by the founders of the site), go here to vote. It's under Thrillers. http://critters.org/predpoll/novelthrill.shtml

For those who want to vote in the Spinetingler's awards, go here: http://www.spinetinglermag.com/ That link takes you to the article about the awards. Click on "More" and at the poll, scroll down to Legends (folks with more than 9 books published) and write in The Bitch by Les Edgerton in the box. That's it.

And... THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!

Blue skies,
Les

MOVING UP! THANK YOU!!!

2011-12-29T17:10:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,
Thanks to y'all, THE BITCH is now in second place in the P&E Awards! Keep it going, please! Ask your friends if they'd help if you don't mind. We're really, really close! Don't know how to tell how we're doing in the Spinetingler Awards but think we're doing okay.

Here are the links again:

http://www.spinetinglermag.com/

http://critters.org/predpoll/novelthrill.shtml

And, for those who haven’t had a chance to buy the book and want to, go here:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Bitch-ebook/dp/B006P2NLHG/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324588756&sr=1-1

Some have said they didn't know where to vote on the Spinetingler site. Just click on the link on the lead article and then go to Legends in the thriller category. I'm a legend since I've had more than 8 books published. This is flat-out amazing, as all the other books have been out for a long time and mine less than a week. That means it's YOU FOLKS who are making this happen! I love ya and am having you all over to my place for drinks if we win!

Thank you!

Blue skies,
Les

Help!

2011-12-29T13:44:00.000-08:00

HI folks,

I just learned my new novel, THE BITCH, is currently in fifth place in the Predators and Critter's Best Of poll. You can vote at http://critters.org/predpoll/novelthrill.shtml

There are some REALLY good novels listed. Personally, I voted for Anthony Neil Smith's book, and there were several others I wish I could have voted for also. But... if ya love me, you'll vote for...

I'd appreciate your taking the time and trouble! If I do well, I'm taking everybody here out for drinks. (I'm just taking you out... not buying.

Blue skies,
Les

INTERVIEW AT INSPIRATION FORUM

2011-12-27T09:32:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

I just completed one of the most fun interviews I've ever had the pleasure of participating in over at the Inspiration Forum from the U.K. You can see it at: http://www.inspirationforum.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=1790

Paul D. Brazill recommended me to Fiona, the interviewer and her questions were spot-on. Thanks, Paul--you were right--Fiona's da bomb!

Hope you enjoy it--I sure did!

Blue skies,
Les

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

2011-12-25T07:40:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone arrived safe and sound at Grandma's house and is enjoying a great meal and fellowship. And... I hope in everyone's stocking they found a new Kindle.

Which means you need stuff to fill it with...

Here's a few ideas http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=les+edgerton&x=0&y=0

There's no snow! Yay!

Happy writing for next year! My wish for all my writing friends is that they publish everything they write! And, for my reading friends, that they love every book they read.

Blue skies,
Les

THE BITCH IS FOR SALE!!!

2011-12-22T13:12:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

THE BITCH JUST WENT ON SALE AT AMAZON!!!

Go to http://www.amazon.com/The-Bitch-ebook/dp/B006P2NLHG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324588026&sr=1-1

Hope you like it! I'm extremely proud of this book--put everything I had into it!

If you go to Amazon, please take a second and hit the "Like" button. Also, if anyone will leave a review, I'll put you in my will...

Blue skies,
Les