Wednesday, December 23, 2020

"It's the Best Thing You've Ever Written," a guest blog by E.J. Copperman

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I don't really need to introduce friend-of-the-Reds and everyone's fave, E.J. Copperman, do I? His mysteries have been making us laugh and think and root for his often benighted New Jersey residents (living and un-) for years.  He's no novice. He has a track record. He has many, many bibliographic entries in libraries around the country!

So what does a long-term, career author think about on the publication of his 26th book  - the first in a new series, and not set in the Garden State? Well, he's looking at some other dynamite authors. And wondering, how do you know when you've written your best?






 

Just recently I watched Mank, the movie that is supposedly about the writing of the Citizen Kane screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz, who you probably know as the grandfather of the nice guy on Turner Classic Movies but who I know as the guy who produced the best three Marx Brothers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers and Duck Soup. But that, as people who say nonsensical things say, is neither here nor there (it’s someplace but nobody ever seems to look for it). 

 

Anyway, I’m not offering a movie review here, but one moment (actually, two moments) in the movie struck me in an unexpected way. At one point, Herman’s brother Joe (who would go on to write and direct All About Eve, among other things), in trying to dissuade Mank from going ahead with the Kane script (here called American), says, “It’s the best thing you’ve ever written,” which is fairly poor salesmanship if you’re sincerely trying to get a guy not to submit his screenplay.

 

Later, when Orson Welles shows up and Mank starts arguing with him over screen credit for the screenplay, our “hero” says to Welles, “It’s the best thing I’ve ever written.” And that’s when my solar plexus felt a little punched.

I’ve been writing a long time, and writing mystery novels for a decent portion of that long time. I’d never considered the question before: What’s the best thing I ever wrote?

 

How would I know?

 

I mean, my 26th novel, Inherit the Shoes, was just published, and people seem to like it well. (Very few people other than reviewers will tell an author they hate the book to the author’s face, a societal convention I applaud wholeheartedly.) It starts a new series that I hope will last for a long time, dealing with a New Jersey criminal prosecutor who tires of the whole putting-people-in-jail thing and decides to move to Los Angeles when she’s offered a job as a family attorney, which is a polite way of saying a divorce lawyer. And that’s all I’ll tell you for now because we’re trying to decide what the best thing I’ve ever written might be. Or had you forgotten?

 

It might be Inherit the Shoes. It might not. Could be it’s a book you haven’t had the chance to see yet. Maybe it’s one of the many (many) screenplays I wrote before turning to the long form, none of which was ever produced. It’s entirely possible it was a newspaper article I wrote back in the day, a journal entry from my college days or a blog post on the late, somewhat lamented Hey, There’s A Dead Guy in the Living Room. For all I know it’s a grocery list I wrote back when we used to go to grocery stores. 

 

To be fair, it’s also a distinct possibility that I’ll write something better my next time out. That’s what keeps this writer going, the prospect of writing something amazing. Hey, it’s possible. Herman J. Mankiewicz wrote Citizen Kane, after all. 

 

But as of now? The best thing? I honestly can’t say. I know I have favorites for sentimental reasons but I can’t say objectively that one is better than all the others. There are readers who love my Haunted Guesthouse series and have no time for any of the rest. That’s fair; you’re entitled to like what you like. Others believe that the stuff I wrote back when I had another name was the best material I’ve produced. Sure, it could be. 

 

The writer is too close to the work to know. It’s why Mank has to hear it from his brother before he believes it of the Kane screenplay. We were there the whole time we were writing it and we know we compromised in places for lack of a killer idea in that small passage or that chapter or that plot point. So that can’t be best, can it?

 

Maybe it can. Maybe everybody gets to decide for themselves. 

 

As for me, I’m hoping nobody ever asks me what the best thing I’ve ever written might be because I honestly couldn’t give a definitive honest answer. On the other hand, if you want to tell me what the best thing I’ve ever written has been for you, I’ll never not want to hear it. Because that means that something I wrote got to you, and what’s not to like about that?

 

Wow. This might not be the best thing I’ve ever written, but it certainly the most self-obsessed.

 

JULIA: Okay, dear readers, can you name "the best thing" any of your favorite authors have written? Can you point to a moment when you can say, "This was my best?"

 

E.J.Copperman is the author of 26 published mystery novels including INHERIT THE SHOES, the first Jersey Girl Legal Mystery, which as it turns out is available now. The other 25 books are also still available. As far as Copperman knows. On the other hand, Herman J. Mankiewicz wrote Citizen Kane, ostensibly with Orson Welles, and that was, in everybody’s opinion, the best thing he ever wrote.

59 comments:

  1. Wow, this is a difficult question . . . I absolutely cannot point to a moment that was my “best” . . . .

    Best, I think, is terribly hard to define. For instance, I don’t think of any one of the Clare and Russ stories as “better” than any of the others; I may have a story I particularly enjoyed, but I wouldn’t choose to say it was “better” because I’ve liked them all. And I think the “best thing” my favorite author has written is tied up in which one happens to be my favorite story.

    E.J., I’ve enjoyed many of your stories . . . and I’m looking forward to reading “Inherit the Shoes” . . . .

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    1. Thank you, Joan! I hope you enjoy it. Just don't worry about the "best" thing.

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    2. That's a good point Joan--your favorite may not be the best writing, it might be the best story

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  2. E.J., welcome to JRW! Inherit the Shoes is going right onto my TBR list and I will look for it this morning. I love humorous writing.
    As for the question of favorites or best, it's so personal. Recently I began to read a series that has me laughing so much, I've been waking my husband up with my snorts and giggles. He will not even consider reading one of those books. My favorite authors constantly write new favorite books or best books. The one thing I am certain about, when those authors write something new, I will be waiting for it.

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    1. How funny, Judy! How can he resist?

      The best way to get my husband interested in reading something is to sit next to him and laugh and snort! He is helpless against his own FOMO.

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    2. Let us in on the jokes, Judy! What are you reading that cracks you up? We could all use a good laugh.

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    3. Roberta, thank you. I am a very happy reader.

      Karen, he reads lots of the books I read, but my hysterical laughter is not something that makes him say, "Hand it over."

      Gigi, I am so, so, so glad you asked. About 2 weeks ago, I took One For The Money by Janet Evanovich out of the library, I read somewhere that her books are funny so I figured, "Why not?" OMG, Gigi, I have been in giggling heaven ever since, only stopping my reading to locate the next one. I am awaiting the arrival of books 7 and 8 right now. I haven't laughed like this over a book in a while. Yes, many of my favorite writers, especially the REDS have gotten giggles and tickled me or even produced belly laughs, but I am cracking up every page. And, JBU (just between us) I am enjoying the bawdy parts, too. A lot. These books are not cozies(-;

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    4. I loved those books, especially that moment in the first one where she slams the truck door on Morelli. Lots of fun. Lots of laughs!

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  3. E.J., congrats on your new book and the new series.

    In terms of writing, I can't pinpoint the singular best thing I have ever written. I don't think of the stuff I write in that way. I'm not trying to change the world or be some sort of influencer of opinion.

    I'm simply giving my opinion. People can take it as they will. I don't really worry about it. I appreciate when people like what I have written but that doesn't influence what I write.

    I will say that the best feedback I ever got on a review I wrote involved a concert DVD. I wrote a middling review and the leader of the band sent feedback on my review saying that I must be a stupid, unintelligent American for what I wrote in my review. I've never forgotten that hilariously over-the-top reaction and get a chuckle every time I think about it.

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    1. Oh, Jay, the response to your review reminds me of a Lit. Prof in college. (It was the 60's.) We were discussing A Doll's House by Ibsen and I made a comment about how Nora's husband even monitored how much chocolate she ate. I thought that was too much. My prof said, in front of the class, "You are just another domineering, power-hungry bitch." The class gasped. I looked at him and said, "And YOU are afraid of women." He gave me a "C."

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    2. Edith,

      It balances out all the positive feedback I get when a band gives a shout out for a positive piece I've written.

      Just yesterday, the band Metal Church gave me a shout out over their placement on a Top 10 list for a site that I write for. I only wrote the summary piece not the rankings list but it's nice that they thought enough to mention me.

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    3. Judy,

      Like I said, it didn't bother me. It was actually quite hilarious. And one bad feedback doesn't undo the good feedback that I've gotten over the years. I had one musician write to thank me for liking his wife's album when I reviewed it.

      Another review I did ended up leading to a months-long email correspondence with a guitarist who once played for Ozzy Osbourne. So I'm all good with being stupid and unintelligent to one guy. :D

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    4. Jay, I think you rock! Great attitude!

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  4. I've done panels with an author friend who always answers the perennial audience question, "Which of your books is your favorite?" with, "The one I just finished." But that's favorite, not best.

    Both my sisters read all my books, and my sister in Ottawa has many times said, "That was your best one yet." I'll take it!

    Congratulations on the new book? Why did you set it in LA? As a native of the area, I'm looking forward to reading it.

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    1. Sorry, that first question mark was supposed to be a !

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    2. Exactly. The distinction between "best" and "favorite" is important. I have favorites (not just one) that I can identify. Best? Couldn't begin to say it. I'm starting to think it doesn't matter. Thanks, Edith!

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  5. EJ, congrats on the new book. I'm with you, I honestly cannot say which is my "best." But I agree: I'm glad to hear it any time.

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  6. Welcome back E.J./JEFF to the Jungle Reds!

    Congratulations on the start of a new series, and for setting this one in a new location (LA instead of NJ).

    I have enjoyed reading many of your different series either written as E.J. or Jeff but it is hard to pin down what is "your best". My long-term/short-term recollection of books read is getting worse with age. A book has to really WOW me to make me remember it years later.

    But INHERITING THE SHOES has been recommended during some recent virtual book events I was watching so it was already added to my the TBR list.



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    1. Yes, I saw one of those recent virtual book events, and one of the Reds deserves my enduring thanks for that. Thank you, Grace, and I hope you like INHERIT THE SHOES!

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    2. Yes, we were at the same virtual book event!

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  7. Welcome welcome! And that’s such an intriguing question. Because for me, the judgment changes. Like, hourly. For instance, yesterday I said to Jonathan that the book I’m working on is the best thing I have ever written. About an hour later—I decided it was awful . THE SAME BOOK! So there you have the writing life.

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    1. That's EXACTLY it, Hank! I can read something I've written (after a while) and have a completely different opinion than I did at the time. I'm going to have to stop thinking about this; it makes my head hurt. (But everything YOU'VE written is fabulous!)

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    2. Awwww. Xxxxxx. And I’d love to hear what you think about Mank.

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    3. Maybe at Malice we'll talk movies, Hank!

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  8. Welcome Jeff/EJ. 26 books, wow and hurray! I'd love to hear about why you decided to start on a new series and how that feels?

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    1. I'll tell you the truth, Roberta (but don't tell anybody else): INHERIT THE SHOES is a book I wrote some years ago when I had a different agent and it wasn't finding a home. But my current agent loved it and nurtured it through all this time and got it to Severn House, who liked it enough to publish it and ask for a sequel! So here we go. (And just as an aside, it's my spouse's favorite of my books. I don't know what that tells you.)

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  9. This cracked me up - and boy can I relate ... Aren’t our books like our kids - each special in its own way? Not!! What always amazes me is how easily I can tell if someone else’s book is terrific but I need someone else to tell me before I believe it of my own work.

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    1. Let me help you with that, Hallie: Your books are terrific. I hope that clears things up for you.

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  10. Congratulations on Inherit the Shoes! I'm looking forward to reading it.

    Here's what popped into my mind when I read the question, though it may be an example of favorite, not best. Anyone who knows me knows I was a HUGE fan of Margaret Maron's Judge Deborah Knott series, and for me Slow Dollar will always stand out. It was the book in which Maron changed the nature of the relationship between Deborah and Dwight, which really set the series off in a whole new direction. IMHO, it breathed new life into it, preserving all that I liked while giving it a new energy.

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  11. Wow! I love meeting new to me authors and so I am looking forward to reading your new book. So many times after reading one of my favorite series, I think to myself Best one yet! And they do keep getting better. I think perhaps always getting better is goal to strive for - let other people decide which one is best. I don't want to get negative here but why is it easier to say of a book 'this is definitely not his best'?

    Sadly, I had to give up an author because, after many, many great books, she seemed to have run out of steam or gone off the rails for some reason. As far as I know she is still popular and writing new books so maybe I should give her another chance.

    But with my favorite authors, even if once in a great while they produce something that doesn't strike me as their best, they are 'my family' and I give them a lot of slack. There will always be something in their books to love!

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  12. Hiya, EJ/Jeff. A new series, how fun! Best of luck with it.

    "Best" is so subjective, anyway. Best at what? Best storyline, best characters, best location? Best prose? One man's meat, yada, yada.

    I can remember thinking that a chapter in my first book (written in 1993) was the best thing I'd ever written. It flowed out of me like water, such a rare experience for me, and whenever I revisit it I think, did I write that? But it's not a designation I think about much. Probably because we are a writing family, and the sheer volume of books, articles, movie scripts and blog posts precludes much navel gazing of our own stuff.

    I think I mentioned last week that we met Barbara Kingsolver's parents, soon after The Poisonwood Bible came out. (They were avid birdwatchers, and Steve was giving a talk to a bird symposium.) We chatted a little and found out they were related, so I gushed a little about their daughter's books. Mrs. Kingsolver asked me if I'd read TPB, and when I said I hadn't, she said, "Oh, you must. It's her best book." Which, at the time, it really was. It's a moving target, though, right?

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    1. Looking forward to reading the new book, too. I meant to add that!

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  13. Karen in Ohio says it well: "best" is a moving target, and thank goodness, because each writing (of whatever it is we write) builds on what has come before. Today's best is tomorrow's not bad...

    I seem to have missed your books EJ/Jeff, so will play catchup over the holidays...only 1.5 days of work to go. Cannot wait for time to read!

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  14. The best book I’ve ever read by a particular author is the one I’m currently reading. It’s why I can’t wait to read the next one!

    If you keep writing books, I’ll keep reading them. I’ve read books you wrote as Jeff and as E.J.,and I’ve probably read most of them more than once. They must be good!

    DebRo

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    1. Very kind of you, Deb. Thanks! Let me know what you think of INHERIT THE SHOES!

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    2. Now that's a good point, DebRo: If I read a book more than once that *must* mean it's among the best...for me as the reader.

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  15. Writers’ aims and readers’ needs shift and change so “best” will too. Just enjoy the ride!

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  16. "Best thing" I've ever written is an item that is far, far away since I don't write. (And thank heaven for that, since I can't get my fingers to search out the correct keys on this keyboard this morning.) I also, instantly, confused "best" with "favorite." I've never admitted to having a favorite Christmas song/hymn or food or favorite anything. But best thing - even the most complicated blanket I've ever made was not the best, it may be my favorite (or most proud of) but I don't think it's my best.

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  17. I've loved your Haunted Guest House series, and enjoyed the agent to the animal stars books, too, so Inherit the Shoes will definitely go on my TBR list.

    But, BEST???? I think we all try to get better with each new venture. So my best book might well be the next one. Or the one after that. Maybe it comes along when I hit that perfect juncture of characters I love and an idea that's larger or more complex than usual. Maybe it's the one with the biggest heart. I hope it's not all dreck.

    As others have pointed out above, I think the writer is too close to the project. We see all the sweat stains and grubby fingerprints that go into the work. We know where it falls short of our own ideal. No book (blanket, review, set of program notes, or blog post) is perfect, so none is our absolute best. Thank goodness people love them anyway.

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    1. I can tell you every joke that fell flat, every plot hole and every clunky line of dialogue. The good ones? I remember a few.

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    2. That's because, somewhere in the back of your brain, you're still trying to make those jokes work. I totally get it.

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  18. EJ, always look forward to your work--a good laugh is a necessity these days for me! I like authors who are courageous enough to try something different--a new series, new setting, new characters.

    As for best, I may have my ideas about an author's work--and oftentimes what I think is best is also my favorite and a work I will re-read again and again. An example--Louise Penny. Many reviewers are saying her most recently published work All the Devils Are Here is her best. But in my opinion, her best work is How the Light Gets In. She brought a story arc to a powerful conclusion with heart-rending story lines, characterizations, setting--and still moved the series forward.

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  19. Hi Jeff, and welcome to the REDS! Best book is an interesting thing to contemplate. I definitely have favorites, but have no idea if they are "best." I do know that I always think whichever book I'm in the process of writing is dreadful!! When a book is finished, I have no idea if it was any good. But when I go back to them after a break, I usually think, "Oh, that was pretty good! I wonder if I can write anything that good again??" The writer's life...

    I can't wait to read Inherit the Shoes! We need all the humor we can get at the moment, and I love books set in LA. And the start of a new series! Off to look it up now!

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    1. Thanks, Deb! I hope the Los Angeles in the book at least resembles the real one. Love to hear from you when you've read it!

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  20. E.J./Jeff, I love witty writing, and you sure know how to do that. The Aspergers series and the Mysterious Detective series are so clever, so unique. I am getting to the Haunted Guesthouse mysteries, as that idea really intrigues me. Now, you've come out with a new series, and I'm thinking that maybe your clever idea well is bottomless.

    I found it interesting that Herman J. Mankiewicz didn't realize just how brilliant his Citizen Kane script was until his brother Joe pointed it out to him. I think authors are often too close to their own work to realize just how good it is. That's why God made reviewers, like me. Hahaha! I rarely settle on one work as an author's best, because if it is indeed a favorite author, I am smitten by most of their books. I might be able to pinpoint a certain aspect of a book that I think was their best, or at least as best as something can be. I'm looking at you, Julia, on this, with that opening sentence to In the Bleak Midwinter.

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    1. Kathy, I'm well aware that's the best opening sentence I'll ever right. I'm just grateful I got it right out of the gate, so people thought I was brilliant afterwards. ;-)

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    2. Kathy, just because the movie has it that way doesn't mean that's what actually happened, but maybe it did. And Julia, you ARE brilliant. So there.

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  21. Late to the party again. Just woke up.

    Hi Jeff, welcome to the Jungle Reds! I remember seeing you at the left coast crime conference in Vancouver. Congratulations on your new novel! How on earth did I not know about this novel with all of the book blogs I have been following??

    Julia, thank you for introducing us to the new novel. I already read another novel by Jeff and it was from a different series. How did you find out about this novel?

    Regarding favorites, I do not have favorites by my go to authors though I have read one novel by an author whom I usually did not like. That happens sometimes.

    Happy Christmas eve before Christmas eve,
    Diana

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    1. Diana, I found out about INHERIT THE SHOES well ahead of time, because Jeff and I are best friends. I'm always delighted to introduce him him to new readers!

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  22. Yeah, Julia. Aside from me bugging you relentlessly, how did you find out about this novel?

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    1. I've bugged your house. Isn't that what everyone does to their favorite author?

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    2. Well, according to what you were just saying in your living room, sure.

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  23. Loved this post, and I'm truly looking forward to reading the new series! L.A, divorce, murder? You have material enough to last for a dozen more books.

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    1. I'd say, "feel free to send those ideas along," but I'd be leaving myself open to a hefty lawsuit. Hope you like the new series, Gay!

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