Saturday, April 15, 2023

Celebrating a NEW HOliday!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Know what today is? It’s Gabriel Valjan appreciation day! YAAAYYYY! 


Gabe is already a part of your life–you may know it, you may not. He’s a terrific and thoughtful writer–and more about that in a minute. He's a dear and revered friend in the book and writing community. And Reds and Readers, he is the most generous person I have ever met!


You know how some of us (ahem) gripe about all the social media we have to do, I mean,  get to do, and whine about how difficult and time consuming it is to make the graphics that WHY did we have to learn how to make, anyway?


Well.


Gabriel Valjan not only does his own, but he does graphics and promotions for others! UNASKED.


This just popped up for Sara Divello’s new book.



And THIS for my interview as  guest of honor at Malice Domestic.





Gabriel made these! He just–DOES that! And for The Back Room and A Mighty Blaze and Bouchercon and so many others and there is absolutely no way that a mortal human being could possibly do it–it’s hard enough for us to remember and organize our own schedules, right? He remembers and organizes  ALL of them! 


STANDING OVATION.


And in addition to that, he’s an amazing writer. And his newest book, Liar’s Dice. And what powers it forward is not just the terrific plot, but the brilliant dialogue. And we asked him to tell us a bit about that.


And the Sinner Speaks

     By Gabriel Valjan


Ask writers what they find most challenging to write, and the universal answer—regardless of genre—is dialogue, with a capital D for DIFFICULT. 


Dialogue is hard to write, and dialogue with subtext, harder. If you don’t know what subtext is, then think of the title of the Raymond Carver short story, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.”



In real life people talk; few listen. It’s either talk that takes up air and accomplishes nothing OR it advances an agenda. Shane Cleary in LIAR’S DICE is a man who listens, and isn’t quick to react because he maintains an ethos not to judge others. When he does act, it is with purpose. 


A job offer he can’t refuse comes to Shane, along with his morning newspaper. When Shane answers the door with a revolver, he finds Tony Two-Times there, who says, “You gonna invite me in, or what?” A man of the streets, Tony knows Shane is armed. “Relax, Cleary, and saddle the Colt you’re hiding behind you.”


Talk can contain subtext. We seldom say what we mean because either we don’t know what we want or because we know our listener won’t like what we want. We hedge—feel the other person out before the ask. This is not the case between Shane and Tony. Stakes are established fast, though their talk is indirect, filled with innuendo beneath the surface. Shane is tasked to find someone. Their conversation is parry, pause, and response. What seems humorous to the reader isn’t; it belies something sinister.


“He’s missing, and he’s not.” Tony didn’t even blink when he said it.

“What does that mean in English or in any other language?”

“The kid took off with the girl.”

“Are you telling me you want me to cross our northern border and poach him?”

“Nah, we have people who can do that.”

“Then what is it?”


Shane and Tony know who they are and what they are capable of. Shane, like myself, accepts that bad people do good things, and good people do bad things. People are complex, neither saint nor sinner.


The most dangerous act in life is answering the door. It’s my metaphor for the inevitable call to action. In life, you either answer the knock or you don’t. One way or another, the knock will come to each of us.


I’ll end here with two scenes. The first is cinéma vérité, a comical snapshot of mobsters, paranoid about surveillance, on the move; it’s something I witnessed as a kid.


I imagined this conversation…spread out over twelve different payphones in Montreal and Boston. Mr. B was insistent that the Feds couldn’t bug a pay phone or any phone that fast. I could picture the surveillance footage: Mr. B and Tony Two-Times, umbrella in hand, the two of them fast-walking from one payphone to another in the North End. Meanwhile, bodies were dropping in Canada, New York, and New Jersey.

Item two is Shane’s response to Tony Two-Times who has realized (again) that Shane is someone to respect.


“You’re all kinds of secrets, aren’t you, Cleary?”

“Thought I was an open book if anybody bothered to read me.”


Which author do you think does dialogue best?


HANK: Oh, so great!  Dialogue….Michael Connolly? Lisa Jewell. Edith Wharton. How about you, reds and readers?


(And have you seen Gabriel's fabulous graphics?)


Happy Gabriel Day! And thank you thank you thank you!


And a copy of Liar's Dice to one lucky commenter–this week's winners will be published tomorrow! 




Gabriel Valjan is the author of the Shane Cleary Mysteries from Level Best Books. He has been nominated for the Agatha, Anthony, Silver Falchion Awards, and received the 2021 Macavity Award for Best Short Story. Gabriel is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. He lives in Boston and answers to a tuxedo cat named Munchkin.


54 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Gabriel, on your newest book. I enjoyed the back and forth between Shane and Tony; I’m looking forward to reading this book.

    I don’t know as I could select just one author who does dialogue “best” . . . I agree with your choices; I’d add Hilary Mantel and Lois Lowry . . . .

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  2. Gabriel is one of a kind. Congrats on the new book and I enjoyed the tête-à-tête between Shane and Tony. I also want to say another thanks for the graphics for my panel at Malice.

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  3. Congratulations on the new book, Gabriel. And thank you for all the wonderful graphics, as well as the frequent mentions in your Tweets! Looking forward to seeing you at Malice!

    As for dialogue, I'll add Craig Johnson to the mix. Each of his characters have such a unique voice.

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    1. Oh, yes, genius at dialogue! Always surprising ,and always clever. And natural.

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  4. Hi, we used to have a tuxedo cat named Sox. Yup, we lived in MA until we retired 6 years ago. I'm sad to say I haven't read any of your books yet but I am sure that I would like them. Thank you for this chance at your giveaway. pgenest57 at aol dot com

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  5. Yay to Gabriel, everyone's favorite cheerleader, and waving hi! You're the best.

    Plus, everyone should know that he also in award season comes up with lists of every author and book eligible in every category! If he misses someone, he revises it on the spot. SUCH a huge service.

    I love writing dialogue - maybe I'm the exception. Great exchange between your characters, and congratulations on the new book. See you in two weeks!

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  6. GABRIEL: Yes, you are the best at creating these graphics for so many authors.

    Congratulations on the newest Shane Cleary book. The dialogue between Shane & Tony is great. I have already read LIAR'S DICE and enjoyed it a lot!

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  7. Hank, do you really have a Malice interview at 2 am ?

    Gabriel, congratulations on your new book. I love good dialogues. The ones you shared here encourage me to read more of your work.

    Robert B Parker’s dialogues sparked my interest for mysteries many years ago.
    Danielle

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    1. Good eye on the graphic. I've since corrected the error. No Hank at 2am. TY, GV

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    2. Oh, my bad. I put up an early (HA!) version. I just changed it for the correct one!

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  8. Thank you to everyone who has chimed in. Happy you appreciate the graphics. I've always liked helping others. See you at Malice soon, and thanks for the best wishes on LIAR'S DICE. If you read, let me know who your favorite character is in the novel. All the best, GV

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  9. Gabriel, congratulations on your latest book. I love the graphics that you do for everyone. That is incredibly generous!

    The dialog you shared between Shane and Tony is terrific. I did not realize that dialog is the most difficult to write. My personal choice for excellence in character conversation would be JRW's own Deborah Crombie. She has a gift. I also agree with Hank about Michael Connelly and with Annette about Craig Johnson. Voice is so important and has so many meanings, especially now when most books have narrators, too.

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    1. Aw, thanks SO much, Judy!! I remember when I first started writing I was terrified of dialog. Now I love writing it, it's maybe my favorite thing. Most of the time I don't really know the characters until they start to talk.

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    2. Oh, how interesting to think about what you said about the narrators! SO true. (ANd agree about Debs!)

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  10. Congratulations, Gabriel! You're the graphics creator? Dang, I should not be surprised. =:-D

    Back when I was doing promo for Crime Bake and using my toy lobster and raven for promo photos (had there been a SinC "mascot" it would've been a trio), Gabriel came up with the totally brill tagline: "Rock the lobster!"

    Dude! That was amazing! I wanted to find you at Crime Bake and thank you but I couldn't. Crime Bake moves fast, especially when you're doing "run and gun" photography for social.

    So, here's some belated appreciation and gratitude. Thank you, Gabriel. To paraphrase Blake Shelton: you, sir, have "the promo bone."

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    1. Thank you, Rhonda, and do find me at Crime Bake next time! I was thinking of the B52s when I used that tagline.

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    2. It's a classic! (So great to see you today, Rhonda! Hope you enjoyed it...)

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  11. Congratulations, Gabriel! LIAR'S DICE sounds like the best of the old school PI mysteries - if you make any of your wonderful promo pieces for it, make sure to say fans of the new Perry Mason will love it!

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    1. Yes, I like the old school stuff, but I;m quick to remind people that the past was not necessarily better. The 70s remind us of how far we've come, and how much more work there is to be done. The Perry Mason series sure does convey the gritty desperation of 30s LA.

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    2. Yes,we should talk about that show. I am..baffled.

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  12. Gabriel, congrats on your new book!

    And to answer Hank's question about whether or not I've seen the graphics you create, the answer is yes. They pop up in my Twitter feed all the time. When I first started noticing them, my first thought was "How does this guy have all this free time?"

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    1. Thank, Jay. Truth be told, I do graphics while waking up, espresso nearby. My sense of humor is most alive in the early hours, and graphics are some assurance that I'll color coordinate my clothes for the day.

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  13. Gabriel, I follow you on Facebook, adore your graphics, and have read all your books. Munchkin is by all means my favorite character and obviously writes much of your stuff. You have that Elmore Leonard thing going on.

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    1. Thanks for following me and glad you like the graphics. Thanks for the high praise, with me in the same sentence as Dutch. Delilah (aka Munchkin) is my tip of the hat to cozy mysteries.

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  14. Congratulations on Liar's Dice which sounds intriguing and captivating. Your graphics are the best. Love the Montreal setting and locale.

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    1. Thank you. I tried to bring up a seldom discussed slice of history with Montreal and organized crime (Calabria's 'Ndrangheta) and cocaine in the 70s.

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  15. I must say, that was a master class! Congratulations on Liar's Dice. It sounds fabulous.

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  16. Incredibly talented and creative author and artist. Congratulations! Liar's Dice is enthralling and unique.

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  17. Thanks for the dialogue from LIAR'S DICE. Great stuff. I'm going to start with "Dirty Old Town," though--just bought it on Kindle. I want to second Edith in thanking you from the bottom of my heart for listing the year's eligible mysteries for awards! I printed out the list for 2022 (all of it) and went through every book, checking off what I'd read and deciding what to vote for. Not sure how I could have managed without it. You are a star!

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    1. Thank you, Kim. Necessity drove those Lists since I wanted to know what was Eligible for the Agatha and Anthony Awards. Glad it helps others, too. Enjoy Dirty Old Town!

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  18. Fantastic graphics and dialogue, Gabriel! And welcome to JRW!

    Diana

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    1. Thank you, Diana. I've always been a fan of JRW, and they are great in person at conferences.

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  19. This may sound naive, but I think dialogue that blends effortlessly into the story and propel the story to it conclusion is fabulous. I can get lost in long ramblings. And when that long rambling includes the one gem of information needed later in the story and I missed?

    You are a new author to me but introducing your new book with someone answering the door with a gun hiding behind their back is a book I'd like meet.

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    1. Thank you, Deana. I try to write dialogue that leans into the action or plot. I don't want to waste the reader's time. I hope you enjoy your encounters with Shane. Thanks for stopping by today.

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    2. That is such a good lesson--so wise!

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  20. Gabriel, you certainly deserve a day to be celebrated. Your graphics for announcing awards, nominations and winners, and other mystery/crime fiction news are amazing. In fact, you've rather spoiled us, because lots of us wait (never a long wait) until your announcements with graphics are posted and then share them. You and Janet Rudolph are my go-to people for award nominations and winners. And, as Edith pointed out, the lists you compile are so helpful. Congratulations on your new book.

    As for the dialogue question, I'll add Catriona McPherson in her Last Ditch Motel mysteries. I love witty dialogue, and hers in these books certainly are.

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  21. Gabriel!! You did the fabulous graphics for Murderous March! Thank you so much for those!! And I'm so looking forward to meeting you at Crimebake! And to your new book!

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    1. Crime bake, Crime bake! I am so excited to meet all my author heroes!! Come November!!

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    2. Thank you, Deborah, and see you at Crime Bake. Murderous March is a great event, too.

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  22. Best dialogue? I was enraptured by William Landay's newest book, "All That Is Mine I Carry With Me," hard to top among modern books. In "classic" terms, I'd have to say Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with so many lines I can still hear as I read. ("Footprints?" "Footprints." "A man's, or a woman's?" "Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound.")

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  23. Susan Shea here. Liars Dice is waiting in my kindle! We're so lucky to have Gabriel's voice on 7CriminalMinds and his many, many fans can catch his brilliant posts there!

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  24. I was lucky to get an early read, and Liar’s Dice is a great mystery! Also I want to add my appreciation for Gabriel and all he does for so many writers, including me.

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