Nov 18, 2014 Night Market Noir: Ed Lin, Naomi Hirahara, and Steph Cha talk murder
My pal Ed Lin was in SoCal last weekend to attend Bouchercon, an annual gathering of mystery writers and fans from around the world. Did you know about that scene? I didn’t and and totally should have checked out the annual event because it was based in Long Beach this time around. Crap. Luckily, Ed and two other writers who also happened to be Asian American gathered for a reading on Saturday night in Downtown L.A. to give me a taste of the convention and save me the drive. It took place in the loft of a patron of the arts and featured catering with Lee’s Sandwiches and Martinelli’s. Fancy!
After some introductions and thanks, Ed gave a reading from his newest book. Night Market‘s narrator is cynical and a little stupid, and obsessed with finding out what happened to his youthful crush who vanished after they went to their respective colleges in the U.S., inexplicably became a scantily clad Betel nut beauty who hawks the unhygienic snacks from behind glass on the roads outside of Tapei, and then was murdered. Ed reads with gusto, and the book is a real hoot with its keen descriptions and sly observations of Taiwan and as well as a kick-ass mystery. Would love to hear a book-on-tape version read by the man!
Next up was his buddy Steph Cha. The Los Angeles-based writer explained that she was sick of doing readings from her newest book, Beware Beware, before previewing a draft off her smartphone instead. The short story, which will be featured in a collection of Asian-American pulp fiction, involves a detached young woman coming to grips with the murder of her mother as well as the latter’s involvement in 429 (the riots in Koreatown following the Rodney King verdict). It’s as local as it is personal–and atypically insightful in both ways–and I can’t wait to read it in full.
Naomi Hirahara is another friend of mine, and I’ve recently seen her read from Murder on Bamboo Lane at my local library. But I’ll never get tired of hearing her describe the streets of Chinatown, where my immigrant grandparents spent so much time, my in-laws still go to yum cha regularly, and where my wife Wendy and I have been hanging out since our daughter started attending school in the neighborhood. Naomi was a Downtown L.A.-based news reporter and in my opinion that informs her deceptively straightforward style of writing. Her new series about a young bike cop is my favorite so far!
Following the readings, there was a general discussion and Q&A session. Immediately they addressed idea of detective fiction being genre work that is somehow inferior to “serious” writing. Cha had an interesting theory that murder amplifies human behavior and simply makes storytelling more intense. I was stoked that Ed talked a little bit about his debut, Waylaid, which isn’t a mystery. It’s a smart, funny, and shit-talking coming-of-age read that fits in your back pocket. Everyone should check it out.
Another key topic was place: how comfortable and familiar the authors are with the settings of their books as well as the research that goes into them. And when the neighborhoods change–sometimes even between when a book is written and when it is published–then what? The fact that Naomi, Ed, and Steph represent three generations of mystery writers added another layer to the discussion.
Ed, Steph, and Naomi could have talked about death on paper all night but it was conspicuous that they never addressed the death of print, writers eking out a living, or even Hollywood. Coming off Bouchercon, it was a love fest for the writers, the readers, and the curious who were sitting on sofas, dining chairs, and even the floor. Delusional from the mutual excitement, Wendy, my new friend (and publisher of Kaya Press) Sunyoung Lee, and I embarked conversation about indie publishing, art, and punk rock taking over Chinatown and the world.
If that ever amounts to anything, who knows. But small gatherings of like-minded people who are excited about their scene, their city, and their craft are much more valuable they seem and occur way less often than they should. Wendy said, “We could totally do something like that at our house,” and why can’t any of us?
Follow the authors at edlinforpresident.com, bystephcha.wordpress.com, and naomihirahara.com. And for more articles, events, and announcements, follow Imprint Culture Lab via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.