The New Black (2 page)

One of the first classes I took at The Cult was with Craig Clevenger. I'd read both of his books,
The Contortionist's Handbook
, as well as
Dermaphoria
, after having worked my way through Palahniuk, and the trilogy by Will Christopher Baer (
Kiss Me Judas
,
Penny Dreadful
, and
Hell's Half Acre
). Craig was a brilliant instructor, and I learned a great deal from him. At the end of the class he encouraged me to send out one of my stories, “Stillness,” and I hesitated. He said it was done, perfect, good to go—do it, already, he said. So I did. And I sent it to all of the wrong places,
The Paris Review
and
The New Yorker
, a ton of literary journals that were totally inappropriate, but eventually I sent it to
Cemetery Dance
. They said the magazine was backed up, but they'd like it for
Shivers VI
, an irregularly published anthology. I was disappointed—I'd never heard of the anthology, but I knew the press, so I said yes, of course, sounds great. Six months turned into a year, and the book finally came out—and my story was published alongside two of my heroes, Stephen King and Peter Straub. I think I may have cried. (This will be a recurring theme.) I was hooked. I'll always owe Craig for this start to my writing career, and his voice, his inclusion in this anthology was essential—not because I need to pay him back, but because his writing has inspired me for years. “Act of Contrition” is a dark, layered story that packs a punch.

Over time, I got more involved in writing communities, and attended my first AWP conference in New York City. It was overwhelming, and beautiful, and daunting. Stephen Graham Jones was the third member of the Velvet trio, so when I saw he was on a panel with another author I'd just started reading, Brian Evenson, I knew I had to attend. Both of these authors have been blending the best of literary and genre fiction for as long as I've been reading them, starting with Stephen's
All the Beautiful Sinners
and Brian's
The Wavering Knife
. Both of these gifted authors write with an attention to the language, a sense of unfurling tension, and the ability to let the terror slowly sink in until the epiphany of resolution is almost debilitating. “Father, Son, Holy Rabbit” was the first story that I thought of when building this collection, and “Windeye” immediately came to mind as well. Both stories have endings that are earned and unexpected, not twists, but dark understandings that have now become truth.

At about the same time, I started attending readings here in Chicago. One of the first that I went to was the Quickies! series, run by Lindsay Hunter and Mary Hamilton. The night that I read, with gifted voices such as Blake Butler, Amelia Gray, Jac Jemc, and Ben Tanzer, I also learned that Lindsay was not just the host, but an author. This was October of 2009. I would start my MFA the following January. Later, when
Daddy's
came out, Lindsay's first collection, I realized how gifted she really was. Her story “That Baby” will always stay with me, the final words about nipples and lit matchheads forever burned into my brain.

Also at that first AWP, I heard a man named Roy Kesey read a story. I was so blown away that I picked up his collection,
All Over
. He spoke about his struggles, how he tried for years to get into an elite literary journal, the
Kenyon Review
. The rejections piled up and he was about to stop submitting to them, when he finally broke in. They took his story, “Wait.” When he told them that he didn't think they liked his writing, they responded by saying that they'd been fans for years. Just goes to show you how fickle and subjective this business can be. That story was later selected by Stephen King for the
Best American Short Stories 2007
anthology. His story in this anthology, “Instituto” is my favorite of his—funny and dark and original.

It was in my MFA program that a good friend of mine Drew McCoy introduced me to “Refresh, Refresh” in
The Paris Review
, by Benjamin Percy. I picked up the collection, and have been a fan ever since. Another author who isn't afraid to write horror with a literary voice, I selected “Dial Tone” because I think it's a little less known than some of the other stories in that collection, and it has a tension throughout that I love.
The Wilding
and
Red Moon
are his two novels, and both are innovative works. When I heard that he was taking on werewolves (called lycans) I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but
Red Moon
is simply amazing.

Early in my career I can remember reaching out to Matt Bell, asking him for advice, and he always took the time to respond. As I became a fan of Dzanc Books and the work they were doing there, I got to know him better. But it wasn't until
Cataclysm Baby
that I was sold—such a surreal, powerful and touching dark novel. I knew that Matt needed to be in here, too, and his story “Dredge” is a bit of contemporary noir that fit perfectly.

When I started writing book reviews for The Nervous Breakdown, one of the first books I read was
In the Mean Time
by Paul Tremblay. It was a fascinating mix of short stories—science fiction and horror, neo-noir and fantasy, a perfect blend of the kind of writing I was starting to get into. If he didn't make me aware of the genre (or sub-genre) of magical realism, he at least primed me for the voices that I would read later—Aimee Bender and Kelly Link, for example. His story “It's Against the Law to Feed the Ducks” is one of the few stories I've ever read that made me cry. And I'm not ashamed to admit that. Maybe it was being a new father at the time, maybe it was the honesty of the story, but his original look at a post-apocalyptic world has stayed with me for many years.

Around this time I can remember running across
PANK
at an AWP, probably here in Chicago. I met Roxane Gay for the first time, and once I got over how exciting the magazine was, I realized she was a gifted author as well. I was still struggling to get my work accepted, and when she took my story “Splintered,”
a contemporary “choose-your-own-path” bit of neo-noir
adventure, it gave me a huge dose of confidence. As I started to see her name more and more often, in other publications I was chasing, I realized that I hadn't read a story of hers that was anything close to average or expected—she was a slugger, hitting them out of the park every single time. I was so thrilled to see her get into the
Best American Short Stories 2012
anthology with her story, “North Country.” It was very difficult to select just one of her stories, but “How” filled a niche in this collection—maybe you'd call it rural noir, but whatever you label it, it's a powerful, touching story that holds back nothing.

As I continued to dig into neo-noir voices, mixing in the literary voices of my MFA program, I picked up new work by Craig Davidson, and realized he was slowly becoming one of my favorite authors. It started with the collection
Rust and Bone
, and then his novel
The Fighter
, followed by
Sara Court
. To hear that he just made the Giller long list for his novel
Cataract City
(which isn't even OUT yet in the U.S.) makes me even more impatient to get my hands on it. And being allowed to include the title story “Rust and Bone” from his debut collection in this anthology is a bit of a gift as well.

About this time I traveled to St. Louis (where I grew up) to be a part of the Noir at the Bar reading series, run by Scott Phillips and Jed Ayres. It was there that I first met Kyle Minor. I'd been aware of his writing, but hadn't read that much of it, just one collection,
In the Devil's Territory
. Later, I would run into him again at the release party for Frank Bill down in Corydon, Indiana, celebrating
Crimes in Southern Indiana
. After getting over the thrill of meeting Donald Ray Pollock, I reminded myself to read more of Kyle's work. When I ran across “The Truth and All Its Ugly,” I was floored. I guess I have to admit that this may be the second story in this collection to make me cry—I'm turning into a real faucet here. As Kyle continues to gain attention, I'm again grateful to Sarabande Books for letting us include this story, as his new collection,
Praying Drunk
, is about to hit the streets.

It was at another AWP, Denver 2010, where I heard Joe Meno read, following Dorothy Allison, I think, which is a nearly impossible feat. I'd actually published a story of his in a little rag I guest edited,
Colored Chalk
, but Joe was on fire that night, and it spurned me to pick up more of his work, such as
Hairstyles of the Damned
and
The Boy Detective Fails
. He provides some much needed humor in this collection, but underneath the jokes and uncomfortable laughter is a sadness that really got to me, in “Children Are the Only Ones Who Blush.”

As my writing continued to expand, I started writing my first novel, and joined a group called Write Club. It's a private community of like-minded authors who have been striving to publish and break out. It's been thrilling to see many of our group get agents, book deals, and break into elite magazines and journals. Two authors, Nik Korpon, and Craig Wallwork, have done exactly that. Both write gritty narratives, with Nik often focusing on the Baltimore streets, and Craig on rural English country sides. But I selected stories from these two emerging authors that are closer to the fantastic and horrific, slipping in and out of realities, asking us to suspend our disbelief, and open our minds to the possibilities. Where Nik makes me fear a possible future where our dreams can be stolen, Craig scares me to death with a haunting that feels all too possible. Nik's story “His Footsteps are Made of Soot,” and Craig's “Dollhouse” were two voices that I knew immediately needed to be in this collection.

Rebecca Jones-Howe is another author that has emerged from one of my writing communities—LitReactor, where I write a column, Storyville. When I compared Lindsay Hunter to Mary Gaitskill, in an article I wrote for Flavorwire, “10 Essential Neo-Noir Authors,” Rebecca's voice is another one that came to mind, reminiscent of the heady mix of sex and violence that Gaitskill so eloquently writes. In the workshops over at LitReactor, I always enjoyed her writing. When she won the first War, a competition pitting some 60+ authors against each other in an NCAA-style series of brackets, I knew I wasn't the only person to recognize her gifts and formidable abilities. Her story “Blue Hawaii” was my favorite of that competition.

My book reviews continued over at The Nervous Breakdown. I ran across a little book called
Zazen
, one of the first Red Lemonade titles. Richard Nash has always had his thumb on the pulse of the writing community, so it was an easy sell. What Vanessa Veselka did with that narrative struck me as being very original, a literary mind dealing with heavy political issues, layers of tension stacking one upon another, a story that slowly gets under your skin. That same lyrical and haunting quality is evident in her story, “Christopher Hitchens.”

As I started to fill up this anthology, I dug deeper for voices that I may have missed, searching for those last few authors to fill the collection. It's difficult to put a finger on what neo-noir is, my definition differing than someone schooled in noir vs. horror vs. dark literary fiction. I've been a fan of Akashic Books for a long time, and as I picked up book after book,
The Heroin Chronicles
got my attention. Antonia Crane is another unique voice, tapping into her past experiences to write alluring, complicated, and touching stories that often show the underbelly of the various sex worker industries. But what makes her story, “Sunshine for Adrienne” so powerful is not the titillation, but the humanity, desire, hope and fear that rests behind it.

Another name that kept popping up on my radar was Richard Lange. Maybe it was
Dead Boys
back in 2008, or
Angel Baby
, that just came out, but I dug in deeper and found another voice that explored the world of neo-noir, the new black, with authority and depth. The subtle knowledge and unease that descends on the reader in “Fuzzyland,” is a hypnotic read, leaving behind sadness, frustration, and understanding.

I wanted more weirdness, and as I looked around my office, I didn't have to go that far to trip over the tome that is
The Weird
, edited by Jeff and VanderMeer. If you've ever read the magazine
Weird Tales
, you know about Ann (now at Tor). And to miss the body of work that is Jeff VanderMeer, is to ignore a powerful voice in fantasy and crime (e.g.,
Finch
). So their names on the cover of this 1,152-page monolith meant only one thing—quality. Micaela Morrissette's story “The Familiars” taps into every horror that a parent and child can conjure up—something under the bed, noises in the dark, abduction, possession, and the unknown.

Which leaves Tara Laskowksi and her story “The Etiquette of Homicide.” What made this story a must-have for this collection was the unique formatting—a recipe for disaster, you could say. A strong voice in the crime and dark fiction arenas, Tara makes you pay attention, and mix up all of her ingredients to create a compelling story that builds on the classic noir staples.

Each and every author in this collection has been an inspiration to me—as an author, a reader, and a student of the imagination. These are the stories that stay with me when I close my eyes at night and try to go to sleep. These are the voices that push me to take more risks with my own writing. These are the authors you should keep an eye on, pick up at bookstores, garage sales and libraries, making them your own personal teachers of the macabre.