Night Windows (Excerpt from In Sunlight or In Shadow)

(The following is an excerpt from the anthology In Sunlight or In Shadow) Night Windows by Jonathan Santlofer There she is again, pink bra, pink slip, in one window then the next, appearing then disappearing, a picture in a zoetrope, flickering, evanescent, maddening. Yes, that’s the word: maddening. Then he thinks of another: delicious. And another: torture. He hadn’t expected a replacement so soon. The last one, Laura or Lauren, her name hardly matters, gone now four or five months, not like he’s not counting. They’re all replaceable, one as good as the next. Though he liked the last one, her innocence—and taking it away. He tries to picture her but her features are already blurred, like she was a watercolor and he’d run a moist finger across her face, smearing her features, erasing her, creating her then destroying her. Exactly what he did. What he always does. The woman in pink bends over, her … Read more

In Sunlight or In Shadow

Edward Hopper, that most American of artists: girlie shows, movie theaters, gas stations at night, that famous diner, strangers glimpsed in windows, the lonely streets, landscapes filled with yearning. Despite the isolation, or because of it, Hopper strikes a chord, touches us, draws us in. His subjects inhabit a world constructed entirely by the artist: lost in thought, still yet searching, his couples sit, stand, recline, sometimes side by side but never quite connected, the artist a master of isolation. I felt compelled to make drawings, this one of the artist and a few of his paintings. At first they were going to be two-minute sketches, but Hopper took hold of me and my pencil just kept going. I even added a touch of color. Of course Hopper is always about light and shadow, which brings me to the book, “In Sunlight or In Shadow, Stories Inspired By the Paintings of Edward Hopper,” brainchild of the legendary crime fiction writer, Lawrence Block, … Read more

The CWE Spring Literary Salon April 12

The CWE Spring Literary Salon Tuesday, Tuesday, April 12 at 6 PM – 7:30 PM CCNY Division of Interdisciplinary Studies CWE Auditorium, 25 Broadway, 7th Fl , NY NY 10004 The writer and playwright, Seamus Scanlon, asked me to participate in this and I said yes. One reason is that my father put himself through night school at City College, so it felt appropriate. I’ll be reading from a published story, “The Garmento & the Movie Star,” a true story about my father and Marilyn Monroe  

Talkin’ ’bout TV

Let’s talk television, which just may be the new novel. Something that frightens me, being a writer and all. It’s so hard to compete with all of those great shows, even some of the not so great ones. Binge-watching is just so… addictive. I know reading is more relaxing and helps me get to sleep, but watching the tube appears to be more so—you’re just lying there, right?—when it’s not: it’s stimulating. Just one more episode, just one more. But let’s put that negative, sleep-depriving addictive quality aside, for the moment, and savor some of television’s serial pleasures. House of Cards – Season 4 I am a diehard fan and have been since the first episode. Kevin Spacey has found the role of his lifetime and he is brilliant, the perfect blend of snaky charm, humor and evil, he wears it on his face, in the pockets of flesh beneath his eyes, the smile that goes … Read more

Draw With Me in Italy

Imagine… Drawing in and around the hills of Assisi… Looking at nature, architecture, the figure, all the while soaking up Italian culture. Looking and learning from Giotto’s amazing & beautiful frescoes just a few steps away in the cathedral. All of this, and more. Like I’ve been saying: Come draw with me (sung to the tune of Come Fly With me). I can, and have taught anyone how to draw. Drawing will change your artwork, your writing, even (dare I say it) the way you view the world. So come. In the afternoons we’ll loll about, talking about art and writing and beauty or nothing in particular. In the evenings we’ll eat & drink and talk some more. For even more specifics, go to the website. http://www.artworkshopintl.com