Hey folks. A piece I wrote re-imagining the Lana Turner / Johnnny Stampanato murder case, in the voices of the participants, is on The Lineup today. I did a few sketches to accompany it as well. Please have a look. I hope you enjoy it. http://www.the-line-up.com/hollywood-homicide-lana-turner-johnny-stompanato/
I have a new story in this terrific collection put together by the one and only Lawrence Block. Larry said, “Just write a New York story, Jonathan,” and that’s what I did. It may be a surprise because everyone else’s story is a mystery and mine is memoir, but there’s some darkness in this true tale from my distant past. The collection is great and I’m happy to be part of it, so check it out (that’s a none-too-subtle-way of saying, buy a copy!) And stay tuned. Next week I’ll have an illustrated story in “The Lineup,” and I’m finally going to get my act together and do a little catch up on what I’ve been doing these past months and what I’m working on. Thanks for tuning in and make sure to visit the upcoming event for the book at the Mysterious Book Shop. Thursday, May 7th, 6:30pm The Mysterious Bookshop 58 Warren Street New … Read more
I just saw Philip Seymour Hoffman’s posthumous last film, “A Most Wanted Man.” And maybe it’s too easy to say in retrospect but it was like watching a man on a suicide mission, chain-smoking, wheezing, overweight, rarely making eye contact with the camera as if he was embarrassed. (Yes, it’s an internal performance, but still.) No question he’s the most soulful of actors with a kind of sweet/tragic beauty but in this movie he just seems ill. Watching Hoffman was, for me, like a recent viewing of “The Misfits,” the last film for Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable (an unlikely romantic couple, Gable 59 and looking 65; Monroe 33 looking 40), though Monroe had once fantasized Gable was her father. Still beautiful though bloated, bad-wigged, boozy and sometimes dazed, Monroe’s is a brave performance but difficult to watch, almost too naked and revealing. I mentioned this to Joyce Carol Oates, who didn’t agree that Marilyn … Read more
Dear friends, It’s been a long time since I have written anything on my website and I apologize. It was a necessary break for personal reasons. But I have been working and will tell you just a few of things I’ve been up to. For the moment I have put aside the book I’d been working on for well over a year, a story about a cop who lost his family, a novel based in part on “Crime & Punishment.” The book was finished but not resolved and it needed time to percolate, so hopefully it’s doing just that while I work on other things. I’ve been thinking… That people often say a writer’s characters are variations of his or herself and I used to agree. Now, I’m not so sure. One’s art—writing, painting, music—is of course always a reflection of the person who made it. But the characters one creates on the page can … Read more
Crime City Central has produced a podcast of my short story “The Muse.” All I will say about the story is that an editor friend sent me a New York Post article with the headline, ARTIST SLEEPS BESIDE MURDERED LOVER, which I had tacked to my wall for at least a year before it inspired this story. I’ve never met Jack Calverly, the producer of CCC, but he has an enviable British accent and his introduction to my story alone is enough reason to tune in – and I hope you will. Click here for podcast.
UPDATE: Thanks to all who came out for the Enclave Reading Series! A good time was had by one and all in the deep dark recesses of Cake Shop and the authors’ minds! I will be reading at the Enclave Reading Series on the LES, Saturday, November 16, 4-6pm. Details are below, with one missing detail, the theme: “transgression.” You have been warned. But I’d rather embarrass myself in front of a large crowd than a small one, so I hope you will come… ENCLAVE READING SERIES http://theenclavereadingseries.tumblr.com Nov. 16 @ Cake Shop, 152 Ludlow Street ADMISSION IS FREE and THE BAR WILL BE OPEN! It’s yet another bang up billing at The Enclave Reading Series. For our November line-up we have returning champ Fiona Maazel, joined by none other than Jonathan Santlofer, and very special guest Liza Bear. Nov. 16 @ Cake Shop, 152 Ludlow Street ADMISSION IS FREE and THE BAR WILL … Read more
From the CT News Blog by Joe Meyer: The new Touchstone book “Inherit the Dead” isn’t the first book written by a group of popular writers — it’s a tradition that goes all the way back to the Newsday-created “Naked Came the Stranger” in 1969 — but this novel-by-committee has to be one of the best examples of this eccentric genre. Overseen by the New York City artist and crime writer Jonathan Santlofer, the book tells a taut and very suspenseful tale of a rich girl who goes missing just as she is about to come into her huge family fortune. The novel grabs you in the first section and keeps building despite the fact that 20 writers contributed chapters. There is a lot of charm in the way the style and approach changes ever so slightly slightly as we start each new section with a new writer guiding us along. But, the storytelling pace … Read more
Thanks to NY Press for this great interview about Inherit the Dead. “It is said that the generosity of crime fiction writers exists because the authors get their frustrations out on their twisted pages. There is no better tribute to their kindness than when they use their words to benefit charity. The book Inherit the Dead was born because 20 bestselling writers in the crime fiction world took time out from other projects to contribute a chapter each to this collaboration. Editor Jonathan Santlofer saw this gracious spirit first-hand after prolific writers like Lee Child, Mary Higgins Clark, and Charlaine Harris signed on immediately. To begin what would seem like a daunting task to most, Santlofer skillfully created the story’s outline and worked with all the writers by preserving their unique styles, while creating a cohesive thriller. The royalties from the sale of the novel, which is already a bestseller after only being released on … Read more
Omnimystery News: Tell us a little more about your novels and anthologies. Jonathan Santlofer: I have written two series, one with ex-cop Kate McKinnon, the second with police forensic sketch artist Nate Rodriguez. I love the idea of a recurring character and I intend to write more books in each of these series though I am currently writing a stand-alone because I wanted to stretch. I don’t see any reason why an author can’t do both. The challenge in a series is to keep it fresh but I always want my character to develop and grow. I love seeing them change, which is necessary if the character’s life changes. I have also edited several anthologies, The Dark End of the Street, LA Noire, the Collected Stories, The Marijuana Chronicles, and the current serial novel Inherit the Dead for Touchstone/Simon& Schuster, which was a complex though totally rewarding experience, getting 20 writers, including Charlaine Harris, James … Read more
We did it! “Inherit the Dead” is on the NY Times bestseller list! #15 on ebooks and #18 on the combined list. Congrats to every author who donated their talent and time to this worthy and exciting project.