Gaslight (Excerpt from Alive in Shape and Color)

The Following is an excerpt from Alive in Shape and Color   GASLIGHT by Jonathan Santlofer She saw it again, not a picture this time, just the hard cold truth: a handsome young man who had married her for money. What else could he possibly see in her? She did nothing, wasn’t beautiful nor brilliant, just unsuccessful Paula, dull and drab. Except for one thing: She was rich. When they’d met, Gregory had practically nothing: the Lower East Side tenement and a part time job painting walls in an art gallery; no family money, no prospects other than an art career that might or might not eventually take off, but when would that be, and how many art careers ever did? Still, she fought the idea. She had been reading too many crime novels, that was all. Gregory cared about her. He needed her, adored her. But the thought soured fast. He needed her all … Read more

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    

Food City

As most of you know, my wife, Joy, died suddenly and unexpectedly two years ago. At the time, she was close to finishing her 5-year book project, Food City: 400 Centuries of Food Making in New York. This epic, history-changing book is scheduled for release by WW Norton in June 2015 but there are still many things to be completed. Doria took it upon herself to create a Food City Kickstarter Campaign that is both pragmatic and a loving tribute to her mother. I know how hard she worked on this and how difficult it was emotionally. I hope you don’t mind that I offered your contact info to Doria. Of course you should not feel in any way compelled to donate, but we would appreciate it if you pass along the link so the word can spread. This is an important book, Joy’s life’s work, and we are making sure it gets the attention it deserves.

Summer Workshop at CFA

Dear Friends, I will be teaching a 4-day intensive short story crime fiction workshop July 13-16 at the Center For Fiction. My intention is to bring students from story inception all the way to a polished ready-for-submission piece of work. If you know anyone who has a crime story up their sleeve, wants to write it and get it published please send them my way. This is going to fun! Check details below and on the Center For Fiction website. Thanks. Jonathan Summer 2015 at The Crime Fiction Academy For the first time, The Center will offer a four-day summer writing intensive workshop at our Crime Fiction Academy. Join Jonathan Santlofer for this unique opportunity to polish your work for submission, from first draft to finished story. In addition to a daily workshop session, students will attend an evening panel with publishers and editors from prestigious print and online magazines to learn best practices for … Read more

Saul Bellow Centennial Celebration

A great night of Bellow readings to a SRO crowd at Housing Works NYC. Beena Kamlani, Saul Bellow’s last editor, who put the event together, introduced the evening with a few personal stories about working with the author later in his life. The poet and literary critic, Adam Kirsch, read an evocative passage from Henderson the Rain King. Romanian writer, Norman Manea, read from an interview he conducted with Bellow. The New Yorker fiction editor, Deborah Treisman, talked about editing Bellow and also read, proving she reads as beautifully as she edits; the terrific writer A.M. Homes read a beautiful short story; and the Irish writer Colum McCann was a knock out reading Bellow in his beautiful Irish brogue. Then it was my turn. I didn’t think it was quite fair to make me follow McCann, sort of like following Bono, which I actually said. Here’s the rest of what I said and read— My father was … Read more