I have a particular love for film noir. So moody. So blunt. So smoky. I love the ambiguous morals of the heroes, the gritty settings, the hard and dangerous femmes fatales. I also like how well film noir can be adapted into speculative fiction; Blade Runner is on of my all-time favorite movies. I’m in edits now for a novel that’s a noir private detective story in a medieval fantasy setting–with a bit of gay romance added in.

Last night, I watched the film M, which is considered to be a bridge between German Expressionism and film noir. It was made in 1931 and was Peter Lorre’s first major role. It’s interesting from a film history point of view, in that it demonstrates early use of techniques we now take for granted. But what I especially enjoyed was the cinematic journey to pre-WW II German criminal justice procedures and issues. Since I’m no expert at all on that particular topic, I have no idea how accurate the depiction is. But it’s a good reminder that if we’re successful as authors, our versions of reality will remain long after living memories are gone. In a way, this gives us enormous power. Imagine some historian from the future using your work to help discern what life was like in the early 21st century. What kind of picture would they get?

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I’ll be on hiatus here for a few weeks as I travel in Zagreb and Paris. In the meantime, feel free to submit questions!