I enjoyed this interview with Stephen Mertz:
Of course, it’s about one of my favorite topics…detective (Private Eye) fiction. It’s also given me a new Eye to check out, which I’m always happy to discover.
One of the interesting things (for me, and probably only me), is that Mertz grew up with 50’s eyes, and that is what it seems he’s fashioned his character on.
I grew up with the 70’s-80’s eyes… the eyes that “all” have drinking problems and such…they have a little tarnish to their armor.
I actually am not sure all of them had drinking issues (or other addictions). Matt Scudder does and he happens to me one of my all-time favorites. Robicheaux does, but he’s only very briefly a PI (maybe a couple of chapters of one book). Spenser, another favorite, seems pretty well put together to me. Amos Walker? I understand in the recent books he’s developed a booze problem…this is surprising to me, actually.
Nonetheless, interesting to me to note Mertz is throwing back to the 50’s, and setting his Eye in the 70’s. I see my influence as those 70’s-80’s Eyes and setting mine in the 21st century, but I am regularly told by readers (well as regularly as I am told anything by readers) that my stories look back to those paperback original days… Spillane’s name is often mentioned.
I dunno. I feel like I’m going all Faulkner with this post. I will say that my covers ARE an attempt at a retro 50’s PBO look. Fortunately, I have had a couple (literally two) people compliment my covers as a throwback to that era.
I’m gonna check out Mertz’s Kilroy book(s). If you like my books, maybe you’d be interested in checking out another detective fiction writer, too. One with a helluva longer record than mine.
–TD
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My PI books:
and
Tony D. Writes Pulp Fiction 