#10: Five for Them, One for Me, with Frank Zafiro
Zafiro's latest, INTO THE DYING SUN, is out now
A retired Spokane, Washington police officer who started writing while still on the force, Frank Zafiro is a prolific author whose work ranges from police procedurals to P.I novels to mainstream fiction. He’s written so many books, he probably finished a new one in the time it took me to send this newsletter. Oh, and he hosted the extremely popular “Wrong Place, Write Crime” podcast from 2017-2022.
It’s safe to assume he never sleeps.
Starting in 2018, Frank was the creator and editor of the A GRIFTER’S SONG novella anthology series—about Sam and Rachel, con artists on the run from the Philadelphia mob. (Some of you might remember the story of how I met Frank at Left Coast Crime in Albuquerque in 2021.) Frank acted as essentially the showrunner for each “season” of the series, where 30 different writers chronicled a new chapter in Sam and Rachel’s story, telling the tales in their own individual style and tone. Frank brought together a who’s who in crime fiction over the course of five years, with folks like S.A. Cosby, Hilary Davidson, Kat Richardson, and Gary Phillips all writing for the series. (And yeah, I wrote one, too. It was a blast.) From the standpoint of not just a contributor but as a reader and fan of the series, it was a hell of an achievement.
But all good things must come to an end. Number 35 in the series—INTO THE DYING SUN, penned by Frank—just dropped, and it finds Sam and Rachel still on the run for their lives. It’s a fast-paced yet introspective swan song for the series, with our con artists trying to find one last way out, with killers close behind them.
We’re taking a look back at A GRIFTER’S SONG with this “Five for Them, One for Me.”
Let’s go.
FIVE FOR THEM
1. Easy opener: Tell us about your new book, INTO THE DYING SUN.
Sam and Rachel are a pair of grifters, devoted to each other and the game… and not much else. Prior to INTO THE DYING SUN, they have seen numerous cons all over the country. Along the way, of course, they left behind some angry marks. Now, those chickens are coming home to roost. Sam and Rachel realize the time may have come to call it quits and escape to live on a beach somewhere… if it isn’t already too late.
2. INTO THE DYING SUN wraps up A GRIFTER’S SONG—a series of novellas where 30 different authors contributed across the course of 35 installments. There were many voices involved, but as the series editor, you had the final say on the journey’s end. When did you know how the story was ending for Sam and Rachel? Did it change over time?
At one point, I thought it might end with DOWN COMES THE NIGHT (episode 13), the finale to the second season (but then the publisher renewed). In a way, what happens in that story is almost a dress rehearsal for the series finale. It seemed to me that a grifter’s life would contain multiple instances of “This is it, we’re caught” moments. Therefore, it only followed that there’d be a few “we gotta get out of this place… for good” moments, too.
Avoiding spoilers, I’ll say that I’ve known for some time that their ending would involve making a play for that fantasy of living peacefully on a beach somewhere. My take was that this was always a false dream – the two of them could never settle down like that. But often we dream of things we don’t necessarily want, simply to cope with the moments we are in. The beach dream was that for the two of them.
When I made the decision to end the series (and convinced Down and Out Books it was the right move), I started to explore the details of that final episode. I asked myself what would make them want to quit grifting? What was the most likely event to drive them to this decision? And what kind of ending made the most sense for the characters and the series?
All of this happened early in 2023 and by May, I knew how it had to end.
3. INTO THE DYING SUN is rich with callbacks to the first 34 installments (including a reference to the traveling sideshow from SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE SALVATION, which I wrote, so thanks for that). What was it like going through the books and deciding what to mention? Were there instances where you had multiple things from one story you wanted to include? Did you have to leave much on the table?
This was one of the aspects of writing the last episode that was the most fun. I took some time and went through each of the previous episodes, looking for one of two things for possible inclusion.
The first was marks who might seek revenge. These needed to be people who had been swindled badly enough, who had the kind of personality to come after the grifters, and who also had the means to do so. There were quite a few that fit the bill, so I chose those who seemed like they were the most likely ones to do so.
The second thing I looked for were both characters and situations that had left a mark on either Sam, Rachel, or both of them. In some instances, these showed up as callbacks in their conversation – your episode is a good example of that. Others played a heftier role. For example, William and Aunt Sally from PEOPLE LIKE US are important to the early part of the story. Illiana Tolenti from TRAVEL MONEY is crucial. Rachel’s experiences in THE MONEY BLOCK are revisited. Actually, Holly West’s episode double-dipped, as her mark is one of those who was motivated enough to come after them in the finale.
One thing I wanted to avoid was the episode devolving into something like a greatest hits tour. In other words, anything included from the past books had to fit organically. No shoe-horning them in just for the sake of inclusion. That’s why there were a number of episodes I wasn’t able to do any callbacks to, at least not in a way that felt natural. This doesn’t take away from the power of those stories themselves – they just didn’t fit, and as any writer will tell you, the story reigns supreme.
So, yes, there were a few darlings executed after the first draft, before I even showed it to anyone else. If I’d had my druthers, all 34 would have had a part of the finale, but it just didn’t work out that way.
4. You’re a retired police officer, but you wrote and edited this long-running series about con artists, and always approached Sam and Rachel with great empathy. Talk a little about writing about characters from the other side of the law.
Early on in my writing career (I was writing and publishing for the last nine years of my police career), I favored law enforcement characters most of the time. Part of the reason was my desire to depict cops in a positive, but human, light. Flawed, but essentially noble, as this was what I experienced during my career.
Cops are just people, was my message. People who do a difficult job as best they can. And, of course, there are going to be some bad ones along the way, because… well, they’re people.
However, during my time on the job, I saw that the reverse was also true. Sure, there were some criminals who were sociopathic, bent on feeding their own needs and addictions, with no regard for others. But there were also those who, if you took away a few – or even one – bad choices, seemed like good people. Certainly, they were every bit as human as the cops I was writing about. So, I began to explore the criminals from that vantage point.
That being said, there is another element to writing bad guys – they can be a lot of fun! They don’t play by the rules (society’s rules, anyway, as most still have a code of conduct). The experiences vary more, too. Police experiences are far from universal but the possibilities are even greater when you wander into the criminal realm. In recent years, I’ve found myself exploring those who are on the fringe of the criminal world or low on the pecking order.
It’s all in an attempt to get at the humanity of each character. There’s someone in there, someone unique, regardless of their role. And very few are a Dudley Do-Right or a Hannibal Lecter… there are far more shades of gray in real life, and those is the kind of fictional characters I like to work with.
5. Every project is an opportunity to learn. What was your biggest takeaway as a writer and as an editor working on A GRIFTER’S SONG?
As a writer, I think I learned to take some time to look at your protagonists through a different set of eyes. Three of the episodes I wrote in the series were originally intended only as bonus episodes (back when the publisher was using a subscription model). I wanted them to be different, so I wrote them from a POV other than Sam or Rachel. In doing so, I got the chance to see them from another perspective—twice from the POV of an adversary and once from that of a mark. This helped when it came time to write the final episode, as I decided to include three points of view—Sam, Rachel, and their primary pursuer. I was able to bring the lessons from those three bonus episodes into play.
As an editor, I learned to walk the fine line between letting each story be what the author wanted it to be while remaining a constant steward of the series and the characters of Sam and Rachel. It’s a different sort of editing than the usual kind, in which the first element is the sole focus. If you’re editing someone’s work, your primary goal should be to help them make it the best version of what they intend it to be. But here, I needed to also consider the series and the characters, so continuity was a factor, among other aspects.
Fortunately, this process ended up being relatively painless in all but one instance (that author was removed from the project and replaced). With all of the authors, I discovered they were very receptive to learning who Sam and Rachel were and building on that with their own story. As a result, they enriched the characters and the mythos of the series.
So, I guess the lesson was to know what few hills you have to die on and find a way to turn any other “battles” into a win for everyone… and that the writers themselves will usually show you exactly how to do that.
ONE FOR ME
We’re both big Bruce Springsteen fans, and we’ve had the chance to talk about Bruce fandom, and every Bruce fan has their own list of the best Springsteen songs. But what’s your choice for the *worst* Springsteen song?
I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that before. Nice job!
The fandom consensus would probably land on something like “Mary Queen of Arkansas” or “Queen of the Supermarket.” (For the record, I’d rate both pretty low, though I think “Queen of the Supermarket” is the superior of the two… though both have their apologists within the fandom).
If by “worst” you mean objectively, “Mary Queen of Arkansas” might be it. But if you’re asking for my subjective opinion… well, there are songs I frequently skip when they come up, but almost every single Springsteen song can catch me right if I’m in the mood for it… except for a very few.
All right, enough hemming and hawing. I’m going to reach into the (admittedly very small) bag of Don’t Likes and pull out…
“Jesus Was An Only Son” from Devils & Dust (which also has one of my absolute favorite songs, “Reno”).
Why don’t I like this song? Well, it isn’t that I take religious offense (I think Springsteen’s lapsed Catholic status is far more religious than I am). And I actually like the sentiment behind it that he described at length on the Devils & Dust tour – the idea of Jesus the man having those difficult moments in the Garden of Gethsemane. But ultimately, the presentation and the lyrics fall flat for me, and it’s a bona fide swing-and-a-miss in my estimation. I hear the first few notes and punch skip every time.
And you thought I was going to say “Real Man,” didn’t you?
INTO THE DYING SUN is out now.
Shameless Self-Promotion
I was fortunate enough to get to write Number 32 in A GRIFTER’S SONG, titled SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE SALVATION. It finds Sam and Rachel low on money and resources and stranded in Salvation, West Virginia. Rachel takes a job with a traveling sideshow as a psychic, while Sam sets his sights on the sideshow owner, a self-proclaimed “cryptid hunter.” There’s money laundering, human trafficking, religious fanaticism, and a storm worthy of the Old Testament.
Thanks to the folks who’ve let me know they enjoyed the story. Haven’t read it yet? Click that button below for a copy. And please leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or both.
That’s all we’ve got for now. Thanks for coming. See you next time, and hey, let’s be careful out there.
I’m so glad I’m reading this just after I finished reading “Salvation”, gives perspective… I’ve read 5 episodes so far and they’re all brilliant. Great series.