#12: Five for Them, One for Me, with Duane Swierczynski

Swierczynski's latest, CALIFORNIA BEAR, is out January 9, 2024

I mean it when I say Duane Swierczynski probably saved my life.

Here’s how:

When I moved to Louisville in 2015 and the job I had planned fell out from under me, I scrambled to find a way to pay my bills. I ended up at the shipping and receiving company with an international hub here in town. I worked out of a scale station—essentially what looked like a toll booth—weighing shipments before they were loaded onto the planes. It was an outside gig, the middle of December, and one of the worst winters Louisville had seen in years. I spent most of my time shivering and wishing the heater in the station, you know, worked.

It was miserable. I was miserable. I was questioning every decision I’d ever made.

As terrible as it was, the job did offer me plenty of time to read, so I caught up on books I’d bought over the years and never finished. Chief among them was several novels by Duane Swiercyznski, including SEVERANCE PACKAGE, THE WHEELMAN, and Duane’s Charlie Hardie trilogy (FUN AND GAMES, HELL AND GONE, and POINT AND SHOOT). I tore through those books—though Duane’s whip-smart plots and sharp dialogue and the pure joy of his storytelling—and each one made my days so, so, so much more bearable.

(I told Duane this when I met him briefly this year at Bouchercon in San Diego, and he still agreed to an interview, so he’s a hell of a nice guy to boot.)

Duane’s novels include the Shamus Award-winning Charlie Hardie series, the Anthony Award-winning and Edgar-nominated EXPIRATION DATE, and the Edgar-nominated CANARY. He’s also the writer of more than 250 comic books for DC, Marvel, Archie Comics, and Valiant. A Philadelphia native who transplanted himself to L.A. some years ago, he is, simply put, one of the most audacious storytellers working today.

His new book, CALIFORNIA BEAR, is a wild ride through the sketchier side of L.A. and manages to both savage the true-crime entertainment industry while building a touching story of a father and daughter in crisis.

He’s also the latest “Five for Them, One for Me.”

Let’s go.

FIVE FOR THEM

1. CALIFORNIA BEAR is a sharp indictment of the true-crime industrial complex, including podcasts, documentary shows, and the like. What inspired you to write the book and satirize true-crime culture?

A true crime story inspired the novel; the critique of true crime came later. Back in early 2018, I read an L.A. Times story about a retired cop who sprung a wrongfully convicted man from prison. The two ended up becoming friends. I wondered: damn, what was that first night of freedom like? Did the cop and con get, like, hammered together? And what if that night went… wrong, somehow? Around the same time, I attended a book event for the late Michelle McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, her true crime book detailing the hunt for the Golden State Killer. The night was hosted by Patton Oswalt, McNamara’s widower, and I marveled at how he was able to push through his grief to talk about a serial killer. Patton also pointed out how the language that cops used when pursuing serial killers was strangely romantic. “Ooh, I like him for this.” “I think he’s the one.” That stayed with me when I started writing California Bear. I was struck by how someone’s worst possible day can be someone else’s reason for living… or simply an evening’s entertainment.

2.  Additionally, CALIFORNIA BEAR is a great L.A. novel—especially when you’re talking about Hollywood, the various strata of social class, and everyone bemoaning how long it takes to drive anywhere. That said, it doesn’t feel like an L.A. highlights reel, where you’re just mentioning the landmarks. Did you set out to keep the book away from those L.A. clichés people expect?

I have a hard time writing about places I’ve never visited, so California Bear is set in locations I know very well: roadhouse diners, donut shops, dive bars, janky apartment complexes, etc. I’m the kind of weirdo who does serious location scouting for my novels (and comics, for that matter), and I’m always looking for something off-the-beaten-path. That said, if a story demands that I set someone on fire and have them tumble down Mt. Lee and crash into the Hollywood Sign, then I won’t shy away from it. It all depends on the story. But the longer I live here, the more I want to show off the odd corners of my adopted home.

3.  You’re never afraid of taking big swings, particularly with story and plot twists, but your characters always remain grounded despite their circumstances. I’m thinking Jack and Matilda in CALIFORNIA BEAR, obviously, but also Charlie Hardie in his trilogy, Mickey in EXPIRATION DATE, and Sarie in CANARY. How do you balance character with such wild stories?

Thank you for the very kind compliment! The more you ground your characters, the more you can get away with dropping them into outrageous circumstances. What do I mean by “grounding” them? Well, to me, that means having them behave like actual human beings. Nothing takes me out of a film or a novel faster than when the characters act like they’re only there in service of the plot—just another cog in a cosmic wheel. Every move they make, every word they speak, must be rooted in those character’s realistic behaviors. When I think about my favorite TV shows, for instance (such as Better Call Saul and Barry, just to name two) so much of the fun spins out how some incredibly well-defined characters deal with increasingly crazy situations.

4.   There’s no mistaking a Duane Swierczynski novel. And yet, you’ve worked with some notable collaborators, such as Anthony Zuiker, creator of CSI (the Level 26 novels), and James Patterson (the recent LION & LAMB and the Audible dramas ZERO TOLERANCE and THE GUILTY). Can you talk about collaboration on that scale while also keeping what makes your own writing unique?

To me, it’s sort of like being a studio musician. Zuiker and Patterson are the front men; I’m the guy they bring in lay down keyboard and drum tracks. Hopefully, they’ve hired me because they like what I bring to the overall mix. You might recognize my riffs, but it’s all in service of their stories.

5.   My favorite part of CALIFORNIA BEAR is the relationship between Jack and Matilda, “The Girl Detective.” It feels like the most deeply personal part of the book, for many obvious reasons. Tell us about that relationship, and it’s connection to you.

I began writing the story that became California Bear in my daughter Evie’s hospital room while she was undergoing treatment for her very rare form of leukemia. The idea was to have some kind of escape hatch from the awful around us, so I started playing around with this comedic Donald Westlake-style crime story. When we lost Evie a few months later, I put the novel aside, thinking it would be too painful to finish. But a few years later, I took another look at the pages, and it dawned on me that finishing the novel would be a way of reconnecting with Evie (who I affectionately referred to as “The Daughter.”) I was desperate to keep some part of her spirit and humor alive somehow… and that was the genesis of Matilda, a.k.a. “The Girl Detective.” I don’t think I created Matilda so much as channeled her, as weird as that may sound. And I’m still channeling her, as I plot a possible sequel to Bear.

ONE FOR ME

You’re a Philadelphia native who made the move to L.A. a few years ago. Can you even get a decent cheesesteak in L.A.? What was the biggest adjustment coming from Philadelphia to L.A.?

It’s pretty funny that you’ve asked me this question, because a short while ago I had an awful case of poisoning… after eating a cheesesteak. (I don’t want to throw any fast-food chains under the bus, but I’m never going back to a certain hoagie shop named after a Mid Atlantic State and a dude’s first name.) I know, I know—I brought this on myself, daring to eat a cheesesteak in Los Angeles. But to be honest, the longer I live here, the more L.A. reminds me of Philly. My hometown is first and foremost a city of neighborhoods, each with its own history and customs. L.A. is much larger, but it’s essentially a city of 88 different towns and municipalities stitched together, and each have their own history and customs. L.A. is Philly on steroids. You still can’t get Yuengling Lager out here, but I’ve finally found an amazing soft pretzel hookup—Shappy’s (www.shappypretzel.com), founded by actor and Philly native Adam Shapiro. I ordered a bunch for a recent book signing in Burbank, and they were a huge hit! I’m so glad I thought to stuff a few in my backpack for the drive home…

CALIFORNIA BEAR is out January 9, 2024, but you can pre-order it now.

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WHAT I’M READING

The latest issue of SOUTHWEST REVIEW—the literary magazine of Southern Methodist University—is devoted to noir, and it is, quite frankly, a goddamn banger. Co-edited this issue by William Boyle and Claudia Piñeiro, the issue’s a mixture of American and Hispanic writers all working at the top of their games.

There’s excellent work throughout by folks such as S.A. Cosby, Nikki Dolson, Guillermo Martínez, and Sergio Ramírez, but the issue really belongs to “My Savage Year” by Jordan Harper, author of EVERYBODY KNOWS and SHE RIDES SHOTGUN.

Based on a murder that occurred in Jordan’s hometown when he was in high school, “My Savage Year” plays with the very nature of storytelling, of the lies needed to tell the truth, and it’s filled with Jordan’s raw, visceral prose. There’s nothing I can say to do justice to how powerful of a piece of writing it is. It’s easily the best thing I’ve read all year.

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That’s all we’ve got for now. Thanks for coming. See you next time, and hey, let’s be careful out there.