Re: RARA-AVIS: Willeford question

kip.stratton@natinst.com
Wed, 29 Apr 1998 09:27:51 -0500 I have a copy of Willeford's "lost novel" in manuscript form. Willeford, of course,
hated series (even though he ended up writing the best series of all with the Hoke
Mosely novels), so when he was asked for a follow-up to MIAMI BLUES, he wrote a novel
in which Hoke goes crazy and murders his daughters.

Anyway, Willeford's agent never even sent it to the publisher, knowing what the
reaction would be. Much of the novel was recycled into SIDESWIPE.

By the way, I highly recommend Don Herron's WILLEFORD, available from Dennis
McMillan, a nice, fat study of the great one. It's a quirky book, not like any
standard biography, which befits Willeford perfectly. You can learn about everything
from the fatal pepperoni pizza to the truth about Willeford's fishing "journalism"
for SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. But for me, the book is worth the price of admission just to
get Willeford's two-sentence take on the life of Charles Bukowski.

Adios....Kip

"Anthony Smith" <ansmith@netdoor.com> on 04/29/98 08:01:58 AM

Please respond to rara-avis@icomm.ca

To: rara-avis@icomm.ca
cc: (bcc: Kip Stratton/AUS/NIC)
Subject: Re: RARA-AVIS: Willeford question

Re. High Priest
> The book is a scream, out Thompsoning Jim
> Thompson. Very bitter, not a mystery or even a crime novel. To tell you
> anything about the plot (other than the fact that the title character is
a
> used car salesman) would be to risk ruining it.
Thanks. I wonder, though, when it was written, to put it in the scheme of
things. It's earlier than the Mosleys, I guess. I see it's about to have
another reprint, unless I got my info wrong.
Has anyone heard about the "lost Hoke Moseley" book? Lawrence Block wrote
a bit about it in an article a few years back, said it's floating around in
manuscript form and is "unpublishably dark." I wonder if _anything_ is
unpublishably dark in this day and age...
a.smith
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