The Prodigal Returns

Few authors burst upon the crime fiction scene with the level of fanfare and acclaim that was accorded Boston Teran five short years ago, when his debut novel GOD IS A BULLET hit stores everywhere. Among the honors bestowed upon the book were the Creasey Memorial Dagger and an Edgar nomination. And few authors have flamed out as spectacularly as Teran did only three years later, when THE PRINCE OF DEADLY WEAPONS was greeted with some of the most vicious reviews I have ever seen for any book. How often is Marilyn Stasio stirred so deeply that she begins a review as follows:

“When, exactly, do you give up on a book? Do you hang in there with Boston Teran all the way to the bitter end, only to find out that key plot points are never going to be resolved; that, in fact, the story ends on an open question? Do you bail out midway, once it becomes obvious that a pivotal character will never speak in anything but riddles? Or maybe you’re smart enough to pack it in after a couple of chapters of ripe prose, tortured metaphors and convoluted sentence construction.”

And that wasn’t even the worst review.

Granted, I’ve never seen sales figures, but all unofficial sources say the book didn’t do too well. A lot of folks–myself included–figured Teran was toast; that if he re-emerged, it would be under a new name, with a clean slate.

Guess again. Well, sort of, as was reported at Publisher’s Marketplace over the weekend:

Japanese rights to Boston Teran’s novel WOMAN, set in the Bronx, in which a deaf heroine survives her father murdering her mother in a powerful, insightful and unflinching examination of the moral dilemmas we can face in a violent and uncaring world, to Bungei Shuju, by Junzo Sawa at The English Agency, on behalf of Natasha Kern at Natasha Kern Literary Agency. French rights to Marie-Caroline Aubert at Hachette-Livre, by Eliane Benisti, on behalf of Natasha Kern.

Yes, Teran’s back in the game, but this deal announcement raises more questions than it answers them: Is a US deal in the works? If not, why not? Why is Natasha Kern representing Teran, when David Hale Smith–who still lists Teran as a client on his website–represented the author previously? And while we’re at it, maybe Teran’s real name will finally emerge from the woodwork?

But hey, if you’re in Japan or France, you’ll get to enjoy the new book. Maybe it’ll be a return to earlier form. Or maybe Teran’s new style just plays better in Europe and Asia than it does in North America. No doubt this story is, as some say, DEVELOPING.

UPDATE: A kind reader writes in with some very choice information:

Teran was not the most publisher-friendly author out there, as evidenced by the fact he would not do ANY publicity for any of his books, even going so far as to not allow his picture to be taken. Teran dropped WOMAN (I assume) in Smith’s lap a few years ago, as his follow up to THE PRINCE OF DEADLY WEAPONS. Smith said, “Whoa, Buddy. This is a romance. Your fans don’t want a romance from you.”

“Sell it,” Teran said, “Or I go somewhere else.”

Smith replied, “I really don’t think this is a good idea for your career.”

A month later Natasha Kern is at Bouchercon 2002 in Austin bragging about her new client, Boston Teran. The rest you can follow through publishersmarketplace.com.

I suppose, if there’s irony in this story, it’s that the reverse might be true after all. Maybe.