Reading and Cursing

Hey, Jason Starr here, Bodysnatching Sarah for few days. I discovered this blog last year, through a link from the fine Mystery Ink site, and have been hooked ever since. Sarah’s is one of the ten or so sites, including–stock quotes, baseball scores, porn sites–whoops, did I just write that?–that I automatically go to whenever I go on-line. She does an amazing job keeping us up to date on what’s going on in mystery and crime. I’ve never blogged myself so I hope I won’t mess things up too badly here.

First I want to thank Charlie Stella, Patrick Lamb and others from this blog who may have come to see me read on Monday night at the BN on Astor Place. There was a nice crowd there to hear me curse in public. I’m half joking. I don’t think the language in books in particularly coarse, but sometimes it’s hard for me to find “public-friendly” sections of my books to read. I’m sure other crime writer’s have this issue. I once saw George Pelecanos read at a BN here in NY. He read a scene which took place at a DC stripclub, and the BN’s children’s section was within earshot. No one seemed to mind. In Manhattan, this is rarely an issue anywhere, especially not at places in lower Manhattan…..I once read at the BN in Chelsea and I told the manager I was concerned about reading an explitive-filled section of HARD FEELINGS. He said, “Don’t worry–this is Chelsea, we want you to curse.” …I once read with Eddie Bunker and Sparkle Hayter at Filthy McNasty’s in London and there was nothing PC going on in there, let me tell you, and no one seemed to mind…But at other smaller, more tranquil venues it does become more of an issue….Last year, I had a much smaller, suburban-type crowd for one of my readings of TOUGH LUCK, and, I have to admit, I felt like Chris Rock if Chris Rock were deposited into a quaint suburb in Kansas. But, in general, when the crowds are large and there are no kids around, I don’t mind if I offend people. Actually, I sort of like it….