DonaldWestlake.com

Maxim Jakubowski on Donald Westlake

pewestlake — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 02:10:56 +0000

After a long delay, I hope to reset the site with a new host very soon. Meanwhile, here’s an interview I did with Maxim Jakubowski while on a recent trip through London. Until 2009, Maxim was the owner of the Murder One Bookshop on Charring Cross Road in London. The store had to close due to the pressures of big chain competition but it has been reincarnated as a mail order website devoted to expertise in the mystery genre. Stop by sometime. But while you’re here, check out Maxim below.

Part One

Part Two

Tech Stuff

pewestlake — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:44:34 +0000

Content Management Systems can be easy to work with. A simple blog is a no-brainer for blogger or wordpress. But the more complex the site, the more complex the issues CMS has to handle, the more quirky the system gets. While it hasn't had an impact on the functionality of the site (as far as I can tell), the partially-working state of my CMS does impact my ability to add content. So I'm about to make an effort to fix things, which means the site might be only partly functional or may totally disappear from time to time. My hope is that the first few things I try will conain the solution and this will be a short-lived speedbump. But it's much more likely that I won't find a reliable solution for days. So this is the heads-up that whatever problems you may experience with the site in the near term are being addressed and should not be permanent.

And now, as Don would say…

Onward,

The Stepfather Artifacts

pewestlake — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:37:30 +0000

A few tidbits from the creation of the screenplay and shooting script for The Stepfather. I'll put together a more comprehensive movie page in the near future. For now, here's a few scans from Don's files.

Recently Added

pewestlake — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:28:58 +0000

Memory Book Page

The Kitchies: 2010 Black Tentacle Winner

The Jugger Book Page

Link to Ed Gorman's recent review

Parker Page

Excerpt from DEW article in NY Times from Jan 2001

Link to comic book critic Corey Blake's write-up on Darwyn Cooke

Sample Chapter – The Mercenaries

pewestlake — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 06:26:56 +0000

You can find links to sample chapters in some of the book pages on this site and more are being added over time. Indicating which books have sample chapters in the bibliography is on my list of things to do, possibly this weekend. Until then, it's pot luck.

Below, the first few paragraphs of The Mercenaries, the first book published under Don's own name, recently republished by Hard Case Crime as The Cutie (Don's original choice for title).

One

Ella and I went to bed at two-thirty. We turned off the light, reached for each other, and the doorbell rang.

I swore, and Ella’s hand tightened on my shoulder. “Maybe they’ll go away,” she whispered.

The answer was another nervous jabbing at the bell. Whoever was outside was in a hurry. I sat up, switched on the table lamp beside the bed, and Ella and I squinted at one another. She was a good-looking woman, a damn good-looking woman. Black hair falling soft to her shoulders, lips full and red and bruised-looking, eyes half-closed and waiting. She was sitting up, leaning toward me, and the sheet had fallen away from her breasts. I didn’t want to leave her, not now, not for anything. I didn’t care who it was out there, Ed Ganolese or anybody.

The bell jangled again, and Ella smiled at me, to let me know she knew what I was thinking, and that she had the same thoughts. “Hurry back,” she whispered.

Read the rest here.

Fixed… again!

pewestlake — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 06:59:06 +0000

Some links may have been broken on the site today but it's fixed now… again. A problem with a network upgrade today forced me to repair the database and the process reset the root domain address and broke the links. … Continue reading →

Toronto Double Feature

Tod Westlake — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 22:40:32 +0000

If you happen to live in Toronto, you can catch the two previous film adaptations of Richard Stark's The Hunter at the A.V. Club next Thursday:

REMAKE/REMODEL: This week also sees the launch of an intriguing new program at the TUC. The brainchild of critic and AV Club Toronto editor John Semley, Remake/Remodel is a double bill of films that have a close relationship with each other. Screening Nov. 24 at 7 and 9:30 p.m., the inaugural edition pairs John Boorman’s steely 1967 thriller Point Blank with the 1999 Mel Gibson actioner Payback. Why? Both movies were based on the same novel by Donald E. Westlake. Alas, only one of them was cool enough to star Lee Marvin.

Have fun.

Meanwhile, on Twitter…

pewestlake — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 07:44:34 +0000

@ExtAngel Glenn Kenny

Goddamnit. I should never go to the gym while I'm in the MIDDLE of a Richard Stark novel.

14 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®

@WDGagliani W.D. Gagliani

Openings: John Dortmunder was a man on whom the sun shone only when he needed darkness. / Donald Westlake, Bad News, 2001 ((I can relate!))

16 Nov via web

@DaveZeltserman Dave Zeltserman

My vote for best crime writer of the last 50 years: Donald Westlake/Richard Stark

14 Nov via web

@ExtAngel Glenn Kenny

If Donald Westlake were alive today, I'd hunt him down and kiss him full on the mouth.

14 Nov via TweetDeck

@Fripso P. LR

Just finished another "Dortmunder" novel by Donald E. Westlake. Jeez he was so funny and inventive. Those books never disappoint. ☺

13 Nov via UberSocial for BlackBerry

@quoteshash Quoteshash.com

Sorry; I have no space left for advice. Just do it. Donald E Westlake quoteshash.com

11 Nov via twitterfeed

@tangognat Anna

Gonna read some Donald Westlake and knit this fingerless glove.

9 Nov via Twitterrific

[Not exactly sure why but that last one is my favorite.]

Her Favorite Author

pewestlake — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 06:14:11 +0000

By Daniela Gitlin on her blog

Westlake wrote quirky, smart stories about quirky, smart people living full lives outside the law. Sure, they go down quick and easy as escapist trash. But to think they are trash would be a mistake, like falling for Columbo’s dull bulb act. Single-handed creator of the comedic caper and noir crime fiction, Westlake is THE Grand Master.

You can read him for belly laughs. (And you should. There is nobody funnier than Westlake.) You can read him for the worldly vitamins and knowing minerals missing from your diet. You can read him to figure out how he does his magic. However you read him, his writing is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

[She doesn't get every detail right but she comes damn close and her analysis is insightful. Excellent excerpt choices. A great read overall. Original post: Why Donald Westlake is My Favorite Author.]

Not For Sale

pewestlake — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:24:03 +0000

From Seacoast Online – Portsmouth, NH

Even with more than 3,000 titles in Mainely Murders and 10,000 in their ever-expanding collection, Keeney and Whetstone admit there are books they will never sell.

"I collect Richard Stark, which is another name for Donald Westlake. He was among the first of the good and bad guys. He's a robber and he robs his way through 20-something books. He tends to be quite popular. I'm sure that I could sell my collection very quickly, but I don't," Whetstone said.

[Sure, it's Parker who does the robbing and Stark who did the writing, but it's still a very nice quote from a nice story about a pair of women who's lifelong dream to open a mystery book shop has recently come true: Kennebunk women share their passion for mysteries in new venture by Samantha Stephens]