If anyone ever reads this I would like to point you in the direction of a fantastic author named JA Konrath. You may have heard of him. He is gaining a name in the thriller world with his heroine, insomniac detective Jack Daniels; "Jack" short for Jacqueline.

I have been following his career since, well since before he had a career and was moonlighting amongst the sunken alleys and questionable acquaintances of Usenet, and I've been following his work ever since.

I'm sort of an unofficial stalker.

I even have a signed drink coaster of his second book Bloody Mary. He writes mysteries that are saturated with sharp witted humor paired with hard edged suspense and a little bit of gratuitous violence, which is a gift and not easily accomplished. He essentially puts you down on your knees into the world of Noir and tells you dirty jokes, and really, who doesn't like that?

Well, if your a detective it can be troubling I suppose. But he's really a smart guy and a very good writer. He has worked hard to make a fantastic character in Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels. He isn't one of those egotistical literary snobs either, like I intend to be.

He wrote 12 novels before getting his break with Whiskey Sour, published by Hyperion, and I haven't seen anyone else who is as willing to give himself wholly to the genre. He is an inspiration to new writers as well. A real marathon man- which is an unfortunate moniker, since there's a picture of him on his website standing at an open window with a high powered rifle.

Of course, I don't think of myself as a "new" writer. More of a prolific wannabe, with a pulled hamstring, blindfolded, and running from police dogs, which is just what I would be if I was in a Konrath novel which brings me to my last point. J.A. Konrath holds writing contests and among the winnings is an opportunity to appear in name in the next Jack Daniels novel.