FEBRUARY GUEST OF HONOR: Christa Faust

[CharlesArdai]

We have a special treat in store for the month of February. Christa Faust, author of the just published novel MONEY SHOT (and the first female author ever to be published by Hard Case Crime!), has agreed to join us over the course of the month to talk to us about the book, share her thoughts about the genre as both a writer and a reader, and answer whatever questions the people here might have.

To kick things off, I want to encourage you to take a look at MONEY SHOT. While the setting might make some readers a bit uncomfortable (the main character, Angel Dare, is a former adult film performer, and the book deals frankly with matters of sex and violence), it's really a terrific novel with a very sympathetic, three-dimensional heroine facing a memorable dilemma. Angel starts the book shot, stuffed into the trunk of a car, framed for a murder, and left to die -- but she survives, and then she sets out to find out who did this to her and why. Along the way she uncovers the truth about an international sex slavery ring, as well as some surprising truths about herself and what she's capable of.

New York magazine featured MONEY SHOT on their "Approval Matrix" page of important pop culture touchstones. The San Francisco Chronicle gave it a very positive review. Penthouse magazine will be profiling Christa on its "Sirens" page in the March issue, and the book has been featured on numerous blogs and web sites, ranging from Sarah Weinman's influential "Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind" (which made MONEY SHOT its "Pick of the Week") to the infamous "Mr. Skin" (featured in the movie KNOCKED UP), which just ran a long and glowing interview with Christa. And readers have been telling me how much they enjoy it.

So, if a bit of sex and violence and scenes set in the porn industry aren't automatically a non-starter for you, grab a copy, and start thinking about what you'd ask Christa if you had the chance.

Because you do.

--Charles

[CharlesArdai]

To give you a little background on Christa herself, here's the biographical note from the back of the book:

------------
Christa Faust is the author of numerous crime and horror novels including HOODTOWN, TRIADS, and CONTROL FREAK, as well as the award-nominated novelization of the movie SNAKES ON A PLANE. She has also worked as a filmmaker, a model, and a Times Square peep show girl, and was the first female author ever to be published by Hard Case Crime. Film director Quentin Tarantino once said, "Christa Faust is a Veronica in a world of Betties."
------------

--Charles

[Paul_Hochman]

Welcome, Christa!

I've said it before, but praise is praise, and Money Shot certainly deserves it.

Personally, I find Glen Orbik's cover as stunning as the content of the book. What are your thoughts on his interpretation of Angel Dare?

Best,

Paul

[ChristaFaust]

First off, thanks to everyone who came out to see us at KGB and Partners and Crime. And thanks to our Hard Case fearless leader Charles Ardai for making it all happen and for having me as the Valentine's Day (Massacre) Guest of Honor. I hope you guys will forgive me if I'm still a little jet lagged.

---

PaulH wrote:
Personally, I find Glen Orbik's cover as stunning as the content of the book. What are your thoughts on his interpretation of Angel Dare?

Best,

Paul

---

Orbik knocked it out of the park, no question. I think he did an amazing job. Based on his other work, I was concerned at first that the cover might look too period, since my novel is contemporary. His cover painting does have the wonderful vintage paperback flavor we all love, but Angel still has a modern look to her hair, make-up and earings. It's the best of both worlds.

I also love that she doesn't look like a teenybopper. The character is a woman approaching 40 and there's a worldly, seen-it-all sort of look to Orbik's portrait that is really dead on.

[CharlesArdai]

I'm curious -- now that you've started getting reactions to the book, not just from professional critics but from readers, whether the reactions you're getting are different from men and from women? I'm also curious whether you've heard from readers with experience in the world of the novel (adult films on one hand, sex crimes on the other) and if so what sort of reaction they've had.

--Charles

[ChristaFaust]

---

CharlesArdai wrote:
I'm curious -- now that you've started getting reactions to the book, not just from professional critics but from readers, whether the reactions you're getting are different from men and from women? I'm also curious whether you've heard from readers with experience in the world of the novel (adult films on one hand, sex crimes on the other) and if so what sort of reaction they've had.

--Charles

---

There's definitely a difference in the way men and women have responded to the book. Men talk about how tough and sexy Angel is. Women talk about how real she is, how sympathetic. Men tend to get caught up in the action and swept along with the fast pace while women often ponder the deeper issues of beauty and female body image. I've had many female readers tell me they "don't normally read this type of book" but they loved MONEY SHOT.

Here's an amusing specific example of a he-said she-said split decision. A male reader was unhappy with the car-chase scene because he felt that I should have detailed exactly what happened rather than have Angel hiding under the seat and missing the action. He seemed to think it was a cop out and a cliche not to describe the chase. On the other hand, a female reader specifically pointed that out as a favorite scene. She said that she thought it was funny and realistic, just what a real woman might do in that kind of situation. She thought that was much better than just falling into the same old same old of describing a long, cliche shoot-em-up car chase just to amp up the action.

As for readers in the adult film industry, I'm proud to say there has been a very positive response so far. People who work behind the scenes in the adult film industry are often portrayed in our genre as the lowest of the low. Sleaze-bag sharks lurking in alleys, ready to trick naive hometown girls into a life of drugs and debauchery that will inevitably end in murder. The talent, particularly the women, are usually portrayed as hapless victims that have hit rock bottom, never simply as independent women who have made an unconventional career choice. I wanted to show the industry and the people who populate it as they really are. Real people trying to make a living. Some of them are good and some are bad and most of them fall somewhere in between, just like in any business. I think the readers who work in that industry really appreciate that because they are so used to being demonized by authors who never took the time to find out what their day-to-day grind is really like.

[Kat727]

Hi Christa,
I was just now able to find a copy of your book. I live in a really small town with only one bookstore. I definitely agree about the cover, I love it. I like that she looks like a modern woman, but it still has like a 40s pin up girl feel to it. When I was at the bookstore I had to ask an older sales lady for help, I’m 20, but I look really young for my age so when the woman found the book she looked at the cover and then looked at me with her brows raised, “This isn’t what you’re looking for is it?” I was afraid that she wasn’t going to let me buy it. Lol.
Kaylee

[Paul_Hochman]

There's a great trailer for Money shot on Christa's Site. Take a look!

[buddy]

I am about half way through Money Shot right now and I am really digging it so far.

I can't say I know anything about how the adult fim world would work but any book that delves into a foriegn sub culture is interesting.

But I'm not sure why Charles felt the need to warn people about the subject matter or worry if it would offend anyone. All the books in this series seem pretty extreme. I mean I just finished one where a woman had her forehead branded.

All in all, the sex was dealt with in a real matter of fact way that fits well with the whole noir/pulp sensibility. I thought it was a lot more more mature than the scenes in "Slide", which I thought felt silly

[CharlesArdai]

> I'm not sure why Charles felt the need
> to warn people about the subject matter
> or worry if it would offend anyone. All
> the books in this series seem pretty
> extreme.

Fair point. It's just that I know that the "adult film" topic is a hot-button issue for some readers -- and while very little of the book actually depicts scenes set in that world, discussions of it appear frequently, often in very frank language...which not only doesn't bother me but strikes me as the only honest way to write about the topic, but I want every reader to be able to decide for himself or herself whether or not that sort of thing is something they do or don't want to read. I do; you do; maybe everyone here does. But I think there are a lot more people who would be uncomfortable reading about a porn movie shoot than there are who would be uncomfortable reading BRANDED WOMAN. I'm not saying that's fair or a good thing -- just that I believe it's true. And I like to be sensitive to readers' preferences.

--Charles

[Paul_Hochman]

Not to mention that guy Richard Aleas. He writes about some rather risqué professions too

---

CharlesArdai wrote:
> I'm not sure why Charles felt the need
> to warn people about the subject matter
> or worry if it would offend anyone. All
> the books in this series seem pretty
> extreme.

Fair point. It's just that I know that the "adult film" topic is a hot-button issue for some readers -- and while very little of the book actually depicts scenes set in that world, discussions of it appear frequently, often in very frank language...which not only doesn't bother me but strikes me as the only honest way to write about the topic, but I want every reader to be able to decide for himself or herself whether or not that sort of thing is something they do or don't want to read. I do; you do; maybe everyone here does. But I think there are a lot more people who would be uncomfortable reading about a porn movie shoot than there are who would be uncomfortable reading BRANDED WOMAN. I'm not saying that's fair or a good thing -- just that I believe it's true. And I like to be sensitive to readers' preferences.

--Charles

---

[ChristaFaust]

---

Kat727 wrote:
Hi Christa,
I was just now able to find a copy of your book. I live in a really small town with only one bookstore. I definitely agree about the cover, I love it. I like that she looks like a modern woman, but it still has like a 40s pin up girl feel to it. When I was at the bookstore I had to ask an older sales lady for help, I’m 20, but I look really young for my age so when the woman found the book she looked at the cover and then looked at me with her brows raised, “This isn’t what you’re looking for is it?” I was afraid that she wasn’t going to let me buy it. Lol.
Kaylee

---

Maybe you should have asked for it in a plain brown wrapper. Now that you have it, I hope you enjoy it.

- Christa

[ChristaFaust]

---

buddy wrote:
I am about half way through Money Shot right now and I am really digging it so far.

I can't say I know anything about how the adult fim world would work but any book that delves into a foriegn sub culture is interesting.

But I'm not sure why Charles felt the need to warn people about the subject matter or worry if it would offend anyone. All the books in this series seem pretty extreme. I mean I just finished one where a woman had her forehead branded.

All in all, the sex was dealt with in a real matter of fact way that fits well with the whole noir/pulp sensibility. I thought it was a lot more more mature than the scenes in "Slide", which I thought felt silly

---

I've been a little slow in responding to posts here because I've been crazy busy running all over the place for Money Shot. You're probably done with the book by now and I hope the second half lived up to the first for you.

As far as the heads up on the porn-related content, I think Charles is right that frank depiction of the adult film industry can be a hot button for certain people, more so than conventional kinds of sex scenes. I'm a big believer in fair warning. I have a friend who will not watch or read anything in which a dog or cat is harmed. That goes from Old Yeller to Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. The intensity with which the violence is described is irrelevant. She just doesn't want anything to do with that particular topic and a knowledge that certain books are generally violent wouldn't really help her. I would like to think that people who wouldn't ordinarily be interested in the adult film industry might be pleasantly surprised by Money Shot, but I also think it's fair that people know exactly what they are getting into.

That being said, I'm very glad that you brought up the "foreign subculture" thing. That's one of my favorite things both to read about and to write about. I love the idea of a book that's a window into a world that you or I would not normally see. I tried to do the same thing in my previous novel Hoodtown, which is about masked Mexican wrestling.

[ChristaFaust]

Pacific Northwest readers:

I'll be at two Seattle area Barnes and Noble stores this coming weekend with fellow female crime writer Sue Ann Jaffarian. Please come out and join us for a discussion of women in crime fiction and the Noir/Cozy subgenre divide.

2/9 4-5pm Reading and signing with Sue Ann at the Barnes and Noble at 18025 Garden Way NE, Woodinville, WA 98072 (425) 398-1990

2/10 12-2pm Signing with Sue Ann at the Barnes & Noble at South Center Mall, 300 Andover Park W Suite 200 Tukwila, WA 98188 (206) 575-3965

Message Edited by ChristaFaust on 02-07-2008 09:14 AM

[buddy]

The second half was great too. I really enjoyed the book and I think you should be very proud of it.

I certainly understand why Charles felt the need to give a fair warning and I also have a lot of respect for it. I wouldn't want to see some tricked into reading something. All I was trying to say was that alot of the books in this series could have had the same warning to them. I guess everyone has their own touchstones. My mind flinches when ever I read a racial slur, even if the character is a bigot and is supposed to disgust me.

Hoodtown sounds really cool! I will check it out soon. I am very impressed with how many new authours this series has introduced me to.

Too bad your book tour couldn't swing across the border to Vancouver. I'd love to have a signed copy of MoneyShot

[CharlesArdai]

You're absolutely right (and so is Paul): a lot of our books could merit a warning. Richard Prather's THE PEDDLER is about brothels and prostitution (and is surprisingly frank for a book written 50 years ago); Aleas' SONGS OF INNOCENCE is about a practitioner of what's euphemistically called "sensual massage"; and there are others with rather risque themes as well. What can I say? We're just dirty birds here at Hard Case Crime.

(That said, I've found that nothing pushes people's buttons quite like the topic of porn. I remember being interviewed for a book about the "pornification" of America, and the interviewer couldn't quite believe that I think it's just fine for women to choose to perform in porn if they want to. She kept asking the same questions over and over, from different angles, as though maybe if she kept at it she'd eventually discover that really, deep down, I didn't mean it. "What would you think if you had a daughter and she came to you one day and said 'I made a porn film'?" she asked. "Is this daughter over 18? And you're telling me she wasn't coerced into it in any way, she just decided entirely on her own to do it? Well, then, it's her decision isn't it? Why should I have any more say in whether she does it than she should have in whether I do?" "Yes," she said, "but how would you *feel*?" "Better," I said, "than if she told me she was working some lousy job she hated in a field other than porn." And on and on. She just couldn't believe it.)

> My mind flinches whenever I read a racial slur,
> even if the character is a bigot and is supposed
> to disgust me.

Fair warning: You're not going to want to read our May title, then. It's Shepard Rifkin's chilling and truly outstanding novel THE MURDERER VINE, and it's a fictionalized reimagining of the same Deep South murder case that inspired MISSISSIPPI BURNING. As you might imagine, there's no shortage of bigots in this one, and no shortage of ugly racial slurs. It's absolutely necessary for the story Rifkin is telling (and lord knows, Rifkin is no racist himself), but if that sort of thing makes you squirm, steer clear.

--Charles

[buddy]

I appreciate the fair warning but I think I'll still go ahead a read THE MURDERER VINE. I think I am really going to dislike the villians in it.

[CharlesArdai]

For those of you who aren't put off by the very idea, check out the March issue of Penthouse magazine, which features a reference to "Curvy Crime Writer CHRISTA FAUST" on the cover and a two-page Q&A with great photos (no, not *that* sort of photo) on pages 26 and 27.

It hits newsstands on February 19.

--Charles

[chade]

I just finished Money Shot. I dug it a lot.

My question for Christa--could you talk a litle about how you wrote it? By that I mean, did the idea just pop into your head and you sat down and plotted the twists and turns? Did you just start writing and find it along that way? Or...

[ChristaFaust]

---

chade wrote:
I just finished Money Shot. I dug it a lot.

My question for Christa--could you talk a litle about how you wrote it? By that I mean, did the idea just pop into your head and you sat down and plotted the twists and turns? Did you just start writing and find it along that way? Or...

---

I usually start with an idea for an opening scene. A image that I tailor the whole rest of the story to explain. In the case of Money Shot it started with Angel in the trunk and then I had to figure out why she was there and what she was going to do about it.

I usually construct a kind of bare wire armature of plot structure in advance, though I don't always stick strictly to it. I never use to plan anything in advance, but writing the novelizations and tie-ins (which normally require detailed proposals that lay everything out in advance) have taught me to be a little bit more structured in my plotting.