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Thursday, October 19, 2017

Blog Tour & Giveaway for SNAKES CAN'T RUN by Ed Lin



Snakes Can't Run
by Ed Lin
GENRE:   FICTION/Mystery & Thriller

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BLURB:

Set in New York City in 1976, Snakes Can't Run finds NYPD detective Robert Chow still haunted by the horrors of his past and relegated to tedious undercover work. When the bodies of two undocumented Chinese men are found under the Brooklyn Bridge underpass, Chow is drawn into the case. Most of the officers in his precinct are concerned with a terrorist group targeting the police, but Chow's investigation puts him on the trail of a ring of ruthless human smugglers who call themselves the snakeheads. As Chow gets closer to solving the murder, dangerous truths about his own family's past begin to emerge. Steeped in retro urban attitude, and ripe with commentary on minorities' roles in American society, this gritty procedural will appeal to fans of George Pelecanos and S.J. Rozan.

Excerpt

The mind is a funny thing. After I got on the wagon and fell in love with a girl, I started seeing my father out in the streets. I didn't literally see his ghost walking around, but I'd see his nose in profile on another guy's face. Sometimes I'd be walking behind someone who had his slouchy shuffle, his spotted ears, or the back of the head that looked like an elderly porcupine with spikes gone soft and white.

One time, a hand reached out to my shoulder and touched me exactly where he used to touch me from his chair after dinner to ask me to get him a beer from the fridge.

Of course it wasn't my father. It was an older guy who wanted to know if I was the guy whose pictures used to be in all the Chinese newspapers. The man was almost completely bald and had two light brown spots on the top right of his head that looked like an imprint from a woman's high-heeled shoe.

He called me the Sheriff of Chinatown. I tried to get away from him as soon as possible, but he was one of those people who liked to say good-bye and then ask another question just when you're about to part. The guy ended up grabbing both of my hands twice before I was able to make the corner and get away. I checked that my wallet was still in my pocket, though, just in case he had been working me with a partner. I guess he was genuinely glad to meet me.




What would you have done differently if you were the main character of your book?

I would have quit this most dangerous line of work--a cop in New York City in the 1970s--and gone to college. Um, was that the right answer mom?

What was your inspiration behind this book?

I have been listening with keen interest the continuing debate we are having in the country over immigration and documentation. I have portrayed the complications a few decades previous to today in New York’s Chinatown where the cop narrator is on the hunt for snakeheads: human smugglers.

Why did you become a writer?
I wanted to be many different things and only writing offered all of them.

Do you have a favorite author or authors?

Some of my favorite dead authors include: Dashiell Hammett, Charles Willeford, Chester Himes, James T. Farrell and Paul Cain. I really go for the broken-tough-guy voice.

Do you like to write your books in a continuing series?

I sure do. As much as a story comes to an end, there should be enough goodwill for the character to go on. 

If you could date any character from any book, who would it be and why?
Any book? 

I think the Witch of Endor in the Books of Samuel would be an interesting date. King Saul has banned witchcraft from the land, so she must have been incredibly crafty to have persisted.

What kinds of books do you like to read in your spare time?

I really enjoy reading ancient myths and legends from around the world, in addition to the amazing works that my contemporaries write.

As a reader and writer I think it is important to get to know your fans and make a connection with them. As an author, is listening to what fans think and want the key to selling more books?

I’ll paraphrase Henry Ford, who said that if he had asked his customers what they wanted, they would have told him a faster horse, not a car. I do believe to a certain degree to reaching to to readers, but I feel that I ultimately have to satisfy myself more than the readers. There’s no way I would ever write a book for the sake of commerciality when I would cringe every time I saw it.

Do you cry when writing sad scenes?

Naw, I just worry if it’s sad enough. I worry throughout writing a book.

Did you have a Cover Designer?

I have the awesome Spoon & Fork (http://www.spoonandforkstudio.com/), who also do my site.

If you were able to dine and have a one on one with your favorite writer/author who would it be?

Maybe Charles Willeford because he was funny as hell and loved to laugh boisterously.

Do you re-read your favorite books?

I do. I try to keep about 3-4 years at least between rereading them to see if they’re still great and they inevitably are.

Do you ever get in a reading slump like your readers do?

Naw, I love reading. It’s different in New York City, where many people read on the subway. Even if a book has lost me, I usually stick with it just to see why things came apart and I try to learn from it.

What is the funniest book you’ve ever read?


I’m not sure, but The Adventures of Max Latin by Norbert Davis is definitely up there. It’s a compilation of stories about a screwball detective that were originally published in Dime Detective Magazine in the 1940s. Great stuff.





AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Ed Lin, a native New Yorker of Taiwanese and Chinese descent, is the first author to win three Asian American Literary Awards and is an all-around standup kinda guy. His books include Waylaid and This Is a Bust, both published by Kaya Press in 2002 and 2007, respectively. Snakes Can't Run and One Red Bastard, which both continue the story of Robert Chow set in This Is a Bust, were published by Minotaur Books. His latest book, Ghost Month, a Taipei-based mystery, was published by Soho Crime in July 2014. Lin lives in Brooklyn with his wife, actress Cindy Cheung, and son.

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Ed Lin will be awarding a limited edition print copy of the book to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.


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